Archive for December, 2005
The Art of the Motorcycle
24 December 2005Do you ever catch yourself staring at a motorcycle? I don’t mean just looking at bikes, we all do that, I mean staring at a machine because it looks so damn good, everything is just right, every part relates to everything else, nothing added that doesn’t belong, it catches your eye and you smile. It [...]
Motorcycle air pollution
23 December 2005A group over in Switzerland has just concluded a study and they’re pointing their finger at motorcycles as being nasty little air polluters. The study by the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research says motorcycles emit “16 times more hydrocarbons, three times more carbon monoxide and a ‘disproportionately high’ amount of other air [...]
Aermacchi Motorcycles
22 December 2005Aermacchi isn’t a name you see very often these days unless you spend your time at vintage race events but Aermacchi motorcycles are some of the sweetest looking little machines around. Aermacchi made and still makes aircraft over in Italy. Back around 1950, they got into the motorcycle business and started building small displacement motorcycles, [...]
Motorcycle Rings and other Motorcycle Jewelry
22 December 2005Too late for the holidays but if you’re a biker, and you need just the right thing to subtly show what you think about all the time, try these motorcycle rings. Ulrich Ehlers makes jewelry over in Germany. A lot of it is oriented to the biker crowd and it’s pretty neat. Every now and [...]
Motorcycle Design for Baby Boomer Riders
21 December 2005How should motorcycles adapt for aging riders? If you’ve been on the road since the 60’s or 70’s, you, ahem, … we, might begin looking for a few things on our bikes the twenty something rider wouldn’t think about.
There was an interesting article yesterday on how the automotive industry is changing as it recognizes [...]
Hybrid Motorcycles are not necessary - part 2
20 December 2005So, Yamaha wants a hybrid motorcycle before the end of the decade. Can someone explain why? When Yamaha president Takashi Kajikawa said that was one of his goals for the company, it had me scratching my head. A couple months ago I said there was no need for hybrid motorcycles (right before the Gen-Ryu appeared) [...]
Smartuki video
19 December 2005Here’s a video of the Smartuki in action. If you doubt that motorcycle powered cars have potential, you need to see this. Also listen, it sure doesn’t sound like your average Smart car!
Update: I also came across this video of a Smart car running into a barrier for those of you who think they [...]
Vespa exploded view
19 December 2005Cutaway drawings and exploded views are a neat way to see how mechanical things go together but what if you did it with the real thing? There was an art exhibit in Turin where the artist took three Vespa scooters, left one intact, removed the outer panels on the next and completely disassembled the third. [...]
