The Kneeslider

Doers Builders and Positive People

Do Motorcycles Have a Future?

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What is the future for motorcycles and motorcycling? I imagine this question gets tossed around on occasion in the boardrooms and design studios of motorcycle companies around the world, but I wonder how they answer it. Technology Life Cycles Technology has a life cycle from invention to maturity and finally supersedence by something else. Motorcycles were invented back … [Read more...]

Auto Based V-Twin for Confederate Renovatio

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Confederate Motorcycles started a lot of talk with their Renovatio Project, revealed a few months ago. This concept has a design that many are still trying to get their heads around but one piece I find interesting is the engine. It's a 90 degree V-twin being designed by Katech Inc., a Michigan firm with strong racing roots at places like Sebring, Daytona and LeMans and who are … [Read more...]

Aprilia NA 850 Mana Automatic

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Aprilia joins the companies bringing out standard motorcycles with automatic transmissions. You can expect to see this growing fast in many segments, especially if these early entrants see much success. I would be very surprised if all of the manufacturers didn't have an automatic or two somewhere in their lineup before long. From Aprilia: The NA 850 Mana. Never has … [Read more...]

Electric Motorcycle from Derbi GPR 50

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There's a growing group of homebuilders who are converting vehicles of all sorts to electric power, motorcycles among them. This motorcycle is a Derbi GPR 50 where the builder removed the original drivetrain and installed 6 lead acid batteries, an electric motor and a DC converter. The video is a short walk around of the bike and then a ride around the neighborhood. The … [Read more...]

ENV Hydrogen Fuel Cell Motorcycle Video

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We've talked about the ENV hydrogen powered fuel cell motorcycle many times here and there has been some discussion about what it might be like to ride and what it would sound like. Here's a video of the bike in action which shows it to be a bit more responsive than you might first imagine. I'm still having a little bit of a hard time getting past the design but when you run a … [Read more...]

Baker Drivetrain N1 Drum

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With all of the bobber guys running around these days, jockey shift setups are gaining ground, and for that crowd, the Baker Drivetrain N1 Drum is pretty cool. What this does is change the shift pattern, swapping 1st gear and neutral, so neutral is all the way down and the gears go up from there. Since you're running a foot clutch, all you have to do is slap the shift lever … [Read more...]