The Kneeslider

Doers Builders and Positive People

Tony Foale Seminar Scheduled in Los Angeles

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Having attended a Tony Foale seminar in the past, I can vouch for the in depth technical content presented over two days. Tony has not had a seminar in the US in quite some time and he just sent out a note to say he is planning one for April 19th and 20th in the LA area. If you're interested, contact Tony through his site for full details. Link: Tony Foale UPDATE: The … [Read more...]

How Well Does a Motorcycle Fit? Ask Cycle Ergo

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Have you ever looked at a photo of a particular motorcycle and wondered how well you would fit? Sometimes that great looking bike is a nightmare when you actually try to fit yourself to the proportions of the seat, bars and foot pegs. So, without finding one to sit on, how can you tell? Try Cycle Ergo. It's a graphic program where you select the model you're interested in, plug … [Read more...]

IET Integrated Electric Transmission Motorcycle from SMRE Engineering

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Look at any electric motorcycle these days, whether TTXGP competitor or one of the first general purpose commuters and you'll notice one thing is missing, the shift lever. Electric motors have all of this torque available so you just twist the electric throttle and pour the electrons to the motor. Want to go faster? Spin the motor faster. SMRE Engineering of Italy, … [Read more...]

In-line Four Engine Development

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Is the in-line four cylinder motor about to become the most developed engine for performance motorcycles? BMW's choice for this platform and Yamaha's development of their cross-plane crankshaft engine are two obvious points. What if either of those manufacturers combine their strategies with something similar to the Horex's staggered piston arrangement? The Horex 6 cylinder … [Read more...]

No Parts Available – Problem or Opportunity?

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Every now and then, a post on The Kneeslider misses the point, quite a few readers seem to misunderstand what was meant and the post about high tech parts is a good illustration. In that post the focus was on the potentially serious, or at least inconvenient, issue of electronic parts failing years after a motorcycle had gone out of production. While manufacturers provide … [Read more...]

Highest Tech Possible or Home Workshop Repairable?

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Can you fix it? Your motorcycle won't run, what are the chances you can get it going? What if the bike in question has the highest technology available, perfectly metered fuel injection, precisely controlled electronic ignition, variable valve timing and throttle by wire, have your chances increased or decreased? Suppose, the company that made it goes out of business, does that … [Read more...]