The Kneeslider

Doers Builders and Positive People

Electric Motorcycles – Big Gamble or Sure Thing?

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Electric motorcycles are garnering a lot of attention right now. The upcoming TTXGP is one reason, all of the companies involved are touting their own efforts, plus outside the race, Zero is offering bikes through Amazon, Brammo is going with Best Buy, almost everywhere you look, electrics are getting noticed. One of the most fascinating parts of all this is the bet being made … [Read more...]

The Grand Prix Motorcycle: The Official Technical History by Kevin Cameron – Review

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Some folks follow MotoGP racing because of the personalities involved, others, and I have a hunch that would be many of you, are more interested in the tech side of things, it's not who is riding what, it's what are they riding. If you count yourself among the latter group, Kevin Cameron's new book, The Grand Prix Motorcycle: The Official Technical History, is something you'll … [Read more...]

BMW Motorrad Innovation Contest 2009

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BMW wants to know what you're thinking. First, they brought out the LoRider Concept and put up a survey to see what you thought about it, which is a good way to generate feedback in the most direct fashion, "Here it is, what do you think?" Now, they have an innovation contest and they're looking for some of your ideas about future products: What will be the perfect motor … [Read more...]

1937 Front Drive Tracked Motorcycle Prototype

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Tracked motorcycles are a continuous source of fascination and back in the early 20th century, numerous prototypes were being built, usually with military applications in mind. This one is new to me, it's a 1937 Mercier, 1 of 3 prototypes built for the French military. The obvious difference between this example and the others most of us have seen is the front track / front … [Read more...]

Monocoque Motorcycle Chassis Possibilities

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Our story the other day about the Ev-0-rr electric motorcycle designed by Mark Wells, mentions the composite monocoque chassis. One of the comments asks: This implies those may not be fairings, but are in fact the chassis. Any confirmation on this? What prevents a ICE motorcycle from doing the same? I know there are perimeter frames, so it doesn’t seem impossible. Mark … [Read more...]

Learn Mechanical Engineering Now – For Free

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More than a few of you are pretty adept at hands on design and engineering by eye, fitting things together, adjusting here and there, just think what you could do if you had a background in mechanical engineering, do you think your might be able to kick your designs up a notch or two? So, what's stopping you from learning? Oh yeah, I forgot, bad economy and all that. So let me … [Read more...]