Anyone who rides a motorcycle knows that it is always safest to wear a full set of leathers – jacket, gloves, pants and boots – when you ride. Believe it or not, leathers actually can be the only thing protecting your skin from nasty road burn, and can even save your life in some severe cases. Well, some people tend to forget, or just feel silly wearing them – myself included – and we need a little reminding that everything is better in leather.
Well, with England getting ready for national Ride to Work Day on June 18th, local TV stations are running ads reminding bikers of safety, including the importance of leather. Instead of giving us a graphic video about the dangers of road rash, one commercial goes exactly the opposite ways by using a double entendre to burn the need for leather in our minds.
The opening scene is bad enough, using key phrases like “doing it,” “leather,” and “wearing protection” at various points. Only to find out that [ha ha] we’re talking about motorcycle leathers protecting you while you “do it” [ride a motorcycle]. Well, at least somewhat… The last scene takes the entendre the other direction, and… Well, you’ll just have to watch the above video to find out.
Go ahead and have a few LOLs on us!
Just like their four-wheeled counterparts, electric bikes are slowly entering the market, giving riders a far more ’efficient’ alternative than the gas-guzzling road mongers they’ve come to know over the years.
With the direction steering clearly towards an electric future, BRD is looking to get its foot in the door first with the new RedShift electric motocross prototype. Built using a two-piece monocoque chassis partly painted in a blue finish and contrasted by an orange battery pack, the pre-production RedShift is looking at becoming a trailblazer in its own right.
Looking at the bike, it’s obvious that there wasn’t a whole lot of bells and whistles that went in building the bike. It’s not bare and bones, but it’s not decked with trinkets either. The relative simplicity of the bike results in a weight of just 250 lbs, which already includes a 5.2-kWh battery that, according to BRD, should be enough to go for at least 50 miles on the road. The battery can produce 40 horsepower and when combined with its svelte frame, it’s more than capable of giving its traditional gas-powered counterparts a serious run for their money.
For their part, BRD is still in the process of undertaking further testing for the RedShift and all things considered, the company is hoping to release a more complete version of the electric bike at the 68th EICMA in Milan, Italy this November.
But the groundwork has been done so that’s the good thing. Let’s just hope that these guys can fine-tune everything before their day in the spotlight later this year.
As with all concepts, whether they’re cars or motorcycles, there’s no certainty that the models will ever hit the production block. It all depends on how the market sees it and how much interest it receives. For some, it becomes such a hit that the demand immediately calls for supplies. Other times, though, the concept is left largely at that.
For the Orphiro Electric Motorcycle Cruiser Concept, the truth arguably lies somewhere in between. Coming from the Netherlands, the Orphiro is described as a bare wide-body electric cruiser that features a bobber-style seat and wire spokes. It also has an electric battery that comes with a top speed of 75 mph and a battery range of around 60 miles, making it ideal for short joy rides and less so for cross-country treks.
According to Orphiro, the bike "combines all ideals when it comes to new motorcycling: fully electric, fast loading and one with nature. An enormous acceleration power, a lovely cruising speed and a range that covers all work-living distances easily.”
As it stands now, Orphiro is looking at launching the bike sometime in the next few months at a price of €49,000, which is around $70,000 based on current exchange rates.
It’s got some potential, but for that kind of money, we’d probably just opt for something that’s already established a name for itself in the industry. Paying that much for a ’concept’ sounds like a bad investment.
Harley-Davidson may already boast of a huge following, but one market that’s still ripe for the American original’s picking is the younger demographic that prefers the thrill of riding in bikes over the confines of a four-door sedan.
On that note, the motorcycle company has introduced their new Blackline motorcycle as part of their Dark Custom line-up.
The Blackline is powered by an internally counter-balanced Twin Cam 96B V-Twin engine rigid-mounted within the frame, mated to a six-speed Cruise Drive transmission with a smooth and low fuel tank. The bikes instrumentation is compact with the chopped fender and the narrow, split drag handlebar being designed in such a way that the bike’s sleek and slender built give off a sexy yet powerful appearance. Sort of like how Harley’s are best described.
The Blackline’s Softail chassis uses a rear-suspension control that’s provided by coil-over shock absorbers found below the bike’s powertrain. While its look may deceive us to think that the bike has a nostalgic look to it, its performance is anything but.
A host of other elements found in the Harley-Davidson Blackline include a horseshoe-shaped oil tank dressed in black and inspired by the 1936 ELsmooth. The bike also rides on 21 x 2.15 inch front wheels and 16 x 3 inch rear wheels, wrapped around Dunlop D402 MH90-21 front tires and Dunlop MU85B16 rear tires.
It may not scream of the bombastic and intimidating nature of bigger Harleys, but the Blackline does possess characteristics that make it an all-original Harley Davidson. Slender and powerful at the same time, the Harley-Davidson Blackline is the perfect bike for the thrill-seeking renegade in all of us.
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