Daily motorbike news, views & reviews
Patent drawings reveal BMW plans to bring back its C1 scooter, but with a detachable roof, seat belts, car-like crumple zones and an electric motor. The German manufacturer filed a patent for an electric C1-style scooter with a detachable roof in 2017. Now, more details are available that show it also has airbags, crushable zones …
Honda has doubled down on electric minibikes with a patent filing for their long-promised electric Super Cub and a trademark application for an electric Motocompacto. The former has been around since Honda trotted out a prototype at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show. Electric minibikes Honda said the EV-CUB electric scooter would be available from 2018, …
An Australian-designed clean two-stroke motorcycle engine could soon become a reality after attracting the interest of a Melbourne-based investor group. Sydney-Based inventor Basil van Rooyen says his Crankcase Independent Two-Stroke (CITS) engine meets tough emissions requirements as it eliminates total-loss lubrication. Investor interest “I have some investor interest which is at their lawyers now for an …
Yamaha has filed yet another patent that shows yet again that they lean toward leaning trikes, this time with a hybrid powertrain. The Japanese company already has a lean on leaning trikes with their TriCity scooter and Niken motorcycle. They have also filed several patents before for leaning three-wheelers. They are not alone in pursuing …
Kawasaki has plans to develop a range-extender hybrid with a supercharged two-stroke, four-cylinder engine charging a battery that powers an electric motor driving the rear wheel. It seems like a clever idea. They call it a range-extender hybrid because the fossil-fuel engine doesn’t directly drive the vehicle. It’s not an original idea, though. The cheap …
Kawasaki is seeking sensory overload with load, blinker, and position sensors complementing ABS and traction control to sense for “upcoming scenarios”, according to a filing with the Japanese Patent Office. The company is not the only motorcycle manufacturer adding more and more electronic riders aids in an effort to make riding safer. And it’s not …
A new patent filing from Honda seems to suggest a return to the 1970s twist-and-go Hondamatic transmission like on Prince’s Rebel (pictured). The Hondamatic transmission was popular in America, but not here. However, Honda now seems keen to extend its auto and semi-auto transmissions throughout its range. New Hondamatic This new patent application is a …
Harley-Davidson has filed a patent for a self-balancing system that might help attract more customers to their big and heavy touring motorcycles. Their bikes already have a large flywheel and low centre of gravity that makes them stable at slow speeds, but their mass is daunting for many riders. That’s why they are often dropped …
Have you ever hit a big bump that hammers your groin on to the fuel tank, sending tears streaming down your face? Old Triumph motorcycles used to have a luggage rack on the tank (pictured above) that many called “the castrater” for obvious reasons! Thankfully modern bikes don’t have such dangerous tank attachments, but they …
Winglets have been used on MotoGP bikes for a few years now to improved high-speed handling, but are they just a gimmick on street-registered motorcycles? It’s not just MotoGP bikes that have them, but also Ducati’s Panigale V4, Aprilia’s RSV4 and their upcoming RS660 (pictured). These all have fixed winglets, but not it seems there is a …