Posts
Zero Motorcycles has just announced that they have signed Ralph Sheheen as spokesperson for their line of electric motorcycles. You all know Sheheen from the SPEED Channel, or at least you should as he hosts just about every motorcycle competition on the TV station. He will join them immediately and will join them on their multi-city promotional tour which begins on 20 March 2010 in Washington D.C. For all the details, don't forget to take the link.
http://tinyurl.com/y9lkyyu
Josh Brookes has taken the lead at the pre-season British Superbike Championship testing at Gaudix. The Spanish circuit saw him take the unofficial lead away from Stuart Easton and Tommy Hill with his HM Plant Honda. The testing is certainly adding to Brookes' confidence and his belief that he does have a chance at winning the whole thing by season's end. For the details, please take the link.
http://tinyurl.com/y8d5ssw
More Morning Moto News - Zero and Sheheen & BSB Testing
More Morning Moto News - Aaron Zanotti & Zero Launches 2010 Models
Aaron Zanotti has hooked up with his old team, Red Viper Spike, to contest the 2010 BSB Evo class. At first it seemed like the rider would have to go it alone, but his team came back and signed him for another year aboard a Suzuki GSX-R1000. As you can imagine, he is very happy with this turn of events as it keeps him in the series for one more season.
http://tinyurl.com/ydpr4e9
It's official now, Zero Motorcycles launched their four 2010 models at the Daytona Bike Week event in Florida yesterday. There are some changes - both technical and cosmetic - to this year's models, but they all have one thing in common with the previous models; they are industry leaders in convenience and technology. Zero is the only electric motorcycle manufacturer with four full models on sale to the public currently. Go ahead and take the link for more information.
http://tinyurl.com/y92oark
Friday Afternoon Moto News - Zero Motorcycle to Display 2010 Models & Zero Hires Former Buell Engineer
First up is the news that the long-awaited models from Zero Motorcycles will be premiering at Daytona Bike Week next month. Zero will have all four of their electric motorcycle models at the event - and there will be demo rides available! This is big news as Zero is the only electric bike manufacturer with four different models available to the public now.
http://tinyurl.com/ycb8m2l
Next, we get news that Zero Motorcycles has hired a former Buell engineer to be their Vice President of Engineering. Abe Askenazi has a wealth of experience and several higher education degrees (which somehow qualify him above people with more experience) and will be running their engineering and design groups. Given Askenazi's past, though, we can expect things to hum along at Zero for the foreseeable future.
http://tinyurl.com/y8mclxd
More Afternoon Moto News - Electric Motorcycle Racers & Pegram Racing Club
As you might expect, electric motorcycle racers simply want to face the best of the competition. With the strange competition between the three major players in organizing the races, it looks like some teams will never meet on the track, and that is not good for the sport. The questions abound and most are covered after the link...
http://tinyurl.com/ykpw9a4
With the upcoming AMA Pro Racing season getting even nearer, Larry Pegram has come up with another way to gain some sponsorship money has created the Pegram Racing Club. With support from Foremost Insurance and Ducati NA, Pegram has been able to build a successful team around the Ducati 1098R - he won 3 races last year and finished fourth overall. With the Club, which is only limited to 10 people, the members will get a first-hand experience with American motorcycle racing...take the link for more information.
http://tinyurl.com/ylx6czb
Saturday Morning Moto News - Zero Motorcycles PR
Yep, direct from the press release about Zero and "Ride to Adventure Extreme", an Outdoor Channel reality show:
The Outdoor Channel selected Zero Motorcycles for the popular series "Ride to Adventure Extreme." The upcoming episode takes place in Colorado where a group of off-road riders climb to over 13,000 feet on one of the toughest backcountry passes in the state. It's showing at 5:30PM and 8:30PM PST Monday Feb 8th.
On our site we've posted a few outtakes from the show:http://www.zeromotorcycles.com/gallery.php#id=action-videos&num=2
Interested in watching a little something on the street? Our engineering team has been developing significant upgrades for our powertrain. Below is a link to a short clip that they shot during a test… if you're curious about what they're up to, give us a call.
Engineering powertrain test video:http://www.zeromotorcycles.com/zero-s-burnout.php
As you can see, plenty to check out. Zero will probably have an extensive line of high-powered on and off-road machines by this time next year, so stay tuned!
Even More Afternoon Moto News - Zero Motorcycles, Honda Design and a Concept Ducati
Zero Motorcycles will be displaying its Zero S all-electric motorcycle at the Go Green Expo in Los Angeles. It will be held at the LA Convention Center this weekend. If you want to test ride a Zero S, you can sign up on their website (on the linked page), but you had better hurry! The Go Green Expo will also have plenty of other interesting displays and even discussion panels with various celebrities on hand.
http://tinyurl.com/yb5t6km
We also get an inside look at the motorcycle design process at Honda. Specifically, designer Martin Manchester, who works for Honda R&D Americas, is interviewed here and the focus is his own work on the Honda Shadow Spirit 750 C2. It is not often that we get to see this deep within the company, and it will not be the last (I have something cooking right now for another publication).
http://tinyurl.com/yl6yzfx
They are calling it the Ducati Hypermono, well 'it' does not work well for this, it is more like 'them'. There are four variations on the theme, which was inspired by the beautiful street-legal Supermono Strada prepared by Alistair Wager. These machines were designed and built by sak_art design and may or may not be for sale at some point. Check them out...
http://tinyurl.com/y8l3v3r
More Wednesday Moto News from Just About Everywhere, Part 4
Wow, we made it to part 4! It is a busy day!
Zero Motorcycles, preeminent electric motorcycle manufacturers in California, have received a new round of investment funding. They have managed to pull in US$5.56 million in a Series A add-on. This brings the total to somewhere north of US$10 million and should keep them stable for years to come - especially considering how many they have already sold.
http://tinyurl.com/yjg3zlc
Team Green Kawasaki (UK) was the result of hard work by Alec Wright. He passed away after suffering a heart attack at his home a few days ago. He was responsible both for the Team Green effort and for bringing true professionalism to motorcycle road racing in the United Kingdom. It is sad news for all motorcycle race fans...
http://tinyurl.com/yksm6zr
Now for something different - a new helmet technology which might reduce injuries to the neck and spine by 50% or more. This comes to us through the MIT blog and is a good read. The Pro-Neck-Tor helmet design differs greatly from what is no available on the market, but it could easily fit right in as the helmet shell can remain unchanged. This could be our future, so take a look as it could save your spinal cord!
http://tinyurl.com/yl9keg9
Preview of Electric Motorcycle Racing in 2010 - TTXGP & eGrandPrix
Yep, it is almost 2010 - in fact, it is only a few weeks away. So, are you ready for the electric motorcycle racing in the new year? If not, take the link below and get all of the information you need on these new road race series. This is the beginning of something huge which we will all be seeing more of in the future, so get yourself ready!
http://tinyurl.com/yehtabw
Electric Motorcycles - Here to Stay?
A nice opinion piece on the coming of electric motorcycles and what the future of them may be. The author has some good points, but some of them are easy to dispute. In either case, it is worth reading just to see yet another perspective on this quickly expanding niche in the motorcycle industry. Just do not expect the article to cover your views on the subject, it doesn't match mine.
http://tinyurl.com/y8hzqtf
ZERO Motorcycles Joins With TTXGP eGrandPrix Series
Well, at least I expected to hear something about this - I just interviewed Saiki and he mentioned that something like this was coming - and now we all have! Zero will join the eGrandPrix series in 2010. The series is part of the TTXGP series and will run the first event in the US (yes, believe it or not) at Infineon Raceway in California. It is believed that Zero will use the frame and fairing of the Mavizen TTX02 (based on the KTM RC8R) with Zero's own batteries and motor. Looks like the TTXGP has one-upped the new FIM e-Power series. There will be many more announcements coming soon - stay tuned!
http://tinyurl.com/yh58ydf
More information on the current commitments to the TTXGP series:
http://tinyurl.com/yzqbje9
Looks Like ZERO Motorcycles Has Even More Fans!
The eCarTec show judged the Zero X as the "Best Electric Motorcycle" back in mid-October, and now Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger is a new fan. Apparently, he was in Germany at the event as part of the Governor's international relations trip. Now, ZERO is trying to get him to buy and ride one - just like he did with Harley-Davidson. If only he would, the electric motorcycle market would probably explode - in a good way!
http://tinyurl.com/yhpdpn4
ZERO Motorcycles Wins French Electric Motorcycle Challenge (Slightly Old)
Thia actually should have been reported a few days ago. However, there were no decent articles on the story, so we will have to use this press release - expect hype! ZERO Motorcycles competed in the French Federation of Motorcycles Electric Motorcycle Challenge against 250 competitors in Gironville, France. ZERO rider Thomas Aubry managed to defeat all of the motorcycles in the race, including the petrol-powered entries! This is sure good propaganda for ZERO!
http://tinyurl.com/yhxfbwx
ZERO Motorcycles Announces New Financing Program
If you are looking into purchasing a ZERO electric motorcycle, you can now take advantage of their new financing program. In conjunction with Prosper.com, they are offering the very first peer-to-peer lending retail purchase financing solution ever. This will allow you to set up a loan on any of ZERO's offerings via the Prosper.com right at the time of purchase. A phenomenal deal - especially if you buy the Zero S or DS as you get a federal credit of 10% of the purchase price - for a fantastic motorcycle.
http://tinyurl.com/ybbshwg
Mavizen MAY be Developing TTX03 Electric Supermoto Motorcycle
It turns out that an announced electric supermoto class to run along with the TTXGP - which I must have missed - may be bringing Mavizen (owned by the man behind the TTXGP at the Isle of Man TT, Azhar Hussain) into the electric supermoto motorcycle business. As ZERO Motorcycles is the only electric motorcycle company producing a supermoto-spec electric bike, it is odd that a class would be created with only one supplier. So, some words leaked from Mavizen and the creation of that class help make the TTX03 seem realistic.
http://tinyurl.com/ybysa7q
Read This! Euro Gossip November is Full of Information!
The industry is full of rumor and speculation - what will happen to MV Agusta - who will purchase the company? (Wish I could!) What about EICMA - will Honda and Yamaha exhibit there? (No, they won't) MZ of Germany has been purchased, but can the new owners get the money they need? And, there is Ducati, on the outside, everything looks fine, but the workers are taking 20% less salary - how will that work out? From France, we know that Voxan is soon to be gone, or are they? Really, if you do not take a look at the linked article, you are bound to miss out on something important, so head on over!
http://tinyurl.com/yzdz4eg
P.S. Don't forget that 'Euro Gossip' also includes Asia.
ZERO Motorcycles Announces Fleet Sales Program
If you read their website, it was already in the works, but now it is alive. ZERO Motorcycles has started their fleet sales program which will sell their electric motorcycles to police departments, delivery companies, and any other organization which will purchase several ZERO motorcycles at one time - there are plenty of government agencies and enterprises which would find the ZERO electric motorcycle very useful given the many advantages - quiet, small footprint, easy maintenance, etc. There is really no reason not to buy them - unless you need something VERY fast with a rather long range...otherwise, this is a very good deal!
http://tinyurl.com/yaul9hc
Just In Case You Missed These - Motorcycle Recalls In October
The list consists of Ducati, BMW, Triumph and ZERO Motorcycles. Ducati is recalling the 2009 1098R and 1198S and the 2010 Streetfighter. And, BMW is asking customers to bring in their 2009 K1300GT and K1300S for electrical issues. Triumph is recalling its Sprint ST1050 from model years 2005-2009 for a suspension link issue. And, finally, ZERO Motorcycles has some trouble with the 2009 Zero X and Zero MX and the throttles sticking open. So, check what you own and if it is on this list, take care of it soon!
http://tinyurl.com/y935bv8
P.S. Yes, some of these have been posted before, but this being a safety issue, it not a bad thing to double-up.
Last Stop on "Tradition is Not a Business Model" is Mission Motors
I put up the first one of these a few weeks ago, but I just let it rest until the final entry so that I don't over-report on this subject. Anyway, the last stop on the Tradition is Not a Business Model is Mission Motors of San Francisco, California. You probably already know these guys as they are still holding the fastest electric motorcycle record at over 150 MPH. Their new Mission One is even in the Neiman-Marcus Christmas catalog, though it is a special one-off edition for the famous catalog. Have a read and see what we two-wheel riders will be riding in the near future!
http://tinyurl.com/yg9adzy
P.S. Plus, you can see the rest of the series here:
Brammo: http://tinyurl.com/yzr4sl5
Zero: http://tinyurl.com/yfq3s9z
MotoCzysz: http://tinyurl.com/yfurm5k
ZERO Motorcycles Expands into Asia
ZERO has been rather successful with their current line of zero-emissions electric motorcycles. Sales have been good in North America and Europe, so they want to open up another market. They have - smartly - chosen Asia. AMPLE, a global marketing and distribution company based in Singapore, has signed on to distribute ZERO products into Asia. Looks like they are on their way to world domination! Not a bad thing...
http://tinyurl.com/ykevul3
Recall Notice: Zero Motorcycles
It was sure to happen - it is a completely new machine and every manufacturer, even the ones in business for over '100 years', issue them - Zero Motorcycles has a recall. It is due to a throttle issue that you will certainly want looked into. Take the link if you are an owner...
http://tinyurl.com/yz2g5sz