Tuesday May 15, 2012
Fatty, my Harley-Davidson Fat Boy Lo long-term tester, had been collecting dust for far too long, so it was finally time to saddle up and hit the road before the cobwebs got even more embarrassing.
Trouble is, when I stopped for gas before my 130 mile ride to Palm Desert, California, good ol' Fatty's battery was too tired from storage to stir that hulking 1,690cc v-twin back to life.
How did I get my Fat Boy Lo started again, and how did it handle the 260 mile roundtrip?
Find out in Harley-Davidson Fat Boy Lo Long Term Update #7: Hittin' the Road.
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Photo © Basem Wasef
Click for gallery
Monday May 14, 2012
Clay Rathburn of Atom Bomb Customs had a problem: the Richmond, Virginia-based builder churned out bobber after bobber, but, raised on dirtbikes, felt like he needed to get a personal build "out of his head."
Nearly 800 man hours later, the RVA Overland emerged.
Built around a 1974 Triumph T140 Bonneville engine, this one-off creation features a scratch-built frame executed in conjunction with Race Tech Suspension, a hand-formed aluminum tank, relocated carbs that required between 35 and 40 hours of modification work to the cylinder head.
See more shots of Rathburn's stunning creation in this Atom Bomb Customs RVA Overland Dirtbike Photo Gallery.
Photo © Anthony Hall; click for gallery
Wednesday May 9, 2012
We can only speculate about the future of electric motorcycles. But as of 2012, one thing is certain: you'll have to pay a premium for cutting edge battery-powered bikes.
Two years ago, Brammo's Empulse promised 100 mph and 100 miles of range for under $10,000. But last night, at the bike's official unveiling in Hollywood, California, the much-anticipated Empulse proved surprisingly pricey: $16,995, or $18,995 for a carbon-fiber skinned "R" version. Both bikes pack a 9.31 kWh battery producing the equivalent of 54 horsepower, and a six-speed manual transmission with a hydraulic clutch.
Regenerative braking helps the 100+ mph Empulse claim a 121 mile city range or 56 miles on the highway, for a combined estimate of 77 miles; in contrast, Zero's most powerful S model is just behind the Empulse with an estimated 114 miles in the city, or 63 miles on the highway, with a maximum speed of 88 mph, or 75 mph sustained. The Zero comes with a $13,995 premium, a full $3,000 less than the Brammo.
Are internal combustion bikes in imminent danger of becoming obsoleted by electric motorcycles? Not yet, at least with this sort of pricing... but I've got a new Zero S I'm testing at the moment, and will soon offer my thoughts on whether or not this new crop of battery-powered rides are worth the premium.
Related:
Photo © Basem Wasef
Tuesday May 8, 2012
If mystery shoppers are to be believed, Harley-Davidson has the most effective dealership treatment of prospective customers, followed by BMW and Ducati. Indian, Triumph, and Victory tied for fourth, coming in at the industry average.
According to Pied Pier, the survey used 1,653 mystery shoppers between July 2011 and April 2012 to measure sixteen sales process factors, including providing compelling reasons to buy from their dealerships and offering test rides.
The study reveals that Harley's score has finally climbed up to its pre-recession levels of 2008, and that industrywide performance improved substantially from 2011 to 2012, but that there's still "plenty of room for further improvement."
Source: Pied Piper (click to download PDF)
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Photo © Harley-Davidson
