Today was a pretty big day in the electric vehicle world, as Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote in a company blog post that the California based company would not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wanted to use their technology. While the term “good faith” is a subjective one, Musk’s announcement opens up Telsa’s arsenal of patents to any other OEM, with the hope that the adoption rate of electric vehicles at these manufacturers will be improved. If a small manufacturer, or small product team in a large OEM, wants to start an EV project now, they can use Telsa’s patented technology to jump-start their development, and bring something to market quicker.
It is a common complaint among MotoGP riders after the race on Sunday afternoon: the track never has the grip…
At the Barcelona round of MotoGP – or to give it its full title, the ‘Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya’ – title sponsors Monster Energy are to unveil a new flavor of their product, called ‘The Doctor’, marketed around Valentino Rossi. Why is the massive interest in backing motorcycle racing a bad thing? Because energy drinks, like the tobacco sponsors they replace, are facing a relentless onslaught to reduce the sale and marketing of the products. A long-standing ban of the sale of Red Bull – though strangely, only Red Bull – was struck down in France in 2008.
While hosting a press rider for the Erik Buell Racing 1190RX at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, EBR unveiled its next street bike, the 2015 Erik Buell Racing 1190SX. Since Asphalt & Rubber, the premier sport bike motorcycle blog, was apparently not invited to the event, we’re a little light on details for our million monthly readers. However, we do know that the 1190SX is the naked version of the 1190RX, sharing many of the same chassis components. What we don’t know is what Erik Buell Racing has done inside the motor, as motorcycle manufacturers are often prone to detune their streetfighters, to help differentiate them from their superbike counterparts.
It seems that no sooner did Ducati tease us its upcoming Scrambler model, than the Italian motorcycle maker was busy sound-testing its latest machine for road homologation. Luckily, we have some spy photos from that event, and not only do we get to see what the near-finished form of the Ducati Scrambler looks like, but we also get a glimpse into what has to be the most ridiculous looking tests we have ever seen. Unless we missed the part where the 2015 Ducati Scrambler will operate as a submersible, in addition to its expect on/off-road capabilities, the photos attached here (two more after the jump) show the great lengths that manufacturers must go to in order to pass all the stringent government protocols for motorcycles.
ADV riders and how-to junkies take note, the following is a video on how to MacGyver a motorcycle tire on…