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Two Enthusiasts Podcast #64 – Sol Crushing

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Episode 64 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is out, and celebrates another trip around the sun for our lovely podcast…and one of its hosts.

In the show, we talk about Harley-Davidson’s vanishing motorcycle sales, which could be a canary in the mine for the future of the American motorcycle industry.

We also look at two intriguing models that Yamaha will debut at the Tokyo Motor Show: version of the Yamaha Motobot and the Yamaha MOTOROid concept – both which are intriguing machines, with tragic names.

Our show wraps up with KTM’s launch of the new Freeride E-XC electric dirt bike, and what it means for the future of the Austrian brand, and where transportation is headed.

There’s plenty for everyone in this show, and we think you’ll enjoy it.

You can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well.

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Valentino Rossi Defeats Motobot…For Now

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Back in 2015, Yamaha Motors set out with an ambitious objective: to create a robot that is capable of beating around the race track one of the greatest motorcycle riders of all time, Valentino Rossi.

Along the way, the Japanese manufacturer would learn a limitless amount of information about how motorcycle racers achieve the lap times that do, and Yamaha would then be able to quantify one of the great mysteries in how to make a motorcycle go faster.

With the Motobot project born to achieve all these goals, Yamaha now two years later has pit its creation against their factory-back MotoGP racer, and the results are very interesting.

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Motobot vs. Valentino Rossi – Who is Faster?

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Two years ago, Yamaha set out on an ambitious adventure: to create a motorcycle riding robot that can ride a motorcycle as fast as one of the greatest motorcycle racers of all time, Valentino Rossi.

Besides being a solid PR stunt, the development of Motobot brings with it some seriously powerful technology and insights into one of motorcycling’s great mysteries: rider dynamics.

With a machine the is capable of replicating human inputs on real-world motorcycles, Yamaha can improve its breed, both on the street, but also on the race track.

Now, the Japanese firm (with help from its Californian subsidiary) is just about ready to show us the results of its head-to-head matchup between Motobot and Valentino Rossi, but first it wants you to guess the results.

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News

Motobot is Coming to the Tokyo Motor Show, And…

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I am of the opinion that Yamaha’s Motobot program is perhaps the most significant undertaking going on in motorcycles right now.

I’ve already explained why Motobot means a tremendous amount to the furthering of technology in robotics and autonomous vehicles, and how it will help explain the complexities of rider dynamics, so I won’t rehash it further.

Needless to say though, I am excited to see this plucky blue robot in action on a race track. So, consider my interest piqued when I saw Motobot being promoted for next month’s 45th Tokyo Motor Show.

But, I might be more intrigued by how Yamaha is promoting Motobot’s appearance in Tokyo…

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Valentino Rossi Meets the Yamaha Motobot

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When Valentino Rossi was in the US for the Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin, a little bird told us he would be stopping by Yamaha’s San Francisco offices, where the Yamaha Motobot autonomous riding robot project is coming to life.

It looks like our sources were right, as Yamaha has released a video showing Rossi “meeting” Motobot, at what looks like Thunderhill Raceway, just north of San Francisco.

The video is interesting, because it shows the rapid progress that Yamaha, and its partner SRI International, are making with automated two-wheeled systems.

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Two Enthusiasts Podcast – Episode 16 – Chest Hairs Up

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Episode 16 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is another jam-packed show, for your aural pleasure.

Quentin and myself cover some of the moto-specific releases from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), such as BMW’s HUD helmet and laser-power headlight, along with the advances Yamaha is making with its MotoBot project, and the future of wearables and personal video.

We also dive into a weighty discussion on the use of quickshifters on modern sport bikes, and how their use can affect the life of a motorcycles transmission.

We also find out that Quentin is a sucker for a good IPA, that Corona will never sponsor the show, and that I have perhaps spent too much time (and money) in West Hollywood. Also, King Leopold II of Belgium was kind of a jerk.

As always, you can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

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Yamaha Motobot Moves to Second Phase of Development – Will Ride on the Race Track by 2017

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Yamaha’s Motobot was one of the bigger announcements to come from 2015, with the motorcycle riding humanoid robot promising to garner Yamaha a great deal of information about several key industries, as well as some headlines along the way.

Showing off the Yamaha Motobot at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Yamaha has made public a very ambitious schedule for Motobot, for the coming years. The most daunting task from Yamaha? To have Motobot making laps on a race track by 2017, at over 200 km/h (125 mph).

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The Three Reasons Why the Yamaha Motobot Is the Most Important Thing You’ll Read Today

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Let’s face it, we knew this day would come. Technology has finally progressed to the point where our beloved past time of riding motorcycles can now be done by a robot. Sarah Connor was right. Skynet is coming. I, for one, welcome our robot overlords.

As tinfoil hat as we can make this story, let’s be honest…it’s pretty cool that Yamaha is developing a humanoid robot that can ride a motorcycle. It’s sorta creepy, but it’s also really cool.

To help lighten the blow, Yamaha is playing off its “Motobot” with a little bit of humor, having the machine taunt factory MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi, and suggesting that one day the robot will beat the ten-time nine-time World Champion at what he does best.

That’s fun and all, and it certainly grabs headlines, but the Yamaha Motobot is a really big deal for a lot more reasons that are less obvious than what has been put forth. Let me explain.

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