Australian Motorcycle News Vol 72 Issue 19

“YOU CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON MARC MARQUEZ TO LIGHT THE WICK AND SET OFF THE FIREWORKS” WELL THAT was certainly a nail-biting weekend of racing. For me, it started with a visit to SMSP to catch Round 2 of ASBK under lights… and also under mixed conditions with intermittent showers persisting throughout the evening. Then later that night and on Sunday I was glued to the box for the opening round of the MotoGP season from Portimao. There were plenty of thrills and spills in the various classes at SMSP, including Mike Jones’ engine letting go in the closing stages of Race 1, resulting in his bike catching on fire and the red flag coming out. Up until that point it looked as though Cru Halliday was about to mount…

The full extent of Aprilia’s aerodynamic advances was on full display at MotoGP’s opening round last weekend but behind the scenes its technicians are working on even more radical approaches. This time the focus is on reducing the awkward lump on the top of its RS-GP race bike – the rider. With strict limits on bodywork changes that can be made during the season, the riders’ suits could be an additional route to improved top speeds. So Aprilia has applied for a patent on a set of aerodynamically improved leathers that are intended to get rid of wrinkled leather surfaces and smooth out the bulges and dips on the shape of a tucked-in rider, while simultaneously improving their protective abilities. It all has to be done without hampering all-important rider…

APRILIA’S PARENT company is really pushing the envelope at the moment with rider tech, not just in MotoGP. Last issue we revealed Honda’s plans for detachable airbags; now we can confirm Piaggio will incorporate airbag technology into its MP3 scooter. At last November’s EICMA show, Piaggio displayed a prototype version of the MP3 530 with an airbag built into the front fairing. Now a patent filing shows more detail and why the MP3 is particularly well-suited for this. Airbags have been available on Honda’s Goldwing since 2006 but the idea hasn’t spread. That’s because very few bikes hold their riders in a predictable position and also have a low centre of gravity that reduces the chance of it flipping forward in a frontal crash. The long and low Piaggio MP3 fulfils…

Kawasaki’s plans for a hydrogen future are progressing quickly, and Australia is already part of its strategy. Last week the Japanese giant filed new trademark applications for the title “HySE” and a logo that depicts a water droplet on two wheels (water is the main emissions of hydrogen-fuelled technology). Motorcycles are a very small part of the overall Kawasaki conglomerate. Kawasaki Heavy Industries covers heavy equipment, aerospace and defence equipment, railway rolling stock and shipping. All these segments are developing alternative fuel strategies. KAWASAKI’S FIRST PROTOTYPE ENGINE WAS A DIRECT FUEL-INJECTED VERSION OF THE NINJA H2’S SUPERCHARGED FOUR-CYLINDER Last year Kawasaki used a shipment of hydrogen gas from Australia to use in an electricity power generation demonstration in Japan. To do this it built the world’s first liquefied hydrogen bulk…

A BUDGET version of BMW’s E-Power Roadster is under development using elements of the CE-04 electric scooter and single-cylinder G 310 R. This follows a trend AMCN has observed recently where major brands are shying away from the challenge of making high-performance, long-range models in favour of small, city-oriented scooters and commuters. The cost of batteries and electric motors, as well as the diminishing returns as bigger battery packs add ever more weight, mean it’s difficult and expensive to make a long-range, high-performance two-wheeled EV. So while BMW has shown big electric motorcycle prototypes in the form of the E-Power Roadster and Vision DC, the first showroom model will be much smaller. And that’s precisely what’s shown in a new patent application, which appears to be built around existing components…

NEWS OF Kawasaki’s commitment to hydrogen coincides with the release of the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Scientists from the IPCC, a United Nations body that involves nearly 200 governments, nominate climate failure as the number one global threat over the next decade. Experts agree that around 80 percent of polluting greenhouse gas emissions comes from burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas). They have pleaded for urgent change. But it’s not governments that will lead the change to renewables. Already it’s being driven by global manufacturing conglomerates, like Kawasaki, which have identified a business plan that can make them serious money. This is the same strategy that created the industrial revolution of the 1800s and overnight millionaires. AMCN has already reported on various motorcycle brands’…