Welcome to Friday Fudge. If it’s weird, funny, or strange motorcycle news, or it just plain won’t fit anywhere else on the site – you’ll find it here.
When fastest is still slow
When you think of electric motorcycle speed records, you think of machines like the SWIGZ.COM superbike that Chip Yates piloted to 196 mph at Bonneville last year.
You certainly don’t think of names like moped makers Solex, but the fact is, they hold a pretty important speed record in the mass-produced, unmodified, electric motorcycle category.
The speed record is no triple-digit figure approaching 200 mph, though – the company’s e-Solex managed a 19.893 mph speed record last summer at Bonneville – you could probably match that with a bicycle.
How did Solex manage to set the record with such a paltry speed? Simple – nobody else had ever tried to set it. The record still stands, too – until just about any battery bike company takes a stab at it. You can bet the record will fall pretty quickly once Brammo, Zero, or anyone else does a single run.
Story source: Bikes in the Fast Lane
A costly Freeride
Do you remember that Freeride promotional video that KTM released last December? It did a great job of promoting the new electric motocrosser from the boys in orange, starring Cyril Despres and Cedric Gracia.
It appears the video just didn’t catch the eye of 145,000 YouTubers, though – some killjoy Spanish authorities watched the video and determined KTM had never received a the correct permits for the shoot. What sort of beancounter sits around looking for trouble like this, we can’t imagine, but the result is that Despres and Garcia are going to have to pay fines for their battery-powered hooliganism. But thankfully for them, the most they can be fined is 500 euros each – a sum that Despres should be able to handily cover out of his Dakar prize money.
Here’s the video below, in case you haven’t seen it yet.
ATGATT no longer?
The burqa and niqab traditionally worn by Muslim women are the root of a lot of controversy, especially in Europe. In fact, the Netherlands are banning the garments.
But of course, to be fair to everyone, that means nobody else will be allowed to wear a face covering in public either. Not only does this mean bank robbers and Richard Nixon impersonators are going to find life a little tougher, it also affects another group – motorcyclists.
That’s right, folks – bikers will still be allowed to wear full-face helmets while riding, but once they’re off the cycle, they’ve got to remove the helmets (or open them, if it’s a modular helmet). Apparently authorities are unable to distinguish between traditional Muslim garb and modern safety headgear.
As usual, when the government tries to treat everyone fairly, they’ve managed to frustrate everybody. Keep an eye on this story, though – we expect a surge of outrage. Bikers, of course, will be up in arms, but we’re betting the general public will be sour about this idea as well, once they’re exposed to the horrors of helmet hair wherever they look.
Story source: Bikes in the Fast Lane
Tom Swift and his Amazing Audio Book
Fact: Science fiction has come a long way in the last 100 years.
Need proof? Check out this audio book featured on YouTube. It isn’t full of flying saucers, laser guns, intergalactic warfare, or computer hacking. No, the science fiction spectacle of the early 20th century was Tom Swift and His Motorcycle. Check it out! Swift is no slacker! By messing around with his sprocket ratios and spark levers, he’s able to improve his machine’s performance by 15 per cent! Gadzooks!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAOx9omlF1o
