Happy National Motorcycle Day!
In commemoration of the excellent jaunts y’all have been sharing this fine season, we’ve pulled out the next batch of bits and bobs for your bulletin, including the following:
- Now might be a good time to tell the Skeleton Clique that Twenty One Pilots’ drummer just received the newest custom Indian Scout project courtesy of the incomparable Roland Sands Design.
- BMW’s almost definitely going to be putting the World’s Biggest Boxer into a roadster for 2025.
- Ducati can’t stop, won’t stop with their Panigale V2 Superquadro Final Edition
- Maeving’s going to make some waves in the States…we’re just not sure what kinds of waves.
- Seatbelts + motorcycles = no bueno… but CFMoto thinks they might be useful for riders.
Buckle up and squirt some eyedrops in because this lineup’s bound to cause some moments.
Roland Sands Design Cooks Up a Scout for Twenty One Pilots’ Drummer
Sometimes to Stay Alive You Got To…Ride.
The drummer in a band called Twenty One Pilots (TØP) has just accepted a sweet ride courtesy of Indian’s “Forged” series – and the brain behind the bike is none other than Roland Sands Design (RSD).
According to Indian Motorcycles, the RSD team were inspired by the talents and antics of one Ed “Iron Man” Kretz. This dude was the winner of the first-ever Daytona 200 (our research says that was in1937, according to our research), snatching the first-place laurels thanks to his approach of dumping everything that made his Scout heavy and riding the skeletal remains to a triumphant trophy finish.
Keep in mind, RSD is the brand that also contributes to Indian’s efforts in the Super Hooligan Championships, so they’re both well-seasoned and well-acquainted with what it takes to make a pretty bike go fast- and this new, high-performance Sport Scout racer carries the DNA of that inaugural machine brilliantly.
For this project, RSD adds nifty details like motocross-style 6” risers, a badass FTR swingarm, and piggyback shocks to keep the ride responding like a dream, and Brembo stoppage.
Rolling duty was given to wheels sporting RSD Dymag power and shod with Dunlop Sportmax Q5 tyres. On top, RSD placed a neat Saddlemen seat and a black and yellow paint scheme, the latter of which apparently includes a picture of Sylvester, Looney Tunes’ favorite cat, under the bike’s tail.
As for how Roland Sands feels about the whole build, we have his words courtesy of Indian’s recent press release:
| “We’ve always taken cruisers and made them into sport bikes. This bike has that RSD silhouette, but the cool thing was how easy it was to make the new Scout fit the RSD mould.
100%, it’s a bike that I would personally own.” – Roland Sands, Founder, Roland Sands Design (Indian) |
Drummer boy Josh Dun was also pretty stoked about the thing:
“This whole thing makes sense. And I think that my intuition was right, that, you know, the brand and the people behind Indian Motorcycle are just a cool group of people.”
– Josh Dun, Drummer, Twenty One Pilots (Indian) |
What do you think of Josh Dun’s new, custom Indian Scout?
Rumor Has It: BMW is Preparing an R 1300 R Roadster for 2025
A view of BMW’s R 1200 R. Media provided by BMW. BMW R 1200 R with “Touring package”Big-Bore Brawn with ASA (Automated Shift Assistant)
BMW’s about to bleed their new boxer engine for all she’s worth, and I ain’t mad about it.
According to an article in Motorrad magazine, a roadster is the next variant in store for BMW’s 1300cc, big-bore lineup – and if Motorrad’s Maik Schwarz and Jens Möller-Töllner happen to be correct, then it’s also possible the following list of features will be a factor for BMW’s R 1300 R:
- BMW’s new 1300cc engine will likely still carry the ASA tech the Bavarians showed off on their new 1300 GS.
- The R 1300 R’s chassis will likely remain the same tubular steel component as in the GS, but a bolt-on aluminum rear subframe will be added.
- A Paralever swingarm and central spring support are expected for the rear.
- Telelever suspension will not be an option, given the bike’s coolant placement.
- The silencer will be smaller and made of stainless steel, and the side bodywork will redirect airflow to the radiator.
- The bike is anticipated to be lighter than the GS and will likely include a new LED headlight.
What do you think is in store for BMW’s new 1300cc boxer engine?
Ducati Reveals Their New Limited Edition Love: The Panigale V2 Superquadro Final Edition
Yet Another Limited Edition Italian Bike Graces Team Red’s Lineup
Either Ducati’s used to being in the limelight, or they don’t like taking breaks. Perhaps we’re privy to a bit of a “column A, column B” situation… whatever the reason for this new debut, the motorcycling populace is always happy to receive a limited piece of Italian pretty at the behest of her manufacturer.
The Team Red machine revealed this week is a Final Edition Panigale V2, sporting Ducati’s “most sophisticated twin-cylinder engine ever produced by Ducati.” We’re told there will only be 555 of these Panigale V2s, each offered with “a certificate of authenticity, a personalized motorcycle cover, and a unique, machined triple clamp featuring the model number.”
Here’s a list of each equipment perk, both Standard and Final Edition:
Panigale V2 Standard Equipment
- Superquadro L-twin engine, 955 cc
- Monocoque chassis
- 4.5-gallon aluminium tank
- Öhlins Ø 48 mm upside-down fork, fully adjustable, with TiN treatment
- Fully adjustable Öhlins monoshock with single-sided aluminum swingarm
- Steering damper
- Braking system with Brembo M4.32 monobloc calipers
- Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa II Tires
- Latest generation electronic package with 6-axis Inertial Measurement Unit (6D IMU): Riding Modes, Power Modes, ABS Bosch Cornering, Ducati Traction Control (DTC) EVO 2, Ducati Wheelie Control (DWC) EVO, Engine Brake Control (EBC) ) EVO, final gear self-learning, buttons for rapid change of levels
- Ducati Quick Shift (DQS) up/down EVO 2, full LED headlight with Daytime Running Light (DRL), Öhlins steering damper, automatic indicator switch-off, lithium battery
- Single-seat configuration
Exclusive Panigale V2 Superquadro Final Edition Equipment
- Dedicated Superquadro Tribute livery
- Billet aluminum triple clamp with progressive number
- Dedicated rider seat
- Dedicated dashboard animation at key-on
- Dedicated contact key
- Carbon fiber silencer end, front and rear mudguard, swingarm protection, chain guard, clutch cover, and shock absorber protection
- Sport grips
- Adjustable machined footrests
- GPS module
- License plate holder removal kit *
- Mirror removal kit in billet aluminum *
- Tank cap machined from solid aluminum *
- Dedicated motorcycle cover
- Certificate of Authenticity
Expect Duati’s V2 Superquadro Final Edition to break cover in December of this year, under the hashtags #DucatiWorldPremiere2025 and #Ducati2025.
Are you excited to see Ducati’s new limited edition beauty in December?
Electric Everything: Maeving Makes it to the States
Maeving’s R1M. Media provided by Maeving.Britannia’s Bonny EV Brand Buzzes Across the Pond
One of the UK’s best-selling bikes has made it Stateside with high hopes that the RM1S will hit the right note with California’s eco-conscious populace.
According to Maeving’s February press release, Maeving’s machines will be offered at two locations: The Bike Shed in the Arts District and Motoring Club in West Los Angeles. Choices of motorcycles include the following:
Maeving R1M
- 80-mile range
- 45 mph top speed
Maeving R1MS
- “Twice the power of the R1M”
- 80-mile range
- 70 mph top speed
Not sure you’re into motorcycles, let alone electric power, let alone a Maeving? The company has a solution for your malady with the founding of their Southern California New Rider program, which will take riders without a license and put the cost of the training (up to a value of $425 USD) toward a Maeving motorcycle.
Considering the R1M is currently listed at an MSRP of $6,495 USD, that means you could save 7.62% – not a lot, but enough to help cover mostof Los Angeles’ 9% tax levy.
Would you try purchasing a Maeving motorcycle?
CFMoto Considers Seatbelts for Motorcycles
A view of the “seatbelt” idea CFmoto filed recently. Media provided by CycleWorld.Like Crash Bars, But For Your Waist
What ho! Methinks some marque hath conceived of a most striking notion for a safety apparatus to be employed upon a motorized velocipede!
CFMoto’s been crushing the competition as of late. Between their partnership with KTM, their continual debut of bikes, and their aggressive aspirations to KEEP punting out bikes, you can’t deny that the company has been bending over backward to put two-wheeled offerings on our proverbial table… but seatbelts?
Well, kind of, but not really. Think of this patent as building upon the idea of a seatbelt, only instead of flexible straps, the rider instead deals with “crash-bars” mounted at the rider’s waist.
The whole point of CFMoto’s patent is to have “a system that holds the rider onto a bike only in specific circumstances, allowing the bike to absorb the energy of frontal impacts against hard objects and stopping riders being thrown off by bumps or hard braking events, but releasing the rider in situations where the motorcycle is falling over, or there’s a sideways force during the accident.”
It’s the “releasing the rider” part that has CFMoto, including two versions of the invention in the filing. The first version is a rigid bar set that connects the gap between the gas tank and bike tail and snaps into place, and the second set is similar but no latch – it’s a pivotable perk of riding with CFMoto.
Per usual, Purvis proffers an excellent perspective on the whole caboodle:
| “Like a roller coaster, the safety bars aren’t just there in case of a crash but to stop you from being thrown off the bike over bumps or, vitally, in the event of sudden unexpected braking.
The latter is an issue that motorcycle companies are wrestling with now because technology like front-facing radar sensors mean that automatic emergency braking systems are viable from a technical standpoint but not from a practical one because a bike that slams its own brakes is just as likely to throw you off as whatever it’s trying to avoid.” – Ben Purvius, “Seatbelts for Motorcycles?!.” (CycleWorld) |
What do you think of CFMoto toying with the idea of a seatbelt for their motorcycles?