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Ducati Signs Deal with Vmoto to Produce Electric Scooters

Ducati has tied up with Chinese electric scooter and motorcycle manufacturer Vmoto.
The scooters will be rebranded as licensed products.
It will be a luxury version of the current Super Soco CUx scooter.

Ducati has tied up with Chinese electric scooter and motorcycle manufacturer Vmoto. The deal should see a Ducati-branded electric scooter before the launch of a fully-electric Ducati motorcycle.

The deal licenses Vmoto to build Ducati-branded Super Soco CUx electric scooters as “official products under the license of Ducati.” Soco is a sub-brand of Vmoto.

However, as expected, the scooters will not be any run-of-the-mill bikes. Instead, these will be a special luxury version of the CUx and sold at premium prices.

The deal also says that Vmoto will distribute the scooters to their distribution network. Ducati, on the other hand, will carry out the marketing duties.

If the upcoming scooter is based on the CUx, the performance figures ought to remain the same. Currently, the 2019 model uses a 3.75hp Bosch hub motor which gives it a top speed of 45 km/h. That isn’t a lot, of course, but it is applicable to the speed limit in heavily urbanized areas.

Its 1.8 kWh battery pack gives it a range of up to 75km. Other novel features include a built-in forward-facing camera for safety and sharing to social media purposes.

We are a little surprised by Ducati’s move, frankly. But the Italian manufacturer has also worked with a bicycle manufacturer and marketing the bike. Perhaps they are looking at a holistic approach, rather than just sticking to the big bike market only.

We shall see what they have in their sleeves by Intermot and EICMA this year.

Source and pictures: Electrek.co

200 Harley-Davidson Riders Gave Dying Man a Touching Final Sendoff

200 Harley-Davidson riders made a dying man’s last wish come true.
Jon Stanley was dying of cancer and wanted to hear the roar of a Harley V-Twin one final time.
A call to action brought 200 Harleys to his house, instead.

The general public may look at bikers, among them Harley-Davidson riders, as a rough and uncouth bunch, but truth is, bikers are just as human as everyone else. Think about it: Charity rides, toy runs, visiting orphanages, and the list goes on.

Jon Stanley was an avid biker who had recently purchased a Harley-Davidson Softail. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with terminal brain and lung cancer soon after and was forced to stop riding.

As he laid dying, he had one last wish: To hear the roar of a Harley-Davidson V-Twin through his window for one final time.

Stanley’s brother contacted a local Harley rider David Thompson in South Bend, Indiana through Facebook and relayed the man’s wish. Thompson acted immediately by setting up a call to action also in Facebook.

About 200 Harley-Davidson riders responded in less than 12 hours. They got organized and rode en masse to Stanley’s house.

Stanley’s family and bikers carried him into a sidecar and a collective 250,000cc of American V-Twin thundered in unison.

Stanley fought his last battle with cancer and passed away later that night.

Here’s a big cheer to David Thompson who made the call and the bikers who made Stanley’s finish wish come true.

Source: WBST-TV

KTM Secures Miguel Oliveira for 2020 MotoGP Season

Miguel Oliveira will continue to ride for KTM in the 2020 MotoGP season.
He has so far impressed everyone this season.
He is currently in front of a number of more experienced men in the standings.

KTM secures Miguel Oliveira through the 2020 MotoGP season.

The Portuguese rookies has so far impressed everyone in the 2019 season, including veteran riders on the KTM RC16 MotoGP bike. He will continue to ride for the Red Bull KTM Tech3 team next year.

He was riding further up the field in the season opener at Qatar but dropped down to 17^that the finish after destroying his tyres. But he learned quickly and fought hard for 9^thwith Aleix Espargaro on the Aprilia and Pol Espargaro on the factory KTM, before settling for 11^th. In Austin, Oliveira finished 14^thbehind Johann Zarco on the factory KTM.

Oliveira came oh-so-close to winning the 2018 Moto2 championship, by winning 3 races and standing on the podium a total of 12 times. He would eventually end the season with just 9 points behind Francesco Bagnaia.

His results had him promoted to MotoGP right away, albeit to the Tech3 satellite team. But it didn’t matter, since both Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Red Bull KTM Tech 3 Racing teams share the same factory-spec KTM RC16.

Oliveira is now 16^thin the standings, ahead of Jorge Lorenzo, Andrea Ianone, Johann Zarco, Tito Rabat and teammate Hafizh Syahrin.

Teenager Scammed in Buying Motorcycle Online

A teenager was scammed when he bought a motorcycle online.
The seller had used a fake identity card and many have fallen victim to such scam.
The safest way of buying a motorcycle is to view the bike together with the seller.

There’s a saying that “if it’s too good to be true, then it probably is.” But it’s human instinct to latch on to “irresistible deals,” isn’t it? That was how a teenager was scammed when he tried to purchase a motorcycle online.

19-year-old Arvin Veerasegaran had saved the money for the last three months by working part-time at a hotel. He had wanted a motorcycle for his daily conveyance.

So, when he saw an ad in the online portal, Mudah.my, he acted. The ad listed a secondhand Yamaha LC135 for only RM 3,000, below the market rate of RM 4,000.

The seller even presented his identification card as proof, which prompted Arvin to transfer the full amount of RM 3,000. The scammer then told him to visit the shop to pick up his bike the next day.

The operator of KS Wong Motor had lodged a police report as far back as August 4^th2018, after discovering that scammers had used her shop’s name. They were shocked again when Arvin presented an invoice bearing their shop’s name on April 19^th.

But Arvin wasn’t the only person who visited the shop to pick up his bike. There was another person who had wanted to pick up a Yamaha NVX on the same day. Four people have visited her shop and another 20 called for their bikes thus far.

It was also revealed that the seller had used a fake identity to open a bank account.

So, be careful of who you purchase your bike from. Best way is to ask to physically view the bike together with the seller.

Source: The Star

Suzuki Patents a Novel Single-Cylinder Engine

Suzuki patents a special kind of single-cylinder engine.
It has two conrods but only one piston.
The objective is to reduce vibrations.

Suzuki has just submitted the patents for a “special” kind of single-cylinder engine.

Single-cylinder engines may not get the cred for all-out horsepower, but they are quick-revving hence punchy. Besides that, having just one piston means fewer reciprocating parts resulting in a lighter engine which promotes agility. That’s the reason why dirt-bikes and lightweights such as the KTM 390 Duke are equipped with singles.

But the downside is lots of vibration especially at higher revs. It not only robs comfort but will also eventually loosen everything else on the bike.

That’s why single-cylinder engines feature counterbalancer shafts. The shaft normally sits low, in front of crankshaft.

Suzuki’s patent shows a different kind of layout.

Instead of using a balancer shaft, there is a second conrod without a piston. Doing so not only balances against the crankshaft, but also the piston, resulting in a much smoother engine.

Having a second conrod isn’t new by all accounts. Ducati did so with the Supermono. However, the Italian manufacturer employed a standard 90^oV-Twin engine with one cylinder without a sparkplug, hence turning it into an airpump.

Kawasaki Buys More MODENAS Shares

Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. has increased their stake in Modenas.
Their current purchase will see them hold a 30% stake, up from 11%.
But converting the upcoming CPS will bring KHI’s stake to 48%.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (KHI) otherwise known as “Kawasaki Japan” increases their stake in Modenas from 19 to 30 percent.

KHI and DRB-Hicom Bhd. entered an agreement for KHI to purchase and additional 14.3 million shares which equals an 11 percent stake. The shares were valued at RM 40.3 million cash.

Additionally, KHI is also subscribing to 52 million convertible preference shares (CPS) that will be issued by Modenas. KHI’s stake in the company will rise to 48% upon conversion.

KHI’s larger equity means that will actively participate in Modenas’s operations, rather than just being a bystander. The two entities have been partners for more than 20 years and KHI has been a 19% shareholder in Modenas since the latter’s inception in 1995.

The first Modenas motorcycles were based on Kawasaki’s models, including the Jaguh 175 lightweight cruiser. Apart from producing motorcycles, Modenas also machines components for KHI.

Their production facility is based in Gurun, Kedah and has a capacity of 130,000 units per year.

It’ll be interesting to see what KHI has in mind for the Modenas-Bajaj partnership.