1. Glen Coe A82 Highlands, Scotland
2. Bealach na Ba (The Pass of the Cattle) Off the A696 Highlands, Scotland
3. Heights of Kinlochewe / Glen Docherty A832 Highlands, Scotland
4. Horseshoe Pass A542 Wales
5. Clee Hill A4117 Shropshire
6. Cat & Fiddle Pass A537 Cheshire
7. Hartside Pass A686 Cumbria
8. Snake Pass A57 Peak District
9. North Yorks Moors – Pickering to Whitby A169 North Yorkshire
10. Hardknott / Wrynose Pass Unclassified Lake District

News courtesy of http://www.easier.com

H-D Announces New Engine



Harley-Davidson will launch an all-new Big Twin powertrain for 2007

July 14, 2006

Milwaukee, WI - Harley-Davidson will launch an all-new Big Twin powertrain for 2007, as the Twin Cam 96/96B engine and 6-speed Cruise Drive transmission debut together on all Touring, Softail and Dyna models. The new engine, which will only be available with Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI), offers a nine percent increase in displacement and up to a 17 percent increase in torque (varies by model) over the Twin Cam 88/88B engines it replaces, and features a number of design enhancements making it more powerful, reliable and smoother.

“The Twin Cam 96 has been the biggest new-engine program in the history of Harley-Davidson,” said Skip Metz, Program Manager-Big Twin Powertrain. “There are more than 700 new part numbers associated with Twin Cam 96. The only areas that didn’t change are the cylinders, rocker arms, rocker boxes, and items in the top part of the engine. Crankshafts, connecting rods, crank cases, transmission cases, and all the transmission parts are new. We think this next-generation Twin Cam will set the standard for the industry.”

The Twin Cam 96 displaces 1584cc (96 cid), compared to 1450cc (88 cid) for the Twin Cam 88 engine it replaces. The added displacement was achieved by increasing stroke from 4.00 inches to 4.38 inches. The Twin Cam 96 cylinder bore is 3.75 inches, the same as that of the Twin Cam 88. The Twin Cam 96B is designed to be rigid-mounted in Harley-Davidson Softail models, and is equipped with internal counter-balance shafts to provide a smooth and powerful ride.

The Twin Cam 96 produces up to 93 ft. lbs. of peak torque at 3500 rpm, compared to the Twin Cam 88 at up to 82 ft. lbs. at 3500 rpm.

The 6-speed Cruise Drive transmission, which was introduced on the Dyna family in 2006, features gear ratios optimized to match the torque curve of the new Twin Cam 96/96B engines. The addition of a higher-ratio sixth gear reduces top-gear rpm by 11 percent, compared to the previous 5-speed Big Twin transmission. At 75 mph, engine speed is reduced by 368 rpm, from 3227 rpm to 2859 rpm. Second through fourth gears have helical-cut teeth for quieter operation, and load carrying capacity has been increased significantly.

Twin Cam 96 Highlights
Traditional V-Twin Styling: The Twin Cam 96/96B remains the styling centerpiece of each Harley-Davidson Big Twin model, and it retains the look, sound and feel that has always been part of the Big Twin character. The Twin Cam 96 preserves the styling characteristics of the Twin Cam 88 and the heritage of its predecessors.

New Crankcase Design: The starter is now bolted directly to the inner primary housing, eliminating the starter jackshaft for improved starter performance. An integral oil filter adapter eliminates gaskets and hardware. Internal oil passages between the engine and transmission on the Twin Cam 96 eliminate external oil lines and fittings.

Reduced Reciprocating Mass: Lighter pistons and lighter, shorter connecting rods increase performance and reduce vibration. Despite an increase in displacement, the Twin Cam 96 and the counter-balanced 96B are noticeably smoother than the Twin Cam 88 at most engine speeds.

Improved Camshaft Design: The new cams are lighter and use improved materials for enhanced durability. New hydrostatic, plain cam bearings replace the previous roller bearings and offer increased durability, reduced complexity and quieter operation. New multi-piece assembled camshafts replace the previous forged, single-piece cams. A new, hydraulic automatic cam chain tensioner replaces the previous spring-loaded mechanical tensioner.

Improved Oil Pump: A new oil pump assembly provides 10 percent more flow and 23 percent more scavenging capacity than the previous design. The Twin Cam 96 also has an integrated oil cooler adapter.

Improved EFI: New 25-degree fuel injector nozzles offer better fuel atomization and spray targeting than the previous 8-degree injectors, and help reduce exhaust emissions and improve driveability. A new O2 feedback sensor in the exhaust helps fine-tune EFI performance and reduce exhaust emissions.

New Primary Chain Tensioner: A new automatic primary chain tensioner eliminates the manual service adjustment of the primary chain. The inner and outer primary drive covers are redesigned to improve the appearance of the painted, polished or chromed surface.

New Exhaust Tuning: Muffler tuning has been changed to both improve exhaust flow for increased performance, and to improve the sound quality of the exhaust. Low frequencies have been enhanced to give the Twin Cam 96 a new, commanding exhaust tone that preserves the legendary Harley-Davidson sound.

Bolt-On 103 Big Bore Kit: An increase in displacement to 103 cid can be achieved by adding a bolt-on Big Bore Kit with 3.875-inch bore cylinders and matching pistons from Harley-Davidson Genuine Motor Accessories. It is no longer necessary to add a stroker kit to get to 103 cid.

6-Speed Cruise Drive Transmission Highlights New Gear Ratios: New gear ratios have been selected to match the torque curve characteristics of the Twin Cam 96 engine. Roll-on acceleration performance is improved in all gears. Top gear cruising ratios are reduced significantly with the addition of the sixth gear and passing capability is improved.

Smoother Shifting: Shift effort is significantly reduced because steel “dog rings” that slide to cause gear changes replace moving gears. Because the dog rings have less mass than gears, shifting is quicker and smoother, and the throw of the shift lever is reduced.

New Transmission Case: Larger internal bearings, larger gears and a stiffer transmission housing all combine to improve over-all durability, and torque-carrying capacity is increased by 28 percent. The transmission for Dyna and Touring models has internal oil passages that eliminate external oil lines and fittings and the opportunity for leaks. The Softail transmission retains external oil lines.

New Gears: Helical-cut gear teeth, initially developed for the VRSC family, present a larger contact area than the previous straight-cut gears, so they are stronger and also quieter. A new cassette gear cluster is easy to remove for improved serviceability.

Reduced Clutch Lever Effort: Reduced clutch spring rates, a revised ball-and-ramp design, and a new, more-efficient clutch cable combine to reduce clutch lever effort by up to seven percent (varies by model).

Service Intervals: The new Twin Came 96 engine primary chaincase drain interval is 10,000 miles, while the 6-speed Cruise Drive transmission drain interval is 20,000 miles. 

News provided by Powersports Network

By Mark Sanders

Noel Ortiz (left) and Trent Schara

The logical response to hearing about Albuquerque’s First Annual Bobbers and Choppers show is: What the hell is it? You hear the word “chopper,” and images of helicopters landing in the jungle, or possibly TC from Magnum PI, come to mind. You hear the word “bobber,” and you think of antiquated haircuts, or maybe apples in a water-filled bucket.

Noel Ortiz is happy to give definitions and distinctions.

“Choppers are motorcycles, stripped down ... they go fast as hell. Bobbers have nobby tires, from World War II. ... Guys came home from the war, and they were used to speed,” he says. In movie terms, you’d see a bobber in Indiana Jones , choppers in Easy Rider .

Ortiz, a thick-armed, ponytailed guy who speaks with a heavy New York accent, is sitting and chatting in a booth at the Atomic Cantina, where he works part-time as a door guy. Among his other pursuits (which include working and studying at UNM), he is one of the co-organizers of Bobbers and Choppers, a bike show he’s been talking about with fellow motorcycle enthusiast Trent Schara for three-and-a-half years. If that seems like a long time to organize a one-day event, it’s for good reason. He saw the chopper phenomenon building over the past few years (fueled by TV shows like Biker Build-Off and Monster Garage ), and knew that eventually the trend would reach critical mass.

He says there’s enough support now. “We wouldn’t have gotten 35, 40 entries three years ago. This summer, people were asking us to do it.”

For one day only, you can view what Ortiz estimates will be 80 bobbers and choppers lined up along Gold Avenue. There’s music, too, provided by local rock bands Scenester, 500, Dead on Point 5, SuperGiant and Demons. For custom bike owners who enter their rides, Ortiz and Schara have commissioned (appropriately enough) custom trophies crafted from old bike parts.

The Franken-trophies, Ortiz says, are symbolic of what the whole show (super-customized, decades-old bikes and all) is about. Specifically, art.

“Choppers and bobbers are art to the N th degree,” he says, just before jumping up to check some kid’s ID. “Moving parts, paint jobs, chrome and overall aesthetics. This is the ultimate in artistry in motorcycles.”

Which, for those of you who were looking forward to bobbing for apples or getting Tom Selleck’s autograph, should be some encouragement to show up anyway.

From: http://www.alibi.com/index.php?story=16534&scn=music

Now in its third century, the last of the surviving original British motorcycle marques may be headed for the history books. The nostalgic 500cc Bullet is the longest-running model in motorcycling history.

The Bullet Military model milks the nostalgia of a Royal Enfield to the hilt. Like the other U.S. Bullet models, it now has electric and kick starting.

The last of the once-dominant British motorcycle brands to (sort of) survive the rise of the Japanese motorcycle industry may finally be succumbing. Royal Enfield's parent Eicher Motors has announced that it plans to spin off the classic Brit bike brand, which actually produces bikes in India these days. Although Eicher is putting a happy face in the situation, presenting it as an opportunity for the brand to get much-needed infusion of capital, observers see the move as Eicher abandoning its financial support for Royal Enfield, which makes less than 30,000 of its traditional — some would say "obsolete" — 250, 350 and 500cc singles each year. If the newly liberated company is unable to find the necessary cash, its prospects appear bleak.

In the case of the Royal Enfield Bullet Deluxe, nostalgia is almost exactly what is used to be.

Royal Enfield started building bicycles in 1898 and produced its first motorcycle in 1900. It began using its own engines in 1914, and the forefather of the current line of bikes, the first Bullet, was built in 1932. After World War II, Royal Enfield sometimes seemed to be one of the more innovative British makes and offered a line singles, V-twins, and the vertical twins it was best known for. A 500cc vertical twin introduced in 1948 eventually grew to 736cc and became the Interceptor, the best-know model in the U.S. The Bullet was licensed for manufacture in India, where it was first produced over half a century ago and has been produced continuously since, with remarkably few changes.

Royal Enfield motorcycles made their first real foray into the U.S. market in the late 1950s, when 500 and 700cc vertical twins were sold with Indian badging as the troubled American brand tried to ward off the advances of other British marques in the new world. That arrangement ended in 1960. The early 1960s saw some U.S. racing successes for Enfields, probably most famously the amazing desert-racing performances of Eddie Mulder on an Interceptor tuned by the recently deceased Mel Dinesen. But the company was beginning to flounder, and changed hands in 1962.

The latest Royal Enfield model for the U.S. market is the five-speed Bullet Electra-X, which has an alloy engine, electric start, and a disc brake up front. All U.S. models displace 499cc and make a bit under 25 horsepower.

It was a time of diminishing fortunes for the British motorcycle market. The revered Vincent brand had ceased production in the mid 1950s. As motorcycling rolled into the 1960s and the Japanese companies revealed a brave new reality, AJS, Ariel, BSA, Greeves, Matchless, Norton, Triumph, Velocette and others had either gone under or were feeling the water rise. They were simply unable to match the pace of technological innovation demonstrated by the Japanese at any price and certainly not at the prices Japanese bikes were selling for. By the mid 1960s, Royal Enfield was only making Interceptors, but its financial woes persisted. The British company eventually gave it up in 1970.

Some recent Royal Enfield models, such as this Thunderbird (which is not sold in the U.S.) have developed a definite cruiser style.

However, the Indian entity has soldiered on, making inexpensive, if unsophisticated, motorcycles mostly for its home market. In the U.S. they are valued primarily for their authentic nostalgia, but they suffer in any functional comparison to modern motorcycles. The Bullet is undoubtedly the longest-running motorcycle model in history.

 

 

Related Motorcycle Cruiser Article
Royal Enfield Bullet Test (2000)

Related News Articles
Hindustan Times, India
The Hindu, India
India Business
TechWhack, India

Related Sites
Royal Enfield Motorcycles, India
Royal Enfield Motorcycles, US Distributor
Ian Chadwick's History of Royal Enfield
Official UK Royal Enfield Site
Royal-Enfield.net
Royal Enfield Photographs

From http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com
Email Art Friedman: artofthemotorcycle[AT]hotmail.com

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Keeping things simple :)
Ted Erlewine drove to Alaska with only his bike and a tent

By Ryan Woodard, Journal Staff Writer, Rapid City Journal
Tue Sep 19th 2006

The very simple joys of life ... an open road, a motorcycle, the peace and quiet?? of the journey ... How many of us would like to take the time out to do just this, but never quite get around to doing it?

 

RAPID CITY -- Local motorcycle enthusiast Ted Erlewine likes to keep his accommodations simple when it comes to motorcycle trips.

Ted Erlewine’s Kawasaki KLR motorcycle sits on the highway as he takes a break during his recent trip to Alaska. Erlewine drove his motorcycle more than 9,000 miles to Alaska. (Photo courtesy of Ted Erlewine)

“Part of traveling on a motorcycle to me has always been to camp,” said Erlewine, who recently took a 9,415 mile trek to Alaska with basically only his bike and a tent.

He said he prefers strapping a tent to his bike and heading down the road as opposed to bringing a camper, renting a motel or even pulling a pop-up camper.

“It’s simple to take off on a bike. You don’t have to be somewhere (at a certain time). You can stop whenever you want to,” he said.

Erlewine traveled to the northernmost part of Alaska, called Prudhoe Bay, which he said is the farthest north a person can travel on the North American continent.

Erlewine, who has ridden motorcycles since 1957 and teaches a motorcycle safety class in Rapid City, went on the trip with his pal Mike Deeny.

He said his wife encouraged him to bring a partner with him.

“We started talking about it, and my wife was afraid the bears would eat me,” he said with a laugh.

Erlewine said he didn’t quite get eaten by a bear, although elk and other wildlife wandered into his campsite from time to time.

Erlewine’s trip lasted 31 days, but Deeny was only able to stay about half that long because he had to return to Rapid City to work.

Erlewine said the trip was a scenic one.

“I enjoyed the riding, just the process of being on the motorcycle and looking at the hills, looking at vegetation, different trees, swamps, rivers — all kinds of things,” he said.

All Erlewine took were a few supplies, a tent and his dual sport Kawasaki KLR motorcycle — a bike that is made for on- and off-road adventures. Deeny rode a similar style bike.

Erlewine’s 650cc motorcycle has the appearance of a dirt bike more than a road bike. It doesn’t have the long-travel advantages of the large, plush-seated Harley-Davidson’s that will be common at this year’s Sturgis motorcycle rally.

He said that tends to draw a few comments from people who hear about his trip.

“People say, ‘I can’t believe you went all that way on that little bike,’” he said. “But I started in 1957, when most bikes were only 650cc. It doesn’t seem unusual to me to ride a 650cc.”

But Erlewine started his motorcycling/camping adventures on a much smaller bike than that.

“I came to the rally at 15 in a 125cc Harley Hummer with a sleeping bag,” he said. “The rally was different then. It was about the races. People came to see the motorcycles.”

Erlewine said campers, trailers with bikes and elaborate plans weren’t nearly as common.

“There used to be more people coming to the rally kind of on a shoestring and sleeping in tents,” he said.

There are a number of people that still do at the Sturgis motorcycle rally. Companionship is a big part of being a biker that Erlewine enjoys.

“One of the fun things about camping on a cycle is that you pull into a place — it doesn’t matter if you come alone or are with somebody — you will get acquainted with people,” he said.

He said that on his trip, quite a few people would comment about his motorcycle, which made the trip that much more enjoyable.

“Almost everyone that comes up to you when you’re traveling on a motorcycle has either had a motorcycle or their uncle had one or they would like to get one,” he said. “There’s something romantic about it, kind of Marlboro Man about it.”

And he said riding the bike itself is a simple pleasure.

“It’s fun just sitting on the motorcycle and watching the bugs splatter off your faceshield,” he said.

From http://www.rapidcityjournal.com
Email Ryan Woodard ryan.woodard[AT]rapidcityjournal.com

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Motorcycle airbags part of safety trend

By JAMES HANNAH, Associated Press Writer 
Thu Sep 14, 12:24 PM ET
 

This can only be good for us.  Lives are ruined through little mistakes and anything that can help us overcome this, has to be a good thing. It may ruin the clean lines of a goodly number of motorcycles out there though!

MARYSVILLE, Ohio - Jeaneen Parsons' husband steered their motorcycle to the ground seven years ago to avoid hitting a passenger whose cycle went down on a twisting mountain road in Kentucky.

The couple emerged from the accident with a few road burns and frazzled nerves. The passenger's leg was shattered.

Marifran Mattson lost part of her left leg when the motorcycle she was on was struck by a semitrailer in 2004 near Crawfordsville, Ind.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was seriously injured June 12 when a car turned into the path of his motorcycle June 12. Roethlisberger, who wasn't wearing a helmet, suffered a concussion, broken nose and jaw and damaged teeth.

As cyclist injuries and deaths increase, motorcycle makers are installing more safety features — making greater use of antilock brakes and adding air bags while stressing safe-rider education and use of helmets.

Some people wonder how effective air bags will be, how much of a market exists, and how much they would save cycle owners on insurance.

Honda Motor Co. added air bags in June to its fully loaded Gold Wing, an 860-pound touring bike designed for distance driving in comfort and made near this central Ohio city.

Yamaha Motor Corp., with U.S. headquarters in Cypress, Calif., is developing an air bag system and is using a scooter with air bags for research in Japan, according to the company's Web site.

"The motorcycle manufacturers are engaging in a lot of R&D in the area of — some would call it safety, some would call it risk management," said Tom Lindsay, spokesman for the Pickerington, Ohio-based American Motorcyclist Association. "It's part of a trend."

The motorcycle industry posted $7.6 billion in sales of 725,000 on-highway bikes in 2004, up from about $4.7 billion and 471,000 bikes sold four years earlier.

Motorcycles accounted for 2 percent of all registered vehicles in 2004 but made up 9.4 percent of all highway deaths, nearly double the 5 percent in 1997, according to government statistics.

Honda's air bag system consists of crash sensors attached to the front fork of the motorcycle. The sensors detect rapid deceleration and send the information to a small on-board computer, which determines whether a crash is occurring.

The computer sends a signal to an inflator, which releases nitrogen gas to deploy the air bag, packed into a dashboard-like module in front of the driver. The process takes a fraction of a second.

The system is designed to keep the driver's body from hitting whatever the motorcycle hit and reduce the chances of the driver being thrown over the handlebars. It is not designed to protect from side or rear impacts or to protect passengers.

Honda began working on its air bag system in 1990 after determining that more than half of the motorcycle accidents that result in deaths or injuries occur when the front of the motorcycle strikes another vehicle or object.

Honda won't say how many air bag-equipped Gold Wings it plans to produce by the time the 2006 model year ends in late September, other than it will be a limited number. Last year, the 600 workers at the plant produced 60,524 motorcycles, including Gold Wings.

Parsons, 45, of Dayton, favors the idea of air bags and doesn't shrink at the added cost — about $1,500 on a $24,000 Gold Wing.

Mattson, associate professor of communications at Purdue University, where she is spearheading a motorcycle-safety campaign, also applauds Honda but said the air bags wouldn't help in many crashes, including the one she was in. And she worries that the air bags might cause riders to dispense with wearing helmets.

"I'm concerned this might send a false sense of security," she said.

Honda officials acknowledge that some people are going to question whether motorcycle air bags will be effective.

"But we've seen so many test videos — you become a believer," said Jan Gansheimer, senior manager of Honda's manufacturing/planning group.

Honda's air bag system has been tested with crash-test dummies and in one case with a human to see what would happen if an air bag deployed accidentally. Honda officials said the air bag didn't knock the driver backward or injure him, affect his field of vision or impact his travel down the highway.

Bob Hartwig, chief economist for the New York City-based Insurance Information Institute, said the insurance benefits of having motorcycle air bags probably would be small because the devices protect only the driver and only in frontal crashes. Air bags in cars protect drivers and passengers in front and side crashes.

Hartwig also said motorcyclists who buy air bag-equipped bikes are probably safer drivers and less likely to be involved in crashes.

Safety has also gone beyond air bags and helmets. Worldwide Riders, a Cheyenne, Wyo.-based motorcycle accessories company, sells vests with protective bladders that inflate as riders are being ejected from their motorcycles.

Harley-Davidson Motor Co., based in Milwaukee, emphasizes training and driver education. The company began opening motorcyling academies in 2000 to train new and experienced riders. About 90,000 riders have taken courses at the schools, which operate in more than 30 states.

Jake Balzer, an analyst with Guzman & Company, an investment banking firm, said there may be somewhat of a market for air bag-equipped motorcycles, but questioned whether Honda will sell that many unless states require motorcycles to have the devices.

"A lot of people riding motorcycles don't even want to wear helmets," he said. "I don't see them going out and spending the extra money to put air bags on their motorcycles."

Tim Buche, president of the Motorcycle Industry Council, said many motorcyclists love new features and will be attracted to air bags.

But he said the market will determine whether the idea will spread.

"If air bags are going to be successful, they are going to be available on other motorcycles," he said. "It remains to be seen." 

From: www.news.yahoo.com 

 

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New bike speed record

September 5 2006

The Ack Attack streamliner has set a new motorcycle land speed record at the Utah Bonneville Salt Flats with a speed of 342.797mph.

The run took place during the AMA/FIM International Motorcycle Speed Trails Sunday, and beats the 16-year-old previous record by nearly 20mph. The bike is powered by dual Suzuki Hayabusa motors, and the first run on the 11-mile course produced a speed though the one-mile traps of 344.673.

But for the record, a second run had to be completed in the opposite direction within two hours, and it was the retrun run 55 minutes later of 340.922 that produced a world-record avaerage of 342.797mph.

Rider Rocky Robinson and the team believe they should be able to top that speed before the speed meet ends on Thursday, and two other bikes are perhaps capable of toppling the record before then. Sam Wheeler has a Kawasaki ZX-11-engined streamliner which has already run in the 330s in worse conditions, while meet organiser Dennis Manning also has a streamliner, which will be piloted by AMA Grand National Dirt Tracker Chris Carr.

From: www.motorcyclenews.com 

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