KTMrad 508 Posted April 29, 2010 Electric Revolutionaries How American inventors are creating new technology to supplement traditional powerplants May 2010The first realization came while looking over a spreadsheet. Engineer Craig Bramscher and his team were exploring options on building electric vehicles, and they had created an analysis of battery power, battery costs and vehicle range as part of their research. That analysis kept telling them the same thing: They could not compete with models from major car manufacturers, such as Toyota's $26,000 Prius. Instead of disappointment, Bramscher saw something exciting in that data. "There came a moment when we realized if you do something lighter, like a motorcycle, you could spend only a few thousand dollars in batteries, and you could exceed the national average on commuting on a single charge," he says. Read how Bramscher and others are exploiting electric power in new lines of American-made motorcycles. *Click here to see the May Issue of American Motorcyclist online --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ryan Dungey locks up Supercross title in Seattle Ryan DungeyRockstar/Makita Suzuki rider Ryan Dungey, a rookie in the premier Supercross class, claimed the 2010 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship in front of 51,442 fans at Seattle's Qwest Field -- round 15 of the 17-round series. Dungey needed a sixth-place finish or better to secure the title and did so with a fourth-place finish, riding conservatively on what was an exceptionally tricky layout. "The track was tough tonight," said Dungey. "It was very demanding with a lot of ruts. It's been an awesome season. It's something else when you're watching on TV as a little kid and hoping to be up here. It was all hard work that went into this. I'm super pumped. I just tried to take it easy in the main and stay upright. (The season) was a battle all the way. From the start we did all we could and put everything we could out on the track." Click HERE to read more about it ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days 2010 Classic Club: Bridgestone Motorcycles Colorado Off-roadBridgestone has been selected as the Classic Club for the 2010 AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, July 9-11, at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. The selection of the Classic Club complements the announcement of Marque of the Year for AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, which for 2010 is Husqvarna. By honoring a Classic Club, the AMA continues a long-standing tradition of recognizing the many brands that are represented at America's grandest celebration of motorcycle heritage. As the Classic Club, the Bridgestone Motorcycle Club will be featured in a special tent on the grounds of Mid-Ohio, and visitors will have a chance to see bikes, memorabilia, vintage dealer signs and much more relating to the rare Japanese brand. Click HERE to read more about Bridgestone Motorcycles ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Report: Motorcycling deaths dropped sharply in 2009 Riding At DuskA just-released report shows that motorcycling fatalities nationwide dropped by at least 10 percent in 2009, the first decline in 12 years. Based on preliminary data, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), which represents the state highway safety offices nationwide, projects that motorcycling deaths declined from 5,290 in 2008 to 4,762 or fewer in 2009. The projection is based on data collected from the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The GHSA cautioned that the report only reflects one year, so it's too soon to predict a steady decline. For more details on the fatality report, click here. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Online race registration available for AMA Racing events * Vintage Grand Championships * Dirt Track Grand Championships Post Vintage MXAre you ready to sign up for two of the biggest amateur racing events of the summer? Excellent! Just click the above links to access AMA Race Manager where you can sign up for select AMA Racing national championships events. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help spread the word: 'Think. Ride.' Think. Ride. Some timely resources are now available as part of the AMA's "Think. Ride." public service announcement campaign. The campaign addresses riders with messages such as riding responsibly off-road, riding straight and riding quiet bikes. It also warns motorists to watch out for motorcycles on the road. Click here to download resources from the "Think. Ride" campaign. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ New world championship for electric motorcycles in high gear TTXGPAt the 2009 AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, an interesting juxtaposition emerged from the sinuous curves of the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Sharing track time with vintage racing motorcycles dating to the early 1900s was a new category of machines certain to play a role during the next 100 years -- electric motorcycles participating in the TTXGP Introduction. The exhibition event showcased the latest electric motor technology, stretched to the limit by innovative developers from around the world. This year, the organizer of that event, Azhar Hussain, is taking the concept to a new level with the TTXGP World Championship. Click here to read more about the 2010 TTXGP. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Need more vintage? AMA VMD 2010Just sign up for our new e-mail newsletter. This regular e-newsletter will update on events at this summer's biggest vintage motorcycling extravaganza: the 2010 AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, July 9-11. Click here to subscribe to the AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days e-newsletter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
