Motorcycles.
Steve McDowall covers the motorcycle news and reviews for Behind the Wheel…
On two wheels with Steve
The race to produce a commercially viable electric motorcycle has taken a huge leap forward. Brammo, the US based electric vehicle technology company, has unveiled 2 new models – the Empulse and Empulse R. The Empulse has a claimed top speed of 160km/h, and a claimed range of 200 km. The motorcycle can be recharged in [...]
On two wheels with Steve
Steve McDowall brings us the latest motorcycle news… The second bike to come off Honda’s new engine platform is due to arrive in dealerships later this month. The NC700SA joins the Integra scooter and shares the same 670cc parallel twin engine. One of the design goals was to build an engine that was highly fuel [...]
On two wheels with Steve
Steve McDowall brings us the latest motorcycle news… The recent shooting at Robina Town Centre on Queensland’s Gold Coast has once again raised the public’s awareness of the activities of outlaw bikie gangs. As a Gold Coast resident, I’ve seen the shock and anger that has spread through the community in the days after the [...]
On two wheels with Steve
It’s D-Day for Ducati, with reports circulating that Audi has now reached an agreement to buy the company. The reports say the VW Group’s supervisory board is set to approve the deal worth 860 million euros, that’s about 1.1 billion dollars here in Australia. That’s one expensive birthday present for group Chairman Ferdinand Piech who [...]
Cars and Motorcycles, why cant we get along?
Forget the Arab-Israeli conflict, that’s a simple issue to work out compared to the daily tensions between cars and motorcycles. Car drivers say motorbike riders are irresponsible, speed, and some are just plain rude and abusive. Motorcyclists say car drivers deliberately cut them off, don’t look out for them, and generally treat them with no [...]
On two wheels with Steve
Once again the quarterly motorcycle sales figures give us good news about the state of the motorcycle industry. Continued sales growth has improved the confidence of retailers in all sectors of the motorcycle market, and I believe we can now safely say that the industry is well on the path of recovery after the severe [...]
On Two Wheels with steve
Horex is a brand with a long history in the motorcycle world, but most people would never have even heard the name. The German manufacturer was founded in 1920, and apart from a break during World War 2, it continued production until it was purchased by Daimler-Benz and closed down in 1960. The rights to [...]
On two wheels with Steve
In a bizarre story to come out of China, two motorcyclists who were caught by police street racing could face up to seven years in prison, or even the death penalty. Now that’s a pretty harsh penalty in anyone’s language. Up until recently illegal street racers in China faced less than 15 days in jail [...]
On two wheels with Steve
How would you like to buy a Ducati? Actually, I mean the whole company! The most famous of all Italian motorcycle manufacturers is reported to be in debt to the tune of somewhere between $250 and $800 million, and is looking for a new owner. And German luxury car-maker Audi seems to be the first in [...]
On two wheels with Steve
I have spent the last week riding a Triumph Street Triple, and I have to admit I’ve been very pleasantly surprised by the bike since I first hopped on it. One of the benefits of how we operate at the riding school I manage is that we rotate our learner fleet every 3 months, and [...]
