Eric de Seynes, Yamaha’s European President and Chairman of its supervisory board, has downplayed the potential role of hydrogen as an alternative fuel for bikes, highlighting the many practical difficulties. “Hydrogen is obviously a next-generation technology, but it requires a lot of energy (to produce),” he said when interviewed by Motorcycle News. “So until the world is producing more energy, cleaner energy, green energy, hydrogen is a dream. We know how to make a scooter run with hydrogen, how it works and how we can manage it. But to make it real for our customers is another story.” He added that hydrogen needs three times the space of petrol for storage and if kept in liquid form needs to be cryogenically

Bright, long-lasting LED lights may now be standard issue on modern motorcycles, but the next generation of illumination is already under development – lasers. Some cars have already have laser headlights, which offer a brighter light even than the latest LEDs, illuminating the road up to 600 metres ahead. So far they haven’t made it onto bikes, thanks to bulky packaging and a high price, though BMW showed a K1600GT with prototype laser headlight in 2016. However, we could see laser lights on motorcycles before too long, with two major manufacturers having submitted patent applications which look like serious production options. Both Honda and Yamaha are developing systems which place the bulky laser unit under the seat, rather than try and

Poor quality helmets and lack of infrastructure have been blamed for a sharp rise in motorcycle casualties in some African countries. Road deaths across Africa have risen by 17% in the past decade, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) figures, compared to a 5% average drop across the whole world. The WHO puts this partly down to a general rise in motorised traffic in Africa, but particularly to the increase in small motorcycles used as taxis, the famous ‘boda boda,’ of East Africa. “About 10 years ago we saw a big increase in motorcycles in Kenya,” said Gladys Nyachieo of the Multimedia University of Kenya. “Very quickly we saw an increase in motorcycle-related accidents.” Helmets are compulsory in both Kenya and Rwanda,

What puts you off electric motorcycles? If it’s the lack of gearchanging and involvement with rising and falling engine revs, then Toyota may have something for you. The company has been working on a simulated manual transmission for electric cars since early 2022 and there’s no reason why e-motorcycles won’t be able to use the same kit. Drivers get a ‘manual’ gear-lever and clutch, but the actual changes are simulated by onboard electronics. In late 2022 the company installed the system in a Lexus UX300e, and Takashi Watanabe, Chief Engineer of Lexus’ electric vehicle department at the time, described how it felt. “From the outside, this vehicle is as quiet as any other BEV. But the driver is able to experience

Yamaha has unveiled the battery-powered Booster, which could be the basis of a new class of powered two-wheeler. It’s not an electric moped – it’s got pedals which you have to use to get power. Nor is it an electric bicycle – top speed is 30mph rather than the 15.5mph ‘pedelecs’ are restricted to. In fact, it’s not a fast e-bicycle (S-pedelec) either – these can reach nearly 30mph but are clearly developed from pedal bikes. Instead, Yamaha is hoping that the Booster will help pioneer a new class of PTW which blurs the lines between all of these camps, perhaps giving the best of all worlds. With the latticework alloy frame, pedals and saddle, it could not be mistaken for

Fancy riding a two-wheeled Bentley? Well now you can, except that it’s not really a Bentley at all but a Ducati Diavel. Based on the 168bhp Diavel V4, it’s been repainted in a Bentley-esque British Racing Green (though Ducati call it ‘Scarab Green’), tweaked bodywork to make it look slightly less aggressive and a revised silencer in two banks of two outlets. The idea is to suggest a resemblance between the V4 Duke and the £1.7 million Bentley Batur, the most powerful production car offered with the flying ‘B’ badge. Price? Well, at £58,000 the Bentleyised Diavel is quite a pricey accessory to sit next to the Batur in your garage. If that’s not exclusive or expensive enough Ducati is also offering

What’s in a name? Well if you’re Vespa, it’s worth over Euro 1 billion. And that’s not the value of factories, machinery and work in progress owned by the world’s best known scooter manufacturer, just the name. Piaggio commissioned branding experts Interbrand to take a long hard look at the Vespa name – one of the most recognisable in the world – and work out how much it was worth. “Interbrand employed proven, proprietary brand valuation techniques,” went a statement from Piaggio, “incorporating financial analysis with primary and quantitative data collected through a global market research, conducted across Vespa’s 10 key markets (Italy, France, Germany, Spain, USA, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, China and India)...The study confirms that Vespa is globally perceived (as)

2024’s Goodwood Revival is ditching fossil fuels in favour what it terms sustainable fuel. The move is in line with the FIA’s current stipulation for racing, which is that all racing vehicles (cars or bikes) must use a fuel containing a minimum of 70% “advanced sustainable components.” At Goodwood, which runs 6th-9th September 2024, the fuels will be used in the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy races, which see classic racers from Manx Nortons to MV triples competing, ridden by current and former world champions. The organisers say that no modifications are needed to use the fuels, and point out that a 1925 Bentley Speed Model used sustainable fuel to win the Rudge-Whitworth Cup in 2023. “Goodwood has an illustrious motorsport history and

A former Tesla employee has told the BBC that the company’s self-driving technology is still not ready for public roads. Lukasz Krupski, who has turned whistleblower, said that the part-autonomous technology, which takes over some driving functions such as emergency braking but still requires the driver to be ready to take over, is really still in the development phase. He stated: “It affects all of us because we are essentially experiments in public roads. So even if you don’t have a Tesla, your children still walk on the footpath.” Mr Krupski, a former service technician at Tesla, leaked 100GB of internal company data to the German newspaper Handlesblatt, which first publicised the allegations. In an interview with the BBC Krupski added:

Bristol Biking Girls, a motorcycle group based in the city, is raising money for Air Ambulances UK by creating its own 2024 calendar. Twenty-four women are pictured with their bikes, the images taken by professional photographer (and Bristol Biking Girls member) Sophie April – the members paid Sophie out of their own pockets for the sessions, so all proceeds from the calendar go direct to Air Ambulances UK. The calendar pays tribute to the late Steph Robertson, who founded the group in 2016 when looking for riding buddies. It grew fast, with over 300 members by 2020, when it ran a calendar in favour of ovarian cancer support group Ovacome – that too was in memory of a BBG member, Chilie

Zero have won the historic Maudes Trophy, with a team of riders piloting two Zero DSR/Xs almost 1200 miles in 60 hours, in freezing temperatures. The Maudes Trophy, first awarded 100 years ago to Norton, is given to manufacturers completing observed endurance challenges. BSA, Triumph and Yamaha are other previous winners, and in 1974 Suzuki bagged the award after running a GT380, GT550 and GT750 around the coast of Britain three times in succession. Needless to say, this is the first time non-petrol powered bikes have featured. The Zero team, which included the National Motorcyclists Council’s Craig Carey-Clinch, set off from Lands’ End on Wednesday 29th November, checking into Lowestoft that evening. Riding north next day, temperatures plummeted to -6 degrees

Gilera, one of the oldest names in motorcycling, is likely to make a comeback soon, though the new bikes will be built in China, not Italy. Piaggio, which owns the Gilera name (along with a whole house-full of other classic brands such as Laverda) has a joint venture with Chinese giant Zongshen, which will be building the new bikes. Actually, they won’t be new at all, but slightly reworked versions of the Aprilia Shiver V-twin, which ended production in 2021 when it could not meet Euro 5 emissions regulations. The following year, Zongshen, under its own sub-brand of Cyclone, showed its RA9 concept bike, which was clearly derived from the Shiver, complete with Aprilia’s 896cc DOHC V-twin, part-steel, part-alloy frame and