Luxury sports car maker Aston Martin has unveiled the AMB 001 Pro, a 225bhp V-twin which claims the power/weight ratio of a Formula 1 car. It won’t be road legal – so that’s track-only (or, more likely, collector’s air conditioned garage only). Designed by Aston, the new bike will be built by Brough Superior at its factory in Toulouse, southern France. Not that the V-twin track bike is all new. Aston Martin launched the limited edition AMB 001 sports bike at EICMA 2019, and the Pro is a track-only version of the same thing, though there are plenty of changes. The one-litre DOHC liquid-cooled V-twin has 25% more power than its predecessor, now peaking at 225bhp, and the crankcase is milled

The US military is evaluating Huck Overland electric bikes, attracted by their light weight, low price and above all, quiet operation. According to Huck Cycles, which builds the e-bikes in North Carolina, two Overlands have recently been trialled in live fire exercises and tested for use in search and rescue, border, air deployment, even medical evacuations. And of course covert operations, thanks to their lack of exhaust noise. The Overland is a lightweight off-road bike weighing just 65kg, with a 3Kw (6Kw peak) motor and a small 3Kwh battery. Top speed is around 45mph and claimed range 40 miles. The Overland was originally intended for the US hunting, shooting, fishing market, but has since been taken up as a commuter machine,

Unlikely bedfellows or the sign of a new era in electric motorcycles? Zero, the Californian pioneer of electric bikes has teamed up the Indian giant Hero MotoCorp to develop the next generation of battery bikes. It’s a deal which could work well. Zero needs investment to develop the new bikes and Hero needs electric knowhow to engineer cheaper machines for its home market in India. That’s why Hero is investing $60 million in the Californian operation, which was founded in 2006 and is acknowledged as the market leader in electric motorcycles, having pioneered the sector and kept at it while other startups have fallen by the wayside. Meanwhile, mainstream manufacturers (Harley-Davidson apart) still haven’t launched rival e-bikes. Hero is already linked with

Dorset saw one of its biggest ever motorcycle ride-outs on 25th September, when the DocBike charity staged its annual fundraiser. Over 400 bikers from across the UK took part, either riding the 35-mile route from West Bay on the county’s famed Jurassic coast, or the Churchill Arms in East Dorset, meeting up at Henstridge Airfield on the Dorset/Somerset border. Over £8000 was raised for the charity. DocBike was set up by Dorset-based medical staff who are also motorcyclists, to support both the Air Ambulance and educate riders – DocBike’s Biker Down course, which covers first aid, what to do at an accident scene and advanced riding, has been replicated in many areas across the country. Dr Ian Mew, Co-Founder of DocBike, said:

On Saturday 1st October thousands of motorcyclists from across the UK and other countries rode the National Memorial Arboretum for ‘Ride to the Wall’ which commemorates members of the UK’s armed services. Now in its 15th year, Ride to the Wall sees riders arrive in convoy at the Arboretum before congregating at the Armed Forces Memorial. Martin Dickinson, Founder of Ride to the Wall, said: “Each year we gather at Ride to the Wall to remember those who can no longer ride by our side, ensuring that the names on the walls of the Armed Forces Memorial are never forgotten. We want to help make sure that the National Memorial Arboretum can continue to share the stories of those who have

The BMF has welcomed a move by MSV Trackdays (MSVT) to penalise riders who act irresponsibly on track days. Lots of riders enjoy days out on race circuits, a chance to hone high speed riding skills in a relatively safe environment, but MSV Trackdays – the largest operator in the UK – is threatening some with bans of six, 12 months, or even permanently, for dangerous behaviour on track. MSV, which runs events at Brands Hatch, Oulton Park, Snetterton, Cadwell Park, Donnington Park and Bedford Autodrome, has introduced the measure to combat what it says is poor riding. Offences include, “close, aggressive or dangerous overtaking, rider contact, overtaking under a red or yellow flag and showing aggression towards other customers and

The Vintage Motorcycle Club (VMCC) has opened the doors of its extensive garage, offering free loans of a whole range of classic and vintage bikes, from a 1923 Matchless 350 to a 1989 Yamaha FJ1200. The scheme is only open to VMCC members, but anyone can join the club – 12 months individual membership currently costs £42. You don’t even have to currently own a bike to join, though members taking up the loan scheme will need a motorcycle licence. “We want as many people as possible to experience what it’s like to ride an older motorcycle,” said the VMCC’s Chair, Mario Costa-Sa, “and this is the way to do it. There are some restrictions on some of the older bikes,

Honda is planning a rapid expansion of its electric motorcycle range, with at least 10 new battery bikes promised by 2025, three of which will be full-size motorcycles, not scooters or mopeds. We won’t see them all straightaway, as Honda is envisaging a phased launch, starting with what it calls ‘Honda e: Business bikes series’ which are likely to be electric mopeds aimed at fleet users for short urban deliveries. Honda already makes the electric Benley-e, which is used by the Japanese and Vietnamese postal services. Commuter motorcycles or scooters aimed at private customers will follow in 2023-24, but the real interest for motorcyclists lies with what it calls ‘Fun EV’ machines, which will be sold in Europe as well as

Battery swapping for electric scooters is big business in Taiwan, where 340,000 swaps are made every day by riders who subscribe to the service. Rather than charging batteries at home or work, the riders simply rock up to one of nearly 11,000 swapping stations and change their depleted battery for a fully charged one. It’s one answer to the conundrum for flat dwellers – how to charge your scooter when you live on the 7th floor. The system is run by Gogoro, which launched it in 2015 and now provides a standard battery swap service for ten different brands of scooter, including Yamaha. It claims to have 92% of this ‘electric refuelling’ market in Taiwan, covering 25% of all powered two-wheelers sold

Fred Warr, who with his father did more than anyone else to bring Harley-Davidson into Britain, has died aged 93. He had been suffering from motor neurone disease and passed away peacefully at home. It’s hard to overstate the importance of the Warr family to Harley in this country – it was the company’s only UK dealer from the early 1950s to the early ‘70s. Warr’s Harley-Davidson, now occupying two sites in London, has been the classic tale of a family dynasty. It remains Harley’s oldest dealer in Europe and the business (though not as an official dealer) will celebrate its centenary in 2024. It was in 1924 that Fred’s father Captain Frederick James Warr was demobbed from the British Army. He

A line up of 12 Triumphs bearing the Daytona name makes up a new display at the British Motor Museum at Gaydon, which until now has focused on cars. The Daytona badge was coined for Triumph’s twin-carb 500cc twins after Buddy Elmore won the famed Daytona 200 race back in 1966 – his race bike takes pride of place in the exhibition, along with three more of the early 500s including a 1974 bike, one of the last made. The line up goes on to include the early Hinckley-built Daytonas – sports bike of the Hinckley Triumphs – and a good selection of 675cc triples, including the original 2008 Daytona and the latest Daytona 765 Moto2 Limited Edition, taking in road

The Purple Helmets, the hilarious and highly skilled motorcycle stunt team, is to retire this summer, with its final show scheduled for August on the Isle of Man. Anyone who has attended a major open air motorcycle show in the UK in the last 25 years can’t have missed them. Mounted on ageing Honda C90, dressed in identical dirty brown macs and with deadpan faces hidden behind shades, the Purple Helmets attempted to replicate White Helmet stunts such as the Pyramid, adding their own wackier versions, such as dustbin racing (imagine a Honda 90 towing a sawn-off bin at speed) or a naked man playing a piano in a sidecar. For something which started out as a few friends having fun,