ARC, the Coventry-based builder of the Vector electric hyperbike, is getting UK Government funding to develop a new motor system, giving a glimpse of the technology its next generation of battery bikes will use. the new dual motor set up, with integrated inverter, will debut on new motorcycles due for launch in 2026. ARC says that the new system will offer more performance and lower weight than the existing system while also, crucially on a motorcycle, taking weight out of the battery. Named HiPERMOD, the new system is being developed in conjunction with Talos Techology, an electric drivetrain specialist which is based just down the road from ARC, in Warwick. The project is Government-funded through the Department for Business, Energy and

Petrol prices leapt up in August, rising by 6.68p per litre, one of the largest monthly price increases in over 20 years. According to the RAC, only the effect of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and a one-off increase in October 2021, caused sharper price hikes. According to the RAC, the main cause of the latest increase was a decision by the OPEC+ group of oil-producing countries deciding to lower production, which increased the price of a barrel of oil by nearly $12 to almost $87 – the average forecourt price for a litre of petrol rose to 152.25p in August. RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said that the increase could have been even more. “While the increase is clearly

Ever suffered from a misted-up visor? Of course, we all have in colder weather, though mitigated by the growing use of visor inserts such as the Pinlock. Now a British firm has gone one step further with a heated insert powered by an external rechargeable battery pack. There’s nothing new about heated visors, which up until now have used fine elements to provide the heat. The ‘VISIN’ has been designed by West Midlands-based Diamond Coatings, which supplies aerospace, medical, military and automotive sectors with specialist coating technology. In this case, the transparent insert coating can conduct electricity and thus heating across the entire area, working down to -20 degrees C, according to the manufacturer. It was developed by Jason Elite of Diamond

Ewan McGregor is to narrate a new documentary on the life of Philip Vincent, the man behind the British V-twins of the 1940s and ‘50s which carried his name on the tank. Speed is Expensive: The Philip Vincent Story, will be available to stream from 25th September 2023 on Amazon, Sky Store, Apple TV and Google Play. The Stevange-built Vincent-HRDs were the superbikes of their day, the fastest production bikes then available and holders of multiple speed records. The most infamous was probably Rollie Free’s setting of a new American motorcycle land speed record on Bonneville Salt Flats in 1948 – infamous, because to minimise drag he rode the bike lying flat across the seat and tank, clad only in a

Honda has patented mirrors mounted underneath the bars, rather than on top. The mirrors, which according to the patent application use a conventional stalk, would mount at the top of the forks just below the top triple clamp. It doesn’t sound like a ground-breaking innovation, but Honda claims several advantages for the underslung mirrors, which are serious enough to warrant the patent. First off is better visibility than conventionally-mounted mirrors – because the mirrors are below the rider’s elbows, the view is less obstructed. This in turn allows them to be mounted closer to the centre of the bike – conventional mirrors have to be high and wide so you can see past your shoulders. A narrower mounting, says Honda, means

Over half of UK motorcyclists exceed the motorway and 30mph speed limits, but the proportion doing so fell last year, according to the latest figures from the Department for Transport. Using cameras to take a sample of traffic on free-flowing sections of roads, the DfT found that in 2021 59% broke the motorway limit and the same proportion exceeded a 30mph limit – 28% were over the 60mph limit on single-carriageway roads. Some of these speeders could have been marginal (as little as 1mph over the limit), but 14% of bikers were riding at 40mph or more in 30-limits, and one in ten were hustling along at 70mph or more on a single-carriageway road. The figures for 2022 showed a slight

A new fund has been launched to help adventure travellers finance their trips. The #GetOutDoStuff Adventure Travel Grant is being run by Matt Bishop and Reece Gilkes, the Sidecar Guys, famous for riding a Honda scooter sidecar outfit around the world in 2018/19. They also run the Armchair Travel Festival, which takes place every August at Mount Edgecumbe Country Park near Plymouth. #GetOutDoStuff is in memory of David Martin, the motorcycle adventure traveller who tragically died of bowel cancer in 2021. After being diagnosed in 2016, between chemotherapy rounds he took off on his bike whenever he was fit enough, riding Lands End to John o’ Groats, through the Alps and Croatia, as well as exploring Iceland. £1666 was raised for the

Burt Munro’s legend and standing within motorcycling seems to grow with every passing year. As well as the film ‘The World’s Fastest Indian’ and several biographies, he’s been accepted into the AMA Hall of Fame and the Motorcycling New Zealand Hall of Fame. Now, 56 years since he set a world speed record on his home-built Indian Scout-powered bike, the Sturgis Hall of Fame has followed suit. This is more significant than it seems, as the Sturgis list of the great and the good focuses on American riders and figures who had been judged to make a major contribution to motorcycling. Indian Motorcycles, which has been keen to publicise Burt’s association with the marque, is delighted. “Burt’s a legend,” said Gary Gray,

Honda is developing a hybrid motorcycle, with both a conventional petrol engine and electric motors connected to a common transmission. Hybrid cars are a common sight, ostensibly offering the combination of zero emissions in urban areas and a long range out of town, but very few powered two-wheelers have gone hybrid, thanks to the extra weight, bulk and expense. Piaggio sold a petrol/electric MP3 scooter in the 2009/10, while Kawasaki is due to launch its HEV (400cc Ninja twin with an electric motor) next year. Honda’s project looks to be some way off production, but according to the patent application, combined petrol and electric powertrains with an epicyclic gearbox which allows a choice of riding modes, with purely petrol, or electric,

Barely a month goes by without the Sammy Miller Museum announcing new bikes for its comprehensive collection. The latest is a 1963 Victoria 155. Nicknamed the ‘Tin Banana’ when it was new (for obvious reasons) the Victoria’s space age styling was certainly eye catching in in the early ‘60s, and doubly so now – if Dan Dare rode a moped, this would have been it. The German-built Victoria was mass produced, but very few have survived. At the other end of the performance scale, a 1950 Vincent Grey Flash has joined the collection as well. This one is a bit special, a Grand Prix bike raced by John Surtees, and believed to be a factory test machine. With four-speed Albion gearbox