ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
General Category => Electric Motorcycle Events => Topic started by: Richard230 on December 18, 2015, 07:31:40 AM
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This is kind of odd: http://www.autoblog.com/2015/12/17/pikes-peak-bans-sportbikes-motorcycles/ (http://www.autoblog.com/2015/12/17/pikes-peak-bans-sportbikes-motorcycles/)
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Sounds like a job for a supermoto with an engine swap.
also, this is amazingly my first post.. Ive been reading here for over a week. lol
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So it looks like the Lightening and the Ego won't be running it. But the Eva should be good! The question is if the Eva has enough to take on some of the top gas bikes.
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Here is a link to an article providing more information (and justification?) regarding this new rule:
http://blog.motorcycle.com/2015/12/22/motorcycle-news/pikes-peak-hill-climb-explains-one-piece-handlebar-rule/ (http://blog.motorcycle.com/2015/12/22/motorcycle-news/pikes-peak-hill-climb-explains-one-piece-handlebar-rule/)
It is a mystery to me why the organizers just couldn't require clip-ons to be replaced by standard handlebars. It seems like that would be an easy modification to make and some manufacturers probably have parts from their "naked" bike models that could be used to make that conversion (if the organizers don't trust the builders to do a proper job themselves).
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So it looks like the Lightening and the Ego won't be running it. But the Eva should be good! The question is if the Eva has enough to take on some of the top gas bikes.
If Energica is smart they send an Eva an go for the win! I am sure that they can ask Hollywood Electrics to help with the logistics [emoji6].
Would be great promotion for their IPO offering.
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I think their reasoning is that if the bike is designed for a handlebar, they assume that means the seat and footpegs are designed for an upright, neutral position, raising the rider's head and thus improving visability. It's horrible logic really, considering this will do nothing for shorter riders, does not guarantee an upright position, and it completely depends on the riders awareness, reaction times, rate of speed and a thousand other factors. I think they're also counting on this new rule decreasing the number of motorcycle riders competing, which will also reduce the chances of a fatality but in a completely unsportsmanlike way if you ask me.
The best thing they could have done is to increase practice intervals each rider gets.
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Here is a link to a video, with great commentary, showing a Ducati riding up Pikes Peak. Pretty exciting, but I was surprised to see that the road was paved all the way to the top. I bet it was even more exciting when the road was dirt:
https://rideapart.com/articles/pikes-peak-pov-really-fast-commentary
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Great vid! One thing I never hear mentioned is how windy it can be. It's also very hard to breathe at those altitudes. I've never been up Pikes Peak but went up Mt. Evans a few years ago when out west.
Re the handlebar situation: it's not that difficult to fit regular bars instead of clip-ons. Lightning had discussed this at one point, if only to make the riding position a bit more comfortable for us older guys.