#MiniFeature

Lightning Motorcycles may have been quiet from the electric motorcycle scene lately, but that silence ends now, as the company has announced its next model to accompany the LS-218. It’s called the Lightning Strike, and unlike the high-dollar, flagship LS-218, the Strike is an electric motorcycle for the masses, according to Lightning.

One of the biggest news stories in MotoGP for 2019 is Jorge Lorenzo leaving Ducati after two years and joining the factory Repsol Honda team, replacing the now-retired Dani Pedrosa. The move comes as a bit of a shock for a few reasons, but it also pairs the three-time MotoGP World Champion with five-time – and reigning – champ, Marc Marquez.

Only a company like Red Bull could pull together the resources to rent the largest airport in the world to stage the world’s ultimate drag race. Seeing as how this yet-to-open airport is in Istanbul, Red Bull called up seven of the fastest vehicles and pilots – including fighter pilots – Turkey has to offer to go head-to-head in this exhibition of speed.

The major bane of every electric motorcycle’s existence, at least so far, is weight. As battery technology stands these days, there’s no getting around the fact that batteries are heavy. No matter how many trick components you surround the battery with, a plump curb weight is a killer when it comes to performance. Case in point, the Energica Eva Esse Esse 9. A trellis frame, Marzocchi fork, Bitubo shock, OZ wheels, Brembo brakes, and the finest in Italian electric motorcycle technology can’t hide the fact that the bike weighs 621 pounds.

We say it over and over again, but you really do need to pay attention while riding a motorcycle. Often, we as motorcyclists are on the constant lookout for cars trying to kill us on the highway or on our favorite twisty road, only to let our guard down once we start cruising down familiar side streets traveled several times before.

In just four short years the Handbuilt Motorcycle Show has grown leaps and bounds. Put on by the folks at Revival Cycles, an Austin, Texas-based moto shop, the creations it has pumped out are enough for a show in its own right. However, the Revival folks team up with some of the most innovative and creative talents in the motorcycle customizing business to display their talents each year at the Handbuilt Show. Scheduled for the same weekend as the MotoGP race at the neighboring Circuit of the Americas, the crowd for the show has been steadily climbing as word of mouth spreads year after year.

In case you don’t know, Hell’s Gate is one of the most intense extreme enduro events, and Italy’s most popular. The single day event includes a three-hour main event that includes a host of nearly impossible terrain for the challengers to ride over, around, and through. We’re talking piles of logs to climb, yards of rocks to traverse, and narrow passages lined with trees to navigate through. Not to mention the mud, water, and weather the riders have to deal with.

Today, U.K. resident Fred Murphy became the first Briton to benefit from his government’s new “Plug-In” subsidy for electric motorcycles. The grant was first introduced in January 2011, but only electric automobiles were eligible at the time. In 2015 the grant was extended to qualifying motorcycles, with details finalized in October 2016. The full requirements can be found here. In the U.S., electric motorcycles may be eligible for incentives and rebates depending on the state.

Right off the bat, we should make it clear that MO does not condone illegal street races. However, you have to admit this modified scooter is pretty entertaining. It’s hard to tell what model it is since the video is shot at night, but it’s clearly highly modified – it has a wheelie bar fercryinoutloud! – and its pilot can’t wait to pounce on unsuspecting muscle cars. Watch below as the scooter gets the holeshot over a number of cars (and one Suzuki GSX-R600) before the five-oh breaks up the party. If you don’t at least let out a little giggle while watching this scooter immediately pop its front wheel in the air, then you’re no fun.

Two days ago, the New England Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons in a remarkable come-from-behind, overtime victory in Super Bowl 51. In honor of America’s biggest sporting event, we bring you a different kind of football: Motorcycle Football. In this surprisingly high-quality footage from 1959, we get the basics of “Motorball” explained to us while witnessing some dramatic competition at the same time. Considering all the extreme sports that are around these days involving a motorcycle, quite frankly, we’re surprised this hasn’t been resurrected. Who wants to be the one to change that?

The third round of the 2017 AMA Supercross series gets underway this weekend, as the riders and teams make their way back to Anaheim, California – site of the season-opening round of the series – for what’s better known as Anaheim 2. As we await the best Supercross riders in the world to line up this weekend, let’s go back and revisit the Geneva round of the 2016 European SX series.