Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/857656
L.A. BIKER GETS CUT OFF ON FREEWAY, LANDS ON CAR THAT KEEPS DRIVING By Jason Marker A Southern California motorcyclist is lucky to be alive a er he rear-ended a car that cut him off in freeway traffic. On the morning of May 19, a rider who goes by the handle HD2 was south-bound on the Hollywood Freeway in Los Angeles. Traffic is pre y heavy on the 170 during rush hour, but our man was cruising along in the mostly clear carpool lane on his Harley-Davidson Fat Bob, enjoying his morning commute. Unfortunately for him, things were about to go sideways real fast. As HD2 approached the Burbank exit, a blue Toyota cut from the middle lane, across the hammer lane, and into the HOV lane to bypass some slow-moving traffic - and cut directly into HD2's path. Thankfully, HD2 had rolled off his thro le as he approached the clot of traffic, but he was s ll moving at a good clip when the Toyota appeared. With only seconds to react, he pulled in the clutch and stomped on his rear brake pedal, locking up his rear wheel. He let off the brake, but it was too late to maneuver and he plowed directly into the rear of the Toyota. The impact threw HD2 over the handlebars, and he landed on his back on the Toyota's rear window. INDUSTRY Apparently unaware that he'd just caused a nasty crash, the Toyota driver con nued on his way with HD2 pounding on the rear window, trying to get him to stop. Eventually the driver stopped, and a shaken but mostly uninjured HD2 confronted him. He quickly discovered that the Toyota was a rental, and the young man driving it had waived the add- on rental insurance. The California Highway Patrol arrived soon a er, took statements, and helped get the sadly mangled Harley onto what li le shoulder there was. WHAT'S OUT THERE: A SNAPSHOT OF THE ELECTRIC BIKE MARKET. US MARKET NOT AS DIVERSE AS EUROPE OR ASIA, BUT EXPANDING RAPIDLY By Papa Wealy Every so o en, we see a media release from another company claiming to be cobbling together the funds to start up an electric vehicle. Some are a li le more likely to happen than others, of course. The recent news that Harley- Davidson will indeed – some day – bring its stylish LiveWire project into produc on was, for example, not much of a surprise. BMW's C-Evolu on scooter remains available only in Europe, but will likely be available in the United States before too long. Like the rest of Japan's Big Four, Honda has shown obvious interest in the technology with the Mugen-developed electric racers for the Isle of Man Zero TT, but as yet no indica on of a e-moto for the road. Honda's recent patent applica on for a gas/electric hybrid trike may be a sign of a plan for the near future. Yamaha, meanwhile, displayed concept road and dirt models two years ago at the Tokyo show, but has offered li le informa on since. KTM has also shown a desire to enter the market with its Freeride E series. But what about bikes that are actually available right now? An ar cle we spo ed recently on GreenCarReports.com breaks things down in more detail but we decided to put together a quick snapshot of the electric market as it stands. At least, as it stands in the United States. Folks elsewhere (like Europe, where the aforemen oned C-Evolu on and Freeride E bikes are available) will find that what is and isn't available will vary. Zero Motorcycles By far the best-established electric motorcycle brand in the United States, if not the Western world, is California- based Zero. The company has six different bikes in its line-up, ranging from the $8,495 FX to the $15,995 SR and DSR. The SR gets more power for 2017, new paint job, wider drive belt and a locking tank-trunk. Features include a Bosch ABS system, Showa suspension, and Pirelli Diablo Rosso II res. Equipped with a so-called "Power Tank" the SR claims a range of 202 miles on a single charge. Though, it should be noted that tes ng in the European Union is based on higher sustained 20 WheelsOfGrace.com Issue 37