by Sophie Vasiliadis

Arnie Advocates, Mahindra Takeover, and 3-D Print Wonders

Just in case you didn’t notice the byline above, The Current has been taken over by Sophia Vassiliadis, a Canadian writer with extensive experience in transportation publishing. It’s her first piece for TheVintagent.com, and we look forward to more!  Here’s Sophia’s report:

“The Current has been taken over by a Canuckian moto-writer who is thrilled to be here and hopes that this week’s update is adequate electric edification. While I catch up on all that’s newer in this exciting segment of motorcycling, I’ve book-ended the latest news flash with something celebrity and something sexy (from 2016.) See you again next week.”

The Terminator is a Rare Green Republican

Former California Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger on his daily exercise ride, a Felt ebike [Shutterstock via Ekstrabladet.dk]
He may have killed the Predator, but the Republican former Governor of California supports progressive technology. This isn’t news; in 2010 while he was the Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger made a much-discussed visit to Zero motorcycles, which was certainly a change from his daily ride: big Harley-Davidson V-twins. Perhaps Arnie’s celebrity politician endorsement of Zero pushed H-D to dig into their Live Wire program?  The timing is about right, anyway.

Recently, Arnold is back in the news with a fabulously campy campaign promoting electric vehicles, called “Electric For All”, a partnership with the Californian non-profit Veloz.  The promotion is directed at the automotive market, but in his personal work-outs Arnie actively endorses his new favourite mode of transportation, the electric bicycle. Mr. Schwarzenegger has also bucked the mud-slinging pundits, and openly supports a progressive environmental agenda…and has even Instagram’d himself with the young Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.

Perhaps Arnie really is an indestructible cyborg, willing to wade into the Internet flame wars as a Republican posing with climate activist Greta Thunberg. [Instagram]
Clearly Arnold is deeply invested in an electric future. Kudos to the Terminator for being an independent thinker.

Peugeot is the Latest European Auto/Moto Maker Under Indian Ownership

The new Peugeot Pulsion will be built under Mahindra’s guidance. Will the $20Bn Indian company have the same impact on the two- and four-Peugeot products that Tata has had on Jaguar? [Peugeot]
Meanwhile in India, Mahindra Two Wheelers, a subsidiary super-giant Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M Ltd), which is itself part of the $20.7 billion Mahindra Group just announced their purchase a 100% stake in Peugeot Motorcycles (PMTC) from their French parent company Groupe PSA.  Peugeot Motorcycles is based in Mandeure, France, and is confident this new partnership will allow further growth of the brand’s products and technology, with seven new products set to launch through 2021, such as the version of the Peugeot 308 i-Cockpit® which was recently introduced in the latest Peugeot Pulsion as the i-Connect.

The ute of the Peugeot EV line – the Elektro Roller GenZe, which we suppose is built for Gen Zs… [Peugeot]
Specific mention of Peugeot’s electronic offering in the press release bodes well for the development of their EV fleet which launched its first product way back in 1996. We’ll keep an eye on the success of the merger and what innovations emerge. Considering the size of the bike market in India where Mahindra Group and M&M Ltd reside, there is ample motivation for a more environmentally friendly movement away from the combustible 2-stroke to more clean energy options.

Revisiting a Stunning 3D-Printed Design

The Light Rider, from waaay back in 2016, is a stunning 3D-printed design welded up of 14 pieces. [APWorks]
Lastly, a peek back in time at what can come from a copier. This stunning 3D-printed dynamic art-piece from German Airbus subsidiary APWorks dates back to 2016. It’s not the most recent release but it’s worth revisiting, or discovering, as with me, that you’ve never seen it before. The 77lb Light Rider is driven by a 6 kW electric motor, and has a decent power-to-weight ratio. Though not the most powerful bike, even in 2016, the charge of this 3D motorbike could last 75 miles and reach speeds of up to 45 mph. The rather organic-looking design of the chassis looks like a cross between a spider web and a trestle bridge, and is a result of a clever algorithm meant to optimize the ability of the frame to absorb and disperse the variety of stresses presented by road conditions, while carrying different loads at an assortment of seat heights. The printer then generated the 14-part composite to be welded together.

A close-up of the remarkable structure of the Light Rider. [APWorks]
With a hefty price-tag of $56,500, the Light Rider may not have been the most economically accessible of e-bikes, but it surely made its way into the hands of a few discerning private collectors and enthusiastic riders who wanted to own the first electric 3D-printed motorcycle. Here’s to featuring many more of these creative options to combustion in the future.

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