We’ve received a killer checklist for mid-September:
- Ducati has had its first occasion displaying off the V21L, and Honda’s “EV Enjoyable” prototype has been rebranded in anticipation of the following step within the firm’s improvement section.
- Our good pope has signed off on a BMW Transcontinental that might be auctioned off to feed youngsters in Madagascar.
- Based mostly on current trademark papers, LiveWire has determined the EV business wants a brand new heavyweight electrical motorbike.
- An Indiana Jones sidecar from “The Final Campaign” (1989) has simply been auctioned off; are you able to guess how a lot it was auctioned off for?
Let’s begin with the 2 most attention-grabbing updates within the electrical motorbike prototype house: Ducati and Honda.
Electrical Bikes: Honda and Ducati Reveal New Levels of EV Choices
What We’re Trying At and Why We’re Trying Ahead To Them
Everyone is aware of that the electrical motorbike business took off like a lubricated bullet a number of years again; with the EV hype got here guarantees of eco-friendly commutes, clear transportation, and a contemporary tackle the unique ICE aesthetic.
Whereas the development has died down considerably since then, electrical bikes have discovered their area of interest in our neighborhood, albeit primarily within the city commuter class. In reality, EV know-how has now progressed to the purpose that greater manufacturers are pushing out their very own choices, together with two firms that plan to posit their prototypes for fully reverse ends of our neighborhood.
We like evaluating what’s on the market on a semi-regular foundation, so let’s get into it.
Honda’s “EV Enjoyable” Prototype, Rebranded to “Be The Wind”
Large Crimson has all the time been infatuated with the electrical motorbike class, and now, they’ve revealed their subsequent step with a mannequin they’re utilizing to focus on (anticipate it) city commuters and new riders. The zero-emission, camo-wrapped roadster is being marketed as “Be the Wind” (Beforehand “EV Enjoyable”), and depends on a set battery pack that makes use of CCS2 fast-charging, the identical normal we at present have a good time for our indurtsy’s electrical automobiles.
Past the charging system, riders can sit up for a built-in battery, a single-arm swingarm, and a belt drive, all of which is presupposed to be powered by a mid-range engine that was listed in earlier statements to be able to a metropolis vary of “over 100 km.”
Beforehand, this “Be The Wind” idea was first offered at EICMA 2024; since then, a pre-production bike has been seen doing check laps in Japan and on European roads by Honda’s Japan-based improvement crew. Honda is positioning this mannequin as a viable various to a mid-sized fuel motorbike – a tall order – however we received’t know any additional data till we obtain extra data from the corporate on the sixteenth of September (through The Pack).
Ducati’s V21L
Naturally, Ducati’s takeover of MotoE comes with some critically large boots to fill; Energica’s golden period punted out a sequence of magnificent choices, all taking efficiency inspiration from their information as MotoE provider, and now, Ducati’s lastly revealed their very own MotoE-inspired electrical motorbike.
We’ve identified in regards to the V21L for some time, however Ducati’s current occasion proudly posited a “first reside demonstration of a Ducati motorbike powered by solid-state lithium-metal batteries” with this very mannequin at this 12 months’s IAA Mobility 2025 in Munich (through The Pack). The goal for this bike stays Ducati’s most well-liked crowd – high-performance fans – and contemplating that is being marketed as the primary motorbike to make use of a brand new solid-state lithium-metal battery, she ain’t gonna be low cost. When the V21L DOES hit pleb pavement, nonetheless, we will count on that this tech will assist to switch Ducati’s electrical, racing-derived improvements to their future manufacturing bikes.
Within the meantime, riders can sit up for a 150-horsepower engine able to revving as much as a most of 18,000 rpm, with torque rated round 103 pound-feet (through Paddock GP). Prime velocity is right here, too, with the prototype being recorded round 275 km/h (171 mph) on a grid.
The entire package deal – full with the aluminum monocoque entrance body – is presupposed to weigh 496 kilos, with 242 kilos of that being the battery pack; nonetheless, the factor is about to cost to 80% max capability in 45 minutes, and can carry race-derived Öhlins NPX forks, a TTX36 shock absorber, and Brembo brakes with outsized, finned metal discs.
For an in depth have a look at each Honda and Ducati’s budding electrical choices, head over to Ducati and Honda’s protection of every mannequin:
Holy Bikes: Pope Leo XIV Blesses BMW R 18 Transcontinental
Transfer to Increase Funds for Youngsters in Madagascar
In a really devoted show of religion and charity, a BMW Transcontinental has obtained the blessing and signature of Pope Leo XIV – and it ain’t in order that y’all can go undercover on the boys in blue.
In line with a report from Motorbike.com, a personalized BMW R 18 Transcontinental has been chosen to be auctioned off by the Roman Catholic church to assist youngsters in Madagascar.The thought for this distinctive mission was apparently as a consequence of a collaboration between BMW Motorrad Deutschland, German supplier Witzel, and JESUS-BIKER founder Thomas Draxler. The mannequin itself has been wearing a pontiff-ish mother-of-pearl white and adorned with the Vatican’s coat of arms, together with different particular modifications and the pope’s personal signature (that’s received to be value one thing, proper?).
On September 3, 2025, after a basic viewers on the Vatican, we’re instructed that Markus Flasch, the CEO of BMW Motorrad, and Michael Sommer, head of BMW Motorrad Germany, personally offered the R 18 to the Pope for his blessing and signature.
Right here’s Flasch’s ideas on the entire thing:
– Markus Flasch, the CEO of BMW Motorrad |
The R 18 is slotted to be auctioned by Missio Austria through Sotheby’s in October, with all proceeds devoted, as said above, to youngsters’s help tasks in Madagascar. Earlier than the public sale, it is going to be on show at BMW Welt in Munich from September 15 to October 7, 2025.
For an in depth have a look at the custom-built R 18 Transcontinental and the residual mission for Madagascar, take a look at the report on Motorbike.com:
Quick Filings: LiveWire Trademark Papers Present New Heavyweight EV On The Approach
Meet the “S4 Honcho”
LiveWire, the electrical arm of Harley-Davidson, is outwardly hinting at a brand new heavyweight EV. Whereas the corporate has been specializing in its S2 middleweight lineup, together with S3 light-weight fashions and maxi-scooters, a brand new trademark submitting suggests they’re able to deal with the massive leagues, although we’re not so certain the motorbike might be well-received at this level within the EV market.
Within the meantime, right here’s what we all know in regards to the bike: On September fifth, LiveWire filed a trademark utility for the title “S4 Honcho.” That is the primary time we’ve seen a concrete signal of a heavyweight S4 mannequin from the corporate and, based on Motorbike.com, LiveWire’s authentic product plan reserved S4 fashions for “with anticipated enhancements in vary and charging capabilities” – a good admission and arguably a mandatory one, contemplating this bike is already within the heavyweight class.
The title “Honcho,” which is Japanese for “group chief,” suits with the thought of a flagship mannequin, although the timing is attention-grabbing, provided that LiveWire had beforehand been centered on cost-cutting and cutting down new platform improvement. Whereas we’re not anticipating the Honcho to launch till 2027 on the earliest, we would get a glimpse of an idea at EICMA this November, giving us a greater thought of what to anticipate from LiveWire’s first heavyweight electrical motorbike.
Within the meantime, and for anyone prepared to look additional, the corporate’s current SEC submitting for a $50 million inventory sale might point out that the corporate is near securing new funding, paving the best way for these new S3 and S4 tasks. Time will inform, control the newsstands, and we’ll hold you posted.
For a full dive into LiveWire’s trademark filings and what they might imply for the way forward for their EV lineup, make sure you head over to Motorbike.com:
The Public sale ChopBlock: Anyone Purchased the Motorcycle from “Indiana Jones: The Final Campaign” (1989)
Guess How A lot The Bike and Sidecar Duo Introduced In!
In the event you’ve ever wished to really feel like a hat-obsessed, snake-hating archaeologist/professor with a penchant for dramatics and misplaced artifacts, there’s an opportunity {that a} lately auctioned bike may need been your ticket to feeling a minimum of half of these vibes. For these of you with a good upbringing, the Indiana Jones franchise was seemingly a favorite; in our dwelling, it was a well-worn set of VHS tapes picked each different week for a marathon of dusty adventures, sardonic quips, unique landscapes, and, when the case warranted, thrilling motorbike chases.
In “Indiana Jones: The Final Campaign” (1989), there may be an iconic chase scene involving a Soviet-built Ural/KMZ Okay-650; it is a rugged motorbike and sidecar outfit that’s good for the WWI-era chase scene with Indiana Jones (performed by Harrison Ford) and his father, Professor Henry Walton Jones, Sr. (Sean Connery). In line with Visordown, this exact same motorbike has simply gone beneath the hammer, although it isn’t immediately recognizable as a Ural, given the work that was carried out by Lucasfilm’s manufacturing crew to decorate up the factor to resemble a wartime BMW.
However again to the public sale; we’re instructed that bids on this bike have been initially estimated to fetch wherever between $40,000 and $80,000; think about the shock of the crowds, then, when the bike introduced in a staggering $138,600!
On to the precious query: Will she run? Apparently not, regardless of the factor having undergone some gentle tinkering for highway use; that being stated, the mannequin DID include its authentic California title from the ’90s and essential Lucasfilm paperwork to verify absolute authenticity.
Congrats, Ural – that is now probably the most costly Urals ever bought, and a really fantastic little bit of cinematic historical past to have within the storage!
For a full dive into the public sale particulars and to see how the bike was photo-matched to the movie, take a look at the total report on Visordown:
