In big contrast to February, March was a quiet month on motorcycle related news, still some things worth mentioning:
In this case the suspension lowers by around 5 cm when you come to a hold, and raises it back to normal height when riding off.
This has a number of advantages, in the case of HD easier to get on and off, in the world of MotoGP to lower your center of gravity, improve aerodynamics in a straight line and control the weight transfer or wheelie tendency of your motorcycle when starting from a standstill or hard acceleration out of a corner.
Talking about MotoGP, Marc Marquez, factory Honda rider, resumed training beginning of this month to participate in the first race in Qatar.
Days later the Repsol Honda Team communicated that Marc was missing the opening Qatar race.
The medical staff reviewing Marc's recovery after a big highside crash in the GP of Spain last year deem it yet not safe to race at the highest level.
A review of their decision will be made on the 12th of April.
Moto Guzzi celebrated their 100th birthday in March, a milestone in motorcycle history.
In recent years the brand has again been successful with retro bikes from the V7 and V9 series, but the V85TT allroad in particular is a very capable middle class that can count on a lot of sympathy with its fantastic looks.
In honor of the centenary, the entire range will be available in the Centennial livery.
Triumph announced their first full electric bike, the TE-1.
Perhaps the most striking thing about this whole project is the collaboration between Triumph, Williams and the University of Warwick. Williams has years of experience with batteries. Part of the technology of the TE-1 comes directly from the experience in Formula E. Currently the capacity is about 15 kWh, which it should be good for just under 200km range and a charging time of 20 minutes for 0-80% battery charge.
In the sneak preview pictures and videos released by Triumph we can clearly see that the design is taken over from the Speed Triple RS, which is a good thing.
Other battery related news, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha are collaborating to manufacture one universal type of interchangeable batteries.
Since its inception, the Consortium has set standards for the shared use of interchangeable batteries and their replacement systems. And that as a solution to the problems that hinder the widespread use of electric motorcycles. And this mainly concerns the extension of autonomy and the reduction of the charging time.
