News Cycles: August 31, 2018

Aug 31, 2018

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Welcome to News Cycles, Common Tread’s roundup of what’s happening on our servers and everywhere else. Every Friday, look for a collection of news, stories, and all things moto from around the web. This week: setting records with vodka, Kawasaki's Z400, and farewell to one of the men who saved Harley-Davidson.

Man powers land speed racer with vodka, because he can

Racing in an alternate fuels class at Bonneville, racer and distillery owner Ryan Montgomery hit 113 mph on his specially prepared Yamaha XS650. The bike runs on vodka waste products that remain after the good stuff is bottled up, so Montgomery and his wife put it to use in a bike called “Sudden Wisdom.”

Kawasaki Ninja 400 — Kawasaki will build the Z400 on the Ninja 400 platform. Kawasaki photo.

Kawasaki Z400 (almost certainly) coming 2019

Kawasaki’s success with the Ninja 400 means a naked Z400 can’t be far behind, and emissions filings reveal an “ER400DK” waiting in the wings. Sounds like fun, but can we talk about a Versys X-400 now?

Remembered: Vaughn Beals, Jr.

Vaughn Beals, Jr. passed away this week at 90 years old. A former American Machine and Foundry overseer of Harley-Davidson, Beals was one of a group of investors who negotiated a buyback of HD, ending the AMF years and beginning a new era. He served as CEO through most of the 1980s, and chairman through 1996. In that time, Harley became profitable, released the Evolution engine for the Sportster, and went public. Beals also helped build the H.O.G. organization. For his efforts, he was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2008.

Yamaha R6 — Don't go through tires faster than you have to. Yamaha photo.

Can traction control wear out your tires faster?

Traction control works hard to keep you shiny side up, but does electronic assistance come at the expense of your tires? Turns out, that depends on your riding technique.

Chopper adventuring — Don't count choppers out of adventures. Or any kind of bike, really. Lemmy photo.

Does an adventure require a special motorcycle?

Adventure motorcycling is more than going off-road, running half-knobby tires, and having the “right bike.” With the right frame of mind, you don’t have to wait for an ADV bike in the garage to have an adventure of your own.

Indian adds rear cylinder deactivation tech for 2019

You might know cylinder deactivation from the car world, but some motorcycles have it too. Deactivating the rear cylinder on a big V-twin, for example, helps manage temperatures in slow or stopped situations. Harley’s offered their “parade mode” cylinder deactivation for some time, and now Indian’s joining in with some 2019 models. Is this Indian doing what Harley did a decade ago, or a feature other bikes should have?

That's all for this week, thanks for reading! If you've got comments, feedback, or moto news you'd like to share, shoot an email to commontread@revzilla.com. Check back for more News Cycles every Friday.