plus 4, Forget the Flying Car: Here ComesThe Flying Motorcycle - Popular Science

Forget the Flying Car: Here ComesThe Flying Motorcycle - Popular Science
Whose autograph do you want, SRK or Valentino Rossi? - Mid Day.com
FROG KING -- Westport man sets Frogger record (With Blog Post) - Norwalk Hour
Sea Otter: SRAM's new off road bits - BikeRadar.com
Honda, Yamaha seek to leave a mark on two-wheels - Hindustan Times

Forget the Flying Car: Here ComesThe Flying Motorcycle - Popular Science

Posted: 05 Jan 2010 06:21 PM PST

How to build a commercially viable flying car: first, make it a motorcycle. The idea of creating a personal transportation craft that can both take to the skies and travel along the ground has been alive as long as science fiction. But meeting both the FAA's regulations for aircraft while simultaneously meeting the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration's guidelines for automobiles means compromises on both sides. Enter the Switchblade, a flying motorcycle that Northern California engineering firm Samson Motorworks hopes to have on the road and in the sky by next year.

The company chose a three-wheel design for the Switchblade to meet the criteria for a motorcycle rather than a car, thus side-stepping some automobile regulations, like the inclusion of bumpers, that add weight and reduce aerodynamics. The Switchblade still retains some car-like features -- occupants sit side-by-side in an enclosed climate-controlled cab, for instance -- but the long nose and canard is more rocket or drag bike than modern sedan.

Where it couldn't dodge regulatory hurdles, Samson engineers have met them head-on, installing rearview mirrors that retract during flight to reduce drag and devising wings that scissor open during flight mode but stow away in contained, protective underbelly compartments during ground transit.

Other companies are racing their own ground-to-air personal transportation craft to market as well, most notably Terrafugia's Transition flying car (or "roadable aircraft"), a four-wheeled, folding-wing vehicle designed to fit in a standard garage. But while the Transition is designed to hit all those NHTSA safety requirements that make it as safe on the road as your family sedan -- bumpers, extensive crash testing, a stable four-point wheel base, etc. -- its high six-figure price tag makes purchasing one wishful thinking for many.

Samson aims to have a $60,000, DIY kit to market as early as 2011, though a 120-150 horsepower engine and avionics will retail separately for about $25,000, all said. The skeptics in us think there's a very slim chance they'll hit that deadline; after all, we've seen a lot of pie-in-the-sky personal flying craft ideas come across our desks, but we have yet to see any cruise past our office windows. Still, that doesn't mean we're not anxiously awaiting the day that we do.

[Scientific American]

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Whose autograph do you want, SRK or Valentino Rossi? - Mid Day.com

Posted: 05 Jan 2010 05:53 PM PST

While many Bollywood actors are set to grace the 10th Auto Expo, Yamaha may bring in nine times Grand Prix World Champion Valentino Rossi

The 10th Auto Expo being held at Pragati Maidan promises to be a star-studded affair, with John Abraham kick-starting the celeb rush on the first day. Abraham unveiled the 2010 version of Yamaha's YZF-R1 motorcycle on Tuesday.

The other stars queued up to make their presence felt at the event are Saurav Ganguly who will be promoting Vibgyor bike and Saif Ali Khan, who will back General Motors. Shah Rukh Khan is slotted to arrive today to promote Hyundai's latest offering, while Vivek Oberoi may fly in to support Dilip Chhabria's designer Nano.

But the biggest crowd-puller could be nine times Grand Prix World Champion Valentino Rossi, who is rumoured to be attending the Expo to unveil the Limited Edition Yamaha YZF-R1 Valentino Rossi replica that will have his autograph on its tank. The model is priced above the existing YZF-R1 motorcycle, which costs around Rs 12.5 lakh.

However, Yamaha officials have not confirmed his presence at the show. But a source in Yamaha informed MiD DAY that the racing champion will visit the Yamaha pavilion on January 9 or 10.

Cars of the day
Checkout MiD DAY's favourite four from the several car launches that took place on the first day of the 10th Auto Expo
Toyota Kirloskar Etios

On Tuesday, Toyota unveiled its much-awaited compact car, which is the brand's global vehicle made in India, the Etios. Targeted at both the sedan and the hatchback markets, the Etios took over 2,000 engineers and four years to be built. The 5-seater Etios is a strong car with elegant interiors. It will roll out in 2011.

Maruti Suzuki RIII concept car
Maruti unveiled its concept multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), the R3 at the Expo. The concept vehicle is the first to be designed entirely in India within nine months. The R3 sports three rows of seats, which is what the name denotes. Its interiors are funky and draw inspiration from the properties of water. Pics/Rajeev Tyagi

Honda concept car
Honda unveiled the New Small Concept at the Expo. This is the first time Honda chose India for the world premiere of a car. The car has been designed for India and other emerging markets. Will be launched in 2011.

Volkswagen Polo car
Volkswagen entered the small car segment with its international best-seller, the Polo. The car, which is targeted for the masses, will hit the road in April but till then the company has decided not to disclose its price tag.

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FROG KING -- Westport man sets Frogger record (With Blog Post) - Norwalk Hour

Posted: 05 Jan 2010 06:14 PM PST

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WESTPORT

By CHASE WRIGHT

Hour Staff Writer

For more than a decade, the legacy of George Costanza lived on through the fictional Frogger high score he surmounted in a classic 1998 episode of Seinfeld.

George's crowning achievement of a record 860,630 points was recently trumped by Westport native Pat Laffaye, who on Dec. 22, became the first person in gaming history to beat the fictional "Costanza Score."

VIEW MORE FROGGER PHOTOS ON THE NEWS HOUND

Game over Georgie-boy.

Last month, Laffaye, 45, dropped a shiny silver quarter into the original Frogger machine that he keeps tucked away in the basement of his Edgewater Hillside home.

Five hours and fifteen minutes later, the longtime Westporter had navigated enough pixilated frogs across a busy road and hazardous waterways that he compiled a seemingly impossible score of 896,980, earning himself a place in pop culture history.

"It's pretty amazing," the new record-holder said Tuesday. "You start these games with the lowest of expectations. Pretty soon you hit a half-million points and still have three frogs left ... You start to think that maybe it's possible."

The official organization for video game scorekeeping, Twin Galaxies International, verified the record on New Year's Eve and crowned Laffaye champion.

"Even though it was imagined by television writers, Pat has broken one of the most famous scores in pop culture," Twin Galaxies Division Manager Patrick Scott Patterson said. "Pat's amazing score will now forever be attached to not only Twin Galaxies history, but pop culture trivia as well."

By storming past his previous high score of 771,000, which earned him a place in the 2010 Guinness Book of World Records, Laffaye has continued to push the primitive technology of this classic arcade game to its limits.

Developed by Konami and licensed for worldwide distribution by Sega, Frogger was first introduced to the public in 1981. The game's programers could have never imagined records of this magnitude (the high score rolls back to zero once a player hits 100,000 points).

And as the game wares on, glitches and blips in the technology make it increasingly difficult to navigate the tiny, green frogs across a maze of hazards, Laffaye said. Still, that won't stop the efforts of this recreational gamer and father of two. He fully intends to reach 1 million points and conquer other arcade games, such as the classic motorcycle racing game Hang-On.

For Laffaye, playing the occasional video game is a relaxing relief from the stresses of everyday life. Trained as an IT specialist and software programmer, Laffaye says he plays for the sheer joy of the game.

He's been competing competitively on the national gaming circuit since 1999, swapping Frogger high scores with his regional archrival Donald Hayes, who broke the original record set in 1982 with 589,000 points.

"I like to say that we've been leap-frogging each other," Laffaye said.

With the iconic "Costanza Score" now history, the race for 1 million points is on, and Laffaye is confident that he'll get there first.

"I've only got 100,000 more points to go," he said.

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Sea Otter: SRAM's new off road bits - BikeRadar.com

Posted: 05 Jan 2010 06:28 PM PST

Lots of new off-road items from the SRAM family

Component giant SRAM has been busy over the last year, and as usual at Sea Otter it unveiled a number of new products and tweaks to its road and mountain bike ranges. Off-road, it has made changes to RockShox forks, introduced the new Elixir line of hydraulic brakes under the Avid label, and given Truvativ some love with 18 new handlebars and several crank updates.

RockShox expands range of 20mm thru-axle forks

RockShox has focused on its bread-and-butter Reba and Revelation for 2009 with new chassis designs, updated internals and new axle options that are designed to increase their versatility and also improve performance.

The Reba is the more heavily reworked of the two with an all-new chassis that includes a hollow-forged AL-66TV crown and a distinctly SID-like magnesium lower legs with its beefy squared-off arch, PowerBulge lower bushing reinforcements and post-mount disc brake tabs.

As previously reported, Reba will be offered in both standard quick-release and Maxle Lite 20mm thru-axle varieties, the latter of which sheds a significant 50g from the standard Maxle while giving up little in terms of strength or stiffness. Currently, RockShox has no plans to adopt the recently introduced 15mm thru-axle standard that has been embraced by Fox Racing Shox, Marzocchi and Shimano.

Maximum travel has been increased to 120mm (limited to 100mm on quick-release 29" models, though), thus making Reba more of a trail bike fork for this latest iteration. New air spring internals will incorporate a 'floating' negative air chamber and a foam ring-lubricated main piston o-ring to yield a more linear and suppler feel.

Motion Control dampers on the Reba SL and Race models get some minor internal tweaks while the top-end Reba World Cup is upgraded to the BlackBox version complete with its titanium spring tube and Dual Flow compression and rebound circuits. Finally, external adjustment knobs will be removed.

Weights for the new Reba remain inline with last year's figures for the 26" version but 29"-compatible forks drop about 115g relative to last year.

Revelation's update is less dramatic. Maximum travel is increased to 140mm across the board and standard-axle versions receive a lighter hollow-forged crown. For the first time, Revelation will also be available with a 20mm thru-axle option featuring the new Maxle Lite.

Avid builds on Juicy technology with new Elixir line

The Juicy line of hydraulic brakes has been a resounding success but Avid brake designers still sought to make some improvements, namely in terms of power modulation. The new Elixir trades Juicy's straight-walled master cylinder bore and timing port internal architecture (the basic design shared by most hydraulic brakes currently on the market) for a novel new Taperbore setup.

When combined with the slightly revised pivot location, Elixir supposedly provides a less grabby initial bite combined with better deep stroke modulation. The arrangement also makes for a more cleanly integrated fluid reservoir.

The new two-piece calliper is fitted with larger grooved pistons (roughly between the sizes of Juicy and Code) and top-loaded pads that run cooler and offer more ultimate power than Juicy. A new G3 rotor design drops about 10g from G2 and is said to run a bit quieter.

Avid announced just a single Elixir R model for now which will include a tool-free reach adjustment and an optional carbon lever blade that drops 10g per wheel. Target weight for the Elixir R is 375g for a 160mm rotor and post-mount calliper, making it about 20g less than a comparable Juicy.

Pad contact adjustment is notably absent on the Elixir R but we did catch a whisper of an additional CR model which we can only assume is coming sometime in the future. No one mentioned what the 'C' stood for in that nomenclature but it seems logical that that model would incorporate the pad contact setting.

In spite of the improvements, though, Elixir is currently intended as a supplement, not a replacement, for the Juicy line. But Juicy Carbon has arguably always been a bit redundant and will be eliminated for '09.

Truvativ dusts itself off

Truvativ has arguably been somewhat behind the curve in some segments lately but looks to bring itself back to the forefront with a number of fresh products.

A new Stylo OCT crankset gets the same hollow-forged aluminium arm technology as on the road-going SRAM Rival OCT version, dropping 80g in the process while also increasing stiffness and strength from the old solid-forged Stylo. Chainrings receive some additional milling for reduced weight and improved shift quality while aesthetics move upscale with the high-polished Super aluminium and Mirror Black finishes. Singlespeeders will now get a 180mm option. The included GXP external bottom bracket remains unchanged.

Truvativ's heavier duty cranks have been the star of the brand in recent years and thus receive mostly cosmetic changes. However, all-new bashguards promise stronger and lighter performance courtesy of a new materials and a relieved design. aluminium chainring bolt inserts prevent crushing during installation and three finishes will be available, including a cool-looking 'china plate' graphic.

Cockpit components are the most heavily reworked with an army of 18 new bars and one new stem. At the top end, a new Noir line of carbon fibre cross-country bars will include two flat and three riser shapes along with a more modern appearance. Flat bars range from 580-600mm and weigh as little as 120g while risers stretch up to a generous 680mm wide and 15, 20, 30 or 40mm rises depending on model. All Noir bars will be available only in 31.8mm clamp diameters.

Cross-country riders preferring aluminium bars will have seven models and three performance levels to choose from in the new Stylo range. The top-end Stylo World Cup flat and riser bars weigh as little as 145g and 235g, respectively, while the Stylo Race, Team and SL flat and riser bars will provide a broad choice of widths, bends, rise and clamp options depending on rider preferences and budget.

On the freeride and downhill side of things, an all-new BooBar (named after former BlackBox manager and now long-travel product manager Jeremiah Boobar) delivers a massive 780mm width for those looking for more of a motorcycle cockpit-like feel. The Holzfeller bar drops 30g while a new Holzfeller Flatty provides an additional fit option for those looking to decrease control height. Hussefelt bars are mostly unchanged but get a white powder coat finish option.

Truvativ stems are mostly carryover (although a similarly comprehensive overhaul is slated for next year) with the exception of a new 170g AKA all-mountain model. Holzfeller and Hussefelt stems and pedal get new finish options, including Sno White, Purpletrator Purple and Galvanized Silver.

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Honda, Yamaha seek to leave a mark on two-wheels - Hindustan Times

Posted: 05 Jan 2010 08:02 PM PST

Japanese two-wheeler major Yamaha it is looking at capturing 10 per cent market-share in the Indian motorcycle market by 2012.

"Our aim is to capture 10 per cent share in the Indian motorcycle market by 2012. For that we will make substantial investment in launching new models," India Yamaha Motor CEO Yukimine Tsuji told reporters at the 10th Auto Expo here.

"In the 150cc segment, which is of 8.5 lakh units, we have at present a market share of 15 per cent and by the end of this year, we are aiming for a share of 25 per cent, Tsuji said.

He said the company is planning to focus on all motorcycle segments as part of growth strategy.

The company today launched an advanced version of its racing bike YZS-R1 priced at

Rs 12.5 lakh (ex-showroom).

It also launched a limited edition of its 150cc bike YZS-R15 priced at Rs 1 lakh.

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