I JUST WANT 2 RIDE!!

DOWN Shift – Vehicle Kill Switches  

Nothing has changed except that National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has published it preliminary report on the Biden Infrastructure mandate regariding vehicle kill switches. The NHTSA is looking for public feedback on this issue.  One of the areas that they are looking for input is on false positives.

My Take – False positives shutting your car/motorcycle off is one major area of concern I have with this proposed legislation.  Even with 99.9% success rate that would leave millions of vehicles shutdown every day. Another major area of concern for me, can the police or OTHER government officials shut down your car remotely?  Just because they say that it will not happen does not mean it will not happen. You can supply that feedback and make your voice heard on this new regulation by going to regualtions.gov and searching for the docket number, NHTSA-2022-0079.

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UP Shift – Bently and Ducati team up for a luxury motorcycle

The Ducati Diavel V4 motorcycle is getting the Bently Batur treatment.

The Bently Batur with a twin-turbo 12-cylinder 730HP engine is the most powerful Bentley ever to leave the production line.  The Batur was limited to a run of just 18 but Ducati can let you get a taste of that exclusivity.

The Ducati is painted a Scarab Green color that pulls from the Bentley Mulliner palette. The lines of the motorcycle are being updated to reflect the Bently’s characteristics.  Featuring forged rims that reflect the shapes of the car. The bike’s two-tone grille comes directly from the Batur while the triangular exhaust pulls from the sports car and front mudguard, fairing and upper view of the tank are meant to look like Batur’s hood.

Even with the Bently treatment buyers have option:

    Two-seat or single-seater tail configuration. The rider’s seat is covered in black Alcantara and red fabric that matches the look of Batur’s seats. The Bentley logo is embroidered on the rear pad.

    A “jet” helmet

    A matching jacket

Ducati will sell only 550 of these luxury motorcycles. Fifty examples are reserved exclusively for Bentley owners, who can add even more custom elements.

Each bike comes with a certificate of authenticity, a passenger seat and motorcycle cover, delivered in a personalized wooden case.

My Take – WOW.  No pricing was available when I wrote this post, but I expect it will be out of my tax bracket.  I put this as an upshift as it draws attention to the motorcycle industry.  If a Bently Batur owner gets a matching motorcycle, maybe just maybe they might buy a bike that they will actually ride.

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Ride on, Ride Safe