Hovering with 8 motors

A farmer in China managed to hover in the air( about 3.3 feet high ) for 10 seconds with this device he made with 8 motorcycle motors. And I have been asking myself, "why". Seems like waste of good motorcycle motors. But come to think of it, According to this article, China currently allow people to own the same motorbike for only 11 years. After that, you have to scrap it. No vintage bikes in China, y'all!
I guess it is a part of the main reasons why they produce so many motorcycles and coming up with smaller displacement new models there. Harley is having hard time selling bikes there though the market is the biggest.

By the way, did you notice this farmer using so many zip ties? You should have some in your bike tool bags, too. Comes in handy when you have to kidnap someone, you know?

Via: Boing Boing

Shanghai Kittens -Mission Acomplished

The American student who was trying to save a kitten from China, has succeeded on the mission. She basically pull bit of stun that girls are good at.



Crying.

"Six weeks and $600.00 later, Lau and I were standing in the terminal of Shanghai Pudong Airport, and I was crying because the airline was not going to let him on the plane with me.

It worked out, in the end. The supervisor let me take him onto the plane, despite her fear of losing her job or being punished for it. I sat on the plane for 12 hours with Lau meowing and pawing at the carrier, sometimes being quiet before starting up again. I didn’t sleep at all, and when we reached Los Angeles, things got crazy yet again.

Customs was a breeze, but the line was so long that I missed my first plane. The second plane, and the last plane of the night, was almost a go- But then the security line was too long, and I missed the second flight as well. Lau and I ended up in a hotel room for six hours, where I got barely three hours of sleep between his meowing and fluttering around.

We arrived in Colorado Monday morning. Lau was quiet and well-behaved for the entire flight, and began bouncing around inside the car the minute I let him out of his carrier. An hour later, we were at home, and he settled down to rest in my bathroom while we waited for his new owner to come pick him up."

You can read the whole story at

Ohmurdering

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Aprilia Mana 850 Police in 重慶市 Chongqing

The thirty Aprilia Mana 850 make up a team to escort the former U.S. Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger. Those Aprilia were specially customized to fit the needs of the service according to the requests of Chinese. Kissinger,the Nobel Peace Prize winner, was in China to celebrate the anniversary of his first official visit to China 40 years ago.

What? Why Aprilia? Aren't there shit loads of motorcycle manufacturers in China? Yes, but those Aprilia were supplied by joint venture Piaggio Zongshen Foshan Motorcycle Co. Ltd, which of 45% is owned by Piaggio ,45% Zongshen Foshan and the rest owned by the city. Also, Chinese prefer European, and American vehicles for some reason. Owning those are sort of status symbol there. Did you know GM sold more car in China than here in the US? Buick is loved by Chinese.

Anyway, Aprilia Mana 850 houses a 90° V twin 850cc engine with electronic injection and liquid cooling. It is a sports motorcycle with engine mapping modes and a unique Gear System that allows automatic or semi-automatic control of the drive system for sports performance.

Via: Motoblog.it

E-Scooter

For the Shanghai Motor Show, folks at Volkswagen brought battery powered vehicle, called the E-Scooter. The scooter is powered with a 350-watt motor and built extremely light weight.(only 44 pounds without the battery) But its performance
25 miles range per charge and a top speed of 30mph is average. Not impressive...I guess they thought so too. The VW director of design for China, Simon Loasby tells us that the scoots range could be extended with a lithium-ion battery pack and its performance could be enhanced by putting a 700-watt electric motor.
Obviously Asia is the market for this scooter for daily utility use...so VW focused on low cost, possibly becoming new electric generation of Honda Cub, thus the 350-watt motor and NiMH pack.

"Our idea was to come up with a solution for affordable mobility in megacities like Shanghai, and to give people who've never owned a car a way into the VW brand. The E-Scooter isn't covered in VW badges, but you know it's a VW from the shape of the frame, the detailing of the head- and taillight, and the premium quality of the product." says Simon Loasby.

China has already many electric scooters available and average price of such scooters is around $500. VW's E-scooter will be less than 1000 bucks, they say...so I am thinking they are gonna have hard time selling them. I would say, make it high-performance and carry the VW badge for status or make it real cheap to be competitive. The E-Scooters are scheduled to be available in China sometime in 2012.

Source: Autocar.co.uk

Shanghai Sideways- On a Changjiang Sidecar

shanghaisideways.com

Discover Shanghai from a sideways look, seated in the side-car of a classic motorbike.

Enjoy an incredible cruise through the city and avoid traffic jams. We make you feel the pulse of this fast changing city and take you from modern Shanghais futuristic look to the heart of the 1920s French Concession. Tours follow a ready-made route or tailor-made to suit your interest.

With Shanghai Sideways, you enjoy the company of a foreign guide and driver who is a long term Shanghai resident. Although our classic motorbikes are antics, they all are perfectly maintained and monitored to guarantee your comfort and safety.

I might do that if they let me drive (correct term) the darn side car.

Dayun

Dayun is a Chinese motorcycle company.

Looks like an air-cooled single cylinder motor on it. The lettering on the tank reminds me of old "Honda"s