Elio Motors

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Elio Motors is going to be making a car. Well, it’s kind of a car. It’s actually classified as a motorcycle. It’s got 2 wheels in the front and one in the back.

Elio Motors

So whats the big deal you ask? First, they are claiming 84 MPG! That’s better then most bikes, and this thing has A/C. All for under $7,000! I have been following these guys for awhile and until I went to see them today I had serious doubts about them coming in anywhere close to their claimed $6,800 price tag.

Elio Motors posted on Facebook that they were coming to Cleveland. It turned out that they were going to be about 30 minutes from my work, so I dipped out early and rode over to check it out. I was excited to see if I would fit inside the Elio. I didn’t sit in it…as I was walking up to the car there was a guy that was about 6’3″ and a bit over 300 pounds getting in it. He had tons of room!

Still having doubts about the final price I asked the Elio Rep a few questions about it. Basically the entire car besides the body and frame are straight off the parts shelf. Meaning, that the majority of the car is already made by other companies, so the R&D has already been done. The engine is a reverse engineered Geo Metro motor (1.0 liter three cylinder/ 70hp). They added a better fuel injection system and computer, but it’s mostly unchanged. All the maintenance items like brakes and filters are already available. There are only 400 part numbers for the whole car. The Elio rep said that most cars have over 4,000 part numbers.

He assured me that no part of the car is manufactured outside the US. My original thought was that the whole thing would be made overseas and assembled here. That is apparently not the case!

The other concern some people have is the safety of the “car”. I guess if you don’t already ride a motorcycle then that might matter to you. But they are claiming a 5 star rating. That is pretty impressive. It comes standard with three airbags, the Rep said that the airbags basically cocoon you when they deploy. Pretty cool!

According to the Rep it’s still unclear if this would require someone to have a motorcycle endorsement to drive it. Not a problem for most people reading this blog, but that means that it might require you to wear a helmet in some states! Granted, the police officer would have to be having a really bad day to write a ticket for not wearing your helmet inside a fully enclosed vehicle, and the judge would be a total dumbass to not throw it out of court, but it’s still something to think about. But if I had to wear a helmet in a car, then this would be the one…

elmo helmet cover

If they are able to keep the price where it is, I’ll think I’ll get one of these and throw some studded snow tires on it. Perfect winter commuter.

In case anyone was wondering, the rear wheel has a single sided swing arm. I didn’t look at it, as the car I was looking at was just a prototype and who knows what was actually under there. It didn’t even have a windshield wiper!

Honda Grom

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The Honda Grom is kind of a funny little bike. Let’s start with a picture so we are on the same page…

2014 Honda Grom

 

It’s basically a 3/4 scale motorcycle that Honda will be bringing to the US this year. With a 125cc air cooled single and fuel injection. It has a claimed 10 HP and 8 ft-lbs of torque, a chain drive and a 4-speed manual. It’s 225 pounds wet, and a hair under 30 inch seat height. Enough about specs, you can read more specs on Honda’s website!

So what does this mean for the Adventure Touring community? Not much. A claimed top speed between 65-70 mph means that it has no business on the freeway. But on the plus side, some estimates are calling for about 100mpg! So what could this bike be used for? Well, I think it would be a perfect learners bike. It only costs $3,000 so it wont break the bank, or your heart if you drop it. And at 225lbs anyone can pick it up.

But what I would really like to see is someone take this bike on the TAT! There are a couple dual sport type tires available for the 12″ rim on the Grom. The most aggressive that I have found is the  Kenda K761.

 

Kenda K761

 

I think a long trip on a bike that small would have to be done mostly staying in hotels and eating at restaurants, as I doubt anyone will be jumping to make pannier systems for the Grom. Who cares? There are a lot of people that have done epic trips on scooters, and old Honda CT70′s! So why not with the Grom? I guess you could call the Grom the ‘CT’ of this generation!

CT 70

I can’t say for sure, but it doesn’t look like there would be an easy way to mount a skid plate, so that might be an issue. I’ll be at my local Honda dealer as soon as they get one so I can climb all over the thing and check it out! It sure does look like a blast!

A new take on “Long Way Down”

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A couple weeks ago I bought my wife a bike. It was her idea and there was no pressure from me. So every few days, I’ll ride it to a local park with a big empty parking lot so she can ride while we wait to get her into an MSF class.

I showed her what I could remember from the MSF course, and let her run with it. She’s doing really well too! One day we decided to take a ride around our neighborhood and I followed on my bike. She is still a bit wobbly and lacks confidence, but is getting better every time.

What does this have to do with the “Long Way Down” series? Well, when I wrote my original review I was pretty critical of Ewan deciding to let his wife tag along on part of the trip. She was extremely inexperienced on a motorcycle and slowed Ewan and Charlie down.

 

Ewan and his wife Eve during "Long Way Down"

Ewan and his wife Eve during “Long Way Down”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But now, having taken a short ride with my wife, I would follow her around the world with a huge smile on my face! It wouldn’t matter that she can’t go as fast as I would like too, just riding with her was freaking awesome.

Call me a sentimental cheeseball, I don’t care. My wife is my buddy, and now that she is riding that’s one more thing we can do together!

Little more on the XT225

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I took the XT to work today. It only has 1700 miles on it and it needs more! Couple things jumped out at me very quickly…

It’s way too short for me. I’m not exactly sure how much it has been lowered, but add in that the seat has been shaved and it quickly becomes very uncomfortable. That being said, it’s still a hoot to ride. The thing weighs almost nothing, and you can really whip it around.

The headlight is much better then the one on my DR. I’m pretty sure it’s stock too. I’ll be looking for DR headlight upgrades soon!

It’s really weak compared to the DR. I can’t compare it to anything though, but I’m sure it’s fine. Just going to take getting used to having less power.

First gear is ridiculously low. By the time the clutch is out it’s time to shift to second. I guess it will be great offroad, but adding a tooth in the front will probably help.

It’s a little buzzy. People warned me that a thumper would be buzzy when I bought my DR. Until now I had no idea what they were talking about. There is some engine vibrations at higher speeds that you can feel through the pegs and seat. It’s not bad, but on a cross country trip, I would be doing my best to stick to roads with a sub 50mph limit.

All in all I’ve put about 70 miles on it since we got it. I really like it, but if it wasn’t my wife’s bike I would be raising the suspension back up, and getting a more comfy seat!

XT225

The wife gets a bike!

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A few weeks ago (about the same time I started riding more) my wife expressed a bit of interest in getting her own bike! So the hunt was on for a bike that would fit her. She’s short, so the options were pretty limited. So short, in fact, that there isn’t a dual sport out there that she could even tip-toe without lowering it.

As luck would have it there was a guy at the local trail riders club that had a line on a lowered XT225. So, to make a long story short, it’s now sitting in my garage! We picked it up last weekend and spent a couple days cleaning the carb, and doing some general maintenance. It’s a 1997 with only 1,650 miles! It’s got a Clark tank, Acerbis hand guards  nice little tail rack, and some good tires too boot!

I rode it to a local park while she followed me in the car. I gave her some pointers and she hopped on and took to it like a duck to water. After a pretty short time she was zipping around the parking lot having a good time. Now we just need to try to get into one of the booked full MSF courses before I teach her a bad habit!

Let me back up a bit…We went to a local place to get her a helmet and gloves. After trying on a bunch of helmets she decided on a Bell. She didn’t want to get a very expensive helmet until she was sure she liked riding. Here’s the odd part. She could only fit into an XXL Bell! Ok, she’s got a huge grape…but my HJC is only a large and she swims in it?!? And I couldn’t squeeze into her helmet. At first I thought maybe she was just trying on the kids sizes until we went to another store and it was the same deal. I guess Bell doesn’t make a helmet for my head. I bet there’s more then one person that has gotten embarrassed trying on their helmets!

The funny thing about her not wanting to spend a bunch on a helmet until she knew she would like riding…now she’s looking at Aerostich jackets! Nothing like going from a $100 helmet to a $500 jacket to say you like riding!