At A2 Testing in Mooresville, North Carolina We had to wait our turn at the high tech facility. In 2007 the motorcycle named ASSALT WEAPAN Owned and built by Keith “Bandit” Ball of 5-Ball racing went 161 miles per hour at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, with an Accurate Engineering 120-inch Panhead engine. On October 14, 2024, the builder of the engine in that motorcycle Berry Wardlaw of ACCURATE ENGINEERING in Dothan Alabama took the motorcycle to A2 WIND TUNNEL in Mooresville North Carolina -https://a2wt.com/ Berry and I met in Mooresville Sunday evening so we would be ready for testing early Monday morning. When we got to the wind tunnel Michael Beland of A1 Racing and two of his people were there to meet us. Mike was going to be the rider for most of the testing https://www.a1cycles.net/racing The first thing that Geoffrey Eaker the Manager/ Operator told us was that what we were about to do that day was going to change our minds about what we thought we knew about air flow. Boy Was He Right. The motorcycle was secured to the floor of the wind tunnel Yellow Yarn Tattle-Tails were attached to the motorcycle, these were going to give us a visual of how the air was flowing. Mike made this statement about being on the motorcycle in the wind tunnel (It’s Easy– Don’t Move A Muscle For Three Minutes, LOL. What A Core Workout) While Mike was on the motorcycle multiple things were being recorded in the control room. After each run some minor temporary changes were made to see what affect they had. The information gained by each change was all recorded and will be reviewed in the future to see what changes can be made to the motorcycle without changing the class it runs in. I can tell you we did learn how to make the motorcycle faster, the rest is up to what Berry and Keith want to share prior to making changes and setting a new record. The plan is to return to Bonneville and set a new record with Berry riding the motorcycle and the wind tunnel testing was going to help make it happen. Berry is going to rebuild the engine to be purpose-built for the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials in 2025. He is going to add ceramic bearings in the wheels and other secret tricks. Bonneville is all about power, traction, aerodynamics and the balls to go very fast. Berry did not have his racing leathers with him, but he did get an opportunity to do a wind tunnel test. He was Very Pleased. There is still a lot to do, and it is going to be very interesting. There will be a lot more to this and I am sure Keith and Berry will keep you updated, well on most of it anyway, still got to keep the racers edge, can’t give all the secrets away. –Rogue A thumbs up from the 2024 Bikernet Salt Torpedo Team , who set a record with the first Streamlined trike with a top speed of 153.2 mph. 5-Ball Racing always supported by Bikernet.com The post ASSALT WEAPAN WIND TUNNEL TESTING appeared first on Bikernet Blog - Online Biker Magazine.

2025 Kawasaki Z900 SE ABS in Metallic Matte Graphite Gray / Ebony / Metallic Graphic Gray The Kawasaki Z900 ABS naked bike is updated for 2025 with refinements to its engine, chassis, and electronics package. It’ll be available in two colorways, with the Special Edition option offering a third colorway along with additional features.  The Z900’s seat is now thicker for added comfort. The Z900’s liquid-cooled 948cc inline-Four is updated with a revised cam profile to improve fuel economy and increase torque at lower rpm. New electronic throttle valves allow the ECU to control fuel and air intake for smooth engine response, and Kawasaki claims new ECU settings provide a more linear power delivery. Revised ignition timing across the rpm range has resulted in better fuel economy by 16%, and emissions are reduced. The gear ratios have been optimized for the Kawasaki Quick Shifter system to provide smooth up and down shifts, and the system has been updated to function at lower rpm. Related: 2024 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R Review The 2025 update includes new braking components, with Nissin radial-mount calipers up front pinching 300mm discs. Other electronics on the Z900 include the Kawasaki Cornering Management Function, which monitors engine and chassis parameters throughout a corner to adjust traction control, wheel lift, and ABS. The traction control system offers three modes, and ABS has two modes. Three pre-set riding modes (Sport, Road, and Rain) adjust traction control and power delivery, while Rider mode allows the rider to manually choose settings. The Z900 also comes with cruise control as standard for 2025.  The Kawasaki Z900 also gets updates to its suspension and brakes for 2025. The steel-trellis frame with the engine as a stressed member remains the same. Front and rear suspension settings have been updated to provide a more forward-leaning stance. Up front is a 41mm inverted fork with stepless rebound damping and spring preload adjustability, and the Horizontal Back-Link rear shock offers rebound and preload adjustability.  2025 Kawasaki Z900 ABS in Metallic Spark Black / Metallic Carbon Black / Ebony New radial-mounted 4-piston front calipers pinch two 300mm discs, and a new 250mm disc with a revised brake pad slow things down in the rear. Also new are the Dunlop Sportmax Q5A tires with an updated compound. Providing more comfort is the updated seat with thicker urethane in its rear portion. The seat base is positioned lower to allow for the thicker seat without raising seat height.  2025 Kawasaki Z900 ABS in Galaxy Silver / Metallic Spark Black / Phantom Blue The Kawasaki Z900 features a larger TFT display than the previous model, now at 5 inches, and it offers additional features not available on the previous model. The screen’s background color automatically transitions from white to black in low light and can be manually set, and the brightness also automatically adjusts. Two display options are available.  The 5-inch TFT display is larger than on the previous model and adjusts brightness based on ambient light. New for 2025 is turn-by-turn navigation, which can be displayed on the instrument panel. The Rideology app has been updated to include a voice-command feature to enable hands-free control. The app also offers vehicle info, a riding log, phone notifications, and tuning options.  Styling has also been updated. The bike features a more aggressive front end and new brushed aluminum shrouds engraved with a Z logo. Also new are the triple LED headlight design and taillight design.  The Z900’s taillight has been updated for 2025. In addition to the base model, the Kawasaki Z900 SE ABS includes extra features, including an Öhlins S46 rear shock with remote preload adjuster. The Z900 SE also gets 300mm Brembo front discs, Brembo M4.32 radial-mounted monoblock calipers, a Nissin radial-pump master cylinder, and stainless-steel braided lines. The two-tone seat features hand-stitch-style sewing, and a USB-C port allows charging devices.  The SE version gets an Öhlins S46 rear shock with remote preload adjuster. The 2025 Kawasaki Z900 ABS will be available in Metallic Spark Black / Metallic Carbon Black / Ebony with an MSRP of $9,999, and the Galaxy Silver / Metallic Spark Black / Phantom Blue colorway option will be priced at $10,299. The 2025 Kawasaki Z900 SE ABS will be available in Metallic Matte Graphite Gray / Ebony / Metallic Graphic Gray with an MSRP of $11,849. Visit the Kawasaki website for more information.  Check out more new bikes in Rider’s 2025 Motorcycle Buyers Guide  The post 2025 Kawasaki Z900 ABS Preview  appeared first on Rider Magazine.

Happy Friday everyone! It’s time again for our weekly PRECIOUS METALS REPORT courtesy of my friend Ira Bershatsky, and the last one we will have before the most important election of our lifetimes. As always, my standard disclaimer: Not personalized financial advice, but this is the quality of insight and macro analysis that people pay big money for…and thanks to Ira, I’m pleased to be able to share it was all of you. And as we head into that Election, the economic data is terrible and the stock market is tanking as I write this. Here’s more from my friend Ira Bershatsky in this week’s Precious Metals Update: Several economic reports out this week. The 3rd quarter GDP number was released on Wednesday at up 2.8 percent (Advanced Estimate) which was in line with expectations and did not move the markets significantly. Much of the increase came from government spending. On Friday, the employment report for October showed 12,000 jobs were created against an estimate of 100,000. The markets reacted positively to the news with gains across the board. Two reports were inflation-related. On Wednesday, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September was released and the core (less the volatile food and energy components) number was up.1% to 3.3% versus August’s 3.2%. In-line with expectations as they say. Expectations or not, a higher inflation number is higher inflation. On Thursday, the Personal Consumption Expenditures Index (PCE) (the FED’s favorite inflation gauge) was released and the core number, which is the one the FED watches most closely, increased .3% to 2.7%., above the FED’s inflation goal of 2%. Yet, the financial news people were celebrating a small increase. Inflation is inflation. Most markets reacted negatively on Thursday, with the major stock indices down form the previous day along with gold and silver. The financial news reporters are calling it profit taking from the recent run-up in the metals. For decades my response to that has always been I want to know who is taking profits. It can’t be everybody especially the investors who purchased higher! Regardless of the positive spin on the inflation numbers, my feeling is that the inflation numbers continue to be too high and persistent putting a dampening on the potential of the FED lowering interest rates as quickly as the markets would like. Buy the dip. Until next time… As always, I can’t tell you what to do and I certainly can’t provide personalized financial advice for anyone. But as for me personally? I sleep better at night knowing I own Gold, Silver and Crypto (especially Bitcoin and XRP). In fact, I just wrote this recently: https://wltreport.com/2024/10/31/heres-what-i-told-family-member-who-asked/ Focusing just on Gold and Silver, it’s important to have a trusted dealer you work with. I know many of you are already familiar with Ira Bershatsky, but for those who don’t know him, you can find Ira and his company, Advisor Metals, over at WLT Precious Metals. I have personally sent family members to Ira for 5-figure purchases of Gold and Silver and he treated them like royalty.  They were very pleased. That’s how much I trust Ira. No one has a crystal ball for the markets, but I trust Ira’s ethics and morals and customer service implicitly.  I always hear glowing reviews! I didn’t tell him I was sending them over either (and these particular family members have a different last name) so I did it as a bit of a “secret shopper” test and Ira passed with flying colors. Of course I knew he would. That’s why I work with him and that’s why I have confidence telling you about him. Ira can handle bulk purchases of bullion, coins, whatever you want. All custom ordered and shipped right to your door. A lot of people love Bullion because its the cheapest and most economical way to do it, to stretch your dollar into as much gold and silver as possible. The website is called WLT Precious Metals and when you see my logo in the top left-hand corner, you’ll know you’re in the right place. You’ll get a personal phone call with Ira Bershatsky (or someone on his team) and they will work with you free of charge for as long as needed to answer any questions you have and get you taken care of. How about that! You don’t see that much anymore, but Ira and his team pride themselves on good old-fashioned real customers service: No sales pitch, just real, actual help. And the best prices you will find. Here’s the only disclaimer I will give you: because they do pride themselves on dedicated service, it might take a few days before you get a phone call back.  Just be patient. Good things come to those who wait! You can contact Ira and WLT Precious Metals here. Ira can also help you if you want to purchase Gold and Silver in your IRA. I mean, his name is Ira, after all, OF COURSE he can help you purchase in your IRA account. The thing I love about purchasing in your IRA account is you can do it with no money out of pocket.  You just take money already in the IRA account, perhaps in stocks or bonds or other investments, and you can shift it into Gold and Silver. Again, I’m not your personalized financial advisor, I’m just explaining how it works. And it’s REALLY cool. So even if you’re saying times are tough right now, I don’t have a lot of spare money to shift into Gold and Silver, you might have a golden opportunity (pun intended!) already sitting there in an established retirement account. I’ll be back next Friday with another Precious Metals Report update from Ira. Until then…. Noah out.