Oil Drippings: News and Opinion

By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com

Have a little money to invest? As little as $1? A start-up company in California called Vectolabs LLC  is trying to raise $50,000 by June 12 so that it can begin producing a product called Vololights. It’s a license plate frame with LEDs incorporated that flash whenever the bike decelerates.

Vololights are designed to complement the existing tail light, which only illuminates when the hand or foot brake is applied.

Vololights come on not only when the brakes are applied but when the rider downshifts or uses engine braking to slow down so as to alert anyone behind the rider. There are two “flashing” patterns that differentiate between normal slowing and emergency braking.

As of this morning, nearly $15,000 had been raised. More info on Vololights can be found on Kickstarter.com as well as a button that allows for pledging. While Vololights look neat, I’d also like an add-on chip that could convert my tail light as well.

No word on what the unit price for Vololights will be. I’ve emailed the company to try and find out.

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Suzuki will unveil its 2014 lineup of motorcycles tomorrow.

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On-road motorcycle sales in the U.S. were down 16.2 percent in the first quarter of 2013, the Motorcycle Industry Council reported yesterday. Scooter sales dipped 34.6 percent, while dual-sport sales were off 14.9 percent. Fewer than 100,000 motorcycles (93,375 to be precise) were sold. Weather played a big role as the first three months of 2012 were decidedly more pleasant than this year.

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Washington, D.C. will provide the backdrop for the 26th annual Rolling Thunder gathering this Memorial Day weekend, an event that is in part dedicated to bringing awareness to POW/MIA issues. “The Washington Times” has a story here about one of the event’s organizers.