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Indian Motorcycle’s All-New 2020 Challenger Redefines the Classic American Bagger

We’ve come a long way, baby.” That might be the most fitting tagline for Indian Motorcycle. As the oldest American motorcycle company, it’s the brand that broadly defined the country’s two-wheeler history. A lot has changed since its founding more than 100 years ago. Now, it’s bringing a century of design, development, and technological expertise to bear on one of the most advanced two-wheel baggers on the road.

Introducing the Indian Challenger - Indian Motorcycle

On the spectrum of motorcycle types, baggers are typically streamlined, light-duty touring bikes with a handful of creature comforts. The all-new 2020 Indian Challenger is billed as “the ultimate American bagger,” boldly pushing the traditional limits of the category with a long list of amenities. The PowerPlus engine — a liquid-cooled large-displacement motor — is a first for Indian. The 108-cubic-inch, 60-degree V-twin features overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder to deliver a class-leading 122 horsepower with 128 ft-lbs of torque. The powertrain also boasts a six-speed transmission with true overdrive, plus an assist clutch to minimize clutch effort for a buttery smooth ride

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Three distinct ride modes — Standard, Sport, and Rain — enhance ride dynamics based on the terrain and desired performance. Each mode delivers unique ride characteristics through tractional control and mode-specific throttle mapping. Race-spec Brembo brakes and performance touring tires are standard, working in tandem to provide on-a-dime stopping power. To blur the lines further between “bagger” and “tourer,” Indian added a chassis-mounted fairing with a power-adjustable windscreen that features almost three inches of travel.

Additional high-tech amenities are standard on the upgraded Challenger Dark Horse and Challenger Limited models. Both are equipped with innovative Smart Lean Technology to provide riders with added confidence when cornering through ABS, torque control, and dynamic traction control. Indian’s Ride Command infotainment system is also standard. The seven-inch screen is the largest available on any two-wheeler, delivering essential vehicle information, traffic & weather overlays, and USB and Bluetooth mobile pairing.

Indian Motorcycle is best-known for the iconic Indian Scout — a bobber that remains a symbol of two-wheel purity. The company celebrated its 100-year history this year with the release of the Scout 100th Anniversary Model.

two-wheeler touring setup, check out our roundup of the best motorcycle tents for camping the open road.

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Tesla self-driving video? All staged, says company engineer
Fake? The 2016 video was used by Tesla to showcase how its EVs can drive on their own
Tesla Model X front end angle driving down the road with mountain cliffs in the back.

While most cars on the road today offer some kind of advanced driver-assist system that lets them handle some aspects of driving, the technology was relatively new in 2016. That’s what made Tesla’s video depicting a Model X driving itself so remarkable. The video showed a Model X driving from a house in Menlo Park, California, to Palo Alto without any input from a driver (the video is at the bottom of this article if you haven’t seen it in a while).  The video was used to promote Tesla’s self-driving technology and Tesla CEO Musk quickly took to Twitter to state that the video was evidence that a “Tesla drives itself.”
Well, it turns out that the video was faked. Who would’ve guessed it? According to a new report from Reuters, the video that clearly shows a Model X driving by itself is actually a video of a Model X that’s driving by itself with technology that Tesla wasn’t offering in its production vehicles. The news comes from a transcript of a July deposition that the outlet received, which was originally taken as evidence in a lawsuit against Tesla for a 2018 fatal accident involving a former Apple engineer.

The testimony comes from Ashok Elluswamy, director of Autopilot software at Tesla. “The intent of the video was not to accurately portray what was available for customers in 2016. It was to portray what was possible to build into the system,” said Elluswamy in his testimony.
To create the video, Tesla reportedly used 3D mapping on a predetermined route. Elluswamy claims that drivers behind the wheel of the Model X had to intervene to take control of the car, and when Tesla was trying to show off just how well the vehicle could park on its own, the Model X crashed into a fence in Tesla’s parking lot. When asked if the video portrayed abilities, like stopping at a red light and acceleration at a green light, that Tesla was offering on vehicles that customers could purchase in 2016, Elluswamy said, “It does not.”
This isn’t the first we’re hearing that the video is staged, but this is the first time an existing Tesla employee has gone on the record to definitively state that the video is fake. In 2021, The New York Times carried out an investigation that involved speaking with several of Tesla’s former employees who stated the video was fake.
Full Self-Driving Hardware on All Teslas
Tesla has been under fire because of its Autopilot driver-assist system. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has reportedly looking into roughly 41 crashes involving a Tesla and its advanced driver-assist systems. The U.S. Department of Justice started a criminal investigation into Tesla’s claims that one of its EVs can drive itself in 2021 after a number of fatal accidents involving Tesla’s Autopilot system, claims Reuters. Someone has created a website called Tesla Deaths, which keeps track of all of the fatal accidents that have occurred in a Tesla. As of today, the website claims that there have been 348 deaths involving a Tesla.
Musk promised that Tesla would have a completely self-driving vehicle on sale by the end of 2017. It's now 2023 and Tesla still doesn't have a fully autonomous vehicle on sale – no automaker does, regardless of what they're claiming – despite selling a package that's called "Full Self-Driving Capability."

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BMW’s ‘new’ R motorcycles are the most retro-cool bikes we’ve ever seen
These limited edition BMW motorcycles are a blast from the past
2023 BMW R 18 and R nineT 100 Years Editions in front of a villa during sunset and parked on a dirt parking lot.

BMW may be known for its upscale sports cars, but the German brand’s motorcycle division is celebrating its 100th birthday in 2023. The company has released two rad bikes to commemorate 100 years of motorcycles from BMW Motorrad. The 2023 BMW R nineT 100 Years and R 18 100 Years Editions (no one said the bikes would have easy names) celebrate BMW Motorrad’s centenary with designs that make them look like they’re from a different era.
For BMW Motorrad fans, the new limited-edition nineT 100 Years and R 18 100 Years Editions resemble bikes from the brand’s early days. The most noticeable design elements on the motorcycles include a black-and-white paint scheme with white double-pinstriping. The motorcycles also utilize a liberal amount of chrome as a nod to motorcycles of the past, which came with loads of the shiny stuff. The special motorcycles feature paint on some of the chrome components thanks to a process called “paint on chrome” that was very popular five decades ago. While the process was straightforward back then, it’s far more complicated now because of the use of REACH compliant Chromium III. It may have been difficult to pull off, but the look of the black and gray metal tank is sublime.

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Get up to speed with our comprehensive dictionary of motorcycle slang
How much motorcycle slang do you know?
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Welcome to The Manual's dictionary of motorcycle slang. This unofficial glossary was created by those who prefer travel on "twos" to teach people the lingo of the road. Learning this language might not only bring you a new level of enjoyment, but it also could ensure your safety. Robert M. Pirsig captures this idea deftly in his book, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, when he writes, "It's the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top." Winter is the perfect time to prepare for lots of riding in spring, and what better way to do that then learn the ins and outs of motorcycle lingo?

Motorcycling, just like any other special activity, has its own vocabulary. This slang might make you sound like a veteran rider and give you helpful tips, like what to know when you need to tune your motorcycle and what to look for when purchasing your first motorcycle. Whether you own a motorcycle or are thinking of purchasing a new bike, now's the right time to get a better understanding of motorcycling. You might know the difference between a trike and a bobber, but do you know what a panny or a tiddler is? That's what this cheat sheet is for.
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ADV: Short for “adventure,” ADV means both a kind of bike and a kind of riding. ADV bikes can be ridden on- and off-road and are often called “dual-sport bikes” or “adventure bikes.” A ride on such a bike is often called an “ADV ride,” and there are countless ADV groups, websites, clubs, etc. Usage: “Check out my new KLR 650. I can’t wait to take it on that epic ADV ride this summer.”

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