How crash-detection technology is shaping the future of motorcycling

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People are more connected than ever these days. Our smartphones talk to everything from our smart watches to our smart toilets. 

It’s worth clarifying that crash-detecting systems are used for various purposes, not just contacting emergency services.

Fly Racing’s Formula S helmet leverages impact-detection algorithms and proprietary circuitry developed by Quin helmets. The Dallas-based company claims its tech can differentiate between an accidental helmet drop and a major crash. When the latter occurs, the Formula S sends location, health, and safety data to the rider’s emergency contacts via text message, e-mail, and push notifications. Unfortunately, Quin only alerts emergency dispatchers for customers with an Apex membership ($7.99 monthly). Otherwise, a user’s friend or family member will need to hail medical services themselves. 

While most crash-detection systems function like Quin’s, there’s no shortage of options at the customer’s disposal.

Airbags aren’t the only protective gear showcasing this technology.

BMW was the first motorcycle OEM to offer onboard crash detection when it debuted Intelligent Emergency Call (IEC) as an option in 2016. Unlike the Formula S helmet, which hinges on Bluetooth connectivity and the user’s mobile device, IEC benefits from its own mobile network module. When the bike’s acceleration and lean angle sensors detect a spill, the program contacts one of BMW’s qualified call centers.

Crash detection has come a long way in the last 60 years. From airbag vests to comm units, from onboard systems to cloud-based algorithms, the technology grows more sophisticated by the year. With that said, more impact detection isn’t necessarily better. 

According to Apple, its service “won’t override any existing emergency calls placed by other means.” Instead of purchasing multiple crash-detecting devices, it’s best to choose the solution, or solutions, that suit your needs. After all, who can afford multiple ambulances or airlifts arriving at their crash site?  

Each option has its strengths and shortcomings. Apple’s Crash Detection boasts satellite connectivity but its car-oriented algorithm may not identify the same subtleties as BMW’s IEC or Cardo’s PackTalk Pro, two products developed for motorcyclists. In the end, the choice comes down to where and how the customer rides and what level of features is desired. Our world may be more connected than ever, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially when it comes to the safety provided by today’s crash-detecting tech.

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Honda confirms E-Clutch system coming to U.S. on 650s

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Various forms of automatic transmissions on motorcycles have gotten a lot of attention lately, with new options now available or soon to be available. And now, Honda has confirmed that its E-Clutch system will be coming to the U.S. market on 2024 CBR650R and CB650R models.

And here’s the twist. While Honda’s other approach to making manual shifting optional on its full-size motorcycles, the dual-clutch transmission (DCT), is an extra-cost option on models such as the Gold Wing and Africa Twin, all CBR650R and CB650R models will come with the E-Clutch as standard equipment. That makes sense when you consider how the E-Clutch system works (you can get a refresher by reading Dustin’s report). Unlike some other approaches, E-Clutch might better be described as an automatic clutch than an automatic transmission. Riders still shift through the gears but the electric mechanism operates the clutch. The lever still sits there on the left handgrip, so if riders want to operate the clutch manually, they can.

Honda customers are essentially getting the E-Clutch system for free because the prices are the same as last year: $9,899 for the fully faired CBR650R and $9,399 for the naked CB650R. And that’s despite the two 650s getting a few other upgrades, including LED lights and a new TFT display.

What’s the big deal about automatics?

Decades ago, motorcycle manufacturers flirted with transmissions that allowed the clutch to be eliminated, but they never caught on. For many years, scooters were essentially the only options for riders who didn’t want to learn to use a clutch. But times have changed and so have the offerings from a motorcycle industry that’s realizing it needs to make riding more accessible. And in the United States, where cars with manual transmissions are nearly extinct, that means making things easier for people who have never operated a clutch. Or maybe ever seen one.

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BMW debuts automatic transmission on 2025 R 1300 GS Adventure

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BMW seemingly perfected the formula for its range-topping GS Adventure trim. Take the flagship GS model, slap on a gargantuan gas tank, increase the suspension travel, bolt on some crash bars, and you have yourself a GSA. BMW did just that with the 2025 R 1300 GS Adventure, but this time around, the Bavarians have a few more tricks up their sleeves.

With the exception of their massive fuel cells, past GSAs were aesthetically aligned with their smaller (if only slightly so) brethren. As opposed to the R 1300 GS’s sleek redesign and svelte figure, it’s clear that the GSA embraces its chonky proportions in 2025.

Body positivity isn’t the only way the GS Adventure forms its own identity. Model-specific upgrades and accessories also differentiate the travel-friendly variant, including the option of BMW’s automatic transmission. Before diving into those differences, it’s worth identifying what the GSA shares with its sibling, the standard GS.

Common ground

In 2024, BMW overhauled the boxer engine at the heart of the R 1300 GS. A new crankshaft shortened its stroke from 76 mm to 73 mm. The cylinder bore grew from 102.5 mm to 106.5 mm. The capacity rose from 1,254 cc to 1,300 cc. Its output increased as well, with BMW claiming 145 horsepower (at 7,750 rpm) and 110 foot-pounds of torque (at 6,500 rpm).

That new boxer resides within an even newer frame. Instead of tubular steel units of past GSs, the latest-gen model leverages a sheet metal shell frame and die-cast aluminum subframe. Like the base model, the 2025 GSA sports BMW’s EVO Telelever front end and Paralever rear suspension, but its long-travel setup boosts front spring travel to 8.3 inches (R 1300 GS: 7.5 inches), rear travel to 8.7 inches (R 1300 GS: 7.9 inches), and the two-setting seat height to 34.3 or 35 inches (R 1300 GS: 33.5 inches). The GS Adventure continues on its own path from there.

Built different

The extra-large GS historically served long-distance travelers, and BMW equips the 2025 model as such. If there are any doubts, the 7.9-gallon aluminum fuel tank, heated grips, luggage racks, center stand, and adjustable tall windscreen lay them to rest. The steering stabilizer, tire pressure monitor (TPM), device-charging compartment, 12-volt power socket, and Intelligent Emergency Call system are just the frosting on the cake. Should the route tread off-road, the GSA’s cross-spoke wheels, engine guards, and skid plate prepare it for light trail work.

BMW expects the first R 1300 GS Adventure units to roll into North American dealerships in Q4 2024. Unfortunately, the Munich marque will only reveal pricing information at a date closer to the model’s market launch. 

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Four women, adventure bikes, and a 49th state.

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The road to Alaska.

Frontier cabins dot the landscape like half-rotten skeletons, remnants of the Canadian rush to the gold fields, adventurers of the past, long forgotten. Fresh electric green leaves on the birch trees contrast with the dark, dusty green, deciduous pine forests, each fighting for space on the foothills around us. Mountain peaks loom massive and ominous in the distance.

We can feel the chill blowing down from the mountains as we climb out of the valley and closer to the base of the biggest ones. Frosty air swirling around us, we barrel towards a storm cloud, head down, throttle steady, and then shoot out the other side. The rain lingers for just a moment as we burst into the sunlight. It looks like something out of a simulation: We ride through a shimmering wall of water, the sun beating down from a perfect blue sky, waves of rain bouncing around us, droplets glowing and shining as we ride through.

We were headed north, and would be for at least a week. The four of us had met just the day before in Bellingham, Washington, set out in the Pacific Northwest rain on winding farm roads to the border at Abbotsford. A brief stop at the checkpoint and our trek had officially become real. Keeping gas stops and lunch short and sweet, we rolled into our first hotel of the trip only a few hours behind schedule, despite the intermittent rain. Walking next door to dinner, we stopped to catch what was to be the last real sunset we’d see for at least the next two weeks.

The three friends with me had arranged for one-way rentals through MotoQuest, the famed “transporter specials” that allowed a rider to fly into Portland, Oregon, and rent a bike at a fraction of the typical cost in exchange for delivering it in Anchorage in under two weeks. Lauren, who had flown in from Milwaukee and usually piloted a Harley-Davidson Pan America, was on a BMW F 850 GS. Steph, from Phoenix, was on a newer version of the same bike, and was the only one who had yet to ride an adventure bike for any length of time, her own bike at home being a Triumph Street Scrambler. Christina, from Long Beach, California, was lucky enough to score a BMW R 1250 GS for the trip, had some extensive time on large ADV bikes prior to this, and had already placed a deposit for her own R 1250 GS a month before. I ride a 2019 Moto Guzzi V7 that has been with me to all of the lower 48 states and back, a few times over. It was the reason for this ambitious trek to the Alaskan Frontier: my quest to get it to 100,000 miles and a 49th state.

Each night so far on the trip, we would take a moment at dinner to reflect on the highs and lows of the day’s adventures. I’ve done this before in groups from three to 20, at adventure training courses or around the bonfire at moto-campouts, and I love the effect this has on those who share. What may be a high for one rider may be a low for another, but mostly it gives you a chance to reflect on your experience and to share some joy (or commiserate) in others’ perspectives of the day. I noticed that by day three, I couldn’t find a low point in my days. That the cold, rain, and whatever else could barely touch the joy I felt in being smack dab in the middle of the adventure that I had dreamed about for so long.

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“The Bikeriders:” the Hollywood’s latest motorcycle movie

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The film was inspired by photographer Danny Lyon’s book, also titled “The Bikeriders.” Lyon hung out with a club (or gang, you choose the word) calld the Outlaws from 1963 to ’67. It’s clear from the intimacy of Lyon’s environmental portraiture that he had their trust and access during that time.

“The Bikeriders” was published in 1968. He went on to have a significant career as a photojournalist and “The Bikeriders” was reprinted in 2014 by Aperture, a respected publishing house that specializes in photography. It’s still in print.

The motorcycle industry may not approve, either

When “The Wild One” came out in 1953, Triumph resented the fact that Marlon Brando’s character rode a Triumph Thunderbird. (They’ve since softened that position.) Since the 1980s, Harley-Davidson has carefully co-opted some “biker” imagery but it’s the exception. The rest of the motorcycle industry has worked hard to distance itself from the outlaw gang phenomenon. It would be reasonable for a site like Common Tread, which generally sees riding motorcycles as a sport or pastime, to want nothing to do with a movie in which motorcycle riders stagger out of a bar and ride off bare-headed.

Early in Jeff Nichols’ film, “The Bikeriders,” the director references “The Wild One” (1953). Late in the film, he gives a nod to “Easy Rider” (1969).

Although there was only 16 years between those two movies, they established iconic “biker” images of two very different generations; the first being a post-WWII and Korean War cohort, and the second springing from Vietnam-era counterculture. Nichols’ screenplay tells the story of a Chicagoland motorcycle club caught up in that same convulsive generational change.

The film was inspired by photographer Danny Lyon’s book, also titled “The Bikeriders.” Lyon hung out with a club (or gang, you choose the word) called the Outlaws from 1963 to ’67. It’s clear from the intimacy of Lyon’s environmental portraiture that he had their trust and access during that time.

“The Bikeriders” was published in 1968. He went on to have a significant career as a photojournalist and “The Bikeriders” was reprinted in 2014 by Aperture, a respected publishing house that specializes in photography. It’s still in print.

Did Hollywood finally make a good motorcycle movie?

I pitched Lance a story on “The Bikeriders” before I had a chance to see it. The early buzz and impressive cast had me hoping that, finally, someone had made a really good film in which motorcycles were more than props.

“The Bikeriders” debuted at the Telluride Film Festival nearly a year before its commercial release. (That delay was caused by the Screen Actors Guild strike; even movies that had already been made were affected because union rules forbade actors to promote films during the strike.) The unplanned hold may have helped build the critical buzz that raised my hopes for it. It was the subject of two big stories in The New York Times; even National Public Radio did a feature on it. I hoped that Hollywood had finally made a genuinely good motorcycle movie. By that, I mean something really good and watchable that accurately introduces some aspect any aspect of motorcycles and riding to a mainstream audience.


Have you seen it? leave us your comments.

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