Illinois has just written a careful, tiered, age-graduated licensing framework for electric bicycles and scooters. It has never written one for motorcycles. What the 2024 federal crash data says about unlicensed riders, and why the argument against doing something about it has aged badly.
Congress has introduced a bill to strip Washington DC of its motorcycle helmet law, sponsored by legislators from Wisconsin and Montana who represent neither the District nor its riders. What the repeal evidence shows, and which safety measures attract organised opposition.
September 2026 roundup of new motorcycle culture research: women riders in Türkiye, adventure ethnography, the IJMS conference and Sturgis.
Every technology that a major manufacturer would need to build a viable, extended range electric motorcycle already exists, just not at the price point that makes it a realistic commercial possibility.
A quiet month for new peer-reviewed motorcycle safety research. One study this time: a survey of 2,910 active riders in Thailand testing how risky riding and protective habits each relate to crash involvement, and which of the two weighs more heavily.
From the rein to the blind person’s cane to the tactile vests worn by military pilots: a history of trusting the world through an object, and what it means for the electric motorcycle.
An August 2026 survey of motorcycle safety legislation across New South Wales, Hawaii, Northern Ireland and Quebec — and an argument that the reforms which pass unopposed are precisely the ones that cost manufacturers nothing.
July 2026 roundup: the 13th IJMS conference, a history of Leathertogs motorcycle leathers, Malle Mile’s rider demographics and the Faro rally.
A quiet month for new peer-reviewed work. Two pieces worth reading, both on the human-factors and data side: MOTOR, a large multimodal dataset built around powered two-wheelers in dense traffic, and a laboratory study of situation awareness among Indonesian riders.
Monthly links to motorcycle culture research and events for June 2026: Wheels and Waves, the DGR’s 15th year, and a Greek collector’s museum.
