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But Rins and Suzuki’s season has still been impressive. The Spaniard broke his winning duck in the premier class by defeating Valentino Rossi in a late race battle at the Circuit of the Americas, Suzuki’s first in MotoGP since August, 2016. He was thrilling while contesting the victory at Qatar and Mugello, and aside from a strangely subdued weekend at Le Mans, he has shown podium potential each weekend.
Source: MotoGP.com – Read Full Article Here
Yamaha Active8 Yamalube Racing rider scores pair of runner-ups.
Image: John Pearson.
Racing Kyogle’s fifth and sixth rounds of the 2019 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) with a broken wrist and landing on the podium during both days, Josh Green says his priority now is healing the injury ahead of next stop of the series in Broken Hill.
The Yamaha Active8 Yamalube Racing contender, who suffered the injury at the 2019 Penrite Hattah Desert Race, gritted his way to E2 runner-up honours across the two days, while recording a pair of fourth place finishes in the unofficial outright classification.
“The weekend was tough,” said Green. “So I was happy to get through unscathed and earn some good points towards the championship. Riding on a softer surface like sand would have been much easier on my wrist than a course littered with rocks but that’s what off road is about, and I just had to get through as best I could.
“The bike was awesome out there and as always the team did a great job preparing everything. We have about three weeks until Broken Hill, so the priority will be to get my wrist strong and in much better shape before then.”
The New South Welshman maintains second in the E2 championship standings as Broken Hill looms on 10-11 August.
Source: MotoOnline.com.au
German customising house JvB-moto recently turned their craft to Yamaha’s XSR 900 and came up with this special to showcase their aftermarket kit offerings that transform Yamaha’s triple-cylinder naked in to something a little more out of the ordinary.
This bike offers a tough stance and Jens vom Brauck explains his approach.
“The biggest retro influence is on the lines and proportions. I am a big fan of 70s and 80s concept cars and got a lot of inspiration for this build there. The bike has an understated, clean look and has more of a concept bike ‘feel’ than a typical custom bike.”
The bike was first presented at the 2019 Café Racer Festival where it received the Best of Show prize.
The CP3 captures perfectly the JvB-moto design philosophy of clean lines that enhance the stock bike as a base for easy customisation and breathe new life into it.
While the retro theme is in part an influence on the CP3, the design is inherently minimalist.
The dark blue Yamaha racing colour used was darkened further and made matt, highlighting the new bodywork whilst retaining the stock bike’s character.
Carbon-fibre wheel covers and Behringer front brake discs packing extra stopping power. Lightech footrests help reduce weight and give an assuring platform for the rider, with a new seat to accommodate the feel of the CP3.
Ultimately JvB-moto envisaged the CP3 as a reflection of the XSR900’s exciting 850cc 3-cyclinder engine, unchanged in the customisation, and designed the bike to look how the engine feels to ride. The Termignoni exhaust amplifies the emotive sound of the triple and provides a small boost in horsepower, completing the CP3 package that raises the very high standard of Yard Built specials even further.
Jens elaborated on this approach: “I wanted it to look fast without looking aggressive, for it to be less retro and more minimalist, with a reduced and purposeful design.”
Yamaha’s Sport Heritage range is made of state of the art technology machines with retro looks – the range is an easy access to real personalization and through collaborations with professionals like JvB-moto, the brand aims to bring this creativity even closer to the customer.
JvB-moto is now developing a kit to enable customers to either reproduce their own CP3 or just adapt parts of it, emphasizing that the bike is a perfect fit for the vision of the intrepid customiser looking to easily make their own set of customisations to the Yamaha XSR900.
The kit includes:
– Wheel covers
– Brakes
– Footrests
– Seat
– Exhaust
– Front fender
– Fuel tank covers
– Handmade tail section with LED taillight
– Speedometer relocation kit
– Tapered handlebar and raiser
– LED headlight and cover
– Front and back LED indicators
– Number plate carrier
There is also a range of parts yet to be developed. JvB-moto expect this bolt-on kit to be available to customers in early 2020, and will give them nearly unlimited options to tailor their own XSR900.
Source: MCNews.com.au
News 24 Jul 2019
Section: Competition
Former champion scores double podium at round six of BSB.
Image: Supplied.
Australian Josh Brookes says he’ll work for ‘that bit extra’ following a pair of runner-up finishes at Snetterton’s sixth round of the 2019 Bennetts British Superbike Championship (BSB).
Always searching for more, Brookes revealed he wasn’t able to take it up to teammate and former MotoGP rider Scott Redding in the final encounter last weekend, fuelling his desire to return to the top step of the podium.
The Be Wiser Ducati ace has bounced strongly this season after starting with a double DNF, as he now sits third in the championship standings with six podiums including four race victories.
“I felt really strong at the end of the first race and whilst I was being a little bit conservative in the early stages, the battle I had with Tarran Mackenzie cost both of us time and it allowed Scott to make a bit of a break. By the time I got up to second, it was too big a gap to bridge but it was a good start to the day.
“We made a slight change in between races and it allowed me to push to the limit so with a good start, I felt comfortable out front. I felt like I was controlling the race well but when Scott came by, he seemed to have just a little bit in reserve and had enough of a gap so I couldn’t get back by.
“Given where I was on Friday, I’ve got to be happy with two second place finishes, so we’ll work hard to find that bit extra to try and get back on the top step at the next round.”
The British Superbike Championship now head to Thruxton on 2-4 August for round seven of the series.
Source: CycleOnline.com.au
With Phil Aynsley
F.B. Mondial had its origins with the F.B. company (Fratelli Boselli / Boselli Brothers) founded in 1929 by Giuseppe Boselli – who was earlier involved with GD and CM motorcycle companies, together with his three brothers.
They manufactured three-wheeled delivery vehicles up until the factory was destroyed in WWII. In 1948 Giuseppe purchased an advanced DOHC 125cc single designed by Alfonso Drusiani and soon after hired him to run the new racing department.
Drusiani’s design was to prove quite a milestone in the small capacity class.
Prior to the war (and in its immediate aftermath) two-strokes from manufacturers such as DKW, MV Agusta and Morini dominated the class; so the appearance of DOHC (Bialbero) motor from a “truck” company certainly caused a stir!
The bike had actually debuted at the previous year’s Italian GP, held at Faenza, ridden by former Italian 500cc champion Francesco Lama. He set the fastest lap before retiring with a mechanical fault.
1949 was the inaugural year of the FIM World Championships and Mondial’s rider Nello Pagani won the 125 class with two wins and a 5th place (only three rounds run).
1950 saw the top three places in the championship go to Mondial riders – Bruno Ruffo, Gianni Leoni and Calo Ubbiali, all with a win apiece.
1951 saw a repeat performance, this time with Ubbiali followed by Gianni Leoni and Cromie McCandless. Six of the top ten places went to Mondial riders. Ubbiali followed up with second place in the 1952 championship.
The bike seen here is one of only three 125 Bialbero GP bikes known to exist and is thought to be Ubbiali’s 1951 machine (also his mount in ’52). It is in original, unrestored condition.
The Mondial 125 Bialbero GP racer produced 12hp at 9000rpm and was good for a top speed over 130km/h.
Source: MCNews.com.au
Victorian claims dual E2 wins in first KTM 450 EXC-F appearance of 2019.
Image: John Pearson.
A pair of E2 victories at Kyogle’s fifth and and sixth rounds of the 2019 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) last weekend have reaffirmed Daniel Milner’s decision to transition to the KTM 450 EXC-F for the remainder of the season after previously piloting the 350 EXC-F at the opening two stops of the series.
The KTM Enduro Racing Team rider, who was feeling the effects of a lack of bike time due to a recent collarbone injury, finished second in the unofficial outright times on both days, while maintaining his undefeated winning streak in E2.
“To win both days in E2 was a good result, for sure, so everything went well in that respect,” Milner explained. “The outright results are what we’re chasing as riders though, but I feel as though I struggled with some arm-pump problems and wasn’t able to ride at 100 per cent – that time off the bike recently has affected me more than I initially had thought and it took a toll on me.
“It is what it is though, I’ll be putting the hours in on the bike and training moving forward, so look forward to Broken Hill. To be on the KTM 450 EXC-F was so good, it was nice to have that torque at Kyogle because some sections are quite steep and the tests were technical, so I really enjoyed it and am stoked to be on that model for the rest of the year.”
Milner holds an 18-point advantage over Josh Green (Yamaha Active8 Yamalube Racing) in the E2 standings as the AORC heads to Broken Hill in New South Wales on 10-11 August for rounds seven and eight.
Source: MotoOnline.com.au
An appeal could be launched against a Canberra motorist who received a “light penalty” for twice swerving dangerously at legally lane-filtering motorcyclists.
The driver, Jake Searle, 28, had been charged with two counts of driving with intent to menace.
He faced maximum penalties of more than $3000 in fines or 12 months in jail or both for each of these charges.
However, the charges were downgraded as he was a first offender.
Searle was released on a one-year good behaviour order and disqualified from driving for three months. He also avoided a fine.
ACT Shadow Attorney General and Triumph Street Twin rider Jeremy Hansen is calling for an appeal.
“As a fellow rider I am very concerned by any incident that could potentially endanger the life of a motorcyclist,” he says.
“I understand the view that this sentence does not meet community expectations and will write to the ACT Director of Prosecutions to ask if they intend to appeal.”
Meanwhile, ACT Police say they are “waiting for a response from the relevant person/area” regarding an appeal.
We also contacted ACT Minister for Corrections and Justice Shane Rattenbury, Police Minister Mick Gentleman and Minister for Regulatory Services Gordon Ramsay for comment on the sentence.
None has yet replied.
The Australian Motorcycle Council says it is “of concern when a driver uses their vehicle in a premeditated manner, as a weapon to harm others”.
“There appears to be little distinction between the quality of actions of this driver and those of the driver who killed pedestrians in Melbourne, although a difference in the scale or degree,” the AMC says.
The incidents occurred on Majura Parkway on 30 October 2018. One incident is shown in this video which we published on November 2.
ACT Police were made aware of this video a day later and began investigating.
A second video later emerged showing the same driver swerving at another rider.
ACT Police made several calls for help to identify the two riders so a charge could be laid.
At the time, ACT Police issued these details of the incident:
About 4:30pm, the riders were separately travelling northbound on Majura Parkway, Majura, when a green Ford Falcon swerved, almost colliding with the riders. At the time, the riders were lawfully lane filtering.
Interestingly, these incidents occurred only a few weeks after the ACT made lane filtering legal.
Lane filtering was introduced in NSW five years ago and is now legal in all states and territories.
Not only is lane filtering legal but it also benefits all motorists as it helps move heavy traffic more quickly.
You can do your bit to educate drivers by sharing our “Open letter to drivers“.
Drivers obstructing riders has been happening since lane filtering was introduced.
Check out this video from 2017 sent to us by Newcastle rider Harry Criticos.
“I was filtering legally when a driver stuck his whole body out in an attempt to block me,” the 2016 Triple Black R 1200 GS rider told us.
“I did not stop and he did make contact with the bike. I hope it hurt.”
This motorist was fined $325 and three demerit points.
Surely it is time for some major advertising campaigns in each state to advise motorists that riders are allowed to filter and what benefits there are for ALL motorists.
That was the major finding of an online poll we conducted in 2016, yet there are still few major ad campaigns.
So far, lane filtering education campaigns have been minimal and mainly aimed at riders, not the general motoring public.
We not only need major ad campaigns, but also roadside signage such as this photoshopped sign.
We are not aware of any polls about lane filtering in Australia.
However, in California where lane splitting (filtering at higher speeds than 30km/h) is legal, polls have found it is vastly unpopular among other road users. The main objection is that it’s unfair!
That breeds hostility which results in stupid behaviour such as in the above video.
So long as lane filtering remains unpopular and/or erroneously believed to be illegal, motorists will do stupid and dangerous things to stop riders filtering.
Source: MotorbikeWriter.com
Argon Transform hi-tech helmet accessory transforms a standard helmet into an Iron Man helmet with head-up display, bluetooth, GPS and more.
Singapore start-up Whyre claim their Argon Transform is the world’s first dual-camera Augmented Reality attachment for a motorcycle helmet.
The $US795 ($A1140) unit doesn’t look too different to us from several others which are available or coming to market soon.
They include the HUDWAY Sight and Kiwi-designed Reyedr which is still seeking funding.
It also follows a growing wave of smart helmets that integrate HUD, and other tech into a motorcycle helmet.
The latest is the Australian-designed Forcite MK1 which has an LED light strip rather than HUD and includes a HD, wide-angle camera, Bluetooth and VOIP intercom and handlebar-mounted control unit.
The advantages of aftermarket tech is that you can swap it to your new helmet when you retire the old one.
The Argon Transform comes as several Bluetooth-connected stick-on units for the side, front and back of the helmet, plus a screen on the inside of the chinbar.
They combine a see-through head-up display with a Bluetooth handlebar controller, inbuilt GPS unit, plus front and back cameras.
Whyre claim the front and rear units weigh only 150g and balance each other out.
Riders will be able to see tailor-made info such as caller ID, GPS navigation arrows and speedometer, as well as what’s behind them. Video is recorded and stored on an SD card or accessed via an Argon app.
It will also allow riders to access specific ride statistics, Argon settings, a social community and a logbook that records last maintenance dates, spare part changes/cost etc.
The intercom has range only up to 100m, but the speakers are claimed to have active noise-cancelling which should mean clear sound without background wind noise and no need for earplugs.
The offline built-in GPS does not require data and operates in remote areas where phone reception is weak.
Argon claims the lithium-polymer battery will last for eight hours on a charge.
Whyre has launched an Indiegogo Campaign to get a $US25,000 and is already a third of the way there.
Early customers will get the Argon Transform for $US398 ($A570) compared with the retail price of $US795 ($A1140). They plan to ship in February 2020.
Source: MotorbikeWriter.com
This BMW G 310 GS knockoff is the latest in a long line of Chinese products that rip off the design and logos of existing motorcycles.
In the past we have seen Chinese electric versions of the Honda Goldwing, China’s CFMoto 650TK which is very similar to Honda’s ST1300 and a Chinese brand called “Hongda” that made Honda lookalikes.
The Vietnamese are also in on the knockoff act with “Ducati” Monsters made by Quang Phuong Motor.
Now the Chinese Everest Kaiyue 400X has hit the domestic market with a stunning resemblance to the Indian-made BMW G 310 GS small-capacity adventure motorcycle.
This knockoff even has BMW red-white-and-blue paintwork and a GY logo that is too close to the GS badge to be an accident.
There is no response yet from BMW Motorrad on whether there will take action against the company.
However, iconic Italian scooter company Lambretta says it is taking “strict” action against companies “free riding on the repute of Lambretta”.
They claim the global market is flooded with replicas of their classic scooters from China, India and Thailand.
The Chinese seem immune to international trade laws that bind other countries and their latest blatant ripoff is an electric Honda Goldwing.
We all know the Chinese make cheap copies of well-known brands and many of us probably have a Gucci belt made of plastic in a sweatshop in China.
However, the Chinese have also made a lot of copies of bigger and more expensive products such as cars.
Some of the cars Chinese manufacturers have copied include the Range Rover Evoque, Smart ForTwo, Hummer, Porsche Cayman, Audi A6, Jeep Cherokee, BMW X1, Rolls-Royce Phantom and MINI Cooper.
Some car manufacturers tried to stop them copying their cars, but failed in an obstructive and partisan legal system, so they formed alliances with Chinese companies to make their products for the local market.
Several motorcycle manufacturers, including Honda and Yamaha, have tried to fight Chinese manufacturers in the courts over breach of copyright, but it is a long process as there are hundreds of knockoff manufacturers.
So, like the car makers, Honda has formed an allegiance with one of the knockoff Chinese companies to make their bikes for the local market.
Source: MotorbikeWriter.com
More than 5000 are expected to attend the Freak Show Festival of Motorcycles run alongside the return of the national Harley Owners Group (HOG) rally in Walcha, NSW, from November 15-17, 2019.
Tickets for the event, being organised by Inside Line Events International, went on sale in April.
Freak Show Festival organiser David Rollins says more than 1000 entry tickets have been sold so far.
“To have had such a large number of entry tickets snapped up in the dead of winter, so many months out from the event, is remarkable,” David says.
“We are expecting around 5000 enthusiasts will roll into Walcha in November and reaching this milestone mid-July means we’re well on track to achieving those numbers.”
If these figures are accurate, the population of the small New England High Country town of Walcha will almost triple over the extended weekend.
Freak Show Festival features include a flat track, a dirt hill climb, custom motorcycles, the Globe of Death, wheelies, stoppies and burnouts, a ride-in cinema playing motorcycle-themed movies, live music and food and beverages.
Harley Owner’s Group will have guided rides and HOG members will lead off the Thunder Rally.
Punters will be invited to have a go at the flat track like Brisbane’s Dust Hustle event on a purpose-built track on vacant land next to the town’s racecourse.
“We have motorcyclists making the trip from all over NSW, and also as far afield as Perth, north Queensland, South Australia, and even New Zealand,” he says.
The NSW Tourism Department estimates the motorcycle event will deliver more than $1.7 million in visitor expenditure to the region.
“With the region being in the grip of such a prolonged drought, this event is just what Walcha needs,” David says.
Walcha Mayor Eric Noakes says the town is “100% behind the Freak Show Festival of Motorcycles”.
“We’re welcoming it with open arms,” he says.
Walcha was chosen for the event because it sits at the crossroads of some of the best motorcycling routes in NSW taking in the Oxley Highway, New England Highway, Waterfall Way and Thunderbolts Way.
The rally will be held in the Walcha racecourse and sale yards with various levels of camping right up to five-star “glamping”.
“All accommodation has been booked out in Walcha already, but there is still heaps in Armidale and Tamworth. Plus we will have on-site camping options from standard tents to Lawrence of Arabia style,” David says.
Shuttle buses to and from events, accommodation and the town centre will be provided.
Harley Owners Group spokesman Andrew Kidd says Walcha is a “reasonable size town with good facilities”.
“Much like the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, the surrounding towns will be more than able to handle the volume of riders coming to the event,” he says.
“The local roads are renowned as some of the best riding roads in the country so come along and enjoy a great event and some fantastic roads.”
The last HOG national rally was last held in 2015 at Tamworth and followed by open Harley Days rallies at Wollongong in 2016 and 2017.
HOG members were unhappy with the open format so there was no 2018 national rally. Now it returns at the Walcha festival.
David says the one ticket will gain access to all areas and sites.
Check out more details at the event website, Facebook and Instagram.
David says they have major sponsorship support from Harley-Davidson Australia and the NSW Government’s major events agency, Destination NSW.
The event comes just one weekend after the Australian Motorcycle Festival (formerly the Sydney Moto Expo) in Wollongong from November 8-10.
Source: MotorbikeWriter.com
