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June 2012

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Yamaha Gets Serious About India with $500 Motorcycle

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I wax on about the importance of the Indian market with far too much regularity to regurgitate it yet another time, but its suffices to say that like Ron Burgundy, India is a pretty big deal. With two of the three largest motorcycle manufacturers in the world coming from India, and the country continuing to account for a massive amount of the world’s two-wheeler consumption (India is the second largest consumer of motorcycles in the world, by volume), it should come with little surprise then that Japanese motorcycle manufacturer Yamaha wants a bigger piece of the pie.

Yamaha currently accounts for roughly 500,000 of the 10+ million units sold per year in India (read: less than 5% of the total Indian motorcycle market), and the Japanese company is already offering several cheap motorcycle options in India. However, hoping to increase that figure to 600,000 next year, and to continue future growth in the market down the line, the tuning-fork brand has let it slip that a $500 motorcycle is in the works. Game on Honda.

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Racing

Trackside Tuesday: Patience is a Virtue

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One of the great things about the support classes in Grand Prix motorbike racing is the depth of the competition. While there are a handful of favorites in each class, we generally don’t have the Three Alien situation of MotoGP. Once a rider leaves that broader talent and equipment pool for the premier class however, his potential results are limited by the bike he lands on.

Alvaro Bautista paid his dues for two years on an 800cc Suzuki, finishing in lucky thirteenth spot for both the 2010 and 2011 championships. If Suzuki hadn’t folded up and gone home for 2012, Bautista might still have been on an uncompetitive bike with a crowd of fans who could only think fondly back to what an exciting 125cc and 250cc rider he had been.

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Banter

Video: The World’s Fastest Snake?

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Imagine you are going out on your motorcycle for a ride with the boys, minding your own business as you do 150+ mph down the two-lane road, popping wheelies as you please. It’s sunny out, the traffic is light, and  the snakes riding on your Suzuki GSX-R seems friendly enough. Wait what?! Yup, we would say that one Brazilian motorcyclist got quite the surprise as he did triple-digits down a rural road.

Slithering out from underneath the bike’s fairings, the sight of a fairly sizable yellow snake would probably scare the crap out of most riders, though our protagonist remained fairly calm during the whole ordeal. Considering how the history of snakes on forms of transportation goes, the rider in this video is pretty lucky, as things could have been much worse. Check out the video after the jump.

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Racing

Who Needs MotoGP.com When We Have This?

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If you are a true MotoGP fan here in the United States, then you have surely dropped SPEED’s abysmal coverage of the premiere class for the vastly superior coverage on Dorna’s own web property: MotoGP.com. Having a monopoly on internet-based video coverage of Grand Prix racing, MotoGP.com certainly brings its euros-worth of MotoGP/Moto2/Moto3 news, interviews, and analysis to your computer screen.

However, there has always been a desire for something more, something free — now that day has come. Ladies and Gentlemen, let us introduce to you the MiniBikers web series. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll hate Alvin & The Chipmunks even more than you already do. Check out the Silverstone round re-cap after the jump.

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News

Ducati’s Record Year by the Numbers

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Putting a nice feather in Gabriele Del Torchio’s cap, 2011 was the best sales year ever for Ducati. The product of several years in the making, Ducati has transitioned from a sport bike based company, to a brand that encompasses a variety of diverse biking genres. The transition began with the Ducati Hypermotard, continued with the Ducati Multistrada 1200, and culminated with the Ducati Diavel. Bringing the brand back to its roots, the Italian company released the sellout Ducati 1199 Panigale this year.

All of this positioning has taken Ducati from its traditionally precarious market position to one of not only reasonable stability, but also one that has proven to be lucrative enough to attract an acquisition from German automaker Audi. With a record number of machines leaving the doors of the Borgo Panigale factory, and Ducati’s cash finally flowing in the right direction, Del Torchio had plenty to wax on about at the World Ducati Week 2012 event. Giving some oratory high-fives at the massive Ducatisti gather, Ducati’s record year and transformation by the numbers is outlined after the jump.

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Racing

John McGuinness Explains a Lap Around the Isle of Man TT

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John McGuinness, pictured here with brolly girl Bruce Anstey, is the undisputed King of the Mountain, having won 19 times on the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course. Even at 40-years-old and a bit thicker around the middle than his fellow racers, one would have a hard time arguing that McGuinness is not at the top of his game, as the man from Morecambe is well on his way to beating Joey Dunlop’s all-time TT race win record.

So how has McPint become the winningest living TT racer in history? With a massive amount of course knowledge, that’s how. Coupled to strong bike entries, and a team comprised of road racing’s top talent, it makes perfect sense why McGuinness is the favorite to win whenever a 1,000cc machine is involved, and you can’t count him out of the 600cc Supersport races either. Narrowly missing his chance to break the 20 race win barrier on an electric bike, McGuinness was also instrumental in the cancellation of the Senior TT at the 2012 Isle of Man TT, a race he likely would have won.

McGuinness and his team will be back next year though, as will his competitors who are eager to knock the King off his thrown. We imagine a few of them will be paying close attention to the course notes given in the video after the jump.

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Bikes

2013 Triumph Trophy – The Most Advanced Triumph Ever

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The rumors and spy photos were true, as for the past few years Triumph has been working on a proper touring motorcycle named the Triumph Trophy. A direct assault on the BMW R1200RT and its progeny, the Triumph Trophy SE boasts the title of being the most technologically advanced Triumph motorcycle, ever. As you can tell then, the Trophy comes in two trim flavors, with the Triumph Trophy SE boasting some impressive tech to earn its title. Accordingly, the British tourer comes with electronically adjustable suspension, ride-by-wire throttle, traction control, electronic cruise control, linked anti-locking brakes, a tire pressure monitoring system, as well as some other features.

While both models are shaft-driven and sport the same 132 bhp, 1215cc, three-cylinder motor that is found on the Triumph Explorer adventure-tourer, only the SE comes with the electronic suspension, audio package, and tire pressure monitoring system. Realizing that Americans and Canadians enjoy their gizmos, the Triumph Trophy SE will be the only variant coming to the North American market, while the SE and base model will be available in all the other Trophy markets.

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News

Video: Horex VR6 Gets Up and Running

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After seeing the production schedule of the Horex VR6 pushed back several times now (let’s not even mention the DOA-status of the supercharged version of the bike), it looks like the revival of the German brand is nearly ready for primetime, as Horex has released a video of the VR6 scooting about (sans its triple-pipe exhaust). The aptly named Horex VR6 features a 15° VR-shaped six-cylinder motor, which with its 1,218cc displacement produces a stout 161 bhp.

Built with classic roadster styling, Horex has been tight-lipped on the bike’s pricing, though we expect that it will be well north of $20,000 when it reaches American shores. While we’ve already heard the supercharged Horex testing on the company’s engine dyno, this is the first we’re heard from the naturally aspirated model. Check it out after the jump, and let us know if you think it was worth the wait.

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Racing

Rossi Makes Forbes Top 100 Highest-Paid Athletes List

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Every year, a list of the highest-paid athletes worldwide is released, and every year we get to bask in the star power that is the nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi. This year, we have Forbes to thank for our list, and while Rossi’s ranking is down in 20th position (he’s usually a Top 10 sort of guy), the value amount has remained steady…which is really saying something considering the slogging the motorcycle industry has taken the past few years.

Coming down to an almost 50/50 split between raw salary and endorsements, Rossi is estimated to make a tidy $30 million per year, tying him for the 20th spot with Formula 1’s Michael Schumacher. The only MotoGP star to top the Top 100 on Forbes’ list, it just goes to show that MotoGP salaries and endorsement contracts aren’t always about results. The Top 20, and other notable entries from the Forbes’ research are listed after the jump.

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News

Why It’s a Big Deal that Zero Motorcycles Is Coming to an MSF Course Near You

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For as much harping as I do about Zero Motorcycles, here comes some news from the Scotts Valley company that even my cold heart can appreciate. For those who don’t know, the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) has very strict criteria for the motorcycles that its classes can use during the hands-on portion of their curriculum. The various restrictions include things like seat height, displacement, weight, power, and so forth. Additionally, the classes concern themselves with the cost of the bikes themselves, the cost of maintaining the machines, and the cost of the replacement parts, which invariably will be needed as new riders cut their teeth on two-wheeled transportation.

Getting the nod from the MSF that the Zero XU can be used for its rider courses, Zero Motorcycles’ urban commuter is the first electric motorcycle to be certified for use in the popular rider training program. Not only a boon to the California-based company, the news is a step-forward for the MSF, as the clutchless, gear-less, noiseless, and effortless motorcycle is the ideal platform for a new rider to learn how to safely ride a motorcycle. Best of all though, the news bodes well in training soon-to-be motorcyclists more effectively, as well as increasing the likelihood of attracting otherwise disinterested riders into the world of motorcycles.

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Racing

Honda Building “Production Racer” Variant of the RC213V

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Honda is working on a simplified version of its RC213V MotoGP machine to sell to teams as a CRT bike. Working together with Thomas Baujard, journalist for the French magazine Moto Journal, we have learned that work on the V4 machine is already underway, though a production date for the bike is not yet known.

HRC boss Shuhei Nakamoto confirmed to Baujard at Silverstone that work was ongoing on the project, though Nakamoto did not like it being referred to as a CRT bike. “Not a CRT bike,” Nakamoto told Baujard, “it is a production racer!” When asked later about the engine layout, Nakamoto confirmed that the bike was a V4 rather than an inline four. “It is a replica of this bike,” Nakamoto told me, pointing to the Repsol Honda garage, “But cheaper. It is easier to use an existing design.”

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