It is the off-season here in the US, which means for those of you that don’t get to enjoy the perpetual sunshine of California, your bike is neatly packed away for the winter, and withdrawl from motorcycling is already starting to show its full force. Everyone deals with this process differently, and for the racers and track day enthusiasts amongst us, the off-season marks a chance for some much needed maintenance and modification.

We reckon that while a $3,000 full-titanium exhaust system might add a couple more horsepower to the top-end, it is usually the racer that could use the most improvement before next season. While the holidays have been conducive to some “mass centralization” on our bodies, it is never too early to start the physical prep for the riding season.

An obvious translation from our two-wheeled sport, we see many motorcycle racers taking in their fitness training on bicycles. In addition to having the correct number of turning bits, cycling improves cardiovascular fitness, it is low-impact, and it can still be performed with many of the injuries associated with motorcycle racing.

To that vein, motorcycle parts manufacturer Rizoma has released a swanky pushbike for the discerning motorcyclist. True to the brand’s chic, but understated, aesthetic, the Rizoma 77|011 Metropolitan Bike is a bicycle built to take on the city with some serious style. But with that serious style, comes a serious price tag: €3,700. Ouch.

Along with the 2010 Yamaha FZ8, Yamaha Europe has finally officially released the 2010 Yamaha Fazer8 ABS. The 800cc cousin to the FZ8, the Fazer8 gets the obvious anti-lock brake treatment as the name implies. Drawing on styling cues from the larger FZ1, the FazerOcho distinguishes itself by what lies beneath its exposed motor. As was rumored, the Fazer8 borrows from the FZ1′s 998cc motor’s stroke length, making up the smaller displacement with a smaller bore diameter (68mm down from 77mm). Check out the full technical specifications and photos after the jump.

When Honda showed off its new “Leyla” paint scheme for the new middle weight CBR600RR, the name had us a little confused, but the sometimes clever folks at MCN have spotted what many in the industry (including us) missed. That black & white camo-eque paint job is in fact a woman…moaning in delight…we think her name is Leyla. Take a second look, and you’ll see it.

In addition to the 2010 CBR1000RR, Honda has also announced the 2010 CBR600RR. Like the fireblade, the 600cc middleweight gets a revamping to its color choices.

Ducati has released a limited edition Nicky Hayden 848 superbike this weekend at the US GP at Laguna Seca. Hayden follows in the footsteps of Fogarty, Bostrom, and Bayliss with honory limited edition bikes, and was on hand to sign the tank of the first production bike.

The limited edition bike has 134hp, 71 lb•ft of torque, and tips the scales at 370lbs. You can pick one up at your local Ducati dealership for only $14,495, and like the other 2010 848 superbikes, the bike will have the new LED lighting for the instrumentation, lighter aluminum tensioner pulley, and lighter crankshaft.

Unfortunately for our abroad readers, the Hayden edition will only be available in the United States. No word yet on the Stoner 1198 replica.

In Europe, 125cc bikes and scooters are possibly more prevalent than the 600cc+ bikes we’ve grown accustomed to seeing in the United States.

Due in part to the cost of insurance and fuel, as well as cultural difference, we’ll have to look over the latest creations from British firm Megelli, and know this is a line of motorcycles we’ll unfortunately never get to feast our eyes upon in person.

According to the Spanish news site Solomoto, Honda is about to launch a bike based off their EVO 6 concept. The EVO 6 debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2007 as Hondas stab at making a hypermotard built off the Goldwing 1800cc motor.

While Ducati is recording all-time high sales figures, times are significantly tighter at Benelli, that other Italian motorcycle manufacturer. With many of its workers on part-time status (and with the Government paying part of their paycheck), production at the Benelli factory has been scaled back to around 1,000 motorcycles for 2009, down from the 20,000 the company had anticipated to make when it set it goals back in 2007.

This year, Chinese owner, Qiang Jiang, is taking a closer look at the Italian acquistion, with the possibility of folding the company not ruled out. This just a few months after Qiang Jiang pumped $26 million into the Italian brand.

BMW has sold over 500,000 GS motorcycles since the models introduction in 1980. In order to celebrate this milestone, the Bavarian motorcycle company is releasing a limited run of 500 special edition R1200GS models. The anniversary bike will feature a front fender extension, black oil-cooler spoiler, tinted windshield, two-tone seat that’s 20mm higher than standard, black rims, and aluminum cylinder head protectors. The Special Edition bike will also feature the first ever white paint scheme on a GS. In Europe the bike will cost  €350 more than the standard GS.

No word on US pricing yet, but we do know it will come without the tinted windshield.

Source: BMW

Before the World Superbike race at Monza this weekend, BMW officially revealed the S1000RR street bike that they have been teasing us with over the past 6 months. The bike isn’t the prettiest, but it has it where it counts. Tipping the scales at 183kg dry (403lbs), and 204kg wet (449.7lbs), the S1000RR makes a claimed 193hp at 13,000 RPMs, and 82.5 lb•ft of torque at 9,750RPMs. The S1000RR will also feature a four-stage ABS and race-derived traction control system. All this, and a price tag that BMW promises will be competitive against the Japanese manufacturers.

The S1000RR’s other features include a slipper clutch, six-speed gearbox, fully adjustable 46mm USD forks, fully adjustable rear monoshock, ride height adjustment at the rear, Brembo brakes (with radial-mount callipers at the front), and an aluminium chassis that uses the engine as a load-bearing member. The swingarm features an eccentric pivot, enabling different adjustments to raise and lower the height of the S1000RR in order to change the bike’s steering geometry. What’s not to like?…Besides the headlight. Tons of photos and a video after the jump.