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June 2010

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Step Right Up and Get Your Authentic Erik Buell Racing Wheel – Slightly Used from MMP

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You gotta love Erik Buell. Say what you will about his motorcycles, but the guy and his team live outside of the box, and it’s awesome. When Geoff May had an off at Miller Motorsports Park, and launched his Erik Buell Racing 1125RR into the air, the result was this busted PVM forged magnesium rear-wheel.

While most teams would throw it into the scrap heap, EBR is instead auctioning it off on eBay to help raise the funds needed for a replacement wheel. That’s entrepreneurship at it’s finest folks. The only thing that makes this auction better, is the description that follows.

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News

Piaggio to Rebuild Canadian Dealer Network

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After moving its Canadian distribution to its United States office last year, the Piaggio Group is pledging to improve its Canadian dealer network and customer relations. The move out of Canada, which reportedly has spurned law suits, is just one example of the major problems Piggio is experiencing in North America, as even the United States office isn’t exactly known for its great dealer support and customer service (just ask your local Aprilia owner how long it takes to get replacement parts).

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News

BMW Worldwide Sales Up 21% Through May

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BMW Motorrad is reporting that worldwide motorcycle sales were up 21% for the first five months of 2010, compared to 2009’s numbers. Sales were up 19.3% for the month of May alone, with 12,139 units sold, making for 45,431 units sold thus far in 2010. The newly revised BMW R1200GS/Adventure models account for 3,705 of the motorcycles sold in May, which is up almost 34% from last year.

While the GS comprises almost a third of BMW’s total sales in May, BMW reported that the F and K series motorcycles also showed strong demand in the month as well. Also making a strong showing is the all new S1000RR superbike, which sold 1,345 units in last month for a total of 5,236 units sold this year so far.

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News

Moto Morini Purchase Almost Complete

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After getting his first offer to purchase Moto Morini rejected by the local unions, Paolo Berlusconi looks to have overcome the setback, and could finalize the purchase of the other Bologna brand by as early as next week. This news comes after provincial administrators called an emergency meeting, which resulted in some concession by Berlusconi.

At the center of the controversy is the number of workers Berlusconi will keep on at the Bologna-based plant. According to reports, this number has been increased from 20 to 26, out of total of 57 workers who worked at the plant before it entered into receivership. This concession does not come without consequences though.

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Racing

Rain Cancels TT Zero for Wednesday [UPDATED]

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UPDATE: TT organizers have released the schedule for tomorrow, find it added after the jump.

Racing action at the Isle of Man TT was delayed and finally cancelled because of inclement weather today, and as such the second Monster Energy Supersport race, the second Sure Sidecar race, and the TT Zero race have been pushed back to Thursday.

At first the TT was merely postponed because of low-hanging clouds on the course that limited visibility; but as the morning wore on, rain began falling on the Mountain Course, and race officials sacked the days events.

TT Zero and the rest of the races are expected to take place tomorrow, but the Isle of Man has not released the new schedule yet. Check back to this article for an update on race times for Thursday when we get them.

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Bikes

The 2010 Can-Am Commander is Not Nearly as Cool as We Were Hoping

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BRP hinted last week that it would be entering the side-by-side market with its Can-Am brand. This lead to our speculation on what the company could have up its sleeve as they stated they wanted to be a leader in a new market segment, and have a penchant for thinking outside of the box. Seeing as how the Can-Am Spyder took a whole new meaning to what riding a motorcycle/trike can be like, we expected the same lineage in the Can-Am SxS. That seems fairly obvious, right? Oh how we were wrong. Horribly, horribly, horribly wrong.

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Opinion/Editorial

The Big Question for Tomorrow’s TT Zero Is…

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What’s going to be mounted on these protruding brackets? So far the 2010 MotoCzysz E1pc has been lapping the Isle of Man without its full fairing on the motorcycle. If history teaches us anything, the presumption, of course, should be that MotoCzysz has something still up its sleeve before the team takes to the Mountain Course tomorrow for the TT Zero event. Last year it was batteries in the tail-section, this year it would seem to be streamlining the E1pc.

While Michael Czysz has derided the use of a dustbin style fairings in road racing, he has acknowledged that a course like the Isle of Man creates an opportunity for a race team to find some benefits in the design. As such, Czysz wrote three months ago that he would have a dustbin fairing at the ready, should someone else show up with one as well…and that’s exactly what’s happened.

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Rumors

Yamaha R1 to Get Dual-Clutch Transmission?

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Visordown is reporting that Yamaha is planning an electronically controlled dual-clutch transmission for a future version of its YZF-R1 superbike. Taking a page from the Honda VFR1200F’s DCT setup (check for our ride report on this in the next few days), Yamaha is looking to implement a simpler DCT system than the one found on the Honda VFR, with a clutch on either side of the motorcycle gearbox.

Yamaha’s DCT is different from the Honda unit, which employs an input shaft the runs through the other input shaft, and has the clutches all on one side of the motor. Instead of this all-in-one arrangement, Yamaha is using a split input shaft that’s half the normal length, with each half attached to an opposing clutch. The overall affect is a much simpler arrangement, but is not as compact or light as the Honda DCT.

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Racing

Send Your Well Wishes to Valentino – Yamaha Adds “Support Rossi” Tab to Facebook Page

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Yamaha Racing has added a tab on their Facebook fan page that allows fans to send Valentino Rossi their support while the Italian GP rider recovers this week in the hospital.

Clearly Valentino Rossi is a huge part of the current MotoGP racing landscape, and has fans all around the world who wish to see the Champion return to MotoGP as soon as possible.

Yamaha is also one of the most media savvy manufacturers in the paddock, so it’s no surprise they’re using social media like this to connect Rossi to his fans while he’s in the hospital.

Follow this link if you wish to send Valentino Rossi a “get well” message on Facebook.

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Racing

Fiat-Yamaha Won’t Replace Rossi For Another Two Races Out of Sign of Respect

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It didn’t take long after Valentino Rossi’s highside for the speculation to begin as to whom will replace the Italian rider at Fiat-Yamaha, but as MotoMatters is reporting, the MotoGP team is in no rush to replace Rossi on their roster. For the next two races, Fiat-Yamaha will campaign only one bike on the MotoGP grid, leaving Rossi’s bike untouched as a sign of respect to the Champion rider.

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Racing

Rossi’s Custom Helmet at Mugello – The Jolly Joker

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Overshadowed by Rossi’s highside and subsequent injury, one thing we missed at Mugello (besides the Italian himself) was Rossi’s traditional custom helmet for the Italian GP. Always one to pander to the home crowd, Rossi has made it a tradition to have a special helmet designed for when he races at Italian tracks (with Mugello in particular), and this year was no different.

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