We have seen a lot of concepts use Yamaha’s new MT line as their starting point. That is probably because the MT-09 (that’s FZ-09 to us Americans) and the MT-07 are very affordable versatile machines.
With rumors abound that Yamaha will use the MT-09 as the basis for a Yamaha TDM revival, the creative juices are certainly flowing. Not one to let the MT-09 have all the fun, Oberdan Bezzi has inked an intriguing street tracker concept from the Yamaha MT-07.
Thursdays at MotoGP races usually mean the first chance the media has to talk to riders for the week, both at their debriefs and at the pre-event press conference, but at the British Grand Prix it means something a little bit more special.
Helping raise money for Riders for Health, Silverstone played host to the Day of Champions event, which sees fans able to ride the massive British track, walk the pit lane and see bikes up-close, meet GP stars, and bid on one-of-a-kind GP memorabilia.
All of the money raised from Day of Champions will help Riders for Health ensure health workers in Africa have access to reliable, well maintained motorcycles and ambulances so that they can continue to deliver life-saving health care to 14 million people. The Day of Champions is a great event, and it supports a wonderful charity.
This year accordingly, Riders for Health is proud to announce that the 3,500+ fans in attendance helped raise £193,802 at the Day of Champions event, a figure which the UK government will match. Booyah!
As was expected, Bimota has been officially suspended from the remaining World Superbike rounds, in a statement by the FIM. The suspension comes after Bimota failed to meet the initial 125 unit volume, the FIM’s new magic number for superbike homologation, as it pertained to the Bimota BB3.
Leave it to the French. The Midual Type 1 is perhaps one of the most intriguing motorcycle designs that we have seen this year, though much of the roadster seems to lust for attention, rather than serve a realistic purpose.
Debuting at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, an opulent venue in its own right, the 2016 Midual Type 1 prototype appeals to the uber-rich crowd, not only in its touches and aesthetics, but also with its €140,000 price tag ($185,000).
While that price tag gets you a certain exclusivity, the most striking feature of Midual’s machine is of course its 1,036cc longitudinally mounted boxer-twin engine, which sits proudly in the machine’s bespoke frame.
As we already reported, the BMW S1000RR is set to get some updates for the 2015 model year…we even have a spy photo to prove it. We didn’t get too good of a look at the front of the new S1000RR earlier though, but thankfully our Dutch friends at Oliepeil have found a rendering of the 2015 BMW S1000RR.
Fans hoping that the BMW S1000RR would lose its winking face, will be disappointed, though the effect has certainly become less pronounced in the newest iteration. Since the render matches the bodywork we saw in our spy photos, which see different subtly venting outlet shapes being used, we can be extremely confident is the final design.
The Yamaha YZF-R1 is a fantastic machine, in just about any iteration you can find. A potent weapon on the track, the R1 might not have all the bells and whistles that are found on European superbikes, but the Japanese liter-bike makes up for it with precision handling, great reliability, and gobs of tractable power.
This is great for two-wheeled enthusiasts, who ride the twisties or at local track days, but Yamaha’s crown jewel poses as a tough mark to beat when someone goes looking for something “more” from the design. DR Moto might have that answer though, for track enthusiasts who want something closer to what they see on Sunday’s race day, without the compromises that come with production/street machines.
Still recovering from wrist surgery, where three bones were taken out of his wrist, Nicky Hayden and the Drive M7 Aspar Team are being cautious about returning the American too quickly to racing action.
This meant that the Kentucky Kid missed the Czech GP, and he will also be sitting out MotoGP’s next stop, which is the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
While Leon Camier will continues to fill in for Hayden, MotoGP fans will be pleased to hear that the 2006 MotoGP World Champion hopes to be back in action in time for the San Marino GP at Misano, September 14th.
Hayden gave his fans an update on the status of his wrist, his recovery to racing form, and his plans for the rest of season in short a video on social media. It’s after the jump.
Icon might not be the first brand you think of when you talk about road racing apparel, but the Oregonian company is certainly trying to evolve from its Stunt Life roots, into other aspects of two-wheeled culture.
Pushing into the more lifestyle, adventure, and sport segments of the industry, we have already seen Icon’s penchant for concept bikes, which I can atest haven’t really resonated with our sport-bike focused readers. I think today will be a little different though.
Teaming up with Kawasaki, Icon has built what it calls the Kawasaki ZX3-RR concept. Based off the Kawasaki Ninja 300, the Kawasaki ZX3-RR sees new bodywork and a slew of performance parts added to make a spec-series cup bike for young riders. It looks the business.
You would have to live a life devoid of social media — raising some interesting issues about how you’re on Asphalt & Rubber in the first place — not to know about the Ice Bucket Challenge videos that occurring to help raise awareness about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
The campaign is pretty straight forward: someone nominates you to dump a bucket of ice water on your head, you post up a video of you accepting the challenge, and then you nominate a three other people to take the challenge themselves within 24hrs — or, you can opt for the drier and warmer alternative, and donate $100 to the ALS Association.
It’s all good clean wholesome fun, and it really doesn’t matter if you cut a check or take a dunk, the ALSA benefits either way from the money and/or increased exposure. A clever pieces of marketing, the Ice Bucket Challenge has reportedly increased donations to the ALSA nearly ten-fold, and it’s not uncommon to see celebrities getting in on the fun, even in the MotoGP paddock.
First up was Jorge Lorenzo unsurprisingly, as the Spaniard has often used his fame to help charities. After taking an ice bath, Lorenzo challenged fellow Movistar Yamaha teammate Valentino Rossi, current MotoGP points-leader Marc Marquez, and recent race-winner Dani Pedrosa, well…the results are after the jump.
It looks like Suzuki is getting ready to update its sport bike offering, as Suzuki Motor America has gotten new emissions filings from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for the 2015 Suzuki GSX-R600 and 2015 Suzuki GSX-R750.
New CARB emissions are required when manufacturers make modifications to the engines of the machines that they are selling in the Golden State, which means that we can expect updates for the Suzuki GSX-R600 & Suzuki GSX-R750 (with no change in CARB’s weird weight measurement figures, an entirely new model is unlikely).
In two weekends from, now grand prix motorcycle racing will be at Silverstone, and while the MotoGP Championship marches on, its progression means that soon we won’t have the color that Colin Edwards brings to the GP paddock.
Beloved by British motorcycle racing fans, Silverstone is sort of the last stop on the Texas Tornado’s farewell tour. But before we release Colin back into the wild (perhaps with a warning label), the motorcycle community has some goodbyes to make.
Our first chance will be on the Thursday of that race weekend, as Edwards will open the bidding at the Riders for Health Day of Champions auction (an awesome event, you should all attend if possible)…it’s surely going to be entertaining. Sunday’s race should be memorable as well.
And speaking of memories, Yamaha USA has compiled a very touching and well done video of Edwards’ career on two wheels. It’s after the jump, and worth watching…maybe twice.