Selling 106,358 motorcycles and maxi-scooters worldwide in 2012, BMW Motorrad had its best 365 days of sales ever last year.…
If there ever was a motorcycle that earned the word “cute” is its best descriptor, the Honda Monkey might be it. A diminutive and fun motorcycle, it was hard to look good on Honda’s old Z-series bikes, though the machines themselves still carry their own unique flavor of cool to this day. Fast-forward fifty-years later, and Honda is bringing the Monkey back, this time in the guise of the 2013 Honda MSX125. Manufactured in Thailand, the Honda MSX 125 (MSX = Mini Street X-treme 125), the 125cc, 9.7 hp, four-stroke, two-valve, single-cylinder, fuel-injected fun machine will be a Spring 2013 model in markets around the world (no word on North America though).
This is part 1 of a new series entitled ‘Under the Radar’. In it, we will be looking at stories we believe will have a major impact on MotoGP and World Superbikes in the next season, but which are not currently receiving much attention. Everyone can guess the big names that are likely to make an impact in MotoGP in 2013: Marc Marquez will clearly be an exciting rookie to watch, Valentino Rossi should be competitive on a Yamaha, Pol Espargaro looks set to dominate Moto2, and Maverick Viñales and Luis Salom will be major players in Moto3. But look beyond the obvious candidates, and there are a number of candidates who could cause a surprise in 2013. Here are some of the riders to watch this season.
Want to take a stand for the rights of motorcyclists? Here is your chance to stop the practice of motorcycle-only checkpoints. First implemented by the State of New York, inspection checkpoints that apply only to motorcycles have become a more common practice across the United States, and are an act of discrimination that is primarily due to the NHTSA funding of the practice through special grants. Implemented under the guise of operating for the public’s safety, states like New York have been able to target motorcyclists at checkpoints for vehicle and passenger inspection, even when the motorcyclists have broken no apparent laws.
Shedding more insight on our previous news that Triumph is working on a small-displacement model for India and Southeast Asia, we now get more details on the project from the British company’s distributor in Indonesia, Rudhy Siswanto of PT Global Motorcycle Trading. Expected to be a 250cc twin-cylinder machine that will play heavily on the styling cues of the Triumph Street Triple, the new model will begin production in 2014 at Triumph’s planned new plant in Narasapur, India, and go head-to-head with the KTM 200 Duke.
Monster Energy has agreed to a two-year partnership deal with Yamaha Factory Racing, which will see the Monster brand act…