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With the title chase so incredibly tight, it is inevitable that every MotoGP race from now until Valencia will result in journalists and writers – and I include myself in that group – spend most of their time writing about the clash between Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo.

The outcome of that confrontation matters, as it will decide the 2015 MotoGP championship.

This is tough on the rest of the MotoGP field and the riders in other classes. They, too, are riding their hearts out, aiming for – and in Moto2 and Moto3 attaining – glory, yet they are ignored as the rest of the world gazes in wonder at a few names at the front of MotoGP.

They do not deserve such treatment, but life in general, and motorcycle racing in particular are neither fair nor just.

There were plenty of tales to tell at Motegi, however. The biggest, perhaps, is the tale of tires. To some extent, this has already been covered in already, as tire wear ended up determining the outcome of the race.

Yamaha is dominating the news today,with the release of the Yamaha YZF-R1S and the 60th Annviersary livery coming to the USA. Our last story featuring the tuning fork brand is about the Yamaha YZF-R3.

Unfortunately, the story deals with a recall, as the 16 units of the R3 have an incorrectly manufactured upper triple clamp that may crack while riding.

The affected bikes were manufactured between January 1, 2015 and August 31, 2015, which is a large date range for such a limited recall.

Never the less, as a fracture of the upper triple clamp can be a serious issue, leading to a loss of steering and possibly a crash, Yamaha filed this recall with the NHTSA.

Last year, BMW made the Bosch MSC “cornering ABS” system available as a retrofit for the BMW HP4, branding the advanced safety feature as ABS Pro. Now BMW is making the ABS Pro safety package available as a retrofit to a number of BMW model that came with an ABS unit.

Most excitably, the upgrade kit can be used on the 2012-2014 BMW S1000RR, with the 2015-2016 BMW S1000RR kit in development as well. The addition of the ABS Pro on the 2015 S1000RR will include the “Race” riding mode, as well. The slip threshold and brake pressure gradient have been set at a higher level for use on roads with high friction coefficients compared to the “Rain” and “Sport” modes.

Riders of Kawasaki’s big honking Vulcan 1700 cruiser line, both the Vaquero and Voyager, should head this recall notice from the NHTSA, as it affects 11,836 units built between February 2, 2009 and March 20, 2015.

The recall concerns an ignition wire that may chafe, due to contact with the fuel tank. This can result in a short-circuit and possible engine stall, which in-turn could lead to the rider losing control of the motorcycle and crashing.

For reasons too obvious to mention, motorcycle gear protection has been on my mind lately. Though my broken collarbone is unfortunate, it is timely, as Dainese just released its D-Air Misano 1000 jacket, the world’s first commercially available self-contained airbag jacket for motorcyclists.

Let’s be really clear about one thing: this is a sea change for motorcycle safety.

Debuting at the San Marino GP, the venue for the Dainese D-Air Misano 1000’s release is no mistake, as the jacket builds off the Italian company’s experience with airbag suits in the MotoGP World Championship.

At the highest level of racing, airbag technology has become a game-changing technology, and now riders on the street can use essentially that same airbag system, that same proprietary crash-sensing software (modified for street use), and that same company history of safety that the professionals rely on while on the race track.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has levied with Triumph Motorcycles with a $2.9 million civil penalty for violations of Safety Act reporting requirements and failure to fully respond to communications from NHTSA.

That sum includes a $1.4 million cash penalty that Triumph must pay to the NHTSA, as well as a $500,000 expenditure in order to meet a series of requirements to improve its safety practices. Triumph could have to pay an added $1 million in penalties should the company violate the consent order or if additional Safety Act violations emerge.

The key to success in motorcycle racing is to control the variables which you can control, and adapt to the ones which you can’t.

The British round of MotoGP at Silverstone turned out to be all about those variables, the controllable and the uncontrollable, about right and wrong choices, and about adapting to the conditions.

The one variable over which those involved in motorcycle racing have any control is the weather. Especially at Silverstone, especially at the end of summer. That it should rain is utterly unsurprising. That it should rain during a MotoGP race even more so.

The outcome of the MotoGP race – and in fact, the outcome of all three races at Silverstone – was entirely predictable: the rider who was both best prepared and best able to adapt to the conditions won.

Bad news for Honda CBR500R & CB500 owners, as American Honda is recalling 14,575 units of the two motorcycle that were built for the 2013-2015 model years.

The recall comes about because of a fuel-level sensor float arm that can become deformed, due to exposure to “environmental and roadway conditions.” This deformation can cause the float arm to separate from the fuel level sensor body.

If the float arm separates from the sensor body, it can give the fuel meter inaccurate information, or in some cases the float may contact the positive and negative terminals, which would cause an electrical short.

American Honda is recalling a slew of motorcycles for a faulty starter relay switch. The recall affects over 45,000 units made between 2013 and 2016. The affected models are the CB500, CBR500, CRF250L, CBR650, CTX700, NSS300, VT750, VT1300, 2015 CB300F, CBR300, CBR600, and NC700.

On the affected motorcycles, a sealant may have been incorrectly applied to the starter relay switch, and as a result the electrical system can suffer from a loss of power. This can cause the engine to stall, and the motorcycle to crash, so a recall is in order.