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With racing getting started around the world in the coming weeks, we see that the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP (officially the longest name in the superbike category) is ready for British Superbike duty, with Honda Racing unveiling the bike’s livery today.

With black fairings, and notably few sponsors on the machine’s fairings, this CBR1000RR-R might be a bit of a statement about the status of the world’s economy, and the role that motorcycle racing plays within it, but we appreciate the clean look nonetheless.

Photos: © 2019 Stephen McClements – All Rights Reserved

It is a busy weekend in the motorcycle racing world, with both WorldSBK and MotoGP on track. From Donington Park, we have Stephen McClements once again on the ground, bringing us photos from the World Superbike paddock.

While most of the WorldSBK season has been about the Ducati with Alvaro Bautista onboard, with some occasional surprises by Jonathan Rea and his Kawasaki, today at Donington Park the talk was all about Tom Sykes and the BMW S1000RR.

Earlier today, the British site Visordown reported that Norton Motorcycles was set to go out of business, as the British Companies House (a sort of business registrar in the United Kingdom) was striking Norton Motors UK Ltd from its list and dissolving the business for inactivity.

It was a shocking development, to say the least, and though Norton is a small company, the news came as a surprise. After all, the last few months have not been kind for the small manufacturers in the motorcycle industry, with the deaths of Alta and Motus still fresh on our minds..

Is a new middleweight bike coming from BMW Motorrad? That’s the debate on the internet right now, as the company’s UK office has released the above language to dealers via a  brochure.

Not so fast says BMW Motorrad UK though. While a sport-touring version of the F850 platform would be a pretty interesting model, the company says that the use of the “F850RS” handle was a mistake, and they instead meant to use “F850GT” in the brochure’s text.

Honest mistake? Freudian slip? A sign from the Flying Spaghetti Monster (All Hail His Noodliness!)…well, that is up for you to decide.

While the motorcycle market in the United States continues to struggle in 2018 (despite gains in consumer spending), things across the pond are doing substantially better.

This news comes from the European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (ACEM), which is reporting an 8.2% increase in motorcycle registrations in Europe during the first nine months of 2018. This trend was additionally buoyed by the third-quarter registration results from 2018, which are up 10.4% over Q3 2017 figures.

Our favorite motorcycle charity is about to have its biggest event of the year, as Two Wheels for Life will be hosting its Day of Champions event ahead of the British GP at Silverstone in just under two weeks’ time.

Held on the Thursday before racing action begins, the Day of Champions offers a number of fun motorcycle events for the whole family, and it culminates with a live auction that is hosted by Randy Mamola, and offers some very cool MotoGP paraphernalia to bid on. 

Other events of note include the opportunity to have access to the MotoGP paddock on Thursday and to meet some GP riders. There is also a ride that participants can join, which includes two laps around the Silverstone track (you can buy tickets here).

Of course, all the money raised goes towards a good cause, as Two Wheels for Life provides funding to programs in Africa that ensure life-saving healthcare gets to rural communities using reliable transport (i.e. motorcycles).

Last weekend's racing at Donington Park was exactly the shot in the arm that WorldSBK needed.

A new rider on the top step of the podium, a new bike as the center of attention in Parc Ferme, and most importantly: Jonathan Rea being beaten in a straight up fight by Michael van der Mark.

Rea and Kawasaki have dominated the championship over the last three years, and even for Yamaha's Van der Mark, it was a surprise to finally break his duck in such style with a double.

“I was surprised by this weekend! Kawasaki and Johnny have been so dominant over the last few seasons and to beat them is very special."

"It shows that we're getting closer, and most importantly, it shows that we can beat them. It's easy to accept that Kawasaki will be in front and winning, and that's why it's important to prove to yourself that you can win races.”

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