Yamaha is recalling certain 2009 Yamaha VMAX motorcycles for excessive electrical resistance in the ground wire from the accelerator position sensor (APS) and throttle position sensor (TPS). The issue, which affects 700 motorcycles, could cause the wrong signal to be sent to the bike’s ECU, resulting in an unstable idling speed, and in-turn an unsafe idling speed could precipitate a crash. The issue only affects VMAX’s built between June 2008 and March 2009.
After breaking the news that Valentino Rossi signed a two-year contract with Ducati Corse, or as we like to refer to it: the worst kept secret in the MotoGP garage, we waited to see the official news of Rossi’s departure materialize after the weekend break, but to no avail. Knowing that our information was correct, we now understand why the announcement didn’t materialize when we expected it: because of a gentleman’s agreement between Ducati & Yamaha.
In exchange for delaying the announcement until after the American round at Laguna Seca (now slated for the Monday after racing at Brno), Yamaha is allowing Rossi to test the Ducati Desmosedici GP10 when MotoGP stops at Valencia at the end of the 2010 season.
Yamaha Motor Corporation USA knows how to have a good time when MotoGP comes to Laguna Seca. Last year the American branch of the tuning fork brand amused us with their viral video that showcased Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Colin Edwards, and James Toseland working hard at the Yamaha office. Launching off Seca with this year with an old fashioned photo of their four MotoGP riders, we can only hope that Yamaha has more entertainment lined up this week as we head into the race weekend.
Source: Yamaha USA
After first that Rossi would make an announcement after his testing session today, Fiat-Yamaha has issued another statement saying that Rossi won’t make a decision on this weekend’s race until he arrives at Sachsenring on Wednesday. Heightening the anticipation of his return, Rossi has seemingly delayed making a decision to race, and wants to wait another two days before making it public what his intentions are for the weekend.
We assume this also means that we won’t hear an announcement from Rossi or Ducati about the 2011 season until the German GP as well. As such, Sachsenring will be an interesting round as both Rossi and Wataru Yoshikawa will have to prepare to race on Sunday, but also there will be the added fervor of the impending Rossi/Ducati announcement.
UPDATE: Fiat-Yamaha has confirmed that Rossi will test at Brno on Monday, with a press conference following the day’s testing sessions.
TwoWheelsBlog has gotten word that Rossi will be testing yet again, this time on James Toseland’s YZF-R1 at Brno tomorrow (Monday), as the Italian continues to gauge his progress to physical recovery. Keen to get back to racing,and save MotoGP from its plummeting ratings since his departure, Rossi has called for a press conference immediately following that day’s testing session. At the press conference Rossi is expected to announce his thoughts on racing next weekend at the German GP. A&R also expects Rossi to make the biggest announcement in MotoGP history on Monday as well.
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.
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.
Yamaha Motor Company is reporting a ¥7.5 billion ($80.9 million) net profit for its Q1 2010 numbers, which is a marked improvement over the tuning fork brand’s ¥15.8 billion ($169 million) loss in Q1 of last year. Sales for Q1 this year were up 16% compared to last year, for a total of ¥309.9 billion ($3.3 billion) in sales. Volume was also up for the brand by 26%, with Yamaha selling 1.6 million units worldwide. Despite these strong numbers, both sales in Japan (-14%)and the United States (-57.5%) fell for Yamaha in Q1 of 2010.
Yamaha Motors is set to raise $812 million in capital in order to pursue development and production of fuel-efficient engines, which includes hybrid and electric models. The focus of this new range of Yamahas seems to be destined for emerging markets, but may include technologies that could trickle into more established markets like the United States. Yamaha plans on raising this money by making 63.25 million more corporate shares publicly available for investment.
Yamaha has released for us to enjoy, and this time it features Team Texas: Colin Edwards and Ben Spies. The story is set with the Texan Duo heading out in a station wagon in order to have a “mancation” filled with bonding and other manly stuff. With inside jokes, casual references to prior racing seasons, and flahbacks to previous videos by Yamaha, we think someone in the Yamaha marketing department deserves a cookie. Check past the jump to get your laugh on Texan style.
