Of all the bikes I’ve owned, the Hornet 900, or Honda 919 as they’re known stateside, stands out as the best all-rounder, a do-everything workhorse that was great for stunting, scratching, touring, commuting and most other things I threw at it, including the odd BMX track. After a while though, the bike’s huge usability had me finding full throttle quite a bit and wondering what it might feel like with a bit more power.
The engine, after all, is a detuned 919cc Fireblade donk with a good 30 horsepower missing from the original due to smaller throttle bodies, smaller valves, cooler cams and lower compression. Many road-testers have complained that it’s a few horsepower off being the hilarious bike it should be.
And while 100-odd horsepower might be an excellent amount for many riders, it’s incredibly exciting and tempting to discover that there’s an effectively bolt-on kit that can boost that figure to somewhere around 140 horses, while putting out more power and torque than a CBR1000RR all the way to the 9.5k redline. For only US$2400. (more …)
I don’t know anything about the bike in this clip, I don’t know if the makers have put dirtbike suspension on this thing, or just used wheel spacers and caliper brackets to stick dirtbike wheels on it. I don’t know if it’s a hillclimber, a desert racer or just purely for shits ‘n’ giggles. All I know is that it’s an R1 streetfighter with knobblies… And I LIKE IT!
…And neither has the German powerhouse decided to take any half-measures with its press kit - we’ve attached it below in all its abundant 43-page glory.
Full details of the 2010 BMW S1000RR have finally been released, and the beemer superbike delivers its butt off on a number of levels.
Firstly, a power figure of 193 horses at the crank (there have been reports of 182hp at the wheel in dyno testing) puts the S1000RR right at the top end of the litrebike class. BMW claims a fully fuelled and road-ready weight of 206.5kg, or 183kg without fuel. The Japanese bikes might look lighter on paper, but they arrive at their figures in a process that’s at best obfuscation and at worst plain shonky. BMW have typically been very honest with their weight figures. Either way, power-to-weight is sky high for a stock bike. (more …)
Huge lean angles, powerslides and impressive power wheelies; these radio controlled motorcycle racers are absolutely stunning to watch as they do battle round what I presume is a go-kart track. Get involved at the British Radio Car Association website if you’re interested.
Yamaha Australia brought a beautifully made cutaway version of the 2009 V-MAX to the Aussie Motorcycle Expo, and marketing manager Sean Goldhawk was nice enough to talk us through it. Gear porn at its finest! Video by Noel McKeegan.
The bushfires in Victoria this February cut a path of horrific devastation through the motorcycling playgrounds to the East and North-East of Melbourne. A recent sombre ride through the towns of Healesville, Narbethong, Buxton, Yea, Flowerdale, Kinglake and Chum Creek highlighted for me the random and ferocious force that came through the area on and around Black Saturday.
Nearly two months after the fires, many of these towns are still graveyards of twisted metal, ashen rubble and charred, burned-out cars. The Australian public, and indeed benefactors around the world have raised impressive sums of money to go towards rebuilding, but as frequent and passionate visitors to the area, a group of local motorcyclists has been putting together a mother of a fundraiser ride for this Sunday.
The ride will be both a fundraising event, and a chance for riders to show solidarity and respect to the locals who have welcomed us into their beautiful towns for so many years.
Can’t afford a Desmosedici RR? Me neither. I’d bloody love to ride one though, 200 Italian stallions from a GP replica V4 engine… The 990cc, of course, from that time long ago when men were men and MotoGP bikes were actually scary. I can dream, though, of wedging myself into that midget seat, the firm but supple Ohlins suspension, the scrotum-tightening experience of wrenching that terrifying throttle all the way around in fourth, then third, but never first.
Excuse me, just having a moment. Anyway, the point is that there’s a lot of bikes we’d all love to ride, but would never own, either because they’re too niche, or too expensive, too highly strung, too impractical, or too Italian. Which makes Sydney’s Superbike Club such a fascinating idea. A signup fee of AU$1,750, and then AU$7,000 per year thereafter, gives you access to book the Desmosedici RR, as well as a host of other very tasty motorcycles, for a ride whenever you feel like it. (more …)
I couldn’t resist posting this series of pics. Guy on a Gixxer6 or 750 overcooks a right-hander at Deal’s Gap USA, slams into a van and loses his “safety sneaker” in the impact. Fantastic case of right place, right time for the photographer… Or then again, did this guy overcook the corner trying to get himself posterized? If so, he might not be that keen on blowing these ones up for his bedroom wall… Great photos!
American Ben Spies didn’t get a great start into race 2, edged out by a barnstorming Max Biaggi into turn one. Steaming into the long, looping left hander at Phillip Island’s turn 2, he must have been thinking about the disaster that happened to him here in the first race, getting pushed out wide and off the track. But if we expected Spies to go easy and find a rhythm before attacking, we were looking at the wrong guy. Nobody goes around the outside at turn 2, especially not around a rider like Max Biaggi - nobody but Spies. He went the long way around the Roman Emperor and made it stick.
Biaggi might have been maintaining an impressive pace to hold second through lap 2, but race 1 winner and last year’s runner-up Noriyuki Haga was on a furious charge to the front. Nori had no luck in qualifying, but loves a race day - and by the end of lap 2 he’d dispatched no less than 10 riders to get behind Biaggi. Haga took less than a single lap to barge past Max Biaggi to set up the race we’ve been dying to watch - a high-speed mano a mano with rookie Spies. (more …)
Nitro Nori can always be relied upon to provide an entertaining race - and in the first race of the 2009 World Superbike series, the Japanese superstar pulled out a stunning charge from 13th on the grid to beat Max Neukirchner (who started from 14th) by just 32/1000ths of a second in a last-lap scrap that set the tone for 2009.
American Ben Spies, whose impressive qualifying performance led many (including us) to back him for a race win here today, got a harsh welcome to the international stage. He was muscled off the track in the second turn of the race, ran right out to the fence at Southern Loop, and despite an impressive effort keeping his Yamaha R1 upright in the sand trap, rejoined the race in last place. He put on some speed through the race, but only managed to finish 16th, out of the points and wondering what else he could have done. (more …)
