2010 Harley-Davidson Road Glide vs. 2010 Victory Cross Country

Terug in de tijd

Naar de motoGP kijken is natuurlijk erg leuk maar wat was er vroeger op TV nog veel leuker???

Precies, het achteruit rijden van:  ter land ter zee en in de lucht, met het commentaar van Andre van Duin.

Ga met ons mee terug in de tijd en geniet van dit filmpje.

2010 Honda CB1000R Review

Two years ago Honda introduced Europeans to the CB1000R, a slick naked bike with CBR1000RR blood flowing through its veins. Will it finally be coming to North America?

Peruse Honda’s 2010 lineup and you’ll notice a common theme. Unless you’re looking at cruisers, all of Honda’s sporting machines are dressed up. Maybe the folks at American Honda are a bit prudish, but it would seem they have an aversion to naked bikes. Naked is, after all, the new “standard,” evoking thoughts of simpler times when motorcycles were less focused and served multiple purposes.

Evolution has improved the breed, and modern standards are basically naked supersports. The CB1000R demonstrates this with firm ties to its sportier sibling, the CBR1000RR.

When Honda discontinued the 919 in 2007 (known as the Hornet 900 across the Atlantic), Europeans saw the gap filled with the higher-performance and futuristically styled CB1000R for the 2008 model year, but the machine failed to make it into North America.

We recently had a chance to sample the 2010 CB1000R at Roebling Road Raceway, as a teaser courtesy of Honda Canada, the distributor of Honda motorcycles north of the U.S. border. Lengthy Canadian winters prevent us Canuck journalists from riding until sometime in mid-April, so Honda Canada invited some of us to ride a slew of new Hondas (some of them Canadian-market only models like the CBF600 and CBF1000, which you’ll read about soon here on Motorcycle.com) in the more temperate climate of Savannah, Ga.

Honda Canada brought the CB1000R into the country for testing, with the possibility of offering it in its lineup in the not-too-distant future.

This sharply styled, liter-class naked bike is powered by a 998cc inline-Four sourced from the ’06-’07 CBR1000RR. Being a longer-stroke engine than the one available in the latest CBR, its potential for stronger midrange torque makes it better suited for naked-bike duties.

To emphasize a broader spread of torque, the CB uses 36mm throttle bodies as opposed to the ’07 CBR’s 44mm (the current CBR uses 46mm throttle bodies). Its compression ratio was reduced to 11.2:1 from 12.2:1.

In this detuned form the CB1000R’s engine produces a claimed 123 crankshaft horsepower at 10,000 rpm, a substantial reduction from the older CBR’s claimed 170 but still satisfying considering this isn’t a bike destined for the starting grid of a World Superbike race.

Torque peaks at 73 ft-lbs at 7750 rpm, and although the CB doesn’t have the brute bottom-end grunt of a Triumph Speed Triple, it does have a meaty midrange that gets progressively stronger as revs reach the 10,000 rpm redline. It has a satisfyingly flat powerband that won’t threaten to pop your shoulders when you twist the throttle to its stop. I saw about 150 mph on the digital speedo riding into a headwind along the front straight, and the bike was still pulling. The lack of bodywork, however, made holding on at that speed a real workout on the forearms and biceps.

Its six-speed gearbox operates so smoothly that it almost shifted at the mere thought of changing gears.

A single-backbone, gravity-cast aluminum frame uses a fully adjustable 43mm inverted fork, and a single-sided swingarm is suspended by a single shock adjustable for rebound damping and spring preload. Suspension settings as delivered were entirely up to the task of fast lapping of the mostly smooth, flowing racecourse, so occasional track-day aficionados won’t be disappointed with this machine.

Steering geometry is a bit less aggressive than on the latest CBR1000RR (25-degree rake, 3.9 inches trail vs. 23 degrees and 3.8 inches) and the wheelbase is stretched almost an inch and a half to 56.9 inches, but the bike still felt a bit twitchy through Roebling’s long, sweeping turns. That twitchiness was caused mostly by the leverage provided by the wide, 1980s superbike-bend handlebar. Despite lacking a steering damper, the bike gave no indication that it was prone to wobble.

Turn-in is quick enough to give the impression we were riding a middleweight roadster (claimed wet weight for the ABS model I rode is 489 pounds), and there is enough cornering clearance to ride to the edges of the Bridgestone BT-015 radials (same as on some U.S.-spec CBRs), with only the extra-long footpeg feelers bearing the brunt of hard lapping.

The seating position is typical of a naked bike, with footpegs mounted rearward, and somewhere between a supersport and sport-touring bike in height, and the handlebar places your body in a modest forward lean — in other words, just right for back-road blitzing. The bike feels relatively slender between the legs and its 32.5-inch seat height allows a flat-footed reach to the ground with a slight bend at the knees (I’m six feet tall).

A compact instrument panel is all LCD and includes the usual array of info including tripmeters, speed, clock and a bar tachometer. Despite its rather low placement it was easy to read, though I’d have preferred a round analog tach—call me old fashioned. The plus side of this dashboard is that it makes for a sleek nosepiece when viewed from the front.

Honda’s Combined ABS uses standard-mount three-piston front calipers squeezing 310mm rotors (radial-mount calipers are used on the non-ABS version) and a twin-piston rear caliper on a 256mm rotor. The brakes require higher lever effort to slow the bike hard than it would on a supersport machine, but effort is still well within sportbike standards and feedback is precise.

The CB1000R’s racetrack handling alone won me over, but where it will really shine is on the street. I decided to give the CB a break and rode one session at a sporting street pace and this naked roadster returned the favor by exhibiting a gentle demeanor and remaining nearly buzz-free at 65 mph.

A 4.5-gallon fuel tank should provide a decent range at legal speeds, and its Euro-inspired styling (the bike was designed by Honda’s R&D department in Rome) is stylishly futuristic without being an attack on the visual senses like Kawasaki’s new Z1000. To visually reinforce its CBR-RR lineage, it borrows styling cues from its sportier brother, including its low-slung angular exhaust and abbreviated tailpiece.

Where the CB1000R will feel most at home is in an urban setting or when blazing back roads with your riding buddies. Europeans know this, as the CB1000R has proven a popular mount across the pond.

Maybe North Americans will be as receptive to this sporty roadster, should it finally reach our shores. And that just might happen. With the bike being currently tested in the land of the maple leaf, it’s certainly one step closer.

source:   http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/honda/2010-honda-cb1000r-review-89355.html

Uitslag Race Le Mans

Jorge Lorenzo heeft op eenvoudige wijze de MotoGP-race van Le Mans op zijn naam geschreven. De Spaanse Yamaha-coureur bleef teamgenoot Valentino Rossi en Andrea Dovizioso ruim voor. Door de winst verstevigt Lorenzo zijn leidende positie in het klassement.

Rossi mocht van poleposition beginnen en behield deze plaats, ondanks de aanval van de altijd snel startende Dani Pedrosa. Later in de eerste ronde wist ook Lorenzo de Spanjaard te passeren, zodat het gevecht tussen de kemphanen kon beginnen. Daarachter probeerde Casey Stoner dichterbij te komen, maar de Australiër nam te veel risico en gleed met zijn Ducati al na twee ronden onderuit.

Rossi, Lorenzo en Pedrosa wisten zich los te rijden van de rest van het veld en de eerste aanval om de leidende positie kwam in de achtste ronde van Lorenzo. Rossi kon snel pareren, maar de Italiaan had geen antwoord op de aanval in de tiende ronde. Lorenzo sloeg snel een gaatje met de concurrenten, waarna Rossi op ruim vijf seconden van zijn Yamaha-teamgenoot over de streep kwam. Daarachter moest Pedrosa het leidende duo laten gaan en hij zag in de laatste ronde Dovizioso en Nicky Hayden voorbij komen.

In de 125cc ging de overwinning naar Pol Espargaro die zijn landgenoot Nicolas Terol na een spectaculaire race voorbleef. Marc Marquez wist het heftige gevecht voor de derde plaats uiteindelijk te winnen. Jasper Iwema eindigde op plaats twaalf, terwijl Michael van der Mark 22e werd.

De Moto2-race werd een prooi voor Toni Elias. De Spanjaard kon eenvoudig winnen, omdat zowel polesitter Kenny Noyes als Jules Cluzel vooraan wegvielen na crashes. Dit overkwam ook klassementsleider Shoya Tomizawa, waardoor Julian Simon tweede werd, voor Simone Corsi.

source:  http://sport.fok.nl/nieuws/386630/1/1/100/motogp-uitslag-race-le-mans.html

Chiang Mai by Night Motorcycle Tour

Join us on our Chiang Mai by Night Motorcycle Tour.

We will leave on our bikes from Mae Rim to Chiang Mai around 19.00 pm.

During this tour we will show you the beautiful city of Chiang Mai with all it’s magical lights on. We ride to Chiang Mai over a road with a lot of colorful lights in the shape of the Thai flag. When we arrive in the city you will be overwhelmed by all the sights of the city which are illuminated by many spotlights which gives a very romantic atmosphere.

You can make the most beautiful night pictures during the many stops we will make to let you enjoy the magic at the full most. We ourselves will be an attraction too, when we drive through the city, imagine many beautiful motorbikes with their amazing sound and all their headlights on driving like a parade through the city.

When we enter the bar area of Chiang Mai, you will see Christmas lights everywhere you look. It doesn’t matter in what season you will come, it will always be Christmas in Chiang Mai. Many of the very beautiful lady’s working there will try to attract your attention to take them with you on the back of your bike.

It is up to you to decide if you want a companion for that night or not.

We will also show you where the best beer bars/ a go go bars/ Thai boxing and romantic restaurants are. So you can visit those place later on with your loved one.

So  join us by booking now for this Magical Night Tour Click here

Lorenzo domineert in Le Mans

Jorge Lorenzo heeft zijn voorpsprong in het wereldkampioenschap verder uitgebreid door de Grand Prix van Frankrijk op zijn naam te schrijven.
Rossi
Bij de start had polesitter Valentino Rossi het meest te duchten van de snel gestarte Dani Pedrosa. De Spanjaard pakte wel de tweede plek, maar moest die in de eerste ronde alweer afstaan aan Lorenzo. De jongste van de twee Spanjaarden bleef in het eerste gedeelte van de race achter zijn teamgenoot, maar glipte bij het ingaan van de achtste ronde lang Rossi, om bij de chicane weer de leiding te verliezen.

Tempoversnelling
Twee ronden later lukte de inhaalactie wel en kon hij langzamerhand een gaatje slaan. Rossi had geen antwoord op de tempoversnelling van Lorenzo en zag het gat groeien tot ruim vier seconden bij de finish. In de slotfase kwam de Italiaan nog even onder druk van Pedrosa, maar had niet al teveel moeite de Honda-coureur achter zich te houden.

Stoner
Pedrosa zag een podiumplek uit zijn vingers glippen toen eerst Andrea Dovizioso en later ook Nicky Hayden voorbij kwamen. De Amerikaan versloeg voor een tweede race op rij teamgenoot Casey Stoner, die wederom ten val kwam. Marco Melandri pakte een fraaie zesde plek.

source:  http://www.rtl.nl/%28/sport/rtl_gp/motogp/home/%29/sport/rtl_gp/components/motogp/nieuws/2010/articles/100525_lemans_motogp.xml

Stoner at a loss over front end problems

The Ducati Marlboro rider had not had any issues with his Desmosedici GP10 during the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France weekend, prior to crashing out of the race.

Casey Stoner suffered the bitter disappointment of a second DNF of the season at Le Mans on Sunday, when he crashed out at slow speed on lap two of the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France at Turn 6.

The Australian was not pushing his bike hard and had not experienced any problems with his GP10 prototype earlier in the weekend, and was therefore extremely frustrated after targeting a first podium of the 2010 season.

“I pushed that bike around all weekend and it had been almost faultless,” he explained after the third round. “I did need to get it hooked up a little better out of the corners but we had not had a problem with the front end all weekend, so there was no reason for it. I went through that corner and lost the front about halfway through it, and it’s not really a corner where you are pushing.”

He continued: “We need to start figuring out what’s going wrong and so far we have not made the Championship start we wanted to. It’s making things extremely difficult, if not impossible for us. So we just have to look to the next race.”

Stoner’s race pace throughout the weekend had indicated that he would challenge at the front, and he commended race winner Jorge Lorenzo’s display.

“I’m extremely disappointed,” Stoner stated. “We had a really good shot at giving Jorge a run for his money. Obviously he was going to be the one we were going to try and battle with. He made the others look a little silly today, and my hat goes off to him. It would have been nice to be up front.”

Next up is a circuit that Stoner won at last year, Mugello, and he is hopeful of getting his campaign back on track in Italy.

“We’ll see how we go in these next couple of races,” he said. “It’s not something I expected, but we have just got to keep our heads up for the next race.”

source:   http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2010/stoner+explains+his+crash+at+le+mans+gp

First back-to-back premier class wins thrill Lorenzo

Nine points clear at the top of the MotoGP World Championship following victory at Le Mans on Sunday, the Fiat Yamaha rider was overjoyed at having secured the first consecutive wins of his career in the elite category.

Jorge Lorenzo’s commanding win in the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France at Le Mans not only extended his lead at the top of the MotoGP World Championship to nine points on Sunday, but also delivered the 23 year-old back-to-back victories in the premier class for the first time in his career.

Lorenzo rode a superb race to overcome the challenge of team-mate and title rival Valentino Rossi, eventually beating the Italian – who made it a Fiat Yamaha one-two – by a margin of 5.672s over the finish line.

“I am so happy to win for the second race in a row, it’s the first time for me in MotoGP and it makes me feel very confident in myself,” enthused Lorenzo, whose practice of his race starts paid off. “Finally I made a good start, which I’m really happy about, then I easily got past Pedrosa.”

He continued: “Passing Valentino wasn’t so easy because he was braking so deep and I had to be very patient, something that I might not have managed one year ago! Finally I overtook him but I didn’t expect to be able to get away like that. My bike and Bridgestone tyres just felt so good and it wasn’t difficult for me to keep this pace up.”

Lorenzo won the MotoGP race at the French circuit last year and was second in his premier class debut at Le Mans the year before, and he added: “I have had a good time in Le Mans since I joined Yamaha; one second place and two victories, so I think I can say I enjoy racing here in France!”

There was also another interesting celebration from the Spaniard as he pulled up a chair in front of a big screen at the circuit and ate popcorn, following on from his water-based antics at the last round at Jerez.

Focusing on the fourth round at Mugello in a fortnight, a track at which he finished second last season, Lorenzo expects a tough battle to maintain his advantage at the top of the standings.

“It is fantastic to be leading the Championship but there is a long way to go and now we go to Mugello, a track that I love but where my rivals are very strong,” he concluded.

source:  http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2010/Lorenzo+delighted+with+back+to+back+win+at+Le+Mans

Michael van der Mark actief in 125cc

Naast Jasper Iwema is vanaf komend weekend in Le Mans nog een Nederlander actief in de 125cc. Michael van der Mark rijdt de rest van het seizoen voor het Italiaans-Engelse Lambretta Reparto Corse. Geld Hiermee is de droom van de 17-jarige Rotterdammer uitgekomen. Eind 2009 ging een overstap naar de lichtste klasse in het MotoGP-kampioenschap niet door, omdat hij niet de benodigde financiën bijeen kon brengen. IDM Van der Mark koos vervolgens voor Team Sachsenring om uit te komen in het IDM-kampioenschap met enkele 125cc-wildcards waaronder de race in Jerez.

De start van het seizoen verliep teleurstellend, waarna Van der Mark de samenwerking verbrak. Bemiddeling De jonge rijder zat echter niet lang in onzekerheid, want na bemiddeling van Jan Abbink, de teammanager van Iwema, heeft Van der Mark een zitje kunnen krijgen als GP-coureur.

Source: http://www.rtl.nl/%28/sport/rtl_gp/motogp/home/%29/sport/rtl_gp/components/motogp/nieuws/2010/articles/100520_michael_van_der_mark.xml

Top 10 Valentino Rossi Celebrations

The orchestrated victory antics that have defined the popularity of the greatest motorcycle racer of all time

With enthusiastic supporters and vocal critics Valentino Rossi is the largest persona to have ever graced motorsport. What has marked and rocketed his fame is the victory celebrations that Rossi takes part in.

From taking a blow up doll with Claudia Schiffer scribbled on the back for a ride, a jibe at Biaggi being photographed with Naomi Campbell, to the down right ridiculous signing the ‘deeds’ with a lawyer at Motegi in 2008

The post-race antics have become a stable attribute for the nine times Champion, the spur of the moment celebrations and the orchestrated theatrics scripted by the Tribu dei Chihuahua are a catalyst for the Italian’s popularity

From Valentino Rossi’s 104 wins (and counting) here is a look at 10 celebrations that have defined the racing identity of one the sport’s greats.

10. Symphony of violins, Donington Park, 2005

Donington Park in 2005 featured typical weather as torrential rain left the British GP drenched with treacherous standing water. Valentino Rossi left the field in his wake, not without making it too difficult for himself by coming through the pack after a poor start.

The celebration over the finish line was a comment towards his best lap time, “I thought it was like a symphony of violins – perfect, so I decided that if I won I would do this celebration across the finish line!”

9. Guardian Angel, Rio, 1999

The career of Valentino Rossi has had a strange pattern, a year to acclimatise to a new class followed by a championship triumph.

1999 was a similar affair, after finishing runner-up in 1998 Rossi went on to win the 250 championship the following year. At the Rio de Janiero GP he thanked his Guardian Angel by giving it a lift to the paddock for more celebrations.

8. Humility at Le Mans, 2008

As he solidifies his own name in GP history as one of the greats, Valentino Rossi also shows gracious humility for the riders whose records he has surpassed.

After winning the French GP in 2008 Rossi stopped on the slow down lap, when he continued he was riding pillion to the 125GP legend Angel Nieto. This demonstration was to signify equalling the 90 victories of the 12+1 time champion.

Similarly, when Rossi reached 76 wins he held a sign that read “Sorry Mike”  in honour of the late Mike ‘The Bike’ Hailwood.

7. Osvaldo appears, Catalunya, 1998

Osvaldo the chicken was a fictitious sponsor from a local chicken farmer that adorned the Aprilia RS250 of Valentino Rossi, the Italian press were mystified to this new sticker that they scoured Italy to learn more about Osvaldo.

It all turned out to be a huge gag and Osvaldo made a grand appearance riding pillion after Rossi won at Catalunya in 1998.

6. Strike, Jerez, 2007

Following the loss of the championship the year before, in 2007 Rossi marked the 800 era with a win at Jerez. He celebrated this by scoring a strike, with the members of the inner circle of the ‘Tribu’ dressed as giant pins.

Rossi was unsuccessful again in 2007, dropping to third in the standings after a difficult year with Michelin tyre woes, which prompted his move to Bridgestones in 2008 and a return to success.

5. A condemed man, Czech GP, 2003

The Italian media have always had a fickle affection towards Valentino; when he is victorious they are hailing him as ‘larger than the Pope’ but when he is struggling they put it down to him losing his heart in racing.

At Brno in 2003, Rossi made the statement with his chain gang celebration that with everyone expecting him to finish first every race that he was a condemed man, condemed to win..

4. Sweeping the opposition, Sepang, 2004

Following Sweep-gate incident at Qatar, Rossi put down the ultimatium that Sete was no longer his friend but more harrowing for the Spaniard was the voodoo proclamation that he would not win another race.

After winning the race at Sepang in Malaysia Rossi launched the ‘La Rapida’ cleaning service, offering possibly the best in tarmac sweeping.

3. 200mph speeding ticket, Mugello, 2002

As a racer when you continually dominate racing skeptics look at alternative reasons behind the wins, in 2002 when Rossi was walking away with the inaugural 990 MotoGP class people were claiming the victories were down to the top speed of the Honda RCV.

At Mugello, which features one of the longest straights on the calendar, Rossi was pulled over and issued a speeding ticket by Polizia.

2. The new love, Welkom, 2004

The first round of the MotoGP championship at Welkom was to be a historic day for Valentino Rossi as it was his debut with Yamaha after moving from Honda. The race was a 28 lap battle between the Italian and his arch nemesis Max Biaggi, with Rossi taking the victory by the minimal .210 gap.

What proceeded was an emotionally charged celebration for Rossi, there were no crazy antics just an affectionate moment between man and machine. An ecstatic Rossi pulled over to the side of the track and lovingly kissed his beautiful new M1, then he sat beside the Yamaha and took a quiet moment with his new partner. He appeared to be crying but it turned out that he was laughing at the audacity of the win.

1. Toilet break, Jerez, 1999

Topping the list at number one is Rossi’s celebration from the 250 Grand Prix at Jerez in 1999.

On the slow down lap originality and hilarity combined when Rossi leaped the fence to take an impromptu leak in the marshall’s port-a-loo after taking victory at the Spanish circuit.

On the 10 year anniversary of this celebration Rossi re-enacted the stunt.

Read more: http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-top-10s/top-10-valentino-rossi-celebrations/11500-11.html#ixzz0ojRuHiTd

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