Honda CB92 Motorcycles, page #26

Moto blog

Honda Team HRC To Compete In 2014 Dakar Rally

Today Honda announced that through its official racing arm, Team HRC, the company will be tackling the 2014 Dakar Rally, one of the most grueling off-road races in the world. The race starts on January 5 and lasts until January 18. Five riders—Helder Rodrigues (Portugal), Sam Sunderland (United Kingdom), Javier Pizzolito (Argentina), Joan Barreda (Spain), and Paulo Goncalves (Portugal)—will ride the CRF450 Rally, a rally-racing bike specially developed for the 2014 Dakar.

Bahrain track days

A few months ago, expat (and ex racer) John Beddall made contact to ask if I fancied doing some track day instruction out in Bahrain.  After thinking about it for two seconds, flights were booked and a plan was put in place to look after around forty riders for a day at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC).  Young Taylor Mac was also recruited to look after any tasty riders that I couldn’t deal with   The Brits out there love their bikes, however, quite a few locals also turned up plus a few others from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar.  Most were on high end Superbikes, like S1000s, Panigales and RSV4s but there was also a healthy number R6s and new 675Rs.   Although this fabulous Hermann Tilke designed circuit is around ten years old incredibly it has never hosted a bike race.  The highlight of the year there is F1 but being owned by the Bahrainian Royal family, there is no desperate need for the circuit to operate as a profitable business.  The track reminded me of Qatar but much more interesting as some great undulations have been built into its desert location. We shared the track with Supercars on the day (20mins on/20mins off) and as you might imagine it was betty swollocks for seven hours in the 30 plus temperatures.  As usual there was a few offs with poor old RS1000 Aprilia mounted Andy breaking his femur early in the day.  Two other buddies appeared to swap bikes mid air in another incident but fortunately escaped unhurt.In the evening everyone stayed for an al fresco dinner in the paddock with the craic going on for hours as the Fosters kept flowing.   All in all it was a brilliant trip and it has left me thinking there could be cost effective ways of getting Brits out there for track days next winter.  I'll keep you posted.Cape Town next to make my racing comeback at the Killarney 8 hour on a CBR150 Honda.  Hopefully I can manage the beast, I'll post a full report next week.

Taliban Magazine Condemns America but Praises Honda

Manufacturers are usually glad to hear positive reviews of their products, but we’ve got a feeling Honda is not happy about the ringing endorsement it received from the latest issue of the Taliban-published magazine “Azan“. The English-language magazine is a pro-Jihadist quarterly; pure propaganda designed to recruit impressionable and disillusioned Muslims in the West. It’s somewhat jarring then to find buried within the radical rhetoric a full page spread on a 125cc Honda as one of the Taliban’s “Steeds of War”.

Honda CG110 – the $630 Motorcycle for Africa

Honda is introducing a new motorcycle for the African market that will be priced at about US$630. Produced in Nigeria for sale across the continent, the new Honda CG110 is designed to offer good fuel economy and durability while meeting the challenge of Nigerian road conditions. Honda plans to sell 40,000 units per year at a price of 100,000 Nigerian naira.

2013 Long Beach International Motorcycle Show Report

Today the motorcycle press descended upon the Long Beach Convention Center to attend media day at the annual International Motorcycle Show. After feasting from a continental breakfast buffet the discerning journalists set to the task of reporting on the bounty of new model motorcycles – most of which has been previously showcased in our November EICMA reporting. If you missed anything from that show here’s a run down of what to look forward to: Triumph Thunderbird LT Suzuki V-Strom 1000 Can-Am Spyder Royal Enfield Continental GT Zero KTM Super Duke R – KTM confirmed the retail price to be $16,999 BMW R NineT Ducati Monster S 1200 Honda Valkyrie Kawasaki Z1000 Husqvarna A cool item of interest included a reproduction TZ750-powered flat tracker King Kenny Roberts made famous.

Small-Displacement Class Considered for 2015 AMA Pro Racing Season

More and more manufacturers are entering the small-displacement sportbike market and AMA Pro Racing has taken notice, opening the possibility of adding a new racing class representing the growing segment. With plans to consolidate the Daytona Sportbike and Supersport classes and the Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson series signed through 2015, a spot will open up on race weekends for another racing class to support the premier Superbike Championship. The logical choice is to introduce a new small-displacement class.

Hero MotoCorp Forms Joint Venture with Magneti Marelli

Indian manufacturer Hero MotoCorp is teaming up with electronic fuel injection expert Magneti Marelli in a new joint venture. Hero will hold a 60% share in the company with Magenti Marelli controlling the other 40%. The two companies are initially investing a combined US$8.5 million into the joint venture, with a planned  investment of US$27 million total over the next ten years.

2014 Honda NC750S, NC750X May be Heading to Canada

We were disappointed when American Honda announced it would offer the NC700X in 2014 the very same day its parent company revealed the NC model line was getting upgraded to 750 in other markets. It was bad enough Americans only got the adventure-styled X version and not the NC700S naked standard or Integra scooter in Europe, but for 2014, American Honda will continue offering the 670cc model instead of the new 745cc version. Canada may be another story however, as Honda Canada’s website has pages set up for both the NC750X and NC750S.

46,061 Motorcycles Stolen in US in 2012

An average of 126 motorcycles were stolen in the U.S. every day in 2012, according to a report released by the the National Insurance Crime Bureau. That’s from a total of 46,061 motorcycles reported stolen that year a 1.3% improvement from the 46,667 motorcycles reported stolen in 2011.

2014 Honda CB1100 EX Revealed

Alongside the updated 2014 CB1100, Honda revealed a new variant it calls the CB1100 EX. Both 2014 models were announced at the Tokyo Motor Show but we’re still waiting to hear whether Honda will be coming stateside. The difference between the regular CB1100 and the EX are not that apparent, and at quick glance, it may be difficult to tell them apart.