Honda sl 90 Motorcycles, page #76

Moto blog

Get down on your knees and play

This remarkable shot of Eddie Lawson is taken by Rich Chenet. It was August 1980 and Lawson was undergoing a titanic scrap for the AMA title with Wes Cooley and Freddie Spencer here at Pocono Raceway in Philladelphia. The circuit is known as the 'Tricky Triangle' amongst the NASCAR drivers but the superbikes used a mix of infield and sections of the banked circuit.

You want a nice little car, you do.

We ran a couple of stories last week - both, coincidentally, about new Kawasakis. One was the first peek of the new ZX10R – hot stuff you’d imagine – the other, the new W800 retro parallel twin. I suppose it shouldn’t have shocked us, which story was most popular in terms of hits but it really does mark a seismic shifts in British biking attitudes that the W800 story doubled the hits of the ZX10 piece.

Moriwaki MD250 - the stink wheel eradicator

This beautiful motorcycle is the Moriwaki MD250 road racer, the replacement for 125cc two-strokes in MotoGP come 2012. The alloy beam chassis houses Honda’s diminutive CRF250X uni-cam motor, normally seen wearing long travel suspension and knobbly tyres. The quick revving liquid cooled four-stroke motor offers electric-start convenience and a maintenance schedule that most two-stroke racers can only dream of.

We're all doomed...

Went to meet Niall Mackenzie at Donington on Saturday. He was doing some one-on-one instruction at a two-day Focused Events track bash, the first to be held at the newly reopened Leicestershire circuit. I was really interested in what they’d done to the track and the new chicane looks the business.

Front wheel hopping on a 'Blade

In my youth I used to spend hours with my mates pulling stoppies on our mountain bikes and then proceeding to hop on the front wheel for as long as we could or replicating the tricks we'd see our trials heroes perform. But the idea of doing this on a Honda Fireblade is puzzling, but stunt rider Odair Salmazo has it cracked.

And it's goodbye from him

THIS IS Valentino Rossi's farewell letter to his Fiat Yamaha team following the announcement the flambouyant Italian is to head to Ducati MotoGP in 2011.The hand-written letter, mistakes and all, is written in almost a 'my first romance' kinda way. It's touching, if a little bizarre. Some of the letter reads:“Unfortunately even the most beautiful love stories finish, but they leave a lot of wonderful memories, like when my M1 and I kissed for the first time on the grass at Welkom, when she looked straight in my eyes and told me ‘I love you!'"Somehow, we can't see Casey Stoner gushing quite as freely when he leaves Ducati for Repsol Honda.

South West Motorcycle Show 2010, August 28th & 29th

Need something to do on August Bank Holiday weekend, then read below: "Although the South West Motorcycle Show has been running at the Westpoint Arena for the last sixteen years, 2010 is the first year that the show hosts the all-new Vertical Trix European Stunt Championship. The show contains all the usual attractions that have been delivered to motorcyclists from over the south-west and further afield since 1994 – including all the appropriate trade stands, and with strong support from local dealers – plus attractions such a a dyno on site, restaurant, bar, bike displays, live music and of course the live action arena. Although the action in the show arena has previously been stunt displays, rather than a full-on competition.

Honda’s View of the Motorcycle Industry in Canada

Recently here on Motorcycle.com, we’ve been bringing you reviews of a handful of Honda scoots that are available to our neighbors (or is that neighbours?) to the North in Canada, yet remain forbidden fruit for American consumers. Reviewer Costa Mouzouris gave us a look at the naked CB1000R that Honda Canada is considering importing, the already-available half-faired CBF1000, and the entry-level CBR125R. Meanwhile, Honda’s competitors have also announced some new products for Canada that have yet to be made available in the U.S.

McGuinness' Guinness 'Blade at Lancaster Honda

That picture is of John McGuinness' actual 'Guinness Rep' Fireblade. The bike is on show at Lancaster Honda. The 15 times TT winner has been (quite rightly!) given this 'Blade by Honda, but you can order one for yourself.

Electric Motorcycle Conversion [video]

If you were ever curious how to convert your smelly, noisy and dirty gas powered motorcycle into a quiet and zero emissions electric motorcycle then you have to check this video out from GomiStyle.  They take an old Honda Rebel 250 and customize the frame to accommodate the electric motor and batteries, they claim the conversion should take about two to three days to complete, the batteries will take about 5-8 hours to charge and will give you a top speed of 45 mph. Here is a link to the step-by-step instructions, check out the video after the jump. The GomiCycle – An Electric Motorcycle Conversion from Media Sapien on Vimeo.