Yamaha FJR Motorcycles in Lemont Furnace, page #23

Moto blog

Day 3 Dakar 2014: Barreda Maintains Overall Lead, Despres Catches Up

Joan Barreda won his second special stage this year and now boasts a lead of more than 13 minutes over Cyril Despres and Marc Coma, the two other beneficiaries of a particularly decisive stage. Today’s stage, part one of the first marathon stage with no team service, was characterized by the highest ever racing altitude in Dakar history. Facing the 22,841 foot summit of the Aconcagua, South America´s highest mountain, the motorcycle riders had to cross a pass over 14,107 feet in elevation in trial-like conditions.

Day 1 Dakar 2014: Barreda Draws First Blood

Team HRC’s Joan Barreda on the Honda CRF450 Rally, got off to a storming start in day one of the 2014 Dakar rally, clocking up the fastest time of all the 175 riders at the first time-check. The former Husqvarna rider who moved to Honda in the middle of the season inaugurated his 2014 Dakar with an acrobatic performance. The motorcycle competition was expected to be wide open, and that is indeed what the classification shows after the opening stage. It was a very early start for the Rally Dakar. The pack of riders headed off at four in the morning on a long 251 miles that took them towards the vibrant city of Rosario for the start of the 112 mile special.

Day 2 Dakar 2014: Sunderland Wins First Special Stage

Honda won the second day of competition with Team HRC’s Sam Sunderland claiming victory in the first special stage of this year’s Dakar. Sunderland has had a frustrating time at previous Dakars, dropping out after three days of racing in 2012 and withdrawing a month before last year’s event due to fracturing both his wrists. Today, however, Sunderland made a grand entrance into the club of elite riders by brilliantly winning his first special stage of this year’s Dakar. Having started well behind his teammate, Joan Barreda, the 23-year old Brit superbly overtook Michael Metge and Juan Pedrero on the first part of the route.

2014 AMA Supercross – Anaheim 1 Results

KTM rookie Ken Roczen captured his first 450 class win in the AMA Supercross world championship, taking the season opener at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif. An audience of 45,050 fans watched a clean race from the rookie while errors by veterans like James Stewart and three-time reigning champion Ryan Villopoto knocked them out of contention. Villopoto had a strong start, taking the holeshot and leading the first eight laps, just like the Kawasaki rider had done so often the last few seasons.

Dakar Begins This Sunday!

Dakar is an international, bad-ass, multi-day off-road event and if you’re not a fan you should be. Crossing the borders of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile the route takes motorcycle and ATV competitors through more than 5400 miles of extreme riding conditions. Competing cars and trucks go even farther.

Recreate Rossi’s Corkscrew Pass on Stoner at Laguna Seca with Paper

Valentino Rossi‘s career is full of many incredible moments but few are as indelible as the move he made to pass Casey Stoner on the 23rd lap of the 2008 U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. The controversial cut through the famous Corkscrew was arguably the most dramatic moment of the 2008 MotoGP season (and ironically, recreated this year, with Marc Marquez turning the tables on Rossi).

1973 Yamaha TZ750 Works Prototype #409-100001 Up For Auction

For just $120,000, you too can be the owner of a special piece of motorcycling history. Up for grabs on eBay is the 1973 Yamaha TZ750 that started it all. Claimed by the current owner to be the test mule of none other than Kel Carruthers in 1973, this TZ carries the number #409-100001. Yamaha Works GP rider Sadeo Asami cared for the motorcycle for much of its racing life until it was returned to Yamaha USA where it was destined for the crusher.

Wazuma V8: The Ferrari Powered Quad

What’s $250,000, has four wheels, and is powered by a Ferrari engine? Clearly, if you guessed a Ferrari you’d be wrong. From the crazy minds of French custom car and motorcycle builders, Lazareth, comes this Wazuma V8 quad — yes, quad — with the aforementioned parts.

Yamaha To Build Cars By 2014

In a recent group interview at Yamaha Motor Company headquarters in Japan, company president Hiroyuki Yanagi announced plans for the company to enter into the automotive market by as early as 2014 — six years ahead of schedule. If you’re a motorcyclist or musician, the Yamaha brand is likely very familiar to you. However, the company has a long history building, or designing, engines for the car industry.

Dakar 2014: Cyril Despres’ Yamaha YZ450F Rally Revealed

Yamaha revealed the livery for its YZ450F Rally racer, the machine Cyril Despres will ride in his quest for his sixth Dakar Rally victory. Despres will lead a factory team which includes Michael Metge, Olivier Pain and Frans Verhoeven to South America for the 2014 Dakar Rally which kicks off Jan. 5.