Yamaha Stratoliner Motorcycles in Laurel, page #62

Moto blog

The Japanese oddity to naming teams

Whenever the calendar shifts to a major Japanese race, such as the Suzuka 8hr, one of the more amusing things to do is glance down the team sheet This years highlight for me has to be team Moto Bum, with other stand outs including aprilia D.D.BOYS, Team Etching Factory Yamaha and MITO MOTO & e'freaks Honda. Looking back through the ages some of the great Japanese team names have been Burning Blood Racing Team, Dog Fight Racing and Team Moto Space amongst others. Credit to a member of the Twitterati @temalive

So that's why he's called RANDY de Puniet

RANDY de Puniet may well have just been ejected from his LCR Honda RC212V MotoGP racer during qualifying for Sunday's Sachsenring GP but that ain't gonna stop him from bringing one of the company perks with him to Dr Costa's on-circuit surgery. The Frenchman crashed during qualifying after hitting oil and water spilled on track by Jorge Lorenzo's Fiat Yamaha, after it spewed its guts along almost the entire length of the start finished straight. Following the crash De Puniet was whisked away on a stretcher with a suspected broken foot.

GPify the Yamaha Fazer FZ8 with LeoVince

Here is what LeoVince has to say about the new Fazer8 and FZ8 exhausts: Quick off the mark with 3 exhaust options launched for Yamaha's brand new 800cc Fazer and FZ8 models, LeoVince promise you less weight, better looks and improved performance. These new Fazers, with their R1 engines, albeit downgraded to a smaller 800cc capacity, have been designed by Yamaha to give more bottom end power.  LeoVince have finely tuned their new slip-on GP-PRO and SBK-FACTORY exhausts to further increase both power and torque throughout the whole rev range, and endow the bike with a much improved sports sound - plus a removable db baffle for increased throatiness.

Following the Go-show, a wild onboard lap of Phillip Island

Sit back and revel at the imaginative lean angles and racing lines adopted round the Phillip Island by the wild Anthony Gobert. Footage courtesy of the onboard camera attached to the Yamaha of Colin Edwards. The clip is from the final round of 1996 World Superbike championship at Phillip Island from race one, the gifted Gobert would go on to win the second race as well.

How to solve the mystery of the wildcard replacement

With the two test riders coming forward to act as replacement riders for the injured Rossi and Aoyama, it brought back memories of the days when the grid would be gifted with wildcard riders from the respective countries. The Japanese rounds were always attended by some of the top guys with experience of the 500GP and MotoGP bikes, through racing them in their domestic championships. What resulted was getting to witness the exciting and talented Japanese riders, and bring new riders to the attention of the teams.

Rossi's Silverstone message to his fans

Valentino Rossi might not have been at the British MotoGP, but he did leave this message by his Yamaha YZR-M1 in the Fiat Yamah pits. The message, 'Torno Subito' means I'll come back quickly. Let's hope he does.

Look smooth in motorcycle jewellery

This fetching necklace features a realistic interpretation of Yamaha's automatic FJR1300. What would perfect this look for the FJR1300 owner, actually let me stop and provide the image for you; imagine as Mr. FJR pulls in to the pub carpark.

Build your own Yamaha VMax

For the origami fans out there, Yamaha have a printable Paper Craft version of their VMax motorcycle (or should that be PMax - P for paper obviously) Download each of the five individual PDF pages and get folding. Might want to stock up on printer ink and A4 paper though as it looks like it will be a frustrating model. As it looks fairly impossible and time consuming I'm putting the challenge out for anyone to go out and complete the paper model themself.

Ben Spies talks MotoGP

TECH 3 Yamaha man Ben Spies gives a fairly in-depth interview about Mugello MotoGP, his championship hopes and his riding style with On The Throttle TV. The multiple AMA superbike champ, who's racing for the first time on many of the MotoGP tracks, reveals he spends most of Friday practice learning the circuit, while others are focusing on set-up and fast lap times. Spies fan or not, it's well worth a watch.

Catalina Island (California) Grand Prix Slated for 2010 Return [video]

The Catalina Grand Prix was last run in 1958 on Santa Catalina Island, an island community situated approximately 22 miles south-southwest of greater Los Angeles. Efforts by the AMA, AMA District 37, Big6 (a smaller collection of clubs within the D-37 region) and promotional company My Cuz Vinnie Promotions LLC, have secured December 3-5, 2010 as dates for the event, with a 100-mile professional race held on the 5th. In 2008 vintage motorcycles were displayed on Crescent Ave.