Yamaha V Star Motorcycles in Clermont, page #67

Moto blog

Losail Circuit: Track Facts

This year’s MotoGP is back in the swing of things for the 2009 calendar. We’ll be keeping up with the latest race news on Motorcycle.com (See: MotoGP: 2009 Motegi Preview).  While you’re here, check out a few details and a video of the Losail Circuit.  Enjoy. Track map Lap Video Jeffery de Vries drives a 2007 Yamaha R1 at Losail Circuit.

Yamaha to Cut Motorcycle Production in 2009

With mounting inventories coupled with a drop in demand, Yamaha will be cutting its motorcycle production in Japan by 24 percent this year or to about 260,000 total units; one newspaper reported this would be a 40-year low for the manufacture. Yamaha plans to cut production for motorcycles and other products by 30 percent in the Americas, 20 percent in Europe but will maintain production levels in Asia where demand has not dropped off. The company is forecasting its group sales to fall 22 percent with an operating loss of about $300 million.

A Different Bike Magazine

Motorcycle Retro is a pet project of former Motorcyclist editor Mitch Boehm, launching as Motorcyclist Retro in early 2008 under the Source Interlink media umbrella. It featured a contemporary look at motorcycles of the 1960s through the 1980s. However, the circulation numbers of MR didn’t meet the expectations of the media conglomerate, and they cancelled production of the magazine after just two issues.

POW! 2008 FLHTCUSE Screamin’ Eagle Ultra Classic Electra Glide

Grab the wallpaper and click over to SPECs where you’ll find honest user reviews for this bike. Don Hutchinson reviewed the Electra Glide in December, calling it a “Great Machine” and gave it a perfect Rating! Phil Nuccio also gave it a 5/5 rating all ’round and uploaded a picture of his HD for all of us to enjoy.

2009 Yamaha R1 Reviewed!

Get the Flash Player to see this player. After much speculation and anticipation regarding the 2009 YZF-R1, MO finally got some seat time in the recently updated numero uno. After hearing much about this new “Cross-plane crankshaft” technology, we were ready to write it off as media hype and PR propaganda, but it turns out that the Yamaha R1 has actually tightened the gap between MotoGP technology and street applications.

Unique Sounds of the New Yamaha R1

When Yamaha announced its new R1 literbike last fall, company reps told us about the tractability assets of its new, MotoGP-derived crossplane crankshaft for the four-cylinder engine. It’s unique in that cylinders fire 90-degrees apart, allegedly enabling better grip during acceleration. A byproduct of this design is an exhaust note that is distinctive in this world of cookie-cutter designs.

POW! 2008 Yamaha XT660Z Tenere Desktop Wallpaper

It’s not often that Picture of the Week gets to be dirty. This week we are happy to highlight a Motorcycle.com review from earlier in the year. The 2008 Yamaha XT660Z Tenere was put through the paces by Tor Sagen.

Are Motorcycles Safer With Antilock Brakes?

A new report says riders with ABS-equipped bikes can dramatically reduce the chance of a fatal accident. The study compared fatality rates among riders on bikes that have antilock brakes, and it found that death rates were 38% lower on motorcycles equipped with the optional ABS systems compared to non-ABS bikes. In 2005-2006, the fatal crashes per 10,000 registered motorcycles without antilock brakes was 6.6.

Motorcycle.com Weekly Community Round-up!

It’s that time again, folks. Here are a few things going on around the Motorcycle.com Forum Network: 2006 R6 Exhaust Picture thread! Wow, this thread has been going on since 2004!

5 Awesome Motorcycle Gift Ideas for those Pesky Teenagers

Those darned teenagers and their troublesome ways could use some motorcycle-inspired gifts for the holidays. And although you may not understand the mind of a teenager, you can at least massage their brains a bit by imposing your motorcycle hobby onto them. Here are 5 awesome motorcycle gift ideas for pesky teenagers: Capcom’s MotoGP 08 Video Game Recommended Ages: Rated E for Everyone Who Has It: Anyone who sells video games should have it ( BestBuy for example ) How Much: $59.99 They’re not old enough yet to be speeding around a track at ridiculous speeds but at least they can pretend to be and MotoGP will put them in the riders seat.