Yamaha WR Motorcycles in Elgin, page #36

Moto blog

Dakar Rally Competitor Sponsored by Pornographer

Looking for someone to cheer for in the 2013 Dakar Rally? Then how about Hugo Payen, a French racer competing on a Yamaha WR450F. Payen is racing in his seventh Dakar Rally, with his best result a 48th place finish in 2011.

Yamaha Officially Announces Monster Energy Sponsorship

As we reported in December, energy drink producer Monster Energy has signed a sponsorship agreement with Yamaha‘s factory MotoGP program, putting its brand on the Yamaha YZR-M1 race bikes, team clothing and equipment, as well as riders Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi. Monster Energy already had a personal sponsorship deal with Rossi but the company will now also sponsor Lorenzo. The reigning MotoGP Champion had previously had a sponsorship arrangement with rival energy drink company RockStar, but Yamaha exercised a clause in its contract with Lorenzo allowing a buy out of the RockStar deal as it conflicts with the team’s sponsor.

Hero MotoCorp Reports Sales of 541,615 Motorcycles and Scooters in December 2012

Whenever we publish stories about the motorcycle industry in India, we still get comments from readers surprised at how big a role that nation’s market plays, and perhaps more poignantly, how small it makes the U.S. market look. The latest sales numbers from Hero MotoCorp, India’s market leader, should further highlight the importance of India’s motorcycle market.

Team Hammer Releases Martin Cardenas

AMA Pro Racing’s Team Hammer has released Martin Cardenas from his contract to allow the reigning AMA Daytona Sportbike Champion “to better pursue his goal of returning to World Championship competition as soon as possible.” Though the eventual goal appears to be for Cardenas to move up to the World Superbike Championship, rumors have Cardenas landing with the Yoshimura Suzuki factory team to race in the AMA Superbike Championship in 2013 as an eventual stepping stone towards international racing. Cardenas won the 2010 and 2012 AMA Daytona Sportbike championships with Team Hammer riding a Suzuki GSX-R600. Team Hammer held a contract option for Cardenas for the 2013 season but decided to release the Colombian racer, allowing him to take a different route towards a WSBK career.

Yamaha Gets Monster Energy MotoGP Team Sponsorship, Annuls Lorenzo’s RockStar Sponsorship Deal

Yamaha has reportedly signed energy drink maker Monster Energy to sponsor its factory MotoGP team, according to Spanish site MotoCuatro.com. The new sponsorship deal created a bit of a problem however, as Yamaha‘s star rider Jorge Lorenzo recently signed a two-year contact extension to his personal sponsorship deal with RockStar, a rival energy drink maker. To get around this sticky situation, MotoCuatro reports Yamaha will invoke a clause in Lorenzo’s contract allowing the manufacturer to veto and buy out his RockStar contract.

Monster Energy Track Day of Legends with Schumacher, McGuinness, Espargaro and Flint – Video

Last week, we wrote about retired Formula One racer Michael Schumacher taking part in a track day at France’s Paul Ricard circuit on a Ducati 1199 Panigale. The event’s sponsor, Monster Energy, has released a video offering a behind-the-scenes look at the event. The seven-time F1 champion was joined by TT racer John McGuinness, retired MotoGP racer Randy Momola, Moto2 racer Pol Espargaro and Keith Flint, a musician from the group Prodigy and a racer in the U.K.’s  Hottrax Endurance Championship.

Yamaha Outlines 2013-2015 Business Plan

Yamaha Motor Co. revealed what it calls its New Medium-term Management Plan, outlining its business strategies for 2013 to 2015, including the introduction of 250 new models worldwide across its various product lines including motorcycles. The three-year plan is an extension of Yamaha‘s plan for 2010-2012 which targets a “V-shaped recovery”.

Yamaha Developing 250cc Sportbike for India in 2014

Yamaha has been rumored to be working on a 250cc sportbike for quite some time now. In fact, the other three members of the Japanese Big Four have launched new models in the small-displacement segment in recent years, but none of these new generation small-displacement bikes bear Yamaha‘s crossed tuning fork logo. That may change by 2014 however.

Canada Gets Race Blu 2013 Yamaha Fazer8

Back in September, Yamaha revealed a special “Race Blu” livery for a the YZF-R1, YZF-R6 and the YZF-R125 for the European market. Yamaha promoted the new color scheme with Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies sporting the colors on their leathers and M1 race bikes at the Misano and Aragon MotoGP rounds. North American consumers were left out, however, getting a Team Yamaha Blue and White version instead for the R1 and R6 (the R125 isn’t offered here either).

Bruce Willis Auctioning Motorcycles to Benefit Active and Retired Military

Actor Bruce Willis is auctioning five motorcycles from his personal collection to benefit the Boot Campaign, a Texas-based non-profit organization supporting active and retired members of the U.S. military. The motorcycles will be auctioned off every two months, starting from December 2012 to August 2013, with each auction running for up to 30 days at CharityBuzz.com.