Yamaha XT Motorcycles in Springfield, page #54

Moto blog

Wayne Rainey Visits Yamaha Racing HQ

Racing legend and three-time 500cc Grand Prix Champion Wayne Rainey paid a visit to Yamaha Motor Racing’s headquarters just outside of Milan, Italy. The 1990-1992 World Champion met with employees of Yamaha Racing, Yamaha Motor Italy and Yamaha Motor RD Europe and officially opened a new boardroom named in his honor. Rainey, along with current Yamaha factory MotoGP racers Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies, took time to take photographs and sign autographs with the Yamaha staff.

2012 Yamaha YZF-R15 Revealed for India

Yamaha unveiled an updated YZF-R15 for the Indian market featuring a R1- and R6-inspired facelift. The original Yamaha R15 was released in India in 2008, representing market’s first premium sport bike. While other major manufacturers are now bringing their own premium models to the country, the early introduction gave Yamaha R15 a solid fan base and even a spec racing series.

2011 AMA Pro National Guard Superbike Champion Josh Hayes

Josh Hayes has won his second consecutive AMA Superbike title, clinching the championship in a tightly contested Race One at the 2011 season finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park. The lead changed hands several times before Hayes emerged with the win, his third of the season. The Monster Energy Graves Yamaha R1 rider was consistent all season, finishing with three wins and 12 podium finishes in 14 races, and finishing fourth in the two times he missed the podium.

2011 AMA Pro Daytona Sportbike Champion Danny Eslick

Danny Eslick won his second career AMA Daytona Sportbike Championship, adding another #1 plate to the one he won in 2009. The Geico Powersports RMR Suzuki GSX-R600 rider won three races this season and added another five podium finishes to win the title by a 275-256 margin over Monster Energy Graves Yamaha’s Josh Herrin. Eslick clinched the title after finishing sixth in the first race of the 2011 season finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

Suzuka Eight Hour capers

Chatting to TT legend John McGuiness recently about his first Suzuka Eight Hour experience got me thinking of a few capers the boys and me managed a few years back at what is still Japan's most important race of the season. It is a unique event that starts at 11am and finishes at 7pm making  it a pukka endurance race as the last hour is run with headlights on in the dark. It is essentially an eight hour sprint that showcases the trickest endurance machinery and manufacturer’s sales can be affected the following year depending on who wins or loses.

Colin Edwards Joins Forward Racing CRT Squad for 2012

Colin Edwards will join the Forward Racing team to compete in the 2012 MotoGP season as a Claiming Rule Team entry. Edwards, known as a good development rider and an even better quote machine, is the first rider to officially sign on with a CRT. Forward Racing may be more familiar to some race fans by its former name, Hayate Racing, the outfit that ran the Kawasaki ZX-RR with Marco Melandri in 2009 after Kawasaki pulled out of MotoGP racing.

Win tickets for Donington Park BSB

The Showdown for the MCE British Superbike Championship kicks off next weekend at Donington Park (9-11 September) as the circuit hosts the start of the three round fight for the title between the top six riders. We've teamed up with Donington Park to offer ten pairs of weekend tickets (worth £30 each). To be in with a chance of winning head to Facebook.com/Visordown and answer the question.

Zero Announces Canadian Dealer Network

Zero Motorcycles announced its expansion into Canada with a network of nine dealerships. The announcement follows the launch of Zero’s U.S. dealer network in July.

Wayne Rainey to Appear at Misano for First Time Since Career-Ending Crash

Wayne Rainey will return to the Misano circuit for the first time since he suffered a career-ending crash that left him paralyzed from the chest down. The Sept. 5, 1993 crash at the circuit then-known as the Circuito Internazionale Santamonica brought a sudden end to what had been an incredibly successful Grand Prix racing career.

MSF Begins Year-long Real World Motorcycle Safety Study

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation has started what it calls the first-ever naturalistic study of motorcycling, with 100 motorcycles equipped with data logging equipment to record real-world riding situations over the course of a year. The information will valuable data that will help shape the MSF’s rider education and rider training program and other safety initiatives. “Our priority with this research is to observe the participants on a day-to-day basis,” says Dr.