2009 Yamaha Yz250f (moses Lake) on 2040-motos

Moto blog

US Motorcycle Thefts Down 6% in 2011

Americans reported 46,667 motorcycle thefts in 2011, a 6% decrease from 49,791 stolen motorcycles in 2010, reports the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Despite the drop in reported thefts, the non-profit organization representing nearly 1100 property and casualty insurance companies says the theft rate still averages out to one motorcycle stolen every 11 minutes in the U.S. The numbers were published in the NICB’s 2011 ForeCAST Report which examined theft reports as well as recoveries.

Yamaha XTW250 RYOKU Concept at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show

Of the concept models Yamaha announced it would introduce at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, it was the heavy-duty looking XTW250 RYOKU concept that drew the most attention from our readers. Here we have new photographs of Yamaha’s “SUV motorcycle” from the show floor of the Tokyo Motor Show courtesy of Colum Wood, editor of our sister site Autoguide.com, who was in attendance. Yamaha describes the XTW250 RYOKU concept as an “unrestricted, anytime, anywhere” mobility vehicle offering performance, operability the capacity to carry heavy loads.

Think You’re a Smooth Rider? Yamaha’s SmartRiding App Will Prove It

Yamaha has released a new app that records and evaluates riding habits. The free Yamaha SmartRiding app (available now in the App store) uses the Apple devices sensors to measure basic telemetry to evaluate how smoothly you handle curves. The app requires the device to be firmly fixed to the motorcycle in either a vertical or horizontal arrangement (the app is compatible with iPhones, iPods and iPads, though I’m not sure how many people will mount a tablet to their motorcycle).