Motorcycle Blog on 2040Motos

Used Review: Spyke two-piece suit

Due to a lack of funds I had to make do with another eBay bargain last summer and this Spyke 2 piece set of leathers was picked up for £90.Buying without trying is something I never learn from so it was always going to be potluck if these fitted me properly. Unfortunately they proved to be just a bit too small.I had to rob an older suit of mine to put some armour in the knee pockets and the back protector in the jacket was little more than a token gesture. As these were bought second hnd hand I’m guessing some of the original armour had gone missing.The jacket was extremely short and the zip connecting it to the trousers broke after a few months.

Used Review: Alpinestars S-MX R boots

Last summer it was time to replace my worn out Sidi Vertebras but not being a fan of their new clear plastic heel outer, I thought I’d give Alpinestars boots a try. I tried a few models out at my local Infinity and Hein Gericke stores in South London but the perfect boot size seemed to change on the type of boot I tried despite all being from the same manufacturer.To confuse matters more I then proceeding to bid on a used pair on eBay after a night on the beers so it was really pot lock that when my replacement boots finally arrived two weeks later they fitted (well sort of). The Alpinestars S-MX R boots that arrived on my doorstep were used but didn’t have much too much wear so made them a bargain at £80.

Used Review: Arai Condor Neevesy

The Arai Condor range was Arai’s entry level of full face helmets until July last year. I got my Arai Condor Neevesy in 2008 for £270, an additional £20 over the plain colour designs. I purchased the Condor from Infinity in Great Portland Street and being a friendly bunch threw in a clear Pinlock visor insert to stop me fogging up.

Used Review: Alpinestars GP PRO gloves

When a pair of old gloves fell apart at the seams a few years ago, I popped into Bournemouth’s Crescent Motorcycles and purchased a pair of discounted Alpinestars SP-1 gloves. It was a short life for the SP-1s though as these also split their seams on the same day (fat fingers?). In a great gesture of goodwill from Crescent, I found myself the owner of a gleaming pair of white and blue Alpinestars GP Pro gloves.At £125 these are certainly the most expensive gloves I have owned to date but then again, no other pair of gloves I have owned have had input from Nicky Hayden into their design.Some of the key aspects include a large plastic cuff and several sliders and in the white and blue they certainly stood out when new.

Officers Go Off-Road at Victory Police Motorcycles Demo

Get the Flash Player to see this player. You don’t often associate Victory Motorcycles with off-road riding. That didn’t stop these police officers from taking their bikes off the pavement at a recent demo event for police models based on Victory’s Kingpin and Cross-Country models.

Check my new bike out...

Well, after several months of eager anticipation, that day has arrived. My 2011 Repsol Blade has finally rocked up. She'll be accompanying me this year on a voyage of track days, real road racing spectating and on my 200 mile commute between the office and home.

Ducati MotoGP: Smoke and mirrors

There's often more lurking within a seemingly innocuous press release than first meets the eye. The latest communication from Ducati's MotoGP spin doctor would, at first, lend you to believe that the team are buoyed with steely optimism and are hopeful that their hard work ethic and diligence will get them to the top of the time sheets in two shakes of a 10 mil' Facom T-bar. The results from their pre-season testing sessions have so far been pretty glum with both Nicky Hayden and their golden boy Valentino Rossi trailing the rest of the pack by a couple of seconds.

New stuff: Alpinestars S-MX Plus R boots

The S-MX Plus R is from Alpinestars' racing boot range and they have remained largely unchanged for some four years now. I've had a couple of pairs over the past 5 years and I keep coming back for more. They are super tough and have consistently proven to be totally reliable.

Used Review: Alpinestars SMX Plus R boots

The SMX Plus is Alpinestars racing boot. The design has remained pretty much unchanged for the last four years and that’s probably because they consistently prove to be reliably protective, very well made and really comfy once worn in. There’s nothing better than a well worn in pair of supportive boots to boost your riding confidence.

Old boys up front and where are the new 600 Gixers?

As I’ve been gagging for the new race season to kick off so it was almost a pleasure getting up at stupid 0 clock to watch the World Superbike Championship  opener at Phillip Island last weekend. I have to say Messrs Burnicle and Whitham were on form although I was disappointed there were none of the usual verbal attacks on each other that always add to the entertainment.    I’m sure they will put things right soon but the world superbike regulars must have been disheartened that Moto GP veterans nailed five of the six available rostrum slots.

John Surtees OBE: An official apology

It's not often I get mistaken for anybody, especially somebody famous. Someone did mistake me for the athlete Mark Forsyth once but obviously that was a telephone mistake, I'm hardly the build for hurdles. However, I've never been mistaken for a double F1 and 500cc World Champion before.

Flaming World Superbike Crash at 130mph [Video]

Get the Flash Player to see this player. Here is some spectacular footage of Castrol Honda World Superbike racer Jonathan Rea crashing during a pre-season test at Australia’s Phillip Island ciruit. Rea’s Honda CBR1000RR Superbike went up in flames just before he highsided at turn three at Phillip Island.

All-Wheel Drive Motorcycles Coming from Christini

Christini, a U.S. company known for building all-wheel drive conversion kits for motorcycles, is coming out with its own line of motorcycles. Two models are currently in the works – a Christini AWD 450 model with a retail price point of $6,895 and a Christini AWD 300 model featuring a Gas Gas 300 engine and other high-end racing components for an estimated retail price point of $8,995.

Used Review: Racer Titan winter gloves

Racer sent us a pair of their latest winter waterproof gloves, and we’ve had enough rain and snow to put them through their paces. Overall they have stood up brilliantly in all levels of rain and proven them self to be 100% waterproof. The Neoprene wrist gaiter has stopped any seepage around your jacket cuffs preventing water from running into the gloves around your wrists, a great little invention that.

Ducati 749R Turbo. 214bhp.

I know that the 749 and the 999 split opinion when they were launched. And even today, they don't possess the obviously stunning silhouette of the 848 and 1098 but I'm pretty sure they'll become curious classics in the future. However, this 749 is different and I think it's stunning because, well, it's not the same old 749R with a few carbon bits added.

Japanese Motocompo Anime

Last week we revealed that Honda are likely to launch the new Honda Motocompo - over 30 years since the first version. I must admit, I'd never heard of it before we ran the news story, so I got onto YouTube and tried to find footage of a very efficient and humble Japanese businessman unloading one out of the boot of a Honda Civic in order to minimise their carbon footprint, but no... I couldn't find one.

2011 Triumph Speed Triple - Long term test bike

The 2011 Speed Triple is Triumph's latest overhaul of this iconic bike. It has a new frame, new suspension, new swingarm, wheels, bodywork, tank, new clocks, new headlights, in fact pretty much everything is new, everything except the engine that is! Many look at a bike's engine as its heart and soul.

Moto Guzzi V8. Hear it

An ultra-rare Moto Guzzi V8 race bike will make an appearance at the Race Retro show this weekend. The Stoneleigh Park event takes place 27-28-29 Feb. But rather than just marvelling at the static exhibit you can hear it running, too.

Twin-engine pulsejet motorcycle. As you do..

The guy behind this twin-engined pulsejet motorcycle, Robert 'Bob' Maddox, fascinates me. He's a cabinet maker by trade but is somewhat an expert in the field of pulsejet engineering and has built a whole host of machines powered by the ever so subtle jet engine. This latest bike is dubbed a Harley-Davidson Sportjet, although it has nothing to do with Milwaukee and I'm not sure why H-D made it onto the tank...

A new kind of ridiculous: 42X Ducati Edition

I've just been sent this press release about a new Cigarette Racing (that's the boat co.) Ducati Edition boat. It's nice looking, for sure, but do you really need Ducati logos splashed everywhere when you've forked out on a boat that's probably not going to give you much change from £1m. No doubt, Rossi'll be seen on one this year, with Uccio manning the stereo...

Used Review: Bering Zoom winter gloves

Last December I was willing every set of lights ahead of me to turn red. It was the one chance during my daily commute to warm my hands by grabbing my exhaust pipe, engine or anything else with heat source that would give me a few seconds of warmth. Summer gloves are great because you can feel what your fingers are doing, but they’re no use once it gets really cold.

Very, very rare. Very, very expensive

Fancy a bike that will stand out in a crowd? Any crowd? How about this ultra-rare ex-Kurtis Roberts Proton KRV-5 XM2 four-stroke MotoGP bike?

New: Klim Traverse Gore-Tex jacket

We hadn't heard of Klim until today, but they're an established brand in the snowmobile market and are now producing motorcycle specific clothing. This jacket and trousers combo, the Traverse, is aimed at the enduro and adventure rider and is designed to offer comfort and moisture management, while being durable and also waterproof. Sounds good.

Paris Hilton’s Race Team Might Actually Be Good

When news first emerged that Paris Hilton was getting into the Grand Prix racing business, the response from fans of the motorcycle racing ranged from utter disdain to hope that the celebutante’s involvement would raise the profile of the sport. Whether you dread the image of a sparkly pink carbon fiber fairing or welcome any infusion of funding and support for racing, the one thought that may not have crossed your mind was “what if the team turns out to be pretty good?” Based on the results of a recent 125cc Grand Prix pre-season test, that might be the case. Maverick Viñales of the SuperMartxe VIP by Paris Hilton team had the second fastest laptime from the three-day test at Spain’s Valencia circuit, just 0.1 seconds behind the leader Nico Terol of Bancaja Aspar.

Our Magnificent seven

Remember to dust your Union Jacks down if you happen to be visiting any Grand Prix this year as we have no less than seven youngsters to cheer on in the junior Moto GP classes. I don’t think we’ve ever had this many ‘yoofs’ in the GP paddock so let’s hope they can do the business and bring an end to our long drought of Grand Prix titles. And that could be soon as Scott Redding is already a hot favourite for the 2011 Moto 2 championship on his Marc VDS Suter machine.

From minibike to GP bike

Lorenzo has all the makings to be a great, fan-favourite, rider. The personalty, a tenacity to win with the grit and determination needed to succeed. For some reason however he seems to rub people up the wrong way.

KTM 200 Duke Spied

IndianCarsBikes.in has uncovered spy photos of a KTM 200 beign tested in Pune, India. Pune is home to automaker Bajaj Auto which owns a share of KTM. Bajag Auto Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj had previously hinted at a 200cc version of the KTM 125 Duke in an interview with BSMotoring.

Hang-On Arcade Game Creator Honored

If you grew up in the ’80s and spent some a lot of time in arcades, you’re probably familiar with the game “Hang-On”. Released in 1985 by Sega Enterprises, motorcycle racing game  “Hang-On” broke ground by using a motorcycle-shaped seat as a controller. Players raced a virtual motorcycle on a track, leaning on the plastic motorcycle to steer the in-game bike.

2011 Ducati Diavel Carbon World Launch First Impressions

Despite the Diavel Carbon weighing in at 207 kg (456 pounds) dry and featuring bulkier dimensions than any other Ducati it still handles very well. This is down to true Ducati know-how where the 162hp 1200cc L-twin and trellis frame are based on the 1198 superbike developments. The engine is in fact the same Testastretta II found on the Multistrada but with a massive exhaust system that boost power over the Strada by 12 horsepower.

The trusty bung, glue and re-inflate method

To be totally honest tyres aren’t exactly the most exciting topic of conversation, having said that they have a real impact on our day-to-day riding. This last set of Bridgestones (BT023’s) have done me proud and when they came off the bike revealing the puncture repair I had to make by the roadside last summer, I was reminded of how much they have been through over the past four months. They have done a total of 8500 miles and seen some abuse around the Nurburgring in Germany.