Motorcycle Blog on 2040Motos

Kawasaki ZX-10R vs Mazda RX-7 [video]

The sport of drifting in the car world has been entertaining motorsports enthusiasts for years, spawning national race series across the globe.  And this genre is now gaining a foothold in the motorcycle world. In the video below, we see these worlds collide as a Corvette-powered Mazda RX-7 battles a stretched Kawasaki ZX-10R in a drift competition produced by Icon Motorsports. The Ninja is ridden by Nick “Apex” Brocha, smoking his ZX’s fat rear tire against the RX at Sandia Motorsports Park in New Mexico.

Richard's '88 Tenere resto project

There’s a lot of it about at this time of year, brought on, no doubt, by excessive exposure over the Festive Season to the temptations of eBay. Buying old nails with a view to restoration, that is. Wilfing away over the New Year, I spotted for sale a bike that, when new, I really fancied.

2011 Vyrus Moto2 Grand Prix Racer Preview

Motorbike cognoscenti recognize the Vyrus name, the Italian brand producing exotic sportbikes based on the amazing hub-center-steered Bimota Tesi. The Vyrus story begins when Bimota filed for bankruptcy in the early 2000s. Vyrus principal Ascanio Rodorigo, a former Bimota employee, began producing his version of the Tesi after Bimota let its patents expire while it was in bankruptcy.

Radical Ducati: RAD02

I found this Ducati on tinterweb and I love it. Its RAD02 Pursang name hardly trips off the tongue, but the bike is a thing of beauty in the eyes of this beholder. Based around a Multistrada 1100 engine, with Keihin FCR41 carbs, Ohlins front and rear suspension and the swinging arm off a Monster S2R all bolted onto a custom frame.

Timewarp GSX-R1100

I spotted this GSX-R1100 G on motorcycle sales website www.classic-motorbikes.com Having covered just 895 miles form new and with only 1 owner, it is 100% original and in timewarp condition. The price? Just over £10,000.

Haslam's first WSB win immortalised in paint

Titled 'Winning Start' this limited edition print illustrates Leon Haslam taking his first ever WSB win. Phillip Island, 2010 will forever be marked as an important race for Haslam, in his first race with Alstare Suzuki the Briton converted a career-first WSB pole position in to his first ever World championship race victory. Only 250 of the prints by Isle of Man artist Alan Perkin are available.

Track day heaven: What to ride in 2011

There may be still snow on the ground north of Hadrian’s wall but it’s five degrees in the Midlands so my brain is thinking ‘track days’.  Spain may have more active Moto GP circuits than any other nation but when it comes down to tracks per square mile I’ve realised we actually live in a motorsport theme park with thrills in every corner of the country. Due to the incredibly long lap, Silverstone doesn’t deliver the best riding experience but the overall facility is now up there with the world’s best so it’s still a box that has to be ticked at least once a year. Donington and Brands Hatch GP are more satisfying circuits where you can really enjoy the huge power and fancy electronics of your latest S1000RR and ZX10(when it arrives) and where you can re live some of the classic Moto GP and WSB races of the past.

Suomy Excel Biaggi replica

Suomy have released new Biaggi, Dovi and Caprirossi replica helmets.Pictured above is the Biaggi replica. Here's what Suomy have to say about them: Suomy Excel helmet RRP £469.99   The Suomy Excel is the ultimate racing helmet.  An evolution of the popular 'Extreme' helmet this is as good as a racing helmet can be. As worn by Max Biaggi (Suomy has won 8 out of the last 10 world championships) Also keep in range the Dovisioso and Capirossi replicas Composite shell in 3 shell sizes Structurally enhanced composite shell construction with sound absorbing polymers Thermoformed LEXAN polycarbonate visor with anti-scratch and state of the art anti-fog coating Very lightweight race helmet Removable and washable cheekpads in top quality hypoallergenic lining with Suomy patented fitting device Customised Inner Liner: detachable inner paddings and cheek pads are available as spare parts in different thicknesses to customise helmet fit.

Snetterton. Come for a virtual lap

This is a lap of phase one of Snetterton's current re-development. It's called Snetterton 300 and is the first £2.5m stage of an eventual £20m makeover of the Norfolk circuit. Work will be completed on this section for the start of the 2011 season.

Suits you, sir

Have you ever struggled removing your one piece leathers on your own? All that hopping around on a cold pit garage floor and faffing about as you extricate sweaty arms from sleeves. Not cool.

Home-built Wheelchair Thrills Easyriders Bike Show [video]

The name Matt Cuddy should need no introduction to Motorcycle.com readers. Not only does he have more than 5,000 posts on our forum, he’s also written dirt bike tests for us, including the 2010 and 2011 Kawasaki KX450F reviews. Making this accomplishment more noteworthy is the fact that Matt is a paraplegic – he was hit by a car several years ago while riding his motorcycle.

Flawless Motorcycle Movers (Ltd)

Everything about this guy says amateur. The practice roll up the ramp is like the man who looks down at his left foot when he misses a gear trying to pull away from a biker cafe car park at speed. And his words at 17 seconds in this clip will haunt him forever.

MotoGP 10/11 Video Game Screen Shots

Video game developer Capcom showed of its latest MotoGP video game, “MotoGP 10/11″ at the Consumer Electronics Show and released a number of in-game screenshots. Due in March for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation3, MotoGP 10/11 builds upon last year’s game and adds a number of features to make it easier for players who aren’t used to motorcycle racing, either in video game form or on actual race tracks. MotoGP 10/11 offers new optional player assists such as traction control, independent front and rear brake control, automatic braking, anti-wheelie control, automatic transmission, riding posture and weight transfer.

A Bavarian (not fitting) in California

An entirely fictional story of a man who built this entirely real motorcycle: Emigrated from Germany to the USA. Lost the German accent after 10 years. Started to make friends.

Whitham's blog 4

We all like to save a shilling if we can, especially these days, but sometimes, doing a job yourself, cutting corners and generally grubbing round being tight fisted actually ends up costing you more money than biting the bullet and putting your hand a bit deeper into your pocket to get a proper job done. The problem is, I come from a long line of, erm, frugal Yorkshire b####rds going back generations, and I seem to be hardwired as a bit of a skinflint. My dad, although never actually short of money, that I could remember, didn’t like spending it.

Friday Flick: Fast Freddie explains racing

Unashamedly I am a massive Freddie Spencer fan and I am here with a video of the legend to break the tedium of your Friday afternoon. Above is the first part featuring some gorgeous retro clips and the infamous challenge, that saw Spencer and his GP machine pitted against a street bike and car around Laguna Seca. Here is Part Two and Part Three of 'Freddie Spencer explains motorcycle racing'.

Tomizawa replica. Japan only.

Shoei have produced a replica helmet in tribute to the late Shoya Tomizawa, but it's only available in Japan. The X-Spirit II will be produced in limited numbers, will cost around £550 and will only be sold in Japan from April this year. Shoei have stated that some of the money raised from the sale of these helmets will go to Tomizawa’s family and will also support young Japanese road-racers.

Visordown art curation

I'm finding it difficult to appreciate art at the moment, especially with all the modern art nonsense. I guess I just don't understand it, but these pieces look worthy of Tate Bike (that is if it existed). They're from young female artist, Guenevere Schwien, who grew to love motorcycles at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

No snow here folks!

An erratic work schedule combined with a full season of kids racing means, there aren’t many opportunities during the summer months for the Mackenzie family to grab a holiday. Instead, we tend to save our pennies and head off somewhere sunny for Christmas. I love doing this as it shortens the UK winter but more importantly it means I miss the festive frenzy.  I do like Christmas, but I hate how everyone gets caught up in the retail madness that kicks off just before Halloween, then has everyone stressed (and skint)before Santa has even hitched up his sleigh.

Remembering Those We Lost This Year

2011 is just around the corner but we thought we’d take a moment to look back and remember some of the figures in the motorcycle industry we lost in 2010. Danny “Magoo” Chandler Motocross legend Danny “Magoo” Chandler was one of the most popular racers in the ’80s. Chandler was the first rider to win both the Motocross des Nations and the Trophee des Nations in the same year.

Michael Alan Duff/Michelle Ann Duff

Spotted the link to this short film on a Dutch blog. It's beautifully shot/directed and captures GP rider Mike Duff's recovery from a horrific hip and pelvis injury suffered at the Japanese GP which cost him a six month stay in hospital. Watching him push-start makes you wince just imagining the pain he must have been in.

Three-year-old donuts

This is the son of stunt riding genius Christian Pfeiffer, Hannes, who at the age of three can already do donuts better than you. Not only is this the most adorable thing to ever feature on Visordown but it seems as though the genes run in the family as young Hannes Pfeiffer is making his dad proud on a 90cc Yamaha quad.

Chris Pfeiffer Plays Chicken on a BMW G450X Against a Bobsled [Video]

When I first saw this video, I thought it had to be a trick. Like the Gillette video of Roger Federer knocking a can off a man’s head with a tennis serve or the Nike ad with a couple of Dutch soccer players and an air vent, the first reaction is it has to be fake. But then I remember this is BMW stunt rider Chris Pfeiffer we’re talking about here.

Inside Look at the 2011 Suzuki GSX-R600 [video]

Suzuki boasts that the GSX-R600 has long been America’s top selling sportbike, so when it undergoes a major overhaul everybody takes notice. For 2011 the GSX-R600 underwent a plethora of big changes, all of which resulted in a weight loss of about 20 pounds. Helping this middleweight supersport shed pounds is a new frame, a 41mm Show Big Piston Fork, radially mounted Brembo monoblock brake calipers, as well as smaller axles and wheel hubs.

Happy Holidays from Nicky Hayden and Ducati Corse

Twas a few days before Christmas when all through the house, not a creature was stirring … except for Nicky Hayden. The Kentucky Kid dropped by Ducati’s head office in Bologna, Italy, but when he arrived, there was no one to be found. No, it wasn’t because of one of those month long holidays Italians are known for.

How to wheelie ten tonnes of Z1300

Yes, the video may be old (that's Barry Sheene doing the voice-over) but it's still worth seeing. This mad Fin was the inspiration for every stunt rider you've ever seen. Forget the White Helmets or Dave Taylor, he practically invented stunt riding all by himself.

Yamaha Pro Am madness, the best one make championship ever?

I’m biased of course, but the best one make road race championship has to be the Yamaha RD 350LC Pro Am series. Back in the days when manufacturers had spare cash (1980 to be precise), Mitsui Yamaha organised this televised championship at major British race meetings to promote the recently launched, and now iconic, Yamaha RD350LC. Twenty four riders (twelve established and twelve rookies) were chosen by a panel of experts then given a completely free season of racing with a very generous prize fund thrown in.

Mad Italian - a must see

This vid' just in. I watched it on my own and laughed out loud. Hope you do too.

John Reynolds: Riding Masterclass

When I first started racing about a thousand years ago, my local stomping ground was a place called Three Sisters near Wigan.  It wasn’t glamorous but it was brilliant. An hour from home and with about a million corners crammed into just a km of tarmac. The Three Sisters was a reference to the three coal slag heaps that had once occupied the site before.

Alpinestars Quark DNS glove

There are still about four months until the weather starts to pick up again and for those of you who are legendary bikers, still commuting through the winter, Alpinestars have released the new Quark glove with you in mind. Designed for the determind commuter, the Quark uses Alpinestars' Dual Nano system (DNS), in short a Hydrophonic textile upper construction that helps block out external moisture from entering the glove, and the company's patented Drystar technology, a membrane that ensures the glove remains 100% waterproof whilst enabling the glove to breathe for riding comfort. In terms of protection the Quark DNS glove features a reinforced palm to resist abrasion in the essential areas and an inner knuckle foam padding for impact protection.