Motorcycle Blog on 2040Motos

Need more from your S1000RR?

BMW has launched an HP Race Power Kit for the S1000 RR costing £2,850 including VAT.For trackday riders and racers, the kit - a new ECU and an Akrapovic exhaust system - increases peak power and torque, while optimising the bike’s engine, braking and power management systems, claim BMW, for short circuit riding and racing.Ayrton Badovini’s 2010 FIM Superstock 1000 championship-winning bike uses the HP Race Power Kit. It can also be found on the Jentin Racing-BMW Motorrad S 1000 RR being raced by Richard Cooper in the British National Superstock championship.• Maximum engine output increased by 4bhp and 6lb.ft to 197bhp (147kW) and 88.5 lb.ft (120 Nm) with power and torque significantly bolstered throughout the key 5000 to 9000 rpm midrange• Once installed, the power mapping for the four engine management riding modes (‘Rain’, ‘Sport’, ‘Race’ and ‘Slick’) is identical and the S 1000 RR delivers the full 197bhp across all four modes• The different modes instead alter the electronic rider aids with the Race ABS reducing input and the Dynamic Traction Control allowing full power at greater lean angles as the modes move from ‘Rain’ through to ‘Slick’• Engine braking on overrun is reduced giving more balanced corner entry• Pit-lane limiter activated when the start button is held down in first gear (actual speed maintained may vary with the bike’s gearing)• Akrapovic titanium and carbon-fibre full exhaust system saves 6.8kg over stock and includes a baffle which allows the exhaust to meet noise regulations in place at some circuits

Adjust the S1000RR chain in style

Some fancy new chain adjusting components from LighTech. The press release says: "LighTech srl, have really gone to town on BMW's S1000RR, with a programme of over 50 products planned this year. Lightechs chain adjuster sets for the S1000RR have just been released.

Jenny Tinmouth. Anglesey. Zero-emission lap record

LOVE OR LOATHE the idea of electric bikes - one thing's for certain: they're here to stay. So take a shufti a TT fast girl Jenny Tinmouth, setting a record lap for an electric bike at Anglesey circuit, during a round of the UK TTXGP Championship. Tinmouth set the fastest lap of the race on lap 8 of 14, with a time of 1:20.922 and average speed of 68.955mph.

Salt Shakers

A while back I ordered some bars and grips from Lowbrow Customs over on the west coast of America and on top of the goodies that appeared in the final issue of the mag they also chucked in a load of cool stickers too. A few emails flew back and forth and in one of them, Kyle dropped me a pic of the bike he was building for Bonneville Speed Week. The red and white one is Kyle's ’67 650 and the green one with the spectacular paintjob on the fairing is his colleague Tyler's ’55 drag race bike.

Scream if you want to go faster

FANCY AN ex-Carl Fogarty Harris Yamaha YZR500? A rare chance to acquire the machine ridden by King Carl in the 1992 British Grand Prix has come up on eBay. It's a V4 screamer, recently restored by 500cc guru Nigel Everett and features a host of top notch accessories, including Marchesini wheels, 320mm carbon discs and AP six-pot calipers, to name just a few.

New tyres are slippery. Never show off...

We've all got our new tyre 'story'. We've all done it. But most of us keep it quiet.

Brits Abroad

It's a rainy Tuesday evening and I'm trawling the information super highway for my parallel twin fix, when this little gem pops up. It's a teaser for a film called 'Brittown' featuring vintage Triumph motorcycle racer and mechanic Jeff "Meatball" Tulinius from the Hell On Wheels bike shop in Anaheim, CA. Enjoy

McGuinness' Guinness 'Blade at Lancaster Honda

That picture is of John McGuinness' actual 'Guinness Rep' Fireblade. The bike is on show at Lancaster Honda. The 15 times TT winner has been (quite rightly!) given this 'Blade by Honda, but you can order one for yourself.

Something for the weekend, Sir?

THIS IS THE 2011 Harley-Davidson special edition Ford F-150 pickup truck. The 6.2-litre V8 features 22-inch forged wheels, lowered suspension over the standard model and a decent smattering of Harley-Davidson logos. "The new 2011 Ford Harley-Davidson F-150 perfectly blends the flexibility and capability of F-Series trucks with the free spirit of Harley-Davidson motorcycles," said Eric Kuehn, chief engineer.

The way to pass a GP Demigod

This fantastic pass around the outside of Mick Doohan and under braking is demonstrated by Luca Cadalora. The eternally smooth Italian stamps his authority on Doohan as he catches the apex perfectly to take second place. Interestingly, the race was won by the Cagiva mounted John Kocinski and since the race was the opening round of 1994 he became the only rider to lead the championship on a Cagiva.

Oxford's new BoneDry Street jacket

Oxford Products have introduced this new jacket. We loved the press release images... Here's what Oxford have to say: Oxford Products have now brought out the new BoneDry Street jacket to add to their range.

Mud slinging in Peterborough

Wasn’t feeling too hot on Saturday morning after a particularly thirsty London night out the evening before but I found my pick-me-up in a most unexpected package. Sifting through the mail I spotted the BMF ‘Motorcycle Rider’ magazine envelope. To be honest, it usually goes straight in the bin but, I’m glad to say, this time I decided to open it.

Bautista: Brands Hatch: Suzuki GSV-R800

MOTOGP man Alvaro Bautista enjoyed a few laps of Brands Hatch at the weekend's British Superbike action, entertaining the crowds on Suzuki's GSV-R800 racer. Bautista was joined by former British Superbike Champion John Reynolds and BSB front-runner Tommy Hill, who also took a spin on the 240bhp machine. The dude in the background on the last image, riding a GSV-R, is Crescent Suzuki boss Paul Denning.

Pooch Maxi

A reader sent in this news story featured on SWNS.com. Sean Cole, 43, a pizza delivery man has hand-built the transparent kennel and fixed it to the back of his red Kawasaki GPZ900 to carry his dog Gizmo with him when he's out and about. The box has special air holes and a fan to keep the one-year-old dog – a Coton de Tulear – nice and cool on each trip.

Valentino Rossi to Ducati? Not so fast!

In today’s news that really isn’t news, an interview of Ducati CEO, Gabriele del Torchio, by Bruno de Prato found on Cycle World’s website on August 3rd, reveals the CEO speaking in a matter-of-fact tone about Valentino Rossi’s status as a team member on Ducati’s MotoGP effort. In the CW article, Del Torchio states that the 2010 racing season “will not bring to Ducati any crown in the sport,” but that he looks “forward to Valentino Rossi teaming up with Nicky Hayden.” “Nicky is a wonderful person and a great rider. This year, he greatly contributed to improving our Desmosedici racer.

Battle of the Motorcycles!

The Popular Mechanics site has a fun time waster, if you have any free time on your hands anyway.  When you go to their motorcycle wars page it will randomly select two bikes for you to vote on and will show you the won/lost stats below after you vote, then on to the next battle… Click here and bring it on!

How the French bike journos do it

WE'VE been sent this cracking video from the lads at French motorcycle magazine 'Moto Journal'. They've been doing some weird/crazy/French stuff for ages, but "by popular demand" this is the first one to get English subtitles. It's a bit strange in places but there's some fairly impressive riding that'll knock the socks off anything you'll see over here.

Britten Racer - on board TT lap

18 months after this video was shot, I went out to New Zealand to ride this Britten racer around the much tighter Ruapuna race circuit on the outskirts of Christchurch on NZ's South Island. It blew my socks off. With over 170bhp at the back wheel, the hand-built £100,000 racer was punting out at least 10-20bhp more than the factory 888 Ducatis of the time.

Zero-mile Bimota V-Due on eBay

A RARE opportunity to snap up a zero-mile Bimota V-Due two-stroke race replica has come up for grabs on eBay. Launched in 1997, the V-Due was fitted with a 500cc, liquid-cooled, two-stroke, fuel-injected v-twin engine. It was the first time Bimota built an engine in-house, instead of sourcing engines from existing bike manufacturers.

Wrestling the Green Meanie

A three cylinder, 750cc two-stroke contained in a double cradle, tubular frame with telescopic suspension made up the intimidating Kawasaki KR750, seen here ridden around the legendary Spa circuit. Remembering the KR750, named the 'Green Meanie', TT winner Mick Grant said: "The KR750 was not as bad as what people thought it was. It had a nice spread, with enormous power and mid-range torque.

Motogpnews.com. A blatant but worthwhile plug

This story was published by our friends on motogpnews.com. It's not supposed to be serious: Fiat Yamaha application form Now you can take Rossi's space The expected departure of Vale46 ™ "Fack"© Rossi from the Fiat Yamaha team at the end of the season leaves a dwarf star sized hole in the motogp stratosphere. Popular opinion places Ben Spies firmly in the saddle of the ex-yellow liveried M1, but MGPN can exclusively revel that Yamaha big bosses are worried that Ben doesn't possess the necessary character traits to step up into the role.

5.7 litre V8 monowheel. What could possibly go wrong?

Mad people. Dontcha just love 'em? If you've ever experienced the sheer physical weight of a small block Yank V8 you'll understand the full implications of this crash video.

Calling all BMW S1000RR owners ...

BMW has announced the HP Race Cover Kit for the company's highly-acclaimed S1000RR superbike. The kit aimed at trackday goers, replaces parts removed by owners prior to taking their bike out on track. Covers for the numberplate hanger, mirrors and indicators – all of which have been designed to facilitate simple and easy removal - neatly fill any gaps left by the removed parts.

New: Suomy MV Agusta Pista helmet

When the Massimo Tamburini-designed MV Agusta F4 was unveiled the world was enamoured with a beautiful piece of motorcycle art. Now Suomy has been inspired to incorporate the fairing design of the F4 into their helmet. The exclusive MV collaboration has been put on to the Spec 1R helmet from Suomy, so it includes an advanced airflow system and a D-ring helmet strap.

New: 50th Anniversary Sidi Vortice Vernice

In celebration of their 50th Anniversary Sidi founder Dino Signori has given the midas touch to the flagship Vortice boot. In essence the special edition Vortice Vernice retains all the same specifications but with new graphics and the golden highlights. In keeping with the styling of the Vortice Venice model the boot features Sidi’s Tecno Tensioner boot straps over the front of the boot, a shock-absorbing heel and ankle support braces.

Electric Motorcycle Conversion [video]

If you were ever curious how to convert your smelly, noisy and dirty gas powered motorcycle into a quiet and zero emissions electric motorcycle then you have to check this video out from GomiStyle.  They take an old Honda Rebel 250 and customize the frame to accommodate the electric motor and batteries, they claim the conversion should take about two to three days to complete, the batteries will take about 5-8 hours to charge and will give you a top speed of 45 mph. Here is a link to the step-by-step instructions, check out the video after the jump. The GomiCycle – An Electric Motorcycle Conversion from Media Sapien on Vimeo.

Amazing Motorcycle Ads by Allstate [video]

Slow-motion can sure make anything look dramatic, not that motorcycle crashes need anymore drama, but these ads use the effect to the fullest.  The first Allstate ad is called “Ghost Bikes” which is a very appropriate name, the other is named “Road Rash”, there is even a making of video after the jump. Get the Flash Player to see this player. Get the Flash Player to see this player.

130mph on sand: £6k and big balls needed

I spotted this for sale on another website. It's not every day one of these comes up for sale. And there's probably a reason for that - not everyone needs to do 130mph on sand...

Scooter pips leccy bikes to podium glory?

A press release just landed in my inbox (as they tend to, about 47 times a day) and this one was about some electricity powered bikes that recently raced at Anglesey (Angelsey itself only got electricity 6 months ago so I heard). But check out the picture. Is that a scooter I see in second place?

The love affair continues

I love my job….well most of the time anyway. Earlier this week I woke up on a bright sunny day and rode Speedy down to Bristol to meet a client for lunch. We did some business and then went for a ride before I headed home.