Motorcycle Blog on 2040Motos

2010 MV Agusta F4 1000 joins the Spyder Club

THE 2010 MV Agusta F4 1000 will join Spyder Club's fleet at the beginning of next month, just in time for the company's upcoming open days on 10th and 11th April. Join a limited  number of guests and members at Spyder Club, Donington Park for the Club's open day, starting with a visit to the Grand Prix Museum followed by lunch. The afternoon will be spent riding the Spyder Club fleet and other guest bikes.  Anyone wishing to join Spyder Club on the day will receive a 10% discount and their admission fee of £30 back.For further information or to book please email Spyder Club or telephone 01332 850 344.

A thing of beauty?

The weather was pretty good over the weekend and I managed to get 500 miles in and become better acquainted with the Speed Triple. I’m still running it in but as it’s reputation suggest the bike doesn’t disappoint. There are some noticeable differences over most other naked bikes I’ve ridden, you could call them quirks, but i'll talk about those in a week or so.

Undercover cop pulls gun on speeding biker

THIS FIREBLADE rider gets the shock of his life after an undercover cop in an unmarked car draws a gun on him for, what looks like, little more than a minor speeding offence. A bit OTT? We think so.

New pictures and video of KTM Freeride electric prototypes

We wrote about the KTM Freeride yesterday on Motorcycle.com and now the Austrian manufacturer has released new photographs of the electric motorcycle prototypes, including pictures from the official unveiling at the Tokyo Motorcycle Show. They are available in our Motorcycle.com gallery. KTM has also released a video of the Freeride in action.

Long Way Round camerman tests ebike in London rush hour

WE'RE MORE USED to seeing him busting a gut on a fully-kitted BMW R1150GS, so testing a silent, non-emission electric motorcycle must have been a weird experience for 'Long Way Round' cameraman Claudio Von Planta. The clip gives a great impression of how a first-generation ebike copes with London's traffic two-up.

Schwarzenegger Rides a Zero

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently received a personal demonstration of Zero Motorcycles’ 2010 product line. The Governor’s demonstration of Zero Motorcycles comes one week after the California State Government approved an all-new statewide rebate program that provides consumers with a greater incentive to purchase an electric motorcycle. The rebate gives consumers $1500 off the purchase of either a Zero S or DS motorcycle.

Flame Throwing Scooter [video]

British inventor Colin Furze has come up with the ultimate way to stop tailgaters…fire! Furze turned an innocent looking scooter into a flame-shooting monster. Alas, he’s be forbidden from firing off the flames on public roads.

Sons of Anarchy to go on USO Tour

The cast of the FX drama “Sons of Anarchy” are heading to the Persian Gulf for an eight-day USO/Armed Forced Entertainment tour. This will be the first USO tour for actors Kim Coates, Mark Boone Junior, Theo Rossi and Dayton Callie. The cast mates will spend time with troops, sign autographs and pose for photos.

Arai unveil limited edition 2010 TT RX-7GP

ARAI HAS launched a 2010 Isle of Man TT tribute RX-7 GP with a limited run of just 500 helmets.This black and white helmet design features the famous Isle of Man three-legged symbol in bronze and the famous TT letters. The design is the first in a series of three to be released by Arai. Bueys of series one will automatically be offered the chance to purchase series two and three before they go out for general sale.UK pricing and availability has yet to be announced, but the helmet will retail for 899 euros in Europe and £700 in the UK.The Isle of Man TT organisation will receive a commission for every helmet sold and the marshals will use the TT series for promotion.

Here's that Sheene Memorial bike at Goodwood

Pictures of the Sheene Memorial bike are now flying around the net as the guy behind it has started firing press releases and studio images out to everyone. And good for him. Thought you'd like to see a pic of the bike parked up in the holding bay at the top of the hill at the Goodwood festival of Speed press day.

Colin Edwards and Ben Spies Go on a Man-cation [Video]

The 2010 MotoGP season is less than a month away and Monster Yamaha Tech3′s Texas Twosome of Colin Edwards and Ben Spies decided to do some bonding with a little road trip man-cation in this video released by Yamaha Motor U.S.A. Okay, maybe Edwards was more into it than Spies was. Edwards is at his best in this video (“Ooh … it kinda tingles down below, you know?

The Triple's ready, three days early!

Mark Forsyth returned our Bonneville long termer today, and the Speed Triple was ready at the triumph factory to be brought back with him…three days early. Here’s a picture of it ‘wedged’ in the back of our new Ford Wildtrak. The bad news is, it won’t arrive at our London office until Friday, patience Andy, patience.

AC Schnizter lets rip with BMW S1000RR goodies

GERMAN TUNING house AC Schnitzer has unveiled a gaggle of bolt-on accessories for the BMW S1000RR superbike.The kit comprises of: Stealth silencer, Superbike steering conversion, clutch and brake levers, crashpads, Performance Sports Air Filter, mirror extensions, brake fluid - need we go on. There's even a top yoke mounted bar kit for those that don't want to reach down to the standard bike's low clip-ons.Sounds all fine and dandy if you've a heap of cash to chuck at what's already an expensive machine.Call us boring but isn't a 'standard' one good enough?

New Triumph joins the family this Friday

With the nights drawing out it feels like an end to what has been a very long winter. I’ve been getting the train to work recently and if you’ve used London’s tube network in rush hour then you’ll know what I mean when I say the words ‘inhuman over crowding’. I had a call from the Triumph factory in Hinckley today and the good news is my new staff bike will be ready for collection on Friday.

Ben Spies: 'I'm scared shitless'

MOTOGP ROOKIE Ben Spies has admitted he's sometimes 'scared shitless' in his 1000bhp street car.The reigning World Superbike champion spoke while participating in the Miller Motorsports Driving School at the home of the Utah WSBK race.According to his instructors, Spies needed little tuition before he was lapping at a respectable pace. Spies drove a 'standard' car, as well as the fully race-prepared Mustang 500, which is considerably lighter and fitted with slick race tyres.In the video, Spies admits to owning a 1000bhp street car, in which he says he's 'scared shitless' if he goes too fast.

Yamaha R1 rider lowsides on left-hander

THIS GUY'S lucky he doesn't get flicked over the top, after losing the back end of his Yamaha YZF-R1 on a twisty section of mountain road. He looks pretty miffed at the result; we think he got away lightly. It could have been soooo much worse if the rear tyre had gripped and lobbed the rider over the top.

Meet the 2010 Motorpoint Yamaha BSB squad

THE 2010 Motorpoint Yamaha unveil their new team riders and bikes to the public next Friday 26th March.From 6.30pm, Neil Hodgson and Dan Linfoot will pull the wraps of their new Motorpoint livered Yamaha YZF R1 Superbikes at the Motorpoint HQ in Derby.Come and meet both Neil and Dan, get close to the Motorpoint Yamahas and ask the boys about their chances for the 2010 British Superbike Championship.Visordown's Niall Mackenzie will unveil the Motorpoint Node 4 junior team, a two rider youth development programme competing in the 125 GP British Championships with two of the most exciting young prospects in the series and they are both called Mackenzie!Taylor and Tarran Mackenzie go head to head in the most competitive class in the series. Tarran starts the season as a series rookie at 14 yrs and Taylor at 17 a genuine championship contender.Rob Mac Team principal“We are the only team who open up the doors and welcome our fans to come and see our team launch. There is a real buzz about the team this year, a great winter testing programme.

Triumph to celebrate 20th anniversary

TRIUMPH is celebrating its 20th anniversary since the relaunch of the brand, which takes place on Saturday September 18th at the Mallory Park race circuit in Leicestershire.A full programme of on and off track activities will be laid on, with on track activities including a round of the ‘Triumph Triple Challenge’, special invitation races featuring Triumph’s class-leading Street Triple and Daytona 675 motorcycles, plus shows from Triumph’s professional stunt riders.   Off-track, visitors will be able to view the latest range of Triumph motorcycles, together with a selection of some of the UK’s best customised Triumphs.  Key bikes from Triumph’s history will also be on display, as part of a unique exhibition exploring 20 years of Hinckley.  On top of this, there will be a host of opportunities for visitors to ride the latest line up of bikes from Triumph’s demonstration fleet, both on and off track, along with many other riding activities for visitors to enjoy. Triumph’s factory, situated eight miles from Mallory Park, will be open for event visitors to take a tour of the facility. The company has also promised a few exclusive surprises for fans making the trip to this special event and the party will carry on late into the night, with a full programme of live music planned.

Onboard with Randy Mamola at Almeria

FORMER 500CC frontrunner Randy Mamola has been out in Spain testing Michelin's latest tyres - and here's a video of the man himself on a hot lap of Almeria circuit. From Michelin: The MICHELIN Power Pure sees MICHELIN's acclaimed 2CT dual-compound technology break new ground by providing even more soft rubber on the shoulders. This softer compound kicks in sooner, too.Take the example of a front tyre leaning at an angle of 36°: 27% of the contact patch is made up of soft rubber in the case of the MICHELIN Power Pure, whereas the soft compound has yet to come into contact with the road in the case of the MICHELIN Pilot Power 2CT.

S1000RR vs. Goodwood

And before you say it, no it's not "Start and finish a journey on two wheels without falling off." I rode up Goodwood's hill. And I did it on BMW's mighty S1000RR. Ok, so it wasn't infront of thousands of on-lookers and it wasn't at any great speed.

Bridgestone BT-023 tyre tested

Replacing the BT-021, the 023 has a uniform carcass construction but has two different compounds of rubber to alter its performance. The inner rubber is harder for increased life while the rubber on the tyre’s edges is softer for outright grip. On the brief dry sections of our ride the 023 seemed to get up to working temperature rapidly and delivered good dry grip, certainly more than enough for most road riders if you are honest about your riding ability.

Ford Ranger Wildtrak: part two

Been ‘modifyin' the Ranger this weekend, as those Max Power toss-pot types would say. But I haven’t fitted a four-inch diameter penis-substitute tailpipe. No, I’ve made the pick up bed more useful.

BMW Puts New Spin on Old Trick [video]

BMW has gone viral! The German bike maker put together a very cool video showing its new S1000RR sportbike in action and millions of people have already seen it on YouTube. The video in question shows the Beemer attempting the old tablecloth trick.

Win a Megelli 250r Motorcycle

Bennche, a new motorcycle distributor, is giving away a brand new Magelli 250r motorcycle through a contest on its Facebook page. All you have to do to win the Bennche Coolest Photo Contest is submit a photo of you with your motorcycle, ATV, or UTV and become a fan on the Bennche Facebook page. It’s that simple.

Pocket-sized Protection for Your Bike

Once in a while you see a product and you think “how has nobody thought of this before?” We think BikeCondoms fall in that category. Instead of lugging around your bulky motorcycle cover every time there’s a chance of rain, a BikeCondom fits right in your pocket. It’s lightweight and, best of all, it’s cheap – only $5.99.

Puig launch new screen for S1000RR

SPANISH motorcycle accessory expert Puig has launched a new high-performance screen for the BMW S1000RR superbike.The new dome Z-Racing is made from acrylic 3mm plastic, offering good flexibility and high resistance to impacts and scratches, says Puig.The Z-Racing has been tested in a wind tunnel and now gives a claimed 12 per cent aerodynamic improvement over the original screen.The Z-Racing does not require any modification for installation and can be fitted using the original screws.The screen's priced at 68.3 euros (£61) excluding shipping and import duty.You can find more information by visiting Puig.tv

Guy Martin: Dainese model?

HERE'S A SHORT DAINESE promotional video, starring three of the company's sponsored professional riders: Guy Martin, Jorge Lorenzo and Marco Simoncelli. Not the most exciting thing we've ever seen but it's good to see there are still some real characters in motorcycle racing. Check Guy Martin's sideburns!

UK biker rear-ends mate at roundabout

WE ALL watched this crash video expecting a wheelie flip from the leader of the 'crew' but the victim's one of the followers, who spectacularly rear-ends his unlucky mate. The spill's right at the end of the clip - but it's worth a watch - just to emphasise that dicking about on a public road ain't that clever. Anyone recognise where it's shot?

Don't you wish your lips were this soft?!

FILMED IN THE days when advertising campaigns were more based around glamour than fact, check this Max Factor commercial, featuring 1970s hot chick Erin Grey. Complete with Suzuki trail bikes and period attire, the Max babes look the part in their colour-matching jumpsuits. Reminds us of the joke: How did the Avon Lady get pregnant?

Tested: Metzeler Sportec M5 Interact

With its clever Interact technology Metzeler has created a tyre that has a varying carcass construction to alter how the rubber performs. Without going too deeply the M5 consists of five bands of belting that vary in stiffness. At the outer edges of the tyre the carcass is quite flexible, allowing the rubber to move around and generate more heat and therefore grip, while nearer the tyre’s centre the carcass is stiffer, reducing the rubber’s movement and decreasing its wear.