Motorcycle Blog on 2040Motos

If you go down to Rossi's home town today...

WE ALL KNOW how passionate the Italians are about their racing heros. So it may come as little surprise to find out that Valentino Rossi's home town of Tavullia is preparing for the Grand Prix of San Marino at Misano circuit in their own unique way. Life-size cardboard cut-outs of the eight-time motorcycle world champion adorn street corners, balconies and shop windows all around the sleepy Italian village.

Yoshimura Photo Contest

If you have a Yoshimura exhaust on your bike you are eligible to enter their photo contest in order win some free Yoshimura apparel.  Yoshimura will choose a winner every month, go to their site for all the details, good luck! Hit the jump and check out some of the submissions so far. Enter here!

Fila-Ducati Monster Shoe Concept

The above shoe rendering was created by Industrial Designer, Oliver Henrichot, who is based in Portland, OR, the concept was inspired by the Ducati Monster.  There is no word if it will ever make it into production but its still an amazing design. Hit the jump to see Henrichot’s Buell Scoop concept.

BMW S1000RR at Nürburgring [video]

BMW’s new S1000RR is one of the mostly highly anticipated sportbikes to come along in years. Its four-cylinder motor has a larger bore than anything else in its 1000cc class, plus all the latest racetrack goodies like a slipper clutch, variable-height intake manifolds and traction control. We’re still a few months away from testing it for ourselves, but we can across this great video that will give you a little insight into how this Beemer howls at top speed.

Ring-a-ding-a-ding-ding goes Schwantz's RGV500

LISTEN IN as veteran Suzuki GP mechanics warm-up Kevin Schwantz's title-winning RGV500, prior to his demonstration ride at Indianapolis Raceway last weekend. The former 500cc Champion lapped the Grand Prix circuit, while waving to the crowd. He even popped the odd wheelie.

Harley-Davidson Free Country

Harley-Davidson is giving you a platform to express yourself and state what you love about living and riding in the land of the free.  Head on over to their free country web page, find your favorite 2010 model, make your statement on riding and living free in America and share it with the rest of the world! Screw it. Lets Ride!

Sachsenring, Donington Park, Automotodrom Brno, Indianapolis: Track Facts

This week is catchup time for Track Facts. Four tracks of the Moto GP 2009 Season will be covered in this installment. Sachsenring, Donington Park, Automotodrom Brno and Indianapolis.

2010 Yamaha YZ450F Rumors [video]

In the world of motocross, this year’s most highly anticipated machine is Yamaha’s all-new YZ450F. All kinds of crazy rumors about the bike have spread across the internet, and there’s some real doozies out there. In this video from Yamaha, multi-time motocross and supercross champ James Stewart debunks some of the crazier rumors, with special guest appearances by Valentino Rossi, Ben Spies, Colin Edwards, James Toseland, Jorge Lorenzo and TV personality Erin Bates.

Used Review: Racer High Racer gloves

If there’s one item of race-wear I’m particularly fussy about, it’s gloves. Gloves dictate how much feel and control you have and can even be the difference between winning and getting debilitating arm pump. These gloves from Racer are the best I’ve ever worn, period.

Used Review: Arai RX-7 Corsair Edwards helmet

I've worn my Corsair near enough every day for the past two and half years and the fit is fantastic, perfectly snug but comfortable enough for long days in the saddle. It wasn’t always thus – the first few days were a little tight across the forehead but the helmet soon gave. The side pods and vents still function perfectly with the exception of the chin vent, which, since I sadly dropped the lid, no longer stays shut.

Used Review: Alpinestars Eclipse waterproof over jacket

Waterproof overjackets are the kind of thing you dont want to have to take out with you, especially when the weather is as good as it has been. But for the sake of cramming it into a daysack or under the seat, the Eclipse jacket is hard to justify leaving behind. It’s been pretty much everywhere I have and always gets an outing.

Honda CBR900RR Go Kart [video]

J&D Fabrications located in South Florida has created a go kart with a Honda CBR900RR engine.  With all that power behind it, I would say the go kart is doing a lot of drifting rather then driving but its fun to watch.  Don’t be jealous Mario… Check it out after the jump. See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Completing the Journey of United Flight 93

Motorcyclists are a charitable bunch and this is another great example. The “Ride with the Forty” has been organized to remember and honor the forty women and men who were killed when their plane crashed near Shanksville, PA on September 11, 2001. Another goal is to raise $250,000 for the Flight 93 National Memorial, 100% of all donations will go directly to building the memorial.

Travis Pastrana record attempt teaser

LOOK, it's a Friday so what better time to show you this... a new teaser trailer for Travis Pastrana about his next World Record attempt. It's a beautiful bit of film clearly underlining the American's modern rivalry with Aussie star Robbie Maddison.

Katt Williams and His Motorcycle – Rated R [video]

Taken from Katt Williams Pimpin’ and Pimpin’ Tour, this hilarious video talks about his motorcycle experience after he finally fulfilled his dream of purchasing and riding a bike for the first time.  Warning: explicit language is used early and often and is not suitable for the young. When your ready hit the jump to check it out. Katt william motorcycle by bigben1018

Naked Motorcycle Awareness AD from New Zealand [video]

Attracting attention while riding is not always an easy thing to do, but imagine if you could ride naked!  That’s the concept behind the AD that was created to promote motorcycle awareness in New Zealand, unfortunately its not an option (or fortunately depending on who it is) unless your looking to attract some negative attention from the police… Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Aerosmith is Going on Strike!

Steven Tyler, pictured above at the Pembroke Center Liquors in Massachusetts, is the first sighting of the Aerosmith’s lead singer a week after the fall at Sturgis. Aerosmith is not going to break up but instead will be on strike until their frontman, Steven Tyler, sobers up.  Tyler has fallen off the wagon and was partying way too hard during the 69th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally when he fell off the stage during their show ending the tour for the year. Everyone is very worried about him, all of this didn’t happen overnight.

Dirtbike Review by Steve McQueen

This photo is from a scanned article titled “Motorcycles: What I Like in a Bike and Why” from the November 1966 issue of Popular Science.  Steve McQueen reviews six (so called) dirtbikes, today some for the selections would be questionable but its still a great read. Hit the jump and click on each page to enlarge, enjoy! Source

$2.9 Million Reasons to Snitch on the Hells Angels

Sylvain Boulanger, a former Quebec chapter member of the Hells Angels signed a contract that will pay him $2.9 million CAD (currently that’s about $2.65 million USD), over the course of the agreement. The 19-page contract was signed on September 21, 2007 and so far, 156 people face charges in Operation SharQc so that works out to about $18,500 CAD per arrest, they are still looking for another 24 full-patch members. It takes something very special to infiltrate a group like the Hells Angels.

The solution to a pricey GPS mount

So you've gone out and bought your BMW R1200GS, you're ready to circumnavigate the globe's toughest roads - or ride over some potholes on your way to work - but you've got a dilemma: no way to mount your GPS device! So what you should do is exactly what this chap's done and use a spatula and a few rubber bands to mount-up your GPS for easy use. And the bonus is that when you get to where you're going, you can use the spatula with your BBQ and triple it up as a fly-swatter too.

SHARP ratings: who cares? These guys don't

Who needs SHARP ratings when you've got a bucket and a builder's hard hat? Not these guys, clearly. It's good to know they've got what looks like a proper lid protecting the bike's clocks - you don't want to damage those..

Suspension Set-Up for the Buell 1125R [video]

Jon Bunne, Buell’s Sr. Test Engineer, explains how to set-up your suspension on the Buell 1125R according to your riding style, preference and when riding with a passenger or heavy gear.  Bunne, recommends adjusting the suspension accordingly and demonstrates how to do just that by following the settings that are listed in the owner’s manual. Check it out after the jump.

2010 Honda V4 Teaser [video]

Based on the concept model unveiled last October at Intermot 2008, the new motorcycle is expected to be a sport-tourer powered by a 1200cc V-4 engine with variable cylinder technology which can allow it to run on only two cylinders to conserve fuel.  There are also rumors that the motorcycle will have a semi-auto gear box which will give the rider the option of going manual or automatic. Honda has a dedicated website for the V4 where you can enter for a chance to win a spot to be one of the first to test drive the new bike, unfortunately, the contest is only open to Europeans. Hit the jump to see the new promo video (you can hear what the motorcycle sounds like!) and an interview with design project leader, Teofilo Plaza.

Honda V4 video, hear the new Honda V4

Here's a new video from Honda, drumming up interest in their new V4. It's kinda nice, doesn't give much away but get to the end of the video (around 1m20secs in) and you'll hear Honda's new V4. So it's official, they've made it and it'll be out in 2010.

VIDEO: Bloodrunners - Part One

THIS IS the first episode of the classic 1980s video 'Bloodrunners' - the epic video that was a driving force behind the UK streetfighter/stunt scene. The film's based on a fictitous organ donor courier business and features stunts by Geordie legend Dave Coates. The soundtrack is by super-talented guitar wizard Jan Cyrka.

Kalex AV1 - the bespoke track-only toy

I thought you'd like to see this lovely bit of kit from Kalex, a German engineering company. It's been featured in other magazines over the past couple of years, but Kalex have risen to the surface again as they're concentrating their efforts on a Moto2 chassis, using the knowledge from this project, the AV1. The AV1 is a track-only bike, based around a 998cc Rotax engine, the same as used in the RSV-R.

Motorcycle Stolen Over a Five Year Period

Zhang, a Chinese factory worker admitted that he started stealing parts back in 2003 and assembling them at home over a five-year period. When the motorcycle was finally completed, the worker was pulled over almost immediately when police noticed he had no license for the bike. Zhang, was ordered to return the motorcycle, fined $725 and put on one-year probation.

2010 Yamaha YZ250F Preview [video]

Brought to you by YamaTube, here is a demo video of the redesigned 2010 Yamaha YZ250F.  With a plethora of new features and improvements, the highlight has to be the new bi-lateral aluminum chassis.  The 2010 Yamaha YZ250F is much improved out of the corners and overall handling, Yamaha has also improved power over the entire powerband.  MSRP to be announced Fall 2009. Hit the jump to see the the bike in action and another video that explains all of the new goodies. Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Hit-Air airbag jacket - just arrived, not yet deployed

This Hit-Air jacket just got dropped off by a courier twenty minutes ago and I thought you'd like to see what it was all about. The one in the pic is a short-sleeve waistcoat designed to go over your jacket or leathers and it retails for £259. On the front is a gas cannister which is triggered by the cable you attach to your bike which, given a hard tug, will deploy.

"It's up for auction but I want £48,500, no offers"

THIS 142-MILE BEAUTY'S up for auction on eBay right now, with the bidding standing at £20,000. The road-going MotoGP replica comes with additional extras including: a full factory Termignoni hand made Titanium System with carbon undertray, rear seat cowl and dECU upgrade (rear exit and side exit pipes), factory Ducati carbon hugger, Ducati Double Race Screen, factory fitted Digital Quickshifter, factory race quick release fuel cap and comes with a two-year warranty. The owner has a Ducati-related number plate which can be negotiated into the deal.