Moto blog
Honda VFR1200 blog: Dearly Beloved
Wed, 25 Nov 2009FOR WHAT we are about to receive... We all know motorcycling's a religion, which may be why Honda chose a defunct church to launch the 2010 VFR1200F - the bike the company reckon will take the sports-touring market by storm. Rain-soaked Spain is the venue for the European launch of the all-new Honda VFR1200F.
You Know the Economy is Hurting Manufacturers When…
Tue, 17 Nov 2009Yamaha Motor Co. announced Monday that it is cutting the ringers from its company rugby team. The Yamaha Jubilo rugby club competes in the Top League, the highest level Japanese Rugby Football Union pro league. The team currently sits fifth out of 14 teams with a 3-2-2 record with a roster of 17 professional players including nine non-Japanese imports.
Honda VFR1200F – First Impressions
Fri, 23 Oct 2009Honda’s new VFR1200F in action at Sugo in Japan. UPDATE: 2010 Honda VFR1200F Review - First Ride Article I’m here at the Sugo Sportsland racetrack in Japan, an odd place for what seems to be a sport-touring machine like the new VFR1200F. But my time at Sugo today was one of the most incredible riding experiences of my career.
Best Helmet Designs from the 2009 MotoGP Season
Thu, 22 Oct 2009Unlike with most athletes, motorcycle racers’ faces remain hidden during competition. Except for promotional events or pre- and post-race interviews, the faces of our racing heroes are shielded under protective helmets with tinted visors. You don’t see the same human emotion in their faces like you can when soccer players score a goal or baseball players hit a home run.
Is this Honda's inspiration for mass-centralisation
Wed, 21 Oct 2009SORRY TO keep carpin’ on about porcelain bathroom products but this beauty, I think, is of great motorcycling significance. Feast on its elegant lines and classical, elegant beauty. Combining an integral hand basin (with a nifty electrically operated water pump in the cistern lid) this john not only provides ingenious space saving design techniques but also serves as a timely reminder to wash your hands once you’ve pointed Percy at the porcelain.
Honda VFR1200F Launch: Tokyo (no) Show
Wed, 21 Oct 2009IF YOU'VE never been to the Tokyo show before, let me tell you this: you’re missing nowt.‘You picked a bad year to come,’ said the Yamaha designer and he was spot on. Three halls of mainly Japanese car manufacturers and lots of empty spaces wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. Maybe my expectations were too great, maybe I should have been expecting my glass to be half empty?
Honda VFR1200F launch: Even the toilet has ABS
Tue, 20 Oct 2009Just touched down in Tokyo after a twelve-hour flight from Heathrow and, as a total Japan virgin, I can tell you it’s all as weird as you’d probably imagine. Check out my hotel room’s toilet with inbuilt electronic arse power washing facility. Going to check that bad boy out as soon as I’ve filed this copy.
Geeky snippets ahead of the Phillip Island MotoGP
Tue, 13 Oct 2009Valentino Rossi has finished on the podium eleven times in his twelve visits to Phillip Island across all three GP classes. The only race at Phillip Island that he did not finish in the top three was on his first visit riding a 125cc machine in 1997 when he finished sixth. In 1998 and 1999 he won the 250cc races and since then has had nine podiums in the premier-class including five victories, the last of which was in 2005.
Honda’s V-4 History
Tue, 06 Oct 2009As Honda prepares its new VFR1200 for its official unveiling, the red-wing company has set up a website detailing its long involvement in V-4 engines. It began back in 1979 with the introduction of the NR500 grand prix racebike. Rather than fielding a 500cc two-stroke engine, Honda used a four-stroke oval-piston V-4 motor – essentially a V-8 with four cylinders that could be revved to 19,500 rpm!
Quick Impressions on the Honda NT700V
Thu, 01 Oct 2009UPDATE: Read the full review of the 2010 Honda NT700V now on Motorcycle.com It should be obvious, but one of the perks of being in the business of evaluating motorcycles is the opportunity to see and ride a huge variety of bikes. Recently, while returning a CRF230M to American Honda’s main offices I spotted the new-to-the-U.S. NT700V sitting amongst the gaggle of bikes set aside for the moto media.