Honda CR Motorcycles in Wyoming, page #45

Moto blog

Schwantz and Mackenzie on the Nurburgring box

A 500GP bike never fails to stop me in my tracks and that’s exactly what happened when I spotted this Schwantz example from the early nineties, proudly displayed on the Arai stand at the recent Motorcyclelive show.  On loan from Crescent Suzuki and accompanied by a rostrum publicity shot from the 1990 German GP at the Nurburgring, I felt the urge to write a few words on that special weekend. I started the year running my own 250 GP team with fairly standard TZ Yamahas but was drafted in as Kevin Schwantz’s team mate after Kevin Magee suffered a serious head injury at the second Grand Prix in Laguna Seca.  With no testing and some major Spanish food poisoning I finished 8th at the next round in Jerez then followed that up with a 5th place in Misano. Next up was the Nurburgring and after qualifying on the second row of the grid, my crew chief Geoff Crust informed me he had a premonition of a race day rostrum finish. He also told me I better make it come true as he was already looking forward to a few post race celebratory refreshments. While I hoped Crusty was the new mystic meg, the truth was I would have been more than happy to buy the beers if I made it to the flag inside the top five. I had an outside chance of catching one major scalp as Wayne Rainey was riding with a nasty hand injury but I suspected adrenalin would see him through the day. I also followed Mick Doohan a fair bit in practice but he was beginning to find his feet on the Rothmans Honda so was going to be another problem.  When the lights went out Schwantz and Rainey went straight to the front I while I hung in behind Doohan and Pier Francesco Chilli, and then it happened. Coming out of the bottom right hand hairpin, Doohan and Chilli simultaneously high sided in one of the most spectacular crashes of the season. I never liked seeing any fellow riders crash but I made the most of this early race gift and rode my 160bhp/115kg RGV hard to the flag, claiming my first podium of the season.  We partied hard (win or lose we always did) that night and I went on to have my best ever season finishing fourth overall in the championship. After the last round in Australia, I finished second to Kevin at Sugo in Japan then won in Malaysia at another international race that KS didn’t attend. I also tested at Eastern Creek for the following season but then was flicked from the team for reasons that still remain a mystery. Hey Ho!       

Actual Motorcycle or My Little Pony Character?

1 of 6Next Last A little while ago, we published a review of a motorcycle Honda produces for the Indian market called the Unicorn Dazzler. Yes, that’s the actual name of a production motorcycle designed by Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, a Honda subsidiary. In his review of the 150cc motorcycle, Rajeev Gaikwad said the Honda Unicorn Dazzler was “a handsome commuter with an enthusiastic and proven engine” though it was underwhelming in terms of performance and handling as the higher-priced successor to the regular Honda Unicorn also sold in India.

Bonhams To Sell Garelli Grand Prix Collection At No Reserve

Mark your calendars for February 5 and 6, 2013, as those are the dates when Bonhams — one of the world’s largest auctioneers of fine arts and antiques — will put for sale two motorcycle collections which include some incredibly rare and historic machines. The Grand Palais in Paris, France will play host to the auction, which includes the entire Garelli Grand Prix collection as its headliner. Founded in 1919, many famous Italian racers got their starts on Garelli motorcycles.

James Bond’s Honda CRF450R from Skyfall Raises $162,000 for Charity

The modified Honda CRF450R ridden by Daniel Craig in the James Bond film “Skyfall” was sold at auction, raising 101,400 British pounds (US$162,440) for charity. Featured in the opening chase scene of “Skyfall”, the heavily modified Honda CRF450R received 67 bids from 40 potential suitors by the time the auction ended Nov. 22.

2013 Dakar Rally Route Announced

The 2013 Dakar Rally will again be held in South America with event organizers announcing a new route for the 34th running of the off-road race. Now in its fifth year in Latin America, the 2013 edition of the Rally will feature a new route running from north to south, starting Jan. 5 in Lima, Peru, and ending Jan.

Onboard Lap of 2012 Macau Grand Prix

Get the Flash Player to see this player. When it comes to motorcycle races, there are two that separate the men from the boys: the Isle of Man TT and the Macau Grand Prix. Both races are held on public roads with little to no margin for error.

JCR Honda Wins 2012 Baja 1000

The Johnny Campbell Racing Honda team handily won the 2012 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 rally, setting the fastest time in any motorcycle class by more than an hour. The win marked the 16th consecutive victory and 23rd overall for Honda. JCR‘s Colton Udall, Timmy Weigand and David Kamo completed 1121-mile course on a Honda CRF450X with a time of 20:09:30 for an average speed of 55.64 mph.

James Bond Skyfall Honda CRF250R to be Auctioned for Charity

Honda is donating the modified CRF250R ridden by actor Daniel Craig in the James Bond thriller “Skyfall” to a charity auction benefiting disadvantaged children in the U.K. The modified Honda CRF250R is one of several lots in this year’s BBC Children in Need auction. The BBC‘s UK Corporate charity provides grants to programs across the U.K.

EICMA 2012: Honda NSS300 Forza Scooter Announced for Europe and Canada

Earlier this week, we revealed six all-new Honda models coming to America for 2013. The American Honda announcement was time to go along with Honda’s presentation at the 2012 EICMA Show in Milan, Italy, for the European market and Canada. But there was one model revealed at EICMA that wasn’t part of the U.S.

2013 European Junior Cup to Use Honda CBR500R

As expected, Honda announced its new CBR500R sportbike will be featured in the 2013 European Junior Cup, a single-spec racing series that competes at European rounds of the World Superbike Championship. We saw this coming when Honda announced it would supply an all new sportbike for the European Junior Cup, but the news wasn’t official until after Honda unveiled the CBR500R alongside its siblings the CB500F and CB500X at the 2012 EICMA Show. Plus this also gives us an excuse to run a 39-picture gallery of the new CBR500R after the jump.