2007 Yamaha Road Star on 2040-motos

Moto blog

"That's one small step for man..."

TO CELEBRATE the 40th anniversary of man's first steps on the moon, Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo will wear an astronaut-style paint job on his helmet at this weekend's Portuguese GP. The Spaniard's lid has been sprayed to look a little like a spaceman's helmet and has Neil Armstrong's immortal words: "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind" written on the rear. Let's just hope Lorenzo doesn't launch himself this weekend.

Yamaha TTX 115i Adventure Scooter Concept Unveiled in Thailand

The trendiest segment in the industry at the moment is the adventure touring motorcycle. Spearheaded by the top-selling BMW R1200GS, the segment has seen a flood of imitators such as the Triumph Tiger Explorer, Yamaha Super Ténéré and the Honda Crosstourer. A recent report from the Motorcycle Industry Council found that scooter sales are also on the rise in the U.S., spurred on by soaring gas prices.

R1 noise, bike porn and a quick lap

Trawling the internet for a sound clip of the Crossplane Crank Yamaha R1 on full chatter, I came across this: a few fast laps on board with New Zealand Superbike racer Tony Rees as he works the CABS Throttle Blipper on his 2011 R1. (Skip to 7:35 for the fast ones.) CABS is a system used by Superbike teams that makes use of the R1’s digitally controlled throttle. When you change up a gear, the bike blips in the perfect amount of revs to save time on track and make downshifts as quick and easy as clutch-less upshifts.