2007 Yamaha Wr450f on 2040-motos

Moto blog

2013 Dakar Rally Results

Cyril Despres won his fifth career Dakar Rally while helping KTM win for the 12th consecutive time, in taking the motorcycle class in the 2013 edition of the famed off-road race. KTM was again the dominant manufacturer with the top five finishers in the motorcycle class riding motorcycles from the Austrian manufacturer. Despres finished with an overall time of 43:24:22 for the win, including a 15-minute penalty for swapping an engine after the one he was using in his KTM 450 Rallye failed.

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.

Magneti Marelli to Supply Electronics System to MotoGP Teams

It’s no secret that promoter Dorna Motorsports has been trying to push a standardized electronics control unit for teams in the MotoGP World Championship. The lack of a top-tier electronics package has been one of the biggest challenges faced by MotoGP’s claiming rule teams, and a spec ECU would narrow the gap between the CRT bikes and the factory prototypes. The manufacturers competing in the series, Honda, Ducati and Yamaha, understandably are resistant to the idea considering the effort they’ve put in to develop their electronics systems.