1979 Yamaha Xs on 2040-motos

Moto blog

Motorcycle Live and a few of my favourite things for 2013

There is lots of shiny new metal on show at Motorcyclelive this year but for me it’s the new Triumph Daytona 675 that steals the show.  We’ve been starved of brand new models in the Supersports segment for years but for me the latest Trumpet has made the wait worthwhile. And if its performance matches its looks then I reckon the 2013 bike of the year is a foregone conclusion.  The sleek curvy nose contrasts perfectly with the more pointy angular rear end and new side mounted silencer. It is lighter, more powerful and revs harder with much work on on mass centralisation to further improve handling.  Few of us have a whole lot of spare cash these days but £8899 for the standard model seems a fair price for such an awesome bike. That said I’d have to consider selling the granny and granddad to find the extra £1700 for the 675R.  Available early next year, and surely the perfect all round track day tool, this beauty comes with upgraded suspension, brakes, ABS, a quickshifter and some nice carbon detailing. The white 675R on display at the show looked even better in the flesh than previous images I’d seen so be careful or you might find yourself handing over a deposit. With no money left from the Triumph stand you’ll need your six special numbers to come up for my second favourite show item the AGV Pista GP Project 46. Although road legal this extremely light, full carbon helmet is designed especially for racing with a huge field of vision, extensive ventilation and superb ergonomics. It also comes with earplugs which suggests there may be some compromise in the noise department but it is still an incredible piece of engineering. At £799, this special Pista is also an incredible price but there will only be one hundred available and Raceways Yamaha reckon they are going fast.        

Yamaha Developing 250cc Sportbike for India in 2014

Yamaha has been rumored to be working on a 250cc sportbike for quite some time now. In fact, the other three members of the Japanese Big Four have launched new models in the small-displacement segment in recent years, but none of these new generation small-displacement bikes bear Yamaha‘s crossed tuning fork logo. That may change by 2014 however.

A breath of fresh air

Dean Benstead's air-powered bike project, O2 Pursuit, which we spoke about a year ago, seems to have come along nicely since. Here's a video of the Australian's rotary air compression-engined Yamaha WR250R being taken out for a spin. Apparently it can hit 87 mph and cover more than 60 miles on a scuba-tankful's worth.