Yamaha XS Motorcycles in Warsaw, page #17

Moto blog

Movistar To Be Yamaha MotoGP Title Sponsor For 5-Years

Finding sponsors for U.S. racing might be next to impossible, but this isn’t the case elsewhere, as Movistar, a telecommunications arm of Spanish company Telefonica, has signed on to be the title sponsor for the Factory Yamaha MotoGP team for the next five years. Short of the 20-year relationship between Honda and Repsol, this comes as one of the more significant sponsorship deals in recent memory.

Buy Kini Red Bull Gear, Support Wings For Life

Unfortunately, spinal cord injuries occasionally happen when something goes tragically wrong on a motorcycle. Former 250cc Motocross World Champion Heinz Kinigadner and Red Bull have teamed up to create the Kini Red Bull Collection of high-end MX gear. Proceeds from each sale directly benefits the Wings For Life Foundation, whose mission is to find a cure for spinal cord injuries.

Pro Racing Heading To The West Coast After All

A Pro-Am style, three-round professional motorcycle racing series is set to debut in 2014, run in conjunction with AFM, America’s oldest club racing organization. This according to a press release from Sonoma Raceway, which will also be hosting the first stop of the three-round series, May 3-4. Hosted and sanctioned by AFM, a full field of Pro Superbike and Pro Sportbike professional riders and teams are expected to compete in the event.

Yamaha’s Dennis McNeal Named Chair of Motorcycle Industry Council

The Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) has named Dennis McNeal as the new chair of its board of directors. McNeal, the vice president of motorcycle operations for Yamaha Motor Corp. U.S.A., will take over the chairman position from Mark Blackwell, the retiring vice president of Polaris Industries.

Yamaha Files Trademark Application for FJ-09

Yamaha‘s next three-cylinder motorcycle may be a sport-tourer, if a recently-filed trademark application is any indication. The Tuning Fork brand filed a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the name “FJ-09” as it applies to “Motorcycles, scooters, three-wheeled scooters and structural parts for all the aforesaid goods.” Following Yamaha’s usual naming conventions, the signs indicate the trademark will be for a new sport-touring model using the same Triple as the FZ-09. Yamaha has made it clear it plans to introduce more three-cylinder engines following the FZ-09 (or MT-09, as it is known in Europe.) Previously-filed trademark applications for the YZF-R3 and R3 names raised speculation the next triple would be a sportbike, but as per Yamaha’s usual naming convention, the “3″ in R3 is likelier to refer to the engine displacement rather than the number of cylinders.

2014 AMA Supercross – Indianapolis Results

Ryan Dungey captured his first win of the 2014 AMA Supercross season in a wild main event that saw two of the top title contenders crashing on the starting straight at Indianapolis‘ Lucas Oil Stadium. Smartop MotoConcepts Suzuki rider Mike Alessi took the holeshot for the second race in a row, but the big news was incoming points leader Ryan Villopoto and Ken Roczen going down before the first turn. Roczen trailed Villopoto by nine points going into the Indianapolis round, but the KTM rookie’s hopes of overtaking the reigning champion took a blow when he went down on the straight, knocking Villopoto off in the process.

Rossi, Pedrosa Fastest In Second Sepang MotoGP Test

Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa topped the time sheets at the conclusion of the second MotoGP test at the Sepang track in Malaysia. Both clocked identical times of 1:59.999 to become the only riders to dip under the two minute mark the entire test. The hot and humid conditions in Sepang meant times wouldn’t be faster than they were in the first test here only a few weeks prior, and indeed, Rossi and Pedrosa’s time is 0.466 second slower than the fastest lap Marc Marquez set at the last test.

Official 2014 MotoGP Entry List Released

The International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) released the official entry list for the 2014 MotoGP Championship including 23 riders representing 13 teams. The final entry list also lists each rider’s status as either a Open or Factory class rider. The eight Factory riders are allowed to use their teams’ own proprietary ECU software but are otherwise limited by a freeze on engine development, a limit of five engines for the whole season and just 5.3 gallons of fuel per race.

Results From Day 1 Of Second Sepang MotoGP Test

With the absence of Marc Marquez from the second Sepang MotoGP test, due to a broken leg suffered in a training accident, another Honda rider took his place at the top of the time sheets, though it’s not who you might think. Alvaro Bautista on the Gresini Honda set the fastest time at the end of the first day with a 2:00.848. The time is 1.3 second slower than the fastest time Marquez set at the last Sepang test.

2014 Yamaha YZ450F and YZ250F Recalled

Yamaha is recalling 2014 YZ450F and YZ250F off-ride motorcycles because of a risk of the drive chain detaching. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the recall affects 1,300 units in the U.S. while Transport Canada says another 115 units are affected north of the border.