Honda drives in new CBR250R

Mumbai, Maharashtra, October 28, 2010: Honda has unveiled its all – new 2011 CBR250R motorcycle to the world in Thailand.

The new CBR250R is a lightweight motorcycle developed to cater to the rising international demand for small and efficient lightweight bikes. Currently there is a lack of options in that segment internationally with a very few players like Kawasaki and Hyosung producing such motorcycles.

The Japanese auto company has also confirmed that the 2011 CBR250R will make its way to India early – mid 2011. The bike will be launched in Thailand this November though.

The new bike has been developed by Honda Japan with significant involvement from Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI) and Honda Thailand.

The CBR250R will be powered by a 250cc single cylinder engine, with a flat and well – spread power and torque curve for maximum driveability at low and mid range rev band and better efficiency.

The bike will source materials and components from strategic sources to keep the prices as low and competitive as possible.

We hope that by ‘competitive’, Honda is not implying a price tag close to that of the Kawasaki Ninja 250R, which retails for a very high price of close to Rs 3- lakh in India. The CBR250R uses a light construction, diamond shaped, tubular frame that is said to offer agile handling and great manoeuvrability.

Article from Humsafar

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Top Gear: Stig's helmet fetches £3,400 at auction

The distinctive white racing helmet worn by The Stig on the BBC's Top Gear fetched £3,400 at auction on Wednesday night.

 

The distinctive white racing helmets worn by The Stig on the BBC's Top Gear fetched £3,400 at auction.

 

It was sold by Sophia Vaizey, who was given the helmet as a leaving present after working on the show as a production co-ordinator for 18 months.

One of the programme's presenters, Richard Hammond, signed it, along with production crew members and The Stig himself, who has now left the motoring show but wore it from around 2002 to 2005.

 

The helmet went under the hammer at Gorringes Auctioneers in Lewes, East Sussex, with a guide price of £1,200 but ended up going for almost three times as much to a private collector.


Mrs Vaizey, 30, from Hove, previously said she hoped the helmet would fetch a good price following the recent highly publicised High Court battle involving the BBC over the disclosure of The Stig's identity.

She said: "The Stig wore that one on the show for quite a while. He then got a new one for safety reasons, so it got stored away in the Top Gear office.
"I was quite surprised when they gave it to me but also I felt honoured."
The BBC recently took legal action to block publication by HarperCollins of an autobiography which would unmask racing driver Ben Collins as the show's mystery driver.


But after more than a day of legal argument in private, Mr Justice Morgan said he would not grant the BBC a temporary injunction to do this as he said his identity was already widely known.

It had been a badly kept secret for some time, having already been published in the media last year.
Collins has since joined rival show Fifth Gear on Channel 5 where he will appear without his trademark helmet.

Article form the telegraph

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WIN a Motorcycle Helmet and a Motorcycle Rainsuit worth £129.98! | UKBike

WIN a New MTR Motorcycle Helmet K-11 Flip and a PROOF Splash II Motorcycle Rainsuit. We are offering all UKBike members the chance to win a MTR Motorcycle Helmet K-11 Flip, retailing at £99.99! AND a PROOF Splash II Motorcycle Rainsuit, retailing at £29.99! 1st place will win our main prize, the new MTR Motorcycle Helmet K-11 Flip along with 1 of 3 PROOF Splash II Motorcycle Rainsuit's, 2nd and 3rd place will also win one of these fantastic suits. It couldn’t be easier to be in with a shout for this fine prize. Simply send us a review of a bike that you know well from the past or present. On the 22nd of November the UK Bike team will select a winner, the prize will be sent via post, and the winning review will be our ‘featured review’ on the UKBike home page for the first last week of November! We are looking for interesting, informative reviews of a decent length that sum up your bike experiences, both good and bad. Got a particular story attached to the bike? Share it with your fellow members! Feel free to add some action to your review with photos and video – but it’s the words that we’re most interested in! Closing date for reviews is November 21st, the winner will be announced and contacted in the week of the 22nd of November. 1st place winner will have the choice of size and colour of the helmet, (Black or Silver). All winners of our rainsuits will have the choice of size and colour too, (Black or Red) Good luck! Terms and conditions. Entries must be submitted by 11.59pm on November 21st 2010. The winner will be notified by e-mail the week of the 22nd of November.The UKBike team’s decision is final. Members can submit multiple bike reviews. Any enquireies or problems with sending photos please email kai@ukbike.com

Harley Profit Rises as Finance Unit Makes Up for Slumping Motorcycle Sales

Harley-Davidson Inc, the biggest U.S. motorcycle maker, said third-quarter profit more than doubled as earnings in its finance unit made up for declining sales worldwide.

Net income rose to $88.8 million, or 38 cents a share, from $26.5 million, or 11 cents, a year earlier, Milwaukee-based Harley said today in a statement. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was 36 cents. Revenue fell 1.9 percent to $1.09 billion, and retail sales slid 7.7 percent.

Chief Executive Officer Keith Wandell, who has cut costs by renegotiating labor contracts, said Harley is focused on transforming itself to “succeed at today’s volumes.” The financial-services unit, which makes loans to motorcycle buyers, had operating income of $50.9 million compared with a $31.5 million loss a year earlier.

“Motorcycle demand is slumping, and that slump has yet to show signs of abating,” Brent Miller, an analyst with Gradient Analytics in Scottsdale, Arizona, said in an interview. “That’s a bit concerning. How long can a company continue to count on its financial services arm to fill in that gap of dragging demand?”

The new labor agreements at factories in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin reduce jobs, give new employees fewer benefits and will let Harley add and cut workers based on demand. The Wisconsin contracts start in 2012.

MV Agusta

Excluding discontinued operations such as the MV Agusta line of motorcycles, profit rose to 40 cents a share from 24 cents a year earlier.

Harley raised the low end of its production plan for this year. It now expects to ship 207,000 to 212,000 motorcycles to dealers, a decrease of as much as 7.2 percent from last year. In July, it forecast shipments of 201,000 to 212,000, as much as a 9.9 percent decrease. Deliveries fell 27 percent last year to 223,000 from 303,500 in 2008.

Most motorcycle sales are discretionary purchases, which consumers reduced as the economy slowed, Wandell said today.

“All of our market data and research indicates there’s still a tremendous affinity for the brand and a desire to own Harley-Davidson motorcycles,” Wandell said in an interview. “It’s a matter of getting some help with the economy on top of everything else we’re doing with our strategy.”

Harley’s U.S. retail sales in the three months ended Sept. 26 fell 9.4 percent from a year earlier. Industrywide retail sales of heavyweight motorcycles fell 14 percent, Harley said.

Harley declined $1.25, or 3.9 percent, to $31.24 at 10:44 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares gained 29 percent this year before today.

Rossi to wear Ducati motorcycle clothing at Valencia test

 

Valentino Rossi will pull on his Ducati-red motorcycle clothing for the first time at the post-season testing session at Valencia.

MotoGP teams only have a limited number of sanctioned testing sessions, and Rossi was keen to get to work with the Ducati team as soon as possible - the first opportunity being the test in Valencia shortly after the season finale.

There had been much speculation about whether Yamaha would allow the contracted rider to test in Ducati motorcycle clothing, but it seems that the manufacturer's executive officer for engineering operations Masao Furusawa has granted the Italian his wish.

Rossi told broadcaster Italia1: "Furusawa called me and told me it was a way of saying thanks for what I have done for Yamaha.

"I think it's a nice gesture and it shows that Yamaha has valued the things done over these years."

Rossi achieved another podium in the latest round in Australia, finishing third after a late passing move on Nicky Hayden, his teammate for the 2011 season.

Article from PH Motorcycles

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Kawasaki ZXR, 900cc Review

Review

Well where do i start? How about with the styling, in one word for the year of release....aggressive! razor sharp rear end and gaping ram air mouth, sqautted ''arse up and head down'' riding position finish the bike of nicely. **how much** a nice clean and tidy find will see you with a little bit of change from £4,000. mid range £3,500. poor state £2,800. **will i be aching after 30 mile? what does it go like and will i survive the twistys** This bike was designed for the track. So in all honesty the riding position......Read More

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Brightona 2010 - UKBike was there to see all the action and get some photos.

Click here to check out all the pictures from the day.

Brightona 2010, ran successfully yesterday down at Maderia Drive. UKBike was there to see all the action.

Brightona is one of the biggest motoring events with participants as high as 40,000, Brighton was heaving with motorcycles of all shapes and sizes most of the day.

Since 2004 Brightona has donated a staggering £75,000!! This has allowed vital life saving equipment to be purchased and improve the lives of hundreds of people and families in Sussex.

Growing each year, Brightona raised £12,500 in 2006 and £23,000 in 2008. Hopefully 2010 broke the record.

Bikers come from all over the country; in fact, all over Europe - and maybe even further afield.

This was truly a sight worth seeing! Bikes start to arrive mid-morning and fill up the Drive: the noise, the smell of petrol fumes, the wave and wave of arriving bikers all generate an atmosphere of excitement. A great coming together.

By the time the Drive was filled up, a vast range of motobikes is on display. Bikes and bikers of all ages; bikes, trikes, sidecars; every manufacturer's name in the history of the motorcycle in represented. An exaggeration perhaps, but you'll certainly find Vincent, Norton, Kawasaki, Honda, Harley-Davidson, Ducati, Aprilia, KTM, Moto Guzzi, Victory, BSA, BMW, Triumph, Suzuki, National Chopper Club, and many customised machines, especially trikes.

There was also a stage, DJ, rock'n' roll, bands, etc to provide the entertainment.

We were there with our camera yesterday taking a number of pictures of bikes that took our fancy. All our photos will be uploaded to our facebook page www.facebook.com/ukbike.

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Biker banned for only 8 weeks after doing 107mph in 40mph limit!

A self-confessed “petrolhead”, who rode his Suzuki motorbike at 107 mph in a 40 mph zone in Stowmarket, was today banned from driving for eight weeks.

Sudbury magistrates heard John Dove, 26, of Stowupland, had only owned the machine for a month when police saw him on a dual carriageway.

Dove, who admitted speeding on August 1, was also fined £250 and ordered to pay £50 costs.

Is an 8 week ban too small seeing as he was travelling nearly 3x the limit?

Article from EADT24

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Pedrosa thankful for motorcycle clothing, but title hopes end.

Pedrosa's accident has ended his title hopes.

Dani Pedrosa was thankful for his robust motorcycle clothing after a heavy crash in practice for the Japanese round of the MotoGP championship at the weekend.

Unfortunately for the premier class' in-form rider, a high-speed tumble through the gravel left him with a triple-fracture of the collar bone, which appears to have handed the riders' title to compatriot Jorge Lorenzo.

But thankfully Pedrosa's motorcycle clothing prevented more serious damage to the rider's ankle, after X-rays showed the heavy impact had not broken the joint.

"We X-rayed the ankle as well and it is okay. He had old fractures but nothing new, just a small contusion," said MotoGP medical director Michele Macchiagodena.

However, with Pedrosa out of action and Jorge Lorenzo continuing to score points, the Yamaha rider now needs to finish in a ninth place during the next race to confirm himself as the 2010 MotoGP world champion.

Pedrosa recently signed a new two-year deal with Honda, where he will be joined next season by current Ducati rider Casey Stoner.

Article from PHMotorcycles

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$50 Motorcycle Retrofitted To Run on Solar Power

Tony Danger Coiro, a student at Purdue University, has recently created a zero-emission electric motorcycle that is powered by solar energy. The motorcycle, which initially cost about $50, is a transformed version of an old 1978 Suzuki.

He spent more than $2500 retrofitting and redesigning the bike, which is capable to reach a top speed of 45mph, having a range of about 24 miles per charge.

Coiro in collaboration with Jim Danielson and Sean Kleinschmidt, a colleague have launched the Purdue Electric Vehicles Club. Kleinschmidt and Danielson converted a 1987 Porsche 924S they bought for $500 to run on electricity, during their summer vacation.

According to Coiro, the Purdue EV Club will commercialize its latest electric cars prototypes and technologies. Meanwhile, Coiro has started designing a new green motorcycle equipped with a 100-horsepower motor that will reach a speed of 100 mph and a range of nearly 100 miles per charge. Besides this, the bike will have no drive trains, having the motors located in each wheel.

Source: Green Optimistic

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