Some riders find photoshoots tedious, but Guy Martin, Marco Simoncelli and Jorge Lorenzo seem to be enjoying themselves at Dainese’s headquarters, kidding around and showing off the Italian company’s newest Motorbike Collection.

(no votes)

0 comments

Good news for Chris Vermeulen and his PBM Kawasaki team, the Aussie rider will not have to undergo surgery to repair the extensive knee damage that he picked up in his high speed crash at Lukey Heights during race 2 at Phillip Island.

Despite not having full movement in his leg, Vermeulen has stated that he wants to try race in the upcoming WSBK round at Portimao that takes place from March 26th to 28th:

“I saw my doctor again on Wednesday 17th March and the good news is that I do not need an operation on my leg. He said it would take a long time to heal, however, because there is a fair bit of damage in there. The main reason he did not want to operate is because it would not reduce the healing time and at this stage it is better to stay out of it. I don’t have enough bend in my knee joint to get my foot onto the footpeg at the moment but the race is a bit away yet, so hopefully it will be right by Portimao. I will be able to cycle quite soon, which will get more blood flow through it and help it heal faster.”

Continue reading: WSBK: Chris Vermeulen will be in Portimao

(no votes)

0 comments

While the rumors regarding that private equity firm KKR could be taking over Harley Davidson with a leveraged buyout continues to put a spin on the Milwaukee based company’s stock, which which jumped big 6% on Tuesday, Italy is continuing with it’s own rumors on the sale of MV Agusta.

After the rumors of a consortium of Italian entrepreneurs led by Geox’s Mario Moretti Polegato that could take over MV Augusta from Harley Davidson, the name of Paolo Berlusconi, brother of Italy’s Prime Minister, has come up as another buyer interested in buying out the Italian company who makes such high performance and expensive bikes as the Brutale and the F4.

Berlusconi is no stranger to the two wheel world having bought out historic Garelli brand name back in 2006, which produces scooters made in China for the European market.

Sources | motociclismo and hellforleather

(no votes)

0 comments

Bimota has presented its DB6 SuperLight model at the Rome Motodays event. These live pics show the bike, which is based on the Bimota DB6 Delirio. It’s a prototype which has been produced in collaboration with the Bike Research lab and centres on a new-look fork-chassis combination which further accentuates the extreme style of the DB6.

The Bimota DB6 SuperLight is already in testing phase and could even appear on the market in Bimonta dealerships by the end of the year. The aim is to keep the SuperLight with a weight of 158 kg in what has been an innovative project for the company. See if you like it in the pics below.

Continue reading: Bimota DB6 SuperLight prototype

(no votes)

0 comments

It was a crucial day for FB Corse today at Valencia, they were to find out if they could get permission from Dorna’s Franco Uncini to compete in this year’s MotoGP season after undergoing a timing test and examined for reliability and safety.

While Uncini judged FB Corse’s “project interesting” the team was deemed not ready to compete in the MotoGP season opener in Qatar, but added they could be ready for a couple of wild card races in Europe later in the season after they put the FB01 through more development, more testing sessions and more kilometers on track.

For those who are interested in lap times according to Sportmediaset.com, Garry McCoy’s best laps were around the 1’40’s and tomorrow the team will continue working on electronics and then head home to analyze all the data and then off to Misano for more track time, as McCoy has been given a further dispensation for testing.

(no votes)

0 comments

Pramac Racing and riders Mika Kallio and Aleix Espargaró unveiled today in Qatar their brand new 2010 livery at ahead of the final pre-season MotoGP test that starts tomorrow and the team has gone “green.”

Besides adding The Green Energy Team to it’s name and changing the colour of the livery on their Ducati Desmosedici’s, Pramac Racing has decided to become the first MotoGP team to become eco-friendly. The Italian team will be be using solar panels and wind turbines to supply energy in their hospitality and garage, Quantya electric scooters to move around the paddock and they will also use recycled and recyclable materials where possible.

After the jump you can read why team owner Paolo Campinoti decided on this new approach and you can also see the The Green Energy teaser video.

Continue reading: MotoGP: Pramac Racing Goes "Green"

(no votes)

0 comments

Seven times AMA Champion, the legendary Mat Mladin has mellowed out since he retired last season. In a multi-part series by On The Throttle TV called Mat Mladin, Inside with the Champ, the Aussie rider has nothing but praise his former rival and team mate Ben Spies.

Mladin who is known for his prickly character and no nonsense attitude, when asked what he thought about Ben Spies as a racer his answer was: “one of the best motorcycle racers in the world … maybe the best and if not the the best, not far behind the best, who we know is Rossi.”

We suggest that you head over to the excellent OTT website and watch part 13 of the series because you’ll get some insight on what makes Spies tick.

Source | asphaltandrubber.com

(no votes)

0 comments

Vespa has recently released another version from its LX scooter range, the Vespa LX Touring. It’s another indication of how popular this range of Vespa scooters has become, with more comfort and modern technology, but a dose of Vespa elegance and style. The “touring” name indicates scooters adapted to more adventurous mini suburban trips, although city riding still remains the core of these Vespa LX models.

The new Vespa LX Touring are available in 125 and 150 cc models with electronic fuel injection. The 125 cc version is availabe with a four-stroke, single cylinder motor with 10.7 hp and reduced CO2 emissions. The Touring 150 model has 12.1 hp, and can cope with highway riding, making it more suitable for extra-urban weekend missions.

They are both available in ‘Marrone Terra di Toscana’ colour, or Tuscan Earth Brown, and the chrome luggage accessories are part of the standard offer. The front of the LX Touring model is designed for aerodynamic wind protection and the scooter also features a side trestle stand as well as a central one. The LX Touring 125 will cost about 3,550 euros and the 150 cc model has a price of about 3,750 euros.

New Vespa LX Touring 125 and 150

(no votes)

0 comments

The Aprilia Dorsoduro was on display at the Rome motodays event and here we give you a new set of Dorsoduro pics and video. The new gallery gives us a fantastic close-up of the Aprilia Dorsoduro 750 Factory, with its 90°, twin-cylinder V engine, with 92 hp and ride by wire technology. Other features include 43 mm upside Sachs fork, radial four-piston Brembo calipers on a 320 mm front floating wave disc, and a Matrix analogue-digital instrument panel.

The Dorsoduro has quietly gone about its business after the hype of plenty of other bikes of late, and if you want to know more about how this thing actually rides, check out our test details part one and part two. It’s a versatile bike, with both naked and superbike features for plenty of fun, and the supermotard hasn’t skimped on interesting technological elements for this kind of bike. Check it out in the pics and video below.

Aprilia Dorsoduro 750 Factory 2010 new pics

Continue reading: Aprilia Dorsoduro new pics and video

(no votes)

1 comment

The inaugural Moto2 season hasn’t even started yet and we’ve already had the first pull out due to financial reasons. The Spanish Kino Racing team who was to compete in the new series on the BQR chassis with 21 year old Argentinean rider Fabricio Perren, have been forced to withdraw after their sponsors backed out.

With the Kino Racing pull out, MZ Racing run by Martin Wimmer and former 250cc rider Ralf Waldmann have been called up from the reserve list and have confirmed that they will compete in the 2010 season with Anthony West as their sole rider.

The German team has already taken part in the private tests at Catalunya and in the recent official tests at Valencia and Jerez.

(no votes)

0 comments