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11/30/2018

Win gear from Velomacchi REVIT! NEXX and Rizoma- Motorcycle News

Motorcycle News - Win gear from Velomacchi, REV’IT!, NEXX and Rizoma

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Win gear from Velomacchi, REV'IT!, NEXX and Rizoma
It takes just a couple of minutes to vote for the best images in our photography competition, and you could win high-end gear from four top brands: Velomacchi, REV’IT!, NEXX and Rizoma.

We’ve picked out the ten best professional and privateer shots sent in by photographers over the past few days, and now it’s our readers’ chance to win gear.

Win motorcycle gear from Velomacchi and REV'IT!
When you vote for your favorite shots, you automatically go into the draw to win one of three prize packages:

Velomacchi Speedway 28L Backpack and Speedway Impact Storage Case, a REV’IT! Halo jacket, a NEXX XG100R helmet, and Rizoma Tapered Handlebars. Total Value c.$1,160.
Velomacchi Speedway 40L Backpack and Impact Laptop Sleeve, a REV’IT! Trench GTX jacket, a NEXX X.WED helmet, and a set of Rizoma universal fit Eccentrico Mirrors. Total Value c.$1,870.
Velomacchi Speedway 50L Travel Duffle Hybrid and Speedway Tool/Med Pouch, a REV’IT! Livingstone jacket, a NEXX XG200 helmet, and a set of Rizoma Legend handgrips. Total Value c.$1230.

If you’re one of our winners and you’d prefer a women’s jacket or top from the REV’IT! range, you’ll be able to choose a substitute up to the same value as the listed prizes.

Win motorcycle gear from Velomacchi and REV'IT!
So head over to the voting page now, and pick out your top shots.

Voting closes at 11:59pm PST on December 19, 2018 and we’ll announce the winners via our social media accounts on or after December 21, 2018. A very nice Christmas present for three lucky winners!

Velomacchi | REV’IT! | NEXX | Rizoma | Rules

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November 30, 2018 at 11:23AM

11/30/2018

Stroll to join Force India from Williams for 2019 - F1 News

F1 News - Stroll to join Force India from Williams for 2019

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Force India: Lance Stroll confirms switch from Williams - BBC Sport

Lance Stroll (right) with Esteban Ocon, who he will be replacing as driver in the Force India team for the 2019 Formula 1 season

Canadian driver Lance Stroll is to race for Force India in 2019.

His move from Williams, for whom he made his debut in 2017, has been Formula 1's worst-kept secret since his father bought Force India in August.

Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll rescued the team from administration as head of a consortium and is expected to change their name.

His 20-year-old son will partner Mexican Sergio Perez, who was confirmed as a driver in October.

Stroll's appointment means all 20 seats for next season are now confirmed.

Stroll has a best result of third, achieved at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2017, and a best qualifying position of fourth, at the Italian Grand Prix that year.

However, other than the odd highlight, he has been unconvincing in his two seasons so far and Williams are not unhappy to see him go, despite the tens of millions the Stroll family invested in the team.

Williams have signed highly rated British rookie George Russell to race alongside Poland's Robert Kubica, a former grand prix winner who is returning after an eight-year absence following a rally crash in 2011 that left him with partial movement in his right arm.

Who is driving which car next year?

Mercedes - Lewis Hamilton (GB) & Valtteri Bottas (Fin)

Ferrari - Sebastian Vettel (Ger) & Charles Leclerc (Mon)

Red Bull - Max Verstappen (Ned) & Pierre Gasly (Fra)

Renault - Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) & Nico Hulkenberg (Ger)

Haas - Kevin Magnussen (Den) & Romain Grosjean (Fra)

McLaren - Carlos Sainz (Spa) & Lando Norris (GB)

Force India - Sergio Perez (Mex) & Lance Stroll (Can)

Sauber - Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) & Antonio Giovinazzi (Ita)

Toro Rosso - Daniil Kvyat (Rus) & Alexander Albon (Tha)

Williams - Robert Kubica (Pol) & George Russell (GB)

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November 30, 2018 at 08:12AM

11/30/2018

Yamaha ready to win MotoGP title again with 2019 bike - Vinales - MotoGP News

MotoGP News - Yamaha ready to win MotoGP title again with 2019 bike - Vinales

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Maverick Vinales believes that Yamaha's 2019 bike is good enough to make the team a title contender again based on his experience in winter testing

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November 30, 2018 at 08:03AM

11/30/2018

SECOND COMING. Diamond Ateliers Mark II Evo BMW R100R Cafe Racer- Motorcycle News

Motorcycle News - SECOND COMING. Diamond Atelier’s ‘Mark II Evo’ BMW R100R Cafe Racer

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Written by Marlon Slack

Germany’s Diamond Atelier craft motorcycles so clean you could eat off them. And they don’t do one at a time – the team work and refine a design, gather the parts and build a limited run of them. It’s a clever process that keeps the workshop humming and price well below frightening. This year they’ve nipped, tucked and tidied one of their previous classics to make the Mark II Evo, a lean cafe racer based around a BMW R100R.

The basis for the new Mark II Evo is, funnily enough, their stellar Mark II. “It was our most successful project,” Diamond Atelier’s Tom Konecny says, “But as you know, we never just sit back and relax. The idea behind our ‘series’ bikes has always been to perfect the building process and deliver the highest level of craftsmanship”.

Cleaner that the Pope’s mind

Look at the pics. The fit and finish and attention to detail are as stellar as you’d expect from the teutons at DA. But what’s the biggest difference between the Mark II and the Mark II Evo? The donor bike. “It’s the more modern and technically advanced BMW R100R Paralever, rather than the R80RT Monolever we used on the original series,” Tom says.

There’s a host of reasons for the switch. “The swing arm and shaft drive in themselves are considerable improvements,” Tom explains, “The paralever uses two links to connect the rear drive to the transmission. That keeps the rear drive at a constant angle… and the torque of the wheel doesn’t result in suspension movement”.

Suspension aside, the R100 also means the Evo has a fair bit more chutzpah than the previous version. Each bike has a completely rebuilt boxer engine and is outfitted with an additional oil cooler, open filters, rejetted carbouretters and custom-build Spark exhaust system. All that means the R puts out close to 70 horses of reliable, tractable power.

Design wise the Evo doesn’t stray far from the incredible beauty that defined the original Mark II – a bike every bit as low and sleek as the updated model. It’s still a low-slung bit of gorgeous industrial design and it’s still smacked with nicely integrated details. But there’s a few important differences here when lined up against the standard Mark II.

“It’s still a low-slung bit of gorgeous industrial design and it’s still smacked with nicely integrated details.”

There’s major things – such as the choice of what Diamond call their ‘signature’ tank or the original /7 design. Or the massive 4.25” crossed spoke rear wheel, an ultra-rare prototype piece pinched from the BMW factory. The rear end of the bike has also been modified further – made even slimmer and lighter than before.

But the real difference are details that you can’t see in most of the pics here. The bike runs a full catalogue of MotoGadget accessories. That’s a RFID keyless start, integrated indicators and the incredibly clever m-unit. And, as with all of Diamond Atelier’s builds parts can be ordered in or out. Want an Motoscope Mini instead? No problem.

The electronic mods round out a customised R that’s sure to turn heads and blow minds. And the team at DA are more than confident in its ability. “With the Evo we want to put an end to the endless improvements of classic BMW airheads,” Tom says. “This is what we consider to be the the absolute limit to what can be done with one without sacrificing the character and feel of a classic boxer”.

You can’t argue with that.

Customising bikes is over. Diamond Atelier have won

[ Diamond Atelier – Facebook – Instagram | Photos by Lukas Magerl ]

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November 30, 2018 at 05:19AM

11/30/2018

Valentino Rossi's MotoGP rider coach leaves role - MotoGP News

MotoGP News - Valentino Rossi's MotoGP rider coach leaves role

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Yamaha MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi has parted with rider coach Luca Cadalora following the 2018 campaign

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November 30, 2018 at 04:32AM

11/29/2018

Jerez MotoGP testing: LCR Honda's Takaaki Nakagami fastest - MotoGP News

MotoGP News - Jerez MotoGP testing: LCR Honda's Takaaki Nakagami fastest

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LCR rider Takaaki Nakagami topped the final day of MotoGP testing of 2018 at Jerez, edging out Honda stablemate Marc Marquez by just 0.025 seconds

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November 29, 2018 at 11:28AM

11/29/2018

The Honda CB500 cafe racer that staved off bankruptcy- Motorcycle News

Motorcycle News - The Honda CB500 cafe racer that staved off bankruptcy

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The Honda CB500 cafe racer that kept a Swedish custom shop afloat
Building custom motorcycles can be a tough game. And the Swedish builder Fredrik Pål Persson was ready to throw in the towel, just before the commission came in for this rather chic Honda café racer.

His shop, Malmö-based PAAL Motorcycles, has been operating for five years now. But last year, the business almost closed down. “We basically hit rock bottom,” Fredrik admits.

The Honda CB500 cafe racer that kept a Swedish custom shop afloat
“We were paying for costly mistakes we made, and we had to downscale everything. We sold everything we could sell, and held our breath to avoid going bankrupt.”

“When a client asked us to build a CB500, I was standing on a pivot. I could say no and close the shop—or say yes, while knowing that all profit had to go back into the company, and I wouldn’t be able to take out a salary.”

The Honda CB500 cafe racer that kept a Swedish custom shop afloat
Fredrik decided to say yes. He also decided to sell his home and invest the profit into the company: “I was basically buying one more year to follow my dreams.”

Since Fredrik was going all in, he knew that the CB500 would have to be one of the shop’s best builds to date. “A bike that truly represents what we stand for as a brand here at PAAL,” he says. “Design, craftsmanship, quality and performance.”

The Honda CB500 cafe racer that kept a Swedish custom shop afloat
The donor—a 1976 CB500—was liberated from Fredrick’s own cache. It was a bike that he’d customized years ago, but he was never quite happy with it. It was a candidate for a complete makeover.

So the PAAL crew stripped the motor down (again), building it up with new valves and reworked cylinders. The engine also got a new coat of paint, and the carbs were refreshed, and tuned to run with pod filters. Ancillary bits like cables, bearings, seals, and the chain and sprockets, were all replaced.

The Honda CB500 cafe racer that kept a Swedish custom shop afloat
PAAL then ripped out all the wiring and started over with a Bluetooth-enabled Motogadget m.unit Blue module. The setup includes a Lithium-ion battery, and a new digital ignition.

They also installed LED turn signals, a tiny speedo and switches from Motogadget, along with Motone control buttons and an LED taillight.

The Honda CB500 cafe racer that kept a Swedish custom shop afloat
The taillight’s neatly embedded in the back of a new, custom-built subframe. Up top is a custom-made seat in a classic café racer style, complete with a removable rear cowl. The fuel tank’s a one-off too, and includes PAAL’s signature upholstered indents on the sides.

The effect’s carried through to the gorgeous tank and cowl straps, and even to the custom leather grips. The actual bars are a set of KustomTech clip-ons, matched to Tarozzi rear-sets on hand-made brackets.

The Honda CB500 cafe racer that kept a Swedish custom shop afloat
PAAL rebuilt the front forks, installed new rear shocks, and overhauled the brakes. The wheels were refreshed too, with new stainless steel spokes, a fresh powder coat, and a set of Firestone Champion Deluxe tires.

The four-into-one exhaust system was fabricated in-house, and terminates in a chunky, low-slung muffler. The frame and a bunch of other components were powder coated black, while the bodywork was shot in a tasteful light grey.

The Honda CB500 cafe racer that kept a Swedish custom shop afloat
“We didn’t take any shortcuts on this bike,” says Fredrik. “Everything was done by the book, for the best outcome possible. It basically ended up being a brand new motorcycle, with modern performance, combined with some of our signature design features. Still keeping the retro vibe but bringing it in to the 21th century.”

Around the time PAAL were wrapping up the CB500, they were also turning screws on a Kawasaki KZ650 and a Honda CB750. And while Fredrik went into the projects with a weight on his shoulders, he came out the other side freshly invigorated.

The Honda CB500 cafe racer that kept a Swedish custom shop afloat
“A lot has changed now,” he says. “I found new partners and investors, and we’ve been able to slowly turn the ship around with a lot of hard work. We are now excited about the future and the path we’re on.”

“I know that I can write pages about all the parts we used on the bike. But the story of this bike represents a lot more then material things for us.”

The Honda CB500 cafe racer that kept a Swedish custom shop afloat
We’re glad to hear it: we hope to see many more bikes rolling out of PAAL’s doors in the future. And there’s a little more good news for Fredrik: his Kawasaki KZ650 is one of the stars of the 2019 Bike EXIF wall calendar.

Paal Motorcycles | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Yannick Wolff

The Honda CB500 cafe racer that kept a Swedish custom shop afloat

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November 29, 2018 at 11:13AM

11/29/2018

FOUND IN TRANSLATION. Ironwood Customs The Interpreter BMW R100R Scrambler- Motorcycle News

Motorcycle News - FOUND IN TRANSLATION. Ironwood Custom’s ‘The Interpreter’ BMW R100R Scrambler

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Written by Martin Hodgson

From the very early days of the internet, pictures of badly translated signs and text from around the globe have been a favourite. Things have improved somewhat with the help of translating software but there is no such tool for extracting the creative ideas from one mind and implanting them into another. So when a client approached Ironwood Customs with very specific demands, the pressure was on head honcho Arjan van den Boom to deliver. But his ability to decipher someone else’s desires are as refined as his bike building skills and he’s turned a stale 1992 BMW R100R into this beautiful black scrambler brat, appropriately called ‘The Interpreter’.

Tank is emblazoned with customer’s company motto

With the Flevoland, Netherlands based outfit having built a dozen BMW R customs over the last five years the client had picked the right shop. So no doubt enjoying the surrounds and hospitality of the Ironwood display room in leather sofa comfort, he’d built up an idea of what he did and didn’t want; and he was firm in his views! “ We do a lot of tailored solutions but for us this bike reflects the interpretation of the specific demands from our customer. We tried to read each statement or comment from him and convert it directly onto the design of his BMW,” explains Arjan.

The first task was to source an appropriate donor and with BMWs having always been popular in The Netherlands it wasn’t long before they struck gold. An old motorcycle collector who takes particular pride in his vehicles had just the right bike for sale and the cash was handed over. Back at Ironwood it was torn down and the team could work out the path forward with the clients non-negotiables being “spoked wheels, big chunky tyres, bulky gas tank, mono shock and a floating seat”. To make sure the whole team were on the same page, Arjan drew up a design and work could commence.

First up were chassis modifications with the standard subframe thrown aside and the Ironwood signature seat post that protrudes neatly from the backbone welded in place. This fits the floating seat style the customer hand in mind, but he’d also dreamed up some swingarm changes. “The one-off rear shock design challenged us to execute it properly as envisioned on paper by the customer in advance of the project,” Arjan tells us. While the stock bike uses a mono-shock, the client wanted it moved further forward and inside the right frame rail.

Arjan was clear he didn’t want to make the swingarm a bulky metal mess to accommodate the design, so rather than guess with something so vital to the bike’s performance he reached out to the suspension wizards at HyperPro. Together they engineered a neat solution, with new mounting points welded up to perfection and a custom-built for the task HyperPro shock fitted for good measure. With everything smoothed out and excess tabs removed, the frame, swingarm and a bunch of miscellaneous pieces were sandblasted and sent out for a dusting of black powder coat.

“the welded headers are to die for and merge under the motor in a hand-built twin exit muffler.”

With the bulk of the bike out of the shop the engine was cracked open and treated to a full rebuild to ensure years of trouble-free riding. To bring the spark into the 21st century the Bosch ignition was replaced with Silent Hektik’s full electronic and adjustable system. While the fuel side is still fed by Bing carbs, they’ve been overhauled and re-jetted to suit the K&N pod filters. But stealing the show is the stunning exhaust system that is the handiwork of Marcel from The Custom Factory. Of full stainless construction, the welded headers are to die for and merge under the motor in a hand-built twin exit muffler.

With the frame back at Ironwood the assembly began with the new rear suspension bolted up and the hubs hung front and rear. These are laced to new blacked out rims and wrapped up with Arjan’s tyre of choice, the dual sport Heidenau K60. The front suspension keeps the standard externals lowered through the powder coated triple trees with the internals changed to match the new rear end setup. With plenty of weight removed the factory Brembo twin disc brakes are more than capable of hauling up the blacked out beauty.

New shock, new spot

The earlier model tank gets the looks spot on and has a Monza filler grafted into place for good measure. The deep gloss black paint is perfectly contrast with the matte graphics, the client’s company motto, painted up by Jacco from Royal Kustom Works. While the floating seat request is finished off with a solo, stitched together by Miller Kustom Upholstery. The front headlight gets a modern interpretation on the classic style with an LED arrangement and the rear indicators feature clever taillights incorporated into the outer rings.

All the factory wiring has been ripped out and replaced with only the best from Motogadget, with an m-unit serving as the brains of the operation. Up on the braced bars a set of Motogadget m.blaze turn signals work together with bar end mirrors to keep the friendly policeman happy. While things are kept ultra minimalistic with an offset motoscope mini serving as the instrument cluster to finish out a killer build. BMW R builds have become a staple of the custom scene, with very good reason, and so long as workshops like Ironwood Customs can translate their customers dreams into rolling masterpieces they’ll continue as the moto du jour par excellence!

[ Ironwood Customs – Facebook – Instagram | Photos by Paul van ML ]

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November 29, 2018 at 06:20AM

11/28/2018

Ducati's Dovizioso has 'big pain' after Jerez MotoGP testing crash - MotoGP News

MotoGP News - Ducati's Dovizioso has 'big pain' after Jerez MotoGP testing crash

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Ducati's Dovizioso has 'big pain' after Jerez MotoGP testing crash - MotoGP - Autosport

Andrea Dovizioso says he is in "big pain" after crashing on day one of MotoGP's post-season Jerez test and will need his discomfort to be "acceptable" to ride on Thursday.

Dovizioso ended the penultimate day of 2018 running second-fastest behind new factory Ducati team-mate Danilo Petrucci.

But the Italian's day ended early with a crash at the Turn 5 right-hander and, while an x-ray revealed he did not brake any bones, he suffered swelling around the base of his left thumb.

"I have big pain, but it looks like there is not anything bad, that is the most important thing," said Dovizioso.

"I did an x-ray but they couldn't see anything [broken], but you never know - maybe there is a muscle or something, but nothing bad.

"If tomorrow [the pain] will be acceptable I will continue to test. We have something to compare. I hope I have a chance to do that."

Explaining the crash, Dovizioso added: "I was pushing, I wanted to improve the lap time.

"In that moment I had the experimental rear Michelin, already some riders did a lap time with that and it worked well, and we changed the set-up. We did a big step in one way, we wanted to understand.

"I tried with a used tyre, the feeling was good on the front [even] if the lap time wasn't so good, and I wanted to push with a new tyre to really put the bike on the limit. That was very important for us.

"But I was too fast in the middle of the corner. That set-up didn't work as well as my previous one in that moment.

"I was pushing really hard and I lost the front.

"Small crash, but when I got to the gravel I started to roll. I hit a lot of parts of my body."

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November 28, 2018 at 01:54PM

11/28/2018

Rossi: Yamaha's early developments for '19 MotoGP season not enough - MotoGP News

MotoGP News - Rossi: Yamaha's early developments for '19 MotoGP season not enough

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Valentino Rossi says the engine developments Yamaha brought to the Valencia and Jerez MotoGP post-season tests will not be good enough to elevate the manufacturer into contention for victories

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November 28, 2018 at 12:54PM