Robbie Maddison - Who? The 'BIRD' is here

We had told you about Robbie Maddison's record jump HERE

And now, an American stuntman, who calls himself the 'Bird' has broken the previous record by a whole 30 feet!! Thats a jump of 394feet - Beat that Mr Maddison

Have a look at the video

MV Agusta 675cc triple?

There were strong rumors of secret plans by MV Agusta top-brass to build a 675cc triple, and now it seems the news is true!

Got this from Visordown.com :

This is the upcoming cover of Italian magazine Motociclismo, don't get too excited though, it's only a computer-generated image with the mag claiming around 135bhp from the bike and a 160kg weight.

If it looks like that though, it'll be the world's best selling middleweight by some considerable margin.

Fingers crossed.

2008 MV Agusta Brutale 1078RR

Only 4,000rpm and half-throttle, but the front wheel ploughs controllably sky-high. Incredibly impressive stuff when max torque is way up at 8,100rpm and max horsepower at 10,700rpm.

Read the whole article HERE

ALso, dont miss MCN's first ride on the 1078RR

More on the Suzuki 150 for India

Just a little thought...

Suzuki sells a step-thru called the Raider 150 in the Philippines.
The engine specs are as follows:
Displacement: 147.3 cc
Maximum Power: 11.93 kW (16.0HP) @9500 rpm
Maximum Torque: 11.27 N.m (1.27 Kgf-m) @8500 rpm
Weight: 106 kg.

Can Suzuki use the Raider's engine with some tuning and get the power upto 18odd bhp? The 150cc segment is on a fire guys. Ok, here is more than. I posted a while ago about the FXR150 from Suzuki. The Raider 150 uses the same bloody engine that was on the FXR150! Ofcourse the engine is detuned to meet emission norms and return good fuel economy.

It all makes sense. It seems the Suzuki 150 due for India will basically use the FXR150 engine, retuned for efficiency and meeting emission norms but pumped up with fuel injection....

Suzuki India readies a new 150cc machine

Yes, it is true. Suzuki Motorcyles India is testing a new 150cc bike to take on the likes of the TVS Apache RTR and the newly launched Yamaha R15.
The bike is believed to be powered by a 150cc, liquid cooled engine that will be churning out impressive figures.

Suzuki had a 150cc motorcycle for South-East Asia in the form of FXR150. The bike was known to be a good performer.
Here are the engine specs for the same

Type: Four-stroke single, Oil-cooled, DOHC, TSCC
Maximum power: 20 hp / 9,900 rpm
Maximum torque: 12,5 Nm (1,27 kg-m)/ 8,100 rpm
Bore: 62,0 mm (2441 in.)
Stroke: 48,8 mm (1.921 in.)
Displacement: 147 cc (8.99 cu. in.)
Corrected compression ratio: 10,7 :1
Carburetor: MIKUNI BS29
Air cleaner: Polyurethane foam element
Starter system: Electric and Kick
Lubrication: Wet sump

Ofcourse, the bike wont meet India's strict emission norms, but if Suzuki can employ fuel injection and other changes to make it greener and still have the bike pump out 17-18bhp, then they will have a winner on their hands for sure. My fingers are crossed!

In the meantime, have a look at the all new Yamaha V-Max

Carbon Fibre Chassis for Ducati in 2009

Ducati will race a radical carbon fibre chassis in next year’s MotoGP world championship.

Reigning world champion Casey Stoner gave Ducati engineers the all-clear to continue development of the GP9 after his debut on the prototype in Catalunya last week.

Ducati will now focus resources and investment on the carbon fibre GP9 project, with Stoner deciding that he wants to race the bike in 2009 after only a handful of evaluation laps.

Stoner will test the bike again either in Brno in late August, or wait until the traditional first post season test in Valencia.

“Straightaway I feel more comfortable on it so I can’t say I need something better. We can only try and see how much further we can go with it, “said the Aussie.

Ducati technical guru Filippo Preziosi was arguably the most relieved man in MotoGP last week after Stoner’s glowing report.

He’s spent a year on the chassis project and he said: “We had to decide now if we were going to race the bike next season.

“This is the reason why we did this test, even if the test is public which is something we didn’t want to do. It was absolutely clear that Casey wants to race the new bike.”

SOURCE : MCN

Updates : HONDA CBR600RR with ABS and CBS

While we thought the new ABS from Honda would be what other manufacturers have been using, the real system is quite different and unique. Combining both ABS and CBS (combined braking system), the aim here has been not to hamper sport riding, but aid the rider during hard / emergency braking.
In use the system is very refined with hardly any signs of typical ABS judder as the system cuts the brakes in and out or the combined braking system overtaking the rider’s feel.

The ABS used for the test was a prototype still undergoing costly development but Honda has committed to putting ABS or CBS on all of its bikes over 250cc by 2010.

Honda has had to go back to the drawing board to design an ABS system that works on a supersport motorcycle. The problems stem from the short wheel base and a constant pitching and yaw of the machine under severe braking.

The result is an electronically activated ABS and link brake system to ensure balanced braking between front and rear. This is done by the use of electric motors supplying high pressure braking and a very clever ECU that detects wheel lock front and rear via wheel speed sensors, machine speed and engine RPM.

SOURCE : MCN

Honda CBR600RR : now with ABS

Honda has revealed a CBR600RR with ABS brakes. The prototype CBR600RR is the first ever supersports motorcycle to feature the ABS that it plans to roll out across all its production machines within the next two years.

The CBR600RR is fitted with a completely new brake-by-wire Combined ABS system, which uses a computer control unit to ensure the correct balance of front and rear brake use and also to decide exactly when the ABS should cut in.

The system is designed to delay the ABS until until the last possible moment, to make it as unobtrusive as possible.

More updates on the system coming tomm..Watch out for this space

SOURCE : MCN

All about the 2009 Yamaha V-Max

Yamaha has officially unvelied the 2009 V-Max. What was originally stated as a 210 bhp engine is actually a 197bhp one. The capacity of the engine is 1679cc.

The claimed wet weight with a full tank of petrol and full oil tank is 310kg.

To handle all that power the V-Max has an aluminium frame and radial-mounted six piston front brakes grabbing wavy discs to bring the motorcycle to a stop.

Don't worry about locking the front wheel with those six-pot brakes though, as the V-Max also features a hydraulic ABS system to prevent the wheels locking up under heavy braking.

The all-new V4 engine is not only 40% bigger than the original V-Max powerplant but also features Yamaha's unique variable valve timing system to ensure maximum torque and power is delivered everywhere in the rev range.

The frame of the V-Max is built from aluminium and manufactured in a diamond shape. The engine is used as a stressed member to keep the motorcycle stable at high speeds, and so not to compromise too much on the handling.

The price of the 2009 Yamaha V-Max is not yet known, but expect it to be around the £10,000 mark.

SOURCE : MCN

2009 Yamaha V-Max : LAUNCHED

Finally.. it is here. Have a look at the launch video

Borile B500CR

In 1999, a story about an interesting, minimalist Italian motorcycle manufactured by a tiny company named Borile started. At an incredible street-legal weight of 232 pounds, this 500cc, air-cooled machine reminded many of us of the essence of motorcycling.

Nearly nine years later, we take a look at what Borile had to say about the current state of its elegant machine. The evolution of the Borile B500CR is shown in the photo above. The bike is still air-cooled and kick start, and it is still remarkably light, although weight is up to a claimed 257 pounds. Interestingly, although the Borile web site is fully functional, it doesn't look like much has happened at the firm for many years. We are not even sure any Boriles are still on sale.

SOURCE : MOTORCYCLEDAILY