MORE Afternoon Moto News - Trey Canard & AMA Arenacross

On the Honda AMA Supercross team, GEICO Powersports Honda West Series Lites rider Trey Canard will fill in for Honda Red Bull Racing’s Andrew Short at select Supercross races. Short was injured at the San Diego round and will be out for at least six weeks. So, Canard's experience and close ties to the team allowed him to take the available seat on the CRF450R. So many injuries now...Let's wish Canard Good Luck!

http://tinyurl.com/y8wbck5

Tyler Bowers has six victories in eight races, with five of them consecutive, in the 2010 AMA Arenacross series. His Kawasaki has been rock solid through the five rounds so far (some are double-headers) and will be in fine shape for the next round in Youngstown, Ohio, in Covellie Centre. Barrows is the man to beat in the premier class, but there are three local guys who will give him a very hard time at this round...

http://tinyurl.com/y879fuj

New Year's Day Moto News - First Edition of 2010

First of all Happy New Year! The year has changed again and I am very optimistic that 2010 will be a good year for the motorcycle industry - and I hope it will be great for you as well!

It seems that things have worked out to where Jake Zemke will be riding for Jordan Suzuki in 2010. He will compete in the AMA Pro Racing series, but the exact details have yet to be released. It also appears that Aaron Yates will remain with the team, but they will be letting Geoff May go; this is an odd development as May was always close with the team members. Anyway, it's all un-official for now, so the truth may be completely different.

http://tinyurl.com/ybvdago

A big off-road 450c.c. shootout is available from MotorcycleUSA already. I suppose that they had it ready to go when the date changed as I doubt anyone there is working today - almost everything is closed. But, if you would like to see how the 450 dirt motorcycles from the major manufacturers compare to one another, take a look here. Unfortunately, all they were able to test were the offerings from Kawasaki, Honda, Yamaha and KTM (Suzuki has shuttered their press department due to the economy!).

http://tinyurl.com/yzuo8lk

Well, there are some updates for other stories, but that is about it for now, so take a look and get some reading done in this new year we have before us now...

Ben Townley Signs New Deal to Race AMA Motocross

Townley crashed hard at the Motocross of Nations at Budd’s Creek, Maryland, in September 2007, and he has been recovering pretty much ever since. It was a long way back to health for the New Zealand native. Now he has signed up to ride in the 2010 AMA Motocross season with Troy Lee Designs on a Honda CRF450R. He says he is 100% - let us all hope so!

http://tinyurl.com/ybfdyeb

First Ride: 2010 Honda CRF450R

Well, the reviewer seems to think that the Best Motocross Bike for five years running is just not stable enough out of the box - it needs better rear suspension. It does matter as Yamaha's new YZ450F is revolutionary and these two will be going head to head on the track and in the press. At least Honda pleased them with the ergonomics, smooth running engine, and refined bodywork. Personally, it will be hard to beat the incredible tractability of the Honda motocrosser.

http://tinyurl.com/yb6nnyj

Another riding impression (from Oz) of the mighty CRF450R, but this one comes right after the author tested the new YZ450F. The two machines are not compared head-to-head, though; we are all still waiting for that write-up!

http://tinyurl.com/y889mbn

Early First Ride: 2010 Honda CRF450R

This article does not provide a full review, but it is a quick note on the changes made to the class-leading CRF450R. How it compares to the 2010 Kawasaki KX450F and the revolutionary 2010 Yamaha YZ450F. Honda has only updated their 450 motocrosser slightly, but they did make some changes which customers have been asking for since the 2009 model was released.

http://tinyurl.com/ye4yuhh

Interview with Jeremy McGrath - The Best Supercross Rider

Often, he is referred as the best Supercross rider to ever grace the Earth with his presence. He may be that, but he is not that hard to talk to and is rather humble in person. He is the ultimate "nice guy." In this interview, he has just done some laps on a test ride for the factory Honda team and he even takes out the new Honda CRF250R...McGrath is still the king!

http://tinyurl.com/yko8eod