More New and Useful Links - Motorcycle Help of All Kinds

Some more work of a good friend of this site which some readers might find handy to have bookmarked:

First up is the most recent - Help for buying a motorcycle gloves of any sort: www.motorcycleglovereviews.com

The search for a trailer is now easier: www.motorcycle-trailer.org

A nice and simple site which you may use to see if a recall notice has been issued for your motorcycle: www.motorcyclerecall.com

Only some motorcycle leather suits are covered here, but it's a little better than much of what is out there already (with one specific exception): www.motorcycleleathers.info

How about a new set of shoes for your bike this coming season; a guide full of reviews on motorcycle tires: www.motorbiketires.net

These are just a few helpful sites. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not make any money off of the websites linked above - none at all. They are run by a friendly company for the sole purpose of providing free information to motorcycle riders everywhere and I help set them up. If you want to help that group - if you actually like and use the information contained there - click on one of the ads so that he gets a half-penny or so!

Metzeler Racetec Interact Tires Prove Themselves & Suzuki Canada's New Deal

The new for 2010 Metzeler Racetec Interact tires already have a claim to fame - and the BSB Superstock season has yet to even begin! Steve Plater was riding his HM Plant Honda Fireblade (CBR1000RR) at Brands Hatch recently testing the tires in race conditions. During that test, he managed to break the short-circuit record at the track by more than a full half-second - 47.2 seconds versus the old record of 47.83. Very impressive indeed!

http://tinyurl.com/yzlwf5f

Well, it is not as useful as the New Deal once pushed ahead in this nation, but it is important to Canadian racers. Suzuki Canada has announced that they will have a reduced role in the Canadian Superbike Championship series in 2010. They will be paying a small homologation fee to keep their two popular GSX-R models in the series, but they will be providing no factory support to the teams who use them. For all the gory details, please take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/ygrvdtm

Rat's Hole Custom Bike Show Review & Michelin Power Pure

Here we have a report from the 2010 Rat's Hole Custom Bike Show which took place at and during Daytona Bike Week about two weeks ago. They were much more ambitious this year as they scheduled five shows over the week and added some new categories. Many of the bikes are not to everyone's taste - often overdone and way too much chrome - but the ideas presented were worth attending for everyone. For the details, please take the link...

http://tinyurl.com/yl3bvx8

The new Michelin Power Pure motorcycle tire is being lauded as the lightest motorcycle tire ever produced. Of course, they are the ones making the claim, but they do back it up with evidence. We will also see for certain once they hit the streets - both figuratively and literally. They will use Michelin's Two-Compound Technology (2CT) and their Light Tire Technology (LTT) for better performance all around. Check out the press release for more information...

http://tinyurl.com/ykj8hax

More Afternoon Moto News - Benelli 2 TechnoTracker & Avon Tires

A new concept motorcycle from the mind of Oberdan Bezzi has come to light. He has designed a Benelli flat-track motorcycle which he calls the Benelli 2 TechnoTracker. It is based on the as yet unreleased Benelli 2ue 756 naked streetbike, and Bezzi expects his design would be competitive in the AMA flat track racing events. We have to get the new bike out of Benelli first, but it sure looks good to me!

http://tinyurl.com/yz5g8f4

The US side of the Avon Tyres company has released a new website. It offers company news, technical details and more! It will also have information on motorcycle events, featured builders, contests and testimonials from Avon users. The website is most useful for researching Avon products, as you might expect, and has some of the best technical details of any tire website on the Internet! Check it out for yourself.

http://tinyurl.com/yk8unxh

MORE Morning Moto News - Dave Watkins Retires & Aussie Supersport

Dave Watkins has been Development Manager - Motorsport at Dunlop tire for some time now. He is a 46 year veteran of the tire conglomerate and has been through many years of changes, engineering success and overall great tire manufacturing. Watkins has decided to hang up his white-collar and move on to life with his family. After all the years of hard work, all the travel to likely thousands of races, he was the man to see about Dunlop tires...now, he will be the man to see about relaxing...we hope!

http://tinyurl.com/y9ayssg

Though we did not see this earlier, I thought it would be nice to get a story which focuses on the Australian Supersport Championship round held this past weekend at Phillip Island. Two races were held for this class - much like the Superbike series - and Suzuki mounted Troy Herfoss took the overall win (a 2-1 finish). There is more here about the Waters Superbike victory as well, so dig in and take the link.

http://tinyurl.com/yblgjbe

Saturday Afternoon Moto News - Cadwell Park, BUB Exhaust & Maxxis Contingency

Over in the U.K. , the iconic Cadwell Park circuit is undergoing some renovations to improve safety. It turns out that the 80 meters of track they had to work on was much tougher to do that first thought - they had to move a lake! OK, so maybe it wasn't that much, but they did have to manipulate a huge amount of earth to accomplish the fix.

http://tinyurl.com/yk24a93

BUB Enterprises is now the first aftermarket exhaust company to produce exhaust products which have catalytic converters built-in. The California Air Resources Board has just awarded them the permit to produce the Harley-Davidson exhaust systems. Isn't innovation great! Good pipes which are also environmentally friendly - though, I doubt they will sell well as H-D riders rarely care about such things.

http://tinyurl.com/yhwlwuc

Maxxis, well-known tire manufacturer, is offering over US$1 Million for contingencies in both ATV and dirt bike racing series all over the US. All monies will be paid in cash, not coupons or gift cards. And, they will be paying for finished from first through fifth, in many cases. For details, check the link.

http://tinyurl.com/y9y7ydh

Morning Moto News - Metzeler Sportec M5 & Husqvarna TE250

Metzeler has just released a rather interesting updated tire - it is the Sportec M5 Interact and it will gauge your lean angles for you. That's right, it has a series of numbers displayed on the carcass which will tell you just how far over you are actually leaning when riding hard - or lightly. Either way, you have a 5 point scale and an elephant which warns you when you are about to lose the grip entirely. Check it out and you may soon be able to brag about your 5-mark.

http://tinyurl.com/yc5l2tr

Husqvarna has released their TE250 Enduro. It is a road legal off-road machine which is based on the TC250, but the TE has electric start and EFI. It is also an easy bike to ride and fling from corner to corner - mass centralization and light weight help make this easy. If you ever get to ride one, you will be seriously smitten.

http://tinyurl.com/ylrzpu7

Thursday Morning Industry News - Christmas Eve Edition

There are only a few more posts here, but they are worth reading...

First, we have a report on a blog from someone who has been using the Bagster gear for riding in rather cold weather - read, freezing. They have a line of handmuffs which keep your hands warm and a heated apron / leg cover. The author takes both of them on the road and fins them well worth the investment if you have to ride in such conditions.

http://tinyurl.com/ycjzk4x

And, we get a report that British riders have voted Avon Tires' Distanzia and Gripster tires into the top ten of best adventure tires - over 12,000 votes were registered, so the sample size is very valid. It is a press release, but worth it if you are looking for some very solid tires to spoon onto your all-purpose motorcycle.

http://tinyurl.com/ybx2k62

World Superbike Became Faster in the 2009 Season

This news comes courtesy of Pirelli, whose data this information was pulled from. Apparently, compared to 2008, the 2009 season was 0.7 seconds faster per lap. It may seem small, but that adds up to 20 seconds per race, and that is not as small as it seems.

http://tinyurl.com/yzbnnrr

Pirelli Had a Good Year in Racing WSBK and World Endurance

Pirelli is the single source of tires for the World Superbike Championship - and has been for six years now - and they had a good 2009 season. In World Endurance, they are just one of a few suppliers to the series, but all five Pirelli teams ended the season in the top 10 in 2009. So, a good year for the tire-maker and the racers who use their product...

http://tinyurl.com/ydrucvg

Dunlop To Be Control Tire for Australian Superbike Championship for Next 3 Years

So, this is not all of the news, Dunlop has also secured rights to be the tire of choice for the Australian Formula Xtreme Championship Series for the next two years. In both series, Dunlop has also improved the contingency program to help racers with the costs associated with racing. The entire ASBK paddock will now be using only Dunlop tires for the next three years. It is an agreement which shows just how well Dunlop is performing for riders in these Australian championship series.

http://tinyurl.com/y8dswy9

Bridgestone 2009 MotoGP Season Review

It was the first year of the single tire rule in MotoGP, and many would like to know the inside story about how well it went - or not. Turns out that the year was not so bad; there were issues, sure, but nothing catastrophic (hopefully nothing like that will happen to any racing series). The Bridgestone tires held up rather well overall, but there is always room for improvement. 2010 should be an even better year for the tire brand.

http://tinyurl.com/yl2bu6l

Ducati Motorcycles Will Be Shod Only With Pirelli Tires

Pirelli and Ducati have worked closely to strengthen their current agreement. This will lead to several co-development projects concerning motorcycle and tire technology. Also, from 1 January 2010, all Ducati motorcycles sold will come with only Pirelli tires. A pretty big change for both companies, but not unheard of in the industry. Let's hope this means more grip! We always want more grip!

http://tinyurl.com/yjsekhh

Bridgestone Withdraws from Formula 1 - Should Not Affect MotoGP

Well, at least it will not cause any problems until 2011 when the contract between Bridgestone and MotoGP will be up for renewal. Things are changing - the economy is still in tatters - and Bridgestone is adjusting to the realities of their industry.

http://tinyurl.com/yln5kc2

Rather Decent Tire Test - The 2009 DOT Race Motorcycle Tire Shootout

Over at Motorcycle USA (the online 'zine is really proud of their Executive Editor), they took several makes and models of DOT race rubber and pitted them against each other in a pure test of performance. Dunlop, Michelin, Bridgestone, Pirelli and Avon were all involved in the testing. To see what they thought - and it is a long, detailed, well-documented article - take the link. Interesting results...

http://tinyurl.com/y9ze88a

Recycled Tires Being Used in - Of All Things - New Tires

The Magnum SRI custom compound consists of at least 16% recycled material and it comprises 20% of the new tires, which are made for motorcycles of 70 to 110c.c. So, no big news for those of us on larger machines, but still a great step towards being able to recycle all of those used tires we throw away every year. And, when you include the entire world, those motorcycles are the most popular - and, thus use more tires - than any size of motorcycle. Magnum D'Or Resources is also have been testing a light truck tire, though, which may mean that larger and stronger tires are in the not so distant future.

http://tinyurl.com/yjpxr4o

Tire Review: Pirelli Angel ST

The new Angel ST tires from Pirelli will be replacing - interestingly, given the name - the Diablo Strada. They are manufactured in such a way as to give the best possible grip in wet and dry conditions, long-lasting durability and a low price. Pirelli calls it the first tire with a "double soul." Did they succeed? Well, the price isn't changing much, so read the review and see...

http://tinyurl.com/ye9sau4