New Website Aims to Help Make Riders Ride Safer

Though this does not make the same impact that a new, wild, high-tech concept motorcycle often does, the new YamahaChampions RidingSchool motorcycle safety website is an important new source of riding knowledge and should receive the same sort of attention. The instructors at the school led the effort - well-known rider, teacher, and writer Nick Ienatsch and AMA Superbike racer and teacher Ken Hill, specifically - with the simple idea being to "improve the performance of the motorcycle's weakest link, the rider." Every rider should at least have a look at what is contained there since riding is a life-long learning experience - or, at least, it should be!

PR: http://tinyurl.com/7rk89v6

The website: www.FasterSafer.com

Another Helpful Link - Assisting Your Hunt for Insurance

The site here will be useful for understanding motorcycle insurance, what to watch for, which coverage is right for your bike, and will even clue you in to how your insurance rates are determined - from a high level.

Check it out: www.insuranceforamotorcycle.org

It is very new, so the layout may change. However, the data there will always be available.

Yet Another Link for Your Perusal

This one was recently finished up and I thought I had dropped it on here already, but I can't find the thing anywhere...too much to do, too little brainpower.

A very helpful site for finding yourself an alarm: www.motorcyclealarm.org. Please check it out - I hope it helps someone!

Thank you!

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!

New Links - Resources for the Ride

If you have ever read this blog, and I know the numbers are most unfortunately small, you will notice a new section on the right-hand side of the page - "Most Trusted Resources" - with some new links. These have been placed here as a helpful list of online resources for almost anything motorcycle - buying a new bike, finding salvage parts, reviews of gear and aftermarket accessories, and a wonderful place to look up any specifications or details on a bike you want to buy or want to learn more about.

I have been working with the man behind these sites for some time now, and I can assure any readers here that the websites he creates are incredibly useful and very thorough. Please take a look and bookmark these sites for future reference!

Motojournalist Position?

Also, if anyone does see this and they happen to work for a moto-magazine, please contact me directly. I am in the hunt for a good position working for a reliable publisher. Samples will be provided upon request - I have many articles ready to go now and no place to post them!

Thank you!

Long Time Away...Again...Plus Links to Articles!

Well, dearest readers (if there is actually someone out there), I have been away from this blog for some time. It was not by choice, let me assure you, but by necessity. Numerous hard drive failures and problems with the data contained on them have placed a significant strain on my finances and my time. I have been very busy writing, though, as that is my only source of income these days. So, without anymore excuses, here is a list of links to some of the work I have done lately. I am planning to keep this up as much as possible and I do hope to start the blog itself again soon...it all depends on whether I an recover my lost data in the next two weeks or so...

Macau Grand Prix

Charlie Mullins Wins AMA Rekluse National Enduro Championship

Motorcycle Fixtures!

Own Rossi's TT R1

Az Heyadri and Riders for Health

Yamaha World Crosser Super Tenere

ASV's F3 Holiday Pro Pack Deal

Telefonica Movistar to Return to MotoGP

Honda Announces New Color for VFR1200F ABS

Royal Enfield in California

Billy Joel Opens Motorcycle Shop

Althea Racing's Gensio Bevilacqua puts his Motorcycle Collection online

Josh Herrin Remains with Graves Yamaha

Honda's CBR250RR to be at EICMA 2010

Schuberth Returns to North America

Zero Motorcycles Gathers Another $2 Million

MV Agusta F4 Voted Most Beautiful on the Web

Scary Study Shows Black Riders More Likely to Become Fatalities

KLIM Supports Team USA at ISDE

Wayne Maxwell Secures Dream Moto2 Ride at Phillip Island

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 Afternoon Moto News - Inland Northwest Motorcycle & Kawasaki UK

The Inland Northwest Motorcycle Show went off this past weekend in Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The show was mostly made up of local dealerships and motorcycle-related businesses - of which there are many fewer this year than last due to the lackluster economy - and the halls were much more occupied than even the author expected. Take a look and see what we missed...

http://tinyurl.com/ybglxvl

Kawasaki's U.K. operation has set up a website for British residents who wish to take a demo ride of a new Kawasaki motorcycle. The site - kawasakitestride.co.uk - allows anyone to get their leg over a new machine from the Japanese marque. It's a great idea that we all hope will spread to other countries as well!

http://tinyurl.com/ycdnwvl

PR: MV Agusta Launches New Website

Just received this today (no link as this is not online):

Varese 16th of November 2009 - MV Agusta never ceases to amaze. Following the launch of the new Brutale 990R and 1090RR last September, and the launch of the new F4 at EICMA Show, now the new website is online at www.mvagusta.it

Completely redesigned down to the last detail, from structure to layout, the new site is dynamic and easy to navigate, full of useful information, pictures and videos on all the new MV Agusta products.

The new platform includes an entirely new e-commerce section where users can purchase a complete collection of MV Agusta apparel as well as a large selection of MV Corse Special Parts for the F4 and Brutale. All orders will be shipped directly.

One of the biggest innovations is the 3D configurator that will be online in January 2010. The configurator, much like the ones present in the automotive industry, allows the user to specify the desired model, colour and version and view it from 8 different camera angles. The user will be able to select a wealth of accessories ranging from carbon fibre and alloy parts, to seats and performance accessories and view them on the bike in 3 dimensions. Once the desired parts are added to the bike, the user can choose to purchase them directly through our webstore.

In the next few months the site will be continuously updated with new exciting sections such as a virtual museum where you will be able to trace MV Agusta motorcycle history. A section called MV World will also feature and will contain videos, interviews, secrets and insights in our glorious brand and the people that make our fabulous motorcycles.

Our presence on widespread Social Networks, such as Facebook and YouTube, will continue to expand with content developed specifically to enhance interest in our brand. Our YouTube channel in particular has seen a massive flow of visits. Our F4 preview video alone has had more than 84,000 visits and is ranked as one of the top videos around the world in countries such as Italy, Germany, France, Australia, Holland, Spain, Canada, Brazil and Japan.

Nice Report on UK Transport's Vision Zero 2009 Report

I like this piece very much. In it, the author goes over the results of the United Kingdom's Vision Zero 2009 and how it applies to motorcyclists in that nation. It is a very good analysis of the safety aspects covered in the write-up and how they effect the rider on the road. The author is spot on with many of his arguments and I hope to see him do another one of these - we need people like him to criticise the government actions that involve all of us - anywhere in the world. At least Vision Zero has a very admirable goal of zero fatalities on the roads.

http://tinyurl.com/yaln99p

Electric Moto Corporation Launches Website

This is a press release, but I thought it was unnecessary to note that in the title - it should be obvious. Electric Moto Corporation manufactures emission-free, electrically powered vehicles and their current model of electric motorcycle is a 72 Volt Dual Sport. They refer to their bikes as "state of the art vehicles and products that will change the way people think and feel about their modes of transportation." Have a look...

http://tinyurl.com/yeu3a9v

Ultimate Superbike Test Ride in Portugal at Portimao

This writer from MotorcycleUSA online was fortunate enough to get invited to this unbelievable test in Portugal presented by the rights holders to World Superbike, Infront Sports. The author seems to have an attitude to match his skill level, but he does a good job of describing what it is like to ride these WSBK machines: Troy Corser's BMW S1000RR, Fabrizio's Ducati 1098F09, Rea's Honda CBR1000RR, Tamada's Kawasaki ZX-10R, Spies' Yamaha YZF-R1, Kagayama's Suzuki GSX-R1000, and Biaggi's Aprilia RSV-4. That is a full day's worth of testing, eh? Lucky guy...

http://tinyurl.com/yjkzgvj

Ducati and Pro Italia Launch New Joint Website

Well, this is a pretty cool idea from Bill Nation and crew at Pro Italia down in LA, but why only Ducati? Well, it's probably because that is the big dog in the Italian motorcycle industry and they have the money to do it. It is stuffed with Ducati branded merchandise - no other marque is available at this specific website - and plenty of other moto-related goods such as boots and helmets. Go and have a look, and maybe you can buy me something from the shop!

http://tinyurl.com/yhtjgnj

The site itself: http://ducatigifts.com

Very Cool New Helmet Technology - ThermaHelm

This comes from the Sussex University Innovation Centre - located in the U.K. - and is probably one of the most interesting safety features that has been seen yet. It is called ThermaHelm and its job is to keep your head and, its valuable contents, your brain cool after an accident. It fits into any helmet and is composed of two lightweight and non-toxic chemical packs which act like an instant-on ice pack. So, right inside your helmet you have a cooler activated if a severe shock is registered against the helmet. The benefits are obvious and it may even become available for retro-fitting in your current lid.

http://tinyurl.com/ye22ldn

PR: FIM Inks Deal with Perform to Develop Broadband Video Website

From an press release form the FIM, we hear that they have signed an agreement to work with tech firm Perform to create a website which will feature video from all FIM events. Those videos will be high-quality and a broadband connection will be required to watch them since they will be very large. The FIM has over ten years of videos which will also be put on the site. It will have both live and VOD services...

http://tinyurl.com/yf79r3e

Very Good History Lesson: Stu Avant "Running on Empty" Part 1

This popped up thanks to his competition at a famous race in his life, Giacomo Agostini, whom he passed at the 1976 Laverton TT in Australia. Of course, he did not get to keep his increasing lead on the already-legendary Ago; Avant's Suzuki RG500 seized up on him and threw him off later in the race. The story here is good. It is about a truly skilled motorcycle racer during a great time in motorcycle road race history.

http://tinyurl.com/yk3yfl7

MotoGP / Dorna / Motogp.com Wins Golden Podium Award

I have never heard of this award before, but it is apparently a highly coveted award among TV sports broadcasters. The video which won it for them was a slow-motion sequence featuring a tight battle between Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. Below is a link to the article and the video on motogp.com.

Article: http://tinyurl.com/yfu6866

Video: http://tinyurl.com/yhgty35

P.S. It is a really good video!

Valentino Rossi FINALLY Has An Official Website!

It took some serious effort to make this a reality, but it is now online and ready. As is usual, Rossi had a great deal of input on the design and content of the site and it does show. Take the link and read about it or take the link below it and see the actual site!

http://tinyurl.com/yep7jty

http://www.valentinorossi.com/

Scotland: Win an Advanced Riding Course for You and Two Mates

Road Safety Scotland and Safer Scotland are announcing this prize for anyone who takes an online riding knowledge test. If you win, you and two friends will be given a four-day advanced riding course presented by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

http://tinyurl.com/n24a7p