Pics of my FZR250RR Exup

Something Different

Here's my beloved.... :-)

Motorcycle Personality Test

I came across this link. Very interesting. Tells you what kind of bike you should ride.

Take the Test

Yamaha WR250R & WR250X

Yamaha WR250R & WR250X: Great things in small packages

It's only a second or so, but a lot can come to mind while arcing through a sweeping corner on a supermoto track, listening to the asphalt scrape a few million more molecules off your footpeg. Real important stuff. Stuff like, why do motorcycle manufacturers manufacture the motorcycles they do?

For example, some segments of the U.S. motorcycle market are over-run with options. Think, sportbikes or big V-twins. Others, not so much. Think small-bore dual-sports and street-legal supermoto bikes.

Engine : Liquid-cooled, four-valve single
Displacement: 250cc
Bore x stroke : 77mm x 53.6mm
Carburetion : Mikuni electronic fuel injection
Compression ratio: 11.8:1
Transmission: Six-speed, chain final drive
Wheels: 1.60 x 21 inch front
2.15 x 18 inch rear
aluminum rims, spoked 3.00 x 17 inch front
4.00 x 17 inch rear
aluminum rims, spoked
Tires: Bridgestone TW-301/TW-302
80/100-21 front
120/80-18 rear Bridgestone BT090R
110/70-17 front
140/70-17 rear
Front brake: Single 250mm disc
Nissin two-piston caliper Single 298mm disc
Nissin two-piston caliper
Rear brake: Single 230mm disc, Nissin one-piston caliper
Front suspension: 46mm KYB inverted cartridge fork
Adjustable rebound damping (24 clicks)
Adjustable compression damping (20 clicks)
10.6 inches of travel
Rear suspension: SOQI single shock
Adjustable rebound damping (25 clicks)
Adjustable compression damping (12 clicks)
10.6 inches of travel
Seat height: 35.7 inches to 36.6 inches 34.3 inches to 35.2 inches
Wheelbase: 55.9 inches
Fuel capacity: 2.0 gallons
Dry weight: 276 pounds 280 pounds
MSRP: $5,899 $5,999

2008 Hayabusa: More displacement, fresh styling


From the beginning, Suzuki's Hayabusa has been all about standing out from the crowd.
Since its debut in 1999, the Hayabusa's over-the-top styling and prodigious top speed have made it unlike anything else on the street. That the Guinness Book of World Records lists the Hayabusa as the world's fastest production motorcycle doesn't hurt either, especially because Japanese manufacturers have since electronically limited their motorcycles to 299 kph (186 mph), making future comparisons impossible.

The 'Busa has become nothing short of a modern motorcycling icon, a 10,000-a-year seller and a rock star at bike nights across the country, where they're often decked out in one-off paint and customized with everything from NOS bottles to extended swingarms.

So when it came time to update the GSX1300, Suzuki's designers took the logical approach: They took everything the Hayabusa does well and maxxed it out.

As the world's press discovered at the bike's intro at Great Lakes Dragway and Road America Raceway in Wisconsin, Suzuki engineers have created a bike that can do a quarter-mile pass in the 9s, bury the speedo at 180 mph on the racetrack and still be a surprisingly manageable streetbike.

Changes for '08 start with the engine. Instead of a full makeover, engineers stroked the motor 2 mm to increase displacement from 1,298cc to 1,340cc and bumped compression from 11.0:1 to 12.5:1. Valves are now titanium and lift was increased on both the intake and exhaust sides.

As for styling, Koji Yoshiura, who also designed the original Hayabusa, said he was influenced by a visit to the United States, where Suzuki collected opinions from riders at bike nights and sportbike gatherings. Prior to that trip, he was leaning toward a sleeker, more slimmed-down look. Instead, based on the input from owners, the 'Busa's muscular and beefy look was accentuated.

Engine: Liquid-cooled, inline four-cylinder, four valves/cylinder

Displacement: 1,340cc

Bore x stroke: 81.0mm x 65.0mm

Carburetion: Fuel injection, 44mm throttle bodies

Compression ratio: 12.5:1

Transmission: 6-speed

Final drive: Chain

Tires: 120/70-17 front; 190/50-17 rear

Front brake: Dual 310mm rotors, radial-mount four-piston calipers

Rear brake: Single 260mm rotor, one-piston caliper

Seat height: 31.7 inches

Front suspension: Inverted fork, adjustable for rebound and compression damping and preload; 4.7 inches of travel

Rear suspension: Link-type: single shock, adjustable for rebound and compression damping and preload; 5.5 inches of travel

Wheelbase: 58.3 inches

Fuel capacity: 5.5 gallons

Dry weight: 485 pounds

MSRP: $11,999

2008 Moto Guzzi V7 Classic

The original Guzzi V7, fitted with a 703cc v-twin, was born back in 1967. Styled on the lines of its predecessor, the new V7 Classic packs a Euro-III compliant 744cc v-twin. With its Weber Marelli fuel-injection, the engine makes about 50 horsepower and 54.7Nm of torque.

The V7 Classic certainly isn’t very powerful, but you know the deal – it’s been designed to look good loping along at medium pace, with rider and hot Italian girlfriend sitting comfortably, wearing large sunglasses, open-face helmets and smart leather jackets. For some, the V7 Classic would probably be the ideal motorcycle for lazy Sunday mornings…

With its round headlamp, chrome-plated exhaust pipes, twin rear shocks, spoked wheels, flat seat and black-and-white paint job, we think the V7 Classic looks good in an old-fashioned way. The rear shocks offer 118mm of suspension travel and are preload adjustable, while the 40mm Marzocchi front fork offers 130mm of travel. The chassis is a dual-cradle steel tube number, wheels are 18-inch front and 17-inch rear, and brakes are single 320mm disc at front and 260mm disc at the back.

2009 BMW S1000RR

BMW's intent to go racing in World Superbikes in 2010

With the recent unveiling of the S1000RR, BMW are now pulling out all the stops in their bid to be taken seriously as manufacturers of high-performance motorcycles. Of course, BMW are already present in endurance racing events this year, with the HP2 Sport. But with its brand-new four-cylinder engine, the S1000RR is meant to be in a different league altogether.

With the S1000RR, BMW have announced their intent to go racing in the World Superbikes series in 2010. The company will also build 1,000 street-going units of this bike next year, in order to meet WSBK homologation requirements. Technical details for the bike have not been released, but the S1000RR is likely to be packed with the very latest in electronics and technology, including an advanced version of traction control.

Going by the pictures here, the BMW S1000RR is fitted with top-spec bits – Brembo brakes with radial-mount, monobloc calipers, Ohlins fork and shock, Akrapovic exhaust system, Pirelli Diablo rubber, carbonfibre bodywork and a very beefy looking aluminium twin-spar chassis. Indeed, the bike looks totally awesome – if appearances are anything to go by, Japanese and Italian manufacturers should be a bit worried already.

With the V4-powered Aprilia RSV 4 also coming out next year, 2010 should be one hell of a year for World Superbikes. In the meanwhile, for BMW fans hoping to get their hands on an S1000RR next year, price might possibly be a deterrent. The HP2 Sport already costs US$25,000 and we suppose the S1000RR is likely to be at least as expensive, if not more.

Bike Ride to Khabeki Lake and Kanhatti

Here's another of my bike rides I undertook on Sunday 20th. The journey started at about 7:30am, five of us on three bikes, the destination was the Kanhatti garden in the famous Soun valley.

Both ways we did a total of about 150km ride. Following are the pics with the commentary.

Just as you are about to start climbing the hill, you pass through two gate-like pillars with a brief history of this passage:

The Kanhatti garden:



A natural spring in the garden:


Bikes in the parking lot:





Walking through the garden our way was blocked by this camel whose intentions did not seem too good so we changed our course:













We could see very small fish in this water but not big enough to be captured by the camera's eye:




The garden is pretty vast and rich with shady trees:


Here we enjoyed the cold water for some time:








Ready to head on your way to the Khabeki Lake:


Our rides:




The road:






The CD70 guys were too slow!!


Arrival at Khabeki Lake:


Old graves, I wonder if these are of the soldiers from the world war!


An old tree

Nicky Hayden is no longer a rising star but a strange type of has been

Lost in the Shuffle
By Dirck Edge

He was largely being ignored before the start of the series, but after his poor performance in the opening round at Qatar a couple of weeks ago, Honda's Nicky Hayden is completely off the radar screen. The first rider to take the MotoGP title away from Valentino Rossi two years ago, and still in his mid-twenties, Hayden is no longer the rising star, but a strange type of "has been".

The new guard has arrived in the form of Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso and others. Will the point-and-shoot style of an American-trained flat tracker ever match the speed of the kids raised on two-strokes? Are the new 800s tailor-made for the guys stepping up from the 250 GPs?

We have a long MotoGP season ahead of us, but the "younger guns" are setting the pace thus far, not Nicky Hayden

Source: Motorcycle Daily