February 15th, 2008 by R.J.
There’s a McGuinness Replica bike up on eBay to raise money for the CJ Riders Fund.
Here’s the link (Item# 120220013997): Click here
Honda has commissioned only 10 of these beautiful bikes and you can be the proud owner of one. The bid right now is at £12,400 (Yes. British Pounds.)
The winner will not only receive the bike, but lunch with Mr. John McGuinness himself. The bike will also be signed and the winner provided a certificate of authenticity. If that wasn’t enough, you’ll also receive a signed photo, a signed edition of TT magazine, and a limited edition signed TT Nitro helmet.
February 15th, 2008 by R.J.
The site was down most of this morning as I moved it over to WordPress. WordPress just has a lot of niceties that I was missing with my home-grown blogging solution I was using before. Hope you like it.
February 15th, 2008 by R.J.
The start of the 2008 MotoGP season just a couple weeks away and, yesterday, Team Repsol Honda officially launched their team for the 2008 season in Zargoza, Spain.
The presentation started at noon local time with an official reception by the Mayor of Zaragoza, Juan Alberto Belloch, of the Repsol riders in the Town Hall of the city.
Today, the Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden will be traveling to the Jerez circuit where the MotoGP training sessions will be held next Saturday.
Of Honda, Nicky had this to say: “I think we live quite well. Of course, sometimes it’s not easy; being a motorcycle factory rider takes up a lot of time, a lot of traveling and time spent away from home, falls and what not, but I’ve always thought it was the best job in the world. Being part of the Repsol Honda Team, which is probably the best team in the world, is something I wouldn’t swap for anything.”
February 14th, 2008 by R.J.
With the help of a witness, three motorcycle thieves in Ridgecrest have been apprehended.
The Ridgecrest Police Department responded to a residence on the 900 block of East California Avenue to investigate a report of a garage being burglarized and a motorcycle and tools being stolen.
With the help of the victim and a witness, the investigation led to 433 S. Richmond Ave., where the stolen property was recovered.
“As the investigation unfolded, the parent of one of the juveniles arrested, assisted in the investigation and brought the male subjects to the police station,” said the RPD.
Two juveniles, a male and female, were booked at the RPD and released to their respective parents. The sole adult arrested, Joshua Miles, 18, was transported and booked to the Kern County Jail in Ridgecrest.
The moral of this story? If you’re going to scumbag motorcycle thief, make sure your mommy doesn’t know about it so she can’t turn you in.
February 14th, 2008 by R.J.
Today, Team Honda Gresini unveiled their new 2008 Honda RC212V as well as their official team line-up consisting of Alex De Angelis and MotoGP veteran Shinya Nakano.
Team Honda Gresini is owned by former two-time world champion Fausto Gresini. I’ve always liked Nakano and I hope they become a contender for the championship in ‘08.
Of Shinya Nakano, Fausto said this: “Moreover, we can say we are one the most “Japanese” teams in the paddock, so I think Shinya will feel at home.”
And just how does that make De Angelis feel?
February 13th, 2008 by R.J.
Jason Meyer, a man charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter on motorcyclists, has changed his plea.
This is the first I’ve ever heard of this story. It happened in Idaho but involved a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy, Dennis Nakauchi, and his wife, Beatriz Nakauchi, who were riding their motorcycle out of state.
Last September, the couple was passing through Pocatello, ID and were rear-ended by Jason Meyer, 22, on Pocatello Creek Road. After the accident, Meyer had pleaded not guilty to the charges of 2 counts of vehicular manslaughter and 1 count of leaving the scene of an injury accident.
But yesterday, Meyer had a change of heart. He appeared before Judge Ronald Bush and pleaded guilty to both counts of vehicular manslaughter. In exchange for his plea, the state dropped the charge of leaving the scene of an accident.
After his plea, he informed the judge that he was driving to work when he swerved out of his lane and struck the motorcycle.
Meyer is scheduled for sentencing on March 17th. He faces up to two consecutive terms of ten years in prison.
Now, while I think it’s great that he owned up to what he did, I wonder if either Dennis or Beatriz would still be alive today had he not left the scene of the crime.
February 13th, 2008 by R.J.
Seems all the news this week is about Rizla Suzuki. The team is now on its way to Jerez in Spain to attend the the opening IRTA test of 2008.
Chris Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi will be riding their brand-new 2008 Suzuki GSV-Rs for the first time in the three-day test. In addition to the testing at Jerez, the event will also feature a 40-minute televised qualifying, where the top rider will come away with a brand new BMW.
After the conclusion of the testing in Jerez, the team will be traveling to Losail in Qatar for the second IRTA test on February 28th where they will remain until the start of the season.
The season opener is in Losail on Sunday March 9th. Both the Qatar test and the race will become the first ever MotoGP events run under floodlights.
February 12th, 2008 by R.J.
With only a few days to go before the official MotoGP test in Jerez, Rizla Suzuki have officially unveiled their new 2008 GSV-R for the upcoming racing season.
Suzuki achieved better acceleration from fine tuning the 2007 GSV-R engine without massively altering the fundamental design. In addition to the improved acceleration, the new bike boats improved aerodynamics, chassis performance and
electronics.
The team also reports lower fuel consumption, improved cornering performance, and enhanced handling capabilities are also anticipated for the new season.
Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins combined for a victory and several podiums for the Rizla team in 2007, what does Vermeulen think about the 2008 bike?
Vermeulen: “The new bike looks great and is already a lot better to ride than last year’s GSV-R. It feels quicker and I am able to get on the power better out of the corners. The handling is even better than it was so that is a huge plus - because it was very good already.”
“Suzuki have worked really hard on this bike, they listened to what we wanted, and tried to come up with a solution for everything we gave them. It is not quite the finished article yet, but I am sure that when the season starts it will be pretty close to it.”
February 12th, 2008 by R.J.
The 15-year old veteran, who was not identified, punctured a lung and broke a rib when he was thrown from his department motorcycle.
The officer was struck by a Honda Accord driven by a 20-year old man eastbound on Gopher Canyon road near Interstate 15 around 10:05pm, said CHP Officer Eric Newbury.
According to reports the driver failed to stop as traffic came to a halt.
Just another senseless cager not paying attention.
February 12th, 2008 by R.J.
The Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme released the 2008 entry lists to the MotoGP World Championship this week:
Ducati Marlboro Team:
* AUS - Casey Stoner
* ITA - Marco Melandri
Alice Ducati Team:
* SPA - Toni Elias
* FRA - Sylvain Guintoli
Repsol Honda Team:
* SPA - Dani Pedrosa
* USA - Nicky Hayden
JiR SCOT Honda Team:
* ITA - Andrea Dovizioso
LCR Honda Team:
* FRA - Randy De Puniet
San Carlo Honda Gresini Team:
* RSM - Alex De Angelis
* JPN - Shinya Nakano
Fiat Yamaha Team:
* ITA - Valentino Rossi
* SPA - Jorge Lorenzo
Yamaha Tech 3 Team:
* USA - Colin Edwards
* GBR - James Toseland
Rizla Suzuki Team:
* AUS - Chris Vermeulen
* ITA - Loris Capirossi
Kawasaki Racing Team:
* AUS - Anthony West
* USA - John Hopkins
There are no major changes this season besides the absence of Team Roberts. Team Roberts has yet to finalize its plans for the season and could miss the first part of the year.
