2001 Honda Xr70r (escanaba) on 2040-motos

Moto blog

Geeky snippets ahead of the Phillip Island MotoGP

Valentino Rossi has finished on the podium eleven times in his twelve visits to Phillip Island across all three GP classes. The only race at Phillip Island that he did not finish in the top three was on his first visit riding a 125cc machine in 1997 when he finished sixth. In 1998 and 1999 he won the 250cc races and since then has had nine podiums in the premier-class including five victories, the last of which was in 2005.

Dealer Expo 2010: Yoshimura R-77 Slip-On Exhaust

Yoshimura is playing to the green movement with its new R-77 slip-on canister with integral catalytic converter. The version ready for the 2008-09 Honda CBR1000RR is claimed to be three pounds lighter than stock and offers a big bump in midrange power. Most importantly to the greenies, however, is that it produces fewer emissions than other performance mufflers.

The most beautiful race bike ever?

It was good to see my old HRC team mate Shinichi Itoh making his final Moto GP appearance last weekend at Motegi.  At 44 he was a bit off the pace compared to his younger team mates, but that didn't matter as it was a joy just to see him circulating on what I reckon is most stunning GP bike ever. And I gladly braved the pit lane walkabout chaos just to dribble and take a few snaps. Unfortunately he lost the front in one session trashing a complete set of body work but was back in action on race day to grab a few world championship points.