Category: Random

1. SHARK Helmets releases early preview of new 2019 graphics

   Posted on 12:00pm Tuesday 16th Oct 2018

   Ahead of the unveiling of the full 2019 collection later this year, SHARK Helmets is releasing an early preview of three brand-new colour schemes on some of its most popular models. All three will be available to buy in UK dealers this month.

   
   
   SPARTAN CARBON - PRIONA
   
   The Spartan Carbon was developed with a striking design, state-of-the-art safety features and advanced aerodynamics for the perfect all-round riding helmet. For 2019, SHARK Helmets have reengineered the interior for optimal rider comfort, and introduced the brand-new PRIONA design; a modern, glossy graphic giving the Spartan Carbon a refined, streamlined look and drawing attention to the smooth lines of the helmet shape. The stunning dark green, gold and black version will be available on early release.
   
   The Spartan Carbon in PRIONA DQW graphic is available in size XS (53/54cm) – XXL (63/64cm), with an RRP of £389.99.
   
   D-SKWAL - KANHJI
   
   SHARK Helmet’s Pulse division is designed with both performance and style and mind. Developed using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technology, the D-SKWAL features optimised ventilation and an ‘Autoseal’ system used to flatten the visor onto the helmet, creating better soundproofing and seals the helmet against water and cold. SHARK Helmets will introduce four versions of the all-new KANHJI design – an intricate and distinct helmet graphic that has a dark edge. The fluo yellow and black version will be available on early release.
   
   The D-SKWAL in KANHJI KYA graphic is available in size XS (53/54cm) – XL (61/62cm), with an RRP of £169.99.
   
   SKWAL 2 - OLIVEIRA
   SHARK Helmets is well-known to the world of racing, supporting a number of world-class riders, and this is set to be no different for 2019; the company has introduced the popular SKWAL 2 in replica graphics of Moto2 rider Miguel Oliveira. Another helmet in the SHARK Helmet Pulse division, the SKWAL 2 has a unique shape and striking integrated LED system, complimented by the bright new colours that highlight the aerodynamic lines of the helmet.
   
   The SKWAL 2 in OLIVEIRA KBY graphic is available in size XS (53/54cm) – XL (61/62cm), with an RRP of £249.99.
   
   To locate your nearest SHARK Helmets dealer, visit www.nevis.uk.com or call 01425 478936.

2. Honda and Ducati Bringing the MotoGP Tussle to the Boil

   Posted on 9:00am Thursday 27th Sep 2018

   The 2018 MotoGP season is drawing ever closer and with just five races to go, the battle between Honda and Ducati looks set to go all the way.

   After Spaniard Marc Márquez took victory on his Honda at the weekends Aragon motorcycle Grand Prix, the gap at the top of the riders championship stretched to 72 points over rival and Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso.

   With just a maximum of 125 points still available for winning the final five races, it means barring an almighty collapse from the 25-year-old Spaniard, that particular championship is all but a done deal.

   However, not so the factory team battle, as old rivals Honda and Ducati are duking it out across the globe’s fastest patches of tarmac in a tense fight for the right to be called the number one manufacturer in bikes.

   As it stands, Ducati trail Honda by just 28-points in the standings as Ducati seek only their second ever MotoGP constructors title whilst Honda are out to bag their 24th title and seventh of the decade so far.

   Much like in MotoGP’s brother Formula One in which the fight between Mercedes and Ferrari dominance is set to go to the wire with Mercedes priced at 1/4 as of Tuesday 25th September with Betway to become champions, it appears the form sides in both series are edging the betting markets and fancied to take the ultimate crown.

   Ducati have been kept in the hunt largely thanks to Italian Andrea Dovizioso who has taken three wins and Jorge Lorenzo who has three of his own.

   Aside from the dominant Marc Márquez, Honda’s next highest championship standing rider is Britain’s Cal Crutchlow who took victory at the seasons second event in Argentina after Dovizioso took victory in the opening race on his Ducati but Crutchlow is on the LCR Honda and not a factory rider meaning his points are null and void.

   From there, a series of retirements for Dovizioso seriously hampered his and Ducati’s chances of the title but thanks to consistent performance from Lorenzo and a series of wins from Italian Dovizioso, the title fight is back on.

   Largely thanks to the retiring Dani Pedrosa who is Marquez’s team mate and has struggled to make an impact all season which has opened the door for Ducati. 

   A tepid start saw the Spaniard finish seventh in the season opener before retiring in his second outing and another seventh at the third race of the season in the USA. In fact, Pedrosa hasn't finished higher than fifth in the entire season. 
   
   
   

   A series of 6th, 7th and 8th place finishes may have kept the points flowing steadily, but had the 32-year-old been anywhere near the top of his game, then it is likely the championship would have been all but settled by now.

   Bike Specifications

   One of the best things about MotoGP is its competitiveness and this comes down to the specifications of the competing bikes.

   All engines are 1000cc and naturally aspirated and churn out 260 BHP with a power to weight ratio of 1.51 bhp/kg. The valve train benefits from four-valves per cylinder and are fuelled using unleaded 100 octane.

   All bikes are set to this specification with very few tweaks to performance being able to be made but it is in the tyres and how each bike reacts to the chosen tyres that is often the big difference.

   For example, at the last outing at Aragon, championship leader Marc Márquez opted for the softer tyre which is quicker but does not have quite the same lifespan as say the harder tyre which most of his competitors chose.

   However, after Lorenzo crashed out on the opening lap, Marquez was able to follow Dovizioso for numerous laps and thus save his tyres before late surge saw the four-time World Champion get ahead and thus strike a blow to the Ducati cause.

   Can Ducati Topple Honda?

   Yes, they certainly can but it will require team work from both lead Ducati riders Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo.

   It has been three races now since Lorenzo even so much as picked up a point (including the cancelled British GP due to rain), when he won in Austria. 

   

   A 17th-place finish and a retirement last time out has hurt the factory Ducati team and Honda has taken advantage picking up 36 points last time out to Ducati’s 20.

   Where to Next?

   A series of races in Asia and Australasia all but ends the season with the finale occurring back on Spanish soil.

   The riders head to Thailand next for a race that promises to be a step into the unknown with Ducati well aware that time is fast running out. 

    

   
   
   article supplied

3. Eisenberg returns to Pendine Sands, Carmarthenshire 22-23 September to contest his Motorcycle Record

   Posted on 12:00pm Saturday 22nd Sep 2018

   International ACU MADMAX Team Rider Zef Eisenberg returns to Pendine Sands, Carmarthenshire, this weekend (22-23 September 2018) to contest his World Sand Record title.

   On 13 May 2018 Eisenberg raced into the record books, when he secured the outright sand record at Pendine Sands, hitting 201.572mph (324.3 km/h) at the Straightliners Top Speed event. At the time no one in history, car or bike had ever exceeded 200mph at Pendine.

   This weekend Eisenberg will be racing his famous 350bhp super-charged Suzuki Hayabusa dubbed ‘The Green Monster’ and will be supported by the MADMAX engineering team, who have precision designed and engineered the bike to command high speeds on sand.

   Eisenberg said “Its notoriously difficult to race on sand, and the bike behaves so differently than on tarmac. At higher speeds you risk bike losing grip or the front wheel digging into the sand which throws riders. You also can’t prepare for what the surface is like until the tide goes out. . . you often dodge giant washed-up jellyfish or being an MOD beach - bullet shells! There’s also a short time frame to do the runs before the tide rolls back in, or the thick sea mist - it certainly is real challenge, but makes record breaking all the more glorious”.

   With several top riders vying to beat Zef's record, competition is fierce. In preparation for this weekend his Hayabusa now boasts a more powerful engine and he feels more prepared than ever to defend his Sand Racing title. Last weekend he successfully set 4 news records at Elvington including the flying start quarter mile, flying start kilometer and flying start mile, plus he broke a UKTA British record and set a new personal best top speed of 229.8mph.

   Eisenberg continued “Pendine Sands has such an illustrious history of land speed racing, it’s always a privilege to race in the footsteps of land speed legends in the hope of securing records”.

   Pendine is considered the holy grail of land speed, where the best racers in the world have tried to set records. The beach has hosted record-breaking attempts since 1900s. The firm, flat surface of the beach created a race track that was straighter and smoother than many major roads of the time. Motor Cycle magazine described the sands as "the finest natural speedway imaginable".

   The first person to use Pendine Sands for a world land speed record attempt was Malcolm Campbell. On 25 September 1924 he set a world land speed record of 146.16 mph (235.22 km/h) on Pendine Sands in his Sunbeam 350HP car ‘Blue Bird’.

   Each year throngs of racers and spectators continue to swarm to the beach in the hope of record breaking, and the speeds have been creeping up each year.

4. New study reveals the UK’s most desirable bikes… but what does Carl Fogarty think?

   Posted on 12:00pm Tuesday 4th Sep 2018

   No-one can argue about what the oldest, fastest or most expensive motorcycles are - but how do you define something’s collectability? What makes one motorbike cooler, or more iconic than another?
   
   There are plenty of lists online which claim to show the best of the best - but by comparing those claims with what people are actually hunting for and admiring online, Bikesure have produced a definitive set of Britain’s most collectible bikes.
   
   Using Google search data to get inside the minds of the UK’s bikers, Bikesure examined whether the motorbikes we often see in lists of the best, fastest and most stylish rides are actually as desirable as they seem.
   
   Bikesure’s final list reveals the 11 most searched-for and in-demand motorcycles in the UK, including:
   
   · Honda Gold Wing
   · Kawasaki Ninja
   · Ducati 916
   · Triumph Bonneville T120
   · Norton Commando
   
   Each bike is accompanied by commentary from four-times World Superbike Champion Carl Fogarty, who gives his view on whether each one deserves its place – and whether there’s anything missing:
   
   “If I was choosing a bike for this or had to say what’s missing, I’d go with a Yamaha HRD 250 LC or 350 or the Honda RC30. The Honda in particular was way ahead of its time and dominated everything for a few years in circuits like the Isle of Mann TT”
   
   To see the findings in full, head here
   

5. Riding History: 3 Women Who Changed the Face of Motorcycling

   Posted on 12:00pm Friday 31st Aug 2018

   Take a minute and picture a motorcyclist... Maybe you conjured a long-haired outlaw like Jax Teller from Sons of Anarchy. Perhaps you visualized Ewan McGregor and his motorcycle adventures abroad. Or possibly you thought of the last motorcyclist who shot past you on the Interstate.
   
   But chances are that you thought of a man—not a woman.
   
   There are 8.4 million motorcycles registered in the United States—a tiny number compared to the 264 million registered cars and trucks. Motorcyclists are definitely a subculture and a heavily male-dominated one at that. Only 14%–about 1.18 million—of the motorcycles on American roads are registered to women. The American Motorcyclist Association encourages more women to try motorcycling if they are interested. As the AMA’s Managing Editor Jim Witters notes, “there's always room for more riders.”
   
   "Women riders should be as common as women drivers." 
   –Maggie McNally, Chair of the American Motorcyclist Association. McNally is the first female chair of the AMA in its 94-year history.
   
   But numbers aside, women motorcyclists simply haven’t broken through in the American popular imagination. That doesn’t mean there are no motorcycle heroines. In fact, there are many female motorcyclists who deserve broader public attention for their taboo-smashing derring-do and their insight into the souls of two-wheeled conveyances and the people who ride them. Three of them are particularly worthy of celebration: Lois Pryce, Melissa Holbrook Pierson, and Bessie Stringfield, three riders who took very different journeys on what Pierson calls “the perfect vehicle.”
   
   One English woman rode outward across whole continents and forged personal connections in remote and forbidden countries. Her vulnerability and good humor were her strengths.
   
   Another rode inward through her own psyche to understand the allure of motorcycles and the people who ride them. Her fearless and honest introspection were her guides.
   
   Their spiritual ancestor rode onward to confront the institutionalized racism and sexism of Jim Crow America. Her powerful faith and personal toughness were her allies.
   
   Read the full story here