3 miles a minute on the 2012 ZZR1400

Chasing 200mph on Kawasaki's latest top-speed contender

Posted: 20 January 2012
by Visordown News

On the launch of Kawasaki's new ZZR1400, we took the bike for a flat-out run around the 7.8m Nardò Ring to see what it's capable of and if it lives up to Kawasaki's claims of superior high-speed stability.

I apologise for the rather slow start to the video, I'm not sure I knew exactly where I was or what I was riding and then it all comes back to me when the blood returns to my ZZR-addled brain.

Riding that fast on a banked circle was a really strange experience. I've maxed out superbikes before, but only in a straight line. At the Nardò Ring, even though it's banked, you still require a bit of pressure on the bars to keep the bike pointing in the direction you want to go, rather than veering off into the armco making what would surely be a 300m long pink mess.

Flat out and tucked in like a monkey clinging onto a wet rock, the ZZR reached its limited 299kmh top speed with around 500 revs to go. Roll off the throttle a touch and you don't lose any speed but this is the part where it gets weird. With so much time to sit at that speed - rather than worry about what the inside of a jail looks like - you can relax and take it all in. The bike wants to go up the banking but with pressure on the bars it sits there with just a gentle weave - probably due to me gripping the bars too tightly. I'm there thinking 'I'm doing 186mph, the bike's moving underneath me but I'm in control. I hope', there's an armco 10 feet away but everything feels calm, sedate even.

After a couple of miles I wonder what the current mpg reading is and it's only when I take my left hand off the bar to press the mode button that I realise just how quick we're going. I nearly pat myself on the back with the back of my left hand as it catches the windblast..

If you want to know what the ZZR1400 manages at a sustained 186mph, well it's a respectable 11.8 mpg. So flat-out on a full tank, you'd drain it in 57 miles. That is, if your head hadn't fallen off first.

Source: http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-news-videos/3-miles-a-minute-on-the-2012-zzr1400/19902.html

Greg Albertyn Jeff Alessi Mike Alessi Thomas Allier

Motocross Illustrated - 215,000 Readers!!!!!!

News Thursday 19th January 2012 By Geoff Meyer

Our FREE e-magazine Motocross Illustrated has again improved it's readership with issue 12 having around 215,000 readers after a month of being online. With internet taking over from print media it is no surprise that our FREE Motocross mag has become the most read Motocross magazine in Europe.

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Source: http://www.mxlarge.com/news/5627-motocross-illustrated-215000-readers

Marcus Hansson Doug Henry Broc Hepler Rob Herring

?Blunt Force? ? Torture Test 1 ? Rigid Industries

Video

?Blunt Force? ? Torture Test 1 ? Rigid Industries

?Blunt Force? ? Torture Test 1 ? Rigid Industries

January 18, 2012 by  
Filed under Featured, News, Video

You saw how durable the Rigid Industries LED Light Bars are.   Every two weeks, we?re breaking down the Rigid Industries video that blew the off road world away.  Mad Media put together a series of torture tests to put these lights through hell. They did their best to cut, crush, drag, torch and drown Rigid?s lights to death but weren?t very successful.  We?re going to break down each test show the exact tools that were used to torture these lights.   Not even the Blunt Force of these deadly handheld weapons can keep their lights from shining. They put their products to the test so that there?s no question; You?re buying the best LED Light Bars available!

Directed by The Martelli Brothers ? Produced by Mad Media

Source: http://www.race-dezert.com/home/blunt-force-torture-test-1-rigid-industries-27421.html

Håkan Carlquist Ricky Carmichael Danny Chandler Eric Cheney

Radial Bi Rotary Balanced Piston Combustion Engine

Radial bi-rotary balanced piston combustion engine mounted to demonstrate a motorcycle application

Radial bi-rotary balanced piston combustion engine mounted to demonstrate a motorcycle application

You've heard of radial engines and rotary engines, you probably also know a piston radial has a fixed cylinder block and a rotating crankshaft. A pistonless rotary like the Wankel has the same fixed engine block and a rotating rotor, while a piston rotary, looks like a radial, but the cylinder block rotates around a fixed crankshaft. So far, so good. So, what's a radial bi-rotary engine? As you've probably guessed by now, it rotates both the crankshaft and the cylinder block, but in opposite directions, and that is what we have here, the Radial Bi Rotary Balanced Piston Combustion Engine by Devaere Engineering. After the Circle Cycle engine we wrote about a few days ago, Franky Devare thought we might like to see what he has been working on.

In this engine, the rotating cylinders are open topped and move past intake and exhaust ports, the engine works in normal four stroke fashion and modifying the position and size of the ports, can serve to create the effects of an EGR valve with a small overlap of the ports, or even make this an Atkinson cycle engine where the power stroke is longer than the compression stroke by elongating the intake port which shortens the compression stroke.

The engine is smooth and generates no rocking couple between cylinders. The counter rotating block and crankshaft decreases gyroscopic forces and the speed of the relative counter rotation, which can be changed depending on planetary gearing selected in the design gives the engine a higher effective rpm in relation to the actual rpm in either direction. The fixed ring inlet ports also eliminate the valve train, simplifying construction. The size of the ring and number of cylinders affects the number of ignitions per revolution.

Radial bi rotary balanced piston combustion engine

Radial bi rotary balanced piston combustion engine

The engine's natural element would be in aviation, but as you can see by the concept motorcycle at the beginning of this article, it could be used in many other applications. In fact, it could even be inside the wheel instead of mounted in the frame as shown above.

The Devaere Engineering website shows the long history of the design and engine families that have led to the development of this particular engine. I would very be interested in seeing a running example.

Thanks to Franky Devaere for sending us the pointer.

Have we exhausted the possible variations of internal combustion engines yet? My guess is absolutely not. Amazing.

Link: Devaere Engineering

Video animation below:


Source: http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2012/01/17/radial-bi-rotary-balanced-piston-combustion-engine/

Marty Smith Steve Stackable Jeff Stanton Rex Staten

The Down & Dirty Off-Road Show, Azunia Tequila, & The Blue Water Resort & Casino Team Up for a Best in the Desert Parker 425 Pre-Race Party

January 19, 2012 by  
Filed under Press Releases

Parker, Arizona - In what is to unofficially serve as the opening to the Best in the Desert Parker 425 Off-Road Race, being held February 2nd-5th in Parker, Arizona, The Down & Dirty Off-Road Show will be hosting live from the beautiful Blue Water Resort and Casino?s River?s Edge Cantina on the footsteps of the Colorado River. The event will have off-road racing?s premier radio show, The Down & Dirty Off-Road Show, hosting live from 5:00 to 7:00 PM on Wednesday February 1st, and interviewing some of the top drivers and personalities in the sport off off-road racing. Azunia Tequila is stepping in and offering drink specials that feature their premium brand of Tequila.

This event will kick off an entire weekends worth of off-road racing festivities, culminating in the Blue Water Resort and Casino Best in the Desert Parker 425 race being held on February 4th. This family friendly pre-race party will be a chance for fans both young and old to meet some of the best off-road drivers in the sport, get autographs, have some of the great food and drinks available at the River?s Edge Cantina, and get a chance to enjoy the beautiful scenery the Blue Water Resort and Casino has to offer.

About The Down & Dirty Off-Road Show - The Down & Dirty Off-Road Show is quickly becoming the weekly voice of Off-Road Racing. The show is a weekly glimpse into what is happening in the world of off-road desert racing, short-course, rally, and rock racing. It?s pillar are the weekly interviews of some of the biggest names in the sport, but also prides itself in its event coverage, news, results, rumors, product spotlights, and it?s off-road trivia segment. Additional partners include Izri Optics, NTenseTees, and Parker Motor Company. More information can be found at www.downanddirtyshow.com

About The Blue Water Resort and Casino ? The entertainment capital of western Arizona ? the magnificent Blue Water Resort & Casino, on the shores of the Colorado River in Parker, Arizona. Blue Water provides exciting nonstop casino action, a 164-slip marina for boating fun, 200 deluxe rooms and suites (all with incredible river and mountain views), a variety of dining options to suit the most discerning tastes, and over 17,000 square feet of flexible meeting space. More information can be found at www.bluewaterfun.com

About Azunia Tequila ? Owned by Intersect Beverage, located in San Clemente, CA, imports premium tequilas. Executives, Jim Riley and Alex Baca, have more than twenty years experience in the spirits industry. Intersect Beverage is committed to delivering the highest quality brands and products to every client, employing the best management and sales team in the industry involving each individual in the success of the company and its partners. Azunia is dedicated to redefining the spirits industry and having fun while delivering only the finest quality products to the market. More information can be found atwww.azuniatequila.com

About Best in the Desert - Best in the Desert Racing is owned and operated entirely by Casey Folks, with offices in Las Vegas, Nevada. The entire remaining staff consists largely of volunteer off-road racing enthusiasts dedicated to the sport of racing. The Philosophy of the organization is to provide top quality, World class Off-Road Racing events, and more importantly to make those events exciting, spectacular, fun, different, well paying, and most of all, affordable. More information can be found at www.bitd.com

Source: http://www.race-dezert.com/home/the-down-dirty-off-road-show-azunia-tequila-the-blue-water-resort-casino-team-up-for-a-best-in-the-desert-parker-425-pre-race-party-27424.html

Bill Nilsson Jorgen Nilsson Graham Noyce Carl Nunn

Live Tonight: MX Simulator Supercross Series RND3

RaceFactoryGaming.com is broadcasting LIVE, Round 3 of the MotoOption MX Simulator Supercross Series presented by vurbmoto.com from Los Angeles, CA.  The top virtual MX racers from around the world are set to do battle on a digital replica of this week?s SX series replica track.

Tune in at 5:30PST for the One Industries Pre-Race Show where live commentators Sweendoggy and Wheels will catch you up on all of this past week?s action and make their predictions as to who they feel will be on the podium at the end of the night.  Race Factory has stepped it up again this week to host a full 30 minute preview show with a ton of fresh video content and commentary.

Round 3 of the MotoOption MX Simulator Supercross Series presented by Vurbmoto.com kicks off at 6 PM PST. 

RaceFactoryGaming.com is a virtual motocross paradise providing the ultimate battlegrounds for a realistic, fun, and competitive motocross gaming experience; with real sponsors, real prizes, and the best motocross gamers from around the world.

RaceFactoryGaming.com is the official host of the 2012 MotoOption MX Simulator Supercross Series presented by Vurbmoto.com, the MotoSport.com Motocross Championship presented by One Industries, and the EVS Sports SX Open presented by TaggerDesign.com.  RaceFactoryGaming.com is proudly sponsored by MotoOption, Vurbmoto.com, MXSimulator.com, Tagger Designs, MotoSport.com, EVS Sports, Novik Gloves, One Industries, Two Wheelers Graphics Co., Race Tech, Risk Clothing, Limited Decal, MXJProductions, Vurbmoto Gamers, and JB Media.

The MotoOption MXSimulator Supercross Series presented by Vurbmoto.com is hosted by Race Factory Gaming.  The best virtual motocross racers and teams will compete the most prestigious crown in MX gaming and a custom painted AGV helmet from TaggerDesign.com.  Racing will take place each week prior to the real life SX event to be broadcasted live on Vurbmoto.com

Check out our website at: www.racefactorygaming.com

Like Race Factory Gaming on Facebook

Follow @rF_gaming on Twitter

Source: http://vurbmoto.com/news/live-tonight-mx-simulator-supercross-series-rnd3/8142/

David Philippaerts Mickael Pichon Jim Pomeroy Christophe Pourcel

Ben Townley to race AMA Nationals?

News Thursday 19th January 2012 By Geoff Meyer

Seems as though Ben Townley has done a deal to race some rounds of the AMA Nationals in 2012. The former World MX2 Champion will race the Australian Motocross Championships, but has mentioned to Australian journalist Alex Gobert that he wants to return to America.

Gobert comments on Townleys plans.

?I spoke to Ben Townley last Friday for a magazine interview and he said that he is supremely confident with the bike that Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing have supplied him with so far. He also said that he did come very close to a deal with Jeff Ward Racing to race in the U.S, but that never came off. The big news though is that it looks as though he?ll race as many as seven AMA outdoors rounds this year alongside his Aussie races. BT didn?t say who with just yet, but that?s great news for him and should give us a real gauge at what level our locals are at. What else BT mentioned is that in Australia, he?d like to see spectators given a little better infield access at the tracks that are capable, much like they do in Europe and the U.S. Rather than being ?stuck? on the outside, fans will be up close to the action more often.?

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Source: http://www.mxlarge.com/news/5985-ben-townley-to-race-ama-nationals

Jimmy Ellis Jeff Emig Harry Everts Stefan Everts

Works Connection Releases KTM Pro Launch Start Device

Diamond Springs, CA ? Specifically designed for KTM motorcycles, this ?Next Generation? in start devices incorporates a Patent Pending spring-less trigger design making it easy for the rider to set along with performance features that deliver positive engagement and consistent release action. The lightweight assembly (50 grams) is CNC machined exclusively from aircraft grade aluminum. The Trigger assembly is detailed with an exclusive Starburst Orange anodized finish and the Fork Ring comes with a laser etched logo and Type III Black hard coat
anodizing for superior wear and corrosion resistance.

Custom drill guide template, countersinking tool and detailed
installation instructions with large step-by-step photos are included.

Available for ?08-?12 KTM 125-530 models
Part # 12-600 Retail $109.95

NOW AVAILABLE THROUGH RETAILERS.

Direct orders at 800 349-1475 or www.worksconnection.com

Source: http://motocross.transworld.net/1000121719/news/works-connection-releases-ktm-pro-launch-start-device/

Davide Guarneri Thomas Hahn Torsten Hallman Bob Hannah

GEICO Endurocross Series ends on a high note in Las Vegas

From Team Geico Honda

LAS VEGAS (Nov. 20) -- The 2011 GEICO Endurocross Series ended with a sell-out crowd cheering on the world's best riders Saturday night at the Orleans Arena. 

For the second year in a row, both of Team GEICO's top riders -- Geoff Aaron and Kyle Redmond finished the seven-race circuit in the top 10. Aaron, a 10-time National Trials Champion, was fourth overall, while Kyle Redmond earned the No. 7 position.

"For our first year on Hondas I think things went pretty well," said Aaron, who hails from Bailey, Colo. "It was a big adjustment and we're working from the platform of a really great motocross bike that we then have to adjust to meet the demands of Endurocross, and we certainly came a long way. Things will only get better from here."

The year was dominated by Poland's Taddy Blazusiak, who won every race en route to his third straight title. Blazusiak's commanding performance left all the other riders searching for answers as to how to catch the talented pro.

"He's definitely one of the best, if not the best, enduro riders in history," Redmond said. "He also has the best bike out here, so we can see what we need to do to catch him. I look forward to working with the Honda engineers on making these bikes more specific for what we need. They've been a great partner to the team and I know how much they want to win, which is really exciting for the future of our sport and the GEICO Honda race team."

In an effort to put the top stars of the sport in front of the crowd as much as possible, race organizers built two main events into Saturday's card. Redmond and Aaron showed better in the second main, taking fifth and sixth, respectively. Several pile-ups limited both men in the first main, where they finished ninth and 10th overall.

"I actually broke the case in the first race and I was leaking oil the entire time," Aaron said. "I thought about stopping altogether but I knew every point I could earn would be important in the end. I just had to nurse the bike around.

"Aside from Taddy, everyone kind of rode the same pace in both mains. Once the start would shake-out, you just kind of rode where you were. It was a very fun course, but tight and hard to pass. It really took someone else making a mistake for you to have an opportunity. There were some guys being overly aggressive at the starts and pushing the action, and ultimately that set the order."

Redmond, who was limited by injuries suffered in an accident early in the year, was satisfied with his riding, although he admits to wanting more.

"It seems like I was playing catch-up all year," Redmond said. "I think at one point I was 18th or 19th in the points, so to finish seventh is something I'm pretty proud of. It was a struggle but a lot of fun."

The 2012 schedule features eight events, starting with a May 4th date back at the Orleans Arena.

Source: http://imxmag.blogspot.com/2011/11/geico-endurocross-series-ends-on-high.html

Antonio Cairoli Trey Canard Håkan Carlquist Ricky Carmichael