2006 Yamaha Road Star on 2040-motos

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Motorcycle Live and a few of my favourite things for 2013

There is lots of shiny new metal on show at Motorcyclelive this year but for me it’s the new Triumph Daytona 675 that steals the show.  We’ve been starved of brand new models in the Supersports segment for years but for me the latest Trumpet has made the wait worthwhile. And if its performance matches its looks then I reckon the 2013 bike of the year is a foregone conclusion.  The sleek curvy nose contrasts perfectly with the more pointy angular rear end and new side mounted silencer. It is lighter, more powerful and revs harder with much work on on mass centralisation to further improve handling.  Few of us have a whole lot of spare cash these days but £8899 for the standard model seems a fair price for such an awesome bike. That said I’d have to consider selling the granny and granddad to find the extra £1700 for the 675R.  Available early next year, and surely the perfect all round track day tool, this beauty comes with upgraded suspension, brakes, ABS, a quickshifter and some nice carbon detailing. The white 675R on display at the show looked even better in the flesh than previous images I’d seen so be careful or you might find yourself handing over a deposit. With no money left from the Triumph stand you’ll need your six special numbers to come up for my second favourite show item the AGV Pista GP Project 46. Although road legal this extremely light, full carbon helmet is designed especially for racing with a huge field of vision, extensive ventilation and superb ergonomics. It also comes with earplugs which suggests there may be some compromise in the noise department but it is still an incredible piece of engineering. At £799, this special Pista is also an incredible price but there will only be one hundred available and Raceways Yamaha reckon they are going fast.        

Provisional 2012 World Superbike Championship Entry List Released

The International Motorcycling Federation has released a preliminary entry list for the 2012 World Superbike Championship. The preliminary list includes 24 entries representing six manufacturers: Aprilia, BMW, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki. Noticeably absent is Yamaha which announced last summer it would pull out of WSBK racing.

The short but sweet life of the Yamaha R7

I was reunited with an old friend recently, my 1999 Virgin Yamaha R7 Superbike. By the end of 1998 I had won three straight BSB titles with the Yamaha YZF750, when main sponsor Cadbury’s pulled out leaving zero funds for a title defence. Wanting desperately to ride the new R7 and thinking a replacement backer would instantly get on board I turned down quite a few offers including a juicy contract from Crescent Suzuki (Paul Denning always enjoys reminding me).