Manchester Show 2008 Preview
19 December 2007
The latest from the organisers of the Manchester Motorcycle Show;
Motorcycle fans from all over the North and North West are gearing up for the National Motorcycle Show, which is just weeks away.
The show will be at Manchester Central (formerly G-MEX) on the 4th, 5th and 6th January 2008. Visitors will be able to enjoy the usual array of quality exhibitors and exciting stunt displays from some of the country’s most skilled riders, including Ashley Mark who is making his Manchester debut at the show.
Yamaha Takes TDM 900 Motorcycle Off-Road Down Under
Australia’s Yamaha importer has cashed-in on the big trailie boom by converting the age-old TDM900 into an adventure motorcycle.
The standard Yamaha TDM900 only has a slight leaning towards off-road styling, but in order to shift a few more bikes the Australian importer has added dual-purpose tyres, tougher handlebars, crash bars, bash guards and a taller screen.
The front mudguard was raised to give enough clearance between the tyre and mudguard for off-road use.
The resultant bike isn’t quite a direct competitor for the BMW R1200GS Adventure, but given the price differential, you wouldn’t expect it to be.
Picture Special: 2008 Motorcycle ‘Interesting’ Paintschemes
Kawasaki has revealed two special paintschemes for its top sportsbikes – but fortunately they’re not going to be offered in the UK.
The America-only special edition 2008 Kawasaki ZX-6R gains black paint, with red wheels and chrome-effect stickers. To complete the unusual appearance, even the fork legs are anodised red to match the wheels.
Kawasaki’s latest interpretation of the ZZ-R1400 is even more eye watering, gaining a similar red-and-black theme but with flame-effect graphics and a red anodised finish on the entire frame, subframe and swingarm as well as the wheels.
Yamaha Launches Super Sports YZF-R1 & Torque Sports MT01
Yamaha Motor India Pvt. Ltd. (YMI), a 100% subsidiary of Yamaha Motor Company Japan, one of world’s leading bike manufacturers, has rolled out two of its flagship models, the Super Sports YZF - R1 and the Torque Sports MT01 in the Indian market. With the ride of these two legendary machines into the country, the Japanese bike major is all set to provide Indian riders a chance to experience true ‘Art of Engineering’, which lies at the heart of Yamaha’s creations. Yamaha’s latest offerings combine technological superiority with artistic brilliance, to bring to life motorcycles that not only excite but astound.
Honda CBR1000rr Fireblade
Apparently, the name Fireblade is an accident. Clumsy translation of the Japanese word for lightning from French to English landed this now legendary motorcycle with an appellation its designer, Tadao Baba, never intended.
If that is true, it’s the only part of Fireblade development that owes anything to chance. Since its first manifestation reached the UK in 1992, successive Fireblades have come close to defining the ideal marriage of performance and reliability.
Rapid Changes Are Taking Place In The Two-Wheeler World. Here Are The Big Ones
Motorcycles and motorcyclists are notorious for being conservative. That statement may seem wildly inaccurate, but if you look at the evolution of motorcycles, this is indeed the case. Every single major innovation seen on motorcycles – especially the ones that needed bikers to change their attitude – has more or less been sidelined. Examples? BMW introduced new suspension formats (Para-lever for the rear and Tele-lever for the front), which had demonstrable benefits in terms of safety and dynamics, but they never gained a mainstream following. The same can be said of other motorcycles like the Bimota Tesi or the Yamaha GTS1000, both of which have effective hub-centre steering which again allowed for better handling, but proved commercially unsuccessful.
