2010 Yamaha Yzf-r1 R1 1000 on 2040-motos

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Moto blog

I can die happy!

As an eighteen year old Kenny Roberts was my bike racing God.  I loved Barry Sheene but as a Yamaha FS1E rider I always wanted the little American to win simply because his bike resembled mine.  The coverage of Grand Prix in the late seventies was sketchy but I clearly remember watching the epic Sheene/Roberts battle unfold at the Silverstone GP on my council estate telly.  The Dutchman, Wil Hartog was hanging in there for a while but as the laps unfolded it became a two way battle with Sheene looking favourite to win.  Sheene lost the most time as the pair lapped a certain George Fogarty so my hero Roberts eventually won by just three hundredths of a second.  I’m not sure what happened next but being a Sunday we would no doubt be skidding around later in the day at the Pines chippie pretending to be Roberts and Sheene.  Fast forward thirty four years and a boyhood fantasy came true as I headed out on Chris Wilson’s 1980 Roberts machine for the Barry Sheene tribute laps at last weekend’s Moto GP.  It crackled into life instantly and felt as sharp as any of the more modern 500s I used to race.  The temperature gauge had a maximum marker on 60 degrees so to begin with I was nervous as it didn’t move but being a hot day (although still keeping my hand on the clutch) I convinced myself it wasn’t working.    The bike felt tiny, not helped by the fact I only just squeezed into my 1989 Marlboro Yamaha leathers.  It still felt rapid though as I played out the 1979 classic in my head while getting tucked in down the Hanger straight.  Steve Parrish was also out there on one of Barry’s 500cc Heron Suzukis so we did our best to copy the famous last lap at Woodcote Corner where Sheene came so close to winning his home GP. As a lad I would have said the chances of me riding round Silverstone on a GP winning Kenny Roberts machine were zero, but in the words of Gabrielle, dreams can come true!

The new Yamaha Tenere is preparing to debut

The next-generation 689cc touring enduro is almost ready. The bike, magnificent in its conciseness and Dakar functionality, is a kind of preview of the future SUV that will replace the XT660Z Tenere. The rival of the BMW F800 GS/F 800 GS Adventure and the promising KTM 790 Adventure borrowed the 689cc inline-two from the Yamaha MT-07 and XSR700 (on these bikes it develops 74.8 hp and 68 Nm).

Day 6 Dakar 2014: Duclos Wins Stage, Palante Found Dead

Sherco rider Alain Duclos took today’s stage, eight years after his first win in Bamako. With three top five finishes this year Duclos has proven his own increased competitiveness as well as that of the Sherco 450 Rally bike he’s aboard. In more tragic news, the body of Belgian rider, Eric Palante was found Friday morning on a part of the fifth stage route that riders completed on Thursday.