Norton Motorcycles has unveiled a limited-edition Commando 961 Cafe Racer MKII to mark its collaboration with Swiss watchmaker Breitling.
The bike is one of just 77 and includes dials designed by the watchmaker, as well as signature “Bs” engraved on the clutch box and stitched into the seat.
There is no word yet on price, but the current model costs more than $A33,000 in Australia.
Breitling watch
The limited-edition bike has been developed to coincide wth the release of a new watch from the Swiss watchmaker’s Premier collection.
Their Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph 42 Norton Edition costs a hefty $A11,250 and is only available online.
It honours the British bike brand with Norton logos engraved on the left side of the case and transparent caseback.
The black dial has gold numerals, silver subdials and white bezel inscribed with the word “TACHYMETER” in red.
The hands are coated in a luminescent “Super-LumiNova” finish to make them easily legible for riders day and night.
It comes with either a brown leather strap or stainless steel bracelet.
Watch collaborations
It is not the first time a luxury watchmaker has collaborated with a motorcycle company.
Swiss watchmaker Baume & Mercier has got together with Indian Motorcycle on several occasions to release watches costing up to $5500.
Indian Baume at Mercier watch
Other motorcycle manufacturers have had similar exclusive watches in recent years so devoted fans can wear their “heart” on their sleeve – or wrist!
Hopes of a trial of forward stop lines or motorcycle boxes for the safety of filtering riders have been set back after the Australian Road Research Board rejected the idea.
However, that has suffered a step back with the Victorian-based ARRB ruling out two options for trials in its “Preview of Motorcycle Boxes” which has not yet been released to the public.
This is despite calls from rider groups for trials which have been backed by the Victorian Police and the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce.
The ARRB draft report commissioned for Melbourne Council and VicRoads says rear-end crashes are “insignificant” and did not warrant the forward stop lines trial.
It says “only” 7% of motorcycle fatalities and serious injuries are rear-end crashes and 13% are caused by lane changes.
Those figures may be insignificant to the ARRB but would seem pretty significant to most riders!
Rubbery figures
The figures have also been disputed as “rubbery” by the Motorcycle Riders Association of Victoria.
The MRA Victoria point out that the ARRB did not consult motorcycle and scooter representatives, but only talked to bicycle and pedestrian groups.
Spokesman Damien Codognotto says the ARRB study was “set up to find in the negative” and has called for costs of the study.
The ARRB is a commercial research centre that receives partial government funding.
A spokesman confirms they have recommended against “a plan for coloured on-road boxes at central Melbourne intersections reserved for motorcycles”.
A City of Melbourne spokesperson says the ARRB report has been sent to all members of the Motorcycles in Melbourne committee and will be discussed at the upcoming meeting in April.
The draft report also claims that VicRoads spent $30m on motorcycle safety, but it is believed most of this was paid out of the Motorcycle Safety Levy funds.
Some of this expenditure included $500,000 to update the motorcycle booklet and $750,000 for changing registration to permit LAMS motorcycles.
Perhaps to prove that the new Gold Wing isn’t just for old guys anymore, Honda unveiled a custom Gold Wing at Daytona Bike Week, dubbed “Cool Wing” and built by Kevin Dunn, Duy Nguyen, Jimmy Chen and Ray Tong, of Southern California’s Steady Garage.
The design challenge was to create something that was stylish but without straying too far from functionality. Following an extensive draft process, designer Francis Clemente came up with a design that could stimulate both customizers and purists. Air suspension and batique-style mufflers were examples of elements that were key to creating the build’s silhouette, but a handcrafted leather saddle, bare metal details and scallops in the paint brought the Cool Wing to life.
With one and a half months to bring the project from concept to reality, Steady Garage worked with partners to machine and fabricate special parts. Mooneyes built a mold specifically for the project in order to make the disc covers for the Gold Wing front rim, while Platinum Air Suspension provided air shocks to help achieve the slammed stance without sacrificing the ride height. The onboard air is stored on two Dirty Work stainless steel air tanks, with air supplied by a single Viair 380c air compressor. Maxima Imagen painted over 33 individual parts and Electrical Connection provided dress-up components. Cub Group supplied the industry’s first motorcycle blind-spot monitoring system (BSM), and Rogelio’s Auto Upholstery did a fantastic job with the seat.
“Our team was ecstatic to be the chosen company to build a custom Gold Wing for Honda,” said Steady Garage Co-founder Kevin Dunn. “The project was very challenging due to the Gold Wing’s new design, as there was no guidance from any existing builds or projects that fit our style. Our hope was to build a custom Gold Wing that would be appreciated by riders of all ages, interests and backgrounds. We had to make it look cool without stepping away from functionality. The bike has a lot of attitude, mixed with retro salt flat-inspired discs, scallop graphics and a low seat, and in our opinion the custom colors make it look very cool!”
“The Gold Wing is one of our halo products,” added Honda Motorcycle Shows and Public Relations Manager Chris Cox, “and we wanted to highlight the fact that while it’s rightly known for its amazing touring capabilities, it’s also a very high-performance machine that can be appreciated by a broad range of enthusiasts. Steady Garage embraced that theme for this project, and we’re very pleased with the result. Cool Wing has a youthful, creative, exciting spirit, while still respecting the Gold Wing brand and what it stands for.”
The Cool Wing will be on display at multiple events this year including the Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and the Americade Rally.
Kyle Wyman was always near the front during the 2019 Daytona 200, and even led the race for a stint. After getting shuffled a few places down during a long pit stop, Wyman benefitted from a late-race red flag that erased his deficit to the leaders and took advantage of the opportunity to take his Pirelli-shod Yamaha R6 to the top of the podium.
Begin press release:
Pirelli Tire North America and Kyle Wyman emerged victorious on Saturday in a nail biter finish at the 78th Daytona 200 at Daytona International Speedway. Due to an incident on Lap 53 resulting in a red flag, the 200-mile endurance race evolved into a four-lap shootout and Wyman proved to be unstoppable on his N2 Racing / KWR Yamaha equipped with Pirelli DIABLO Superbike slicks. A move by Wyman coming out of the chicane on Lap 57 allowed him to take control as he raced to the checkered flag.
“What an incredible way to finish and win the Daytona 200,” said Kyle Wyman. “The Pirelli DIABLO Superbike slicks were extremely predictable for me all weekend, which really gave me the confidence I needed. With the feeling that I had, I knew I could consistently turn low lap times the entire race.”
A Daytona compound was offered to all Pirelli riders competing in the event and was used on the rear tire of Wyman’s Yamaha YZF-R6 in 200/60-17 sizing, while a 120/70-17 DIABLO Superbike SC1 was chosen for the front. Wyman opted to run the same tires in qualifying and racing and was just .02 off of the qualifying record time.
“It’s great a great feeling to have Pirelli back in the winners circle here at Daytona,” said Oscar Solis, road racing manager, Pirelli. “Kyle Wyman rode phenomenal all weekend and his results show off the hard work and development behind the Pirelli product. We learned some great lessons from the race and are going to keep working hard to stay on the sharp edge of Daytona.”
To learn more about the complete line of Pirelli motorcycle tires, please visit www.pirelli.com.
If you’re a teenager dreaming about getting your first bike, chances are you have some pretty strong feelings about what you want it to be. No doubt, your parents have some strong opinions too—assuming they’re okay with you getting a bike in the first place.
The last thing you want is something you’d be embarrassed to show up to school on. It’s gotta be cool. Unfortunately, ever since your dad showed up to your seventh grade open house wearing a beret, a loud Hawaiian shirt, and boat shoes, you’ve known your parents have little regard for what’s cool—or for your social standing.
Still, you are their beloved progeny. So you should listen to them, since—believe it or not—your parents were cool before they disposed of their prime years by teaching you how to wipe yourself and picking lice out of your hair.
Your parents want you to have a bike that’s cheap to run, cheap to insure, and that will bring you home safely at the end of a ride. Particularly that last bit. Think of all the overpriced organic food they’ve fed you (“only the best for our little Jimmy”) and all those violin lessons. You’re an investment, kid. Think they did everything for your own gratification? Nope. You’ve gotta live a long time and make a lot of money so you can take care of them when they’re old. Because by then Social Security will probably have long been used up to build a wall between the US and Canada or something.
Fortunately, the 2019 Kawasaki Z400 is so cool you’ll want it, and it’s the kind of bike your parents can get behind. Which—if they’re not vehemently opposed to this whole bike thing in the first place—automatically qualifies them as cool.
If you want to read more about the Z400, click here for my full review.
Here’s what you need to say:
“Mom and Dad, I know that you want me to be safe on the road, and that’s important to me too. The Z400 comes equipped with ABS, so if there’s ever an emergency, I’ll be able to stop safely. It will also prevent me from trying to do stoppies to impress your boss’ hot daughter, who I’ve had a bit of a thing for ever since she fell into that pond at the company picnic and casually shook her hair out in front of me, which always replays in my mind in slow motion whenever I think about, which isn’t that often, I swear.
“Because I inherited Grandpa’s short legs, a low seat height is important until I gain confidence. The Z400’s 30.9-inch saddle is perfect. And since it only weighs 364 pounds at the curb, it feels more like a bicycle, some would say.
“Professional reviewers have noted that ‘With a short 53.9-inch wheelbase and a steep 24.5-degree steering angle, the little Z doesn’t so much chew up corners as it does glide through them.’ That means it will accentuate the degree to which my body position and pressure on the bars and pegs affects handling. It’ll help me learn a sensitivity behind the bars that will make me a better rider down the road—on any bike.
“You may have heard the engine’s power delivery has an edginess that belies the bike’s intended purpose, but it adds an element of excitement that a bike with around 44 hp needs. After all, I still want to feel the exhilaration of riding, but I know it’s important to not scare myself or get a speeding ticket whenever I open the throttle. Its ultralight and progressive clutch engagement is perfect for getting used to the mechanics of this riding thing.
“I promise to take a Motorcycle Safety Foundation Basic RidersCourse to get my license. I’ll always wear All The Gear, All The Time. I’ll never take selfies while I’m riding. I’ll never ride with a passenger, especially your boss’ daughter.
“I promise to take care of you when you’re old and if you wear that heinous Hawaiian shirt again, I won’t pretend to not know you like I did last time.”
And if that doesn’t work, you’ll just have to wait till you’re an adult to get a motorcycle. Don’t rule out a Z400 then, either.
The winner of the first ever Moto2™ Grand Prix in 2010 was the much-missed Shoya Tomizawa at the age of 19 years and 122 days, making him the fourth youngest Japanese race winner. He dominated the race aboard his Technomag-CIP Suter, winning by over four and a half seconds. He remains just the third Japanese winner of a Moto2™ race alongside Yuki Takahashi, the winner of the 2010 Catalan Grand Prix, and LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami, who won the 2016 Dutch TT and the 2017 British Grand Prix.
“We were a bit perplexed, above all for the way in which all this happened. Before the race in Qatar, all the various disputes, and there were so many, have always been resolved either within the MSMA or involving the Technical Director in MSMA. This is the first time that any team decides to make a complaint against someone else based on a technical doubt. This marks a clear difference from the past, a negative difference. Having questioned the Federation’s Technical Director, who is the only one by regulation who can decide whether something mounted on the bike is legal or not, there is the risk of becoming like a far west town in which the sheriff has also been killed. You risk having recourse to every race.”
Indianapolis hosted the latest round of the AMA Supercross Championships and on a predominantly one-lined, rut-infested lay-out, it was KTM’s Marvin Musquin who won the 450 main event for the second year in a row.
Indy 450SX Report
Musquin entered Indianapolis 19-points behind KTM team-mate Cooper Webb but the French star won at Indianapolis last year, and tghe #25 was looking good for a repeat performance after garnering the holeshot in the 20-minute main event ahead of Joey Savatgy, Eli Tomac, Blake Baggett and Webb in tow. Meanwhile Chad Reed started lap two dead last after tangling with another rider.
Indy Supercross kicks off
Marvin was looking as sharp as ever to etch out a small lead, but on lap seven Tomac made his way past Savatgy for second, then Baggett passed Webb who was looking far from comfortable.
Baggett, Webb
It all got very interesting after Savatgy crashed back to sixth before Baggett caught and passed Tomac who in turn lost another place to Webb.
Baggett, Tomac, Webb
On lap 18 it was a four rider freight train with Musquin, Baggett, Webb and Tomac all within a few seconds of each other, but no matter how hard each rider tried that is how they finished.
Marvin Musquin celebrates victory at Indy
Justin Barcia’s first ride back from concussion earned the veteran a sensational fifth ahead of Savatgy, Zach Osborne, Ken Roczen, Dean Wilson and Justin Brayton.
Justin Barcia
Chad Reed passed 11 riders to earn solid points and retain seventh place in the championship.
Chad Reed
As far as the championship goes Webb leads by 14-points over Musquin, who in turn has a seven-point gap back to Tomac.
Cooper Webb
The biggest loser on the night was former red plate holder Ken Roczen, the German just couldn’t seem to get his shit together and is now 27-points behind Webb with six-rounds still remaining.
Ken Roczen
Marvin Musquin – P1
“It was a long main event and I knew they were charging behind me so I just wanted to stay smooth, my whoops were pretty clean. I didn’t know if it was the best way but towards the end I was able to get it all clean and it feels good to get it done. Tonight I was very confident on the starting gate and to get a holeshot tonight was super important so yeh, it was time [for the win].”
Marvin Musquin and Cooper Webb
Blake Baggett – P2
“The track was busy and tight, there was one line in the whoops and there was one main jump line so if someone (a lapped rider) was there you had to go around so you lost time but we are all racing the same guys on the same track. I gotta give it up to Marvin for leading and Cooper who was keeping me honest, ideally I would have liked to be the top KTM but to be in the middle of em’ is cool.”
Blake Baggett
With the 450 main events now 20-minutes long, instead of the old 20-lap format, it means that most of the points paying races go to 25 or 26 laps and championship leader Cooper Webb has introduced an all new aspect to supercross, and that is ‘patience.’
Copper Webb
Webb actually stalled his KTM mid race, looked way out of contention as he dropped back to fifth well behind Musquin, Tomac, Savatgy and Baggett. The championship leader though refocussed, put his head down and ‘slowly’ edged his way to another podium finish.
Cooper Webb – P3
“This is our third KTM sweep of the season which is cool, during the week me and Marv are riding together so it is great so see all of the hard work transfer to race day. After the last two years not going well this year has been great to be in this position and to click off a lot of great results, surpassing my expectation and being up front, obviously the goal has changed regarding the championship so I need to keep strong every weekend and just keep it going.”
Blake Baggett
Justin Barcia – P5
“After having a tough couple of weeks, months really, since winning Anaheim, it’s been difficult. Then my injury was pretty huge to me, actually, so for me I thought it was going to be difficult to come back from it. The basic thing for me was just to get comfortable and get back in the zone and I progressed all day. I don’t like saying I surprised myself, but I kind of surprised myself tonight. I stayed pretty calm all day, patient. I didn’t really let being off the pace a little bit in practice frustrate me, I just stayed focused, used my positive thinking and good mentality and it was a good race. It was a solid race for the first race back. We definitely want to keep progressing from here and get back on the podium. We’ll take a fifth and move on to next weekend.”
Justin Barcia
Zach Osborne – P7
“In the Main Event, I had a really bad gate and made a really good start of it to put myself in a good position to hang in there. I made some mistakes but I have to take the positive of turning a bad day into a good day and a decent result and move forward.”
Zach Osborne
Dean Wilson – P9
“The heat race was awesome! It was really stacked, so it was good for me to win. It was good for my mental side of things to know that I can still be up there. In the Main Event, I didn’t get the best start but I was able to wrestle my way out of it and into ninth. I would say it’s an improvement for sure but I know that getting a good start makes a big difference in staying out of trouble and I’m going to keep working.”
Dean Wilson
450SX Main Event Results
Marvin Musquin
Blake Baggett +02.449
Cooper Webb +05.298
Eli Tomac +20.508
Justin Barcia +27.428
Joey Savatgy +30.484
Zach Osborne +33.661
Ken Roczen +42.993
Dean Wilson +45.557
Justin Brayton +55.957
Chad Reed 25 Laps
Cole Seely 25 Laps
Bowers Lake 25 Laps
Justin Hill 25 Laps
Justin Bogle 25 Laps
Kyle Chisholm 25 Laps
450SX Main Event Results
Marvin Musquin
Blake Baggett +02.449
Cooper Webb +05.298
450SX Points after 11 of 17 Rounds
Cooper Webb – 243
Marvin Musquin – 229
Eli Tomac – 222
Ken Roczen – 216
Blake Baggett – 184
Dean Wilson – 163
Chad Reed – 149
Joey Savatgy – 141
Justin Brayton – 140
Justin Barcia – 138
Cole Seely 128
Aaron Plessinger 123
Justin Bogle 96
Justin Hill 96
Tyler Bowers 79
Indy 250 East Coast Report
Unfortunately for the fans of close racing, when Austin Forkner gets the holeshot in the East Coast series it is game over with his Ryan Villopoto like style racking up the best lap times over and over.
Austin Forkner
This left long time arch rival Chase Sexton to reluctantly settle for second place all of the way to flag while Justin Cooper had to make his way from 10th to third to land on the podium ahead of Mitchell Oldenburg, Martin Davalos, Kyle Peters, Kyle Cunningham, Joshua Osby, Alex Martin and Jordan Bailey.
Justin Cooper
Martin actually crashed in the first corner and started the race dead last so the ride to ninth is more credible, while Oldenburg spent the week with his wife who gave birth to a baby boy the day before Indianapolis, so hats off to the new dad.
Austin Forkner – P1
“I am so pumped to be heading into this break with a full race points lead. I got sick this week so I told myself tonight we were going to damage control, and fortunately damage control tonight was good enough for another win. I am going to use this break to let my body rest, do some outdoor testing, and then get a nice base of supercross practice in before we get going again. The only thing on my mind right now is this championship and I would love to wrap it up before Vegas if possible, but regardless I am going to keep doing what I am doing because right now it is working for me.”
Austin Forkner
Chase Sexton – P2
“This is my closest race to home in Illinois so it is cool having everyone here so it was good to get the heat win then I wish I could have put on more of a show in the main event but to be on the podium is always good.”
Chase Sexton
Justin Cooper – P3
“It was a hard fight all night, honestly. I had to work for the heat win and then main event time, I got a really good start and was just leaning in to the inside and everyone came in and kind of pushed me wide. I had to go off the track and it put me way back. Honestly, it was a pretty crappy feeling going around the first lap in 19th; looking over and seeing those guys already two straightaways ahead. I knew I had a lot of work ahead of me, so I just put my head down and made some quick passes. I think I was up to seventh or eighth… I had raced with so much energy getting to that point and trying to make quick passes that I kind of hit a wall and was like, ‘Wow. I got to breathe a little bit and regroup.’ That’s kind of what did it. I kind of got a second wind towards the end and felt really good. I felt like I was back on pace and just making up a lot of time. I was keeping an eye on third. I didn’t even know if it was going to happen, but was I able to get in position to make a pass last lap for third. It was a good night for me. Good learning, good building, good progress. So I can’t complain. It just would have been nice to get away clean in that firs turn in that top three to see what we could have done towards the end of the race when those guys were getting a little tired.”
AMA SX 2019 – Indy
Mitchell Oldenburg – P4
“It was a crazy week for me. My wife went into labor Thursday morning at 1:00 a.m. a month early, so it has been a pretty stressful and a scary last couple days, but baby and mama are healthy and doing good. It was pretty hard to leave them to come to race this week. It was hard to get my head straight and to get back in race mode and ride my dirt bike. “We had a decent day overall. The main event was good until the last four laps. I had no idea Justin was coming and kind of just checked out mentally and let it go. We live and we learn. I’m not going to let that happen again. We’ll keep working on our progress in the next couple weeks and come into Nashville swinging.”
AMA SX 2019 – Indy
Martin Davalos – P5
“There are a lot of positives for me to take away from tonight’s race. I obviously would have liked to get that heat race win and found the podium in the main event. I went to California this past week and we did a lot of testing that pointed us in the right direction. I am kind of sad we have the break because I feel like we are on to something. I am going to do some outdoor testing during the break with my teammates and then get ready for the last three races to finish the season out strong.”
Martin Davalos
250 East Coast Main Event Results
Austin Forkner
Chase Sexton +06.289
Justin Cooper +09.098
Mitchell Oldenburg +09.887
Martin Davalos +22.823
Kyle Peters +27.162
Kyle Cunningham +45.965
Joshua Osby +50.939
Alex Martin 19 Laps
Jordan Bailey 19 Laps
Henry Miller 19 Laps
Brandon Hartranft 19 Laps
Fredrik Noren 19 Laps
Chase Marquier 19 Laps
Mitchell Falk 19 Laps
250 East Coast Main Event Results
Austin Forkner
Chase Sexton +06.289
Justin Cooper +09.098
Husqvarna pilot starts title defence with third at the opening round.
Image: Foremost Media.
Reigning MX2 champion Wilson Todd says he steered clear of any risks while pushing through the challenging conditions of Appin’s Pirelli MX Nationals opener yesterday in New South Wales.
The number one made his MX Nationals debut aboard Husqvarna machinery at round one, while it also marked his return to the DPH Motorsport squad after wrapping up the title last year with Serco Yamaha.
“I obviously want to win, but third is a good start for the season for me,” said Todd. “I’ve never raced a track in conditions like that before and it was tough to keep enough momentum to move forward without overdoing it in the corners.
“I focused on my own laps and riding through without battling or taking any extra risks, one mistake and you could be dead last in conditions like that. It’s great to be back in the DPH truck, and the FC 250 is a great bike to race. I’m looking forward to getting to round two though and really start racing.”
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Superbike slicks. A move by Wyman coming out of the chicane on Lap 57 allowed him to take control as he raced to the checkered flag.
