Motorcycle News and Technical Developments you might have missed while you were out riding …

Casey Stoner looking far ahead in the turn - photo:MotoGP.com

With the new year just starting, have you made the commitment to being a better motorcycle rider? “Yes, of course,” I hear you say but did you really? Becoming better isn’t automatic and it requires more than heading out with your buddies for a weekend ride or making that daily commute to work, those things keep your current skills fresh and sharp but stepping up to a higher skill level requires a real decision to improve and it takes effort and practice. Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been riding for years, everyone can improve.

More miles might mean you repeat the same mistakes until they become habit. Becoming better requires learning new habits and consciously and intentionally practicing until they’re second nature.

Have you ever traveled for several miles and suddenly realized you don’t really remember much about it, your mind wandered a bit and there you were miles away? What did you miss? Did you see everything that might have caused a problem? Was your riding improving just because you put in those miles? Probably not.

Try something different. Take a ride by yourself or maybe with a friend for the express purpose of practicing a particular skill. For example, perhaps you want to be smoother through the turns especially in those little decreasing radius surprises. Practice looking further ahead, it’s amazing how a little thing like that can dramatically improve your riding but many riders keep their eyes focused too close on the road immediately in front. Study photos of Rossi or Stoner in the middle of a turn, their gaze is way out in front of where they are, is that what you do? Try it, you’ll see a difference immediately, you’ll find yourself taking a better line and adjusting your speed and lean angle precisely but unless you make an effort to practice, your skills will stagnate and you’ll be running wide or making abrupt mid corner corrections over and over again.

Not sure what you need to learn to get better? There are some really good books
available, pick up one or two, it’s an investment in skill development with a guaranteed great return. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation offers both basic and advanced training courses, too, well worth your time.

Your motorcycle requires more from you than your car and your exposed position demands a much higher degree of attention if you plan to stay alive and injury free. Decide now to make this year the year you take your riding skills to the next level and we’ll be able to discuss the finer points of motorcycle design and technology for many years to come.

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Kawasaki has not yet made it official but the news is flying all over the European web sites that Kawasaki is pulling out of MotoGP. Evidently, the same high costs of racing while doing business in a slow economy that have prompted Honda to pull out of Formula One and Subaru and Suzuki to pull out of the World Rally Championship have put sufficient pressure on Kawasaki to rethink racing in the premier series. An official announcement is expected soon.

Any guesses about who might be next?

Link: Gazzetta.it
Link: Tuttosport
Link: Motoblog.it

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Some of you may have noticed by now that Moto Guzzi is bringing the V7 Classic to the US after all. This was another case of a very nice standard bike being introduced in other markets but not in the States. When we wrote about it last year, there were a lot of comments to the effect of, bring it here and you’ll buy it. Well, here’s your chance. Suggested retail is $8490.

It’s interesting that Harley Davidson decided to sell the XR1200 at home after aiming across the pond and Moto Guzzi is going to sell the V7 here, too. Maybe all the commotion and fuss from potential customers had an effect. Now we’ll see what happens in the showrooms. The XR is already selling, I wonder how the V7 will do.

Specifications:
• Tanks and side panels with 70s style Moto Guzzi graphics.
• Twin saddle with 70s style Moto Guzzi name
• Chromed passenger grab handles.
• Chromed rocker boxes
• Spoked wheels
• Chromed heat shields
• Chromed instrumentation
• 70s style instrument graphics
• Colour coded rear mudguard.
• Chromed rear light cluster
• Chromed locking tank filler
Engine
• 744 cc 90° V two valve twin
• Weber Marelli electronic fuel injection.
• Single plate clutch
• New high performance exhaust system
• 5-speed gearbox.
Frame
• ALS steel tubular twin cradle with removable lower components
• 40 mm front forks
• Pre-load and rebound adjustable twin rear shock absorbers
• Front brakes - 320 mm disc and 4 (opposed) piston calipers.
• Rear brakes - 260 mm disc with floating caliper fitted with 2 parallel pistons
• Spoked wheels
• Metzeler Lasertec 100/90- 18 56H TL front tire.
• Metzeler Lasertec 130/80 -17 65H TL rear tire.

Link: Moto Guzzi

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The paint cans and tools are still lying all over the place but The Kneeslider has a whole new look. It’s been a couple of years since any major changes and it was time to stretch out and get a little more room.

A few sections of the site have not yet been converted and there are quite a few little tweaks still necessary, type sizes in some places and other minor issues are not resolved but everything should work. Over the coming days you’ll see the site continue to evolve but it’s close to final form.

If you go somewhere on the site and things are completely broken, please drop me a line and let me know so I can take care of it. And let me know what you think!

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It’s been a busy and enjoyable year here at The Kneeslider and it seemed to fly right by. I’m going to roll off the throttle a bit for the rest of the year, wrap a few presents, enjoy the company of family and friends and recharge the batteries. I’ll be working behind the scenes most days on a few projects, checking my email and making sure everything is running smoothly, maybe posting once or twice, too, but that will all be mixed with a healthy dose of holiday.

I really and truly appreciate that so many of you stop by every day, it makes me work that much harder to bring you stories and news not found on every other motorcycle site. 2008 was a really good year and I believe 2009 will be even better. When the economy is changing as it is now and so many news stories sound gloomy, all I see is tremendous opportunity and I’m looking forward to it, I hope you are, too.

Especially during these holidays, show some extra appreciation to those around you, relax a little, smile a lot and offer encouragement wherever it’s needed. I wish all of you the absolute best holiday season possible no matter how you choose to celebrate. Life is good, enjoy it!

Thanks,
Paul Crowe
“The Kneeslider”

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Roehr 1250sc

The recently released Roehr 1250sc can be reserved now for March 2009 delivery and to make it as easy as possible, you can place your order on eBay.

The 180hp Revolution V-Twin powered supercharged sportbike will be CARB, EPA and DOT certified for sale in all 50 states. So if you have a little spot in your garage and you’re looking for a new and exclusive sportbike made in the USA, click through and place your order. Price is $49,995.

Link: Roehr 1250sc for sale

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Carberry Enfield "Double Barrel" V-Twin

The Royal Enfield as currently produced is a throwback to the mid 1950s, same style and engineering as the original with very little change until just this past year. The 500cc thumper is a very basic machine with British bloodlines and pretty much the performance you would expect from a mid 50s half liter single, which is to say, it could use a boost. Paul Carberry, down in Australia, had the idea of adding another cylinder and creating a V-Twin out of the basic engine, doubling displacement, giving it a satisfying sound and getting a nice performance increase at the same time.

Paul enlisted the aid of Ian Drysdale, a fellow Aussie, who you may remember builds the Drysdale V8, and together they took the concept and turned it into the machine you see here. The “Double Barrel” as it’s called, is a 55 degree V-Twin with 50 horsepower running through a 5 speed transmission. Hydraulic lifters run above the cams eliminating the need to modify the barrels. The 55 degree angle was chosen over anything tighter to provide clearance for the carbs and also for style and balance. They also retained as many standard Royal Enfield parts as possible to keep maintenance costs down.

This engine looks right at home in the bike without any cobbled together appearance whatsoever, it looks to be very well engineered. Although it doesn’t have massive horsepower, it’s an appreciable boost over stock and delivers decent performance for someone who wants the look of a classic British V-Twin and everyday reliability.

Carberry Enfield Double Barrel

The Double Barrel requires a stock Royal Enfield Bullet as a base, then:

Essentially the Petrol tank is modified, the frame is modified (the front half of the frame is modified by us and it is a much stronger design with twin backbones , twin down tubes and also has front and back cylinder head mounts and includes the engine within the strucure). The motor is modified with a new crankcase and internals and an extra barrel and head is needed! The seat is also modified. In each case if no disc is present one is ftted.

Cost of modifying your donor Bullet is $A13,000, which currently is $8,892 in US dollars. Paul can also supply the donor bike and simply sell you the complete machine when he’s done.

I mentioned this engine project over 4 years ago!, and though I checked in from time to time, things didn’t seem to be going anywhere. Then I got a tip from Mark (Thanks!) that it looked like it was going into production. I followed up with Paul Carberry and indeed, he’s ready to build one for you right now.

The prototype has been exhaustively tested and Alan Cathcart (shown below) has put some miles on it, too. This seems to be a well done build with a little bit of a Vincent look to it. The short video on Paul’s website gives you a taste of the sound. Very classic, very nice. I like it.

Link: Carberry Enfield

Alan Cathcart on the Carberry Enfield Double Barrel V-Twin

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