Cornering - The relationship between confidence and traction!

We have people at Monoshock who are always looking at leaning in corners. They will be crawling along at sluggish speeds and just when the bend is 100 metres away, watch them ham fist the gas and go!

Corners are a delicate relationship between confidence and traction. And when this relationship falters or breaks, we see an event close to the one Rueben Xaus exhibits here in the picture. The first rule to riding and having fun is never to try anything stupid while you are at it. There is nothing that you need to prove to anybody! So take your time. Nobody will deny you food if your last corner did not take away a few mm of metal from the footpegs. Ease out, enjoy the ride. But when you see one coming, hold it down like there is no tomorrow. And be geared. It keeps the bruises and scratches in control!
- Ride Safe

The 2008 Triumph Speed Triple - Now showing!

Heck thats a beauty. The Speed Triple’s 1050cc, three cylinder engine, with its unmistakable character and sound, pumps out a great surge of bottom-end torque, massive mid-range punch and an impressive level of overall power. Peak power is 131bhp at 9250rpm while peak torque of 77ft.lbf arrives at 7550rpm. Triumph’s Keihin ECU offers sophisticated mapping for quicker starting, cleaner running and fuel economic engine.

On stores March 2008 onwards. And just look at the mid section. The one time when men will drool over a babe with a huge mid section and a scanty rear! - Life it seems is not without a sense of irony.

Will the Hunk flunk?

So the Hero Honda new kid is called the Hunk. Hmmm, whatever I have seen and heard of the bike is quite virtual. I am waiting to swing a leg over and punch the starter motor button.

However, let me tell you that I am not expecting any surprises here. The 14.4 PS motor, with exact figures for power and torque as the Xtreme and 3 kilos of extra weight is not really retina splitting material.

However, what keeps me thinking, is that why was this bike launched. I think India has some empty spaces in the bikes segments. The first one is the one for a cheap, fast and deadly 150cc which every dude can afford. The second is the 175cc - 220cc segment where innovations and technology can do wonders to your sales numbers. The Hunk does neither. The rear of the bike looks really out of place. The mudgaurd/ number plate assembly looks like a cheap after market fitment. They odo/ speedo was left analog and the gas charged shocks will probably not do miracles to the already great CBZ Xtreme handling.

Which leaves me to wonder what HH are thinking with the Hunk? Or is that they have stopped thinking at all?
- Rahul

Walking the ramp, er, runway - Ducati Style!

A more appropriate location for the presentation of the new 2008 Ducati Apparel Collection couldn’t be found. The stage for this event will be the “Guglielmo Marconi” International Airport in Bologna where, on Thursday, October 18th at 7:30 p.m., the fashion show for the newest clothing items from the motorcycle company of Borgo Panigale will take place.

In the A3 area on the ground floor, a real fashion show will be organized that will begin the “take off” of the newly proposed Ducati clothing line that is already present at Ducati Stores (one of which can be found on the first floor of the airport), perfect for the many fans that are already excited about the recent MotoGP world title won by Casey Stoner in the seat of a Desmosedici.

The items in the Ducati Apparel 2008 collection can be admired (and eventually purchased) next month (November) at the Ducati website!

Happy Birthday Mate...And heres your Ducati HyperM

Monday, October 15th, in Melbourne, Casey Stoner officially inaugurated “Ducati City”, the new Ducati Store in Melbourne, in the presence of 150 passionate Australian Ducatisti. The young World Champion played a part in the splendid double win that granted Ducati, two races in advance, the Constructor and Team titles, at Phillip Island on Sunday, along with Loris Capirossi. On top of that, he turns 22 today, October 16th and received a flaming Hypermotard as a surprise gift - something both appreciated by Casey and something that he has wanted for some time.

“Thanks so much to Ducati; I really appreciate this surprise gift even if you all make me become redder than the bike”, he said, shy but clearly

happy after the traditional “Happy Birthday, Casey” that welcomed the entrance of the cake. “Sunday was an incredible day for me with everyone under the podium singing the Australian national anthem”, he said. “But in retrospect, this season was perfect. After Qatar, I thought, ‘wow, we won a race’, in the middle of the season, I thought, ‘wow, we can win the title’ and yesterday, ‘wow, we won my home GP!’

At the question if, for next year, he would keep number 27 or if he would move to 1, the public is divided over who prefers the first proposal and who prefers the second. “I am very attached to 27,” responded Casey, “because that is the number that I got when I was racing with the team of Alberto Puig, a person that I highly regard and that helped me in the beginning of my career in Europe. However, I also think of all of the people that have worked so hard, just like my team, Ducati and I have done to obtain this result, deserving number 1. I haven’t made a definite decision yet, but I am leaning more towards number 1”.

Casey will spend his birthday on a plane flying to Malaysia where, next Sunday, the 17th race of the season will take place before returning to Europe for the closing of the wonderful 2007 season in Valencia, Spain on November 4th.

Gravel - When its between the road and rubber!

There are so many riders whose years of experience can help you train yourself to deal with tricky situations. With effort, discipline and practice, there is a lot you can do to save the day for yourself dost!

But we strictly believe that there are two kinds of situations when it comes to stability. The first one is when the conditions are normal and it is the lack of riding skill that gets one scenery + one rider + one machine mated in a gruesome threesome! The second situation is when there is an external element involved. Today is the day to warn you against gravel on the road. Whether you twist the throttle, corner well or brake hard, you must understand that your staying up has a lot to do with the chemistry between the tyres and the surface of the road. Gravel cuts out that chemistry in a jiffy and you suddenly have no traction and hence no control

Unless you are on a dirt bike in a controlled environment or frame of mind, gravel can be very dangerous. Rule 1) Avoid patches of gravel and if you can't, slow down to a snail's speed. Rule 2) Be alert, too much of throttle, steering or brake input will make you feel ripped off by your tyre manufacturer, but that is not the case. Even race designed Pirellis will not be able to help you there.

And falling on gravel hurts like mad! - Ride Safe

Six degrees of Inner Turbulence

"It challenges the essence of my soul,
Leaves me in a state of disconnection
As I navigate the maze of self control...."

This is one album by Dreamtheater that is a must have in your collection if you are serious about your Music.

The tracks are long (7 to 9 minutes on an average) and the tempo changes from fast to slow. The drumming is out of this universe and the guitar leads are nothing short of astounding!

Comes in a 2 cd pack and a variety of sounds that can become addictive once you start liking it!

All the Suzuki you ever need!

Hello People, here is a machine our ed is in love with. The Suzuki GSX1400.

We found some great pictures and loads of info on Suzuki Cycles on this page by Jarmo Haapamäki!

A site, put together with a lot of passion. Get there and leave a word of encouragement for our man Jarmo - Way to go!

Helmet Audio - Everything you need to hear!

MI34 - This motorcycle intercom is for use by two riders on the same bike who want to chat while riding.

It comes with 2 standard headsets as shown in the photo above and can be used with the optional HS36 helmet headset!

It can be attached to a cell phone, a two-way radio, and an MP3 player (or any other audio device) at the same time. You can even use our helmet speakers with this intercom.

We are certainly going to get some of these. This site is a complete solution for helmet audio! So just get to HelmetAudio and see what you want. And the prices are quite reasonable too!