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2019 JAPAN Made Pick UP Machine!!

2019年4月13-14日に開催された全日本モトクロス開幕戦（HSR九州）で、最新マシンをスクープ。
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New-look Australian Motorcycle Festival announced

Three-day event to take place alongside Wollongong AUS Supercross.

Image: Foremost Media.

Troy Bayliss Events today announced its new-look Australian Motorcycle Festival will take place at Lang Park in Wollongong, New South Wales, on 8-10 November, which will run alongside round three of the 2019 Australian Supercross Championship at WIN Stadium, also operated by the three-time Superbike world champion.

The festival format, which takes over from the former Sydney Motorcycle Show, creates a unique visitor experience with over 20,000sqm of outdoor space hosting displays, entertainment and activations.

The new location also provides an opportunity for expansion with the all-new festival incorporating interactive elements such as test rides, live motorcycle demonstrations including safety and stunt riding. Test rides will also take place on the water with a range of PWC’s.

“Lang Park provides the perfect location to showcase the latest offerings from the motorcycle industry and WIN Stadium is the perfect size stadium to host Australia’s best supercross riders competing against International athletes,” Bayliss explained.

Image: Foremost Media.

“Motorcycling is a lifestyle and that’s what this festival is all about. Visitors to the festival will get to test, try, learn and be entertained all in the once place. The trip from Sydney down the Grand Pacific Drive via the national park and cliff roads into Wollongong is easily one of the best in Australia for scenic rides.

“Once in Wollongong we encourage riders to enjoy the festivities and experience everything Illawarra and south coast has to offer. Short rides, long rides there is something for everyone.

“To have the third round of the supercross taking place right next door on Saturday evening is a great addition and creates the ultimate weekend for motorcycle enthusiasts and we would like to thanks Destination Wollongong, Wollongong City Council and Win Stadium for welcoming the event. We have so much more to be announced over the coming weeks.”

Destination Wollongong general manager Mark Sleigh added: “Wollongong makes for the perfect road trip with stunning coastline taking in Sea Cliff Bridge as well as the winding escarpment which will put all your motorcycle skills to the test.

“The combination of the championship round and the motorcycle festival make for the perfect weekend away, so we encourage everyone to stay a little longer and enjoy the attractions, natural assets and cafes and bars on offer in Wollongong.”

Over 40,000 visitors are expected to head to Wollongong, making it one of the largest motorcycle events in Australia.

Body Position

Revisiting the Body Position Conundrum

The subject of the “correct” body position on a motorcycle comes up pretty frequently in the MD Comments Section. I thought it worthwhile to revisit the topic here. Be skeptical if someone suggests that a certain body position is always correct, or incorrect, when riding a motorcycle. They might be right … or they might be completely off-base.

We wrote an article a few years ago discussing body position, and I wrote the following comment in response to a reader on the same topic this morning (my comment is re-printed below).

As with any skilled activity, the ultimate goal in motorcycling is to forget technique altogether while riding. It may seem corny, but here is a quote from Bruce Lee: “You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.”

Jeff Ward (9-time AMA champ, including 2 supermoto titles

So resist slavishly following advice regarding body position, and be like water. Here is what I posted in the Comments Section to another article:

I’m afraid it’s not so simple. Here is the old article on the topic: http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2015/08/shifting-your-weight-to-the-outside-in-a-corner-why/ . I have ridden with Kevin Scwantz on the road and he sat bolt upright in corners. Freddie Spencer told me many years ago that he doesn’t lean to the inside while cornering on the street. He keeps his weight centered. You have to think about it a bit more carefully. You are effectively saying Jeff Ward (9 time AMA champ, including multiple supermoto titles … where the typical track is 85% asphalt), who leans his body to the OUTSIDE of the bike in road corners, doesn’t know how to ride.

Experienced riders vary their body position as circumstances vary. When ground clearance becomes an issue, you have to shift your weight to the inside of the bike. The same applies when the lean angle of the bike risks rolling off the edge of the tire – you have to shift your weight/lean off to the inside to keep the bike up on the grippy part of the tire. An extreme example is a MotoGP rider dragging his elbow on the inside of the corner.

If neither of these circumstances exist (restricted ground clearance or rolling-off the edge of the tire) leaning to/hanging off to the inside of the bike in turns is an unnecessary exercise and a waste of energy. This was Freddie Spencer’s point, and I agree. Some inexperienced riders have an exaggerated body position when it isn’t necessary and they look stupid, frankly. They read somewhere that they should ride that way, apparently, and they don’t have the feel/experience to realize it is wasted energy.

The pictures of Jeff Ward and Kevin Scwantz dipping the bike and shifting their body weight to the OUTSIDE of the bike on road surfaces doesn’t mean they lack skill or experience. This can be the best technique on the road, and the fastest way around. Again, these riders can feel when it is the right technique because of their experience. Basically, when ground clearance/tire roll-off are not concerns, you can typically change the motorcycles direction, and lean angle, more quickly and easily by “pushing it down” on corner entry. If you think about it, counter-steering illustrates this principle.

Years ago, Gabe would exaggerate his body position in corners even when the bike was relatively upright (not close to dragging the pegs or rolling off the tire) and I told him it looked foolish in photos appearing in MD. He disagreed, and you are entitled to disagree.

Toni Bou Again

Another world title for Toni Bou

Toni Bou, rider for the Repsol Honda Team, was part of the winning team in the 2019 X-Trial des Nations competition which took place this weekend in Vendée, France. Another world title – this one in a team event – helps the Spanish rider to furnish an already over-crowded trophy cabinet.

The Repsol Honda Team ace scooped another title this weekend in the X-Trial des Nations. The feat was accomplished alongside Jaime Busto, the duo defending the colours of the Federación Española de Motociclismo, in the French town of Vendée.

It proved to be a fairly straight-forward competition for the two representatives of RFME, who completed the first two laps with a clean sheet. In the final, facing the local team, France, the Spaniards began to accumulate points, but the aggregate score – including the results from the previous rounds – left Bou and Busto with a 22-advantage over their rivals.

This is the eighth team title in X-Trial (indoor) for Toni Bou in his career, in addition to the fourteen other gold medals in the Trial des Nations outdoor competition.

Dakar 2020

Dakar Rally officially confirmed in Saudi Arabia for 2020

Dakar Rally moves continents for 2020 – after 10 years in South America to hardest off road race on earht will move to the deserts of Saudi Arabia.

It's the news we've been expecting for a few months now but the Dakar Rally organisers, ASO, have announced the 2020 Dakar will make its Middle Eastern debut in Saudi Arabia next January.

In news announcement today the organisers, ASO, still speaks of the event taking on “an unknown landscape and an uncharted terrain.” More details about the 2020 event are expected from a press conference on April 25 in Al Qiddiya near the Saudi capital of Riyadh but it is reasonable to predict next year's event to feature a high proportion of sand and dunes again.

David Castera, the newly appointed Director of the Dakar rally says he is relishing the fresh challenge in the new location: “As the director of the event, it’s a massive challenge to be faced with a blank page with limitless possibilities. 

“I’m already inspired and delighted to have to design a course in such a monumental geography, made for the most audacious itineraries. We are spoilt for choice. Sports, navigation, a will to surpass oneself: all these aspects will naturally be glorified on this territory made for rally-raids.”

Colton Haaker is 2019 Superenduro champion

The 2019 season of the Maxxis FIM SuperEnduro World Championship came to an dramatic end on Saturday at the Bizkaia Arena in Bilbao with an intense night of racing… The 24MX Prestige Leader, Colton HAAKER (USA – Husqvarna) finished the job despite suspense until the very end…

24MX Leader since Round 3 in Madrid, Colton HAAKER landed in Bilbao with a 12 point lead on Cody WEBB (USA – KTM) and 27 points on Taddy BLAZUSIAK (PL – KTM). The Californian pocketed a race win and two third places, and with some help from his teammate, Alfredo GOMEZ (E – Husqvarna), he was able to cling onto the title and become the 2019 World Prestige Champion! In the final classification, WEBB finished second – 4 points behind his great rival. While BLAZUSIAK, who had to say goodbye to his hopes of this year’s crown, consolidated his 3rd place!

In the Junior class, the suspense was less since William HOARE (GB – Husqvarna) had already taken the World Champion title in Hungary after a near flawless season, and the Brit decided to move up to the Prestige class for this final round. Tim APOLLE (D – KTM) and David CYPRIAN (CZ – KTM) had to fight it out for the Vice-Champion spot and it was the German who came out on top…

The 2019 season will certainly go down in the history books of the SuperEnduro Championship with a dramatic final round which will be remembered and talked about for a long time, along with the legendary season closers in 2016 and 2018! 

Congratulations to our two World Champions Colton HAAKER and Will HOARE! 
See you in December for a third edition of the 24MX Leader Boards and a new season that should be just as thrilling!

Happy Customers

Nadine at DIRTDNA continues to create stylish moto graphics and Happy Customers!

Thanks for stopping by Ryan! Number plates for a 1986 CR 250. Check out his Facebook page Retro MX Restorations

Bontrager WaveCel – Did Trek Just Revolutionize Safety Helmet Design?

Being a fan of all things two-wheels, we noticed a new safety helmet design introduced by Trek Bicycles’ Bontrager division. The new helmets are known as WaveCel, and they incorporate a new structure that, according to Trek, is “up to 48x more effective in preventing concussions caused by common cycling accidents.”

These screenshots from the Trek website, as well as the two videos below, provide more detail, but it is worth noting that at least some of Trek’s claims relate to the performance of WaveCel versus EPS foam helmet technology, rather than some differing helmet designs, such as MIPS.

Concussions are big news these days in all sorts of sports and transportation activities. American football has created most of the concussion-related headlines, but this WaveCel technology looks like it could possibly be applied not just to bicycle helmets, but to other sporting activities, including motorcycle helmets, as well.

Bicycles typically travel at lower speeds than motorcycles, of course, but we understand that professional Trek road cyclists, including those who race the Tour de France, and decend the Alps and the Pyrenees at speeds exceeding 60 mph, will be protected by WaveCel helmets. Testing at Virginia Tech has resulted in very high ratings for the protection offered by WaveCel helmets.

Highlights from round 3 of the 2019 Full Gas Sprint Enduro series

Josh Toth claimed a career-first victory in the Kenda Full Gas Sprint Enduro posting an impressive performance at round three of the series at I-81 Motorsports Park in Greenville, Tennessee. 

The FMF/KTM rider won four of the 12 tests during the course of the two-day event and topped runner-up Kailub Russell by 23 seconds after two days of tight racing.