Of all the charity events we know of, Kenny Roberts’ True American Heroes benefit is at the top of the heap. Getting a chance to meet King Kenny is exceptional on its own, but being able to visit his storied ranch vaults the event into something extraordinarily special. Oh, and don’t forget the event is also attended by World Champs Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson and KRJR.

Please read our coverage from last year’s event, and check out our preview of this year’s event that included an appearance by Bo Derek!

Although we were unable to attend last week’s festivities, we came across a spectacular photo of Kenny Roberts in a full-lock powerslide on Star’s new Bolt cruiser shot on his ranch’s dirt track. Continue Reading »

Yamaha Motor reported a 3.7% increase in net sales for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013. Net sales from motorcycles increased by 4.6% despite an 8.1% decrease in unit sales. Overall, the company reported a profit of 7.5 billion yen (US$73.3 million) over the quarter, down from the 27.0 billion yen reported last year.

According to Yamaha‘s first quarter report, the company sold 1.470 million motorcycles over the first three months of the year. That’s down from 1.599 million motorcycles sold in the same quarter of 2012. Sales were up in Japan but down in North America, Europe and Asia.

Despite selling about 129,000 fewer motorcycles, sales revenue grew to 219.5 billion yen (US$2.15 billion) from net sales of 209.9 billion yen in the first quarter last year. Costs were up however, reducing operating income from motorcycle business to 3.0 billion yen from 5.4 billion yen. Continue Reading »

Saturday, May 4 marked the 5th annual Quail Motorcycle Gathering in Carmel, California. With such a diverse collection of historical, rare and outrageous motorcycles, the Quail is an event we thoroughly enjoyed attending last year. To commemorate the occasion, this year’s guest of honor was none other than three-time 500cc Grand Prix world champion, and local area resident, Wayne Rainey. Continue Reading »

Harley-Davidson dealers outscored dealers from other brands to take the top spot in the Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index U.S. Motorcycle Industry Study for the second consecutive year.

The annual study measures the effectiveness of motorcycle dealerships, rating them on how they perform in different categories, such as inviting customers to sit on a floor model, offering demo rides and asking for a customer’s contact information. The study was conducted from July 2012 to April 2013 with data collected by 2,503 hired “mystery shoppers”.

We’ve included the full scores below as well as the scores from past years. One caveat however: Pied Piper PSI has rejigged its study questions and adjusted the weighting and scoring for the 2013 study to achieve an average score of 100. This resulted in a significant scoring changes compared to last year’s study and a wider range between the highest and the lowest scores.

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One of our favorite stories from 2012 was our coverage of the Kenny Roberts American Heroes Benefit Dinner. Hosted by King Kenny at his storied California ranch, it was an incredible opportunity to get close to the three-time world champ and other racing glitterati like Kenny Roberts Jr., Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson and renowned dirt-tracker Mert Lawwill. If those names resonate with you, it’s worth reading our story that includes a video and coverage of the Cpl. Michael D. Anderson Jr. Memorial Ride in which we got to share the road with some of the most legendary names in motorcycle racing.

And now it’s time for the second-annual charity event, again hosted at Kenny Sr.’s ranch in Modesto, CA. Proceeds from the May 10 event will benefit the “Welcome Home Heroes” foundation, while the group ride the following day supports the Cpl. Michael D. Anderson Jr. Memorial Foundation. For the second year in a row, Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., lends a hand as the title sponsor for the dinner. Continue Reading »

The economic downturn hit the motorcycle world particularly hard, as many factory-backed road racing efforts closed shop. The decision, while unfortunate, isn’t hard to understand, as racing at the highest levels isn’t cheap, and a factory involvement means added pressure to succeed, which ultimately means spending more money to do so.

Through it all, however, Yamaha has remained involved with the sport, fielding factory teams and sponsoring various riding schools and even racetracks. Now, on the heels of the second round of the AMA Pro Road Racing Championship, May 31 – June 2, at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, the track has announced a multi-year agreement that will make Yamaha its official motorcycle. Continue Reading »

Last week, we wrote about MotoGP star Valentino Rossi taking a spin around the Charlotte Motor Speedway oval in NASCAR driver Kyle Busch‘s Toyota Camry. The meeting of motorsports greats was organized by their joint sponsor Monster Energy Drink following the inaugural Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

Monster Energy has now released a video of Rossi’s NASCAR test drive and the meeting of the two racing stars. No lap times were released but Monster Energy says Rossi’s lap times would have put him in the top 15 from the first practice session at the 2012 History 300 race at the same track. Continue Reading »

The morning after riding his Yamaha M1 to a sixth-place finish at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, nine-time Grand Prix World Champion Valentino Rossi landed in Charlotte, N.C., to race around another track; only this time there were no right turns. (UPDATED with additional photos.)

Rossi met up with NASCAR racer and fellow Monster Energy-sponsored athlete Kyle Busch to ride Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Busch, winner of the last three Nationwide Series races, gave Rossi a walkaround of his car before taking the Yamaha factory rider around a few laps of the Charlotte  Motor Speedway 1.5-mile oval.

After a brief visit to the pit area, it was Rossi’s turn to climb into the driver’s seat and took his turn around the oval’s 24-degree banked corners, reaching speeds of about 185 mph. Continue Reading »

The Tech3 MotoGP team put the Circuit of the Americas‘ emergency systems to the test after a small fire broke out in the team’s garage. Tech3 says the fire should not affect its participation in this weekend’s Grand Prix of the Americas race.

The fire, which ignited some time overnight, was quickly doused by COTA‘s sprinkler system. The fire itself did not cause any serious damage, though fire retardant and water from the sprinkler system damaged some of the team’s computer equipment. Tech3 says the fire was caused by an electric starter that was plugged in and recharging over the night.

“We have suffered quite a lot of damage and of course it is not ideal preparations but thankfully the fire prevention measures undertaken by the Circuit of the Americas and the assistance of the local Fire Department were invaluable in limiting the damage,” says Herve Poncharal, Tech3 team manager. “The sprinkler system was immediately activated and fire crews on scene promptly and I am grateful for that” Continue Reading »

Yamaha revealed a maxi-scooter for the European market. The new 2013 Yamaha X-Max 400 is the latest model from the X-Max family which is also available in 250cc and 125cc configurations. The new model uses the 395cc engine from the Yamaha Majesty.

The liquid-cooled single-cylinder engine has been tweaked a bit however, with Yamaha claiming an output of 31 hp at 7500 rpm and 25 ft-lb. at 6000 rpm, both down from the claims of 33 hp at 7000 rpm and 27 ft-lb. at 6000 rpm for the Majesty.

Where the X-Max trumps the Majesty is its lighter weight and bigger front wheel. Yamaha claims a wet weight of 465 pounds for the X-Max 400 compared to 485 pounds for the Majesty. The lighter weight can be attributed in part to the new chassis which Yamaha says is the lightest and most compact in its class. Continue Reading »