Yamaha Motor Co. announced Monday that it is cutting the ringers from its company rugby team.

The Yamaha Jubilo rugby club competes in the Top League, the highest level Japanese Rugby Football Union pro league.  The team currently sits fifth out of 14 teams with a 3-2-2 record with a roster of 17 professional players including nine non-Japanese imports.

That will change next season however as Yamaha Motors announced on its corporate site the team will only be made up of full-time Yamaha employees as of April 2010. Yamaha made the decision to cut costs after “a careful review of its team management amid the harsh business environment that has developed since 2009.”

According to Reuters, ringers who are also part of Japan’s national team will be offered corporate contracts. It’s not yet known what roles within the company the players will be assigned, but it’s expected Valentino Rossi’s receptionist job and Jorge Lorenzo’s janitor duties are safe.

Money saved from eliminating ringers from Yamaha’s rugby team is expected to fund the next album from WSBK racer James Toseland’s band Crash.

In other news, Suzuki’s three-legged race team is awaiting test results of the B sample after the first test came up positive for human growth hormone while Honda is considering withdrawing from egg toss competition.

[Source: Yamaha, Reuters]

The highlight of the event will be quarter-mile legend Dale Walker trying to set new VMax records on bikes modified to produce 200 horsepower at the rear wheel. Traction has proven to be an issue for the current VMax, so drag slicks have been spooned on to harness the big power through the shaft drive. Walker will also be offering free drag race lessons. Only Yamaha motorcycles are allowed in the event.

Motorcycle.com’s Fonzie will be there to capture the sights and sounds of the mighty V-4 engines roaring down the track.

More info can be found at the StarVmax.com website.

You’ll realize how cheesy that headline is after watching the pretty rad video that Yamaha has released.

Yamaha’s new motocross bike has taken a radical new approach.  The engine is backwards.

Yamaha’s reason for doing this is to shift the heavy end of the motor more to the center of the motorcycle to make it more agile and responsive.  Slanting the cylinder also made for a straighter pathway for the air intake at the front of the bike.

Of course you can read about many more details and features of Yamaha’s YZ on Motorcycle.com where they just wrote a preview for it this week!  There’s also a bunch of photos to go through if you just don’t feel like doing any reading.

Check out the rest of the post for Yamaha’s official video on the 2010 YZ450F and also why I mention sketching (also, see if you can understand any of the equations that are scribbled down throughout the video)

What, you mean it’s not powered by a 1.2-gigawatt flux capacitor?

Motorcycle.com will get a chance to see the new YZ this week in a private unveiling, and we’ll unleash full details when the embargo ends on September 8. Stay tuned!

Hit the jump, watch and learn.

Hit the jump to see the the bike in action and another video that explains all of the new goodies.

Summer is here, the city is alive. You’ve got places to go, people to see and patios to sit at. Maybe you’d like an alternative to public transit for getting to work. Or, just maybe, you’d like to go for a bike ride with your kids – without the hassle of peddling. I’ve seen it! If any of these scenarios describe your current situation – even if they don’t – you have come to the right place!

How low can you go? This years 10 least expensive scooters are in a metaphorical limbo contest when it comes to pricing. You’ll find all 10 of the cheapest scooters slide easily under the bar from $1,300 to $1,800. Only a $500 difference between 10 models. In fact the competition is still strong even among the 30 or so least expensive scooters. A $600 spread among the 20 least expensive and an $800 spread among the 30 least expensive scooters topping off around $2100. So you many not want to limit your selection to the Top 10. Do your research and find out if that extra $500, $600 or $800 is worth the scrilla’ depending on your personal needs.

If you are looking into buying an inexpensive scooter this year – the chances are you will only have one option when it comes to power. An assortment of 50 cc 1-cyclinder 2-stroke engines have become standard issue. For those who desire a little more power there are still some 125 cc and 150 cc options on the market which are still able to slide in at a low price.

The one brand dominating the Top 10 list QLINK, taking 1st place with standings in Top 10, 20 and 30. Competitive brands include E-ton, Kymco, Hyosung, Schwinn, SYM, United Motors, Piaggio, Yamaha, Honda and Aprilia – Almost everyone! It seems the scooter industry may be the most competitively priced sub-class of motorcycles. But enough review, check out the lists yourself.. and start scootin!

If you liked this post you might like:

Top 10 Least Expensive (Cheapest) Motorcycle Sportbikes of 2009 by MSRP

Top 10 Best Sportbikes of 2009 by Viewers Choice

#10 2009 SYM SYMply 50 – MSRP $1,798 (Find a better price)

#9 2009 Schwinn Hope™ 50 – MSRP $1,739 (Find a better price)

#8 2009 QLINK Sting 50 – MSRP $1,699 (Find a better price)

#7 2009 Schwinn Laguna™ 50 – MSRP $1,699 (Find a better price)

#6 2009 QLINK Matador 50 – MSRP $1,649 (Find a better price)

#5 2009 QLINK Hawk 50 – MSRP $1,649 (Find a better price)

#4 2009 Hyosung Sense SD50 – MSRP $1,599 (Find a better price)

#3 2009 Kymco Agility 50 – MSRP $1,599 (Find a better price)

#2 2009 E-ton Sport 50 – MSRP $1,399 (Find a better price)

#1 2009 QLINK Axon 50 – MSRP $1,299 (Find a better price)

Top 10 least expensive scooters of 2009 summary

1. 2009 QLINK Axon 50 – MSRP $1,299.00
2. 2009 E-ton Sport 50 – MSRP $1,399.00
3. 2009 Kymco Agility 50 – MSRP $1,599.00
4. 2009 Hyosung Sense SD50 – MSRP $1,599.00
5. 2009 QLINK Hawk 50 – MSRP $1,649.00
6. 2009 QLINK Matador 50 – MSRP $1,649.00
7. 2009 Schwinn Laguna™ 50 – MSRP $1,699.00
8. 2009 QLINK Sting 50 – MSRP $1,699.00
9. 2009 Schwinn Hope™ 50 – MSRP $1,739.00
10. 2009 SYM SYMply 50 – MSRP $1,798.00

Next 10 least expensive scooters of 2009

• 2009 Hyosung Prima SF50 – MSRP $1,799.00
• 2009 E-ton Beamer III – MSRP $1,799.00
• 2009 United Motors GP1R 150 – MSRP $1,799.00
• 2009 E-ton Sport 150 – MSRP $1,799.00
• 2009 Schwinn Sport™ 50 – MSRP $1,879.00
• 2009 Kymco Sento 50 – MSRP $1,899.00
• 2009 Piaggio Fly 50 – MSRP $1,899.00
• 2009 Hyosung Rally SF50 – MSRP $1,899.00
• 2009 QLINK Matador 150 – MSRP $1,899.00
• 2009 QLINK Sting 150 – MSRP $1,899.00

Even more inexpensive scooters

• 2009 Schwinn Newport™ 50 – MSRP $1,949.00
• 2009 SYM Fiddle II 50 – MSRP $1,998.00
• 2009 Kymco Agility 125 – MSRP $1,999.00
• 2009 Kymco People 50 –
• 2009 Kymco Super 8 50 – MSRP $1,999.00
• 2009 Genuine Scooter Co. Buddy 50 – MSRP $1,999.00
• 2009 Yamaha Vino Classic – MSRP $2,049.00
• 2009 Honda Metropolitan Base – MSRP $2,049.00
• 2009 E-ton Matrix 50 – MSRP $2,099.00
• 2009 Aprilia SportCity 50 – MSRP $2,099.00
• 2009 Yamaha C3 Base – MSRP $2,099.00
• 2009 Kymco Sting 50 – MSRP $2,099.00
• 2009 United Motors Matrix II 150 – MSRP $2,099.00

Yamaha Motor Europe has recently posted up on YouTube a delightful video about their riders.  Their secret for being so good at what they do is that they totally immerse themselves in Yamaha by working at the Yamaha offices.

Hilarity ensues.

James Toseland works the mail room, while Colin Edwards does security, quoting Eric Cartman from a 10 year-old-South Park episode.  Jorge Lorenzo is washing windows and Valentino Rossi is working the front desk.

Check the rest of the article for the full video.  It’ll brighten your day.

Our sister site, ATV.com, is ready to give away the Yamaha Raptor ATV they’ve been customizing over the last few weeks.

They took a base Yamaha Raptor 250 valued at $4,499.00 and modified it into an $8,000 beast!  Why they just don’t keep it in the office to use for coffee runs is beyond me.

They’ve slapped on new air filters, mufflers, new alloy wheels, new tires, front bumper and grab bar, skid plates, nerf bars, new grips, new seat cover, new plastics, and more!

PHEW!  That’s a heck of a lot of stuff thrown on!  AND you also get a couple hundred dollars worth of Shift riding gear thrown in!

Check this machine out:

Head over to ATV.com for a chance to win this puppy!

To see how they did it, check out their 6 part series on upgrading their Yamaha Raptor.

Yamaha Raptor 250 Project – Part 1
Yamaha Raptor 250 Project – Part 2
Yamaha Raptor 250 Project – Part 3
Yamaha Raptor 250 Project – Part 4
Yamaha Raptor 250 Project – Part 5
Yamaha Raptor 250 Project – Overview

And let’s not forget the review:
2009 Yamaha Raptor 250 Review

Yamaha Motor Europe have just posted a new video up on Youtube about their Yamalube motor oil and why you should use it on your Yamaha products.  They are pretty damn convincing or very good at brainwashing!

The video is pretty educational, explaining how motorcycle engines and car engines are very different, what a motorcycle engine really needs, and why Yamalube is very well suited for the job.

Various graphs, charts, shots of scientists making oil, and the accented British narrator have further convinced me that I need to get Yamalube and perhaps even be adding it into my morning bowl of cereal.

So who is using Yamalube and how much more is it then regular motor oil for your motorcycle?  The Yamaha website only teases me with a “TBA” next to how much this stuff costs.

See the rest of the article for their 5 minute and change video on why Yamalube is the greatest thing since sliced bread.