Mark your calendars for February 5 and 6, 2013, as those are the dates when Bonhams — one of the world’s largest auctioneers of fine arts and antiques — will put for sale two motorcycle collections which include some incredibly rare and historic machines. Continue Reading »
Honda announced two low-priced small-displacement motorcycles to be produced and sold in Nigeria.
The Honda Ace CB125 and Ace CB125-D were developed to be affordable, durable, easy to use and offer good fuel economy. Honda will introduce the CB125 and CB125-D at about 100,000 Nigerian naira (US$627), a price point that Honda expects to be affordable for many Nigerians, with the manufacturer targeting annual sales of 100,000 units.
Honda announced it is developing a new 125cc scooter engine with an idle stop system promising 25% better fuel economy than existing engines.
The announcement comes alongside the announcement of a new 700cc engine which will be introduced with the Honda Integra scooter. The new engine will be introduced in a variety of scooter models around the world in 2012.
Suzuki is bringing back the DR-Z125 entry-level off-road motorcycle and its slightly larger DR-Z125L variant as part of its 2012 model year offerings.
Last offered in 2009, the Suzuki DR-Z125 returns for 2012 with updated graphics similar to Suzuki’s RM-Z family of motocrossers.
The DR-Z125 is powered by a 124cc air-cooled four-stroke engine Suzuki describes as having strong low to mid-range power. Power is delivered through a five-speed transmission with link-type shifting.
The 2012 Suzuki DR-Z125 is equipped with a 17-inch front wheel and a 14-inch rear wheel. Both wheels are stopped by drum brakes. The slightly larger DR-Z125L uses a 19-inch front wheel and a 16-inch wheel at the rear, with a disc brake on the front wheel. The DR-Z125L has a seat height of 31.7 inches while the DR-Z125′s seat is 30.5 inches from the ground.
[Source: Suzuki]
Reality show star, socialite and racing team owner Paris Hilton made an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last week to promote some of her projects including her 125cc Grand Prix Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing Team.
Hilton arrived on the Tonight Show set riding pillion on a GSX-R painted white, pink and blue.
The celebutante’s appearance comes on the (pink) heels of racer Maverick Viñales winning his first 125cc GP race at Le Mans. Viñales sits sixth in the championship standings. Beside the win in Le Mans, Viñales missed out on the final podium position at the Estoril round by just 0.002 seconds. With the next round taking place at the Catalunya Circuit, a track Viñales knows from his time in the Spanish CEV series, there’s a good chance he’ll put up another strong result.
“Maverick won. He’s 16 and incredibly talented,” Hilton told Leno. “Racing is so exciting. It’s such an amazing sport.”
When news of Hilton’s new racing team first broke earlier this year, the reaction from racing fans was pretty mixed, with some welcoming any mainstream attention to the sport while other decrying Hilton for her reputation and lack of any real motorcycle knowledge. Watching her trying to dismount the Gixxer showed the latter argument has some merit, but as we wrote back in February, Paris’ race team might actually be good.
Watch video of Hilton’s Tonight Show appearance after the jump (at least, until NBC pulls the plug).
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Paris Hilton’s Race Team Might Actually Be Good
When news first emerged that Paris Hilton was getting into the Grand Prix racing business, the response from fans of the motorcycle racing ranged from utter disdain to hope that the celebutante’s involvement would raise the profile of the sport.
Whether you dread the image of a sparkly pink carbon fiber fairing or welcome any infusion of funding and support for racing, the one thought that may not have crossed your mind was “what if the team turns out to be pretty good?”
