Troy Bayliss may have retired from World Superbike competition but he hasn’t completely freed himself from the racing bug. The three-time WSBK Champion is returning to the track to take part in a 24 hour endurance race – on scooters.

Bayliss will team up with the recently-retired Speedway racer Jason Crump to take part in the Le Minz 24 Hour Scooterthon, a charity event in Australia, on Dec. 8-9 at Gold Coast Parklands. They will be teaming up with an as-yet unnamed rider and Mark Brown, a multiple-time Scooterthon winner and Guinness record holder for completing 1189.685 km (739.236 miles) in a 24 hour period on a 50cc TGB Tapo scooter at last year’s event.

All of the gate money from the Le Minz 24 Hour Scooterthon will benefit Give Me 5 for Kids, a charity that provides medical equipment for sick children, and the RaceSafe Medical Team which provides medical support for various Australian racing series. Continue Reading »

Australian rider Alan Kempster lost his right arm and leg in 1990 when an intoxicated truck driver crashed into his motorcycle. The accident changed Kempster’s life, but what it did not do was dampen his spirit and his love of racing.

The determined Kempster rigged a racebike and returned to the track, not only competing against abled riders, but also winning. Kempster currently a Kawasaki ZXR400 converted with all the controls to the left side of the bike and competes in a Formula 400 racing series in Australia. Kempster is now working to establish a motorcycle riding school for disabled people.

A Japanese film company caught wind of Kempster’s story and produced a short documentary about his passion for racing (look for it after the jump). Kempster’s story is an inspiration for all riders, able or otherwise. Continue Reading »

Harley-Davidson is closing its cast wheel and hub producing subsidiary New Castalloy, deciding to outsource production to third-party suppliers.

Based in Adelaide, Australia, New Castalloy produces about 1,450 wheels and 500 wheel hubs per day for Harley-Davidson. That work will be transferred to outside suppliers by the middle of 2013.

Harley-Davidson expects to save about $9 million annually by 2014. Closing New Castalloy will however require a cost of about $30 million, including $10 million in 2011 and $20 million in 2012. New Castalloy employs 212 workers, including 29 contract workers.

According to Harley-Davidson, the decision to close New Castalloy is part of a continuing strategy to focus in-house production on metal fabrication for fuel tanks, fenders and frames, powertrain production, final assembly and painting. Everything else can be outsourced to suppliers.

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Here is some spectacular footage of Castrol Honda World Superbike racer Jonathan Rea crashing during a pre-season test at Australia’s Phillip Island ciruit.

Rea’s Honda CBR1000RR Superbike went up in flames just before he highsided at turn three at Phillip Island. Rea injured his hand and a collarbone in the crash but he still hopes to compete in the Feb. 27 season opener.

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Another motorcycle safety commercial…  This one is original at least.  It was created by The Motor Accident Commission of South Australia, the TV AD utilizes real MotoGP footage and has an appearance by Mick Doohan.

Hit the jump and check it out for yourself.

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Australians are known to have a great sense of humor and here is another good example. Hit the jump and checkout this simple yet very effective AD for Coast Yamaha which is located in South Australia.

Looks can be deceiving…

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The Postie Bike Challenge started in 2002 as a one-off event in Brisbane, Australia to prove that small bikes can travel long distances over both asphalt, dirt, sand, or stony surfaces has turned into a 10-day charity event.  The entry fee is $4,000 but almost everything is taken care of, including:

• Late model Honda CT110 Postie bike (registered to you!)
• All breakfasts, lunches and dinners
• All fuel for the trip
• One way air ticket back to Brisbane
• Support truck to carry equipment, clothing bag and mechanics
• Final celebration dinner and hotel accommodation

That’s right, you can keep the Honda CT110 Postie bike (designed for commercial and agricultural, also used by Australia Post) but the concept is to give the bike to charity in your name after the event is over, its up to you but more than 90% of the participants do give the bike back.

Hit the jump to see the video and for more info on this years trek.

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When Yamaha announced its new R1 literbike last fall, company reps told us about the tractability assets of its new, MotoGP-derived crossplane crankshaft for the four-cylinder engine. It’s unique in that cylinders fire 90-degrees apart, allegedly enabling better grip during acceleration.

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Australia’s government.

Obviously these campaigns are made to keep motorists aware of two-wheelers, and don’t necessarily apply to us riders. Still, dothetest.co.uk is a great tool for demonstrating how most of us are not entirely aware of our surroundings, even though as motorcyclists (and bicyclists, too!) we should be super-keen of our environment.

Thanks to dothetest.co.uk I learned I’m not as sharp as I used to be, and can no longer rely on my powers of observation honed from years of criminal justice studies.

If nothing else, this is a great two minute timewaster.

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