#suzuki

Nothing like the start of a new racing season to turn the iron in a man’s blood into the lead in his pencil. All the speculation, all the testing, all the contingencies will become moot once the lights go out in far-away Qatar. The Alien class – Marc Marquez, Andrea Dovizioso, Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales – is sharpening their fairings in anticipation. Another handful of riders dream of getting their tickets punched in 2018.

ED: Bruce Allen’s 2018 MotoGP season preview continues with a look at what we can expect from each team and their riders. If you missed it, here’s Part 1.

ED: With the pre-season testing now complete, Bruce Allen previews the 2018 MotoGP season. In this first part, Bruce presents his observations on the tests. Check back here next week for Bruce’s team-by-team analysis.

Suzuki has filed multiple patent applications for a semi-automatic transmission system that may find its way on the next generation Hayabusa. Suzuki has filed three patents dealing with different aspects of the technology, filing each in Japan, the U.S. and in Germany.

Dear MOby,

Somehow I forgot to take this one back to Suzuki after we tested it in late July. Whoops. I bonded with this cute little Suzuki immediately – little being what we’ve come to completely inappropriately think of as a 750cc motorcycle now that we’ve been so spoiled by 1000cc naked bikes.

We’re not big fans of the extended-swingarm sportbike scene, as such modifications have deleterious effects to a motorcycle. And yet these kinds of bikes remain relevant to many riders, especially to those in parts of the country with a dearth of twisty roads. And, if your preconceived notion is that riders of bikes with extended wheelbases don’t know how to ride, you might need to reevaluate.

Yes, $10,000 is still a lot of money, but it’s not 1973 anymore and you really do get a lot of motorcycle for that much now. No, buying new is not the most economical way to go, but a lot of people have no choice. Besides, interest rates are at historical lows, and the fact is that brand-new bikes are about as easy to take care of as a Toyota Camry. For every old guy who misses carburetors and “wrenching,” there are five or 10 young ones out riding around happily oblivious to what they’re missing. Listen, I’m wearing socks older than most of you, but when it comes to motorcycles, new is good. Here are are my personal top 10, from least to most expensive.

Here we are with another year coming to an end. It was another great year in motorcycling for 2017. Yes, even with all the doom and gloom from “industry insiders” tirelessly trying to understand why don’t millennials like motorcycles, and low sales numbers from some of the largest motorcycle manufacturers in the world, it was still a great time to be a motorcyclist.

This news slipped under our radar last month, but when the Kawasaki Ninja 400‘s European debuted at EICMA, the World Superbike Championship announced the new model will be eligible to race in the series’ relatively new World Supersport 300 class.

Privateer Superbike/Superstock 1000 racer Hayden Gillim suffered a horrifying crash last August at MotoAmerica’s race event at the new Pittsburgh International Race Complex, culminating in Gillim ragdoll-tumbling into a tire barrier at high speed while his GSX-R1000 cartwheeled and bounced all the way over the fence. The race was immediately red-flagged, as Gillim surely would be requiring prompt medical attention.

The final installment of this year’s diatribe should, one thinks, start with an examination of the season preview from back in February. Heading into Qatar, the conventional thinking was that Maverick Viñales, newly and firmly ensconced on the factory Yamaha, the best bike on earth of late, would challenge triple world champion Marc Marquez and his Repsol Honda – you remember, the one with the acceleration issues – for the world championship.

If there’s one thing we learned during our 2018 450cc motocross shootout, it’s this: When it comes to building the best 450cc motocross machine, one that excels on all tracks and in all conditions, no bike is ever perfect for everyone.

The all-new 2017 GSX-R1000 is “a huge impact model for us,” Takeshi Hayasaki, president of Suzuki Motor of America, told us at the Gixxer’s launch earlier this year. As such, part of the new GSX-R’s media launch included tours of Suzuki’s three main facilities in Japan where we could witness the care and precision that goes into each bike’s development and its production.

Have I died and gone to motorcycle heaven? Pretty much. EICMA is the world’s biggest motorcycle trade show; anyone and everyone who has anything to do with motorcycling is there. From all the OEMs, to aftermarket performance parts manufacturers to riding gear and apparel companies – it’s all there in unimaginable abundance. I was tasked to sniff out the top five coolest things at EICMA this year and thought – well, that ought to be easy! Boy was I mistaken…