Sabtu, 25 Juni 2011

Kawasaki Recalls 2008 Ninja EX250 for Tail Light Failure

Kawasaki has issued a recall of certain 2008 Ninja EX250J8F and EX250J8FL motorcycles.

The tail light bulb may prematurely fail. Inappropriate lighting could reduce visibility creating the possibility of a crash resulting in injury or death.

532 units are affected.

Check out my Motorcycle Recalls feature for more details.

Daytona Bike Week - March Madness on Motorcycles

The 67th anniversary of Daytona Bike Week is being held February 29 - March 9, 2008 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The start of Daytona Bike Week is often announced on the morning TV news shows. You know, where somebody sticks their face in front of the camera and announces: "We're at the opening of Daytona Bike Week. Good Morning America," and then you see a whole line of bikes roar off in front of the camera. Unfortunately, most of the remainder of Bike Week will not be seen by non-motorcyclists.

Check out my article, Daytona, for details.

Here in the frigid Northeast, I hear plenty of people talking about going to Daytona. Some are riding down with friends. Riding sometimes means riding in a car and towing a trailer with the bike on it. After all, the 1500 miles down with uncertain weather conditions has left many a rider stranded in a snow storm or Nor'easter. After that happens to you once, you tend to be a little more cautious the next time you go.

Maybe you want to skip Daytona and concentrate on planning to go to some smaller rallies this year. Be sure to read my article, Motorcycle Rallies, where I discuss rallies and give you information about the top rallies that I like. Of course, your views may be different -- this is Motorcycle Views after all.

I just got my registration information for the Americade Motorcycle Rally. That one is my favorite and I've gone every year since 1994.

It can get expensive going to lots of rallies, especially if you're taking two bikes. Double gas, double tolls. You just have to pick and choose what appeals to you most. Motorcycle rallies are a lot of fun. If you've never attended a rally, you owe it to yourself to go. You just might find a rally or two that you'll want to go to every year, just like I go to Americade, regardless of the weather.

Biography of HONDA founder : Soichiro Honda

The founder of Honda, Soichiro Honda was a mechanical engineer with a passion for motorcycle and automobile racing. Honda started his company in 1946 by building motorized bicycles with small, war-surplus engines. Honda would grow to become the world’s leading manufacturer of motorcycles and later one of the leading automakers. Following its founder's lead, Honda has always been a leader in technology, especially in the area of engine development.

Soichiro Honda was described as a maverick in a nation of conformists. He made it a point to wear loud suits and wildly colored shirts. An inventor by nature who often joined the work on the floors of his factories and research laboratories, Honda developed engines that transformed the motorcycle into a worldwide means of transportation.

Born in 1906, Honda grew up in the town of Tenryu, Japan. The eldest son of a blacksmith who repaired bicycles, the young Soichiro had only an elementary school education when, in his teens, he left home to seek his fortune in Tokyo. An auto repair company hired him in 1922, but for a year he was forced to serve as a baby-sitter for the auto shop's owner and his wife. While employed at the auto shop, however, Honda built his own racing car using an old aircraft engine and handmade parts and participated in racing. His racing career was short lived, however. He suffered serious injuries in a 1936 crash.

By 1937, Honda had recovered from his injuries. He established his own company, manufacturing piston rings, but he found that he lacked a basic knowledge of casting. To obtain it, he enrolled in a technical high school, applying theories as he learned them in the classrooms to his own factory. But he did not bother to take examinations at the school. Informed that he would not be graduated, Honda commented that a diploma was "worth less than a movie theater ticket. A ticket guarantees that you can get into the theater. But a diploma doesn't guarantee that you can make a living."

Honda’s burgeoning company mass-produced metal propellers during WWII, replacing wooden ones. Allied bombing and an earthquake destroyed most of his factory and he sold what was left to Toyota in 1945.


In 1946, he established the Honda Technical Research Institute to motorize bicycles with small, war-surplus engines. These bikes became very popular in Japan. The institute soon began making engines. Renamed Honda Motor in 1948, the company began manufacturing motorcycles. Business executive Takeo Fujisawa was hired to manage the company while Honda focused on engineering

In 1951, Honda brought out the Dream Type E motorcycle, which proved an immediate success thanks to Honda's innovative overhead valve design. The smaller F-type cub (1952) accounted for 70% of Japan's motorcycle production by the end of that year. A public offering and support from Mitsubishi Bank allowed Honda to expand and begin exporting. The versatile C100 Super Cub, released in 1958, became an international bestseller.

In 1959, the American Honda Motor was founded and soon began using the slogan, "You meet the nicest people on a Honda," to offset the stereotype of motorcyclists during that period. Though the small bikes were dismissed by the dominant American and British manufacturers of the time, the inexpensive imports brought new riders into motorcycling and changed the industry forever in the United States.

Ever the racing enthusiast, Honda began entering his company’s motorcycles in domestic Japanese races during the 1950s. In the mid-1950s, Honda declared that his company would someday win world championship events – a declaration that seemed unrealistic at the time.

In June 1959, the Honda racing team brought their first motorbike to compete in the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy (T.T.) race, then the world’s most popular motorcycle race. This was the first entry by a Japanese team. With riders Naomi Taniguchi, who finished sixth, Teisuke Tanaka, who finished eighth, and Kiyoshi Kawashima, who would later succeed Soichiro as Honda Motor president, as team manager, Honda won the manufacturer's prize.

However, they were not pleased with their performance. Kawashima remembers: "We were clobbered. Our horsepower was less than half that of the winner."

Learning from this experience, Soichiro and his team worked even harder to make rapid progress in their motorsports activities. Two years after their first failure, they were the sensation at the TT by capturing the first five places in both the 125cc and 250cc classes. The upstart Japanese had outclassed all their rivals. As a result of the team's stellar performance, the Honda name became well known worldwide, and its export volume rose dramatically. Soichiro seemed to have foreseen the future of Japan, which, twenty years later, was to become one of the world's leading economies.

Honda would become the most successful manufacturer in all of motorcycle racing. Honda has since won hundreds of national and world championships in all forms of motorcycle competition.

While Honda oversaw a worldwide company by the early-1970s (Honda entered the automobile market in 1967), he never shied away from getting his hands greasy. Sol Sanders, author of a Honda biography, said Honda appeared "almost daily" at the research lab where development work was being done. Even as president of the company, "he worked as one of the researchers," Sanders quoted a Honda engineer as saying. "Whenever we encountered a problem, he studied it along with us."

In 1973, Honda, at 67, retired on the 25th anniversary of Honda's founding. He declared his conviction that Honda should remain a youthful company.

"Honda has always moved ahead of the times, and I attribute its success to the fact that the firm possesses dreams and youthfulness," Honda said at the time.

Unlike most chief executive officers in Japan, who step down to become chairmen of their firms, Honda retained only the title of "supreme adviser."

In retirement, Honda devoted himself to public service and frequent travel abroad. He received the Order of the Sacred Treasure, first class, the highest honor bestowed by Japan's emperor. He also received the American auto industry's highest award when he was admitted to the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1989. Honda was awarded the AMA’s highest honor, the Dud Perkins Award, in 1971.

Honda died on August 5, 1991 from liver failure at 84. His wife, Sachi, and three children survived him.


Motorcycle Copy!! (China Manufacturer)


Yamaha Nouvo copy to model LY150T-23 by Zhejiang Lingyun Motorcycle Co., Ltd.

JRD Quest 125 cc copy to model JL150T-3A by Jetstar Motorcycle Factory



Sachs-bikes MADASS 125 copy to model Yinggeluertongyueyeche by Taizhou City Luqiao Zhongji Motorcycle Co., Ltd.
Honda CBR1000 copy to model Bestar 125/200cc by Ningbo Bestar Co., Ltd.

Yamaha Nouvo History

Yamaha Nouvo also known as Yamaha Nouvo S in Malaysia, Yamaha Nouvo RC in Vietnam, Yamaha Nouvo MX in Thailand and Yamaha Nouvo Z in Indonesia is a small CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) underbone bodied motorcycle manufactured by Yamaha Motor Company. Yamaha engineers specially developed the frame with the same or higher level of rigidity as a moped bike in order to achieve a moped-like ride and good handling performance but also have the same level of comfort as a scooter.

Powered by a new air-cooled 4-stroke, SOHC 2-valve single-cylinder engine which is characterized by its strong torque in the mid-to low-speed range, the Nouvo is designed and engineered by Yamaha to answer the needs of the ASEAN market in all aspects.

Main features

- An easy to use SOHC 115cc engine with CVT - The engine features a 50 x 57.9mm bore x stroke and a compression ratio of 8.8:1 that puts out a max. power output of 6.54kW/8,000rpm and a max. torque of 8.63N-m/7,000 rpm. These performance specs ensure a comfortable ride and lively performance in stop-and-go urban traffic conditions.
- The Nouvo uses Mikuni BS25/1 type carburetor to ensure good response, performance and combustion efficiency of the engine.

- 16-inch wheels front and rear - To provide good running performance even on poor road surfaces, this fact is based on extensive studies of conditions of use in the ASEAN region by Yamaha R&D team.
- New-design frame with moped-level rigidity - These design will optimizing the balance of the caster, trail and fork offset so that it can give a great straight-line stability and nimble handling.


New edition

After a huge success in the Asean markets, Yamaha Motor Company in Vietnam has release a new edition model for their market in 2007, this model known as Yamaha Nouvo Limited[3]. It features newly design V-shape headlight and newly body stripes but the engine specification is still remain the same with all Nouvo series that available. This model only comes with two colors design - White Wolf and Black Knight.

Specification

* Model code: 5LW1
* Engine: SOHC 2-valve 4-stroke 115cc Air-cooled engine
* Cylinder arrangement: Forward-inclined single cylinder
* Displacement: 113.7 cc
* Max power: 6.54 kW (8.9 PS) @ 8,000 rpm
* Max torque: 8.63 Nm @ 7,000 rpm
* Max speed: 120 km/h
* Bore x stroke: 50 x 57.9 mm
* Compression ratio: 8 . 8 : 1
* Transmission: Stepless, V-belt drive
* Clutch: Dry and centrifugal automatic
* Frame Type: Steel tube, Underbone
* Suspension (Front): Telescopic
* Suspension (Rear): Swingarm twin-tube shock absorber
* Brake (Front): Single-piston disc
* Brake (Rear): Drum
* Dry weight: 96 / 101 kg
* Tires: 70/90-16 / 80/90-16 Sport rims with tubeless tires
* Fuel tank capacity: 4.9 liter
* Overall length x width x height: 1,935 x 675 x 1,070 mm
* Seat height: 755 mm
* Wheelbase: 1,280 mm
* Minimum ground clearance: 135 mm



Minggu, 19 Juni 2011

Motorcycle Pictures of the Week - Jim Finlayson


Here are my Pictures of the Week as displayed on the Motorcycle Views Web site. These are taken from the Moto Pic Gallery.

See Jim on his Yamaha V-Star 1100 Classic.

If you'd like to see your bike as Picture of the Week, submit a picture of you and your bike along with a description of the bike.

Kamis, 19 Mei 2011

The foot bone is connected to the ankle bone,.... is connected to my wallet.




Most bikers learn early on, that just about the time you try to do one thing custom to your ride, that you rarely can do just “one thing” without it directly affecting something else. For me anyway, it usually amounts to about two to three times the cost I initially thought I was going to end up spending for just the one thing. Thus, my title the foot bone is connected to the ankle bone, ....is connected to my wallet.

I've been doing a lot of bodywork and painting on motorcycles lately. I used to custom paint for a living, but I've scaled back to doing it as a side job and or hobby. I am currently doing my 3rd bike now for about the 3rd or 4th time. I suppose you can say I'm never content with one paint job for very long, as I have the ability to do bodywork and paint myself. Plus, this way it’s a little easier to swallow the cost of the new paint. However, it never comes without a price. There is still a lot of expense and time involved. I usually end up picking up another paint job for a paying customer to help pay for my habit. So needless to say I've been busy lately. I must thank my wife and kids for putting up with my lack of being around lately as I have spent many hours away in the shop.

The cause of the problem to start with was that I put in a larger motor, which decreased clearances that I used to have with the smaller motor. I ended up "having" to do my bike again because I had a crack in a gas tank weld, caused by one of my lower gas tank brackets hitting one of the rocker box covers, which was caused by the motor heating and expanding the jugs under the rocker box cover, thus pushing it upwards into the bracket. This caused a lot of unwanted vibration on the gas tank, thus cracking a weld. (Bracket bent upward, clearance given, welded crack, problem averted). Since I cracked the weld in the gas tank, bodywork and paint was necessary. I also broke my drive belt due to having a small weak stock belt that was not suited for the larger motor. Since I am doing bodywork and paint, and need a new belt, this means the rear fender needs to come off to. Since I'm doing the gas tank and rear fender, I'm already painting two thirds of the main painted parts, so why not paint the front fender and change out the custom paint to a whole new paint job. While it is apart and in the shop, why not change the fluids. I also have easier clearance to change brake pads now, so I may as well do them too.

The larger motor is connected to the gas tank, is connected to the belt, is connected to the rear fender, is connected to the front fender, is connected to the brakes, is connected to the fluids.
Thus "the foot bone is connected to the ankle bone,...is connected to my wallet."

I’m getting that spring fever thing goin on here, since we’re climbing into high thirties. Did I mention I’m in Minnesota? Hopefully, soon it’ll all be over and I'll be happily picking bugs out of my teeth again.