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Motorcycle News - Reviews | Photos | MotoGP | Superbike | Motocross | Supercross | Motorcycles Resignation Riots Brewing in AMA Hall of Fame July 13, 2012 at 3:24 PM AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Resignations Back on June 11, Derek "Nobby" Clark was inducted into the American Motorcyclist Association Motorcycle Hall of Fame, the famed motorcycle tuner recognized for his work that helped create racing legends, including Mike Hailwood, Giacomo Agostini and three-time 500cc WOorld Champion Kenny Roberts. But a few weeks later, the AMA rescinded Clark's honor, reporting his Hall of Fame status was revoked due to "an error in the Hall of Fame balloting process." This wasn't going to quietly pass through the industry, and it was only a matter of time before people started reacting. And on Thursday, the reactions began, fueled by the first man to officially resign as an AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame member - Dave Despain, the famed journalist of SPEED's "Wind Tunnel." In his resignation letter (entire letter below), Despain says he wants his name and all images removed from the AMA Motocycle Hall of Fame, stating "I have lost all faith in that process and, more importantly, in the individuals who apparently now control it." Despain wrapped up his letter with some strong words: "given everything Nobby Clark has accomplished in this sport, if he doesn't belong in the Motorcycle Hall of Fame then I sure as hell shouldn't be in there." Shortly after Despain resigned, two-time AMA Grand National Champion Dick Mann did the same, saying the AMA Hall of Fame "lacks leadership." There's also talk within the industry of Kenny Roberts handing in his resignation letter. Following the decision to rescind Clark's status, Jeffrey V. Heininger, chairman of the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation, which oversees the selection process for Hall of Fame nominees, said "this was a difficult decision, but it had to be made to ensure the integrity of this remarkable institution. We are undertaking a thorough review of our nomination process and its implementation going forward." The outcome of these resignation riots have certainly brewed some controversy around the people in charge of the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. Where will this ultimately go? We haven't the slightest clue...but it's far from over. Following are the complete letters from Despain and Dick Mann: Dave Despain's Letter to the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame: To Whom It May Concern: This letter and the enclosed medal commemorating my induction comprise my immediate resignation from the Motorcycle Hall of Fame. I expect my name and picture to be removed without delay from all Hall of Fame materials and representations. I take this action in response to the Hall of Fame's unconscionable rescinding of the nomination of Nobby Clark, a motorcycling legend more than worthy of Hall of Fame membership. I believe we Hall of Famers have a special stake in the integrity of the institution and its nominating process. I have lost all faith in that process and, more importantly, in the individuals who apparently now control it. I am deeply suspicious of media speculation that Clark's "criminal record" is somehow grounds for the withdrawal of his nomination but given the absence of any clear and official explanation from Hall of Fame officials, that apparently is the brush with which Nobby is to be tarred. This raises a couple obvious questions: What changed in the short time between the announcement and the rescinding of Clark's nomination and why would Clark's "criminal record" be grounds for a blackball when that clearly was not an issue for a number of previous inductees who also have criminal records. I suspect the answers to these questions, if they were truly known, would do nothing to restore my faith in the integrity of the institution, but in the end my resignation does not turn on those answers. Instead it is based on a simple and inescapable conclusion: given everything Nobby Clark has accomplished in this sport, if he doesn't belong in the Motorcycle Hall of Fame then I sure as hell shouldn't be in there. Sincerely, Dave Despain Dick Mann's Letter to AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame: Enclosed is the medal I received when I was inducted in the AMA Hall Of Fame in 1998. This is in response to the mismanagement of the HOF Directors of the induction/non-induction of Nobby Clark. I was one of the original committee members involved in organizing the current Hall of Fame. Lately, I have watched this organization slide into mediocrity, apparently from the lack of leadership and knowledge of the history of our sport. Due to Nobby Clark's contributions to the sport of motorcycles, it is my opinion there is no one more deserving of being inducted in the HOF. Since that is not going to happen, I no longer want to be considered a part of the Hall of Fame. Sincerely, Dick Mann AMA #59858 Southern 100: Guy Martin & Cummins Report July 13, 2012 at 2:35 PM The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request. Please contact the server administrator, webmaster@motorcyclingmag.com and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error. More information about this error may be available in the server error log. Additionally, a 500 Internal Server Error error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request. Apache/2.2.15 (Unix) mod_ssl/2.2.15 OpenSSL/0.9.8e-fips-rhel5 DAV/2 mod_auth_passthrough/2.1 mod_bwlimited/1.4 FrontPage/5.0.2.2635 Server at www.ultimatemotorcycling.com Port 80 Dunlop: Exclusive Supplier for Willow Shoot Out July 13, 2012 at 2:27 PM Click the images below for bigger versions: Dunlop Tire News Dunlop proudly announces its support as the exclusive provider of tires for the new Motoyard Track Days racing series at California's Willow Springs International Raceway. Called the Willow Springs Wild West Shoot Out, the races will be held August 10-12, 2012 and will offer a total of six classes, ranging from 1000cc Unlimited race bikes down to the 250 Ninja shootout. Sabastian Mincone (Dunlop Senior Road Race Manager) says: "This new series opens the door to a wide range of racing opportunities, and we are proud to sponsor this latest effort to grow racing at the grass-roots level in the USA. "Willow Springs is well known as one of the most interesting race tracks in America, with a long history of great racing that has turned out many road race champions in our sport. We will have tires available at the track for all the classes, from the same spec tires we use at the Nationals to the Sportmax GP Unbeaten 02 for the Ninja 250." Tony Romo (Dunlop) says: "We are very proud to have been chosen as the one brand tire supplier for the inaugural Motoyard Wild West Shoot Out races. "Willow Springs has always posed some unique challenges on tires - especially the rear tire through the fast turn eight. To prepare for these challenges we took the opportunity to test our full range of tires in the June heat with very positive results. This testing helped us develop tires to handle the extreme demands of the Motoyard Wild West Shoot Out." About Dunlop Dunlop is the largest supplier of original equipment and replacement motorcycle tires in the U.S. and the only manufacturer of motorcycle tires in North America-with North American operations headquartered in Buffalo, NY. High-quality Dunlop tires have been made and sold in the U.S. since 1923. For more information, visit dunlopmotorcycle.com. Mugello MotoGP | Lorenzo Leads Friday July 13, 2012 at 2:13 PM Click the images below for bigger versions: 2012 Mugello Free Practice Results The 2012 Italian Grand Prix at Mugello began Friday with the first two of three practice sessions held under dry yet windy conditions. And most riders were quickly up to speed, the top 10 covered by a mere second in the second free practice. Leading the group was the current MotoGP Championship leader after eight of 18 rounds, Yamaha Factory Racing's Jorge Lorenzo. The YZR-M1 rider who won last year's Mugello MtoGP ended the day with a record-beating 1:48.076 lap around the 3.259-mile circuit containing 15 turns. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing YZR-M1 MotoGP) says: "I'm really happy because from the beginning we've been quite fast. We haven't had to make many changes to the bike, the feeling is great with the track and it's working well. I feel good with the suspension, throttle and braking. Everything seems quite clear, we have to work on some small details but we've made an excellent beginning." But not far behind the Spaniard was his fellow countryman, Dani Pedrosa. The Repsol Honda RC213V rider, who won last weekend's Sachsenring MotoGP, was only 0.31 of a second behind Lorenzo. The quick times arrive a day after Repsol Honda announced it had re-signed Pedrosa for another two years (along with 2010 125cc Champion Marc Marquez). Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V MotoGP) says: "We had some troubles with the tyres in the morning, but in the afternoon we made a step forward that I'm happy with in order to keep improving tomorrow. We struggled to get up to the pace a little in FP1, but during the day we were getting closer to Lorenzo, who seems to have the set up quite clear from the beginning. "In the afternoon we wanted complete the 12 laps Bridgestone requested on the standard hard option tire. I went out planning to make this long run on my first exit but I couldn't complete it due to the red flag. Anyway, we finished the day quite well and we have some ideas for tomorrow; we need to find some more grip and better braking to gain three or four more tenths." Posting the third quickest time was Ducati Team's Nicky Hayden. The American piloted his Ducati GP12 to a 1:48.157, which was 0.81 of a second behind Lorenzo. Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team GP12 MotoGP) says: "Things started out pretty well this morning. I did a 14-lap run with times that were steadily pretty good. From there, we haven't really made a big step with the hard tire. "My best time was with the soft, which we tried for a couple laps just to make sure there are no surprises when we put it in for qualifying. We're struggling a bit with grip on rear entry, which hasn't been the case lately, but we have some ideas to try. This track is tough, but I like it, and there's still time to improve before Sunday." Fourth went to Pramac Racing Ducati's Hector Barbera, who suffered a huge crash in FP2 that briefly brought out the red flag. Barbera was followed by Monster Tech 3 Yamaha's Andrea Dovizioso, who will be seeking his fourth podium this weekend, and Repsol Honda's Casey Stoner. The reigning MotoGP Champion, who crashed out of last weekend's Germany GP on the final lap, struggled with getting his harder Bridgestone tires up to temperature. Lorenzo's teammate Ben Spies was seventh quickest, 0.464 of a second behind the leader. Spies, who had a slight crash in the morning, was followed by Dovizioso's Cal Crutchlow. The Brit encountered some technical problems aboard the YZR-M1, which the team sorted out by day's end. Nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi finished ninth quickest, likely disappointing many of his home fans. The Ducati Team rider was followed by LCR Honda's Stefan Bradl, who was the final rider to post within a second of Lorenzo, the German 0.946 of a second behind. The top CRT spot went to Power Electronics Aspar's Aleix Espargaró, who finished 11th quickest. San Carlo Honda Gresini's Álvaro Bautista had a day to forget as he crashed out at turn one in both practice sessions, while Avintia Blusens' Yonny Hernandez also crashed out of the afternoon session with just over 20 minutes remaining. None of the riders were hurt in the incidents, MotoGP reports. The grid is lacking a rider, also - Cardion AB Racing Ducati's Karel Abraham. The Czech's doctors advised him not to participate in this weekend's MotoGP due the hand injury he sustained while testing at Aragon. Unfortunately, the team could not find a substitute rider in time for the race. There is one significant change this weekend that must be mentioned; MotoGP says Bridgestone has provided the MotoGP grid with a special construction hard rear slick tire for the Mugello circuit, which can cause exceptionally high tyre temperatures. Yet with an allocation of only four per rider, they will be used sparingly throughout the weekend, and only should track temperatures rise significantly. Today, the majority of riders tested the regular hard compound tire for use in the race on Sunday. 2012 Mugello Free Practice 2 Results: Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Bike Km/h Time Gap 1st/Prev. 1. 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 340.8 1'48.076 2. 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 339.9 1'48.107 0.031 / 0.031 3. 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 343.6 1'48.157 0.081 / 0.050 4. 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 346.7 1'48.254 0.178 / 0.097 5. 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 340.4 1'48.308 0.232 / 0.054 6. 1 Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 339.1 1'48.527 0.451 / 0.219 7. 11 Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 339.5 1'48.540 0.464 / 0.013 8. 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 340.8 1'48.650 0.574 / 0.110 9. 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team Ducati 344.1 1'49.017 0.941 / 0.367 10. 6 Stefan BRADL GER LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 338.3 1'49.022 0.946 / 0.005 11. 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 337.4 1'49.208 1.132 / 0.186 12. 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Power Electronics Aspar ART 322.1 1'50.015 1.939 / 0.807 13. 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA Power Electronics Aspar ART 318.0 1'50.269 2.193 / 0.254 14. 51 Michele PIRRO ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini FTR 321.5 1'51.130 3.054 / 0.861 15. 68 Yonny HERNANDEZ COL Avintia Blusens BQR 316.3 1'51.322 3.246 / 0.192 16. 54 Mattia PASINI ITA Speed Master ART 320.5 1'51.384 3.308 / 0.062 17. 5 Colin EDWARDS USA NGM Mobile Forward Racing Suter 327.9 1'51.857 3.781 / 0.473 18. 77 James ELLISON GBR Paul Bird Motorsport ART 321.2 1'51.966 3.890 / 0.109 19. 9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA Came IodaRacing Project Ioda 302.6 1'52.109 4.033 / 0.143 20. 22 Ivan SILVA SPA Avintia Blusens BQR 317.3 1'52.558 4.482 / 0.449 BMW: ABS Standard on Every New Model July 13, 2012 at 12:19 PM The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request. Please contact the server administrator, webmaster@motorcyclingmag.com and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error. More information about this error may be available in the server error log. Additionally, a 500 Internal Server Error error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request. Apache/2.2.15 (Unix) mod_ssl/2.2.15 OpenSSL/0.9.8e-fips-rhel5 DAV/2 mod_auth_passthrough/2.1 mod_bwlimited/1.4 FrontPage/5.0.2.2635 Server at www.ultimatemotorcycling.com Port 80 Suzuki's Stewart to Miss Millville Motocross July 13, 2012 at 11:53 AM Click the images below for bigger versions: 2012 AMA Motocross Injury Update James Stewart began the 2012 AMA Motocross Championship on a strong note. The Florida native entered the series on a new ride - the Yoshimura Suzuki RM-Z 450 - and sweep the opening rounds at Hangtown and Freestone. But bad luck returned once again for Stewart at Thunder Valley; there, Stewart suffered a wrist injury following a crash in moto 1. Stewart would miss two rounds (High Point and Budds Creek), but return to action at RedBud, finishing 6-3. Stewart underwent some pain RedBud, though, and has decided to miss this weekend's Spring Creek National in Millville, his team reports. The teams says Stewart has not seen enough progress in the rehab from his recent injury to make sense to compete at this time. Mike Webb (Team Yoshimura Suzuki Manager) says: "At this point in time it doesn't make sense to push it. From a safety standpoint, for both James and the other riders, we just don't want to take the chance. The injury is a little more than we thought and will simply require a bit more rehab. The plan is to stay off the bike for a couple weeks and then ride and test and come back strong for Southwick." 2012 Piaggio X10 500 | Scooter Review July 13, 2012 at 11:31 AM Click the images below for bigger versions: 2012 Piaggio Scooter Review The Piaggio X10 500 is a technological force major with step-less electrically adjustable suspension, ABS, traction control and full multi media capability (PMP), which includes highly advanced engine read outs if you own an iPhone. We tested the 350 version in Paris earlier this year, but with the 500 finally ready we have the full picture of Piaggio's scooters... It's 30 degrees Celsius in Pontedera, home to Piaggio, and we fire up the most maxi of the latest Piaggio X10 range - the X10 500. This is Piaggio's ultimate flagship scooter, and it has everything. The features? Automatic transmission, ABS (it's only a matter of pulling the brake levers to stop in any situation), traction control (enables safe crossing of slippery surfaces under full throttle), Piaggio Multimedia Platform (you will never get lost), and under the seat is plenty of storage space. The Piaggio X10 500 has all you need, and a lot you probably don't need. It's fun taking a quick glimpse down on the iPhone provided by Piaggio for the launch and see torque figures in real time, but realistically you have to keep your eyes on the road rather than on the iPhone because it is mounted slightly too far towards the rider. The multimedia platform communicates between your device and the X10 by way of Bluetooth, and the iPhone is connected to the battery for constant re-charge while on the move. For safety, the interaction functions are turned off while on the move. Should you start running out of fuel, the GPS function will alert you to the nearest fuel station. And should abnormalities occur with the tires, the GPS will provide an alert along with information of the nearest Piaggio dealership (only with ABS/ASR). The latest interface selected will be saved for when starting up the X10 again and should you have a habit of getting lost in a big city the iPhone with the Piaggio application will record exactly where you parked so that you can track back using the GPS. Finally there's also a general analysis feature for trouble shooting and you can tell the mechanic at your garage what needs doing rather than the other way around, which will save you valuable garage time. The 760mm seat height is still just as comfortable as on the 350cc version, but on the 500 I can play around with suspension settings using just two buttons, one for softer and one for harder. Even while riding this feature can be used so should the road change from a fast motorway to lots of cornering and braking you can stiffen up the suspension settings and carry on. This is also a great feature for carrying a pillion passenger as you just change the settings when needed by way of buttons just next to the ignition key. The X10 500 is slightly longer and heavier than the 350, so it needs the extra 8 horsepower and 14Nm of torque. The figures then read 41 horsepower @7,250rpm and 46Nm @5,250rpm. The 492cc V-twin is a twin spark highly efficient engine. You can only notice the differences in exterior by looking at the 500's bulkier round exhaust and different engine casings at the rear. Everything else is the same as on the 350. Leaving the red lights in Pontedera, the 500 responds instantly with good acceleration and the torqueier engine keeps the momentum much better than the smaller capacity version. In town it's also easy to notice the good turning radius even for such a long maxi scooter. We got to ride the X10 500 in some gorgeous countryside in Tuscany and test the sporty side to the big X. The front feels a little bit vague when we're going really fast but otherwise very good. The rear suspension works really well and it's a mono shock that can be electrically adjusted whilst on the move. I preferred the stiffer set up when going through the corners at speed and the more comfortable softer set up for cruising on the motorway or even going slowly in town. The electrically adjusted rear suspension is a great feature on the X10 500 Executive. The 500 is the only X10 with the mono shock at the rear and 41mm fork at the front (35mm on the 125-350) The linked ABS brakes have both the power and safety that you need in different situations. The Michelin tires have good grip helped by beefier suspension than the smaller X10 models. This enables a more controlled feel when braking really hard and I felt I could carry the X10 further into the corner with brakes applied. We passed the beauty spot where you'll find the red ring of Volterra marking the border between Pisa and Siena. Not only is the view stunning but the red ring sculpture sort of suits the X10 500 in symbolising constant communications in our brave new world. Piaggio calls its X10 500 Executive a moving living room and that's a fairly good description. 2012 Piaggio X10 500 Scooter Conclusion Piaggio will only offer the X10 500 in the Executive version which signifies its ABS/ASR capability. This means you have but no choice if you want the Piaggio flagship but I think this is OK because if you want to go the X10 budget way there's a lot of features and enough power on tap also in a standard 350 or even the 125 version. All in all it's very difficult not to be impressed by the new PMP feature that we'll also soon see in other Piaggio brands. Perhaps even in a full on Aprilia sports touring V4, who knows... Piaggio X10 500 Executive will certainly be an eye opener to a lot of people. 2012 Piaggio X10 500 Positives/Negatives: Positives: + High tech features that will take motorcycling and in this case scootering to new levels + Great torque developed from the large 492cc twin engine + Good suspension which places it above its smaller siblings in terms of handling + Electrically adjustable rear suspension Negatives: - Not the cheapest bad motor scooter in the world - The PMP mounting bracket might be in the way when you want to push the scooter off the center stand and it's position is not ideal for usage while riding Photography: Matteo Cavadini Touratech Releases Sunshade for Zumo 660/665 July 13, 2012 at 6:15 AM Click the images below for bigger versions: Zumo 660/665 GPS Accessories Touratech has released a sun shade to improve screen visibility on Garmin Zumo 660 and 665 GPS devices. The contoured plastic accessory provides a 1" shade across the top of the unit, blocking sunlight that can cause excessive glare on the screen. Paul Guillien (General Manager, Touratech-USA) says: "The Zumo is by far the most popular GPS unit for motorcyclists. The primary complaint we hear from our customers is that the screen is hard to see in sunny conditions, so we created a molded plastic sunshade that attaches directly to the unit." This sunshade is molded from rigid ABS plastic and simply attaches to the Zumo 660 or 665 GPS unit with 3M double-sided tape. The sun shade is compatible with all Touratech locking Zumo 660/665 GPS mounts as well as the original Garmin Zumo motorcycle and car mounts. Touratech Garmin Zumo 660/665 GPS Sunshade Features: Easy to install Extends 1" from top of Zumo screen Fits Garmin Zumo 660 and 665 GPS units Compatible with all Touratech locking Zumo 660/665 GPS mounts Compatible with all Garmin motorcycle and autotive mount Made in Germany by Touratech Part Number: 065-0158 MSRP: $16.95 For additional information, log onto Touratech's website.