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Paddock Pass Podcast #48 – WSBK Australia & Thailand

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Episode 48 of the Paddock Pass Podcast sees David Emmett and Steve English covering the recent the first two rounds of the World Superbike Championship, at Phillip Island an Thailand.

With Jonathan Rea dominating the first two races, the guys talk about the expectations at the opening rounds, and how the season is far from over for the other riders. Tom Sykes is looking to be in his best form ever, Chaz Davies is in the hunt, and Marco Melandri is showing his teeth…all of which is making for good racing.

The show also covers the World Supersport class, which has proven to be anything but predictable. With injuries, mechanicals, and crashes shaking up the leaderboard, the WSS title is still very much any rider’s to claim.

Before wrapping up, the lads talk about the Supersport 300 series, which begins at the first European round of the season, at Aragon. They tip who to watch, and what to expect from the racing, and surely hardcore race fans won’t want to miss the debut of this new series.

As always, be sure to follow the Paddock Pass Podcast on Facebook, Twitter and subscribe to the show on iTunes and SoundCloud – we even have an RSS feed for you. If you like the show, we would really appreciate you giving it a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

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Bikes

Mugen Shinden Roku Electric Superbike Breaks Cover

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In Japanese, “roku” is how you say the sixth ordinal, which means the electric superbike you see above, the Mugen Shinden Roku, is the Japanese firm’s sixth entry into the Isle of Man TT.

Piloted this year by John McGuinness and Guy Martin, the expectation is that the Mugen Shinden Roku will be the first electic motorcycle to do a 120 mph lap (from a standing start, no less) at the TT – a barrier that was nearly broken last year.

Team Mugen has progressed rapidly each year it enters the TT Zero class at the Isle of Man, and for 2017 they once again are bringing a new machine to the starting line at Glencrutchery Road.

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Bikes

Mugen Debuts an Electric Motocross Race Bike

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At the Isle of Man TT, Mugen is the team to beat, with the company’s Shinden electric superbike showing the state of the art, when it comes to electric motorcycles.

The asphalt is apparently not enough for Mugen though, as the Japanese tuning house has “partnered” with Honda to build an electric motocross dirt bike.

What you are look at here is the Mugen E.Rex, and don’t let the horrid dinosaur theme put you off, there is some seriously bad to the bone (sorry, couldn’t resist) pieces on this roost-maker.

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Bikes

Honda CBR250RR, Reporting for Racing Duty

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Honda is taking the quarter-liter market very seriously. The debut of the Honda CBR250RR street bike proves as much, with Big Red doubling-down on the segment, just three years after the debut of the Honda CBR300R.

The small-displacement category hasn’t converged on a single-displacement yet, with anything from 250cc to 400cc seemingly filling the gap, all of which makes the Honda CBR250RR an even bolder choice from the Japanese manufacturer, as it’s on the smaller end of the spectrum.

We have yet to see the Honda CBR250RR come to the western markets, but in Asia, HRC is getting ready to go racing with its 250cc twin-cylinder platform. As such, the above is the Honda CBR250RR, in its Astra Honda Racing trim, which debuted this weekend at the Osaka Motorcycle Show.

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MotoGP

Paddock Pass Podcast #47 – Qatar MotoGP Test

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Episode 47 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is our last episode from the MotoGP pre-season, and it sees David Emmett and Neil Morrison covering the recent Qatar MotoGP test.

Unsurprisingly, a hot topic of that conversation was about Ducati’s aerodynamic unveil – what is lovingly being called the “hammerhead” fairing for the Ducati Desmosedici GP17. The guys also talked about Honda’s pre-season testing strategy, as HRC searches for its 2017 engine setup.

The MotoGP conversation ends with a long discussion about the progress and state of all the top MotoGP riders, before the attention is turned on the Moto2 and Moto3 championships.

Of course with the pre-season now over, David and Neil can’t resist picking their riders for who will win the 2017 season, and whether they will be placing any bets for yours truly, by proxy.

As always, be sure to follow the Paddock Pass Podcast on Facebook, Twitter and subscribe to the show on iTunes and SoundCloud – we even have an RSS feed for you. If you like the show, we would really appreciate you giving it a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

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Bikes

Vyrus 986 M2 Street Bike Is Finally Ready

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Every time I hear about how the Japanese brands are abandoning the 600cc sport bike market, I have a little chuckle with myself. Honda et al will tell you that the issue is that motorcyclists don’t want to ride supersports anymore.

However, I am a firm believer that the real issue is that motorcyclists don’t want to ride the same old supersports that the OEMs keep cookie-cuttering out of their factories every year. In my mind, the Vyrus 986 M2 proves this point.

I can think of no other machine that has generated a bigger response on Asphalt & Rubber than this 600cc Italian exotic. The sweet irony too is that it’s powered by a Honda CBR600RR engine.

The motorcycle industry keeps trying to sell supersports, pitches them as watered-down superbikes, and then acts surprised when the bikes don’t sell.

Instead, they should take a note from, Vyrus, which has managed to create an inline-four 600cc speed machine that you want so bad, that you would sell a kidney from your middle-child for it.

Carbon fiber fairings, hub-center steering, edgy design…this bike screams unique and special…and no one cares that it’s not a 1,000cc 200hp monster. 

In other news, the street bike version of the Vyrus 986 M2 is finally available for order. You can order one completed, or in kit form.

As with all things from the Italian factory, each bike is built bespoke to its owner’s wishes, though last we heard the Vyrus 986 M2 was fetching a reasonable €25,000 price tag. Strike that, Vyrus just sent us an updated price list: €37,940 for the Vyrus 986 M2, and €27,930 for the street bike kit.

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Lifestyle

Honda’s Weirdest Bike Has “Ghost in the Shell” Cameo

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As a fan of the original Japanese animation film of the same name, I am pretty stoked to see that Hollywood is making a live-action version of The Ghost in the Shell (despite the obvious whitewashing of its characters).

While the movie appeals to me on a personal level, now I have a good “professional” excuse to see the film when it screens, thanks to Honda. This is because Scarlett Johansson’s character, “The Major” (again, more whitewashing), will be riding a modified Honda NM4 motorcycle around New Port City.

Yes, Honda’s strange creation – which itself is sometimes referred to as “the Akira bike” or “Batcycle” – seems perfect for a life on the big screen. It might be the first product placement for a motorcycle that actually makes sense to us.

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Racing

Video: John McGuinness – A Life Behind the Bars

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We are eagerly awaiting the start of the 2017 Isle of Man TT, which is easily one of the greatest two-wheeled events on our calendar each year. The build-up to this year’s event is already well underway, and helping fuel our addiction are the folks over at Honda Pro Racing.

Big Red has already announced the return of John McGuinness to its team, and riding the new(ish) Fireblade with McPint will be the affable Guy Martin. The fruits of that pairing have already been apparent, which only adds to the spectacle that surrounds this iconic race.

On a more somber and serious note, Honda has put together another video – this time featuring the 23-time TT winner, John McGuinness. It is about 10 minutes long, so grab a beverage and enjoy McGuinness’ thoughts on racing one of the most demanding courses in motorsport.

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MotoGP

Qatar MotoGP Test Summary – Day 2

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As veteran MotoGP journalist Dennis Noyes pointed out on Twitter late on Saturday night, on Sunday, we will start to see some of the real truth of where everyone stands.

Sunday is the last chance for the MotoGP field to do a full race simulation, putting together everything they have learned during winter testing. The last day of the test at Qatar will serve as a dress rehearsal for the race.

But Saturday gave us a quick peek at everyone’s hands. The work now is more about refinement than revolution, and genuine speed is coming to the fore. The final timesheets from Saturday do not tell the whole story, but a general picture is starting to form.

It is looking increasingly like the 2017 MotoGP championship is going to be fought out between Maverick Viñales and Marc Márquez. And while they focus on each other – which they are doing more and more – other riders, primarily Valentino Rossi, are waiting in the wings to strike.

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MotoGP

Qatar MotoGP Test Summary – Day 1

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At Sepang, after losing so much time to the weather during the shakedown test ahead of the official test, Ducati boss Gigi Dall’Igna said that there was no point in using Sepang as a test circuit, if the surface was not going to dry. “Maybe we have to test somewhere else,” he said.

Now MotoGP is somewhere else. At Qatar, where the rain is never a concern (well, almost never), and the teams don’t have to worry about the track not drying up. But arguably, the teams get even less track time at Qatar than they do at Sepang, even when it rains.

The test starts at 4pm, with the fierce Arabian sun still beating down on the track. Sunset is two hours later, and it takes a while for the track to cool to the normal temperatures that will be found at the race.

Track temperatures are fine after dark, at least for a few hours. Around 10pm, an hour before the track closes, the dew starts to form. The time at which it starts tends to vary, depending on temperature and humidity, but it is very rarely before 11pm.

Invisible damp patches on the track mean riders start to crash without warning. The sensible riders wait for the unlucky riders to crash, then take that as a signal to scurry back to their garages and call it a day.

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Bikes

The Honda Africa Twin Gets Rally Raid Ready

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When it comes to adventure-tourers that can actually go off-road, the Honda Africa Twin easily rises to the top of the list. Couple that to Honda’s pursuits in the Dakar Rally and other rally raid events, and its easy to see where the Honda Africa Twin Rally could be born.

A special model being built by Italy’s Honda importer that was unveiled at this year’s Motodays show, the Africa Twin Rally won’t be hitting other markets any time soon (read: never), though it shows a machine that many ADV riders have been clamoring for, since the first shots of the Honda CRF450 Rally hit the internet.

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