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Kawasaki ZX-6R Riding Experiences

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 14:57:00 +0000

Ducati Indonesia New Variant Product Launch

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 14:52:00 +0000

Hari Minggu (18/10) ada kemeriahan buat kalangan bikers kelas premium, tepatnya di Mall Pluit Junction di Jakarta Utara.

Yang ditunggu-tunggu akhirnya datang juga, PT Supermoto Indonesia sebagai ATPM motor Ducati asal negara pembuat pizza memperkenalkan varian terbarunya, yaitu motor sport Ducati Streetfighter dan Ducati 1198.

Acara yang harusnya dimulai jam 10 pagi ternyata baru mulai jam 11.30 yah seperti biasa di Indonesia budaya jam karetnya masih sangat kental hehehe…

Acara dibuka oleh MC yang langsung mempersilahkan Bapak A.S. Nugroho, Presiden Direktur PT Supermoto Indonesia untuk memberi sambutan. Dalam sambutannya Bpk Nugroho sempat menyinggung akan kemungkinan product motor Ducati kedepannya akan dibuat secara CKD (completely knock down) dimana motor motor tersebut akan di rakit di Indonesia sehingga dapat menekan biaya yang dimana akan berpengaruh terhadap harga jual yang diharapkan akan menjadi lebih murah dibandingkan saat ini.

Ducati Streetfighter

Ducati 1198

Terlihat yang hadir dilokasi ada anggota klub motor dari DDOCI (Ducati Desmo Owners Club Indonesia), Vendetta Moto, HTML (Honda Tiger Mailing List), BTO (Batavia Tigers Organization), YSC (Yamaha Scorpio Club) dan juga Tentunya KoBOI (Komunitas Blogger Otomotif Indonesia.

Tampak hadir juga artis sekaligus bikers Ducati, Ari Wibowo yang menjadi sorotan para tamu yang hadir, sayang ya Gunawan, Adjie Pangestu dan Okan Kornelius tidak nampak hadir.

Acara launching itu sendiri berjalan sangat lancar, ramai, dan boleh dibilang sebagai acara gathering-nya para bikers motor sport atau motor naked bike. Namun ada satu kritikan buat si empunya acara, terlihat acara kurang persiapan seperti mendadak dan kurang terlihat greget dan menggigit.

Sebuah PR baru buat Divisi Marketing Communication dan Creative PT Supermoto Indonesia. Mungkin kalo ada lowongan untuk Divisi tersebut gw siap melamar deh supaya next event bisa lebih Okay! hehehe

Oleh oleh dari Acara
source: oleh

Ducati presents 2010 innovations

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 14:46:00 +0000

Finally unveiled, world preview of the new and eagerly anticipated Multistrada 1200.
Also new for 2010: new "Corse" livery for the 1198, two new Hypermotard 1000evo models and technical advances in the Monster family. As is tradition prior to the opening of the EICMA show, Ducati has officially revealed the innovations of its 2010 product range.
Dream bikes, the fruit of Italian ingenuity and creativity, and destined to become new points of reference on the international market, are ready to take the spotlight at EICMA 2009.
Before the unveiling of the 2010 line-up, the new Ducati Corse logo was presented to the international press, an evolution of the historic brand in the form of a new graphic, following on from the launch of the new Ducati logo at last year's EICMA show.
The undeniable star is the eagerly awaited Ducati Multistrada 1200, already in the running to take the prize for "best bike in show."
Faithful to the original intuition, which combined sport bike technology with comfort and versatility, Ducati now extends the concept further with a brand new Multistrada 1200 designed to satisfy the demands of all motorcyclists. Ducati have designed a motorcycle to tackle all kinds of journey and road surface using technology derived from the Bologna made race bikes in MotoGP and World Superbike.
A bike with no limits, that can transform itself to suit the rider's demands, from a supersport to a tourer for long journeys with a passenger and luggage, to an everyday bike which can breeze through the daily commute and also tackle off-road routes with the agility of an enduro; in other words, four bikes in one!
Ducati have once again pushed the limits of motorcycle design by adding Italian innovation to the elegance, style and technology which characterise the motorcycles that leave the Bologna factory.
All it needed was a heart, the perfect engine to fulfill the potential of this new design. The obvious starting point was the World Championship-winning engine, the Testastretta, used on the Superbike 1198. Engineers in Bologna have succeeded in harnessing the immense power of this engine, making it smooth and adaptable to any situation. The new Testastretta 11° engine is thus born, and represents a milestone in combining performance with usability.
2010 Special Editions celebrate the historic Ducati Corse logo change and two world titles in Superbike and Superstock. The 1198 S Corse Special Edition and 1198 R Corse Special Edition, both equipped with factory team-style aluminium fuel tanks, Ducati Traction Control and a special celebratory Ducati Corse livery, now complement the lightweight and agile 848 now in Dark colour scheme, the awesomely powerful 1198, and the high-spec 1198 S to complete the 2010 Superbike model line-up.
There are more exciting new products in the Ducati Hypermotard range that now becomes a fully-fledged family of bikes in 2010. No longer just one, but three versions, designed to suit different needs, but each with the same specific objective: to provide excitement and fun. So here is the new, agile Hypermotard 796, which joins the new and even more powerful Hypermotard 1100EVO as well as the extreme version, the as yet unseen Hypermotard 1100 EVO SP.
Hot on the heels of its early model year 2010 launch in October, the lightweight 796 is now joined by an evolution of the 1100 model that rolls out at an incredible 7kg (15.5lb) lighter and 5hp more powerful than the original.
And if further weight reduction and more punch wasn't already enough on a bike that was built to thrill, the Hypermotard 1100EVO SP pushes the limits even further with a model intended to perform on the track as well as the street.
The exciting introduction to the Monster family for 2010 are the ABS equipped versions of the 696 and 1100 (basic and S), the first time that Ducati has ever equipped the Monster family with a safety-enhancing anti-lock braking system.
Other 2010 introductions to the Monster family include new exhaust guards, which feature a longer shape and provide improved heat protection.
Brand new crankcases for the 696, which are an impressive 1.2kg (2.6lb) lighter and, furthermore, the user-friendliness of the controls has been improved with 4-point adjustable clutch and brake levers to suit all hand sizes.
In addition, Ducati presents many new accessories, special components and a new collection of Ducati clothing.

Fast Car Insurance

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 14:43:00 +0000

Today everything happens faster than even the speed of light and one say the same when applying for Car Insurance. There are many Insurance Agencies which are offering the service of Fast Car Insurance, thus one can apply for the same in without wasting much of time.

With Fast Car Insurance one can protect his car against unseen disasters like crash, theft, dents, big accidents and so on. One can apply for such quick Insurance after being sure about the Insurance Company’s credibility. To apply for the same one needs to fill in different forms and bring documents depending on which the Agents sells the Insurance.

Not every one can buy this Insurance, as for getting it one needs to have job, be a person of sound mind and have no bad credit history. Before applying for Fast Car Insurance one should always discuss important issues with the Insurance Agents so that all the confusions can be cleared out.

One can apply for Fast Car Insurance not only by visiting the Insurance Companies but also by login on to various Online Car Insurance Application sites. With such type of Insurance one can claim for the money in the fastest manner. So if you want to have money in not time for repairing your damaged car then go in for this type of Car Insurance.

source : http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/fast-car-insurance-259014.html

Problems in Getting Car Insurance for a UK Non Resident

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 14:38:00 +0000

There are many car insurance companies that will refuse to work with non UK residents who need car insurance. Non residents can get around this matter if you are also taking your car from wherever you live to the UK. A UK non resident will be able to travel with their car and keep their car insurance from America, France, or another country that you are originating from.

Other car insurance companies will continue to cover your car as long as you are driving it, no matter what country you are in, but you will want to check with your individual insurance company to see if you need to change you current plan or do anything else in order to stay covered in another country.

Most companies within the UK will not give a non UK resident the ability to get car insurance during their stay, whether it be for a few weeks, months, or even years. In order for a person to get car insurance, as UK non residents will either have to rent a car the whole time that they are in the country, or go without their own car.

Another way to be able to get car insurance coverage in the UK is to get an international driver's license. Remember that many countries around the world will not recognize an American driver's license, but an international one is easy to secure and will let you drive in a number of different countries.

And even though you have an international driver's license, you still may have difficulty getting car insurance. If you are looking to buy a car in the UK, you will need insurance when you buy it. But if you are bringing a car in from another country, you may not have to change your current coverage.

If you do find car insurance, UK non resident fees will probably be much higher than those who have already been driving for a number years within the UK. This goes for people who have a license from a different country, students who have not been driven very long, and other international drivers. The UK road laws are strict about those who have not driven for very long in the UK mainly because most countries in Europe drive on the opposite side of the road, and insurance companies do not want to have to deal with claims due to negligence of this situation.

source : http://www.articlesbase.com/insurance-articles/problems-in-getting-car-insurance-for-a-uk-non-resident-519307.html

Free Car Insurance Quote: A Select Buying an Insurance

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 14:37:00 +0000

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source:

Free Best Car Insurance Canada

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 14:35:00 +0000

Being living in Canada mean you cannot really do away with the car insurance because having car insurance is a part of law here. So, you better be aware because in case you get caught by the Canadian police without having car insurance, you will have to bear heavy consequences. You may not just have to pay considerable amount of fines but considering the situation, you get caught in, even your driving license can be suspended. Now keeping these things in mind, you definitely need to get hold of some car insurance plan but of course considering the high-prices of almost everything all of us want to save money on something at least.

How To Find Free Best Car Insurance Quotes?

Well, over the time the online world has literally taken over almost every field we can think of and hence has made life much more convenient. Now you can get hold of free best car insurance Canada quotes online. You must agree that often the most tiring process of getting a good auto insurance plan is of finding the auto insurance quotes and then selecting the most suitable one. But now with the innumerable insurance quotes comparison sites you can be relieved of your worries. Within the comforts of your home you can search the free best car insurance Canada quotes and then make a choice. Usually these sites do not only provide the quotes but you often get to know a bit about the coverage policies of a few companies as well. For getting further detail, you can always check out the individual company's site. To get to know about the companies in your locality, you just need to provide the zip code on these sites and within no time you will be searching through the quotes they offer without a bit of an effort or a penny spent.

Find Cheap and Best Car Insurance Canada:

This method of shopping around can help you land good and cheap auto insurance. Apart from it, you can always keep a few things in mind as well to find cheap yet good auto insurance. Well, first of all you need to evaluate what type of coverage you really require. Do not befool yourself by getting coverage that you can easily do away with. Other than this, if you have a good driving record and a wonderful credit score, you don't really need to fret about the premiums as they surely will be low for you. Additionally, if you are serious in getting low premiums on your auto insurance, avoid having expensive and highly modified cars.

source: http://www.articlesbase.com/insurance-articles/free-best-car-insurance-canada-4482380.html#ixzz1J8BJfGau

Easiest Car Insurance Free Quotes | Your Free Guide about Car Insurance

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 14:34:00 +0000

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Let us basic understand pardon? Insurance is. Answer: Insurance is basically an agreement you kind with an insurance company to secure by hand or your belongings in legal action of some eventuality. The insurance is payable in cash, the amount which is pre-decided sandwiched between the insurance company and the insured. The insured pays a premium to the insurance company frequently towards this insurance cover.

Car Insurance is insuring the car with the aim of you or your family/ employees would drive. All car insurance companies provide quotation marks in place of your cars on application and you can contract uncontrolled quotation marks by expenditure selected schedule looking around by hand. Unlike going away not far off from the car insurance marketplace on end as described, near are easier ways to achieve selected high-quality uncontrolled quotation marks.

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So you find out, you can contract fantastic uncontrolled quotation marks from alleged car insurance agencies in place of your car not including poignant barred of your mother country.

source : http://www.articlesbase.com/

$150 to hide a ticket from your insurer?

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 14:30:00 +0000

At least one cash-strapped state -- South Carolina -- is tackling its budget crisis in a novel way: A recently introduced bill there would vacuum cash from the wallets of motorists worried their lead-footed ways may result in hefty car insurance premium hikes.
Bill 3157, introduced this year in the South Carolina legislature, proposes that for violations for speeding less than 10 mph above the limit, motorists would have a choice of receiving a traditional ticket of up to $25 or a $150 warning ticket. That warning ticket would be issued with the assurance it would not be reported to the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, and thus would not result in points being levied on their driver’s licenses.
In essence, drivers would shell out many times the cost of a ticket to hide the infraction from their insurers.
Why spend $150 to dodge a $25 bill? Because a single moving violation might cost you a safe-driver discount, and a second might bring a surcharge that lasts for years. A third or fourth might put your license in jeopardy.
[Let CarInsurance.com help you find affordable auto insurance now.]
But a single ticket might not even matter at all.
Insurers call their own shots
In South Carolina, a uniform rating merit plan was discontinued more than 10 years ago. Until its discontinuation, specific moving violations brought about corresponding increases in premiums, no matter which insurer a driver had.
Today, insurers decide individually how to penalize drivers, says Russ Dubisky, executive director of the South Carolina Insurance News Service in Columbia, S.C.
Speeding tickets on a driving record are an indicator of risk for some insurers, Dubisky says. But other companies may not weigh a speeding ticket as heavily. "Because driving record is just one of the factors brought in when determining rate, it may or may not have an impact," he adds.
Your particular vehicle, credit, neighborhood and even occupation also can influence your auto insurance quotes.
“Something might matter to one company, and to another it might not make any difference. … It doesn't mean that just because you get a speeding ticket your rates will go up."
It’s not a speeding strategy
But that doesn’t mean the $150 “warning ticket” is a license to speed.
Let's assume the bill does pass and South Carolina institutes a program of $150 warning tickets. In what instances would choosing the warning ticket be more cost-effective than paying the increased car insurance rates resulting from the infraction? That question is next to impossible to answer, Dubisky reports.

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"Our response is, first, we encourage every driver to obey speed limits," he says. "And secondly, there's no way of knowing if a speeding ticket will impact your individual insurance premium.
"Insurance companies use a number of factors in their rate-making process these days, including age, experience, claims history, where they drive and whether that driving is urban or rural," Dubisky says.
“We're concerned with being able to match rate to risk. And in South Carolina we have that ability, because our companies can file their own rating plans."
And while some may not penalize a single infraction, none of them will ignore multiple visits to the county courthouse.
As of early April, Bill 5137 was still in committee.

source : http://www.carinsurance.com/

Super Luxury Caravan

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 16:26:00 +0000

It’s really really a super luxury caravan! I’m sure that you do not need more house if you have it. Everything are available on this bus, even a garage for your sedan. The only thing you need in your life and not available here are swimming pool, jogging track, and tennis court .. .

Hope the owner of this caravan will come to this blog and tell us his experience driving this great car ..

source :otocontest.com

2011 Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC SE Review

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:49:00 +0000

The term high tech has never had a more suitable subject to describe outside of NASA than the ApriliaRSV4 Factory APRC SE. Traction control, launch control, wheelie control, triple ride-by-wire riding modes, quick shifter, and its even got blinkers incorporated into its mirrors! The RSV4 Factory APRC is what legends are made of.Aprilia, by offering the APRC technology to a mainstream audience, has the recipe to shatter everything that stands in its way in 2011. You’ve got to love Aprilia’s attitude of daring to fail to succeed.
It takes guts to bring along a bike such as the RS3 Cube MotoGP bike using ride-by-wire as the first manufacturer to do so in MotoGP. It failed; Aprilia packed up its GP ambitions, rebooted its computers and came back stronger than ever in World Superbike with the RSV4 Factory and Max Biaggi.

We took to the Circuito De Jerez to test out Aprilia’s exciting RSV4 Factory APRC SE.

Aprilia developed a three-cylinder Cube from scratch then binned it. Then it went about building a new V-Twin, binned it, and finally chose a V-4. It built the V-4 from scratch in-house and launched it as quickly as it could with complications, but at the same time with race wins. Finally in 2010 Aprilia won the world superbike championship with Biaggi.

Here’s a look at mission control. There’s an awful lot to take in.

Having followed this bike from the pre-concept stage to reality, I’m delighted to be able to give unconditional praise.
The RSV4 Factory APRC can be called a motorcycling virtuoso in the technical area. A combined (but competitive) effort from Aprilia,BMW and Ducati has bloodied the Japanese noses seriously in the last couple of years. Aprilia and Ducati have done it on the World Superbike circuits and BMW on the sales charts.
Now, let me tell you how good this bike is. On my very first lap the Aprilia technicians force-fed us level eight on the traction control. I thought; “how dull they are ruining my fun like this!” However they were right and I was wrong as this was the perfect way for me to ride the tightest Jerez corners using first gear, full throttle and just let the traction control automate me through the corners.
Without traction control such behaviour on your warm-up lap would end in tears guaranteed. After that I simply used the Mana (absolutely no reference whatsoever to anything else on that bike I promise) switch gear using the minus button to reach lower levels on the traction control or the plus button to go back up. A rider’s left index finger toggles the minus button, and a left thumb for the plus button which is intuitive, all while on the move.

There’s no sound or chugging or anything when the traction control kicks in. I could feel when the rear tire slipped but trusted the ATC instantly. The amount of rear wheelspin allowed is pre-determined depending on which TC level you choose. I worked my way all the way down to level one but I did a whole session using level four which suited me just fine.
Each of us had five sessions on the bike of which the first was to test traction control alone, second session to test wheelie control with traction control, third session to test launch control and the two last sessions to freely explore. That’s nearly two full hours of hardcore undiluted adrenaline pumping action.
Aprilia’s wheelie control is highly sophisticated and not only stops wheelies from happening between low-gear corners but it knows how much it should allow and how to land them soft to avoid upsetting the handling. Don’t you tell me that’s not very clever! The physicality of trying to curb a wheelie while racing is immense. Riders have to use their upper bodies like athletes forcing weight forward while accelerating and withstanding G-forces and wind resistance. Aprilia have with the AWC taken that physicality away, allowing the rider to concentrate on pinning the throttle.
The AWC has three levels to choose from, where I suspect level one is the only race one. Some front wheel lift is always allowed because as long as the wheelie isn’t too high you can still be at maximum acceleration levels. What’s really good about this from a racer’s perspective is to keep that front down between really quick directional changes in low gears while keeping the throttle wide open. A small wheelie is then accepted while you pin it and turn the bike over from side to side, landing it just in time to steer out of the next corner. And landing it smoothly to avoid upsetting the front more than the steering damper can handle. There’s gyrometer wizardry involved here, and not only sensors between the two wheels.

You can bet there’s a big smile hidden behind that tinted visor as he whips this high-tech rocket around Jerez.

How does it work? Two gyrometers and two accelerometers are at the ECU’s disposal for any data it may need for the various systems. Anything a motorcycle can do whether it is vertically or horizontally the ECU is aware. So when we stupid people do something wrong with the throttle in the wrong place the system saves us from ourselves. Through the ride-by-wire system the ECU also knows the throttle position and based on pre-calculated algorithms based on a variety of conditions (you choose the levels, computer performs to that level).
Torque is the joy and the misery of motorcycling. Too little is dull and slow, while too much in the wrong place can be dangerous. Aprilia has nearly 100% control of torque with the APRC system. The instrumentation is bi-polar with one race mode and one road mode. In race mode there’s no speed indication and the space is used to show a variety of information related to the APRC instead.

Launch control was another first for me (along with the wheelie control) and the one that’s quite difficult to get right the first time. It’s not for no reason racers practise launch control despite the fact they have done it a thousand times before. True, all you have to do is to keep the throttle fully open and release the clutch. But you still have to modulate the clutch release and, Aprilia allows three levels of how aggressively you can launch. Level one can put you in a lot of wheelie trouble if the clutch is released too quickly.
Training makes perfect, but my three goes at it were a disappointment as I was a little bit too careful with the clutch. Aprilia made sure to advise that the clutch needed some serious cooling after each launch attempt, so we did a full lap between each launch. Imagine yourself being slowly tortured as 180 wild horses are released at once. This feature is not for road use, as you have to pass 100 mph and third gear before the system cancels itself out. And while in launch mode the traction control doesn’t work.
The Aprilia Quick Shifter allows you to shift up clutch-less while keeping a wide-open throttle. I think you’ll start to see the pattern here now. Every operation apart from braking and shifting down can basically be done with full throttle!

With its closer-spaced gearbox and quick shifter, acceleration is impressive.

For the Factory APRC Aprilia has added a closer-spaced six-speed gearbox for improved acceleration, plus the quick shifter which makes it into a formidable straight-line dragster.
The Pirelli Supercorsa Diablo SP tires in dimensions 120/70-ZR17 and 200/55-ZR17 were developed in the 2010 FIM Superstock championship. The main advantage with the ultra wide 200-section rear tire is its superb grip on corner exit. The contact patch is wider than ever and provides superb levels of grip when 180 horsepower wants to rip it apart. The tires are approved for speeds up to 198 mph.
More rubber that copes with more heat allows for some very long black lines up turn 4 at Jerez. The only thing that would give you more grip is a full on set of slicks. Wait for it, the RSV4 Factory APRC SE features traction control that self adjusts to new and different tire sizes, also adjusting to different final-drive gearing. There are professional high-end racing teams in the world with less sophisticated electronics than the RSV4 Factory APRC SE road bike.
The suspension consists of fully adjustable top-spec Ohlins items including the steering-damper. The RSV4 Factory has got that subtle but plentiful feel that speaks of high-quality suspension. The Ohlins fork and shock is soft enough for feel in slow corners and hard enough for ultra-fast corners.

Suspension is all top-notch Ohlins goodies, which is what you should expect in a bike in this price range.

The brakes are the well-known Brembo monoblock radial type which stops the 395-lb (claimed dry-weight) with great authority. The only way to improve these items further is to fork out around 15,000 Euro or so for the items Max Biaggi uses on his superbike. The chassis is fully adjustable as you’d expect and nimble as a 250GP racer.
The 999.6cc V-4 engine feature state of the art technology such as independently controlled throttle bodies. Max power is still 180 horsepower at 12,250rpm and 115Nm at 10,000rpm but with improved torque delivery and acceleration in the three lower gears. The new exhaust also helps to improve power delivery.
These changes shoot the RSV4 Factory like a missile out of corners. Only the Ducati 1198 can rival in the corner exit war. The engine feels and sounds great, and for such a powerhouse there’s hardly any vibration. The mechanical slipper clutch helps stopping the bike quickly, and only on two occasions during my day in the saddle could I feel any chatter while hard on the brakes.

Our tester says this bike exits corners faster than any other liter-sized sportbike.

The RSV4 Factory APRC SE can be visually distinguished by its special decals and the tricolore on the lower fairing. Those in the know will notice the new exhaust and that fat 200mm rear tire, too.
If the APRC Special Edition (only 350 to be manufactured) turns out a success (inevitable!) the technology will be fed down to both the RSV4 R and the next RSV4 Factory. Also expect an APRC system drip down to other Aprilia road products where the Dorsoduro 1200 was the first one out.
ConclusionThere are only two things the Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC SE can’t do, and those are flying and automatically tweet your laptimes. It’s difficult to make sense of this motorcycle on paper, but actually riding it and using the myriad of features on the circuit just immediately tells you that it’s a mechanical and technical genius.

Most of Aprilia’s in-house solutions are patented and can’t easily be copied. For that reason, whoever wants to go after this gem of a superbike will need to work very hard to catch up. Don’t look at spectacular horsepower figures in 2011 because this Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC SE will beat them all, hands down. Yes, it’s that good.
source :http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/aprilia/2011-aprilia-rsv4-factory-aprc-se-review-90162.html

2010 Triumph Rocket III Roadster vs. 2010 Star VMax

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:47:00 +0000

From its earliest days as a product of the Yamaha motorcycle brand, the VMax was the icon of brute force on two wheels.Merely mentioning the VMax is sure to conjure images of a rear tire-roasting, muscle-bound, two-wheeled monster in the mind of just about any bike enthusiast old enough to recall the 1985 release of Mad Max.
And to this day the VMax retains much of its lore, even as a member of the Star Motorcycles brand.
A thorough and bold redesign of the VMax in 2009 – that included a massive boost in performance from its legendary V-4 engine – has not only stirred the souls of veteran riders, it’s also exposed a whole new generation of riders to the august Mr. Max.

Coupla hogzillas here. 2010 Triumph Rocket Roadster and 2010 Star VMax.

Although Triumph’s Rocket III is a babe in the woods next to the long-running Max, it made an indelible mark on all of motorcycledom when unveiled in 2004.
Its massive, longitudinally mounted inline-Triple and three prominent exhaust headers were, and still are, striking. The Rocket has an imposing but approachable presence, as if it were a Boss Hoss Lite.
The Rocket, like the VMax, continues to thrill and intrigue since its birth.

It’s the VMax. What else do you need to know?

However, unlike the VMax’s relative stagnation of design for 20-plus years, Triumph spawned a powerful, touring-capable cruiser, as well as a “classic” model, in the matter of only a few years from the original Rocket’s introduction.
For 2010, only six short years since the RIII was launched, the Roadster is with us. With this latest incarnation of the Rocket comes a breathed-on mill making this the most powerful Rocket III to date.
In many ways the Roadster and VMax are quite different. But the common denominator here, and the primary reason we brought them together, are the ridiculous amounts of horsepower and torque each produces.
Sure, modern literbikes like the BMW S1000RR are capable of more peak horsepower than the Rocket or Max; but good luck finding a production motorcycle engine that chugs out sizable hp numbers paralleled by plump torque figures like the Rocket and Vmax generate!
“I’ll have the 72-oz rib eye, please.”
We’re a nation that often embraces the ostentatious – we’re mostly to blame for professional wrestling and competitive eating! – so we figure you’re ready for the main course, to get to the meat of the matter: two over-the-top engines.
An outright leader here depends on your moto value system.
If you’re most enthralled by peak horsepower, then you’ll relish in the fact Big Max’s revvy 1679cc, liquid-cooled, four-valve-per-cylinder, 65-degree, DOHC, V-4 readily hands the Roadster its ass when comparing peak horsepower.

These ostentatious brutes are mostly about big muscle.

Mad Max managed 167.5 hp at roughly 9000 rpm (Star’s claim is 197 hp at the crank) when we strapped it to the dyno. From this we see why the VMax makes a good platform for a powerful dragster. The power of the Max is the key element behind its allure.
“Its power is nothing short of incredible,” says Kevin of the VMax. He went on to call it a “rubber-burner extraordinaire!”
Mad Max has the potential to post big top speed numbers, but it’s electronically limited to approximately 146 mph. The most sensible answer to this e-nanny is likely an issue of simple aerodynamics. Riding the naked VMax (or just about any unfaired bike for that matter) at higher speeds seems like a frightening, even hazardous prospect. And, well, we do live in a litigious society…
Although respectable by most standards, the Rocket’s best run of a little less than 119 ponies at 5300 rpm simply falls short of the Star’s sportbike-like peak power.
So there ya have it. If you’re looking for a horsepower king, crown Mr. Max.

The Rocket III Roadster shows up for the gunfight with a 2.3-liter cannon, a cannon lobbing fat torque bombs at its foe. A peak-torque reading of 136 ft-lbs at 3200 rpm is utterly impressive in its own right, but equally noteworthy is that it twisted out over 118 ft-lbs as early as 1500 rpm. WTF?
Even when the RIII’s peak hp tops out, the Big Triple is still making 117 ft-lbs. Short shift and fuhgeddaboudit!
The Max’s peak 107 ft-lbs at 6700 rpm is nothing to brush off, but in the low-rpm arena the Star’s torque production is shy of the Rocket’s by as much as 55% at some points. And that’s a conservative comparison.
As unique as the power curves are, so too is the character of each engine.
The Roadster’s large flywheel effect is notable as it rocks the bike sideways when the throttle is blipped. It feels as though there’s a deep well of irresistible force lurking in the bowels of the big Triple. Of course the Roadster accelerates with authority, but it does so in a deliberate, linear manner that mirrors its mostly flat torque curve.

A rocket indeed!

The Star’s engine complexion suits the bike’s Mad Max nickname. Like a Jekyll and Hyde, the VMax is as friendly as you like it. But a hideous mad man is only one quick twist of the throttle away.
“Even at low rpm, you can tell there is a brute between your legs. Just a whiff of throttle has major speed implications,” Kevin said with a tinge of fear in his voice (not really).
Indeed, the Max accelerates with the ferocity of most literbikes, as the V-4 spins up much quicker than the Trumpet’s inline. Yet there’s a degree of serenity to the engine thanks to its limited vibration.
On the subject of exhaust notes, the Max reminded Kevin of V-8 at idle, and under power it sounds like a modern, high-performance V-8. The Roadster has a throaty, menacing grumble at idle, too. Pull the trigger and the sound emanating out back is reminiscent of a built truck; like the older Chevy with glasspacks the local kid takes to the Tuesday night drags.
One does it on top, the other on the bottom. Different animals for sure; both big, but different.

If the VMax was good at only on thing, this is it. Of course, it does many things well.

The Rocket, as expected, can roast the rear tire from a stop, launches hard and will even hoist a sizeable wheelie providing the clutch is finessed just right along with a handful of throttle. But the Max will do the same and then some. Just a little slip of the clutch in second gear and the Star can bake its 200-section rear tire from a rolling start.
Both manufacturers have done a commendable job of mitigating engine vibes.
A V-4 design is inherently smooth running. In the VMax this trait is further enhanced via a contra-rotating balance shaft. Kudos to Triumph, as the big rigid-mount Trumpet Triple is generally free of major buzz, too.

Although the Roadster's final torque number is huge, its graph line looks like a blip on the radar next to the Max's. That's because the Rocket redlines around 6500 rpm; the Max around 9500. Yet again one of the many ways this pair differ.

More silky smooooveness is located in each bike’s 5-speed gearbox. Shifting action was light and precise on both sleds, although the shorty ASV accessory lever on the Max may have contributed to the sensation extra pull was required.
Good things come in big packages
The VMax brings hi-tech to the table in the form of various engine technologies borrowed from Yamaha’s sportbike line, like YCC-T, YCC-I and the well-known power-enhancing EXUP.
Equally techy is the VMax’s chassis, appropriately updated to match the new V4.
The Max’s skeletal composition boasts a cast-aluminum perimeter-style frame joined to an alloy swingarm; a subframe made of Controlled-Fill cast-aluminum and extruded aluminum pieces completes the package.

If the Roadster ate beef we suspect it would take it on the rare side.

We’d expect nothing less for a bike that was some 10 years in the making before its final unveiling. However, for all the VMax’s advanced chassis design it’s not necessarily light years ahead when it comes to real-world riding.
The Rocket’s chassis package is pretty basic cruiser-type stuff compared to the VMax frame.
A twin-spine tubular-steel frame holds the big Triple as a stressed member; the swingarm/shaft-drive housing is also steel. We don’t want to minimize the Rocket’s frame technology, but that’s about all there is to it.
Despite a suspension package (non-adjustable 43mm USD fork and twin coil-over shocks with 5-position ramp-style preload) as no-frills as the frame, the Triumph acquits itself quite well in just about every riding situation you can throw its way.
Considering the limited range of suspension adjustment on the RIII, overall ride quality is descent with sufficient damping.
The Rocket exhibited moderate-to-light steering effort; even low-speed, tight-radius turns are managed with marked ease. Excellent leverage provided by its wide, sweeping handlebar is a big contributor to the friendly handling.

Although Mighty Max doesn’t initiate turns as fluidly as the Roadster, it otherwise provides sure-footed, confidence-inspiring handling.

For a big, honking, 807-lb sporty cruiser, the newest of the Rockets carries its weight well when hustled down flowing canyon roads where a rider can quickly forget the Roadster rolls a fat 240-section rear tire. Motorcycles with such large rear tires often feel as though they want to right themselves only seconds after initiating a turn. Not so with the Rocket.
The portly Roadster further disguises its heft with a 66.7-inch wheelbase, 32.0-degree rake and 148mm of trail. This is nearly a carbon copy of the VMax’s dimensions save for the Max’s minor advantage of a 1.0-degree steeper steering angle.
Despite the opportunity to finally grace the VMax with fleet-footed steering geometry after all these years, Star (Yamaha) designers and engineers actually made the new Max’s chassis dimensions milder compared to VMax 1.0, as Kevin noted during the 2009 Max’s press launch.
The Roadster’s ability to handle like a motorcycle, say, 100-lbs lighter, is a defining quality of its character, a pleasantly surprising quality at that.

Rocket III Roadster: Not afraid of a twisty road.

It’s a safe bet the VMax’s aluminum chassis lends considerably to the bike’s middleweight-by-comparison claimed wet weight of 685 pounds. Yet the VMax doesn’t whip ‘round corners as briskly as you might expect.
There isn’t any discernable flex or wallow from the VMax’s stout chassis. However, Kevin noted that chopping the throttle mid-corner occasionally upsets the chassis, a condition he attributes partly to how the Yamaha Chip Controlled-Throttle (YCC-T) affects engine compression braking.
This annoyance aside, the VMax otherwise feels solid and planted, enough that new MO Editor, Jeff Cobb, said he was inspired to routinely drag the VMax’s footpeg feelers during a weekend-long trip up California’s twisty coastline near Big Sur and surrounding areas.
On the flipside, I was surprised at the initial effort required to turn Mr. Max, especially after time aboard the lighter-steering but heavier weight Rocket.
The Max exhibits a falling-into-the-corner sensation. Kevin referred to the feeling as steering “flop.” He also keenly noted the Max’s awkward feeling at low speeds, a trait reflective of what feels like a high CoG on the Star.
We suspect a narrower handlebar compared to the Triumph’s wide bar, and an 18-inch front wheel as opposed to the Rocket’s 17-incher, as culprits that prevent crisper steering on the Star.

Although the VMax lacks sportbike-like handling to mate up to its sportbike-like power, its suspension is polar-opposite of the Roadster’s springy parts.
The VMax’s 52mm fork and solo shock are fully adjustable. A rider benefits further from easily accessed knurled knobs for rebound and compression damping on both the shock and fork. A remote hydraulic adjuster on the bike's left side handles shock preload.
The Star’s ride is better damped overall than what the Rocket offers, but ultimately it’s difficult to get around the rear suspension-altering effects of a shaft drive.
Though shaft-jacking on the Vmax and Roadster’s traditional shaft drive systems isn’t as bad as shaft drives of yore, aggressive acceleration will nevertheless cause the rear suspension to “grow,” just as it does on all shaft final-drive motorcycles. Rear suspension thereby can seem momentarily overly stiff and unforgiving, especially if a handful of throttle is applied.
Braking on either bike is more than sufficient, especially considering the weights and monster power of these big boys.
The VMax wears an impressive-looking set of radial-mount, six-pot calipers clamping down on 320mm wave-type rotors; a Brembo master cylinder is a nice bonus. Braking is aided by the addition of ABS.

The Max’s brakes ultimately have good stopping power, but a smidgen more effort is required at the lever than you might expect from such a formidable-looking set up.
Triumph-branded four-piston Nissin calipers squeeze 320mm rotors with lots of force and excellent feel. They performed better than anticipated for stopping such a heavy machine. ABS is standard on the Rocket but it wasn’t the most refined system we’ve encountered.

Dressing Mr. Max

By Jeff Cobb

JPD billet rear brake rotor cover and exhaust tips.

For those wanting to add a bit more personalization to the VMax, you may look to the aftermarket, but Star makes it possible to bling out this boulevard bender with the convenience of one-stop shopping.
Our 2009 VMax came with an assortment of dealer-supplied accessories offering a greater or lesser degree of usefulness.
On the list of stylistically matched items that are purely aesthetic, were the following JPD billet alloy products:
Swingarm Cover ($129.95), Camshaft Covers ($429.95), Clutch Cover ($239.95) Left Hand Engine Cover ($189.95), Front Brake Master Cylinder Cover ($79.95), and Clutch Master Cylinder Cover ($69.95).
Out back, additional JPD billet items include the Rear Brake Rotor Cover ($139.95), and Exhaust Tips ($549.95).

Accessory windshield does an admirable job of deflecting wind while upping the Max’s appeal.

If you are not a savant when it comes to adding numbers up, or otherwise don’t have your calculator handy, all this coolness will run you $1,829.60. But our bike had more than just these beautifying goodies …
On the list of truly functional items, the Boulevard Windscreen ($259.95) makes a difference on the highway, although the headlight reflects somewhat inside the abbreviated fairing, and could stand a guard to keep all the light pointing forward.
Another comfort accessory is the Backrest Assembly ($359.95), which does help with lumbar support, and keeps the drag racer, er, rider, in place when trying to crack the 10-second quarter mile barrier this bike is known to do.
The ASV Adjustable Clutch and Brake Levers ($139.95 each) are good quality, eye-catching upgrades.
These additional accessories will set you back an additional $899.80. All combined, this $19,500 bike has $2,719.40 worth of extras, ratcheting final cost to $22,219.40.

Our VMax test unit came to us decked-out in a plethora of bolt-on treats. The JPD billet engine case cover(s), camshaft covers, exhaust tips and seat backrest are but a few of the dress-up parts available from Star for Mr. Max.

But again, this is not all that’s available. If your need to individualize exceeds this list, Star offers additional accessories, including a swingarm kit that will accommodate a 240 series tire, various carbon bits, and more.
In all, we think it’s pretty clear that Mr. Max has not only grown far more potent, he’s now jumped an income bracket or two, and aspires to be legitimately upscale.

Big bike ergonomic landscape and little things that matter
If you’re tantalized by these monster-engine motorbikes and pondering a purchase for your stable, then consider your preferred riding style as part of the decision-making process.
Although the Roadster’s footpeg position is now closer to the rider on the horizontal plane compared to other Rocket models, the Roadster’s rider triangle still smacks of cruiser.
It has a broad, roomy seat like many cruisers do, and the wide handlebar creates an open sitting position. The position is open enough that cruising at speeds above 80 mph for extended periods may cause fatigue in some riders as they attempt to hold on tight against windblast. Below 80 mph or so wind buffeting is minimal on the unfaired beast.

With its roomy and open rider environment, the Roadster retains a strong cruiser-ish influence.

The VMax’s position feels bolt upright compared to the Rocket.
Its footpeg location seems as if it’s directly beneath the rider’s hips; reach to its narrower handlebar feels shorter when compared to the Triumph. The Max’s seating position is kind of like an expensive office chair that’s designed to create correct seating posture. Six-footer Jeff found it comfortable after eight-plus hours in the saddle.
A 30.5-inch seat height on the Max is 1.0-inch higher than the Roadster’s saddle.
Rearward view from Mighty Max’s mirrors is good, but not so good is the view of its comprehensive LCD display mounted atop the faux fuel tank.
We like the forward-thinking design, but the combination of the little hood ostensibly employed to shield the sun, and, well, the sun itself, make viewing all the info difficult during midday.
There’s lots of data on display – like fuel level, gear position, clock, etc ¬– but trying to sort it out while the VMax’s ferocious mill launches you into tomorrow is often a frustrating task. Looking at the LCD while at a standstill seemed most prudent.

The VMax’s rider triangle keeps the rider in an upright position, yet is comfortable for hours on end according to new MO mule, Jeff.

Also, some of the display figures are on the small side. If not made larger in the next redesign, they at least could be made bolder. Star/Yamaha got it right, however, with the prominently displayed tach-o and integrated large-display digital speedo. A mondo shift light is mounted on top the tach.
Really, though, the only things you need to know while riding the silly-fast VMax are when to shift and at what point you’ve crossed into reckless driving territory. Right?
The Roadster’s instrument package consists of simple but effective gauges: one for road speed and one for engine speed. Small LCDs in each gauge display data such as real-time miles-to-empty counter, clock, tripmeters, odo, etc. There’s nothing especially trick going on here, just the basics. Yet there’s a classic and classy appeal to the simplicity.

If you think it’s difficult to make out the data on the Max’s LCD during the day in this photo, imagine trying to do so whilst riding.

Lastly, we expected that such large engines would have voracious appetites, but what we didn’t expect was just how quickly the Max empties its tummy. Poor Jeff found himself pushing the bike to the next fuel stop (until fellow riders lent a hand) after tempting the Max’s low-fuel warning.
“I had to second guess the digital fuel gauge all the way up the Coast,” said Jeff after returning from a long stint aboard the Star. “When it says 50%, you might want to pull over, 'cause it won't be long before 25%, then watch it! File this under ‘Don't let this happen to you.’ “
Best observed fuel mileage from our VMax test unit was around 30 mpg. Not bad for a big engine but what is bad is a 4.0-gallon tank on a bike that loves to stretch its legs.
The Roadster didn’t post fuel economy good enough to blow the Max out of the water; but an observed 34 mpg from its cavernous 6.3-gallon tank will take you miles past where the VMax turned off the ride route in order to refuel.
Gimmie!
As noted early on, the Roadster and VMax differ enough that only the absurdness of engine size and performance warrant their pairing up. Each offers reasons to prefer one to the other.
Do you enjoy profiling down the boulevard with steam engine-like torque easily pulling top gear from just above idle? Yet still want a bike that doesn’t shy away from twisted pavement?
Relaxed riding position and understated styling your thing? Are you a big dude looking for a bike that’ll finally fit your stature as well as satiate your desire to have a potent but manageable cruiser?
Then the Roadster could be your pick.

Is this the one you want? We’ll take it if you won’t!

The Triumph reminds us of a cleanly restored, hopped-up big-block American muscle car with an engine that does all the talking. Nothing fancy about it, just big torque and no B.S. An unexpectedly low MSRP of $13,999 gives access to this straight-shooting Rocket.
Maybe you respect the old school and those things influenced by it, but for your money you’d have a modern-day Camaro rather than a retro ride. The new VMax might be the powerhouse bike you’ve longed for.
It doesn’t have all the bottom-end stonk of the Triumph, but Mad Max’s top-end-biased big horsepower is more your speed. Futuristic looks packaged around a smooth-running, screamer V-4 and a neutral riding position keep the VMax a dream bike for riders old and new alike.
Perhaps keeping the 2010 VMax merely a dream for many could be its $19,500 MSRP and special-order only availability.

Despite the commonality of mondo engines, the Roadster and VMax are quite different. Each is a winner to us.

“This is an exotic, whether judged in terms of power, engine configuration, styling or scarcity. It’s premium in nearly every way except for its turn signals,” opined Kev.
Through all this, rather than decide which bike suits you best, maybe you’ve become like us: we’ve decided we want both!

source :http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/2010-triumph-rocket-iii-roadster-vs-2010-star-vmax-89658.html

2011 Ducati Diavel Review

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:34:00 +0000

It’s only the middle of February 2011, but Ducati may have already given the motoworld the hottest bike of the year – the Diavel.Rumors and spy shots of a fat-tired Ducati with strange styling surfaced in mid-2010. Some motorbike pundits dubbed the mystery bike Mega Monster. In the days just before the start of EICMA 2010, Ducati quit playing coy and unveiled the all-new Diavel.
The question then remained: Would this wildly styled, category-defying Ducati possess the supreme handling, potent stopping force and hallmark L-Twin power that for so many years have been the underpinning characteristics of Ducati’s sporting heritage?
In simpler, more colloquial terms, does the Diavel have what it takes? Can it represent, yo?
The short answer is yes – mostly.

Make up of a devil
While the Diavel is a new model, it nevertheless is comprised of many familiar Ducati components, the most prominent of which is its Testastretta 11° engine. This grunty, high-performance 1198.4cc 90-degree Twin (aka L-Twin) is sourced from the current model Multistrada. And with the exception of a new exhaust, it remains largely unchanged as used in the Diavel.
According to Giulio Malagoli, technical director on the Diavel project, the new Duc’s exhaust system, consisting of equal-length 58mm cross-section exhaust headers and dual stacked shorty megaphone cans, is the primary contributor to a 12 hp and 6.5 ft-lb increase over the Multi’s 150 hp and 87.5 ft-lbs. The Diavel’s airbox is marginally larger than the Mulitstrada’s, but the negligible increase in volume isn’t essential to power gains and is more a matter of technical needs. Additional revisions include different cam timing, as well as reworked intake and exhaust ports.
During the Diavel’s tech briefing Ducati displayed a dyno graph overlay with power and torque results for the 1198 superbike, Multistrada and Diavel
While the Diavel’s version of the Testastretta is in a race with the MTS, it handily out-powers the adventure-tourer after the 6500-rpm mark. The Diavel easily out guns the 1198 until around 7000 rpm where it manages to run almost neck-and-neck with the red racer until approximately 9000 rpm, at which point the 1198 stretches its superbike legs.
The Multistrada’s spread of torque is more evenly matched to the Diavel’s, until 6000 rpm at which point the new devil bike opens a large gap on the MTS and never looks back.
Taking the Ducati-supplied dynos at face value, the Diavel mops up against the 1198 in low-end torque production. Diavel twisting force is notably healthier than what the 1198 produces below approximately 7000 rpm. It’s only then that the race-bike-with-lights finally regains its ground (save for a short 500-rpm dip) and soon out-twists the Diavel by 9000 rpm.

What does all of this translate into?
Simply allowing the Testastretta in the Diavel to exhale more efficiently has created a nearly ideal engine: potent low- to mid-range force (right where most riders need it) with the ability to sprint like a sportbike.
A benefit from the design of the Diavel’s slipper-type oil-bath clutch is reduced effort at the clutch lever, as well as virtual elimination of rear tire hop during downshifts.
Despite my best efforts to upset the chassis with rapid-fire downshifts, the clutch would have none of my tire-hop-inducing antics, and instead allowed the engine to wind down smoothly rather than buck like a bronco.
A new, larger water pump impeller moves coolant through the Diavel’s dual lateral radiators. One radiator per side sits below the fully functional brushed aluminum air intakes and behind the narrow, vertically oriented clear-lens LED front indicators. The air intakes partially make up the shape of the Diavel’s prominent upper front half and blend in tastefully with the 4.5-gallon fuel tank’s covers that are crafted from steel rather than plastic.

New covers for the clutch housing (which includes space for an air gap used to reduce clutch noise), alternator and cam belts round out the changes to the Testastretta in the Diavel.

Risky business, profitable businessBring the Diavel’s big tire into the discussion for a minute and you have to wonder if Ducati is anticipating a shift in the company’s core demographic. Are Duc fans getting older and maybe going the way of the cruiser crowd? Let’s not forget the Diavel’s strong sportbike lines either.
Where do we find the most lucrative and substantial cruiser market in the world, along with what was a robust sportbike market until recent economic climates cooled off both segments?
Right here at home, the U.S. of A.
Ducati North America’s John Canton says that outside of Italy, America is an important, leading market for the company, and that the Diavel will account for roughly three-fourths of projected growth in 2011 for Ducati North America. Yet when I asked if the Diavel is tailored primarily for the States and our cruiser-loving ways, Canton reaffirmed Ducati’s stance that the Diavel is a global bike in terms of its design and intent.
Fair enough. But a safe speculation says that the American cruiser scene had a significant influence on the Diavel, from inception to the commitment to go full steam ahead and build it for a mass market.
Still, nothing’s a sure bet all the time, right? In light of Ducati’s bike development process that skips focus group studies and market research, Canton admits that the Diavel is a big gamble for Ducati.
The company has in effect dispatched with the usually sound marketing philosophy that says fit a product to a market, not a market to a product. Ducati has essentially done the inverse, moving ahead with little reassurance of the Diavel’s success.
However, the Diavel isn’t the first bike with which Ducati applies its market-needs-be-damned mentality. Think the Diavel is quirky? Then you’ve too quickly forgotten about the Multistrada, especially the first gen model. Or how about the Hypermotard 1100 and 796?
The Hyper and MTS weren’t mold-breaking in the sense that no market for such bikes existed. The MTS clearly falls under the adventure-touring segment, and the Hypers kind of followed in the BMW Megamoto’s footsteps as a big streetbike loosely modeled on the premise of supermotard machines.
Whether those two Ducs lack wholesale originality matters not, as Ducati attributes a good portion of significant sales growth in 2010 in the face of another year when the industry as a whole was down considerably – at least in the U.S.

Ducati says the new MTS comprises a 14.3% share of the market in its segment.
“It was its first year on the market and the Multistrada became the second world-best-seller,” said Ducati Chief Executive Officer and President Gabriele Del Torchio this January during Ducati’s annual Wroom ski and press event. And according to Canton, Ducati can’t build the Hypermotard 796 fast enough for its domestic market.
Response to the Diavel since its unveiling has been somewhat mixed, with internet forums abuzz with opinions running the gamut. However, Ducati has enjoyed success for some time now courtesy of its willingness to roll the dice on how many bold and brash designs riders and buyers will accept.
If the past and present successes are an indication of future response to the convention-busting Diavel, this new Ducati is poised create a devil of time for other manufacturers.

Despite the devil bike’s departure from traditional Ducati styling, it wouldn’t wear the name Ducati if it didn’t have a steel-tube trellis frame. While the trellis portion is oh-so-familiar looking, it is unique to the Diavel, and is joined to a new cast-aluminum subframe.
A fully adjustable Sachs shock uses a hand-operated dial for remote preload adjustments and connects to a long, cast-aluminum single-sided swingarm via progressive linkage. The horizontally positioned shock resides under the swingarm – a design that allows the Diavel a reasonable seat height of 30.3 inches. Two optional seats, 20mm higher or 20mm lower, are available.
Working to smooth out the ride up front is a fully adjustable inverted 50mm Marzocchi fork. A three-point adjuster knob atop each fork leg for tweaking rebound damping is a thoughtful and useful touch. Holding the fork is a minimalist “slash-cut” triple clamp – the lower clamp is cast aluminum while the upper is made from forged aluminum. A rubber-mounted handlebar clamp grips a tapered aluminum handlebar.
A span of 62.6 inches is measured between the 14-spoke cast-aluminum 17-inch wheels. Steering geometry just on the cusp of cruiser territory is far from supersport-y with a 28.0-degree rake (w/24mm offset) and 5.12 inches of trail. For reference, the Monster 796’s rake is 24.0 degrees and the MTS’s is 25.0 degrees
Pirelli Diablo Rosso II dual-compound tires cover those attractive hoops. A standard sportbike size 120/70-17 tire rolls in front, while the 240/45-17 mega bun on the 8-inch-wide rear wheel will make most contemporary custom choppers jealous. More on that 240 in a bit …
The Diavel’s large visual volume leads you to think the bike might weigh a ton, requiring considerable effort to lift of the sidestand.
It is a Ducati after all, so heavy doesn’t usually figure into an equation, and the Diavel keeps with the lightweight tradition, scaling it at 463 dry pounds for the standard model and 456 pounds for the up-spec Diavel Carbon. Impressive figures – even if only dry weights – when contrasted with the claimed curb weight of 452 pounds for a current sportbike like the 2011 GSX-R1000, or the 2011 ZX-10R/ABS with a curb weight 443 pounds.

Getting a leg over 30-inch saddle is easy work; the sculpted seat snuggly holds a rider in place. You soon learn to view seat’s dished-out shape as an indispensible quality the first time you take a healthy twist of the right grip with the full force of 162 hp at your beck and call.
Flat footing was a cinch for my 30-inch inseam, and although the bar position is slightly forward, the reach didn’t strike me as more aggressive, than, say how a rider is positioned on standard-style bikes like the BMW F800R or Aprilia Shiver 750. Conversely, the Diavel’s footpeg position forward of the seat is less rear set than either of those bikes, and more forward than the pegs on Ducati’s own Monster 696.

Overall, the Diavel’s rider triangle is open and neutral with just a hint of sporting stance, which you’ll appreciate when hustling this wicked-quick cruiser-sportbike-naked-type thing along fast sweepers.
0 – 100 kph in 2.6 seconds!
I hadn’t ridden many powerful motorcycles in a while, prior to saddling up to the devil bike, but there was no mistaking the amount of thrust on tap from the Testastretta as anything other than stemming from superbike heritage.
The long wheelbase, cruiser-ish steering geometry and big rear tire mean instantaneous-feeling hook-up at the rear while the front remains planted when the throttle is slammed open. Ducati says the Diavel is good for 2.6 seconds at 0 to 100 kmh (62 mph), rivaling high-horsepower sportbikes for off-the-line performance.
While the long wheelbase helps reduce unwanted lofting of the front-end, it’s not so long as to prevent a wheelie or 12 if you want ’em. With copious torque on tap the Diavel will, hands down, wheelie with the best of today’s sportbikes.

Get on a Diavel, ride it, and tell me you can resist its effortless wheel-lifting prowess if such antics are your thing. The Diavel’s engine is that potent and that fun.
Low-rpm (below, roughly, 3000 rpm) fueling seemed smoother and more refined than the usually herky-jerky lurch that we’ve noticed on other Ducs, like the Monster 796 for example. The six-speed gearbox also seemed a tad lighter shifting than what we’re used to from some Ducs.
Bigtireitis
Of the mondo 240mm tire, Malagoli says that a large rear wheel/tire combo was a primary design element set forth when the Diavel concept started to take shape. He spoke of the use of a large rear tire as though it were a nonnegotiable item, along with a powerful engine and comfortable ergos, when Ducati designers and engineers began crafting this new motorcycle some three years ago.

The Bologna-based company sampled existing tires in the 200 to 240mm range – why reinvent the wheel if you don’t have to – fitted to 16 and 18-inch wheels. But, says Malagoli, the handling and styling Ducati was looking for came when a 240 was put on the 8-inch-wide, 17-inch diameter wheel the new Duc now uses. Pirelli was tasked with creating a purpose-built tire, and through many months of research arrived at a profile similar to that of MotoGP tires according to Malagoli.
The big rear tire works for me as part of the Diavel’s styling; however, the rear tire’s low-speed handling performance doesn’t work quite so well for my tastes.
Initial turn-in response is neutral; transitioning from upright to three-fourths lean is a fairly smooth, linear-feeling process. But it’s the last little bit of lean you might initiate to complete the turn that results in a “falling in” sensation, as though the tire’s profile is more triangulated than it appears.
As I rolled into the throttle to power out of the apex of a turn, the bike would sometimes exhibit a front-end “push” – like the rear of the bike was chasing the front – depending on the radius of a turn and camber of the road.
A fellow journalist and experienced racer had similar experiences and speculated this back-chasing-the-front feeling was the result of the front end’s lighter weight. In contrast to our light front-end theory, Malagoli assured me the Diavel has what is essentially a 50/50 weight bias.
Once the bike is moving at a brisk pace, handling is much improved and you’d never guess the Diavel has such a long wheelbase.Steering response is accurate, vagueness from the rear tire melts away and the chassis remains planted throughout the turn. The Diavel’s reassuringly stable handling at speed and generous 41.0-degree lean angle gave me every confidence that if I’d worn leathers I could’ve easily dragged a knee.
At the end of the day, it seems that even in the hands of Ducati engineers, a bike with a big tire still suffers some of the ill effects wide rear tires have on a motorcycle’s handling.
It was hard to not draw a few parallels between the Diavel’s low-speed handling quirks with those that many big-tired custom-style cruisers have, specifically, an occasional unwillingness to steer predictably through turns at lower speeds.
Stellar braking performance is the result of dual, four-piston, radial-mount monobloc Brembo calipers putting the squeeze on 320mm rotors. Bosch-Brembo ABS is standard equipment and is managed by a compact new controller that weighs a scant 1.76 lbs.
Heavy braking force applied to the rear resulted in the ABS sending discernable backpressure, or pulsing, through the pedal when ABS activated. Nevertheless, the rear brake stopped the Diavel just fine. The binders up front performed flawlessly, with supreme levels of power and feel. This is some of the best braking performance most average Joes can still afford to buy, and simply what we’ve come to expect of most late-model Ducatis.
Techy as ever
Carried over from the Multistrada is a keyless ignition. A proximity transponder, or “pocket key,” allows the bike to start, with a switchblade-style key to open the fuel tank and saddle. The compact and multi-functional switchgear first seen on the Streetfighter that was then later adapted for use on the Multi is now employed on the Diavel.
Integrated DTC (Ducati Traction Control) and Ride Modes are also part of the Diavel’s technology package. Although there’s no need for the Diavel to have the Multi’s Enduro mode setting, the Diavel, like the MTS, has Sport, Touring and Urban settings.
Sport allows unfettered access to the Diavel’s 162 horsepower, with DTC set to 1. Touring mode retains the same peak power but with a less aggressive, ergo more manageable, power delivery, and a default DTC setting of 3. Urban mode takes a big bite out of the L-Twin’s ferocity, allowing only 100 hp, and DTC set to 5. The TC’s settings range from 1 (least intrusive) to 8 (most intrusive).

Like on the Multistrada each mode is fully adjustable, allowing a rider to customize each mode as he or she sees fit.
For example, you might want access to all 162 horses in Sport mode, but would prefer a DTC setting higher than 1. Furthermore, a rider can disable DTC and ABS altogether. And the system is “smart” enough to remember the status of ABS when the bike is powered off. Upon start up, the system retains the last known setting (On or Off) rather than going back to a default On setting.
This highly adaptable system’s readouts are now displayed on an all-new TFT (Thin Film Transistor) LCD located on the fuel tank just ahead of the filler cap. It works independently of the handlebar-mounted monochrome LCD instrument panel that displays speed, rpm, etc. The new TFT display is nothing short of a brilliant move by Ducati, as navigating the colorful GPS-like display is more intuitive than operating the Multistrada’s all-inclusive, colorless one-piece instrument panel.
Along with managing DTC, ride modes and ABS, the TFT also displays gear position, odometer and tripmeters. It’s also light sensitive, meaning it’ll adapt its background color of either white or black based on ambient light.
This new split-level display is so impressive I’m confident we’ll see it, or a variation, sooner than later on other Ducati models.

Is the Diavel better than the devil(s) you know?
While the Diavel doesn’t fit neatly into existing categories of motorcycles, it hasn’t stopped some folks from slotting the Diavel alongside Yamaha’s VMax.
The Star VMax, as you’re probably aware, received its first ground-up overhaul since its 1985 introduction in late 2008. Every bit of that iconic bike went upscale without losing its core styling, and of course, class-dominating power. Yamaha claims 200 hp at the crank, and when we compared the VMax to Triumph’s Rocket III Roadster, the YamaStar managed 167.5 rwhp.
Though the Diavel’s claimed 162 hp at the crank doesn’t come close to VMax territory, the Ducati weighs, um … Hundreds of pounds less!
Although Ducati only lists dry weights, we can speculate, say, an extra 50 lbs for fluids, battery, fuel, etc. Add this to the non-carbon Diavel’s dry weight and we get a standard Diavel scaling in somewhere around 515 pounds. That’s 170 pounds less than the wet weight figure (685) for the VMax.

Nearly 200 friggin’ pounds!
The VMax’s advantage of nearly 40 hp at the crank is nothing to slough off, and it also spins a narrower, 200mm rear tire. But now having experienced the Diavel, I can’t really see the VMax holding a candle to the Diavel except maybe down the dragstrip. But even then, the chain-driven Duc likely will put power down better than the Max’s shaft.
Furthermore, the special-order only Mad Max retails for $19,890. The Diavel Carbon sells for $19,995.
With the Diavel Carbon comes forged Marchesini wheels that Ducati says are 5.5 pounds lighter than the standard model’s wheels – and that’s a crucial savings in unsprung weight. Naturally, the Carbon also wears carbon fiber, with fuel tank panels, front fender and passenger seat cover made from the pricey material. Additionally, fork legs get a diamond-like hardening treatment to reduce stiction.
If you can live without the light stuff, the standard Diavel, with the same horsepower, Brembo brakes, excellent suspension, and comparatively light weight, is a bargain at $16,995. Of course there are heaps of accessories, including lots of carbon, to help personalize the Diavel.
While the new Diavel isn’t a perfect beast in light of its slow-speed handling peccadilloes, the totality of the bike’s performance and collection of high-quality components help to compensate for the handling issue.

With unique styling, and the horsepower to back up its polarizing looks that say, “Hey, look at me!” the Diavel is a devil like no other.

source : http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/ducati/2011-ducati-diavel-review-90421.html

Top 10 Hottest Bikes of 2011

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:23:00 +0000

Now that Germany’s Intermot showand Italy’s EICMA exhibition are over, we’ve got a clear idea of the motorcycles that will be introduced over the next 12 months. Although the number of new models isn’t as large as we’re accustomed to seeing at this time of the year, the sheer diversity of new bikes is inspiring.This crop of 2011 and 2012 offerings shows an almost unparalleled variety and further category fracturing and blending. We’re on tap to receive three cool entry-level, small-displacement sportbikes, an Italian power cruiser, a bleeding-edge Japanese literbike and the first inline 6-cylinder motorcycle engine we’ve seen in decades, among many other noteworthy machines.
For this article, we’ve whittled down a list of our 10 most anticipated bikes we’ll see in 2011. In alphabetical order…
Aprilia Tuono V4R

Aprilia is on the gas for 2011, giving us several strong possibilities for selection to our list, including the sporty tiddler RS4 125. Parent company Piaggio, like Euro rivals Ducati, Triumph and BMW, continues an unabated stream of new product while Japanese brands are being much more cautious.

In our selection process for this list, we had some votes for two new versions of the ultra-desirable RSV4 sportbike. If you have to wonder why this is exciting then you may not have paid attention to a) Motorcycle.com and/or b) World Superbike racing this year. Veteran road racer Max Biaggi scored 10 race wins on the way to the 2010 World Superbike Championship and the Manufacturer's title at the helm of an RSV4. And earlier this year we picked the RSV4 Factory as the winner of the first part of our 2010 Superbike Shootout.
Now comes the APRC SE version to sweeten the RSV4 Factory pot with the addition of traction control, wheelie control, launch control and a quick shifter, which you can find out more from our Euro correspondent’s First Ride review. Aprilia went and made one of our favorite literbikes of all time even better! It will retail for $22,499 when it arrives on our shores mid-2011. And if you really have extra coin burning a hole in your pocket and you must ride like Max, Aprilia offers a WSBK-spec, 200 hp race-ready Biaggi Replica for the paltry sum of $64,000.
Yet it’s the new Tuono V4R that really gets out blood pumping. The previous version with its liter-sized V-Twin is one of our all-time favorite nakeds, with a composed chassis, edgy Italian styling, and all-day-comfy ergos. Aprilia has now graced the Tuono with a retuned version of the compact but potent V-4 powering the RSV4, rated at an exciting 162 crankshaft horsepower. The V4R Tuono will also be available with the APRC (Aprilia Performance Ride Control) package that uses gyros and accelerometers to control traction, wheelies and launches.
“Although it’s just a paper lion at the moment,” Pete comments, “the all-new Tuono V4R has me salivating like no other new bike announced for the coming season.” Unfortunately, the V4R isn’t scheduled to hit North America until early 2012 at a price still to be determined. You can read more about it here.
Related Reading
2011 Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC SE Review
INTERMOT 2010: Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC SE
Aprilia RSV4 Biaggi Replica unveiled
EICMA 2010: Aprilia RS4 125 Coming to US
Aprilia Dorsoduro 1200

As noted above, the old Tuono was our favorite offering from the Noale, Italy-based Aprilia, but the new V4R will lose the previous model’s 1000cc V-Twin character. However, twin-cylinder fans needn’t fret, as the 1197cc Dorsoduro steps in to fill that void.

The 750cc Shiver and Dorsoduro are very appealing in their own right, yet performance from their three-quarter-liter V-Twins have been a little underwhelming. But after years of rumors about larger-displacement version of the same engine, Aprilia has finally delivered with the Dorsoduro 1200.
The Max Dorso has already been introduced in Europe, and our correspondent Tor Sagen brought back a glowing reviewyou can read here. Although no lightweight (at a stated 457 lbs dry), the Dorso 12 comes to the party with a claimed 130 crankshaft horses to give it midrange grunt the 750 can’t approach. The big Dorso’s appeal is also expanded with high-end features like traction control and optional ABS.
“The Dorsoduro 1200 is all I ever wanted from the 750 that wasn’t there,” said Sagen after his ride. “The 1200 engine has got all that full richness I always look for in V-Twins. That sorted, the bike is now 100% pure fun.”
Just as intriguing, this new 1200cc V-Twin will surely find its way into other Aprilia models. We anticipate a Shiver 1200 to be unveiled during 2011, and it’s possible the new powerplant may find its way into a pseudo adventure-tourer like Ducati’s weird but successful Multistrada.
The only downside is that we’ll have to wait until mid-2011 until the Dorsoduro 1200 arrives in North America. MSRP is set at $11,999.
Related Reading
2011 Aprilia Dorsoduro 1200 Unveiled
2010 Aprilia Dorsoduro 750 vs. Ducati Hypermotard 796
2010 Ducati Multistrada Review
2010 Oddball Sport-Touring Shootout: Ducati Multistrada vs Honda VFR1200F vs Kawasaki Z1000
BMW K1600GT and GTL

BMW thrilled us with news of the first inline 6-cylinder motorcycle engine in almost 30 years, this one the centerpiece of a pair of high-end touring bikes. BMW says the undersquare 1649cc mill will produce a prodigious 129 ft-lb of torque at its peak, culminating in a 160-horse shove down the highway of your choice.

The sporty-ish K16GT will replace the 4-cylinder K1300GT, and the K1600GTL becomes the luxury-touring wagen of the reputable German brand. Both are available with a gamut of technology and luxury options, including electronically adjustable suspension, traction control, heated seats and grips, and multi-mode engine mapping, among a host of other options that should deliver a truly regal ride. And the engine sounds delicious, as we heard when we saw the K16 revealed at Jay Leno’s garage last month.
“A six-cylinder motorcycle engine is a rare thing, no matter the era,” Pete notes. “But one from BMW promises high levels of refined technology and presumably lots of smooth power. Wrap that mill in a techy BMW chassis and all kinds of pushbutton electronic gadgetry, and the K16GT screams über-tourer.”
Yet to be announced are the prices in America, but read here for Canadian pricing that starts at $24,100 for the GT. We’ll have to wait till April to sample the newest Six on the block.
Related Reading
2011 BMW K1600GT Gets Canadian Pricing
2012 BMW K1600GT and GTL Six-cylinder Unveiled
BMW Unveils New 6-Cylinder K1600GT and GTL
K1600 Forum
Ducati Diavel

Last year Ducati smacked us with an adventure-touring surprise in the form of the oddball Multistrada, which we’ve since tested and loved several times. For 2011, Ducati further expands its customer base with the Diavel, a weird new roadster built within the power-cruiser idiom.

Despite the cruiser analogies, those at Ducati who have ridden the Diavel say it doesn’t really share any cruiser qualities. They promise a level of handling far beyond anything with a cruiser label, including a respectable 41-degree lean angle. And with a retuned version of the strong 1200cc V-Twin from the Multistrada, expectations are for a unique and stimulating ride.
“Let's see,” Pete muses. “A motorcycle with a claimed 162 hp and 94 ft-lbs joined by ABS, traction control, rider-selectable engine mapping, a slipper clutch and a monstrous 240mm rear tire from Pirelli. I like most cruisers, but I think I'll like Ducati's interpretation of a cruiser even more.”
Diavel prices start at $16,995 when they hit dealers around March, 2011.
Related Reading
2011 Ducati Diavel Review (Almost)
EICMA 2010: Ducati Diavel and Monster EVO Unveiling
2011 Ducati Mega Monster Spy Shots!
2010 Oddball Sport-Touring Shootout: Ducati Multistrada vs Honda VFR1200F vs Kawasaki Z1000
Honda CB1000R

We love naked bikes around here. Their combination of sporty handling and power combined with day-to-day livable ergonomics ticks most of our boxes of what we look for from a motorcycle. The aforementioned Tuono is a good example, as is Kawasaki’s recent Z1000.
With that in mind, we’re sure to enjoy Honda’s CB1000R, even if it’s been available since 2008 across the Atlantic badged as the Hornet. Its edgy and futuristic appearance looks advanced without being too outlandish. Its engine is derived from the previous CBR1000RR, detuned with smaller throttle bodies and lower compression to yield a claimed 123 crankshaft horsepower at 10,000 rpm, nearly matching the output of Kawasaki’s Z1000 and Ninja 1000 siblings.

Despite the 1000R’s retuned motor, it is no slow poke. Our Canadian correspondent says it was still pulling at an indicated 150 mph when he sampled it on a racetrack earlier this year. The CB’s chassis behavior was also judged to be good, as it uses an aluminum frame, a fully adjustable 43mm inverted fork, and a shock adjustable for rebound damping and spring preload.
“Turn-in is quick enough to give the impression we were riding a middleweight roadster,” reported our Canuck tester.
The CB1000R will arrive in American dealers this spring at a $10,999 MSRP. CBs destined for the U.S. will have standard radial-mount brakes, while Canadian versions will ship only with Honda’s Combined ABS, retailing for CDN$13,999 up north.
“The bike ought to be a tremendously versatile, fun machine able to do anything from sport touring to track days,” Jeff predicts. “It ought to be a great model, and give a fight back to Kawasaki.”
Related Reading
2010 Honda CB1000R Review
2010 Streetfighter Shootout: Kawasaki Z1000 vs. Triumph Speed Triple
2009 Streetfighter Comparison: 2010 Ducati Streetfighter vs. 2008 Benelli TnT 1130
2009 Streetfighters Shootout: Aprilia Tuono 1000 R, Buell 1125CR, Triumph Speed Triple
2008 Naked Middleweight Comparison: Triumph Street Triple 675 vs. Aprilia SL750 Shiver
2009 Naked Middleweight Comparison
Honda CBR250R

Honda is well known for its refined products and superlative R&D efforts, but American Honda has neglected the entry-level segment in recent years. This changes for 2011, as a quarter-liter CBR sportbike will arrive in North America this spring.

It’s powered by a fuel-injected 249.4cc single-cylinder engine with double overhead cams actuating four valves. A gear-driven counterbalancer should keep it smooth up to its 10,500-rpm redline. Peak power of 26 horses is said to come in at just 8500 rpm, with 17 ft-lb of torque arriving at 7000 rpm. This indicates a relatively broad and torquey powerband. For comparison, Kawasaki’s Ninja 250, which has had this class virtually to itself, makes its torque and horsepower peaks at 9500 and 10,250 revs, respectively.
“I'm quite interested in Honda's attempt to snatch away market share from Kawasaki's venerable Ninja 250R,” Pete observes. “The CBR250R is powered by a Single, and so should produce a neat Thumper-style exhaust note and should also make good, grunty low-end power, all while looking like a larger, more upscale Honda sportbike.”
The new CBR is clearly targeted at the Ninjette – Honda has set its MSRP at an identical $3999. Honda one-ups the Kawi by offering ABS, a $500 option, and standard fuel injection.
We’ve already had the chance to spin some early miles on the littlest CBR, and we found there’s lots to like.
“Is the CBR250R a Ninja 250R killer?” Jeff asked in our CBR250R review. “No. Is it solid competition? You bet. At this juncture, we can tell you it may not win a drag race with some other 250s, but it is a winner in its own right. I wish I had a bike this cool when I was starting out.”
Related Reading
2011 Honda CBR250R
2011 Honda CBR250R Tech Review
2011 Honda CBR250R Coming to America
2010 Bennche Megelli 250R vs. Kawasaki Ninja 250R
2009 250cc Streetbike Shootout
Kawasaki ZX-10R

Kawasaki has upped the ante in the literbike wars with the most technically advanced sportbike it’s ever created. Its traction-control system is not only highly sophisticated, it is also standard equipment and is the first high-performance TC to be fitted to a Japanese sportbike.
A few weeks ago, lucky canine Pete came away from riding the new Ninja at Road Atlanta gushing about the transparent nature of the Sport-KTRC TC. “The system’s activation is notably seamless and not nearly as assertive as Ducati’s DTC,” he wrote in his First Ride review. He also praised its improved chassis and rippin’ 170-horse powerplant. And the MO staff agrees that this is one of the most attractive Ninjas ever.

One caveat: Kawasaki recently placed a “technical hold” on ZX-10Rs, withdrawing shipped models from the market until it solves a still-undisclosed problem, rumored to be within the engine but not something that could cause catastrophic failure. Kawasaki is playing conservative with this issue, but you can bet they’ll have it sorted promptly.
Anyway, you can’t buy a cheaper TC-equipped sportbike than the ZX, ringing in at $13,799. A racetrack-developed ABS system adds $1000 to the price.
Although we still need to sample the 10R on the street and in the company of its rivals to judge its ultimate potency, we’re already believers in the potential of this exciting new literbike. Pete ended up his review warning the other Japanese brands: “Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha had better step up their game ASAP or risk a shrinking profile in the literbike wars.”
Related Reading
2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R Technical Issue
2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R – 170 hp At The Wheel!
2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R Review
2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R Unveiled
2010 Literbike Shootout: RSV4 R vs S1000RR vs CBR1000RR vs ZX-10R
MV Agusta F3

When it comes to understanding motorcycles, Italians perhaps do it better than any other nation. So when attendees at last month’s EICMA show in Milan were polled to find the “Most Beautiful Bike,” MV Agusta’s F3 was the easy winner, pulling in an extra 18 percentage points over the runner-up Ducati Diavel.

It only takes a short glance at the F3 to realize it’s something special. Its chiseled styling makes for an immediately positive first impression, which is then underlined by a sexy single-sided swingarm and one of the coolest exhaust systems ever, a triple-pipe shorty outlet that is a symphony of design.
Symphonic, too, should be the sound of the 675cc three-cylinder engine at full song. We’re huge fans of Triumph’s 675 Triple, both its sound and character, so we’ve got some high expectations for MV’s version.
“I think the Triumph is such an excellent performer, and so a bike of the same displacement and intent from legendary maker MV Agusta could have as much or more potential as the Triumph,” Pete comments. “Bonus to the forthcoming F3 is MV’s promise of traction control for the sleek-looking Italian Triple.”
“It will be an awesome middleweight scalpel, I bet you,” Jeff predicts.
Related Reading
EICMA 2010: MV Agusta F3 Revealed
2011 Triumph Daytona 675R Photos Leaked
2009 Kawasaki ZX-6R vs. Triumph Daytona 675
2009 Triumph Daytona 675 First Ride
Suzuki GSX-R600 and GSX-R750

After taking a year off in 2010, American Suzuki comes out swinging with a ground-up redesign of its GSX-R600 and GSX-R750 fraternal twins. The Gixxer 600 has long been Suzuki’s best-selling streetbike, so the engineers in Hamamatsu made countless top-to-bottom improvements to the 2011 model to compete with some excellent class rivals.

A significant 20 lbs were lost in the transition to the ’11 model, trimming weight from its aluminum frame, wheels, bodywork, engine and exhaust. The addition of Showa’s highly regarded Big Piston Fork should aid handling, and the GSX-R brothers now feature Brembo monoblock brake calipers.
The Gixxer Six seems to have taken a big leap forward, but what excites us most is the 750cc version. The GSX-R750 is virtually identical to the 600, but it’s packing 20% more power while carrying just 6 lbs extra. The best part is its $11,999 MSRP, just $400 more than the GSX-R600.
“BAM!” Pete exclaims. “How many times more than that puny price gap do you think 600cc owners spend on full exhaust systems, Power Commanders, engine work, etc., to eek out an extra, what, 5-10 hp, maybe? Here Suzuki gives you perhaps as much as 20 hp more in the form of the 750.
“Were I a consumer in the market for a new sportbike in 2011, and wasn’t necessarily interested in racing the currently popular classes of 600s and literbikes, call me a fool if I didn’t buy the GSX-R750 for a few clams more. Puh!”
Related Reading
2011 Suzuki GSX-R600 and GSX-R750 Revealed
2009 Supersport Shootout 2009 Supersport Racetrack Shootout
2008 Suzuki GSX-R600 Review
Triumph Tiger 800 and Tiger 800 XC

The Tiger is reborn! And this time with a nearly identical twin.
It's great to see Triumph update its long-running Tiger, a bike that for years had inclinations of riding rugged roads, but wasn't really ready to take on BMW in the adventure-touring segment. Not only is the Tiger 800 all new, Triumph offers it in a ready-for-the-wild XC version that includes wire-spoke wheels, knobby tires, extra suspension travel, and switchable ABS, to name a few things.

But perhaps the best part is that the Tiger is powered by a mid-size (799cc) inline-Triple that spits out a purported 94 ponies. The Tiger's three-cylinder is of smaller displacement than Triples used in many of Triumph's other models but should still offer the smooth, linear performance that its bigger-engined brothers are known for. And it'll no doubt have a similarly raspy exhaust note, too.
The Tigers are expected to arrive in the U.S. in March 2011. The Tiger 800 will retail at $9,999 ($10,799 with optional ABS). The 800XC has an MSRP of $10,999 ($11,799 with optional ABS).
The bourgeoning A-T segment has thus far been dominated by 1200cc engines, but these are often too big and heavy for serious off-road work, which is why we’ve given BMW’s F800GS our Best On/Off-Road award for two years running.
“Looks like the F800GS has a Tiger on its tail,” Pete pointedly quips.
Related Reading
EICMA 2010: Triumph Tiger 800 and 800XC
2009 BMW F800GS Review
2012 Yamaha Super Tenere Review
Motorcycle.com Best of 2010 Awards
Five bonus Hot Bikes, just missing the Top 10
Aprilia RS4 125: Riding a small bike was never as sporty as this. Aprilia adapted a 2-stroke GP bike’s chassis and fitted a fuel-injected 125cc 4-stroke motor wrapped in RSV4-style bodywork. It won’t arrive in the U.S. until the fourth quarter of 2011 as a 2012 model.
Honda Crossrunner: This Multistrada-esque crossover uses adventure-bike styling encasing a 782cc V-Four derived from the old Interceptor. It might be worth talking more about if it was coming to America, but it’s not.
Horex VR6 Roadster: This naked is powered by a 1218cc narrow-angle (15-degrees) V-6 engine boosted by a supercharger. Do we have to explain why this is interesting? If so, perhaps you need tohear this video clip.
KTM 125 Duke: Like the little Aprilia above, the lil’ Duke is powered by a fuel-injected four-stroke single-cylinder engine. Americans might not get a chance to see if the eighth-liter Duke would sell to entry-level sportbikers, as it’s doubtful it will be imported over here.
Yamaha Super Tenere: The Super Ten proved to be a worthy BMW GS fighter when we tested it last month in Arizona. This will be a tight competition when we bring them together for an adventure-touring shootout.

source : http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/ducati/top-10-hottest-bikes-of-2011-90251.html

Accidents Affecting Insurance Rates

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 14:38:00 +0000

Automobile accidents are an unfortunate occurrence and the reason why many people choose to purchase car insurance. Being involved in a collision with another vehicle, however, can sometimes affect the price a person pays for coverage. Although it is not uncommon to see an accident affecting premiums rates, there are still many specific details which govern exactly how accidents affect auto insurance rates and why. After being involved in a collision one’s coverage provider typically looks at a series of details to determine whether a motorist’s rates should be increased. If the driver involved has an excellent record with a minimal number of incidences, then there is little chance that prices will be increased. If a person has a long history of traffic collisions, then there is a good chance that rates will be altered.
The first point that is usually taken into consideration is whether or not the policyholder is at fault. A motorist that causes an accident is likely to see an alteration in their premium that is often based off of a predetermined amount. When a consumer purchases a policy there are typically underwriting guidelines in place which dictate exactly how much the motorist’s policy will increase as a result of causing a loss. Other details, however, can increase this amount even further. If a vehicle owner causes a collision as a result of being under the influence then they could expect more than a simple rate increase. Such an incident is considered to be a major violation and the driver in question is likely to receive a DUI or even criminal prosecution.

Avoiding Accidents Affecting Insurance

The severity of an accident also plays a part in any potential alterations of a person’s premium. Although major incidences can affect a person’s rate, minor fender benders are often ignored. If a person is involved in a collision in which nobody was injured and the property damages are less than a certain amount, usually around $750, then the entire occurrence may be dismissed or considered non-chargeable. If a collision is reported to the Department of Motor Vehicles then it is likely to go on the driver’s record. These driving record blemishes, typically only remain for roughly three years, and as long as accidents don’t continue to occur, a motorist is unlikely to see continuous rate increases.
Regular accidents, however, can quickly alter a person’s premium. If an individual is involved in a series of collisions and accrues numerous traffic violations they may be considered a high risk driver, and could be denied coverage altogether. Avoiding accidents entirely is the best way to avoid increased rates, and is more than possible by obeying traffic laws and driving safely. According to the National Highway Safety Administration the number of accidents has been steadily decreasing since 2005, yet motorists are still capable of being involved in an accident, and should always practice safe driving techniques.
Source: http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/learn/how-accidents-affect.htm

Easy to Find Automobile Insurance Quotes

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 14:35:00 +0000

When looking to buy a specific product it’s almost always a good idea to shop around before making a purchase, and searching for automobile insurance is no different. Motorists in need of coverage will typically want a policy that offers the most extensive protection at the most affordable price, and one of the best ways to accomplish this is to research as many available options as possible. Obtaining quotes from a variety of sources would give a vehicle owner a broad view of what insurers are offering in terms of rates and quality of coverage. Gathering information from insurers previously involved contacting each company individually and answering a series of questions, or working closely with a broker. A process which could become time consuming depending on the entirety of one’s search.
With the assistance of the Internet a motorist can complete an auto insurance quotes comparison in a fraction of the time it would traditionally take. After relaying a small amount of information, such as the driver details, a brief description of driving and credit history and year, make and model of the automobile to be insured, a vehicle owner can then view of quotes from an array of providers. Having such information obtained in a single location in a short amount of time adds to the efficiency and convenience of one’s search. This in turn translates into more a variety of options and a motorist is likelier to find a policy that offers the right amount of coverage for an adequate price.

Get Accurate Auto Insurance Quotes

With the tremendous advancements in technology in recent years, motorists are finding new ways of utilizing the Internet to find various quotes and even purchase policies. Although convenient, vehicle owners are encouraged to exercise caution when shopping for and purchasing automobile coverage online. As previously mentioned, a small amount of information is often needed in order to complete a quote comparison, though this rarely requires customers to relay any driver’s license or social security numbers. If such information is required in order to complete a simple comparison, motorists are encouraged to complete their search elsewhere. Insurers are generally aware that forfeiting such sensitive information is not an action that potential clients enjoy doing, so companies are typically very willing to give sample rates without requesting such details.
In order to get accurate quotes, motorists commonly have to describe their credit score. Although this information is sometimes a contributing factor when one’s rates are determined, there are many Credit scoring and rating categories that are limited by certain states, such as Oregon, in order to limit the amount of actions an insurer may take based off of one’s credit rating. It’s important to note that each state handles credit scoring differently, and knowing the policies in one’s place of residence is highly recommended. Additionally, in order to obtain precise quotes from a provider, a motorist’s driving record may also be investigated because such information is incredibly important when determining one’s premium. Understandably, a driver with a history of accidents is likelier to receive higher coverage costs, while a motorist with a clean record will often find lower coverage costs. Because such details often have an impact on prices, it is important to have up to date information when searching for policy information.
Source: http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/quotes/

Budget for California Car Insurance

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 14:29:00 +0000

In these difficult times it is not uncommon for residents of California to formulate budgets and for many vehicle owners, automobile insurance is typically listed amongst the expenses. In order to operate a motor vehicle within the Golden State a motorist needs to fulfill certain financial responsibility laws, and this is typically done by acquiring an automobile protection plan. All policies within the state, however, have specific minimum liability requirements that must be met that may not offer enough coverage for the average motorist. For example, vehicle owners must maintain a policy that covers at least $5,000 for Property Damage Liability (PDL) which is generally considered to be a particularly low amount of protection.
Residents are encouraged to examine budgets closely and allow for as much automobile protection as possible. Although having extensiveCA auto insurance may seem unnecessary, motorists should know that being caught without enough coverage could be financially devastating. For example, $5,000 for PDL may seem like a large sum of money, but this value can be quickly exceeded in the event of an accident. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the average price of a new car is roughly $28,400, which is considerably more than the state’s minimum PDL, meaning that an accident could potentially leave a motorist with expensive repair bills. Raising one’s liability limits is an excellent way to increase coverage for only a few extra premium dollars.

Additional Options for CA Auto Insurance

For many individuals price is important, but having an adequate amount of coverage is still a goal. In order to find a policy at a more affordable, residents are encouraged to extensively shop for an automobile protection plan. When comparing policies a motorist is searching for the most extensive coverage at the lowest possible price, and the more companies that are compared the likelier a motorist is to find an adequate plan. In order to expedite this process, motorists are encouraged to complete an online quote comparison from a website that provides a series of quotes from dozens of providers. This can often make one’s shopping experience both quicker and more efficient than contacting companies individually.
Residents that operate with a tighter budget may wish to consider looking into the California Low Cost Automobile Insurance Program which is designed to both fulfill the state’s financial responsibility requirements and provide coverage for low income individuals. Although not for everyone, this program offers very little coverage and is primarily designed as a way for residents who may otherwise have been unable to afford coverage to legally operate a motor vehicle. Vehicle owners within the Golden state are encouraged to take advantage of the various options available to motorists in order to remain covered in the event of an accident.
Source: http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/california/

New Jersey Car Insurance - Auto Insurance Quote in NJ

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 14:24:00 +0000

If you are shopping for local auto insurance in New Jersey, you are at the right place. CarInsurance.com offers over a dozen strong, reliable carriers. We want customers to shop and pick the best company that is competing for their business. You can purchase a policy through CarInsurance.com. Getting a quote is easy and you get to compare the rates from multiple companies so you know you are getting a good deal with the right coverage. The only way to save on car insurance is to shop for car insurance. The best rate last year is not the best rate this year!

[Let CarInsurance.com help you find affordable auto insurance now.]

NEW JERSEY CAR INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS

New Jersey state law requires minimum Bodily Injury Liability limits of $15,000 per injured person up to a total of $30,000 per accident, and Property Damage Liability coverage with a minimum limit of $5,000. This basic coverage is often referred to as 15/30/5 coverage with 15/30 UM limits.

NEW JERSEY INSURANCE COVERAGE:

Basic Policy
Property Damage Liability: $5,000 Limit
Personal Injury Protection: $15,000 Limit
Standard Policy
Bodily Injury Liability: $15,000/$30,000 Limit
Property Damage Liability: $5,000 Limit
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury: $15,000/$30,000 Limit
Uninsured Motorist Property Damage: $5,000 Limit
Personal Injury Protection: $15,000 Limit
*Both Basic and Standard Policies include $250,000 PIP limit for permanent or significant injury.

The state of New Jersey follows a Choice No-Fault system meaning drivers may reject the No-Fault system options and retain the right to sue (Tort system) for any auto-related injury.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) helps pay for "reasonable and necessary" medical expenses for you and your passengers. New Jersey state law requires a minimum Personal Injury Protection coverage of $15,000.

To help protect against damages caused to you and your passengers by an uninsured driver, New Jersey state law requires a minimum Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage of $15,000 per person up to a total of $30,000 per accident for any bodily injury caused by the uninsured and/or underinsured driver.

When you get a quote at CarInsurance.com, our coverage page will give you the option of choosing the Minimum State Required package, more wide-ranging coverage packages, or you can customize every limit and deductible to fit your needs. If that is too complicated, CarInsurance.com's insurance agents are licensed in New Jersey and available to help you all the way through the quote and purchase process.

See how New Jersey's car insurance quotes are trending. CarInsurance.com's Average Premium Trend Tool shows these changes in New Jersey auto insurance rates, over the past few months. The arrow shows the montly trend and the graph shows the change in New Jersey's average car insurance rates over the past few months. Hold your mouse over the points to see New Jersey's annual average premium.
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Get local car insurance in all of New Jersey. Enter your zip code in the quote boxes on this page or follow this link to get an auto insurance quote now.

Local car insurance is available in all of New Jersey!

To see more cities,click here!

The average auto insurance premium for residents in New Jersey is $2,362 in 2011; the national average is $1,441. Some people think the state and insurance companies fix the rates, so they never shop around for better rates. Insurance companies segment their rates differently so everyone's rate will be different with each company. You have to shop around to see if you are saving money. CarInsurance.com helps you find the competitive rates and discounted prices available in New Jersey, so average New Jerseyites can get a better-than-average rate on their auto insurance.

2011 has had a decrease in auto insurance rates. It is important to shop for car insurance so you get the best available rate! CarInsurance.com brings competition directly to the consumer and we work to lower your costs through technology.

Even within the state of New Jersey, rates have changed over the past few years. Comparing the current average car insurance rates, the average auto insurance premium in New Jersey is 5% lower in 2011 than 2010. 2010 was 1% lower than 2009 in New Jersey. Now is the perfect time to shop for new low rates on your auto insurance, by requesting a quote online you could save hundreds instantly!

SOURCE : http://www.carinsurance.com/state/New-Jersey-car-insurance.aspx

Free and Easy Car Insurance Quotes

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 14:15:00 +0000

Driving an automobile is an important part of many people’s lives. But operating a vehicle can sometimes prove to be hazardous, which is why many states throughout the nation require that all motorists carry car insurance. As a side effect of coverage being mandatory in numerous places, there are many different policy providers from which drivers can choose to be insured. With so many options it may become overwhelming for a vehicle owner, but luckily there are tools available to aid in finding the right plan. By beginning a search with an online quote comparison a person can see potential rates and premiums from many different insurers, providing valuable information that could be used to find a suitable policy.
Before the Internet was readily available to nearly everyone, a person wishing to compare coverage prices would have to call companies individually and ask for information. Through advances in technology, it has now become more than possible for a motorist to acquire free insurance quotes online both quickly and efficiently, often with very little personal information, and entirely free of charge. With such information so readily available, potential customers can spend more time investigating many different qualities other than a company’s prices. There are many things that should be taken into account when choosing a company to supply automobile coverage. A provider’s available options and reputation are all important qualities that nearly every driver is encouraged to investigate.

Additional Free Ways to Compare Auto Insurance

A quote comparison is simply the tip of the iceberg when researching a coverage provider. As previously mentioned, the social qualities and reputation of a company are equally important. At the time of an accident it is not uncommon for a motorist to be feeling anxious or stressed. It is at these moments that a person will be forced to speak with an insurance provider, and it is at these times that customer service is absolutely essential. Although price is important, having a policy with a company that handles claims quickly and professionally can sometimes be invaluable. Comparing these traits also often free of charge and readily available. Discussing various providers with friends and family can produce valuable information and opinions regarding customer service, and overall company quality. For a more in depth look, motorists can explore some of the numerous blogs or review sites dedicated to providing helpful information to people looking for automobile coverage.
For a more professional and business oriented comparison, a motorist may wish to explore some of the various businesses which produce helpful reports that rank many different insurance providers based off of many different characteristics; arguably the most important of which is financial stability. This characteristic is important, yet often overlooked. The success and corporate prowess of an insurer can sometimes be reflected in their financial stability scores. Additionally, if a provider is on the verge of bankruptcy there is chance that there could be complications should a policyholder need to pay out a claim. The scores provided by many different companies are often free of charge and very helpful when coupled with the information obtained from a quote comparison . Naturally, there are many factors that go into choosing a provider, and because of this states often attempt to assist residents whenever possible. Wisconsin, for example, has published a Consumer’s Guide to Auto Insurance in order to keep state inhabitants more informed, and help motorists everywhere learn about the different qualities that should be considered when choosing a coverage provider.
Source: http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/quotes/free.htm

Zurich buys AIG's car-insurance arm

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 14:24:00 +0000

Insurer American International Group said on Thursday it will sell its car-insurance unit, 21st Century Insurance, to Zurich Financial Services Group for $US1.9 billion ($A2.6 billion).

New York-based AIG is in the process of selling off a number of business units to help repay $US182.5 billion ($A252.3 billion)in financial support from the government that it has received since September. The transaction is the largest divestiture by AIG since then.

Meanwhile, AIG said on Thursday it completed the sale of its wealth management arm AIG Private Bank to Aabar Investments PJSC of Abu Dhabi.

Under terms of the agreement, the United Arab Emirates-based investment company paid about $US253 million ($A350.6 million), and assumed about $US55 million ($A76.2 million) of intra-company loans outstanding to AIG Private Bank.

The deal, which was announced in December, is the fourth transaction AIG has closed in the past three weeks and one of 10 asset-sale agreements it has reached in the past few months.

AIG Chairman and Chief Executive Edward Liddy said in a statement that AIG is "moving forward with discussions for several other transactions".

AIG is also trying to sell off other units, including International Lease Finance, its aircraft leasing business.

sourch: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-business/zurich-buys-aigs-carinsurance-arm-20090417-a9ei.html

Car Insurance Comparison The Best Way To Get A Good Dea

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 13:07:00 +0000

Per capita income of the middle class to lead people to spend more on convenience and means of conveyance, which resulted in the purchasing power of more vehicles. A vehicle has become a must for each and every family. Car company launches an array of models and each model has improved each time from the previous year. So if you have a car, why not get car insurance. A good car insurance comparisons lead you to get the best deals and this not only save your life, time and money but also others as well.Car insurance protects you against any financial losses that may occur due to an accident or theft of your car. This is a car insurance company that issues car insurance for you. A car insurance company will work up a car insurance policy for you after evaluating various options, such as your car brand, the premium you are willing to pay, your insurance risk, etc. The annual premium to be paid by you to automobile insurance companies so that companies can pay you lose that you might bear in the future. All terms and conditions stipulated in the contract and it is your job as owner of the car to check all the points and ask the insurance agent any questions you have in mind. Only after all the terms and conditions are clear to you that you must sign on the dotted line and pay the premiums.
Coverage plans Importance of Motorcycle Reviews
Although car insurance companies all have the same insurance policy, premiums to be paid and the percentage of losses that are covered in the event of an accident may vary.Because the highly competitive automobile insurance market, premium rates and terms and conditions and scope of the motor plan should be reviewed.
Since there are so many companies in the market, you could be confused with the company, policies, programs and plans. Now almost all companies have their sites on the Internet. You can get online information provided on the internet. You should review the company's first so you can get valuable information and prices of all types of insurance.Auto ComparisonThe company will tempt you to buy from them. But be careful enough to go for a good comparison of car insurance with coverage, the most important rules and benefits before you buy it. All car insurance policies may provide property, liability and coverage depends on the type of policy. Coverage includes property loss damage or theft auto car. Liability coverage pays for any legal obligation to someone else to harm the body or damage to property. And medical coverage covers the cost of treating injuries, medical expenses and funeral expenses in case of a car accident. You have to buy different types of auto insurance by comparing the coverage depends on how much you want to spend your policy

Car Insurance Online-A Part Of Your Future

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 13:02:00 +0000

However, in today's world, car insurance became very popular and may very well be a big part of our future not so far. Insurance in India has been introduced, tested, and tested by many customers and excited about the benefits. Let us see the positive that can go with the coverage of clean motor and why we should consider as a possibility in our own future.
By driving a car, we almost need to secure our salvation for ourselves also for our loved ones. Accident or damage is something we all complain about, especially in big cities.Furthermore, we live in busy streets and highways where accidents are very common.Therefore, the accident provides a quieter environment for everyone concerned.Insurance premium costs nothing compared to the cost of our lives. We can sleep and live more easily without the extra worries of a car driving down the streets.

What Motor Plan On Net Coverage In India? In the scope of clean motor provides details about the online insurance companies offer policies specific. It is also complete the details of insurance and insurance details. Some of the benefits of India online auto insurance they provide a lot of good that are available today. You can utilize the full details with a click of the mouse from home.Online, you can find some good company indemnity premium and choose the best of it.You can also save your precious money and at the same time. Online car insurance is one that is very affordable. Maintenance is more affordable if you insure your car. If some accident occurs, you do not have to worry about shipping your car for repairs and claims costs. More About the Scope of Clean Motor India Plan It is important to consider some things before going to the range of motor clean plan.The best thing is to find good companies to compare different quotes from many companies have the best offers and quotes, and there are differences in calculating the amount and premiums by them. Next, you have to analyze the coverage offered to get a good quote. This will lead to get the best coverage for the money you pay. Also, make sure that the insurance with whom you have decided to buy insurance get the same amount as quoted by them. This way you can choose policies apt with the best companies. This will save you money, effort, and time.
Online Auto India In India, people can not travel very far without having car insurance these days because it is mandatory to have car insurance for car owners. A car insurance policy covers loss or damage in an accident, theft, natural disasters or man-made, coverage of third parties, and third party liability. In the end, we all live here on earth and all responsibility for the law. Therefore, all people need car insurance to maintain the quality of our lives and others.

Best Cars Insurance Plans In India

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 12:33:00 +0000

Car insurance is an essential component if you plan to buy a new car. Just like other insurance policies, automobile insurance policy provides protection against natural disasters and human error while driving. You can purchase automobile insurance program from a car dealer or from an insurance company.

Think about the time when there is no vehicle, life is so boring and far from where it is out of reach. With advances in new vehicles, a lot of interesting people buy them.However, this may also lead to increased accidents and loss of hard-earned money.Therefore, it is always advisable to get yourself and your car is insured to overcome the monetary loss. Buying vehicle insurance plans require research and investigation, because many insurance companies in India provide car insurance. In this scenario, you can do this online research and can get quotes from different insurance companies.This will help you to utilize to the best auto plan that suits your needs.

Coverage Plan Best Motors in India
Motor vehicle insurance plan or coverage primarily of two types:
Comprehensive Insurance PlanThird Party Insurance Plans
Comprehensive insurance plan that provides full protection against any damages that may be, which can occur due to natural disasters or in transit by road, rail, water, elevator and many others. It also provides coverage for collision and damage caused by accident. Various natural disasters that comprehensive automobile policies of insurance covering fire, ignition, explosion, earthquakes, floods, storms, cyclones, landslides, and many disasters other visible and invisible.

Third-party insurance plans provide limited coverage, ie, only for the case of an accident. This plan is mandatory for every person to be taken by the car owner according to law. There are other plans also are available in the market. This program was created by modifying the comprehensive insurance or third-party insurance plans.For example, you can use to plan theft third party insurance which also includes coverage in the case of car theft. Premium paid for third party insurance is usually less than comprehensive insurance plan.
The best plan provider in India Auto

In India, public and private companies that offer coverage plans many motorcycle or car.government-owned companies such as General Insurance, New India Assurance, United India Insurance and Oriental Insurance provide third party insurance.
Some of the best private companies in India that provides comprehensive insurance plans are as follows:
ICICI LombardOriental InsuranceNational Insurance CompanyNew India Assurance CompanyBajaj AllianzTata AIGUnited India Insurance CompanyReliance General InsuranceHDFC ErgoRoyal Sundaram
Now, that you are aware of the various plans and the company providing the plan, examine a variety of rates and discounts available in the insurance market for car insurance. Just sit comfortably, take a deep breath and think deeply of all kinds of plans suit your needs and in your pocket.

Easy Tips For New Jersey Car Insurance

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 12:29:00 +0000

New Jersey car insurance options that eventually get better for the people who lived in the Garden State, according to a national insurance agency. That's good news and if you are a driver from New Jersey, here is why the perfect time to see if you can save.
According to the Property Accident Insurers Association of America, what are some changes that have made New Jersey a better auto insurance for consumers in the wake of the 2003 New Jersey Automobile Insurance Competition and Choice Act. In short, this act was created to improve the automobile insurance market in New Jersey by attracting more competition. Since then:
1) Most car insurance companies entered the market in New Jersey. This allows for greater competition and therefore benefit car insurance buyers. Many of them are large companies.
2) Reform has provided more choices for those living in urban areas for products and services. Again, this makes things more competitive and give the drivers benefit when purchasing a car insurance quote in New Jersey.
3) Auto insurance rates in New Jersey has reduced and become more stable. In addition, there is more protection and more choices.
One of the best ways to save on car insurance is to shop around today and the people in New Jersey can benefit comparison shopping even more, because the rate can vary from one company to another.
One of the easiest and fastest way to do this is to get online. You can request a quote directly from the site each car insurance company in New Jersey on the Web. Make sure you provide the same information on the coverage and deductibles every time to get the most accurate comparison. You can also visit comparison sites that allow you to enter your information once and get different deals again.Because the insurance business is growing at an alarming rate, many new companies entering the market. All companies are less promising high premiums and claims but the reality is otherwise. Sometimes several small companies trying to scam customers by not cleaning the claim. You should always be careful when you select your insurance company. Make sure that the company you choose to register with the state government and also the number three to get some reviews about the company from an actual customer.

Honda CBR600RR C-ABS – 2009

noreply@blogger.com (aku asli anak 'WTC') — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 08:03:00 +0000

In June 2008 Honda announced that it had developed and implemented the “world’s first electronically controlled braking system for supersport motorcycles.” At the time, we could only wonder what it might be like to haul the CBR600RR, consecutive five-time AMA Formula Xtreme and consecutive six-time World Supersport champ, in from speed with the aid of combined braking and ABS.

Wondering about the optional system has now been supplanted by experiencing. We’ve been to the Mountaintop of Braking and seen that it is good aboard the 2009 CBR600RR C-ABS!

Had Big Red simply pared down just enough of the Combined (linked) ABS system as currently found on the Gold Wing, ST1300 and VFR in order to fit the CBR 600 and 1000? The system is in fact all new.

Judging by the sound of crickets when I asked American Honda’s Millar Farewell, Assistant Manager of Technical Training, if this CBR system will soon be found on the aforementioned touring and sport-touring models, the reasonable assumption is indeed it will. Likely it won’t be identical, as the CBR system is optimized for sportbikes. However, in short, this newest C-ABS is simplified, smarter, faster and lighter in contrast to the existing system, so it’s likely Honda will apply a variant across other models.

ABS 101

Imagine a traditional brake system. When you apply the brake, fluid travels directly from the brake lever/master cylinder through brake lines to the caliper; essentially a straight shot. Hopefully you’ll come to a safe stop in the amount of time or distance you want based upon the amount of pressure you apply to the lever or pedal.

The most basic components of the typical ABS are: wheel-speed sensors, pressure control valve(s), and an electronic controller (ABS brain). With ABS, instead of fluid traveling straight from the lever/pedal to the caliper, it now first passes through a control valve, then out to the respective calipers. Under normal circumstances fluid moves uninhibited from the lever through the control valve and out to the caliper; just like a standard system but with the extra path through the control valve.

The electronic controller unit comes into the picture by monitoring wheel speed via sensors on each wheel, constantly looking for unusually rapid deceleration. The ABS brain knows, based upon parameters programmed into it, at some point in that rapid deceleration the wheel will “lock-up.”

Before this can happen, the ECU will close valves in the control valve unit, allowing pressure in the brake to drop enough in order for the wheel’s speed not to stop. At that point the brain will re-open the control valve for pressure to build again, in essence allowing another attempt at stopping.

The basic premise of ABS is that the brain plays gate-keeper between the pressure control valve unit and the brake caliper, taking its cues from wheel speed, opening and closing valves in order to decrease and increase fluid pressure. It usually does this faster than a wheel can change speed significantly, cycling at some where around 15 times per second. Often, anti-lock systems also employ a pump to assist in rebuilding pressure in the brake line(s) as well as a few other components.

Honda had four basic goals to achieve with this new C-ABS:

• Enable immediate full use of braking performance
• Retain stability while braking
• Less chassis reaction while ABS is active
• Rider confidence gained or increased from knowledge of no wheel “lock-up” (ABS)

Honda reminds us that traditional ABS and combined braking ABS on bikes use extra components, like a delay valve, pressure control valve, a fork-mounted secondary master cylinder and special 3-piston brake calipers. What makes this new system exceptional is that Honda was able to do away with those extra clunky bits, using a traditional caliper in the process. In the case of the ’09 CBR600RR (regardless of C-ABS option or standard brake) that traditional caliper is now essentially the same mono-block radial-mount caliper that’s on the CBR1000RR. Nice upgrade.

One of the biggest challenges to applying C-ABS in the case of the CBR models is their short wheelbase and high CoG. As you may have seen in race photos, or even experienced for yourself, hammering the front brake on a modern sportbike will have the rear wheel skyward in no time. C-ABS dramatically reduces unwanted chassis pitch from heavy braking.

In keeping with the mass-centralization philosophy of Honda sportbikes, the C-ABS components were located in places that didn’t negatively impact the bike’s handling. Despite their best efforts, one minor change, relocation of the shock reservoir to the left side rail of the subframe, was needed to accommodate placement of the rear power unit.

By now you’re probably wondering how much extra weight the C-ABS CBR600RR is carrying around. The system adds approximately 22 pounds to the honest-Indian curb weight of the non-C-ABS model’s 412 pounds. Honda did what all the other OEMs do: bought competitor’s bikes.

The tally for 2009 Japanese supersports real-world wet weights according to Honda is:

• CBR600RR non-C-ABS – 412 lbs; C-ABS equipped – 434 lbs
• Kawasaki ZX-6R – 428 lbs (Kawi claimed – 421)
• Suzuki GSX-R600 – 434 lbs (Suzuki claimed — 432)
• Yamaha R6 – 422 (Yamaha claimed *wet*– 414)

Beyond wheel-speed sensors and pulser rings necessary to all anti-lock systems, the Combined-ABS on both the CBR 600 and 1000 consists of one power (modulator) unit and one valve unit per wheel, and of course the ABS brain, or more officially, electronic control module (ECM).

Forgetting ABS for a minute, let’s take a simple look at how this new system functions.

When you put the squeeze on the front brake lever or rear brake pedal, fluid from the respective lever/pedal master cylinder travels to the valve unit in which pressure sensors relay info to the ECM about how much pressure you’ve applied. The ECM then signals to the power unit. This power unit is a motorized gear-driven ball screw that operates a piston (think of it like the piston in the master cylinder) to apply brake fluid pressure. Fluid then travels out of the power unit, back through the valve unit and out to the caliper(s).

New C-ABS for Dummies: brake lever to valve unit; valve unit signals ECM; ECM signals power unit; power unit applies pressure back through valve unit and out to caliper. You stop.

If you’re starting to think about this system and realizing that your squeezing on the lever isn’t really applying pressure to the caliper, you might be wondering how, or if, you get the same feel at the lever as you would on a traditional system. Inside the valve unit is what’s called a stroke simulator. The simulator is a pair of “rubber cushions of differing density that returns increasing amounts of resistance [to the lever or pedal] as brake lever/pedal pressure is applied.” Think of it like a flight simulator for the brake lever.

So how did Honda put the sensation of traditional brake feel into two tiny pieces of rubber? Only the staff in Japan knows precisely how, but helping assess the feel required to mimic regular brakes was partially the work of Honda development riders and former racers, Jeff Tigert and Doug Toland. Both gents have countless hours of development time in Honda street motorcycles, and as Farewell said, “When you ride a CBR C-ABS, a little bit of Doug and Jeff is riding with you.” That’s quite reassuring, especially if you’ve witnessed how quickly those two racer-types can lay down lap times.

According to Farewell, this updated C-ABS’s ECM reacts three times faster than the ECM on the VFR. The new system has to react faster by virtue of how much quicker things take place on the typical supersport machine. Additionally, thanks to the seamless anti-lock activation, the rider has no sense of its use until approximately the last few feet before stopping when a small amount of vibration, or shudder, can be felt through the chassis. And this is only because now that the bike is slowed to that point it’s possible to perceive some feedback. This occasional sensation is so minimal that it will likely go unnoticed by most riders.

Skeptical of a computer doing all the thinking for you? A fail-safe system determines that C-ABS is all or nothing. If any one point in the system self-check fails, the entire C-ABS essentially shuts down, leaving all valving open and free flowing, thereby reverting to a traditional, non-ABS brake. Also, don’t forget that this system is tailored to supersport riding and is far less intrusive than some ABS haters may think it is. Unlike some of the current ABS on BMW bikes, Honda C-ABS cannot be manually disabled.

When the system sees that you’re really crushing the brake lever in a feverish attempt to stop, it will then apply a degree of rear brake based on a predetermined pressure value from the front, regardless of ABS activation. You could do this on a conventional system, but most riders don’t have the skill necessary to match the speed and precision of the electronic system. Applying some level of rear brake will cause the rear suspension to compress, thereby helping stabilize the chassis, achieving one of the primary goals of employing C-ABS on a supersport.

When using the rear brake only, the ECM doesn’t bring the front brake into action until the rear brake is near the point of lock-up. This, says Farewell, is different than current linked systems that include the front brake much sooner. This allows a rider to use the rear brake much like a non-combined system. This could come in handy, for example, during sporty stints when the rider might use the rear for trail-braking.

Talk is cheap

In order that Honda may prove to the world just how special this new C-ABS, American motorjournalists were invited to the company’s North American R&D facility somewhere between the high-desert terrain of Mojave, CA and the middle of nowhere. Security is tighter than a crab’s tushy. After passing through the first security checkpoint, and a security escort straight to our destination, I felt like maybe I wasn’t on U.S. soil any longer…

Testing the bike would take place on what Honda calls the Winding Road course, a 4.5-mile circuit designed primarily for evaluating autos. It’s meant to simulate real world conditions. It has elevation changes, decreasing radius and banked turns, varied pavement surfaces, painted lines, and purposely placed pot holes and bumps.

So what would make an ideal testing situation for an ABS package? How about a naturally slickened surface courtesy of two days of rain? Consecutive days of rain are something of an anomaly in that region of the Mojave. The power of Honda…

After a sighting lap or two we were cut loose. Despite the potential of the new C-ABS, my hundreds of thousands of miles of riding in the wet without the benefit of ABS have thoroughly and wholly hard-wired my brain to avoid crushing the lever in such conditions. Nevertheless, Honda staffers assured us that when we were ready to abandon braking convention and discard our sense of self-preservation the new C-ABS would be waiting for us with open arms.

We weren’t there to perform the typical critique of a bike’s power and handling prowess, so going fast wasn’t my focus. However, when a corner approached or the initial ascent of a hill was spotted, I did my best to ply the front brake as recklessly as I could convince myself to. ABS aside, the CBR1000RR-like calipers provide excellent feel and very linear rotor crushing power. Anyone purchasing an ’09 CBR600RR without the optional C-ABS will nonetheless be rewarded with outstanding brakes.

My report on ABS on the road course is that it operates exactly as advertised. Absolutely no pulsing commonly experienced on many anti-lock systems was transmitted back to the lever or pedal, and only the slightest shimmy in the chassis could be felt in the last dozen or so feet before coming to a complete stop. The system is simply and wonderfully seamless. Period.

Moving over to the skid pad, one in our party had the brassy orbs to suggest purposely flooding the pad beyond what moisture had already been deposited from the sky. Foolish? Perhaps. Completely safe and manageable with the CBR’s C-ABS? Absolutely!

With more than an inch of standing water, residual mud, sand, and grit runoff, as well as painted lines, the stage was set for a spectacular crash.

Reaching speeds of around an indicated 100 mph in a very short distance followed by the hardest squeeze I dare apply resulted in nothing more than coming to a stop. A stop, I should add, that obviously required more distance than what it would have on a drier surface, but the C-ABS provided the best stop possible in that situation.

Indeed, too, it was much more apparent in this flooded environment that ABS was working, as the feeling of the rear tire slowing and then accelerating was obvious. Still, though I was conscious of this near-crash scenario, I was instilled with that cliché ever-present in moto reviews: confidence.

The best Supersport brakes?

People, this system works incredibly well. It’s a tad too early to say with impunity until we get our hands on the other players in this arena, but I’m hedging that the 2009 Honda CBR600RR C-ABS has the best brakes in class. For all my riding and braking experience, if I were in the market for a CBR600RR, I absolutely would opt for C-ABS.

MSRP for non-C-ABS models is $9,799; C-ABS models will be $10,799.

’09 CBR600RR odds and ends

• More mid-range was added to the tune of approximately 3-percent at peak torque at 10,000 rpm, but is said to be noticeable from between 4-12K rpm according to American Honda’s Jon Seidel.
• This torque boost comes by way of exhaust header crossover tubes and an exhaust pressure valve similar to that one found on the 1000RR’s exhaust. This pressure valve will open above 8K rpm in first and second gear, and above 6K rpm in third through sixth gear. Additional tuning includes shot-peening of intake ports for improved power and torque.
• Bodywork has been updated, primarily to accommodate the C-ABS hardware, but the changes are subtle; Honda has finally updated turnsignal design to a much more modern style!
• Five color options are available for 2009: Metallic Black, Red/Black, Black/Bright Green Metallic, special graphic Phoenix, and Pearl White/Pearl Blue/Red that is limited to 500 units. Note that C-ABS models will only be available in Metallic Black and Red/Black. C-ABS models will be further distinguishable by bronze colored calipers as opposed to black.
• For the stuntas out there, C-ABS is an electronic nanny preventing stoppies and burnouts
• The CBR600RR C-ABS should be in dealers now and the 1000s will be arriving in the coming weeks, however, Honda realizes that due to the core market of the CBRs, they can’t expect a large demand for the C-ABS models… yet. No exact figures were available for the number of anti-lock models coming to the U.S.
• Word on the wind is that the other makers aren’t far behind. Yamaha is allegedly the closest to launching their version of ABS on a sportbike. It just happened this time that Honda got their system where they wanted it before anyone else did, and if they could’ve done it two years ago we would have seen it then.