Valentino Rossi upbeat despite 5th on the first day at Sachsenring

Valentino Rossi was partially satisfied following today’s two practice sessions at Sachsenring. even if on the timesheets he was just 5th, but the fact he was just 0.365s from Stefan Bradl gave the Italian more hope that he’ll be able to close the gap with a few improvements on his set-up in order to chase another victory.

“I’m quite happy because I’m quite fast, my pace is not so bad and we are not far from the top. But we have to improve,” said Rossi. We have some areas where I’m not so confident. We tried some modifications but I didn’t improve. I’m happy with the setting, but if we want to fight for victory we have to make another step”.

Rossi also said the track was more tricky with the hard tire rear, while the softer compound gave him more trouble with the higher afternoon temperatures.

“It looks like when the track has more temperature it gives us more problems, especially after 10-15 laps. It is difficult for us to use the hard tyre, but with the soft tyre the bike starts to move a lot. Anyway we are not so far away. Five or six riders have good pace so it will be interesting tomorrow.”

Rossi will be the sole rider for the Yamaha factory team for the rest of the weekend. Teammate and reigning champion Jorge Lorenzo re-damaged his freshly plated collarbone after a crash and will be returning to Barcelona to undergo surgery.

“Jorge did something magic at Assen, but to crash again today on the same shoulder is very bad,” said Rossi. “I hope that the metal plate does not have a big problem and that he comes back as soon as possible.”

Rossi also added that in today’s safety commission meeting they would talk about the infamous turn 11, that he deems dangerous when the tires are still cold, he believes that Bridgestone should bring an asymmetric front tire to the circuit.

from TWOWHEELSBLOG

Jorge Lorenzo confirmed out of Sachsenring GP, to undergo surgery

Following his highside crash during FP2 at Sachsenring, Jorge Lorenzo has now been ruled out of the rest of the German GP weekend.

After topping this morning’s free practice Lorenzo started the second free practice by posting the fastest time but he then suffered a huge crash and fell heavily on his left shoulder re-injuring his recovering left collarbone after his surgery just two weeks ago.

X-rays revealed - as we already knew - had damaged the titanium plate that was inserted during his collarbone surgery in Barcelona and the Yamaha rider will have to undergo further surgery - tomorrow - to repair the damage and there will be no repeat of his amazing performance at Assen.

“I have decided to go to Barcelona and recover after today’s crash at Sachsenring. I prefer to focus on surgery to fix the plate that was unfortunately bent during the crash. I will try to recover and be back as soon as possible,” said Lorenzo.

With the Laguna Seca GP coming up next week and then the summer break, we may not see Lorenzo until the Indianapolis GP on August 18th.

from TWOWHEELSBLOG

Wilderness Collective Adventure WC-001

TWO WHEELS, FRIENDS, AND A WHOLE LOTTA GEAR

We spoke with Steve Dubbeldam, founder and leader of Wilderness Collective, just a few weeks ago. Since then, we accompanied WC on adventure their #002 — sailing to the Channel Islands (more on that soon) — and learned a great deal more on what the company’s all about. This video is from the first official trip, a dual-sport motorcycle voyage through the Sierra National Forest and Yosemite Valley, a journey of hundreds miles of looming Sequoias, bold, sunny terrain, burbling streams, muddy mires and a terrific amount of good old fashioned outdoor living (but way better).

The WC-001 men were a varied group, spanning a wide age range and sprinkled about the motorcycle experience spectrum (some had literally learned to ride and gotten a permit days before the trip; others had ridden for decades), but with a shared goal: friends and fathers and sons, all looking for an adventure, for good company and good memories. We follow their fantastic journey, for which they were supplied head to toe with helmets, riding jackets, gear packs, boots and of course motorcycles, all made to cut through terrain. At the end of each day the group was treated to a feast that has no logical place in the wilderness; only, mind you, after traversing the beauty of Northern California for hours on end did they rest and relax. Campfires, motorcycles, cigars, scenery, friends. See their journey here, and get ready to grin (and maybe drool, and very possibly shake your fist with envy).

LEARN MORE: HERE

Oily Rag Triumph Bobber

Oily Rag are a British company better known for the quality of their clothing and apparel, but owner, Dave Sutton isn’t about just creating a hollow brand. He wanted to show where his true passions lay, and what better way to show people what you are all about than to build yourself a brand flagship in the form of a Triumph bobber.

The headstock says it all. “I built the bike because I love creating and I didn’t want Oily Rag Clothing to be another company pretending to be something its not…” “…we have bike building credentials and love to get our hands dirty.”

Dave’s passion began at age 16 when he got that first moped, and 30 years he completed an engineering apprenticeship so he clearly understand metals and machining processes. For the last 20 odd years he’s been more involved in design and graphics, but as we all know, these skills are highly transportable – whether it’s about designing a part or a logo.

And the engineering also shows through in this builds. Check out the upside down front forks, machined top clamp and the radial monobloc front brake. This one bobber with a very large anchor.

“A few years back I stripped a 78 XL250, cleaned everything up and putting it back together again, she turned out great but to be honest she was too good to put back on the dirt! next was something that would be a little more testing and where I could make some nice custom parts.”

“Ive always wanted to own an old Triumph and when I noticed a 1970 frame on Ebay the project started. I had an idea on how I wanted the bike to look from looking at bobbers on Google it was then a matter of making every area of the bike the best I could. The aim was to keep the bike simple with nothing on the bike that wasn’t really needed and show off some nice welds, fabrication and machining.”

The bike now gets put to work on trade stands and is rewarded with hard riding and bike meets, where we are sure she gets plenty of attention. Thanks for sharing Dave.

from the bike shed