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Dutch courage doesn´t pay off for West
Anthony West´s attempts to push for improvement in Assen ended with a crash for the Kawasaki rider.

Rossi´s Assen post-mortem: `I made a mistake´
Valentino Rossi was left bitterly disappointed after a first lap crash in the A-Style TT Assen

Valentino Rossi, for all his undoubted talents, has never been the best of starters in MotoGP races. Identifying this as an area for improvement, and with the prospect of Assen poleman Casey Stoner making a breakaway at the head of the race, the Fiat Yamaha rider was going all-out in the Netherlands.

Unfortunately for the five-time World Champion, the gamble didn´t quite pay off, as on the opening lap he came unstuck due to a combination of over-exuberance a cold tyre and the tricky first left hander of the race.

`Unfortunately I made a mistake on the first lap, on the first left corner,´ admitted Rossi frankly after the A-Style TT Assen. `I went in too fast with a cold tyre and lost the rear.´

The Italian remounted his M1 and fought his way back to eleventh place after overtaking Marco Melandri and Toni Elias, but the rider taken out in his first lap fall was unable to do so. Rossi extended his apologies to LCR Honda´s Randy de Puniet, holding up his hand for the collision between the two.

`I took De Puniet with me when I crashed, so I have to say sorry to him. It was a bad mistake, because today we improved the setting of the bike and had great pace, and could even have challenged for the win,´ lamented the rider, having conceded the lead in the World Championship to Dani Pedrosa.

Tough morning for Toni

Best and worst for San Carlo Honda Gresini in Assen
Shinya Nakano´s best result of the year was evened out by an early crash for Alex de Angelis.

OnBoard with Capirossi at Mugello
A guided tour of the Mugello circuit with Loris Capirossi.

Nakano and Aoyama anticipate challenges on familiar ground

Dovizioso pinpoints start as crucial to Assen prospects
JiR Team Scot rider qualifies eleventh on the grid after front end problems in Assen.

Andrea Dovizioso is targeting a top five spot in the Netherlands after qualifying on the fourth row, although he has identified a good start as the key to his chances.

Andrea Dovizioso - Eleventh

`Tomorrow I think I can battle for the fourth or fifth position. Although I will have to make a good start, not make any errors and get to the first corner in a good position, because in the first part of the circuit it´s difficult to overtake! Many other riders are able to run a race-pace near to mine, and I believe that I can still improve a few things during the warm-up session tomorrow. A consistent lap time of around 1m 37.5s is what I'm aiming for, and with this in mind I think we can be in the top five. It seems that I cannot improve my performance on the qualifying tyres, because I do not have the confidence with the front tyre that I need and also a little vibration also disturbed my pace. We still have to do some development on the setting of the suspension before the race, to get it to work a little better during the fast corners on the track, where you really need to have good support from the front tyre.

Lying second in the Cup standings, JD Beach did better his time but the sixteen year old American was still frustrated to be in 7th place, less than 1.2 seconds off pole. `It just isn´t really coming to me like it did earlier in the season. Then at the end I was on a pretty good lap and the engine cut out. Tomorrow I´ve just got to get away with the guys at the start and make a race of it.´

Beach was bettered in lap time by Donington winner Miguel Oliveira who took 6th with a time less than a second slower than Fagerhaug's pole time from Thursday. `I enjoyed that,´ said the thirteen year old Portuguese. `It's a difficult track and I think that 6th is not bad for the first time here. I want to get away with the leaders and race with them. Then in the last few laps I will do everything I can.´

Cup leader Salom was typically smiling, yet saying he was unhappy to be second. `I´m not on pole, so I shouldn´t be happy. On my fast lap a couple of guys got in the way. The race is tomorrow though and I feel good about that,´ said the 16 year old Spaniard who leads Beach by 9 points with 6 of the 10 races already run.

Salom won last year´s race at Assen after a six man battle for the lead that lasted almost the entire difference and this time it is likely to be a similar event. Pole man Fagerhaug is looking for his 1st victory. `I didn´t improve my lap time in that session because early on everyone seemed to want to follow me as they did yesterday. Then towards the end I did some pretty good laps even though the tyre was well worn so I´m pretty happy,´ concluded the 16 year old Norwegian.

Randy de Puniet in action in Assen (MotoGP)

Kemenangan Casey Stoner dan kegagalan pembalap Yamaha Valentino Rossi di Sirkuit Assen Belanda, diyakini Ducati sebagai awal kebangkitan pabrikan motor asal Italia itu.

2004 Road Glide - FLTRI
Hard to find concord purple colors, hooker sup-on exhaust, air cleaner upgr..
$14,995.00
Color : Concord Purple
Bags : Yes
Engine Displacement: 88ci
Wheels : Cast
Transmission : 5 Speed
Condition: Very Good
Mileage: 25318

2005 Electra Glidem, Classic - FLHTCI
This is a nice Electra Glide with slip on performance pipes, hi-flow air fi..
$17,995.00

Color : Sierra Red
Bags : Yes
Engine Displacement : 88ci
Wheels : Cast
Transmission : 5 Speed
Condition : Very Good
Mileage: 41097

2002 Electra Glide Ultra Classic - FLHTCU
Price: $16,995.00
Color: Blue / Silver
Seat : Stock
Bags : Yes
Engine Displacement: 88ci
Wheels : Cast
Transmission : 5 Speed
Condition : Very Good
Mileage : 66303
With custom pin striping, chrome luggage rack, so many extras a must see!!..

Motor Bike Team Yamaha R6 2008

Type Liquid Silver



Type Cadmium Yellow w/Flames

Team Yamaha Blue/White

Team Motor Bike Raven

Kawasaki ZX10R New Sexiness New

2008 ZX10R New Sexiness
2005 ZX6R RIP 4/25/08

Motor Ducati unveils GP8

Cycles Motor Ducati Monster
Notice Tank Decal, and umm, full fairings... THe fairings are only a mock-up for another Flight Cycle customer, but I thought I'd share with OC moto....



(BEFORE)

2008 TRIUMPH STREET TRIPLE
HEY GUYS, HOW ARE YOU DOING? FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WERE INTERESTED IN THE NEW STREET TRIPLE....JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE GOT ONE IN BY SURPRISE. . YEAH WE WERENT EXPEXTING IT, BUT IT CAME. SO WE ARE INTRODUCING IT FRIDAY @ 6 :30PM FREE PIZZA AND SODA .IF UR INTERESTED IN SEEING IT. LET ME KNOW or EMAIL US.

Motor CyYamaha Tesseract concept

And it's a hybrid!


Looks like it may use a similar technology to those piaggio scooters with the two front wheel steering.

Motor CBR 1000RR White Fireblade

2006 Honda CBR 1000RR White Fireblade

Speed Earns SIM Factory Pole Award for the Pocono 200

LONG POND PA (6-6-08)—Charter planes, helicopters and rental cars have become familiar territory for Scott Speed, especially this weekend as the ARCA RE/MAX Series rookie plans to pull double duty by competing in both the Pocono 200 ARCA RE/MAX Series race at Pocono Raceway and the Sam’s Town 400k NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. He’s off to a pretty good start.

Speed qualified Eddie Sharp Racing’s No. 2 Red Bull Toyota on the pole during Friday afternoon’s ARCA RE/MAX Series SIM Factory qualifying session at Pocono, posting a 167.094 mph (53.862 seconds) lap around the 2.5-mile triangle. He will start alongside Justin Allgaier for Saturday’s Pocono 200 ARCA RE/MAX Series race, which is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. and airs on SPEED at 10 p.m. Eastern Saturday.

"I'm really happy with the pole," said Speed. "We knew we were bringing a good car. We were tight throughout most of practice today but Patty Patrick Donahue, crew chief]and the team made a bunch of adjustments that put us on the top of the practice chart for our mock run. We knew we had a good car for qualifying. When I went out for the qualifying lap the track was definitely slick with the sun out. Honestly, I just held on and hoped it wouldn't get away from me. We have a busy day. We're leaving from here (Pocono Media Center) to go catch a plane to Texas."

"The switch from trucks to cars where we doubled up last time (Kansas Speedway) was challenging because it was the same track on the same day. And to get out of the ARCA car that was not flat around the corner and to get in the truck that you need to run flat. This shouldn't be a problem tonight. Two totaly different tracks. The car should be really good tomorrow for the race. Tonight we'll go start at the back of the pack (for the truck race) and we'll see what we can do there."

Speed and Allgaier will lead off an ARCA RE/MAX Series starting grid that includes Shelby Township, Michigan’s Robb Brent in the No. 00 Orchard Chrysler Dodge Jeep Chevrolet and current ARCA RE/MAX Series point leader Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. in the No. 99 Con-Way Freight Ford, who start third and fourth, respectively. Justin Lofton starts fifth, followed by John Wes Townley, Tayler Malsam, Matt Carter and Jesse Smith.

18-year old Chase Mattioli of Long Pondbecame thefirst memebr of his famous family to start a race on the 2.5-mile tri oval. He will start his Liquid Fence/WHUR-Haines & Kibblehouse Chevy from postion 21 in the Pocono ARCA 200. The grandson of Pocono CEO Dr. Joe Mattioli qualified with arespectable speed of 159.866.

The ARCA RE/MAX Series heads into Saturday’s Pocono 200 on the strength of a competitive season in which there have been no repeat winners and five first time series winners in eight of 21 races. The race will mark the ARCA RE/MAX Series’ 47th appearance to the 2.5-mile triangle since 1983.

Car Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano - Specs 2006

ESTIMATED BASE PRICE: $250,000

ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 48-valve V-12, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injection
Displacement: 366 cu in, 5999cc
Power (SAE net): 611 bhp @ 7600 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 448 lb-ft @ 5600 rpm

TRANSMISSIONS: 6-speed manual, 6-speed manual with automated shifting and clutch

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 108.3 in Length: 183.7 in Width: 77.2 in Height: 52.6 in
Curb weight: 3750 lb

PERFORMANCE RATINGS (MFR'S EST):
Zero to 62 mph: 3.7 sec
Zero to 124 mph: 11.0 sec
Top speed (drag limited): 205 mph

PROJECTED FUEL ECONOMY (MFR'S EST):
European combined: 11 mpg

As outside observers of the NASCAR racing scene, we guess a lot. We watch and read and mostly put our own spin on what we have watched and read. But we don't know what's going on for the most part. You can get closer to the truth by talking and listening to others who are nearer to the action but rarely will you get the real, whole truth.

Scene Daily has this headline on one of it's posts today:

Junior not sure how he'll fit in with teammates

It's another attempt by those that cover the sport to find the "Kumbaya" moments in the story of a racecar driver. Here's the lead in;

Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn't expect too many big bonding sessions between him and his new Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Casey Mears.
My favorite racing film is the John Frankenheimer directed Grand Prix that came out in 1966. The movie is based upon the Robert Daley book, The Cruel Sport. The sub-title of the book is Grand Prix racing 1959-1957 and it is Daley's chronicle in words and pictures of those seasons from a very up close perspective. It is a fascinating read and I don't feel qualified to write a proper review. If you have any interest in auto racing and the people who drive the cars, read it.

One of Daley's many profiles is of America's first World Champion, Phil Hill. Hill is portrayed as "a gentle man in a profession devoid of gentleness." But when asked why he was not very friendly with other drivers he says:

"How can you be friends with a racing driver? You try to beat them all day on the circuit, and then at night you're supposed to forget all that? I think all racing drivers secretly hate each other anyway."

I believe that attitude is probably closer to reality than any notion of real closeness among teammates. People seemed shocked that, during his last seasons with Penske, Rusty Wallace couldn't seem to get along with Ryan Newman. Rusty was a guest ON PIT ROW last week. I wish I had asked him the same question that Daley asked Hill.

Position Track is Sprint Cup's Trump Card
So how does a "Top-5" car run in the middle of the pack for nearly an entire race?

Just ask Jeff Gordon.

Following last Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Gordon found himself with a fourth-place finish in NASCAR's longest event after stretching his fuel mileage late in the race. That finish, though, wasn't an accurate picture of Gordon's night at LMS.

Busch at Dover "Monster" No Match

Best Buy 400 FanHouse Warmup
The Warmup makes a triumphant return after two weeks on the bench...

Concrete Monster Complete at Dover

CNC Racing
They probably knew it was coming, but probably not to this extent.

Haas-CNC Racing, which fields NASCAR Sprint Cup cars No. 66 and No. 77, had more than just a book thrown at them Wednesday as NASCAR levied the penalties for rear-wing mount infractions stemming from last weekend's race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

The penalties, for both teams, included:

• 150 Driver points from Johnny Sauter and Scott Riggs
• 150 Owner points from the No. 66 and No. 70
• Six week suspensions from Sprint Cup Series racing for both crew chiefs and car chiefs
• $100,000 fine for crew chiefs "Bootie" Barker and Dave Skog, each
  
• Both race cars will not be returned after NASCAR confiscated them Friday at LMS

Gasoline theft in

With the cost of gasoline skyrocketing, thieves in Hawaii -- where the average price easily exceeds $4 per gallon -- have taken extraordinary measures to steal fuel. Only mildly deterred by locking gas caps, bandits have been cutting fuel lines to circumvent the common preventatives. With nothing more than a straight edge blade, a piece of garden hose, and a bucket, the lawless make easy work of the plastic fuel lines under cars as they cut them to gain simple access to the tank and its flammable yet valuable liquid contents.

So far, most of the victims have been businesses or commercial ventures with several large trucks in their fleet. Parked unattended in lots overnight, their 20-30 gallon fuel tanks and raised ride height make them easy targets with larger yields than the average passenger vehicle. To deter the theft, business owners have installed sophisticated video surveillance cameras on their property and outfitted some vehicles with steel gas lines. "If they're crazy enough to go cut a steel line to steal the gas, they should be welcome to it," says George Nitta, owner of Nitta Auto Repair. "All they need is one spark from that saw and that's it, you're done." Thanks for the tip, catgirlshyla!

Maintenance is escalading

Cars sink in Daytona Beach sand Nearly 100
Those of us who live in the Snow Belt know what it's like to have Mother Nature not let go of your vehicle. There's just no dislodging a car under its own power when the tires dig in and make ruts in the white stuff. Although snow isn't a problem for drivers in Florida, the sands at Daytona Beach are causing headaches for a large number of Floridians. On Sunday, there were nearly 100 vehicles stuck on the beach, and officers suggest that these conditions will not be improving any time soon. According to Daytona Beach patrol Captain Tim Cunningham, "I have not seen it this bad in my lifetime. Right now, the sand is like powder. It is just months and months of no rain." The worst time to drive on the beach is just before high tide. We don't imagine that you want your car stuck in the sand with high tide approaching. With this in mind, may we politely suggest parking a bit further away and walking? Thanks for the tip, everyone!

Machina concept shatters convention Yamaha branded Deus Ex

Impending doom on four wheels

Volkswagen Touareg Harley-Davidson edition

Volkswagen and Harley-Davidson are two motor companies with highly recognized images, but those images don't much overlap. That is, until now: someone has cooked up his own Harley edition Touareg. But while the special badging might look at home on a Ford F-150, it doesn't quite fit on a VW.

Aside from the emblems affixed to the wheels, grille, tailgate, sill plates and steering wheel, there's really nothing that makes this any different from any other 2004 model Touareg. It's got 42k miles on the odometer and a rich brown saddle leather interior, and with four days remaining 'till the digital hammer drops, bidding is up to $13,600. An actual Harley, and any measure of good taste, are not included.

Schumacher falls - literally - in motorbike race debut

Click on the image for more high-res shots of the Night Rod Special