This new model will mostly help Yamaha in expanding their sales for India where the 2 wheelers are really popular as they are cheaper and also better in terms of fuel efficiency as compared to the utility vehicles and cars. This company has set for itself, a target of around ten percent of the market share by the year 2016 from three and half percent right now. The sales of motorcycles for India, which is second largest market for two wheelers, grew by around 12 per cent to about 10.1 million units in fiscal year through to March. Around seventy percent of the sales are comprised of the entry level bikes having capacities of engines of around 100-125 cubic cms.

India’s biggest 2 wheeler maker in terms of sales – Hero MotorCorp Ltd., has six bikes which belong to the entry level pack and companies like Yamaha, Suzuki Motor Corp, and Honda and now expanding presence of theirs in this segment. Yamaha is currently selling their 110cc models of motorcycle YBR and Crux for Rs. 43,500 (or $760) and Rs. 36,300 (or $635) respectively. Nearly all of the competing brands belong to same range of price.

Yamaha Motorcycle

Suzuki said that just 1 for every 25 people in India have a two wheeler of their own. There is plenty of scope for attracting a lot of buyers by bringing products that are efficient in terms of fuel and are priced reasonably. He also said that Yamaha is looking to strengthen their development and research capabilities for developing models of low cost with out any support of parent. He did not say anything about the time line to introduce entry level new motorcycle but had said that it’ll be exported too.

Yamaha said that they will be investing around 23 billion Indian rupees in this country over five years from here on for developing some new products. They will also use this money for building new factory and raising output for meeting the expected demand surge. By the year 2018, they are planning to make around 2.8 million automobiles here in India and they are just at 600,000 right now. This company is really hoping to boost their sales for India to around 2 million automobiles by the year 2016 from around 520,000 in the year 2011 and targeted 640,000 for the year 2012. Suzuki said that Yamaha will be selling around 3 new models of scooter in India by next 2 years and one of them will be introduced in the month of October.

During marketing & the technical presentation team of Ducati stressed focus on concept of friendlier, Streetfighter that was easier to ride. Targeted consumer for 848 is any rider that isn’t extreme & wants more usability, some one who yearns ride that is more confidence inspiring. Ducati has set out for making this happen along with smaller displacement, all new Streetfighter which will satisfy the criteria & still be naked high-performing bike.

Cornerstone of the new Streetfighter is 849.4cc L-Twin Testastretta 11 power plant. Sharing same basic config along with 848 EVO Superbike, 11 degrees of the valve over lap is made for giving a smoother character of engine which is suited more to street duty Street fighter 848 will be used for most often. Most notable difference amidst engine of Superbike & Streetfighter is cam shaft profiles that are tuned for delivering punch that is more street-friendly. Bore, stroke & compression ratio are quite identical, along with service interval of about 15,000 miles.

New super bike-derived frame is quite similar to 1098 Steetfighter, but it has less of rake & trail for confidence and stable inspiring traits of steering. Wheel base is same as 1098 @ 58.07 inches, but it is longer than 56.3-inches wheelbase 848 EVO. Attached to rear of frame of trellis is new 1 piece swingarm that is cast aluminum sprung by Sachs that are fully adjustable shock set for comfortable ride. On the up front there are 43 mm Marzocchi forks having handle that is full adjustable, the imperfect surfaces of road that Streetfighter 848 we see. Both front & rear are set for softer in the spring rate & damping as compared to 1098 sibling.

Just like all the Ducati of late, Streetfighter 848 is standard along with system of Ducati Traction Control, having 8 adjustment levels. Full system of Brembo brake sans ABS slows entire kit down along with 320 mm discs that are squeezed by the four piston radial mounted calipers having pads of soft-feel in front. Duties of braking in rear are now handled by 245 mm single disc & 2-pistons caliper. I found it really interesting that this bike which is aimed @ being usable on roads does not have any ABS as the standard equipment.

Ducati set me up just down road from the headquarters & stones throw from the factory of Ferrari & the facilities of testing at Autodromo di Modena which is newly constructed. Having 11 turns, this track is really ultra-tight having more than the fair share of some second-gear decreasing-radius corners which would challenge & frustrate during sessions of short track. I also rode through hills above the Modena so I could gauge performance of 2012 Ducati Streetfighter 848 First Ride in real world. You can call picturesque land scape that is painted along with ever undulating & curving asphalt ribbon of real world. For me it was a bit more like dream.

Immediately I did find that the cockpit was very comfortable, especially reach to 20 mm higher handle bars. Tapered unit of aluminum gave me stance that was slightly more upright as compared to 1098, & did keep pressure off wrists. Seat for foot peg height was really roomy, however the right heel got cramped by exhaust shroud while I placed the balls of feet on pegs. Word here is that Ducati had spaced peg mounts out 10 mm from frame for allowing more of clearance, but to me this still was not enough. It was not big concern on street, & I adjusted position of foot accordingly. It was different story for track though. Moving foot pegs outwards decreases clearance cornering slightly & when combined along with interference from the shroud, toe slider for new Dainese boots did pay the price.

Twisting throttle on small Streetfighter does produce spread of linear power from about 2500 rpm for redline. Like good streetfigher should, this 848 wheelies very easily in the first & second gear, but once limiter comes in on fast one, front end drops like potatoes sack. Grunt that is tire twisting coming out of corner is something that makes the twins blast for riding, & this bike isn’t any different. The throttle response was really instantaneous yet not really abrupt, which perfectly was suited to tight hair pins which we encountered above the Modena. This boost simply is enough for being fun with out getting out of the hand. It just is really easy for controlling power, but if DTC can get dialed in for helping out ham-fisted. Personally, I liked setting #2 for the street duty. On track I had kept same setting & didn’t have any problems with traction loss or too much of interference. It was not really noticeable too.

Small 2-lane, some time 1-lane roads in hills did have every thing from the billiard table smooth the sections for potholes to the bumps which could turn in to jumps at right speed. Having such diverse surfaces of road, suspension of 848 would get to test. On the sections that were less chewed up this yellow Ducati did handle well, having balanced feel, but when the things were getting bumpy this suspension started to show some weaknesses. Any of the moderate sized heave for pavement will induce some of squirm. It was really apparent while on gas which was coming out of corner, but frankly speaking, it was more of annoyance and not any thing else. Along with some time for fine tuning Sachs shock & Marzocchi setting of fork, mainly the spring pre load, I’d think that squirm could be lessened or eliminated. On track, suspension got firmed up considerably & had created chassis that was rock solid, confirming the thoughts for increasing preload.

On street, cornering on 2012 Ducati Streetfighter 848 First Ride was blast. The effort on taller bars is really light, & flicking in to corner @ appropriate speed is really a cake. Changes of mid-corner were really easy as thinking regarding it, & even unexpected decreasing turn of radius wasn’t any a problem. On track I did struggled for getting this bike for completely dropping in to corner, especially for tight, 2nd gear corners which required some trail-braking all way in to apex before any squirting to next corner. It looked that bars that are super-comfortable on street were fighting against me for the last bit of some lean. Straight bars had coaxed me in to holding the elbows up just like I was on the moto cross bike. After I made some effort for dropping elbows, resistance had lessened & track started to flow. I could pick up pace very considerably, & grip was phenomenal from Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa tires helped bike stick just like glue. When my track session had come to end, I was yearning for more time as each of the lap bond between me & Streetfighter had improved.

As I expected these Brembo brakes had performed along with poise. Sintered pads that had soft-feel on front did not have much of initial bite as I’ve become accustomed for, but power & feel was pretty stellar. Even as laps had counted down track, there was 0 fade which got surprising for such tight lay out. Rear brake wasn’t really powerful as I’d have liked & feel wasn’t on same level as that on front.

Ducati has great hit on the hands along with 2012 Streetfighter 848. It isn’t nastiest or the most powerful, but is still sexy & pure performance from Italian. One fact that it’s more manageable for an average Joe & will still coax some smiles & bench while racing from fast guys goes at show which more is not always the better. One concept of more controllable still really exciting Street fighter just makes a lot of sense, & 2012 Street fighter 848 is one good proof.

This property is zoned now Agricultural A-51, permitting different uses that are related to the agriculture and snow mobile, all-terrain vehicles & Sea-Doo sales & service, activity area & area of open space. The town staff is recommending that the use of paved track @ rear of property for being limited to the test rides for the motorcycles & that the racing should get stopped.

Public meeting for application rezoning failed in drawing any one to the town hall on Monday. Roy had told town council’s committee of planning that track hasn’t been used for the racing as it was couple of years ago. Coun of Ward 1, Richard Rybiak told that the neighbors in this area were a lot concerned regarding noise from the racing.

This matter now moves to the general committee agenda of the council. Residents have some time for submitting their comments to planning department of the town, before any decision is made up about the application.

DR-Z is the D-P bike of the Japanese origin displacing 400 cc. Kawasaki & Honda skirt this category along with the offerings for 230 cc (for Honda only), 650 cc, and 250 cc displacements and Yamaha gives 200 cc & 2 250 cc bike models. The Euro makers like Husqvarna, Beta, and KTM make machines that are comparable in 350 cc, 450 cc, and 310 cc and 350 cc displacements respectively but like afore mentioned TE 250 these motor bikes are just designed thinly for the off-road users.

DR-Z 400 cc bridges some gap between 250 cc bikes that are powered modestly and often times the over weight and 650 cc street biases models. As compared to the DR-Z650SE stable mate, this 317 pounds curb weight of 400 bests the kin by around 49 pounds and it produces very similar numbers of horsepower which is quite surprising. My test model of 400 S did give 31.2 horsepower and the 650 that I had tested previously gave 35.3 hp. Extra displacement of the big DR shines through the readings of torque, giving significant 10.4 ft lb more as compared to 23.5 ft lb of the 400.

Extra torque of the 650 is beneficial but for finessing bike over & around the different obstacles of off-road; I’d opt for lesser weight of 400 instead of advantage of power and the heavier weight of 650. I did get the Yamaha WR250R for testing last year, this 298 pounds wet machines out put 27.7 hp & torque of 17.0 ft lb. DR-Z weighs just nineteen pounds more as compared to Yamaha but has 3.46 more of horsepower a& torque of 6.52 ft lbs and I was really attracted to realistic possiblity of giving up some weight of 400 bringing it very close to that of 250 instead of attempting on closing on gap of 50 pounds between 650 and 400.

After one day of swapping Suzuki for a really Husky TE250, it’s my opinion that through some reduction of weight of DR-Z, stiffening the suspension and installing little bit of the aggressive rubber on the rim, this DR-Z may be transformed in to off-road serious weapon. Through shaving some of DR-Z down to 255 pounds wet weight of TE is quite impractical getting really close or somewhere below three hundred lbs is pretty reasonable.

Fully adjustable, 49 mm front fork having 11.3 inches travel that is combined along with rear shock adjustable for the compression damping and preload with travel of 11.8 inches is quite formidable components of suspension. The plush settings of stock smooth minor the imperfections of the street but it is easy for bottoming out in off-road aggressive riding. If you stiffen the rear and front components, it will let the rider explore capabilities of DR-Z in a better way.

It isn’t the best that I have ever tested to date but the stopping power from 250 mm front disc brake of DR-Z along with caliper of dual piston & 220 mm rear disc brake along with caliper of single piston is quite adequate. Front brake gives initial strong bite and it is very easy for modulating which 1 is important while off roading along with small knobby front stock tire.

Apart from the streetable rubber, the manufacturer has equipped DR-z along with niceties which are road going like cluster of digital instrument having meters of twin trip (along with capablities of substrattion and addition, clock, stopwatch, and timer functions. Also, there are foot pegs for passenger foot pegs, helmet lock & thick, but narrow, seat giving relatively more of comfort as compared to the dirt bikes.

While 398cc, liquid-cooled DOHC Single produces some usable amount of the low-end torque, Suzuki has equipped DR-Z along with 5-speed gear box which limits choice rider’s of the power delivery. Most of the 650 cc D-P bikes use five gears, but I would prefer 400 to get 6-speed gear box like majority of the small- & mid-displacement bikes of D-P.

Southern California high ways & the common 80 miles per hours traffic flow (when the traffic gets flowing) is bit much for DR-Z. Engine spins really fast for keep the pace which does make for buzzy experience. With 65 mph of speed & single-cylinder engine does thumps along at tolerable cadence. For 6th cog in transmission of DR-Z would go big way for making DR-Z better free way machine.

Glaring over sight of the engineers of DR-Z is simple omission of the brush guards. It certainly isn’t any deal breaker but when Suzuki DR650SE which is less dirt worthy version as comarped to DR-Z400S – comes along with the items which are off-road-inspired as the standard equipment, it simply makes you wonder why it wasn’t installed on 400. One more un-dirt bike-like facet of DR-Z is the metal tank. 1 wrong dis mount (which is accepted aspect in off-road aggressive riding) & DR-Z’s metal tank will for ever wear dented reminder of this event.

Suzuki DR-Z400 doesn’t have any direct competition for displacement & price, making the performance & MSRP $6,200 combination that is very hard for dismissing. DR-Z is really competent on street as it’s in dirt. For person who wants enduro which navigates single-track or the fire road and also perform daily duties of commuting & even some of the short adventure trips of touring, this DR-Z is D-P bike that is worthy of some consideration.

Manufacturer by an Canadian maker; they are really huge hit in Germany and France & are now starting for growing in terms of popularity in here. We have visited dealership for trying out bikes which has 2 wheels on front & 1 at back and for finding out how they are received by the motorists Glaswegian. The owner of dealership Glen Miller aged 49 said that there aren’t a lot of automobiles out there which can turn the heads.

He says that they are made for people who yearn for something that is different for standing out from crowd. Even when they are parked out side dealership every one stops for taking one look at it and seeing people who are getting out the phones for taking pics. He says that he hasn’t heard a lot of comments regarding that. It is something that will certainly turn the heads. In spite of looking a bit like futuristic craft from Judge Dredd or Blade Runner, said Glen that Spyder is proving popular along with big range of the people.

He says that there are older customers who do not want holding up heavier bike. It is something through which managing can be very easy. Plenty of people want license of motorbikes but do not want any hassles of getting one.

Honda says that it has an answer in 2013 Honda Metropolitan. That is powered by 50 cc SOHC, 2-valve, four-stroke air-cooled Single, this new version ditches carburetor for fuel injection. Due to this things get really reliable little scoot which meets the future regulations of emissions while sipping the fuel gently: Honda is estimating that such setup will return to 117 mpg!

What’s perhaps more note worthy is the price. Starting at $1999, it has a cost of $50 less as compared to the predecessor when it was imported last to U.S.A. in the year 2009. It is achieved using Honda’s China making plant for building the world wide model instead of making it in Japan like before. Nevertheless, the quality of build is typical of Honda: it is solid, with every thing fitting as they’d with none of any loose pieces or any exposed wiring.

2013 Metro too sees some all-new styling, that’s high lighted by new head light & gauge set up, different handle bar, & new tail light assembly. Truthfully speaking, this new model does not really look very different than old 1, but die hard Metro heads can tell difference.

From cock pit, rider is graced along with 22-liters under seat area of storage that is big enough for stuffing 3-quarter helmet. New unit of inner storage is incorporated with in leg shield and there is ample room for number of the items, including water bottle. Bigger convenience hook too is added for helping bring the home groceries.

2013 Honda Metropolitan stakes the claim in world of scooter for getting easy, inviting and gentle. Along with listed weight of curb of about 179 pounds, a 28.3-inches seat height & 46.5-inches wheel base, this little scoot is not the least intimidating.

But once you are on the road 1 can not help but feel very vulnerable to traffic that is around you. Metropolitan tops @ just 40 mph & does not get at your desired place very quickly. There is just so much of power which you’d expect from 50 cc EPA-legal engine. Response of throttle is relatively sprightly, having smooth fueling from the idle through out rev range, feeling on the par, if not less powerful, than Yamaha Zuma 50F I rode some time ago. Torque off-the-line felt much better on Yamaha, but I’d give advantage of the top speed for Honda, according to dyno that is seat-of-pants.

Continuously transmission variable handles the duties of “shifting”, leaving rider free for just twist & go. Despite the small stature, the comfort is pretty decent too. The big seat comes with ample of padding & leaves enough of room for the riders for scoot back & stretch out by a bit. There is lot of space in footwell for the big kicks too.

The bumps in road get absorbed by twin-down tube fork & single shock having 2.1 & 2.3 inches travel, respectively. Wheels of 10 inches are there fitted for each end. The ride is pretty relatively comfortable for most of the surfaces, despite meager components. The roads that are poorly maintained or the big pot holes bottom suspension.

Only chink in armor that is other wise impressive are brakes. 2013 Honda Metropolitan is equipped still along with brakes of drum for each end, along with rear linked at front. The stopping power while using both the brakes is very good but it dramatically drops if you are using front binder.

Still, for scoot which comes under 2 grand, there is not much for complaining about. My ride route saw a lot of open tarmac stretches & the prolonged opportunities of wide-open-throttle. Despite the shenanigans, fuel gauge had moved just one tick. While my experience has shown the scooters for miss the advertised claims mileage, under the normal, riding, sensible conditions this Metropolitan will give numbers that are impressive.

In retro-styled, 50cc market of scooter, it is hard for finding competitor which delivers you with more bang for buck. Vino of Yamaha offers some similar specs & styling but it is carbureted, gives worse mileage, costs about $251 more, & most importantly, is not listed as 2012 model at Yamaha’s lineup of scooter– good luck for finding new 1 in dealers.

Only other 50 cc Japanese scooter along with EFI is Zuma 50F that is recently launched, too from Yamaha. The top speeds are nearly identical, & Zuma holds one liter advantage for the storage capacity, but Yamaha really stands out from them due to the rugged & appearance that is off-roady. Benefits of Zuma from brake of front disc that is better than front drum brake of Metro, & the 132mpg claim is better than Honda’s, but the numbers of real world always vary a lot. Most importantly, this Zuma costs about $2540 as compared to $1999 Metro– that is big difference for student of cash-strapped deciding between two.

The European scoots can not match Honda’s price point too. You will need to look for Taiwan for finding challengers that are comparable for Metro. Kymco’s Sento 50 is priced equally to Honda but it is carbureted & can’t match mileage numbers of Honda. For build quality, dealer, and reliability networks, reputation Honda’s is 2nd to none.

With new Metropolitan, Honda gives practical, reliable, & economical transportation mode that is perfect for the down town dwellers. All for less 2 large. And for some states, you do not even have to have motorcycle license for riding 1. If you are living in big city & get tired of taking or walking subway, Metropolitan deserves one look.

This firm opened up as the Vespa Orleans at Mid-City in the time of July 2002 from Stephen Materne and Gayle after this couple had fallen in love along with 2 wheeled automobiles on family trip at Italy. With return of Vespa for US market in the year 2001, post hiatus of 20 years, Maternes saw it as opportunity for bringing lifestyle of scooter to 1 of European cities of the country.

Along with rise in the demand for the Vespas in this city, business had fast out grown the quarters of Mid-City & Maternes had broken ground on dealer ship of downtown in the month of April 2005. Couple of months later, the Hurricane Katrina had destroyed location of Mid-City, delayed the construction of down town store, and displayed family at Baton Rouge, where they had continued the operations of business from the temporary home.

From February 2006, Materne family opened up the shop of down town at Baronne and Julia which further contributed to rebirth of this city. They revitalized down town of New Orleans and started industry of new motorsports for this region.

Over next couple of years, using help of Stephen and Gayle’s sons, Maxwell and Zachary, this company had evolved in to business that was more life style driven and not just dealer ship as New Orleans Vespa wanted to acquire more of European luxury brands of motor cycle. By the year 2008, this company transitioned in to Transportation Revolution along with inclusion of British made Triumph and Ducati motor cycles from Italy (Ducati is now a part of the Audi vehicles family)

Zachary Materne says regarding success to bring new type of the cultural product for New Orleans along with expansion of TTRNO – that the opportunity for growing business is quite unique as the market is open. Materne also said that they have cornered the market before any one knew that it was there.

Maxwell and Zachary now run family business predominantly and they are continuing to expand. They offer not just service and sales of motorcycle but also the accessories and parts, apparel & departments of e-commerce. Apart from this, Transportation Revolution recently had partnered along with NOLA Motor sports Park at Avondale, along with motor bike shop of speed that is located in new motorsports facility of about $65 million.

Apart from amenities that are available already at the Nola Motorsports, this new shop has premier service for the members and customers including the track side valet, motor cycle maintenance service, rental of gear, and also track side lounge. This is the only shop of motor cycle having such capabilities and hence the brand brings some hospitality and retail together for catering to spectators and enthusiasts of the motor cycle from all over the country and also provides some entree for the riders who are new.

NOLA & TTRNO Motorsports already have lured big events which are corporate in nature for this region and it includes Ducati motorcycle launch for the month of April and launch of new sports car for Subaru in the last month. Together, these 2 events had brought in around two thousand dealers from all over the nation and had filled about four thousand rooms of hotels in this city.

Motorsports NOLA Park also contracted along with the AMA Pro Racing for holding the final races for this season at 750 acres complex for next 3 years starting with the event of this year in the month of October. The Super Bowl of the motor cycle road racing adds to this city’s repertoire as premier event of sports hosting in this city and put new park on map with the international standard race tracks & other amenities which are premier.

In one project that got initiated by senior lecturer at ASoD – Oliver Neuland, along with help & some input from Paolo Cuccagna, chief designer & manager @ Honda department of R&D at Rome, they had asked lot of students of Massey for sketching new motorcycle concept.  Neuland has experience for design of motorcycle in Europe as the designer @ BMW, MZ, & consultant at Aprillia. He has worked on a lot of BMW models like C1, R1100R, & F650 before they moved to New Zealand for becoming programme leader @ campus of Massey’s Albany.

This brief was for designing small commuter capacity motorbike for the Generation Z, aged from 16-22, who look to have turned backs on cheap & efficient transport mode. Neuland says that motor bikes are really emotional products & are subject for many preconceptions that are irrational. May be this is why they’re on brink of getting extinct instead of being hyped as a solution that is 1 of most promising, sustainable & economic future for personal transport in this group of age for mobility, cost, & sustainability.

24 students from Massey Auckland & Wellington campuses had submitted the sketch concepts & three got selected & evaluated for some further development.

Once final idea got set, the students Alli Abbas, Rohan Geo, Joonhwan Choi, Joseph Raffills, Jason Khoo, Emily Ang, Nick Marks, & Sam McCafferty, under guidance of Cuccagna & Neuland, set regarding starting on the clay model. Ang said that he is doing industrial design but he thought it’d be cool & fun for designing motorcycle. He likes cars and hence thought about doing something along with motor cycle would make things interesting.

Piaggio claims that Typhoon achieves astonishing speed of 90 mpg from the small 124 cc four-stroke, single-cylinder engine. We assume that the rider is really delicate along with controls & he avoids continued the high speeds for achieving maximum of fuel economy. With our testing of real-world, which had involved twisting throttle to stop very frequently for escaping from four-wheeler, inter city traffic, which the number considerably dropped to about 52 mpg. But this number is still really impressive considering that I trashed it a lot in my scooting test. Getting mileage that is worse than this would be almost impossible.

One more figure that is really notable is its price. At simply $2699, this Typhoon is natural choice for any one who is looking for reliable & cheap transportation, & puts well below the competitors like Honda PCX (having a price tag of $3399) & Yamaha Zuma 125 (which costs $3350). We will have comparison for all 3 scooters soon.

 From Italy, with lots of love

For the people who are unfamiliar, Piaggio, is an Italian brand which specializes with scooters. While MP3 line up of the 3-wheel scooters which lean like conventional motor cycle might be the best-known version in U.S., this company also makes models which are more traditional. Piaggio Group, the parent company, also has a lot of brands for drawing the knowledge from, including Vespa, Gilera, Aprilia, & Moto Guzzi, amongst others.

For 2012 Piaggio Typhoon 125, frame of steel trellis incorporates design that is step-through from simplifying the egress and ingress. Despite malevolent name of Typhoon, it is powered actually by modest 124 cc single cylinder engine which Piaggio says that it churns (insert smirk) stump-pulling 6.0 feet lbs. torque & 9.6 hp. It is mated to CVT or continuously variable transmission for true usability of “twist-n-go”.

I will admit that there was a bit of apprehension while first riding Typhoon as I was not sure if I could be moving road block amongst sea of the cars. All these fears were overcame quickly as this scoot had good power for blending amongst traffic. It also has enough of pull for holeshoting stoplight-2-stoplight races of drag against the unsuspecting drivers of cage, though Typhoon bogs slightly leaving one stop; which is indication of the lean fueling. Piaggio says that top speed of about 60 mph, but the speedometer had registered very high speed of 70 mph on the level ground & it goes faster along with help of steep decline. It should be noted, that because as the engine is below150cc, this Typhoon isn’t legal for the free way use.

All this is better, too, as stability from 120/80-12 on front & 130/80-12 on rear knobby tires gets bit skittish @ higher speeds. The suspension consists of non-adjustable, conventional telescopic fork at front & rear single shock, adjustable for the spring pre load. Considering that Typhoon is made to live on the bumpy streets of city, damping is touch on soft side, but not really excessively so, providing good and comfortable experience of scootering.

The duties of braking for 258-pounds (dry) Piaggio are due to 220 mm single disc on the front clamped by 2 piston caliper. Surprisingly, line of steel-braid feeds some fluid for brake lever that is very positive-feeling. In rear there is 140 mm drum. The lever feel is bit squishy, but there is enough of power for locking rear wheel when you wish to play some hooligan.

 Different kinda riding experience

Having ridden the sportbikes lately almost exclusively, going aboard Typhoon could not more different. The wedge like seat is about 30 inches from ground, which means that 30-inches inseam can just manage placing balls of feet on tarmac. Seat has sweet short spot, as the riders who are taller than five foot eight will find upward slope to portion of passenger crowding too far forward for some roomy comfort. The light weight makes it look like toy, and this equates to an easy maneuvering through the traffic. Downside for this really small stature is handling that is fidgety while faced along with strong cross winds or the roads which are poorly maintained, as more of effort is needed for maintaining line, even while going straight.

The accommodations of passenger aren’t forgotten, as Typhoon has well padded seat of pillion along with rails of grab & floor boards instead of the footpegs. Grab rails too double up as handle for helping place this scoot on center stand when it is parked. While it is really easy for levering on to centerstand, not counting the side stand is minor inconvenience.

The area of storage is now confined to single compartment under saddle, big enough for accommodating 3-quarter helmet but not much of else. One hook underneath bars is really great to affix the grocery bags, but the fairing doesn’t have any convenient things like holder for water bottle or any kinda storage cubbyholes.

These aren’t my only gripes. Carbureted engine may get temperamental while the cold starts, some times needs more than just one attempt at button before it comes to life. It too is one more another indicator that Typhoon runs pretty lean. Once it is on, automatic choke activates & raises speed of engine while it reaches the optimum temperature of operation. We did notice few occasions that engine got stalled while applying heavy throttle dose while it was still cold.

This isn’t a necessarily gripe, but Typhoon’s CVT or constant-velocity transmission exhibits noticeable shudder when you ask it to select the equivalent to the 1st gear (CVTs do not have any gears). This is evident most while coasting to stop & accelerating quickly again.

 Cure for road rage

If you are just like me, numerous every day errands are close to your home. Jumping in car or suiting for the sport-tourer just for running in bank looks like an overkill. 2012 Piaggio Typhoon 125 is affordable and sensible alternative. More than simply cheap, the reliable transportation, this Typhoon is also gate way scooter in to world of bigger 2 wheelers. More of storage compartments will be pretty nice but for $2699, I would be willing for making some concessions. It is also available in black color if yellow model isn’t your style.

4 times world stunt champ Chris Pfeiffer will be amongst highlights in this year’s Grand Prix at Silverstone British.

The stunt show take place before race of MotoGP on 17th June on Sunday & it adds to big line-up of the free entertainment over weekend, like – Saturday evening Party of Grand Prix featuring appearances on-stage & interviews along with current riders of MotoGP; music from the bands which includes Marner Brown, James Toseland’s Crash, The Rain Band, Missing Andy, Felix Fables & The Strikes; further shows of stunt from Broke FMX, Craig Jones, & Animal Bike Tour; along with aerobatic displays by Red Bull Matadors & The Black Knights, The Royal Artillery Parachute Display Team.

Apart from this, Silverstone’s new policy of ‘kids go free’, track of Northamptonshire made sure that there is a lot for keeping entire whole family entertained along with some extra activities like bungee trampolines, kiddi moto, & helicopter flights of pleasure.