Articles by Mike Ryan

Several leading motorcycle racers, past and present, have been confirmed to attend this year's Manx Grand Prix Festival, as part of the newly introduced Corporate Hospitality Programme. Chief amongst these, at least for Aussie and New Zealanders, will be Kiwi larrikin and former IoM TT winner, Graeme 'Croz' Crosby.

Mecum Auctions, USA will sell a one-of-a-kind Yamaha YZF-R1 at no reserve at their Monterey Auction, this coming August 18-20. The R1 will cross the Mecum auction block, with Jay Leno and three-time 500cc world champion "King" Kenny Roberts acting as "auctioneers".

Harley-Davidson's introduction of the overhead valve 'panhead' engine for their 60ci and 74ci v-twins in 1948 showed the company was starting to modernise its range, albeit slowly. In 1950, the modernisation continued with hydraulic front suspension becoming standard across Harley's 'Big Twin' range.

The top Pro Open award, the Andrew McFarlane Privateer Cup, has been awarded to Herb Watson Racing KTM's Louis Calvin for the 2011 season. The WA-based rider received the award after finishing ninth overall in the Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals.

The 2011 Suzuka 8 Hour, arguably the premier event on the Japanese domestic racing calendar, has been won by the F.C.C. TSR Honda team, but Yoshimura Suzuki, with Josh Waters, finished second and were the dominant team for much of the event.

The 500,000th Triumph built since 1990, a 2011 Speed Triple, was recently auctioned in the UK to raise money for the 'Riders for Health' charity. The commemorative Speed Triple was also used by comedian Ross Noble during his 'Sit Down Tour' of the UK in late May.

Australia's largest and most comprehensive motorcycle showcase returns to Sydney with a new name and new venue this November.

A British bike isn't the most obvious choice for a bobber custom, and a small British bike even less so. But when Bob was looking for a bike that could not only convert to a bobber, but also to fit into his classic pickup, a BSA Bantam became the clear choice.

Yamaha Motor Europe N.V. (YME) announced on August 1st that they will withdraw their official World Superbike Team at the end of the current season from the FIM Superbike World Championship.

The 2012 Harley-Davidson range has been released. New models of interest include the Dyna 'Switchback' and Road Glide Custom, but the first models to be available locally are the 2012 Sportsters.

While all the plaudits deservedly went to CDR Rockstar Yamaha's Jay Marmont on his fourth straight championship win, there was a lot of sympathy for Josh Coppins, who came agonisingly close to taking the Pro Open title for the CDR team.

Last October, the village of Kentucky, in the NSW Northern Tablelands, was inundated with Ural sidecars for the first major assembly of new Ural sidecar owners to coincide with the Russian Motorcycle Owners Rally at nearby Weabonga.