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The "battle of the KTMs" between Spain's Marc Coma and France's Cyril Despres continued on Stage 4 of the 2012 Dakar, with the two past champions continuing to be the class of the field.

The third stage of the 2012 Dakar rally, from San Rafael to San Juan, showed that in the motorcycle class, at least, this year's event will be a battle of two between experienced campaigners and former winners, Marc Coma and Cyril Despres. A combination of skill from Despres and misfortune from Coma saw the Frenchman come out on top, winning the stage and moving into the overall lead.

After a cautious start on the opening day's stage, Spain's Marc Coma hit the accelerator on Stage 2 of the 2012 Dakar, putting some distance between himself and his main rivals for victory, starting with Cyril Despres, who is almost 3 minutes behind in the general standings.

The 2012 Dakar commenced on January 1, and the opening day's 57km stage from Mar Del Plata to Santa Rosa Del Pampa saw Chilean rider Francisco Lopez win ahead of race favourite, Spain's Marc Coma. But the opening leg of the 2012 event was marred by the death of Jorge Martinez Boero.

When it comes to getting your first motorcycle, there are heaps of LAMS models to choose from. Most first timers tend to go for road bikes, rather than cruisers, road/trail machines or scooters. In order to capture that slice of the market, Korean brand Daelim broadened their scooter-based range to add the 'VJF 250' manual roadbike in 2009. Australian riders got their first look at the VJF 250 in late 2010, when Victorian-based Mojo Motorcycles relaunched the Daelim brand locally.

After featuring as the top selling lot from the recent auction of the Lee Roy Hartung Collection, two examples of the rare and highly collectable 'Flying Merkel' marque have been consigned for the Las Vegas Premier Motorcycle Auction, to be held on January 12 - 14, 2012.

The CB 125E is the latest addition to Honda's entry-level range. Billed as a reliable, economical and fuel-efficient machine, the CB 125E will be released early in 2012 at the bargain price of only $1,990 MLRP.

Victory is very proud to announce Haldane Motorcycles as the new Victory dealer in Auckland, New Zealand. Haldane Motorcycles has replaced Team Motor Group (TMG), effective 19th December 2011.

A simple training session during Nicky Hayden's Christmas vacation turned disastrous on Tuesday, December 27, when the Ducati factory rider crashed while riding a motorcycle at an indoor flat track facility near his home in Owensboro, Kentucky.

This wild custom motorcycle is one of hundreds consigned for the big 'Las Vegas Premier Motorcycle Auction' this January 12-14, hosted by Auctions America by RM.

A non-profit organization in memory of the late Marco Simoncelli came to fruition just before Christmas, through the efforts of his family and friends. "The Marco Simoncelli Foundation" began as an idea of Carlo Pernat (Simoncelli's manager) and was immediately embraced by the Simoncelli family, who worked quickly to make the foundation a legal reality.

When it made its debut in 1969, Honda's CB750 four set the template for just about every large capacity motorcycle that followed. The CB 750 arguably also put the final nail in the coffin of the British motorcycle industry, as it accomplished everything the big British twins and singles did, but was more refined, reliable, better-equipped and generally cheaper. A hit around the world, the CB750 enjoyed particular success in the USA, where demand led to a number of developments over the CB750's lifespan.

As you read this, final preparations are underway for an epic motorcycle ride to be undertaken by intrepid Aussie, Corey Jeal. The ride, which Jeal has dubbed 'Ride for Rangers' will travel through western and southern Africa, all to raise money and awareness for the Thin Green Line Foundation, a charity supporting the families of African park rangers killed while protecting the world's wilderness areas.

Restorations of classic motorcycles are a challenge for any enthusiast, but when Mark Jones decided to purchase and restore a classic 1941 Indian Scout, he had a couple of obstacles in his path. Firstly, the bike was far from complete and had a lot of non-standard and incorrect parts on it. Secondly, Mark is a chippy by trade, and his carpentry skills had limited application to the Indian's metal! Despite this, Mark applied his enthusiasm for building things, patience and the ability to learn to produce a stunning result.

Kawasaki has an enviable range of sport bikes - and super sport models - which range from six learner legal models through to the blistering performance of the 1400GTR ABS and the soon to be released Ninja ZX-14R ABS.

The Insure My Ride 'Le Minz 24 Hour Scooterthon' presented by TGB Scooter and the Australian Motorcycle & Scooter Expo has been run and done for 2011.

Following the departure of multiple champion Jay Marmont earlier this month, CDR Rockstar Yamaha has today announced that Lawson Bopping will be joining the Yamaha squad for the 2012 motocross and supercross season. The 22-year-old from New South Wales will partner Josh Coppins in the two rider line up for the motocross season.

An unofficial list of teams and riders has been released for the 2012 World Superbike and World Supersport championships. The disappointing news from an Aussie perspective is that no Australians are named in the provisional World Superbike entry list.

After joining Team Vodafone in the pits for the recent V8 Supercar season finale, Casey Stoner turned his interest in four wheels into something more tangible by taking Craig Lowndes's Team Vodafone Holden V8 Supercar for a spin in Queensland. According to Lowndes, the current MotoGP champ could be a contender on four wheels, too.

The latest version of the FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix has been released, with some minor changes over the previous version.

A two wheeler from the very earliest days of motorcycling in the form of a Roper Steam Motorcycle will undoubtedly be the star lot of Auctions America by RM's 'Las Vegas Premier Motorcycle Auction', to be held on January 12 - 14, 2012.

The 2012 Honda Broadford Bike Bonanza (HBBB) is scheduled for April 7-8 of the Easter long weekend. If you've not made plans for next Easter, why not volunteer to be part of the biggest events on the Australian Motorcycle calendar.

Fancy a new Brough Superior? It is possible to get one, with a short waiting list than normal in the US, thanks to exclusive men's outfitters, Bench & Loom. As part of their 'Specialty Shop' collection of motoring-themed items, one Brough Superior SS100 Pendine 'Retro' is on offer, at a price of US$250,000.

Confederate Motors, famous for their distinctively-styled and impressively-engineered "heirloom" motorcycles, recently released the latest version of their 'Hellcat' model in the USA.