The Bar

For the second marathon stage of the 2015 Dakar, the remaining competitors had to make another high-altitude crossing of the Andes before tackling a 371 kilometre special. The route was mostly over hard-packed ground and directly followed by 135 kilometres of liaison to take them to their bivouac. Olivier Pain finished today’s special 15’37 behind the leader, with Frans Verhoeven not far behind in 19th (at 17’10). Olivier preserves his 10th place overall, while fellow Yamaha mounted Frenchman Xavier de Soultrait finished 22nd and holds on to his 13th place overall. Spanish Yamaha rider Juan Pedrero’s run of bad luck continued. The latest news is that he had a stand stil…

Hi there, Happy new year to you all! I've come with cap in hand to ask your advice please. If there is anybody who knows about dragstars and engine block paint peeling/bubbling. My bike is fairly old (but still in sound condition), however, the engine block is beginning to bubble in places, not massively but enough to try and stop it before it gets out of hand. About the size of a penny in two place. The fins are also beginning to lose their paint on the edges. The paint is a grey colour but I don't know exactly the colour code for the paint block. I would like to paint it in those spots with VHT paint if possible. Any ideas what colour I could use for the eng…

Ever had to use breakdown relay? if so who have you used and were they successful? Had a chance myself to find out when my bike would not start in that heavy rain last night..........and I ended up getting myself home at 1.30 am................ Don't worry I've been on the phone this morning!!!!!! I'm with the AA and have breakdown with Relay, except they used a 3rd party company, who had no means to take the bike home .......or me!....and now I have to go back to work (where I left it) and get her home. They've offered to come out again but I'm so F********* off, I don't want anything more to do with them today. Probably hasty words but when you've only had a fe…

The day started slowly as the start of the race was delayed to 8:00 am local time. Yesterday’s heavy rain in Uyuni had made it nearly impossible to cross the salt pans that cover the first 100km of the eighth stage and an alternative route had to be sorted. The change in plans did not affect Pedrero’s focus. With a chance of victory in his sights the Spaniard fought off Stefan Svitko and snatched the lead, until Pablo Quintanilla dove under his time by just eleven seconds. Today’s results see Pedrero jump to 11th place in the overall rankings, after having received an 15-minute penalty yesterday that saw him drop from 6th to 23rd in the race results and from 19th to 20t…

Just picked up my new bike today it's a 2000 yamaha 6ft 600 r thundercat now having owned all the fazer models Inc still owning a 2006 fz6n and previous had a cbr 600rr the old cat put a smile on my face .... During the test drive I had a grin from ear to ear... For what it is its an amazing bike !!

Wow you have some clever people over there..can`t believe this guy. He fitted a 350LC engine to a kawa ZXR400 (after changing the stroke to a "long rod" to make the engine square)..then fitted a turbo. Makes for interesting read..amazing amount of mods done. Calls the bike a Yamasaki WTF400.

Yamaha Factory Racing Rally Team Yamalube’s Alessandro Botturi was the next rider to complete the route from Copiapo to Antofagasta. He arrived at the bivouac and found himself in 18th place just ahead of Michael Metge in 20th. Olivier Pain crossed the line shortly after in 24th position. Alessandro Botturi In the quad category Rafal Sonik was again the fastest man of the day. The Polish rider set a fastest time of 05h47’46. Completing the top three were fellow Yamaha riders Ignacio Casale (10’51) and Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli (21’41). After today’s results, the provisional overall standings show Sonik (21h52’41), Casale (24’23) and Yamaha’s Sergio Lafuente (26’20) as t…

Happy new year to all of you out there in motorbike world, hope you have a good night and stay safe next year.

Best placed Yamaha was once again Juan Pedrero’s machine, finishing in 10th place. The day’s results put Pedrero in 10th overall, Metge in 17th, Boturri in 18th and Pain in 19th place. Yamaha Netherlands Verhoeven Team’s Robert van Pelt didn’t start this morning after being helicoptered out of yesterday’s special after a crash, however his teammate Frans Verhoeven is still in the game and finished 32nd. The riders are now taking a well-earned rest to ready themselves for tomorrow’s stage. Marked by its long liaison of 594 km and large difference in altitude, the route will take riders to an altitude of 4,800m. The thin, cold air will make for demanding riding conditio…

Michael Metge was the fastest of the Factory Yamaha’s today, securing 17th place. Alessandro Botturi took 18th and Olivier Pain arrived not long after in 19th. Today’s leading Yamaha was Spanish rider Juan Pedrero Garcia. The Spanish rider battled the heat to finish an impressive 10th. Despite the heat, it was a good day for the Yamahas in the quad category. Rafał Sonik won the special stage with his Yamaha Raptor 700 as he created an over three-minute lead from Ignacio Casale (3’33), who was closely followed by Sergio Lafuente (4’14). The three Yamaha riders top the general ranking, with fellow Yamaha rider, Sebastian Halpern, less than five minutes behind in fourth pl…

Not taking any unnecessary risks, the Yamaha riders made a cautious start. Olivier Pain was the first rider of the team to ride his WR450F Rally into the bivouac (13th at 03’34), followed by Michael Metge (19th at 05’40) and Alessandro Botturi (25th at 06’35), who were forced to slow their pace due to visibility issues. Michael Metge Quad rider Ignacio Casale had a different strategy as he took on the first stage. After securing his first Dakar crown one year ago, the Chilean gave his all to show that he still has what it takes. He was the first quad to start the first stage and rode his Yamaha Raptor 700 to a solid one-minute lead. Last year's runner-up, Rafał Sonik, c…

Olivier Pain “For sure, with us moving into the assistance parc with all the other teams and going through scrutineering, the tension goes up a little. The start is only a few hours away now and you can feel the anticipation. The nice thing about the Dakar though is that it really is like a big family. We spend a lot of time together and share something very intense and that creates strong friendships. Plus of course this isn’t circuit racing, it isn’t a contact sport, essentially we are racing against the clock not each other. Obviously there is some rivalry but, for me at least, my biggest challenger is myself and the mental battle I have to stay focused and not make an…

Olivier Pain “As always it’s a pleasure to be back in South America. This will be my seventh time here for the Dakar but I’m still surprised by the warmth of the people and the welcome they give to the competitors. At the moment we are in a hotel about 70 kilometres from the centre of Buenos Aires, the perfect place to relax, acclimatise and recover from the flight. But even here, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, the other hotel guests come up to us to wish us luck and politely ask for an autograph. We’ll stay here for a night. The whole team celebrated the New Year together and then it was be quickly off to bed. We’ll save the big celebrations for when we arr…

Week 1 "Still, if we look at the route a bit more closely we can make some educated guesses about what to expect. The first day is a long stage but a short special, 663 and 175 kilometres respectively. It has been billed as a giant prologue without major difficulty and that seems entirely logical. Clearly the challenge is to not get carried away and do anything stupid right at the start of the race, while making sure to be up with the front runners and not stuck in the dust of the mid-pack riders, to be well positioned for the stages prior to crossing over the Andes into Chile." "From the second stage on you could say that the Dakar ‘proper’ gets under way with two to…

“One of the most striking features of the new bike is the WR’s unique single-cell fuel tank incorporating the rear sub frame”, Yamaha Factory Racing Team Yamlube Team Manager Jose Leloir commented. “The major consideration when building a Dakar bike is where to place the necessary 35 litres of fuel. For 2014 we had five separate fuel tanks all requiring pumps and all linked by fuel pipes. By using a single carbon fibre fuel cell we have simplified the system massively and in the processes made huge gains in both weight saving and reliability. In total we’ve reduced the bike’s weight by a considerable ten kilos and in the process made servicing the bike each evening a whol…

Just got this on Kindle and its a cracking read. Gives you an insight as the the machinations of the race industry, the old adage is still true, its not what you know but who you know! still Martin has the grit and determination to succeed and still have fun. that's why he still works on the lorries then he can answer to no-one at the end of the day.

Hi Couldn't start a new topic in the Wanted section so will leave this here if that's okay? Have noticed that the (standard) exhaust on the Dragstar is venting from the muffler weld and so am putting out some feelers for a new system. Have been scouring the usual sites but if anyone knows of anyone who has Highway Hawks for sale, or similar respected slash cut pipes / slip ons, then I would be interested in taking a look. Any idea if these are any good? http://www.customcruisers.com/Custom2005/customshop2005/contents/en-uk/p9045.html Cheers

How do you like this bad boy? I like original, but this is tempting. Guy wants round 3300 pounds for it.

Hi I have a rxs 100 and having problems, the bike starts and ticks over fine but when riding it, it stops revving when it wants and then cuts out can anyone help?

So its raining, dark, ur doin 60 and you cant see through your visor, you lift it up and the rain is whipping you in the eyes. Gonna go buy a balaclava first thing tomorrow!! Any other tips from the more experienced?