Alex

They're assholes. They still haven't got back to me yet. Anyway glad it's all back up.

Sorry the site was down shortly. The morons at ServerCentre.net who manage the DNS for the domain name decided not to take payment for the domain and cut our access off. All my billing information is set for automatic renewal so I should never have to worry about this happening. I've got no idea why they've done this! Anyway I've paid them manually and its just been switched back on. Bastards, I can't believe they didn't send an email to say sorry payment couldn't be made or similar if there was a fault. Awaiting their response...

Helder Rodrigues toasted a fantastic FIM Cross Country Rally World Championship victory on his WR450F thanks to second position in the Pharaoh’s Rally in Egypt last weekend. The Portuguese led the four round series coming into the hot and testing terrain and completed an emphatic 100% podium record for the 2011 campaign to lift his first FIM title. Rodrigues had finished as runner-up in Abu Dhabi, emerged victorious from the round in Tunisia and then was third in Sardinia to head to the Middle East with an excellent chance of securing the honours. He started the competition not wanting to test fate but soon settled into a rhythm and through the six stages eventually managed to conquer three of them to classify behind Marc Coma. Helder was pronounced Portugal’s very first champion of the discipline. “More than ever I wanted to race without taking any risks and happily I was able to come through the six stages problem-free,” he said. “I worked so hard to try and reach the top and this title is a fantastic reward and now we have a new challenge to improve our classification at the Dakar.” Incidentally Yamaha dominated the Quad class in Egypt with four riders claiming the six stages and filling the overall top six of the final standings. Camelia Liparoti was third to become FIM Women’s World Champion for the third year in a row. Rodrigues can now fully focus on the 2012 Dakar rally, beginning once again in South America in the first days of January. The new FIM number one will be aiming to better his third place from this year’s edition of arguably the toughest race in the world. Click here to view the news

Hi Tim i'll change this for you later today. Cheers Alex

Multi Dakar winner and Yamaha rally legend Stephane Peterhansel was on hand at St Jean D’Angely for the Motocross of Nations last weekend to unveil the 2012 WR450F enduro motorcycle in public for the first time. The Frenchman took advantage of a small gap in the busy timetable at the traditional season-closing event to ride the new bike up onto display in front of a generous section of the estimated 68,000 crowd. Peterhansel then chatted about the light sensation and nimbleness of the WR. This was hardly surprising considering the brand new fuel injected 450cc engine has been bolted into a fresh 250 class bilateral beam frame. With the high-torque five-valve powerplant nestling in this small and compact chassis the onus has been on delivering maximum tractability and performance with a feeling of light, fast and fun riding. The 2012 WR450F could not have asked for a better endorsement than Stephane’s and on one of the most important off-road racing stages. Click here to view the news

Haha that's great, but I still prefer the first one. Surprised no one else has sent any in ;-)

Best fan photo sent to me so far, in fact it's the only ones I've had worth publishing. Feel free to send in more ;-) Wonder what bike she's got?

Monster Energy Yamaha’s Steven Frossard will sadly not be able to contest the Grand Prix of Italy at Fermo this weekend for the fifteenth and final round of the FIM Motocross World Championship. The Frenchman had initially planned to enter the meeting after feeling no ill effects in the wake of his crash last Sunday at Gaildorf in Germany. The winner of the Swedish and French rounds of the MX1-GP series this year went for further examination on his chest in Belgium this week and was found to be suffering from a lung infection that was causing a bubble to appear. Medical specialists advised that it would be dangerous to consider participating at the scenic hard-pack circuit near the east coast. Frossard has had an immense first season in MX1-GP and also with the factory team on the YZ450FM. He picked up six podiums and is currently second in the series; a standing he will retain if fourth-placed Max Nagl cannot amass more than 33 points in the final two motos of the year. He is guaranteed a top four finish. Frossard will have another x-ray on Monday to determine whether he will be able to represent his country at the 65th Motocross of Nations at St Jean D’Angely the following week. Click here to view the news

Home hero Ben Spies put in a superhuman effort today, coming back from ninth place to take a hard fought podium spot for the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Starting from second on the grid the Texan rider was caught up in first a bottle neck of riders in turn one, then came together with Andrea Dovizioso in turn four, dropping him back to ninth as he fought to stay on the bike. Despite the setback Spies went on to deliver one of the star performances of the day, taking an impressive number of overtakes and setting some of the fastest laps of the race. He finally took the chequered flag in third place and stood on the podium to a huge applause from the US crowd. Team mate Jorge Lorenzo’s race was a battle not with his competitors but with the resurfaced Indianapolis track. The reigning World Champion continued to be plagued with a rapidly wearing front tyre causing critical control issues from as early as lap four. Lorenzo battled on regardless, having made a great start he eventually had to relinquish position to team mate Spies and crossed the line in fourth, pushing to stay ahead of Dovizioso to the line. The results of today see Lorenzo’s gap to Casey Stoner in first extended to 44 points with six races remaining. Team mate Spies picks up 16 points, moving up to fifth in the standings, just five points behind Dani Pedrosa in fourth. The team now head across the Atlantic with no break to the Grand Prix of San Marino at Misano next weekend. Ben Spies - Position 3rd - Time +10.603 “My actual start wasn’t too bad, just a couple of people got into turn one too hot and I got bottled in. I think Dovi came across in front of me in turn four and I was just glad to stay on the bike. I never even saw him. After that happened we just had to pluck away and not get ahead of ourselves. We rode well but just needed to be up there in the first four turns. I rode as fast as I could; it was tough to pass out there as we couldn’t get it done on the straight so we had to figure out some different spots. I was happy to be able to do that and still run good pace at the end.” Jorge Lorenzo - Position 4th - Time +16.576 “It's a shame; I thought I could reduce my gap with Casey at Indy but since the first practice I have had many problems with the asphalt and the front tyre. I've tried everything with my team to fix it, but we couldn't. After four or five laps the front tyre was destroyed. I saw the other three front riders and their tyres were perfect. I don't know if it was because of the track and I’m not the only one complaining. Now the Championship is much more complicated, but hope is the last thing you can lose. Next weekend we ride again at Misano, I looking forward to forgetting this result." Wilco Zeelenberg - Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager “A disappointing weekend, fourth place I think was the maximum we could get out of it. It was clear that even one lap more might have meant finishing fifth; the front tyre was completely gone, that’s basically the whole story. It was also disappointing that Ben was not able to fight for the win. He did a fantastic sixteen last laps but the first ten were very hard for him after the start. I think he could have fought with Casey. Anyway, third and fourth we have to swallow and we will look to Misano.” Massimo Meregalli - Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director “I think the race could have had a different final result, but the start compromised it. Ben made some great passes, I don’t think he could have done better under the circumstances. He did a good job, there’s nothing bad I can say. Jorge unfortunately fought all weekend with tyre management. He still managed to get fourth place and more valuable points for the Championship. Everything is still open and for sure he is a really tough rider and will go to Misano with good expectations.” Consistent Edwards delivers another top ten in Indianapolis Colin Edwards extended his impressively consistent run of results in the 2011 MotoGP World Championship this afternoon, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider racing to a hard fought seventh position at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Texan made a fast start from the second row of the grid but as the pack jostled for position in the tight first section of the 2.62 miles track, Edwards was bumped back to eighth. He was involved in an exciting early battle with factory riders Alvaro Bautista, Ben Spies and Valentino Rossi before the field began to stretch out at the halfway stage of the 28-lap encounter. With temperatures reaching close to 30 degrees, Edwards was left in a personal duel with Spaniard Bautista until lap 23 when a big front-end slide cost him crucial time. With his front tyre starting to push more and more, Edwards decided to slow down his pace to secure a deserved seventh place, which moves him into eighth place in the World Championship standings ahead of Marco Simoncelli on 84-points. Cal Crutchlow's reward for a weekend in which he worked tirelessly to improve the front-end feeling with his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 machine was his best finish since the Catalunya race in early June. He maintained a consistent pace throughout the race having led Loris Capirossi, Toni Elias, Randy de Puniet and Hiroshi Aoyama in a frantic opening few laps. And a series of strong laps in the final stages saw him snatch 11th from Marco Simoncelli on the final lap to end his recent run of disappointing results. Colin Edwards - Position 7th - Time +36.690 “I thought I got a fantastic start but the problem is the Yamaha is lacking a bit of grunt. I needed Fred Flinstone behind giving me a push to go faster, so I had a few people come by me on the run to the first corner. The first few laps I felt I could go faster but with Bautista sitting in front of me, I'd get close and then coming out of the corner he would just grab a few metres on me. In the twisty stuff at the end of the lap I was gaining it all back and at the last corner I almost ran into him. But by the time we got to the first corner he'd pull a few bike lengths on me again. I really wanted to beat Bautista but he started to ride really well in the second half of the race. I was on his back wheel and looking for an opportunity to make an overtake but I lost the front at the end of the back straight and that was a warning just to back off and take seventh. The front tyre lost a fair bit of grip in the last few laps though I wasn't the only one to have a problem. But I was top non-factory rider, I got another top ten and I moved up another place in the Championship, so it wasn't a bad afternoon's work. We go to Misano now and see if we can fight for the top six." Cal Crutchlow - Position 11th - Time +57.184 “Firstly I want to say a big thanks to all my guys in the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team. They never gave up all weekend, even when we were struggling a little bit and it might sound silly but I don't think any of us in the garage have ever been so pleased to get an 11th place. After the bad recent run it was important to finish the race and I did that. The result wasn't the best but my speed at the end of the race was really good and I'm happy about that, so there are a lot of positives to take to Misano. At the end of the race I was lapping faster than Jorge Lorenzo. I was a long way behind him but that still gives me a lot of encouragement. Like a lot of people I had a few issues with the front tyre and in the early part of the race it wasn't easy but I never gave up and pushed right to the end. This result at least gives us something to build on for the next races, starting at Misano, which is a track that at least I don't have to learn. I've needed to finish races to gain some experience and I'm glad we did because I learned a lot this afternoon and gave the Team a lot of good feedback to hopefully improve the bike in Misano.” Herve Poncharal - Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team Manager "I am very happy with the performance of Colin and Cal today and I think both of them got the best result we could have hoped for. Colin rode full of determination and I think at some stage he could have passed Bautista, but it was difficult. It was very wise from Colin not to push anymore with five laps to go as he had a big lead over the riders behind. This puts him in eighth position in the Championship standings and he passed Marco Simoncelli, who is one of the fastest riders in MotoGP. He deserved to have a strong race in front of his home crowd and he has been pushing all weekend and I want to thank him for that. Cal was a lot better than in previous races and he did a good, solid job. At the beginning he struggled but he got a lot better throughout the race lap and at the end he was faster than the group in front of him. That race was just what he needed after the bad period to clear of his mind a little bit. I believe he had a great race and that will put him back on the track. We go to Misano now where he knows the track and that will be another positive. Today he has learnt a lot and he was faster at the end of the race than at the beginning and this experience helps him prepare for next year.” Click here to view the news

Choosing Motorbike Insurance Motorcycle insurance is compulsory on all public roads because without it the biker will be liable for bodily injury and property damage. Although it’s possible to get cheap motorbike insurance by simply getting Third Party Motorcycle coverage, there are many more options to choose from for better coverage. Types Of Motorcycle Insurance Comprehensive motorcycle insurance, this costs more but offers the most coverage. In the event of an accident, it not only covers both the motorcyclist and their motorcycle but it also covers other people injured by the collision and any damage to their property. Third Party Fire and Theft Motorcycle Insurance is for both fire and theft coverage. In the event of an accident, it also covers you for personal injury, as well as other people who may be injured and their property. However, it does not cover your motorcycle. Third Party Motorcycle Insurance offers basic coverage, excluding fire and theft. Motorbike Insurance Quotes It’s always a great idea to get insurance before you ride your motorbike. Although a motorcycle dealer may offer you a quote, usually these policies are not as good as those you can get from finding an insurance agency on your own because dealerships rarely work with the best insurance companies. In shopping for the best motorcycle insurance, begin by asking your current car and home insurance agent if they also offer motorcycle insurance. Besides asking your current insurer, you can look for motorcycle insurance online, a motorcycle magazine, or the phone book. Incidentally, if you have a Yamaha, do an online search for “Yamaha motorbike insurance” for some great price quotes. Top 5 Questions to Ask an Insurance Provider When seeking an insurance provider, what are some pertinent questions to ask? Here is a quick list of the top five questions you may want to ask your provider to get the best coverage at the lowest premiums. 1. What is the difference between the various types of insurance policies? Your goal is to get a very clear understanding on what is covered and what is not covered under each type of insurance. If you have an older bike, possibly a vintage model, check into the benefits of classic motorcycle insurance. 2. If I get comprehensive insurance, is it enough, or can I get something that is more thorough, covering all possibilities? 3. How do I make claims? 4. What happens to my premiums if I have an accident and need to make a claim? 5. Can I get a package deal by combining my motorcycle insurance with my other insurances and how much will my discount be? Click here to view the news

Essentials of Motorcycle Breakdown Cover When your motorcycle breaks down, especially if you are in a remote location, you are not alone if you have excellent motorcycle breakdown cover. First, and perhaps most important, is roadside rescue. Waiting out in the elements after a breakdown, especially in unfamiliar territory, is very unpleasant, to say the least. Most policies for motorcycle breakdown guarantee only a 40 minute wait for a rescue, and most bikes can be fixed roadside. Most classic motorcycle breakdown coverage plans will send a mechanic to you, if you are only a mile or less from home, and fix your bike on the spot. If that cannot be managed, then your bike will be taken to the nearest garage. Motorcycle breakdown cover on a bike that cannot be fixed roadside will ensure that you are not stranded, and that you, your bike, and passengers are taken to a local garage service to repair your bike. The best motorcycle breakdown cover will take you and your party on to your destination or back home, or else put you all up in a hotel. The best motorcycle breakdown cover will insure other drivers on your bike, not just you. This gives you peace of mind when someone else rides your bike. If you yourself drive many different bikes, perhaps it is a good idea to cover yourself as well. If you become injured in a motorcycle accident, some breakdown covers for motorcycles in the UK will even pay to have a driver return your bike to your home. If you are stranded, motorbike breakdown cover can also contribute a fair amount to pay for vehicle hire until your bike is repaired. Key cover can even replace your house keys in the event that they are lost or stolen. European Breakdown Cover For European breakdown cover you can add to your home policy a special single trip cover, with roadside assistance, return home guarantee, and English speaking operators to help you with any breakdown you may experience while on the continent, and your cover begins on the day of the trip, from home, to the ferry across and back home again. You could also buy European coverage that will cover multiple trips to Europe. European cover is available for both car and motorbike breakdown, and most are available 24 hours every day, and can deliver replacement parts, trip continuation, replacement vehicle, and even bed and breakfast expenses. If necessary, the return of your entire party to home in the UK can be covered. Be aware that some policies do not cover a motorcycle of more than a certain size engine. If you have a bike with a larger engine, you would do well to search around for a policy that has no limitation or upper limit on engine size. Click here to view the news

Advertising & Sponsorship opportunities Enhance customer awareness! The Yamaha Owners Club are the biggest online presence for the Yamaha Owner. The club is non profit based and is subsidised by advertising and paid membership. This site serves over 500,000 unique users a year, with an ever growing community of over 30,000 members. Access to the Yamaha Owners Club traffic Statistics are available on request. (August 2010 - August 2011 539,148 unique users, 32,244 registered members) We can also offer Custom advertising and sponsorship – please contact us with your requests. Yamahaclub.com offers flexible, cost effective and highly targeted advertising within the motorcycle sector. Specifically aimed at the online aware motorcycle owner. Using Yamaha Club you can: Build your company/brand awareness Target specific Yamaha owners Target customers in there research for buying phase Achieve rapid response Select the option which meets your needs. Select the best format for your needs: Banner advertising Text HTML advertising Sponsorship of site channels Custom advertising and sponsorship Banner Advertising Advertising space is available in the top, right, left and bottom navigation bars across the whole site. You can select the whole site or specific sections of the site, including the home page, or have a whole page within the site for advertising features. Advertisers can pay for impressions and set a budget and be automatically notified when their banner expires (on request), or PPC starting at £0.50 per click-thru - minimum order £50 We support any type of Banner: GIF’s, JPEG’s, Text Ads, HTML banners, Flash Banners, Java applets, Rich Media Banners and third party ad agency code. We offer a range of standard banners, button and skyscraper spaces - prices range from £20.00 to £100.00 CPM depending upon the format and level of commitment: 468x60 Banner - Page Hot Spot - Directly beneath Yamaha Club Logo £60.00 CPM 120 X 600 Skyscraper - Right pane of site £50.00 CPM 165x68 Ad Box - Directly to the right of the main banner pane £25.00 CPM 159x25 Button - Directly beneath the left hand navigation pane £20.00 CPM 159x50 Button - Directly beneath the left hand navigation pane £25.00 CPM 159x75 Button - Directly beneath the left hand navigation pane £30.00 CPM Text HTML advertising Advertorial content pages can be purchased, POA. Sponsorship Sponsorship gives you the opportunity to develop a relationship with specific segments of the Yamaha Club audience. Channels available for sponsorship include: Home page, tyre section, or an insurance feature can be added. Through sponsorship your corporate logo/badge is continuously presented to potential customers to enhance awareness and stimulate traffic to your website. Sponsorship starts at £100 per month, with full branding across entire site and forums possible POA For custom sponsorship and advertising - complementary services bring added-value to your promotional expenditure! Interested? Then please contact Alex, [email protected] Click here to view the article

Bike it Cosworth Wild Wolf Yamaha’s Arnaud Tonus has won the high profile MX2 Maxxis British Championship in his first campaign on the YZ250F and gave the British team their second consecutive crown on UK soil. The stylish Swiss won all three 20 minute motos last weekend in Scotland to toast his first major title after team-mate, defending champion and main rival Zach Osborne had to return to his native USA last month with a shoulder injury. From twenty-one motos through the seven of eight rounds run so far Tonus has missed the podium only once from the races he has completed and notched nineteen top three finishes. This fantastic consistency on a range of terrain and diverse circuits up and down the UK and Northern Ireland allowed the twenty year old to make a significant contribution in his first term as a Yamaha rider. “I knew coming into the weekend that there was a chance I could win it and to take all three motos and get the championship felt so good,” said Tonus, who will compete in the team’s home event this weekend at Matterley Basin, Winchester for the thirteenth round of fifteen on the GP schedule. “It is a shame it could not have gone to the final round wit Zach as it has been a good battle all season but I’m really happy, and also the team because they have worked very hard for a long time this year. It is fun to be with them and to ride that bike so I must give a big thanks to Steve and all the guys.” Click here to view the article

Monster Energy Yamahas Steven Frossard finished third overall a well-received Matterley Basin for the Grand Prix of Great Britain and the thirteenth stop of fifteen on the FIM Motocross World Championship schedule. The Frenchman posted his sixth podium result on the factory YZ450FM and has moved up to second position in the MX1-GP standings in what is just his first term in the category and his first as part of the decorated works set-up. The weekend began well for the team with Frossard feeling comfortable on the excellent racing surface in southern England. The 24 year old fought with Christophe Pourcel for pole position across the spectacular jumps and carved, soft mud that permitted different, grippy line choice before settling for second position without risk in the final two laps. Bright skies greeted race-day and Frossard led almost all of the opening moto ahead of Pourcel. He had collided with a fence post and ripped off the right radiator shroud earlier in the sprint and this had an effect on his riding. 183 broke too hard into a tight right turn four laps from the flag and was passed by his countryman. He then went on the attack but was able to draw up to the rear wheel of the former world champion. Frossard led the first fifteen minutes of the second moto until a dramatic crash between Billy Mackenzie and Tanel Leok led to the race being stopped. On the restart Frossard worked his way into third and then demoted Pourcel to reach second place. Sadly Antonio Cairoli was beyond reach. With his brace of runner-up positions Frossard earned the lower step of the rostrum but was consistently quick and close to victory all through the event. The team were at full strength in the UK thanks to the transfer of 2010 MX3 World Champion Carlos Campano to the awning. The Spaniard fills David Philippaerts saddle for the final three events of the series and got off to a positive start by equalling his best ever moto result. Campano was motivated, strong and aggressive. He had some bad luck in the first moto when he slipped off on the first corner but set some impressive lap-times to recover back to fifteenth. In the second race he started brilliantly and was pressuring Shaun Simpson for second place until the premature halt. In the third moto the 25 year old from Sevilla rode to sixth position to match a previous best obtained in 2009. Campano was tenth overall. Anthony Boissiere, currently fifteenth in the MX1 standings, was able to post scores of tenth and ninth for a very solid seventh overall at Matterley; it was the Frenchmans highest classification of the year. Frossard trails world champion Tony Cairoli by 82 points but with Clement Desalle and Evgeny Bobryshev set to miss the rest of the season through injury he defends a gap of 62 over Max Nagl in fourth. Grand Prix meetings in Germany (Gaildorf) and Italy (Fermo) remain and a maximum of 100 points still to win. Steven Frossard, 3rd position: Yesterday I had a great race with Christophe and it was a lot of fun to ride like this. This is the best track this year. In the first moto I made the holeshot and had a little problem with my arm and I also broke the radiator shroud when I hit a post. It affected my riding a little bit. I led for thirty minutes but made a mistake in one of the corners and then pushed really hard to try and win the moto. I made a great start in the second moto and went to the front but after fifteen minutes we had to stop. We went again and I was third but I think I pushed a bit too much and felt tired. Cairoli was fast and I couldnt catch him. In the beginning I was trying to think GP by GP but now my goal is to finish second. It is a bit difficult because everyone says I will finish there, so I want to keep focussed. I am happy with the way the championship is going but at the start of the year I was close to Antonio and Desalle but lost points through some mistakes. I am learning and will improve on this for next year. Carlos Campano, 10th position: Im happy. In the first race I had a crash on the first corner and was far behind but I found a good rhythm and could come back to fifteenth. I felt good on the bike and the track and was motivated for the second moto. I started ahead and slotted into third. I was on the point of taking second but then they stopped the race. I hoped I might be able to make the same start but it didnt really happen. I got stuck behind Goncalves and Barragan and Nagl caught us. I finally passed Goncalves and pushed hard to get behind Nagl but could get him at the end. I think this was an important forward step and I loved the bike and the track. I dont notice so much difference with the factory bike and my YZ450F but at the end of the motos when the track is really rough then I can really attack the other riders and I am far less on the limit compared to the other. It means less mistakes. I have to thank the team for all their work. They didnt put any pressure on me and I did the best I could. I had a lot of problems this year and I am really grateful for this opportunity. Click here to view the article

That just brought back some memories of my old DT125R, I remember doing everything possible to get that extra power out... hated riding the thing on road though, it had off road tyres

Sorry only just seen this thread. Yep we were having some issues with moving the database to the new server, it had to be done in parts. Should all be done now though

Yep it's definitely your bike