'Don't feel bad. You're not the first 750cc rider to get blown off by a Yamaha 350cc,' said the Yamaha RD350 ad in 1975, showing a dazed rider. The Yamaha RD350 has been the most revered performance motorcycle in many countries. Renowned for its prowess on road and track, the Yamaha RD350 with its stock output of 39 horsepower at 7500rpm.

The Yamaha RD350 is infamous for its terrible handling. At its heart is an air-cooled parallel twin two-stroke engine displacing 347cc, fed by twin carburettors and reed valves. The Yamaha RD350 owes its origin to Yamaha R5, one of Yamaha's first attempts at making a street legal racer. Yamaha modeled the frame along the TZ-series of racers in the production guise. An extended front rake-compared to the TZs was main cause for the lazy turn-ins. What makes it an icon is breakneck acceleration in straight line and power-to-weight ratio closer to race motorcycle than street motorcycle.

Vigorous gripping and pulling has damaged my elbow. And I'm blaming my motorcycle. You've got lateral epicondylitis, or tennis elbow, say the nice looking female doctor. As you don't play tennis I can only assume you must have done some other vigorous gripping and pulling motions with your right hand. Hang on. I don't like the sound of this. Like for instance, she continues, screwing. What? I now start to develop a red face... Lots of DIY jobs can cause tennis elbows, she goes on, but sometimes you'll never know what caused it.

I think I know. Since riding my new motorcycle, my 15 kilometer commute into work contains, on average, 16 wheelies. Or rather, there are 16 opportunities for me to yank the throttle open in first gear.

A Heritage of innovation on two-wheels: eCRP

The green technology made-in-Italy, 13th of January 2010 - Launch at the presence of the Minister for Science and Innovation, Hon Lord Drayson, eCRP 1.0 is a jewel of technology and Italian design built for the clean emission zero carbon World Championship TTXGP .

As a pure racing motorcycle, it is compact and the dimensions allow for it to be ridden by men, women and young riders.

eCRP is the electric motorcycle of CRP Racing, an established constructor of racing motorcycles, such as the two-stroke 125cc based on Honda and 250cc and Moto2.

The San Carlo Honda Gresini Team's official presentation took place Thu, 04 March 2010 at the Telenova studios in Milan, where famous presenter Franco Bobbiese, know for his show 'Griglia di partenza' (Starting Grid) introduced the all-Italian line-up to the world's press. San Carlo were represented by company President Alberto Vitaloni, alongside Team Manager Fausto Gresini and the riders Marco Melandri and Marco Simoncelli with their Honda RC212V decked in the 2010 livery. It was a day that saw Fausto Gresini's dream of an all Italian rider line-up with Italian sponsorship officially come to fruition.

Alberto Vitaloni (San Carlo President) “People make difference: that is what I thought when I met Fausto Gresini for the first time. I had been offered other opportunities to enter the world of motorcycle racing previously but I was never fully convinced when it came to taking the plunge. As soon as I shook hands with Fausto I realised that we had an instant understanding and that we could work well together. Professionalism is not something that comes by chance: it comes through hard work, through having concern for others and the instinct to predict change and being able to move with the times.

The Songkran festival, or Thai water festival, (13 to 15 April) is quickly approaching and some of us will not make it home dry, but the odds are it'll get even more wet and windy over the coming months as the raining season sets in, so it's certainly time to think about some better protection for those wet rides home.

Oversuits are a brilliant, and relatively cheap, solution for the raining season and those horrible humid deluges, excellent if you don't want to be wet to the bones. Alternatively, the textile market has exploded in recent years with a host of stylish and versatile jacket and pant combos which can easily be packed in a rucksack.

As I wrote on the forum September 3, 2009, and in particular, as I hoped, Ratthapark Wilairot will ride the Bimota Hb4. The structure directed by Eduardo Perales has reached an agreement with Italian manufacturer Bimota to use their chassis in the inaugural Moto2 World Championship.

Thai Honda PTT SAG this week ensured their presence in the new Moto2 category with a deal to use Bimota as their chassis for the 2010 World Championship. The team, directed by Edu Perales, are set to contest the campaign with Thai Ratthapark Wilairot and Spaniard Héctor Faubel, and both riders are due to get their first contact with the new bike at the final official pre-season test at Jerez (March 27-29).

The team’s preparations for the new season suffered a delay after their initial agreement with Swiss manufacturer Suter broke down due to contractual disagreements.

The Ducati 848, Ducati's baby superbike has always been an overlooked beauty. Visually nearly identical to its bigger brother the supersport spec Ducati was often perceived as the runt of the litter by riders blinded by the thought that bigger is better. Which wasn't necessarily true. Get a Ducati 748, or later the 749, spinning and the engine reveals itself as a rev-happy monster, more than prepared to receive the thrashing of a lifetime and return the flavor by providing a thrilling and immensely satisfying ride. So, fairly reasonably, I assumed that the Ducati 848 would follow a similar path, just with a bit more grunt. This isn't completely true.

The Ducati 848 is, according to the Ducati specifications, 20kg lighter and has 26 horsepower more than the Ducati 749. Ah, that sounds better, 134 horses in a motorcycle weighing 168kg, no we talking, that's is only 36 hp less than my Ducati 1198S and it weights less.

You wouldn't think riding along in a straight line would present too many challenges, but highways can be one of the most demanding places to ride. There are many reasons not to use highways on a motorcycle, but if you want to make a longer trip they have to be considered.

The main thing to take on board is the extra speed. It's dead easy to think you're riding at a lot slower pace than you actually are, even when you're getting a move on. But if something goes wrong and you need to react to it, you'll soon realize just how quickly you're going – possibly way too fast.

Staying alert and extra vigilant is a real key to keeping out of trouble on highways. That in itself can be tricky, especially after a long spell running along a two- or three-lane route. It's all too easy to become mesmerized by the monotony of a highway. They can and do put people to sleep, so be especially careful on them late into the night or very early in the morning.

Use your mirrors regularly. Tailgater, and wannabe small-engine-motorcycle racers are common on highways and can cause unsafe situations. Look well ahead to give yourself a better chance of dealing with changes in pace or direction of traffic, and not just what's directly in front. Always be on the look out for the start of congestion – it can rush up on you quicker than you think. A upcoming roadside market or a line of brake lights give a good clue, If you see debris in the carriageway, don't stare at it, otherwise you'll hit it. Concentrate on an alternative line and miss it.

While lots of people know the term 'blueprint', few fully understand exactly what it is. The name originally comes from the type of paper that technical drawings come on, which is generally blue in color.

What does this have to do with my motorcycle engine power? Well, a blueprint of an engine shows its design in very high detail, down to the last nut, bolt and measurement, so you need to make reference to the blueprint drawing to take an engine completely apart and reassemble it.

Blueprinting an engine is the process where you strip it down and refine every component to its optimum level of performance. Modern engines are mass-produced and so aren't built to precision.

Aggressive looks and aggressive character define the new Yamaha FZ8 – a high performance real world sports bike designed to deliver a shot of adrenaline every time you turn the key. The Yamaha FZ8 breathes new life into the mid-class bike category – for a more assertive machine with instant grunt lower in the rev range.

At the heart of the Yamaha FZ8 is a flexible and powerful 779cc engine with instant drive and torque at low revs, and a trademark Yamaha rush of horsepower as you approach the red line. Light, easy handling and roomy ergonomics round out the ultimate everyday sports machine – and the optional ABS system makes hard braking safe, whatever the conditions.