MV Agusta F4 1000 RR I took her for a spin

The MV Agusta F4 100RR is a sweet beast, she provides us with enjoyments on unkown sources of power and grip that only old italian hands would be able to carve and solder.

I have a deep respect for MV Agusta and its heritage, curiously the F4 was actually the first one of these marvels I ever tried.

After I got on the bike I felt like I was born in Italy and just started to talk some ancient Italian motorbiker slang by the way the MV Agusta was nothing but love, who gives a damn about controls, that bike is like an italian lady with a difficult request that you always need to fulfil if you want to take her out for a stroll.

As usual a big thank you to Motorport Wormerveer they are the best in trusting me this beast for a ride and special thanks to Johan!

This bike is for sale and you can just walk in talk with Johan and get a great deal at Motoport Wormerveer, check it out:
http://bit.ly/1sNqlo4

Music by Luis Leon from Blankhouse Music, check him out here:
https://soundcloud.com/luisleon

Thanks for watching

Drive Safe!

MOTOGP Le Mans - France - 2 Yamaha's on the Podium again and the Vinales Surprise

RESULTS

Le Mans MotoGP race - conditions dry - Air: 22° Ground: 35° Humidity: 40%

1 - 25 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YAMAHA 43’51.290 160.3
2 - 20 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YAMAHA 44’01.944 159.6 10.654
3 - 16 25 Maverick VIÑALES SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR SUZUKI 44’05.467 159.4 14.177
4 - 13 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 44’10.009 159.1 18.719
5 - 11 44 Pol ESPARGARO SPA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 44’16.221 158.8 24.931
6 - 10 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR SUZUKI 44’24.211 158.3 32.921
7 - 9 9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA OCTO Pramac Yakhnich DUCATI 44’29.541 158.0 38.251
8 - 8 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Avintia Racing DUCATI 44’29.794 158.0 38.504
9 - 7 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini APRILIA 44’39.826 157.4 48.536
10 - 6 6 Stefan BRADL GER Aprilia Racing Team Gresini APRILIA 44’45.792 157.0 54.502
11 - 5 50 Eugene LAVERTY IRL Aspar Team MotoGP DUCATI 44’53.967 156.5 1’02.677
12 - 4 76 Loris BAZ FRA Avintia Racing DUCATI 44’58.948 156.3 1’07.658
13 - 3 93 Marc MARQUEZ SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 44’27.515 152.4 1 lap

Not classified
38 Bradley SMITH GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 30’02.401 158.8 9 laps
43 Jack MILLER AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS HONDA 27’07.047 157.4 11 laps
4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Ducati Team DUCATI 23’34.694 159.7 13 laps
29 Andrea IANNONE ITA Ducati Team DUCATI 17’56.425 153.9 17 laps
53 Tito RABAT SPA Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS HONDA 11’17.332 155.7 21 laps
35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR LCR Honda HONDA 9’33.909 157.5 22 laps
68 Yonny HERNANDEZ COL Aspar Team MotoGP DUCATI 9’37.441 156.5 22 laps
45 Scott REDDING GBR OCTO Pramac Yakhnich DUCATI 8’00.164 156.8 23 laps

2 Yamaha's on the Podium again and the Vinales Surprise

Everyone who is following MotoGP now a days knows that the Doctor is staying with Yamaha and Lorenzo is going to Ducati, people also talk about Vinales or even Pedrosa coming to Yamaha, what will happen ? Well I have posted an article in my blog before were one of the influential characters in MotoGP was pushing Vinales to take the Yamaha deal, but now we heard that Pedrosa might be the next team mate for Rossi, I think this is very positive for Rossi and for the team mate, since Rossi is not going to stay for a long time in Motogp , let's face it he is the oldest and everyone can learn from his experience, Pedrosa has good things, he seems to be a very good Team Player and Vinales his the uprising star, they both have good and bad things, let's just wait to see the outcome!

I believe Lorenzo will show everyone how he will follow Rossi's footsteps to be a professional race driver, this in fact also shows Ducati commitment and Professionalism at the face of leaving the ever lasting leader brand in MotoGP. Rossi is determined to show everyone he is a Legend and will continue to be one in the most surprising of ways, its amazing to see him driving with all the kids... All of this to come to the Le Mans Race.

This is a highly Technical and Fast Circuit, I believe the Michelin Tire Development and all the introductions and changes in Electronics have also played a great part in shaping the outcome of this great run. The wings .. well they are wings.. lol They look horrible but they do work and it does give an extra edge to the teams.

The Ducati's are clearly great machines as well and they do have the advantage on straights, however the surprises on this race was actually how Vinales brought Suzuki to the Podium, how Rossi statrted in 7th and managed to get 2nd place including overtaking Marquez in an amazing move, but also how Marquez could not keep the same pace as the top dogs, I take my hat to him though for going down and still completing the race. Even knowing he would be last, great attitude, however a very immature rider that has placed people in danger a couple of times, which from my side would deserve some penalties. Personally I believe this was one of the most exciting races up to now, I can't wait to see what comes next. I will leave you all with the reactions of the Podium.


LORENZO

Lorenzo has taken over at the top and now the leads the way by five points from Marquez ahead of the sixth round at Mugello, with Valentino Rossi only a further seven points adrift in third.

“It's a special day, especially for the championship. Before this race, Marquez didn't make any mistakes and this was the opposite of the Yamaha riders because I crash in Argentina and Rossi in Austin, so we start from zero in the next races,” Lorenzo said.

“Now comes Mugello and it is a track that I love and probably it is my favourite track, where I can take the profit of all my qualities and my strong points.

“Obviously the Ducati there will be strong with the long straight and it is the track where they spend more time testing,” added the reigning world champion.

“But I think for the moment they don't count so much for the championship with the mistakes of both riders so we have to compare our level with Marc and Rossi. It's great that we are coming there leading the championship.”

Reflecting on the race, which Lorenzo dominated from pole to win by 10 seconds from Rossi in a Yamaha one-two, the Mallorcan said was loathe to relax too much in spite of his advantage at the front on the M1.

“When Rossi was seven or eight seconds [behind] I could breathe a little bit, but not too more because I wanted to keep a high pace and not lose my concentration,” he said.

“The bike was great and the tyres also: I think Michelin have made a nice job and worked fast to improve the problems we had in Jerez, especially in the centre because we had more grip during all the race.

“I wanted to keep this '33 high [pace] and not change my lines or get too relaxed to avoid making any stupid mistakes or crashing.”

Lorenzo stated his unhappiness with the performance of the rear Michelin tyre at Jerez, with wheel-spin creating a big problem on the main straight.
Michelin arrived in France with three new rear options and Lorenzo praised their hard work behind the scenes to overcome the issue


ROSSI


Rossi struggled throughout practice and qualifying with his M1 but sealed a valuable 20 points in France as he bagged the runner-up spot to make it a Yamaha one-two behind Jorge Lorenzo.

The 37-year-old remains third in the championship but is only 12 points behind new leader Lorenzo and seven back on Repsol Honda's Marc Marquez, who crashed out of fourth place in France before returning to the track and finishing 13th.

Rossi said: “When you start from the third row in seventh place and finish second, it is always great and especially today because these 20 points are important for the championship.

“We are able to close the gap to the top, that has changed from Marquez to Lorenzo. This weekend was quite difficult and did some mistakes, especially on Friday because we tried to concentrate on the tyre that had less traction.

“But the new Michelin tyre improved and the issues are different, so you have to concentrate in another way. Yesterday I was quite competitive and it was not so bad but I did two mistakes in the qualifying and I start from the third row,” he added.

“When you start from here, you know that in the beginning you have to fight but the start also was not good. Fortunately I was able to go away from the second group and I did some good laps, but in that moment the situation was very tricky, because today was a bit more difficult [with the tyres].

“I tried to stay concentrated to ride well and my bike was well balanced, so I could recover on Marquez and Dovizioso,” Rossi said.

“The idea was to try to overtake as soon as possible and I did some good laps. After Marquez and Dovizioso made the mistakes, I was able to relax a little bit.”

Mugello is next up on the MotoGP calendar and Rossi is looking forward to competing on Italian soil in front of his passionate fans, even if he admits his home round brings a lot of extra pressure.

“Mugello is fantastic and I love the race track and the atmosphere, but always the Grand Prix is more difficult compared to normal because you have lot more pressure, but we arrive in quite good shape and our bike is very competitive,” Rossi said.

“Now I will just relax and try to arrive focused from Friday in Mugello.”

VINALES

Maverick Vinales says he will make his final decision on whether to stay at Suzuki or move to Yamaha when he returns home prior to the sixth round of the MotoGP World Championship at Mugello on May 22.

Vinales claimed his maiden MotoGP podium with an excellent ride to third place at Le Mans behind factory Yamaha pair Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi. It was Suzuki's first top three finish since Loris Capirossi achieved the feat at the Czech GP in 2008.

Speculation earlier in the weekend suggested that the rising young star would remain at Suzuki, with Dani Pedrosa moving from Honda to Yamaha to join Rossi in the Movistar-backed team for 2017.

However, speaking after the race in France, Vinales again stated that he has yet to make his decision.

“The decision will be really difficult but every day I am more clear and finally I will make it,” he said.

“I need to think at home when everything is relaxed. It takes time to think and it's difficult to concentrate [with] a hundred questions, so as soon as I can, I will take.”

Vinales was delighted to have achieved one of his goals this season of finishing on the premier class rostrum at least once, even if his final position was somewhat fortuitous after Marc Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso crashed out as they disputed third place.

“An incredible day and here in Le Mans is a beautiful track because I make my first victory here [in 125cc class in 2011] and then today I make one of my objectives for this season, which was trying to make one podium,” he said.

“I would like to say thank you to the team because this morning they work really hard and I could have a good set-up on the bike. Sure, it was not easy at the start but finally I concentrated because I tried to overtake faster riders and make my own pace.

“I think we did a good race and this motivates us a lot to develop the bike and start to go more fast,” Vinales added.

“Dani was closing the gap but again I was not pushing and I was not on the limit because I was trying to give this third place to Suzuki and I was thinking a lot on the Argentina race, so for sure I was trying not to make the same mistake.”

Vinales left himself with work to do at the start of the race but said he was never in a position to threaten Rossi for second place, who took the runner-up spot by 3.5 seconds.

“After not a good start I needed to overtake five riders so finally I make a lot of overtakes, but anyway everyone works for his own set-up and in this race Jorge was working really good and makes his gap,” he said.

“Then Valentino was five or six seconds [ahead] so in the end it was impossible to try to overtake someone.”

MotoGP Le Mans - Strategy from the Yamaha Factory team

2016 MotoGP France - Le Mans
4180 m

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Focus on French Grand Prix

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP teammates Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi are eager to get aboard their YZR-M1s again for the fifth round of the MotoGP championship after a superb weekend in Jerez a fortnight ago, which ended with the first Yamaha 1-2 of the season. The results of the last race and the successive test gave both riders an extra confidence boost ahead of the forthcoming Monster Energy Grand Prix de France to be held this weekend.

After a strong performance at the previous round, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi are keen to put on a show again this weekend at the Le Mans Bugatti Grand Prix race circuit.

The combination of Lorenzo and his Yamaha visited the French podium multiple times. He has secured four premier class wins in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2015 and scored a second place in 2008.

Having showed a very fast and consistent pace aboard his YZR-M1 during the Jerez test last week, the Mallorcan, who celebrates his 29th birthday today, is eager to challenge for a top result again this weekend as he aims to climb up the championship ranking order from his current second place.

Having claimed his first victory of the season in Jerez, teammate Rossi is excited to start the fifth round of the championship and add another good result to his already extensive list of podium finishes at the Le Mans Bugatti circuit.

Traditionally, The Doctor scores good results at the French GP. Throughout his premier class career he has collected three victories at Le Mans in 2002, 2005 and 2008, five second places in 2003, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2015 and three third places in 2000, 2001 and 2011. The Italian currently holds third place in the championship standings.

The Le Mans Bugatti Grand Prix race circuit was built in 1965 and forms part of the famous 24H Motos track, just a few kilometres from the city of Le Mans. MotoGP made its first visit to the iconic French track in the late sixties and it remained a fixed feature until 1996. After the track underwent safety moderations it was added back on the calendar in 2000, yet the changes have not affected the visitors' experience. With an emphasis on late braking, hard acceleration and rear end traction, this circuit is the scene of a lot of racing action that more than 100,000 spectators can enjoy.

Furthermore what the team has to say:

Massimo Meregalli - Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team Director


"After a great weekend in Jerez, we are feeling energised as we head to Le Mans. This has been a good track for us in the past and we are looking forward to going there and getting back into action. We will start the first free practice session with the intention to continue the momentum we built at the previous round and we will carry through the same hands-on approach throughout the weekend. The French GP can be unpredictable in terms of weather, but I am confident we will be able to find a solution for whatever the circumstances will be."

Jorge Lorenzo
Championship: 2nd, 65 points

"Jerez was a good race, not perfect because of the result, but at least we could add one more podium to our tally. This season it's going to be crucial to keep scoring the maximum number of points every race, like we did in Jerez, so we can now focus on Le Mans, where we intend to do the same. France is often tricky because of the weather, so we need to be prepared in case it rains. Anyway my target is to try to get another podium and be a constant at the front, though it's still uncertain how we will be able to manage with the new tyres. Every race is different but we need to be focused the whole weekend and try to get the maximum from our package."

Valentino Rossi
Championship: 3rd, 58 points

"Le Mans is a track where the YZR-M1 usually goes very well. The negative thing about Le Mans is the weather, it is always very uncertain. It can rain, it is often cold and so there are many factors that you must be careful of. Last year I had a good race but I was not able to beat Jorge, I'll try again this year. First we will start the weekend in the same way as we did in Jerez. There we found a good set-up on Friday and this has helped us to be competitive in the race. We will do our best also in Le Mans."

2016 BMW S1000RR - what a beast!!

SPECS:

Type Liquid-cooled 4-inline (four valves per cylinder, double overhead camshafts, wet sump lubrication)

Bore x stroke 80 mm x 49.7 mm

Capacity 999 cc

Rated output 199 hp (146 kW) @ 13,500 rpm

Max. torque 83 lb-ft (113 Nm) @ 10,500 rpm

Compression ratio 13.0 : 1

Mixture control / engine management Electronic fuel injection with ride-by-wire throttle system and knock sensor

Emission control Closed-loop 3-way catalytic converters

Maximum speed Over 125 mph

Fuel consumption 41 mpg

Fuel type Premium Unleaded

Clutch Multi-plate wet slipper clutch, mechanically operated

Gearbox Constant-mesh 6-speed gearbox with straight cut gears

First off, I love this bike. Amazing all around bike. Power is great and comes on much sooner than expected (almost like it has a crossplane crankshaft). Brakes are awesome and you don't have to even think about aftermarket lines and pads. Fit and finish is, well.. German. 

Even on a supersport I love the heated grips. Haven't used cruise control on a bike yet, however I'm sure I will so I can text and ride down the highway and post updates on my social media. Quick shifter on this bike is amazing. Wheelies are effortless and able to go from 1st through 4th on one wheel without the bike going all over the place. The throttle and gearbox are smooth as butter in my opinion.

Here are my small complaints. Handling on this bike is great and very confidence inspiring. Almost too much where one feels like going superman on all the turns, that beeing said the bike feels heavy to flicker, takes some getting used to. DTC acts accordingly but in general not a smooth intermission. It's almost like the bike cuts off or you have to lift for a quick second. The Cluster of this motorcycle is noce but all th info is clogged up and sometimes could be difficult to read.

Germans are famous for flawless execution of mechanincs and assembly, this beast is within spec, but nothing is perfect, the driving position is extremelly agressive, I did got a false neutral on my test drive and the tires I dont believe they were the best choice from BMW but all of these are small details. 

This motorcycle is well worth the 20+K however consider the chance of buying an older model or even fix one for a cheaper price ;) after all there aren't that much differences between the first gen and the 2016 model. Also BMW maintains the package trend so you can customize your bike all the way. 200 HP of Beemer madness.

General Conclusion after the test drive:

I had a speed date with this bike, meaning 45 for my own. To be honest it was scary at first, too much power, different position different tires, throttle by wire, all nice things that take some time to getting used too. 

After going around the Zaandam area for a bit I got used to the bike, turning, acceleration, Modes, Suspension etc.. I even lane splitted the beast. 

She could be considered an all around as this bike gives you a level of confidence that surpasses the aggressive position, the (all the time) superman wheelies and the fueling on this bike is well done, so even in 3rd gear on low rpm its very smooth! Loved it! Just a shame I don't have 22k at the moment to buy one ;) although a second hand older model could be interesting! 

KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN FOR MY VLOG COMING SOON (most likely friday)...