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The motorcycle market was buzzing ever since Yamaha introduced the YZF-R7.

The new R7 now joins Aprilia RS660 and Honda CBR650R as a middleweight sports bike powered by the same CP2 engine found on its naked siblings, the MT-07.

*Yamaha YZF-R7

While it delivers the same 73hp and 67Nm, the R7 will entice young and new riders around the globe.

Suzuki once held the title with the SV650. Affordable to own and maintain by the likes of every new and experienced rider on the planet.

However, rumours have it that the guys at Hamamatsu are planning to get in on the action to go head to head against the all-new R7.

*Suzuki SV650

According to reports, Suzuki plans to take the SV650 and put a full fairing around it and make it an affordable sport-focused machine.

*2022 Suzuki GSX-S1000

While we are not sure how long it would take for Suzuki to introduce the new motorcycle but based on the company’s new effort to introduce a new range of 2022 models starting with the GSX-S1000, GSX-S950, upcoming GSX-R1000 and GSX-S1000T, we might catch a full-fairing SV650 soon.

Six-time MotoGP world champions Marc Marquez returns to winning ways at the German GP 581 days after securing his last win.

The Spaniard was out for nine months since breaking his right humerus at Jerez last year before making his return to MotoGP in Portimao.

During the post-race conference at the Sachsenring, Marquez revealed a 30-minute phone call with five-time MotoGP champion Mick Doohan had helped him.

“When I was injured, always I feel like I will come back and I will come back strong. But since the first time I ride the MotoGP bike in Portimao, I say ‘okay, I am far, very far from my level.

“From that point it was very hard. The next races was even harder. It’s difficult but I just forget everything and focus on my personal and professional side. When I say forget everything; I mean extra comments, comments from outside.

“I just listen to the people that want to help me, and I try to find something or some comments that helped me – which was a phone call from Mick Doohan. I met (with) him in Mugello and I know that he had a similar situation in 92 and 93.

“I was 30 minutes in a phone call with him and I was just listening, he was speaking everything. He was explaining his situation, but was also like he was explaining my situation.

“It was the exact same problems like understanding the bike, not riding like you want to, stupid mistakes, stupid crashes, some races you will be fast, practice you will be slower and you don’t know why, and all the problems that I have this year – he explain and had in the past,” said Marquez.

(source: Crash.net)

Marc Marquez marks his return to Sachsenring with a sensational first win of the season 581 days after securing his last win in the premier class.

The victory in Sachsenring means the Repsol Honda rider extends his unbeaten record to 11 (nine wins in the premier class).

Despite starting at P5, the Spaniards managed to propel himself up to second place behind Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro at Turn 1 before taking the lead later on.

The six-time MotoGP champion looks like his old self on board the RC213V as he crosses the finish line ahead of KTM’s Miguel Oliveira and championship leader Fabio Quartararo.

Marquez now sits at 10th place in the championship standings with 41 points.

  • Here is a guide to motorcycle tyre markings.

  • Knowing how to read the markings is important.

  • Tyres affect not only your bike’s handling but also your safety.

Alright, let’s settle this once and for all. We are still hearing all sorts of assumptions about motorcycle tyre markings.

We’re not criticizing anyone here, but it pays to get them right. For one, you don’t get cheated by unscrupulous workshops. But more importantly, tyres affect your bike’s handling and your safety.

Okay, let’s begin. Let’s take the following numbers from a Bridgestone T31 front tyre as a reference.

120/70ZR17M/C(58W)

120

It denotes the nominal width of the tyre measured at the widest point of the tyre, in milimetres (mm). You may have noticed that one brand of tyres may be wider than another. That’s because manufacturers may vary the width to tune for different handling characteristics, by +/- 4%.

70

Indicates the tyre’s aspect ratio or in other words, section height. It is expressed in percentage, not a direct measurement. So, 70% of 120mm is 84mm. Again, different manufacturers vary aspect ratio by +/- 4%.

ZR

The two letters represent two different meanings, although joined together.

“Z” is the tyre’s speed rating which in this case is 240+ km/h. Interestingly, the “Z” symbol on Pirelli tyres stands for “Zero” as in zero tolerance for mistakes.

“R” means radial construction. NOT racing. The letter is omitted if the tyre is a bias-ply type (usually on dirtbikes, dual-sport, older cruisers, and kapchais).

17

The wheel (rim) size in inches.

M/C

The tyre is for motorcycles. You hear this Lani? Please don’t let us hear “medium compound” again or we’ll slash your tyres.

(58W)

There are two parts to this as well.

“58” stands for the tyre’s load index. It’s the code that says the maximum load of this tyre is 236kg at maximum inflation pressure.

“W” is the tyre’s speed index, 270 km/h in this case. This is where it gets confusing. Didn’t the “Z” already indicate that the tyre can exceed 240 km/h? Ah hah. There’s a reason why the load index and speed index are married to each other.

It works like this: The maximum speed at which you should ride while carrying 236kg at maximum pressure is 270 km/h.

However, the brackets around “58W” means the tyre can go faster than 270 km/h (provided you’re not carrying 236kg, of course).

There are other markings on the tyre’s sidewalls, also. Let’s take a look at them.

TUBELESS

Tubeless. Certain tyres may carry the “TL” designation. Conversely, tube tyres may carry the “TT” symbol. No, “TT” DOES NOT mean the Isle of Man TT.

GT

You may come across a tyre with the GT marking after the above markings i.e. 120/70 ZR17 M/C (58W) TL GT. “GT” means the tyre is designed for heavier motorcycles such as the BMW R 1200 RT, Kawasaki 1400GTR, Yamaha FJR1300, among others. It’s not recommended to mount it on your middleweight bike just because “the GT version lasts longer.” Yes, it does last longer on your Versys 650 because the tyre’s compound and construction are meant for heavier bikes.

MAX LOAD

Refer to (55W) marking above. Virtually all tyres carry this marking. See what this one says? Just like what the load and speed indexes indicated. Also note the maximum pressure, which is 290 kPa or 42 psi in this case. DO NOT ever exceed this.

Four-digit numbers in an oval or rectangle

Together, they denote the manufacturing date of the tyre. The first two digits tells the week, while the last two are the year. For example, “2918” means the tyre was produced in the 29th working week of 2018. While there are 52 weeks in a year, there may not be production during every week.

Rotation or Direction

Every tyre has an arrow to mark the direction of rotation for the tyre, hence it should be mounted as such. DO NOT mount it against the intended direction – even if it “feels better when mounted backwards.” (You may laugh, but we’ve actually had riders telling us so.)

CONCLUSION

So, there you are. There are still more markings and symbols but these are the most important ones.

While every team is busy preparing for this weekend race at the Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland, there’s plenty of activity happening behind the curtain.

Ducati Corse Sporting Director Paolo Ciabatti revealed that they are “very close” to announcing a partnership with the VR46 Racing Team.

“Honestly, yes, I think we are very close to reaching an agreement, to be honest; I think probably before Assen, you can expect some kind of announcement.

“I hope everything goes right in the last few days and we can make it public,” said Ciabatti.

If the deal went through, Ducati would field eight Desmosedici on the grid consist of the factory team, Pramac Racing, Gresini Racing and VR46.

Meanwhile, Gresini Racing has signed a two-year agreement with Ducati to compete in the 2022 MotoGP season, with Enea Bastianini leading the team alongside rookie Fabio Di Giannantonio.

In another news, Razlan Razali denies earlier reports suggesting Petronas Sepang Racing Team (SRT) decided not to renew Valentino Rossi’s contract beyond the 2021 season.

According to the local publication, SRT made a unanimous decision not to extend the 42-year old contract as the team can’t afford to wait on the rider decision regarding his future.

However, Razlan’s insist that his side is yet to determined the riders line-up for next season.

(source: Crash.net, MotoGP)

Razlan Razali, team principal of Petronas Sepang Racing Team (SRT), has decided not to extend Valentino Rossi’s contract beyond the 2021 season.

Razlan made the decision considering the uncertainty behind Rossi’s commitment as the rider is yet to confirm his future at the team.

According to Razlan, the decision was made unanimously.

“We (SRT) can’t afford to wait for Rossi’s decision whether he wants to continue racing beyond 2021.

“After a thorough discussion with the team, we unanimously agreed not to extend Rossi’s contract for the 2022 season,” said Razlan.

The latest decision by Razlan’s allow the team to go back to their initial plan of recruiting new and exciting talents.

Despite racing with full factory support, the 42-year old rider struggled with his form this season as he currently sits 19th place in the championship, 100 points behind the championship leader, Fabio Quartararo.

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