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TOKYO -- Honda Motor and three Japanese rivals plan to discontinue about 20 motorcycle models by the end of this year, Nikkei has learned, in response to tougher emissions standards to be implemented in Japan in the fall. The retired motorbikes represent 10% of the roughly 190 models available from Honda, Yamaha Motor, Suzuki Motor and Kawasaki Heavy Industries. Going forward, the companies will shift to electrics. Honda will electrify its entire lineup of vehicles by the 2040s. Yamaha will make 90% of new vehicles plug-ins by 2050. Honda, the world's largest motorcycle company, will retire approximately 10 out of...

Calling all Freeper guitarists. I am looking into buying a beginner's guitar for myself. I am wanting to spend around $200. I am only interested in an acoustic guitar at this time. My musical tastes range from classic rock, old school country, to some blues. I have sort of narrowed down my choices to a couple of guitars, the Yamaha FG800 (https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FG800?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrOjvwfWx1wIVSY1-Ch2w3wK8EAAYASAAEgL1h_D_BwE) and the Ibanez AW50 OPN (https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AW54OPN?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIj-Tht_Wx1wIVw19-Ch2vHwtwEAAYASAAEgLViPD_BwE). I was wondering if any of y'all had any experience with either of those and could possibly make a recommendation, or possibly a suggestion for something else. Any and all advice is...

Japanese motorcycle giant Yamaha will join the four-wheel market by launching small cars in Europe as early as 2019 to meet rising demand for energy-efficient vehicles, a company official said Friday. The firm has been mulling manufacturing four-wheel vehicles for years, exhibiting a prototype 1,000 cc engine car and an electric-car battery at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. Yamaha is planning to build car plants in Europe to sell them in the region before 2020, the company spokesman said, without elaborating. "As small cars are already prevalent in Europe, our first car launch will be (there)," he said. "But we...

Yamaha has filed patents for a new series of motorcycle-size turbodiesel engines in both inline-four and twin-cylinder configurations. Previously, established brands have not even so much as expressed an interest in diesel engines. Yamaha would have to contend with packaging issues in placing a diesel engine in a motorcycle chassis as well as the physical size of an engine that’s made to withstand the high pressures and torque inherent in a compression ignition engine. Yamaha’s patents seek to set an arrangement of components particularly the intercooler, which is placed atop the engine under a “dummy tank” with the actual fuel...

Yamaha recalls 2008 RhinosProblem with brake caliper affects 7,800 vehicles Story by ATV.com Staff, Apr. 01, 2008 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA of Cypress Calif. has recalled some of its 2008 Rhino side-by-side vehicles due to a problem with a brake caliper. The recall, which was voluntarily conducted by Yamaha in cooperation with the Consumer Products Safety Commission, affects about 7,800 Rhino YXR450 and YXR700 UTVs. Owners of these vehicles should stop using them immediately unless otherwise instructed. The brake caliper on the left front wheel may have been made incorrectly, which could result in brake fluid leaking. This can cause...

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RIVERSIDE A 16-year-old Riverside boy doing stunts in a high school parking lot crashed his new 2008 Yamaha R1 motorcycle into a classroom building, and died a short time later, Riverside police said Sunday. Coroner's officials identified the teen as Austin Lee Allen, 16, of Riverside. Riverside police Sgt. Dan Reeves said the motorcycle rider was initially believed to be a student at Martin Luther King Jr. High School, where the crash was reported at 7:22 p.m. Saturday. Witnesses said Allen was riding the Yamaha alone in a parking lot at the school, in the 9300 block of Wood Road...

MOTORCYCLE DESIGN TROPHY 2005 10 February 2006 The overall winner of the 2005 Motorcycle Design of the Year has been announced; The winner was the Ducati Hypermotard concept bike, with the runner-up bike being the Yamaha MT-OS. Other bikes which were highly rated by a panel of motorcycle designers included the Yamaha R6, MotoCzysz C1, Aprilia RS125 and the Victory Vision. Presentation of the awards will take place later in the year - full details will be announced on the MDA website.

The wife says I am NOT allowed to get a 'scooter' just to use to get back and forth to work... I've never been interested in the 'big & real" motorcycles, but...what's WRONG with getting a decent looking scooter? They range in prices from $2,000 to $6,000 with 80 to 244cc engines and some interesting safety features like ABS brakes. So, what's the FReeper take on gettin' on a scooter? Gay, Too Italian or sensible for urban conveyance?? Who's got one like these? Are you worried about cars & safety? What kind of mileage DO they get? G

Town of Waukesha - Motorcyclist Daniel Buckel was within 10 feet when he saw the potential disaster stretched across a dark and foggy rural road just ahead. Disbelief turned to fear, then anger, as Buckel's 2-year-old motorcycle hit a barrier of kitchen-variety plastic wrap that was wound thickly from traffic pole to traffic pole on opposite sides of Guthrie Road, south of Highway I. The clear plastic trap, which was 3 to 4 feet above the two-lane road south of Waukesha, sent both Buckel and his passenger, girlfriend Theresa Brzykcy, into a bloody slide across the asphalt. "It's appalling, and...

Who's goin'? The Hollister Independence Rally takes place in Hollister, California from July 2nd to July 4th, 2004. This year’s rally will consist of musical entertainment, a bike show, bike games, beer garden and much, much more!