Bikes

Marc Marquez was qualifying for the MotoGP race at Circuit of the Americas a few days ago and by the end of the session he was running in seventh position.
He noticed the bike was developing an engine problem and subsequently parked it up against the pitwall (no really, he parked it, no crashing, we promise!).
He then jumped over the wall, sprinted to his backup bike in true Le Mans-style and flew that out of the pitlane completely unfazed with three minutes of qualifying left for him to do his out-lap and one timed lap, just enough time to make one last difference if all went well. And it did, he not only manages to grab the pole but also shatter the previous lap record also held by him and as you can see for yourself, this is unreal bike control. Entering corners under full braking with massive oversteer or the rear wheel just plain up in the air, damn this guy can ride! The videos at "Read More" show him parking the bike and the record setting lap.

Still 173 miles per hour while already gently tipping the bike into the upcoming right hander, a split second to shave off a little speed, cross the slippery white line and find the grip to take you through the corner. This is road racing at it's finest. The Isle of Man is one of the last places on earth where this can be done legally, and Ulster GP in Belfast, Ireland is another one.

Hooning a Bmw R1200GS that has had a little weight reduction therapy around and through abandoned Russian buildings reminds us of how much fun you can have on 2 wheels. The whole Chernobyl-like vibe of the area along with the skill of rider Vadim Shpilevsky results in some cool footage worth checking out after the jump...

GoPro takes us on a journey through the streets of Japan, from Bosozoku to the craziest custom Hayabusa's ever to roam a public road and
from strobe and neon-laden fire-breathing Lamborghini's to RWB's track bred monster Porsches. At night, cities like Tokyo come alive and transform into a playground for characters expressing themselves through the customisation culture.

And neither the Fireblade or the Beemer wants to give in! The speedometer on the Bmw goes to 299 kilometers an hour as they fly past traffic on the shoulder because that's simply as high as the counter will go. The run starts relatively sedated, but as the riders start to get into the speedgroove, things get quite close and a little insane. Enjoy!

"Take your place in time, This is where you want to be, Don’t look beyond today's horizons, Free your mind completely"... Fitting lyrics to go with the images of Guy Martin experiencing a little speed wobble at 275km/h while exiting a small town road's bend. Breathtakingly beautiful and scary as hell at the same time but maybe that's what's fascinating about it? "This life is what we make it..."

Two very short but very powerful compilation videos on the motivation behind and the true nature of racing.
Scenes featured capture the dedication, the commitment, the dangers and the intense concentration that come into play when a person becomes one with a racing machine. It is about the connection between those two, the capability of reaching the boundaries of both and the sensation that comes with controlling something that is on the edge of being out of control.

An Audi R8 V10 with tuned engine control unit, transmission control unit, exhaust and air filter pushing 600 horsepower and shortened shift intervals takes on a 185 horsepower Suzuki GSXR 1000 SRAD (2009 model) and a 2008 Kawasaki Ninja ZX 10R with 188 horses at it's disposal.
The Audi driver ignores his female passenger and shows the bikers what his machine can do as the three machines start swerving vigorously through traffic on a crowded highway.
We do not by any means support this kind of irrational behavior, neither could we keep ourselves from watching the whole thing!

There is a competition called the "Stunt Grand Prix" every year, with the purpose of finding out who can perform the maddest tricks on a motorcycle.
This goes way beyond wheelies and stoppies, some guys handle their 200 kg bike as if it's a skateboard! One quick enough to remove the table-cover from a fully set diner table without damage though!
After the jump we have the 2013 winner and a very nice 2012 compilation-video for you!

Just when you think you've seen it all: Motorcycle Snow Drifting.
This does not need further explanation!