Random International News thread

[shrinathrao]

Suzuki to file for bankruptcy in US, focus on motorcycles

Suzuki to file for bankruptcy in US, focus on motorcycles - The Economic Times

TOKYO: Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp said it will shutter its unprofitable automobile sales business in the United States and instead focus on its motorcycle, ATV and marine boat sales, as it fights a strong yen and slumping U.S. demand for its small cars.

American SuzukiBSE -1.70 % Motor Corp, the sole distributor of Suzuki Motor Corp vehicles in the continental United States, will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with $346 million in debt, of which $173 million is owed to Suzuki group companies, it said.

Japan's No. 4 automaker said in a statement that it would be unable to maintain profitability in its automobile business in the United States, given the currency rate and its automobile lineup, made up primarily of small cars.

American Suzuki, which sold 2,023 vehicles in the United States last month, plans to compensate car dealers as it phases out automobiles to focus on motorcycles, ATVs and marine boat products.

Shares of Suzuki were down 1.7 percent at 1,802 yen in early morning trade.

Suzuki sold about 26,000 vehicles in the US in 2011, a fraction of rival Japanese automakers such as Toyota, Nissan and Honda.

ASMC "recognised it will be unable to maintain profitability with respect to its automobile marketing business", the firm said in a statement.

The Suzuki division, which employs about 365 people, said it has faced difficulties from the value of the Japanese currency and weak demand for its compacts in the US market.

The yen, which hit record highs against the dollar last year and remains strong, has dented Japanese manufacturers by making their products less competitive overseas while eroding the value of repatriated foreign income.

Suzuki's US unit said it would "redirect" its resources to the sale of motorcycles, ATVs and marine products "where the prospects for profit are good".

Warranties on vehicles already sold in the US market would be honoured despite the filing, it added.

The Japanese firm has focused much of its attention on emerging markets including India where its profitable Maruti SuzukiBSE -1.70 % joint venture is the nation's biggest automaker.

[B7ACKTHORN]

Along with the 2013 Yamaha Vixion, Yamaha Indonesia also showcased a concept bike at the 2012 Jakarta Motorcycle Show.

It's quite an interesting concept as it's an extreme underbone type race bike. Even the colours and styling it boasts are inspired from some bigger race bikes. Minimal seat, fake (or real?) air-intake vents on the front fairing, aerodynamic styling, Akrapovic exhaust, Nissin brakes, and much more!

Don't we wish our everyday bikes looked more like this?!

Source:

Nice. But I always have this feeling. If any 150 bike can give a hard time to the liter classes, it must be either from Indonesia, Singapore, Malayasia, what not ( or is it just me )

Cheers!
VJ

[blizviz]

Yamaha Z1GP - Underbone Race Concept Bike

Along with the 2013 Yamaha Vixion, Yamaha Indonesia also showcased a concept bike at the 2012 Jakarta Motorcycle Show.

It's quite an interesting concept as it's an extreme underbone type race bike. Even the colours and styling it boasts are inspired from some bigger race bikes. Minimal seat, fake (or real?) air-intake vents on the front fairing, aerodynamic styling, Akrapovic exhaust, Nissin brakes, and much more!

Don't we wish our everyday bikes looked more like this?!

Source:

[blizviz]

J. Lorenzo Scrapping Knees On A Moped

Recently Yamaha Indonesia arranged a coaching camp with the champion Jorge Lorenzo at the Sentul Circuit in Indonesia.

Lorenzo was also there to launch the new 2013 Yamaha Vixion at the Jakarta Motorcycle Show.

The following videos show just how proficient and comfortable Lorenzo is at riding ANY type of motorcyle

Fun to ride with Jorge Lorenzo (Sentul gokart circuit Indonesia) - YouTube

Fun to Ride with Jorge Lorenzo 2012 Indonesia (Sentul Gokart circuit) - YouTube

[becham_79]

SOURCES close to Yamaha in Japan say the three-cylinder concept engine shown at Intermot earlier this month will lead to replacements for both the R1 and R6 as the firm makes a clean break from its four-cylinder heritage.

Read more: Next Yamaha R6 and R1 will be triples - Motorcycle news: New bikes - Visordown

Yamaha R6 & Yamaha R1 to Get Three-Cylinder Motors?

[Samarth 619]

Topic Approved & merged to Random News Abroad thread.

I don't think the focus of this engine would be on a streetbike. They already have FZ8, which is around 779cc.

This should give around 135-140 bhp, if the focus is racing. If its street or touring, than its anywhere lower than these figures. So, would they want to fit an economical alternative between the Gixxer 750 and Daytona 675, an already crowded segment? Let's see.

[neevarp16]

New yamaha 3-cylinder engine displayed at intermot


The three cylinder motorcycle world seems to be slowly gathering attention over the past few years with all top manufacturers looking for that sweet spot between performance and efficiency. The latest to join this 3 cylinder race is Yamaha, who have unveiled their all new 3 cylinder engine at the Intermot. According to the company this new engine has the potential to bring in the best of both worlds into a package that can do it all. The engine was unveiled by current Yamaha MotoGP rider Jorge Lorenzo.Yamaha is heavily banking on this new engine for their future and for sure this engine will have a much better torque curve than their crossplane high revving engine on the R1 or torque monster engine on the M1. There is still no news on what they will use the engine on but a 750cc light supersport could be a possibility.





Source : iambiker.com

[prasenjit220]

All this is Great .. But IMO HONDA Really Ought to put their Money where the Worth is ..
It's High Time They Launch CBR 4oo RR v2 - A proper Race Bred built for the Masses

[Samarth 619]

Honda preparing Limited Edition RC 213V for the Road (like Desmosedici RR). CBR 1000RR will remain unaffected.



Honda has officially confirmed it will be putting a road-going version of the RC213V into production for 2014 as it tries to give a massive boost of excitement to the Honda brand.

Honda boss Takanobu Ito made the announcement on today (Friday) in Tokyo as part of a bigger speech outlining the future of the firm. The RC213V production bike being presented as a halo bike which will be hugely expensive and strictly limited in numbers.




The rumours of a road-going Honda based on a MotoGP bike have been doing the rounds since the World Championship ditched 500cc two-strokes in favour of four-stroke 1000cc machines in 2003.
It's known Honda was very close to putting a 1000cc V5 into production in 2006 but this never happened for reasons known only to Honda.
Honda is now ready to make the leap and in part this may be helped by the firm's decision to make a run of customer specification engines for the Claiming Rule Teams (CRT) in 2013 which will change the way the engines are made.
Ito said: “Since its market introduction in 1987, the RC30 (VFR750R) super sports bike has been loved by a large number of fans.
"With a goal to create a new history, passionate Honda engineers have gotten together and have begun development of a new super sports bike to which new technologies from MotoGP machines will be applied.”
A Honda insider added: "This has been talked about for a while now within Honda but there is now the firm intention to put a bike derived from the MotoGP bike into production so we can show the kind of engineering, passion and excitement Honda has become known for.”


Source: Honda will make RC213V for the road - | Motorbike reviews | Latest Bike Videos | MCN

[Prakritij]

'Ferrari' motorcycle sold. At last. - Motorcycle news : General news - Visordown



RIDE SAFE

[jigar2speed]

^^ now this is really interesting news. any speculation about launch date.?

LOL

[Nithesh]

Something i was discussing about like almost a year ago. Nice to see the rumor being discussed in japanese mags

[princesirohi]

^^ now this is really interesting news. any speculation about launch date.?

[becham_79]

Honda CBR400R rumoured in Japan

Honda to fill the gap between the CBR250R and CBR600RR

Read more: Honda CBR400R rumoured in Japan - Motorcycle news: New bikes - Visordown

JAPANESE350cc road-going replica of its Moto3 machine

Read more: Honda CBR400R rumoured in Japan - Motorcycle news: New bikes - Visordown

[becham_79]

180mph Canadian speeder's bike seized

But Canadian Police can't charge him as the bike is registered in his mother's name

This dude had a near fatal accident last year on his Hayabusa when he hit an SUV at similar speeds and was hospitalized. Hence he was riding around without a license or insurance.
This apparently was his come back video with all the plates and screws in his body.