Bike Devil’s Week on Two-Wheels: 17 August 20

Well, just as we’d dug out our mesh riding jackets, it was time to find the waterproofs again! We do live in a unique climate here in the UK…

Where else to start but the MotoGP race this weekend! If you’ve seen the race from the dramatic Austrian GP, then you’ll know exactly what we’re talking about – if you haven’t, then we’d definitely suggest doing a search on a popular search engine to see if you can find the clip.

Firstly, let’s just say how pleased we are to hear that everyone is to be OK after the accident. Whether you believe in luck or not, we’re not sure what else it could have been that kept Rossi from being struck by Franco Morbidelli’s flying Yamaha?! The determination and focus to then go on after the restart and finish fifth… wow. Having watched the action unfold again, and again, and again, we still can’t quite believe it all. The high speed accident was between Petronas SRT’s Franco Morbidelli and Johann Zarco on turn two as the two riders made contact…

At the end of the eventful race, Dovi crossed the line first – taking Ducati’s 50th MotoGP success – Mir came second on the Suzuki machine, Jack Miller third and Brad Binder fourth.

Talking of Brad Binder – we know that Brno was a few weeks ago not but we’ve had a two-wheel update since before then. A massive congratulations to him as he took the win – not only did he achieve KTM’s first MotoGP win, he is the first rookie winner since Marc Marquez back in 2013 and the first winner from outside Europe since Jack Miller in 2016.

We thought we’d seen the drama in Brno to be honest, between Pol Espargargo and Johann Zarco as they collided just before the race was half way through. There was some controversy – and we’re staying out of it – but ultimately, Espargaro ran wide and Zarco made a move to overtake, Johann was given a ‘long lap penalty loop’ and was unable to finish higher than third and Pol was out of victory contention…

Onto the World Superbikes back on the 9th August and it was a return to ‘normal’ as Rea scored the hat trick at Portimao, snapping up first place in all three races – he’s now ahead of Redding in the Championship standings by just four points. Razgatlioglu bagged second place in race one and SP race, with van der Mark taking third in race one and two. Loris Baz rounded out the podium in the SP race and Redding scored valuable points in race two coming second. The next WSBK round takes place at Aragon at the end of the month. The top three machines in the standings are Kawasaki, Ducati and Yamaha – so a real mixed bag.

Now that we’ve got all that drama about the way, let’s chat about something that’s not racing!

Since we last updated you, Bike Shed and Indian Motorcycle have launched a snazzy apparel range. If you want to look cool on and off the bike, then check it out. It’s been done in celebration of the Los Angeles Bike Shed venue that’s opening soon.

We all like free stuff, don’t we? With many existing riders – and new riders – choosing two wheels to commute on, Suzuki’s offering a ‘free City Pack’ accessory kit with all-new V-Strom 1050 purchased in August and September. It usually costs over £500 so if you’re in the market, then it might be a good place to start your search…

Talking of bikes…it’s fair to say that electric bikes are a divisive subject amongst riders, with many stating ‘they’re just not the same’…but could this be changing? 2electron, an electric bike tech firm, have been developing their ‘McFly system’ – to clarify, it’s not the band popular with teenage girls in the early 2000s. It’s a system that aims to replicate the characteristics of combustion engines – now, this got us pretty interested. While we don’t know the exact workings on how, basically you could choose if you want the electric bike to be like a two-stroke from your youth or a thumping muscle bike.

If you’re looking for a distraction from your Monday blues – how about checking out ‘The Seeker’ – that’s if you’ve not already seen it – https://youtu.be/eDxBGc9TD4c. Professional enduro extreme rider Pol Tarrés rides a Yamaha Tenere 700 like you’ve never seen before in a beautifully edited video which makes us just want to get out and ride…

Head over to our Facebook page too to check out the Behind The Scenes video from the first round of the British Superbikes at Donington Park too with the Bike Devil team.