Morning Reads: Wednesday, 20 February 2008

[mika]

TodayÔÇÖs Birthdays / Calendar

visordown.com
BMW F800GS & F650GS launch


harley-davidson.com
Harley-Davidson, Inc. declares dividend


Honda.co.uk
UK launch ÔÇô four models ÔÇô including a new Trans Alp


H-D is not the only cruiser manufacturer to court the female rider.
womenridersnow.com
OCC unveils two new production bikes


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Following considerable requests the Challenge Brutale will be open to all owners

mvagusta.com


amamotocross.com
Record crowd expected at Georgia Dome for Monster Energy Supercross


motogp.com: News

BMW Sauber F1
BMW Motorsport


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autoweek.com
Dare to dream: Champ Car/IRL deal appears close to done


wheels24.co.za
Renault may be sandbagging

Formula1.com
New Force India car to debut at Barcelona next week
Champions pay tribute to three decades of Williams


wrc.com: News


BMW Sauber F1 Team - Test in Valencia - Day one
02-19-2008 Press Release
Test in Valencia.



19th ÔÇô 21st February 2008
Day one ÔÇô Tuesday


Weather conditions: Wet track all day, overcast with occasional light rain.

Temperatures: Air: 11 ÔÇô 13 ??C, Track: 11 ÔÇô 13 ??C

Number of drivers participating: 2 (exclusive BMW Sauber F1 Team test)

Circuit length: 4.005 km



Robert Kubica
Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.08-03 / BMW P86/8
Test kilometres today: 25 km (6 laps)


Nick Heidfeld
Chassis / engine: BMW Sauber F1.08-02 / BMW P86/8
Test kilometres today: 89 km (22 laps)


Programme:
Due to the bad weather conditions the team could not run the first of three test days as scheduled. The team decided to save testing mileage ÔÇô limited by the regulations ÔÇô for future sessions. Instead Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica concentrated on system checks, collecting data with the F1.08 car running on wet and extreme wet tyres. Kubica limited his driving to six laps overall. Heidfeld did practice starts in the wet. In the afternoon the team conducted several practice pitstops under different conditions as a special training for the mechanics.

What comes next:
BMW Sauber F1 Team will continue testing in Valencia for two more days. Tomorrow again Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica will be the drivers.

londonbikers.com
KTM to present the production ready version of the X-Bow


bimmerfile.com
BimmerFile Review: BMW M3


jalopnik.com
Alfa Romeo 8C Spider production model revealed at Geneva


windingroad.com
Delaware license sells for $675,000

BMW Yachtsport


BMW Golfsport


BMW Oracle Racing


BMW Sport website

BlogRoll: some of the blogs I have collected while purposefully wondering around the internet.


Stuff: A place for everything and everything in its place, including stuff.


iht.com
The biggest personal producers of pollution are travel by car and plane


independent.co.uk
10 tips for ethical living




dPS.com
6 challenges for photographers ÔÇô Make the best of bad weather


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M.R. Traveler


Places 2 Ride Blog


www.biker-events.com
Finding the Good Time on 2 Wheels


Horizonsunlimited.com ÔÇô Newsletter

2008 International Rally
Gillette, Wyoming, July 17-20 2008


Mining The Website


A message from home, the Home Page that is.

NEW FEATURE: Picture This!
As inspired by the Forum, each month we'll provide a topic for photo contributions. Members are invited to submit one photo that best depicts the topic. Photos will be judged by MOA staff. Those selected will be featured in the BMW Owners News. Each photo must include a 50 word (or less) description, your name, member number, city, state. Topic: Where I keep my Owners News. Send your photo to picturethis@bmwmoa.org. The winners will appear in the APRIL issue of the BMW Owners News.



Threads worth following:

Photo Assignment:
Here is a link to the PHOTO ASSIGNMENT INDEX, with links to the various excellent Photo Assignment threads

Latest project: ÔÇ£Old CroÔÇØ the R-evolution

Diary of a Barn Queen

ItÔÇÖs time to switch the ratchet over to tighten.






TodayÔÇÖsRoadFood.com


Woot

Todays Woot
The Blog

Packer News: Packers.com, jsonline.com - Packers Plus Online


Humor

Over Heard in New York | Voice of the City
Sluggy Freelance
The Onion
xkcd


Bike Candy:

From: Faster and Faster


THE END

 

[PAULBACH]

Can detuned be retuned?

Good find here Mika.

DURBAN, South Africa: We're getting ready to ride BMW's latest middleweights, the F800GS and F650GS. Both bikes use the same parallel twin 800 engine as in the F800ST models, but, according to BMW, they have very different characteristics.

The F800GS is a mini-1200GS. A road bike with proper round the world off-road potential. It has beefier forks, twin discs and a 21-inch front wheel compared to the F650GS' more road-inspired 19-inch front. The 800 engine makes 85bhp and is tuned for a more aggressive, punchy response. The F650GS, on the other hand, aims to take over from where the F650GS left off. Confused? Well despite its name the new F650GS is actually an 800, it's just called a 650 to distinguish it from the 800GS and so people aren't scared off by its bigger capacity. The engine has been tuned for more mid-range at the expense of 14bhp peak power and it's all together more road-orientated.

I'm riding the F800GS and the F650GS the day after, I'll keep you posted.

Cheers

Jon

Link to Mika's find.

The 650s seem to live in the same limbo as the 800. But when/if these 650 engines arrive in the US wonder how long it will take cleaver moto magicians to turn a 650 engine into an 800 engine at minimal cost?

Right, supposed to be same engine as in F800S and F800ST but why would anyone live with less power if the engine would run at full power?