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There is no doubt in my mind, that absolutely every single one of those guys would have gone for it. I think what Bagnaia got wrong, was his expectancy that Alex would have caved. True, excepted that he made up the gap easily with Alex; that did not preclude that he would have been able to overtake; now Alex made that mistake because he was feeling the pressure. Who knows what would have happened. Apparently, he was/is. Nothing broken, but some contusions. Or this is what he wants us to know. Also, Francesco issued an official apology to Alex today, after clearly accusing him to have crashed into him on purpose. Alex accepted the excuses, but said what was said is not going to go away. I do too. He is the underdog in this story. Some riders have no luck, and he is one of them. Marquez just came by at the wrong time. I don't see Martin having any title chance with the Aprilia next year... they have not gotten it figured out yet. Same for KTM. They are still running behind Ducati. Next year, it will all about the supreme fight between Bagnaia and Marquez.

I wish I could, but I do not own a Windows computer; I have all the interface cables, I have installed the Mac-OS software on my Mac Book Pro, but I cannot open the port to communicate with the Lonelec interface. I have thought about purchasing a Windows computer, but given that my V11 now works perfectly, the need is less pressing. The Quota seems to be equally fueling properly. I was merely suggesting to meet with @PJPR01 who has the equipment working, so he could copy the map and post it.

You should get in touch with Mike Haven and ask him what he downloaded into my Le Mans as the 3k cough has completely vanished! He said he used a map tailored for my Staintune exhaust pipes. He did also install a new map on my Quota. From what I understood, he gets all his maps from a guy in Australia who is supposedly well known. I can't remember the guy's name. You are welcome if you want to upload that map from my ECU and use it on yours! The difference from before has been incredible.

The Italian staff of Moto.it says there should be a new rule introduced. When you lose the line and that gives the opportunity to the rider behind you to attempt a pass, if he gets in front of you before the apex, you need to give him the way.

Let's say that Francesco was not in his brightest hour on this one: -1) he was considerably faster than Alex Marquez at this point in the race, he closed the gap rapidly. -2) there were six more laps remaining to the race, overtaking in haste would not have made a change: he was too far to come back on Jorge Martin. Third was all he could do. He had time. -3) Alex clearly made a mistake and ran wide, but did not exit the track. It may have occurred to Francesco that Alex was going to resist? -4) Alex was third at that time, meaning that he was going to have the chance to celebrate his brother's race win by being on the podium! therefore, my dear Francesco, it is not about respect. It was obvious that Alex was going to fight tooth and nail. -5) Alex did not know that it was Francesco Bagnaia behind him. Gresini only shows the gap, not the name. For readability. -6) Francesco assured that Alex knew he was there. Given how they lean outside the bike in the turn, it is not completely certain. -7) All the pundits share the blame between the two riders. Alex made the mistake of running wide, he should have expected that whoever was behind him would have taken advantage and attempted to overtake. -8) This was the third collision of that kind for Bagnaia. He is fighting for the Championship while Alex Marquez is not. I think Francesco lacked clairvoyance on this one. 23 points gap to Martin is nothing, considering the win of the two races in a weekend gives you 37, providing you win twice of course. The collaboration between the Marquez brothers is exemplary. They really are joined at the hip in this. In any case, Misano will be a test for Bagnaia.

I have never purchased any specialized product if excepted to dress the leather in my four wheeled vehicles (when there is any... leather). My usual method is a bucket filled with water and dish washing liquid, and one of those big natural sponges. For the Guzzis, I use Motul shiner on the plastic parts. That's usually good enough. I also have some Motul insect remover. Once I have completed the soapy part, I rinse with a simple garden hose in shower position, and I dry the bike with a corded air duster. Not as effective as compressed air, but considerably cheaper and can be used for many applications. Thereafter, I use the "peau de chamois" which is also known over here as "Chamois". Some of the grime, such as where the Le Mans seeps oil is difficult to remove with just the dish washing liquid. The WD40 works but it is a bit excessive. The good people at Iron Power Supply suggested to use something named V100 "Total Cycle Cleaner". Does anyone know if this is just another cheap marketing product, or does it really work?

We've had nothing but that for the full week... I want to give the Quota some luster, but I want not to ruin it, as I am patiently waiting to do a photoshoot with it. That makes me think there was a topic I wanted to bring up on the forum....

To be fair, Marc Marquez is always strong on tracks that run anti-clockwise. Aragon is one of those, and he has won here every time he was fit. What I found of interest is that none of the other Ducati had anything to show him. I accept that Bagnaia was starting on the dirty side of the track, that certainly affected him. I mean, all GP23 and GP24 together were suddenly not at the same level. I don't expect Marc Marquez to be dominating like he did this weekend at the other GPs, but he has clearly shown everyone that he is still a force to be reckoned with. Bagnaia would have made it to third. What is mesmerizing is the missed opportunity from Aprilia. I am lost for words with Maverick Viñales.

If I had been Bagnaia, I would not have taken for granted that Alex had seen me coming. Especially when I am competing for the championship. The race direction said that the lack of options to be outside the clean trajectory was a contributing factor for both pilots in this case. I don't think it is a big drawback for Bagnaia, 23 points is not that significant given the number of remaining points available until November. Bagnaia has been very strong in Misano throughout the years.

@PJPR01 As predicted, with a tad more drama this time. Once again, the resurfacing of the track, coupled with a "dirty" side has conditioned the race for some. If you add the rain during the night, then tires were once more the center of a controversy. Martin has regained 23 points over Bagnaia which at least keeps the Championship open. I am interested to find out what will happen for the two races that will take place back to back at Misano, the first of the two happening next week.

I found a full review of the Helmet from the NL web based seller; I would only say that I will never purchase another helmet which does not integrate the sun visor inside.

I am not going to tell you who won the sprint race in Aragon, because nobody saw it coming (sarcasm)... There are some lessons learned, however, at least to me. The Aprilia had a card to play in this race, but as it seems to be the norm, those who were expected were not the incumbent ones. I always had doubts about Maverick Viñales mental strength; he knows how to ride a MotoGP, but he seems to always miss the mark when everybody feels that he should have not. If anybody was beginning to doubt, Pedro Acosta has shown that he can be trusted, or was it because of Aragon? It is also good to see that both Gresini riders did well. I expect the race to be a bis repetita placent of the Sprint. No suspense!

@igor I recently replaced mine on my 2004 V11. The one sold by "Simon auto shop" looks identical to the Valeo original I purchased here in the USA for a lot more than 50 EUR... Now, telling if an equipment will fit just looking at a photo is impossible. You should be able to return it if it does not fit; but their webpage says it should fit. Check the end of the thread:

Seems like Marc Marquez has decided that he will resume with victory at Aragon this weekend.

I did not take it as such; we are all civilized on this forum... or we try to be! I was quoting from personal experience, because when I was young, my father thought it would be important to speak English, and I spent each and every summer vacation in the United Kingdom hosted by UK families, while all my friends enjoyed the French Riviera. Later on, I began my career as a logging engineer; the oilfield was dominated by the US at the time, most drilling companies were from the US. Being French meant automatically being taken as a lesser individual, until you proved them wrong. I have been sneered upon, but in my line of work, you grow a thick skin, or you don't last. It got better with time; but hostility based on your country of citizenship is not pleasant to deal with.

Second fiddlers move on up.... As Nakagami ends his MotoGP career, Thai hopeful Somkat Chantra takes his place. This maybe a clue to why Ai Ogura was picked over Roberts for the Trackhouse Aprilia. The Asian market is most likely an easier target than the USA one; at least it appears to me. Joe Roberts may not be the ideal pilot to captivate US audiences. I think they need more than one guy. Such as when Colin Edwards, Ben Spies, and of course Nicky Hayden were in the roster. They probably need names which are already established in the AMA Superbike championship to get a jump start. Guys like Josh Herrin, but at 34, he is already too old.

That's new to me. Since ever, the English have disliked the French... I was always under the impression there was some special relation between the US and UK; after all, the first states were mainly populated by Britons... That being said, it seem that Loris Baz and Josh Herrin are having a bromance being Ducati partners in Moto America 2024. They have hit it off on and off track... I will never understand how can Loris 6.4' can fit on a racing motorcycle. Most successful pilots are relatively small.

Joe Roberts will not integrate MotoGP on the Trackhouse Aprilia finally. Ai Ogura was chosen instead. It would be interesting to understand what was/were the reason/reasons that motivated the decision. Joe Roberts is in competition for the Moto2 title this year. So does Ai Ogura. Given that Trackhouse should privilege an American rider to entice American audience into the sport, it was an unexpected choice to take Ogura. Joe Roberts will be 28 in 2025, which will be a factor against getting a MotoGP ride in the next recruiting round since contracts are typically lasting 2 years, and 30 years old is a soft turn around point for rider performance.

It ends on November 1st each year, and normally starts on March 1st. This tour year, they offered the opportunity to get your numbered tour placard at an event gathering in February. Thus, you have plenty of time to do the 50 stops at your own pace. Some participants do it in one single trip. I wish I could spend more time on my runs, but I usually only do one overnight max. That said, this year, I will tentatively spend two nights because I am going to do the stops in the Texas Panhandle; this is going to be the longest run for this season. Here's the link to the tour's website: https://motorcyclegrandtouroftexas.com/ For 2025, the tour director said he is going to introduce a second set of stops in what used to be the former Texas boundaries. Imagine if someone was to do that using what used to be Louisiana initially.... the stops would run all the way up to Quebec in Canada... Actually, this is an idea. Maybe we should copy the Texas Tour to other States? it seems to be gathering momentum since this year he has introduced a numerus clausus for the participation. I don't think it was reached. This year, there are 1082 participants! at the time I am typing this, there are 30 who did the 50 stops. I have done 47.

I did post about motorcycle Taxi rides in Paris (France) before, but it seems that Uber is offering that option too now; Uber is offering that service in Buenos Aires at least. I would love to have the opportunity to do that here. Once line splitting in traffic jams gets approved. Obviously, it is a dream that will never become reality. Mainly because of the climate and probably the liability. I have been in many places where you can easily hitch a ride on a motorcycle inside congested cities, which we know is everywhere in the world. In Asia, it is very common to do that.

The motorcycle grand tour of Texas; 50 stops, each year different. I will soon know Texas like the back of my hand...

KTM is having a rough landing, suddenly; At the beginning of the 2024 season, Pedro Acosta incredible achievement seemed to be at the level of the expectations. Although the rest of the team seemed to be the true reflection of their competition state. Following the Austrian GP, with Brad Binder best KTM arriving at the 5th place, but with an 18 seconds gap to the top, there is not much to feel positive about. There are not struggling as much as the Japanese brands, but they had greater expectations to be able to compete for the championship this year. I am wondering if Ducati will keep dominating the field up until 2027, when the new rules come into play?

There is maybe a major factor that I should not forget; The heat and humidity here in the Bayou city. When I left home last Saturday, 5:00 am, just the time to put on my helmet and gloves outside, and you are already sweaty! without the sun pounding... I can't imagine going to work every day, and needing to take a shower and change before getting set. This week we are again under heat advisory, with temperatures at 104 degF;

I am yet to adjust to having more than one motorcycle. It is quite obvious that I will be riding the Quota much more than the V11; at least at the beginning, until I settle for what I prefer to do with one as opposed to the other. That said, even if I do not have to go anywhere, I always try to go for a little ride. Most of the time, I go to Brenham, or Navasota, or even to Iron Power Supply dealership. They have a lounge where I can sip coffee and look at Triumph motorcycles. When I lived in Paris, we would meet at La Bastille on Friday evenings, and go for a ride. But on week days, we would always congregate at a friendly bar. Just a meeting point where would end up our work day, before going back to our respective families. I don't see much of that here, so far. There was that Café named Wolfsmith of the Heights here in Houston, but most of the people there do not ride bikes. I went a couple of times, and I am the only one motorcycling there.