News Cycles: August 17, 2018

Aug 17, 2018

Welcome to News Cycles, Common Tread’s roundup of what’s happening on our servers and everywhere else. Every Friday, look for a collection of news, stories, and all things moto from around the web. This week, surfing a motorcycle, an obscenely expensive license plate, and self-healing paint.

Hadda lay’er down…

Moto2 racer Tetsuta Nagashima lost grip in the rain coming around Turn 9 of the Red Bull Ring, but he didn’t lose his composure. Or balance.

“The Ballad of Big Dave”: A life changed by dirt

Brett Smith of We Went Fast explores the story of Dave Coombs, a self-made racer, promoter, and legend of his time. All it took was a roadside sign: “Motorcycle Races.”

Better late than never: 107-year-old gets bucket list motorcycle ride

Viola Coleman of Kalamazoo, Michigan dreamed of riding a motorcycle once more, and local motorcyclists helped make it happen with a sidecar trip. Don’t let dreams stay dreams, people! If a motorcycle ride would mean the world to someone you know, see if you can make a difference.

Most expensive license plate — That's it? numberplates.com.au image, via theage.com.au

$700,000 for a motorcycle license plate?

License plate “1” is up for grabs to the public for the first time in decades. Is it worth $700,000 to own “without a doubt the most valuable, impressive and sought-after motorcycle plate in Australia”? I’d rather have a Britten, thanks.

Brembo brake pad — If you've got these pads with these numbers, Brembo says you need to get rid of it. DriveMag image.

Imminent: Another Brembo recall

If you’ve got a 2018 Panigale, 1299, or Hypermotard, Ducati is already inspecting and replacing these pads through dealerships. Other new bikes with Brembo pads will likely join the recall. If you don’t mind pulling your own pads, look on the backing plate for batch number 672. Pads from this batch didn’t bond properly, so you’ll want to get them replaced before riding much more.

Vote: Which X Games “Real Moto” FMX video is best?

Got ten minutes and a love for FMX? Six teams of riders and video wizards put their freestyle video skills together, and your vote decides the winner. Send it in by August 24.

Watch more.

2019 Kawasaki H2 — The revised Kawasaki H2 gets an unexpected new technology. Kawasaki photo.

2019 Ninja H2 gets "self-healing paint"

Self-healing paint? How does that even work? Kawasaki is offering that and a few more upgrades on the 2019 H2. Clearly they didn't equip my old KZ with it...

Big Lebowski motorcycle — Big Lebowski tribute bike. Smoked Garage photo.

Next-level fan art: Big Lebowski tribute bike

When a customer with a vision approached Smoked Garage with a plan for a Big Lebowski-themed build for the cult film’s 20th anniversary, how could they say no? Looks good, but a rug-covered seat would have really tied it together.

That's all for this week, thanks for reading! If you've got comments, feedback, or moto news you'd like to share, shoot an email to commontread@revzilla.com. Check back for more News Cycles every Friday.