Heartland Honda

Could this SuperX season have any more drama?!

Wow! Another great weekend of Supercross racing, this time coming to us from Toronto, Canada last Saturday 3/26. This was the 12^th race of the 17-race championship series, and it followed in Jacksonville’s footsteps, yet again shaking up the points standings. At this point, with only 5 races to go, it could really be anyone’s game.

Right from the start, we saw French rider Fabien Izoird take the holeshot, and again James Stewart found himself on the ground before one lap was complete, taking points leader Ryan Villopoto with him. Last year’s champion, Ryan Dungey, was able to maneuver through the mess and take the lead by the end of the first lap, and keep himself there through the entire race.

With Villopoto and Stewart still playing catch-up, the finished the first lap in 9^th and 13^th, respectively. This, however, wouldn’t last. Stewart attempted a pass, the two made contact, and went down yet again. Stewart jumped back up to attempt getting through the field for a place, but Villopoto had to take a pit stop to address an issue with his bike.

James Stewart would be able to weave through the field to finish 4^th, while Villopoto was only able to make it up to 9^th by the finish. In the midst of those two hammering it out fruitlessly, Ryan Dungey held steady in the lead, warding off Chad Reed and Trey Canard, who took 2^nd and 3^rd, respectively. This was Dungey’s first win of the season, and 9^th turn on the podium. The reigning champion still has a lot to prove in order to repeat last year’s success, and he is sitting third in points now.

While Stewart and Villopoto can’t seem to keep their competitiveness in check long enough to finish a race without crashing, the other riders are making their way to the top of the points standings and shaking the entire series up. Some of those riders just happen to be on Hondas, in fact, including the current points leader Chad Reed. GO HONDA! Here’s a peek at the points standings going in to this weekend at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX.

Gas prices, AH!

Watching those gas prices rise got you breaking a sweat? How about hitting the open road and catching some wind, and anywhere from 50 to 114 miles per gallon. Sound better? It may be time to consider ruling the road on two wheels. Depending on your level of experience and personal taste in size and power of machine, I bet we have an answer. We’ve created a great starting point for you, and compiled a list of average fuel economies for current Honda lines. Take a peek at how much money buying a TOY could save you (that’s also a good arguing point if the old ball-n-chain isn’t immediately keen on the idea)! Just trying to help.

Keep in mind these are estimates. Where we could, the estimates came straight from Honda specification listings. Other estimates are based on “first rides” from various motorcycle magazines and reviews, or actual owner miles per gallon estimates.

Enter disclaimer:

Honda’s fuel economy estimates are based on EPA exhaust emission measurement test procedures and are intended for comparison purposes only. Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you ride, how you maintain your vehicle, weather, road conditions, tire pressure, installation of accessories, cargo, rider and passenger weight, and other factors.

Honda leads the industry in safety technology.

You may have heard about Honda’s industry-leading innovation and technology. There are many ways in which Honda strives to stay way ahead of other manufacturers, and safety is one of them. You can rest easy when you throw a leg over a Honda machine, knowing that years of research and only the best technology and quality parts were used to build it. Want proof? Let us count the ways…

Honda developed the Dual Clutch Transmission with automated clutch and shift operation to deliver the same riding enjoyment as a manual transmission with the convenience of an automatic, for enhanced comfort and sporty performance.

The HFT (Human-Friendly Transmission) is Honda’s new automatic transmission system for motorcycles. Until now, use of automatic transmissions in motorbikes was confined mainly to scooters. The automatic transmissions used in scooters could not be used in general motorcycles because of differences in the structure of the vehicle frames.

Electronically Controlled Combined ABS is the world's first electronically controlled braking system for super sport bikes. All levels of licensed riders can experience a new level of advanced braking performance on a large motorcycle simply by applying the brakes normally and firmly. The system is designed to electronically distribute front and rear braking forces to facilitate smooth braking without wheel lock.

Honda changed the industry standard when it developed production airbags for the 2006 Goldwing.

Based on an analysis of crash data indicating that many motorcycle accident injuries and fatalities occur when the rider collides with another vehicle, the road, or other objects after a frontal collision, Honda determined that the role of a motorcycle airbag should be to reduce the forward momentum of the rider.

This resulted in the development of an oversized, V-shaped airbag that offers increased stability as the rider comes into contact with it. Honda unveiled its production motorcycle airbag technology in 2005, followed by the release in 2006 of the Gold Wing Airbag, a production bike equipped with the world’s first motorcycle airbag.

While this is by no means a comprehensive list of Honda’s motorcycle technologies and innovations, it sure highlights why Honda leads the industry in its research and development. Honda only puts those wheels on the road that are fully backed by proven power and extensive testing. So what’s next? Well, we can never be sure until they are released, but there is a rumor going around that Honda is working on developing seatbelts for the larger touring bikes. Of course, we may not see them for quite a while (research and development, you know), and they would most likely be controversial at best. However, you can be sure that if Honda puts its name on something, you can trust it to be the best there is.

Supercross is heating up!

WOW, what a race last weekend in Jacksonville! Coming into race 11 of 17 for the season, we already had a points favorite in Ryan Villopoto, with James Stewart and Chad Reed trailing him by over 20 points. He’s also already taken the podium in 8 out of the 11 races now ran, and been in the #1 spot 5 times. James Stewart hasn’t let him get too far ahead, taking the podium 7 times so far, and grabbing the title spot 3 times.

Points Standings after 10 rounds (pre-Jacksonville)

Ryan Villopoto - 221

James Stewart - 195

Chad Reed - 192

Ryan Dungey - 183

Trey Canard - 169

BUT…. If you were watching last Saturday night, you saw how the mayhem played out. Neither Villopoto nor Stewart made the podium. In fact, neither one of them completed an entire lap in the final.

James Stewart won his qualifying heat, no surprise there. Ryan Villopoto, however, crashed in the first lap of his heat. He had to go the LCQ and, incredibly enough, crashed out of the LCQ race TWICE. Starting in last place twice after remounting, he can only make it back up to 8^th place before the end of the six-lap race, and does not make the main.

With Villopoto out of the main event, we could be looking at quite a race for the podium spots. They all line up; take off, and on the first straight of whoops there is all of a sudden a huge pileup. James Stewart finds himself at the bottom and has to limp off the track, to be taken away by stretcher on the medical cart.

The race turns out to be quite a battle between Trey Canard and Chad Reed (both Honda riders!), with Ryan Dungey staying just behind in third place. Canard will just hold off Reed through the final turn to take the win.

This has completely shaken up the points standings, and we can’t wait to see what happens this week in Toronto! Releases have been published stating that James Stewart suffered no serious injuries, and will be resting up and healing in anticipation of racing in Toronto. We hope he comes back strong in the sport of good racing, but we still have to say… GO HONDA!

Points Standings after Round 11

Ryan Villopoto - 221

Chad Reed - 214

Ryan Dungey - 203

James Stewart - 198

Trey Canard - 194

Daytona Bike Week 2011!

One of our Parts & Accessories associates, Jerrod, made the ride down to Daytona Bike Week this year. He went with a customer of his, and they had a blast! We decided to give him the vacation time to go, but insisted he share his pictures with us when he got back. Enjoy the show!