Top six performance bikes you can afford

 

    The KTM Duke 200 came and created a buzz. With its distinctive bold looks and exposed body parts, the Duke is a very aggressive looking motorcycle. The machine continues its aggression with its power delivery with the 200cc single cylinder motor producing 25 BHP and 19.2 Nm.






The instrument cluster displays insane amount of data and with a price Rs. 1.32 lakhs (Mumbai), the Duke is very much value for money.




The bike that really caused storms was the Honda CBR250R. A Honda motorcycle, 250cc 4-valve, liquid-cooled motor (25 BHP, 23 Nm) and an awesome Rs. 1.64 lakh (Mumbai) pricing was enough to create a huge queue outside Honda showrooms.



Factor in the fantastic C-ABS braking system and the sub 10 seconds 100 km/h timing and the CBR250R instantly looks like a machine you simply can't miss.




   
    Yamaha R15 Version 2.0 is one of the most popular bikes amongst the youth of our country. The R15 is a mini fusion of the R1 and R6 and looks absolutely stunning.



The Deltabox frame and R-series 150cc motor ensure that the R15 is a track tool which none can match. Producing 17 PS and 15 Nm, the R15 is most happy at high revvs. Price - Rs. 1.20 lakh (Mumbai).




Royal Enfield's Classic 500 is a glimpse of the past but with modern mechanicals. The Classic flexes its retro styling with a modern 500cc, UCE, FI engine which produces 27.2 BHP and 41.3 Nm.






    Power delivery is addictive and the Classic is stable all the way up to its top speed of 130 kmph. What is most interesting though is the colours on this cruiser, which includes chrome as well as desert storm shades.




   
    The Karizma has been one of the most popular motorcycles in India. The recent ZMR avatar features crucial updates like full fairing, rear disc brakes, fuel injection, digital speedometer, etc. The ZMR has not really caught up on sales much but is a fantastic machine for long distance touring.



Power comes in from a 223cc engine which produces 17.6 BHP and 18.35 Nm. Price - Rs. 1.07 lakhs (Mumbai).



    The once upon a time fastest Indian motorcycle, the Bajaj Pulsar 220 offers 20.8 BHP and 19.12 Nm. The Pulsar 220 is sheer value for money at Rs. 88,000/- (Mumbai), which makes it so popular among the youth.



    With the Pulsar 200 NS coming soon, the Pulsar could well go numero uno in the top 6 performance motorcycle list.

KesHa to release 'illustrated memoir' next month

The book which is due to be released next month will feature The TiK ToK hitmaker's "thoughts and reflections" as well as her childhood photographs which has never been seen before.

"In less than three years I've gone from being the worst waitress in L.A. to living out my childhood dreams of singing my songs to people all over the world. Sometimes, it feels as if the last few years have encompassed a few decades," Contactmusic quoted the songstress as telling in a statement.

"You might have heard my voice on the radio, seen me onstage and on the red carpet, or in a music video, but that's only a part of the story. In these pages, I'm revealing a more complete picture of what my life is really like. It's not all glamorous and it's not all pretty, but it's all real

What's a Walgreens mean?

A Walgreens opening at Newmark and Broadway in North Bend. A Big Lots discount store opening across the street next week.

Is something attracting national franchises to our area?

Might just be a coincidence, said Joyce Jansen, economic revitalization administrator for the city of Coos Bay.

'I know that Walgreens has looked at the Coos Bay and North Bend area for many years," she said. 'They looked at several locations on Highway 101 at the south end of town. It all came down to the bottom line, what would it cost to make it happen."

She said that although chains are always scouting new locations, property owners also woo them when a building becomes vacant, as when Albertsons closed in the Newmark Avenue location where Big Lots is set to open next Friday.

'Responsible property owners do not want their property to sit around empty," she said.

Walgreens corporate spokesman Robert Elfinger would only say, 'We look for the best corners in America to build our pharmacies."

'We look at traffic patterns, vehicle and pedestrian, and demographics."

On Friday, a few curious customers were there when the doors officially opened at 8 a.m.

One was an avid Hot Wheels collector who was eager to check out the newest toy aisle in town.

He gave his name only as 'Randy," but admitted, 'If you print 'Randy' and 'Hot Wheels,' they're going to know who I am."

'There's Hot Wheels that are called 'Treasure Hunts,'" he explained. 'They might put one in the case, and they might not."

Hot Wheels collectors may be disappointed -- none were displayed on the toy aisle Friday -- but other customers will find plenty to interest them.

Manager Teresa Schaefer pointed out an express pickup kiosk at the pharmacy counter, where customers can pay with a credit card and then pick up a prescription without standing in line.

Another kiosk at the back of the store lets customers browse Walgreens' online site and order things not stocked in the store, such as fragrances, wheelchairs, and medical equipment, to be delivered to the store.

Fifteen employees roam the extremely shiny aisles, Schaefer said.

Walgreens makes a point of featuring local merchandise, and the North Bend store already carries both North Bend Bulldog and Marshfield Pirate garments, as well as a selection of Northwest microbrews.

Elfinger said, and Schaefer confirmed, that the store will entertain proposals from local manufacturers to carry locally made goods. If you've got a soap, a food, or a gift item to sell, give Schaefer a call at 541-756-0118.

The store is open for business, but a grand opening is set for Friday. There'll be promotional items -- apparently the word 'giveaway" is a no-no, but expect good things -- and the store will raffle off a bike. K-Dock, the North Bend High School jazz band, and the Marshfield dance team will entertain.

Shoppers can also look forward to the opening of Big Lots' doors Thursday, with that store's grand opening set for Oct. 19.

Pirates roll to volleyball victory

Marshfield’s volleyball team only allowed North Eugene to serve five times in the opening game of their match on Thursday, blasting the visiting Highlanders.

The Pirates won 25-5, 25-18, 25-13 to improve to 5-1 in Midwestern League play behind 5-0 Churchill.

“That’s the team we’re used to,” said Marshfield senior Brea Mosieur. “That’s the team we need to be. We really came together tonight.

“We have a great coach,” she added about coach Tammie Montiel. “And she really helps us push through.”

Marshfield set the tone early.

North Eugene’s only lead in the first game was 1-0 after a Marshfield net violation — from then on it was all Pirates. Marshfield took the lead 3-2 on a kill from Peyton Babb, then Babb had a marathon serving session.

She served 20 straight points, with Hannah Olson, Mosieur and setter Lauren McGowne dominating at the net with kills and blocks.

The Highlanders had a pair of blocks to make it 23-4, but Mosieur answered with a kill to force game point. Olson missed her jump serve, newly unveiled for the game, but North Eugene’s Janet Zornek also missed, giving the Pirates the first game by a wide margin.

“It was nice to start off as strong as we did,” Montiel said. “We didn’t get all six rotations in.”

The Pirates started off pretty strong in the second game, but started making little mistakes that kept the Highlanders in the game. Mosieur said they didn’t get down on themselves, though.

“We have a great crowd tonight ... and our seniors did a great job of keeping us pumped,” she said.

After an ace from North Eugene’s Ally Ganchegui narrowed the deficit to 21-17, Olson slammed a kill and Abby Clough followed with her own kill before North Eugene called timeout.

After the break, Mosieur had a kill to reach game point. Though Olson missed another jump serve, Mosieur blasted another kill to take a 2-0 match lead.

North Eugene jumped ahead in the third game, if only briefly. Babb served three straight points to give the Pirates a 5-2 lead, and after the Highlanders missed a serve, Olson had a pair of aces as she pushed the scored to 11-3.

North Eugene got within six points after a kill from Annaliesse Denn, but McGowne scored on a tip to put Marshfield back in possession. Babb again took over behind the service line, and Mosieur and Olson combined for a block as the Pirates pushed their lead to 21-10.

Marshfield forced match point after a North Eugene lift. A kill from Ganchegui and a miscommunication on Marshfield’s side of the net delayed the victory briefly, but Clough ended the match on a kill.

Mosieur led the Pirates with eight kills and a solo and assist block, and Olson had six kills, three aces and two blocks. Babb had five kills and eight digs, Moe had four kills and six digs and McGowne added 27 assists. Clough, a sophomore, had five kills.

“I thought Abby Clough played really well tonight,” Montiel said.

“The underclassmen really played well,” Mosieur said. “Abby had a great game tonight,”

For the Highlanders, Evelyn Mailander had 11 assists, and Zornek had nine digs.

Montiel and Mosieur said they were pleased with the Pirates’ serving — something they’ve been working on all season. They served much more aggressively Thursday night, with McGowne also debuting a jump serve.

“Lauren and Hannah have been kind of working on them in practice,” Montiel said.

McGowne, Babb and Katie Duell all served 100 percent.

“Our serves were good,” Mosieur said. “That’s something we’ve been working on.”

Even more important, Marshfield has won two straight matches after a heart-breaking loss at still-unbeaten Churchill last Saturday morning. The Pirates topped Springfield that same afternoon.

“The Springfield game, I think it was good to have that so close to the Churchill game because we could put it behind us,” Montiel said.

“We took a hit after Churchill,” Mosieur said. “To come back from it makes us even stronger.”

The Pirates don’t host the Lancers until Oct. 18, but it’s still highlighted on their schedule.

“I can’t wait for that game,” Mosieur said.

The Pirates have to worry about Willamette first, as they visit the Wolverines next Wednesday. The Wolverines sit in third place behind the Pirates in the league standings at 3-2.

The end of finesh a team very happy and enjoy.

Gayle storm blows Aussies away

 It was a massacre of the kind we'd always expected from the might of West Indian batting. After blitzing to the highest total in this edition, thanks to Chris Gayle's pyrotechnics, the West Indies unscrewed Australia's chase wicket by wicket on Friday night, winning by 74 runs to enter their first ICC World Twenty20 final. The upbeat Calypso Kings will take on the home side, Sri Lanka, for the title on Sunday.

Electing to bat, Darren Sammy's side posted a mammoth 205-4 as Gayle's unbeaten 41-ball 75 formed the centrepiece around which other batsmen pivoted their aggression. 14 sixes and 13 fours came from the bat as Marlon Samuels (26), Dwayne Bravo (37) and Kiero Pollard (38) partnered Gayle in brisk alliances against an Aussie pace and spin attack that appeared increasingly tattered as the innings progressed. The assault reached a crescendo in the final over when Xavier Doherty's left-arm spin was condemned for 25 runs, as Pollard rained sixes upon the crowd.

An untimely implosion

Australia's chase was headed nowhere from the start. They lost their first six batsmen with 43 on the board, and although skipper George Bailey blasted a blinder of his own - a 29-ball 63 including four sixes - none of the other batsmen reached 20 on a night of humiliation for the Aussies. Ravi Rampaul (three for 16), Samuel Badree (two for 27) and Sunil Narine (two for 17) starred with the ball, while Pollard too added a couple of wickets to go with his frenetic 15-ball 38. The Aussies were dismissed for 131 in 16.4 overs.

Leg-spinner Badree opened the bowling and drew first blood when he bowled the dangerous David Warner. Michael Hussey, who was always going to be central to the chase, perished when he was caught and bowled by Samuels. Badree struck again when he pushed one past the in-form Shane Watson, and Cameron White snicked Ravi Rampaul to the wicket-keeper down the leg side. Two more wickets - David Hussey chipping back to Rampaul and Mathew Wade undone by Sunil Narine - added to the mess.

The asking rate was nudging 14 when Bailey began his hit out, but it was a bridge too far, and when the skipper fell in the 14th over, it was only a matter of time and by how much. It could be assumed that when Australia began their chase they were still reeling from Pollard's final-over flourish in the West Indian innings, which appeared like a cherry atop the mountain of runs plundered by almost the entire middle order. Gayle, who faced just 41 deliveries, made them all count and featured in key partnerships with Samuels, Bravo and Pollard.

Gayle's knock helped Windies to a huge total.Gayle hits out

Sammy elected to bat and once again Johnson Charles deprived Gayle of the strike, before perishing to an edge off Starc that was taken by the 'keeper. Gaye had faced just 14 balls in the first nine overs, and it was Samuels who struck the first blows, carting sixes off Brad Hogg and Doherty and driving Cummins for four. Samuels was castled by a Cummins slower ball, allowing Dwayne Bravo to take over.

Meanwhile, Australia was starting to wilt under the attack. Wade let slip a full toss to concede four byes and Starc's wide swinging delivery went running down the leg side for  five wides. The gears shifted ominously in the 15th when David Hussey came on. Gayle struck a six and two fours as 19 were taken. Bravo was out after adding 83 in 51 balls with Gayle.















 



Gayle, who appeared to be troubled by an abdominal spasm, then got into his own. He reached his fifty in 29 balls as the Windies gained 150 in the 17th over, and he and Pollard struck regular boundaries against Watson and Cummins to keep the board ticking. But it was in the final over that the match appeared to slip irrevocably from the Aussies. Doherty came on, was greeted by Gayle with a six, and then brutalised for three more hits over the fence by Pollard, as 25 came from the last six balls. For Australia, whose Starc and Cummins had kept it tight at the start, the 73 runs leaked in the last five overs of the West Indian innings cost them dear.

NL: Nationals secure baseball’s best record

NL East champion Washington secured home-field advantage throughout the postseason by beating Philadelphia 5-1 on Wednesday for their major league-high 98th victory.

By winning their regular-season finale, the Nationals clinched top seeding for the NL playoffs and will open on the road Sunday at the winner of Friday’s wild-card game between Atlanta and St. Louis. Game 2 will also be at the wild-card winner’s stadium, before the best-of-five series shifts to Washington.

Ryan Zimmerman led off the fourth inning with his 25th homer off Cliff Lee (6-9). Michael Morse, the next hitter, doubled and scored. Rookie Tyler Moore’s solo shot in the sixth made him the seventh National with at least 10 homers this season.

Philadelphia finished third in the division at 81-81, ending a streak of nine straight winning seasons and five consecutive playoff appearances.

Braves 4, Pirates 0: Jason Heyward singled twice and scored two runs for Atlanta in the regular-season finale.

Chipper Jones added a pinch-hit single in his final regular-season at-bat for Atlanta, which hosts St. Louis in the wild-card playoff on Friday.

Cubs 5, Astros 4: Houston ended its National League tenure with a result that’s become familiar: a loss.

The Astros set a franchise record for losses in a season, finishing 55-107, one more loss than last year. The Astros split the final 30 games of the season, winning five of their final seven.

The Astros became the first team with 106 or more losses in consecutive seasons since the 1964-65 New York Mets.

Houston finished its NL tenure with 3,999 regular-season wins, 4,134 losses and five ties. The Astros are moving to the AL West next season, creating three divisions of five teams in each league.

Mets 4, Marlins 2: Ike Davis hit his 32nd homer and Scott Hairston got his 20th to help New York win its season finale.

The Mets (74-88) finished fourth in the NL East for the fourth straight year. The Marlins (69-93), touted as playoff contenders after an offseason spending binge, instead posted their worst record since 1999.

Rockies 2, Diamondbacks 1: Jeff Francis (6-7) earned his first victory in more than a month and Colorado used two unearned runs to beat Ian Kennedy to conclude disappointing seasons for both teams.

Kennedy (15-12) gave up no earned runs, striking out eight and walking none. He was 4-0 in his previous six starts.

Dodgers 5, Giants 1: Clayton Kershaw finished with a major league-leading 2.53 ERA, Adrian Gonzalez singled in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning, and Los Angeles ended its season a day after being eliminated from playoff contention for the third straight year by San Francisco.

Kershaw (14-9) allowed one run and three hits in eight innings, struck out eight and walked three in his 33rd start, tying a career high. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner recorded 229 strikeouts, one behind NL leader R.A. Dickey of New York. The left-hander became the first pitcher to lead the league in ERA in consecutive seasons since Arizona’s Randy Johnson in 2001-02.

Giants catcher Buster Posey went 0 for 2, finishing the regular season with a .336 average to claim the NL batting title. He’s the first Giants player to win it since Barry Bonds in 2004 and the first Giants catcher to do so. The last catcher to win the NL title was Boston’s Ernie Lombardi, who hit .330 in 1942.

Padres 7, Brewers 6: Chase Headley drove in two runs, finishing the season with an NL-leading 115 RBIs for San Diego.

The Brewers went 83-79, a drop of 13 wins after reaching the NL championship series last year.

Cardinals 1, Reds 0: Rookie right-hander Shelby Miller took a no-hitter into the sixth inning in his first career start and Matt Carpenter had a run-scoring single for St. Louis.

The Cardinals, who won 12 of their final 16 regular-season games, clinched the second NL wild card spot Tuesday and will face the Braves in Atlanta on Friday.

Cincinnati, which has won four of seven, takes on NL West champion San Francisco in an NL division series beginning Saturday.

Miller gave up a two-out bloop single to Wilson Valdez in the sixth to end his no-hit bid. He struck out seven, walked two and allowed just one hit over six innings.

Celebrities and their cars

 

SALMAN KHAN SELECTED IN SUZUKI  INTRUDER M 1800RZ.


    There is a new passion in Salman Khan’s life: a limited edition blue Suzuki Intruder M1800RZ. The enthusiastic biker recently added this cruiser to his enviable collection.


 

  The newest addition to his Suzuki superbike portfolio, the Intruder, is a four stroke, 2-cylinder, liquid-cooled, DOHC, 54° V-twin engine.


   
   
    Ajay Devgn likes to travel in style. The actor is known for his love of cars. But sometimes practicality takes over style. The actor chose to navigate through the Mumbai traffic in an i20. But once you’re used to luxury, travelling economy is tough. So he did the next best thing- bought a Mini Cooper. Now he travels in style and keeps his appointments!