April 2009 - Asphalt & Rubber

Racing

Hayden Hopes for A Better Weekend in Jerez

By Jensen Beeler 04/30/2009 No Comments

Yes…we just wanted an excuse to post these pictures of the Hayden/Takahashi collision. While Nicky Hayden hasn’t had the best of luck in the first two races of MotoGP, on a positive note though the Kentuckian rider recently stated, “At Motegi I felt as though the communication within the team had improved, the work we’re doing together as a group is becoming more smooth.” Hayden concluded by saying he didn’t “even want to think about the possibility of it raining again.”

Hayden is currently 15th in the MotoGP standings, 37 points behind leader Jorge Lorenzo.

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News

Valentino Rossi To Do an Exhibition Lap at the 2009 Isle of Man TT

By Jensen Beeler 04/29/2009 2 Comments

In what will be his first visit to the Isle of Man, six-time MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi will do an exhibition lap at the start of this year’s IoM TT. Rossi will ride a 2009 Yamaha R1 alongside multi-time motorcycle GP racing world champion, Giacomo Agostini. Don’t expect any hot laps though. The pair will be parading around the course behind a safety car, and followed by a crew of as many as eight race marshals. A team of PR reps will be on hand to freak out in case Rossi crashes on the , and unable to compete in the following weekend’s GP race in Barcelona.

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Recall

KTM Recalls 237 2009 690 Duke and 690 SMC Motorcycles for Faulty Forks

By Jensen Beeler 04/29/2009 1 Comment

Ktm is recalling 237 2009 690 Duke and SMC motorcycles in the United States. The cause of the recall is that during use, the front forks could develop cracks, resulting in the possibility of the front fork inner tube separating from the axle clamp. This is due to an improper heat treatment of the front fork inner tubes from the factory. If untreated, this defect could lead to a loss of control and possibly a crash, which could cause injury or death to the rider or others.

Afflicted owners can take their bikes to their local KTM dealership where dealers will inspect and replace the front fork tubes free of charge. The recall is expected to begin during april 2009. Owners may contact KTM customer relations at 440-985-3553. Owners may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration’s vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236, or go to .

Source: NHTSA

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Banter

Motorcycles Prove Handy in Swine Flue Outbreak

By Jensen Beeler 04/29/2009 1 Comment

Motorcycle couriers in Mexico City are doing booming business with the recent outbreak of Swine Flu. With over 20 million residents in the Mexico City metropolitan area, many of whom too afraid to venture outside with the outbreak, there has been an increased demand of residents turning to motorcycle couriers to fetch for them their daily necessities. One firm is doing so well that they’re advertising for ‘brave and willing’ riders to keep up with demand. It just goes to show you that the end of the world will be a little bit more like Resident Evil 3, with motorcycles being the preferred mode of transportation, than Mad Max. We will miss the Thunderdome though.

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News

Bridgestone Apologizes to Dani Pedrosa for Motegi Tire Failure

By Jensen Beeler 04/28/2009 No Comments

Bridgestone race tire manager Tohru Ubukata has issued an official apology to Dani Pedrosa and the Repsol Honda Team for the condition of Pedrosa’s front tire during the Japanese GP at Motegi. As you can see in the photo, Pedrosa came back into the pits after the race with chunks of rubber missing from the tire carcass. Bridgestone has promised to carry out a full investigation to find out why the tire was missing pieces at the the end of the Motegi GP.

According to Ubukata, no other riders or tires were affected with a similar malfunction, which makes this an unfortunate incident for Pedrosa:

“We did see some problems with Dani Pedrosa’s medium compound front Bridgestone tire after the race. All the other tires that were used during the weekend, and this season, performed well so we can say this is a problem isolated to just this one tire, but of course we have already taken the tire to our technical center in Tokyo where we are investigating the problem in detail.”

Pedrosa could very well owe his 3rd place finish to that tire malfunction, being unable to pass Rossi after several opportunities. Its a good thing the official track car of MotoGP isn’t a Ford Explorer.

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Racing

Mission Motors TTXGP Entry Spotted at Infineon

By Jensen Beeler 04/28/2009 1 Comment

Only 45 days remain until the start of the TTXGP, and , has been spotted taking laps at Infineon Raceway (Sears Point to CA locals) in California, with pictures to boot.

It looks like most of the original CGI of the digital concept has made it into street form. We’re still not crazy about the nose section, but the rest of the bike looks like a candidate for a TRON re-imagining. There’s no word on lap times or other performance numbers, but it looks like Tom Montano was giving the bike a proper thrashing around the coastal track.

Source: TTXGP via Autoblog Green

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News

Donington at Risk to Losing MotoGP, WSBK And BSB In 2009?

By Jensen Beeler 04/28/2009 No Comments

Trouble has surrounded Donington Park since in began redesigning the track to make it suitable for Formula One. First, the track had to reschedule and postpone a number of events after complaints about the construction. Then the run off area between Macleans and Coppice was severely compromised when the new paddock access tunnel was being built. Now, Donington seems to have legal trouble brewing as the owner of the track, Tom Wheatcroft, has started proceedings against Donington Ventures Leisure Limited for unpaid rent.

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News

Ducati to Get New Modern Factory

By Jensen Beeler 04/27/2009 No Comments

It looks like Ducati will be moving out of their current headquarters at Borgo Panigale (just outside the old city walls of Bologna), and into a new facility down the road at Perscietana. The new facility will boast nearly 1.8 million square feet, with space included for events and exhibits for customers and visitors, along with a new restaurant and test track.

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News

Paul Sr. From Orange County Choppers Opens A Ducati Dealership

By Jensen Beeler 04/27/2009 6 Comments

It looks like folks at Orange County Choppers will try their hand at a different type of twin in addition to their already existing custom chopper line. Paul Sr. in conjunction with Ducati North America have announced that OCC will be opening up a Ducati dealership in upstate New York called Ducati Hudson Valley. The venture comes as OCC celebrates its 10 year anniversary, and will be one of Ducati’s first Ducati Retail Design Projects.

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Bikes

Ducati Desmosedici Documentary Video, Part 2

By Jensen Beeler 04/27/2009 No Comments

Ducati has released the second part of a multipart documentary on the design and development of the Desmosedici RR. While the first video was a little content light, this next installment should delight the engineering inclined. Those with a social sciences degree we suggest noding, as if you understand what the hell is going on. We sure did. Watch the video (broken into 3 smaller parts) after the jump.

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Racing

MotoGP: Motegi Race Results

By Jensen Beeler 04/26/2009 No Comments

The rain gods smiled down on Motegi, Japan today and provided a timely start to the second GP race of the season, after rainy conditions forced race officials to cancel the GP’s qualifying session on Saturday. The Japanese GP wasn’t without incident however, as several riders failed to finish the race due to various incidents and events. This is of course code for you to read further, and to help us curb spoilers for those who haven’t sat down with their Tivo yet. Needless to say, continue reading to see a full race report on the Polini Grand Prix of Japan at Motegi.

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