Mission Motors tweeted out something interesting just a moment ago, a link to a new website for Mission Motorcycles. Teasing there a photo of the Mission R, it would seem that the electric superbike that does competitive AMA Supersport lap times at Laguna Seca, is finally set to come to production. It seems we won’t know everything about the new Mission Motorcycles project until June 3rd, though we can speculate pretty accurately on what the A&R Bothan spy network has been telling us. Expect to see the Mission R electric superbike in street legal trim, honed even further than when we rode the machine back in August last year.
Stefan Pierer’s acquisition of Husqvarna continues to baffle me. You will note I say Pierer, and not KTM, bought Husqvarna, since the Austrian CEO used Pierer Industrie AG in the transaction as a means to help side-step European antitrust issues. After all, we can’t have Europe’s largest dirt bike manufacturer, nay largest total motorcycle manufacturer, gobbling up even more brands in the two-wheeled world. But, I digress. Developing three road bikes (Husqvarna Nuda 900, Husqvarna Strada 650, & Husqvarna Terra 650), with three more concepts waiting in the wings (Husqvarna Moab, Husqvarna Baja, & Husqvarna E-G0), it is with even more confusion that we learn that Pierer & Co. intend to kill the Husqvarna Nuda project and its other street siblings.
In case you missed the story last week, Kevin Schwantz is preparing to race in this year’s Suzuka 8-Hour endurance race. For the race, Schwantz will be riding on a team formed by Yukio Kagayama, who in addition to having raced in the MotoGP, World Superbike, and British Superbike Championships, is also a previous Suzuka 8-Hour winner with the Suzuki Endurance Race Team (also joining the three-rider team Noriyuki “Nitro” Haga). Releasing a Q&A about his team’s Suzuka 8-Hour entry, Kagayama-san walks us through how the team came together, what equipment the riders will use, and his outlook on the team’s competitiveness.
A single-cylinder hooligan-maker, the KTM 690 Duke is 330 lbs (curbside without fuel) and 67hp of two-wheeled fun, and we hope that the Austrians bring the KTM 690 Duke R our way as well. While we are on the topic of things missing from KTM’s American line-up, a decent supersport is painfully obvious, yet we can’t see the folks at KTM following the paths of other brands. That’s where our friend Luca Bar comes to mind with his latest concept: the KTM RC4. Using the KTM 690 Duke platform and its LC4 engine, Bar has designed a super-single full-fairing sport bike that takes the Austrian company’s “Ready to Race” DNA and applies it to an idea that is not all that disimilar to the Ducati Supermono.
When I sat down with Claudio Domenicali at the Ducati 1199 Panigale R launch, the now-CEO of Ducati Motor Holding was still just the General Manager of the Italian motorcycle company. Four weeks after our interview though, Gabriele del Torchio would leave Ducati for Alitalia; and Domenicali, a 21-year veteran of both the racing and production departments of Ducati, would take his place at the top of Italy’s most prestigious motorcycle brand. After reading our interview from Austin, Texas after the jump, I think you will agree too.
That Yamaha is working on a seamless gearbox is no secret, with Yamaha’s test riders currently racking up the kilometers around tracks in Japan. Recently, however, Spanish magazine SoloMoto published an article suggesting that Yamaha has already been using its new seamless gearbox since the beginning of the season. My own enquiries to check whether Yamaha was using a seamless gearbox or not always received the same answer: no, Yamaha is not using the seamless gearbox. To test this denial, I went out to the side of the track on Friday morning at Jerez to record the bikes as they went by.
After a very public father/son break-up between Paul Teutul Sr. and Paul Teutul Jr., a steroid-ring scandal involving Paul Sr., and finally a bankruptcy proceeding, it appears that Orange County Choppers is the impossible to kill multi-headed hydra of doom that we all knew it was, as the custom chopper shop is once again headed to the small screen and recruiting some talent, on and off the show. Looking for “someone who will work alongside Paul Senior, running the shop and helping build some of the best custom motorcycles in the world,” OCC says it will be back on television with a new show later this month. Please for the love of god, will someone give this man the attention he craves so dearly??! Or, just shoot us in the face.
We love us some concept bikes here at Asphalt & Rubber, and we have featured more than a few pieces of stunning design and imagination on our pages. Though, we can’t remember the last time one of these works of art were brought to us by a legitimate racing team, but that is what we have here with the Team Alstare Superbike Concept. A nod to the former Suzuki team’s return to the World Superbike Championship as the Ducati factory squad with Carlos Checa and Ayrton Badovini, Alstare has enlisted the help of designer Serge Rusak of Rusak Kreaktive Designworks to ink the shape of its futuristic Superbike concept, while Tryptik Studios handled the 3D modeling prowess.
If you didn’t watch Thursday’s pre-event press conference for MotoGP at Jerez, it is worth a viewing right to the end (assuming you have a MotoGP.com account). Building off the news about the NBA’s Jason Collins coming out as gay in a self-written feature in Sport Illustrated, my good colleague David Emmett had the courage to inquire about the culture and acceptance of the MotoGP paddock for homosexual riders. For the sake of accuracy, after the jump is a full transcript of David’s question, as put to riders Cal Crutchlow, Jorge Lorenzo, Marc Marquez, Andrea Dovizioso, Stefan Bradl, and Scott Redding, as well as those riders’ responses to David’s inquiry.
News that Suzuki plans on returning to the MotoGP Championship in 2014 should be old information for dedicated Asphalt & Rubber readers, and the Japanese company’s inline-four race bike was already spotted doing test laps last year by the eager eyes at Cycle World. Well the American print-mag has another set of eyebrow-raising high-quality photos of the 2014 Suzuki GSV-R to mull over from the Motegi race track, along with some technical insights provided by the venerable Kevin Cameron.
be careful, some of your most loyal followers (and avid riders) live in that “armpit state of america”.
Yeah, it’s bad here.
Roads and driver ettiquette get worse and worse here every day. Had a guy literally tailgate me (on my motorcycle) about 2 feet off my back tire and then had the nerve to flip me off when he decided to swerve around me because I was only going 5 over the limit during rushour. Scared the daylights out of me.
And don’t even THINK about moving here if you’re an allergy sufferer. Ohio is a big bowl and all that crap in the air just settles here.
- Don (Columbus, OH)
“be careful, some of your most loyal followers (and avid riders) live in that “armpit state of america”.”
Good thing they cant read
nothing like making the law totally arbitrary.
at least now officers have an excuse to give you a ticket when they’re pissed off at life…not that they didn’t before, now it’s just legalized
I’m from Michigan so I absolutely had to laugh at the armpit reference. Not that MI is much better but we all hate Ohio too.
However, I have to argue with one point of yours; the game of cornhole. I’ve been living in Vegas for the past 5 years and all my Chicago friends out here play that game. This is the first time I’ve heard it called cornhole though. Everyone here seems to just refer to it as “bags”. Anyway, this game is actually a damn good time. You can setup and play almost anywhere, which is really quite advantageous in a densely populated city.
I live in California, have an MV Agusta and a Ducati and have been riding and racing for 35 years. I’ve travelled the world and the country attending Superbike and GP races and consider bikes an integral part of my life. However, I am now removing your crappy web site from my list of sites I visit regularly due to the idiocy of your comments about Ohio. Good riddance, a-holes.
Ohio is only good for roller coasters. Unless you want to do that I’d recommend avoiding the state at all costs and efforts.
Dan…
Who cares about your MV/Ducati farkle…. What the hell does that have to do with the article???
You shouldn’t be commenting unless you have been road racing for “36″ years anyway…
The California residence sums it up nicely. Oh and I’m sure you won’t be reading this and replying back because as you say it, “I am now removing your crappy web site from my list of sites.”
Your an idiot and lighten up a little
~signed Cornholeo
Hmm…it looks like I need to clarify some things. First off, the tone of the article is supposed to be more joking than actual opinion. For those that don’t know, A&R was started in Pennsylvania (now in California), which has a nice running rivalry with Ohio (just go to an OSU vs. PSU game).
Actually, there’s a lot to like about Ohio, namely Mid-Ohio, which is probably the finest track in the area (although I’ll always be partial to BeaveRun myself). I thought the hazing of our former neighbors of the west would be apparent with article tags like “PENN STATE FOOTBALL RULES!!!” and “MAKING WEST VIRGINIA LOOK GOOD”, but I guess not, so my apologies on that.
Secondly, cornhole is an awesome game, but tragically named. It’s a staple of college football tailgating, and hot and humid summers of the area. I highly suggest if you haven’t played it, that you should…it’ll change your life.
Third, this law holding by the Ohio State Supreme Court should trouble all residents. I see where the judges reasoning is coming from, but it’s highly troubling that they still came to this conclusion. Since it affects all motorists, I’m surprised there isn’t a larger outcry over the implications it will have.
Breathe and ride safe. It’s gorgeous weather over 98% of the country right now.
I’m pretty sure the whole midwest sucks, not just Ohio. There’s a reason I left Michigan.
And if you don’t think it’s bullshit that a pig just has to say you were speeding to ticket you, maybe you should ride your MV Agusta into the bay.
Wow- This is almost as bad as a “what kind of oil should I use in my bike?” thread.
I tell ya, Orwells’ book “1984″ was not wrong, it is just taking a couple extra decades to get Big Brother all the way there.
Not a curprise that book is no longer on the school reading lists anymore.
Same law in California and other states… nothing ground breaking here.
WTF of the week. RT @Asphalt_Rubber Reason #389 to Stay Out of Ohio – http://aspha.lt/11z #motorcycles #cars #law
Really, don’t waste time trying to defend Ohio. There are two kinds of Ohioans, those that are trying to leave the state, and those that have already left.
Why the focus on Ohio? It’s just the first. You *know* this is coming to a state near you.
Won’t happen in California, we’re not that stupid nor timid to let that happen. The Officer is on a horse for Christ-sake… After I’ve ditched him on my bike , I’d be out of the state, before he could reach the telegraph to signal for assistance…
Stupid is as Stupid does…
Your Honour, that man is a criminal. Look at them clothes, I would know, as an officer of the law I see criminals every day…
Dan in CA-Grow a sense of humor. The article was funny. I actually chuckled a little when I read the headline.
I live in CA too and we’ve got plenty to be thankfull for, but also plenty wrong with our state and local government.
I think (but haven’t actually checked the statutes/case law) that VA has had a similar law for quite some time. I also picked up on the humorous tone of the article, no worries there.
You know, you might get out of the ticket this way:
“driver was going to fast”
to = traveling to
too = too much
Writing the ticket this way indicates the driver was traveling to the location named “fast”
As a former Ohioan I can’t help, but do a giant face-palm and think WTF? I propose this: In exchange for such arbitrary speed measurements by Troopers I think they should let Ohio taxpayers decide if they’ve paid enough taxes by letting them ask themselves if they’ve paid enough already. I mean if they can’t be bothered to look at their radar/laser gun then Ohioans shouldn’t be bothered to fill out a 1040.
Wow. Looks like Dan really isn’t coming back.
Good riddance.
Keep up the good work Jensen and crew.
I too live in California, having moved here from Ohio. I’m an excellent driver and the only points against my license got there because I was cited for speeding in… where? Ohio, naturally.
Whether it’s the armpit of America is debatable. But it deserves all the bad press it gets for its overzealous cops and ubiquitous speedtraps. It’d be a different if Ohio had an incredibly low highway fatality rate – that would demonstrate that speed limits were enforced for a good reason. But Ohio’s rate is only about average – higher than states like New York, New Jersey, and Michigan, in fact. So it’s clear: Ohio’s speed limits are strictly enforced with no regard for safety, but only as a means of raising revenue.
Writing speeding tickets is like shooting fish in a barrel. When you get a ticket you are breaking the law. It’s too easy to write legitimate tickets to select out marginal cases because of a “bad day.” If you don’t want to be the source of “revenue,” don’t exceed the speed limit! Life is simple that way.