Grab some popcorn, because this video from Ducati North America is over 14 minutes long. Telling the story of Ducati at the 2011 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), DNA has put together a great video that really captures how special the racing is at Pikes Peak, and how gorgeous the scenery is of the Colorado Mountains. With Santa Barbara Ducati’s Carlin Dunne winning the overall motorcycle category on his dealership’s Multistrada 1200 demo model, Alexander Smith from the Spider Grips Ducati Team made it a double podium for Ducati in the 1205cc class. If you’re new to racing at Pikes Peak, or wanted a quick re-cap of last year’s race, Ducati’s video pretty accurately sums up racing on the mountain and the anxiety around last year’s race.
Ducati has announced its factory team for the 2012 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), and the Italian company has secured the services of last-year’s winner and Rookie of the Year Carlin Dunne as well as six-time PPIHC winner Greg Tracy. Ducati has also partnered with the Spider Grips team, who will help prepare the teams Ducati Multistrada 1200 for the “Race to the Clouds” on July 8th. For 2012, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb will be fully-paved to the top of the mountain, which will surely see the speeds of competitors increase, and lap times drop on the 12.42 mile long course that ends at 14,110 feet.
I was flipping through some photos from the 2011 EICMA show, and found these shots of the Ducati 1199 Panigale’s Superquadro engine. Unfortunately at the show, Ducati had its 1199cc v-twin motor behind a Lexan case, which created a bit of a glare, reflections, and of course had smudges from the touchy-feely Italian crowd. But still, the photos give a good idea of what’s going on in Ducati’s most-advanced production engine to date, and are better than just looking at the CAD renders. If you look at the shots very closely, you can almost see where the 195hp and 98 lbs•ft of torque is lurking inside.
In addition to testing the factory Ducati Desmosedici GP12 “Phoenix” this week at Sepang, Valentino Rossi is also trying out a new lid from AGV. Aside from the carbon fiber goodness, and of course the Rossi stickers (which add 5hp & $200), AGV’s prototype helmet sports a noticably pronounced rear spoiler. Tucked in behind the windscreen, it is obvious why the Italian helmet manufacturer designed such a large protrusion off the back of the prototype helmet, as it looks to be clearly helping the flow off the back of the helmet, across the rider’s hump, and down his backside.
While Ducati Corse is busy playing hide-the-Desmosedici at Sepang, HRC is all business in Malaysia this week, and has debuted its 2012 Honda RC213V MotoGP-contender. Honda isn’t saying too much about the RC213V, simply stating that the race bike is all new, but is also a continuation of the company’s design with the 800cc Honda RC212V. Testing the Honda RC213V over the course of last season, reigning-World Champion Casey rode the new 1,000cc machine three times in 2011, while teammate Dani Pedrosa swung a leg over the RC213V twice (missing one test because of injury).
You may have been misled by some eager journalists today and yesterday, if you saw a Ducati Corse livery-clad Ducati Desmosedici GP12 that some sites were passing off as the first shots of the “90% new” GP12. With the alleged new GP12 looking surprisingly similar to the aluminum-framed “GP0″ that was tested at Valencia, Valentino Rossi’s mechanic has now Alex Briggs confirmed that the photos taken were not of the all new “GP12 Phoenix” that the factory team will race this season. While the Ducati lords can taketh away, they can also giveth, and Valentino Rossi himself has posted the first photo of the factory Desmosedici GP12, and the bike is clearly different.
Zero Motorcycles has announced the full-commencement of production for its 2012 model line, which is expected to hit dealers in February & March of this year. First off the line was the 2012 Zero DS back in December, though the electric motorcycle company has recently started building the Zero S, Zero XU, Zero X, and Zero MX at its Scotts Valley facility as well. A story we broke back in November, Zero Motorcycles debuted its important 2012 electric motorcycle line up at the 2011 EICMA show in Milan, with the 2012 range being a substantial improvement upon the company’s previous offerings.
Getting a look at Dainese & AGV’s 2012 collection, Asphalt & Rubber was down in Orange County earlier this week to see the highly anticipated Dainese D-Air Racing leather suit, which has a four liter airbag system that helps reduce the risk of injury during a motorcycle crash. Dainese has been working on the D-Air Racing system for 10 years now, and after soft-launching the airbag suit in Europe, the Italian company is ready to bring the game-changing technology to American soil.
Us Danes, we’re a strange breed. From the culture that taught you how to rape and pillage, Scandinavia is making yet another contribution to the motorcycling world with this latest video. Featuring Danish Supermoto Champion Andreas Mikkelsen, we get a RoToR camera-esque perspective (this rig is actually home made) on the Dane’s practice session at the Als Supermotard Club in Denmark. It’s videos like this that are slowly eroding my will-power to resist getting into supermotard riding. Also, I don’t know who was in charge of the music selection on this thing, but my hat is off to him/her. I love the nightlife. I’ve come to boogie.
Our friends over at IndianCarsBikes.in were in attendance at the KTM 200 Duke launch in India this week, as the Austrian brand launched its somewhat bigger-displacement version of the popular KTM Duke 125. During the press event, KTM talked about the future of the mini-Duke line and its product roadmap for the emerging country, as well as abroad. With the Austrian brand confirming/clarifying that KTM would release a KTM 350 Duke for India in 2013, zie Austrians also confirmed that the KTM 350 Duke would be built locally in India by Bajaj, but would be exported worldwide — allaying fears that the KTM 350 Duke would be an India-only model.
Holy crap…..have yet to ride w/o a helmet in 20 years or so and sure do not plan to. Wow.
that’s a pretty startling ad campaign, and hopefully it works. that said, i think we all know that going sans lid is unwise, and living in a state where it is not mandatory, it’s easy to not wear one. i don’t feel the need to chastise those who choose not to, though. it’s a choice they make, and those of us in helmets look at those who don’t with the same judgmental disgust that soccermoms in SUV’s look at us on our bikes.
i don’t see that riders failing to don ATGATT are going to force us into some sort of nanny state, as helmets were once mandatory here and are no longer. i think we all agree that not wearing adequate safety gear is stupid, especially when it’s the helmet. maybe ad campaigns like this will make some headway where helmeted-holier-than-thous have not.
Scared Straight: Why You Should Wear Your Helmet – http://bit.ly/57jbsD #motorcycle (via @Asphalt_Rubber)
Wow, phreatic said “atgatt.” I haven’t heard that in years.
I feel that this campaign is the startling imagery that is necessary to drill into (pardon the pun) our youth’s minds the importance of all-the-gear, all-the-time. These quotes are the same rationale I hear too often from the squidly crowd. My running favorite is the Icon vest over a t-shirt and non-DOT bucket.
I, for one, would never be caught without proper protective gear. On any bike. Especially Kawi’s in NorCal. Hell, I even wear my lid when tooling through the pits. OK, maybe not.
RT @Asphalt_Rubber: Scared Straight: Why You Should Wear Your Helmet – http://bit.ly/57jbsD #motorcycle
Scared Straight: Why You Should Wear Your Helmet – http://bit.ly/57jbsD #motorcycle
Powerful message RT @Asphalt_Rubber: Scared Straight: Why You Should Wear Your Helmet – http://bit.ly/57jbsD #motorcycle
I lived in Vietnam for a few years. The Vietnamese say that motorbikes are their legs. If you have even been to Vietnam you would understand. I rode a bike without a helmet and on the day the law changed everyone started to wear helmets (including me). The locals hated helmets at first because of the heat in Vietnam but now they often say that if they haven’t got their helmet as they leave the house they feel naked. The death toll has been reduced and the law is a success.
They do still have many bad habits though, such as texting, smoking, and eating while riding plus many dangerous items are carried on bikes such as sheets of glass and gas bottles.
What is more interesting is that I was watching a U.S motorbike show on cable and couldn’t believe most bikers without a helmet doing tricks on the highway!! I like thrills but that is crazy !
My contention is that not wearing a helmet is peer pressure dressed up as personal choice. For about 20 years I’ve ridden BMWs, the norm for this community is helmets, always and generally ATGATT. I’ve known long time BMW (helmet wearing) riders who have switched to Harley’s and stopped wearing helmets. By the same token I’ve known ex Harley riders who switched to BMW and after a couple of months adopted the ATGATT norm.
This is an attention getting campaign.
Great motorcycle helmet campaign! http://bit.ly/7pCU3P
Great motorcycle helmet campaign! http://bit.ly/7pCU3P
Anyone that rides a motorcycle without a helmet is a complete moron. That said, there is absolutely no reason to have a law that requires wearing of helmets. If this logic appeals to you then smoking, period, should be illegal. Drinking alcohol. If you ask enough non motorcyclists then motorcycling is moronic enough to ban altogether. It is not the government’s job or charter to protect us from ourselves. Before some schmuck brings up the whole “if you fall we have to pay for you” argument. I do not live in a country that has social health care (yet) so nobody has to pay for me. If you support tax driven health care. Make sure you understand that it is not fair for the grandmother that lives next to you and knits for fun to pay for taxes to fund your motorcycle riding/racing. If that is true then how long do you think those pastimes will remain legal and un-bastardized.
We have universal health care here in Australia and nationwide laws requiring Helmets.
It’s an interesting point The Shrike makes and one that will need to be sorted out one way or another when you do adopt “socialised” healthcare. Over here you still get medical treatment if you are flouting the law but any compensation payments made are severely reduced. It seems to work.
That said, I don’t feel there should be laws requiring mandatory helmet wearing, if you cannot see the benefit in wearing one and are so full of yourself that you think you can evade all danger, it’s probably better for all concerned if you remove yourself from the gene pool as soon possible.
The point Shrike misses is that upon suffering a debilitating injury he no longer can provide for himself, and becomes a burden first on his family, as they reallocate financial resources to provide for his care and eventually for the state through Social Security Disability and Medicaid.
The situation for the typical American is that they have health insurance through their employer, if there is a debilitating injury or illness that prevents someone from working they lose the insurance. COBRA allows the individual to pay the group premium for 18 months, which is relatively expensive and of course the injured is not working. After the COBRA benefit expires, medical insurance needs to be obtained in the private market, but won’t cover that pre-existing condition, so it is off to the social insurance program called Medicaid. Of course to qualify for Medicaid you must exhaust your assets.
The state, acting on behalf of other citizens, has a very legitimate interest in assuring that individuals take reasonable measures to reduce the likelihood that the individual becomes a burden on the greater society, even if that means curbing certain ‘rights’ of the individual.
A couple of reasons to wear a helmet http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/banter/why-you-should-wear-your-helmet/
Look at what not wearing one did to Gary Busey after the curb-plant. Silly boy.
If you ride a motorbike, wear a helmet! Seriously, it should go without saying by now. (Looking at you #Chicago) http://bit.ly/5vGRj9
Scared Straight: Why You Should Wear Your Helmet http://bit.ly/57jbsD
RT @InterstateCycle: Scared Straight: Why You Should Wear Your Helmet http://bit.ly/57jbsD
RT @InterstateCycle: Scared Straight: Why You Should Wear Your Helmet http://bit.ly/57jbsD
Some "not so funny" pics…RT @Asphalt_Rubber: Scared Straight: Why You Should Wear Your Helmet http://bit.ly/57jbsD
Jim,
I have never in my entire life taken a handout of any kind from this government or any other. Legal or otherwise. Back when I worked for others and was laid off I did not even collect unemployment. If I drive a motorcycle without a helmet and splatter myself on the site of the road I hereby give permission to the US government to sell the remains of my bike to pay for having my remains fed to the sharks and fish in the Bay. If I where to get injured in such a way to not be able to provide for myself then my family and friends will help me through it without the help of the government. As far as healthcare is concerned, in my humble opinion the best thing the government could do to reform it would be to make insurance of any kind illegal. Remove the entire bureaucracy that exists between my doctor and I so I can just pay the doctor what it actually costs to take care of me. You will find that in one fell swoop medical care will become extremely affordable. For the extremely poor, or extremely lazy or completely disabled that simply can not provide for themselves there are countless privately funded and run charities that will help with their situation. Here is a sample along the same thread: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUKC9E04Sck do you self a favor and listen to the whole clip. You will see why.