Still waiting for an announcement from Ducati that they’ve signed Valentino Rossi? So are we, and as we know now the delay of the worst kept secret in MotoGP is due to a gentleman’s agreement between Ducati & Yamaha. In exchange for delaying the announcement until after the American round at Laguna Seca (now slated for the Monday after racing at Brno), Yamaha is allowing Rossi to test the Ducati Desmosedici GP10 when MotoGP stops at Valencia at the end of the 2010 season.
UPDATE: Ducati will be unveiling to the public its 2011 Ducati 848 Superbike EVO, which will have a $1,000 cheaper “Dark” variant as well.
Get ready Ducatisti, a new Ducati model is coming in two weeks. To be launched at Laguna Seca’s Ducati Island during the GP weekend, Ducati is tight lipped as to what the new model could be. In our invitation to the event, we are told only that the unveiling will be “hosted by four very excited guests to whom this new model means quite a lot.” The unveiling will be at 1pm on Saturday, and we’ll be there with our cameras.
We’ve been expecting an electric sportbike from Brammo for over a month now, getting our first clues from our Bothan spies last week that the bike’s launch was imminent. Now we can officially say that the Brammo Empulse is the latest creation from the Ashland, Portland based Brammo, Inc. Continuing Brammo’s electric motorcycle offering, the Brammo Empulse represents the first production sportbike to be available by consumers. The Empulse comes in three flavors (Brammo Empulse 6.0, Empulse 8.0, & Empulse 10.0) with differing amounts of on-board power each variant.
From the official results of World Superbike’s stop at Brno, the FIM has once again determined that twin-cylinder motorcycles, i.e. Ducatis, will get another minimum weight reduction. Averaging more than a five point deficit over the last three WSBK events (Miller Motorsports Park, Misano, and Brno), WSBK rules require that twins be given another 3kg weight reduction, as the rules have been deemed to “favor” the 1000cc 4-cylinder motorcycles too heavily.
UPDATE: John Paolo Canton, Ducati PR Manager, has responded in the comments that Lock was last spotted slaving away in his office, and it’s business as usual in Ducati North America.
With all the commotion going on today, our last piece of breaking news is the developing shake-up that’s going on at Ducati North America. Presumably involving the departure of Ducati North America CEO Michael Lock, we’ve been told changes at Ducati N.A. are occurring at the highest levels. All day we’ve been unable to reach anyone at Ducati’s Cupertino office, so we cannot confirm the report at this time…hey guys, pick up your phones!
Let’s avoid the the “scoops”, “exclusives”, and “OMG’s”, and just say that Asphalt & Rubber has received word from a trusted source that Valentino Rossi has signed a two-year agreement with Ducati, that’s set to be announced on Monday…and boom goes the dynamite (sorry, we couldn’t resist). The Rossi/Ducati fantasy has been put forth for years, with the fervor on the subject reaching its pinnacle this season, as Ducati reportedly wafted a €15 million salary (almost double Yamaha’s offer) in front of the nine-time World Champion.
It didn’t take long for the other shoe to drop, and now it is official that Casey Stoner will race with HRC in 2011, after it was announced moments ago that the Australian would be leaving the Ducati MotoGP team. Perhaps the most unexpected development in this announcement is HRC’s intentions of keeping both Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso for the 2011 season. The likely result of this will be a two-man Repsol Honda team, and a second single-bike team, which is likely to be sponsored by Red Bull.
There’s a lot of pressure on Kawasaki for 2011. Team Green has exited MotoGP, and is completely un-competitive with its ZX-10R in World Superbike and World Superstock 1000. Looking to rectify the situation, Kawasaki has gone back to the drawing board with it’s liter bike offering, and have been testing the 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R at Suzuka for the last two days this week. With test riders Hidemichi Takahashi & Akira Yanagawa on-board, we get our first glimpse at the rumored 190hp/190kg Superbike taking laps. Video confirms that a normal firing order is inside the four-cylinder motor (sorry, no cross-plane here), but traction control is rumored to come as a standard option.
Motorcycle upstart Motus Motorcycles continues to press forward with its MST-01 sport-tourer, and has released a video that talks more about the development of their 1645cc gasoline direct-injection V4 motor: the KVM4. Balking at the advice of others not to build their own powerplant, Motus has teamed up with Katech to design an in-house motor for the Motus MST-01.
There’s so many things going on in this video, we’re not certain where to begin. Filmed on Mulholland Highway by the same fine folks who brought us video footage of the guy who crashed in front of a CHP officer, this new saga takes a different approach to riders exceeding their limits on city streets. Take an unsuspecting white Honda Elite scooter, a pair of Crocs shoes, and some invisible knee pucks, and you’ve got all the ingredients for a bizarre Sunday morning lowside that could have been much, much, much worse. While we’ll give bonus points for good dirt-tracking technique, be sure to check the slow-mo footage for the exact moment the rider’s shoes depart humanity, and dive over the cliff.
Cool bike, but overpriced RT @Asphalt_Rubber: 2010 Honda VFR1200F MSRP Set at $15,999 – http://bit.ly/6ukw6o #motorcycle
Well, I guess some of them Honda people are a bit smarter than I give them credit for! I mean, yeah, they didn’t become the world’s biggest motorcycle brand by being dummies! But, as I squirmed, waiting for the VFR 1200 price, my personal thought was that $17k was too much and would turn off a lot of people. If a Honda costs as much as a BMW or Ducati, I’m buying European! So, Honda comes in at $16k – high enough to make me complain, but not so high that I rule it out entirely, ahhh the planning that must have went into that!! Luckily, I have 6 months to roll dice (to pick a bike) before it gets warm enough to ride one here!
RT @Asphalt_Rubber: 2010 Honda VFR1200F MSRP Set at $15,999 – http://bit.ly/6ukw6o #motorcycle
2010 Honda VFR1200F US MSRP Set at $15999: A few weeks ago we announced that the Honda VFR1200F would cost near.. http://bit.ly/5Xqtpv
After loosing my 5th gen VFR (my 3rd) and my ST1100 (my 2nd) to a house fire I have been looking for a replacement(s). This gen of VFR had been high on my list since I was not a fan of the VTEC but had a strong desire for another VFR. What really turns me off here is the tank size. At 5 gallons this thing is in no ways a sport-touring bike. Touring just doesn’t happen with only 5 gallons on board. When going up against bikes like BMW K series, Ducati Multistrada 1200, Kawasaki GTR1400, and others in the same price ballpark you had better bring something equal, or greater, capabilities. I don’t see that here. Even ignoring the small tank other features that should be standard are missing (adjustable windscreen, side cases/saddlebags, heated grips, traction control, etc)
As outrageous as it may sound, Honda needs to undercut the competition on price with this one if it wants to be competitive. I predict there will be plenty of 2010 VFR leftover next year to keep their DN-01 stablemates company in dealers backrooms.
16k It will have to be faster than my Blackbird to make that price fly
Ya ya ya . Thanks Honda!! I bought the yamaha Vmax 2009 which has a current 2010 MSRP of $19500. Luckily I bought first year for $1000 under msrp (17999). Best bike ever made.. V4 engines just Rock. I will buy this Honda because of the V4 and the fact that I can get it serviced anywhere!! The nearest Duc dealer is 72 miles away. The nearest BMW dealer 105 miles away. I wonder how far away the district guru who approves my warranty issue is? Thanks Honda for investing in my fun. Thats why I will buy Honda. Just for the record I own two aprilia motorcycles. I love them. The dealers suck. They have not invested in the computers or programs needed to service the bikes yet are allowed to sell them? Yes thats a question mark.. One of the dealers is a ford dealership/aprilia motorcycle dealer?? I go in and ask questions when I am in a bad mood just to watch them scramble..lol.. MSRP isn’t everything is my point!!!
I second Mike’s comment about dealers. I have a Honda dealer 1/2 mile away and several others within easy driving distance. I am interested in a Mana 850GT. The only Aprilia dealer in my mid-western city of just under a million people doesn’t even have a service department. He has made arrangements with an independent shop. No Ducati dealer in town any more and the BMW dealer visits three days a week from another town 95 miles away to truck bikes back for service. The next nearest BMW dealer is one state away. So you dance with the one that brought you. Years ago when traveling across country I started keeping track of car and bike dealers in small rural towns. Ford and Honda show up where no one else sets up shop. Honda is expensive and sometimes their models go on too long and become long in the tooth. But they have always been there and will likely remain for years to come. Maybe their conservative ways make business sense. When American bikes begin to fade from the scene Honda kept the sport alive. And they do come up with great bikes every once in awhile.
That said I’ve seen some rather ugly and/or strange bikes showing up on Honda show room floors. Rune and DN-01 for example. (My apologies if I stepped on someone’s toes) My dealer claims they sell but I have my doubts. I do sometimes wonder how Honda does it’s pre-production marketing surveys.
16 grand?
That’s horrid for a bike… -_-