Photo: Five – Two = Podium

Blurred to protect against spoilers, we’ll just leave things simply by saying that World Superbike’s Race 2 at Donington Park is well worth a watching if you haven’t already seen it. Decided right down to the last few turns, race pundits surely will be discussing the race and its outcome over the next week. Unsurprisingly, geography is playing a major a role in how things are being viewed. Though in a race where a number of questionable passes occurred, it is hard to single out this one event from the plethora of others that occurred during the race, but of course this one had the biggest effect on the race outcome. Click past the jump for the he said, she said, and of course for some slightly sharper photos.

Norton V4 Gets Shakedown Test Ahead of Isle of Man TT

More news from Norton, as the British firm has begun track-testing its V4 road race bike, in preparation of the 2012 Isle of Man TT. Focusing on the bike’s handling, Norton has been working hand-in-hand with Öhlins and Dunlop developing the bike’s chassis. The trio has devised the highly sophisticated “165 mph no hands” test, which supposedly checks the stability of the bike, though we imagine Health & Safety would frown upon it. With the bike’s Aprilia RSV4 motor putting out 195hp at the crank, and with the total race package weighing 419 lbs (195 kg) when it is sopping wet, the Spondon-framed Norton may not be exactly what fans of the famous marques were hoping for after seeing the very appealing Norton NRV 588, though it does seem to be a potent package.

2012 Brammo Empulse R – Was It Worth the Wait?

Launching in downtown Los Angeles, the 2012 Brammo Empulse R & 2013 Brammo Empulse broke their cover and officially debuted. Right off the bat from the designations, you can see that Brammo intends for the Empulse R to be a 2012 model, with the base model Emuplse coming out next year (more on that further down). As we expected, the Brammo Empulse R got quite the price bump after its 22-month marination, and will be $18,995 MSRP. Meanwhile when the Brammo Empulse becomes available next year, it will have a slightly more palatable $16,995 price tag.

Up-Close with the Erik Buell Racing 1190RS ‘merica Edition

While the EBR 1190RS race bikes were on the track, their $40,000+ street-legal counterparts were on display outside of the Erik Buell Racing garage. Rocking an American flag livery, I naturally took pictures of this show bike. Eye catching to say the least, nothing says “Made in ‘merica” better than a red, white, and blue color scheme, especially when it is laid over carbon fiber. And while I want to love this bike because of its nuances and outside-of-the-box technical design, I don’t.

Sunday Summary at Estoril: Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

If there’s one lesson we can take from Sunday’s race at Estoril, it’s this: “I’ve always said we know Casey’s the guy that’s the fastest guy in the world. Maybe over the seasons he hasn’t put the championships together, but by far he’s the best guy in the world.” Cal Crutchlow is not known for mincing his words, and his description of Casey Stoner pulls no punches. But given the fact that Stoner only managed to win the Portuguese round of MotoGP by a second and a bit, is that not a little exaggerated?

Up-Close with the 2012 Brammo Empulse RR

Brammo is back for electric motorcycle racing in the North American TTXGP series, as the Ashland-based company is set to defend it’s #1 plate this year with Steve Atlas on board ( Shelina Moreda is slated to join the team later in the season). Gaining a title sponsorship from Icon, Brammo arrived at Sears Point with some edgy graphics on the 2012 Brammo Empulse RR. Dropping roughly 35 lbs in weight, and gaining roughly 50hp over the bike they ran at last year’s season opener, Brammo is making most of those gains in its revised motor and power inverter for the newest Empulse RR.

Mea Culpa: The Media’s Hard-on for a Good Penis Story

As you can imagine, the bulk of the commentary, both from readers and from professional journalists, has centered around the absurdity of the claim, with even jokes being offered about how an aged BMW rider should be thanking the German motorcycle brand for saving him money on Viagra, etc. The situation reminds me of the McDonald’s hot coffee lawsuit. You know the story, right?. A woman buys a cup of coffee at McDonald’s, spills it on herself while in the car, and sues the bastards for her incompetence. True to litigious American form, the unthinkable happened, and a jury awarded this gold-digging woman millions of dollars. It is repudiating, and it stands for everything that is wrong with the legal system, or so we would be lead to believe — especially by the media.

An Addendum to Valentino Rossi’s Options for the Future

Never say never, but few are expecting Valentino Rossi to hang up his spurs at the end of the 2012 MotoGP Championship. Going out on a career low-point is certainly not the Italian’s style, especially as it casts a particularly dark shadow on a career that has enjoyed the bright-light superlative of “Greatest of All Time” from some of motorcycling’s most knowledgeable sources. Hoping to cast that phrase with an underlined typeface, and not with an interrogatory question mark, there is sufficient evidence to believe that Rossi will want to end his career in a way that will leave no doubt about the nine-time World Champion’s abilities. The question of course is how those final seasons will play out, and who they will be with.

Motorcycle from Japanese Tsunami Washes Up in Canada

Just a little over a year later, debris from the Sendai earthquake and its subsequent tsunami is starting to make its way across the Pacific Ocean, with the first bit major piece of fallout to hit Canadian soil just now being reported. Though the effects to the motorcycle industry were only a small portion of the overall devastation, for our purposes it seems fitting that the first sizable item to wash ashore is a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Landing in the Haida Gwaii islands of British Columbia, the Harley-Davidson Softail was discovered by Peter Mark, who was riding his ATV along the coast of the isolated beach.

Man Sues BMW for Causing Erection – No, Seriously

After a four-hour ride on his motorcycle, one BMW owner realized that he had a problem. Namely, a problem with his erect penis, which after some waiting would not subside. Now while most of us would cheekily reply that such a state is the sign of a good motorcycle ride, this San Francisco Bay Area native is not laughing, and has filed suit in the Superior Court of San Francisco County (CGC-12-520316) against BMW Motorrad North American and Corbin-Pacific. Saying that the motorcycle and its dealer-installed custom motorcycle seat have caused priapism, the man is suing for lost wages, personal injury, medical expenses, product liability, and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

SEMA: Mavizen TTX02 Unveiled – KTM RC8 Sourced Chassis, 130 MPH Top Speed, & Built-in Web Server with WiFi Connection [UPDATED]

11/03/2009 @ 8:49 pm, by Jenny Gun17 COMMENTS

SEMA: Mavizen TTX02 Unveiled   KTM RC8 Sourced Chassis, 130 MPH Top Speed, & Built in Web Server with WiFi Connection [UPDATED] Mavizen TTX02 KTM RC8 electric motorcycle 560x374

Mavizen has unveiled their TTX02 electric race bike today at SEMA, and as we suspected surrounding the Agni powerplant is a sourced KTM RC8 chassis.

Over-shadowing the 130mph top speed, is the fact that each TTX02 comes with dedicated IP access, on-board web server, and connectivity to a wifi network. A such, each TTX02 can be connected to via a wifi enabled laptop. More on that and videos after the jump.

Mavizen is calling the TTX02 a “laptop on wheels”, signaling their approach to electric motorcycles via a consumer electronics perspective. According to Azhar Hussain, TTXGP founder and entrepreneur, the consumer electronics perspective comes from the notion that “we are living in a click culture and connectivity is the key, across the board. Our approach was to find how we could make a laptop go racing. We think electric vehicles have more in common with consumer electronics than traditional automotive.”

The consumer electronic notion isn’t exactly a new concept, as Brammo and other manufacturers have taken the same stance in their business plans, but the TTX02 is interesting because it is the first electric motorcycle we’ve seen that incorporates wifi connectivity and an on-board web interface. As Hussain explains, ”by building on the open standards of the internet and the PC, we unlock the creativity and lower the costs of innovation for teams, enthusiasts and riders. TTX02 is a development platform that invites the potential for success previously seen in electronic hardware and software, into the automotive industry. We need to pick up the pace of innovation and make it real fast; TTX02 is a key marker in that journey.”

Again, the idea of motorcycles as a platform isn’t something new to this budding industry, but if nothing else it shows validity in the concept. The TTX02 comes with some other added street-cred, as it is based off the TTXGP winning bike: the Agni X01.

Mavizen, which is the TTXGP’s manufacturing arm, is being provided a set of RC8 chassis by KTM (editor’s note: although, in their press release Mavizen is very careful not to mention the words KTM and RC8, which leads to some interesting conclusions). Mavizen plans on offering a limited number of TTX02′s to potential EV racing participants, which will give them a bike that they can develop into a competitive and unique machine. As Hussain explains:

“The limited production bike, the Mavizen TTX02, gives potential participants a chance to acquire a bike that they can develop themselves to make it competitive and unique to them. Racing is brutal but at least with the Mavizen TTX02, the racers can start with a proven platform. Mavizen is about growing the grid by being an enabler by those who want to take part.”

The Mavizen TTX02 uses the rolling chassis of an FIM homologated and road legal bike. A world class manufacturer is supporting Mavizen by supplying direct from the factory, frames ready to be worked over by the Mavizen engineers.

Every owner will have the option to apply to their national vehicle licensing agency under various single vehicle type approval regimes. The Mavizen TTX02 will be available for delivery in Q1 of 2010, with a limited production of 50 units. Target price for complete bike with a Circuit Pack is £25,000. This will be a complete platform to take part in any national or FIM championship (editor’s note: *cough* TTXGP *cough*). Interested parties can express their interest at mavizen.com.

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Comment:

  1. SEMA: Mavizen TTX02 Unveiled – KTM RC8 Sourced Chassis & 130 MPH Top Speed – http://bit.ly/22WIJS #motorcycle

  2. Help A&R out, and Digg this up! – http://bit.ly/22WIJS #digg #mavizen #ev #motorcycles

  3. skadamo says:

    SEMA: Mavizen TTX02 Unveiled – KTM RC8 Sourced Chassis & 130 MPH Top Speed – http://bit.ly/22WIJS #motorcycle (via @Asphalt_Rubber)

  4. SEMA 2009: Web Server in a Motorcycle?! http://bit.ly/2cf6Zp (@Superdunner)

  5. tagger says:

    Uhg, wifi, laptop? who cares?
    The idea that eM/C’s are consumer electronics needs to have a power cord wrapped around its neck and drug around the entire isle of man.
    I mean, I get it, the tech isn’t quite able to wow yet. Hanging shiny baubles on it isn’t going to change that. I am pretty sure, with some duct tape and bailing wire, I could attach a laptop to my BMW, with wifi!

    “Yeah, that last turn a pop-up hit me, and I missed the exit”

    They took a $12k bike with 150hp+(?) and made it cost 4 times as much with 1/3 the power. There is nothing wrong with that(there might be something wrong with that), but don’t tell me I need an active laptop on a motorcycle.
    I don’t, no one does. Flying an airplane 150 miles off corse, because of laptop fiddling is sort of amusing. Flying a motorcycle off corse, because of laptop fiddling, is just plain broken spine, no amusing about it.

  6. Another all electro manufacturer bringing smart design to markets (w/partners!!) – Check more on Mavizen Motorcycles–> http://bit.ly/klGLw

  7. This motorcycle has wifi and a a webserver built-in. And goes 130MPH. http://bit.ly/WyfnD

  8. Luy T. says:

    With an SSD drive hopefully: RT @routerguy: This motorcycle has wifi and a a webserver built-in. And goes 130MPH. http://bit.ly/WyfnD

  9. dusting says:

    RT @Asphalt_Rubber: Help A&R out, and Digg this up! – http://bit.ly/22WIJS #digg #mavizen #ev #motorcycles test http://twitpic.com/okmkb

  10. RT @Asphalt_Rubber: Help A&R out, and Digg this up! – http://bit.ly/22WIJS #digg #mavizen #ev #motorcycles test.. http://bit.ly/1M4z8P

  11. Worried that your web server isn't fast enough? This one does 130mph (via @routerguy) http://bit.ly/WyfnD

  12. arix chen says:

    真正的移動平台,有獨立IP、WiFi連線、USB、web server、由Linux驅動、時速達130MPH的電動摩托車 TTX02 http://bit.ly/2cf6Zp

  13. キム兄 says:

    RT @Asphalt_Rubber SEMA: Mavizen TTX02 Unveiled – KTM RC8 Sourced Chassis & 130 MPH Top Speed http://bit.ly/22WIJS

  14. "Mavizen TTX02 electric motorcycle – 130 MPH Top Speed, Built-in Web Server w/ WiFi" (http://twitthis.com/w7moas)

  15. Phenix_Rider says:

    I would bet that “laptop fiddling” is more akin to tuning a Power Commander in the garage- not surfing the internet on the road. Still, all I need a motorcycle to do is run, turn, lean, and brake- well (and look good). Things are getting way too smart for my taste.

  16. Speedzter says:

    This is fantastic. How do I get a dealership? I love the whole concept. I can hardly wait to get one…..but not at $40,000 +! The price is going to have to be reasonable.