Ducati Q1 2013 Sales Drop 5% – Audi Dishes the Details

Ducatisti: do you want the good news or the bad news first? The bad news is that the market for motorcycles 500cc and up is down 17% worldwide for the first quarter of this year, which means the “good” news is that Ducati is only down 5% for Q1 2013. Not exactly the start out of the gate that Audi was hoping for its newly acquired two-wheeled brand, but what are you going to do? Western Europe is a mess, with Spain and Italy continuing to go down like a…well, you know. While we don’t enjoy the misery of motorcycle brands, the fact that Ducati Motor Holding is now under the Audi AG umbrella means that we get far more detailed quarterly and yearly reports from the two-wheeled marque, and we’ve got the digits after the jump.

Mission Motorcycles: The Mission R Lives??!

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.

Goodbye Husqvarna Nuda, We Hardly Knew Thee

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.

Q&A: Yukio Kagayama Talks About the Upcoming Suzuka 8-Hour with Kevin Schwantz & Noriyuki Haga

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.

KTM RC4 Concept by Luca Bar Design

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.

Q&A: Claudio Domenicali Talks Frameless Chassis, Sacred Cows, & The Future for Ducati

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.

Is Yamaha Using A Seamless Gearbox? The Data Says No

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.

OCC Coming Back to TV? — Universe Collapses in on Self

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.

Alstare Superbike Concept by Team Alstare

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.

Transcript: The Gay Question at Jerez

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.

2011 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 – The Fully Faired Z1000 Tourer

10/05/2010 @ 7:18 pm, by Jensen Beeler5 COMMENTS

Rumors have been swelling about Kawasaki introducing a full-faired version of its popular Z1000 street naked, and at Intermot today those rumors became true. Dubbed the 2011 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 (the bike is going by the Kawasaki Z1000S or Z1000SX name in other markets, which has lead other sites to misreport the model name for here in the US), the new heavyweight 1000 street bike uses the same 1043cc motor as the current Z1000, and remains largely unchanged from the Z1000 except for some modifications to make the bike fit a more touring-oriented segment.

Fitted with an adjustable windscreen and hard-mounts for panniers, Kawasaki hopes that the new Ninja 1000 will fill a sportier-touring role in the company’s line-up. Likely realizing that Z1000 owners like to log some miles on their bikes, the 2011 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 seems to be Kawasaki’s response to these adventurers’ wants, needs, and criticisms.

The three-way adjustable wind-screen and large full-fairing should protect Ninja 1000 owners from the wind blast associated with long-distance rides and also the heat generated from the inline-four motor, while the panniers and top box options should allow for owners to bring everything but the kitchen sink on the journey. Topped with a 5 gallon fuel tank, the 2011 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 sports a whole extra gallon of on-board fuel compared to the Z1000, which should come to much cheering from the touring crowd who have complained about the Z1000′s small tank (and rightly so). The riding position is upright, with clip-on handlebars rising to meet the rider’s hands. The instrument cluster is based off the ZX-6R’s and looks intuitive with an analog tach and digital speedometer.

While the Z1000 focuses on outright performance, the 2011 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 will come slightly blunted, with Kawasaki focusing on having a more responsive and smoother throttle response while at normal city pace. As such the Ninja 1000′s fuel-injection nozzles are slightly longer and fuel mapping has been redone accordingly.

In some markets the Z1000SX will also feature Kawasaki’s ABS package, which seems to be par for the course now from all the OEM’s and their street-oriented offerings. Kawasaki also has a number of accessories for the 2011 Kawasaki Ninja 1000, including heated grips. No word on pricing yet, but the bike is coming to the United States.

2011 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 Photos (US Market):

2011 Kawasaki S1000SX Photos: (EU and Other Markets):

2011 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 Technical Specifications:

Engine: Four-stroke, liquid-cooled, DOHC, four valves per cylinder, inline-four
Displacement: 1,043cc
Bore x stroke: 77.0 x 56.0mm
Compression ratio: 11.8:1
Fuel system: DFI® with four 38mm Keihin throttle bodies, oval sub-throttles
Ignition: TCBI with digital advance
Transmission: Six-speed
Final drive: X-ring chain
Rake / trail: 24.5 degrees / 4.0 in.
Front tire: 120/70 ZR17
Rear tire: 190/50 ZR17
Wheelbase: 56.9 in.
Front suspension / wheel travel: 41 mm inverted cartridge fork with stepless compression and rebound damping, adjustable spring preload / 4.7 in.
Rear suspension / wheel travel: Horizontal monoshock with stepless rebound damping, adjustable spring preload / 5.4 in.
Front brakes: Dual 300mm petal-type rotors with radial-mount four-piston calipers
Rear brakes: Single 250mm petal-type rotor with single-piston caliper
Overall length: 82.9 in.
Overall width: 31.1 in.
Overall height: 48.4 in.
Seat height: 32.3 in.
Curb weight: 502.7 lbs.
Fuel capacity: 5.0 gal.
Color choices: Ebony, Candy Fire Red / Ebony
MSRP: $TBD
Warranty: 12 Months

Source: Kawasaki

Tagged under: 1043cc, 2011 Kawasaki Ninja 1000, 2011 Kawasaki Z1000S, 2011 Kawasaki Z1000SX, full fairing, Intermot, Kawasaki Ninja 1000, Kawasaki Z1000, Kawasaki Z1000S, Kawasaki Z1000SX, Ninja 1000, official, photos, Z1000, Z1000S, Z1000SX

Comment:

Sean says:
October 6, 2010 at 8:49 AM
I must be getting old. I like this thing, and I’d be smart to ride one. But I’m of limited means, and I’ll be damned if there’s not a torture rack of a Ducati in the garage!
Isaac says:
October 9, 2010 at 9:57 PM
I like this bike as well Sean. It’s a nicer alternative to ‘Shamoo’ (Honda VFR1200). An d it has a bigger tank and weigh less. I’ll definetly have to tes ride one of these.
Tim P says:
October 10, 2010 at 6:50 AM
This will definitely replace my 02 VFR – when the time comes in about 5+ years. I owned a 05 Z1000 that was totally fun, and 3 other Kawis.
Carl says:
October 12, 2010 at 11:30 AM
It will replace my 2003 VFR. I was looking for a bike like this one. The new VFR1200 is out of my budget (price and fuel). The Sprint GT is great, but I’m looking for something more roary (hp and sound). The new ZSX is the one.
Alan says:
December 18, 2010 at 9:23 AM
I had not seen a bike that could pry me away from my Gen II FZ1 unitl now, but this could do it.

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