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.
A surprise addition to BMW Motorrad’s 2013 model line-up, zie Germans have announced a new middleweight adventure-tourer, the 2013 BMW F800GS Adventure. Like its larger predecessor, the BMW F800GS Adventure is a more travel-ready and off-road capable build of the recently updated BMW F800GS motorcycle. Featuring a larger windscreen, panniers, and a bigger fuel tank capacity (2.1 gallons larger, for a total of 6.3 gallons of fuel), the BMW F800GS Adventure keeps the same 85 hp, liquid-cooled, 798cc, parallel-twin engine found on the F800GS, as well as the same chassis configuration. Pricing in the US will be $13,550 for the base model BWM F800GS Adventure.
not a fan of the droopy headlight look that a lot of the manufacturers are sporting these days on their naked/semi-naked bikes.
ok spice up this 800 motor and make a zx7/8r already.
They can keep it. (-_-)
Same HUMPBACK look as the Z1000………..HORRID. What’s with the angry looking headligth ?
Why so much crappy xpensive body work to get damaged ?
Rectangular section steel swing arm ? WHAT’S THIS ?! A NINJA 250 ?!
No fancy schnancy radial calipers ? Again…is this a Ninja 250 ?!
W/e happened to flatter/lower tail sections that don’t make the passenger feel/look “in the clouds” ?
Sorry for the rant. I haven’t learnt to lower my xpectations everytime this time of the year comes around…or maybe im getting all crabby and old. LOL.
Tell me, does anyone over the age of 9 years actually like this “Transformer” bike styling? All angles and pointy corners (the better to jam you in the kneecap). Didn’t Suzuki prove with the B-King that this styling trend is NOT appealing to the market any more (if it ever was)? It seems like all the bike makers are in a competition to produce the most hideous headlight module on their “naked” bikes (CB1000R comes to mind. The front end of that bike is an abomination.) I think its time for all the major Japanese motorcycle makers (Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki) to “Clean house” in their styling departments. My beloved 1984 FJ1100 had excellent ergonomics, and a beautifully sculpted tank (that held lots of gas without an ugly humpback). Have the stylists learned nothing in nearly 30 years, except how to achieve ever greater levels of ugliness?
http://texascycleusa.com/_images/84_fj1100_3_600.jpg
You’re not the only curmudgeonly certified old guy ’round these here parts, Mike. I’m looking forward to the day that motorcycles don’t look like a bad Transformers sequel.
I’m an artist and if I was given a clean sheet of paper and told to come up with the ugliest motorcycle design possible, there is no way I could create anything as hideous as this or the new Triumph ADV bike. Kudos to the new crop of stylists, you’ve taken on the B King and won! Your angry insectiod transformer overlords will be so proud of how mega-radical you’ve turned out. Keep it up and you may achieve your goal of permanent blindness in all who gaze upon your creations.
So the Bug/Transformer look is not for you? When I show up on the Benelli CR, a crowd gathers. The positive responses far outweigh the negative ones. Not that it matters to me, I ride my own bike(s). To be honest, the Euro folks had this going on long before the Asians copied it which may explain why it gets panned in 2012. I think to appreciate the evolution of the species, one must look back to the Cafe Racer era when all we had were 1/4 fairings and some dropped bars to make our road bikes at least look like a real racer. John Britten made a georgeous machine with minimal body panels. Be different. Get out of the box.
@Paul McM
I have said the same thing a million times. The first time I saw the new z1000 I was like, “Wow! That thing looks crazy! Right out of an anime film.” But you know if you had to live with it, three months down the rode you go, “Uggh! That thing looks a bit too crazy.”
At least the FZ8 looks good, now if we could just get Yamaha USA to sell the small fairing version of the FZ1 here. ..
I have no idea what the Japanese manufacturers are thinking !!!???
Let’s make a smaller version of the Z1000, don’t come up with anything NEW….just make a smaller version of what you’ve already made????
This is why Ducati and BMW are kicking your ass !!!!
Bravo JoeD
It’s not that bad. It looks like the Ducati Streetfighter to me, albeit a Kawasaki version. Priced significantly less I would imagine…
I wouldn’t expect this bike to appeal to those use to full fairing machines, but to those of use that prefer naked and cafe racers, it will do.
I am sure someone will remove the rear fender, slap on an after market pipe, change the mirrors and lights, and the bike would display a better character.
Besides, looking like a transformer can’t be too much of a bad thing, those movies keep making so much money it’s ridiculous…
Nice looking.
@JoeD:
(O.O) How dare u compare a Benelli CR to this ? Have u look closer to the components that form your motorcycle….Sr ?
I’ll run over if i see u on the road…LMAO.
I’m confused… it’s not naked, and it doesn’t have fairings- yet the only visible engine parts are a glimpse of cylinder head, headers, and two case covers. Even the exhaust has a cover. What’s up with that? The insectoid/transformer look was sophomoric when it was introduced (years ago), and it’s still just as bad. I can’t imagine anyone who likes naked/cafe style bikes would find this anything but vomitous. If I were wrong, I’d expect to see the streets filled with young anime freaks riding these hideous monstrosities from Japan… but they’re hardly ever seen. So why do they still build them?
I think it will be a Europe ONLY Model for all we care.
Man, im starting to feel a little guilty…some of u guys are skinning the living s&*$ off of it…c’mon…is not “that bad”…is it ?
“Be different. Get out of the box.”
I think you have it backwards. With most bikes looking squared-off and angry these days, one needs to be very much IN the box and just like everybody else. There are an awful lot of bikes, but precious few choices. It’s reminiscent of having 200 channels of cable.
I don’t think it’s genuinely fugly, but neither do I think that it has “timeless elegance” going for it. Something like a Guzzi Daytona 1000 is timelessly elegant in my books. This bike might have some interesting lines going for it, but they are not elegant lines, IMO.
powerfully… :)
Of the current nakeds I think the FZ8 looks ok and Suzuki’s GSR750 (Euro only) looks great.
I think it’s stupid that they castrate all of these bikes with budget suspension and heavy weights. I understand trying to hit a budget. But Triumph proved with the Street Triple R that there is a big demand for adjustable suspension at least. It is only a few hundred more and it generates positive hype. From dealers I heard the R version is MUCH more in demand than the non-R version. With the FZ8, you hear of people putting R1 forks and FZ1 shocks on there for just a few hundred bucks so why doesn’t Yamaha offer it out of the box?
Sure you can get the liter bike but not everyone wants something so powerful and heavy. You shouldn’t have to screw around so much just to get adjustable suspension on the smaller bikes.
Hi all. Now I have a Kawasaki Z750 and I find that new Z800 awesome. By the way, Z750 is the best selling bike (not only naked) in many european countries. So, it’s just a matter of taste, isn’t it?