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.

2014 Suzuki GSV-R Spotted Again

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.

BMW F800GS Adventure – Germany’s Middleweight ADV

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.

Kevin Schwantz Returns to Motorcycle Racing – Enters the Suzuka 8-Hours with Team Kagayama

Former 500cc World Champion Kevin Schwantz has certainly been in the news a bit these past few months, mostly for his involvement and falling out with the Circuit of the Americas and the Americas GP, but also more recently for his comments regarding Dani Pedrosa — we also sat down with Mr. Schwantz in Austin, and the Texan gave us some sobering insight into the future of American road racing. As if all that wasn’t enough, Schwantz is making a return to two-wheeled racing, and has entered the prestigious Suzuka 8-Hours endurance race with Team Kagayama racing alongside Noriyuki Haga and team owner Yukio Kagayama.

Öhlins Releases a Semi-Active Suspension Upgrade for the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S – But, What’s Next?

An interesting development on the aftermarket side of things has graced our desks, as Öhlins has released a “suspension control unit” (SCU) that upgrades the electronically adjustable suspension on the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S so that it becomes a semi-active suspension system. Whhhaaaat??! So, if you’re the proud owner of a pre-2013 Ducati Multistrada 1200 S, and you think that your electronically controlled Öhlins suspension is no longer boss, now that Ducati has released its Sachs-powered “Skyhook” semi-active suspension pieces on its new batch of Multistrada sport-tourers, there is a remedy for your motolust.

2013 KTM 390 Duke – AYBABTU

11/13/2012 @ 4:48 am, by Jensen Beeler18 COMMENTS

2013 KTM 390 Duke AYBABTU 2013 KTM 390 Duke 01 635x402

Officially official now, there isn’t much about the 2013 KTM 390 Duke that we don’t already know ahead of the opening of the EICMA show. Built in India by KTM minority shareholder Bajaj, the KTM 390 Duke is a 373cc single-cylinder bike that shares the same chassis as the KTM 125 Duke & KTM 200 Duke.

Suitable for Europe’s A2 licensing system, the largest baby Duke competes well against bikes like the Honda CBR500R and Kawasaki Ninja 300, and thus finishes out the Austrian’s bid to control the small-displacement market.

Underneath the hood, KTM’s new lump features a short stork cylinder dimension (89mm x 60mm), which is good for 43hp and 26 lbs•ft of torque. At 330 lbs at the curb ready-to-ride, the KTM 390 Duke is a fairly light machine, though it still carries about 60 lbs of extra heft when compared to the 125cc variant. Getting Bosch ABS brakes, WP suspension, and Brembo brakes, the KTM 390 Duke has some nice premium parts, which should help differentiate it in this segment.

Having now three bikes in three key small-displacement categories, and all of them are very fetching…especially with the newly included ABS braking system. Expected to come to American soil next year, we still await pricing information on the 2013 KTM 390 Duke, but expect it to be competitive. The Austrians mean business with this machine, and it shows.

2013 KTM 390 Duke AYBABTU 2013 KTM 390 Duke 02 635x423

2013 KTM 390 Duke AYBABTU 2013 KTM 390 Duke 03 635x423

Technical Specifications of the 2013 KTM Duke 390

Engine: Four-stroke liquid-cooled, 4-valve
Displacement: 373 cm
Bore x stroke: 89 x 60 mm
Compression ratio: 12.6:1
Power: Bosch injection
Lubrication: Wet sump
Frame: Steel trellis
Front Suspension: WP inverted fork Ø 43 mm, deb. 150 mm
Rear Suspension: WP monoshock, deb. 150 mm
Front Brake: disc Ø 300 mm, 4-piston radial caliper
Rear Brake: 230 mm disc, 1-piston caliper
Tires: front: 110/70 x 17, rear: 150/60 x 17
Angle: 65 °
Trail: 100mm
Wheelbase: 1367mm
Ground clearance: 170mm
Seat Height: 800mm
Weight: 139 kg dry, less than 150 kg at the curb
Tank: 11 liters

Source: KTM

Top 5 Related Posts:

  1. Hell Freezes Over as the KTM 690 Duke Comes to the USA
  2. 2013 KTM 690 Duke R – Please Come to America
  3. Leaked: 2013 KTM 390 Duke – 373cc, 43hp, EFI, A2 Ready
  4. 2012 KTM 690 Duke – Cheaper, More Powerful, & ABS
  5. More High-Res Photos of the KTM 390 Duke

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Comment:

  1. wreckah says:
    November 13, 2012 at 4:52 AM

    i wants me a testride oh yeah!

  2. Tedd Riggs says:
    November 13, 2012 at 5:14 AM

    Nice bike, hope it comes to America !

  3. Johan says:
    November 13, 2012 at 5:50 AM

    Very nice. Take a good look at this, Ducati designers that are smoking I don’t know what these days!

  4. lumengrid says:
    November 13, 2012 at 6:30 AM

    I want one, like right now!!!

    I bet it will a cracker!

  5. L2C says:
    November 13, 2012 at 6:47 AM

    Wow.

  6. Ganny says:
    November 13, 2012 at 7:08 AM

    Most definitely my next bike

  7. Kaz says:
    November 13, 2012 at 7:49 AM

    Oh yes… mmmyyy prrrecccciooussss… I can’t wait to test ride this little ass-kicker and then buy one! Please bring to USA!

  8. John says:
    November 13, 2012 at 7:50 AM

    As soon as somebody starts selling track plastics for it, I’ll be buying two of these…

  9. Brett says:
    November 13, 2012 at 10:37 AM

    6″ of suspension travel with a 31.5″ seat height, weighs the same as a DRZ400SM (Suzuki’s Super Moto) and presumably costs the same but outperforms it in every way (except perhaps on the roughest roads)… I had that DRZ and it was big fun.

  10. Mitch says:
    November 13, 2012 at 10:43 AM

    … All your Bajaj are belong to us?

  11. Sham says:
    November 13, 2012 at 10:44 AM

    Loving it, was planning to get Duke 200 in India, now will wait for 390, hope it will come in another 3-4 months to market. And Duke 390 will be cheapest in India as its manufactured here, Duke 200 being priced at $2500 in India, hope this one will be within $4000.

  12. 76 says:
    November 13, 2012 at 12:08 PM

    Would love to see a race class form from this model.

  13. MikeD says:
    November 13, 2012 at 12:12 PM

    Loving the Small Displacement Arms Race…good times to be around.

  14. Peter Ha says:
    November 13, 2012 at 12:56 PM

    So cute: 2013 KTM 390 Duke – AYBABTU – http://t.co/65zqF5M3

  15. Peter Ha says:
    November 13, 2012 at 12:59 PM

    So cute RT @asphalt_rubber 2013 KTM 390 Duke http://t.co/65zqF5M3

  16. 守島裕輝 says:
    November 13, 2012 at 2:18 PM

    うおーぉぉお！390DUKEも発表されとる！http://t.co/8ZVfD3GK 125/200と同じシャシーで390cc44PSで装備重量150kgって凄く楽しいよコレ！グースみたい。

  17. David says:
    November 13, 2012 at 5:28 PM

    Please bring to the US, please.. Pretty please!

  18. Akiha(WF 5-13-04) says:
    November 14, 2012 at 12:43 AM

    うおーぉぉお！390DUKEも発表されとる！http://t.co/8ZVfD3GK 125/200と同じシャシーで390cc44PSで装備重量150kgって凄く楽しいよコレ！グースみたい。