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.
Meh.
The Honda link is to a post from September of last year, 2011. I am pretty sure that it is not at all related to a 2013 model.
Yet another disappointment from Yamaha. I guess tired old men really are afraid of change. New decals don’t make it a new bike. Just call it a 2009.4 model.
To be fair, the recession was one big pause button for the Japanese manufacturers when it came to their new-model road maps.
The first R1 of this style (meaning first R1 with underseat pipe) was a stunner. The styling changes made after they went cross-crank made it less so. Now, next to the lithe Fireblade and ZX10R, this thing just looks obese.
Hurray Yamaha……….NEIN.
I guess we’ll have to make do with this until 2014 , when we’ll get the Rossi developed next Gen R1 ? LOL.
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@Spektre76:
LOL, yeah, but u can’t blame them with the state of the economy……..then again, if they already have a new R1 and haven’t released it yet for economic related fears…I would hang all of them by the Sack.
What’s the point on letting a possible good tomatoe ROT in the field instead of giving it a fighting chance at the Supermarket’s stand ?
SAME THING goes for the R6.
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@Gutterslob:
Amen Brother…im a fan of the 04-06 Generation…the 07 refresh started the tilting towards ” The Fugly Side”.
YUP, she’s as wide as a barn. LMAO. Whe should call her Bettsy.
New Colors Only for the 2013 Yamaha YZF-R1 – http://t.co/8i2vlG5X #motorcycle
"@Asphalt_Rubber: New Colors Only for the 2013 Yamaha YZF-R1 – http://t.co/HI1XUbQq #motorcycle"
I have always lover R1′s, but despite being a bit on the heavy side the bike feels so tiny to me when I ride one. I am 6’2″, 200lbs and when I took a friends R1 out I looked like a Great Dane humping a toy Poodle.
The ergos felt way cramped for me. A pity too, because it is the best sounding I4 on the market.
@Jensen
Interesting that the recession caused pause for the Japanese makes while the Euros doubled-down and are seeing stellar numbers. I don’t have proof, but I’d say the Euro bikes are selling because the manufacturers are actually putting out new and interesting product.
@AC
The earthquake didn’t help them any either.
Practically every other nation can still produce great and innovative bikes except the Japs.
The UK is in a huge recession. Yet Triumph can. And are oping a factory in India.
Buell was spat out by Hog but bounced back.
Ducati are in a country svaged by Bellusconni for the past x years. They can. Same for MV and Aprillllla. Christ even though MV were spat out by Hog and as usual shot themselves in the foot they build a triple.
No one to copy anymore? Formula run out of interest, more horses, less weight, less fairing, different colours?
Yamahahahahahaha. At least Rossi is going back there then.
How about an M1 for the road?????
i dont get the hate. The R1 is still an awesome bike with a stellar racing pedigree as well.
is the crossplane crank not innovative? There is nothing else like it from the other manufacturers. Over the years they’ve added TCS, slipper clutch YCC.
people must have some short memories. I guess if they came out with some true limited edition models like the OW-O1 and the R7 then peoples perceptions might change.
You guys seem to forget that the R1 is still the top selling 1000cc bike in the US (where many of you are posting from, I believe). It’s probably got something to do with the Graves team winning in AMA SBK (or DMG or whatever they call it these days).
Problem for Yamaha is;
They a much bigger company than most of the European marques, so selling a few more units than the EU rivals each month isn’t quite enough to sustain profitability.
But I do agree that taking risks in times of financial uncertainty does pay dividends if done right. Best examples being Triumph and Ducati, I suppose. Yamaha are playing it way too safe/conservative for their own good.
I miss my 2004 R1….
@meatspin
I agree, all the liter bikes on the markets these days are pretty awesome and extremely high performance.
These days it really comes down to preference. I still think the R1 is the best looking (and sounding) Japanese liter bike on the market. I personally just prefer torquey twins and roomy ergos.
I totaly agree with you Damo and meatspin is right to.
The R1 realy is the best looking japanese bike and by far the best sound.
Yamaha is the italian under the japanese.
but im sure that the new R1 wil be the best bike ever.
truuzzz gua mesti bilang waw gitu…
haahhhhhhh,,,,,,,,,……….
I hear folks saying there is no change.
I have also seen on the Yamaha site that the ’13 has 16 valves, vs. previous year’s 20 valves.
Notwithstanding, they claim the same horsepower and weight.
Where is the truth hiding???