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.

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.

Akrapovič Morsus Custom Motorcycle

05/09/2011 @ 1:05 pm, by Jensen Beeler4 COMMENTS

Akrapovič Morsus Custom Motorcycle Akrapovic Morsus 635x410

Akrapovič is known for making some of the finest sport bike exhausts on the market, with its carbon and titanium artistry gracing many a bike in the AMA, World Superbike, and MotoGP paddocks. Now we learn from our friends at OmniMoto.it that our favorite Slovenian motorcycle exhaust maker is getting into the custom chopper scene, and helping promote the company’s launch of cruiser-styled exhausts is the modern-styled Akrapovič Morsus custom show bike.

Built in collaboration with Dreamachine Motorcycles, the Akrapovič Morsus features an S&S 113 CI (that’s 1,852cc for the mertic-inclined) motor that pumps out 114hp through its modified Akrapovič exhaust pipe. The Morsus design appeases our modern-leaning design sensibilities, but true to its ethos, it’s the Akrapovič exhaust that really makes us drool over this bike. There’s something about an underslung side-venting pipe that makes us happy, and the Akrapovič Morsus is no exception to the rule. Photos and more after the jump.

Of course the whole purpose of the Akrapovič Morsus is to get us talking about Akrapovič’s new line of exhausts for Harley-Davidson and other cruiser-style motorcycles. While we assume the typical Akrapovič fit-and-finish will be present in the new design, it’ll be a hard proposisiton to convert the “America Fuck Yeah” crowd into buying an Eastern European product…you can lead a horse to water, and all that jazz. We wish Akrapovič well in that endevour, but for now we’ll concentrate on this Mosus custom, which will be making the rounds at local trade shows and venues this year.

Though we’re a sporty bunch here at Asphalt & Rubber, we can appreciate the different walks of motorcycling life. If we had to get a cruiser (whatever that means these days), we imagine it would be something like the Akrapovič Morsus. Some of the parts are bit too “custom” for us, like the mirrors and belt covers, but the overall shape and look is very catching. We like the disc-style wheels, which remind us of aero’d-out TT bicycles, and accordingly are made out carbon fiber discs (there are more than a few cyclists on the A&R crew).

We doubt we’d make it far on that seat, but that’s not really the point of the machine, which is of course to show off the Akrapovič exhaust, which has also been modified by Dreamachine. We’ve already waxed poetic about this, but we’ll give it another go since it aligns our ch’i in the right manner. Wax on, wax off.

Photos of the Akrapovič Morsus Custom Motorcycle:

Photos of Akrapovič’s Custom Exhaust Line:

Technical Details about the Akrapovič Morsus Custom Motorcycle:

  • Frame: by Dreamachine motorcycles
  • Engine:  S&S 113 CI (1852 ccm), 114 HP
  • Transmission: Ecoline  6 gears, hydraulic clutch
  • Primary: Zodiac 3¨ open belt, with support plate
  • Wheels: Alu – carbon by Dreamachine motorcycles, 26 inch, 3,5 front and rear
  • Suspension: front Showa radial forks, with 3 D triple trees by Dreamachine Motorcycles, rear Fox air
  • Handlebar controls: PT Radial
  • Brakes: Front 4 piston radial caliper, wave disc rotors, rear brake sprocket by Custom tech
  • Air filter: Akrapovič carbon end cap, modified by Dreamachine Motorcycles
  • Exhaust: Akrapovič custom titanium modified by Dreamachine Motorcycles
  • Color: Titanium

Source: Akrapovič via OmniMoto.it

Comment:

  1. MikeD says:

    And the point of having such a “thing” built was… ? LMAO, Custom Bikes, I will never get it. (-_- )’

  2. DeezToolz says:

    I’m not a fan of cruisers, but I’m a HUGE fan of Akro exhausts. Their Ti work is amazing, and this build just proves it. Whoever they got to snap those photos is worth their weight in Ti.

    Plus, let’s face it, you were all thinking about how amazing that woman looks next to that bike. You don’t even have to like cruisers to think that SHE and THAT FRAME are a HOT combo. Period.

    I wonder if she usually rides barefoot? Some helmetless shirtless dude from Pennsylvania on a kawi got caught barefoot once….

  3. Akrapovič Morsus Custom Motorcycle: Ah, the age old question of which is faster: a car or a motorcycle? We've se… http://bit.ly/jXDlvx

  4. buellracerx says:

    gotta love customs, especially their completely absurd nature…e.g. either the skinny rear tire or skinny broad standing next to it handling those 113 horses…

    +1 to Akro, tho. Way to diversify your brand & carve out your own niche of the largest market share of the motorcycle segment.