Photo: Five – Two = Podium

Blurred to protect against spoilers, we’ll just leave things simply by saying that World Superbike’s Race 2 at Donington Park is well worth a watching if you haven’t already seen it. Decided right down to the last few turns, race pundits surely will be discussing the race and its outcome over the next week. Unsurprisingly, geography is playing a major a role in how things are being viewed. Though in a race where a number of questionable passes occurred, it is hard to single out this one event from the plethora of others that occurred during the race, but of course this one had the biggest effect on the race outcome. Click past the jump for the he said, she said, and of course for some slightly sharper photos.

Norton V4 Gets Shakedown Test Ahead of Isle of Man TT

More news from Norton, as the British firm has begun track-testing its V4 road race bike, in preparation of the 2012 Isle of Man TT. Focusing on the bike’s handling, Norton has been working hand-in-hand with Öhlins and Dunlop developing the bike’s chassis. The trio has devised the highly sophisticated “165 mph no hands” test, which supposedly checks the stability of the bike, though we imagine Health & Safety would frown upon it. With the bike’s Aprilia RSV4 motor putting out 195hp at the crank, and with the total race package weighing 419 lbs (195 kg) when it is sopping wet, the Spondon-framed Norton may not be exactly what fans of the famous marques were hoping for after seeing the very appealing Norton NRV 588, though it does seem to be a potent package.

2012 Brammo Empulse R – Was It Worth the Wait?

Launching in downtown Los Angeles, the 2012 Brammo Empulse R & 2013 Brammo Empulse broke their cover and officially debuted. Right off the bat from the designations, you can see that Brammo intends for the Empulse R to be a 2012 model, with the base model Emuplse coming out next year (more on that further down). As we expected, the Brammo Empulse R got quite the price bump after its 22-month marination, and will be $18,995 MSRP. Meanwhile when the Brammo Empulse becomes available next year, it will have a slightly more palatable $16,995 price tag.

Up-Close with the Erik Buell Racing 1190RS ‘merica Edition

While the EBR 1190RS race bikes were on the track, their $40,000+ street-legal counterparts were on display outside of the Erik Buell Racing garage. Rocking an American flag livery, I naturally took pictures of this show bike. Eye catching to say the least, nothing says “Made in ‘merica” better than a red, white, and blue color scheme, especially when it is laid over carbon fiber. And while I want to love this bike because of its nuances and outside-of-the-box technical design, I don’t.

Sunday Summary at Estoril: Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

If there’s one lesson we can take from Sunday’s race at Estoril, it’s this: “I’ve always said we know Casey’s the guy that’s the fastest guy in the world. Maybe over the seasons he hasn’t put the championships together, but by far he’s the best guy in the world.” Cal Crutchlow is not known for mincing his words, and his description of Casey Stoner pulls no punches. But given the fact that Stoner only managed to win the Portuguese round of MotoGP by a second and a bit, is that not a little exaggerated?

Up-Close with the 2012 Brammo Empulse RR

Brammo is back for electric motorcycle racing in the North American TTXGP series, as the Ashland-based company is set to defend it’s #1 plate this year with Steve Atlas on board ( Shelina Moreda is slated to join the team later in the season). Gaining a title sponsorship from Icon, Brammo arrived at Sears Point with some edgy graphics on the 2012 Brammo Empulse RR. Dropping roughly 35 lbs in weight, and gaining roughly 50hp over the bike they ran at last year’s season opener, Brammo is making most of those gains in its revised motor and power inverter for the newest Empulse RR.

Mea Culpa: The Media’s Hard-on for a Good Penis Story

As you can imagine, the bulk of the commentary, both from readers and from professional journalists, has centered around the absurdity of the claim, with even jokes being offered about how an aged BMW rider should be thanking the German motorcycle brand for saving him money on Viagra, etc. The situation reminds me of the McDonald’s hot coffee lawsuit. You know the story, right?. A woman buys a cup of coffee at McDonald’s, spills it on herself while in the car, and sues the bastards for her incompetence. True to litigious American form, the unthinkable happened, and a jury awarded this gold-digging woman millions of dollars. It is repudiating, and it stands for everything that is wrong with the legal system, or so we would be lead to believe — especially by the media.

An Addendum to Valentino Rossi’s Options for the Future

Never say never, but few are expecting Valentino Rossi to hang up his spurs at the end of the 2012 MotoGP Championship. Going out on a career low-point is certainly not the Italian’s style, especially as it casts a particularly dark shadow on a career that has enjoyed the bright-light superlative of “Greatest of All Time” from some of motorcycling’s most knowledgeable sources. Hoping to cast that phrase with an underlined typeface, and not with an interrogatory question mark, there is sufficient evidence to believe that Rossi will want to end his career in a way that will leave no doubt about the nine-time World Champion’s abilities. The question of course is how those final seasons will play out, and who they will be with.

Motorcycle from Japanese Tsunami Washes Up in Canada

Just a little over a year later, debris from the Sendai earthquake and its subsequent tsunami is starting to make its way across the Pacific Ocean, with the first bit major piece of fallout to hit Canadian soil just now being reported. Though the effects to the motorcycle industry were only a small portion of the overall devastation, for our purposes it seems fitting that the first sizable item to wash ashore is a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Landing in the Haida Gwaii islands of British Columbia, the Harley-Davidson Softail was discovered by Peter Mark, who was riding his ATV along the coast of the isolated beach.

Man Sues BMW for Causing Erection – No, Seriously

After a four-hour ride on his motorcycle, one BMW owner realized that he had a problem. Namely, a problem with his erect penis, which after some waiting would not subside. Now while most of us would cheekily reply that such a state is the sign of a good motorcycle ride, this San Francisco Bay Area native is not laughing, and has filed suit in the Superior Court of San Francisco County (CGC-12-520316) against BMW Motorrad North American and Corbin-Pacific. Saying that the motorcycle and its dealer-installed custom motorcycle seat have caused priapism, the man is suing for lost wages, personal injury, medical expenses, product liability, and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

2010 Bimota DB6 Superlight – The Carbon Fiber Trellis Frame Dream Bike

03/11/2010 @ 6:18 pm, by Jenny Gun10 COMMENTS

Debuting at the Rome Motodays event this week, Bimota unveiled a very special bike: the 2010 Bimota DB6 Superlight. Unfortunately we weren’t there to witness this wonderful piece of carbon fiber mastery, but the good folks at OmniMoto were, and have a gallery full of delicious photographs that are sure to become your next desktop wallpaper. Why is the Bimota DB6 Superlight so special? It could be it’s carbon trellis frame, or it’s carbon trellis swingarm, or its feather light weight, or it could just be a combination of all of the above. Find out more about the DB6 Superlight after the jump.

It could be said that the 2010 Bimota DB6 is an exotic version of the Ducati Monster 1100, since both bikes share the 1,100cc air-cooled Ducati two valve lump and have a standard riding position. The 2010 Ducati Monster 1100 weighs 390lbs dry, and makes a modest 90hp. Bimota of course has taken the essence of the monster, and built extensively upon it. The result is the 2010 Bimota DB6 Delirio, which is similarly weighted and powered as the Monster, but makes a exceedingly larger impression visually.

This visual improvement wasn’t enough for Bimota. They had to beat the Ducati in every way possible, and thus the Bimota DB6R was born. For 2010 the DB6R tips the scales at 370lbs, while making 95hp. For those keeping score that’s 20lbs less, +5hp, 2x more aesthetics by our count. Bimota could have stopped here, but they had to take it one step further with the 2010 Bimota DB6 Superlight. With carbon fiber everywhere (frame, forks, swingarm, body panels, you name it), the DB6 Superlight drops another 20lbs to come in at 348lbs dry, making it one impressive piece of machinery both visually and technically. Rumors have it that when Bimota gets its hands on the latest version of the 1100 DS, another 7lbs could be lost from the bike, and five more pony powers found.

Added on top of this impressive spec sheet is one of the nicest looking carbon fiber frames we’ve ever seen, and a bike that looks fit for MotoGP duty or an art show…we’re not sure which. BR Bikeresearch is responsible for helping Bimota mate the carbon fiber trellis to its machined aluminum subframe. This combination can be found on both the main frame and on the Superlight’s swingarm. Carbon fiber covers the bike’s forks, and also makes up all the body panels. Everything else is your standard Bimota exercise in eye-candy creation. Check out OmniMoto’s post for more pictures of the 2010 Bimota DB6 Superlight.

Source: OmniMoto

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Tagged under: 2010 BImota DB6 Superlight, Bimota, Bimota DB6, Bimota DB6 Superlight, carbon, carbon fiber, carbon frame, carbon trellis, DB6 Superlight, DS 1100, DS 1100 motor, Ducati, Ducati DS 1100, eye candy, Superlight

Comment:

jim says:
March 11, 2010 at 6:39 PM
this is porn.i love it
Peter Lombardi says:
March 11, 2010 at 8:13 PM
umm, yes please!
-peter
Foggel says:
March 11, 2010 at 8:17 PM
that beautiful frame is hidden under all the unnecessarily sharp edges they put on rest of the bike.
Asphalt_Rubber says:
March 12, 2010 at 2:18 AM
2010 Bimota DB6 Superlight – The Carbon Fiber Trellis Frame Dream Bike – http://bit.ly/a7lN1u #motorcycle
Charlie says:
March 12, 2010 at 4:14 AM
Stunning. While the new MV F4 (i.e front fender, exhaust) and Brutale (dash) look dreadful, Bimota continues to carry on the Italian tradition of stunning aesthetics and techno innovation.
Sean Mitchell says:
March 12, 2010 at 8:32 AM
What, no carbon wheels? Pfff, talk about half arsing it. ;)
And carbon fork covers? Okay I admit they look cool, but are contrary to the spirit of functional carbon like the frame. While it’s not much, those just add weight.
patron says:
March 12, 2010 at 1:41 PM
I just went from six to midnight
Scatterbrained says:
March 12, 2010 at 6:41 PM
carbon fiber forks. Wow. Absolutely sick. I love it!
Bjorn says:
March 12, 2010 at 11:06 PM
@ Sean Mitchell – I dont think those are carbon fibre fork covers. Check out the integrated lower clamp, I’d put money on those legs being just carbon fibre tubes.
I’m somewhat suprised that they chose to closely replicate the steel trellis frame in carbon, rather than use the properties of carbon fibre to free them from the neccessity of straight lines.
Maybe carbon fibre motorcycle frames will follow the path bicycles took and start by copying the existing shapes before getting more organic. Of course organic forms would clash with that stying and Bimota are probably scared of creating another sales success like the Sacha Lakic styled Mantra.
Handyguys Podcast says:
March 25, 2010 at 6:05 PM
Two VERY different trellis designs: garden > http://bit.ly/dos9qb and road > http://bit.ly/cR8rM4 One u can build and one I WISH I could buy

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