Ducatisti: do you want the good news or the bad news first? The bad news is that the market for motorcycles 500cc and up is down 17% worldwide for the first quarter of this year, which means the “good” news is that Ducati is only down 5% for Q1 2013. Not exactly the start out of the gate that Audi was hoping for its newly acquired two-wheeled brand, but what are you going to do? Western Europe is a mess, with Spain and Italy continuing to go down like a…well, you know. While we don’t enjoy the misery of motorcycle brands, the fact that Ducati Motor Holding is now under the Audi AG umbrella means that we get far more detailed quarterly and yearly reports from the two-wheeled marque, and we’ve got the digits after the jump.
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.
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.
Very cool. The first Hardley I’d actually consider buying. I love that they used the Speed Triple as a mule for the seating position since that’s the bike I currently own. It would take a lot to pry the Speed Triple out of my hands but if the Brawler had more power, similar (or not much more) weight, and had excellent handling capability I’d certainly consider it. If any of those marks were missed, they’d lose me. I’d just wait for Triumph to come up with a “Super” Speed Triple.
This would have made a very cool Buell… :-(
Why shitcan buell if your gonna make this?
i like it. but why hide the leading fork with the ugly plastic? it’s a technology showpiece.
hd will never build it.
This is an H-D I’d actually buy. I’m a little skeptical of such a huge rear brake rotor. All-in-all, this is what they need to appeal to guy like me in thier early to mid-30′s.
This is like a sportier modernized version of the XR-1200. I can definitely see some club racing done with this bike. Maybe with some vintage looking oval number plates on the side.
I’d still prefer a water cooled twin vice the ACT they have now.
Concept: Harley-Davidson Brawler – http://aspha.lt/18n #motorcycle
*facepalm*
Sporty? Buell did what he could with their poor old motors but they just aren’t on par with today’s engine designs… The Revolution engine is exponentially better, but is still weak in comparison to competitors. As far as I know HD retains the Helicon design, and if they haven’t destroyed or sold off the tooling they could get the Buell Barracuda back on track (under the HD logo of course). It was a much more conventional sportbike look and had it’s power beefed up a bit over the original 1125 (or perhaps they could stick the 1190 in?). Either way, this is not the direction their ‘young crowd’ bikes need to head (doubtful that Wandell is going to let it happen within the next few years anyway)…
A curse upon HD for killing Buell. And why oh why would anyone even consider an air-cooled V-Twin?
I suppose it’s good they based the ergonomics on my Speed Triple. Remind me again why I’d ever trade it for this thing.
RT @Asphalt_Rubber: Concept: Harley-Davidson Brawler – http://aspha.lt/18n #motorcycle
Great concept, but that’s about as far as it goes for me.. I will never buy a H-D as long as it is offered with ancient engine/transmission design. If you can stand the noise roll down your window while sitting at a stop light and listen to the rider engage the transmission… It will make you cringe and then peek under the bike for gears falling out of the cases.
Design a modern, smaller, lighter, more powerful V-twin with a modern smoother transmission and H-D will attract a whole new crowd. Maybe they should create an off-spring and model it after Bimota. Buy proven power plants and put them in H-D designs like the Brawler.. Or they can continue making the current offering and die a slow death….again.
It isn’t like HD would allow this to be affordable enough to gain any traction in that desirable younger demographic anyway. There is more at work here other than just how “cool” it is to market a bike like this successfully.
meh. I’m in my early 30′s and I’d buy a sportser 48 or nightster (and bob it) over that any day. if i wanted a futuristic bike, there’s plenty to choose from.. this isn’t something i’d expect from HD.
It’s an updated Buell S1W. :-|
What the hee-haw youth market are they after. Looks like a V-rod crossed with a Confederate and something from the old Sic-Fi Tron movie. How about building a performance style standard or cafe style. HD marketing is way out of touch with any any demographic except the baby-boomers.
What “youth” market? How are the Generation x/y/whatever going to be attracted by a bike with an engine and transmission design that is older than their grand parents? The Youth of today hardly has use for a 6 month old smart phone, much less a 80 year old engine design! News Flash! This is a old hog in a new sack! How much is it going to cost, 15-20K? H-D could not sell Buell, how do they hope to do better with this thing? H-D is NOT about Sport Bikes or Winning Races (except where allowed by AMA rules) You tell me how a kid with a GSXR, CBR or other sport bike is going to be attracted to this so called “sport bike”. How is this going to attract younger riders who have ridden REAL sport bikes that REALLY perform? This is akin to asking a champion jockey to ride a mule in the Kentucky Derby! Looks like more Jesse James/Orange County Choppers to me! Looking at the concept drawings I can see about 100 things wrong when it comes to bringing the concept to reality! It is one thing to draw up a bunch of “Cool” pictures and totally something else to ENGINEER a really great motorcycle that really performs! Hint to H-D, Leave the sport bikes to those who know how to build them!
I like the general idea of a naked big bore v-twin, but fear it’ll end up poorly suspended and way over weight. If they can get the weight down to something even sort-of close to the Ducati Streetfighter and put on quality, adjustable suspension and enough fuel to actually be useful I’d consider buying one.
I think they should maybe try a cafe racer first.
They seem to be allergic to sport, first with Buell and now selling MV Agusta.
The main problem with Harley is who passed me the other day on a backroad, big group of Harley riders, no safety gear, tattoos, mean looks on their faces, half helmets, minimal sunglasses, no response to my wave, despite me riding my very cool Suzuki TU250 retro single. The dealerships are the same way. The 60′s are over. Come into the 21st century. This bike would be a start, but, they have to get some normal human beings to ride it. If everyone looks like they are pissed off at the world, then young people, who are optimistic, will not come into the dealerships. – The other thing is where Harley is located in the MidWest. People on the coasts are more modern and more with it. They ride all manner of modern technology bikes. A friend in FL just bought a horizontal engined Husaberg. Forward thinking. I like this Brawler design though and I know the Porshe engine is nice as well, having ridden a V Rod.
SCREW HD!! I’m a proud Buell owner, and HD is as f*cked up as it gets concerning its aging and irresponsible management. Both Buell and Augusta suffered for it, and NOW what are they doing?? Harley needs to completely restructure itself and get the old out, and bring the ‘young’ in. HELLO ROTAX!!
/rant