PPIHC: Carlin Dunne Sets Outright Best Motorcycle Time at Pikes Peak Tire Test on a Lightning Motorcycle

The competitors for the 91st Pikes Peak International Hill Climb have just concluded a two-day tire test at the Colorado road course, and it should perhaps come as no surprise that our boy Carlin Dunne has posted the outright fastest lap for a motorcycle during the tire test (the Santa Barbara native set the outright two-wheeled course record last year on his Ducati Multistrada 1200 S). What is surprising about Carlin’s result at the tire test is that he was on the Lightning Motorcycles electric superbike. That’s right, the fastest bike so far for 2013′s Race to the Clouds is a 200+ hp electric superbike that is refueled with solar energy. Petrol heads, eat your heart out.

Report: Indianapolis “Opting-Out” of 2014 MotoGP Race?

Talking to the Indy Star, Mark Miles (CEO of Hulman & Co, the parent company to Indianapolis Motor Speedway) has put some doubt into the historic venue’s commitment to host the MotoGP Championship. Having a contract to run the race through the 2014 season, Miles said that IMS might opt-out of the final year in its agreement with Dorna (IMS apparently has this option for a brief window after the 2013 Indianapolis GP). However while the news has focused so far on IMS’s ability to opt-out, both Dorna and Indianapolis Motor Speedway have options in their contract to go through with the 2014 round, and with a bevy of variables in the air, we may or may not see three American GP rounds next year.

2014 Yamaha FZ-09 – Three Cylinders of Naked

Surprise! America will be getting a 847cc three-cylinder naked bike for the 2014 model year, the 2014 Yamaha FZ-09. Replacing the Yamaha FZ8 in the Japanese company’s line-up, the FZ-09 is the first motorcycle from the tuning fork brand to sport the Yamaha’s new line of three-cylinder engines. The Yamaha FZ-09 comes about as the MIC is reporting its second-consecutive year of growth in the 751+cc sport bike segment, as well as increase in commuter riding over short-distance sport riding. With those trends in mind, Yamaha has punched out the displacement on its middleweight naked bike, and focused on giving riders a comfortable, yet stout, motorcycle. Priced at $7,990 MSRP, we think Yamaha hit the nail pretty much on the head with this one.

Trackside Tuesday: The Mind-Killer

In the past few years I’ve come to believe that, while superior physical differences (their reflexes and fine motor skills) are significant, it’s the mental differences that are the most interesting. I suppose anyone who has ridden a motorcycle even a bit beyond one’s comfort zone can appreciate some part of the physical aspect of riding a racing bike. For most of us, even the speed of racers in local events is impressive compared to our street riding. While the skills with throttle, brakes, and balance are on a level similar to the best athletes in other sports, I think that what really sets motorcycle racers apart is their ability to overcome fear.

Video: Still Think Electric Motorcycles Are Slow?

The progress in the last five years on electric motorcycles has been astounding. Taking their first laps around the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course, a 87.434 mph pace was the best an electric motorcycle could do at the prestigious road race in 2009 — a pace that was on par with the 50cc record set in 1971. In just five years after the first laps were taken by electric motorcycles at Snaefell, these machines have grown their average lap speeds by over 20 mph at the TT Zero race, setting a new record of 109.675 mph in 2013, and boasting a rate of improvement of roughly 5 mph each year since 2009. If hitting 142.2 mph down the Sulby Straight speed trap wasn’t further proof of the speeds these bikes are achieving, maybe some visual evidence will help support the notion.

Here’s Your Feel Good Moment of the Week — Now, What’s Your Excuse for Not Riding Today?

Darius Glover is a dirt bike racer. Like you and me, he lives to ride, and when he is on two-wheels he feels the freedom that only other motorcyclists can truly understand. The thing is though, Darius is paralyzed from the waist down. Where others would give up their dreams and this sport, Darius at the age of 15 instead pushed onward. No pity parties, no excuses, just simply a daily example of where there is a will, there is a way, and a reminder that you can achieve anything that you put your mind to. It’s hard not to get a bit choked up listening to Darius tell his story, but you walk away feeling uplifted after feeling his attitude come across the screen.

Erzberg Rodeo – Red Bull’s S&M Playhouse for Motorcycles

Any race where 1,500 riders start, 500 qualify, and only 14 finish, has got to be an epic competition, and considering the fact that the Erzberg Rodeo starts in the excavation pit of an Austrian mine…well, it takes a special rider to be enticed by such an event. One such special rider is Graham Jarvis, who was the first of the fourteen men to reach the 20th and final checkpoint. Taking 2 hours and 52 seconds to complete the course, Jarvis made the 2013 Erzberg Rodeo look downright easy. However, with one look at the race-day conditions from this past weekend, we know it was anything but.

Controlling the Uncontrollable – The Role of Ritual in Racing

While normally, MotoGP fans never get enough of seeing Valentino Rossi on TV, there is one shot they would (for the most part) gladly be spared. As he leaves the pits, Rossi stands on the footpegs, and pulls his leathers from between his buttocks, before sitting back down again and leaving. These rituals – part useful limbering up, part invocation of Lady Luck – are something many riders perform, in their attempt to exert control over themselves, and over their environment. In a fascinating press release – by far the most interesting we have received in many months – the Aspar team today provided a discussion and explanation of what riders are trying to achieve through the use of these rituals.

Up-Close with the 2013 MotoCzysz E1pc

Hoping to make it four wins in a row, it goes without saying that the MotoCzysz crew is working hard to close the gap to the John McGuinness and the Mugen team. However, having Team Principal Michael Czysz stuck back in the US, undergoing cancer treatments, must certainly add another level of motivation for the on-island MotoCzysz crew. Making time in their busy schedule, Asphalt & Rubber got to take some up-close photos of the 2013 MotoCzysz E1pc. The most obvious changes made to the MotoCzysz E1pc for the 2013 TT Zero race are the use conventional suspension pieces. Of course, it’s not a completely standard suspension setup, as MotoCzysz has developed its own adjustable triple clamp that incorporates tunable lateral flex parameters.

MotoGP: Max Biaggi To Test Ben Spies’s Ducati at Mugello, Michele Pirro To Replace Spies at Barcelona

Max Biaggi is to make a surprise return to riding a MotoGP machine. The former 250 and World Superbike champion will take a seat on Ben Spies’ Ignite Pramac Ducati as part of a one-day test at Mugello, as part of Ducati’s testing program, according to Italian site GPOne. Spies was scheduled to stay on at Mugello to take part in a two-day test, but after the first day of practice at last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, it was clear to both Spies and Ducati that his shoulder was still too weak to ride a MotoGP machine. With work continuing on the Desmosedici, it was important for Ducati to get as much data as possible on their bike, and so Biaggi was offered the chance to ride the machine.

LCR Honda RC213V Makes Its Debut

03/23/2012 @ 11:48 am, by Jensen Beeler11 COMMENTS

LCR Honda may only be a satellite Honda team in MotoGP, but everything Lucio Cecchinello touches regarding the squad has an amazing attention to detail, and the teams’s 2012 launch is no different. After a disappointing last season with Toni Elias, LCR Honda has swapped in another Moto2 Champion, this time with German Stefan Bradl at the helm of the LCR Honda RC213V. Already showing tremendous progress in the big show, Bradl is an early favorite for the Rookie of the Year distinction, and the 22-year-old is certain to give some of the more veteran riders a run for their money this season.

Officially launching the 2012 LCR Honda squad in Jerez this week, the Italian MotoGP team always brings us some of the most artful studio shots from the paddock launches, and again Lucio and his crew don’t disappoint in this regard. If you like your photos warmed up and desaturated, we have got a treat for you, but sorry…no bunnies this time around.

“The first time I rode a motorbike my father had to hold me in the back otherwise I would have fallen down,” explained Bradl. “I was only 4 and it was a Honda QR50 cross pocket bike. It took me a while to get it out of the garage because I was scared of the noise from the engine. Maybe I was born to do this ”job” and now that I am racing in MotoGP my father does not hold me in the back anymore but he is still a very important support to me. You can not even imagine how strong this Honda RCV is and every corner and every gear is a real fight.”

How can you not like a kid with an attitude like that?

Technical Specifications of the LCR Honda RC213V:
Engine features: Four-stroke liquid-cooled pneumatic-valve engine, V4, DOHC4
Displacement: up to 1000 cc
Maximum Power: over 250 HP
Maximum Speed: over 350 km/H
Gearbox: Six speed seamless cassette type gearbox with alternative optional ratio
Clutch: Fully adjustable multi plate slipper clutch
Exhaust: Arrow Titanium line
Overall length: 2050mm to 2070mm up to circuit lay out and specification
Overall height: 1125mm
Overall width: 645mm
Weight: 157kg
Fuel: 21 litres capacity ELF
Oil: ELF
Chassis Features: Aluminum twin spare frame, Fully adjustable steering and geometry, & Fully adjustable HRC magnesium triple clamp
Suspensions: Front: Fully adjustable Öhlins TRVP25 diam 48mm upside down, Rear: Fully adjustable Öhlins TRSP44
Tyres: Bridgestone
Wheel: OZ
Brakes: Front: Nissin 4 pistons caliper 320mm Nissin carbon disc Rear: Nissin Twin piston caliper 196mm Yutaka steel disc
Screen: Rama
Grip: Progrip
Sprockets: PBR
All accessories: Rizoma

Source: LCR Honda

Tagged under: 2012 Honda RC213V, Honda RC213V, Jerez, Jerez Test, LCR Honda, LCR Honda RC213V, Lucio Cecchinello, MotoGP, photos, Stefan Bradl

Comment:

BBQdog says:
March 23, 2012 at 12:37 PM
For some reason those photographs don’t look very sharp at all, like
some old scanned negatives. Not like 2012 studio shots.
AndrewF says:
March 23, 2012 at 3:28 PM
Sorry, it’s just not the same without the bunnies.
JW says:
March 23, 2012 at 4:21 PM
Your right, its better w/o the bunnies
MikeD says:
March 23, 2012 at 5:15 PM
250hp + …. (^_^)… SWEET MOTHER OF V-4…LOL.
Meehh, then again the others could be lying about their numbers to keep on the safe side…bahh…matters not….we’ll see on the first long straight drag race.
@BBQdog: Indeed, pics do look shitty.
Some one posted a very valid question in another Blog.
How come Honda stays faithful to the V-4 architecture on the Highest form of bike racing and then sell street bikes with I-4s ?
I understand they made the first I-4 street bike for mass consumption(wrong?) and just have too much on this side of the fence to just toss it away like it doesn’t matter or existed….BUT…same goes with the V4.
Cpt.Slow says:
March 23, 2012 at 5:51 PM
V anything cost more (/complex)
mxs says:
March 23, 2012 at 6:10 PM
Prototype = build whatever (within rules obviously) you think will win you a series
Production = build whatever will sell and you make money at the end
Asphalt & Rubber says:
March 23, 2012 at 6:48 PM
LCR Honda RC213V Makes Its Debut – http://t.co/hfOEpWwG #motorcycle
MikeD says:
March 23, 2012 at 6:51 PM
I see…I see…seems plausible (scratches chin)…(O_O)
BBQdog says:
March 24, 2012 at 1:54 AM
>>How come Honda stays faithful to the V-4 architecture on the Highest form of bike racing and then sell street bikes with I-4s ?
Because the japanese have (also) become lazy. They rather sell the UJM (universal japanese motorcycle= 4 in line) then developping something new, something one can really use. But this is a trend in the whole of the motorcycle industry, including dealers. Selling 1 big fat bike is easier then selling 5 smaller bikes. But if you see how many smaller bikes are sold today in the new countries (far east, south america) then the times they are a-changing.
Jake says:
March 26, 2012 at 2:57 PM
1st, Honda does sell V-4 motorcycles (Shamu)
2nd, they are more expensive to produce (2 separate heads)
3rd, Honda really needs to make a good high end sport bike with a V-4 to set them apart from the crowd like they used to. Honda has been so boring this decade it’s sad. Maybe with the Mugen electric stuff coming down the pipe they’ll become relevant again.
MikeD says:
March 26, 2012 at 9:15 PM
@Jake:
Shamu SCHMUUU…it’s engine might be a new family, DCT Capable, bla bla bla and all that good stuff…but compared to the RSV4 powerplant it look PEDESTRIAN, OVERWEIGHT.
Honda being Honda im sure they have a DOHC 1000cc “race” version of it with every bell and whistle on the market today waiting to be unleashed “sometime this century before we run out of fossil fuels” and organs to be able to afford one when it happens…that’s what i was implying on my first post…something of that caliber and pedigree…but until that happens…all they have is a FAT RED MANATEE of a bike and it’s powerplant…V-4 wise…the CBR-RR line seems to be fairly “up to snuff”…shame it’s an I-4 breed.

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