2012 Honda RC213V Debuts in Malaysia

While Ducati Corse is busy playing hide-the-Desmosedici at Sepang, HRC is all business in Malaysia this week, and has debuted its 2012 Honda RC213V MotoGP-contender. Honda isn’t saying too much about the RC213V, simply stating that the race bike is all new, but is also a continuation of the company’s design with the 800cc Honda RC212V. Testing the Honda RC213V over the course of last season, reigning-World Champion Casey rode the new 1,000cc machine three times in 2011, while teammate Dani Pedrosa swung a leg over the RC213V twice (missing one test because of injury).

No, This is the “90%” New Ducati Desmosedici GP12

You may have been misled by some eager journalists today and yesterday, if you saw a Ducati Corse livery-clad Ducati Desmosedici GP12 that some sites were passing off as the first shots of the “90% new” GP12. With the alleged new GP12 looking surprisingly similar to the aluminum-framed “GP0″ that was tested at Valencia, Valentino Rossi’s mechanic has now Alex Briggs confirmed that the photos taken were not of the all new “GP12 Phoenix” that the factory team will race this season. While the Ducati lords can taketh away, they can also giveth, and Valentino Rossi himself has posted the first photo of the factory Desmosedici GP12, and the bike is clearly different.

Zero Motorcycles Commences 2012 Model Line Production

Zero Motorcycles has announced the full-commencement of production for its 2012 model line, which is expected to hit dealers in February & March of this year. First off the line was the 2012 Zero DS back in December, though the electric motorcycle company has recently started building the Zero S, Zero XU, Zero X, and Zero MX at its Scotts Valley facility as well. A story we broke back in November, Zero Motorcycles debuted its important 2012 electric motorcycle line up at the 2011 EICMA show in Milan, with the 2012 range being a substantial improvement upon the company’s previous offerings.

The Dainese D-Air Racing Airbag Suit Comes to America

Getting a look at Dainese & AGV’s 2012 collection, Asphalt & Rubber was down in Orange County earlier this week to see the highly anticipated Dainese D-Air Racing leather suit, which has a four liter airbag system that helps reduce the risk of injury during a motorcycle crash. Dainese has been working on the D-Air Racing system for 10 years now, and after soft-launching the airbag suit in Europe, the Italian company is ready to bring the game-changing technology to American soil.

I Love the Nightlife. I’ve Come to Boogie.

Us Danes, we’re a strange breed. From the culture that taught you how to rape and pillage, Scandinavia is making yet another contribution to the motorcycling world with this latest video. Featuring Danish Supermoto Champion Andreas Mikkelsen, we get a RoToR camera-esque perspective (this rig is actually home made) on the Dane’s practice session at the Als Supermotard Club in Denmark. It’s videos like this that are slowly eroding my will-power to resist getting into supermotard riding. Also, I don’t know who was in charge of the music selection on this thing, but my hat is off to him/her. I love the nightlife. I’ve come to boogie.

Confirmed: KTM 350 Duke in 2013 – Moto3 Inspired 350cc Sport Bike in 2014

Our friends over at IndianCarsBikes.in were in attendance at the KTM 200 Duke launch in India this week, as the Austrian brand launched its somewhat bigger-displacement version of the popular KTM Duke 125. During the press event, KTM talked about the future of the mini-Duke line and its product roadmap for the emerging country, as well as abroad. With the Austrian brand confirming/clarifying that KTM would release a KTM 350 Duke for India in 2013, zie Austrians also confirmed that the KTM 350 Duke would be built locally in India by Bajaj, but would be exported worldwide — allaying fears that the KTM 350 Duke would be an India-only model.

Why Today is the Most Important Day for Ducati…Ever

Now that the first Ducati 1199 Panigale has rolled out of the door in Bologna, the die is cast, the chips are in play, and our course is set to see if Ducati has created a “massive breach of brand trust and honesty.” The realization of course should be that Ducati’s brand was never in danger with bikes like the Hypermotard, Multistrada 1200, or Diavel. Instead, the danger of serious brand dilution has always rested on how Ducati handled its Superbike line. A failure to produce a two-wheeled machine that is both as striking visually as it is kinetically, could permanently alienate a loyal fan base that has endured a great deal in the past half-decade.

Video: Community + Motorcycles = Motomethod

There is a lot that can be said about why dealerships fail or succeed (we’ve already seen an interesting insight on the subject of shops being open on Sundays), and one aspect on how to be a successful dealership that will surely rise to the top is one of community. Here, Vancouver-based Motomethod is all about the community, as the do-it-yourself community garden style repair shop has become a place for British Columbian riders not to work on their motorcycles, but also to congregate together with a shared love of riding on two wheels. Not exactly a new concept business-wise, but still a fresh perspective in an otherwise unwilling to change industry. More on this thought process to be published in the coming weeks. Enjoy.

Karel Abraham Releases Ducati Desmosedici GP12 Details: 999cc, 250hp, & 360 km/h Top Speed

After testing for three days at Jerez with Carlos Checa and Franco Battaini, Ducati Corse may not be saying much about the new Ducati Desmosedici GP12, but that hasn’t stop Karel Abraham from releasing some details about the new Italian steed today. The “official” technical specifications of MotoGP race bikes are always a bit vague, and Ducati Corse has unsurprisingly stuck to that trend with the GP12. Stating horsepower in the 250hp range, 15hp more than what was quoted for the GP11, Ducati also lists a top speed of over 360 km/h, up from the GP11′s 340+ km/h quoted figure.

Husqvarna Baja Concept Breaks Cover

Husqvarna continues its push into the on-road market, and has debuted another concept while at the New York IMS show today. Already showing us the Husqvarna Moab Concept in Milan, the folks at Husky have continued the thought process with the Moab, and built a more off-road capable dual-sport, which they are calling the Husqvarna Baja Concept. Another modern-take on retro design, the Baja concept carries over with it many of the Moab’s bigger design features, while sporting a 19″ knobby front tire for better off-road use. Husqvarna simply states that the concept uses a four-stroke liquid-cooled 650cc single-cylinder motor (same as the Moab), which surely will be sourced from BMW’s G650GS.

MV Agusta F3: The €9,000 Motorcycle that Castiglioni Hopes Will Save the Company

Tue, August 10th, 2010 @ 5:30 pm, by Jensen Beeler8 COMMENTS
Home » Bikes » MV Agusta F3: The €9,000 Motorcycle that Castiglioni Hopes Will Save the Company

UPDATE: The MV Agusta F3 has officially broken cover.

Italian news site Il Sole 24 Ore sat down with the new owner of MV Agutsa, Claudio Castiglioni, and asked the Italian perhaps the most pertinent question about his new company: what’s next? Striking to the point of things, Castiglioni says much of MV Agusta’s future will depend on the company’s new three-cylinder motorcycles, which the company hopes to sell 10,000 of during the next model year.

Officially now called the MV Agusta F3, Castiglioni was also forthright on some of the details. Already rumored to be a 675cc three-cylinder powered motorcycle, Castiglioni has confirmed this setup along with the fact that there will be at least two price points, with a base and sport model being available.

Pricing for the MV Agusta F3 will start at €9,000 with the sportier F3 costing between €10,000-€11,000. Some gorilla math on the A&R international pricing calculator computes those numbers to be just over $9,000 for the base model, and $10,500-$11,500 for the sport, which makes the new F3 a strong rival for the Triumph Daytona and undercuts the new Ducati 848 EVO considerably.

Like the F4 & Brutale, the F3 will have a naked counterpart as well. Castiglioni calls the smaller naked street bike the “Brutalina” which we sincerely hope is not the name the company lands-on for the bike, but the new CEO was quick to say that the naming of the smaller Brutale has not yet been finalized. No word on pricing yet for the smaller Brutale, but expect it to be somewhere in the $8,500 range.

While these prices are encouraging, the goal of 10,00 units in the first year of its restart is a daunting task for MV Agusta. Castiglioni is surely looking at Ducati’s numbers, which sells similar numbers in the lower-priced Monster segment. Time will tell if this strategy is the winning recipe for MV Agusta, and if the brand can maintain its premium sport bike status while undercutting with the F3 progeny.

Source: Il Sole 24 Ore

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Tagged under: 675cc, Brutale, Brutalina, calc, Claudio Castiglioni, F3, MV Agusta, MV Agusta Brutalina, MV Agusta F3, three-cylinder, triple

Comment:

soupy says:
August 10, 2010 at 10:30 PM
If that price is for real and the styling (Tamburini’s supposed last design) is anything I’m hoping it’ll be, I’m putting my Daytona 675 up for sale and putting a deposit ASAP.
Asphalt_Rubber says:
August 11, 2010 at 12:31 AM
MV Agusta F3: The €9,000 Motorcycle that Castiglioni Hopes Will Save the Company – http://aspha.lt/19g #motorcycle
Doug Luberts says:
August 11, 2010 at 7:08 AM
If the quality is up there with the F4 and Brutale, I’d easilly consider adding one to the stable …
Alex B says:
August 11, 2010 at 8:21 AM
I hope this makes financial sense for MV… The cost of putting together a smaller displacement machine isn’t that much lower than the current crop, unless some things are omitted (go-fast parts, hand assembly, in-house built parts, dare we say, quality control…). Would be curious to see how it turns out.
That being said.. I want one!
SPQR says:
August 11, 2010 at 8:42 AM
I want to see what it looks like naked.
Silver says:
August 11, 2010 at 10:00 AM
Let’s just hope that they change up the design of the motorcycle so it doesn’t look like a 10 year old MVF4 just warmed over. They are fantastic looking bikes but why buy a smaller displacement bike when a used F4 can be had for close to the same price. They just need to break the mold of the old F4 (and new one) and come out with something stunning.
Asphalt_Rubber says:
August 11, 2010 at 1:57 PM
Castiglioni Spills the beans on MV Agusta F3 and "Brutalina" – http://aspha.lt/19g #motorcycle #mvagusta
ihb says:
August 28, 2010 at 6:59 AM
And than of a sudden they use pics that A&R questioned months ago!
http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/rumors/mv-agusta-f3-3cylinder-head/
buch of looser they are