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.
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.
A surprise addition to BMW Motorrad’s 2013 model line-up, zie Germans have announced a new middleweight adventure-tourer, the 2013 BMW F800GS Adventure. Like its larger predecessor, the BMW F800GS Adventure is a more travel-ready and off-road capable build of the recently updated BMW F800GS motorcycle. Featuring a larger windscreen, panniers, and a bigger fuel tank capacity (2.1 gallons larger, for a total of 6.3 gallons of fuel), the BMW F800GS Adventure keeps the same 85 hp, liquid-cooled, 798cc, parallel-twin engine found on the F800GS, as well as the same chassis configuration. Pricing in the US will be $13,550 for the base model BWM F800GS Adventure.
Former 500cc World Champion Kevin Schwantz has certainly been in the news a bit these past few months, mostly for his involvement and falling out with the Circuit of the Americas and the Americas GP, but also more recently for his comments regarding Dani Pedrosa — we also sat down with Mr. Schwantz in Austin, and the Texan gave us some sobering insight into the future of American road racing. As if all that wasn’t enough, Schwantz is making a return to two-wheeled racing, and has entered the prestigious Suzuka 8-Hours endurance race with Team Kagayama racing alongside Noriyuki Haga and team owner Yukio Kagayama.
An interesting development on the aftermarket side of things has graced our desks, as Öhlins has released a “suspension control unit” (SCU) that upgrades the electronically adjustable suspension on the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S so that it becomes a semi-active suspension system. Whhhaaaat??! So, if you’re the proud owner of a pre-2013 Ducati Multistrada 1200 S, and you think that your electronically controlled Öhlins suspension is no longer boss, now that Ducati has released its Sachs-powered “Skyhook” semi-active suspension pieces on its new batch of Multistrada sport-tourers, there is a remedy for your motolust.
Meh…as atractive as a Female Hippo…Craigslist is your friend if u want more bike for your hard earned $$$ UNLESS u have your heart set on buying new (a warranty, new bike smells, no second hand worries, probably optional ABS, etc).
“Affordable” Transportation ? Hope so…BUT Honda has this nasty habit of thinking their farts smell like roses and over-pricing it’s products…SO FAR their new 250′s have proven me wrong…but not holding my breath…or hating, for that matter.
I hope they sale billions of these in SE Asia & S. America so they can keep pouring money on the bigger (USA, EU oriented) bikes. Call me selfish.
Call me selfish but market that shit over here stat! I’d rather see the bike industry grow again over here and I’d also like to see more second hand bikes over here as well.
Spotted: Honda CBR500, Honda CB500R & Honda CB500X – http://t.co/mkLiRN0f #motorcycle
The CBR looks fine to my eyes.
Honda's new 500cc range spied – interesting … http://t.co/wJNZu307
Honda's new 500cc range spied – interesting … http://t.co/wJNZu307
I agree the cbr500 looks good.
I would love to see a full frontal shot of the CB500. I hate the CB500x looks, but the CBR500 looks fine in my eyes. Not sure why anyone would call it ugly. A little boring sure, but looks clean.
I think this bikes will sell very well with everyday bikers, specially in Europe where riding on the city is harder. (only weekend bikers will think different ;)
i’ll bet these are ~380-390lb porkers, big brothers to the fatso 250. no thanks; waiting for the 100 lb lighter KTMs.
@steve D
I can tell you have never actually ridden CBR250.
I can see you have steady been jockeying those spreadsheets, though.
@SteveD:
How much u wanna pay………..how much it’ll weight. Easy to figure out.
These are budget commuters…don’t raise your hopes too high and check your feelings at the door…(^_^)
@Damo:
INDEED. Fat girls can be fun too BUT for it’s size she’s a legit little porker…and everything else on this size segment but the Mini Dukes.
@every1 & any1 that think they look good:
Compared to the their direct competitors they look great. My rather quick comparo was with what i could buy USED for the $$$ they’ll ask.
Kinda of fair/unfair at the same time.
I think Pete got it pretty much down to the core of the matter.
Comparing $$$ for used versus displacement for new is a significant apples-to-oranges deal. It just doesn’t compute, guys. Somebody who wants a nice 500 or 250 isn’t going to get “better value” out of a used 750 gixxer. So, unless you’re talking a nicer 500 used instead of these 500s new, you’re mixing your metaphors, so to speak.
“probably optional ABS”
I just noticed that the bikes in the shoot all have the ABS disc timing marks for the sensor.
With the NC700X offering 65+ mpg, storage, a good riding position, and a broder torque band than my VFR 800, I question why Honda would bring in the CB500X, though I do suspect some young guys will want the CBR500 based on looks alone (and maybe insurance classifications). What I really want to see is a complete re-think of a proper 1100cc street and touring bike that has a good seat, great lights, superior fuel economy and a good set of bags (and a proper pillion) all @ 520 lbs fueled. Then I would sell both the VFR 800 and my ST1100. The NC700X is a little too bare-bones to replace both those bikes, and I’m not sure who is going to buy a CBR500 vs. a 600 in this country unless the 500 is WAY cheaper.
Interesting points, Paul.
I see the NC700X and VFR800 has being entirely different beasts. I mean, jeeze, the VFR has, what, 110 ponies versus 40-something for the NC? The VFR is more sport than touring and the NC, I think, is more UJM than either sport or touring. When you put the CBR against the NC, I suspect you’ll find the CBR will be a peppier performer, cheaper to insure, lighter and something that tastes sporty while not roasting one’s wedding vegetables (term stolen from a user on this blog).
Because of its torque, the NC would be dressed up and pillion. I feel each bike goes after a decidedly different market. If I were to only want soft bags and/or a tank bag, the CBR would get my personal vote. The 600 makes a great mid-size sport tourer with hard bags, IMO.
Several times last year I rode a Honda CBR 150 – yes 150 cc – from Bangkok to Pattaya (2 plus hours one way on a pretty good freeway, carried all my scuba gear and overnight bag, and maintained a steady 60 miles per hour. As an American whose last motorcycle was a BMW R1100R I am convinced that America’s need to ignore anything under 500 cc is a mistake. A Honda CBR 250 can probably do 90% of anything anyone expects a motorcycle to do and do it at a lower price, safer, and much easier in every other way too. I ask you, why is America fixated on huge motorcycles?