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.
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.
wow, the rich 1% have more money ever, and BMW is experiencing record profits you say? I would have never figured. Glad they are spending the tax breaks to “reinvest” in our economy.
I think it has less to do with politics and more to do with having the most appealing offering in three of the most important street markets.
Bang on Jensen, a Boxer fan here, however I’m still amazed at the S1000RR and the SIX, literally came out of the blue, great stuff BMW!
Excess : an amount of something that is more than necessary, permitted or desirable.
Having owned a few, I find no desire for another. Same for HD.
My favorite posers (a person who acts in an affected manner in order to impress others) are the GS1200 fully Toutech’d riders in their “stich” attire basking in the self-illuminated glow of delusion at the coffee shops on everybody’s touring road. The most boring of these find great sport in deriding HD riders.
Step back and notice the quaint similarities between each pack.
BMW marketing prowess in coming on strong. The Germans have long enjoyed bagging swine.
Let the Good Times Roll, oh wait thats another company….
Given that BMW has broadened it’s offering to cover additional segments it previously ignored – S1000RR being a case in point – and at a price that is directly competitive with the other established brands, it is less surprising that it has increased sales. BMW appeals to a younger rider after seeing it’s average rider age grow well into the the 40s over the previous decade or so, it is now able to recruit new customers to the brand. The quality issues from 3 or 4 years ago are receding while WSBK (and probably MotoGP from next year) all raise it’s credibility to the younger, future riders. The innovation, K1600 and S1000RR being examples, means it keeps it’s profile well raised in the US and Europe while the competition from the Far East has shifted it’s focus to Asian markets where the volumes of sales are mind boggling (1,000,000+ units a year for Yamaha in SEA) but the bikes are generally utilitarian fare below 150cc.
BMW is doing well because the products are good.
The S1000RR isnt exactly killing them here in Oz. But i think thats down to the price. They only import the optioned up version, which is expensive compared to the jap bikes at the moment.
http://www.mcnews.com.au/NewsArchives/2011/Sales_quarter/Top_Supersport.htm
Jensen,
Allow me one more on this topic to suggest that J’s comment above holds a deeper message concerning realities beyond politics. Economic disparity is becoming more pronounced by the day. The BMW sales story highlights
the growing inequalities. And while I too can appreciate the design and performance of Bavarian art and engineering (my Mother’s name was Hilda) I doubt whether 1% of the nouveau butt jewelry pilots will ever be able to use even 50% of their machine’s capability.
Veblen’s conspicuous consumption defines more and more of what motorcycling is becoming. We readers understand your position and wouldn’t begrudge you a tasty lunch. But longer term we may all be better for remembering that motorcycles, at least in the developed countries, are about leisure and increasing – self absorption.
As you jaunt around the lovely circuit with the fancy people, give a moment’s thought to doing something of lasting importance. Maybe a charitable project. Couldn’t hurt A&R’s PR, eh ?
Willie, I honestly don’t know what your point was in your last comment, so let me tackle what I think you’re trying to say.
There’s no issue of the have’s and have not’s in American motorcycling; as you pointed out, in the United States motorcycle purchases are consumer discretionary income. No one here NEEDS a motorcycle, instead we CHOOSE to purchase multi-thousand dollar toys. But before you start making an argument for the decline of the middle, remember the BMW S1000RR is priced against the “poor man’s” CBR/GSX-R/R1/10R. I think that fact that BMW is bringing that much motorcycle at this price point is the reason they’ve been selling these bikes like hot cakes (sorry to Sean in Oz, you’re getting hosed on import costs), and smashing sales records. End of story. So what’s the fuss about then?
Yes, in other parts of the world motorcycles are about transport, and people who make literally just dollars a day depend on motorcycles to get around. But let us not forget that it is these markets that are booming right, especially for motorcycle sales. All the Japanese manufacturers would have posted devastating loses had it not been for the South American/Indian/Southeast Asian markets. This the same reason H-D, Ducati, BMW, etc are all trying to get a foothold in these countries. This is where the market growth is for the motorcycle industry. These countries are where companies will be profitable in the future, while sales in the USA, Europe, and other developed nations will languish.
Whether or not BMW riders can use their machines is immaterial, it’s they’re right to buy whatever they want, and honestly it’s a criticism you can levy at virtually any consumer of a modern motorcycle. Let’s be honest, how many people can truly utilize a 200hp superbike? But again, these purchases are ALL aspirational like you pointed out, including your own (there’s nothing wrong with this by the way).
As for your last comment, am I supposed to be one of the “fancy people” in you hold with such contempt? You must have me confused with another motorcycle blog whose editor is a trust fund baby, and has more interest in being a socialite playboy than anything meaningful to modern society. If you knew anything about me, you wouldn’t lump me in with these people that have been given the world on a silver platter by the lottery that we call birth. I think I’ve worked too hard and sacrificed too much to be given that indignity.
Well said Jensen. Is there any pocket of the interwebs that is safe from socialists bemoaning inequality? My Ducati, and yours, cost less than at least 70% of most Harly-Davidsons. You know, the bikes that champion the blue collar working man ethos.
Seems Willie’s just got a beef with the high dollar image of the roundel.
I would add that this should be a huge DUH moment for BMW. For years, their cars have been known for performance and sportiness. I think it’s embarrassing they waited so long to enter the sportbike segment.
Well I think for a long time there was the perception that they couldn’t build a sportbike because of their brand. Bold moves take bold people, which is my big criticism at Harley-Davidson. Harley is so concerned about holding onto its core demographic, they’re afraid to make move that doesn’t involve the same bikes with more chrome.
Keep in mind that this is the same demographic that’s showing a massive decline in sales at H-D. There’s a phrase about a nose and a face that comes to mind.
Thanks for the response. And apologies for any offense taken. I merely offer an observation on the excess of current vicarious pursuits. Probably the wrong forum. Sorry. Viva the global elite !