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.
Looks painful to ride slow (meaning: urban every day riding at “sane speeds” and highway droning).
Is your SF1098 THAT Sport oriented ergonomically ? Man, i feel for u unless u only use it for track days and super curved canyon dicing.
The SF1098/SF848 isn’t so sport-oriented that it makes every day riding a chore. I’m 6’2″ and find the bike fine for 100+ miles. I’ve even gone 300 miles non-stop on my SF1098, and while I wouldn’t recommend the experience, it was way better than doing it on a full-fledged sport bike.
I can draw a 75 mile circle that encompasses 95% of my riding, and the Streetfighter would be my weapon of choice for all of it. Easy to get through traffic, even makes the commute fun. Sporty enough for a Sunday morning ride, and proficient enough for an odd track day or two.
The SF1098′s front-end is a bit vague, and the SF848′s geometry really cleaned that up. The thing with the fight foot is a design flaw though, and you only encounter it when riding hard, and trying to hang off the bike.
FYI, you don’t go over 120 mph on these bikes, the force of the wind is just too much.
HAAA ! U are telling me ?! ………anything over 90 and im tucked in behind a small Bikini MRA screen i have on my SV1000N…i gave the finger to someone the other day at 85-90 and my arm felt like it was gonna get ripped off and i lost my balance momentarely….SCARY SHIT.
I think my bitchin on radical ergos comes out of me being so fricking out of shape…..NOT FAT…but rather a pretty phisical labor-less job and life style alltogheter.
If i ride like im suposed to (loose arms, abdomen and legs handling the weight,etc ) my whole frame hurts like a biatch the next day.
Not aging gracefully maybe?
Apparently so…LMAO…(early 30′s)
My old Speed Triple and Honda 919 Hornet had similar ergos and the old time I hated them was on long highway stretches. For highway travel I much prefer my aprilia RSV, just lay on the tank and roll the throttle.
The SF1098 I threw a leg over last year seemed like it would be a comfy everyday machine. It is nice to finally have a stable of naked bikes to chose from here in the US, maybe we are finally starting to catch on…
The Ducati looks like a cross between MV Agusta’s new F3 and their older 910R with a few trick bits from their new lineup. I’ve ridden the 910R at +120mph and “age” has nothing to do with being able to take a near-full wind blast to the face. The mini screen is nothing but decoration.
Alright, I have to test drive one of these to see if I like it or not… the jury seems to be split on whether or not the ride is ergonomic enough for city riding daily plus canyon carving on the weekends or it just isn’t worth it as your all-purpose bike.
My Monster 1100 does the trick, but I just can’t help myself… the SF848 in matte black is seriously something Batman would ride. Am I right here or am I crazy? hah
Maybe the best solution is 2 matte black bikes… the SF848 and the 2012 Harley Night Rod. It’s not nearly as fast or maneuverable, but highway cruising is amazing and you have to admit that bike turns heads. For a Harley, it definitely moves…
What do you guys think?
I occasionally do over a buck twenty on my speed triple. The wind isn’t so bad if you tuck in nice and tight behind the fly screen. Wearing a full-face Arai helps too. It certainly wouldn’t be comfortable without a helmet.