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.
“Expecting it’s best sales year ever” The key word being “Expecting”, we all expect a lot of things don’t we.
How does this company stay in business selling only a hand full of bikes a year, if that?
$750K? Isn’t that like, what, one of their bikes?
Mark, it’s a lot like how Bugatti remains a profitable venture, big profit margins.
Richard,
A bit off topic but from what I’ve heard; Volkswagen own Bugatti and they make a loss on each vehicle they sell. It is considered a worthwhile loss leader for the prestige of being the producer of the worlds fastest production car.
Probably need a better/ different example.
Sorry, I can’t help my self; I’m a hopeless pedant.
@Mark
I have no idea how they do business either, I also have no idea who their market is! I have never read anything or seen a single performance statistic that would justify the price of these “bikes”.
You don’t have to “do business” if you never pay your bills. Confederate is run my crooks.
As an owner of a Confederate motorcycle, I don’t understand where all this negativity comes from… I’ve enjoyed a first class experience not only with my bike, but also in my relationship with the Confederate team. I, for one, will support any small American company that can produce a world-class product. Even if you don’t like their bikes or their prices, you have to at least respect what they’re doing…
They’re behind schedule, but it definitely exists in more than a CAD model… I’ve been following the prototyping on their blog: http://confederate.com/development
Jim, you don’t have to agree with the critics but to say that no critic has any justification in their comments or that you don’t understand their criticism reflects more on you than the critics.
Tom, I’m not suggesting that the criticism is unjustified, I’m just wondering why most of the comments are negative. I understand that blog comments are often prime examples of the bandwagon effect, but for a seemingly good story, I am a little surprised. I see this as a great story… They are a small American company that is developing a new American motorcycle that costs over $35,000 less than their current lineup. I say keep up the good work, Confederate!
It’s quite telling that he person who made a direct accusation chooses not to stand behind it, instead choosing anonymity. If there was any truth to anonymous’ claims, I’d assume that we would hear about supply problems or lawsuits.
If their business model is unsustainable, time will reveal that.
While Confederate’s offerings don’t appeal to me; we are richer as motorcyclists for there being another choice.
The Wraith was a thing of beauty, not my typical bike, but I’d love to ride one.
It is all well and good that these types of companies exist, but I am a utilitarian. I have no use for a bike with such a high price tag that couldn’t pull a faster lap time or boast the mechanical reliability of a $13,000 Honda, $16,000 BMW, etc.
It is all well and good to have something “unique”, but the prices they post I could buy a brand new BMW s1000rr, some nice aftermarket exhaust and still have money left over to buy a decent used Jaguar :)
Aren’t they owned by the American government or something they’ve had enough hand outs from them…..it’s a real shame because they make some really cool expensive bike….