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.
If Ducati were smart they would release a SuperSportClassic with an aluminum tank, new graphics, Ohlins front and rear, quality alloy wheels and a few other nice bits and pieces (for example nice rear sets etc) and an 1100 engine. Everyone that had a SportClassic would instantly want to upgrade! These bikes are a joy to ride and have a look and style all their own. Ride one and you will know.
If the new bikes are an example of the thinking in Bolgna (such as the Diavel) then I don’t hold much hope…. they seem to be more interested in the marketing side of the business as distinct from being focused solely on giving their customers a fantastic riding experience…..
I am sure many will chime in on how Ducati has to “move with the times” blah blah blah, but the bottom line is rider enjoyment is most important, not which niche the marketing geeks think they can get the biggest return for the bean counters in. Remember, accountants often end up steering a company away from its focus on customer satisfaction… I mean have you ever eaten a bowl of soup made by an accountant???
I hope the Diavel is the next to be taken out and shot.
I’m with Andrey and Sean. The Classic line-up is what brought me to Ducati in the first place. A body with some character. As an MH900e owner, I was one of the first to hop on the Sport-Classic band wagon, and I certainly hope that they continue to chunk out a few more of these.
Andrey’s idea of a performance-oriented SuperSport-Classic would be awesome. I’d romp that around a track in a heartbeat. The MH900e, maybe not so much. The suspension was crap, electronics were worse, and yeah, that engine was weak for what it was. But JEEBUS, it is sexy.
It’s like most supermodels; Really fun to look at, but they drink a lot, and are a b!tch to ride.
Ducati Quietly Shows the GT1000 SportClassic the Door – http://bit.ly/9MZtVr #motorcycle
I actually liked that bike. My local dealer had one on the floor used, looked sharp.
This is good news for anyone who owns them an likes them. They will always have a unique bike.
What Sean said…shoot that damn porker!
I agree with Andrey; why didn’t Ducati shop at it’s own inventory and made a bike with the looks of the Sport 1000 S, the suspension, brakes and specs of the current Monster 1100S (95hp/370lbs dry), some nice aluminium rims and the single sides swingarm of the S4R for the price of a Monster 1100S ($11,995)? Do “retro”bikes really need retro looking suspension and brakes…if you see the positive reactions people have towards the new Kawa W800 it seems Ducati was too early with its Sport Classics series and for sure some updates would have made the bikes popular again.
whats the different between this and ducati paul smart edition?
I test rode one of these and the main thing preventing me from buying was the budget parts they used while charging the same price as the big Monster. Other than that, I loved it. Still think about that test ride and know one day I’ll own one. And the best part for me was they were perfect stock. The exhaust had a nice mellow tone, the engine had enough grunt, the seat was good, mirrors good, riding position good–I just didn’t like paying extra for the good looks.