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.
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.
I wonder how this will alter maintenance requirements?
Bout time. If by “iconic part of the Italian company’s v-twin motor”, you mean the single most ridiculous part requiring frequent and expensive replacement, yeah, i agree. Having sold both my Monster and 996 due to the exceptionally short service intervals, I applaud Ducati’s move to gear driven cams.
I don’t think it’s going to change servicing too much, the issue with Ducatis are their frequent valve adjustments.
Jensen – My dealer (Ducati Miami) was emphatic that the belts be changed every 10,000 miles (or every two years). That’s every 5-6 months with the amount of riding I do. And don’t even get me started on the 6,000 mile valve adjustment intervals….
Of course the Dealer is going to be very conservative on the maintenance schedule, but like any other vehicle, it is meant to be driven, and to last…
I change the oil in my Ducati Monster somewhere between 3k-5k miles, but usually not much over 5k… as for valves, I will stretch that service to 10k-12k.
I have two Ducati’s and one has over 40k miles on it while the other has over 10k… My bikes are immaculate, I clean areas on the bike I know you will never see with the naked eye, at a glance, or in passing…
I was at MGP Ducati Island last year, and one guy had a Ducati Monster with over 193,000 miles on it and rode it there from another state…
Most of maintaining a bike or a Ducati for that matter is mostly a little common sense… On a Monster, I bet you could stretch the oil/valve services to 6k/12k…
Supposedly, Ducati started a campaign back in 2007, that future models of their bikes would require 50% less in cost to maintenance…
according to that mockup it will also have an 18″ front wheel!
Two belts have a mass of about 200-300 grams. TWO sets of gears to turn the camshafts to two separate heads will probably come in between 2000-5000 grams. If the goal is to build a light mass motorcycle I do not understand the move away from the light and reliable belts. Maybe they will go back to bevel gear driven cams.
Wish I could get one with Checa livery, that would be tits.
Being an RC51 owner I am admittedly a sucker for gear driven cams. The Ducati looks to be as exotic as it will be expensive. But then motorcycles are rarely a rational purchase ;)
RT @Asphalt_Rubber: #Ducati Superbike 1199 Will Have Gear-Driven Cams – http://aspha.lt/s1 #motorcycle
Maybe I’ll buy another ducati after all…
When I worked for a Ducati dealer back in the ’90s we recommended strict adherence to the factory schedule of 15,000 km for 4 valve motors and 10,000 km for 2 valve motors. For our harder riding 4 valve customers we recommended a belt change at 10,000 km as cheap insurance. All belts should be changed once a year if not done more frequently due to the cracking that occurs at the base of the teeth. At the time, Gates belts were$50 a throw; while the parts and labour to repair the rear head of a four valve that had a belt failure (due to an overdue belt parting) was in excess of $760.
If you beetle around on a Ducati you can probably stretch the service intervals; if you regularly flog it to the redline, then prudence dictates changing the belts regularly.
Disclaimer: I haven’t been privy to the altered service intervals of the previous decade.
“The same type of technology that Aprilia used to cheat win the 2010 World Superbike Championship title, a gear-driven camshaft configuration should help increase power by 3-5hp throughout the rev range on the Superquadrata motor, as compared to Ducati’s traditional belt configuration.”
Back again on my jihad pointing out how motorcycle racing retards motorcycle development. Belt driven cams are old and inferior tech (the car world has known this for a long time) and Aprilia had to “cheat” by using a simply better (and smarter) design. Why should a street bike suffer with a belt drive? Oh that’s right, the racing rules….again.
FWIW: The current maintenance schedule for Ducatis is every 7500 miles with the exception of the 11 degree motor in the Multistrada and Diavel where the intervals are every 15k miles.
Belt changes are not cheap, it’s like $100 a belt for an OEM 4 valve belt. Yes, the conventional wisdom is change those belts ever two years at least. But starting with the Multistroodle 1200, the belt changes were lengthened to 15,000 miles (along with the valve changes). I have an 848 which recommends more frequent belt changes, but guess what folks, it’s the same belt. Same part number.
Still, Gear driven cams are also cool, and will be FAR less to worry about. Much more reliable. I’m a fan.
@Motoputs – decreases in parasitic losses through gears vs. belt as well as increases in reliability most likely outweigh the slight increase in weight. (You can also “pay” for it w/ weight losses in other areas)
I applaud Ducati for taking more of a function-over-form approach with their engineering while still maintaining one of the most aesthetically pleasing packages on the market. They’re quickly becoming one of my fave mfg.
@Jensen – your journalism is, as always, transparent as to your ducati bias ;P
2 Reasons why i have always stayed away from Ducs even tho i like them A LOT.
1: Timing Belts (like is not enough with the one i have to replace every 50k miles on that P.O.S Eclipse i drive)…and i don’t know about Ducs, but on the car U SHOULD replace all related components (idlers, tensioner,etc)…MAJOR $$$. Just did a 1998 Honda CR-V recently, the timing kit was something like 300$.
2: Desmo…(probably cause i don’t understand the procedure)…people tend to fear and keep a distance from stuff they “don’t get it”.
Back to the gears, I would take the gears even if it were made out of unobtanium and it’s related whine and extra heft just for the peace of mind of something less to adjust or “easely” fail.
Im not a GP Racer who needs every ounce of HP out my joy ride and have a CREW to take care of Bike’s mood swings or mechanical bitchings nor do i want to be wrenching on it every so often. My bike is just an xpensive toy…or a sexual organ extender…LMAO…w/e happens to be ur opinion…i just want to hop on it and ride…not keeping count of miles and how much is going to hurt my bank account.
Or maybe im just a cheap lazy Fudge who should stick to Japan Inc…LOL.
Simple… wanna play? Then pay!
Can’t afford, then get something else.
Indeed…my cheap/ancient K3 SV1000N has been Anvil reliable so far. Clutch basket rattling and all. LMFAO. Those D&D cans sure help masking that last flaw and then some (^_^ ).
Cpt.Slow,
Why pay extra for inferior tech? That’s what Harleys are for!
@Tom: “Why should a street bike suffer with a belt drive? Oh that’s right, the racing rules….again.”
Not true in this case. The street version of the RSV4 uses belt driven camshaft. Gear driven camshaft is more expensive, too expensive for the road bike apparently.
If the street bikes would use gear driven camshaft, it could be used in WSBK as well.
I’m happy to see ducati move to gear-driven cams; as someone who lost the rear cylinder, piston, head, valves, etc. on my (now departed) ’97 m750 monster, AFTER TAKING IT IN TO HAVE THE BELTS REPLACED, I think this was a smart move. I think this will allow higher RPM operation, with greater engine longevity. Hopefully, it’ll trickle down to the rest of their bikes, but I doubt it.
Tom,
Maybe you did not understand my past post. It states that if one wanted the product, he/she would then have to hand over the green. If one made a decision that he/she did not want to play, then no captinal need be exchanged.
As for “having” to paying for “inferior” tech (do you view motorcycles in the same light as a playstation? That a motorcycle is only the sum of its wiz-bang 3D gizmos?! What happen to the joy of the ride, knee dragging over tarmac, mechanical/human syphony, the drama?! It’s suppose to be an event not some flavor of the month product from a company with a half bitten fruit as its logo) You or anyone else does not have to in the free world, simply buy something else…
Are we all forgetting the VFRs?! 1986-2002, Honda VFRs sported gear-driven cams, as did the RC30 and RC45. Gear-driven cams mean no chain tensioning, no belt replacement, and constant, precise valve timing. I’m all for that ish
Applause for Ducati for embracing the genius that is gear-driven cams
Yup, gear driven cams will not need any adjustments, and there will not be any “creep” of valve timing at high rpm, ensuring safe valve clearances.
I own a 1989 VFR400R NC30, and it has gear driven cams. Don’t have any belt change, no valve adjustments at all in my ownership.
Disadvantage? Will be sensitive to gasket thickness/head or barrel skimming.
The stock Aprilia V4 uses a hybrid chain/gear drive for the cams. Chain from crank area to intake cam, then gear driven off that to drive the exhaust cam. No belts at all. The controversial gear drive Biaggi used last year replaced the chain portion.
As for the Ducati, I will probably wait a model year to let them work out the bugs in the new engine. Just a guess, but I would think they will strive to lengthen the valve adjustment intervals like they did on the Multistrada.
People go on about the belt changes and valve adjustment on the desmos but they are not a big deal for a competent DIY mechainic. Pay for a valve adjustment on a VTEC Honda V-4 and the Ducati will not be any more expensive at a dealer.
I love gear driven cams! I own an Honda NC30 and a CBR400 both with gear driven cams. They run great. You do have to check valve clearances every 24,000km. I’ve stayed clear from duc’s just because of their high maintenance schedule but I’m sort of liking the way the 1199 is turning out.