Mission Motorcycles: The Mission R Lives??!

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.

Goodbye Husqvarna Nuda, We Hardly Knew Thee

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.

Q&A: Yukio Kagayama Talks About the Upcoming Suzuka 8-Hour with Kevin Schwantz & Noriyuki Haga

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.

KTM RC4 Concept by Luca Bar Design

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.

Q&A: Claudio Domenicali Talks Frameless Chassis, Sacred Cows, & The Future for Ducati

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.

Is Yamaha Using A Seamless Gearbox? The Data Says No

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.

OCC Coming Back to TV? — Universe Collapses in on Self

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.

Alstare Superbike Concept by Team Alstare

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.

Transcript: The Gay Question at Jerez

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.

2014 Suzuki GSV-R Spotted Again

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.

Ferrari vs. Ducati at NJMP

06/20/2009 @ 4:22 pm, by Jensen Beeler4 COMMENTS

Ferrari vs. Ducati at NJMP Ducati Ferrari MotoGP Formula 1 560x418

On July 13th, the Ducs Fly South to New Jersey Motorsports Park to try and settle the age old question of what’s faster around the track? Motorcycles or Cars?

To answer that question, three Ferrari Challenge cars will take to the track, driven by the staff from Universal Autosports. Immediately following that race, a series of professional instructors and racers from Ducati will perform an identical contest piloting the Bologna Bullets. The top bike and top car from each series will then compete head-to-head, to see who should win the crown.

NJMP will be open to the public for the racing, and you can even bring your own bike to the track, and get some track time in yourself. More on that after the jump. Hat tip to Howard.

PRESS RELEASE: DUCATI ANNOUNCES THE INAUGURAL “DUCS FLY SOUTH” TRACK DAY

CUPERTINO, CALIF (18 June 2009) – Ducati North America is excited to announce the first annual “Ducs Fly South” track day, which will be held July 13th at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

Ducs Fly South is the Northeastern United States major Ducati event for the summer. The event will be a great opportunity to experience the thrill of the racetrack together with Ducati and the Penguin School; the nation’s oldest motorcycle roadracing school. The Penguin School will have a special staff lined up for this event to provide both top level instruction and premium entertainment. The event is open to street riders of all levels and available to riders on any make of motorcycle.

Highlights of the event include:

Ducati Hypermotard Truck – This tractor trailer houses Ducati Hypermotards on which instruction and demo rides will be provided all day long. The truck will be the gathering place for product giveaways, a ‘Best Bike’ contest, test rides, and a suspension seminar. Cold Red Bull will be available throughout the day to keep riders energized.

Larry Pegram – The factory Ducati AMA Superbike rider will be on hand to celebrate his recent victory at Road America. Larry will be available for autographs and a special question and answer session about his Ducati 1098 R Superbikes.

Ferrari-Ducati Showdown – Boasting a showroom filled with pre-owned Italian sports cars such as Ferraris, Maseratis and Lamborghinis; Universal Autosports is host to a staff highly experienced with exotic road and race cars. Universal Autosports is bringing three Ferrari Challenge cars that will be running on the track, which will compete against each other for the fastest lap. Immediately following the hot lap competition, professional Ducati instructors and racers will mirror this contest on Ducatis. The Challenge car driver and Ducati rider with the fastest laps will go head to head in a winner-takes-all race.

Track Experience:

This unique event combines the safe, comfortable environment of a track day with the opportunity for individual instruction for riders at every level. Two of the three riding groups will have passing restrictions, making for a comfortable place to ride for all participants.

There will be ample opportunity for instruction, and a rider may participate in as many of the classes as they like. Classes will be offered between the riding sessions covering topics like line selection, corner strategy, braking techniques, corner speed analysis, body position, bike setup and more.

The event will also offer individual instruction for riders; which combined with great food, a bike show, and a track photographer shooting all day makes for an event to remember.

Source: Autoblog

Comment:

  1. @Asphalt_Rubber yay! you found the ferrari vs ducati pic! – RT Ferrari vs. Ducati at NJMP – http://tinyurl.com/kqexq4 #motorcycle

  2. RT @Asphalt_Rubber: Ferrari vs. Ducati at NJMP – http://tinyurl.com/kqexq4 #motorcycle – yay! you found the ferrari vs ducati pic

  3. Ferrari vs. Ducati at NJMP – http://tinyurl.com/kqexq4 #motorcycle

  4. paul says:

    This is not a Ducati, it´s a Carlos Checa or Yamaha yzr 500 2 strok or the yzr M1 four stokes moto gp. By tuis distanvce and angle of the picture i can´t tell witch is witch…

    bye…