The competitors for the 91st Pikes Peak International Hill Climb have just concluded a two-day tire test at the Colorado road course, and it should perhaps come as no surprise that our boy Carlin Dunne has posted the outright fastest lap for a motorcycle during the tire test (the Santa Barbara native set the outright two-wheeled course record last year on his Ducati Multistrada 1200 S). What is surprising about Carlin’s result at the tire test is that he was on the Lightning Motorcycles electric superbike. That’s right, the fastest bike so far for 2013′s Race to the Clouds is a 200+ hp electric superbike that is refueled with solar energy. Petrol heads, eat your heart out.
Talking to the Indy Star, Mark Miles (CEO of Hulman & Co, the parent company to Indianapolis Motor Speedway) has put some doubt into the historic venue’s commitment to host the MotoGP Championship. Having a contract to run the race through the 2014 season, Miles said that IMS might opt-out of the final year in its agreement with Dorna (IMS apparently has this option for a brief window after the 2013 Indianapolis GP). However while the news has focused so far on IMS’s ability to opt-out, both Dorna and Indianapolis Motor Speedway have options in their contract to go through with the 2014 round, and with a bevy of variables in the air, we may or may not see three American GP rounds next year.
Surprise! America will be getting a 847cc three-cylinder naked bike for the 2014 model year, the 2014 Yamaha FZ-09. Replacing the Yamaha FZ8 in the Japanese company’s line-up, the FZ-09 is the first motorcycle from the tuning fork brand to sport the Yamaha’s new line of three-cylinder engines. The Yamaha FZ-09 comes about as the MIC is reporting its second-consecutive year of growth in the 751+cc sport bike segment, as well as increase in commuter riding over short-distance sport riding. With those trends in mind, Yamaha has punched out the displacement on its middleweight naked bike, and focused on giving riders a comfortable, yet stout, motorcycle. Priced at $7,990 MSRP, we think Yamaha hit the nail pretty much on the head with this one.
In the past few years I’ve come to believe that, while superior physical differences (their reflexes and fine motor skills) are significant, it’s the mental differences that are the most interesting. I suppose anyone who has ridden a motorcycle even a bit beyond one’s comfort zone can appreciate some part of the physical aspect of riding a racing bike. For most of us, even the speed of racers in local events is impressive compared to our street riding. While the skills with throttle, brakes, and balance are on a level similar to the best athletes in other sports, I think that what really sets motorcycle racers apart is their ability to overcome fear.
The progress in the last five years on electric motorcycles has been astounding. Taking their first laps around the Isle of Man TT Mountain Course, a 87.434 mph pace was the best an electric motorcycle could do at the prestigious road race in 2009 — a pace that was on par with the 50cc record set in 1971. In just five years after the first laps were taken by electric motorcycles at Snaefell, these machines have grown their average lap speeds by over 20 mph at the TT Zero race, setting a new record of 109.675 mph in 2013, and boasting a rate of improvement of roughly 5 mph each year since 2009. If hitting 142.2 mph down the Sulby Straight speed trap wasn’t further proof of the speeds these bikes are achieving, maybe some visual evidence will help support the notion.
Darius Glover is a dirt bike racer. Like you and me, he lives to ride, and when he is on two-wheels he feels the freedom that only other motorcyclists can truly understand. The thing is though, Darius is paralyzed from the waist down. Where others would give up their dreams and this sport, Darius at the age of 15 instead pushed onward. No pity parties, no excuses, just simply a daily example of where there is a will, there is a way, and a reminder that you can achieve anything that you put your mind to. It’s hard not to get a bit choked up listening to Darius tell his story, but you walk away feeling uplifted after feeling his attitude come across the screen.
Any race where 1,500 riders start, 500 qualify, and only 14 finish, has got to be an epic competition, and considering the fact that the Erzberg Rodeo starts in the excavation pit of an Austrian mine…well, it takes a special rider to be enticed by such an event. One such special rider is Graham Jarvis, who was the first of the fourteen men to reach the 20th and final checkpoint. Taking 2 hours and 52 seconds to complete the course, Jarvis made the 2013 Erzberg Rodeo look downright easy. However, with one look at the race-day conditions from this past weekend, we know it was anything but.
While normally, MotoGP fans never get enough of seeing Valentino Rossi on TV, there is one shot they would (for the most part) gladly be spared. As he leaves the pits, Rossi stands on the footpegs, and pulls his leathers from between his buttocks, before sitting back down again and leaving. These rituals – part useful limbering up, part invocation of Lady Luck – are something many riders perform, in their attempt to exert control over themselves, and over their environment. In a fascinating press release – by far the most interesting we have received in many months – the Aspar team today provided a discussion and explanation of what riders are trying to achieve through the use of these rituals.
Hoping to make it four wins in a row, it goes without saying that the MotoCzysz crew is working hard to close the gap to the John McGuinness and the Mugen team. However, having Team Principal Michael Czysz stuck back in the US, undergoing cancer treatments, must certainly add another level of motivation for the on-island MotoCzysz crew. Making time in their busy schedule, Asphalt & Rubber got to take some up-close photos of the 2013 MotoCzysz E1pc. The most obvious changes made to the MotoCzysz E1pc for the 2013 TT Zero race are the use conventional suspension pieces. Of course, it’s not a completely standard suspension setup, as MotoCzysz has developed its own adjustable triple clamp that incorporates tunable lateral flex parameters.
Max Biaggi is to make a surprise return to riding a MotoGP machine. The former 250 and World Superbike champion will take a seat on Ben Spies’ Ignite Pramac Ducati as part of a one-day test at Mugello, as part of Ducati’s testing program, according to Italian site GPOne. Spies was scheduled to stay on at Mugello to take part in a two-day test, but after the first day of practice at last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, it was clear to both Spies and Ducati that his shoulder was still too weak to ride a MotoGP machine. With work continuing on the Desmosedici, it was important for Ducati to get as much data as possible on their bike, and so Biaggi was offered the chance to ride the machine.
They need to make the RC52… Killer reliable V-Twin for the masses. Instead of the V4 for the super rich…
No surprise here. Long in the tooth sportbikes, missed notes (would anyone buy a VFR over a Multistrada)…
akatsuki, I think you missed the point. Honda is up in the markets you state.
akatsuki–I’m a Honda fan to the core, and I totally agree with your take that their sportbikes are long in the tooth. Minor cosmetic tweaks to both CBR’s just isn’t enough these days. Five years ago, who would’a thunk that the fastest, sharpest, best-selling literbike would be a freakin’ BMW?
But don’t knock the new VFR too badly. Because of its slow sales, I bought a brand-new 2010 DCT last year for less than $12,000 Out-The-Door (about 40% off). It’s one of the best-kept secrets in modern motorcycling. Would I have bought one at the $17,500 MSRP? Absolutely not. I would quickly pay that much for a new interpretation of an RVF1000, though.
And I’m first in line for the 2013, finally coming to America, CB1100 at my local dealer. Europe and America should have been right there with Japan and Australia when this bike originally debuted.
I should have puchased a RC45 when I lived in Japan…. At the time, I was on Big $$$…… Ahh, we live and learn :-)
Please Honda, bring out a proper, modern replacement for the ST1100 and ST1300. How about a flat four? Give us (after 20 years) proper aerodynamics and a well-designed windscreen. Match the weight of the R1200RT. Put FOUR good HID headlights on the thing. Make the handlebars and footpegs adjustable. Make the bags LIGHT, yet capable of holding a full-face helmet. Keep the weight down low. Tune the engine for torque (like the NC700X) and forget about the horsepower race. Give us a thin steel sheath over the tank zone so we can use a magnetic tank bag. Have LED sidemarkers and tail lights, and factory fog light options. Give us an easily-accessible fusebox, battery and fuel filter. Test the thing with people from 5’5″ to 6’6″. And go back to the drawing board if you can’t make a windscreen that works! And use your magic to give us an honest 60 mpg at 70 mph. If I can get 32.5 mpg highway in a CVT Altima with four adults and luggage onboard (BTDT), a motorcycle with good aeros should be able to get 60 mpg.
Indian market will see a final denouement in the next 5 years….Other competitors are shaking in their boots since Honda has decided to concentrate on its wholly owned subsidiary HMSI and divorce Hero (erstwhile Hero Honda)…This has huge long term implications……I am an Indian who grew up in the late 90s and 2000s and mid 20s now…..Honda is known as the company that is almost mythical in its engineering prowess….MotoGP has been broadcast live into India for the last 19 years…and most of that time especially during the 500s it was an age of total Honda domination…….People who were young and teenagers then know that the winged badged Honda was the best motorcycle company in the world since it won the races…..That one can afford a racy looking and fairly sporty, equipped with ABS , fuel injected, liquid cooled modern 150cc 4-stroke made entirely by the same company that wins all the prestigious races at MotoGP will bound to have and is having a massive psychological impact on the 18-30 year old demographics in India…That Honda and Yamaha are bringing 150cc and 250cc versions of their YZF and CBR series that can be had for between $1500-$3000 is creating ripples among the youth…quite frankly Honda association with Hero was known for extrmely bland and boring bikes…Youngsters just couldnot connect Hero Honda with Winged Badged Honda of MotoGP and the 500cc GP……Now Winged Badged Honda is making uni-shock , unit pro linked rear suspension bikes in small capacities have made it favourite among the upscale youths in India along with Yamaha…….Its customary for a a middle class youth in India these days to have a sporty 150cc bike and a girlfriend as pillion and matching stylish helmets these days…The craze for sporty motorbikes among youth play a major role in constituting the 14 million unit market (That is the motorcycle and scooter production number including export)
So what games can Hero and TVS and Bajaj play? Hero will mostly undercut the competition by offering cheaper prices on its outdated Honda tech…TVS is doing that too…remeber HMSI (wholly owned Indian subsidiary of Honda) has been in the motorcycle game only a few years and previously they were making only CVT scooters…Hero and TVS will use their vast distribution network to offer bulk 100-110cc and midsize 125cc models at cheaper prices and that will be hurting Honda regarding volume in the short term…Bajaj will fight with Honda tooth and nail for the mindspace of the upper middle class 18 year olds..around 5 percent to 10 percent of the 18 year olds buying 150cc sporty bikes today will buy 1000cc superbikes 15 years from now…that is a market of 250,000-500,000 per annum for 1000 cc bikes in 15 years…So it is that important to fight for the mindspace of the upper middle class youth……………………Abdur Razzaq a Pakistani cricketer won a CBR1100XX Blackbird for being the MVP in a cricket tournament in Australia in 2000….Pictures of that were splashed across many newspaers in mags in India which also helped Honda to gain mindspace….Many Indians see it this way that the Honda which makes world champion race bikes and Formula 1 cars is also the Honda that is making their 150cc bikes…This is powerful powerful messaging…..It can be readily said that no other company in the world with the possible exception of BMW knows more about four stroke naturally aspirated petrol engines than Honda
A new Africa Twin is dramatically and urgently needed!
It’s more than 10 years that after this motorcycle anything has been release by Honda while from the other side of its main competitors many and many models have been made…! BMW with GS, Yamaha with Tenere and Super Tenere, Triumph with Tiger, KTM with 990 Adv etc etc
Why Honda anything yet??
guess nc700x isn’t quite what you meant
quote: BMW with GS, Yamaha with Tenere and Super Tenere, Triumph with Tiger, KTM with 990 Adv etc etc
As much as those bikes are impressive (and better in the dirt, at least with KTM), the NC700X is a better mount for 95% of the riding that 95% of motorcycle owners actually do. I’ve ridden them all, extensively on the Super Tenere. I love the Yamaha motor, and the KTM off-road ability. But if I had to pull one out of the garage for most “normal” riding, an NC700X would get the nod. I think Honda understands this. Most of the big “adventure bikes” are “profile statements” for aging upper middle class and rich guys who want to look like they can ride to Patagonia while they do an 80-mile road loop on a Sunday afternoon.
I still want to see Honda apply its masterful technology to a world-betting sport tourer. The VFR1200, as I predicted, missed the mark hugely. Uncomfortable, too expensive, not good for passenger.
Maybe they should bring back the Pacific Coast–only this time with Tattoo graphics to really liven up the brand.
I’ve a KTM 990 ADV where I travel a lot around Europe and Africa (I’m italian): sometime doing some off-road too during the trip.
As far as I know, most of the owners of ADV are ex-Honda AT that waited a lot before to move to another brand: in this case the austrian one that probably is one of the best for these kind of travels also with a kind of off.
In my opinion Super Tenere is good, but too heavy while BMW GS is too expensive and usually destined for – as you I’ve correctly written – middle-class and rich guys.
Honda AT has been the last Queen that was able to be a winner either in Dakar Race and in the street market for the excited owners.
We miss it a lot.