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.

KTM Sales up 22.4% in 2011 Thanks to India

02/17/2012 @ 1:21 pm, by Jensen Beeler9 COMMENTS

If you want a quick synopsis of how the European motorcycle brands performed in 2011, they killed it. BMW, Ducati, Triumph, and now KTM have all reported double-digit sales growth figures for 2011, a stark contrast to the still struggling sales of Harley-Davidson, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha. Reporting a 22.4% sales increase last year, KTM made a cool €20.7 million in the process of selling its 81,200 units in 2011 (KTM sold 66,327 units in 2010).

Leading the Austrian company’s growth was the KTM 125 Duke, which has been a huge hit in India, its country of origin, but has also helped grow KTM’s market share in Europe. KTM is also reporting that its latest EXC models have helped spur sales, but we suspect it is the new small-displacement Duke, which was made with developing markets in mind, that is really responsible for the surge in sales growth. KTM says that it expects sales in Europe and North America to remain flat, while the company expects to see growth in emerging markets continue (no surprise there).

“The successful launch of the 125 Duke and the new Enduro Competition generation were crucial for these increases,” said KTM CEO & Chairman Stefan Pierer. “KTM’s market share in Europe increased by 30% from 4.9% to 6.3% compared to previous year. Hence, KTM is the most successful brand and outpaced its competitors clearly.”

Riding the wave on motorcycling’s new map to success, the KTM 200 Duke has already hit Indian dealerships. For 2012, KTM expects to sell 20,000 motorcycles in India alone, or to put it in other terms roughly 1 in 5 motorcycles KTM builds will be bought in India this year. In other news, Bajaj laughed all the way to the bank. Expect to see the KTM 350 Duke hit US soil sometime in 2013.

Source: KTM

Tagged under: 2011, business, Europe, India, KTM, KTM 125 Duke, KTM 200 Duke, market share, sales, yearly sales

Comment:

MikeD says:
February 17, 2012 at 6:14 PM
YUP, the small fries is where the FLOW is at. Best of luck and rampant success to them. The more $ they make the more $ available for R&D on new models and classes.
A small/ligth yet good looking bike it’s starting to sound more and more atractive to my “ways and style”…the 03 SV1000N it’s starting to feel a bit heavy at times already…and riding it under 75mph feels like WALKING IT…wind blast ? WHAT wind blast ? LOL.
Anant Bhatia says:
February 17, 2012 at 9:22 PM
The BIG error in this article is that the KTM Duke 125 is NOT FOR SALE IN INDIA. Duke 125 has sold ZERO units in India, its country of origin. The Duke 200 bookings were started 18 days back and I doubt if any have been delivered as of now, so thats another ZERO! No other KTM product is for sale in India as of now.
rattle says:
February 17, 2012 at 11:02 PM
@anant you r right about duke 125 not being sold in india. it’s the duke 200 that is on sale. but wtf- country of origin? the bike was designed by ktm engineers not bajaj. bajaj only sell and use ktm technology to an extent.
Pushkar says:
February 18, 2012 at 2:03 AM
The KTM Duke 125 has never been for sale in India. And only the bookings for the KTM Duke 200 have opened. Get your facts right!
BBQdog says:
February 18, 2012 at 11:19 AM
On January 24, 2012 the 200 Duke was presented to the public in New Delhi for the first time. With this model KTM – in cooperation with Bajaj – enters the Indian market for the first time and expects sales of more than 20,000 motorcycles. The 200 Duke is the first KTM-model that is available worldwide.
…. enters the Indian market for the first time ….
BBQdog says:
February 19, 2012 at 3:00 AM
On sites from India they are even speaking of 250 and 300 versions !
IBman says:
February 20, 2012 at 12:55 PM
Wrong facts!
The KTM 125 and the KTM 200 are both co-developed by Bajaj and KTM. So yes it is an ‘Indian’ bike that you blokes in Europe hip hop on.
The KTM 125 is not in sale in India.
The KTM 200 has just begun its bookings.
And a pinch of salt: ALL parts on the KTM 125 and the KTM 200 are made in India, and yes the Duke 350 is next in line.
BBQdog says:
February 20, 2012 at 11:08 PM
Why a pinch of salt ?
mxs says:
February 22, 2012 at 10:09 AM
IBman,
you are 100% wrong by saying that all parts on KTM125 and 200 are made in India. the bike is assembled in India and many parts are made in India, but certainly not all.
The one thing about KTM is that it always excited me to read that they do well. Lately though I stopped caring, be cause where I live (Canada) they almost don’t exist. They seem to ignore North American market pretty good. I do realize that it started with the economic downturn, but still all they are known for here is off-road in my opinion. There’s one RC8 I have seen and a couple of Dukes, different models ever …
I am not sure how their recent success thanks to India will trickle down to where I live or North America in general. You see Honda, Ducati really communicating frequently with their potential buyers, I don’t remember last time seeing any announcement from KTM North America. Do they even exist?? Because I would love to ask them why the new Duke 690 ain’t hitting our shore ….

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