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.
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.
Let’s hear it for unions! In my own experience, I have yet to see or hear of an American labor union doing anything good for the rank and file guy. Unless you consider keeping lazy, overpaid, under-skilled laborers from being fired good for the rank and file guy. I wonder if European unions are that much different?
I was a union man back in the day. I got paid over $40/hr to do unskilled manual labor, with all sorts of perks. I have friends with J.D.’s and M.B.A.’s who make less than that now, which is sort of disconcerting when you consider how much those programs cost.
The EU is far more worker oriented than the US, and Bologna is the center of the socialist movement in Italy. Getting around the unions there is next to impossible…which just adds to the “magic” of owning an Italian motorcycle company.
To grow, Moto Morini needs to come out with a new Superbike!
Unions Put the Kibosh on Moto Morini Acquisition – http://aspha.lt/10t #motorcycle
..based on the existing Corsaro Veloce chassis of course.
“Belusconi’s original offer was rumored to be for around €2.8-2.9 million, and included provisions for worker severance pay, new hires, and the new company leasing the current factory for the next six years, which would keep jobs in the Bologna area.”
Apart from this paragraph we don’t really know what was offered to the workers. Many in the media think that workers should just shut up and accept anything that is offered.
Yes, there have been crazy demands from Unions but until you know the facts why assume the Unions are the sole problem. What if Belusconi offered half pay for new hires, should the Union accept that?
In addition, If you think the Unions alone destroyed GM and Chrysler you are a fool.
Let’s stick to Motorcycles and keep away from politics, shall we.
@Anthony: Again, in my experience, if a union is involved, the union will be the issue. Which is not to say employers are always fair in their dealings, but when my uncle lost his GM job because the UAW and GM could not reach an agreement the “politics” of it became moot. The other union with which I am forced to contend with on a daily basis (whom I shall not name for employment reasons) makes it a point to go out of their way to get reinstated employees who have been fired for proper cause (assault, drugs, etc) and has even directed their chapters to file grievances for the sole purpose of extorting monies from the company. When the company is no longer able to afford to do business because of frivolous grievances and must shut down, who then is to blame?
Union is just trying to defend workers. According to the italian media, no official offers were made in order to mantain the job of any of the present day emploees, just a verbal(!) promise to save 20 jobs out of ca. 60. Any solution proposed by the Union, which they say woud cost nothing to Berlusconi, was refused.
Several people think that Berlusconi is interested only in the brand and would shout down the pruduction of bike in Bologna, hence fire all workers, and perhaps to it move abroad. His other company (Garelli) is in fact 100% “made in China”.
Unions do need to improve, but unions definitely are needed. Without them, big business will not take long to do whatever to whomever. Best wishes on a mutually beneficial agreement and long live Moto Morini
Its a shame that they are having these troubles. I’d love to see a larger selection of sport twins on the market. IMHO unions aren’t necessary – business, big or little are limited by the market quite nicely. This point isn’t universally accepted, but does have significant support – at least enough that it shouldn’t be quickly dismissed. I totally agree with the best wishes for all parties involved!
The workers have always been a liability to the CEO class, and unless your a CEO, you should back off of blaming unions or workers for this deal falling through.
There are no published offers made from Belusconi or the unions. So when bashing unions or the workers, you show your own bias.
How do you know it’s not the unions/workers insisting the factory stay there longer that the other side cant agree to? or firing the workers and rehiring for half the pay ala circuit city….
its always the worker makes or wants too much money..what a joke.
all the money ends up at the top, maybe one day the union bashers will realize they’re fighting for the owner class and hurting us all.