Cutaway Photos of the Ducati Superquadro Engine

I was flipping through some photos from the 2011 EICMA show, and found these shots of the Ducati 1199 Panigale’s Superquadro engine. Unfortunately at the show, Ducati had its 1199cc v-twin motor behind a Lexan case, which created a bit of a glare, reflections, and of course had smudges from the touchy-feely Italian crowd. But still, the photos give a good idea of what’s going on in Ducati’s most-advanced production engine to date, and are better than just looking at the CAD renders. If you look at the shots very closely, you can almost see where the 195hp and 98 lbs•ft of torque is lurking inside.

AGV, Please Make This Helmet!

In addition to testing the factory Ducati Desmosedici GP12 “Phoenix” this week at Sepang, Valentino Rossi is also trying out a new lid from AGV. Aside from the carbon fiber goodness, and of course the Rossi stickers (which add 5hp & $200), AGV’s prototype helmet sports a noticably pronounced rear spoiler. Tucked in behind the windscreen, it is obvious why the Italian helmet manufacturer designed such a large protrusion off the back of the prototype helmet, as it looks to be clearly helping the flow off the back of the helmet, across the rider’s hump, and down his backside.

2012 Honda RC213V Debuts in Malaysia

While Ducati Corse is busy playing hide-the-Desmosedici at Sepang, HRC is all business in Malaysia this week, and has debuted its 2012 Honda RC213V MotoGP-contender. Honda isn’t saying too much about the RC213V, simply stating that the race bike is all new, but is also a continuation of the company’s design with the 800cc Honda RC212V. Testing the Honda RC213V over the course of last season, reigning-World Champion Casey rode the new 1,000cc machine three times in 2011, while teammate Dani Pedrosa swung a leg over the RC213V twice (missing one test because of injury).

No, This is the “90%” New Ducati Desmosedici GP12

You may have been misled by some eager journalists today and yesterday, if you saw a Ducati Corse livery-clad Ducati Desmosedici GP12 that some sites were passing off as the first shots of the “90% new” GP12. With the alleged new GP12 looking surprisingly similar to the aluminum-framed “GP0″ that was tested at Valencia, Valentino Rossi’s mechanic has now Alex Briggs confirmed that the photos taken were not of the all new “GP12 Phoenix” that the factory team will race this season. While the Ducati lords can taketh away, they can also giveth, and Valentino Rossi himself has posted the first photo of the factory Desmosedici GP12, and the bike is clearly different.

Zero Motorcycles Commences 2012 Model Line Production

Zero Motorcycles has announced the full-commencement of production for its 2012 model line, which is expected to hit dealers in February & March of this year. First off the line was the 2012 Zero DS back in December, though the electric motorcycle company has recently started building the Zero S, Zero XU, Zero X, and Zero MX at its Scotts Valley facility as well. A story we broke back in November, Zero Motorcycles debuted its important 2012 electric motorcycle line up at the 2011 EICMA show in Milan, with the 2012 range being a substantial improvement upon the company’s previous offerings.

The Dainese D-Air Racing Airbag Suit Comes to America

Getting a look at Dainese & AGV’s 2012 collection, Asphalt & Rubber was down in Orange County earlier this week to see the highly anticipated Dainese D-Air Racing leather suit, which has a four liter airbag system that helps reduce the risk of injury during a motorcycle crash. Dainese has been working on the D-Air Racing system for 10 years now, and after soft-launching the airbag suit in Europe, the Italian company is ready to bring the game-changing technology to American soil.

I Love the Nightlife. I’ve Come to Boogie.

Us Danes, we’re a strange breed. From the culture that taught you how to rape and pillage, Scandinavia is making yet another contribution to the motorcycling world with this latest video. Featuring Danish Supermoto Champion Andreas Mikkelsen, we get a RoToR camera-esque perspective (this rig is actually home made) on the Dane’s practice session at the Als Supermotard Club in Denmark. It’s videos like this that are slowly eroding my will-power to resist getting into supermotard riding. Also, I don’t know who was in charge of the music selection on this thing, but my hat is off to him/her. I love the nightlife. I’ve come to boogie.

Confirmed: KTM 350 Duke in 2013 – Moto3 Inspired 350cc Sport Bike in 2014

Our friends over at IndianCarsBikes.in were in attendance at the KTM 200 Duke launch in India this week, as the Austrian brand launched its somewhat bigger-displacement version of the popular KTM Duke 125. During the press event, KTM talked about the future of the mini-Duke line and its product roadmap for the emerging country, as well as abroad. With the Austrian brand confirming/clarifying that KTM would release a KTM 350 Duke for India in 2013, zie Austrians also confirmed that the KTM 350 Duke would be built locally in India by Bajaj, but would be exported worldwide — allaying fears that the KTM 350 Duke would be an India-only model.

Why Today is the Most Important Day for Ducati…Ever

Now that the first Ducati 1199 Panigale has rolled out of the door in Bologna, the die is cast, the chips are in play, and our course is set to see if Ducati has created a “massive breach of brand trust and honesty.” The realization of course should be that Ducati’s brand was never in danger with bikes like the Hypermotard, Multistrada 1200, or Diavel. Instead, the danger of serious brand dilution has always rested on how Ducati handled its Superbike line. A failure to produce a two-wheeled machine that is both as striking visually as it is kinetically, could permanently alienate a loyal fan base that has endured a great deal in the past half-decade.

Video: Community + Motorcycles = Motomethod

There is a lot that can be said about why dealerships fail or succeed (we’ve already seen an interesting insight on the subject of shops being open on Sundays), and one aspect on how to be a successful dealership that will surely rise to the top is one of community. Here, Vancouver-based Motomethod is all about the community, as the do-it-yourself community garden style repair shop has become a place for British Columbian riders not to work on their motorcycles, but also to congregate together with a shared love of riding on two wheels. Not exactly a new concept business-wise, but still a fresh perspective in an otherwise unwilling to change industry. More on this thought process to be published in the coming weeks. Enjoy.

Shocking Barack: Brammo Wants Obama To Ride An Electric Motorcycle

Thu, October 15th, 2009 @ 6:10 pm, by John Adamo9 COMMENTS
Home » News » Shocking Barack: Brammo Wants Obama To Ride An Electric Motorcycle

Brian Wismann and David Schiff are on a mission two Brammo’s riding from Detroit, Michigan to Washington DC, retracing the steps of the Big 3 automakers with an end goal of meeting with President Obama. Brammo feels they have a solution to the transportation crisis and America’s dependence on oil, and they want Obama to see the Brammo Enertia first hand.

Wismann and Schiff make a very interesting and unlikely combination of engineer and marketing personality. Brian being the strait-laced Lead Engineer of Brammo and Dave the tattoo covered, extremely vocal Creative Director of Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Brammo’s advertising firm. Dave often rides with CP+B partner Alex Bogusky, and is no stranger to motorcycles.

Knowing the brains behind this trek, it fairly obvious the motivation leans towards marketing, but they pose a strong argument that solving the “transportation crisis” is the goal.

While we are not overly confident this journey will end with Barack sitting on an Enertia there is no doubt it will bring visibility to Brammo, electric motorcycles, and electric transportation in general. Over the last 2 days the duo has met with Jim Cousins and interviewed him about his electric vehicle collection (the largest in the world), conducted an interview with Fox news and Auto Blog Green and met with the Mayor of Adrian, Michigan.

It appears the journey will help Brammo gain some insights on the challenges electric motorcycle owners will face in a world built for petrol powered vehicles. Brian and David must seek electrical outlets every 40 miles, beg for $0.35 of electricity for the 4 hour recharge and can’t exceed 60 mph, the Enertia’s top speed. Much of the Michigan leg has been cold and rainy. They have been pulled over for running a stop sign in an attempt to save the electricity of accelerating. They are not trying to hide this either, it is all being documented on twitter, the Shocking Barack web site and YouTube with a good amount of humor.

Asphalt & Rubber wishes Schocking Barack the best of luck. As always, everything Brammo is being watched closely and documented by BrammoFan. If you would like to host these guys and let them charge up join their group at Couchsurfing.com. They are also hoping to network with anyone who can arrange a meeting with Obama if you happen to know anyone. Stay tuned.

Source: Shocking Barack via: Plug Bike

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Tagged under: Brammo, Brian Wismann, CP+B, Crispin Porter and Bogusky, David Schiff, electric, electric motorcycle, marketing, Shocking Barack, video

Comment:

John Adamo says:
October 15, 2009 at 3:08 PM
RT @Asphalt_Rubber: Shocking Barack: Brammo Wants Obama To Ride An Electric Motorcycle – http://bit.ly/2pyauO #motorcycle
Brammofan says:
October 15, 2009 at 3:14 PM
Shocking Barack: Brammo Wants Obama To Ride An Electric Motorcycle – http://bit.ly/2pyauO (via @Asphalt_Rubber) by @skadamo , the great!
Frank Schuengel says:
October 15, 2009 at 6:28 PM
RT @skadamo: RT @Asphalt_Rubber: Shocking Barack: Brammo Wants Obama To Ride An Electric Motorcycle – http://bit.ly/2pyauO #motorcycle
Betinternet.com says:
October 15, 2009 at 7:16 PM
RT @skadamo RT @Asphalt_Rubber: Shocking Barack: Brammo Wants Obama To Ride An Electric Motorcycle – http://bit.ly/2pyauO #motorcycle
Asphalt_Rubber says:
October 15, 2009 at 10:05 PM
Shocking Barack: Brammo Wants Obama To Ride An Electric Motorcycle – http://bit.ly/2pyauO #motorcycle
Jeff A. Jones says:
October 16, 2009 at 1:19 AM
Shocking Barack: Brammo Wants Obama To Ride An Electric Motorcycle http://bit.ly/4g0zFP
Cleo Tate says:
October 16, 2009 at 5:41 AM
Shocking Barack: Brammo Wants Obama To Ride An Electric Motorcycle http://bit.ly/3MbMXV
Morpheous says:
October 16, 2009 at 3:24 PM
They are naive if they think this is a “solution” for American transportation. Hell, most Americans cant(wont) even ride a bicycle anymore, let alone a motorcycle or scooter. You cannot use your mobile comm devices when you actually have to concentrate and use all your extremities to be mobile. This, unfortunately, is a flight of fancy for what will become a novel attempt to change the world. (electric or gas powered, bi-wheeled transport modes dont mesh with full time communications addiction). This is a global situation and its a shame. Busses will gain mainstream popularity and light rail will prevail for commuters as the country comes to terms with the energy issues facing us. Romantic idea at best.
Areez says:
October 22, 2009 at 3:38 AM
Would suggest diming that headlight a bit during daytime running to conserve some battery power. Or maybe swapping the bulb out with one of those energy saver bulbs???