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.

BMW F800GS Adventure – Germany’s Middleweight ADV

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.

WSBK: Vets & Rookies Mix It Up for Race 2 at Phillip Island

02/26/2011 @ 9:46 pm, by Victoria Reid1 COMMENT

WSBK: Vets & Rookies Mix It Up for Race 2 at Phillip Island Marco Melandri Race 2 Phillip Island 635x417

Sunday dawned a damp Phillip Island for the opening round of World Superbike racing, after a clear week of testing and practices which were all dominated by Carlos Checa. The Spaniard won pole on Saturday, though reigning champion Max Biaggi’s improvement through the weekend brought his qualifying time to within .013s of Checa’s. Sylvain Guintoli and Leon Haslam were next to the veterans on the front row.

Both were also fast in the damp morning warm-up, though Australian Troy Corser was fastest in the changed conditions, with Checa was tenth fastest. It was dry and sunny by race time rolled around for Race 1, though the sky had turned grey for Sunday’s second race. To see how the riders adapted to the changed weather for Race 2, continue reading after the jump.

Neither Chris Vermeulen nor Sylvain Guintoli started Race 2, as both were sidelined by injuries. Vermeulen missed the entire weekend, as well as testing earlier in the week, as the knee he injured in Race 2 at Phillip Island in 2010 continues to recover, while Guintoli was injured in a Race 1 crash.

Haslam got a great start, leading into the first turn, and giving Checa a fight before the Spaniard disposed of him for good on his way to winning a double at Phillip Island. Biaggi got off the line slowly, dropping down to fifth on the first lap and seventh on the second. Though he finished second, the Champion had to fight off former rival and experienced rookie Marco Melandri to do so. Melandri finished third, with Rea and Haslam completing the top five.

Early in the race, Haslam held up teammate Corser, Biaggi, Melandri and others while in second place. Melandri won the four-wide scrum at Doohan to win second, and get around Haslam on lap six, though by that time Checa was over three seconds ahead. There, Biaggi and Melandri would begin their fight, continuing through the race. Corser looked to be part of their battle, but ran down the escape road at the Honda corner and dropped back to eleventh. Laverty had a similar issue just after passing Haslam for fourth, subsequently dropping to eighteenth.

At the halfway point, Checa led Biaggi, Melandri, Haga, and Haslam as the top five, and the fight between Biaggi and Melandri was just beginning to heat up. They were back and forth, with Melandri diving under and going around the outside of Biaggi, while the more powerful Aprilia continued to pass the Yamaha on the straights. In the end Checa won, and Biaggi managed to keep the small gap he gained in the final couple of laps and the charging Melandri behind.

World Superbike Race Results from Race 2 at Phillip Island:

Pos.No.RiderTeamDiff.
17Carlso ChecaAlthea Racing-
21Max BiaggiAprilia Alitalia Racing Team1.188
333Marco MelandriYamaha WSBK Team1.406
44Jonathan ReaCastrol Honda10.563
591Leon HaslamBMW Motorrad Motorsport10.885
62Leon CamierAprilia Alitalia Racing Team16.914
741Noriyuki HagaPATA Racing Team Aprilia17.558
884Michel FabrizioTeam Suzuki Alstare17.679
966Tom SykesPaul Bird Kawasaki Racing18.07
10111Ruben XausCastrol Honda19.053
1196Jakub SmrzTeam Effenbert-Liberty Racing (Ducati)19.06
1244Roberto RolfoTeam Pedercini Kawasaki23.771
1312Josh WatersYoshimura Suzuki23.956
1452James ToselandBMW Motorrad Italia SBK28.713
1558Eugene LavertyYamaha WSBK Team32.673
168Mark AitchisonTeam Pedercini Kawasaki33.226
1767Bryan StaringTeam Pedercini Kawasaki42.598
18121Maxime BergerSupersonic Racing Team (Ducati)51.819
1911Troy CorserBMW Motorrad Motorsport55.738
Not Classified
13Joan LascorzPaul Bird Kawasaki Racing8 Laps
20Ayrton BadoviniBMW Motorrad Italia SBK

Source: WorldSBK; Photo: Yamaha-Racing

Top 5 Related Posts:

  1. WSBK: Race Results for Race 1 at Phillip Island
  2. WSBK: Race Results for Race 2 at Phillip Island

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Comment:

  1. pete says:
    February 28, 2011 at 8:22 PM

    title should read: ex-motogp vets claim phillip island race 2 podium hostage :D