This, race fans, is Danilo Petrucci, one of the brave souls trying his luck on the future of MotoGP hardware, in his case the doggedly underpowered Came IodaRacing Project machine. Not on a (relatively) zippy Aprilia ART, or a Honda-powered FTR, Petrucci qualifies on the same grid as Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo, and brings to this gunfight a knife that packs a whopping 185 bhp, compared to the factory prototype engines that are rumored to be around 260 bhp. As I photograph a race, I see a much different version of the event than TV viewers. I watch the recorded TV broadcast later, and can tell you that there is a lot going on with the Claiming Rule Team bikes that doesn’t make in onto TV.
We are now purely a “suck, squeeze, bang, blow” society, and while that suits many motorists just fine, there are some who enjoy the smell of pre-mix in the morning — you know who you are. You enjoy the sound of angry bees following you from apex to off-camber. You think a displacement for “serious riders” starts at around 250cc. You like your engine compression low, and your powerbands narrow. You sir (or madam), are a two-stroke junky, and we have just the fix you need. Having a bevy of intriguing two-wheeled projects within its walls, the Swiss bike that catches our eye today is the Suter 500 Factory V4: a two-stroke, 500cc, V4, track weapon that puts out over 200 hp and weighs 284 lbs ready to race — no, that is not a typo.
Blurred to protect against spoilers, we’ll just leave things simply by saying that World Superbike’s Race 2 at Donington Park is well worth a watching if you haven’t already seen it. Decided right down to the last few turns, race pundits surely will be discussing the race and its outcome over the next week. Unsurprisingly, geography is playing a major a role in how things are being viewed. Though in a race where a number of questionable passes occurred, it is hard to single out this one event from the plethora of others that occurred during the race, but of course this one had the biggest effect on the race outcome. Click past the jump for the he said, she said, and of course for some slightly sharper photos.
More news from Norton, as the British firm has begun track-testing its V4 road race bike, in preparation of the 2012 Isle of Man TT. Focusing on the bike’s handling, Norton has been working hand-in-hand with Öhlins and Dunlop developing the bike’s chassis. The trio has devised the highly sophisticated “165 mph no hands” test, which supposedly checks the stability of the bike, though we imagine Health & Safety would frown upon it. With the bike’s Aprilia RSV4 motor putting out 195hp at the crank, and with the total race package weighing 419 lbs (195 kg) when it is sopping wet, the Spondon-framed Norton may not be exactly what fans of the famous marques were hoping for after seeing the very appealing Norton NRV 588, though it does seem to be a potent package.
Launching in downtown Los Angeles, the 2012 Brammo Empulse R & 2013 Brammo Empulse broke their cover and officially debuted. Right off the bat from the designations, you can see that Brammo intends for the Empulse R to be a 2012 model, with the base model Emuplse coming out next year (more on that further down). As we expected, the Brammo Empulse R got quite the price bump after its 22-month marination, and will be $18,995 MSRP. Meanwhile when the Brammo Empulse becomes available next year, it will have a slightly more palatable $16,995 price tag.
While the EBR 1190RS race bikes were on the track, their $40,000+ street-legal counterparts were on display outside of the Erik Buell Racing garage. Rocking an American flag livery, I naturally took pictures of this show bike. Eye catching to say the least, nothing says “Made in ‘merica” better than a red, white, and blue color scheme, especially when it is laid over carbon fiber. And while I want to love this bike because of its nuances and outside-of-the-box technical design, I don’t.
If there’s one lesson we can take from Sunday’s race at Estoril, it’s this: “I’ve always said we know Casey’s the guy that’s the fastest guy in the world. Maybe over the seasons he hasn’t put the championships together, but by far he’s the best guy in the world.” Cal Crutchlow is not known for mincing his words, and his description of Casey Stoner pulls no punches. But given the fact that Stoner only managed to win the Portuguese round of MotoGP by a second and a bit, is that not a little exaggerated?
Brammo is back for electric motorcycle racing in the North American TTXGP series, as the Ashland-based company is set to defend it’s #1 plate this year with Steve Atlas on board ( Shelina Moreda is slated to join the team later in the season). Gaining a title sponsorship from Icon, Brammo arrived at Sears Point with some edgy graphics on the 2012 Brammo Empulse RR. Dropping roughly 35 lbs in weight, and gaining roughly 50hp over the bike they ran at last year’s season opener, Brammo is making most of those gains in its revised motor and power inverter for the newest Empulse RR.
As you can imagine, the bulk of the commentary, both from readers and from professional journalists, has centered around the absurdity of the claim, with even jokes being offered about how an aged BMW rider should be thanking the German motorcycle brand for saving him money on Viagra, etc. The situation reminds me of the McDonald’s hot coffee lawsuit. You know the story, right?. A woman buys a cup of coffee at McDonald’s, spills it on herself while in the car, and sues the bastards for her incompetence. True to litigious American form, the unthinkable happened, and a jury awarded this gold-digging woman millions of dollars. It is repudiating, and it stands for everything that is wrong with the legal system, or so we would be lead to believe — especially by the media.
Never say never, but few are expecting Valentino Rossi to hang up his spurs at the end of the 2012 MotoGP Championship. Going out on a career low-point is certainly not the Italian’s style, especially as it casts a particularly dark shadow on a career that has enjoyed the bright-light superlative of “Greatest of All Time” from some of motorcycling’s most knowledgeable sources. Hoping to cast that phrase with an underlined typeface, and not with an interrogatory question mark, there is sufficient evidence to believe that Rossi will want to end his career in a way that will leave no doubt about the nine-time World Champion’s abilities. The question of course is how those final seasons will play out, and who they will be with.
Can it win?
Without special rules to help it?
We’ll see.
Bob the Builder can you fix it!
i just keep thinking crash bill, head light / taillight track crash, everything hinges off the motor. Even a little road bingle hitting an object on a slide……
this thing is like a supermodel wearing a summer dress with no Reg Grundies (Australian for underpants)
John, there must be a cultural difference here. I’ve never complained about a supermodel in a summer dress with no knickers on….
John I think this Duc just might fair alittle better than the XX98 / Streetfighter frame design in regards to the street. Remember the existing frame included tabs off the frame in which the rearsets mounted to, these tabs are extremely easy to bend in a simple lowside or crash. The catch thats part of the frame, your insurance company totals the frame that second. This means in most cases the bike is totalled. Honestly in the event of any normal crash on a Fully faired Ducati its going to be tough not having the bike as a complete writeoff because of the bodywork cost alone.
Interesting the air looks like directly through the headpipe area in the center, strange because the intake in the fairing are split like the xx98 under the headlamps. Normally the most direct method is the most efficient. I again agree this is the direction of production streetbikes of the future. When the 2nd most expensive element of a production bike is removed or reduced like this and integrated in existing structures it means reduced cost, the Japanese are watching closely. Whether it will race remains to be seen, just remember there are plenty of models that dont need to race.
I’m torn between liking the Buell-like practicality of the low exhaust and the traditional “twins under the tail” as on my 1198 SP, what I have long considered a signature look for Ducati. One thing for sure, the seat temperature should improve with the 1199.
I wonder what Rossi has to say, he had an incredible year with its big brother….
76 says:
Interesting the air looks like directly through the headpipe area in the center, strange because the intake in the fairing are split like the xx98 under the headlamps. Normally the most direct method is the most efficient.
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Yes, u gotta thank for that all the “traditionalist Ducati critics” affraid of “too much change to handle at once on our little bike darling”.
They couldn’t possibly handle/cope with so much “Averting from the righteous traditional path” in one “swift total redesign”.
Silly cry babies.
I still say, SCREW FORM…GIVE ME FUNCTION & THEN BEAUTY…(think Concorde airplane) unless we are talking about girls or else.
I too would like to see on the future how “the others” take on the “frame-less” Saga unfolds and new ideas they bring to the table.
P.S: 3 isuess i see here…
How big is the filter going to be, where xactly it goes and AirBox HEAT Saturation anyone ?
Someone help the blind guy…me. LOL.
Get it to the US put it in the dealerships gives a test ride we’ll talk then…
I’m a little concerned about the clutch line that appears to be running right through the rear shock mount(reference picture 2)….oops :P. Damn draftsman!
That’s a “feature” ;)
Yes- its a lubricated shock bushing! genius
For those that appreciate a little nudity… http://t.co/kH3VTZHz
Ducati 1199 Panigale Naked http://t.co/XasU18lm
This is for Mr. Crowly…. last time i checked the 1198 beat the inline fours straight up in SS. By the way the twins WSBK carry more weight , intake restrictors, and a stock motor unlike the four cylinders machines with reworked heads with more compression. Yes the twins run 1200cc but with two less cylinders only advantage the Duc. has is rideability, great front end and Carlos Checa!!! Look how good Nori and Fabrizio did on factory against the 4′s.. P.S. im a racing fan with a 999R, a Desmo, RSV4, and a GSXR600… Last thing i want is a bunch of inline fours racing each other … love to see KTM, Triumph and Benali back in WSBK…
For those that appreciate a little nudity… http://t.co/kH3VTZHz
beautiful engineering through & through on this bike. it would be interesting to see how this mantra of frame design would apply to I4′s…
@Jensen – the headstock appears to pull off both front and rear cylinders, with the subframe mounting to it and the rear cyl. +1 on the supermodel…must be an Aussie thing
@MikeD – Airbox heat saturation would certainly be an issue I’d address with liberal use of aluminized fiberglass insulation on a frame-up AMA racebike build (1/2 hp just ain’t worth the effort at the club level), but on the street it may not be as much of an issue. Seems like a tradeoff between heat soak & airbox volume
@Jensen,
my reference to a supermodel with no undies was to imply, that a hot supermodel which the 1199 is and no undies meaning she’s much more likely to get fucked quite readily…..a pun of sorts.
I don’t understand how this “design” is really all that different from the 851/888 bikes besides the obvious difference in material used for the mainframe. same for the monsters too, only the engine case connects the steering head and the swingarm pivot—-there really is nothing new under the sun