Grab some popcorn, because this video from Ducati North America is over 14 minutes long. Telling the story of Ducati at the 2011 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), DNA has put together a great video that really captures how special the racing is at Pikes Peak, and how gorgeous the scenery is of the Colorado Mountains. With Santa Barbara Ducati’s Carlin Dunne winning the overall motorcycle category on his dealership’s Multistrada 1200 demo model, Alexander Smith from the Spider Grips Ducati Team made it a double podium for Ducati in the 1205cc class. If you’re new to racing at Pikes Peak, or wanted a quick re-cap of last year’s race, Ducati’s video pretty accurately sums up racing on the mountain and the anxiety around last year’s race.
Ducati has announced its factory team for the 2012 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), and the Italian company has secured the services of last-year’s winner and Rookie of the Year Carlin Dunne as well as six-time PPIHC winner Greg Tracy. Ducati has also partnered with the Spider Grips team, who will help prepare the teams Ducati Multistrada 1200 for the “Race to the Clouds” on July 8th. For 2012, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb will be fully-paved to the top of the mountain, which will surely see the speeds of competitors increase, and lap times drop on the 12.42 mile long course that ends at 14,110 feet.
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.
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.
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).
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
I have more of an urge to buy glow sticks and swing them around than interest in the bike now…
Asphalt & Rubber (Ms. Gun in particular)
Those are not commercials, they are promo tape for flagship dealerships and trade show backgrounds. If you had ever been to a real global trade event like EICMA or Intermot, then perhaps you would have known that.
Commercial…promo tape…it’s still marketing, and at an event like a trade show, B2B marketing should take a page out of the B2C book.
Yes, we’ve been to EICMA. If I close my eyes, I can see it now. Lights strobing, techno music blaring, maybe a couple of booth babes draped over models from last year, and a bike with a big sheet over it center-stage.
Call it what you will but this is what’s being passed-off as a best practice at the industry’s only real chance to interact in-person with customers and dealers.
Yamaha FZ8/Fazer 8 Coming to Canada – USA Next? – http://aspha.lt/12u #motorcycle
Did I mention that these are the WORST motorcycle ads I've ever seen? Now, that's saying a lot. – http://aspha.lt/12u
RT @Asphalt_Rubber Did I mention that these are the WORST motorcycle ads I've ever seen? Now, that's saying a lot. – http://aspha.lt/12u
Although I love sport standards, this is one I’m completely unexcited about. What’s the point of a sleeved down FZ1? If it had a big weight advantage that could be a reason for its existence, but from the reports I’ve seen the weight is the same as the big FZ so what’s the point?
Oontz oontz oontz. If nothing else this will motivate others to attempt some more middle-weight nekkids. Problem is that US folks are too insecure to buy bikes that look like they belong on the street instead of the track, regardless of how rideable and practical you make them.
GROWL……WTH? It would be nice to actually HEAR the bike, lol. Substitute for brains???? What ever. Nice bike though.
Yamaha is really barking up the wrong tree with this. Unless it is dramatically cheaper than the FZ1 its going to be a flop in the US.
Yamaha had the perfect opportunity to make something really special. Consider, they could have made an FZ1.2 with a cross-plane motor stroked to 1200cc. Offer a limited edition model with ohlins suspension bits and some pretty carbon bits, charge extra for it and they’d be able to enter the high end sport-standard market which I think is just taking off. They’d steal sales from the VFR1200R from ST riders who want something less bland, they’d steal sales from the MTS1200 from ST riders who don’t need the long-travel suspension, but want some excitement. Probably wouldn’t hurt sales of their own FJ1300 much as the weight and focus would be very different.