Mission Motorcycles: The Mission R Lives??!

Mission Motors tweeted out something interesting just a moment ago, a link to a new website for Mission Motorcycles. Teasing there a photo of the Mission R, it would seem that the electric superbike that does competitive AMA Supersport lap times at Laguna Seca, is finally set to come to production. It seems we won’t know everything about the new Mission Motorcycles project until June 3rd, though we can speculate pretty accurately on what the A&R Bothan spy network has been telling us. Expect to see the Mission R electric superbike in street legal trim, honed even further than when we rode the machine back in August last year.

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.

Rizoma 77|011 Metropolitan Bike

01/07/2013 @ 3:03 pm, by Jensen Beeler8 COMMENTS

It is the off-season here in the US, which means for those of you that don’t get to enjoy the perpetual sunshine of California, your bike is neatly packed away for the winter, and withdrawl from motorcycling is already starting to show its full force. Everyone deals with this process differently, and for the racers and track day enthusiasts amongst us, the off-season marks a chance for some much needed maintenance and modification.

We reckon that while a $3,000 full-titanium exhaust system might add a couple more horsepower to the top-end, it is usually the racer that could use the most improvement before next season. While the holidays have been conducive to some “mass centralization” on our bodies, it is never too early to start the physical prep for the riding season.

An obvious translation from our two-wheeled sport, we see many motorcycle racers taking in their fitness training on bicycles. In addition to having the correct number of turning bits, cycling improves cardiovascular fitness, it is low-impact, and it can still be performed with many of the injuries associated with motorcycle racing.

To that vein, motorcycle parts manufacturer Rizoma has released a swanky pushbike for the discerning motorcyclist. True to the brand’s chic, but understated, aesthetic, the Rizoma 77|011 Metropolitan Bike is a bicycle built to take on the city with some serious style. But with that serious style, comes a serious price tag: €3,700. Ouch.

In the same price category as many top-of-the-line road bikes, the Rizoma 77|011 at least features a carbon fiber monocoque frame, single-speed belt-drive, and various billet aluminum and Rizoma brand hallmarks. Probably not enough to justify the outrageous price, but we still think it looks pretty.

Source: Rizoma

Tagged under: bicycle, bike, photos, Rizoma, Rizoma 77|011 Metropolitan Bike

Comment:

onespeedpaul says:
January 7, 2013 at 7:41 PM
$20 brakes on a $3700 bike, OUCH.
L2C says:
January 7, 2013 at 7:57 PM
Gorgeous bike!
ervgopwr says:
January 8, 2013 at 9:38 AM
Another ‘concept’ bike that looks nice, but has no functionality. More pictures of the girl. Even though I bet she was pissed having to sit on that crap seat.
This discening motorcyclist will continue to pedal his motorless-cycle that has actual seat height adjustment, provisions for water bottles, front and rear brakes and eleven (11!) speeds, but no stupid mirror.
Micahel says:
January 8, 2013 at 3:29 PM
I am pretty sure I saw Stefan Bradl riding one of these at Laguna Seca last year. at least the frame is identical, it was one of the weirdest bikes I have ever seen
Jensen Beeler says:
January 8, 2013 at 3:39 PM
Michael, you did. The photos of the girl were done in SF during the same time as LCR Honda’s other promo events.
MikeD says:
January 8, 2013 at 9:25 PM
What a frigging ripoff AND a joke for a bicycle…looking good…BUT NOT $3700 GOOD ! Besides, this thing does nothing else that any regular Walmart sold bike couldn’t possibly do already.
And it wreacks of overpaid/under achiever HIPSTER STINCH !!!!!!!!!!
F-YOU RIZOMA…and all your CNC machined overpriced bits and bobs !
Bruce says:
January 12, 2013 at 6:53 AM
MikeD, you crack me up. I used to get mildly annoyed with some of your rants, but now look forward to reading the A&R comments just to observe your reaction. I find your posts difficult to predict, yet surprisingly, never surprising. Whatever you’re perpetually high on, I hope it’s safe and inexpensive. Ride safe.
As to the bicycle, who cannot admire the billet aluminum crankset and steering stem? Looks awesome. But I’ll stick with my basic IronHorse frame and Truvativ crankset and save my money for motorcycle bits.
MikeD says:
January 12, 2013 at 2:04 PM
@Bruce:
What can i say, even i have my moments, usually more often and f-ed up than the rest of the world. Sometimes i wonder what was going thru my head when i writed some of my previous rants…but i guess that’s what makes MikeD be MikeD.
I say live and let live…
NO, NO drugs…don’t even drink…maybe i should start ? !
P.S: The secret ingredient to fly at my crazy level is SWEETS, LOTS OF IT…and a ship load of randomness in your DNA.
It’ll make u a Diabetic or turn you into one crazy Fudge like me self.
You have a good day Sr. AND stay tuned for more rants to come. LMAO.

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