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.

MotoGP: Qatar GP Turns into a Two-Wheeled Battle Royal

03/20/2011 @ 7:50 pm, by Jensen Beeler5 COMMENTS

MotoGP: Qatar GP Turns into a Two Wheeled Battle Royal Hector Barbera MotoGP Qatar GP Scott Jones

The MotoGP season is underway in earnest now, as the premier class took to the desert’s night sky in Qatar for the inaugural race of the 2011 MotoGP Championship season. With the Repsol Hondas seemingly operating in a parallel universe, all eyes were on the rest of the field to see if they could touch the dynamic duo of Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa.

With the pair joined by Jorge Lorenzo on the grid, the Spaniard was eight tenths of second slower in qualifying than the second-fastest Honda of Pedrosa. Some worried that the MotoGP fans of Qatar would be in for a follow-the-leader race, but those concerns were put to rest as multiple bouts between riders erupted on the night track. Spoilers on the Qatar GP after the jump.

With the flag dropping against the Arabian night, the first lap saw all the riders make it through Turn 1 unscathed. Unfortunately for Randy de Puniet his old ways of crashing seem to be rearing their ugly head again, as the Frenchman was in the gravel before making a complete lap around the circuit.

Taking the lead in the first lap was Jorge Lorenzo, but he would swiftly be chased down by the ridiculously quick Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa. Stoner lead the first five laps, then swapped places with Pedrosa in Lap 6, who then took over for the six laps. Stoner definitively answered Pedrosa’s challenge in the twelfth lap, and proceeded to check-out from the race at the point forward, taking the gap up to 3.376 seconds by the finish line.

By Lap 14, Stoner’s battle with Pedrosa soon became Pedrosa’s battle with Jorge Lorenzo. The two Spaniards have no love lost between them, and both were pushing their machines to the very edge trying to catch each other. Battling all the way to the final lap, Lorenzo was able to best Pedrosa, who was dealing with immense pain from his still injured left shoulder after the race.

The battle for fourth was equally entertaining as the battle for second, as Andrea Dovizioso and Marco Simoncelli delighted fans with their maneuverings. Dovi lead Simoncelli though Lap 7, but saw his fellow Italian begin to challenge him by the 5th lap. Leading Dovizioso through Lap 17, Simoncelli finally had to relinquish his lead, watching Dovi slip through his grasp. The pair would fight it out to the line, in another epic showing of racing at Qatar.

Though finishing seventh, Valentino Rossi found himself battling with Ben Spies & Hector Barbera for sixth early on the in the race. Once Barbera’s pace could longer stay with the pair, he fell from their ranks, leaving Spies to work on Rossi unhindered. Finally in the 17th lap, Spies got past and clear of Rossi, and into open track. Fading from the pace with his injured shoulder, Rossi would drop to three seconds behind Spies as they crossed the finish line.

Americans Colin Edwards and Nicky Hayden finished farther down the grid, finishing the race 8th and 9th respectively, which was mixed result for Edwards and a disappointment for Hayden. The Pramac Ducati team must also be frustrated with its outing in Qatar as well, seeing both of its riders retire from the race due to the same incident.

Crashing in the first lap, Randy de Puniet’s bike clipped Loris Capirossi’s hand, hyper-extending his finger. Capirex was in such pain, he returned to the pits a lap later, fearing he’d broken his finger. Toni Elias also didn’t make the race distance, touching the white line with four laps remaing, the Spanish rider went for a high-speed fall, marring his MotoGP return.

Race Results from MotoGP at the Qatar GP:

Pos.No.RiderNationTeamBikeDiff
127Casey STONERAUSRepsol Honda TeamHonda42’38.569
21Jorge LORENZOSPAYamaha Factory RacingYamaha+3.440
326Dani PEDROSASPARepsol Honda TeamHonda+5.051
44Andrea DOVIZIOSOITARepsol Honda TeamHonda+5.942
558Marco SIMONCELLIITASan Carlo Honda GresiniHonda+7.358
611Ben SPIESUSAYamaha Factory RacingYamaha+10.468
746Valentino ROSSIITADucati TeamDucati+16.431
85Colin EDWARDSUSAMonster Yamaha Tech 3Yamaha+26.293
969Nicky HAYDENUSADucati TeamDucati+27.416
107Hiroshi AOYAMAJPNSan Carlo Honda GresiniHonda+28.920
1135Cal CRUTCHLOWGBRMonster Yamaha Tech 3Yamaha+34.539
128Hector BARBERASPAMapfre Aspar Team MotoGPDucati+34.829
1317Karel ABRAHAMCZECardion AB MotoracingDucati+37.957
Not Classified
DNF24Toni ELIASSPALCR Honda MotoGPHonda4 Laps
DNF65Loris CAPIROSSIITAPramac Racing TeamDucati21 Laps
DNF14Randy DE PUNIETFRAPramac Racing TeamDucati0 Lap

Photo: © 2011 Scott Jones Photography – All Rights Reserved

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Comment:

  1. 76 says:
    March 20, 2011 at 9:32 PM

    Elias went down before the white line, was kind of strange he just tucked it and hard. Seems like nothing went his way this weekend. Hopefully things start to click for him

  2. Steve says:
    March 21, 2011 at 12:15 AM

    Not such a good start from Spies but he rode a fantastic race and was intimidated,tenacious and smooth to pass Rossi near the end to finish 6th. I’m not a big fan of Whore Gay but I was so impressed with his ride to finsih 2nd ahead of Dani. Simoncelli will be a big threat this year and he’s a demon. Too bad for Hayden to finish back in the pack but he’s a fighter, he’ll be up there. Those Honda’s were bullets but the next track is far more technical so let’s see what the Yamaha’s have for em there. Great start to the season I thought…. Yeahhhh!

  3. Andreas says:
    March 21, 2011 at 12:22 PM

    I’d rather you didn’t use “Whore Gay”. Leave that stuff for soccer/football! These guys are professional racers going really really really fast!

    Elias has been complaining about rear wheel traction. He is a great rider. It’s a shame how he lost his rear 4 laps to go. I hope that after this, his team will try more to bring for him a solution to this problem.
    Simoncelli is really tall!!! He looks kinda odd on the RC212V, doesn’t he? :-) Really fast rider!
    It’s a shame about the Pramac team…

    It’s a same there where only 16 riders to start the race. … and to finish 13 riders!… I mean, c’mon! With 15 riders to the points there isn’t any “reason” to risk to go FAST! Even the last of the pack would take some points home.
    It’s not so difficult for the the riders to make the start without falling on each other! [There where only 16 riders starting] …It was a good race though!
    On the other hand, there was a lot of action in Moto2 and 125cc. Great races! I really enjoyed those.

    THE real problem in MotoGP is the number of motorcycles participating and DORNA has to find a solution for this. Bringing the 1000cc is somewhat like coping the WSBK in MotoGP. WSBK are very prototypical machines; real race weapons! They have no relationship with the production motorcycles from which they come from. Only resemblance is the exterior. And their track times are not so far from MotoGP. …maybe a big difference with MotoGP is that “old” guys can win, as opposed to MotoGP. Even Moto2 are prototypes (now, that’s something to talk about!) based around 600cc production motors which have less power that SS600.

  4. luke says:
    March 21, 2011 at 4:25 PM

    Pedrobot said in the post race interview that he suffered primarily from arm pump, he didn’t mention his shoulder injury afaik. He looked fit to cry about it, I think he perhaps thought he was through that issue in the off season, but now its back to dog him again. Poor bugger.

    I was so impressed with Casey’s form on the Honda, I think this could be an amazing year of racing for them, I mean they haven’t won since the kentucky kid was holding the reigns right? Perhaps Jorge was right when he said Casey was his real competition this year (no mention of Rossi….). Though I have NEVER seen a current world champion so unbelievably happy with second place!! Guess he never thought he was going to be able to place ahead of pedro with the out of corner speed the hondas have at present.
    A good start to the year.

  5. Earl Shives says:
    March 21, 2011 at 7:33 PM

    Honda and Yamaha had better be satisfied with their current levels of development. I have a feeling that due to the unfortunate circumstances in Japan, further development will be hindered. Don’t count the Ducati out yet. Rossi and Hayden were on two different chassis and you can bet that there will be a new transmission coming as well. By the way Andreas, the first person I heard say “Whore Gay” was Rossi in a post-race interview. Just sayin’…