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.

Kevin Schwantz Returns to Motorcycle Racing – Enters the Suzuka 8-Hours with Team Kagayama

Former 500cc World Champion Kevin Schwantz has certainly been in the news a bit these past few months, mostly for his involvement and falling out with the Circuit of the Americas and the Americas GP, but also more recently for his comments regarding Dani Pedrosa — we also sat down with Mr. Schwantz in Austin, and the Texan gave us some sobering insight into the future of American road racing. As if all that wasn’t enough, Schwantz is making a return to two-wheeled racing, and has entered the prestigious Suzuka 8-Hours endurance race with Team Kagayama racing alongside Noriyuki Haga and team owner Yukio Kagayama.

Öhlins Releases a Semi-Active Suspension Upgrade for the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S – But, What’s Next?

An interesting development on the aftermarket side of things has graced our desks, as Öhlins has released a “suspension control unit” (SCU) that upgrades the electronically adjustable suspension on the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S so that it becomes a semi-active suspension system. Whhhaaaat??! So, if you’re the proud owner of a pre-2013 Ducati Multistrada 1200 S, and you think that your electronically controlled Öhlins suspension is no longer boss, now that Ducati has released its Sachs-powered “Skyhook” semi-active suspension pieces on its new batch of Multistrada sport-tourers, there is a remedy for your motolust.

Up-Close with the 2013 Yamaha YZR-M1

In case you missed our exhaustive coverage of the Grand Prix of the Americas, those fools at Dorna gave me pit lane access this MotoGP season. So while the whole paddock waits for the Spaniards to come to their senses, I don’t plan on wasting the opportunity to share with our readers our extreme access to motorcycling’s premier racing class. Accordingly, here comes another installment into our ever-continuing “Up-Close” series, featuring the very finest Iwata has to offer: the Yamaha YZR-M1. Thirty 2000px-wide photos are waiting for you after the jump.

2012 Yamaha YZR-M1 Breaks Cover at Jerez

03/22/2012 @ 1:32 pm, by Jensen Beeler14 COMMENTS

Light on sponsors, but heavy on style, the 2012 Yamaha YZR-M1 broke cover today at the Jerez. The 1,000cc inline four-cylinder machine will catapult factory riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies, as well as satellite riders Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 squad, as they attempt to overturn the Honda supremacy of last season.

With more than 240hp at the crank, there can be little doubt that the new M1 will be blisteringly quick, and 220+ mph speed trap times are already being pondered for fast tracks like Mugello. Called the best bike in the paddock by Repsol Honda boss Shuhei Nakamoto, the tuning-fork brand seems set to give Casey Stoner and HRC a run for their money in their Championship defences. Photos and technical specifications after the jump.

“It’s very exciting to be here so close to the first race. I love the new livery and Yamaha’s hard work has given us a very competitive bike to fight with this season,” said former MotoGP Champion Jorge Lorenzo. “It’s good to be here at a different track to test against our competitors before we start next month. It was a pleasure to see so many of our MotoGP media friends here to take part in the launch, nice to see so many take their picture with my bike!”

“I’m loving the new bike, man it’s great to be back on a 1000cc machine!” added American Ben Spies. “The riding style is much closer to my natural way of riding which makes it a lot more fun. The colors look great so I’m ready to get out there tomorrow for our final shakedown before Qatar.”

Technical Specifications of the 2012 Yamaha YZR-M1:

Engine: 1000cc liquid-cooled, inline four-cylinder, four stroke
Power: more than 240 horsepower (176Kw)
Transmission: 6-speed extractable with various choices reports
Chassis: Aluminium twin tube, with various geometrical possibilities of steering angle, distance, height. Aluminum swingarm
Suspension: Ohlins inverted fork and rear shock, all adjustable for preload, compression damping and rebound damping adjustable high and low speeds. Various rear suspension available
Looking for: MFR, diameter 16.5 inches front and rear
Tires: Bridgestone, 16.5 inches diameter
Brakes: Brembo,. two 320mm carbon fiber and double clamp with 4 opposed pistons. Single stainless steel rear disc brake caliper 2-piston calipers
Weight: 157 kg according to FIM regulations

2012 Yamaha YZR-M1:

2012 Yamaha Racing Livery:

2012 Yamaha Factory Team Livery for Jorge Lorenzo:

2012 Yamaha Factory Team Livery for Ben Spies:

Source: Yamaha Racing

Tagged under: 2012 Yamaha YZR-M1, Ben Spies, Jerez, Jerez Test, Jorge Lorenzo, livery, M1, MotoGP, photos, Yamaha, Yamaha Racing, yamaha yzr-m1, YZR-M1

Comment:

AC says:
March 22, 2012 at 2:11 PM
I’m digging the livery.
Westward says:
March 22, 2012 at 3:47 PM
Not sure I’m digging Spies’ new number plate. May take a while for me to warm up to it, otherwise, it’s a right clean looking bike…
FeelgoodInc says:
March 22, 2012 at 5:13 PM
IMHO the best looking M1 since the glorious Gauloises livery in 04 and 05. Specifically 04. For me though, its a shame not to see a 46 on the front.
Trane Francks says:
March 22, 2012 at 7:46 PM
Dang, that’s lookin’ sweet. :)
MikeD says:
March 22, 2012 at 9:24 PM
These pictures are SHARP…and the bikes are looking SHARPER.
That Ohlins Fork and Brembos Calipers + Carbon Rotors are ManCave CenterPiece Material !
Are those Marchesini wheels ? Magnesium or just forged Aluminium ?
Side comment: Why do they even bother on slapping something remotely similar to a muffler when these things run str8 pipes ? That Akra can’t possibly muffler something…the darn thing looks more like a friggin resonator if anything !
MikeD says:
March 22, 2012 at 9:28 PM
P.S: Somehow Yamaha squeezed more HP out of the HP-UNfriendly CrossPlane Crank(going from 800 to 1000cc didn’t hurt’em either,lol)…Why can’t they do a bit like that for their Street Cow(R1) ?
Anti says:
March 22, 2012 at 10:57 PM
I want that exhaust.
david says:
March 23, 2012 at 1:27 AM
i’m trying so hard to really imagine what it would feel like to be running somewhere around 240hp and i can’t wrap my mind around it.
Trane Francks says:
March 23, 2012 at 1:35 AM
@david: Imagine, if you will, being in 6th gear running at 160 kph. You crank the throttle and the front wheel claws skyward. That’ll give you some idea.
Meanwhile, according to Kenny Roberts, don’t wheelie one for more than two seconds; otherwise, the motor self destructs due to oil scavenging issues. *giggle*
Roy says:
March 23, 2012 at 2:29 AM
Love it! i’m worried though about the lack of sponsorship on the fairings..
Adam says:
March 23, 2012 at 7:18 AM
@Mike D: I would think they put the muffler on there for marketing. it is a straight pipe yes but would it make sense to an exhaust manufacturer to only have a pipe with their sticker on it? to me no. If I were Akraopovic I would want something that resembles my product. that’s my thoughts anyway.
Patron says:
March 23, 2012 at 8:07 AM
Well done. These are the guys I’m pulling for this season. Always been a Spies fan and really started liking JL after the last couple seasons. I’m hoping one of these two can unseat Stoner this year.
MikeD says:
March 23, 2012 at 4:13 PM
@Adam:
Marketing point of view ? Totally makes sense.
Steve Lang says:
March 23, 2012 at 11:41 PM
Love the Coke can muffler. Can’t wait to start the season.

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