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.

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.

2013 World Superbike Provisional Calendar v.2

01/03/2013 @ 2:35 pm, by David Emmett5 COMMENTS

The cancelling of the Argentinian round of MotoGP has had a knock-on effect for the World Superbike series as well. The dropping of the race in Argentina caused MotoGP to push its season opener at Qatar back a week to April 7th, which then put it on the same weekend as the World Superbike round scheduled for Aragon on the same date.

To avoid a clash of the two series, the FIM has chosen to move the date of the Aragon WSBK round, moving it back a week in turn to April 14th, filling the gap between the MotoGP rounds at Qatar and Austin.

The switch is good news for bike racing fans, who will not have to divide their attentions between WSBK and MotoGP that weekend, and a sign of the benefits of having both series run by the same organization. But the move puts the World Superbike round in Aragon up against Formula One, which is racing at Shanghai that weekend, a hint that Dorna still sees WSBK as the junior of the two series.

Fortunately for World Superbikes, the F1 race in China takes place early on Sunday morning European time, with a projected start time of 8am Central European Time. The danger for WSBK is that the TV coverage is pitted against an afternoon repeat of the F1 race, though the fact that it is a repeat should leave a strong audience for WSBK.

No other changes to the calendar, barring the proviso that the Imola round is still subject to contract. The Portuguese round at Portimao is still scheduled to go ahead, despite the circuit being virtually bankrupt, and it is unclear where the round scheduled for June 23rd will take place.

The two obvious candidates would be Misano and Brno, but the news from Brno is that the circuit will definitely not host a round of World Superbikes, and having Misano a week before Imola, a track which is 100km up the road, would be cause both rounds to lose attendance, especially in Italy’s still struggling economy. Other candidates for hosting the race are few and far between, however.

2013 FIM World Superbike Championship Provisional Calendar (Updated: January 3, 2013)

DATE	COUNTRY	CIRCUIT	WSBK	WSS	STK
24 February	Australia	Phillip Island	X	X
10 March	India	Buddh Circuit	X	X
14 April	Spain	Aragon	X	X	X
28 April	The Netherlands	Assen	X	X	X
12 May	Italy	Monza	X	X	X
26 May	UK	Donington	X	X
9 June	Portugal	Portimao (STC)	X	X	X
23 June	TBA	TBA	X	X	X
30 June	Italy	Imola (STC)	X	X	X
21 July	Russia	Moscow Raceway	X	X
4 August	UK	Silverstone	X	X	X
1 September	Germany	Nurburgring	X	X	X
29 September	USA	Laguna Seca	X
6 October	France	Magny Cours	X	X	X
20 October	Spain	Jerez	X	X	X

* TBA =To be announced
* STC = Subject to contract

This article was originally published on MotoMatters, and is republished here on Asphalt & Rubber with permission by the author.

Tagged under: 2013, Aragon, Brno, calendar, imola, Misano, provisional calendar, world superbike, WSBK

Comment:

Larry Hannemann says:
January 3, 2013 at 6:44 PM
So when is Barber going to get a WSBK event???
Skuzzy says:
January 4, 2013 at 7:08 AM
No Indianapolis this year
smiler says:
January 4, 2013 at 11:09 AM
Imola better be on. Russia, India and Jerez. Just a shame they do not hold the UK round a brands, one of the few 3D circuits left. Anyway looks good.
Jensen Beeler says:
January 4, 2013 at 1:11 PM
Skuzzy, WSBK has never been to Indianapolis. You’re thinking MotoGP, which will be at Indy for 2013.
Damo says:
January 7, 2013 at 4:30 AM
Can’t wait to head back to Laguna Seca!

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