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.

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.

Dovizioso Signs with Monster Tech 3 Yamaha for 2012

10/08/2011 @ 9:52 pm, by Jensen Beeler6 COMMENTS

Another seat in the silly season game of musical chairs has been snatched, as Andrea Dovizioso has signed a contract with the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha squad for the 2012 season. Shit out of luck, in more common vernacular, Dovizioso found himself the odd-man out after Honda announced that it would only have three factory riders for the upcoming season. With Stoner and Pedrosa still under contract through that term, this news meant a tough choice between Dovi and rival Marco Simoncelli. Though consistently placing higher than his fellow Italian, Dovizioso lost out to SuperSic’s bold track moves and likable off-track demeanor.

While bad news for Dovi, the falling-out from Honda meant good news for the rest of the MotoGP teams who were anxious to retain the services of the potently quick Repsol Honda rider. Hervé Poncharal’s Monster Tech 3 Yamaha team seemingly won the battle of the offers, as it’s being reported that the French team has signed Andrea Dovizioso for the 2012 season, beating out the many other offers Dovi had on the table, including a reportedly factory-spec Honda at LCR Honda.

The switch to the satellite Yamaha squad will be the first time Dovizioso in his GP career has ridden a bike other than a Honda, though the move could be a potent one for the Italian. HRC currently has a plethora of candidate riders in factory seat, and has its line of succession for factory positions well in order (most notably Moto2 rider Marc Marquez). Meanwhile Yamaha has a path of lesser resistance into the factory team, with the factory having virtually no one that’s ready for a factory bike in the queue. If Dovi can prove his mettle on the satellite 1,000cc Yamaha YZR-M1, and Ben Spies has another season of mixed results, it is possible Dovi could find a factory seat for the 2013 season, an idea that’s helped by the fact that many MotoGP rider contracts are set to expire in 2012.

Dovi’s move to Tech 3 increases the speculation regarding who will take the open seat at LCR Honda (no one is expecting Toni Elias to have his contract renewed for 2012). With Dovi out of the picture, rumors go from former-LCR rider Randy de Puniet, to factory Suzuki rider Álvaro Bautista, with Marc Marquez and even John Hopkins names being mentioned. Whether any of those candidates would receive Dovi’s promised factory-spec Honda is up for speculation (except for Marquez who would be barred from a factory bike during his rookie season), though we suspect that offer might have been a $4-5 million concession LCR made purely for Dovi alone.

With MotoGP headed to Australia next weekend, we expect more news will come out of the GP paddock at Phillip Island. A&R will be coming to live from down under for the race, so stay tuned for our coverage.

Source: MotoMatters; Photo: Honda

Tagged under: 2012, Andrea Dovizioso, contract, HRC, LCR Honda, Monster Tech 3 Yamaha, MotoGP, Repsol Honda, silly season, Yamaha

Comment:

Ben Haines says:
October 9, 2011 at 1:39 AM
Typo : “Though consistently placing hire than his fellow Italian, Dovizioso lost out to SuperSic’s bold track moves and likable off-track demeanor.”
Hire = Higher ??
Rexr says:
October 9, 2011 at 1:59 AM
Highly unlikely he had a an offer of a factory honda with LCR otherwise he would of signed with them hence why he signed for Yamaha……doh
Westward says:
October 9, 2011 at 4:14 AM
It was the only logical move in my opinion. HRC has been showing lack of confidence in Dovi since last year when they tried to move him to Gresini… Then, they even though he has been more consisent than Simo, they sign Simo before him. The real indication that HRC was not showing any favour to Dovi was when they clearly denied him the opportunity to ride the 1000 with the other Repsol pilots and Simo rode it instead most recently…
Besides, Dovi has not shown that he could win races over Stoner or Pedrosaon a Honda, neither has he shown potential to do so over Simoncelli…
Yamaha is the best choice for him, plus the change could be just the difference needed to step up to the next level… Who knows, maybe the bike would suit him better…
Also, DePuniet should go back to LCR, I kinda miss seeing Lauren Vickers in their team’s sponsors attire…
Rexr says:
October 9, 2011 at 5:39 AM
I agree with……Westward
Dovi hasn’t got the killer instinct……..I’m not a side showbob fan (58) but he has the instinct to push real hard to the point of chucking the bike down the road……..lol Dovi needs the man up….
PD says:
October 9, 2011 at 3:42 PM
RE: “Whether any of those candidates would receive Dovi’s promised factory-spec Honda is up for speculation (except for Marquez who would be barred from a factory bike during his rookie season), though we suspect that offer might have been a $4-5 million concession LCR made purely for Dovi alone.”
I thought rookies were just not allowed to BE in a factory team (except for Suzuki) in MotoGP. I didn’t think there were any prohibitions against rookies being able to race a factory-spec bike in a satellite team.
In fact, I’ve read many reports that Alzamora has requested that Honda reserve a factory-spec RC213V for Marquez’ expected move up to MotoGP in 2012.
Jensen Beeler says:
October 9, 2011 at 5:12 PM
PD, this brings up the debate regarding what exactly is a factory team.

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