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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Should be a “certain” valentino rossi. Cant wait to see dovi and Spies both get revenge on Rossi next season
@Ryan – hope to see that too, though it’s a bit far-fetched.
Nothing will happen, it will be another frustrating season for Ducati.
As long as they quit trying to make the DESMO a Yamaha Ducati should start doing better right away.. Get rid of the sh*t exhaust, aluminum frame, and get with the program.. Ducati should get their $$ back from Rossi cause all he did was complain and in the end nothing else..
I hope Dovi, Spies and Rossi do well next season. Would be great for Ducati and Yamaha, and for the sport. Not looking or hoping that any of the riders will have a disastrous season, because the promotion flourishes will them all doing well.
Rossi took that seat from Dovi Yamaha made a big mistake by taking Rossi back we shall see what happens!!!
To be competitive again, Ducati should try convince Audi to try to use again the trellis style frame. That’s where the Ducati’s traditional strength lies. But the V4 engine could be narrower to assist mass centralization for better handling.
I’m pretty certain the trellis does not hold strengths for Ducati in GP competition. Stoner pushed for the development of the carbon airbox frame. The steel trellis has a lot of welds, which Stoner himself said make each frame completly different. As in the setup with one bike would not work with the second bike.
Add to that with the current (and future) engine rules, using the engine as part of the frame is not a good idea. Look at the problems Rossi had, just trying to get more adjustment out of the bike. Whole new cases had to be made to accomodate the changes they wanted to test, which then used up another one of their engine allocations.
And now, with the engine development freeze they are looking at, all 5 of the engines will be sealed and set ready to go by the start of the season. That means if it is being used as part of the frame, they are then stuck with what the have at the start of the year.
Seems like a hell of a way to cripple your ability to test and if needed, make changes to that frame layout.
I love how people always label what the Burgess/Rossi team tried to do as “make a Yamaha out of the Ducati”
Look at the whole of the MotoGP field. What frame “style” is most common? How can Bridgestone make a tyre suitable for 2 completly different styles of bike? What they were trying to acheive, in my mind, is to get something that is at least somewhat inline with the style of bike the rules (and tyres) dictate.
The fans would be pissed if Rossi just kept riding round with the same bike, with no hint of change. They would ask, why are there no new developments from the brilliant Burgess and Rossi, they must not be that great at figuring out solutions after all.
Similarly, the fans are pissed because all the changes they made didn’t do much to improve results. The same sort of thing gets said. All these new parts and the Doctor still cant ride it, they must not be that great at figuring out solutions after all.
Make what you will of the following stuff. In my view, the spec tyre could be partly to “blame”.
2004: Using Michelins. Capirossi 9th, Bayliss 14th.
2005: Ducati, Suzuki and Kawasaki on Bridgestones. Ducati starting to get better results compared to the previous years
2006: As above. Capirossi finishes the championship 3rd, very close to Hayden and Rossi.
2007: As above again. Stoner wins the championship.
2008:Ducati, Kawasaki and Suzuki on Bridgestones, plus a switch by Rossi and Pedrosa to Bridgestone part way through. Stoner 2nd in the championship.
2009: Spec tyre comes in. Results starting to drop for Ducati. And on top of that, Stoner misses 3 races with his lactose intolerance.
2010: A lot more crashes throughout the season. Having to push too hard, who knows.
2011: Rossi and Hayden 7th and 8th in the standings
Heres to the rejigged Ducati Team, I hope they come up with the goods eventually with Hayden and Dovi leading the way.
This is like x-mas J.B. Finally Ducati has a real man at the helm who can and will tame the real beast.It won’t matter what frame is under him he has no fear,he ride’s on the edge somewhat like the man himself retired beast tamer Casey Stoner.We here kinda felt Rossi was all talk and no show,blaming the factory for his short comings.Audi has also started to flex their muscles,they want to win! Nikki and Dovi will be great teamate’s,no rossi pre-moddonna’s,the cat rode scared and at 3/4 throttle glad to see him go.Poor,poor yahmaha here you kicked Dovi out to bring in a washed out has been snifling cry baby,very sad.