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.

Not Homologated: Ducati 1199 Panigale & MV Agusta F3

02/09/2012 @ 11:48 am, by Jensen Beeler12 COMMENTS

UPDATE: On 2/10/2012, the FIM released an updated homologation list, which includes the 2012 Ducati 1199 Panigale S for racing in the World Superstock 1000 Cup.

The regulations for the 2012 World Superbike Championship are out, and two names are noticeably not present from the homologation lists for World Superbike and World Supersport: the Ducati 1199 Panigale and the MV Agusta F3. That’s right, the two biggest motorcycles to debut in 2012 have not yet been blessed to compete in this season’s two premier production motorcycle racing classes.

For Ducatisti, the news shouldn’t come as too large of a surprise, since Ducati Corse has been clear that the 2012 Ducati 1199 Panigale would not compete in WSBK in its first year on the market, and instead would be developed in the World Superstock 1000 Cup for 2012. However, the FIM does not list the Ducati 1199 Panigale as homologated for WSTK either, listing instead the Ducati 1098R & 1098S respectively for both WSBK and WSTK.

For MV Agusta fans, this news could carry a bit more weight. With rumors circulating that Alstare Racing could pick up the reigns on an MV Agusta factory team on a 2012 MV Agusta F3 World Supersport entry, that hope seems now all but six-feet under. Making an announcement on her Facebook page, Patricia Dethor (wife of Alstare Team Principal Francis Batta) tipped the news that Alstare Racing would be taking a sabbatical from racing for 2012. This confirmed WBSK paddock gossip that a deal between Alstare and MV Agusta had fallen through, and could explain why the MV Agusta F3 has not been homologated for the series.

With this news already creating a stir on message forums and blogs, it’s important to note that the FIM’s recently released list of homologated entries is not the definitive entry list for racing in 2012, and can be updated at any point in time during the season. It is expected that Ducati will homologate the Panigale for WSTK in the coming weeks, though it seems unlikely that the MV Agusta F3 will go through similar paperwork.

2012 Ducati 1199 Panigale in Superstock Trim:

Bikes Homologated for World Superbike
Aprilia RSV4 1000 Factory : January 2009 – Present
BMW S 1000 RR : January 2009 – Present
Ducati 1098R : January 2008 – Present
Honda CBR 1000 RR : January 2008 – Present
Kawasaki ZX-10R : January 2008 – Present
Suzuki GSX-R 1000 : January 2009 – Present
Yamaha YZF R1 : January 2009 – Present

Bikes Homologated for World Supersport 600 & World Superstock 600:
Honda CBR 600 RR : January 2009 – Present
Kawasaki ZX-6R : January 2009 – Present
Suzuki GSX-R 600 : January 2008 – Present
Triumph Daytona 675 : January 2009 – fin
Triumph Daytona 675 R : January 2011 – Present
Yamaha YZF R6 : January 2008 – Present

Bikes Homologated for World Superstock 1000 Formula EWC (FIM Endurance):
Aprilia RSV4 1000 Factory : January 2009 – Present
Aprilia RSV4 1000 APRC Factory : December 2011– Present
BMW S 1000 RR : January 2009 – Present
Ducati 1198S: January 2009 – Present
Honda CBR 1000 RR : January 2008 – Present
Kawasaki ZX-10R : January 2008 – Present
KTM RC8 : March 2008 – Present
KTM RC8R : March 2009 – Present
Suzuki GSX-R 1000 : January 2009 – Present
Yamaha YZF R1 : January 2009 – Present

Tagged under: 2012 Ducati 1199 Panigale, 2012 MV Agusta F3, Alstare Racing, Ducati, Ducati 1199 Panigale, Ducati 1199 Panigale Superstock, FIM, homologation, MV Agusta, MV Agusta F3, photos, world superbike, World Supersport, World Superstock 1000, WSBK, WSS, WSTK, WSTK1000

Comment:

Daz says:
February 9, 2012 at 1:21 PM
I am just not feeling it for the panigale. It just looks cluttered and too busy. I would even go so far to say I prefer the 999 design over this one.
smilo says:
February 9, 2012 at 2:11 PM
The last paragraph assigns this to not really news at all.
If no one knows when MV intended to race the F3 then it is not really news. It has only just started production. Little early to race it. As for the 1199 then this was already known.
Westward says:
February 9, 2012 at 6:27 PM
Awesome pics of a seemingly race ready bike for WSBK. Too bad it’s not one of the choices for purchase from your local dealer…
john says:
February 10, 2012 at 5:54 AM
I really want to get excited over purchasing a new mv, but it just seems to be one “are you sure?” moment after another;
Westward says:
February 10, 2012 at 9:40 AM
@ john,
I agree. However, with Ducati, for the same price as a package, one seems to get so much more in electronics and other amenities…
BBQdog says:
February 10, 2012 at 10:22 AM
@Daz: same to me. All too artificial, if they tried too much to make it something special.
The design doesn’t seem a total but just exists of isolated parts and surfaces.
And I am not surprised the bike isn’t homologated for this year. Ducati could not
afford a bike not performing in WSB like Rossi’s bike did in MotoGP.
BlogBIKERS says:
February 10, 2012 at 10:42 AM
Very nice motorcycle
Smitch says:
February 10, 2012 at 2:00 PM
Agree Daz and BBQdog, I knew I wasn’t the only one. And yes, Bologna has all of their eggs in the GP basket right now.
David Emmett says:
February 10, 2012 at 2:02 PM
Good catch by @Asphalt_Rubber: The Ducati 1199 Panigale is not homologated. Thought they were racing in Superstock? http://t.co/AzYqQ196
john says:
February 10, 2012 at 6:35 PM
ok, guys, maybe they are deservedly anxious on the racing front; but, as a street rider, which company is giving us more than ducati? certainly not mv; aprilia? uhhh?; lets hope the 1199 is a success, and the soon to follow 799 is as well;
Smitch says:
February 10, 2012 at 9:01 PM
All they’ve given me lately is ugly new model after ugly new model, a sad season in gp, and an expanding plastic gas tank on my 848…
WetMan says:
February 12, 2012 at 12:14 PM
The first time I saw a photo of the Panigale I thought it looked like it had been chased by the T-Rex from Jurassic park and the T-Rex has managed to take a bite out of the fairing…
Now I think that it looks more like one of those exhibition models that show you what is happening under the skin…

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