Ducati Q1 2013 Sales Drop 5% – Audi Dishes the Details

Ducatisti: do you want the good news or the bad news first? The bad news is that the market for motorcycles 500cc and up is down 17% worldwide for the first quarter of this year, which means the “good” news is that Ducati is only down 5% for Q1 2013. Not exactly the start out of the gate that Audi was hoping for its newly acquired two-wheeled brand, but what are you going to do? Western Europe is a mess, with Spain and Italy continuing to go down like a…well, you know. While we don’t enjoy the misery of motorcycle brands, the fact that Ducati Motor Holding is now under the Audi AG umbrella means that we get far more detailed quarterly and yearly reports from the two-wheeled marque, and we’ve got the digits after the jump.

Mission Motorcycles: The Mission R Lives??!

Mission Motors tweeted out something interesting just a moment ago, a link to a new website for Mission Motorcycles. Teasing there a photo of the Mission R, it would seem that the electric superbike that does competitive AMA Supersport lap times at Laguna Seca, is finally set to come to production. It seems we won’t know everything about the new Mission Motorcycles project until June 3rd, though we can speculate pretty accurately on what the A&R Bothan spy network has been telling us. Expect to see the Mission R electric superbike in street legal trim, honed even further than when we rode the machine back in August last year.

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.

Gas vs. Electric: Chip Yates Takes Podium Finishes in WERA Heavyweight Twins at Fontana [UPDATED]

01/09/2011 @ 5:40 pm, by Jensen Beeler16 COMMENTS

Gas vs. Electric: Chip Yates Takes Podium Finishes in WERA Heavyweight Twins at Fontana [UPDATED] Chip Yates WERA HW Twins AutoClub Speedway 635x423

UPDATE: Race results from both races, video of the first race, and a photo from SWIGZ Racing.

Reports are coming in from Fontana (AutoClub Speedway if you will) this evening, where Chip Yates the SWIGZ Racing team were competing against the gasoline-powered liter bike v-twins in the WERA Heavyweight Twins Superbike & Superstock race classes earlier today. Hitting at one point 158mph on the banked walls of Fontana, Yates finished an impressive 2nd place in the WERA Heavyweight Twins Superstock class, and had another podium finish (3rd place) in the WERA Heavyweight Twins Superbike class, racing against KTM RC8 and Ducati 1198 Superbikes.

The SWIGZ.com race team set a best lap of 1:39 at AutoClub Speedway with Chip Yates at the helm, roughly eight seconds faster than the practice laps Yates set on Saturday at Fontana. Not everything was smooth sailing though, as the team battled a problematic cell in the battery pack, which had the potential of causing futher issues within the electric race bike. Having to miss the rest of Saturday’s afternoon practice, and fix the cell back the at SWIGZ race shop, Yates clocked a total of 14 laps from his combined outings at Infineon Raceway and AutoClub Speedway before today’s race.

From these testing sessions, we can see that the SWIGZ team has continued to improve upon its electric race bike, as the team has relocated about 1/3 of the bike’s battery packs to the “fuel tank area” on the motorcycle, helping distribute the weight of the batteries more evenly on the bike. The SWIGZ bike had roughly 180 lbs of batteries on-board, sitting essentially where a pillion would go while at Infineon, meaning that Yates likely had to battle with front-end traction issues with all the batteries sitting in that location. Now with more of that weight farther forward, the SWIGZ race bike should have provided better feedback and handled better on the race course this weekend.

For the WERA Heavyweight Twins Superbike class, James Randolph decimated the field (Yates called Randolph to make sure he’d be in attendance at the race), and went on to win three other WERA races this weekend at AutoClub Speedway. Still, Yates would go on to finish mid-pack, and eight seconds behind second place finisher Robert Swafford. In the WERA Heavyweight Twins Supersport class, Yates improved upon his position, finishing second and only four seconds back from the top podium step. Yates posted the fastest lap time in this class overall. It should be noted that for both races, other class bikes ran on the track, with Yates finishing in the top half of all the bikes racing in those races (overall race results: Superbike (Race 2b) & Supersport (Race 11)).

While the SWIGZ.com race team hasn’t released further information beyond what’s on Chip Yates’s Twitter feed, we have it on good authority that celebrations are taking place at an undisclosed Cheesecake Factory in Southern California. More info as we get it.

WERA Heavyweight Twins Superbike – Expert

Pos.No.RiderLapsTimeDiff. to LeaderBest LapAve. Lap Speed
1112James Randolph67:45.535-1:30.32399.642
2814Robert Swafford68:37.95152.4161:40.27389.755
3489Chip Yates68:45.9651:00.4301:41.13288.993
414Brian Larrabure68:47.3521:01.8171:40.15389.863
5117Jonathan Friesen68:53.5371:08.0021:42.68287.649
610Laszlo Romoda69:29.8831:44.3481:47.99683.336
7124Michael Quinn69:30.1491:44.6141:48.17383.200

WERA Heavyweight Twins Supersport – Expert

Pos.No.RiderLapsTimeDiff. to LeaderBest LapAve. Lap Speed
1775Jamie A. Riddle68:25.066-1:39.96990.028
2489Chip Yates68:30.0034.9371:39.79290.188
3176Stephen Foreman68:42.10317.0371:43.28787.136
4918John Kummer68:58.91833.8521:45.75585.102
599Michael Mamer68:59.16834.1021:45.25985.503
6368Alan Cunningham68:59.81434.7481:45.31985.455
7410Nathan Urbanovsky69:07.99942.9331:46.68984.357

Source: Chip Yates (Twitter); Title Photo: CaliPhotography; Photos: Julie Yates

Top 5 Related Posts:

  1. Video: Chip Yates Practices for Pikes Peak
  2. On-Board Chip Yates’s Electric Superbike at Pikes Peak
  3. PPIHC: Chip Yates Races the Most Powerful Motorcycle Ever on Pikes Peak – Sets New Record for Electric Motorcycles
  4. Chip Yates Retires After Setting Four FIM/AMA Land Speed Records at Bonneville

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Comment:

  1. Mark says:
    January 9, 2011 at 6:43 PM

    Congratulations to Chip Yates and his team, on a job well done. This is a great start to a whole new era, and I’m looking forward to even better in the future.

  2. Chris Winfield says:
    January 9, 2011 at 7:18 PM

    Impressive and significant… despite looking quite goofy. Congrats to Chip Yates and the team.

  3. 76 says:
    January 9, 2011 at 8:00 PM

    Takes some big balls to do what hes doing, with what I heard was a lot of his own money. Cheers and congrats. Now will somebody give him enough dough so he can build one that dosent look like it should be delivering pizza’s please.

  4. MikeD says:
    January 9, 2011 at 11:31 PM

    COOL, great results and may he keep winning and proving his point… but no thanks. ICE for me.

  5. MikeD says:
    January 9, 2011 at 11:45 PM

    SUbjective & shallow, i know, but it looks like total POO to boot…main reason electrics don’t fly (with me)…most of it have the sex appeal of a Whirpool fridge.

  6. Christian says:
    January 10, 2011 at 1:01 AM

    race distances 20km… correct?

    nice performance, but where will they locate the other 180lbs of batteries to increase the range to 40km???

  7. Jensen Beeler says:
    January 10, 2011 at 1:05 AM

    Fontana is listed as 2.5 miles, 6 lap race, so that should be just over 24km. Not sure how much battery they drained during the race, but I might be able to pry that info out of Chip tomorrow.

  8. Steve says:
    January 10, 2011 at 1:08 AM

    So you spend all your time and money on your race bike and your blistering down the straightaway feeling like all your hard work has paid off. Then you’re passed by a 150 mph yellow mail box. You gotta love this sport…I sure do! Now I see why the mail is never late. Great job guys!!!! As far as the looks go….. Just Think of it as dancing with a real ugly girl who can dance like hell. I’m really impressed!!!!!

  9. Damo says:
    January 10, 2011 at 8:08 AM

    As battery life extends and weight goes down these stories will be an everyday occurrence. I am anticipate a Moto-Zero race segment in the near future :)

    Either way great job and congrats for the team.

    (P.S. Where’s my pizza?)

  10. SBPilot says:
    January 10, 2011 at 7:37 PM

    Hats off to him for doing this. As for looks goes, have ya’ll not seen the Mission R Super Electric Bike?
    It can be done, they can look good. No need to worry about that, I’m sure for Chip, it’s form following function at this early stage.

  11. Christian says:
    January 11, 2011 at 11:12 AM

    Is there something wrong with the results?
    6 laps each 100seconds are at least 600 seconds or 10min. race time, but the race time is only listed as 8:45min.

    is the average speed or the race time wrong?

    Thanks!

  12. D.Davis says:
    January 11, 2011 at 5:30 PM

    I guess, If electric bikes are the new thing, count me to remain with the old combustion engines. I have no desire for any vehicle that is electric especially motorcycles if they all whine like that bike does.

  13. Dr. Gellar says:
    January 11, 2011 at 10:17 PM

    Good job Chip…and congratulations!

    His bike may look like a flying yellow mailbox or pizza delivery motorcycle, but it would likely wipe the floor with any of the 2010 machines that both the TTXGP and FIM e-Power series had to offer. The electric competition must be breathing a sigh of relief, now that the SWIGZ.COM bike has been effectively banned from either series. A shame…as it would have forced them to up their game and improve the electric breed even further.

  14. Christian says:
    January 11, 2011 at 11:04 PM

    This bike exceeded the weight limits but has a range of 20-24km only, epower races have a length of 35-40km.

    Performance is related to race length.

    They can not carry enough batteries and I think the batteries they use will last not long, around 50cycles or less.

    So each charge is around 150-200$! For only 20-24km…

  15. CJark says:
    January 12, 2011 at 11:09 AM

    A historic day.

    I was at the race and talked with the team after their races. I overheard their tech say that they had 1.5AH left in the battery pack after the first race. That’s almost on “E” which is a good thing. You don’t want to have lots of extra power left over that might have otherwise been used. As far as the range goes and whether it could compete against the TTXGP bikes, remember that the controller can be easily adjusted to regulate power and therefore increase range.

    Electric bikes are just waiting on Battery technology to catch up… And they are getting better at an astounding rate. Imagine having a motogp bike but no fuel with you to put in the tank. Thats where electric powertrains are at right now. When the fuel gets here, look out.

  16. CJark says:
    January 12, 2011 at 11:16 AM

    *An historic day* oops.