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.

Ian Hutchinson Sweeps Isle of Man TT – First Rider to Win Five Races in One Week

06/11/2010 @ 2:13 pm, by Jensen Beeler7 COMMENTS

Ian Hutchinson set an unprecedented record today by winning the Dainese Senior TT at the Isle of Man. The win is Hutchinson’s fifth victory at the IOMTT this year, a feat that no other rider has accomplished: sweeping the conventional motorcycle portion of the TT. Hutchinson had close competition in the form of John McGuinness and Conor Cummins, but those riders crashed and retired, respectively. This all but assured Hutchinson of taking the Senior TT, and setting an Isle of Man TT record for victories in one week.

Hutchinson’s record setting race win wasn’t the only action during the premiere event at the TT. Originally scheduled for six laps around the Mountain Course, the Dainese Senior TT was cut down to just four laps because of a restart. During the first start Hutchinson, McGuinness, Cummins, and Guy Martin were all lapping over 130MPH, and were within seven second of each other at the first pit stop. But as they took to their third lap, Martin crashed near Ballagarey, and the race had to be red flagged.

Guy Martin was thankfully conscious and talking to medics, but the restarted race had to be shortened to only four laps once it got underway again. The restart allowed Cummins and McGuinness to come closer to Hutchinson’s time and pace, but once they were out of the race, it allowed Hutchinson to win by a comfortable margin of 37.77 seconds ahead of Ryan Farquhar and Bruce Anstey.

Until this day, only 11 time champion Phillip McCallen has come close to Hutchinson’s feat at the Isle of Man. McCallen became the first and only rider to win four races in the TT’s 103 year history, a distinction he has held that since 1996.

Photo: Amadeus Photography

Tagged under: Conor Cummins, Guy Martin, Ian Hutchinson, IOMTT, Isle of Man, Isle of Man TT, John McGuinness, record, TT record, video

Comment:

Bjorn says:
June 11, 2010 at 6:52 PM
Top stuff Hutchee!
There’s your place in history, right there.
As a relative youngster, you can look forward to many more opportunities to stamp your authority on the IOM. Successfull TT racers tend to be older than their short circuit racing counterparts; something to do with aggression tempered with experience & judgement. Not to mention how long it takes to learn all those blind corners on the 37 mile course.
Asphalt_Rubber says:
June 11, 2010 at 9:14 PM
Ian Hutchinson Sweeps Isle of Man TT – First Rider to Win Five Races in One Week – http://aspha.lt/12v #motorcycle
Kelly Rogers says:
June 11, 2010 at 9:15 PM
RT @Asphalt_Rubber: Ian Hutchinson Sweeps Isle of Man TT – First Rider to Win Five Races in One Week – http://aspha.lt/12v #motorcycle
skadamo says:
June 11, 2010 at 9:19 PM
RT @Asphalt_Rubber: Ian Hutchinson Sweeps Isle of Man TT; First Rider to Win Five Races in One Week – http://aspha.lt/12v #motorcycle
Frank says:
June 11, 2010 at 9:31 PM
RT @skadamo: RT @Asphalt_Rubber: Ian Hutchinson Sweeps Isle of Man TT; First Rider to Win Five Races in One Week – http://aspha.lt/12v # …
Honda Powersports says:
June 11, 2010 at 9:43 PM
CBR1000RR or CBR600RR? Doesn't matter…Ian Hutchinson won it all at #IOMTT on a Padgetts Honda http://tinyurl.com/25krg4q
bikepilot says:
June 12, 2010 at 2:30 PM
Congrats Mr. Ian!

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