2013 Mugen Shinden Ni (神電貳) Revealed

Shipped up and on its way to the Isle of Man, we can finally now see more than test shots of the Mugen Shinden Ni and get its basic racing specifications. The electric superbike that John McGuinness will ride in the 2013 TT Zero race at the Isle of Man TT, the Mugen Shinden Ni represents that evolution of the Japanese firm’s design, having now a TT race under its belt. Like its main competitor MotoCzysz, Team Mugen is eyeing a 110 mph lap around the Mountain Course, which would be a pretty remarkable one-year advancement for either team. With Mr. McPint at the helm, and seemingly brimming with on-board energy, Mugen is a serious contender.

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.

#1.

01/30/2011 @ 2:46 am, by Jensen Beeler13 COMMENTS

Photo: Yamaha-Racing

Tagged under: 1, 2011, Jorge Lorenzo, MotoGP, number plate, photo, single-photo, Yamaha, Yamaha Racing

Comment:

HG says:
January 30, 2011 at 5:10 AM
“I´ll miss this number next year!”
gildas says:
January 30, 2011 at 6:38 AM
Lorenzo, the only man capable of being Motor GP world champion, AND a profondly boring wanabe at the same time…
ML says:
January 30, 2011 at 6:46 AM
I thought JL had “big brother” issues, but it looks like he’s just a douche.
froryde says:
January 30, 2011 at 6:52 AM
Actually I think the initial-number-logo thing is quite cool. Too bad he’s still a douchebag.
Rolf says:
January 30, 2011 at 9:09 AM
“Jorge presents the new “Junior League” logo”
(Heh. That cap and the baggy pants makes him look like a 12 year old skate kid)
William says:
January 30, 2011 at 11:12 AM
What a bunch of pathetic losers the people who Hate are . Jorge is not my favorite rider,but he is a more than a deserving Champion . He has proven that thru-out his career. I tried to find Motogp sites besides crash in order to escape the whiners and crybaby’s, but it seems that some have found this site too.
The real posers and douche bags are the people who cannot understand and have absolutely No clue- as to how much talent it takes to even make it on the Grid: let alone do what Jorge did last year.
Comment on his looks and his behavior, though i believe the Story concerned the Number not his appearance or if he didn’t behave to your standards, grow up and say something relevant.
SBPilot says:
January 30, 2011 at 11:56 AM
@ William.
Though I agree with you to a certain extent. I think it’s fair to assume that no one doesn’t appreciate his talent, it’s evidently there and he’s superbly quick. He just portrays himself as the many descriptions posted by others, ala “douchebag” , “12 year old skate kid” , “wannabe”, most of which are true.
Regardless of your skill and accomplishments, if you present yourself the way he does, unfortunately, you don’t win too many people’s hearts. He’s on top of the world, and he’s also only 24 years old, so telling him to grow up is out of the question it seems, but really, it’s him who needs to grow up a bit. His manager should be giving him some guidance perhaps.
76 says:
January 30, 2011 at 12:21 PM
+1
Agreed JL proved he was the best last year and thats no small challenge, thats the best rider in the world. I also hope he realizes he needs to be more of himself (whoever that is) and work with that. His after race theatrics did not show well, they as everyone has already commented seemed contrived and forced rather than fun, let alone un original. It showed he was still trying to prove something when he was already the best racer.
Maybe he needs a hypeman instead, like his very own Flavor Flav or something cause hes needs to hang up his acting career and keep with the racing which he has already proved, hes the one to beat.
The logo, its cool, looks good lets get on with the season already.
gildas says:
January 30, 2011 at 1:34 PM
I’m not a hater, I admire his talent to no ends. He is a master of his art on a bike.
BUT, and this is just a vain BUT, he seems to be very ill advised by someone on what to do and how to look. He probably is a great guy, with stories about sliding the front at 140mph, but some people want to make him look like a cross between a skate kid and Jesse James AND fooling no one.
I wish PR asshats would leave him the fuck alone.
Anthony says:
January 30, 2011 at 2:45 PM
When these guys act like themselves they are hated on as well so I guess there is no winning for them. Pedrosa is a great example. He dresses and acts like himself, but he gets hated on to no end for having no personality, style, flair, etc… and now JL for having too much.
Why anyone cares about any of it I’ll probably never know. If JL wants to get rich by dressing and acting like a fool good for him. If Perdosa wants to keep his dignity, good for him. None of it means anything to me. I’m just interested in who does what on the track. Boring I know.
Rolf says:
January 30, 2011 at 3:01 PM
Jorge’s victory is well deserved, he’s a very skilled rider, a joy to look at (riding!) and we’re glad he’s part of the field. We’re just making a bit of fun about his hat, come on, lighten up.
76 says:
January 30, 2011 at 3:02 PM
Anthony,
I think Ben Spies proves your point that they can be themselves, a racer, talk about racing and without the confetti and cape but still be respected, popular and respected. Yes they can just be racers and still win both ways, it just takes more time. Theatrics, I’m all for it, its fun and it can be emotional and entertaining, it also can go terribly wrong and well your going to get called on it when it does.
I will bite my tounge with concern for Dani Pedrosa and Alberto Puig.
Leonardo Gómez says:
January 31, 2011 at 9:04 AM
What happens next year he’s not the champion? back to 99 ? Cool and douchy at the same time.

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