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.
Lost for words…
Such a terrible loss to the sport
RIP Marco
You will be missed
RIP supersic. you were truly an up and coming extra exciting rider, yet to realize your full potential. You will be sorely missed. MotoGP is that much poorer for having lost you.
Gutted.
Still feeling sick about it. Can’t get the crash out of my head. He was definitely a rising star put out before his time. MotoGP won’t be the same without your bravery, Marco… RIP
I was there when they announced Marco was transported by helicopter, you would all know the feeling, it was terrible…
….loss of words. rip marco
its really painful n hard to believe..
You will be missed Marco “the super sic”…
RIP
Godspeed Sic- Motogp is less without you. Truly saddening
Just a terrible tragedy.
Thank you Marco for injecting flair and colour into the MotoGP world with your talent and charisma. You will be hugely missed in the paddock.
Heartfelt sympathy to Marco’s family and friends on this terribly sad day.
Farewell, Marco… Thank you for the memories. =(
I still can’t believe it…
I just hoping this is not true, R.I.P Sic…
You’re such a great man!
Sad day. I feel terrible about the loss and send my condolences to the family and friends of Marco. You will be missed. RIP #58 Marco Simoncelli
Marco was already becoming a force in GP. Watching him compete was a thrill. His loss changes the face of the sport. Godspeed Marco, R.I.P.
i love you Marco… you are the best… =(
sooner or later, all would be die… au revoir…
RIP Marco – but why did your helmet come off ?? That must be investigated !!
Ciao Marco. You’ll be greatly missed… great talent to die so young.
R.IP. Marco.
Not only a fantastic and brave rider, but seemed like a genuinely nice guy. Met him at the Laguna paddock once and despite his rising star status and all that he had achieved, he managed to stay friendly with his fans and carried a niceness that some of the others guys don’t have.
Tears I shed for the loss of this fine young man and dedicated rider will not wash away the sadness of your demise.
This unimagined fate undeserved; your personality, competitiveness and highly regarded congeniality, truth of deed and spirit will be remembered and sadly missed.
I am sorry for you, sad for your family and friends.
My solidarity and heartfelt support for Vali, for Colin, and the entire fraternity.
Vale Super Sic, Thankyou Marco for the time shared with us.
Horrible…absolutely horrible. This sickens me… RIP Marco…and godspeed. Your passing will be felt in MotoGP for years to come…
24 years old(still a fricking KID). Decent rider. He was getting better & better lately.
BAM! In the blink of an eye we have lost him…just like the late Shoya Tomizawa.
It saddens me greatly seeing these young guns drop lke flies.
Motorcycles & it’s Racing are one Rude-Crude-Cold Hearted-Reality Checking Mistress. Gonna TRY to keep that in mind all the time.
R.I.P Lad…(-_- )
May u come back in another life to continue doing your thing…
Godspeed Marco, Always a Champion…
My hero is no more. We will never forget him. Simoncelli for ever in my memories. My condolances too the family and friends. :(
R.I.P Marco. Such a terrible thing to see, my prayers go out to your family and friends.
Just back from a 6hr ride back home from Sepang. The longest ride home yet as i was really shaken by what happened…
Sat at the 1st corner grandstand, just saw it happen on the wide-screen. We really don’t know whats happening as there is no PA broadcast from the organisers regarding the situation. Finally got the news from 3g internet.
Its horrible to see a young upcoming star pass away in front of your own eyes…
Godspeed Marco. We will sorely miss you…
Went to my Firefox bookmark for the MotoGP site this morning to find out the race results. With slow DSL, the tab heading shows the page title before the page loads. The tab heading had “motogp.com.Marco Simonc…,” so I was thinking, “Huh, the kid finally won his first race (in MotoGP).” Then the page loaded and I couldn’t really believe it. Another racer, with SO MUCH LIFE (like Tomizawa). This is hard.
My deepest condolences to Sic’s family, friends, loved ones. I am very sad – as I was when Shoya lost his life – to see so much life, such verve, ended so prematurely.
I didn’t know you personally, Marco, and obviously you didn’t know me, but I will miss you. You are a major loss.
This is just beyond terrible news. RIP
It’s so sad to see Super Sic die so early in his Moto GP career, he was a very contorversial rider, with a lot of crashes to his name this year, one of which put Pedrosa out of the championship running, he’s been called untalented and dangerous…
And that’s exactly why I loved to see him race, he was fearless and fast, undoubtedly he had a very bright future in front of him, last weekend in Australia, he had an amazing race that saw him get his best result in his career, that’s when I saw him for the brilliant driver he was, he was getting near his own perfection in terms of riding and I’m sad to see him go when I was sure next year he would have had a Casey Stoner-matching year…
Rest in peace
@Robin Day I’ve watched the crash in slow motion countless times now trying to wrap my head around what happened and I can tell you that there’s no way his helmet could have stayed on. There was no equipment failure here, no one to blame, just a terrible freak accident. That Rossi was involved in it just makes it all that more devastating.
I don’t have words that express the way I feel right now. Rest in Peace my brother, my hero, my champion, my Super Sic.
Geez. Steve Jobs, Dan Wheldon, now Marco. The brightest and the best! Enough already!!! Godspeed SuperSic, you’ll be sorely missed in a sport that’s becoming increasingly robotic like F1. My sympathies for Colin and Vali–I’m sure they’re feeling pretty awful.
Simoncelli was a warrior. Trying to save the bike to his last breath. R.I.P. Deepest condolences to those close to him and especially his family and team. As a rider if you have to go on a track, Simoncelli was the type to go out trying his damnedest to fight it off.
Marco was one of the few reasons left to watch this over tech – over sterel sport, he brought attitude and risk to
a GP season that really needed him more than marco needed it. He was the main reason I watched, the duels
he would engauge in made the sport, I love the sporting (racing)part, I know Rossi and him are pals, this was
the last guy on the track that Rossi wanted to hit. Why – How did his helmet come off?
@Jake Fox:
Yup, same here. Saw it on on slow motion like 5 times @720p and… I think the force of the impact by the Duc’s front end totally dislodged his helmet fair and square. No malfunction there…if anything, had his helmet not come off maybe his helmeted head would be the one rolling by Edwards on the infield’s grass.
I aint got the words. This dude was the future. Rest in Peace.
We are lessened by his passing.
He had the potential to do great things in the 1000cc era.
A heart of a lion, rest in peace. My thoughts are with Marco, his family and everyone he has, and will, continue to inspire.
Two years ago I met Super Sic at Laguna along with my family and he was an amazing person with tons of talent!! He hugged everyone and kiss my Mom as he greeted her which just showed how much he cared and loved his fans!! He was exactly the same age as my younger brother so it really hit home and I’m truely desvistated!! God bless the family and Super Sic we will always remember and love u!! Godspeed #58!!! Motogp will never be the same…..
Thanks for putting everything out on the track, every race, Marco. MotoGP will miss you. I will miss you. May God give your family and friends the comfort they need in this ordeal. I think motorcycle racing has lost a star.
RIP Marco, there are really no words for tragedies like these. Why did the helmet come off?
My thoughts are with Marco’s familly and close ones. I am still in a shock and can’t believe he perished. I loved his character and his attitude. He died doing something he loved, battling for a position. MotoGP will never be as exciting and I will never forget him but more importantly a very very sad loss of a young life. RIP Marco
This is so sad I can hardly believe it. Such an amazing talent, he rode on the razors edge of what was possible from his machine. Just as it seemed that he was overcoming his tendency to sometimes pose a danger to himself and other riders, this tragedy occurs.
As someone wise once said: Live by the sword…… ! Thank you for all that you were to us.
May God hold you in his caring hands brave warrior!
I hear people commenting that Marcos riding style was a controversial one, I myself think the complete opposite, Marko was a true RACER….and the reason I follow motogp so religiously!
A super talented racer who was just beginning to find his feet in gp, setting his way to become a great champion and character in the sport, love and deepest sympathy to his family and friends especially his parents, Ride In Peace super-sic#58
I’m very sad about what happened to simon
Tears will not wash away the sorrow in our hearts ,nor stop the anguish we all feel at the passing of such a beautifull spirit. Despite never meeting him he had a way of reaching out to people he never met in a way that inspired everyone who watched him race. I fear we have lost a true gentleman and ambasador to the sport we all love. Marco wherever you are I hope the weather is fair the tarmac dry and the bends epic RIP and godspeed