The Confederate X132 Hellcat is the latest creation from the boutique southern motorcycle brand, and continues the Hellcat lineage’s custom-roadster aesthetic. Like any machine produced by Confederate, the real beauty of the new Hellcat comes down to the bike’s detail finishes, which for the X132 includes a motor casing that was built out of two pieces of billet 6061 aircraft grade aluminum. Officially spec’d with “sufficient” power and torque figures, the 2,163cc v-twin motor on the X132 is more than eye-catching, and should propel you down the road just fine with its estimated 132 peak horsepower and 150 lbs•ft of torque.
During the second AMA Pro Supersport qualifying session at Sears Point, #422 Genki Hagata had a moment that every motorcycle racer knows all too well: a highside. Still completing his out-lap, Hagata’s Yamaha YZF-R6 lost traction at the rear wheel, and then abruptly regained it, which for most riders would usually mean an ejection seat straight into the kitty litter, but not for Genki. Holding onto the bars throughout the incident, Hagata avoided crashing (again, as the case would be for the weekend), and while he missed making the cut-off for Supersport grid by only a few tenths of a second, we still think he was the big winner of AMA Pro Racing’s third road-racing stop of the season.
This, race fans, is Danilo Petrucci, one of the brave souls trying his luck on the future of MotoGP hardware, in his case the doggedly underpowered Came IodaRacing Project machine. Not on a (relatively) zippy Aprilia ART, or a Honda-powered FTR, Petrucci qualifies on the same grid as Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo, and brings to this gunfight a knife that packs a whopping 185 bhp, compared to the factory prototype engines that are rumored to be around 260 bhp. As I photograph a race, I see a much different version of the event than TV viewers. I watch the recorded TV broadcast later, and can tell you that there is a lot going on with the Claiming Rule Team bikes that doesn’t make in onto TV.
We are now purely a “suck, squeeze, bang, blow” society, and while that suits many motorists just fine, there are some who enjoy the smell of pre-mix in the morning — you know who you are. You enjoy the sound of angry bees following you from apex to off-camber. You think a displacement for “serious riders” starts at around 250cc. You like your engine compression low, and your powerbands narrow. You sir (or madam), are a two-stroke junky, and we have just the fix you need. Having a bevy of intriguing two-wheeled projects within its walls, the Swiss bike that catches our eye today is the Suter 500 Factory V4: a two-stroke, 500cc, V4, track weapon that puts out over 200 hp and weighs 284 lbs ready to race — no, that is not a typo.
Blurred to protect against spoilers, we’ll just leave things simply by saying that World Superbike’s Race 2 at Donington Park is well worth a watching if you haven’t already seen it. Decided right down to the last few turns, race pundits surely will be discussing the race and its outcome over the next week. Unsurprisingly, geography is playing a major a role in how things are being viewed. Though in a race where a number of questionable passes occurred, it is hard to single out this one event from the plethora of others that occurred during the race, but of course this one had the biggest effect on the race outcome. Click past the jump for the he said, she said, and of course for some slightly sharper photos.
More news from Norton, as the British firm has begun track-testing its V4 road race bike, in preparation of the 2012 Isle of Man TT. Focusing on the bike’s handling, Norton has been working hand-in-hand with Öhlins and Dunlop developing the bike’s chassis. The trio has devised the highly sophisticated “165 mph no hands” test, which supposedly checks the stability of the bike, though we imagine Health & Safety would frown upon it. With the bike’s Aprilia RSV4 motor putting out 195hp at the crank, and with the total race package weighing 419 lbs (195 kg) when it is sopping wet, the Spondon-framed Norton may not be exactly what fans of the famous marques were hoping for after seeing the very appealing Norton NRV 588, though it does seem to be a potent package.
Launching in downtown Los Angeles, the 2012 Brammo Empulse R & 2013 Brammo Empulse broke their cover and officially debuted. Right off the bat from the designations, you can see that Brammo intends for the Empulse R to be a 2012 model, with the base model Emuplse coming out next year (more on that further down). As we expected, the Brammo Empulse R got quite the price bump after its 22-month marination, and will be $18,995 MSRP. Meanwhile when the Brammo Empulse becomes available next year, it will have a slightly more palatable $16,995 price tag.
While the EBR 1190RS race bikes were on the track, their $40,000+ street-legal counterparts were on display outside of the Erik Buell Racing garage. Rocking an American flag livery, I naturally took pictures of this show bike. Eye catching to say the least, nothing says “Made in ‘merica” better than a red, white, and blue color scheme, especially when it is laid over carbon fiber. And while I want to love this bike because of its nuances and outside-of-the-box technical design, I don’t.
If there’s one lesson we can take from Sunday’s race at Estoril, it’s this: “I’ve always said we know Casey’s the guy that’s the fastest guy in the world. Maybe over the seasons he hasn’t put the championships together, but by far he’s the best guy in the world.” Cal Crutchlow is not known for mincing his words, and his description of Casey Stoner pulls no punches. But given the fact that Stoner only managed to win the Portuguese round of MotoGP by a second and a bit, is that not a little exaggerated?
Brammo is back for electric motorcycle racing in the North American TTXGP series, as the Ashland-based company is set to defend it’s #1 plate this year with Steve Atlas on board ( Shelina Moreda is slated to join the team later in the season). Gaining a title sponsorship from Icon, Brammo arrived at Sears Point with some edgy graphics on the 2012 Brammo Empulse RR. Dropping roughly 35 lbs in weight, and gaining roughly 50hp over the bike they ran at last year’s season opener, Brammo is making most of those gains in its revised motor and power inverter for the newest Empulse RR.
Biaggi is an asshat and has never been able to keep his cool. That’s why Rossi used to have so much fun messing with him.
Hah, Biaggi says he has grown up and is not the person he used to be…sure…
What a drama queen. I think Marco showed great restraint durring the exchange, I’d have slapped him back.
Oh, Danica, simmer down.
Actually it’s great to see how much passion there is to win that makes people lose it sometimes.
sorry there are things you don’t do. I can back down from a lot of things. but a slap to the face. No force on earth, would have been able to restrain me. I would rather be punch, or knocked out completely. but a slap, nope, no way.
Unacceptable behavior for anyone, much less a World Champion. Lookout Emperor, karma is going to bite your self-absorbed ass.
Marco Melandri is a true champion, both on the track and off the track.
Biaggi should be banned from the sport, behaviour like that has absolutely no place in motorsports, shameful, absolutely shameful.
I want to like him (Biaggi) but I just can’t. Just such a co@$. I bet Aprilia is wincing…
Truly remarkable restraint by Melandri. He really took it to Max and the rest of the field on the track.
Haha, Biaggi always makes me laugh, sure hes an absolute sod… But fair play to Melandri.
And in return, Biaggi gets spanked in the race.
What a jackhole.
Biaggi is the roman punk and i wish that he would never ever win another race.
Biaggi is a punk! He started this kind of crap back with Rossi when he wasn’t good enough to race MotoGP. Biaggi is the biggest sore loser in the entire sport and I think it is time for him to just go away so that we can enjoy the races without the constant Drama Llama!
He’s French, that’s how French people argue…
Actually I have no idea… I made the whole thing up.
Back to his old self. But, that’s okay… Carlos will beat the both of ‘em.
I have and never will be a fan of Biatchi. He won’t keep that #1 plate this year nor will he win it again. He bullied Marco because he knew he could get away with it. Had he tried that on let’s say ………Laverty,Haga,Checa or Haslam then fists would have been flying. Melandri I hope will win the title if not Checa. Biagga you are and will always be a FIGA!!!
What a class act Marco is, didnt even bothered returning the favor!!! Go Marco!!
He is lucky Marco is such a sweet guy. Some of the guys I race would have torn him apart right in the paddock.
Marco didn’t strike back for a few reasons I think. m\Mainly because he knows he’s under Biaggi’s skin. Second because in Italy it’s not a big deal in their culture (the light slaps), and third because Marco knows he will walk all over him on the track. Look at the way Marco looks at the camera and then smiles like: “Don’t make it a big deal, This is me and Max and how we deal”…. LOL!