Source: Supersonic Racing Ducati
Top 5 Related Posts:
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.
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.
- Biggles on Sunday Summary at Le Mans: Of Titles, Shot Tires, Fast Students, & A Spaniard-Free Podium
- smiler on Bonnier Corp. & Source Interlink Swap Publications – Cycle World, Motorcyclist, & Sport Rider Now Under One Roof
- Trane Francks on MotoGP: Randy de Puniet Testing with Suzuki in Japan
- 2ndclass on Bonnier Corp. & Source Interlink Swap Publications – Cycle World, Motorcyclist, & Sport Rider Now Under One Roof
- TexusTim on Sunday Summary at Le Mans: Of Titles, Shot Tires, Fast Students, & A Spaniard-Free Podium
- Huck on Sunday Summary at Le Mans: Of Titles, Shot Tires, Fast Students, & A Spaniard-Free Podium
- hodgmo on Transcript: The Gay Question at Jerez
- paulus - Thailand on Moto Morini Tries New Payment Scheme – Pay for Only Half of the Bike, Get It for 18 Months
- paulus - Thailand on Bonnier Corp. & Source Interlink Swap Publications – Cycle World, Motorcyclist, & Sport Rider Now Under One Roof
- Mark Gardiner on Bonnier Corp. & Source Interlink Swap Publications – Cycle World, Motorcyclist, & Sport Rider Now Under One Roof
- Bonnier Corp. & Source Interlink Swap Publications – Cycle World, Motorcyclist, & Sport Rider Now Under One Roof
- MotoGP: Randy de Puniet Testing with Suzuki in Japan
- Moto Morini Tries New Payment Scheme – Pay for Only Half of the Bike, Get It for 18 Months
- Sunday Summary at Le Mans: Of Titles, Shot Tires, Fast Students, & A Spaniard-Free Podium
- MotoGP: Race Results from the French GP
- Saturday Summary at Le Mans: Of Exceptional Rookies, Real Race Pace, & What It Takes To Be Champion
- MotoGP: Qualifying Results from Le Mans
- Friday Summary at Le Mans: Of Four Fast Men, Improved Ducatis, Redding’s Reign, and a Quota on Spaniards
- Preview of Le Mans: Can Lorenzo Get Back the Momentum?
- MV Agusta F3 800 Coming in June
- Husqvarna & Husaberg Will “Reunite” After 25 Years Apart
- Reuters: MotoGP Seeks to Reduce Presence in Spain & USA
- Say Hello to the 2013 Honda…Grom?
- Recall: 2012-2013 Triumph Explorer & Triumph Explorer XC
- BMW Motorrad Posts Best Month Ever – BMW R1200GS Leads the Way with 27% of Company Sales
This shocked me and at the same time scared me a bit, as i have ridden a 1098 and 1198 with machesini mag wheels. if that happened on the street, it would worse than in a controlled environment like the track.
were they mag or carbon fiber?
@spytech
The commentators on Eurosport said that in most cases these wheels are replaced at least once in a season or after a crash in the top teams.
But the budget aka. privater teams sometimes don’t change them even after two seasons and that’s why this might have happened.
Doubt it that it would happen in our real world riding situations on the street.
Talking about riding the wheel OFF the ducati bike. Who ever put this wheels on should be fired or block flag! LMAO…
DOH! I hate when that happens.
EPIC FAIL!!!!! Marchesini?
Vonich, considering the fail was where the rim meets the spokes…feaces occurs. Though riding on a budget magnafluxing is cheaper than new rims.
I think this team needs some money, they could not even start the bike on the grid first, then a wheel comes off during a race? Wheels dont come off in races, or at least shouldnt. I want to know what failed in the wheel situation really.
You’re doing it wrong.
For those wondering, the wheel is a forged magnesium wheel from Marchesini.
Loctite!
This source (http://www.ducatinewstoday.com/2011/03/picked-a-fine-time-to-leave-me-loose-wheel/) says it was a relatively new OZ wheel, not a two season old Marchesini.
Hmm…this source lists Marchesini as the wheel supplier: http://www.supersonicracingteam.com/ita/moto.jsp
I am curious why some people believe this wheel would be used on a production SBK. These race wheels aren’t even DOT and are for race only.
consider the likely stress on such a wheel and that only a post mortem exam will tell if this was due to manufacturing defect, overuse, or Act of God.
Patience. Time will tell.
A few more pics
http://www.supersonicracingteam.com/ita/photoGallery/photoGallery_singola.jsp?album=24&tabella=album
The wheel in question is deff a OZ, not, I say not a Marchesini, and wow did that one fail, big time. Talk about not buying those anyone?
The next image on the team’s site after the wheel failing is of the wheel itself. Most definitely an OZ.
It is definitely an Oz rim from the photos Supersonic have on their site. Don’t know why they say it is a Marchesini. The team says it was only used for a few races.
Here is an actual photo of the failed wheel hub remnants.
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff259/s4rs888/wheelfailure.jpg
Definitely an OZ Racing (which doesn’t imply that ALL OZ wheels are bad — OZ is one of the top wheel makers in the world, supplying the most prestigious series, including F1. I have no affiliation with OZ) wheel.
Good pic on GP One:
http://www.gpone.com/index.php/en/news/35-in-evidenza/3265-cerchio-rotto-berger-come-spencer.html
I stand corrected.
The story that I have is that supersonic had been using that wheel for at least 3 seasons now… If that’s true, the fault lies on them as the wheel would definitely be overstressed.
@AGray
I could be wrong, but OZ has not been making that wheel for 3 seasons.
@spytech
Certainly not for commercial sale, but as with a lot of race-only equipment some are not widely available.
However, I want to stress that what I heard was a rumor so far. A well placed rumor, but a rumor nevertheless.
“Picked a fine time to leave me loose-wheel” LOL! Classic.
Somebody’s looking for a new job as something other than a mechanic.
That wheel has not been in use for 3 seasons, simply impossible it has only been around for less than a year
My cousin pointed out something that may be obvious to everyone else who viewed the pic of the fractured wheel–after the outside of the rim left, the inside of the rim would have become a literal saw blade. The rider is very none of his soft parts got near the rear of the swing arm!
@Jake Fox.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Whew….that was too funny.