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.

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.

MotoGP: A Qualifying of Eras at the Valencian GP

11/11/2012 @ 12:44 am, by Jensen BeelerComments Off

MotoGP: A Qualifying of Eras at the Valencian GP Valencian GP MotoGP Saturday Scott Jones 131

With some cooperation from the weather at the track in Valencia, MotoGP enjoyed its last dry qualifying session of the season. Saturday’s afternoon session was a stark contrast to Friday’s Free Practice sessions, which had mostly been a wasted day for the GP riders. With nothing on the line for the Valencian GP, riders in MotoGP are mostly racing this weekend for pride and bragging rights.

Casey Stoner’s last race in MotoGP, the Australian is surely looking for a good result, though there are question marks regarding his ankle. His teammate Dani Pedrosa is also looking for a strong result in his home country, with the Spaniard now out of the Championship hunt, but looking to end what has been a stellar second-half of a season in the Repsol Honda squad.

The man to stop though is his once bitter rival Jorge Lorenzo, who will carry the #1 plate next year. For Lorenzo, Valencia is about winning the most races in the 2012 season, with him and Pedrosa tied at six a piece.

For many of the other riders, Sunday’s race marks the last time they will be in the premier class, with their current teams, or even on the same kind of race bike. Perhaps the biggest piece of anticipation for the race, is the post-season testing the follows it. But, first things first.

The names on the front row for tomorrow are surely familiar ones, though the biggest point of note is Dani Pedrosa’s dominating pole-position lap time. Setting an outright “Best Lap” record at Valencia, which had been resurfaced ahead of the Valencian GP, Pedrosa shattered the record that was previously held by Valentino Rossi.

This is important for two reasons: 1) The previous lap record was the last standing lap record that was set during the 990cc era, and 2) the previous lap record was the last record, set in either qualifying or racing, that had Rossi’s name on it.

The G.O.A.T., the Valencia test and his return to Yamaha Racing might not be able to come soon enough.

Qualifying Results from the Valencian GP at Valencia, Spain:

Pos.RiderNationTeamBikeKM/HTimeDiff.
1Dani PEDROSASPARepsol Honda TeamHonda326.41’30.844-
2Jorge LORENZOSPAYamaha Factory RacingYamaha321.41’31.1950.351
3Casey STONERAUSRepsol Honda TeamHonda322.91’31.4280.584
4Cal CRUTCHLOWGBRMonster Yamaha Tech 3Yamaha321.41’31.5120.668
5Stefan BRADLGERLCR Honda MotoGPHonda324.81’31.7570.913
6Andrea DOVIZIOSOITAMonster Yamaha Tech 3Yamaha321.61’31.7950.951
7Nicky HAYDENUSADucati TeamDucati320.71’32.5031.659
8Alvaro BAUTISTASPASan Carlo Honda GresiniHonda323.51’32.5851.741
9Hector BARBERASPAPramac Racing TeamDucati327.01’32.6051.761
10Aleix ESPARGAROSPAPower Electronics AsparART305.71’32.8341.990
11Valentino ROSSIITADucati TeamDucati319.61’32.8772.033
12Randy DE PUNIETFRAPower Electronics AsparART306.41’33.3462.502
13Karel ABRAHAMCZECardion AB MotoracingDucati320.31’33.4422.598
14Colin EDWARDSUSANGM Mobile Forward RacingSuter309.31’33.4532.609
15Michele PIRROITASan Carlo Honda GresiniFTR303.81’33.9713.127
16Katsuyuki NAKASUGAJPNYamaha Factory RacingYamaha315.91’33.9793.135
17Danilo PETRUCCIITACame IodaRacing ProjectIoda-Suter300.01’33.9803.136
18Ivan SILVASPAAvintia BlusensBQR300.91’34.4073.563
19Roberto ROLFOITASpeed MasterART303.91’34.8664.022
20James ELLISONGBRPaul Bird MotorsportART304.61’34.9184.074
21Hiroshi AOYAMAJPNAvintia BlusensBQR309.11’35.3634.519
22Claudio CORTIITAAvintia BlusensInmotec300.01’36.5315.687

Source: MotoGP; Photo: © 2012 Scott Jones / Scott Jones Photography – All Rights Reserved

Top 5 Related Posts:

  1. MotoGP: Seeing is Believing at the Valencian GP
  2. MotoGP: Surprisingly Dry Qualifying at Valencia
  3. MotoGP: Lap Record Falls in the Land of the Rising Sun During Qualifying
  4. MotoGP: Veterans, Rookies, & Replacements Send-off the 800cc Era at the Valencian GP
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