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.

Öhlins Releases a Semi-Active Suspension Upgrade for the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S – But, What’s Next?

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.

MotoGP: Rossigektein in Assen for Dutch GP

06/27/2009 @ 9:54 pm, by Jensen Beeler1 COMMENT

Somewhere between the tulips and windmills, MotoGP riders assembled in Assen, Netherlands this Saturday for the Dutch GP. Loyal Dutch fans were treated to a race that saw the front-runner break away from the rest of the group, a series of sketchy passes, some key crashes, and a hair-raising battle for 6th place. Continue after the jump for some sizable spoilers.

Valentino Rossi took his 100th victory in style at Assen, taking the lead on the second lap from Casey Stoner. From that point on, the Italian’s supremacy was never threatened, though his team mate Jorge Lorenzo chased the Italian for the first 15 laps.

In typical Rossi fashion, the Italian rider unfurled a giant banner in his post race celebration. In tribute, the banner had pictures of all of Rossi’s 100 GP race victories.

Stoner couldn’t follow Rossi nor Lorenzo, but finished the race a very comfortable 3rd place podium. Dani Pedrosa followed early on, but crashed out at the Haarbocht, the first corner after the front straightaway, his team mate Andrea Dovizioso would follow several laps later into the Haarbocht gravel.

Seemingly alone, Colin Edwards took 4th, while Chris Vermeulen had a similarly easy going ride into 5th place.

The battle for 6th was the best part of the race, with 6 riders all battling it out for the position. On the losing end of that battle, Mika Kallio crashed in the final corner of the last lap.

Toni Elias, on the other hand, found himself entangled with Loris Capirossi. While dicing it up with Capi, Elias made a dangerous pass, and would be handed a 20 second penalty after the race, which resulted in him dropping from 8th to 12th place. In a post race interview, Elias apologized to Capirossi, and said he did not plan on contesting the penalty.

Race Results from MotoGP at Assen, Netherlands:

Pos.	No.	Rider	Manufacturer	Time	Diff
1	46	Valentino ROSSI	YAMAHA	42’14.611	-
2	99	Jorge LORENZO	YAMAHA	42’19.979	5.368
3	27	Casey STONER	DUCATI	42’37.724	23.113
4	5	Colin EDWARDS	YAMAHA	42’43.725	29.114
5	7	Chris VERMEULEN	SUZUKI	42’48.216	33.605
6	52	James TOSELAND	YAMAHA	42’53.958	39.347
7	14	Randy DE PUNIET	HONDA	42’54.154	39.543
8	24	Toni ELIAS	HONDA	42’54.385	39.774
9	69	Nicky HAYDEN	DUCATI	42’54.434	39.823
10	65	Loris CAPIROSSI	SUZUKI	42’55.284	40.673
11	15	Alex DE ANGELIS	HONDA	43’00.621	46.010
12	33	Marco MELANDRI	KAWASAKI	43’12.388	57.777
13	59	Sete GIBERNAU	DUCATI	43’19.977	1’05.366
14	88	Niccolo CANEPA	DUCATI	43’24.508	1’09.897
15	72	Yuki TAKAHASHI	HONDA	43’24.541	1’09.930
16	41	Gabor TALMACSI	HONDA	43’39.710	1’25.099
Not Classified
	36	Mika KALLIO	DUCATI	41’14.211	1 lap
	4	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	HONDA	16’24.548	16 laps
	3	Dani PEDROSA	HONDA	6’36.388	22 laps

Tagged under: Assen, Casey Stoner, Dutch, Dutch GP, Holland, Jorge Lorenzo, MotoGP, The Netherlands, Valentino Rossi

Comment:

Asphalt_Rubber says:
June 28, 2009 at 1:54 AM
MotoGP: Rossigektein in Assen for Dutch GP – http://tinyurl.com/m7mzrm #motorcycle

Follow Asphalt & Rubber on Facebook

Follow Asphalt & Rubber