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: Tough Outing for Americans at San Marino

09/06/2009 @ 7:00 pm, by Jensen Beeler1 COMMENT

MotoGP is at Misano, Italy today for the San Marino GP, where Jorge Lorenzo is looking to close in on his points deficit to leader Valentino Rossi. The week at San Marino has been a busy one, seeing the formal singing of Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso to another year with Honda Racing. We also saw the announcement that Ben Spies would remain in WSBK for 2010, and that Colin Edwards will more than likely remain at Tech3 Yamaha. Then of course, there is the race itself.

With Championship points on the line, all eyes were on Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi. But, wedged in-between the Fiat-Yamaha pair on the starting grid was Dani Pedrosa, who could showed at the Indianapolis GP that he is more than capable of throwing a wrench in Lorenzo’s bid to claw points away from Rossi.

The start of the race was greeted by another famous Pedrosa rabbit start, and also a lightning run by Toni Elias. Lorenzo followed the pair in third place, but all parties would fall to The Donkey by the first 1/3 of the race.

Like at the start, Lorenzo found Pedrosa between himself and Rossi, who if left unattended has on more than occasion shown himself capable of pulling out a commanding lead. This proved to be the case at San Marino, as Rossi pulled away from the battle for second, and set up a comfortable lead during the 7 laps it took Lorenzo to get past Pedrosa.

Lorenzo couldn’t touch Rossi’s gap, and The Doctor proved himself capable of defending that gap at will. Lorenzo would have to settle for second place on this outing, making another Fiat-Yamaha 1-2. Dani Pedrosa finished third , with a large gap both in front, separating him from Lorenzo, and in back from the rest of the field.

The battle for forth, between Loris Capirossi and Andrea Dovizioso, was the real action of the race, with the recently singed Dovi just eking out the Rizla Suzuki for fourth place at the line.

Americans Colin Edwards and Nicky Hayden would be no-shows at the finish line though. Both riders were taken out in a massive crash caused by San Marino local, Alex de Angelis.

Race Results from MotoGP at the San Marino GP at Misano, Italy:

Pos.	No.	Rider	Manufacturer	Time	Diff
1	46	Valentino ROSSI	YAMAHA	44’32.882	-
2	99	Jorge LORENZO	YAMAHA	44’35.298	2.416
3	3	Dani PEDROSA	HONDA	44’45.282	12.400
4	4	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	HONDA	44’59.212	26.330
5	65	Loris CAPIROSSI	SUZUKI	44’59.421	26.539
6	24	Toni ELIAS	HONDA	45’01.168	28.286
7	36	Mika KALLIO	DUCATI	45’03.066	30.184
8	33	Marco MELANDRI	KAWASAKI	45’04.639	31.757
9	7	Chris VERMEULEN	SUZUKI	45’04.791	31.909
10	52	James TOSELAND	YAMAHA	45’11.229	38.347
11	44	Aleix ESPARGARO	DUCATI	45’19.555	46.673
12	14	Randy DE PUNIET	HONDA	45’24.923	52.041
13	88	Niccolo CANEPA	DUCATI	45’36.080	1’03.198
14	41	Gabor TALMACSI	HONDA	45’55.229	1’22.347
Not finished first lap
	15	Alex DE ANGELIS	HONDA
	5	Colin EDWARDS	YAMAHA
	69	Nicky HAYDEN	DUCATI

Tagged under: Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo, MotoGP, San Marino, San Marino GP, The Donkey, Valentino Rossi

Comment:

Gordon Bengston says:
September 7, 2009 at 3:40 AM
MotoGP: Tough Outing for Americans at San Marino – Asphalt & Rubber: Motorcycle news, Industry Rumors, MotoG.. http://bit.ly/OrSlT

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