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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
‘Norton to race Aprilia CRT at IOMTT for baffling reasons’ is what the title should read. I don’t get it the 588 was quite cool even if it was a little hydrophobic, everyone was pulling for them again. Few things in biking news have made me say, ‘FUCK YES!” but the heading ‘Michael Dunlop to ride clearly ridiculous rotary powered Norton’ was one of them, Who cares if it came in last or blew up or came in last and blew up. It would have been a Norton and journo’s would have muttered something about plucky spirit and they’d have tried again next year.
Love the “165 mph no hands” test!
Perhaps Norton should be concentrating on actually delivering Commandos that have been promised and paid in full for rather than wasting time racing an Aprilia with Norton badging. The real story that needs to be told is what is going on with the funds that numerous potential buyers have deposited with Norton, are bikes being delivered, are there quality control issues, are deposits being returned when requested? Norton seems to be getting a “pass” in the American motorcycle press, the British press is not so kind.
Utter rubbish. On an off thought wish EBR would field a bike.
I think these “Norton” people are trying to pull an H-D, Ducati or Ferrari here.
Make a name for yourself AGAIN, SOMEHOW( Alien bike, alien frame and alien engine not related in any way possible to the brand name), polish such name, tack it and sticker it on anything they can (coffe mugs, dishwashers, dildos), get into SILLY alliances with other “FAT FISH” out there and make a quick buck any possible way they can,AGAIN….SPLATTERING your silly name on any motorcycle unrelated products.
Is ok, bussiness are created to make revenue.
Hating ? Most probably….. all this daily raining on my neck of the woods is giving Male P.M.S.
but most of it is fueled by all the P.R fanfarre and B.S words all these “icons” spew out during the ground breaking ceremony to later just turn into and DO NOTHING…yes, ur name stood for greatnes……..ONE TIME………..NOT ANYMORE SINCE your DEATH…u should now rest in peace (MotoMorini comes to mind quick after watching their latest LAME effort).
The comments above sum it up. Norton is not bringing their A game. Disappointment.
@John
Just save yourself the annoyance, and get a real Norton, the early to mid 70′s Commandos are fun bikes, and they have the added benefit of being actual Nortons. The new Commandos, while pretty, have little in common with the old ones. New ones don’t even have a pillion, and I don’t think Norton ever sold a single seat Commando. There was the Interstate, the Fastback, and the Roadster, but they all had pillions.
Oh, and as for this Norton RSV4, it’s not as good as the real one, and nowhere near as cool as the NRV588.
Aprilia/Spondon/Ohlins/Brembo……. tank stickers by Norton
Norton is a sponsor… not the manufacturer.
Still they are getting press…. now get back in the factory and assemble those late delivery commtiments.
This is to sell T-shirt, caps and anything else they can cheaply screen a logo onto.
Why are people getting bent out of shape over Norton using the Aprilia engine to develop thier chassis ? Maybe because they didn’t know that triumph used the r6 to develop the 675 or is that not the sam_e? And nearly every norton evet built used parts from other machines . the rotary commander was practicly an xj900 . i am a norton fan and have been since a child so if it means the name makes a comes back like triumph i wish them all the best .