Cutaway Photos of the Ducati Superquadro Engine

I was flipping through some photos from the 2011 EICMA show, and found these shots of the Ducati 1199 Panigale’s Superquadro engine. Unfortunately at the show, Ducati had its 1199cc v-twin motor behind a Lexan case, which created a bit of a glare, reflections, and of course had smudges from the touchy-feely Italian crowd. But still, the photos give a good idea of what’s going on in Ducati’s most-advanced production engine to date, and are better than just looking at the CAD renders. If you look at the shots very closely, you can almost see where the 195hp and 98 lbs•ft of torque is lurking inside.

AGV, Please Make This Helmet!

In addition to testing the factory Ducati Desmosedici GP12 “Phoenix” this week at Sepang, Valentino Rossi is also trying out a new lid from AGV. Aside from the carbon fiber goodness, and of course the Rossi stickers (which add 5hp & $200), AGV’s prototype helmet sports a noticably pronounced rear spoiler. Tucked in behind the windscreen, it is obvious why the Italian helmet manufacturer designed such a large protrusion off the back of the prototype helmet, as it looks to be clearly helping the flow off the back of the helmet, across the rider’s hump, and down his backside.

2012 Honda RC213V Debuts in Malaysia

While Ducati Corse is busy playing hide-the-Desmosedici at Sepang, HRC is all business in Malaysia this week, and has debuted its 2012 Honda RC213V MotoGP-contender. Honda isn’t saying too much about the RC213V, simply stating that the race bike is all new, but is also a continuation of the company’s design with the 800cc Honda RC212V. Testing the Honda RC213V over the course of last season, reigning-World Champion Casey rode the new 1,000cc machine three times in 2011, while teammate Dani Pedrosa swung a leg over the RC213V twice (missing one test because of injury).

No, This is the “90%” New Ducati Desmosedici GP12

You may have been misled by some eager journalists today and yesterday, if you saw a Ducati Corse livery-clad Ducati Desmosedici GP12 that some sites were passing off as the first shots of the “90% new” GP12. With the alleged new GP12 looking surprisingly similar to the aluminum-framed “GP0″ that was tested at Valencia, Valentino Rossi’s mechanic has now Alex Briggs confirmed that the photos taken were not of the all new “GP12 Phoenix” that the factory team will race this season. While the Ducati lords can taketh away, they can also giveth, and Valentino Rossi himself has posted the first photo of the factory Desmosedici GP12, and the bike is clearly different.

Zero Motorcycles Commences 2012 Model Line Production

Zero Motorcycles has announced the full-commencement of production for its 2012 model line, which is expected to hit dealers in February & March of this year. First off the line was the 2012 Zero DS back in December, though the electric motorcycle company has recently started building the Zero S, Zero XU, Zero X, and Zero MX at its Scotts Valley facility as well. A story we broke back in November, Zero Motorcycles debuted its important 2012 electric motorcycle line up at the 2011 EICMA show in Milan, with the 2012 range being a substantial improvement upon the company’s previous offerings.

The Dainese D-Air Racing Airbag Suit Comes to America

Getting a look at Dainese & AGV’s 2012 collection, Asphalt & Rubber was down in Orange County earlier this week to see the highly anticipated Dainese D-Air Racing leather suit, which has a four liter airbag system that helps reduce the risk of injury during a motorcycle crash. Dainese has been working on the D-Air Racing system for 10 years now, and after soft-launching the airbag suit in Europe, the Italian company is ready to bring the game-changing technology to American soil.

I Love the Nightlife. I’ve Come to Boogie.

Us Danes, we’re a strange breed. From the culture that taught you how to rape and pillage, Scandinavia is making yet another contribution to the motorcycling world with this latest video. Featuring Danish Supermoto Champion Andreas Mikkelsen, we get a RoToR camera-esque perspective (this rig is actually home made) on the Dane’s practice session at the Als Supermotard Club in Denmark. It’s videos like this that are slowly eroding my will-power to resist getting into supermotard riding. Also, I don’t know who was in charge of the music selection on this thing, but my hat is off to him/her. I love the nightlife. I’ve come to boogie.

Confirmed: KTM 350 Duke in 2013 – Moto3 Inspired 350cc Sport Bike in 2014

Our friends over at IndianCarsBikes.in were in attendance at the KTM 200 Duke launch in India this week, as the Austrian brand launched its somewhat bigger-displacement version of the popular KTM Duke 125. During the press event, KTM talked about the future of the mini-Duke line and its product roadmap for the emerging country, as well as abroad. With the Austrian brand confirming/clarifying that KTM would release a KTM 350 Duke for India in 2013, zie Austrians also confirmed that the KTM 350 Duke would be built locally in India by Bajaj, but would be exported worldwide — allaying fears that the KTM 350 Duke would be an India-only model.

Why Today is the Most Important Day for Ducati…Ever

Now that the first Ducati 1199 Panigale has rolled out of the door in Bologna, the die is cast, the chips are in play, and our course is set to see if Ducati has created a “massive breach of brand trust and honesty.” The realization of course should be that Ducati’s brand was never in danger with bikes like the Hypermotard, Multistrada 1200, or Diavel. Instead, the danger of serious brand dilution has always rested on how Ducati handled its Superbike line. A failure to produce a two-wheeled machine that is both as striking visually as it is kinetically, could permanently alienate a loyal fan base that has endured a great deal in the past half-decade.

Video: Community + Motorcycles = Motomethod

There is a lot that can be said about why dealerships fail or succeed (we’ve already seen an interesting insight on the subject of shops being open on Sundays), and one aspect on how to be a successful dealership that will surely rise to the top is one of community. Here, Vancouver-based Motomethod is all about the community, as the do-it-yourself community garden style repair shop has become a place for British Columbian riders not to work on their motorcycles, but also to congregate together with a shared love of riding on two wheels. Not exactly a new concept business-wise, but still a fresh perspective in an otherwise unwilling to change industry. More on this thought process to be published in the coming weeks. Enjoy.

Team Agni Wins Inaugural TTXGP

Fri, June 12th, 2009 @ 6:52 pm, by Jenny Gun5 COMMENTS
Home » Popular » Team Agni Wins Inaugural TTXGP

Team Agni Wins Inaugural TTXGP team agni ttxgp 1 560x372

In case you missed it this morning, the first running of the TTXGP, a zero-emission TT held on the Isle of Man, occurred today with Team Agni being the victor. Team Agni has dominated the whole week, setting the fastest times in both practice sessions. Their bike, piloted by Rob “Rocket” Barber, is a modified Suzuki GSXR frame, with Agni’s proprietary electrical motor in place of the standard internal combustion engine. Report and results below.

Barber lapped the Mountain Course in just under 26 minutes, averaging a speed of over 87mph. This performnace allowed Team Agni to win by a margin of nearly 3 minutes, but as many spectators will tell you, all the teams that completed the TTXGP were victorious.

Finishing the TTXGP was not easy as the Mountain Course claimed its fair share of bikes. With 15 bikes starting the race, only 9 teams were able to complete the course. Among those not finishing was Brammo’s Roy Richardson, who had posted strong times in both practices, and was a podium hopeful. A little bit less surprising was the showing from Mark Miller and the MotoCzysz team.

MotoCzysz has been plagued all week with problems, and while a very fast bike, was unable to finish the course on race day.

Another disappointment was team EV-0 RR, which arrived late to the Isle of Man, and was unable to field a bike to start the race. Many of the teams that could not qualify on during the practice sessions, we given the opportunity to run today, so-long as they wore the orange “Novice” vests. We had hoped to see EV-0 RR in this regard, but alas their bike never materialized.

Race Results from the First TTXGP Zero Emissions Race

Pos.	Team	Rider	Class	Speed	Time	Diff.
1	Team Agni	Rob Barber	PRO	87.434	0:25:54	-
2	XXL	Thomas Schoenfelder	PRO	77.841	0:29:05	-0:03:11
3	Brammo	Mark Buckley	PRO	75.35	0:30:03	-0:04:09
4	Mission Motors	Thomas Montano	PRO	74.091	0:30:33	-0:04:40
5	Electric Motorsport	Chris Heath	OPEN	66.022	0:34:17	-0:08:24
6	HTBLAUVA – TGM	Paul Dobbs	PRO	62.575	0:36:11	-0:10:17
7	Barefoot Motors Racing	Chris Petty	OPEN	62.219	0:36:23	-0:10:30
8	TORK	John Crellin	OPEN	60.475	37:26.0	-0:11:33
9	Brunel X-Team	Stephen Harper	PRO	40.092	0:56:28	-0:30:34
RET	ManTTx Racing	Dan Kneen	OPEN	-	-	-
RET	Brammo	Roy Richardson	PRO	-	-	-
RET	Kingston University	George Spence	OPEN	-	-	-
RET	MotoCzysz	Mark Miller	PRO	-	-	-
DNS	EV-0 RR	Paul Owen	PRO	-	-	-

Photos: SkyFirePDL

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Tagged under: 2009, IOM, IoM TT, Isle of Man, Isle of Man TT, Team Agni, TTXGP

Comment:

skadamo says:
June 12, 2009 at 7:48 PM
Congratulations to Agni Motors! I bet Brammo is really happy they put 2 bikes in the running. Amazing job by all competitors whether they finished or not. Can’t wait until next year! Thanks for the write up!
Phil Long says:
June 12, 2009 at 4:27 PM
RT @Asphalt_Rubber: Team Agni Wins Inaugural TTXGP – http://tinyurl.com/llbn9t #motorcycle My pics used again. :) #iomtt
Henry Maddocks says:
June 12, 2009 at 8:05 PM
Electric motorcycles FTW! http://tinyurl.com/llbn9t #motorcycle (via @Asphalt_Rubber)
Asphalt_Rubber says:
June 12, 2009 at 10:52 PM
Team Agni Wins Inaugural TTXGP – http://tinyurl.com/llbn9t #motorcycle
Peter Toner says:
December 23, 2009 at 11:00 PM
RT @Asphalt_Rubber Team Agni Wins Inaugural TTXGP http://bit.ly/3FnLlT