Video: 2011 AFM Banquet Film – Death to Second Place

The oldest racing organization in the country dedicated soley to motorcycle road racing, the AFM is a Northern Californian non-profit racing organization that has helped hone the skills of riders like Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Kenny Roberts, and Steve Rapp — not mention a weekend warrior or two. Each year the racing league comes together for a banquet, and lately the tradition has been to include a highlight film of the year’s racing. I’m not sure what films in the past have been like, but if the latest AFM banquet video doesn’t give you goosebumps, you might want to check your pulse. Bonus points for the including the Versus “Second Place” monologue — it’s very apropos.

Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 2011 – The Ducati Story

Grab some popcorn, because this video from Ducati North America is over 14 minutes long. Telling the story of Ducati at the 2011 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), DNA has put together a great video that really captures how special the racing is at Pikes Peak, and how gorgeous the scenery is of the Colorado Mountains. With Santa Barbara Ducati’s Carlin Dunne winning the overall motorcycle category on his dealership’s Multistrada 1200 demo model, Alexander Smith from the Spider Grips Ducati Team made it a double podium for Ducati in the 1205cc class. If you’re new to racing at Pikes Peak, or wanted a quick re-cap of last year’s race, Ducati’s video pretty accurately sums up racing on the mountain and the anxiety around last year’s race.

Ducati Announces Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Team with Carlin Dunne & Greg Tracy

Ducati has announced its factory team for the 2012 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), and the Italian company has secured the services of last-year’s winner and Rookie of the Year Carlin Dunne as well as six-time PPIHC winner Greg Tracy. Ducati has also partnered with the Spider Grips team, who will help prepare the teams Ducati Multistrada 1200 for the “Race to the Clouds” on July 8th. For 2012, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb will be fully-paved to the top of the mountain, which will surely see the speeds of competitors increase, and lap times drop on the 12.42 mile long course that ends at 14,110 feet.

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.

Troy Lee Designs Fails to Impress with New Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Livery

Fri, March 12th, 2010 @ 9:03 am, by Jenny Gun10 COMMENTS
Home » Bikes » Troy Lee Designs Fails to Impress with New Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Livery

It’s not that new Suzuki MotoGP livery is bad, it’s just well…sort of what you’d expect from Suzuki’s factory racing team. When we first heard that Troy Lee Designs was going to give the old Rizla Blue the once over, we were excited to see what the talented company could come up with in the go fast/look good department.

Yet as we look at these pictures, we wonder what happened in the process. Powder blue? Check. Big Rizla Letters? Check. Nothing else that’s remote eye-catching? Check. We sure hope the Suzuki GSV-R performs better than it looks, but we’re not holding our breath. Check out the rest of the photos after the jump.

Supposedly, the 2010 Suzuki GSV-R has improved aerodynamics, chassis performance, and electronics, which Suzuki calls the “most advanced machine yet.” That sounds like a load of bull; but seeing as how this writer is so disappointed in this release, she doesn’t have the power to muster on writing about the biggest let-down of 2010. Good night sweet prince.

2010 Rizla Suzuki GSV-R Technical Specifications:

Engine Type: 4 stroke water cooled V4

Displacement: 800cc

Max Power: 222+ HP / 18,000rpm

Valve Control and Type: Pneumatic (air control), DOHC four-valve

Carburation Type: Fuel injection

Lubrication System: Wet sump (Motul Lubricants)

Clutch: Dry multi plates (back torque reduction type)

Transmission: Six speed low friction constant mesh

Final Drive: Chain

Frame Type: Twin spar aluminum alloy frame

Suspension: Front: Inverted type telescopic (Ohlins) / Rear: Link type (Ohlins)

Tyres: Bridgestone

Wheels: Front and rear: 429mm (16.5 inches)

Brake System: Front: Double carbon disc (Brembo) / Rear: Single steel disc (Brembo)

Overall Length: 2080mm

Overall Width: 660mm

Overall Height: 1150mm

Weight: 150+kg

Fuel Tank: 21L

Estimated top speed: 330+km/h

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Tagged under: 2010 Suzuki GSV-R, Fail, flop, fml, livery, photos, Rizla Suzuki, Suzuki, Suzuki GSV-R, Troy Lee, Troy Lee Designs

Comment:

Matt Artelt says:
March 12, 2010 at 9:28 AM
Um…yikes! This is not likely to join the YZF-M1 and GP10 on my office wall…Not at all.
Hayabrusa says:
March 12, 2010 at 9:33 AM
Yep, I’m as un-impressed as everyone else so far! Maybe they just paid Troy to use his name, and he really didn’t have anything to do with the bike. I hope that IS the case, otherwise what he ‘did’ is a big let-down.
Dave says:
March 12, 2010 at 9:39 AM
So they painted it blue and went down to the local sign shop to have some decals cut out. Wonder how much they charged Suzuki for that.
Peter Lombardi says:
March 12, 2010 at 10:39 AM
wow…. sorry troy lee designs, but this is a fail.
-peter
Jenny Gun says:
March 12, 2010 at 10:44 AM
TLD is also designing some apparel for the Suzuki team, and presumably for fans as well. Maybe those will see an improvement?
Faster1 says:
March 12, 2010 at 12:34 PM
It’s Rizla’s fault,,, crap powder blue with pale yellow. That combination is ugly on anything,, including stoner papers. Troy’s hands were tied,, don’t know why he signed up for this. Maybe if the wheels had a red or yellow stripe or anything else to tie it all together,, anything. For now, ugliest bike on the grid 4 years running. It seems too easy to check out any of 10 bikes in WSBK to get inspiration from. Poor umbrella girls, , they have to endure that uniform for another season…
patron says:
March 12, 2010 at 1:28 PM
You would think a company like RIZLA would be “cool with whatever you come up with, man”, to be said in a seated possition eyes half closed. And Suzuki should be clamoring for attention other than the normal, look how slow Suzuki is. That being said, I must admit i kinda like, the Rizla Suzuki look. I would have liked to see something more creative from TLD though.
wayne says:
March 12, 2010 at 2:30 PM
I’m with Mr. Lombardi: EPIC fail. If I hadn’t read the article in the first place, I would have thought Suzuki/Rizla just tweaked their existing ‘design’ for this year’s season. A person would never guess TLD had anything to do with this project. So much potential, so much fail.
Bjorn says:
March 12, 2010 at 10:36 PM
Credit to TLD, it does look less busy than last years livery.
That’s as far as I’m willing to be nice. I think there must have been a mix up and they sent the pleasant, conservative design penned by the work experience kid, rather than the eye popping genius of Troy himself.
Rumple Stiltskin says:
March 26, 2010 at 9:04 PM
the bike is ugly full stop.