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.
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.
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.
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.
I’d bet that Marc Marquez will replace Stoner in 2013. Repsol would be chuffed if the Spanish duo of Pedrosa and Marquez were able to be successful on the Honda.
Recently, quite a few MotoGP ‘insiders’ have come to the conclusion that the only smart move for Rossi would be to stay with Ducati and work as hard as he can to get consistent podiums.
Marquez can’t in 2013. Rules forbid Factory rides for rooks.
Rules in MotoGP seem to change on a whim. Meaning Marquez could join Repsol in Moto1 in 2013 once Stoner leaves. However, it is also unlikely that he will win it all during his rookie campaign.
Since everyone’s contract is up, HRC could wrestle Lorenzo away from Yamaha. Either way, it’s almost assures Lorenzo to regain his title, since Pedrosa can’t seem to beat him. That is, unless Rossi and company get the Ducati sorted, or goes back to Yamaha.
I don’t see Rossi at HRC, after Nakamoto said, now is the time for Rossi to prove the rider is more important than the bike. Methinks Nakamoto is going to have to eat those words.
Rossi doesn’t need HRC the same way HRC needs Rossi. Besides
How about Hayden and Honda again !!!
Hope Rossi becomes competitive on the Duc this year and has a great year in 2013 riding the GP13. Motogp needs as many top riders as possible cause it’s slowly turning into F1 on two wheels…..
Don’t forget Jorge Lorenzo joined Fiat Yamaha as a rookie
Mmmmm…. Maybe Suzuki or Kawasaki might make an unscheduled return to MotoGP with Rossi?Dream on….
Rossi will be with Ducati until 2014, he has too if he doesn’t then the partner ship will be a failure. and neither him nor Ducati want that. new engine for Laguna Seca and now new parts to test next week, it sounds like Ducati got the message from Rossi’s blow up, and after a top level meeting in jerez they seem to be heading in the direction he wants. as for the open seat at Honda, this will surely be filled by Marques. Honda will push to have the rookie rule lifted, but this will mean that Honda will have to give in to one of Dorna’s rule changes… it’s only fair.
How sad it is to see,
A man like Rossi
still floundering around
at 33
on a crap Ducati!
when a man like stoner
has showed he owns ya
then leaves in a huff
but will still flog the pants off everyone else this year cause he has gonads the size of basketballs.
With the current rule structure, Honda could hire Marquez for Repsol Honda in 2013, but only if they do not offer customer bikes. Bautista rode for Rizla Suzuki his rookie year because all Suzuki had were two (factory) bikes in the field.
That’s not how it works at all sburns. Suzuki was given a special dispensation from the MSMA in allowing Bautista to ride for the team his rookie year, basically because the Suzuki wasn’t on par with the other factory bikes.
The only way Marquez will wind up in the Repsol Honda garage is if the Rookie Rule gets repealed, and that action would be very telling as to whom is calling the shots in MotoGP.
I don’t really think there is much of an illusion who is calling the shots. The 800 era was a Honda inspired situation, and if that is not enough, all you have to do is look at Moto2…
Jensen,
Suzuki was exempt from the rookie rule because the only bikes they had on the grid were the two factory machines for the Rizla team. Their special compensation for being behind was extra engines (3 extra IIRC) agreed by the teams later in the year 2010 when it was obvious Suzuki was going through engines like Rush went through oxycontin.
If you think about, there almost has to be an exception with regards to this. For a manufacturer with only two bikes on the grid, without an exception they are unable to sign rookies entirely.
At any rate, the likelihood of Honda going to two bikes is obviously very small. Assumin Marquez signs with Honda he will no doubt be on a San Carlos Gresini Honda in full HRC spec like Simoncelli was his rookie year.
After meetings between Ducati Racing, Filippo Preziosi and Vale, Rossi tells us he would like to spend the rest of his Moto GP time with Ducati. It’s pretty clear Rossi was hired to make Ducati a winner. It’s clear now that Ducati had to sit Filippo down. This guy has blown off everything Rossi suggested in order to prove his carbon fiber B.S. It’s hard to beleive the Heads didn’t see what was going on, but maybe in a few races Ducati will start making progress. Valintino is an old fart, but He’s not a tenth place rider, this guy should be top five all the time. Shouldn’t he?
sburns2421,
Gresini has all but given up on leased Honda’s and is moving to CRT. If Honda wants Marquez on the Gresini team their gonna have to make some great deals on lease bikes. Interesting, the beginning of the end for CRT.