Goodbye Husqvarna Nuda, We Hardly Knew Thee

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.

Q&A: Yukio Kagayama Talks About the Upcoming Suzuka 8-Hour with Kevin Schwantz & Noriyuki Haga

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.

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.

WSBK: Superpole Qualifying at Portimao Builds Confidence for Hopeful Rider

10/24/2009 @ 7:31 pm, by Jensen BeelerComments Off

It’s the qualifying session we’ve all been waiting for: the last Superpole of the 2009 season at Portimao, Portugal. A vetting process for tomorrow’s races, today’s Superpole gives us a glimpse into how this amazing season might end. How close would Ben Spies and Noriyuki Haga be on the starting line come Sunday? Who would be faster? By what margin? And lastly, would Ben Spies be able to take the outright pole record for World Superbike racing? Those answers after the jump.

Starting with our last question first, we’ll save you the trouble of scrolling down, and just come right out with the fact that Ben Spies will be sitting at the #1 position of tomorrow’s grid. Winning the Superpole by over half a second, Spies has once again taken the pole position in a World Supebike, making that 11 pole starts this season, which sets a new record. Speaking of records, Spies’ qualifying time is also now the fastest that anyone has lapped at the Portimao track. Two birds in one stroke, maybe there is something to the Spies method.

While that would be big news on its own merit, the bigger story from Portimao has been the noticeable struggling of Noriyuki Haga. Almost a second off the pace, Haga was unable to even make it into the final Superpole round, and will thus start from the 10th position on the grid. The Japanese rider will have to fight from the third row if he wants to catch the ever elusive World Superbike Championship title, that has twice evaded his capture.

Haga will also have to contend with a very fast field of rivals if he wants to gain on Spies during the races. Johnny Rea and Max Biaggi have been very quick all week, and Haga’s own teammate, Michel Fabrizio found a way to get his Ducati 1098R to fast around the Portuguese track. Perhaps this might bode well for Haga, who can build off his teammate’s settings, but judging from the way Fabrizio has ridden all year, the Italian is more than likely to make Haga earn every corner, and every pass. Still Fabrizio has said he will do whatever he can to help Haga win the Championship, which we hope doesn’t mean crashing into Spies again.

It doesn’t matter who you’re rooting for, we guarantee you’ll be on your chair tomorrow yelling at the television while the 2009 WSBK season concludes itself. Here in the States, The SPEED Channel is listing its WSBK races as being televised from 3-5pm EST, with 250GP and MotoGP following right afterward.

Superpole Results from World Superbike at Portimao, Portugal:

Pos	No.	Rider	Bike	Time	Diff
1	19	B. Spies	Yamaha YZF R1	1’42.412	-
2	67	S. Byrne	Ducati 1098R	1’42.996	0.584
3	84	M. Fabrizio	Ducati 1098R	1’43.015	0.603
4	65	J. Rea	Honda CBR1000RR	1’43.126	0.714
5	91	L. Haslam	Honda CBR1000RR	1’43.523	1.111
6	3	M. Biaggi	Aprilia RSV4 Factory	1’43.526	1.114
7	10	F. Nieto	Ducati 1098R	1’43.553	1.141
8	11	T. Corser	BMW S1000 RR	1’44.719	2.307
Out after Superpole 2
9	96	J. Smrz	Ducati 1098R	1’43.240	0.672
10	41	N. Haga	Ducati 1098R	1’43.377	0.809
11	50	S. Guintoli	Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9	1’43.406	0.838
12	7	C. Checa	Honda CBR1000RR	1’43.461	0.893
13	22	L. Camier	Aprilia RSV4 Factory	1’43.671	1.103
14	71	Y. Kagayama	Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9	1’43.717	1.149
15	100	M. Tamada	Kawasaki ZX 10R	1’44.050	1.482
16	15	M. Baiocco	Ducati 1098R	1’45.439	2.871
Out after Superpole 1
17	14	M. Lagrive	Honda CBR1000RR	1’44.453	1.397
18	23	B. Parkes	Kawasaki ZX 10R	1’44.458	1.402
19	111	R. Xaus	BMW S1000 RR	1’44.483	1.427
20	99	L. Scassa	Kawasaki ZX 10R	1’44.851	1.795

Tagged under: Ben Spies, Johnny Rea, Noriyuki Haga, Portimao, Portugal, Shane Byrne, Superpole, world superbike, WSBK

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