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.

Karel Abraham Releases Ducati Desmosedici GP12 Details: 999cc, 250hp, & 360 km/h Top Speed

After testing for three days at Jerez with Carlos Checa and Franco Battaini, Ducati Corse may not be saying much about the new Ducati Desmosedici GP12, but that hasn’t stop Karel Abraham from releasing some details about the new Italian steed today. The “official” technical specifications of MotoGP race bikes are always a bit vague, and Ducati Corse has unsurprisingly stuck to that trend with the GP12. Stating horsepower in the 250hp range, 15hp more than what was quoted for the GP11, Ducati also lists a top speed of over 360 km/h, up from the GP11′s 340+ km/h quoted figure.

Husqvarna Baja Concept Breaks Cover

Husqvarna continues its push into the on-road market, and has debuted another concept while at the New York IMS show today. Already showing us the Husqvarna Moab Concept in Milan, the folks at Husky have continued the thought process with the Moab, and built a more off-road capable dual-sport, which they are calling the Husqvarna Baja Concept. Another modern-take on retro design, the Baja concept carries over with it many of the Moab’s bigger design features, while sporting a 19″ knobby front tire for better off-road use. Husqvarna simply states that the concept uses a four-stroke liquid-cooled 650cc single-cylinder motor (same as the Moab), which surely will be sourced from BMW’s G650GS.

WSBK: Race 1 at Nürburgring a Fight for the Championship Rekindled

Sun, September 6th, 2009 @ 8:05 pm, by Jenny Gun1 COMMENT
Home » Racing » WSBK: Race 1 at Nürburgring a Fight for the Championship Rekindled

With the long summer break, everyone in World Superbike was waiting to see what would happen to the Championship Standings while at Germany. With two races on each race day, Ben Spies would have two chances to chip away at Noriyuki Haga’s 7 point lead, and finally take control of the series. With Haga still on the mend, the Nürburgring seemed like it would be hostile ground for the Xerox Ducati rider, but any thoughts of Haga being a push-over were quickly dispelled by his lightning Superpole performance.

Race 1 got off to a bit of a hickup, as a a pile up caused both Makoto Tamada and John Hopkins to be taken to the hospital for suspected injuries. With the restart of Race 1, Noriyuki Haga took an early lead, getting a great start from the pole position. Close behind were Ten Kate Honda’s Johnny Rea and BMW’s Troy Corser, followed by Ben Spies.

It took Spies 11 laps to claw his way up to the front, and pass Haga for the lead. The veteran Japanese rider wasn’t going to give the young American any free points though, and the pair battled all the rest of the race for supremacy.

It wasn’t to be Haga’s race though. With two laps left in Race 1, Spies found a little bit extra in himself, and was able to put a gap on Haga, leading him by 4 seconds across the finish line. Following Haga was Carlos Checa, who beat out his fellow Ten Kate teammate, Johnny Rea, to take the final spot on the podium.

With this finish, Haga’s Championship lead was reduced to just 2 points over Spies.

Results from Race 1 of World Superbike at Nürburgring, Germany:

Pos.	Num.	Rider	Country	Bike	Diff
1	19	B. Spies	USA	Yamaha YZF R1	-
2	41	N. Haga	JPN	Ducati 1098R	3.850
3	7	C. Checa	ESP	Honda CBR1000RR	6.990
4	65	J. Rea	GBR	Honda CBR1000RR	7.109
5	3	M. Biaggi	ITA	Aprilia RSV4 Factory	12.825
6	91	L. Haslam	GBR	Honda CBR1000RR	13.243
7	84	M. Fabrizio	ITA	Ducati 1098R	14.223
8	11	T. Corser	AUS	BMW S1000 RR	14.382
9	66	T. Sykes	GBR	Yamaha YZF R1	17.206
10	67	S. Byrne	GBR	Ducati 1098R	26.547
11	14	M. Lagrive	FRA	Honda CBR1000RR	27.388
12	31	K. Muggeridge	AUS	Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9	30.968
13	96	J. Smrz	CZE	Ducati 1098R	31.069
14	9	R. Kiyonari	JPN	Honda CBR1000RR	31.188
15	71	Y. Kagayama	JPN	Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9	40.165
16	99	L. Scassa	ITA	Kawasaki ZX 10R	54.897
17	25	D. Salom	ESP	Kawasaki ZX 10R	1’01.958
18	88	R. Resch	AUT	Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9	1 Lap
RET	56	S. Nakano	JPN	Aprilia RSV4 Factory	6 Laps
RET	10	F. Nieto	ESP	Ducati 1098R	9 Laps
RET	94	D. Checa	ESP	Yamaha YZF R1	11 Laps
RET	77	V. Iannuzzo	ITA	Honda CBR1000RR	14 Laps
RET	47	R. Cooper	GBR	BMW S1000 RR	15 Laps
RET	23	B. Parkes	AUS	Kawasaki ZX 10R	18 Laps
RET	15	M. Baiocco	ITA	Ducati 1098R	18 Laps
NS	121	J. Hopkins	USA	Honda CBR1000RR	-
NS	100	M. Tamada	JPN	Kawasaki ZX 10R	-

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Tagged under: Ben Spies, Germany, Noriyuki Haga, Nürburgring, world superbike, World Superbike Championship, WSBK

Comment:

Ducati Desmo says:
September 6, 2009 at 8:58 PM
WSBK: Race 1 at Nürburgring a Fight for the Championship Rekindled … http://bit.ly/wgJim