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.

Kevin Schwantz Returns to Motorcycle Racing – Enters the Suzuka 8-Hours with Team Kagayama

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.

Öhlins Releases a Semi-Active Suspension Upgrade for the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S – But, What’s Next?

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.

Details Leak on the MV Agusta Brutale 675 “B3″

03/24/2011 @ 1:10 pm, by Jensen Beeler9 COMMENTS

MV Agusta is hosting it dealers meeting this weekend, and it is expected that the Italian company will unveil details on its upcoming 2011-2012 model line-up. With information coming forth about its new smaller Brutale 675 “B3″, a naked version of the companies recently unveiled MV Agusta F3 three-cylinder supersport, MV Agusta is likely to have the bike on sale as early as February 2012, with a base price of €8,990.

This puts the MV Agusta Brutale 675 squarely in the Triumph Street Triple’s price range, but bests its British counterpart with a claimed 120hp (de-tuned from the F3′s expected 140hp output). Also expected to be announced at the dealer meeting is the company’s plan for the releasing the MV Agusta F3, and news of a 201hp MV Agusta F4 “Corsacorta”.

News coming from these rumors were posted on a French MV Agusta forum, and seem to confirm what’s already been circulating on how the MV Agusta F3 will be released initially. In typical MV Agusta fashion, a limited “Oro” edition that has Öhlins suspension will first be made available. Pricing on that is expected to be around €24,000.

This means that the MV Agusta F3 Oro will be almost double of what the MV Agusta F3 is expected to retail for once it’s released (remember, this is the motorcycle MV Agusta plans on selling en masse to help secure the company’s financial future). The more down-to-Earth base model MV Agusta F3 is now expected to go on sale in December, which raises a few eyebrows on why that release date seemingly keeps getting pushed back.

Last coming out of the rumormill is that a new “Corsacorta” edition of the MV Agusta F4 will also make its debut at EICMA. The MV Agusta F4 Corsacorta is expected to have 201hp, Öhlins suspension, a €24,000 price tag (this price was quoted as 30,900 CHF, which if correct is a confusing price point – €30,900 would make more sense), and will feature an anti-lock brake system, something that will be featured on all the 2012 models.

Source: MV Agusta Forum France & Visordown

Comment:

MikeD says:
March 24, 2011 at 7:40 PM
Call me A FOOL….But im so happy that the others are picking up the HP gauntlet thrown by the S1000RR..
First was Kawasaki’s ZX-10R and it failed(in the USA KHI had to cut it’s b@alls cause of failing noise emissions standard tests ?)…
And now this, 201hp…WAY TO GO MV AGUSTA ! I don’t care if i won’t ever be able to ride, much less buy one but it sure feels nice that it will be are out there for those of us lucky enough to drop the coin and own such a beast.
I wonder, if they plan do under-stroke it (hence the name Corsa Corta) does that mean it will have a bigger bore to make up the cc shortage caused by less stroke ? Wouldn’t that throw the whole cilinder spacing, wall thickness, w/e other factors im not aware of into conflict each other ? OR maybe is a whole new engine ? (highly unlikely?)
P.S: MV Agusta, don’t make the same mistake as KHI with the ZX-10R and get the emissions laws and reguations straight before claiming any numbers. UNDERPROMISE….OVERDELIVER ! It makes wonders for almost any product !
Let’s see what the replacement of the 1198 brings to the table. I think it’s due to come out at this year’s end. I heard they ditched the L-Twin for a V4 ? Less CC’s ? Gear driven valve train ?
Is any of the other Japanese OEMs due over for a new 1000 next year ? Hope Honda fix the PUG FACED 1000 and Yamaha the fugly headlights of the R1. I think Suzuki’s 1000 still looks pretty fresh and “decent”. Benelli is been QUIET for what seems forever now.
Is a great time to be alive and a motorcycle’s fan !
AS for the other 2-3 versions anounced on this same article…meh, w/e , the more the merrier…diversity is the spice of life…w/e float our boats, right ?
ML says:
March 24, 2011 at 8:31 PM
F3 Oro edition for nearly double the price of the base F3? What does it have beyond better suspension?
BBQdog says:
March 25, 2011 at 12:15 AM
” with a base price of €8,990″
That would really be good news. But let’s wait what the real price will
be with taxes etc.
mxs says:
March 25, 2011 at 11:08 AM
Yes, bring more horsepower. More is always better you know, like with megapixels and cameras. The fact that I cannot use it most of the time? … who cares LOL
MikeD says:
March 25, 2011 at 3:37 PM
@mxs:
Buahahahah, priceless…(^_^ )
Turk955i says:
March 25, 2011 at 7:13 PM
You really have to give MV credit for coming out with a 675 triple, totally revolutionary! Hat’s off to them for coming out with something they can call their very own.
Jake Fox says:
March 25, 2011 at 8:55 PM
@Turk955i:
I see what you did there…
Ricardo says:
March 26, 2011 at 2:57 PM
Ditto @ mxs.
I am not replacing my actual bike until they reach 400hp. At 190 lbs. I don’t have any use for anything under that.
MikeD says:
March 26, 2011 at 3:46 PM
@Ricardo:
LMAO.Good one.

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