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.
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.
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).
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Yes, but why does it look just like a GSR600/B-King?
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Stick to English if you don’t understand French…
Matthew, If you’re not familiar with the Benelli TNT or it’s 1130 Cafe Racer, you should check it out. The styling has been similar since about 03 or so when the TNT came out as essentially a Naked version of their Tornado Superbike. I’m the first to admit that the design is a Love/Hate affair. Much like said BKing, it’s definitely aimed at the crowd who appreciates the styling of angular muscle wrapped around brutish torque. And as far as the “headlights that cut-out at traffic lights due to over-heating”… This author needs to educate himself on the finer points of the Benelli Design structure. The Headlight cuts out when the computer senses that the engine has been at an uninterrupted idle for in excess of 5 seconds. The headlight is then disabled to save charging voltage from the VERY limited charging system on the bike. As soon as the throttle is blipped or manipulated, the headlight comes back on, as the computer assumes you are now about to return to riding. Hope I’ve saved some face on Benelli… even IF they are an *ahem* ITALIAN manufacturer with CHINESE ownership. That’s like saying that Jaguars arent British any more because Ford owns them… Pish…
CarbonWarrior,
I’m fully educated about the TnT, after nearly buying one for my personal transport. I’m EXTREMELY leery of a company that in my own words “paints over” a serious problem, and in the process creates another. The TnT does have charging issues, as well as cooling issues. In a prolonged stop the bike will begin to heat-up causing the fans to kick in, this draws power from the battery which isn’t being recharged sufficiently from the rectififier.
So instead of fixing the charging issues, or the cooling issues (harder to do here because of the basic design of the bike), Benelli decided to half-ass it, and cut the headlight out when stop. Yes, it does come back on when you blip the throttle, but that doesn’t change the fact that at night your visibility is potentially reduced. It also doesn’t change the fact that you’re not address the underlying problem in the first place. That’s not good engineering in any book.
For the amount of money one purchases a Benelli for, I hope one would expect a better quality product. I for one love the look of the Benelli, and wish they’d get their act together with their quality and the business side of their operations. But, I’m not going to give them a “get out of jail free” card because of it.
This brand has amazing potential, but I’m still waiting to see if they can realize it with Qianjiang Motors backing them. I hope so, I really do.
Educated about TNT’s you might be, but the backstab of the C word is pretty low class. Nobody called Ducati an american company when TPG owned them. You are right about the headlights cutting out, that is dangerous at night. But there is a fix available. My Tre 1130 has been reliable so far.
I wish bike journalists stopped the tongue in cheek / “dont mention the germans” routine. In a different vain, Chinese put a man in orbit, a feat eclipsed only by their ability to feed all one billion of them in a time span of 20 years, famin having been the rule for millenia.
They known they would kill their property if there was only a hint of fundamental involvement. Instead of moving engine assembly from Morini Motori to China, they moved it back to Pesaro. Shocks, calipers, chassis, engine … all are Italian, with exception of minor parts. What more can they do to stop the inuendo’s ?
It’s a pity you didn’t buy the TNT. You would’ve loved it.
I own a benelli tre-k and I am waiting for someone to get out of their car and hit me. this is due to the headlights going off when in traffic when the power is required to run the fans don’t believe that this done for your benfit as a rider this is so they do not have to upgrade the under powered charging system and battery as this only happens when the temp raises and the fan need to kick in . true they do come on when you turn the thottle but still not safe if headlights go out at night.
build is cheap and cheerful love the bike but what a load of cheap skates build is worst than some of the bikes from china Em maybe that is where the problem lays 5000 miles rust appearing grips look like they have done 50,000 miles paint chips very easy love the bike but can see long term issues with the bikes appearancee see how it goes