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Is This The Erik Buell Racing 1190RS?

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Posted to Erik Buell Racing’s Facebook page yesterday, this photo is what we presume is the soon to be released Erik Buell Racing 1190RS street bike. Based off the EBR 1190RR race bike, Erik Buell & Co. have been slowly teasing the idea of producing a limited production street bike, now that certain legal obligations are coming to a conclusion. No word yet on price or quantities, but we don’t expect this to be EBR’s foray into large production, and units are likely to be hand produced at the American company’s race shop.

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Triumph North America Introduces New CEO at Long Beach

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After a long absence, Triumph North America has once again joined the Progressive International Motorcycle Show, after being absent from the American event for several. Looking to come out of the gates in strong form, Triumph is showing its largest collection of motorcycles ever in the company’s 109 year history. With 23 models spanning six motorcycle families, Triumph will make its 2011 American debut at Long Beach this weekend.

With the Tiger 800, Tiger 800 XC, Daytona 675R, and Speed Triple being the crowning jewels of Triumph’s new model line-up, Triumph’s North American subsidiary will also be introducing its new CEO Greg Heichelbech.

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News

Buell Swingarm Exhaust: Still Owned by Harley-Davidson

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Math can be tough sometimes, especially when it comes to counting, so we can understand the confusion surrounding the news that Erik Buell has recently been awarded a patent for a design that incorporates a motorcycle exhaust system inside the swingarm of the bike (now that’s some engineering). However we have the unpleasant responsibility of saying that this patent is not in fact owned by Erik Buell and Erik Buell Racing, as the filing date and patent assignee information were clearly over-looked by early reports on Buell’s patent.

While the patent was published on October 28, 2010, its was filed by Buell last year (April 24, 2010), well before Harley-Davidson closed the company, and while Erik Buell still worked as a Harley-Davidson employee. As such, the patent is assigned to the Buell Motorcycle Company, whose intellectual property is still owned by Harley-Davidson.

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Bikes

The Buell 1125CR That Never Was…

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When we talk about Buell motorcycles that fail to see the light of day, people are almost universally referring to the Buell Barracuda, the 1190cc successor to the 1125R series. Dubbed “The Buell We Wouldn’t Have to Make Excuses For”, the Barracuda lives on in many ways in the EBR 1190RR superbike, which we’ll see next year take its street-going form as the EBR 1190RS.

While the limited-production EBR 1190RS certainly is exciting to think about, and the Buellisti are already counting down the days until Erik Buell re-enters the street bike market, what has us chomping at the bit is the fact that in 2009 Spanish design firm Edda Design was commissioned by Buell to revamp the 1125CR street bike; and with the result they came up with, we wouldn’t mind seeing life breathed back into that project, just like the Barracuda.

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News

Watch MythBusters Confirm or Bust The BMW Tablecloth Trick Tomorrow Night

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One of our guilty pleasures here at Asphalt & Rubber is the Discovery Channel’s television show MythBusters, which is coincidentally also shot in A&R‘s stomping grounds of the San Francisco Bay Area. We’re a fairly nerdy bunch here, what with our interwebs, social networks, and weblogs, so the show’s exploration of science through absurdity and heavy handed explosions fits right in with our day-to-day ideals (one certainly doesn’t hurt things either).

On the other side of the coin, we love us some motorcycles here at A&R (this much should be apparent by now). So when we heard that the MythBusters crew would be tackling some of Newton’s finer points on the Laws of Motion by recreating one of motorcyclings great moments this year: The BMW S1000RR Table Cloth Trick, we were pumped. Throw in an EBR-worked Buell 1125R into the mix with a Hyneman on-board, and let the learning begin. Tune in tomorrow night (Wednesday 9PM PDT/EDT) to see if this myth gets busted or confirmed. The original video from BMW is after the jump. Thanks for the tip Doctor Jelly!

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Rumors

Ok Buell, We’ll Bite…

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The question is a bit rhetorical in nature since it’s the company who is asking it, but why would Erik Buell Racing be putting turn signals and radiator fans on an EBR 1190RR race bike? Well if you were a company that was rapidly approaching the rumored end of a non-compete agreement, wouldn’t you like to get ready to stick it to the man? We’re still not sure about the whole rock band thing though. Maybe if Erik played Freebird more often we could get into it.

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Banter

Spoof: The Last Honest Harley-Davidson Ad

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This is getting a chuckle around the A&R office this morning. It looks like some Buell owners are finding some extra time on their hands now that the American street bike company is out of business. That’s ok by us, because these boys have a good sense of humor, and some balls to grab some footage from a Harley-Davidson dealer.

Taking a couple good shots at Harley-Davidson, we’re left only with the question as to whether the Extra Soft Tail Deluxe Hyperglide American Bald Eagle Historical Limited VXFR1200 Patriot Skull Edition comes in Nightster Black.

Source:

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News

April Fools: Buell/Bombardier Team Up to Launch Bomber Motorcycles – 1190cc Motorcyle in the Works [UPDATED]

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UPDATE 3: April Fools.

UPDATE 2: Avril Foujour of BRP has made a statement to Asphalt & Rubber confirming the press leak.

UPDATE: It looks Bomber Motorcycles has twitter and Facebook accounts both suggesting news to be released on Friday. Logo addded to the story.

A day ahead of its scheduled release, it would appear that someone inside Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) has leaked an announcement that Erik Buell Racing and BRP will form a new motorcycle company called Bomber Motorcycles. The press release, which was posted on the Buell enthusiasts forum Bad Weather Bikers has now been taken down, perhaps by request of Erik Buell Racing or Bombardier. But it appears to have come from someone at Bombarider, and was thankfully forwarded to us by a quick spotting member. This would seem to confirm earlier chatter we heard last week in the Buell camps about a Bombardier connection that we dismissed as fallout from the Alan Cathcart article in DealerNews.

The surprise announcement couldn’t come on a worse day, although it looks like it was actually scheduled to occur tomorrow to avoid April Fools confusion. Never-the-less the press release outlines the creation of a joint-venture between the two companies, with a 1190cc sportbike slated for arrival late in 2010. Dubbed the Stratofortress, the bike features what sounds like a new Rotax powerplant that has 1190cc’s on board, and uses a 60 v-twin configuration. According to the release, the Bomber Stratofortress certainly sounds the part, making 160hp and weighing an alleged 365lbs dry. More after the jump.

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Bikes

Magpul Ronin Gets Closer to Production

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You may remember that we drooled over Magpul’s take on the Buell 1125R. While we often give Buell motorcycles a hard time, we admittedly fell head-over heels for this concept.

Hinting at the time it debuted that there could be a limited production run or a kit for current Buell owners, Magpul has taken the feedback and attention from the Ronin, and refined the motorcycle further. Photos and more after the jump.

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Bikes

Magpul Ronin: An Alternate Reality of Buell

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With the Magpul Ronin, we’re not sure what gun/rifle magazine innovator Magpul is doing making a motorcycle, but we like the outcome of that awkward yet happy merger.

Buell owners don’t have much to look forward to right now, but imagine a world where Buell Motorcycles was still in business, and the American sportbike industry is overrun by gun manufacturers making motorcycles. Now add in some wayward samurai warriors, and the end result could be what you see above.

It’s life Jim, but not as we know it…photos and more after the jump.

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