Mission Motorcycles: The Mission R Lives??!

Mission Motors tweeted out something interesting just a moment ago, a link to a new website for Mission Motorcycles. Teasing there a photo of the Mission R, it would seem that the electric superbike that does competitive AMA Supersport lap times at Laguna Seca, is finally set to come to production. It seems we won’t know everything about the new Mission Motorcycles project until June 3rd, though we can speculate pretty accurately on what the A&R Bothan spy network has been telling us. Expect to see the Mission R electric superbike in street legal trim, honed even further than when we rode the machine back in August last year.

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.

EBR 1190RS AMA Race Debut Expected at Infineon

02/17/2011 @ 11:52 am, by Jensen BeelerComments Off

EBR 1190RS AMA Race Debut Expected at Infineon  Erik Buell Racing logo1

New surrounding Erik Buell Racing and its 1190RS street bike continue to pour in, as the company has announced a three-year title partnership deal with AMSOIL for the Erik Buell Racing AMA Pro Superbike team.

While the news of race sponsorship is certainly good for Erik Buell and his crew (Geoff May will continue at the helm of the #99 race bike), we think the company’s goal of debuting the EBR 1190RS as its race bike starting at the Infineon round in May is what will really excite Buell’s legion of fans.

EBR will start with last year’s 1125RR at Daytona, and expects to switch to the then homologated 1190RS, with its larger displacement, starting at West Coast Moto Jam held in May at the Sonoma track.

Erik Buell Racing 1190RS Headed for the Indy Dealer Expo

02/17/2011 @ 10:18 am, by Jensen Beeler6 COMMENTS

Erik Buell Racing 1190RS Headed for the Indy Dealer Expo Erik Buell Racing 1190RS loaded Indy Dealer Expo 635x700

Erik Buell Racing just posted this photo on its Facebook page with the caption “Spy photo of the race 1125 and the 1190RS in the van on it’s way to Indy for the big show! Thank you to everyone for your faith and support! It’s going to be an amazing year!” Strapped next to its AMA Pro Racing counterpart, we see that the Erik Buell Racing 1190RS street bike was thankfully completed in-time for the Dealer Expo, and will debut with the exhaust can we were less than enthralled about during other glimpses of the machine.

But after last night’s glimpse of what’s underneath the fairings, we think we’ll forgive EBR on this one, as the 1190RS appears to be a no-compromises race bike with headlights, mirrors, and turn signals attached to it (which is exactly how the machine evolved).

The Erik Buell Racing 1190RS in the Nude

02/16/2011 @ 9:10 pm, by Jensen Beeler2 COMMENTS

The Erik Buell Racing 1190RS in the Nude Erik Buell Racing 1190RS no fairings 635x846

The guys at Erik Buell Racing are clearly getting revved up to debut their new EBR 1190RS street bike, posting this shot of the v-twin superbike on the company’s facebook page this evening. In the shot we see the Erik Buell Racing 1190RS without its fairings on, but the headlight operation controls clearly give away that this is the motorcycle Buell intends to sell in limited quantities to street riders this year.

Now I’m Not a Betting Man…

02/09/2011 @ 1:48 pm, by Jensen Beeler1 COMMENT

Now Im Not a Betting Man... Erik Buell Racing logo

The Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum just sent out a press release that Erik Buell will be the guest speaker at the organization’s Fundraiser Breakfast at Daytona. Taking place March 11th during Bike Week, Buell teased in the announcement that he may have something special to make public at the event.

“For me, motorcycling has always been about the journey, about the people, about the ideas behind the machines, and it will be great to connect with enthusiasts at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Breakfast at Daytona fundraiser,” said Buell. “And who knows? I may have a surprise or two to announce by then.”

What could Buell’s announcement be? How about a certain Erik Buell Racing 1190RS, which was recently teased on the company’s Facebook page?

Source: The Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum

Is This The Erik Buell Racing 1190RS?

02/04/2011 @ 5:53 pm, by Jensen Beeler15 COMMENTS

Is This The Erik Buell Racing 1190RS? Erik Buell Racing 1190RS teaser crop 635x711

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.

Erik Buell Racing 1190 Typhon by the Pegasus Race Team

12/01/2010 @ 6:01 am, by Jensen Beeler19 COMMENTS

Erik Buell Racing 1190 Typhon by the Pegasus Race Team EBR Typhon 1190 Pegasus Race Team 9 635x566

What do you do when you are the only race team outside of the United States racing a Buell…and winning…a lot? Well you build a street bike concept of course. Based off the Erik Buell Racing 1190RR race bike, the folks at the German Pegasus Race Team have taken the 1190RR race platform and made the EBR 1190 Typhon streetfighter concept. Drawing inspiration from the lines of the Buell XB, some parts from the soon-to-be-released EBR 1190RS superbike, and the blessing of Erik Buell himself, the folks at Pegasus have put together one stunning 185hp bike.

With the idea that the EBR 1190 Typhon concept could pave the way to an EBR-made model down the road, Pegasus drew heavily from the Erik Buell Racing 1190RR’s design, as well as the general Buell ethos. ”Our idea was with our years of experience in Buell racing to concept the ultimate Streetfighter with outstanding performance and a unique design,” said Team Manager Jens Krüper. ”To combinate a cool minimized look with real good aerodynamics is a real challenge, especially if something is so powerful as that EBR Superbike,” said Heiko Jessat of Gruner Engineering, the company that technically assisted PRT with the design for the Typhon.

Erik Buell Racing Eyes 450cc Off-Road Machine

11/29/2010 @ 7:41 am, by Jensen Beeler12 COMMENTS

Erik Buell Racing Eyes 450cc Off Road Machine dirt bike tire marks1 635x423

In an interview with Alan Cathcart, Erik Buell talks to the famed motorcycle journalist about his departure from Harley-Davidson, and what the future holds for Erik Buell and Erik Buell Racing. Perhaps one of the most interesting things to come out of the pair’s conversation (read a translated version at Motonline) is the fact that in late-2006/early-2007 Harley-Davidson killed off a project to build a 450cc Buell off-road machine. Still believing that there is a market for a Buell-branded dirt bike, Buell confessed to Cathcart that EBR is taking up the 450cc project again, which uses a special single-cylinder Rotax motor as its power plant.

Buell Swingarm Exhaust: Still Owned by Harley-Davidson

11/24/2010 @ 6:32 pm, by Jensen Beeler20 COMMENTS

Buell Swingarm Exhaust: Still Owned by Harley Davidson Buell exhaust swingarm patent 635x535

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.

Watch MythBusters Confirm or Bust The BMW Tablecloth Trick Tomorrow Night

10/26/2010 @ 10:50 pm, by Jensen Beeler10 COMMENTS

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 Kari Byron 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!

Erik Buell Racing 1190RS Teaser Video (Part 1) – Awesomeness Comes with an Ugly Exhaust (Maybe?)

09/14/2010 @ 11:41 am, by Jensen Beeler11 COMMENTS

Erik Buell Racing 1190RS Teaser Video (Part 1)   Awesomeness Comes with an Ugly Exhaust (Maybe?) erik buell racing 1190rs logo 635x407

Erik Buell Racing continues to pump the interwebs with material on its EBR 1190RS street bike, the 1190cc v-twin American street bike. In what looks to be Part 1 of a multiple-part video series, EBR throws a bunch of cut-scenes together, giving us only a quick glimpse of the 1190RS. Although details are scarce about the winged-stead, we do know that the Erik Buell Racing 1190RS will be based of EBR’s 1190RR race bike, which was based in-turn off the now defunct Buell Barracuda 2.

Unfortunately Harley-Davidson closed down Buell before the Barracuda 2 could make it into production, thus gaining the ire of Buelltisti (we think that’s a word) around the world. Reports that the EBR 1190RS can be fueled by the sheer will of Erik Buell and tears of a unicorn might be exagereated, but we’re not certain. Enough fluff text, check the video after the jump.