UPDATE: This bike is no longer available, though though the FTR Moto2 bike that Alex de Angelis used to win the Sepang round this year has just found its way back to the FTR shop.

Trolling the internet for things I can’t afford, but which my credit card can, I think I may have discovered the perfect gift for the motorcyclist who has everything: a 2011 FTR M211 Moto2 race bike that has been upgraded with 2012-spec components.

Featuring a Spanish CEV Moto2-spec Honda motor with 186 miles on it, this FTR M211 has plenty of tasty other bits that also justify its €39,000 (+VAT) price tag, such as the Öhlins suspension (FG366 forks, TTX36 shock), magnesium OZ wheels, AP brakes, Akrapovic exhaust, carbon fiber bodywork (Yonny Hernández’s Blusens livery), and titanium fastners.

If you didn’t have the time to read my 3,700 word tome on what it is like to ride the Mission R electric superbike through San Francisco’s motorcycling playground, I will break it down for you: it was awesome. Of course, riding an entirely custom-built motorcycle with the absolute best components, design, and engineering available should be an awesome experience, especially when you add in one of the most sophisticated electric powertrains on the market. The Mission R isn’t some exercise in hugging trees and saving humpback whales though, it is an exercise in building a better motorcycle than what we have today.

We have known the downside to this discourse for some time though: Mission Motors is no longer in the business of selling motorcycles, and the Mission R is not, and will not, be available for sale (just ask Ryan Reynolds, who was turned down by Mission when he tried to get a Mission R of his very own) — sad trombone. If you too feel a might blue because of that news, I have some information that will pick you up this Monday afternoon. The guys at Mission Motors have been floating the idea of licensing the Mission R to a manufacturer, creating the possibility that if the right OEM was interested, the Mission R could become a publicly available motorcycle for your two-wheeling pleasure.

Tight-lipped on specifics, the only formal comment that Mission Motors will make about the subject is that conversations of this nature have taken place with OEMs, and that the company is open to the idea of either licensing the entire Mission R, or just its powertrain, to a well-qualified motorcycle manufacturer. While the Mission R in its current trim is easily a six-figure machine, using more obtainable components, and producing a run of some volume could bring the electric superbike’s price down into the $40,000 to $50,000 price range. Still a pricey endeavor to be sure, but not entirely unheard of when it comes to limited edition sport bikes.

Bear with us on this one, as it’s a bit convoluted. Bridgepoint Capital, a private equity firm based out of London, owns Spanish company Dorna Sports SL. Dorna, which as you might recall is the media rights holder and promoter for MotoGP, the motorcycle Grand Prix World Championship that we all know and love. Meanwhile World Superbike is owned in majority by Swiss company Infront Sports & Media, and in minority by the Italian-born Flammini brothers, with the latter group still handling WSBK’s media promotion.

Now according to reports, Infront Sports & Media is up for sale, and one of the three alleged bidders is Bridgepoint Capital (circle back to the second sentence in the first paragraph if you got lost on the way here). This means that potentially the twice-removed owner of MotoGP could potentially own a controlling stake in the Championship’s rival series: World Superbike. There are still a number of “if’s” in whether Bridgepoint will come through as a buyer on Infront Sports & Media, but ownership of both series by the same party, even at a removed distance is worth some general discussion.

If you’re in the market for a custom Ducati Streetfighter that has more carbon than a charcoal briquette, then look no further than the Shift-Tech Carbon Streetfighter that’s currently up for sale on eBay. The bike has obvious features like Shift-Tech’s carbon fairings, Öhlins everything, BST carbon wheels, Zard exhaust, and carbon disc brakes, but at the heart of the bike is a worked over 1250cc motor that’s been built to out 162hp at the rear wheel, and will surely make a man out of any little boy.

As you slowly pick your jaw off the table, be sure to check out the auction for all the nitty-gritty build details (there’s a lot of work on this bike). While there is only 12 hours left on the auction at the time of this writing, the “Buy It Now” price of $43,500 makes us suspect that we’ll see this Streetfighter listed again in the near future. Thanks for the tip Josh!

Honda Motor Co. is all set to unload a choice piece of property in Kern County this year (Southern California residents should find this statement funny), as the company has put up for sale the Honda Proving Center of California (HPCC). Consisting of a total of 4,255 acres (give or take a few), the proving ground facility consists of a 7.5 mile oval, a 4.5 mile track of winding city roadway, skid pad, MX/SX track, support facilities, offices, warehouses, and plenty of desert terrain just to name a few of the highlights.

A landing spot for many Honda cars, motorcycles, and ATVs, the Japanese company has put a variety of its products through their paces at the HPCC, but that’s all about to change as reports indicate Honda will be consolidating its testing grounds to Ohio. With an automotive buyer seemingly unlikely, the HPCC’s proximity to the California power grid seems to make its future as a solar farm very likely.

We’ve just learned that the 2009 Yamaha YZF-R1 that Valentino Rossi’s rode around the Mountain Course during the 2009 Isle of Man TT is up for sale on eBay. With a list price of £25,000 ($39,482 according to today’s market rates), this might be the most expensive stock R1 we’ve ever come across, of course not many bikes can lay claim to riding over the historic race course at the hands of one of the greatest motorcycle racers of our time. With some special VR46 livery parts, and a certificate of authenticity from Yamaha UK, the R1 has only 181 miles on it, and is signed by The Doctor himself.

Our friends from over at RareSportBikesForSale.com have tipped us off that Motorrad Hertrampf in Northern Germany, a Bimota, MV Agusta, and Cagiva dealer, has just posted a for sale ad on Jameslist (yes, the German rip-off of Craigslist), where they are offering a 2010 Bimota HB4 for sale. That’s right for €169,000 (without VAT), you too can own your very own Moto2 race bike complete with 145hp Honda 600cc power plant, and all the Italian goodness you’d expect from Bimota. You’ll just have to wait 10 weeks for the Italian firm to build it from the time you pay your deposit.

We once got an email from Walter Roehr that started with the phrase: “From your least favorite motorcycle manufacturer” and the proceeded with an appropriate press release format. While it may not have been true at the time of its utterance, with the untimely demise of Buell, Roehr may now find itself as A&R’s resident whipping boy. And while we may not be great fans of the 1250sc (we’d still like to swing a leg over one Walter), we’d certainly like the bike a whole lot more if $25,000 were lopped off the price tag, and that’s exactly what we have here in this story.

One of the largest aftermarket parts manufacturers, Corbin Pacific (known best for its Corbin seats line) is up for sale. On the chopping block since early this year, the California based company has been unable to find a buyer. Continue past the job for the financial details.

In conjunction with Harley-Davidson’s Q3 financial results, and shutting down of Buell Motorcycles, the Milwaukee motorcycle manufacturer is announcing that it will be selling Italian sportbike manufacturer MV Agusta.

Harley-Davidson bought MV Agusta just under a year ago, and assumed a substantial amount of debt from the beleaguered company. This past quarter, Harley-Davidson recorded a one-time fixed-asset impairment charge of $14.2 million related to Buell and a goodwill impairment charge of $18.9 million related to MV Agusta.