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It is by pure happenstance that the featured story at the top of the Asphalt & Rubber homepage is about the new Ducati Hypermotard, which also coincides with today’s story that highlights more info about the 2019 model. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good.

With that said, more information about the new Ducati Hypermotard has leaked, though it will depend on who you ask what those specifics are when it comes to this new machine. This is because we have conflicting reports from the British site BikeSocial and Italy’s GPone.

Both sites have proven themselves to be reliable in the past, which makes it difficult to decipher their differing opinions on the new power and weight figures of the Ducati Hypermotard. So, let’s dive into what we know, and what we don’t know.

Fuel injection has finally come to the two-stroke market for production motorcycles, with KTM (and thus also Husqvarna) debuting two enduro machines with transfer port injection (TPI) on their single-cylinder smokers.

This has been a long time coming in the two-wheeled space, even though we have seen TPI and direct injection on other two-stroke vehicles, like snowmobiles and personal watercraft for quite some time now.

KTM is really the last manufacturer to support two-stroke motorcycles though, so any progress in this space is a welcomed breath of life for off-road riders. New technology truly could be the savior to two-stroke motorcycles, as emission standards continue to become more restricted with each passing year.

While the Japanese brands have focused their efforts on four-stroke motorcycles, KTM and Husqvarna are showing that there is still a market for these lightweight and efficient enduro models.

There is an Austrian boat-ton of high-resolution photos waiting for you after the jump. Like…a lot. Using the Erzberg mine as a back drop, these stunning shots will probably make you run out to your local KTM dealer. They certainly have us thinking. Enjoy!

We shouldn’t be surprised to hear that Husqvarna will be following suit with its Austrian sibling, and adding fuel-injection to several of its two-strokes enduro motorcycle for the 2018 model year.

After a long history of rumors and development, KTM finally debuted fuel injection for a production two-stroke model just a few weeks ago, using the technology on two of its upcoming enduro models, the KTM 250 EXC TPI and KTM 300 EXC TPI.

Husqvarna will use the same technology for its own motorcycles in the same segments, announcing today the the all-new 2018 Husqvarna TE 250i and 2018 Husqvarna TE 300i enduro models with transfer port injection.

In Episode 48 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast, we didn’t set out to talk about all the weird technologies in the motorcycle industry, though our conversation certainly covered its fair share of them.

We start the show talking about the Vyrus 986 M2 supersport, which features a unique hub-center steering chassis. This leads us into a conversation about the supersport market, and the rumors that Suzuki is bringing out a new GSX-R750.

From there, Quentin breaks some news that a reliable source has told him that there will be a new Suzuki GSX-R600 for the 2019 model year, which goes against what had previously been rumored. We then finish up the Suzuki talk with a quick discussion about the Suzuki Hayabusa, and hyperbikes in general.

The show ends with us talking about KTM’s new fuel-injection for two-stroke dirt bikes, and what that means for that segment of the industry. Q also tries his best to explain how transfer port injection works, though we would recommend googling some visual adds when you get to that portion of the show.

A fun show, though we think you will also find it very insightful as well.

You can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

The day has finally, come. The rumors can finally be put to rest. Fuel injection for production two-strokes is officially a thing, thanks to the clever minds at KTM.

The Austrian announced today that it will bring fuel injection technology (called Transfer Port Injection) to its 2018 enduro lineup, which will debut later this May.

Two KTM models will have the new technology, the KTM 250 EXC TPI and KTM 300 EXC TPI, and they will be coming to the global market. For the USA and Canada, a third model will come to market as well, the KTM 250 XC-W TPI.

Fuel injection for two-strokes promises better fuel consumption, and it means that riders no longer have to pre-mix their fuel. KTM says that its transfer port injection technology provides a whole new experience for riding a two-stroke motorcycle, with better power and rideability.

Triumph is recalling a number of its models for faulty engine control units (ECUs), which may improperly activate the bikes’ fuel injectors.

The recall affects the 2014 and 2015 model year Triumph Thunderbird, Thunderbird ABS, Tiger 800,Tiger 800 ABS, Thruxton, and Bonneville motorcycles manufactured between February 6, 2014 and August 7, 2014.

It’s not clear how many total motorcycles this recall affects, as Triumph lists the number currently as “0” with NHTSA, but given the number of models involved and the wide timeframe given on the production dates, we would expect a massive number of motorcycles to be involved.

Asphalt & Rubber is please to bring you the motoDNA column, which will be written by our good friend Mark McVeigh, of the motoDNA Motorcycle Academy.

Mark is a former international 250cc racer, as well as a former MotoGP engineer. His unique experience and perspectives on motorcycle dynamics and racing will be a regular feature on A&R. Enjoy!

In these high tech days of electronic fuel injection, you would expect motorcycle throttle response to be smooth as. However many of the latest bikes have a snatchy and jerky throttle response; especially around town at low speeds — feeling more like a switch than a throttle.

This is not just plain annoying, but makes holding a steady throttle in corners and riding in town tricky, often becoming a bigger problem in wet and slippery conditions. On the track, life can be even more difficult when the bike is closer to the edge of the tire, due to higher lean angles.

The throttle controls not only acceleration and traction but has a large influence on our bikes handling including weight transfer, steering and stability. The throttle is also our connection to the rear tire. If it’s linear and smooth, this is reflected in our riding performance.

We expect modern bikes to have smooth and accurate throttle response; but in fact throttle response is worse these days compared to carburettors of old. Why? In one word – Emissions.

Two curious things happened today: an EPA certification document outed details on the 2013 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R and Kawasaki USA announced the “global debut of its 2013 line of iconic Ninja motorcycles in New York’s Times Square.” Add in to the mix that the EPA documents also make mention of Kawasaki Ninja 300 & Kawasaki Ninja 400R models, along with the recently updated Kawasaki Ninja 250R, and Team Green could very well be dropping the news about three or four brand new models for the US market.

Of course what is really interesting about this news is how Kawasaki could do a two-fold offer of 300cc & 400cc bikes in the US market, and how those two models would fit alongside the Ninja 250R, which we can only assume will be updated in the United States to the model that was debuted in Indonesia earlier this month. Or will it?

DynoJet has come out with a new version of their Power Commander fuel injection computer, the Power Commander V. The new unit is smaller than the prior models, and more importantly it boasts some impressive features. The Power Commander V will only be available for 2009 model year motorcycles, so you’re pretty much out of luck if you actually own a bike right now, but if you’re in the market click to read all of the juicy details. Oh, did I mention this will be an auto-tuning device that dynamically changes your fuel based on sensors throughout the bike? Yeah, now you want to click for more.