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.

BMW F800GS Adventure – Germany’s Middleweight ADV

A surprise addition to BMW Motorrad’s 2013 model line-up, zie Germans have announced a new middleweight adventure-tourer, the 2013 BMW F800GS Adventure. Like its larger predecessor, the BMW F800GS Adventure is a more travel-ready and off-road capable build of the recently updated BMW F800GS motorcycle. Featuring a larger windscreen, panniers, and a bigger fuel tank capacity (2.1 gallons larger, for a total of 6.3 gallons of fuel), the BMW F800GS Adventure keeps the same 85 hp, liquid-cooled, 798cc, parallel-twin engine found on the F800GS, as well as the same chassis configuration. Pricing in the US will be $13,550 for the base model BWM F800GS Adventure.

Buell Makes 125,000th Motorcycle

11/14/2008 @ 4:13 pm, by Jensen BeelerComments Off

Buell Makes 125,000th Motorcycle buell 1125r 560x373

Buell has completed their 125,000th motorcycle, a 2009 white 1125R bound for Australia. Not bad for some good old boys.

Source: The Kneeslider

That really is a big air intake.

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Quantya Dealers Have Landed in The US

11/14/2008 @ 12:54 am, by Jensen BeelerComments Off

Quantya Dealers Have Landed in The US quantya 560x323

Electric motorcycle manufacturers, Quantya, in partnership with Shredelectric, have set up their first dealership in the US. The Swiss company has been selling its electric dirt bikes in Europe with what they describe as some fair success. Pictures and more after the jump.

 

BMW S1000RR Teaser Video

11/13/2008 @ 12:00 am, by Jensen BeelerComments Off

BMW S1000RR Teaser Video s1000rr video 560x302

Like the title says, BMW has released a teaser video showcasing the S1000RR race and street bikes. The video is reminescent of the old BMW Films that were commissioned to highlight the four-wheeled Bavarian variety. No Hollywood stars here, but similar production quality. The video is being released on BMW’s new web-tv site. A&R looks forward to future versions…hopefully staring Clive Owen…and Madonna…maybe not in the order.

Source: BMW

Achtung!

EICMA: 2009 KTM 990 Adventure R

11/07/2008 @ 6:30 pm, by Jensen Beeler3 COMMENTS

EICMA: 2009 KTM 990 Adventure R 2009 ktm adventure r 3

KTM has latched onto the idea that if you make a bike, a great way to make the same bike…but more money on it, is to make an R version with some extra trick parts. It’s called market segmentation, and this author likes it. Likes it a lot. That being said, here is the 2009 KTM 990 Adventure R. It has more power, less weight, and is focused on being the bike for off-road adventure. More on those changes after the jump.

College Motorcycle Building Competition Brings Innovation into the Classroom

10/28/2008 @ 11:58 pm, by Jensen BeelerComments Off

College Motorcycle Building Competition Brings Innovation into the Classroom 07 b09 lat view copy ps 07 med tcm71 228040

MotoStudent competition is a competition created by the Moto Engineering Foundation in Spain. While the scope is Spanish and European for now, it has promise to expand to encompass schools from across the globe. The goal of the competition is to have student design and build motorcycles in a fashion similar the Formula SAR competitions in American colleges, which are sponsored by marque companies who use the events to recruit top talent engineers and future employees.

Source: Motostudent via The Kneeslider

Have AutoCAD, will design motorcycles for food.

Speeding Biker in YouTube Video Jailed

10/21/2008 @ 3:31 pm, by Jensen Beeler1 COMMENT

Speeding Biker in YouTube Video Jailed motorcycle stunt show gainesville 061

28-year-old Sandor Ferenci, like many motorcyclists, posted clips of himself riding his bike around on Oxfordshire roads. The problem is, the clips showed him, in various angles, traveling at excess speeds, smoking the tires, popping wheelies and otherwise being “a proper hooligan”. 

The real downside for Sandor is the fact The Bobbies didn’t appreciate those acts too much, and showed up on Mr. Ferenci’s doorstep to inquire further about those acts. After it was all said and done, Sandor will be doing 12 weeks behind British bars for his crime.

In addition to the jail sentence, Mr. Ferenci, who pleaded guilty to two counts of dangerous driving, was also barred from driving for two years and told he would have to take an extended driving test before he is allowed on the road again.

Video after the jump.

 

Insurance Companies Close Track Day Loophole

10/20/2008 @ 10:42 pm, by Jensen BeelerComments Off

Insurance Companies Close Track Day Loophole mc7094uf1rd2

Not that insurance companies give motorcyclists a lot of love when it comes to coverage claims, but things are about to get a bit tougher when looking for a little compensation for that weekend wreak. The New York Times is reporting how insurance companies are redefining what a track event is, and lumping any sort of incident on race courses as being an automatic claim denial.

While the changes are really affecting track day goers who prefer four wheels, it gives a glimpse into where the industry is headed as far as risk management. There is a silver lining though. The crackdown has opened up a market for track oriented underwriters. These policies are still costing a premium for car owners, but should they become available for motorcyclists, it should cost a reasonable enough price to gain traction in the marketplace. 

Maybe those AIG guys aren’t so bad afterall.

Source: New York Times via Autoblog

Can I Borrow Your Desmosedici?

10/20/2008 @ 9:23 pm, by Jensen Beeler1 COMMENT

Can I Borrow Your Desmosedici? ducati desmosedici rr

The Ducati Desmosedici RR is closest that us mere mortals will get to riding a GP bike on the street, that is of course if we have the $70,000+ sized wallet to afford the two-wheeled italian rocket ship to hell and back. The classic red and white livery, accented with carbon panels and aftermarket hotness could easily be displayed in a gallery, or say one’s garage. However, a few owners have seen it fit to ride their prized possession on the street and track, this is after-all where the Desmosedici was born to live. 

However, for some Desmosedici’s…this also where some go to die, as was the case for this unlucky bike (and probably unlucky owner when he gets home and tells his wife what he did).

Yeah, that’ll buff out.

From Ducati Monster Forum via Ninja6Zone

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