Ducatisti: do you want the good news or the bad news first? The bad news is that the market for motorcycles 500cc and up is down 17% worldwide for the first quarter of this year, which means the “good” news is that Ducati is only down 5% for Q1 2013. Not exactly the start out of the gate that Audi was hoping for its newly acquired two-wheeled brand, but what are you going to do? Western Europe is a mess, with Spain and Italy continuing to go down like a…well, you know. While we don’t enjoy the misery of motorcycle brands, the fact that Ducati Motor Holding is now under the Audi AG umbrella means that we get far more detailed quarterly and yearly reports from the two-wheeled marque, and we’ve got the digits after the jump.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
MV Agusta has made it no secret that it plans on bringing more affordable motorcycles to its product line-up, as the Italian company has simply no choice but to increase its production volume in a bid to attain profitability. Introducing more affordable versions of its already existing models like the MV Agusta F4R & MV Agusta Brutale R 1090, the 2012 MV Agutsa F3 675 and soon-to-be-debuted MV Agusta Brutale 675 are the first bottom-up new modesl to carry this ethos for the Italian brand.
MV Agusta must be feeling antsy about the upcoming EICMA show in Milan, as the Italian company first teased its MV Agusta Brutale 675 in a video last week, and today it has released the final specifications of its upcoming 2012 MV Agusta F3 motorcycle. While we’re sure the 126hp 675cc three-cylinder motor, with its 52lbs•ft of torque, will please the discerning supersport purchaser, MV Agusta is betting that its MVICS (Motor & Vehicle Integrated Control System) electronics package is what is really going to get you excited about the Italian machine (did we mention it looks gorgeous too?). Clearly reading our thoughts that electronics are the new horsepower, the MV Agusta F3 675 is now the only supersport to boast ride-by-wire & traction control, and also comes along with optional wheelie and launch control vehicle dynamics.
It clearly must be almost time for the EICMA motorcycle show, as manufacturers are out in full-force teasing their 2012 model year motorcycles. One of the more anticipated models set to be unveiled in Milan, Italy is the MV Agusta Brutale 675, the naked counterpart to the still unavailable MV Agusta F3 that debuted at EICMA last year. While MV hasn’t been teasing the three-cylinder (tre pistoni) street bike as heavily as the F3, the Brutale 675 is just as important to the Italian brand in bringing the company back to profitability.
Expected to sell in the €9,000 range, the Brutale 675 will go up against other premium brand nakeds, namely the Ducati Streetfigher 848 and Triumph Street Triple. Want to get your first glimpse at the MV Agusta Brutale 675? Check out the teaser video after the jump.
The raison d’être at MV Agusta should be abundantly clear by now, as the Italian company has added yet another “more affordable” model to its otherwise exclusive motorcycle line. After creating lower barriers to ownership in the Brutale line with the Brutale 920 and Brutale R 1090, we now see the F4 line getting the same treatment with the release of the MV Agusta F4R Corsa Corta. Dropping an “R” off the MV Agusta F4RR, the MV Agusta F4R is a lower-spec version of its 197hp counterpart (other publications will differ on this horsepower value, we’re sticking to the power fiure listed in kilowatts by MV).
Though featuring the F4RR’s shorter-stroke Corsa Corta motor, the MV Agusta F4R makes only 191hp (6hp less than the F4RR), due to a revised engine map and the lack of hand-ported cylinder heads. Still with plenty of power on-tap, not to mention 84 lbs•ft of torque, & full titanium cylinder valves, the 2012 MV Agusta F4R with its 423 lbs dry weight should make the spec sheet warriors happy. Other changes include lower-spec suspension, a MAG-welded frame, a revised traction control system, and a €18,800 price tag.
We’ve already heard about the MV Agusta Brutale R 1090, a continuation of MV Agusta’s trend to bring more affordable motorcycles to its product line-up. Taking the motor of the Brutale 1090RR, the oddly-named Brutale R 1090 is the bigger-displacement cousin to MV’s entry-point Brutale 920. Differentiating itself from the 1090RR by offering lower-spec wheels, suspension, brakes, and other detail items, the 2012 MV Agusta Brutale R 1090 offsets those deficiets with an attractive €13,990 price tag.
For that money you’ll get the same 1,078cc radially-valved motor from the 1090RR, which puts out 144hp from its four inline cylinders. Forks are 50mm Marzoochi units, complemented by a Sachs rear shock. Engine mapping has been tuned for the Brutale R 1090, while an eight-level traction control system will come standard. Colors will be red, white, or black, as we ca now see from the studio photos of the new MV Agusta Brutale R 1090. We expect we’ll get to see the latest Brutale up-close and personal at the EICMA show later in the year; until then, check out the photos after the jump.
It is a tumultuous time for MV Agusta right now. Recently bought back from Harley-Davidson, MV Agusta not only changed back into Italian ownership, but the company also saw its massive debt removed, its business structure massively revamped, and its product line-up about to burst several key new models. With the passing of Claudio Castiglioni, MV Agusta lost its paterfamilias, leaving many to wonder how the company would navigate its turbulent waters.
Writing an open letter to the motorcycle industry, Giovanni Castiglioni, CEO of MV Agusta and son of Claudio Castiglioni, not only pays tribute to his father and his vision, but also aims to alleviate concerns about the next chapter in MV Agusta’s story. The path for any Italian motorcycle company right now is uncertain, and MV fans are anxious to see what Castiglioni has in store for the rebirth of this iconic brand. While we’re still seeing the tail-end of Harley-Davidson’s playbook for the Italian company, over the next few years we will begin to see the changes and projects from the new Italian regime.
Where that leadership will take MV Agusta as a brand and as a company is not immediately clear, but it is worthy to note that not only has the company changed its corporate ownership, but MV Agusta has also now undergone a generational change in its core management. Though likely not to be talked about in great deal in the mainstream, make no mistake about how this will factor into changes at MV Agusta.
With the Italian company reported facing serious cash flow problems, and a bevy of new models to debut in the coming months, all of these factors create plenty to watch at MV Agusta. Certain to be full of highs and lows, the only thing we know for certain about the company’s future going forward is that it will be interesting. Giovanni Castiglioni’s open letter is reproduced in full after the jump.
Set for its official public debut at this year’s EICMA show, the MV Agusta Brutale 675 B3 was caught testing in this “spy photo” that was snapped near Varese, Italy. The form of the three-cylinder naked streetbike is not terribly surprising, as it borrows heavily from the MV Agusta F3, making similar changes to the supersport’s design as the original Brutale did with the MV Agusta F4. Expected to sell around the €9,000 mark, the Brutale 675 will be MV Agusta’s most affordable motorcycle.
All is not well regarding the new MV Agusta F3, several sources have now told Asphalt & Rubber. Teasing the F3 motorcycle for almost two years now, the three-cylinder supersport has been on the radar of two-wheeled enthusiasts since well before its 2010 debut at the EICMA show. While the latest creation from Varese is undisputedly a stunner, and promises some more than peppy performance and features, eyebrows within the industry were raised with its very pre-mature debut in Milan, and its accompanying lack of any real concrete technical specifications.
With products traditionally launched at the November EICMA show going on sale immediately the next model year, MV Agusta made a shocking announcement in 2010 that the F3 would be a 2012 model. Obviously launched with the intention of generating immediate buzz about the newly re-acquired MV Agusta brand, and its goal of becoming a larger volume producer (and actually a profitable company for a change), the F3 and its progeny like the MV Agusta Brutale B3 are supposed to usher in a new era for the Italian brand.
Apparently teased early to help prove demand for MV’s new product offering, this new ethos unfortunately has apparently done little to sway creditors and investors on the viabiliy of the brand, especially since the names associated with driving MV Agusta into the ground are still associted with the decidedly not-so-new regime. Though the Castiglionis were able to negotiate a stellar deal with Harley-Davidson regarding the purchase of MV Agusta (they bought the company for one euro, and got an operating cash flow of 20 million in the bank), according to our sources that are close to MV, the Italian company has had a hard time raising additional working capital, and has also found negotiations with parts suppliers to be difficult, with the outside firms demanding to be paid up-front for their wares.
Claudio Castiglioni, President of MV Agusta, passed away this morning in Varese, Italy at the age of 64. In a statement from MV Agusta, the company says that Castiglioni succumed from an unnamed illness while attending a clinic in Varese. Over the course of his career, Castiglioni touched such esteemed brands as Ducati, Cagiva, Husqvarna, and of course MV Agusta. His most recent accomplishment was bringing MV back into Italian ownership, in an act of business acumen that saw Harley-Davidson actually pay Castiglioni €20 million to take back the recent refurbished company.
MV Agusta has officially taken the wraps off its collector’s edition MV Agusta F3 ‘Serie Oro’ motorcycle, showing the three-cylinder supersport machine in its final production trim. Producing only 200 units of the Gold Series, MV Agusta is building these bikes to each customer’s specifications, with a price tag upwards of €20,000 being the name of the game. Helping justify that high cost for the MV Agusta F3 Serie Oro, MV Agusta has made Brembo monobloc calipers, Öhlins forks, an Öhlins TTX rear shock, and forged aluminum wheels all stock on the 675cc supersport machine.
The premium F3 also boasts plenty of carbon fiber and a sophisticated electronics package, though some might find the price hard to swallow in the middleweight sport bike category (even if there are nice touches like painted mirrors and intake grills). Accordingly, MV Agusta has also announced the MSRP for the base model MV Agusta F3, with European pricing set at €11,990. Production for the MV Agusta F3 has also been moved up by four months, meaning bikes will be in the hands of dealers by the end of this year. Photos of the 2012 MV Agusta F3 ‘Serie Oro are after the jump.
