Latest Posts:
Asphalt & Rubber
Tag

production

Browsing
News

Erik Buell Racing Resumes Production in East Troy

By 68 Comments

Erik Buell Racing resumed production today, with the first motorcycles from the East Troy, Wisconsin factory set to roll off the assembly line on March 17th.

Owner Liquid Asset Partners is touting that the new company – EBR Motorcycles, LLC – has a new multi-year plan, as well as financial stability, and it will begin courting dealerships to carry its line of American sport bikes.

For now though, production in East Troy is limited to the EBR 1190RX and EBR 1190SX models, picking up where Erik Buell Racing left off in the receivership process, presumably finishing the models that were left in mid-production when EBR closed its doors.

The announcement seems more symbolic than anything, as it is not clear where these newly produced EBR motorcycles will actually be going once they roll-off the assembly line. This is because EBR’s dealership network is virtually non-existent at this point in time and past EBR dealers are still trying to clear motorcycles from their showroom floors.

Keep Reading
By
Rumors

Yamaha MWT-9 Headed to Production?

By 12 Comments

For most motorcyclists, the Yamaha MWT-9 isn’t exactly their cup of tea, as the three-wheeler has too many wheels, and it looks like it wandered off the set of next Predators movie. For a select few though, the Yamaha MWT-9 looks like a good time with the wind in your face.

Leaning multi-wheel vehicles have been heating up from the OEMs, especially from the Japanese manufacturers. The whole point behind them is to tap into a demographic that isn’t looking for something that resembles your typical motorcycle fare.

According to Britain’s Visordown publication, the Yamaha MWT-9 is headed into production, likely to debut within a year or two.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

See How the Honda RC213V-S Is Painstakingly Built

By 12 Comments

Whatever your thoughts are on the Honda RC213V-S, you have to appreciate the engineering and craftsmanship that goes into the $184,000 MotoGP bike with lights.

With just over 200 units being made, Honda had little incentive to design the RC213V-S for mass production, opting instead to make each unit by hand, with a small team of highly skilled builders.

There is something about that process that gets lost in description, so we are fortunate that Honda Hong Kong released a video (after the jump) that shows the Honda RC213V-S build team hard at work.

A couple mech-geek things of note: at 1:32, the jig used to bring the chassis pieces together for welding; at 1:50, the one-off shaping of the sheet metal for the headstock; at 2:12, how virtually ever metal piece is hand-welded. There is plenty here to geek-out over, enjoy!

Keep Reading
By
Opinion/Editorial

Thoughts on MV Agusta & A Story About Two Letters

By 43 Comments

MV Agusta USA recently invited a slew of journalists down to Fontana, California in order to talk about the company’s new business plan, and to ride its current lineup of motorcycles on the infield course.

This article is “Part 1” of that experience, as I wanted to separate my thoughts on MV Agusta, MV Agusta USA, and the general motorcycling climate into one story, and then have my “not-a-review” of the machines for another article. Got it? Ok, let’s go.

Keep Reading
By
News

Ducati Produces Its One Millionth Motorcycle

By 7 Comments

Ducati is celebrating a milestone this week, as the Italian company has produced its one millionth motorcycle — a Ducati Monster 1200 S. The number might be a far cry from Honda’s recent 300 millionth motorcycle milestone, though admittedly the Japanese has made the bulk of that volume in the small-displacement categories.

Nonetheless, the special Monster was handed over directly by Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali to it new owner, 47-year-old Ernesto Passoni — a Ducatista from the Milan area — at an event in the Audi City Lab in Milan (a temporary showroom setup for the Christmas period in the Milan city center).

Keep Reading
By
News

Honda Motor Co. Produces Its 300 Millionth Motorcycle

By 13 Comments

Hosting a ceremony today in Tokyo, Honda Motor Company announced that it has produced cumulatively 300 million motorcycles worldwide.

The milestone, which was actually reach in September of this year, but just now celebrated by the Japanese company, comes in Honda’s 66th year of making motorcycles, when the brand entered the market with the Honda Dream Type-D in 1949.

Keep Reading
By
News

Mahindra Building a Plant in Michigan for Electric Scooters

By 4 Comments

Two wheeler division of Indian heavy industry conglomerate, Mahindra, plans on building $3000, 30-mph electric scooters for the North American market right in good ‘ol Michigan.

The scooter, called GenZe, will feature a luggage compartment, under-seat phone and laptop chargers, an LCD display that is essentially a smartphone instrument panel, and a potentially innovative seat that supports you in a sitting and standing position.

The GenZe website is actually pretty attractive, and Mahindra’s PR firm/team goes through great lengths to tell us why the GenZe is the solution for the ills of failing urban transportation infrastructure. Noticeably absent are any real specifications about the thing—like range, power, weight, etc.

Keep Reading
By
Columns

Factory Tour: Agostini vs. Rossi – It’s Not What You Think

By 8 Comments

Towards the end of last year, I spent some time bumming around Italy, and one of my many stops was the Dainese headquarters in Vicenza, Italy. A company that is responsible for protecting many of the top motorcycle racers, as well as Yours Truly, Dainese is a company focused on safety, but this focus is really a bi-product of the Italian company’s thirst for competition.

Competition is of course about finding out who is the best, and at the pinnacle of that decision is finding out who is the Greatest of All Time, or G.O.A.T. And in motorcycle racing, when you think of the term “G.O.A.T.” two names come to mind: Giacomo Agostini and Valentino Rossi.

Motorcycle racing fans can debate well into the night as to which of these Italian racers is truly the greatest. Regardless who you pick though, both men are legends, and both men have been supported throughout their careers by Dainese.

That brings us back to my trip to Vicenza, because the battle between these two great riders continues, just not in the way you would suspect.

Keep Reading
By
News

Ducati 1199 Superleggera Enters Production

By 32 Comments

Word from Italy is that Ducati has begun production on the Ducati 1199 Superleggera superbike, the Italian firm’s “Super Light” version of the Panigale. Crafted from copious amounts of magnesium, titanium, and carbon fiber, the Superleggera might be one of the few motorcycles that looks better naked without its fairings, rather than all buttoned up and ready for the race track.

Make no mistake, the Superleggera is an exercise of engineering prowess (it sports the highest power-to-weight ratio of any production motorcycle in history), so it makes sense then that the Superleggera is said to be the pet project of former Ducati engineer, and current Ducati CEO, Claudio Domenicali.

Creating a video to celebrate the commencement of Ducati’s production run on the Ducati 1199 Superleggera, it is no mistake then that Domenicali features heavily in it — this is one proud papa. Only 500 lucky Ducatisti will be able to share in that pride of ownership, as the Superleggera production will be extremely limited. What follows might be the closest you will ever get to one.

Keep Reading
By
WSBK

WSBK Homologation Requirement Numbers Halved

By 11 Comments

The continuing worldwide decline in sports bike sales has forced the Superbike Commission to reduce the minimum number of motorcycles to be produced for homologation, to be allowed to take part in the World Superbike series.

As of now, manufacturers wishing to race a particular motorcycle must have sold 250 bikes by the end of their first year of racing in WSBK, and 1,000 bikes by the end of the second year, half the requirements previously on the books. But manufacturers will still have to have produced 125 bikes before they can even embark on the homologation procedure.

The sales numbers have been reduced in response to the continuing decline in sales of large and middleweight sports bikes around the world, under pressure from increasing speed restrictions and monitoring on public roads. Even Honda is reportedly having problems selling the required numbers of the CBR1000RR SP, despite the popularity of the bike.

Keep Reading
By