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.
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.
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.
When BMW announced the S1000RR, they claimed power figures of 193hp at the crank. While the clear class winner on quoted power figures, OEM claims on horsepower are “ambitious” when viewed in even the most favorable of light. However as Bike found out in the case of the S1000RR, it would seem that BMW might have actually under-promised on the bike’s performance potential, and then over-delivered.
One of the cooler things on display at EICMA this year was BMWs S1000RR engine cutaway. The cutaway showcases everything from airbox to exhaust, and if you look really closely you can spot the unicorns secret responsible for BMW’s 193 claimed crank horsepower. More pictures for the engineering minded after the jump.
After a successful inaugural season in the World Superbike Championship, BMW is looking to let some other riders, besides Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus, have some fun on the S1000RR. With two teams set to carry the BMW flag in the IDM Superbike series (German equivalent of AMA Superbike), a two-man team in British Superbike, and rumors of an AMA Superbike bid, BMW seems to be franchising better than a Pappa John’s Pizza.
And now according to Swiss publication Speedweek helping BMW make a bigger push into WSBK is the news that German team Reitwagen Racing will run a S1000RR as WSBK satellite team.
After a reasonably successful World Superbike debut, BMW is ready to take their S1000RR racing in the World Superstock class for 2010. The team will officially wear the BMW Motorrad Italia banner, but will have full factory support from Bavaria. Heading up the new team will be Serafino Foti, of Ducati WSS Championship fame…three years running.
Before BMW officially unveiled its S1000RR superbike, it teased us with a series of shots with fashion models backed up by helicopters and cheetahs, making for high-fashion meets German stoicism in a delicious pairing of opposites. In a return to these roots, German photographer Markus Hofmann has once again introduced BMW to Haute Couture for a photo shoot. Video after the jump.
BMW has finally gotten around to setting the MSRP on its highly anticipated S1000RR sportbike. Priced in-line to compete with the major Japanese manufacturers, the S1000RR is going for a measly $13,800.
For that price you’ll receive a bike with 193hp at the crank, a dry weight of 404lbs, and a headlight only a mother could love. For an additional $1,000, you can get the S1000RR with ABS brakes, and only sacrifice an additional 5.5lbs of that curb weight.
BMW Motorrad released today that the base MSRP of the S1000RR will cost €15,800, expect the US pricing to be below that (we’re guessing $14,500-ish).
In typical BMW fashion the real fun features will cost more. The BMW Race ABS system will cost €950, while the Race ABS with Dynamic Traction Control (DTC) will cost a combined €1,250. BMW is also offering an electric shifter for €370, and an alarm system for €220.
When BMW set out to build the S1000RR, they wanted to challenge the Japanese manufacturers on their home turf and break out of their established mold, with an inline-four 1000cc superbike contender. The result was a 193hp superbike with traction control and ABS brakes, all in an affordable package (allegedly).
Also a part of this “outside of the box” thinking, was some things we could probably do without. The first of which is that asymmetrical head light. Second, and more to the point, the choice in available colors. After teasing us with pictures of a handsome S1000RR in a red/white/blue paint scheme, BMW debuted the bike in lime green livery, and then showed pictures of the bike in brown and black options. That left us a bit miffed. But luckily we have gotten word that the red/white/blue scheme will be available, but at an additional cost.
From the same people that brought you “BMW, Blondes, and Helicopters” comes the latest entry, “Model with Cheetahs…and Oh, an S1000RR also” (Actually BMW refers to it as its “Wild Things” photo shoot). We didn’t know what helicopters had to do with selling motorcycles, and we’re not sure cheetahs have to do with them either. But hey, there’s a half naked model in there somewhere, and that’s good enough for us on a Monday.
Before the World Superbike race at Monza this weekend, BMW officially revealed the S1000RR street bike that they have been teasing us with over the past 6 months. The bike isn’t the prettiest, but it has it where it counts. Tipping the scales at 183kg dry (403lbs), and 204kg wet (449.7lbs), the S1000RR makes a claimed 193hp at 13,000 RPMs, and 82.5 lb•ft of torque at 9,750RPMs. The S1000RR will also feature a four-stage ABS and race-derived traction control system. All this, and a price tag that BMW promises will be competitive against the Japanese manufacturers.
The S1000RR’s other features include a slipper clutch, six-speed gearbox, fully adjustable 46mm USD forks, fully adjustable rear monoshock, ride height adjustment at the rear, Brembo brakes (with radial-mount callipers at the front), and an aluminium chassis that uses the engine as a load-bearing member. The swingarm features an eccentric pivot, enabling different adjustments to raise and lower the height of the S1000RR in order to change the bike’s steering geometry. What’s not to like?…Besides the headlight. Tons of photos and a video after the jump.
