The Confederate X132 Hellcat is the latest creation from the boutique southern motorcycle brand, and continues the Hellcat lineage’s custom-roadster aesthetic. Like any machine produced by Confederate, the real beauty of the new Hellcat comes down to the bike’s detail finishes, which for the X132 includes a motor casing that was built out of two pieces of billet 6061 aircraft grade aluminum. Officially spec’d with “sufficient” power and torque figures, the 2,163cc v-twin motor on the X132 is more than eye-catching, and should propel you down the road just fine with its estimated 132 peak horsepower and 150 lbs•ft of torque.
During the second AMA Pro Supersport qualifying session at Sears Point, #422 Genki Hagata had a moment that every motorcycle racer knows all too well: a highside. Still completing his out-lap, Hagata’s Yamaha YZF-R6 lost traction at the rear wheel, and then abruptly regained it, which for most riders would usually mean an ejection seat straight into the kitty litter, but not for Genki. Holding onto the bars throughout the incident, Hagata avoided crashing (again, as the case would be for the weekend), and while he missed making the cut-off for Supersport grid by only a few tenths of a second, we still think he was the big winner of AMA Pro Racing’s third road-racing stop of the season.
This, race fans, is Danilo Petrucci, one of the brave souls trying his luck on the future of MotoGP hardware, in his case the doggedly underpowered Came IodaRacing Project machine. Not on a (relatively) zippy Aprilia ART, or a Honda-powered FTR, Petrucci qualifies on the same grid as Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo, and brings to this gunfight a knife that packs a whopping 185 bhp, compared to the factory prototype engines that are rumored to be around 260 bhp. As I photograph a race, I see a much different version of the event than TV viewers. I watch the recorded TV broadcast later, and can tell you that there is a lot going on with the Claiming Rule Team bikes that doesn’t make in onto TV.
We are now purely a “suck, squeeze, bang, blow” society, and while that suits many motorists just fine, there are some who enjoy the smell of pre-mix in the morning — you know who you are. You enjoy the sound of angry bees following you from apex to off-camber. You think a displacement for “serious riders” starts at around 250cc. You like your engine compression low, and your powerbands narrow. You sir (or madam), are a two-stroke junky, and we have just the fix you need. Having a bevy of intriguing two-wheeled projects within its walls, the Swiss bike that catches our eye today is the Suter 500 Factory V4: a two-stroke, 500cc, V4, track weapon that puts out over 200 hp and weighs 284 lbs ready to race — no, that is not a typo.
Blurred to protect against spoilers, we’ll just leave things simply by saying that World Superbike’s Race 2 at Donington Park is well worth a watching if you haven’t already seen it. Decided right down to the last few turns, race pundits surely will be discussing the race and its outcome over the next week. Unsurprisingly, geography is playing a major a role in how things are being viewed. Though in a race where a number of questionable passes occurred, it is hard to single out this one event from the plethora of others that occurred during the race, but of course this one had the biggest effect on the race outcome. Click past the jump for the he said, she said, and of course for some slightly sharper photos.
More news from Norton, as the British firm has begun track-testing its V4 road race bike, in preparation of the 2012 Isle of Man TT. Focusing on the bike’s handling, Norton has been working hand-in-hand with Öhlins and Dunlop developing the bike’s chassis. The trio has devised the highly sophisticated “165 mph no hands” test, which supposedly checks the stability of the bike, though we imagine Health & Safety would frown upon it. With the bike’s Aprilia RSV4 motor putting out 195hp at the crank, and with the total race package weighing 419 lbs (195 kg) when it is sopping wet, the Spondon-framed Norton may not be exactly what fans of the famous marques were hoping for after seeing the very appealing Norton NRV 588, though it does seem to be a potent package.
Launching in downtown Los Angeles, the 2012 Brammo Empulse R & 2013 Brammo Empulse broke their cover and officially debuted. Right off the bat from the designations, you can see that Brammo intends for the Empulse R to be a 2012 model, with the base model Emuplse coming out next year (more on that further down). As we expected, the Brammo Empulse R got quite the price bump after its 22-month marination, and will be $18,995 MSRP. Meanwhile when the Brammo Empulse becomes available next year, it will have a slightly more palatable $16,995 price tag.
While the EBR 1190RS race bikes were on the track, their $40,000+ street-legal counterparts were on display outside of the Erik Buell Racing garage. Rocking an American flag livery, I naturally took pictures of this show bike. Eye catching to say the least, nothing says “Made in ‘merica” better than a red, white, and blue color scheme, especially when it is laid over carbon fiber. And while I want to love this bike because of its nuances and outside-of-the-box technical design, I don’t.
If there’s one lesson we can take from Sunday’s race at Estoril, it’s this: “I’ve always said we know Casey’s the guy that’s the fastest guy in the world. Maybe over the seasons he hasn’t put the championships together, but by far he’s the best guy in the world.” Cal Crutchlow is not known for mincing his words, and his description of Casey Stoner pulls no punches. But given the fact that Stoner only managed to win the Portuguese round of MotoGP by a second and a bit, is that not a little exaggerated?
Brammo is back for electric motorcycle racing in the North American TTXGP series, as the Ashland-based company is set to defend it’s #1 plate this year with Steve Atlas on board ( Shelina Moreda is slated to join the team later in the season). Gaining a title sponsorship from Icon, Brammo arrived at Sears Point with some edgy graphics on the 2012 Brammo Empulse RR. Dropping roughly 35 lbs in weight, and gaining roughly 50hp over the bike they ran at last year’s season opener, Brammo is making most of those gains in its revised motor and power inverter for the newest Empulse RR.
Not to be confused with the Africa Twin, which would be missing two cylinders, Honda returns to its rugged off-road expedition-style adventure past with the Honda Crosstourer Concept. Based on the Honda VFR1200F’s V4 motor and dual-clutch transmission, the Crosstourer concept is designed to be the rugged off-roader that the Crossrunner and VFR1200F are not.
Finally unveiled, this is the much-hyped 2011 Honda Crossrunner that Honda has been releasing sketches of for the past month. A 782cc 90° V4 that’s derived from the VFR800 series, Crossrunner’s liquid-cooled, DOHC motor makes 102hp and 54 lbs•ft of torque. Honda hopes the Crossrunner will fill in a gap that is a cross between a naked street bike and an adventure bike, but has been very clear that it intends the Crossrunner to be a road-only machine (the Honda Crosstourer Concept should fill the off-road need just fine).
Sans a shaft-drive, the Honda Crossrunner will come with a chain final drive, uses an evolution of the VFR’s VTEC valve system for its 16 valves, and features Honda’s combined-ABS braking system. Road warriors get excited because the 2011 Honda Crossrunner comes with a 5.68 gallon tank. The only downside? The Honda Crossrunner is 530lbs when its on the curb. Photos and technical specifications after the jump.
While Honda won’t release more info on its new 800cc V4-based adventure bike and 1,200cc V4 adventure concept until a day or two from now, the folks at Oliepeil snapped this photo of the Honda booth, which shows a bike very similar to Honda’s teaser image. Looking very GS-esque, it will be interesting to see the results on Honda’s foray into the adventure bike segment with a V4 motor.
Source: Oliepeil.nl
![2011 Aprilia Tuono V4 R: Proof That Some Bikes Should Leave Their Clothes On [UPDATED] 2011 aprilia tuono v4 r 2 medium](http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/2011-aprilia-tuono-v4-r-2.jpg "2011-aprilia-tuono-v4-r-2-medium")
UPDATE: Larger photos and more details have been added.
Well here’s your first look at the 2011 Aprilia Tuono V4 R. While we don’t have official information, the Tuono V4 line seemingly comes equipped with the Aprilia Performance Rider Control package. Sharing its frame with the RSV4 superbike, the Aprilia Tuono V4 R receives a de-tuned motor with performance figures coming in at 162hp and 81 lbs•ft of torque. Like the Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC SE, the Tuono V4 R will be fitted with APRC system, which will bring traction control, anti-lock brakes, wheelie control, launch control, quick-shifter, and rider-selectable driving modes to the naked V4.
Braking power comes from radial Brembo monobloc calipers mated to 320mm discs up front. Suspension is done by Sachs, with 43mm titanium nitride (TiN) forks and a four-way adjustable (compression, rebound, pre-load, and ride height) rear shock with piggyback reservoir. The 2011 Tuono V4 R comes with new wheels that are 5 lbs lighter than the ones that come on the Aprilia RSV4 R. We apologize for the small photos after the jump, but perhaps that’s better so as to help you avert your eyes from this abortion of a motorcycle.
Honda continues to tease its V4-based adventure bike ahead of its unveiling at EICMA next week. Finally showing off the actual lines of the machine, Honda has clearly made a cross between the CB1000R and VFR1200F in this design. Tall and purposeful, the concept clearly has the extra travel to soak-up an uncertain path, but Honda insists the bike is designed for on-road use. We dig the single-sided swingarm, but it will be interesting to see how Honda finishes off the exhaust pipe, and of course the final fit and finish of the design as a whole (the tail, like on the VFR1200F, seems to be an afterthought).
Honda continues to tease us with concept sketches of its VFR inspired middleweight adventure bike, this time with a drawing of the bike head-on. Expected to have a smaller displacement than the VFR1200F sport-tourer, the advenutre-esque concept will fit a V4 power plant in a more upright and exposed frame and bodywork.
Showing the stacked headlight design, Honda’s new V4 will have a slim profile for better high-speed stability and engine/rider cooling. Honda is also saying that a “floating” instrument cluster will come on the bike, which should help keep eyes pointed down the road’s path.
