MotoGP action comes from the land down under this weekend, taking to the Australian track of Phillip Island. Treading on the home turf of Casey Stoner, fans will surely be treated to some good racing from the come-back kid. Stoner will have to show his strength has returned though, as both Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo are looking for as many Championship points now that the MotoGP is getting closer to its conclusion.
Watch out Mission Motors, electric motorcycle manufacturer Lightning Motorcycles is gunning for you. This week at the SCTA World Finals at the Bonneville Salt Flats, the Lightning’s pre-production prototype set a speed of 166.388 mph. While only completing a single pass down the salt flats, and not a return journey to make an official speed entry, 166 mph is still an impressive mark, and has provided the company with crucial information as they get ready to go commercial in 2010. Photos and more after the jump.
Most of the internet is still abuzz over the news of Buell’s demise (don’t worry, your friends who read print magazines will hear the news in a month or two), but for the people at MV Agusta, right now is perhaps even more precarious because their future is uncertain. Harley-Davidson’s decision to circle the wagons around the HD brand, meant for MV that they would once again be up for auction to the highest bidder. This timing perhaps comes at the absolute worst moment, as the Italian brand was finally having to come to terms with how it would move forward as a company without Massimo Tamburini inking the designs.
What do you do when the financial arm of your company goes from making $100 million a year to losing $100 million a year? Why you kill off two other brands in your company of course. That is the move the Keith Wandell and the Harley-Davidson board of directors made yesterday with their announcement of shutting down Buell, and selling off MV Agusta. Realizing that the Harley-Davidson brand accounts for the majority of Harley-Davidson Inc.’s income, Harley-Davidson executives saw there being little choice but to sacrifice its other two holdings to save their namesake.
Brian Wismann and David Schiff are on a mission two Brammo’s riding from Detroit, Michigan to Washington DC, retracing the steps of the Big 3 automakers with an end goal of meeting with President Obama. Brammo feels they have a solution to the transportation crisis and America’s dependence on oil, and they want Obama to see the Brammo Enertia first hand.
In conjunction with Harley-Davidson’s Q3 financial results, and shutting down of Buell Motorcycles, the Milwaukee motorcycle manufacturer is announcing that it will be selling Italian sportbike manufacturer MV Agusta.
Harley-Davidson bought MV Agusta just under a year ago, and assumed a substantial amount of debt from the beleaguered company. This past quarter, Harley-Davidson recorded a one-time fixed-asset impairment charge of $14.2 million related to Buell and a goodwill impairment charge of $18.9 million related to MV Agusta.
After releasing grim third-quarter financials today, Harley-Davidson has also announced that it is discontinuing Buell Motorcycles. In a somber video (posted after the jump), Erik Buell confirms the news, and praises the Buell team for taking on the industry giants with “this little American sportbike company.” Buell will continue to sell its motorcycle stock, and Harley-Davidson will continue to honor any warranties and part needs for Buell motorcycles.
The 2010 Honda VFR1200F is the most advanced motorcycle ever to come out of Honda’s factory, and is probably one of the most innovative motorcycles ever. A large portion of the technology that separates the VFR from the rest of the pack is the all new V4 power-plant that Honda engineers say is a trickle down product from their MotoGP racing efforts. Features and photos after the jump.
Fischer Motor Company has announced that is has increased its production of its MRX sportbike. With the MRX taking off not only here in the United States, but also abroad in Australia and Europe, the company’s Pocomoke City factory is expecting 2010 to eclipse 2009’s numbers since the bikes release earlier this summer.
The 2010 Ducati Stradaperta adventure bike continues is world spy shot tour. Taking to the dirt for the first time, the Stradaperta looks to be testing its off-road capability. Luckily, the folks at MCN had an undercover agent around to snag some shots of the BMW GS killer taking some jumps, and getting some air. More photos after the jump.
With the assistance of ram-air, the ZX-10R motor produces 200hp peak-horsepower at the crank, making it a popular track weapon and canyon carver. For 2010, Kawasaki (like many of the motorcycle manufacturers) is choosing not to make any significant upgrades to its liter-bike offering, instead opting to freshen up the ZX-10R with styling cues from the ZX-6R.
Team Green loyalists will be glad to hear that the ZX-10R will get some upgrades beyond the 6R bodywork, in the form of an upgraded Öhlins steering damper, smoother gearbox, and redesigned blacked-out exhaust pipes. Videos, photos, and specs after the jump