What started out as a concept, dreamt up by Pablo Gonzalez de Chaves and Carlos Beltran Carrión, the Demonstener D1200R has finally come to life. Producing a very limited quantity of 5 motorcycles, Demonstener has its D1200R up on eBay with a Buy-it Now price of €50,000.
For the 2010 season, minor changes have been made to the way the race weekend will be scheduled, with the most notable change being the adjustments to the Superpole qualifying event. Instead of three equally durationed 12 minutes sessions for the Superpole, as we saw in the 2009 season, the 2010 Superpole format will be comprised of three sessions of varying length. More after the jump.
Taking a new perspective on motorcycle brake design is Brakko with its Combined Wheel Brake (CWB) system. Unlike a traditional system, a CWB system puts the brake disc in the centerline of the wheel rim, which allows for the braking force to be transmitted as much as possible to the wheel rim, instead of to the hub, spokes, and brake disc carriers.
At the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan, Benelli finally gave the public a glimpse at its new TnT 899 Cafe Racer, after teasing us with spy photos of the bike out testing. While this was our first opportunity to see the bike in person, it was also the first time that Benelli released the 2010 Benelli TnT 899 Cafe Racer’s technical specifications. With 120hp at the crank, the baby TnT packs some power, and it will need it if it wants to haul around the 454lbs (wet) motorcycle it’s attached to. Pictures and more after the jump.
As the relationshit between Colin Edwards and James Toseland came to a crashing halt during the 2009 season, the Monster Yamaha Tech3 garage found a proverbial and literal wall erected, dividing the team in two. Now despite the cordial relationship between Edwards and newcomer Ben Spies, comes confirmation that the wall will continue its presence as the 3rd teammate in the Tech3 camp.
Ducati North America has announced the delivery dates of its 2010 model line-up to the US dealerships, with the bulk of the new Ducati’s arriving in February, while the Multistrada 1200 comes to us in April & May. Click past the jump for a full price and arrival schedule.
This extended weekend, we Americans sat down for our Thanksgiving meals, joined by family, friends, and hospitable strangers. There are many things to look back on and be thankful for: good health, good friends, good fortune, just to name a few. I, like many others, am thankful for these things as well, but of course proclaiming as such makes for a very boring motorcycle editorial.
Among other things, in motorcycling I am thankful for the recent announcement by the FIM to breakaway from the TTXGP electric motorcycle racing series. While we may never know the FIM’s true reasoning in its resolve to distance itself from Azhar Hussain’s TTXGP series, I suspect a portion of that thought process stems from the now clear and convincing conflict of interest that is unfolding in electric motorcycle racing, and acts of impropriety that are stemming from those competing interests.
Kawasaki USA has undergone an executive restructuring that aims to bring a more aggressive marketing approach to the Japanese company’s US operations. The new Kawasaki USA structure creates three operating areas: marketing, field sales, and corporate sales, which will report directly to Kawasaki President Takeshi Teranishi.
For 2010, KTM has come to the realization that not everyone wants to buy a bike in orange, white, or black. With a limited number of colors left on the rainbow that haven’t been marked by other manufacturers, KTM has been lift with the only choice of adding an olive green paint scheme into the mix. Launched at EICMA, we got to see the green KTM 990 Super Duke up-close. Photos after the jump.
Italy’s CRP Racing has announced it will be entering into the electric racing gig, and exclusivel providing electric motorcycles to teams in the upcoming TTXGP 2010 series, which includes PRO1, PRO2, Isle of Man, and circuit races across the globe. Launching with their Italian styled eCRP 1.0 (to debut at the NEC show in Birmingham), CRP Racing is the first electric motorcycle concept to come from Italy and enter into the electric motorcycle racing fray.
Creating a tribute to the 750 Imola Desmo, Spanish tuner Radical Ducati has made this special cafe racer, the RAD02 Imola. Featuring a 900SSie engine with hot cams, a Monster S4R chassis, 749S forks, a MV Agusta ride-height adjuster, and asymmetric megaphone cans, the RAD02 Imola is a stunning example of the modern cafe racer genre. We drooled over it for a while, and you will too. Photos and more after the jump.