Harley-Davidson is issuing a recall on its 2009 & 2010 touring line made between June 6, 2008, and Nov. 19, 2009, which consists of 111,569 motorcycles in total. The recall is due to concerns over the fuel tank mounts on these motorcycles, which might distort in a collision, possibly leaking fuel, and thus causing a fire.
If you’re into the Triumph Thruxton’s look, then you’ll love what the British company has waiting for you. Available in July of 2010, The Triumph Thruxton Cafe Racer Special Edition take the classic Thruxton look, and spices it up with red/white/black look that pops out at you. Photos and more after the jump.
Despite the fact that the Roehr 1250sc started being delivered to to customers back in July, those in The Golden State had to wait while the bike passed CARB emission standards, which are more stringent than the rest of the US. Roehr has now announced that it has met these requirements, and can begin delievery of 1250sc‘s into California.
We’ve already worked out that this is not the cylinder head to the fabled MV Agusta F3, but these latest photos from a track day in Almeriá, Spain, continue to suggest that the Italian company is testing a new bike in sheep’s clothing. Seen here in F4 bodywork, the bike is rumored to sport a 675cc three-cylinder motor. Photos and more after the jump.
After announcing his retirement from AMA Pro Racing, and what many assumed meant motorcycle racing in general, it didn’t take long for Mat Mladin to wind back up in the racing spot-light, this time with World Superbike aires around him. It would seem the recently retired Australian rider is at least musing over a possible World Superbike ride this week, as was revealed in a post on twitter earlier today. Citing a couple of offers, Mladin seems to be at least interested in one of them. More after the jump.
UPDATE: You can find Azhar Hussain’s response to this article on Brammofan.
Last week when I wrote my op-ed, I was content to say my piece on the issue of TTXGP/Mavizen conflict of interest, and then move along with other things. But considering the response the piece got, not only by Azhar Hussain himself, but also by others in the industry, as well as the recent announcements of Zero Motorcycles and Mission Motors entering the TTXGP racing series, I thought I’d give the issue another pass. Ignoring the name-calling, accusations of professional misconduct, and general pettiness that followed, I wanted to address and few things that have developed in this space, and why I’m still thankful the FIM split from TTXGP.
After we posted yesterday that Moto Morini had shut down its production line, amid the Italian company’s financial problems, other publications began covering the company’s complete closure. This caught the folks at Moto Morini off-guard, who while on an extended day-off, insist they are still keeping the production line functioning, if admittedly at a significantly reduced capacity.
There’s be some trouble brewing in the MotoGP/WSBK camp after news hit that MotoGP would be switching back to a 1000cc format by the 2012 season. In that story, several possibilities on how that format would work were put forth by various sides, one such proposal being the running of production based motors in MotoGP.
These motors, which would be based off those found on streetbikes, could be tuned to any degree, provided it met the criteria in the MotoGP rule book (1000cc & four-cylinders are the only regulations agreed upon currently). This news of course drew the ire of World Superbike promoter, Infront Motor Sports, in the form of Paolo Flammini, who believes that format would infringe on his license to exclusively run a production based race series.
Refusing at first to define what a production engine is, Dorna’s Carmelo Ezpeleta is now switching gears and saying the term “production engine” won’t even appear in the new MotoGP racing regulations.
Single-tire supplier to the World Superbike Championship, Pirelli has announced that the 2009 WSBK series is officially faster than the 2008 season. On an aggregate basis, the 2009 season was 20 seconds quicker in its measured race time than in 2008, which breaks down to each race winning lap being about 0.7 seconds faster than before.
UPDATE: Xenophya Design, partner in Mac Motorcycles, have asked A&R to clarify the fact that Matthew Schneider & Carefully Considered were in no way asked to do this work for Mac Motorcycles.
Design house Carefully Considered has dipped there ink into the motorcycle realm, first with some pixelated camouflage designs for the Husaberg FE 390, and now with their take on the Mac Motorcycles prototype. We loved the Xenophya Designed lines of the Mac when we first saw it, but after looking at the paint and details that Carefully Considered came up with, we’re finding the single-color schemes to be almost boring now. Photos and more after the jump.
You cannot deny the fact that Colin Edwards has a new found strength since joining the Yamaha satellite team Tech3. The YZR-M1, which was developed with substantial input from Valentino Rossi, has found further refinement in the Monster Tech3 garage with the help from Edwards. Already known as a good development rider, Edwards may see an offer from Tech3 boss Herve Poncharal to continue test riding, after the Texan’s racing career has concluded.