Just days after WSBK wrapped up its season opener at Phillip Island, Australia, rumors are about that the Flammini Brothers are eyeing the Hampton Down circuit in New Zealand as a possible destination for the World Superbike Championship in 2012. Hampton Downs will reportedly have to increase its track length in order to qualify for FIM homologation, which should make the road course 2.4 miles long.
You may remember that six month’s ago we published a rumor that AMA Pro Racing was considering the idea of adding a Harley-Davidson XR1200 spec racing class. Today, that rumor became reality as AMA Pro Racing announced at the Daytona Bike Week that it would be adding the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series to its calendar. The painful press release and our colorful commentary after the jump.
BMW announced today that it will send a factory backed team to compete in the Isle of Man’s Superbike and Senior TT’s. This announcement ends over 30 years of the Bavarian brand’s absence at the Isle of Man. For Austrian-based KTM, this will be their first time running at the Isle of Man TT. The KTM RC8 R will be entered in the Superstock, Superbike, and Senior TT’s. More after the jump.
Usually when you see a video of lovely lady standing next to a motorcycle at an FIM sanctioned event, she’s holding an umbrella. Well the FIM is hoping to change that perception a bit, and is serving up this video with its resident supermodels ladies of motorcycling talking about what they do best. Featuring Leslie Porterfield (FIM World LSR Holder), Livia Lancelot (FIM Women’s Motocross World Champion) and Laia Sanz (FIM Women’s Trial World Champion), the video is a part of the new FIM campaign called “Women Ride” that hopes to encourage more femme fatal in our two-wheeled sport. Video after the jump.
According to Ash on Bikes, BMW has added a firmware patch to the S1000RR that will set the bike’s rev limit to 9,000 RPM during the first 600 miles of use. This limit is reportedly being put into place because of excessive wear on components being used by race teams. As such, BMW thinks it fit to guard against similar wear on its street-bound machines, although there has been no indication that this has been the case.
When was the last time you saw someone seriously rethink how a motorcycle seat functions and operates? To our knowledge this design from Brit Brothers is the first real attempt to rethink what our butts have known all along. With its eye catching design, and roller-style seat, Brit Bros says their seat has numerous benefits over your standard foam wrapped in vinyl garden variety seat, including the ability to help tame a high-side crash. Photos and more after the jump.
Nicolas Petit, a 25 year old Frenchman who lives just outside of Paris, is a motorcycle mechanic by day, and motorcycle sketcher by night. With already an impressive resume of motorcycle design sketches and renders to his name, we think Nicolas can add one more stunning example to the list: the Ducati Desmosedici RR Trike concept. We’re not huge fans of trikes here at A&R, but when you base your concept off one of the most powerful streetbikes ever created, it certainly catches our attention. Photos and more after the jump.
By now you’ve surely read about MotoCzysz’s new eDD and it’s “suitcase” chassis design. Recently Asphalt & Rubber got a chance to take a peak into the Portland, Oregon based company’s service bay and take a closer look at the 2009 E1pc D1g1tal Superbike, with a specific interest in its quick-release swappable batteries and unique chassis design. We’ll be covering these innovations in a two-part series, starting today with a never before seen look at the MotoCzysz battery packs. More and photos from Peter Lombardi Kustom Photography after the jump.
UPDATE: The 2010 Yamaha Fazer8 ABS has officially been released.
It would seem that Yamaha Motor Europe is getting a little particular about what people call their new 800cc naked street bike. Dubbed the “Fazer8” by the tuning fork brand, Europeans seem to be more comfortable calling the new Fazer by the previously agreed upon naming method: the FZ8 Fazer. “Whoa, wait, slow down there padre!” says Yamaha.
You may have notice the quad-colored speech balloon button that’s showing up at the top of posts now. A couple of weeks ago Google launched its appropriately named Google Buzz service, which allows users to share links, photos, etc via gmail.
Clicking on the button will bring up a pop-up window that will automatically load with the link of an article, and allow you to type a brief message that you’re about to share with your friends on gmail.
So if you’re a gmail user, now you can spread the A&R love via Google Buzz, just like you’ve been doing with our Twitter and Facebook buttons. Enjoy!
Ever wonder what great action footage of the 2010 Ducati Multistrada 1200 would be like if you set it to the music commonly found in a piano bar? Well never fear, Ducati has the answer for you. Check it out after the jump. And just a tip, queue up your own tunes.