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June 2010

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2011 Aprilia Tuono V4 Spotted – Spy Video/Photos

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The lucky bastards at Motociclismo.it have spotted the Aprilia Tuono V4 testing at a track day at Mugello, and were fortunate enough to have their photo and video cameras at the ready. At an event that feels more like a setup press leak, than a true spy capture, we still get some of our clearest views of the 2011 Aprilia Tuono V4 yet.

The street-naked draws heavily from the RSV4, and has the usual differences where we’d expect to find them on these two bikes. Perhaps the most exciting is what appears to be an ABS and/or traction control system pick up on the front and rear wheels, which might be a hint of things to come in the Aprilia sport line. Check after the jump for a video of the Aprilia Tuono V4 going around the track, and more photos.

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Rumors

Ducati Willing to Stop WSBK Efforts to Get Rossi?

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This Friday silly season rumor was too good not to publish, but according to GPone (usually a very reliable site) Ducat is at least pondering closing its World Superbike effort if it means securing Valentino Rossi on a MotoGP ride. It sounds like the work of fiction, but let’s take a minute, and forget the fact that Ducati rests its racing laurels on WSBK victories, and examine this rumor a bit further before we dismiss it.

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Rumors

Silly Season: Ducati Offers Rossi €15 Million & Benefits – Yamaha Reduces Salary to €9 Million

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The Italian press is buzzing about the latest silly season info regarding Valentino Rossi, and where he will be racing next year. According to Corriere dello Sport, Ducati has upped their offer to Rossi to €15 million and has included provisions that would allow the Italian to race later with either Ferrari F1 or Fiat Rally teams once he’s finished with motorcycle racing.

Now…you’d expect Yamaha to up its ante on the nine-time World Champion, right? Not quite. Instead Yamaha has reduced Valentino’s Rossi contract price from the €14 million they current pay him each year to €9 million. More on the reasoning behind that after the jump.

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Racing

MotoGP: GP Commission to Consider 1000cc Rule Implementation in 2011 Instead of 2012

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In a somewhat bizzare move, the GP Commission is set to discuss the possibility of bringing 1000cc race bikes to MotoGP a year earlier than previously agreed upon. A proposal set to be put forth on Friday by IRTA President and Tech3 Yamaha boss Herve Poncharal would allow for 1000cc motorcycles to race in MotoGP in 2011 rather than in 2012 as was planned because of the alleged need to fill the grid from its current 17 bike total.

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Racing

Ducati Qualifies 1st & 3rd at Pikes Peak

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Team Spider Grips Ducati has qualified 1st & 3rd at this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, as the team gets set to race a pair of slightly modified 2010 Ducati Multistrada 1200S motorcycles up the 5,000ft ascent near Colorado Springs.

Taking the pole position is Pikes Peak veteran Greg Tracy, with a qualifying time of 5:22:659. Tracy won the 2008 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on a “skunk works” Ducati Hyptermotard, and is the favorite to win this years’ 1200cc class in the motorcycle division.

Taking up the third position is Alexander Smith, who qualified with a time of 5:45:470, just one second behind the second place qualifying Buell.

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Recall

BMW Initiates a MEGA Recall – 4 Recalls, 11 Models

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Bear with us as we try to get through the FOUR recalls that BMW has initiated, and dropped in our inbox. With a range of issues hitting its recent series of motorcycles, BMW has four individually registered recalls with the NHTSA that span 11 models in the German company’s stable. If you own a BMW manufactured between 2005 and 2009, you might want to check after the jump to see if your bike is affected. Click on the appropriate link to the NHTSA’s website for additional information.

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Recall

2010 MV Agusta F4’s Recalled for Faulty Air Filter

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MV Agusta is recalling 66 new 2010 MV Agusta F4 superbikes for a faulty air filter frame that may become loose, and allow materials to bypass the filter element. The possible result is debris entering the throttle bodies, which could damage the assembly, and cause the motor to seize. This recall only affects F4’s manufactured between February 10th to April 19th, 2010.

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Racing

Ben Spies Talks About His Podium at Silverstone

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After taking his first GP podium at Silverstone during the British GP, OnTheThrottle TV caught up with Ben Spies to talk to the American rider about what it was like to achieve the next milestone in his young career. Talking about his highside leading up to Sunday’s race, Spies gives a tremendous amount of insight into heating up the Bridgestone tires, which helps to further explain Rossi’s highside at Mugello. Spies also gives us a perspective on the on-track communication riders have when it comes to catching up to other riders and fighting for position. Check out the full skype interview after the jump, and hang on through the technical issues.

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Racing

Around the Isle of Man with the MotoCzysz E1pc

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The Isle of Man TT organizers have released some on-board footage of the TT Zero winning 2010 MotoCzysz E1pc. Other than the impressive speed from the electric sportbike, what’s really noticeable about this video is the wind noise. The subject of electric motorcycles lacking the exhaust note normally associated with motorcycles has been hashed out numerous times before, but watching this video reminds us of a comment that Michael Czysz once made to us about how electric motorcycles were like sailboats.

Once you get out to the open water, and turn off your motor it transforms the experience into something else. We imagine that must have crossed rider Mark Miller’s mind at some point…before he quickly had to train his attention on the rapidly approaching street course. Check the video out after the jump.

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Products

Kickstand Kritters: Curiously Classy

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Have you ever tried to park your motorcycle on a soft surface like grass or gravel, only to watch your kickstand sink a hole into the ground deeper than British Petroleum? Neither have we, afterall who would admit to doing the two-wheeled yoga routine that’s involved in finding a piece of wood (or other suitable weight distributor), while balancing a sinking motorcycle? But in case this phenomenon has “happened to a friend of yours”, we’ve stumbled upon the solution to your “friend’s” problem. Cue the Kickstand Kritter.

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Racing

Official: Yamaha Test Rider Wataru Yoshikawa Will Replace Valentino Rossi at Fiat-Yamaha

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Yamaha has officially announced that factory test rider Wataru Yoshikawa will be replacing Valentino Rossi at the next rounds of the MotoGP series, starting at the Catalan GP in Barcelona. The move comes after much speculation was created about whom would take the place of the Italian GP Champion, after his crash at Mugello. Yoshikawa is a former Japanese SBK Champion (1994 & 1999), and his ridden as a GP wild card numerous times for Yamaha.

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