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The ‘Stars Align for Jorge Lorenzo

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The Yamaha Racing factory MotoGP team may not have a title sponsor for the 2011 season, but reigning MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo has had no problem getting some personal sponsorships for next season. Rumors were rife a few weeks ago that Lorenzo had made a switch from Dainese to Alpinestars for his leathers, boots, and gloves sponsorship (making an inverse flop with Nicky Hayden who was making the switch from Alpinestars to Dainese), and last week we brought you the first photos of what looked like a photo shoot that Lorenzo did with Rockstar Energy Drink.

Entering into MotoGP for the first time, Rockstar is Lorenzo’s only American sponsor. No terms have been released on the deal, but we hope Lorenzo is getting a boatload of cash from the energy drink producer, as the Spaniard has had some sort of Rockstar emblazoned garment on him at all times during his trip to Indonesia (including scuba diving?).

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Alex Briggs Starts the Ultimate Ducati MotoGP Experience Auction for Australian Flood Relief

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Alex Briggs, Valentino Rossi’s mechanic and A&R super friend, has put together the ultimate Ducati MotoGP experience auction, with all proceeds going towards the disaster relief efforts for the flooding in Australia. Called the worst flood in Australia in the past 50 years, the waters have hit the states of Queensland and Victoria with devastating affect since December 2010 (damages are being estimated in the 10’s of billions of dollars), causing Briggs to want to do something for his home country (most of Rossi’s crew hails from Australia as well).

Bringing his cause before Ducati MotoGP Project Director Alessandro Cicognani, the Marlboro Ducati team has gotten behind Briggs’ desire to help his home country, and has put together an attractive offer to help bring awareness to the floods, and raise some money for the disaster relief effort in the form of an eBay auction that will help raise money for the flood victims. Check after the jump for a full description of the auction details.

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Racing

WSBK: PATA Racing & Haga Show Off 2011 Livery

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Pata Racing Team Aprilia launched its 2011 World Superbike entry today at the Verona Motor Bike Expo in Italy. The largely white Aprilia has a large PATA logo on the side with accents of green and blue and other sponsor decals. As expected, Noriyuki Haga will be the sole-rider for the team that formerly fielded Jakub Smrz first on a Ducati then Aprilia for the 2010 season. The bike was unveiled by Team President Daniele Carli and Team Manager Marco Borciani, who also underscored the previous announcement that Aprilia is officially supporting the team, though no one officially from Aprilia attended.

Nitro Nori successfully stirred up some interest by saying, “I’m not worried about Max Biaggi! I think I can start winning again with this bike, and try to reach my goal of 60 career wins. Then I can retire…I’m aiming for the title, but my first objective will be to beat the factory Aprilias.”

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Bikes

Yamaha Super Ténéré Looking Good in “Competition White”

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We really enjoyed riding the 2012 Yamaha Super Ténéré around the picturesque landscape that is Sedona, Arizona, but Yamaha’s variety of color schemes for the Super T leaves a little bit to be desired if your favorite color isn’t blue or black. Never fear, the tuning fork brand has you covered, as Yamaha has debuted the 2012 Yamaha Super Ténéré in “Competition White” at the Verona Motor Bike Expo.

The new racing-inspired white color scheme is just one of four colors Yamaha has rolled out at Verona, with a “Silver Viper Tech” livery also reportedly being teased. We’re not sure which, if either, of these two new colors will be available in the United States, but we imagine that if there was enough expressed interest, Yamaha would make them available on this side of the pond. Check out the gallery of the “Competition White” Super Ténéré after the jump.

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Ducati North America Posts Strong 2010 Q3 & Q4 Numbers

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BMW isn’t the only company weathering the storm in the motorcycle industry, as Ducati North America has released some of its own numbers from 2010. At the top of the highlight list is Ducati North America’s 35% increase in December 2010 sales over December 2009’s sales figures.

Also bucking the trend was DNA’s growth in Q3 & Q4 of 2010, where the company sold 8% & 9% more motorcycles respectively than in the same quarters in 2009. Compare that to the North American motorcycle industry averages, which saw a 15% decrease in Q3 and 14% decrease in Q4 last year.

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Bikes

Vyrus 986 M2 Moto2 Race Bike Unveiled at Verona – It’s Time to Breakout the Kleenex

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After covering the debut of new motorcycles for a little over two years now, I’d like to think I’ve become immune to the sheer product lust the occurs when seeing an exceptional two-wheeler. Well wheel me back to the insane asylum of discretionary consumer income, because the only thing I can think of today is this Vyrus 986 M2 Moto2 race bike, and what it’s street counterpart could look like if Vyrus green-lights the project.

I don’t care if the hub-steering design is truly superior to traditional fork suspension. I don’t care if a single team even picks up the Vyrus chassis to race in Moto2. And in fact, I don’t even care if this whole talk about racing in Moto2 is just a ploy to launch the 600cc sibling of the Vyrus 987 C3 4V Supercharged.

Looking at these photos (courtesy of our friends at MotoBlog.it), the only thing going through my mind is OMGWTFBBQ I Want One! Eloquent I know, but if you can handle your streetbikes being non-traditional is design, I think you’ll have a similar response after the jump when you see the Vyrus 986 M2, which was finally unveiled at the Motor Bike Expo at Verona today.

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2011 Harley-Davidson Blackline

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Fresh from the International Motorcycle Show’s stop in New York, Harley-Davdison has released a new motorcycle for its 2011 line-up that’s set to be another entry point into the Milwaukee brand. Based off the Softail platform, and a part of Harley’s Dark Custom thought process on design, the 2011 Harley-Davidson Blackline has that hardtail bobber look, and that features a new asymmetrical fuel tank styling and split drag handlebars.

At the core of the Blackline is a rigid-mounted, counter-balanced Twin Cam 96B v-twin motor that makes 89 lbs•ft of peak torque at 3,250 rpm, which is mated to a six-speed transmission. New from the Harley-Davidson parts bin are the split drag handlebars that connect directly to the top yoke, giving a near shoulder-height arm position.

If you’re looking for that old-school bobber look on a Harley-Davidson this summer, when gas prices will surely climb to ridiculous levels once again, the Blackline with its $15,499 MSRP, and 54 MPG highway / 35 MPG fuel economy rating might be the place to start. Photos of noticeably rebellious 20-somethings and press release highlights after the jump.

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US Highland Idles Factory While Looking for Funding

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Six months after US Highland lost three members of its executive team in a tragic small-plane accident, the American company has announced that it will be idling its Tulsa plant while it continues to finish its latest round of funding. Despite this news, US Highland is reportedly close to achieving its fundraising goals, and hopes to have production rolling again once the fundraising is complete.

The Southbridge Advisory Group (SAG) has been brought in to help find a new executive team for US Highland, and is also helping the motorcycle manufacturer find new investors. While any one of these goals would be a large undertaking on its own, having to contend both with raising capital and finding a new executive team is a daunting task.

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Here’s One for the MV Agusta Fans

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If you’re a lover of all things Italian (MV Agusta‘s in particular), and near the Midland, Michigan area, then you should stop by the Alden B. Dow Museum of Science and Art before April 10, 2011. A part of the Midland Center of the Arts, the museum is showing an exhibit on Italian art that includes a gallery full of classic and modern MV Agusta motorcycles, along with photographs of Italian cars, and 17th century Italian sketches.

Showing the merger of form and function, MV Agusta motorcycles easily top our list as some of the finest-looking two-wheeled machines ever made. As much as we slog the Italian company for going to the well on its most recent creation, the 2012 MV Agusta F3, its predecessor the MV Agusta F4, whose lines were penned by the master Massimo Tamburini, has to be the most gorgeous modern motorcycle ever produced by mortal man.

A video of the exhibit is embedded after the jump, along with a gallery of the MV Agusta F3. If any A&R readers go to the exhibit, we’d love to post your photos of the MV’s on display.

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Three New Colors for the Aprilia Dorsoduro 750

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For 2011 Aprilia is gracing the Dorsoduro 750 with three new colors: white, black, and what’s passing as green these days. For now the colors seem to be only coming to the European market, but we wouldn’t be surprised if a couple of them ended up bound for the shores of North America (especially the white and black models, yum). The new colors for the Dorso 750 will join Aprilia’s larger displacement model, the newly debuted 2011 Aprilia Dorsoduro 1200 (which will also come in white and black color schemes). No news yet on the a 1,200cc version of the Aprilia Shiver, the Dorsoduro’s sister bike.

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BMW S1000RR Outsells the R1200GS in the US for 2010

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BMW Motorrad has just released its numbers for last year, and the Bavarian brand is showing some strong results in 2010, especially considering the double-digit slogging most other companies took. With sales up 12% globally, BMW sold 98,047 motorcycles in 2010 compared to the 87,306 units it sold in 2009 (that’s a 10,741 unit difference).

Of the motorcycles sold in last year, the R1200GS remained the globally best selling unit within the brand (accounting for 18,768 units worldwide), and was followed by the R1200GS Adventure (11,648 units), R1200RT (11,132 units), and the S1000RR (10,209 units).

Perhaps the most striking news though is the fact that the new S1000RR superbike dominated liter bike sales in the United States, and even outsold the R1200GS here domestically, making 2010 a very successful year for BMW not only on the balance sheet, but also as proof that the Germans can sell bikes that aren’t featured in Long Way Around.

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