March 2011 - Page 9 of 11 - Asphalt & Rubber

News

Video: Motus MST Rides Daytona

By Jensen Beeler 03/10/2011 11 Comments

Motus is showing off its Motus MST Prototype at Bike Week right now, and accordingly have posted a video to YouTube of the 1,650cc V4 sport-tourer riding around Daytona. While quick on the video edits, the clip shows the MST cruising around the beach-laden area with relatively little pageantry, which makes for not exactly the best eye candy. Fans however of the American motorcycle company will enjoy the extra lengths Motus has gone through in order to dub-in the audio of the Motus MST’s Corvette inspired pushrod motor. Check it out after the jump.

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News

Paolo Timoni Out at Piaggio Group Americas

By Jensen Beeler 03/10/2011 3 Comments

It’s been bad year so far for motorcycle industry CEO’s in the United States, as we hear the Piaggio Group is having a shake-up of their own. After six years with the Italian company, Paolo Timoni is stepping down from his position as President & CEO of the Piaggio Groups Americas office, and will be replaced by Miguel Martinez. Martinez is the former General Manager of Piaggio Spain, and will report directly to Stefano Sterpone, Executive Vice President EMEA & Americas 2-Wheeler Sales & Marketing.

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Racing

2011 Rizla Suzuki GSV-R MotoGP Race Bike Unveiled

By Jensen Beeler 03/10/2011 9 Comments

Finally we have all the factory MotoGP bikes officially unveiled in their race liveries (click for the Ducati, Honda, and Yamaha unveilings). Surprising everyone this year with a teal color scheme, Rizla Suzuki is still present in MotoGP, albeit only running one rider for the 2011 season. Taking to the helm of the 2011 Suzuki GSV-R is Alvaro Bautista, who has shown great promise on the otherwise lackluster race bike.

Despite its troubled past, Suzuki has been working hard on turning its toad into a prince, and could be the surprise entry in this year’s MotoGP Championship. We don’t expect the bike to win any races, but a couple surprise podiums do seem attainable for the squad. Photos and technical specifications after the jump.

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News

BMW Motorrad Posts 22.5% Sales Increase for February

By Jensen Beeler 03/09/2011 2 Comments

BWM Motorrad continues to post impressive sales growth numbers for its product line, and is making a strong showing for 2011 already. With sales up 22.5% last month compared to the same time period in 2010, BMW sold over 6,700 motorcycles in February. BMW-owned Husqvarna posted even stronger numbers than its parent company, with sales up 47% for the same time period, and selling just over 900 motorcycles last month.

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News

Gas Prices by County in the United States

By Jensen Beeler 03/09/2011 11 Comments

In case you haven’t been to a pump recently, gas prices are getting more and more expensive lately, thanks mostly in part to the civil unrest in the Middle East (Libya in particular). While the current sticker shock on gas prices is due to temporary issues, the United States is still bracing itself for $5.00/gallon gasoline this summer, which our friends abroad would love to see in their home countries as they pay nearly double that price for only a litre of fuel. Curious to see how gas prices breakdown by state and by county? Check out this cool widget that Brammo is hosting on its website.

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Racing

How Much Does it Cost to Host a MotoGP Race?

By Jensen Beeler 03/09/2011 2 Comments

Dorna keeps pretty tight controls on what information gets out about its business; but when dealing with public entities, some of those figures are bound to come forth. Such is the case with Motorland Aragon, the Spanish track that recently locked in MotoGP through the 2016 season. The cost of hosting MotoGP for the next six years? €41 million. That figure breaks down into €6 million for the 2011 round, €7 million for the 2012 season and subsequent years as well.

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Racing

Ducati Headed to 2011 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

By Jensen Beeler 03/09/2011 3 Comments

Along with the news of the the 2012 Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Pikes Peak Special Edition (try saying that three times fast!), Ducati North America has announced that it will again compete in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Being held this year on June 27th, Greg Tracy and Alexander Smith will again be riding for the Spider Grips Ducati race team as it looks to be the fastest two-wheeler up the mountain.

While you likely already knew all this information if you read our piece on the Pikes Peak Multistrada 1200, what this news really means for motorcycle enthusiasts is more great photos and videos from the SoCal crew. To help us get pumped up for the 2011 PPIHC, the Spider Grips Ducati guys and gals have already put together a promo video that recaps the 2010 season. Enjoy it after the jump.

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News

New Jersey Motorsports Park Files for Bankruptcy

By Jensen Beeler 03/08/2011 12 Comments

There aren’t a lot of arguments for keeping New Jersey as a state in our more perfect union, and perhaps the only compelling reason for some citizens is to keep the Garden State around so New Yorkers will have somewhere to dump their trash and third-tier reality shows. However one of the shining beacons of hope if you’ve gotten lost on the Pennsylvania Turnpike (and I mean horribly, horribly, horribly lost) is the New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP).

The Millville tracks are relatively new-comers to the area, and have provided entertainment to two & four-wheeled enthusiasts alike since their construction. While NJMP has been “under construction” in some form or another for as long as we can remember, the project has seemingly finally hit the end of its troubled waters, recently filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

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Bikes

Motus MST – Here Comes America’s Sport-Tourer

By Jensen Beeler 03/08/2011 39 Comments

After much waiting, Motus Motorcycles finally launched its MST sport-tourer to the public today. Unveiled at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Motus’s hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, the American motorcycle manufacturer will head to Florida for the Progressive International Motorcycle Show on Thursday, March 10th for a more public showing.

Developed in conjunction with Pratt & Miller Engineering, the Motus MST features the KMV4 motor, a 1,645cc V4 push-rod style engine that include gasoline direct-injection technology (GDI). Power for the Motus MST prototype is said to be 161hp @ 7,800 rpm; 122 lbs•ft of torque @ 4,500 rpm, while the bike tips the scales around around 500 lbs dry. Motus will be riding the MST around the United States to show off their work, meet with supporters, and look for dealers interested in carrying the line.

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Officially Official: Neal Saiki out at Zero Motorcycles

By Jensen Beeler 03/08/2011 2 Comments

You can file this one under “news we broke a month ago,” but Zero Motorcycles has finally officially announced the departure of company founder Neal Saiki, despite sending an email to its employees last week that Saiki had not been sacked from his position.

According to Zero Motorcycles, Saiki is leaving his position to enter into the Igor I. Sikorski Human Powered Helicopter Competition, which Saiki first competed in while attending Cal Poly as aeronautical engineering student in 1989. However, our sources have told us Saiki’s departure was prompted by a fundamental shift in the company, precipitated by the Zero’s financial backers.

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Bikes

Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Pikes Peak Special Edition

By Jensen Beeler 03/08/2011 5 Comments

UPDATE: According to Ducati North America the United States will not get the carbon fiber Termignoni exhaust can, and instead will feature a numbered badge on the engine crankcase cover. Pricing is $21,995, available June 2011.

Helping celebrate Ducati’s heavyweight class win (and 2nd place overall) at Pikes Peak last year, the Italian company has released the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Pikes Peak Special Edition today. We’ve been saying that Ducati needs to build a Pikes Peak Special Edition of the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S since…well, since we first laid eyes on the beautiful machine a year ago. Launching the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Pikes Peak today though, we’ll have to find something else to pester the Italian company about, but that’s fine by us.

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