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BMW Sorta Announces Air-Cooled 90th Anniversary Model

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We are barely two hours into the official start of the 2012 EICMA show, and I am already filling out the report card for BMW Motorrad: Fail. After debuting a number of machines at the INTERMOT show in Germany, zie Germans have apparently saved nothing for the show in Milan. No naked S1000RR, no Lo-Rider production models, not even an updated R1200RT with the company’s new semi-liquid-cooled boxer engine design.

In fact, the only real news to come from the BMW Group was the announcement of an upcoming announcement (no, seriously). Stating that at a latter date, the company would release details on an air-cooled model that would commemorate the 90th Anniversary of BMW Motorrad. Pure speculation, but we would expect something along the lines of an updated café racer / standard. Press release after the jump.

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Racing

MotoGP: First Shots of Rossi Back on the Yamaha YZR-M1

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Here’s one for the Rossi fans, the first photo of Valentino Rossi on-board the 1,000cc Yamaha YZR-M1 at the Valencia test (snagged by Monster Yamaha Tech 3 mechanic Steve Blackburn).

Apparently, the weather is being less than co-operative in Spain, with sprinkles of rain being reported, but that didn’t stop The Doctor from getting on-board “his” bike.

After the jump, there are 17 photos of Rossi’s maiden voyage back on the Yamaha YZR-M1 — all courtesy of photographer extraordinaire, Scott Jones.

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Bikes

2013 Bimota DB12 – The Most Expensive Multistrada Ever?

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While we wait to here the specs on the upcoming Bimota BB2, the boutique Italian firm’s rekindled collaboration with the German motorcycle manufacturer, Bimota continues to work with Ducati lumps, both of the air and liquid-cooled variety. One of the more intriguing concepts put forth at EICMA, the 2013 Bimota DB12 is an expression of an uber-exotic Ducati Multistrada 1200.

Unlike the supercharged Bimota DB11 VLX, the Bimota DB12 will remain naturally aspirated in its 160hp state, but like how the Multistrada 1200 was part of the Bologna Brand’s movement away from being solely a sport bike company, the DB12 represents the same movement for Bimota. Already showing a dirt bike at last year’s EICMA show, the 2013 Bimota DB12 is clearly the Italian brand taking a step back, and testing the waters with this design direction.

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Bikes

2013 Bimota DB11 VLX – Supercharged Italian Hotness

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Bimota is known for making some exquisite machines by taking production motors from other OEMs, and wrapping those engines in frames of Italian company’s own design. Art on two wheels, Bimota rarely strays from this formula, though when it does, something interesting usually happens. One such example is the 2013 Bimota DB11 VLX , which looks strikingly similar to the Bimota DB9 Brivido we saw at EICMA last year.

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Bikes

Hi-Res: 20 Photos of the 2013 Ducati Hypermotard

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Our favorite bike of the EICMA show so far? The 2013 Ducati Hypermotard SP, no doubt. Featuring a new 821cc Testastretta 11° DS motor, the 2013 Ducati Hypermotard and its tour-ready compatriot, the 2013 Ducati Hyperstrada bring Ducati’s maxi-motard line into the dark side of liquid-cooling.

Featuring slightly over-square cylinder dimensions, the new Ducati Hypermotard sounds like just what the doctor ordered for San Francisco’s pot-holed streets. Don’t get us started about the white color scheme on the Hypermotard SP, which is drop dead sexy. Consult a doctor before clicking past the jump.

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Bikes

Roland Sands “Hypermodifies” the 2012 Yamaha Tmax 530

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What happens when you give Southern Californian bike builder Roland Sands few instructions beyond “build something cool”? and a 2012 Yamaha Tmax 530? You get one of the most pimped out Tmax scooters ever seen…and that is saying a lot. A popular choice with bike tuners and builders in both Europe and Japan, the Yamaha Tmax 530 hasn’t caught on here in the “scooters are for girls” United States of America.

Based around a 46hp 530cc parallel-twin motor, the Tmax 530 has some pep underneath its feet-forward design. Disguised as docile scooter, the Yamaha Tmax is no stranger to shedding its clothes for some performance persusasion, and Roland Sands has tapped into that vein of the Tmax here with his build, which will debut at EICMA tomorrow.

A “hypermodified” 2012 Yamaha Tmax 530, Sands has his usual touches in the machine, which is both a tasteful and raw representation of the looming scooter apocalypse. If Mad Max rode a scooter, this might be it. We love the tan leather seat with its subtle beige stitching, and of course the “braaaaaap” of the baffle-less exhaust. More photos after the jump.

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Valencia MotoGP Test Preview: Valentino Rossi, Marc Marquez, Ducati, & The Future

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The sense of expectation in the air at Valencia is wound so tight it hums. Tomorrow morning, some time after 10am, some of that expectation will start to dissipate as we get the first glimpses of answers that have preoccupied MotoGP fans for the past few months.

Two things we hope to see: a glimpse of the past and a glimpse of the future. After two long, hard years, the army of Valentino Rossi fans will be hoping to see something they haven’t since 2010, or maybe even 2009: a flowing, comfortable, aggressive Valentino Rossi at one with the machine underneath.

That was something he never showed while riding the Ducati, the figure in the Rossi replica helmet sitting on the Ducati always looking more like a club racer had sneaked into the back of the Ducati garage to take the bike out for a spin, terrifying himself in the process. Rossi looked stiff, awkward, uncomfortable, his back arched like a cat negotiating a dog-infested yard.

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Leaked: 2013 KTM 390 Duke – 373cc, 43hp, EFI, A2 Ready

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The Dutch folk at Nieuwsmotor have snuck their way onto the EICMA showroom floor, snapped photos of the KTM 390 Duke kiosk, and posted the images to their blog — giving us the first proper viewing of the Austrian brand’s 373cc street-thumper. Like the 2013 Honda CBR500R, the  2013 KTM 390 Duke is setup for the A2 licensing tier in Europe, and accordingly makes 43hp @ 9.500 rpm and 26 lbs•ft of torque @ 7,250 rpm.

Complete with ABS and built in India by minority shareholder Bajaj, the 2013 KTM 390 Duke is slotted to enter the US market next year, and should be aggressively priced against the competition. For already-motorcyclists and would-be motorcyclists in the market for a cheap, but potent, small-displacement machine, next year is going to be a very good year.

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More Photos of the 2013 Honda CBR600RR

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Judging by the temperature emanating from the Asphalt & Rubber server hard drives, the 2013 Honda CBR600RR caused quite a stir today when it broke cover ahead of the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan, Italy. Unfortunately at the time of our coverage, we only had a few side-profile photos to share with you, which really didn’t do any justice to the bike’s visual redesign efforts.

That is about to change though, as we have a few more shots, which most importantly give a good look at the Honda CBR600RR’s new mug. A more aerodynamic bodywork package (the new fairings have a 6% air-flow factor), Honda’s new RAM-air intake on the CBR600RR also helps put a little more pep in the supersport’s step. Check it out after the jump.

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