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October 2013

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BMW R nineT – 90 Years in the Making

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Officially official now, BMW Motorrad has taken the wraps off its new BMW R nineT cafe racer motorcycle. Helping the German brand celebrate 90 years of building motorcycles, the nineT is an air-cooled homage to BMW’s rich motorcycling past.

Based around the iconic 1,170cc air-cooled boxer engine that BMW has employed in a number of its best selling machines, the BMW R nineT is good for 108hp and 88 lbs•ft of torque.

With styling said to be based off the legandary BMW R32 from 1923, the nineT has more traditional cafe racer lines, mated to some of BMW’s best technology.

BMW hopes that the production model R nineT will be the basis for more custom builds though, citing the company’s collaboration with Roland Sands for the BMW Concept Ninety project as one such project to use the nineT’s roots for inspiration.

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Bikes

Leaked: Photos of BMW’s 90th Anniversary Café Racer

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It looks like BMW’s new air-cooled café racer has made an early, albeit brief, appearance on the internet. Photos of what we have been calling the BMW NineT appeared today on Italian news site La Repubblica, though the writers there called the machine the BMW R Nine. Unfortunately (for us) however, the article has since been taken down by the Italian publication.

With the NineT set to debut later today in Munich, these photos seem to be of the soon-to-be-released production model, and appear to be still shots for the machine’s upcoming press kit.

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MotoGP

Aspar Decides: Nicky Hayden to Ride a Honda in 2014

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The future of Nicky Hayden appears to have been decided. Jorge Martinez, boss of the Aspar team, has decided to drop Aprilia in favor of Honda, according to German language website Speedweek.com. Aspar is set to make an announcement later this week on its future, and that decision appears to be that the Spanish team will be running Honda’s production racer RCV1000R for next season.

The decision was made almost inevitable once it was announced that current Aprilia racing boss Gigi Dall’Igna would be leaving the Noale factory to join Ducati. Dall’Igna and Martinez had a strong working relationship dating back to the years in which Aspar ran 125 and 250cc team, and Aspar’s faith in Aprilia’s MotoGP program was based on the strength of that relationship.

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Bikes

First Photos of the Erik Buell Racing 1190RX

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The Erik Buell Racing 1190RX is one of the sport bikes that we have been anxious to see this year, as it is EBR’s encore model to the EBR 1190RS superbike. A more consumer-oriented machine, the EBR 1190RX is an important release for the small American brand, and it is debuting this week at the inaugural AIMExpo in Orlando, Florida.

Leaking ahead of the show, we can see that the EBR 1190RX doesn’t stray too far from the lines of the EBR 1190RS, though it does feature a pillion and a slightly modified exhaust can. Minus the race-ready suspension, wheels, bodywork, etc the 2014 Erik Buell Racing 1190RX looks ready to come off the track and head for the street. We will know in due time whether the headlight has been revised, as EBR teased a very aggressive front lamp only two months ago.

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Bikes

On-Board Video of the Ducati 899 Panigale at Imola

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Asphalt & Rubber may not have been in Bologna for the international press launch for the Ducati 899 Panigale “super-mid” sport bike, so unfortunately we can’t give you any first-hand experience with Ducati’s newest sport bike (newest for a little while longer, at least).

However, we are in luck because Ducati test rider Alessandro Valia was on-hand for the event, and did some hot laps for the camera. A super nice guy and a very talented rider, we met Valia earlier this year at the Ducati 1199 Panigale R press launch, where he helped us find the right lines around the very technical Circuit of the Americas.

Now, Valia takes us for a spin around one of Italy’s most iconic circuits, Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari — or as it is better know, Imola. No music, to fast-cuts, just a bike being ridden hard on a sunny afternoon. Enjoy!

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MotoGP

Sunday Summary at Sepang: Pedrosa’s Revenge, Lorenzo’s Valiant Defense, & History Made in Moto3

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Sunday at Sepang provided a fascinating mix for motorcycle racing fans. A blistering Moto3 race, an impressive, if shortened, Moto2 race, and some breathtaking action in MotoGP. History was made several times over, and best of all, the races took place in front of a sellout crowd. Over 80,000 fans packed the stands in Malaysia, proof, if any were needed, of the slow, eastward drift of motorcycle racing’s center of gravity.

In the MotoGP race, Dani Pedrosa did what he had set out to do two weeks earlier at Aragon, before he was so rudely ejected from his bike. Pedrosa had a look of grim determination on his face from the moment he rolled up at Sepang, and it barely left him all weekend. He had come to do a job, the pain in his hips merely spurring him on to get what he had been robbed of by an overeager teammate and an exposed sensor.

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Lifestyle

Stan Dibben, No Ordinary Passenger

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With all the negative attention that motorcycling has been receiving in the mainstream consciousness lately, we are looking at you Hollywood Stuntz, we thought it would be prudent to highlight some positive press our beloved sport has received recently. As such, here is a great video-short by the New York Times that features Stan Dibben, winner of the World Sidecar Championship in 1953.

Mr. Dibben personifies just about every sidecar driver and passenger we have ever met: brazen, fearless, and slightly daft. You would have to be a combination of those three elements to do the things sidecar racers do on the motorway, even more so to do it on 1950’s machinery. Take seven minutes from your day, and enjoy this well done production from the NY Times.

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Banter

Insane Video of a Bikejacking at Gunpoint in Brazil

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This might be the most intense video we have ever seen, which says a lot considering the recent events in NYC. Riding through traffic in São Paulo on his Honda CB600F Hornet, this Brazilian motorcyclist gets a surprise as he merger into a new lane, as pair of hijackers pull-up next to him on another bike, grab for his handlebars, and demand to have his motorcycle at gunpoint.

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Bikes

Moar Photos of the 2014 Honda CRF450 Rally

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HRC is getting serious about this whole rally thing. After testing the waters last season, Big Red is ramping up a serious bid for the 2014 Dakar Rally. Already announcing its 2014 team of Helder Rodrigues, Sam Sunderland, Javier Pizzolito, Paulo Goncalves, and Joan Barreda, HRC debuted its new machine, the 2014 Honda CRF450 Rally, to the press.

Judging from the response the bike got in our comments section, we are betting a few marriages might be on the rocks because of this beauty, but that isn’t stopping us from posting some more photos of the Honda CRF450 Rally, and this time the come courtesy of Metzler tires.

Debuting the German tire company’s new unobtainium KAROO Extreme prototype tires, Honda and its riders are hoping Metzler will help make the difference in the Dakar, and will help HRC give KTM and Yamaha a race for their money, come January 5th in Argentina.

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Bikes

Photo: This is the Ducati 1199 Superleggera

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Yesterday we brought you the first detail photos of the Ducati 1199 Superleggera, Bologna’s ultra-exclusive superbike, and before that we showed you the magnesium, titanium, and carbon fiber parts that would comprise the Superleggera, and help the machine drop a rumored 40 lbs from its already anorexic body.

Now, we have the first clear photo of the 2014 Ducati 1199 Superleggera, taken apparently at Ducati’s dealer meeting in New Orleans. Only 500 of these beasts will be built worldwide, and first dibs are going to Borgo Panigale’s best customers. Cost is said to be in the $65,000 range for US buyers, €60,000 for Europeans.

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