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Ariel Ace – A Very Expensive Honda from England

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The wait is over to see the return to two-wheels by British marque Ariel, as the firm has debuted its very exclusive Ariel Ace motorcycle. Built around a clever modular design, something we have talked about at length here, the Ace is really more than just one motorcycle, and Ariel plans on making each bike bespoke to its customer’s wishes.

At the center of every machine is the 1,237cc V4 engine from the Honda VFR1200F, which is good for 170hp, with 95 lbs•ft of peak torque. Because the VFR’s engine is being utilized by Ariel, the British brand offers a dual-clutch transmission as one of the Ace’s many available options.

Would-be owners will have to decide a number of other options as well, most importantly what kind front-end suspension they wish to run. Ariel offers a traditional upside down Öhlins fork setup, but to be truly unique on the road, the Ariel Ace has an available custom girder suspension setup with an Öhlins TTX at its core. Rear suspension is supplied by Öhlins as well.

Holding everything together is a beautiful aluminum trellis frame, comprised of six sections that are machined to life from billet. Anodized to fit a customer’s tastes, the modular chassis design also has mounting points for a variety of options and accessories, such as different bodywork, fenders, fuel tanks, handlebars, rearsets, seats, and wheels.

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Racing

Tuesday at Pikes Peak with Jamey Price

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The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is a grueling event to cover, and nothing is worse than walking off a plane, from more or less sea level, and heading to the highest part of the mountain for Practice 1.

Pikes Peak is unique. The organizers split the mountain into three sections — cars run two-thirds of the course , while bikes, ATVs and sidecars run the other third.

The bikes started at Devil’s Playground for our first practice, which puts us immediately at high altitude. It tests the bikes and our bodies to the limit. But thankfully, first practice is just about getting the bikes dialed in, and less about making fast times.

To finish first, first you have to finish. Reliability on this mountain will put cracks in even the most well laid out plans. Some riders were already pushing hard, and it was evident. Others were just getting the lay of the land.

Tomorrow we run the middle sector of the mountain. As a photographer, it is my personal favorite spot to shoot. But I’m not looking forward to another 2:15am alarm.

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Rumors

Kawasaki Working on a 250cc Four-Cylinder?

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According to the Indonesian publication TMC Blog, Kawasaki is working on a performance-oriented 250cc four-cylinder…and they have the supposed photos to prove it. The news should be well-received by those who remember the high-revving small-displacement Japanese machines of just a few decades ago.

Southeast Asian markets, like Indonesia’s, are driven by graduated taxes on motorcycle displacement. For the Indonesian market, machines 250cc to 500cc in displacement receive a 60% tax rate, while machine over 500cc are taxed at 75%. Unsurprisingly then, bikes under 250cc are accounting for the lion’s share of motorcycle sales.

Working against that taxation plan is the growing middle class in these regions, with consumers able to purchase more expensive motorbikes, and looking for more performance in the process. This trend is what helped bring the Yamaha R25 to market (and production) in Indonesia, along with the slew of other ~250cc machines we’ve seen from Honda, Kawasaki, and KTM.

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Bikes

2015 Ducati Monster 821 Mega Gallery

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Ducati is hosting its press launch of the 2015 Ducati Monster 821 in Bologna right now, which means that the Italian motorcycle company also just released a ton of high-resoltuion photos of its new water-cooled baby Monster on the interwebs.

Visually very similar to the Monster 1200, the Monster 821 distinguishes itself with lower-spec components, and more noticeably with a double-sided swingarm.

Featuring the same 821cc Testastretta 11° engine (112hp and 65.9 lbs•ft) that is found on the Ducati Hypermotard and Ducati Hyperstrada, the Monster 821 tips the scales at 395.7 lbs (dry) – just 5 lbs less than its 1,200cc counterpart. Other features include traction control, ABS brakes, and a ride-by-wire throttle.

Expect to see the 2015 Ducati Monster 821 in  a Ducati dealership near you next month. Pricing is set at $11,495 for the in red and white models, while the “Dark” is priced at $10,995.

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MotoGP

Dorna Eyeing a North American Championship?

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The discourse in AMA paddock is palpable. From 2013’s surprise revelation that AMA Pro Road Racing’s TV package would not cover all the events, to 2014’s complete lack of television coverage, there have been serious questions raised about DMG’s ability to market the premier road racing series in the United States.

A constantly dwindling calendar of events has caused many to wonder about DMG’s ability to organize race weekends, as this year’s provisional five-event calendar was marked with the absence of any races west of The Rockies (the motorcycle industry’s sweet spot), a move that would cause John Ulrich of Roadracing World to start his own three-event “Superbike Shootout” series (Laguna Seca would later be added to the AMA calendar as a sixth event).

This year was also marked by an exodus of top-level teams (Michael Jordan Motorsports and Erik Buell Racing), as well as marquee sponsors (The Army National Guard and GEICO).

Just recently torrential rain, a field of Superbikes on slicks, and not a red flag in sight caused a dust-up just a few weeks ago at Road America, resulting in a modest investment in publication ink regarding the officiating at AMA Pro Road Racing events, especially in regards to rider safety.

American road racing has long been in decline, but never before has the frustration with the series been so evident across the series’ stakeholders of riders, teams, sponsors, fans, and journalists. The malcontent is evident whenever the subject is broached.

No one can say for certain what form American road racing will take for the 2015 season, but things do not seem to be taking a positive direction with DMG’s ownership of AMA Pro Racing.

American road racing is in serious danger of fracturing if the Superbike Shootout continues, and it could legitimately collapse altogether if DMG continues operating the way it has to date. As if that wasn’t enough, a third option is waiting in the wings: Dorna.

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Bikes

BMW Motorrad USA Offering Money, Loaners, and Buyback Options to R1200RT Owners for Suspension Woes

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A reports by BMW Motorcycle Magazine has described what BMW Motorrad USA is offering owners who were affected by the “Do Not Ride” order regarding the BMW R1200RT.

For those that don’t remember BMW Motorrad issued a worldwide statement regarding the 2014 BMW R1200RT, saying that models of the touring bike that were equipped with the Dynamic ESA suspension should not be ridden, as a BMW supplier alerted the German brand that the rear suspension had a defect, which could cause catastrophic failure.

BMW Motorrad hasn’t intimated when a solution could be coming for the affected R1200RT owners, though rumors are a date in August or September. To compensate American riders for this downtime, BMW Motorrad USA has put together three options for RT owners.

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WSBK

MV Agusta and Yakhnich Motorsport Part Ways in WSBK

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The big news out of the World Superbike paddock this weekend is that MV Agusta and Yakhnich Motorsport have parted ways. Depending on whose side of the story you want to believe, either MV Agusta has decided to bring its racing in-house mid-season, or Alexander Yakhnich became tired of the slow development from MV Agusta’s racing platforms, especially the MV Agusta F4RR.

Regardless of that, MV Agusta and Yakhnich Motorsport have signed an agreement that sees MV Agusta taking over the Italian brand’s racing efforts in WSS and WSBK. The move is effective immediately, meaning Sunday’s races at Misano will show the first fruits of MV Agusta’s involvement.

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Opinion/Editorial

The One Overlooked Detail on the Harley-Davidson Livewire

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At the time this article will be posted, it will make the sixth article relating to Harley-Davdison’s Project Livewire that is on the Asphalt & Rubber homepage. The Motor Company’s first foray into electric motorcycles made its way into not only every motorcycle publication around the world, but it also hit mainstream media like wildfire.

A topic more heavily saturated at this point than Kentucky Fried Chicken, and yet everyone of the publications carrying the story, including A&R, overlooked one critical thing about Project Livewire’s launch. The attached graphic is the five-day stock price of Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG), and that large spike is the Livewire’s unveiling time.

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Dirt

Red Bull Straight Rhythm SX Event Is a Go

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Late last year we told you about a new supercross concept that Red Bull playing around with, called Red Bull Straight Rhythm. Basically the real world realization of the video game Excite Bike, Red Bull’s Straight Rhythm features what can only be described as an SX course, minus the turns.

A half-mile of jumps and whoops, Straight Rhythm tests a rider’s ability to manage the rhythm sections of an off-road course. The initial videos of the concept seemed intriguing, and now Red Bull has pulled the trigger on hosting a live event.

As such, the first Red Bull Straight Rhythm competition is scheduled for October 4th, 2014 at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California. Racing a best of three head-to-head races against their competitors, racers will advance via a bracket format.

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MotoGP

Q&A: Paolo Ciabatti – On Crutchlow, Lorenzo, & Michelin

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The situation at Ducati was the talk of the paddock in Barcelona. With Andrea Dovizioso, Andrea Iannone, and Cal Crutchlow being linked to Suzuki. With Crutchlow having a contract for 2015, Ducati is keen to retain the services of both Dovizioso and Iannone.

Iannone is openly pushing for a seat in the factory Ducati team, and so the Bologna factory faces a series of complex contract negotiations. To check on the state of play with Ducati, we cornered Ducati Corse’s MotoGP Project Director Paolo Ciabatti.

What was meant to be just a brief chat turned into a much longer conversation, on a range of subjects. Ciabatti gave his view of the situation with Cal Crutchlow, as well as his hopes of retaining both Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone.

He discussed the rumors concerning an approach to Jorge Lorenzo, and reflected on having had Valentino Rossi in the Ducati team. He gave us an update on Ducati’s plans to provide more Open bikes for 2015. And finally, he turned his attention to the return of Michelin, and Ducati’s hopes for the new tire manufacturer.

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