Latest Posts:
Asphalt & Rubber
Archive

August 2014

Browsing
Columns

Living the Dream – A Photographer’s Story: Sachsenring

By 2 Comments

The worst part of any MotoGP weekend is without doubt the traveling. Sitting around airports is monotonous, especially when traveling alone. No matter how meticulously you prepare, something will almost certainly come along and throw a spanner in the works.

When travelling to Amsterdam for the Assen race weekend it was the French air traffic control strike. Prior to that I had been fog bound in the Isle of Man on my way to Jerez. This time it was staff sickness which left me sitting around Gatwick airport for an extra three hours while the airline tried to sort it out.

I didn’t arrive at my hotel at Berlin airport until gone midnight. My plans for a relaxing that evening, watching the world cup with a couple of German beers, were ruined. Receiving an upgrade on my hire car did make up for the delay, and made the unrestricted German Autobahns fun.

Keep Reading
By
News

BMW Q2 2014 Sales Up 5.1% – Another Record Quarter

By 2 Comments

BMW Motorrad’s second-quarter sales results are in, and the German brand has not only another record quarter to report, but also an all-time six-month top-sales record as well.

Selling 42,259 units in Q2 2014, BMW Motorrad sales are up 5.1%, with revenue up 11.2% to €528 million (€55 million EBIT). This sales volume represents an all-time second-quarter high for BMW motorcycles sales.

The news also makes the first half of 2014 the best six-month period, in the 90 years of BMW Motorrad’s history, of BMW motorcycle sales, with revenue up 9.8% to €1 billion, and unit sales up 9.3% to 70,978 units.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

Trackside Tuesday: The Ulster

By 10 Comments

Ask someone to name a motorcycle race held on public roads, chances are they will say the Isle of Man TT. The TT is not the only road race, far from it. In fact in a little over a week, practice for the Ulster Grand Prix begins, one of the most popular races on the road racing calendar.

For those of you not familiar with the event, it is held on the 7.732 mile Dundrod circuit near Belfast in Northern Ireland. The Ulster, as it’s referred to by road racing fans, was part of the inaugural Grand Prix motorcycle racing season in 1949, a place it held until 1971.

Unlike the TT’s time trial format, it’s a mass-start race and in recent years has been given the tag “The Fastest Road Race in the World”. The lap record currently stands to Bruce Anstey at an average speed of 133.977mph. Road racing legend Joey Dunlop holds the record for most wins with 24.

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

A Day-By-Day Guide to the Events at the Indianapolis GP

By 3 Comments

With MotoGP about to get back on track after the short summer break, bike fans will start to gather at Indianapolis. Although the action revolves around the three Grand Prix classes on track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, there is plenty more to be doing in and around the track and downtown Indianapolis.

The highlights on Friday are the Riders for Health auction, where memorabilia and work by some of the top MotoGP photographers go on sale, to support MotoGP’s adopted charity, and the Indy Mile, at the State Fairground.

Saturday’s highlights include the Cycle World Q&A session, where you get to put your questions to the US magazine’s staff writers, including motorcycle genius Kevin Cameron, and a farewell Q&A session with Colin Edwards at his final home Grand Prix. The weekend naturally culminates with the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix on Sunday.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Yet Another Ducati Scrambler Photo (Not Claymation)

By 27 Comments

Photos of the upcoming Ducati Scrambler seem to be a dime a dozen these days, especially after the still unreleased model was snapped by an attendee at the World Ducati Week 2014 gathering.

We have also seen the Scrambler testing at Ducati’s Borgo Panigale factory, in various states of build. And now today we get perhaps our best glimpse yet…and no, we’re not talking about the claymation video from Ducati’s marketing, which has been making the rounds this week already (an eyeroll for even having to say that).

Caught again at Borgo Panigale, this picture seems to be a ready-for-production version of the Ducati Scrambler, which we can expect to officially debut in a few months’ time.

It’s perhaps not worth rehashing everything we’ve said and speculated about this new model from Ducati, so we’ll leave you with this simple question: do you like?

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Ride Review: TerraCorsa – A 195hp “Dirt Bike”

By 27 Comments

I have made a number of bad decisions in my life, some of which have come hand-in-hand with my duties here at Asphalt & Rubber. Hindsight is always 20/20, and I can certainly think of a couple machines that I have naively swung a leg over with enthusiasm. Unsurprisingly, the word “prototype”, used in only the loosest of definitions, has been involved in these endeavors.

With rare occasion though, I have been able to see trouble coming ahead of time, and have either had the prudence to step out of its way, or the foolishness to forge ahead with a “what could go wrong” attitude. I would add MotoCorsa’s TerraCorsa project to that latter category.

A proper 195hp superbike, designed by Italians to win road races, the Ducati 1199 Panigale is an alphabet soup of features designed to make a rider go as fast as possible on asphalt.

So when MotoCorsa’s Arun Sharma gave me an opportunity to ride his “track bike” Panigale S, which he painted in Desert Storm beige and shod with Continental TKC 80 tires, well…I of course uttered “what could go wrong?” and graciously accepted.

On its face, the whole idea of taking a superbike off-roading is preposterous. No doubt, you are already making a list of all the things wrong with this idea, while pouring a cold glass of Hatorade in the process. And you’d be right in doing so.

The suspension travel is too short, the Panigale’s 1,199cc Superquadro v-twin engine has too much power, the riding position is all wrong, and let’s just skip over mentioning that the machine is a rolling bone fide crime against motorcycling. Ducatisti, pour out an espresso for this fallen Bolognese, but be forewarned that Arun and the TerraCorsa feed off the hate that this concept brings.

Before you sharpen your pitchforks and storm the castle gates at Borgo Panigale though, let me explain briefly how putting knobby tires on a purebred superbike isn’t as bad of an idea as you think. If anything, the gods must be crazy, because it is surprising how well the whole thing works. These crazy Oregonians are onto something…

Keep Reading
By
News

BMW R1200RT Suspension Fiasco to Conclude This Month

By 9 Comments

It was only a few months ago, June 6th to be precise, that BMW Motorrad advised owners of the new liquid-cooled BMW R1200RT, who had the optional Dynamic ESA suspension package equipped, to stop riding their motorcycles until a solution to a collapsing rear shock defect could be found.

Ultimately, BMW and its parts supplier decided to replace the rear shock entirely, recalling all the 8,000 units worldwide (950 of which are in the United States) — they made that announcement just a month ago, though have been giving R1200RT owners a varying number of other options as well.

For those R1200RT that elected not to have BMW Motorrad buyback their machines, riding should commence sometime this month. BMW Motorcycle Magazine is reporting that BMW Motorcycle dealers should have replacement shock absorbers in two weeks’ time, and thus be able to begin fixing affected machines.

Keep Reading
By
Recall

Harley-Davidson Dyna Low Rider Recalled for Resonance

By 9 Comments

The following is perhaps one of the more interesting recalls to come across our desk, and it affects the 2014 Harley-Davidson Dyna Low Rider. It seems that if owners install “certain optional performance electronic control module calibrations” the bike’s ignition switch can go from “IGN” to “ACC”, thus causing the motorcycle to shutoff mid-operation.

The reason for this though is because the aftermarket ECU upgrade allows the 2014 Harley-Davidson Dyna Low Rider to rev its motor beyond the stock 5,600 rpm redline, where at 5,800 rpm a resonate frequency with the ignition switch occurs. Held at this frequency, the key can turn to the accessories position — a dangerous, if not fascinating, show of physics.

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

MotoGP Silly Season, Post-Crutchlow – Who Is Going Where

By 16 Comments

With the announcement that Cal Crutchlow is to move to the LCR Honda team for 2015, making space for Andrea Iannone to move up to the Factory Ducati team, the beginnings of a MotoGP grid are starting to emerge for 2015.

Both Repsol Honda seats are confirmed, as are both Factory Ducati riders and Valentino Rossi at Movistar Yamaha, with Jorge Lorenzo expected to announce a deal with Yamaha very soon. In the satellite teams, only Pol Espargaro is confirmed at Monster Tech 3 Yamaha, as is Crutchlow at CWM-LCR Honda.

With those names in place, we can start to draw up a list of who will be where, and who could be where for 2015. We have broken that list into three separate tables, based on the certainty of their deals: riders with confirmed contracts; riders and teams with deals that are expected to be confirmed very soon; and deals which are likely to happen, but are still not certain.

Keep Reading
By
News

EBR 1190RX & SX Get CARB Certified, California Bound

By 2 Comments

Good news for California riders who want Erik Buell Racing’s latest motorcycles, as the EBR 1190RX and EBR 1190SX have been certified by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

A necessary step to selling in the Golden State, the news means that Erik Buell Racing can begin shipping RX and SX models to its California dealers, who in turn can now begin selling the bikes to the eager Californian biking public.

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

Officially Official: Crutchlow Leaves Ducati for LCR Honda

By 43 Comments

It looks like Ducati will get their all-Italian line-up after all. Announced today, Cal Crutchlow will be leaving Ducati to join LCR Honda for the 2015 season.

Officially, Crutchlow had until 31st July to exercise his option to leave Ducati, but it appears that Ducati management agreed to an extension, while negotiations continued with Honda. An agreement was reached late last night, with one of the main points of contention being the payoff Crutchlow would receive from Ducati for leaving.

A week ago, Crutchlow announced that he would be staying with the Italian factory at the World Ducati Week event. Since then, however, the situation changed, with Crutchlow’s manager Bob Moore reaching agreement with Ducati management to explore further options. That led directly to the release of Crutchlow to join LCR.

Keep Reading
By