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MotoGP: Jack Miller Has Plate Removed From Shoulder

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With testing now over, Jack Miller has joined the ranks of riders undergoing surgery in the off season. Flying back from Sepang to Barcelona, Miller had an operation to remove four loose screws from his right collarbone, the aftermath of an old injury sustained at Indianapolis in 2013.

That injury was fixed with a plate, but preseason crashes on the KTM Moto3 bike caused a number of complications for the Australian.

With testing completely, Miller now has time to have the remaining screws removed from his shoulder, and allow it to heal. Miller will be unable to train for five days while the scar heals, but will be able to resume his training program after that.

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News

KTM Plans New Smaller V-Twin Engines, Husqvarna Too

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A quick look at KTM’s recent additions to its model lineup sees significant attention being given to the company’s large and small-displacement machines, yet the middleweight bikes have remained seemingly untouched.

That seems set to change, according to an interview MCN had with KTM CEO Stefan Pierer.

Saying that KTM would develop new v-twin engines in the 600cc to 800cc range over the next three years, the Austrian company seems set to its entire lineup revamped within the next few years.

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Racing

FIM Women’s European Cup Added to the EJC

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Good news for females riders in the European Union, as we hear that the FIM Women’s European Cup has been folded into the European Junior Cup, which runs alongside the World Superbike Championship.

Running alongside the EJC as its own class, young female riders won’t have to decide between the two series, as they will score points in both. This relieves young ladies from having to choose between racing with just the girls, or the boys on an equal playing field…as now they will be doing both.

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Racing

Daytona 200 Lives on with ASRA Sanctioning

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Now that the Daytona Motorsports Group is no longer in control of AMA Pro Road Racing, intrigue has surrounded DMG’s home race, the Daytona 200. An event that usually kicks off the motorcycle racing season in March, the Daytona 200 has been an outlier with its early schedule, endurance format, and technical challenges.

The race always seemed forced upon the AMA schedule, and it required teams who wanted to be competitive to run different equipment and tires than what they were using for the rest of the season.

The limitations on tires ultimately meant that the Superbikes, the premier road racing class, could not compete in 200 mile race, leaving the event for the aptly named Daytona SportBike category, which was a mix of middleweight machines.

With The KRAVE Group now in charge of professional motorcycle road racing in the United States, with its MotoAmerica series, there is little desire to continue the oddity that is Daytona. That hasn’t stopped DMG though from putting on the historic event, which will have its 74th running of the Daytona 200 on March 14, 2015.

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News

Ducati Scrambler Begins Production in Italy

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Production of the Ducati Scrambler began today in Borgo Panigale, marking the rebirth of the model in Ducati’s lineup and the start of Bologna’s new “Scrambler Ducati” brand and line.

As we reported earlier this year, the Scramblers produced at Borgo Panigale will not be arriving in the North American markets, which will instead receive models made by Ducati’s Thailand factory (no word on when that production will begin, if it hasn’t already).

Production strategies aside, the Ducati Scrambler marks many changes for the Italian company, which has been abashed in its pursuit of younger, let’s say more hip, motorcyclists with the Ducati Scrambler line.

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Bikes

Suzuki V-Strom 1000 Desert Edition – So Much Khaki

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If you like the Suzuki V-Strom 1000, but have been holding back because they don’t make one in a desert beige, then today we have good news for you.

Released at the Motorcycle Live show in the UK, the 2015 Suzuki V-Strom 1000 Desert Edition is what you might imagine from the name: a khaki-colored ADV bike that looks equally sharp paired with a navy blue blazer or with one of The Desert Fox’s classic pincer movement maneuvers.

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