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The Bullshit Argument That It’s Time to Say Goodbye to the Honda CBR600RR and Other Supersport Machines

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British magazines MCN dropped a bombshell on the motorcycle world today, reporting that Honda was set to discontinue the Honda CBR600RR, with no supersport replacement in sight.

According to their reports, the main impetus for the Honda CBR600RR being discontinued is the Euro 4 emission standards, which the Honda CBR600RR does not meet.

Honda feels too that the demand for a 600cc sport bike is too low to warrant updating the CBR600RR to meet Euro 4 regulations, let alone building an all-new machine for the market that would be Euro 4 compliant.

Of course, Euro 4 emissions only apply to bikes sold in the European Union; but there too, MCN says that Honda seems to feel that the world demand for the Honda CBR600RR is too lacking to continue with the machine.

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MotoGP

MotoGP Silly Season Update: 2017 Grid Nearly Complete

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MotoGP Silly Season is nearly at an end. With the confirmation that both Jack Miller and Cal Crutchlow will be staying in their seats for 2017, the list of possibly vacant grid slots grew much shorter.

Those that remain empty are growing ever closer to being filled, leaving only three seats open, and one seat still completely free. So, it is time to take a look at the current state of play.

With the announcement that Aleix Espargaro would be joining Aprilia for two years, the last of the factory seats was filled. The factory rides filled up quickly in 2016, starting with Valentino Rossi and Bradley Smith at Qatar, and culminating eight races later at Assen with the signing of Espargaro.

The timing of the Aleix Espargaro/Aprilia announcement was peculiar to say the least. Making a major announcement that a rider had been signed to a factory rider – a signing everyone already knew about – on the Sunday night after one of the most remarkable MotoGP races in recent memory was guaranteed to achieve the absolute minimum of media coverage.

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Bikes

KTM Is Working on an 800cc Parallel-Twin ADV Bike

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“If your quarry goes to ground, leave no ground to go to” seems to be KTM’s marching orders right now, as the Austrian brand is pushing into seemingly every segment and market with its motorcycle lineup.

KTM already has a robust off-road lineup, which they have used to launch themselves into the ADV category with great success. As such, the KTM 1190 Adventure series already sees strong sales success with adventure-touring riders, but KTM isn’t resting on those laurels.

Set to debut a 800cc parallel-twin platform later this year, KTM CEO Stefan Pierer has revealed, while talking to MCN, that his company will soon have a rival for the Honda Africa Twin.

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Bikes

The 2017 Can-Am Spyder F3-S Becomes Almost Fun

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Can-Am is finally letting riders get the rear-wheel loose, as the 2017 Can-Am Spyder F3-S gets a “sport mode” for the next model year, which allows riders to drift the three-wheeler around turns.

This is a feature that we saw Can-Am tease on its turbocharged Spyder F3 concept, and we have to say that it is a welcomed addition to the line.

We are still miffed that the 115 three-cylinder engine remains, instead of the 150hp tire-shredder we saw debut at Daytona, but this news is a step in the right direction for the Canadian outfit.

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Recall

Recall: Kymco K-Pipe 125

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Today, we bring you a strange recall from the NHTSA, as Kymco USA is recalling 476 units of its K-Pipe 125 motorcycle because their gear shift pattern is opposite of what is standard.

According to the recall filed with the NHTSA, the Kymco K-Pipe 125 bikes – manufactured from March 1st, 2016 to May 25th, 2016 – were assembled with the gear shift pattern in reverse.

As such, these motorcycles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 123, “Motorcycle Controls and Displays,” which dictates that all motorcycles sold in the USA must have the same shift pattern.

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Bikes

XTR Pepo’s “Siluro” Custom Ducati Monster 1200

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It has been a while since we showed you one of XTR Pepo’s custom works, so please forgive our sins. To make it up to you though, we have the Siluro, a custom Ducati Monster 1200 that Ducati Spain commissioned from the Spanish bike builder.

If I’m honest, Ducati’s Monster line has really never struck a chord with me, but there is something about the Siluro that’s got me more than a little twitterpated.

Perhaps it is the high-mount, scrambler-styled Termignoni exhaust, or maybe it is Pepo’s signature “RAD” seat, that has adorned so many custom Ducati’s before this one, but is now wrapped in suede. Whatever it is, it’s working.

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Reviews

At the Stayin’ Safe Advanced Rider Training

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Safety and training; two words that tend to elicit a yawn or an eye roll from most people. Motorcycling, though definitely not the safest activity you can choose, is pretty exciting and challenging, yet for the most part, the safety training associated with our sport is quite boring.

Riding around a parking lot, MSF style, is not particularly difficult, and does a terrible job of emulating real world threats. Track days, though fun and offering the chance to push the limits of your motorcycle in a controlled environment, don’t typically present the kinds of dynamic threats we need to see in order to stay safe on the road.

So if parking lots and tracks don’t offer the training environment you want, how do you get the training you need? Well, over a recent weekend, I had the opportunity to attend Stayin’ Safe Advanced Rider Training.

Stayin’ Safe is owned and operated by Eric Trow. A motorcycle training professional with over twenty years of experience, Eric offers on-street rider training.

Part training and part tour, Stayin’ Safe offers courses from two to three days through some of the nicest riding areas in the country. I had the opportunity to take the Southern California class which lasted for three days.

I’ll just say up front, this was a great experience and I learned much more than I thought I would.

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MotoGP

Sunday MotoGP Summary at Assen: Filling Record Books

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We knew that the 86th edition of the Dutch TT at Assen was going to be historic. It was, after all, the first time the race was to be run on Sunday, after being run on Saturday since 1925.

What we didn’t know was that the day the race was held would end up being the least interesting historic fact about it. The record books will have plenty to say about Sunday’s race at Assen.

There was some fascinating racing in all three classes, as is is so often the case at Assen. The Moto3 race saw a scintillating race decided at the line, the podium separated by less than four hundredths of a second. We had a return to something like the Moto2 of old, with a sizable group battling over the podium spots.

And last but not least, we had a bizarre two-part MotoGP race, red-flagged, restarted, and with a mold-breaking winner. When we look back, the MotoGP race at Assen could well prove to be a pivotal point in the championship.

The red-flagged MotoGP race was down to the weather once again playing a starring role in the weekend. After rain on Saturday, Sunday started bright, though the track took time to warm up and dry out.

Clouds rolled in and rolled back out again, as is their wont at Assen, occasionally spitting but not looking like they would cause major problems for any of the three classes.

Until the last part of the Moto2 race, when the heavens finally opened and drenched the track. That race would be red-flagged, and it would not be the only one.

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MotoGP

MotoGP: Aleix Espargaro Signs Two-Year Deal with Aprilia

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The last of the factory seats has been officially filled. Today, the Gresini Aprilia team announced that Aleix Espargaro will be joining Sam Lowes at Aprilia for the next two seasons.

The announcement did not come as a surprise. Rumors had emerged at Barcelona that Espargaro would be going to Aprilia, Espargaro telling the media on Friday that he had already signed a contract, but that he was unable to announce who with.

Espargaro’s signing leaves both Stefan Bradl and Alvaro Bautista out of a job.

Bautista is expected to sign with the Aspar Ducati team for 2017, where he is likely to partner with Eugene Laverty, while Stefan Bradl is being linked to several rides in the World Superbike paddock.

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