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September 2016

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Bikes

The Ducati SuperSport Gets Teased Ahead of INTERMOT

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The start of “New Bike Season” is nearly here, with various brands getting their teaser campaigns ready for next week’s INTERMOT show. One of the best in the business at this, Ducati is ready to unveil its long-awaited Ducati SuperSport model.

The rebirth of one of Ducati’s more popular models in the past, the 2017 Ducati SuperSport works on the same idea of making a sporty street bike, which is not only good for spirited weekend rides, but also capable of doing some short-distance touring.

As such, the SuperSport fits a narrow niche in Ducati’s lineup, somewhere between the Hyperstrada 939, the Monster 821, and the Panigale 959.

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Bikes

New Honda CBR1000RR Videos Confirm Inline-Four Engine

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After seeing the spy photos of the Honda CBR1000RR filming in Croatia, we already have a pretty good indication that Honda isn’t going to stray too far from the current Fireblade design. The chassis looks almost exactly the same as the current generation model, as does the engine.

The most recent teasers from Honda confirm this notion, with the Japanese brand showing us four glowing header pipes off an inline-four engine. The exhaust note should end speculation that a crossplane crankshaft has been added to the CBR1000RR, with a distinct “screamer” tone coming from its pipes.

Honda’s next video gives indication that the 2017 Honda CBR1000RR will have an LED headlight, a tip to the likely robust electronics suite that Big Red is bringing to its new superbike, which will compliment the major fairing design upgrade

With the tagline “Total Control” being touted by Honda, we can expect the 2017 Honda CBR1000RR to come with the bevy of electronic rider aids that we have come to expect from this segment: ride-by-wire, traction control, wheelie control, launch control, etc.

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Recall

Recall: Honda Grom & Honda Forza

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American Honda is recalling two machines for problems with their fuel pump internals, the Honda Grom (MXS125) pocket bike and the Honda Forza (NSS300) scooter.

The recall affects 2014-2015 model year machines, and centers around the resin bracket inside the fuel pump, which may swell and cause the pump impeller to seize.

As a consequence of the resin bracket swelling, the fuel pump may seize, which would stall either motorcycle. Because a stalled vehicle can increase the risk of a crash, a safety recall has been issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Bikes

2017 Husqvarna 701 Supermoto Updated with New Motor

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The Husqvarna 701 Supermoto and Husqvarna 701 Enduro will be getting an update for the 2017 model year, with both bikes receiving the updated 690cc single-cyliner engine that is currently found in the new-generation KTM 690 Duke.

The biggest highlight of the new engine is its secondary balancing shaft, which reduces vibrations to the rider, and also allows the big thumper to rev higher and thus create more power.

This means that the 2017 Husqvarna 701 Supermoto will have 74hp (+6hp), as well as 52.6 lbs•ft of peak torque (+4.4 lbs•ft) – a modest gain for this already stout package.

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Racing

“Supersport 300” Class Added to WSBK Championship

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The FIM and Dorna have agreed on a new entry class for the World Superbike championship. A Supersport 300 series has been created to house the burgeoning market of lightweight sports machines, such as the Yamaha YZF-R3 and the KTM RC390.

The concept for the class came about after consultation with manufacturers. Motorcycle manufacturers have seen sales of 600cc supersports bikes plummeting, while sales of lightweight machines have been booming.

More and more manufacturers have been entering the class, though each with slightly different machines and different engine capacities.

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MotoGP

Sunday MotoGP Summary at Aragon: How Championships Are Won & Lost

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Momentum. That’s what the last race before the Australasian triple header is all about. Momentum heading towards the end of the championship. Coming out on top and carrying it forward to Motegi, Phillip Island, and Sepang is vital.

The deal may get done on one of the flyaways, but Aragon is the place where the riders put their chips on the table.

All three races on Sunday had a huge impact on the MotoGP championship. In the first race of the day, a title was settled. In the second race of the day, the championship was blown even further open.

The final race of the day saw another brick hammered into the wall of Marc Márquez’s third MotoGP title, and further cemented his legacy. It was a good day’s racing.

There are a lot of ways to win titles, but the way the 2016 Moto3 championship was settled was about as fitting as it could be. At the end of a classic Moto3 race, where a strong group battled for control until the final four laps, four men broke away from the pack.

That group consisted of Brad Binder, the two men who could still mathematically challenge Binder for the 2016 title, Enea Bastianini and Jorge Navarro, and rookie revelation Fabio Di Giannantonio.

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Podcast

Two Enthusiasts Podcast #34 – Doohickey

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Episode 34 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast starts off by using the two new Ducati Scrambler models, which were spotted in CARB filings earlier this month, as a jumping off point to talk about how motorcycle manufacturers are chasing the post-authentic biker movement.

We then opine a bit about the apparent decline in the number of scrambler and café racer builds we are seeing in the custom motorcycle scene right now, and how we think that superbikes from the 1980s could be the next platform of choice for bike builders.

This takes the show into a discussion about the rise of electronics, and how they not only affect the motorcycle hobbyist, but also custom motorcycle builders. We then finish up the show with a listener question that asks about for selling advice on a heavily customized Japanese motorcycle.

There might be a revolving KLR joke in there as well…all in all, it’s another classic Two Enthusiasts Podcast show.

As always, you can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

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Racing

Indian Announces Its New Flat Track “Wrecking Crew” with Bryan Smith, Brad Baker, and Jared Mees

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Indian Motorcycles is getting into a flat track racing in a big way. We have already seen the American brand’s purpose-built race bike, the Indian Scout FTR750, which looks quite the business with its purpose-built 750cc v-twin race engine.

Now, we get word that Indian will have an all-star team of riders competing on the  Indian Scout FTR750, with Bryan Smith, Brad Baker, and Jared Mees lined up to be Indian’s new three-man “wrecking crew” on the race track.

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Dirt

Sidi Crossfire 3 SRS Boots Set to Debut

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There might be no finer off-road boot than the Sidi Crossfire 2 SRS, which boasts superb design, riding versatility, and modular parts. And yet, the Italian company endeavors to improve upon that design, teasing this weekend the debut of the Sidi Crossfire 3 SRS.

I am not sure if the debut of an off-road boot needs to be drawn out over several teaser videos — I can hardly stand it when the same is applied for a new motorcycle launch — but we might forgive such a marketing scheme for such a worthy piece of kit.

To that end, the Sidi Crossfire 3 SRS continues the trend of the Italian brand, with replacement parts and pieces readily available for owners. This makes repairs from heavy spills an easy affair, it also makes the SRS line of boot highly adaptable for different types of riding.

This is because like its predecessor, the Sidi Crossfire 3 SRS has a variety of replacement soles available, which can be easily installed for riding motocross, enduro, adventure-touring, and supermoto.

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