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December 2017

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Recall

Ducati Now Part of the Massive Brembo Brake Recall

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Yesterday we broke the news about a massive recall that is affecting a number of sport bikes with Brembo master cylinders. The first wave of that recall included Aprilia’s two offerings, the Aprilia RSV4 superbike and the Aprilia Tuono 1100 streetfighter.

Today, we get our first official word of another manufacturer that is involved with this massive Brembo brake recall, and it is Ducati. With six affected models, spanning four model years, Ducati North America is recalling roughly 8,000 units because the piston in their master cylinder may crack.

If you recall our previous coverage, the issue stems from the plastic piston in the master cylinder possibly cracking after hard use. If this happens, the master cylinder can stop operating, which can lead to front brake failure. This is an obvious safety concern

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Recall

Today Is the First Day of a Massive Brembo Brake Recall

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Today is the first day of a massive recall for Brembo brakes, as our inbox just received the first official notice of what is expected to a recall that touches a multitude of brands that use the Italian company’s high-performance line of brake master cylinders.

The issue stems from the Brembo’s popular PR16 radial master cylinder unit (the master cylinder that is often paired with the Brembo M50 calipers), which apparently can crack internally at the piston, which can then lead to front brake failure. 

Because of the physical properties of the piston material used on the master cylinder, and the porosity generated during the injection process used to create them, the piston could crack when used on race tracks, or with frequent ABS intervention, or when the motorcycle falls to the ground.

As such when the piston cracks, the front brakes may not operate properly during a braking procedure, which can lead to the front brakes failing entirely. 

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News

Honda Fury Recalled for Missing Fuel Tank Welds

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A recall has landed for the Honda Fury, which affects only 20 units of the cruiser-styled motorcycle. According to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the recall is a result of the bikes missing welds on the fuel tank.

This is because during the manufacturing process, a disruption at the factory allowed a batch of fuel tanks to skip the final welding stage. As such, certain fuel tanks did not receive the necessary welds around the stay bracket, and have only tack welds holding them together.

As you can imagine, vibrations from the road and engine can cause the tack welds to break, which could cause a fuel leak that could pose a safety hazard.

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Bikes

Check Out the New Mini Ducati XDiavel…

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They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that’s the case, then the folks at Benelli are positively glowing for their fellow Italians at Ducati, as the Benelli 402S seems somehow very familia to our eyes…

Ok, let’s just call a spade a spade here: Benelli wholesale copied Ducat’s XDiavel motorcycle when the Pesaro company designed its latest machine, the Benelli 402S.

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News

Happy Holidays from Asphalt & Rubber

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Seasons Greetings from Asphalt & Rubber. While we stoke the fires on the yule log, everyone at A&R would like to wish our readers a Happy Holiday.

We will be taking the day off as we sip some cider and gorge ourselves on delicious home-cooked nom noms (yeah…nom noms), but we should (finally) be back in the swing of things tomorrow.

Whatever your denomination may be (bagger, café, supermoto, etc.), we hope you are with good friends and family, and that the two-wheeled vehicle in your garage gets some seasonal merriment as well.

We hope you are as excited about 2018 as we are…now go get you ‘nog on!

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Racing

Honda Ups the Ante with Factory “HRC” Team for Suzuka

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The Japanese motorcycle manufacturers take the Suzuka 8-Hour endurance race very seriously, and none of the brands make a bigger deal out of the mid-summer event than Honda.

Big Red has won the Suzuka 8-Hours on 27 occasions, out of its 40 runnings, which is an impressive win ratio, but there is one issue: for the last three years in a row, the Yamaha Factory Racing Team has displaced Honda’s supported efforts on the top podium step – a feat no other team has ever achieved.

This is an insult that Honda can apparently no longer tolerate, and this week the Japanese manufacturer announced that at the 2018 Suzuka 8-Hours, a factory-backed “Team HRC” squad will compete in this iconic race.

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Recall

Recall: Kawasaki Z125 Pro

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The most adorable motorcycle in Kawasaki’s lineup is getting a recall, as 9,914 units of the Z125 Pro and Z125 Pro KRT Edition motorcycles are being recalled for a faulty ECU setting.

According to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA), the electronic control unit (ECU) may have an improper setting (ignition timing) for the fuel injection system, which would allow the engine to stall.

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Bikes

MV Agusta Says New Four-Cylinder Bike in 2018

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We have been teased with near four-cylinder models from MV Agusta before, but after today’s announcement, the follow-up story that MV Agusta will launch its new four-cylinder platform in 2018 seems actually plausible.

Something we were expecting at this year’s EICMA show, MV Agusta CEO Giovanni Castiglioni has already shared that we can expect to see a 1,200cc four-cylinder Brutale in the near future.

We say this because its naked street bikes are MV Agusta’s best-sellers, so we expect the new Brutale to be given the nod over a new F4 superbike, in terms of priority, primarily because of financial reasons.

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News

MV Agusta Buys Back Shares from Mercedes AMG

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A bit of a housekeeping item, but today it was announced that MV Holding has completed the acquisition of the shares that were previously held by Mercedes AMG, thus effectively removing the German brand from the Italian motorcycle company’s business operations.

This means that MV Agusta is now solely controlled by Giovanni Castiglioni and the Sardarov family, though today’s news is likely due to investments by the latter, into the struggling motorcycle brand.

For fans of the MV Agusta brand, this surely is the start of a new chapter for this mercurial motorcycle marque. 

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Dirt

JD Beach Triumphs at the 2017 Superprestigio

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JD Beach has won the fifth edition of the Barcelona Superprestigio indoor flat track race. The American passed Toni Elias in the first couple of laps and led for almost the entire 16 laps of the Superprestigio Superfinal.

Beach entered the Superfinal as favorite, having won all three of the Open class final races to face off against the best of the roadracing world in the Superprestigio class.

Briar Bauman, the second American entry, finished in second, not far behind Beach, having fought his way through from fourth in the early laps.

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