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Jensen Beeler

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Sunday Motors Shows Itself as the Ohvale of Flat Track Racing

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We have already talked about what the pint-sized Ohvale is doing for road racing, with the 24hp race bike lighting up go-kart tracks around the world.

Now, source again the 187cc single-cylinder engine from Daytona, and use that same “built for kids (but really adults)” form-factor, except this time build this creation for the flat tracking realm, and what you have is the Sunday Motors S187.

While the concept is pretty simple, it is the price point that really caught our attention, with the French outfit having two affordable models for consumption – the S187 ($3,300) and the S147 ($2,300).

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Rumors

The All-New 2020 Honda CBR1000RR Will Debut in October

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There has been plenty said about the next generation of the Honda CBR1000RR, and lately the rumors have been heating up.

Solid news of an all-new machine for next first started in the WorldSBK paddock, where it was tipped that HRC would come back into the paddock with a factory team for the 2020 season – and on a new motorcycle.

Since then, we have seen some patents hinting at possible features of the new Fireblade, the most impressive of which is the idea that the 2020 Honda CBR1000RR could have active aerodynamics.

Now, we get word from our German colleagues at Speedweek that the new Honda Fireblade will debut sooner than we thought, making its arrival in October at the Tokyo Motor Show.

This means that we could see the 2020 Honda CBR1000RR as soon as October 23rd, instead of having to wait  several weeks longer to see the bike debut at the EICMA show in Milan.

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Podcast

Paddock Pass Podcast #116 – WorldSBK at Portimão

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Episode 116 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one is another WorldSBK show, as the production championship is finally back to racing action after its long summer break.

As such, this means that we see Steve English joined by Gordon Ritchie on the mics, as they are our World Superbike reporting duo for the 2019 season.

Recording straight from trackside at Portimão, the guys give some conversation about the on-track action in Portugal, but there is plenty to discuss about what is occurring off the track, as the contract season is heating up.

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WSBK

Tom Sykes Signs On for Another Year with BMW in WorldSBK

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It doesn’t surprise us to hear that Tom Sykes and BMW Motorrad have committed themselves to another season together, racing the BMW S1000RR in the WorldSBK Championship.

While the 2019 has been a slow start for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team, Sykes and the S1000RR have seen continued progress. As such, we have seen Sykes on pole position at the British round, and also on the podium at Misano, Donington Park, and Laguna Seca.

With this forward progress, BMW Motorrad says that its aim is to be on the box in 2020, and surely that means on the top step on more than one occasion.

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Rumors

BMW’s Big Inline-Four Debate for 2020

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Now that we have the arrival of the new BMW S1000RR superbike in 2019, our gaze looks deeper into BMW Motorrad’s lineup for the 2020 model year.

Specifically, our attention is on the company’s inline-four sport bike lineup, which always takes its cues from the Bavarian brand’s superbike offering.

As such, a new S1000RR superbike necessitates a new S1000R streetfighter and S1000XR adventure-sport – at least, this is how it has worked in the past.

If you listened to the rumors coming ahead of this year’s new bike season, then we surely are about to see a new BMW S1000XR debuting at the EICMA show in Milan this November. But, what about an updated BMW S1000R? Not so much, it seems.

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Rumors

Honda’s New CBR1000RR Appears to Have Active Aerodynamics

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There has been no shortage of rumors about the “new” Honda CBR1000RR superbike. It is a story that pre-dates even the start of this publication, ever since Honda updated its liter bike offering for the 2008 model year.

And now, we seem finally set to see a new chapter in the Fireblade story, with the 2020 model year widely tipped to see the introduction of a new superbike from Big Red.

The machine has been rumored through movements in the WorldSBK Championship, the FIM Endurance World Championship, and other domestic series, and those stories have been supported by a series of patents found worldwide.

Now today, the eagle eyes of Ben Purvis at Cycle World have spotted another patent, one with an intriguing proposition – active aerodynamics.

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Rumors

Energica Electric Superbikes Spotted with New Battery Packs

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It looks like the folks at Energica have been busy for the 2020 model year, as we get some spy shots of their updated models, courtesy of our friends at the Italian Moto.it website.

The bikes were caught near Verona, which is about an hour north of Energica’s Modena headquarters, and though the Ego and EsseEsse9 that were spotted seem similar to previous models, there are some subtle differences that we can see.

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Rumors

A New Honda Motorcycle Will Debut at the AIMExpo

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The 2019 AIMExpo is just around the corner, and the largest motorcycle trade show in the United States has something special for us to look forward to this year.

This is because Honda is set to have the expo be the landing ground for a new motorcycle model.

The debut is said to be a world premiere for this new machine, which leads to some interesting hypothesis on what American Honda could be hiding behind its curtain.

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Bikes

Aprilia Begins Delivery of the Most Powerful RSV4 Ever

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It is hard to believe that it has been 10 years since the Aprilia RSV4 debuted, and yet after a decade of service, the V4-powered superbike is still at the pointy end of the game.

To celebrate that heritage, along with the three World Superbike Championship wins, the team at Noale envisioned one special machine, of which only 10 units would be produced. As such, say hello to the very potent Aprilia RSV4 X.

Now finally making deliveries to the 10 worthy souls who purchased the €40,000 machine, we get to see what a hand-built 222hp (165 kW) 1,078cc V4 engine can do in a 364 lbs (165 kg) dry weight chassis.

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News

Bosch Is Working on 3D Displays for Your Dashboard

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For the 2020 model year, the standard for motorcycle interfaces will be rich-color TFT dashes, and this is not a new trend.

Sure, there will be a few “heritage” models that will employ analog gauges, but gone are the days of LCD dashes that share more with a Timex timepiece than the smartphone that is in every rider’s pocket.

I have no doubt that a few brands will still fail to get this memo, as there seems to be just about every year, but that number is shrinking rapidly. The motorcycle industry is slowly getting hip to this 21st century thing.

But now, we get word that some seemingly 22nd century tech is on its way, as German automotive parts supplier Bosch is touting the arrival of 3D dashboards for motor vehicles.

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Racing

Could We See Ducati Corse at the Suzuka 8-Hours?

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With Ducati joining the ranks of proper 1,000cc superbikes with the Panigale V4 R, it opens up a list opportunities that previously weren’t available to the Italian brand. One of those events is the Suzuka 8-Hours.

Of course, we already did see a Ducati Panigale V4 R at this year’s Suzuka race, but what we are ruminating about here is a full-factory effort from the Ducati Corse crew.

According to Paolo Ciabatti in his talked to Italy’s GPOne publication, the Ducati Corse Sporting Director, the idea isn’t off the table, though the circumstances of Ducati’s involvement in the Suzuka 8-Hours is very specific.

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