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Gone Riding: Aprilia RSV4 1100 Factory

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Greetings from the Mugello, as we continue our three-week European adventure, this time gearing up to ride the Aprilia RSV4 1100 Factory superbike.

The culmination of 10 years of RSV4 motorcycles, this 2019 edition sees the engine displacement bumped to 1,078cc, winglets added to the front fairings, an Akrapovic exhaust, and a host of other changes made to the venerable superbike.

As you can expect then, this machine should be a rocket ship around this iconic Italian race track – rumor on the street is that rear-wheel horsepower is just over 200hp!

For the bullet points on what’s new here, the 2019 Aprilia RSV4 1100 Factory weighs 11 lbs lighter than its predecessor, and makes 16hp more power, and 5 lbs•ft more torque as well.

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Bikes

New Mugen E.Rex Electric Dirt Bike Looks Very…Familiar

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It was two years ago that Mugen caught some serious attention for an electric motorcycle. No, it wasn’t an electric superbike like the Mugen Shinden Hachi, which just broke cover in Japan, instead it was a dirt bike…with the bones of a dinosaur.

Called the Mugen E.Rex, the bike showed how the Japanese tuning brand was applying its electric vehicle knowledge into new spaces. And to be frank, there was a lot going on with the electric dirt bike concept.

First up, there was the appearance of the machine, which was…interesting, to say the least. But also, it was important to note what the Mugen E.Rex meant for the electric motorcycle space, as Mugen and Honda are very closely linked.

Now today, with the Honda CR Electric prototype debuting…along with a revised edition of the Mugen E.Rex, we see that these two bikes have an even deeper link to each other, as they are virtually identical.

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Bikes

Mugen Shinden Hachi Electric Superbike Debuts for IOMTT

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Another debut from the Tokyo Motorcycle Show, the next iteration of the Mugen Shinden has debuted and its ready for the Isle of Man TT.

The bike is officially dubbed the Mugen Shinden Hachi – and for those who don’t know, “hachi” means “eight” in Japanese, with this being the eighth iteration of the Mugen Shinden electric superbike.

On the spec sheet, we see that nothing has changed on the 2019 bike versus the Mugen Shinden Nana that raced last year. But, a quick visual inspection sees that the Japanese tuning brand has been busy optimizing its aerodynamics package.

As such, the front intake for the Shinden Hachi has been revised. The tail section has also been reworked, and looks a bit more slippery.

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Racing

Take a Hot Lap on a MotoE Race Bike at COTA, And Help Support Our Favorite Motorcycle Charity

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Regular Asphalt & Rubber readers will know that we love to support the Two Wheels for Life charity, which helps bring medical resources and healthcare by motorcycle to remote areas in Africa. This is literally a cause that sees motorcycles making the world a better place.

The official charity of the MotoGP Championship, Two Wheels for Life has created an awesome opportunity for race fans at this year’s American GP, and we are pretty stoked to share it with you.

Basically, the whole package includes the opportunity to ride an Energica Ego Corsa MotoE race bike in front of the crowd at the Grand Prix of the Americas, along with paddock passes, grid access, pit lane access, and hospitality for two people for the race weekend.

And of course, the proceeds go to helping fund the vital work that Two Wheels for Life does in Africa.

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Bikes

Honda Debuts Electric Dirt Bike Prototype

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Did you feel that? The company that made the four-strokes the standard in motorcycle engine design just moved the earth a little bit further, releasing today the Honda CR Electric prototype.

The electric motorcycle is a 250cc equivalent dirt bike from Big Red, and broke cover at the Tokyo Motorcycle Show in Japan.

Not too many details are known at this time, beyond what we can see…but there is certainly a lot to digest when looking at this machine. 

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Reviews

Not-A-Review: Vespa Elettrica, Italy’s Electric Scooter

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I will be honest, I don’t keep that close of tabs on the scooter segment in the motorcycle industry. This is probably because it feels like a separate entity all onto itself. I do try to keep a pulse on the Vespa brand though, and let me explain why.

When you think of scooters, no name is perhaps more iconic than Vespa. So, that makes it an obvious choice, but I also track the movement of the Italian scooter-maker because it acts as a bellwether for the space. Where Vespa goes, surely so too does the rest of the scooter market. 

This is why we have been covering the Vespa Elettrica with a great deal of interest on Asphalt & Rubber. As you can expect from the name, the bike is Vespa’s first electric model, and it is finally ready for public consumption.

Ripping around the streets of Milan, Italy on the the Vespa Elettrica, A&R gets our first feel for what electric urban mobility looks like from Vespa, and we were able to frame that against the company’s other newest model, the potent Vespa GTS Super 300.

As such, here is not-a-review of this intriguing new two-wheeler.

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Rumors

Is an 890cc Twin Coming from KTM?

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KTM CEO Stefan Pierer has already publicly tipped that the Austrian brand is hard at work on a new middleweight engine, one that will exist alongside the current 790 platform.

From those comments, the notion is that KTM is working on a 500cc platform for a range of models, which is likely to debut in a few years’ time. We also expect to see a KTM 790 SMT supermoto-styled bike debut later this year at EICMA, which should round out the 790 platform.

But, could another engine platform be in the works? That’s what our Bothan spies are telling us.

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News

2020 BMW S1000RR Priced for the USA at $16,999*

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BMW Motorrad has finally revealed its pricing for the BMW S1000RR in the US market (read our ride review here), and the price tag should excite superbike riders. First, the good news: the 2020 BMW S1000RR comes with a $16,999 MSRP.

The bad news is of course that it is almost impossible to ever get a BMW model at the base price listed, as they are virtually never imported into the US, with instead the motorcycles coming decked-out in their optional packages.

But even then, BMW Motorrad USA has surprised us with this machine’s offering in the Land of the Free.

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Bikes

Under the Hood of the Energica Ego

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I had planned on sharing these photos with you at a much earlier date, and now with the fire at the MotoE paddock in Jerez, it feels a bit macabre.

But, on the same token, the moment for electric motorcycles seems never more ready for a pivot, and we would be remiss to share an opportunity to examine one of the more high-level efforts in greater detail.

As such, I bring you details on what is beneath the fairings on the Energica Ego electric superbike.

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