Over the weekend, you may have seen reports from Europe about the demise of the Suzuki Hayabusa, as the venerable hyperbike has been rumor to go the way of the dinosaur, especially now that its Euro4 waiver is set to expire at the end of the year.
This has led to quite a bit of chatter about the machine’s future, with many of the headlines that we have seen focusing on the end of the iconic motorcycle’s run, and that production on the bike has ceased. But, what’s the real story?
Nicky Hayden will always be remembered as a legend in American motorcycling, especially after his 2006 MotoGP World Championship title and his 2002 AMA Superbike title.
But now, that status has been made official, as the Kentucky Kid has been inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
Hayden was one six inductees this weekend into the Hall of Fame, and was joined by off-road racer Terry Cunningham, stuntman Gary Davis, race tuner Skip Eaken, flat-track racer Clifford “Corky” Keener, and female racer Mary McGee.
Do you have an interest in shaping the future of the motorcycle industry, and playing an integral part in deciding what new motorcycles come to market? Well, here is your chance.
Our friends at KISKA sent over this job position opening, in the hopes that there is an Asphalt & Rubber reader out there that wants to be part of the future for the KTM and Husqvarna brands.
In addition to the Ducati Panigale V4 recall that we saw earlier this week, we have another safety issue from the Bologna brand.
This time it concerns the Monster 821, Monster 1200, and Supersport models from Ducati, which may suffer from the shift lever having been incorrectly assembled, which could possibly result in the shift knob detaching from the lever.
If the knob falls off the shifter, a bike could get stuck in gear, which poses a safety issue to the rider, so a recall has been created with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
In total, 2,705 units from the 2017, 2018, and 2018 model years are affected by this recall.
BMW Motorrad is very quietly teasing a new motorcycle platform, one that is centered around an 1,800cc boxer design.
BMW teased this new engine in a unique way, having Yuichi Yoshizawa and Yoshikazu Ueda of Custom Works Zon build a show bike around the boxer-twin, which we are showing here in the story.
With its vintage style, it is easy to disregard the prototype engine from BMW as being something from the German company’s past, and perhaps that is the point. The engine uses a push-rod design, and its cooling fins tip-off its air/oil-cooling mechanism.
Specifics beyond this are non-existent, however, with BMW Motorrad simply saying that “further details about the engine and its possible future use will be communicated at a later point in time.”
Arguably the biggest superbike announcement for the 2019 model year, the Ducati Panigale V4 R is getting no shortage of press, and it is easy to see why.
With 217hp (162 kW) on tap, removable winglets, a WorldSBK title to win, dry clutch, and a $40,000 price tag, there are no shortage of things to talk about when it comes to the Panigale V4 R.
The Ducati looks great in race trim, and it doesn’t take much to boost the machine’s peak horsepower figure to 231 hp (172 kW).
In its racing trim, the Ducati Panigale V4 RS19 will climb to over 17,000 rpm – that is, at least until the WorldSBK performance-balancing rules get ahold of it.
Another recall for the day, Ducati North America is recalling certain 2018-2019 Ducati Panigale V4, V4 S, and V4 S Speciale motorcycles. The recall stems from the Panigale V4’s oil cooler, which may leak oil from the output port.
According to the recall documents, the oil cooler output port may crack during extreme usage, like when the 1,103cc superbike is being used on a race track. The recall affects 1,663 units of the Panigale V4 lineup,
Generally speaking, when you see a recall for an engine item on a motorcycle, like a connecting rod, it is a big deal. Such recalls have caught a few brands out, and it usually means a large investment of time and energy on the part of the OEM.
Some brands make complete engine swaps, while others will pay their technicians to make the appropriate fixes and repairs. Invariably customers aren’t happy with the solution, and it is not out of the question to hear talk about lawsuits and other legal remedies.
Today’s case though, well it is a bit different. BMW Motorrad has found that the connecting rods on the BMW F850GS may not have been installed correctly. But, the recall only affects one motorcycle…and it hasn’t even been sold yet.
I don’t think we have ever seen a recall for just one motorcycle before here at Asphalt & Rubber, let alone one that hasn’t been sold by a dealer, but here we are.
Episode 88 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and in it we see David Emmett, Neil Morrison, and Steve English on the mics, as we cover the Jerez Tests in Spain.
The post-season test saw a bevy of classes out on the track getting ready for the 2019 season. First up, the guys tackle the MotoGP paddock, which takes a good portion of the show.
The conversation then turns to the WorldSBK paddock, which took to Jerez once the GP boys were done. The show then concludes with a testing report from the Moto2 and MotoE classes, as they start a new era of racing next year.
In our inbox today was an interesting email from Ducati, telling us that an updated press kit for the Panigale V4 R superbike was now available on the press site.
Why was there a need to modify the available information? Well, it seems a key technical component on the 998cc machine was changed…more specifically, the 2019 Ducati Panigale V4 R now comes with a dry clutch from the factory.
As we predicted in our EICMA round-up on the Noale brand, it looks like we won’t have to wait long to see the production version of the Aprilia RS 660 sport bike, as photos on Facebook show that the Italians have been caught testing the machine at the track.
With two bikes spotted, one in street trim and one in race trim, the Aprilia RS 660 looks surprisingly production-ready, which tips a debut at next year’s EICMA show, and the bike being a 2020 model year machine.