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Jensen Beeler

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Rumors

More Details on the Mid-Sized NIKEN Coming from Yamaha

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We have known for some time that Yamaha planned on making its leaning multi-wheel vehicle technology into a family of bike and car analogs.

The Japanese brand has invested heavily into the chassis technology to make these unique machines, and Yamaha is not content to just leave the marketplace with the Tricity scooter and NIKEN sport bike.

To that notion, Yamaha has already tipped a mid-sized leaning multi-wheeler to us, with Yamaha CEO/President Yoshihiro Hidaka showing a slide in February of this year that had a blurred out LMW sitting between the Tricity and NIKEN models.

Now, we get word from Europe that a 300cc version of the NIKEN is set to drop later this year.

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WSBK

Leon Camier Fractures Vertebra in Suzuka Crash

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World Superbike rider Leon Camier has endured a difficult season thus far in the World Superbike Championship. Breaking ribs and suffering from a lung contusion during Race 1 at Aragon, Camier had to miss the next two rounds of the 2018 season.

Now suffering another crash, this time at the Suzuka 8-Hours test in Japan, Camier is once again on the mend, fracturing the C5 vertebra in his neck.

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Bikes

A Ducati Streetfighter V4 Very Much Needs to Happen

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It is not a matter of if, but when Ducati makes a streetfighter version of the new Panigale V4 – this much my sources in Bologna have assured me.

This news makes sense for the Italian brand, as the sport-naked segment is heating up, and there are plenty of offerings from other brands that make the Ducati Monster 1200 R look like a toy in comparison.

In fact, just about every major brand has a bike in this space, except for Ducati.

We are not hopeful that a Streetfighter V4 will debut at the INTERMOT & EICMA trade shows later this year, but we do see such a model as being a reality for around the 2020 model year.

Helping us visualize such a machine, this render from Kardesign does an excellent job of taking the lines from the original Ducati Streetfighter 1098 (a bike near and dear to this author’s heart), and applying them to the V4 rolling chassis.

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MotoGP

Dani Pedrosa Is Retiring from Motorcycle Racing

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“Next year I will not be competing in the Championship” was how Dani Pedrosa started his retirement announcement today at the start of the German GP in Sachsenring.

Confirming the retirement suspicions that swirled ahead of the press launch, Pedrosa thanked Honda, his sponsors, and Dorna for the 18 years of support that they have shown him in grand prix racing.

Set to be named a MotoGP Legend at the season finale at Valencia, Pedrosa has been a force to be reckoned with in Grand Prix racing. Though he never won a MotoGP title, he was one of the original “aliens” when that phrase was coined, and has always been a contender when on the starting grid.

As such, Pedrosa holds the third-most podiums in grand prix racing (153), along with 54 race wins, and three World Championship titles (one in 125GP and two in 250GP).

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Recall

Recall: Indian Scout

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The Indian Motorcycle Company is recalling a bunch of 2017-2018 Indian Scout motorcycles right now, which includes the Scout Sixty and and Scout Bobber variants.

All told, 4,185 motorcycles are affected by a recall that concerns the anti-locking brakes system (ABS), which may have air left in the system after the assembly process.

Since air in the brake lines can impact a motorcycle’s braking ability, Indian has decided to recall the affected machines, in order to ensure rider safety.

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News

Dani Pedrosa’s Retirement Expected at Sachsenring

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The MotoGP website is currently counting down to a live press conference that will feature Dani Pedrosa. The time on the clock is T-minus 15 hours, and at T-minus 15 hours plus one minute, the MotoGP paddock expects the 32-year-old to announce his retirement from motorcycle racing.

The rumors leading up to the German GP have gone both ways for Pedrosa, with some suggesting that the Spaniard would retire this season, while others thought he would take a ride on the newly formed Petronas Yamaha team.

We expected an announcement, one way or another, from Pedrosa first at the Catalan GP, then at the Dutch TT, but now we know that Germany will be the spot – a track that Pedrosa has carved out as one of his places of two-wheeled dominance.

To that end, Roadracing World has published that their sources have revealed to them that Pedrosa’s plan is to end his career at the end of the 2018 season, rather than try his hand on the satellite Yamaha in 2019.

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Bikes

New Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R Is Definitely Coming for 2019

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There will be a new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R for the 2019 model year, of this much we are certain.

It is a story that has been floating around for over a year now (I thought we had reported it already, but apparently not), but now this rumor is heating up, and we have some details to share.

First off, the confirmation. Making filings with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), we see that Kawasaki has plans for a new ZX-6R. It will have a 636cc (cheater) displacement, and produce roughly half the emissions of the previous model.

Likely ready for the coming wave of Euro5 emission regulations, details from across the pond show a power decrease and weight increase for the 2019 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, and point to a whole-new motorcycle coming from Team Green.

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Bikes

Yamaha NIKEN Priced at $5,333 per Wheel

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The Yamaha NIKEN is trying to make a three-wheeled revolution, and it is coming to the United States starting in September. As such, we finally have pricing information on the NIKEN, and the American MSRP is set at a stout $15,999.

For those who don’t want to do the math, this price tag represents a $7,000 markup over the Yamaha MT-09, which the NIKEN is loosely based off of, from the headstock back.

Yamaha USA will be doing a special “online reservation system” only sort of deal when it comes to selling the NIKEN here, which means that all bikes will have to be ordered through your local Yamaha dealership before they are shipped.

Yamaha faithful should recognize that online ordering scheme is the same system that Yamaha USA used for the VMAX power cruiser and YZF-R1M superbike.

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Racing

Factory GMT94 Yamaha Squad Leaving Endurance Racing

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In the FIM Endurance World Championship, the GMT94 Yamaha team is at the top of the heap. The defending champions, GMT94 Yamaha is only 10 points back in the current season from holding the FIM EWC trophy, with only one race remaining.

One round is all that the French team has, however, as the GMT94 Yamaha team will be calling it quits after this month’s Suzuka 8-Hours race. Needless to say, this is huge news for motorcycle endurance racing fans.

With three world titles under its belt and seventeen FIM EWC race victories on its tally, GMT94 Yamaha will leave the Endurance World Championship for happier hunting grounds in the World Supersport Championship.

As such, the French squad will leave a massive hole behind in EWC, as the GMT94 Yamaha squad tackles the remainder of the 2018 WorldSSP season with Corentin Perolari, before taking on the World Supersport Championship full-time in 2019.

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Bikes

Big Updates Come to the 2019 Husqvarna FS 450

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While it might not be a radical change to Husqvarna’s race-winning supermoto platform, the 2019 Husqvarna FS 450 just debuted toda,y and it comes with an impressive list of changes for the next model year.

Built off Husqvarna’s new motocross line, the 2019 Husqvarna FS 450 accordingly gets a revised cylinder head, a more rigid chassis, and a number of weight-savings and subtle improvements, all in an effort to make it the best factory supermoto on the market.

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Racing

Ride in Peace, William Dunlop

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It is with a heavy heart that we report the passing of William Dunlop, who passed away today at the Skerries 100 in Ireland

Crashing near the Sam’s Tunnel section of the road racing course, Dunlop succumb to the injuries he sustained during Saturday’s open practice session. He was 32 years of age.

A veteran racer and a member of road racing’s most storied family, William Dunlop was brother to Michael Dunlop, nephew to the legendary Joey Dunlop, and son to Robert Dunlop – all four Dunlops making their mark at a number of road racing events.

A six-time podium finisher at the Isle of Man TT, and a race-winner at both the North West 200 and Ulster Grand Prix, William Dunlop was a road racing favorite, with many pegging the 2018 season as possibly his last before retiring.

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