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More Teasers from MV Agusta & Zagato

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Seemingly reading our minds from yesterday, MV Agusta has released a teaser video for its soon-to-be-revealed collaboration with Zagato.

The video uses light a great deal to hide and reveal elements of the machine, thus obfuscating the details of the special motorcycle. But still, we can glean some important pieces of information, nonetheless.

For starters, the MV Agusta F4 does appear to be the basis for this new machine, confirming rumors from yesterday, with the video providing a good look at the crankcase cover and chassis configuration, which are the same as those on the the inline-four superbike.

The various other pieces we see suggest a motorcycle that is very different from the donor model though, with Zagato’s touches seemingly taking the F4 from superbike to avant-garde café racer (the above enhanced photo shows the silhouette).

To that end, the overall aesthetic might not be that different from the Ducati MH900E, with similarly chosen modern touches on a retro design. We wll let you watch the video, checkout the stills, and make up your own mind, though.

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Rumors

MV Agusta F4 Getting the Zagato Makeover?

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When MV Agusta announced that it was working with automobile design house Zagato, it left us scratching our heads. What were these two Italian brands up to? The teaser image did little to help narrow down that answer too.

We might have another piece to the puzzle though, as Swiss outfit AcidMoto has a source who is saying that the special motorcycle will be based off the MV Agusta F4 – Varese’s venerable superbike.

That news probably doesn’t give us any more clarity than we had before, but it is interesting to see the aged four-cylinder platform getting the Zagato custom treatment.

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MotoGP

Paddock Pass Podcast #34 – MotoGP Mid-Season Review

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The MotoGP season is at its halfway point, so appropriately the Paddock Pass Podcast has an episode for that. As such, Episode 34 is our MotoGP mid-season review, just in time to get you pumped up for the coming Austrian GP.

In the show, Neil Morrison, Stephen English, and myself discuss the progress and performance of the MotoGP riders, teams, and manufacturers thus far thus this season. There is a lot to cover in that discussion, so it goes a little long – about an hour and thirty minutes – but we think hardcore GP fans will find it engaging.

As always, be sure to follow the Paddock Pass Podcast on Facebook, Twitter and subscribe to the show on iTunes and SoundCloud – we even have an RSS feed for you. If you like the show, we would really appreciate you giving it a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

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News

Former Skully Employee Alleges in Lawsuit that Executives Used Corporate Funds as “Personal Piggy Banks”

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The story of Skully is starting to sound more and more like a script for a soap opera, and today’s installment sees former Skully employee Isabelle Faithhauer bringing suit in the San Francisco County Superior Court against Skully and its founders Marcus Weller and Mitchell Weller.

Faithhauer is the former-assistant to Skully CEO Marcus Weller, and for a time, served as the company’s bookkeeper. In her complaint she alleges that Skully wrongfully terminated her, and brings several other causes of action that are related to that wrongful termination.

However in her filing with the court, Faithhauer also lists a number of incidents where Marcus Weller and Mitchell Weller allegedly used company funds to buy exotic cars, rent expensive apartments in San Francisco, and travel around the world.

If true, this sort of spending could help explain why Skully ran out of capital, and then officially closed its doors last week, despite having raised roughly $15 million from investors and would-be customers.

You can read the full filing of Faithhauer’s complaint against Skully and the Wellers here, which is a PDF hosted by the San Francisco County Superior Court and a public record.

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News

Roland Sands Crashes Bike into Crowd at Sturgis

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During an event at the Buffalo Chip venue at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, masses gathered to see former-racer, bike designer, and motorcycle lifestyle brand purveyor Roland Sands. Unfortunately for all of those involved, the debut didn’t go quite as planned.

As the video after the jump shows, Roland rides his Hooligan race bike onto the stage (not the new Indian Scout FTR750, as had been reported earlier)…and then right off of it, and into the watching crowd. Right before the bike goes off the stage, you can hear someone say that the bike has no front brakes.

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Bikes

Indian Scout FTR750 Flat Track Race Bike Debuts

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Two months ago, we showed you Indian’s very purpose-built v-twin engine, which the American company would use to go flat track racing. Today, we can show you the completed machine, the Indian Scout FTR750.

Back the to the Indian Scout FTR750 though, the bike features an all-new high-reving race-built v-twin engine. The chassis is a bespoke tubular steel frame, with a focus on keeping a short wheelbase, centrally locating the large airbox, and using carbon fiber bodywork.

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MotoGP

KTM Will Race in Moto2 Starting in 2017

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Did you hear? KTM is working on Moto2 race bike, to compliment the Austrian brand’s move into the MotoGP Championship next year? We only learned about the project earlier this year in February, but KTM and WP suspension are supposedly quite far with their progress on the bike, and are now “ready to race” in earnest.

It might seem a little strange to see a KTM building a race bike chassis around a rival manufacturer’s engine (the Moto2 class is powered by slightly massaged Honda CBR600RR engines), but zie Austrian’s are serious about their Grand Prix racing presence, and feel that they need to be involved in all three of the championship’s classes.

KTM CEO Stefan Pierer recently talked to Germany’s Speedweek publication about the Moto2 project recently, where Pierer revealed that the Austrian brand will race in the Moto2 Championship starting in 2017, with a team lead by Aki Ajo.

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Reviews

Understanding the Ducati XDiavel, A Review

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The Ducati XDiavel is another big step for the Brand from Bologna, as the modell pushes further into the territory first pioneered by the Ducati Diavel, and hopes to give cruiser enthusiasts a design that speaks a little bit more of their native language.

With forward controls coming standard, along with a low and raked chassis design, the XDiavel is unlike any other Ducati on the market, and it takes some time to wrap your head around that fact.

These changes though allow Ducati to move boldly into an area dominated by one brand: Harley-Davidson. That is a tall mountain to climb, as the Bar & Shield brand has a chokehold on the cruiser-riding faithful, who flock to the American brand not because of what it does, but because of who it is.

This makes winning the hearts and minds of cruiser riders an exceptionally difficult task – one too that is not easily undertaken. The first step in mounting the assault on that summit is to develop a motorcycle that has no equal. In this regard, Ducati has a fighting chance.

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News

Skully Officially Closes, So Just How SOL Are You Actually?

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Skully on Friday finally acknowledged what has already been known in the motorcycling community: the company was going out of business. The news comes after a last-minute effort by the remaining management to secure a new round of funding.

With $15 million down the drain, work still to do before the Skully AR-1 would be ready to ship, and a growing group of disgruntled early adopters, Skully’s resurrection was not to be.

Instead in a letter to backers and customers, Skully announced that it would be filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the bankruptcy procedure for companies that are going out of business. This news, of course, directly impacts the thousands of motorcyclists who were expecting to receive a Skully AR-1 helmet.

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Bikes

Yamaha FZ-09 R Concept by Oberdan Bezzi

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Here’s a little concept art from Italian designer Oberdan Bezzi, to get your weekend started. The idea takes the venerable Yamaha FZ-09, and imagines an R-spec model with a little bit more pep in its step.

Noticeable changes include a revised tail section, fuel tank design, and wheels – all of which give the FZ-09 a much sportier look. Presumably the suspension pieces have been upgraded as well, and the murdered Akrapovic exhaust means a modest bump in power too.

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News

California One Signature Away from Codifying Lane-Splitting

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There is good news for those following California Assembly Bill 51 (AB 51), which would formally codify lane-splitting as legal under the California Vehicle Code and empower state agencies to develop safety guidelines for its practice.

That news is that the California State Assembly yesterday concurred with the California State Senate on the most recent wording of AB 51 (AB 51 had been changed by the State Senate, dropping the provisions about maximum speed and traffic speed deltas for when lane-splitting was permitted).

The State Assembly’s vote yesterday was needed in order to create a concurrence on the same language of the bill between the two legislative bodies. With the Assembly’s unanimous vote, AB 51 now goes to California Governor Jerry Brown for his signature, the last step before making lane-splitting a law.

Gov. Brown is expected to sign AB 51, especially since both the State Assembly and State Senate had unanimously passed the codification of lane-splitting.

California is now just a single signature away from being the first state in the United States of America that expressly allows lane-splitting for motorcyclists. Booyah!

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