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Jensen Beeler

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Husqvarna TR 650 Strada – Now Officially Official

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It has been eight months since Husqvarna took the wraps off its second road-going model, but the Husqvarna TR 650 Strada is now officially official ahead of fall’s motorcycle bike shows. A big displacement thumper to compliment the only moderately civil Husqvarna Nuda 900, the Strada is an interesting model to go alongside its parallel-twin street counterpart.

Featuring a 652cc water-cooled single-cylinder DOHC motor, the Husqvarna Strada puts out 58hp and 44.25 lbs•ft of torque (Husqvarna offers a de-tuned version of the Strada with 48hp for countries with graduated license schemes). At 375 lbs dry (414 lbs wet), the Strada has a strong power-to-weight ratio for its class, and is the on-road variant in Husqvarna’s dual-pronged single-cylinder motorcycle attack plan.

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Bikes

BMW R12 Concept by Nicolas Petit Motorcycle Crèation

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The work of designer Nicolas Petit is one of those gems in motorcycling that really gets our imagination here at A&R working at high-speed. It probably has something to with Petit’s simple, practical, but stunning designs that grab our fancy, and make us think “yeah, I could see one of those in my garage” — such is the case with the BMW R12 concept.

A clean and modern café racer design, Nicolas Petit’s BMW R12, which is based off the BMW HP2, is something we’d like to have in our stable for when the journey, not the destination, is the order of the day. Enjoy his sketches and renders after the jump, and to save you the trouble when you go scavenging for boxer-twins, here’s a link to craigslist.

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Recall

Recall: 2011 & 2012 Zero Motorcycles

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Zero Motorcycles has submitted a recall with the NHTSA that includes units from its entire line-up, built for the 2011 & 2012 model years. The issue stems from a faulty brake light switch, which may not illuminate the rear brake light when the front brake lever is pressed without strong force.

The recall affects 450 units of Zero Motorcycles’ on-road units, which includes the following machines: 2011-2012 Zero DS, 2011 Zero MXD, 2011-2012 Zero S, 2012 Zero X, 2011 Zero XD, 2011-2012 Zero XU. Because the brake light may not illuminate while the motorcycles are under braking, Zero Motorcycles will recall the affected units starting around July 16th.

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Bikes

2013 Ducati Hypermotard 848 Caught Blurring the Lines Between the Multistrada? [UPDATED]

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UPDATE: The water-cooled 2013 Ducati Hypermotard has now been released by Ducati.

We have a sneaking suspicion that the 2013 Ducati Hypermotard 848 that has been spotted tramping about is going to be a very interesting motorcycle indeed; as from out perspective, Ducati seems set to consolidate the Hypermotard line into a single water-cooled model, while simultaneously offering a smaller-displacement multi-tasker that will slot in under the Ducati Multistrada 1200.

Our best view yet of the bike’s exhaust side comes from the folks at Moto Revue, as we see what looks to be a finalized exhaust can and a clear view of the HM848’s water-cooled Testastretta 11° motor. There has been tremendous confusion/controversy as to whether the spied machine is a new Hypermotard or Multistrada model, and the confusion is rightfully so, as the bike takes cues from both machines.

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Banter

Video: Ken Block Gymkhanas San Francisco — Awesomeness Tenuously Linked to Motorcycles

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Asphalt & Rubber readers are an eclectic group of men and woman, and I am not going sully the romance we have going on here by lying to you guys with some sort of convoluted web of reasoning as to how a nearly team minuted Ken Block / DC Shoes / Ford Focus video is related to motorcycles — because well frankly, it’s not. Yeah sure, there is a 12 second Travis Pastrana cameo tucked-away in there somewhere, and that might be enough material to spin-doctor the snot out of this puppy, but here’s the deal:

First, the video is awesome in that 12-year-old boy discovering bottle rockets sort of way. Second, the video is set in my home town, and we all know how militant I can be about the Golden State, whose border I draw somewhere just south of Ojai. And third, the video is an example of great marketing, and it is such an easy example of what can crossover into motorcycles, it pains me that we here in the two-wheeled world haven’t answered back with something even better. Enjoy after the jump.

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Banter

Lamborghini vs. BMW — It’s Not What You Think

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A crime against motorcycling, one Lamborghini Murcielago owner may have inadvertently thrown some more fuel on the car vs. motorcycle fire with this latest bone-head move. Losing control of the Lambo outside of a BMW dealership in Como, a certain Italian driver is responsible for sending nine german two-wheelers to the scrapyard. The motorcycles were parked outside of the dealership’s showroom, as the driver and his occupant careened through the row of bikes.

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Bikes

2013 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R Gets Adaptive Electronic Steering Damper – Welcome to 2004 Says Honda

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For the next model year, Kawasaki is giving a modest update to its flagship model, the 2013 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R. Mostly touching up its work from 2011 with a dollop of new paint, the one intriguing feature of the 2013 Kawasaki ZX-10R is its new electronic steering damper, which adjusts the level of steering damping based on how fast the motorcycle is traveling.

Kawasaki developed the damper with the help of a little Swedish company named Öhlins, and is the first manufacturer to use the new suspension from the famed suspension brand, which is sure to be a standard item on the bikes of other OEMs in the coming years — just like the Honda Electronic Steering Damper (HESD) that Big Red debuted circa 2004.

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News

India’s TVS is in Talks with BMW Motorrad

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The big news out of India today is that the country’s fourth-largest motorcycle manufacturer, TVS,  is in talks with Germany’s leading two-wheeled maker, BMW Motorrad. While there are few details on what is occurring between the two companies, it is being reported by the Wall Street Journal that TVS is hoping to get some technical know-how from BMW in making larger-displacement motorcycles.

Likely to end in some sort of strategic partnership, BMW is surely eyeing TVS’s distribution network in exchange for its 500cc+ help, as all the major OEMs are currently jockeying for position in the growing Indian market. Other rumors around the deal suggest that TVS could help BMW create smaller-displacement machines, specifically designed for India, which would presumably also be available in other emerging markets like South America and Southeast Asia.

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Racing

2013 KTM Moto3 250 GPR Production Race Bike

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Taking advantage of a quasi-home round for the MotoGP Championship at the German GP, Austrian company KTM debuted it latest “ready to race” machine, the 2013 KTM Moto3 250 GPR production race bike. A for-sale-version of its Moto3 Championship contender, the KTM Moto3 250 GPR borrows heavily from its GP-class predecessor, though comes in a slightly lower state of tune.

Featuring forged aluminum OZ wheels instead of magnesium ones, the production racer also comes sans Brembo brakes and WP suspension (items race teams would likely get from suppliers separately anyways). There is however one big technical difference, as KTM has reduced the bike’s maximum engine speed to 13,500 rpm, down from the 14,000 found on the factory bikes. This leaves the 2013 KTM Moto3 250 GPR production racer with just under 50hp on tap.

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News

Ducati Streetfighter Panigale Concept

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It remains to be seen how the high-reving Superquadro motor will fit into Ducati’s “one-motor-fits-all” strategy, but the speculation is already becoming rife about a supersport version of the Ducati 1199 Panigale, and of course a streetfighter version as well.

With the Panigale’s engine being an integral part of the superbike’s design, there is a definite challenge for Ducati’s design team in making the Emperor of the Sport Bike Kingdom look good naked. Until we see what Borgo Panigale can conjure up, we are lucky to have weekend couch jockey’s on the Ducati.ms forum who happen to have incredible photoshoping skills.

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Racing

MotoGP: It’s Not Over Until It’s Over at Sachsenring

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With the rainy weekend turning to cloudy but dry skies, racing for the German GP proved to be a challenge as teams had only one practice session plus the warm-up to get their dry-setups right for the afternoon’s race. With Casey Stoner sitting on the pole-position, all eyes were on the Australian to see if he could convert the front-row start into a points advantage in the MotoGP Championship, after Lorenzo’s crash in Assen leveled the points between the two rivals.

The level playing field was courtesy of one over-zealous Alvaro Bautista, whose first-turn crash at Assen took the factory Yamaha rider down with him, thus negating his 25 point lead in the 2012 MotoGP Championship. With much of silly season still undecided, the focus wasn’t just on the riders at the front, as Ben Spies, Andrea Dovizioso, and Cal Crutchlow all are vying for the last factory seat in the Yamaha garage. As the German GP would prove, even with half of the season nearly over, it could all come down to the last minute. Click on for a full race report with spoilers.

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