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Recall

Recall: Ducati Diavel

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Ducati is recalling 964 units of its Ducati Diavel motorcycle for a faulty license plate holder mount. Affecting Diavels manufactured between September 23, 2010 and May 12, 2011, this recall concerns the brass inserts that are installed in the chain guard, which may deform over time, and result in the possible loosening of the license plate holder retaining screws on the swingarm. Because of this defect, the license plate holder could come loose and interfere with the rear wheel rotation, which could cause a crash.

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Recall

Recall: Yamaha FJR1300

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Yamaha is recalling 9,850 units of its FJR1300 motorcycle manufactured between February 2006 & March 2009. This recall is due to a ground joint connector in the wiring harness that could overheat and become deformed, and thus possibly cause an intermittent ground wire connection. Should the electrical system become improperly grounded, then the ignition system, or other electrical components, could malfunction, which could cause the motor to stall.

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Racing

Casey Stoner on Developing the Honda RC213V

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Sitting down with Casey Stoner after the Italian GP at Mugello, the HRC media department asked a bevy of questions to the Australian rider. In the interview, Stoner primarily talks about about the upcoming 1,000cc 2012 Honda RC213V and its differences to the current batch of 800cc motorcycles. Stoner also sheds light on his riding style, how he operates during the race weekend to setup his race package, and what he looks for from a motorcycle to fit his riding strengths.

Perhaps the most interesting thing to come from Stoner’s statements is how similar the RC213V is to the RC212V, and his thoughts on over-taking and passing in MotoGP. While the insight is an important one, one should always consider the source, and it doesn’t surprise us that a GP rider would suggest that its an increase in caliber of rider that’s responsible for less passing and overtaking in GP racing. Engineers, for example, might suggest that it’s the electronics packages that have changed the racing. Read the interview after the jump, and leave your thoughts on that subject (or any other) in the comments.

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Bikes

Video: Radical Ducati RAD02 Pursang

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If you’ve ever gotten a mouthful of hairspray before (we were awkward children growing up), then you surely know the need to get a bad taste out of your mouth. Helping us get over our magnificient indifference regarding Husqvarna’s latest video is this short clip from our friends over in Spain, Radical Ducati. In case you haven’t heard of these guys, they take junked-out Ducatis (typically air-cooled), do a bit of a parts bin mash-up, and create eye-catching pieces of two-wheeled goodness for all of us to enjoy.

Their designs are cleverly creative and very pleasing on the retinal units, but yet also have a certain gritty quality that makes for a good juxtaposition to the prim and proper Ducati brand. As for the video, its does a pretty good job of showing the Radical Ducati RAD02 Pursang sitting there and looking pretty, though the go-fast addict in us really wants to see the Radical Ducati RAD 02 Corsa EVO make some laps around (insert famous Spanish circuit here). Ehh boys? Video and photos after the jump.

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News

Video of the Husqvarna Nuda 900R Makes Us Feel…Bleeh!

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The straw vote in the A&R office is that the jury is still out on the recently unveiled Husqvarna Nusa 900R. We like that BMW is setting up Husqvarna to be the more edgy on-street brand in its two-wheeled house, and the maxi-motard is a safe street entry for the otherwise dirt-based company. A narrow, fairly light, and peppy twin should be fun to blast from stoplight to stoplight, lane-split between traffic-packed cars, and generally just hoon about town. Price of course will be an issue for the Nuda 900R, as its components don’t suggest a cheap price tag, of course we don’t think Husqvarna (read BMW) is too concerned with that issue, as they’re likely focusing on the more exclusive side of the market continuum.

Speaking of select target markets, the looks are not the most generally palatable, with our office’s spectrum of reception ranging from drool-worthy praise to motions of people hanging themselves with their belt (and not in that good auto-erotica asphyxiation sort of way). One thing we can agree on, as far as promo videos go…this one doesn’t really achieve any of the goals we’d think Husqvarna would set out for its first street bike.

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Racing

Rumor: The Clock is Ticking on Toni Elias

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After his abysmal finish in the Italian GP at Mugello, rumors are swirling in the MotoGP paddock that Toni Elias has been given two to three races (it depends on which Spanish journalist you want to believe) to turn around his flailing MotoGP season. Affixed to the back of the pack, speculation that Dorna will charge Elias rent on the back-row grid position is exaggerated, but not far from the truth. A true backmarker, the Spanish rider has essentially been left high & dry by his team, as a struggle has emerged in the LCR Honda garage over where to take Elias’s RC212V in its setup.

With Elias and his crew butting heads over how to make the satellite Honda go faster, the reigning Moto2 Champion has been left to sort out his own chassis and suspension settings on race day, which means a lot of rider one-on-one time with the Öhlins truck. While the LCR Honda crew has been making the changes that Elias ultimately wants, the team hasn’t been offering any input on arriving at those settings, essentially letting the Spaniard sink or swim on his own accord. This game of cat and mouse is apparently over however, and the death clock on Toni Elias’s MotoGP career appears to be ticking.

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Racing

The Top 10 Late-Brakers at Mugello

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Brembo has released a list containing the Top 10 late-brakers at the Italian GP in Mugello. Taken from teams’ telemetry from the Qualifying Practice, Brembo compiled the list based off who was applying the most braking force coming off the front straight-away, and into Turn 1. Of note, the list was based off only teams who use Brembo brakes, which means LCR Honda and San Carlos Gresini Honda were left off the list (they use Nissin), we therefore don’t have data for Toni Elias, Hiroshi Aoyama, and Marco Simoncelli.

The San Donato bend at Mugello sees riders slow from 203 mph coming down the long straightaway to 75 mph into the apex of the first turn. One of the first tracks on the MotoGP calendar, Mugello recently repaved its course, meaning the Italian track has become especially smooth and grippy, and under the weekend’s sun, it was warm and ready for MotoGP action. Make your guesses now as to whom was the King of the Brake Lever, and check your answers after the jump.

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Banter

What Does Shooting a .50 cal Have to do with Riding?

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Yamaha must be picking up on the idea that any video with Colin Edwards is motorcycling gold, even when it’s hocking the Yamaha Extended Service warranty plan (well…sort of). While definitely not the company’s finest, and bleeping out Colin Edwards sort of defeats the purpose of why you’d put the plucky MotoGP rider in a video in the first place, as far as commercials for warranty plans go…this one has to be our favorite.

Though the writing could use some work, and editing things down a bit might have helped as well, we still like a number of the gags in this video, which is set at the Texas Tornado Boot Camp. A Shake Weight gag, reserved room for Dani Pedrosa, and the answer to what shooting a .50 cal has to do with riding await you after the jump.

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Bikes

Rendered: 2012 Suzuki GSX-R1000

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While the Suzuki GSX-R600 & GSX-R750 were updated for the 2011 model year, it seems like Suzuki’s crowned king of the liter-bike class hasn’t see a touch-up since the Reagan administration. This is due in part because of Suzuki’s staggered development life-cycle, but primarily rests on the motorcycle industry apocalypse that many just refer to as the past recession. Because of the economic downturn, Suzuki had an overabundance of motorcycles sitting in its domestic warehouses, causing the Japanese company not to bring over any more fresh units for the North American market.

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News

Helmetless Motorcyclist Dies During Anti-Helmet Protest

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Some tragic news with a twist comes to us from the long holiday weekend, as we get word that a helmetless rider from Onondaga, NY died after crashing his 1983 Harley Davidson motorcycle during a protest rally.

Though it’s always unfortunate when we lose a member of the motorcycle community, this story has a bit of irony as we learn that Philip A. Contos was participating in a motorcycle helmet protest when the 55-year-old flipped over the handlebars of his motorcycle, and hit his head against the pavement.

According to the attending physician, and based off the evidence and information at the scene of the accident, Contos would have survived the fall had he been wearing a DOT approved helmet, but instead sadly perished from his injuries.

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