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Ian Hutchinson Will Miss 2011 Isle of Man TT

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By last year’s account, Ian Hutchinson is the king of the Isle of Man TT, winning an historic five TT races in 2010. Unfortunately however, the English rider will have to sit out the 2011 IoMTT, as Shaun Muir Racing has confirmed that Hutchinson has not fully recovered from the injuries he sustained from during an incident in a BSB Supersport race, which was held at Silverstone in September 2010. From that incident, the 31 year-old Hutchinson has suffered from a compound fracture of the tibia and fibia, and has had 16 surgeries and skin grafts to treat his injuries.

Moving to the Shaun Muir Racing team, Hutchinson had hoped to defend his five TT wins in this year’s event, but instead will only be able to participate in the Arai Parade Lap with Mick Doohan, Nicky Hayden. and Cal Crutchlow. Hutchinson is now expecting a return to motorcycle racing later in the BSB Supersport season, due largely to his vigorous rehabilitation efforts.

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Banter

Another Day in the Roland Sands Office

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Making custom bikes of his choosing in Southern California is pretty lush gig, and helping prove the point that we should give up this crazy blogging lifestyle, Roland Sands Design has come up with this “typical day in the office” video. Tracking a promotional photo shoot that starts in the RSD shop, and ends in some apocalyptic industrial park, there’s a bevy of women, motorcycles, and Roland.

After crushing a small mutiny here in the office (we must not have enough bikes for our decor here in the A&R office), we can share with you  the video of a typical day in the Roland Sands Design office. Employers beforewarned as your workforce may start complaining of unfair working conditions. Employees beware, not all the scenes here are strictly work safe.

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Bikes

2012 MV Agusta F4 RR Official Details & Photos

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After teasing us last week with a video of the new 2012 MV Agusta F4 RR, the Italian company has come out and released official details and photos of the 198hp superbike. Using a shorter-stroke Corsacorta motor, MV Agusta has been able to coax more top-end speed and power from the iconic F4 design. Expected to go on sale in Italy later this month, the F4 RR is carrying with it roughly a 20% premium over the base F4, and will cost €22,900 in that market.

Highlights of the new MV Agusta F4 RR:

  • New short-stroke radial valve engine 198 hp at 13,400 rpm
  • New increased bore diameter
  • New primary drive
  • New cylinder head
  • New large-diameter titanium intake and exhaust valves
  • New lightweight forged pistons in “aerospace RR alloy”
  • New exhaust 4-2-1-4
  • Close ratio gearbox
  • Variable length intake runners
  • Öhlins multi-adjustable 43 mm fork
  • Öhlins TTX 36 rear shock
  • Öhlins steering damper
  • Forged aluminum wheels

It should be noted that MV Agusta is translating a 201cv figure in some instances as 201hp, which some sites have confused as being 201hp. In fact the new 2011 MV Agusta F4 RR makes 198hp. Photos and press release after the jump.

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Bikes

Husqvarna 900 Street One by Oberdan Bezzi

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Confirming that the rumors were true, Husqvarna recently released photos of its new 900cc motor destined for the company’s first proper street bike. Based on the 800cc BMW parallel twin, we’ll have to wait until November to see what the Swedish brand has in store for us, but until then Oberdan Bezzi has some ideas to help whet our appetite. Called the Husqvarna 900 Street One, Bezzi sees a street-naked in Husky’s future, which will help show-off the firm’s newly minted engine.

With the new Husqvarna expected to have both more torque and horsepower than its German counterpart, Obiboi sees the Husky 900 as a sportier version of the BMW line, and has put those feelings into his concept sketch here. Perhaps the only thing that rivals our curiosity on what the new Husqvarna will look like, is how the company will differentiate its street motorcycles from its parent company’s offering, and what it will mean for the fabled dirtbike brand.

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Racing

2012 Lightning Motors Concept Sketch – Two Bike Team

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After our Bothan Spies brought back photos of the new Lightning Motors electric race motorcycle, we got this concept sketch of the new 2012 “Flying Banana” that gives us some idea or what to expect this weekend at Infineon for the first round of the North American TTXGP series. It is hard to glean any real information off the sketch, other than of course that the machine will have two-wheels, a seat, and some fairings.

What we can tell from this information though is that the Lightning is suspiciously svelte compared to last year’s racing machine. Though it’s easy to hide a motorcycle’s mass in two dimensions, it looks like Lightning Motors has gone on a diet with its design philosophy, which backs up the information we got that the machine has lost 150 lbs from its previous bulk. Time will tell what sort of sacrifices the team had to make in order to achieve that feat, but with two bikes listed on their card, Lightning seems to mean business this year.

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Bikes

Akrapovič Morsus Custom Motorcycle

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Akrapovi? is known for making some of the finest sport bike exhausts on the market, with its carbon and titanium artistry gracing many a bike in the AMA, World Superbike, and MotoGP paddocks. Now we learn from our friends at OmniMoto.it that our favorite Slovenian motorcycle exhaust maker is getting into the custom chopper scene, and helping promote the company’s launch of cruiser-styled exhausts is the modern-styled Akrapovi? Morsus custom show bike.

Built in collaboration with Dreamachine Motorcycles, the Akrapovi? Morsus features an S&S 113 CI (that’s 1,852cc for the mertic-inclined) motor that pumps out 114hp through its modified Akrapovi? exhaust pipe. The Morsus design appeases our modern-leaning design sensibilities, but true to its ethos, it’s the Akrapovi? exhaust that really makes us drool over this bike. There’s something about an underslung side-venting pipe that makes us happy, and the Akrapovi? Morsus is no exception to the rule. Photos and more after the jump.

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Racing

TTXGP & FIM Holding Three Joint Electric Races – Laguna Seca, Donington Park, & Le Mans

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The FIM and TTXGP have issued a joint statement today, declaring that the two rival electric racing series would collaborate on three races this season, plus the possibility of a season-capping championship race in October. As we broke the news a couple months ago, the two series have begun to patch-up their relationship, and are slowly working their way back into a merger.

Today’s announcement sees TTXGP adding its name to perhaps the FIM e-Power Championship’s crown jewel event: the Laguna Seca round, which will count towards the TTXGP’s North American Championship.

Other event collaborations include stops on the FIM e-Power calendar as well, as both Donington Park and Le Mans have been named in the press release. e-Power races to be held at those venues were to be run during the FIM Endurance World Championship, and now will include TTXGP riders as well, who will be receiving points towards their European Championship standings.

The announcement should mean the bolstering of riders at all the events, but we imagine it will affect the FIM’s European rounds the most, as the American race was well-attended last year.

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Banter

Video: Casey Stoner Helps Hock Some Hondas

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It’s been a while since we had a motorcycle advert to critique, but with the thawing of winter’s ice, we should have a plethora of videos to show in the coming motorcycle friendly months. First up for the new riding season is Honda with this CBR1000RR ad that features MotoGP star Casey Stoner, and what appropriately looks to be Oz’s Repsol Honda Casey Stoner race replica that he is riding.

As far as motorcycle marketing goes, this clip is a pretty good effort by Honda Australia. Star GP rider, good production quality, and a demand generation focus all make for a compelling advert. Honda will need all the help it can get though, as it’s hard to sell the same bike that’s been out for four years, albeit with some fresh paint and some minor tweaks here and there.

In a market segment where dyno graphs and high-tech gizmos rule the sales sheet, here’s to hoping that quality in adverts can make up for quantity on the dynamometer in the Land of Kangaroos. Check it out after the jump and let us know what you think.

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News

Brammo Empulse Delivery Delayed to 2012 – IET Coming?

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Our good friend Ted Dillard from The Electric Chronicles got an interesting email from Brammo CEO Craig Bramscher this past week, in which the Oregonian company stated that it will be pushing deliveries of the Brammo Empulse back yet another year to 2012, and then fairly bluntly hinted that the revamped Empulse would be fitted with the company’s newly licensed Integrated Electric Transmission (IET).

In his email to Dillard, Bramscher states that “Brammo teams and suppliers across the globe are working hard to deliver you a motorcycle of the level of quality Brammo riders have come to expect. We had a tough decision to make recently: Deliver the Empulse this riding season, or integrate our latest technology and deliver a superior bike in 2012. After much deliberation, we decided to be true to our values and build the best bike we can.”

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News

Husqvarna’s 900cc Street Bike Motor

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The rumors are true, Husqvarna is set to bring out a street bike (or five if you believe some reports) in the coming months (expect a November unveiling). Accordingly the Swedish brand, which operates out of Italy and is owned by a German company (Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego anyone?), has released some photos and details about its 900cc parallel twin motor that takes more than a couples cues from its BMW counterpart.

Announcing that it will bring out a road-oriented concept vehicle, Husqvarna will focus on fun, power, and versatility for its first street machine. A sort of vague statement yes, but we do know that parent company BMW is heavily involved with the project, and helping its subsidiary to create a peppier 900cc-ish motor with more horsepower and torque than the BMW lump originally provided.

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Bikes

2011 Roehr eSuperSport

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We heard a rumor that Roehr was teaming up with Hyosung to build an electric streetbike, and low and behold a press release in our inbox today confirmed the news, as the 2011 Roehr eSuperSport is a spitting image of the Korean company’s Hyosung GT650R..except you know, with batteries, electric motors, and a slightly higher price tag. That’s of course because the new Roehr eSuperSport is essentially an electric conversion of the Korean bike.

Announcing a “closer relationship” with Hyosung (the company then states “Roehr Motorcycles LLC does not express or imply any affiliation with Hyosung Motors USA”), Roehr has taken its electric drive system, and placed it in the GT650R rolling chassis to create a 67hp, 100+ mph electric street bike. Though you might scoff at the conversion bike premise, our favorite part about the bike is the $17,995 price tag, which isn’t terribly expensive for a a machine that should go about 75 miles or so on a charge.

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