Ben Spies made his factory debut today, taking to the 2011 Yamaha YZR-M1 for the first time. Showing an impressive position as third fastest for the day’s testing time sheets, Spies clearly showed an aptitude for the new Yamaha, as did teammate Jorge Lorenzo who topped today’s charts. Spies used the 2010 spec tires from Bridgestone to get a base feeling for the new M1, while tomorrow he is expected to try the 2011 tires. Meanwhile Lorenzo spent his time divided between a modified 2010 chassis and the 2011 bike, as the Spaniard tested new Öhlins suspension and various setups.
“For the first day of testing I’m super happy with the team, a lot of things are new including obviously riding the prototype bike,” said Spies. “There are a lot of subtle changes from last year so I spent some time getting used to it along with working with a new Japanese engineer who is very, very good. I had a couple of new mechanics who were learning the ropes as well so it was a lot of learning today. I’m really happy, I can feel the potential of the bike and I think there’s quite a bit more to come.” More photos of Ben and some guy named Jorge after the jump.
UPDATE: British pricing has come in at £7,149 for the Tiger 800, and £7,749 for the Tiger 800 XC. The optional ABS package is an additional £600. For reference the base BMW F800GS costs £7,780.00 MSRP OTD.
While pricing in the United States still is yet to be determined, Triumph has set its base MSRP for the Tiger 800 & Tiger 800 XC for the Italian market (and presumably the European market as well), which sheds some light on how much we can expect to pay here in the US. According to information sent to Triumph dealers in Italy, the 2011 Triumph Tiger 800 will cost €8,990, while the the 2011 Triumph Tiger 800 XC will cost €9,990.
Abroad this means Triumph is taking a stab at BMW, and pricing the Tiger 800 below the F800GS (€10,500 MSRP), which should translate into a similar segment positioning here in the United States. It is hard to guess exactly how Triumph will price the Tiger 800 and Tiger 800 XC in America exactly, as Triumph’s international pricing structure is a bit more convoluted than other manufacturers, but we expect to see the Triumph Tiger 800 XC priced just under $10,000. More on that as we get it.
Clad in only carbon fiber bodywork, Valentino Rossi made the mental switch from blue to red today, as he swung his leg over the Ducati Desmosedici for the first time — a moment Italy, and the whole of MotoGP have been waiting for the entire 2010 MotoGP season.
As such Rossi and his crew from Yamaha will not be wearing the Rosso Corsa just yet (the former Yamaha crew has instead elected to wear some very smart looking yellow sweaters), but Rossi’s yellow “46” did make it onto the bike for the testing session, which is about all the branding that Ducati & Rossi fans need to see at this point to get in a fervor.
Promoting his VR46 line, Rossi is wearing special one-off Dainese D-Air leathers, which like the D16, is all black with yellow accents, while his AGV helmet has a question mark set between the Italian’s sun & moon logo. We wouldn’t be surprised if a replica version of these became available later this year. Video, lap times, and photos after the jump.
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, tomorrow is the day that Valentino Rossi will officially leave Yamaha, and ride the Ducati Desmosedici GP11 for the first time. In 7 seasons Rossi won 4 Championships and 46 GP’s for the Japanese company, and helped turn the YZR-M1 from MotoGP dud, to the MotoGP stud in that timeframe.
Appropriately, former World Champion Valentino Rossi, along with Executive Officer of Engineering Operations Masao Furusawa and Managing Director of Yamaha Racing Lin Jarvis, have released statements about the past seven years, which shed a great deal of insight into the relationship between Yamaha and Rossi, and the impact that the Italian rider will leave behind on the Japanese company. Quotes and some photos after the jump.
Seeing how popular the work of Radical Ducati has been on our site, both with the Radical Ducati 9½ and Radical Ducati RAD02 Imola, we thought we’d bring you another one of the Spanish group’s fabulous creations: The Radical Ducati Café Veloce. Based off a Ducati Sport Classic, the Café Veloce features the same DS 1000 air-cooled two-valve motor, and steel tube frame as the now discontinued Ducati, but grows upon the Sport Classic’s cafe inspired lines.
Tastefully refining the Café Veloce into a sleeker and more dynamic package, Radical Ducati has created the Café Veloce to be devoid of Ducati’s more bland touches to the GT1000. In case you haven’t noticed yet, we’re smitten with the Café Veloce, even if it’s not usually the kind of thing we’d go for in our own garage. Photos after the jump.
After declaring its intention to field a three-man team in the 2011 MotoGP season with riders Dani Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso, and Casey Stoner, HRC went immediately into circles about how it would pull-off such an arrangement when the money to finance a larger factory squad did not materialize. Exploring avenues that would see a second, single-bike, factory team (rumored to be sponsored by Red Bull) centered around Andrea Dovizioso, Honda also tried to stick the Italian rider inside the Gresini Honda satellite squad (with the promise of factory support), but both efforts came to no avail.
With Dovizioso holding his ground, and Honda bound by a contract, questions regarding how the Japanese manufacture would handle its predicament were a common source of conjecture in the MotoGP paddock. This speculation has finally come to a conclusion though, as HRC has announced it has secured Andrea Dovizioso in the factory team for 2011, which will will continue to be sponsored by Repsol Honda.
Are you one of the loyal Ducatisti who is not so crazy about the new Ducati Diavel? Don’t worry, because Nicky Hayden feels your pain, and went as far as to create his own concept bike for Ducati’s newly released performance cruiser. Based off the 800cc V4 motor of the Ducati Desmosedici GP10, Hayden’s low-riding two-wheeled vision uses an all carbon frame, Öhlins suspension, and Brembo monoblocs.
It also comes fitted stock with Bridgestone’s top-of-the-line performance tires, and has numerous carbon fiber bits and pieces, not to mention traction control, launch control, wheelie control, but no ABS. Available only in Rosso Corsa for now, we hear a one-off limited edition white paint scheme may also be available later next year. No word on price, but the above model comes slightly used.
Source: Alex Hofmann (Twitter) via Ducati News Today
Although Honda likely needed to explain its thought process more fully regarding the 2011 Honda Crossrunner, the Japanese company has also put together a quick video clip with designer Yosuke Hasegawa, and his vision behind the Honda Crosstourer Concept. The more purposeful occasional off-roader, Honda’s Crosstourer Concept takes the V4 motor from the VFR1200F, and mates it to an adventure-based platform.
We imagine the idea is that the Crosstourer picks up where the Crossrunner leaves off, and it is interesting to note how Honda’s naming scheme for both bikes encourages that idea. Cross for crossover concept, the Crossrunner is sportier with its “runner” designation, while the Crosstourer seems destined for more of a “it’s the journey, not the destination” thing with its “tourer” badge. Again don’t take our word for it, watch Hasegawa-san explain his creation after the jump.
The was finally debuted at EICMA this year, after teasing us with several sketches of the concept. Designed to be a crossover motorcycle, the Crossrunner 800 sits somewhere between a sport-tourer and an adventure-tourer in our eyes. Sitting high up with its elongated suspension and upright sitting position, the Crossrunner has some component protection, but clearly invisions a sporty priority with its single-sided swingarm and aggressive minimalist fairing.
Of course that’s just our take on the motorcycle, so check out the video above for Honda’s opinion on its own creation (did you know one of the design inspirations was the personal water craft?), and extrapolate your own conclusions. For bonus fun, there is a very well done promotional video awaiting you after the jump.
There is a reason why Nicky Hayden is rapidly becoming one of our favorite riders in the MotoGP paddock (behind Randy de Puniet of course). The Kentucky Kid always tells it how he sees it, is constantly up-beat, and is perhaps one of the most personable riders in the sport, often cracking jokes and egging-on the journalists during press conferences and rider debriefs.
It therefore comes with no surprise that Hayden brought his A-material to Thursday’s press conference in Valencia for MotoGP’s last stop on the 2010 calendar. When asked about his thoughts on joining Valentino Rossi as a teammate again on Tuesday for the 2011 season (Hayden and Rossi were teammates during 2003 with the Repsol Honda team), Hayden was quick with his wit in his response to their reunion at Ducati Corse.