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Jensen Beeler

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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has seemingly just terminated loud and free flowing exhaust systems on motorcycles in the Golden State of California. Affecting only motorcycles and aftermarket parts made in 2013 and on, the California’s law cracks down on noisy bikes by imposing fines  of $50 to $100 for first-time offenses, and fines of $100 to $250 for subsequent offenses.

The law’s passage has been a big issue for Californian motorcyclists, with the fires being fanned by both the MIC and AMA, who would like to state and national exhaust noise laws adopt an SAE standard. The reality though is that California’s law brings the state in-line with Federal laws on the issue, which already superseded California’s lax standards, which were widely unenforced by the state’s law enforcement officers.

With nothing changing from a legal perspective, it remains doubtful that California LEO’s will ramp-up their enforcement of the new provisions, considering how seriously they took the federal statutes.

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There were some not so happy racing fans this weekend during World Superbike’s penultimate stop at Imola. A home track for Ducati, the race stands where filled with Italian racing red, and also some signs from some very unhappy Ducatisti. Perceiving Valentino Rossi’s switch in the MotoGP from Yamaha to Ducati as the reason for at the end of this season, Ducati WSBK fans aired our their discontent with anti-Rossi and anti-Ducati banners and stickers throughout Imola.

One of our astute readers here at Asphalt & Rubber pointed out in . It’s no secret now that anti-lock braking systems are all the rage for street bikes, so it seems logical that Triumph would follow suit.

Now the real question remains whether the British brand will also field a traction control package, since TC systems often use these kind of sensors as well. Time will tell. Good eye Krylov!

Who has two thumbs, $4.99, and no embargo obligations? These guys [holds up thumbs]! Do you want to know every dirty secret about the 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R, but don’t want to wait until the big end-of-the-year bike shows? Well don’t worry, we won’t make you wait any longer than these overly-hyperbolized introductory paragraphs.

In what can only be described as another “accidental” story leak by Cycle World, this embargoed information could be bought for $4.99 at the right news stand in Hollywood this evening (by the way, it’s a long drive from San Francisco). Since Asphalt & Rubber isn’t under any obligations to keep this information secret, we’ve waded through the non-copyrightable facts and figures on the 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R and printed them here.

The first thing you need to know about the 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R is that it comes in the color green. Continue past the jump for other juicy details.

Marketing in the motorcycle industry is usually derivative at best, and nothing exemplifies that sentiment more than the tried and true rebel typecast that we see slung-around in advertisements on television, print, and the web. So it should perhaps not surprise us to see KTM going back to this marketing well when promoting the KTM 125 Duke.

Phat beat DJ’s, wheelies down the roadway, late night hooning on dark city streets, these are all the elements needed to make 13 year-old boys who haven’t reached puberty feel like total bad asses…and maybe KTM can sell some bikes with it along the way too. Check the video after the jump. and

Now officially official, BMW has announced that they have signed Leon Haslam for the 2011 World Superbike season. Haslam had been linked to the BMW squad for sometime now, and his move to the German manufacturer was all but a guarantee when Alstare Suzuki announced that they would release the Brit from his contract early. Likely to tie up the the second place position in the 2010 Worldsuperbike Championship this weekend at Magny-Cours, Haslam was leading the WSBK series midway through the season.

After yesterday’s announcement that rider Leon Haslam would be released from his contract at Alstare Suzuki because of a lack of factory support, the Alstare Suzuki team announced today that it would be fielding only one rider in World Superbike next year. Alstare will continue to work with Suzuki, but it’s unclear exactly how much support the Japanese factory will be giving the team.

With Haslam’s departure, it can be deduced that Suzuki’s involvement won’t be on par with the rest of the factory teams, but remains none-the-less. Although no rider has been named for the 2011 WSBK season, Alstare says we can expect an announcement in that regard during World Superbike’s last stop at Magny-Cours this weekend.

Alstare Suzuki announced this morning that Leon Haslam has been let out of his contract with the “factory” Suzuki World Superbike team. Although only halfway through a two-year contract, Haslam is said to have a clause in his contract that guarantees him factory support within the team. With Suzuki’s involvement being brought into question for next season, Alstare team principal Francis Batta has had no choice but to release Haslam from team obligations after Magny-Cours. Although no announcement has come forth, Haslam is widely believed to be taking Ruben Xaus’s seat at BMW for the 2011 season.

Without giving too much away about this weekend’s WSBK race, Max Biaggi clinched the World Superbike Championship at Imola this weekend. For fans in Italy, this moment is being celebrated heavily, as an Italian rider, on an Italian bike, during an Italian race, has clinched a major championship title. For Biaggi fans, this title has been a long-time in the making, as The Emperor hasn’t won a championship title since his 250GP days.