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Asphalt & Rubber
KTM’s Stefan Pierer Gobbles Up 25% of MV Agusta
News

KTM’s Stefan Pierer Gobbles Up 25% of MV Agusta

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The BMW M1000RR Superbike Takes Another Step Forward for 2023
Bikes

The BMW M1000RR Superbike Takes Another Step Forward for 2023

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The BMW S1000RR Gets Wings and Updates for the 2023 Model Year
Bikes

The BMW S1000RR Gets Wings and Updates for the 2023 Model Year

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Bikes

Kwikasfaki by Cabbie

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Take one Kawasaki H2 750 motor, recently decommisioned from drag strip duty we might add, throw in a plenty of bling parts, for measure include one deliciously white powdercoated frame, and you’ve got one seriously trick bike that is sure to go “kwikasfaki” (295lbs, 135rwhp, 9.3 down the ¼ mile if you’re a numbers person). Oddly enough, that’s exactly what one member on the Custom Fighters forum, named cabbie, did (full build thread here), and the result is Pamela-Anderson-in-a-wet-leotard-on-a-windy-day stunning.

While everyone is busy trying to murder out every piece of their motorcycles with the darkest shades of dark (quick diversion: has anyone noticed how the OEMs are all finally catching onto the styling trend?), cabbie is going the other way with his design: all white everything. The result is a bright and eye-catching bike, and oh…check out those three gorgeous two-stroke exhaust pipes. We’d write more, but we’ve soiled ourselves. More photos after the jump.

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Racing

Who is Karel Abraham?

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When the Czech Republic’s Karel Abraham climbed aboard a Ducati Desmosedici GP10 and started putting down impressive lap times, the 21-year-old law student got a proper roasting on his introduction to the premier class by english-speaking journalists (ourselves included), despite his performance. However over the course of the 2011 season, we’ve watched a young Ducati rider hold his own against the MotoGP field. Throughout the season, he’s shaken things up a number of times, and on several occasions been the fastest Ducati in a session. When you consider that all of this is occuring in the Czech rider’s first entry in the big show, Karel becomes an increasingly impressive rider. Our interview with him is after the jump.

Racing

“Why Would You Make a Motorcycle that You Can’t Wheelie, but that Wheelies Everywhere?” – Kenny Roberts Sr.

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A&R got to eavesdrop in on a conversation between Roberts, Edwards, Spies, and Crutchlow, as the foursome exchanged notes on how GP racing has progressed, and what riding the M1 was like coming from different disciplines outside of the usual GP career track. Perhaps most interesting in that discussion was how precise riding a MotoGP motorcycle has become, as the tires, electronics, and suspension all demand a very particular riding style, racing line, and motorcycle setup to achieve maximum performance. Roberts lamented to the current GP riders because of the precision required, it was easy to run afoul of the M1. Transcript of his thoughts after the jump.

News

2012 Ducati Streetfighter 848 & Ducati Streetfighter 1198 Coming in September

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We’ve gotten details from several highly credible sources that Ducati will debut to the public two new Streetfighters in September. Replacing the Streetfighter 1098 is the 2012 Ducati Streetfighter 1198, which as the name suggests, will get a 100cc displacement increase. The catch however is that the new motor will not come from the leftover Superbike 1198 mills, and instead Ducati is using the Testastretta 11° motor (as seen in the Multistrada 1200 and Diavel) in the new Streetfighter 1198. Ducati will also unveil a smaller displacement Ducati Streetfighter 848, which as the name suggests, borrows from the Superbike motor of similar numbering.

Bikes

Up-Close with the Motus MST at Alice’s Restaurant

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Stopping on the way back from the US GP at Laguna Seca this weekend, the Asphalt & Rubber crew stopped by Alice’s Restaurant on Skyline to check-out the Motus MST & MST-R Prototypes. Making a cross-country trek on the bikes, Lee Conn and Brian Case have been gathering some development data while meeting with local dealers and potential customers. If you have a chance to stop by Alice’s, try the “Harley” burger. The rumors that its applewood bacon and breakfast sausage toppings will take years off your life are probably untrue, but not completely unfounded. Though lighter on the cholesterol, the photos of the Motus MST & Motus MST-R prototypes after the jump may make your heart skip a beat.

Racing

Photo of the Week: Winless

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Valentino Rossi is the most photographed rider in the MotoGP paddock (and probably the most photographed motorcycle racer in the world), someone who almost always has a crowd of cameras around him. He has the most traffic when trying to ride from the box onto pit lane, the thickest crowd around him on the grid, and when he’s out on track he generates more images than any other rider. All the photographers, regardless of which clients they have and which teams they work with, photograph Rossi. So it has become quite a challenge to create images of him that many people have not seen many times already. At each race I try to get an image of him that I’ve not seen before.