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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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News

Harley-Davidson Returns to Profitability

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Harley-Davidson has announced its Q1 quarterly earnings today, and the Milwaukee-based company posted a $68.7 million profit. This news comes after Harley-Davidson posted a $218 million loss last quarter, and finished in the hole over $55 million for the 2009 year. Harley’s return to profitability is partially due to the company’s restructuring of its financial services, which are once again generating money for the iconic American brand. Harley-Davidson Financial Services posted a profit of $26.7 million this past quarter, almost a third of HD’s net income in Q1.

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Reviews

Skip Barber Superbike School Teaches Asphalt & Rubber How to Ride at Laguna Seca

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As a California native, I’ve always wanted to ride around Laguna Seca on a sportbike. However my passion for track riding didn’t manifest itself until I moved away from the Golden State to Pennsylvania, making a Seca track day all but implausible. Having just moved back into California, and the warm weather finally upon us here in the San Francisco area, track days and Seca have been on my mind. So when Michael Czysz, Lead Instructor at the Skip Barber Superbike School (and of MotoCzysz fame) shot me an email asking me if I wanted to ride for two days around the fabled circuit and take Skip Barber’s two-day superbike course, I of course took him up on the offer. With perfect 70°F weather, I made my way to the Californian coast, ready to take on The Corkscrew with the brand new 2010 KTM RC8 motorcycle and with the help of Skip Barber’s instructors.

Bikes

2011 Ducati Monster 796 Confirmed

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The rumor floodgates were wide-open this weekend about a possible late model entry by Ducati that would see the Italian company add a Monster 796 to its 2010 model lineup. We can now confirm that the 2011 Ducati Monster 796 has been added to the Monster product line, and will fit in-between the 696cc and 1100cc versions of the Monster. The impetus for this late addition is reportedly because of poor sales in the 1100cc range of Monsters, which has prompted Ducati to further segment the line-up with a middle offering. The Monster is actually Ducati’s best selling line of motorcycle, and the brand is keen to maximize its return on the newly updated design, and is seemingly pinning its hopes on this late entry.

Racing

Video: MotoCzysz D1-10 Electric Motor on the Dyno

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While the video of MotoCzysz putting their new D1-10 electric motor up on the dyno is not terribly captivating (it’s hard to see anything really moving since all the fun bits are inside the motor’s casings), the performance figures the company quotes surely are impressive. The liquid-cooled IPM motor makes 250lbs•ft of torque, generates over 100hp, and employs a proprietary cooling system to allow a higher percentage of that peak power to be used over extended periods of time. This is particularly important because of the large gap between peak power figures and sustainable power figures in the electric motorcycle world, with the latter being the more important figure to quote.

Banter

Video: Aprilia Marketing Tries to Go Viral

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Next up on our diatribe of motorcycle marketing gone bad, we have Italian manufacturer Aprilia Motorcycles. In an attempt to latch onto this whole “internet” thing they’ve been hearing people talk about outside of the office, the Piaggio Group member has discovered the FaceTubeSpace’s of the .com revolution as a great marketing medium. Hoping for just one killer hit on the interwebs, we have the following video, aptly titled “Aprilia Dorsoduro 750 Factory viral”, which clearly shows the intent behind its production.