Suffering falling outs with both the Isle of Man TT and the FIM, the TTXGP electric motorcycle series has had to reinvent itself since its first event in back in 2009. A massive collision of three parties all trying to control the next big thing in motorcycle racing, fans of the electric motorcycle racing eventually saw it split over three competing series: the TT Zero race at the Isle of Man TT, the FIM’s e-Power Championship, and of course the TTXGP series. A major division in these different electric motorcycle racing series is about to heal itself though, as the FIM and TTXGP have finally come to an agreement on a future joint electric motorcycle racing series.
We spend a bit of our time here at Asphalt & Rubber featuring the work of Nicolas Petit, and other…
Good news from down under, as Dorna has decided to extend its contract with Australia’s racing cathedral, Phillip Island. Already…
From the desk of the Honorable Scott C. Clarkson of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California in Santa Ana, American Suzuki Motor Corporation’s plan for Chapter 11 bankruptcy has been approved. Overwhelmingly supported by the company’s creditors, American Suzuki can begin restructuring its business operations in the United States, which will include shutting down the company’s automotive endeavors. In turn, American Suzuki’s new business focuses on the company’s motorcycle, ATV, marine, automotive parts divisions, and will consist of a new wholy-owned subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation. This new company will operate under in the United States under the new name: Suzuki Motor of America.
If it was still in business, this year would have been the Buell Motorcycle Company’s 30th birthday. Treated more like a line on the cash flow sheet to its parent company Harley-Davidson than a true self-supporting motorcycle brand, Buell suffered from not being “Harley enough” for the Bar & Shield devout, and conversely wasn’t adopted by the non-believers because of its extensive compromises with the Milwaukee brand. The ethos of the brand continues however, with Erik Buell Racing. We still don’t know what the future holds for Erik Buell’s new company, though a bevy of models are on his company’s product road map. We think if you polled a few former Buell owners, they would want to see this poster (full-size after the jump) updated.
Now finished with its BOTT XR1 project, Spanish design and engineering house Bottpower has taken its American-powered street-tracker to Albaida, Spain for a little track time. A custom one-off build for a client, Bottpower has created the machine that Harley-Davidson should have envisioned with the Buell brand. The BOTT XR1 looks genuinely fun to ride, and is more than eye-catching to our critical eye for design. We hope Bottpower’s plans for a do-it-yourself kit come to fruition, as we could use more of these beasts on the street.