Page 353 – Asphalt & Rubber

Dirt

Dirt Bikes Persona Non Grata at Pikes Peak

By Jensen Beeler 03/07/2017 31 Comments

Dirt-focused machines will no longer be welcomed at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), says the race organizers.

With the change in the road surface and race course, the 2017 running of the “Race to the Clouds” will be the last one where competitors can use machinery that was originally intended to operate off-road.

How PPHIC will determine what is a prohibited machine is not really clear, with the press release stating only that “vehicles that were originally designed with the intention of competing on Pikes Peak’s traditional dirt surface” would no longer be allowed to race, after this year’s event.

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Podcast

Two Enthusiasts Podcast #46 – Caveat Emptor

By Jensen Beeler 03/07/2017 9 Comments

Episode 46 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is another must-listen show, and it starts out with a talk about one of motorcycling’s forbidden…

WSBK

WorldSBK Photos from Phillip Island by Anant Deboor

By Anant Deboor 03/06/2017 13 Comments

Season-openers of long championships are always interesting times, with so many new variables to consider. Phillip Island with the grass,…

Dirt

SWM Motorcycles Targets 6,000 Units in 2017

By Jensen Beeler 03/06/2017 27 Comments

You probably haven’t heard of SWM Motorcycles, the off-road brand that carries on where Husqvarna left off in Italy. Built from the parts that KTM didn’t want when it bought the Swedish brand in 2013, SWM Motorcycles is based outside of Milan, Italy and produces a variety of off-road focused machines using pre-BMW Husqvarna engine designs. Many members of the company’s team are former Husqvarna employees, including the company’s CEO, Ampelio Macchi – all of whom were left out in the cold when the German brand sold Husqvarna to KTM. But, with a new production facility, support from the local government and worker unions, along with Chinese financing (from the Shineray Group), SWM Motorcycles has taken on a new life with a promising future.

MotoGP

How Dorna Is Ending the Spanish Armada in MotoGP

By David Emmett 03/06/2017 11 Comments

It is terribly fashionable in some circles to regard Dorna as a blight on the face of motorcycle racing. Their alleged crimes are both heinous and manifold. They have dumbed down the sport by exerting an ever tighter grip over the technical regulations. They killed off the two-strokes in favor of four-strokes. They have aggressively pursued copyright and trademark claims, at the cost of broadening the appeal of the sport. They have been relentless in their pursuit of financial gain over the spirit of the sport. They have meddled in the sport to favor one rider, or one nationality over the rest. Most of these complaints are either baseless, or an expression of anger at how the sport has changed over the years.

Recall

Another Recall for the Yamaha YZF-R3, As Expected

By Jensen Beeler 03/03/2017 5 Comments

As expected, the second recall this month for the Yamaha YZF-R3 has hit the computers of the National Highway Traffic…

Bikes

The 2017 Aprilia RS-GP MotoGP Race Bike Debuts

By Jensen Beeler 03/03/2017 23 Comments

The final factory MotoGP to debut its 2017 MotoGP Championship race bike, Aprilia has finally debuted the 2017 Aprilia RS-GP that Aleix Espargaro and Sam Lowes will campaign this year. The Italian outfit continues to make quiet strides in its development with the RS-GP, though the efforts from Suzuki and KTM tend to dominate the headlines. For the 2017 season, Aprilia looks ready to take another step forward, especially with Aleix Espargaro at the helm. The biggest task for the 2017 will be to bring more horsepower to the Aprilia RS-GP. The machine reportedly handles quite well, though that is often an item of praise that changes as the power increases.

News

The Subtle Big Deal That Is Ducati Premier Financing

By Jensen Beeler 03/02/2017 41 Comments

Ducati released a new financing program this week, maybe you saw the announcement already. If you even bothered to read one of the copy/paste jobs on this announcement, you probably got three sentences into it, and then realized you just lost a minute or two of your life, which you will never get back. It is hard to make this topic sexy, and motorcycle journalists are lazy creatures (myself included)…which is why you probably just saw the press release reprinted on a website, with some Ducati advertising placed next to it, just for good measure. The Ducati Premier Financing program is a big deal though, just not in a way that is immediately sexy to the casual motorcycle buyer.