Hello and good morning to a cold but dry Varese, Italy – the home of MV Agusta and just a…
Those who look back fondly on the Cagiva brand will be happy to hear that it will be officially revived as a motorcycle brand, with models set to debut later this year, for the 2019 model year. Before you envision a modern take on the Cagiva Elefant however, this news comes with the caveat that Cagiva will serve as MV Agusta Motor’s foray into the electric two-wheeled space. We are cautious to label this endeavor however, as the new Cagiva will operate in a segment of vehicle that hasn’t really been created yet – a type of electric two-wheeler that is somewhere between an e-bike and a full-blown electric motorcycle, like what Alta and Zero are producing. The move was told to us by MV Agusta CEO Giovanni Castiglioni, and is similar to one that was announced by KTM CEO Stefan Pierer late last year.
Asphalt & Rubber is coming to you from Varese, Italy this week, as we get ready to ride the Euro4-spec Brutale 800 RR. Before we ride tomorrow though, we had a chance to sit down with MV Agusta boss, Giovanni Castiglioni, and pick his brain on a variety of subjects (keep an eye on the MOTR podcast for the full interview). Revealing a few company secrets to us, as all good Italian CEOs do, Castiglioni has provided more insight on the company’s new four-cylinder platform, which will begin to debut this year, likely at November’s EICMA show, but possibly before then. Described to us as “like Leon Camier’s bike, but without fairings”, the new Brutale 1000 will be the first of three models using the Italian company’s four-cylinder platform.
We are still about three weeks away from the official unveiling of the Mugen Shinden Nana, the seventh iteration of the Isle of Man TT winning electric superbike, but news is starting to trickle in about this racing effort. In case you didn’t know, Mugen is looking to make the 2018 Isle of Man TT its fifth-straight victory at the iconic road race, and the chances are very good of that result happening. This is because with scant competition coming from the other race teams, Mugen is set to race itself again this year, but for 2018 it will be with not one, not two, but three riders on the grid for this year’s TT Zero race, as the company confirmed via Twitter. Who that third rider will be is going to be a bit of news, but we do know that they will join John McGuinness and Lee Johnston on Team Mugen.
It seems every couple months we have to report on the changing landscape in the moto-journalism realm, as the motorcycle…
There simply are not enough big-displacement supermotards in this world we live in. There is the Ducati Hypermotard 939, the Aprilia Dorsoduro 900, then there is the Husqvarna 701 Supermoto, and well…that’s about it. Thankfully, I am not alone in feeling that this is a big travesty – a crime against motorcycling itself, even. That is where Maxwell Hazan (the man behind Hazan Motorworks) comes in, with his “HazanSMR” project. It starts with a 942cc LC8 v-twin engine from KTM, and it ends with a ~310 lbs motorcycle that spits 110hp to the rear wheel. Go ahead, we’ll give you a moment to compose yourself before continuing onward. We have been following Hazan’s project for a little while now, and the HazanSMR has us giddy with tire-shredding delight.
While the World Superbike riders were busy at Imola, Ducati’s MotoGP team was making use of their freedom from testing…
The 2011 MotoGP Championship heads to Jerez, Spain this week, as the premier class gets ready for its second race…
