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Video: Kawasaki Ninja H2R’s Electronic Controls

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With great power, comes great responsibility…I’m fairly certain I read that in a comic book somewhere. The adage carries over to the Kawasaki Ninja H2R though, as any 300hp supercharged machine needs some snappy electronics to keep all that power in line. It’s something we talked about yesterday, when we got up-close with the H2R at the AIMExpo.

Seemingly reading our thoughts on that matter, Kawasaki has released a terse video on the H2R’s electronic controls. The video essentially confirms that the Kawasaki Ninja H2R, and presumably the Kawasaki Ninja H2 street bike, will come with anti-locking brakes (KIBS), traction control (KTRC), launch control (KLCM), quick shifter (KQS), engine braking control (KEBC), and an electronic steering damper (ESD).

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Bikes

Even More Photos of the 2015 Yamaha FJ-09 Leak

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Yesterday we brought you the first official photo of the Yamaha FJ-09 tourer, which had been accidentally added to the Yamaha FZ-09 gallery on the Yamaha NA press site. Today it seems that leaks in Yamaha continue for the FJ-09, as our Dutch friends at Nieuwsmotor have discovered a bevy of press images, ahead of the 2015 Yamaha FJ-09’s debut at EICMA next month.

Based around the FZ-09/MT-09 platform, the FJ-09 uses a similar three-cylinder engine as the sport nakeds, though looks to have more suspension travel and other touring elements. Picking up where the Yamaha TDM left off as a middleweight sport/adventure-tourer, the Yamaha FJ-09 could be a very interesting addition to Yamaha’s lineup.

With the FZ/MT line showing great value for the performance, Yamaha could be set to release a very adorable machine for ADV and sport-touring riders. With the name trademarked with the USPTO, we can expect to see the Yamaha FJ-09 in the American market. Get excited.

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Bikes

Up-Close with the Kawasaki Ninja H2R

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Asphalt & Rubber is coming to you live from the AIMExpo in Orlando, Florida today and tomorrow, covering the new bikes that are debuting on North American soil. We’ve already seen the new Yamaha YZF-R3 released here, as well as the Alta RedShift electric motorcycles (formerly BRD Motorcycles).

While both bikes are impressive, and are massively important to the American motorcycle scene, the buzz remains about the Kawasaki Ninja H2R. The AIMExpo is the first venue for Americans to get a glimpse of Kawasaki’s hyperbike, and the H2R sits like a praying mantis, waiting to strike you with its supercharged charms.

Naturally, we had to get a closer look…and bring you a bevy of high-resolution detail shots from the trades how floor. Enjoy!

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Bikes

2015 Yamaha FJ-09 Leaked ahead of EICMA

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Someone at Yamaha is going to get a stern talking to today, as it seems a photo of the still unreleased Yamaha FJ-09 made its way to Yamaha’s press site accidentally, and didn’t yank it down before our friends at Common Tread caught a glimpse of it.

Mixed in with photos of the Yamaha FZ-09, the photo of the 2015 Yamaha FJ-09 doesn’t really give too much away from the machine, as we’ve seen the same shot in black & white already.

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Bikes

Yamaha YZF-R3 Revealed – 321cc Twin Coming to the USA

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The rumors were true, Yamaha is bringing a special small-displacement model to market, the Yamaha YZF-R3. As the name indicates, the new R3 gets a fuel-injected displacement bump over the R25, to the tune of 321cc. Debuted at the AIMExpo today, the Yamaha YZF-R3 is coming to the USA, with a price tag of $4,990.

Said by Yamaha to have “class-leading power”, the new R3 finally adds a small-displacement sport bike to Yamaha’s North American lineup, and makes an attractive offering when compared to the other 250cc/300cc machines from the other Japanese manufacturers. Expect to see it in Yamaha dealers, starting January 2014.

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Racing

MotoAmerica’s Provisional 2015 Racing Calendar Released

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There is positive momentum around America’s new MotoAmerica series, which will takeover duties from DMG and AMA Pro Road Racing, starting next season. We have already seen the series’ new class structure, which makes significant steps to parallel what’s going on in the World Superbike Championship.

Today, we see MotoAmerica’s efforts on its racing schedule, a hot-ticket item after DMG’s five, then six, race schedule this season. American fans should rejoice, as eight races are on the calendar, which reads like a greatest hits album of American race tracks.

Supporting both American grand prix at COTA and Indy, as well as the WSBK round at Laguna Seca, the provisional MotoAmerica calendar includes, Road Atlanta, VIR, Road America, Barber, and NJMP. West Coast racing fans are still S.O.L. though, with only one race west of The Rockies on the docket thus far.

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MotoGP

Marc VDS Racing’s Move to MotoGP Gets Official

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The difference between a handshake an an officially signed contract is just under four weeks, it seems. Late on Sunday night after the race at Misano, the Marc VDS Racing team put a message on Twitter announcing they would be moving up to MotoGP for the next two years, racing a factory-backed Honda RC213V with Scott Redding aboard.

Honda, however, was far from pleased with the team’s adoption of 21st Century technology to communicate with fans and media, and the Tweet was quickly taken down.

Though agreement had been reached at Misano on all of the details – a three-year deal to lease a factory-spec Honda RC213V, and putting Scott Redding on the bike for the 2015 and 2016 seasons – HRC deemed that the deal was not yet ready to be announced. Though the contract was public knowledge, the team went silent on the deal.

Until now. Today, the Marc VDS Racing team finally officially confirmed what we have known for nearly a month. The team will be competing in MotoGP in 2015, with Scott Redding aboard a factory-spec RC213V.

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Bikes

Watch the Kawasaki Ninja H2R Rip It Up on the Track

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We will be talking about the Kawasaki Ninja H2R for quite a while we suspect, even well after the dust has settled on the hyperbike’s launch. A supercharged 300hp track-only macine doesn’t come from one of the Japanese Four too often (read: ever), and what it means for the industry is still being assessed by pundits and enthusiasts alike.

For now, it has our ADD-like attention, just as Kawasaki begins teasing out its 200hp Ninja H2 street bike. So while we wait for the H2 to drop, here’s a video of the H2R doing its thing around the race track. For those of you wondering how 300hp is going to hook up in the tight and twisty, here is your answer.

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Bikes

MV Agusta Dragster RR Teased in Video

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Two weeks ago we showed you the photo that MV Agusta was using to tease its latest model to debut at EICMA. The photo featured Kineo-spoked wheels, and the company’s three-piped exhaust can. This of course left us to speculate that the expensive tubeless wheelset would be attached to either a proper ADV bike from MV Agusta, or some sort of café racer.

A few days later, we found the trademark filings for a “Turismo Leggero” motorcycle, whose name similarity to the MV Agusta Turismo Veloce, made us think our first instincts about that teaser photo were right: this new model was some sort of adventure-touring machine. Well…add another theory to the mix.

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MotoGP

MotoGP: Loris Baz Confirmed with Forward Racing for 2015

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Loris Baz has finally found his place in MotoGP. After being signed and then disposed of by the Aspar team, the Forward Racing team finally announced that they have signed the 21-year-old Frenchman for the 2015 season.

Baz will line up alongside Stefan Bradl on board the Open class Forward Yamaha. The Forward Yamaha will be close to a 2014 spec satellite Yamaha M1, but using the Open software.

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2015 BMW R1200R Mega Gallery

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Though the addition of BMW’s water-cooled engine to the 2015 BMW R1200R was a move everyone saw coming down the pipe, the German company’s extensive style shift on the BMW R1200R was perhaps a move unexpected.

The classic looking roadster of before is now replaced with a more aggressive design — though perhaps not as aggressive as the BMW Roadster Concept that we saw earlier this year.

Still, the new BMW R1200R is a handsome machine that incorporates both mild-touring capability with a fun sporty ride. Since we had a tough time pulling images off BMW’s press site earlier this week, because of all the traffic from INTERMOT, here’s a “mega gallery” of 181 high-resolution images. Enjoy!

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