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2017 Dakar Rally Route Revealed

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The 2017 Dakar Rally isn’t until January of next year, but that hasn’t stopped the ASO from whetting our appetites on the iconic race, with the French organization releasing the details on the route for the 2017 Dakar Rally.

As we reported earlier, Chilé opted out of hosting the 2017 Dakar Rally, and the ASO confirms that next year’s route will go through Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay – the latter being a new venue for the Dakar Rally, since it’s move from Africa to South America.

Paraguay’s capital and largest city, Asunción will host the start of The Dakar, and will be the only stop for competitors in Paraguay. This is because the bulk of the route takes place still in Argentina, with only four stops planned in Bolivia.

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Bikes

More Electronic Rider Aids Comes to the Dirt – Husqvarna’s 2017 Motocross Line Features Traction Control

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The rise of electronic rider aids has come to consumer-level dirt bikes, with Husqvarna now offering traction control on all of its four-stroke motocross motorcycles for the 2017 model year.

Traction control on dirt bikes isn’t a new concept, with racing machines featuring the technology for almost a decade now (in some form or another, and depsite what the rules say), but Husqvarna’s foray into the use of electronics marks a new era for consumer dirt bikes.

As we see already in the on-road segments, traction control and other electronics are proving themselves to be the new horsepower. Their introduction into the off-road realm was all but assured (and started with the 2015 Kawasaki KX450F), and now that day has seemingly come for the masses.

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News

What the Honda Kumamoto Factory Closure Means for You

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After devastating tremors in the region, Honda’s Kumamoto factory, as well as the facilities of their nearby suppliers, were closed for equipment and structural repairs.

Making progress on those repairs, Honda partially re-opened its Kumamoto facility two weeks ago, though the factory’s production capabilities currently remain limited.

Now, the latest word from Honda is that Kumamoto will be back to full capacity by mid-August of this year, though it goes without saying that the production time will affect the rollout of several Honda machines.

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MotoGP

MotoGP Grid Expansion Plans Withdrawn for 2017

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There will be only 23 bikes on the MotoGP grid in 2017. The FIM today officially announced that the 24th grid slot has been officially withdrawn, after manufacturers could not pledge to supply additional equipment.

There was plenty of interest in the grid slot. Five teams expressed an interest, and three teams submitted an official application for the 24th grid slot. Those teams are believed to have included Pons, LCR, and Ajo – all of whom had previously admitted publicly that they were keen to move up to MotoGP.

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MotoGP

Lorenzo To Ducati: Why It Happened & What Happens Next

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In case you missed it, Jorge Lorenzo has signed with Ducati Corse for the 2017 and 2018 MotoGP World Championship seasons; but if you did miss that announcement, then the news that Yamaha Motor Racing boss Lin Jarvis will be at Thursday’s pre-event press conference at Jerez should finally convince you.

It is not so much that team bosses never appear in pre-event press conferences, but rather that such appearances are vanishingly rare, and often momentous. If Jarvis is not there to discuss Lorenzo’s move to Ducati, then something has gone very awry indeed.

We have been here before, of course. When Valentino Rossi finally announced he would be moving to Ducati in 2010, a similar procedure was adopted. So taking account of the lessons from that move, and of Rossi’s return to Yamaha, let us gaze into our crystal ball and see what we can expect for the upcoming days.

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MotoGP

It’s Official, Jorge Lorenzo Will Race with Ducati Corse

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As expected, the announcement dropped today that Jorge Lorenzo will be leaving the Movistar Yamaha team at the end of this season, for a new racing opportunity with Ducati Corse.

Details are light at this time, mostly because of Lorenzo’s ongoing contract with Yamaha Racing for the rest of the MotoGP season, but we do know that the Spaniard has inked a two-year with the Italian outfit.

Lorenzo’s move to Ducati will mean a cascade of changes in the MotoGP paddock, with the next phase of the silly season process likely to focus on who will replace him as Valentino Rossi’s teammate.

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Bikes

Husqvarna Vitpilen & Svartpilen Models Confirmed

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It has been suspected for some time that the Husqvarna brand would build production versions of its Vitpilen & Svartpilen concepts. Now we have official word of that, as KTM has confirmed its intent to make the Vitpilen 401 & Svartpilen 401 concepts into production bikes, in its 2015 investor annual report.

KTM doesn’t outline a timeframe for both models, but it has confirmed that Husqvarna will debut two Vitpilen models for the 2017 model year – something that we already knew.

What is not clear however is whether Husqvarna counts the Vitpilen 125 & Vitpilen 401 models as two separate releases, or one bird of a feather. If it is the latter, then we can expect the Vitpilen 701 to arrive for next year. As Martha Stewart says, that’s a good thing.

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Bikes

Updates Coming for 2017 KTM 1290 Super Adventure

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It looks like updates are coming for the KTM 1290 Super Adventure, as the Austrian company has been caught testing the machine.

What those updates will be though, is anyone’s guess, as the photos captured of the new KTM 1290 Super Adventure don’t reveal too many changes (see the photos here).

Most noticeable are some revisions to the front of the Super Adventure, with the fairing/headlight and windshield getting some minor shape corrections.

This is likely to improve airflow around the rider, which makes sense as KTM has fitted their test rider with a bevy of wind telltales for aerodynamic assessment.

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MotoGP

Valentino Rossi Signs Two-Year Contract with Yamaha

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Yamaha Racing and the MotoGP Championship as a whole will enjoy two more years of Valentino Rossi, as the Italian has agreed to extend his contract with Yamaha for another two years.

Rossi’s continued interest to race in MotoGP likely doesn’t come as a surprise to many in the MotoGP paddock, as Rossi once again is at the pointy end of the stick when it comes to speed, team, and race package.

While he may not be the top pick on every journalist’s list to win the Championship, there is no denying that The Doctor is certainly in title contention, as we head into the season-opener at Qatar, and could easily prove “the experts” wrong with his 10th World Championship this year.

Rossi’s contract extension is also the first piece of the Silly Season puzzle, and now all eyes will be trained on the other side of Yamaha’s garage – to see what Jorge Lorenzo does in response. This is because paddock pundits are busy dissecting whether the Spaniard will stay with Yamaha, or if he will defect to Ducati in 2016.

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MotoGP

The Big Fat MotoGP Silly Season Primer, Part 1

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The 2016 MotoGP season hasn’t even got underway yet, and there is already so much to talk about. New bikes, new tires, new electronics: viewed from this point in the season, the championship is both wide open and highly unpredictable.

Testing has given us a guide, but it was clear from the three preseason tests that much will change throughout 2016, with the balance of power changing from track to track, and as Michelin bring different tires to different circuits.

All of this will also play in to what is likely to become the biggest talking point of the 2016. At the end of this year, the contracts of all but two of the 21 MotoGP riders are up, with only the riders Jack Miller and Maverick Viñales having deals which extend through 2017.

Even Viñales and Miller are not certain to stay where they are, with Viñales having an option to leave, and Miller so far failing to impress HRC. With KTM coming in to MotoGP in 2017, there could be up to 22 seats available.

That has and will generate a veritable tsunami of speculation and rumor surrounding who will be riding where in 2017. There are so many unknowns that anything is possible, from a total overhaul and general shuffling to just minor tweaking, with most of the protagonists staying where they are.

The most likely scenario, of course, lies somewhere in the middle, with a few big names moving around, and plenty of shuffling among the satellite squads.

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Bikes

Step Aside Honda Grom, Here’s the 2017 Kawasaki Z125 Pro

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Behold the 2017 Kawasaki Z125 Pro, Team Green’s answer to the Honda Grom. This four-stroke, 125cc, 225 lbs “monkey bike” from Kawasaki hopes to tap into the same unassuming, approachable, and fun vein that the Honda Grom exposed three years ago.

Like the Grom, the Kawasaki Z125 Pro appeals to two very different demographics. One the one hand, it is the perfect learner bike for young and green (no pun intended) riders – you can see as much in the photos at the end of this post that clearly target the millennial skateboarding young male.

On the other hand though, the 2017 Kawasaki Z125 Pro is just as much of a machine for older and more experienced riders, who are looking for a cheap and fun machine to add to their already comprehensive stable –  perhaps as a grocery-getter or pit bike at the track.

If we can continue to the comparison to the Honda Grom, this dual approach appears to play out well in the market, with the unassuming motorcycle gaining attention from a surprising wide and large demographic. As such, Kawasaki is smart to jump on the trend.

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