2018 Archives - Page 11 of 14

Bikes

Is the Kawasaki Z900 Turning into the Next Hipster Bike?

By Jensen Beeler 09/07/2017 No Comments

No, the beard and skinny jeans crowd aren’t abandoning their broken down Honda CB’s and flocking to the crazy looks of the Kawasaki Z900, but Team Green does seem to have a heritage-inspired version of their four-cylinder street bike coming down the pipe.

Teasing the Kawasaki Z900RS in a short YouTube video, it seems that the Japanese brand is taking the stout Z900 and styling it for the mercurial tastes of younger riders.

This could be an interesting move for Kawasaki, and while the Z900 isn’t the bike that immediately comes to our minds as being appropriate for this venture, one has to remember the success that Yamaha has seen doing a similar maneuver with the FZ-09, turning it into the XSR900.

Using motorcycle designs as platforms for multiple machines is nothing new, but we have seen the Japanese brands using this strategy with growing success each year.

As such, the upcoming Kawasaki Z900RS could be a very intriguing machine to see, once it drops. Stay tuned.

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News

CARB Docs Show No Changes for 2018 BMW S1000RR

By Jensen Beeler 08/30/2017 No Comments

Documents filed with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) show that no changes will be coming for the 2018 BMW S1000RR, with the emission levels for the popular superbike shown to be the same as those for the 2017 model.

This means that it is unlikely that we will see a new S1000RR model debut at EICMA later this year, despite seeing spy photos of a restyled S1000RR a month ago.

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MotoGP

Thailand Set to Join 2018 MotoGP Calendar

By David Emmett 08/30/2017 No Comments

The news that Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta is on his way to Thailand to sign a contract with the Buriram circuit to host MotoGP from 2018 signals that the publication of a 2018 provisional MotoGP calendar is imminent.

The Thai round of MotoGP is the final piece of the puzzle needed for putting together next year’s Grand Prix schedule.

The 2018 calendar will consist of 19 races, with the Thai round being added to the Pacific flyaways held in October. The series kicks off March 18th, at Losail in Qatar, a week before the Formula 1 season-opener in Australia.

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Bikes

Harley-Davidson Quietly Kills Off the V-Rod

By Jensen Beeler 08/29/2017 No Comments

After a 17-year run, the Harley-Davidson V-Rod is finally going to the great motorcycle rally in the sky, as the Bar & Shield brand is quietly dismissing the V-Rod from its 2018 motorcycle lineup.

The V-Rod has always been the black sheep in the Harley-Davidson motorcycle offering, with the motorcycle featuring a high-tech liquid-cooled engine that was developed in collaboration with German automaker Porsche.

The problem with the V-Rod was also its biggest strength: it was unlike anything else in the Harley-Davidson lineup. The Harley-Davidson V-Rod line eschewed everything that was central to the core Harley-Davidson product attributes.

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Bikes

Harley-Davidson Merges Dyna & Softail Lines for 2018

By Jensen Beeler 08/28/2017 No Comments

There is big news from the other side of the motorcycle industry, as Harley-Davidson has merged its Dyna and Softail lines into one, while releasing 13 “new” motorcycles for the 2018 model year.

The new bikes fill out the Softail and Touring lines for the Bar & Shield brand, and feature the company’s new Milwaukee-Eight 107 and 114 engines.

These changes for the 2018 model year mark the most performance that the Softail line has ever seen, with Harley-Davidson Product Portfolio Manage Paul James saying that the new bikes required “the most extensive research and development program in the company’s history.”

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MotoGP

Tom Lüthi Moves to MotoGP for 2018 with Marc VDS

By David Emmett 08/24/2017 No Comments

One more jigsaw piece has been slotted into place in the 2018 MotoGP line up. This morning, the Marc VDS team confirmed that Tom Lüthi is to take the second Honda RC213V alongside Franco Morbidelli for the 2018 season.

Lüthi was reckoned to be the outsider for the open seat at Marc VDS, with both Sam Lowes and Stefan Bradl in the running.

But the Swiss rider’s maturity and previous – albeit brief – experience aboard a MotoGP bike was what swung the deal. Having a rider of Lüthi’s experience alongside Franco Morbidelli also helps lessen the risk of running two rookies in MotoGP.

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MotoGP

Karel Abraham Will Stay in MotoGP with Aspar for 2018

By David Emmett 08/22/2017 No Comments

The Aspar Team has announced that it has extended its contract with Karel Abraham. The Czech rider will continue to race for the team in 2018, with Abraham likely to get a Ducati Desmosedici GP16 for next season, while his teammate Alvaro Bautista contests a GP17.

With Abraham confirmed at Aspar, and Taka Nakagami announced at LCR Honda, that leaves only three seats still open.

The second seat at Marc VDS will probably be announced at Silverstone this weekend, with all signs pointing to “a rider with previous MotoGP experience” as the favorite to race alongside Franco Morbidelli.

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MotoGP

Takaaki Nakagami Moves to MotoGP with HRC Contract

By David Emmett 08/22/2017 No Comments

The MotoGP grid is set to expand to 24 riders for the 2018 season. As had been widely expected, the LCR Honda team is to add a second bike for next season, with Japanese rider Takaaki Nakagami moving up to MotoGP. Nakagami will operate alongside Cal Crutchlow in the LCR Honda team.

Like Crutchlow, Nakagami’s contract is directly with HRC, rather than with Lucio Cecchinello’s LCR squad. Unlike Crutchlow’s deal, however, Nakagami’s contract is only for 2018 at the moment.

Nakagami’s wages will come directly out of Honda’s pockets, but the bike will largely be funded by money from Idemitsu, the Japanese oil company already backing Nakagami in Moto2.

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WSBK

Marco Melandri Re-Signs with Ducati WorldSBK Effort

By Jensen Beeler 08/16/2017 No Comments

The great experiment that is Marco Melandri’s return to motorcycle racing has apparently paid off, with the Italian rider re-signing with the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team for the 2018 World Superbike Championship season.

The contract renewal is for only one year, with Melandri continuing to ride alongside Chaz Davies on the Ducati Panigale R superbike. Of course for the 2019 season, Ducati Corse will race in WorldSBK with its new V4 superbike, at which time both its riders’ contracts will be up for renewal.

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WSBK

Alex Lowes Re-Signs with Pata Yamaha for WorldSBK 2018

By Steve English 08/08/2017 No Comments

Yamaha confirmed today its rider line-up for 2018, with Alex Lowes re-signed to the Japanese manufacturer.

Despite having consistently been the man most likely to break the Kawasaki and Ducati monopoly, Lowes’ future had been uncertain until his Suzuka 8-Hours success.

Having stood on the WorldSBK rostrum twice for Yamaha this year, it looked like a foregone conclusion that a new contract would be signed, sealed, and delivered early in the summer.

As it was, patience was key for Lowes, but in the end he got the deal that he had been chasing.

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Bikes

No New Suzuki Hayabusa for 2018?

By Jensen Beeler 08/07/2017 No Comments

We keep hoping that Suzuki will reinvigorate the venerable Hayabusa brand, and bring an updated version of its high-speed hyperbike back into the mix. There has been some chatter that such a project is in the works, though it doesn’t seem that 2018 is the magic year for it to appear.

Looking through the current filings with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), we can see that Suzuki Motor Corporation has filed for the 2018 Suzuki GSX1300R – and the quoted emissions (of which, there are quite a lot) remain exactly the same as what’s quoted for the 2017 model.

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