After reports from Italy told of Valentino Rossi breaking his leg in an enduro training accident, we have been waiting for confirmation of that news from an official source.
Now getting on top of this evolving story, the Movistar Yamaha team has confirmed that the nine-time World Champion has been involved in a training accident, and that he was taken to the Ospedale Civile di Urbino for a medical check-up.
Reports from Europe are saying that Valentino Rossi has broken his leg while training on an enduro bike.
Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport, says that the nine-time World Champion has sustained a “suspected fracture of the tibia and fibula” and that Rossi is expected to go into surgery tonight to repair the injury.
We should caution that these reports have not yet been confirmed, with Yamaha yet to comment on the injury, but if true they could have dire consequences for Rossi’s bid to be the 2017 MotoGP World Champion.
The folks at Bologna seem to have a few mid-summer releases for us this year, with the Italian brand announcing today the Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro Pro.
The Enduro Pro is a pretty straight-forward parts-bin special, with a rough-surface sand-colored livery and more than a few parts from the Ducati Performance catalog coming as standard. The big change is the Pirelli Scorpion Rally tires – 120/70 R19 at the front, 170/60 R17 at the rear, which come fitted stock.
Other highlights include Touratech bull bars with auxiliary LED lights; a lower windscreen for better off-road viewing; and a slip-on exhaust from Termignoni. So everyone will know that you’re headed off-road, the word “Enduro” is prominently emblazoned on the machine.
As such, this well-equipped ADV bike is the second model announced by Ducati this week, with the last iteration of the Ducati 1299 Panigale teased, ahead of its Laguna Seca debut, as well.
Fuel injection has finally come to the two-stroke market for production motorcycles, with KTM (and thus also Husqvarna) debuting two enduro machines with transfer port injection (TPI) on their single-cylinder smokers.
This has been a long time coming in the two-wheeled space, even though we have seen TPI and direct injection on other two-stroke vehicles, like snowmobiles and personal watercraft for quite some time now.
KTM is really the last manufacturer to support two-stroke motorcycles though, so any progress in this space is a welcomed breath of life for off-road riders. New technology truly could be the savior to two-stroke motorcycles, as emission standards continue to become more restricted with each passing year.
While the Japanese brands have focused their efforts on four-stroke motorcycles, KTM and Husqvarna are showing that there is still a market for these lightweight and efficient enduro models.
There is an Austrian boat-ton of high-resolution photos waiting for you after the jump. Like…a lot. Using the Erzberg mine as a back drop, these stunning shots will probably make you run out to your local KTM dealer. They certainly have us thinking. Enjoy!
We shouldn’t be surprised to hear that Husqvarna will be following suit with its Austrian sibling, and adding fuel-injection to several of its two-strokes enduro motorcycle for the 2018 model year.
After a long history of rumors and development, KTM finally debuted fuel injection for a production two-stroke model just a few weeks ago, using the technology on two of its upcoming enduro models, the KTM 250 EXC TPI and KTM 300 EXC TPI.
Husqvarna will use the same technology for its own motorcycles in the same segments, announcing today the the all-new 2018 Husqvarna TE 250i and 2018 Husqvarna TE 300i enduro models with transfer port injection.
The day has finally, come. The rumors can finally be put to rest. Fuel injection for production two-strokes is officially a thing, thanks to the clever minds at KTM.
The Austrian announced today that it will bring fuel injection technology (called Transfer Port Injection) to its 2018 enduro lineup, which will debut later this May.
Two KTM models will have the new technology, the KTM 250 EXC TPI and KTM 300 EXC TPI, and they will be coming to the global market. For the USA and Canada, a third model will come to market as well, the KTM 250 XC-W TPI.
Fuel injection for two-strokes promises better fuel consumption, and it means that riders no longer have to pre-mix their fuel. KTM says that its transfer port injection technology provides a whole new experience for riding a two-stroke motorcycle, with better power and rideability.
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.
With 10 models listed on its website, and more planned, this tiny Italian marque is starting to punch above its weight class. As such, SWM Motorcycles is on-track to sell 6,000 units in the 2017 model year.
We know from filings with the California Air Resources Board that we should expect two new Scrambler models for the 2017 model year – a “DS” model and a “CR” model.
With photos of a long-travel suspension Scrambler circulating, we assumed that the “DS” designation stood for “dual-sport”, but the latest teaser video from Ducati corrects our almost-right assumption.
While Ducati will indeed launch a more off-roady Scrambler model, as we expected, the 803cc machine will be called the Ducati Scrambler Desert Sled, an homage to the Baja-busting bikes of yore that carried the same name.
The Husqvarna 701 Supermoto and Husqvarna 701 Enduro will be getting an update for the 2017 model year, with both bikes receiving the updated 690cc single-cyliner engine that is currently found in the new-generation KTM 690 Duke.
The biggest highlight of the new engine is its secondary balancing shaft, which reduces vibrations to the rider, and also allows the big thumper to rev higher and thus create more power.
This means that the 2017 Husqvarna 701 Supermoto will have 74hp (+6hp), as well as 52.6 lbs•ft of peak torque (+4.4 lbs•ft) – a modest gain for this already stout package.
More new model news, as filings with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) suggest that we will see two new Scrambler models debuting, later this year.
We come to this conclusion because emissions papers from CARB state that “Scrambler CR” and “Scrambler DS” models are coming from Ducati for 2017, in addition to the models we already have from the Italian manufacturer.
The two-letter designations imply that we are likely to see a café racer (CR) version of the Ducati Scrambler, as well as a dual-sport (DS) version of the machine, which we have already seen in spy photos.
For a long time now, Asphalt & Rubber has been following the progress of Alta Motors (formerly BRD Motorcycles), as they have worked to make a lites-class comparable electric motorcycle.
With the Redshift MX motocross and Redshift SM supermoto bikes now shipping from the company’s San Francisco facility, the motorcycle community can finally see in the flesh what I have been calling one of the most competent electric motorcycles yet produced.
I have no problems saying I have had a hearty drink of the Alta Kool-aid. I was impressed with the Redshift SM prototype that I rode back in 2011, and the finalized form of the Redshift has only matured further from its strong start.
I don’t want you simply to take my biased word for it though, so for today’s post, I have enlisted the help of my Two Enthusiasts Podcast co-host, Quentin Wilson. For those who don’t follow the show (shame on you), Quentin is a former chassis mechanic for the Graves Yamaha AMA team and the MotoCzysz MotoGP project.
He is also an accomplished racer, generally go-fast guy, and has a fair bit of electric motorcycle riding experience as well. It also helps that he is familiar with the woodsy trails we have here near Portland, as we were riding Alta Motors’ motocross machine for the first time, at the Browns Camp OHV Area.
Quentin is like me though: we see electric motorcycles not as an answer to saving the environment, though that is a nice side effect, but instead as a superior method of making motorcycles not only faster, but more rideable.
With those two aspects in mind, I asked Quentin for his thoughts on the Alta Motors Redshift MX, after a couple hours of trail riding.
As you will see, Quentin’s usual ride is a Christini Honda CRF250X, which is an unusual bike in its own right, but fits into the 250cc class that Alta Motors is targeting right now with the Redshift series.
It is an interesting contrast, to be sure, but we think you will enjoy it. Keep an eye out in the coming weeks too for my more measured review on the Alta Motors Redshift SM. -JB