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Yamaha MT-25 Debuts in Indonesia

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As expected, the Yamaha MT-25 naked street bike has broken cover in Indonesia, thus adding a fairingless option to Yamaha’s small-displacement lineup. As the name implies, the machines is powered by a 249cc parallel-twin engine, the same one found in the Yamaha YZF-R25 sport bike.

This means the Yamaha MT-25 is good for 35.5hp, and 16.7 lbs*ft of peak torque. The quarter-liter machine tips the scales at 363 lbs, just one kg lighter than the R25, and include a 3.7 gallon gas tank.

Made in Indonesia for most markets (we hear India will have local production), the MT-25 will go head-to-head against bikes the Honda CB300F and Suzuki GW250F, and provide a more upright alternative to the current crop of quarter-liter sport bikes.

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Bikes

First Look at Ronin’s Pikes Peak Race Bike “Oishi Yoshio”

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When we first saw Magpul’s custom Buell motorcycle, called the Magpul Ronin, we were smitten. Thankfully, the Colorado gun accessory firm spun the project into its own company, with 47 Ronin motorcycles to be produced.

You may have seen the Ronin on our pages here at Asphalt & Rubber, or in person at shows like The One Show in Portland or The Handbuilt Show in Austin, and if you did, you probably noticed the supreme workmanship that’s gone into these bikes.

So maybe it’s a bit worrying that a Ronin plans to partake in the 93rd Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, which is being held June 28th. The bike question is a special machine too, it is Ronin #1 — named Oishi Yoshio, after the samurai leader of the same name from the “47 Ronin” story in Japanese history.

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News

UC Berkeley Study Shows Lane-Splitting to Be Safe

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The University of California Berkeley has finished its study of lane-splitting in California, and the results are encouraging for lane-splitting proponents.

Researchers, led by Dr. Thomas Rice of the Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC), reviewed nearly 6,000 motorcycle-involved traffic collisions between June 2012 and August 2013, including 997 in which the riders were splitting lanes at the time of the crash.

The big takeaway from this research is that when done reasonably, lane-splitting is just as safe as riding a motorcycle. As such, one of the more important insights found by Rice and his team was that motorcyclists can travel up to 15 mph faster than the flow of traffic with no statistical increase in crashing.

This study will be important for shaping the conversation about lane-splitting, not only in California, but throughout the entire United States. It’s no coincidence then that California’s current attempt to codify lane-splitting mirrors these findings from UC Berkeley.

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Bikes

Report: Hero HX250R Launch Pushed Back Because of EBR

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Word out of India is that the Hero HX250R, the quarter-liter sport bike that Erik Buell Racing helped design, will not be arriving later this year, as was originally intended. Rumors instead suggest that the HX250R will debut in 2016.

The delay is said to be directly linked to Erik Buell Racing going into receivership earlier this year, and it’s a fair bet that the delay is due to something in the design of the HX250R.

However, we would also bet good money that Hero realized there was no point in releasing a North American bound model without a North American distributor with which to sell it.

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News

Dainese D-Air Racing Suits Coming to the USA*

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*For reals this time.

For those looking for more protection from their racing leathers, Dainese D-Air Racing suits are finally coming to the USA. Already bringing the technology in Europe last year, Dainese is set finally to bring the D-Air Racing technology to the USA, in September 2015.

Riders interested in the airbag-equipped leather suit have two options: 1) the top-of-the-line off-the-rack Misano D-Air cow leather suit ($2,499), or 2) the made-to-measure Mugello D-Air custom kangaroo leather suit (Price TBD).

This announcement represents the first airbag-equipped motorcycle race suits to go on sale in the USA (Alpinestars Tech-Air system is still not available, though the rival Italian brand is close to coming to market), and offers track riders the same level of protection as Dainese’s MotoGP riders, like Valentino Rossi.

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MotoGP

Valentino Rossi’s 2015 Mugello AGV Helmet

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It’s the Italian GP…at Mugello, which means two things: 1) hundreds of thousands of rabid Italian motorcycle fans, and 2) another special AGV helmet from The Doctor.

Of course, riders wear special helmets all the time — there’s probably a one-off design at every race — but for some reason Valentino Rossi’s lids, at his home grand prix, are always a special occasion for GP fans.

For the 2015 Italian GP, Valentino Rossi is wearing the very attractive “Yellow Energy” helmet, penned of course by Aldo Drudi. For the VR46 fans in the crowd, we have a smattering of high-resolution photos of the custom AGV Pista GP helmet. Enjoy!

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News

California Close to Formalizing Legal Lane-Splitting, And What It Means for the Rest of the United States

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Out of the 50 states in The Union, only California allows lane-splitting on public roads and highways. California’s position on lane-splitting has always been a bit nebulous though, falling only under the “safe and prudent” provision of the California Vehicle Code.

Several attempts to demystify California’s policy on lane-splitting have come and gone, including the very public kerfuffle with the California Highway Patrol’s riding “guidelines” for lane-splitting.

Most recent attempts to “legalize” lane-splitting have seen laws that were even more restrictive than the CHP’s frankly fair provisions, and created much ire in California’s vocal riding community.

On the table now though is Assembly Bill 51, which would actually grant more privileges than what the CHP deemed reasonable, and could set the tone for a larger national push of lane-splitting.

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News

Dainese D-Air Armor Now Available to Other Companies

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Announced today at Mugello, Dainese is making its D-air airbag technology available to other race suit manufacturers.

Calling the integrated airbag, electronics, gas generator, wiring, battery, and GPS the Dainese D-air Armor “open platform”, the Italian firm hopes to begin protecting all the riders in the Grand Prix World Championships with this new business strategy.

At its core, the D-air Armor technology is the same that Dainese-sponsored riders have been enjoying this season, and arguably the Dainese system is the best airbag system currently available use for motorcycle racers.

Rivaling Alpinestars in protecting GP riders with airbags, today’s announcement will mean that riders with other leather suit brands, will be able to get airbag protection. Dainese has already signed deals with Vircos and Furygan.

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Reviews

Ride Review: BMW S1000XR

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Attending BMW Motorrad’s launch of the 2016 BMW S1000XR, our friends from Testmotor.nl have been kind enough to share their thoughts and a short review on BMW’s new “Adventure-Sport” motorcycle. – Jensen

BMW Motorrad admits that the S1000XR is a combination of the S1000RR and the R1200GS…a pedigree to be proud of, but also one that creates a lot of expectations.

The German company would like to join the party of all-road focused adventure bikes, which has conquered the market these last couple of years.

BMW calls this the “adventure-sport” segment and hopes to steal some sales from bikes like the Ducati Mutistrada, Suzuki V-strom, Honda Crosstourer and Kawasaki Versys.

In turn, BMW is trying to avoid in-house competition with its own GS, by giving the S1000RR more sportive looks and less rugged, more vulnerable construction.

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Bikes

Details on the Victory’s Electric Race Bike for the IOMTT

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News that Victory Motorcycles will be racing at the 2015 Isle of Man TT, in the TT Zero event no less, is still taking time to process. It’s a big deal for the Manx road race, and an even bigger deal to the American brand.

If you have been following the electric motorcycle scene, Victory’s race bike should look familiar, as its based off the Brammo Empulse RR.

Exactly what changes Victory will have at the Isle of Man have been a mystery, but our sources have given us some insight into the progress Brammo has made in its extended off-season.

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Bikes

Honda RC213V-S To Be Officially Official on June 11th?

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French-speaking publications are letting slip that Honda has a media event planned June 11th for the Honda RC213V-S — where it is expected that the MotoGP-derived street bike will be finally put forth in its production form.

Readers will remember that Honda unveiled the RC213V-S as a “prototype” at the 2014 EICMA show. Honda made the same move with the “True Adventure” prototype, which we knew at the time to be the new Honda Africa Twin adventure-touring machine.

With the Africa Twin now officially a 2016 model according to Honda, we wait for Big Red to do the same with the RC213V-S.

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