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Victory Entering an Electric Race Bike at Isle of Man TT

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It looks like we were only partially correct in our news that Brammo would be returning to the Isle of Man TT, as the brand’s sister company, Victory Motorcycles, will in fact be racing an electric entry — one that looks like a rebadged Brammo Empulse RR — in the TT Zero event at the historic road race.

According to its press release, Victory Motorcycles will field a two-rider team, comprised of William Dunlop and Lee Johnston (a photo of “General Lee” testing a Brammo superbike is what initially sparked this news).

While Victory is calling its racing platform a “Victory electric race prototype motorcycle” the chassis and fairings give way to a shape we recognize as the Brammo Empulse RR electric superbike.

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Bikes

Honda Africa Twin Confirmed – CRF1000L Coming for 2016

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American Honda dropped a bombshell today, confirming that the teased “True Adventure” ADV model will enter production, and be named the “Africa Twin”, as expected.

Officially designated at the Honda CRF1000L, the Africa Twin will be a 2016 model (in dealerships early next year), and best of all, it will be coming to the USA.

The 2016 Honda Africa Twin draws upon a legacy of rugged off-road race-proven machines that also wore its name, a sign that Honda intends the CRF1000L to be very capable off-road, and thus not follow the road-going adventure-sport trend.

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Bikes

As Expected, The Scrambler is Killing It for Ducati

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April 2015 was the best sales month ever for Ducati Motor Holding, with the Italian firm delivering 7,309 units to customers. This figure is up 29% compared to last year, and tops Ducati’s previous best month ever by 800 units (April 2014 with 6,500 motorcycles).

Why the sudden spurt in sales for the Bologna Brand? We have two words for you: Ducati Scrambler. Unsurprisingly, the budget-priced Scrambler range is seeing a strong market response, and of course its getting some help from the all-new Ducati Multistrada 1200 and the Ducati 1299 Panigale line.

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MotoGP

MotoGP in 2017 & Beyond – Towards a Brighter Future?

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The MotoGP grid is looking in surprisingly good health in 2015. The series has come a long way in the five years since 2010, when there were just 17 full-time entries on the grid, and Suzuki was teetering on the brink of withdrawal.

Dorna’s CRT gambit has paid off: the much-maligned production-based bikes may not have been competitive, but they did spur the manufacturers into action to actually supply more competitive machinery to the private teams.

The CRT bikes became Open class bikes, and Dorna’s pet project of standardized electronics has been adopted into the MotoGP rules.

From 2016, there will be one class again (well, sort of, the concessions – engine development, unlimited testing, more engines – for factories without regular podiums are to remain in place), with everyone on the same electronics, the same fuel allowance, and the same tires. A bigger change is coming for 2017.

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News

Miller Motorsports Park To Cease Operations

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It is a sad day for motorsports fans near Salt Lake City, as Miller Motorsports Park will cease operations at the end of October this year, the track has announced.

The news comes from the Larry H. Miller Group (LHM), the track operator, which has decided not to renew its lease with Toole County on the property, thus effectively closing the track and ceasing its operations.

This news will not affect the schedule of racing events (including the MotoAmerica round in June), driving schools, public karting access, and other group activities that are currently planned at the facility, but it does raise some question marks regarding what will happen to the space once the LHM is no longer running it.

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Bikes

BMW S1000XR Mega Gallery

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One of the highlights of the 2014 EICMA show, the BMW S1000XR is Germany’s direct assault on the Ducati Multistrada 1200 et al. That move is an interesting one, considering bikes like the Multistrada 1200 were in response to the popularity of the BMW R1200GS — thus making the adventure-touring-sport segment one big dog chasing its tail, but we digress.

The S1000XR officially splits the adventure segment in two, making a clear distinction between adventure-touring motorcycles like the BMW R1200GS(A) and KTM 1190 Adventure, and the adventure-sport segment, which includes the Ducati Multistrada 1200 and MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800.

Built for speed and long-distance travel, the adventure-sport machines mimic the sport-tourers that they are replacing in sales, with their added offer of longer suspension travel and at least some gravel-road competency (whether you’d take any of these machines off-tarmac is another debate entirely).

All of this means that the BMW S1000XR is an important machine for the Bavarian brand, as well as the motorcycle industry — we are already seen other manufacturers respond to this new segment.

The S1000XR is also on A&R’s short list of new bikes to try this year, and it looks like BMW is finally close to granting us that wish. After rumors of production delays, the 2015 BMW S1000XR finally seems ready for showtime. As such, we have a mega gallery of 302 hi-res photos for you, after the jump.

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Bikes

First Shots of the Yamaha MT-25

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If you like your small displacement machines sans fairings, then this might be the bike for you, as the first clear photos of the Yamaha MT-25 are hitting the internet, courtesy of Indonesian blog TMCblog.

Based around the same 249cc parallel-twin engine as the Yamaha R25, the MT-25 will go up against the other quarter-liter naked bikes on the market, like the Honda CB300 and KTM 200 Duke.

As we can see from the photos, the MT-25 shares many of the same parts with the R25 — most notably the chassis, suspension, exhaust, seat, and engine. Added is a new headlight, fairing chin, and air intake tubes.

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News

Do You Have “Keyless” Ignition on Your Bike? Is It Safe?

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Technology on motorcycles is a double-edged sword, it bring us new features to amazing machines, like the Yamaha YZF-R1 and its slide control, but it can also, as seen by this tale.

Taking a cue from the car world, some motorcycle manufacturers have taken to supplying motorcycle owners with wireless key systems, where you only need to have the key on your person in order to start a motorcycle (note: I am not talking about the key systems where you press a button to start or unlock a vehicle).

The process to make this work is simple, as the key fob has an RFID implanted inside it, and when it comes into proximity of the motorcycle, a reader grabs the signal from the key, which has a special code that unlocks the bike and allows it start and be operated.

It’s a complex process that saves you five seconds in looking for your key. That’s called progress.

The problem of course is that thieves are becoming increasingly savvy to these changes in technology, and if OEMs aren’t careful, they can open-up consumers to a world of trouble.

In the case of wireless keys, a new work-around has been made that boosts the signal of the RFID reader, and thus makes it easier for a thief to hijack your ride.

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News

Guy Martin Will Be a New Host of Top Gear?

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The reliable AutoWeek is reporting that it has the skinny on the new host for the BBC’s popular Top Gear car show, and one of them is a very familiar face: Guy Martin.

The famous road racer will be part of a trio of hosts, with Philip Glenister and Jodie Kidd (a pick that ensures a pretty blonde will always be in the front row), who will be replacing Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond.

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News

Ducati Dealers Top Pied Piper Rankings, Again

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Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index (PSI) is one of the major ranking systems out there assessing the US motorcycle industry and its dealerships.

To give you a quick primer on how scoring works, Pied Piper takes into account a mixture of “mystery shopper” experiences, along with actual sales success for each brand, thus giving a mixture of subjective and objective measurement.

For this year’s assessment, it comes with little surprise that Ducati is once again taking the top honors, followed closely by Harley-Davidson and Victory — two brands that have high customer satisfaction, according to Consumer Reports.

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News

BRP Sells Its 100,000th Can-Am Spyder

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It might be hard to believe, but Can-Am has sold over 100,000 Spyder three-wheelers since the reverse trike first debuted in dealerships in 2008. Some off-the-cuff math here puts Can-Am Spyder sales as averaging 12,500 units a year — an impressive figure for the unique vehicle.

The 100,000th Can-Am Spyder was given to its new owner, a Missouri firefighter by the name of Brahm Wilson, at the Spyderfest 2015 gathering in Springfield, Missouri. Wilson is your typical Can-Am purchasers, an ex-motorcyclist returning to the sport/lifestyle after a hiatus, who wanted something a little different than the standard two-wheeled fare.

His bike is a 2015 Can-Am Spyder F3, which goes after America’s popular cruiser heritage, and mixes a bit of Harley-Davidson with on-road snowmobile to distinguish itself from the other Spyder models.

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