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MotoAmerica’s Provisional 2015 Racing Calendar Released

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There is positive momentum around America’s new MotoAmerica series, which will takeover duties from DMG and AMA Pro Road Racing, starting next season. We have already seen the series’ new class structure, which makes significant steps to parallel what’s going on in the World Superbike Championship.

Today, we see MotoAmerica’s efforts on its racing schedule, a hot-ticket item after DMG’s five, then six, race schedule this season. American fans should rejoice, as eight races are on the calendar, which reads like a greatest hits album of American race tracks.

Supporting both American grand prix at COTA and Indy, as well as the WSBK round at Laguna Seca, the provisional MotoAmerica calendar includes, Road Atlanta, VIR, Road America, Barber, and NJMP. West Coast racing fans are still S.O.L. though, with only one race west of The Rockies on the docket thus far.

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Bikes

Triumph Tiger 800 Gets Four More Variants

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Triumph seems set to debut four more variants of its Tiger 800, as CARB filings filings show a Tiger 800 XCA, Tiger 800 XCX, Tiger 800 XRT, and Tiger 800 XRX models for the 2015 model year. The news seems to show Triumph spreading out its middleweight ADV offering, giving on-road and off-road riders a bit more to choose from the British brand.

Helping us understand how Triumph sees the four added variants, Motorcycle.com has publish a chart (above), which Triumph sent to Tiger 800 owners as a part of its market research. That chart breaks down the various models’ spec, and which features that would come with as standard.

Noticeable across the board is that the three-cylinder gets a 15% MPG boost (the CARB document also show fewer hydrocarbon emissions), as well as ABS and traction control as standard features.

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Bikes

Variable Valve Timing Coming to the Ducati Multistrada

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For the 2015 model year, Ducati is bringing a brand new Multistrada, which will debut at the upcoming EICMA show in Milan, Italy. Not much has been said about the new Multistrada, aside from A&R breaking the news about the new model a few weeks ago, so we thought we would update you further on it.

Designed to look very similar to the current Multistrada 1200, the new Multistrada will keep the basic profile and design of its predecessor, despite being an all-new machine. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the 2015 Ducati Multistrada though is the fact that Borgo Panigale has fitted variable valve timing (VVT) to the desmodromic valves of the Testastretta 11° engine.

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News

Is Ferrari Working on a Motorcycle?

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Lately we have seen a lot of car manufacturers taking an interest in the two-wheeled world — Audi bought Ducati from Investindustrial, and MV Agusta is expected to announce that Mecerdes-AMG is taking a minority stake in the Italian motorcycle company.

These collaborations and consolidations make a lot of sense from a business perspective: economies of scale, common four-stroke technology, shared R&D, and CAFE standard benefits, just to name a few.

So that’s why the latest news that Ferrari has filed a patent on a motorcycle engine doesn’t surprise us in concept. Nor does the press’ intensity of the subject.

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MotoGP

Q&A: Cal Crutchlow, Part 1 – His Toughest Year Yet, Adapting to the Ducati

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Cal Crutchlow Catalunya 2014 MotoGP Scott Jones

It has been a very tough year for Cal Crutchlow. Coming off the high of 2013, the year in which he scored four podiums, finished fifth in the championship, and looked certain to score his first win in MotoGP, his season in Ducati has been a massive challenge.

Technical malfunctions, crashes, and a battle to find a way around the chronic understeer which plagues the Desmosedici. Crutchlow lingers in the middle of the pack, not fighting at the sharp end. This was not the season which Crutchlow had envisaged when he signed for Ducati.

At Aragon, ahead of the fourteenth race of the season, we caught up with Crutchlow, to talk about his year so far, his expectations for next year, and how he manages to keep his morale up through such a difficult period.

Cal Crutchlow gave a candid and honest account of his season, not shirking the blame, and speaking openly of the fears and doubts which plague a professional motorcycle racer when they go through a season as tough as this. He opened a window into a side of racing which is not often talked about, and marks his courage as both a rider, and as a human being.

The interview went on for so long that we have had to split it up into three parts, which will appear over the next few days. In the first part of the interview, he speaks of his battle to adapt to the Ducati, and of 2014 being his toughest year in MotoGP so far.

In the second part of the interview, which will appear on Tuesday, he delves into the dark side of his year, of the struggle to maintain his morale while the results are not coming. And in the final part of the interview, to be published on Wednesday, he talks about how mental strength is the decisive factor in motorcycle racing, and discusses Jack Miller’s ascent to MotoGP.

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Bikes

LEAKED: First Image of the Kawasaki Ninja H2 Street Bike

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Just last week the Kawasaki Ninja H2R, KHI’s supercharged track-only 300hp beast of a hyperbike, debuted at INTERMOT. The reception of the H2R was astounding, and Kawasaki has certainly laid down the gauntlet with the design, philosophy, and execution of its latest Ninja.

Kawasaki’s test riders are already reporting on social media speeds over 210 mph, and we eagerly await Kawasaki’s street-legal Ninja H2.

Set to debut at the AIMExpo in two weeks’ time, it seems the first image of the machine has leaked ahead of schedule. Caught in what looks like an early release of Kawasaki’s next teaser video, we can make out the lines of the Ninja H2 street bike.

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MotoGP

MotoAmerica Announces Its 2015 Class Structure

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MotoAmerica, the organization which replaces the DMG in running the US AMA series, has given their first peek into the future, by announcing the rules package. Though still not finalized, the package does give a very clear indication of MotoAmerica and KRAVE’s thinking, and the direction they wish to steer motorcycle racing in America in.

Four classes have been announced, with two more currently being weighed. The series will feature two superbike classes, Superbike and Superstock 1000, which will run concurrently. There will also be two middleweight classes, Supersport and Superstock 600, which replace Daytona Sportbike and the Supersport series.

For the moment, the four classes will be very similar to the classes they replace, with the exception of Superstock 1000, which will be run along the same lines as the FIM Superstock 1000.

However, MotoAmerica make it very clear in their press release that the eventual goal is to bring the Superbike, Supersport, and Superstock 600 rules used at the world championship level, with the aim of bringing more American talent to world championship racing.

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Bikes

2015 Suzuki GSX-S750 — Budget Middleweight Streetfighter

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Suzuki Motor America has just wrapped up its dealer show, and the surprise announcement is the 2015 Suzuki GSX-S750. The 749cc cousin to the Suzuki GSX-S1000 that debuted at the INTERMOT show, the Suzuki GSX-S750 is exactly what you think it is.

Taking the GSX-R750’s engine, and tuning it for low-end torque and mid-range power, Suzuki says that the GSX-S750 is perfect for street riding. Europeans have been calling it the Suzuki GSR750, since 2011.

The real kicker for the American market though is the price, as the GSX-S750 (available only in matte black) comes in at a paltry $7,999. Meanwhile the “Metallic Triton Blue and Pearl Glacier White” painted Suzuki GSX-S750Z (shown above) will hit dealer floors at $8,149, MSRP.

We gave Suzuki a lot of grief over the GSX-S1000 this week, but it seems they heard our thoughts in advance regarding pricing on the GSX-S line. There appears to be tremendous bang for the buck with the Suzuki GSX-S750 — American street enthusiasts, your budget streetfighter is here. Photos and specs are after the jump.

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Bikes

Volkswagen XL Sport – A Ducati Superleggera Powered Car

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Whoa, hold on…don’t worry, you’re still at the right site. Yes this is a car, and yes this is a site dedicated to motorcycles, but it will all make sense in a minute…or however long it takes you to read the headline of this story. Don’t worry…scroll up…we’ll wait.

Anyways, one of the perks for Audi AG’s acquisition of Ducati is that parent company Volkswagen can play around with interesting concepts that involve the compact, yet powerful, engines that come out of Borgo Panigale. One of those flights of fancy has manifested itself into a real-life concept, the Volkswagen XL Sport.

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Bikes

Ronin – 47 American Street Bikes Like No Other

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You will have to go back almost five years to remember Magpul’s Ronin motorcycle concept. Based off the Buell 1125R chassis and engine, the Magpul Ronin was very refreshing and different approach to an American street bike.

Fast-forward to the present, and Ronin Motor Works (the company spun out of Magpul to make the Ronin motorcycle) is ready to sell its first 12 units of the avant-garde bike.

Key items on the Ronin include a linkage fork design, with a Penske shock handling the bumps traveling up the aluminum girders. Our favorite feature, the radiator has been place high up, near the handlebars, and features an integrated headlight design.

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Bikes

KTM 1050 Adventure Outed by…KTM?

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At INTERMOT, we just saw the KTM 1290 Super Adventure — a model that KTM is calling “the safest motorcycle in the world” thanks to the machine’s use of the Bosch MSC “cornering ABS” module, and KTM’s robust traction control system.

Basically a 180hp off-road couch, the 1290 Super Adventure is the pinnacle of KTM’s ADV offerings. But, it seems another Adventure model is coming from zie Austrians.

Spotted by one of our readers on KTM’s website, the Austrian company makes reference to a KTM 1050 Adventure model in its owners manual download page. A KTM 1050 Adventure model has been rumored leading up to the INTERMOT show, so the reference is likely to be more than just a typographical error.

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