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Up-Close with the Energica Ego Electric Superbike

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Asphalt & Rubber had the fortunate chance to ride the Energica Ego today, and before I get to a proper review of riding the electric superbike, I wanted to reintroduce this Italian machine to our readers, because while A&R might have been one of the few outlets to cover Energica, this new player in the “E2V” space might still strike you as unfamiliar.

A project from Italy’s respected engineering firm CRP Racing, I first had the opportunity to see the Energica Ego at the 2011 EICMA show. The machine wasn’t a runner at the time, as CRP was still looking for a drivetrain partner that could supplement CRP’s already extensive knowledge in chassis design.

Fast-forward to the 2013 EICMA show, and the Energica sub-brand debuted its first production electric superbike, the Ego. The naming might be a bit tough, especially for us Anglophones, but this 134hp, 143 lbs•ft superbike packs a punch, and is remarkably well-refined.

I will leave the full review for a more-detailed article, but the short version of it is pretty positive. I came to the launch skeptical of Energica and the Ego, but left very impressed with the company its machine — the conversation about production electric motorcycles now has to include this potent Italian brand and its first product offering. Enthusiasts should take note.

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Columns

She’z Racing at Suzuka — When a Plan Comes Together

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We are pleased to have Shelina Moreda writing Asphalt & Rubber’s newest column, “She’z Racing at Suzuka”, which will follow her and Melissa Paris’ venture into racing at the Suzuka 4-Hour endurance race later this month.

The American Duo are making the first all-female race team at the Suzuka 4-Hour, and will be campaigning a Honda CBR600RR with the Synergy Force Moriwaki Club team. We hope that you will enjoy the unique perspective that Shelina will be sharing with us. Race day is July 25th. -JB

If you know me, you know I like new adventures in racing. I want to do as much racing, in as many awesome places as possible, and hopefully find out where my niche is and find a home racing somewhere eventually, but I still hope I get to continue traveling for racing always.

Racing in Japan is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. It’s something that came up about a year and a half ago, and I made it known that I really wanted to do it. We had a strong lead last year, but it couldn’t happen for some valid reasons.

Nobody gave up on it though, we kept pushing for it, and this year, to my surprise and awe, the well known and respected Team Moriwaki expressed a strong interest in putting together a team for the four-hour endurance at Suzuka. Everyone put it in high-gear to get the team together and to figure out all the details that go along with such a high-level event like this, with such a high-level team.

It’s been somewhat top secret, and the excitement, at least for me, has been pretty hard to contain. We’ve all been working diligently behind the scenes, and it seems we were all holding out breaths at this twinkling far-off dream of ours, watching it become a reality, until our test this week, where everything came together, and we all pinched ourselves and realized it’s real. Midori Moriwaki, Melissa Paris and I have spent some time laughing about this this week.

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Bikes

Bimota BB4 Concepts by Oberdan Bezzi

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I had to check the last time we showed you some of Oberdan Bezzi’s work, and it was over three months ago. The Italian designer has certainly been busy since that time though, as he has produced a number of BMW/Bimota concepts for us to ponder about.

Imagining the Italian company’s current trend of using BMW power plants — as has been seen with the Bimota BB3 — Bezzi’s drawings instead use BMW Motorrad’s popular boxer engine as their base.

The effect is an interesting one, as the BMW’s boxer engine has proven to be the base of the German brands Top 3 selling bikes, and has found interesting applications in the BMW R nineT modular machine, and the BMW Roadster Concept motorcycle.

Here dubbed the “Bimota BB4”, these concepts come in a variety of sporty standard, cafe racer, and streetfighter varieties that Bezzi’s simply calls a “Café Fighter” concept.

It’s hard to pick our favorite from the bunch, but we are enthusiastic about the idea of a boxer-powered Bimota. We doubt we’ll see such a move from the now Swiss-owned brand, but like a good concept sketch, it’s good to dream.

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MotoGP

Sunday Summary at Sachsenring: Marquez’s Perfect Record, Dangerous Starts, & A Spaniard-Free Zone

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The former England soccer player Gary Lineker once described the sport as follows: “Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.” It feels somehow fitting to paraphrase that quote on the day that the Germans play in the World Cup final.

Motorcycle racing is a simple sport, where 23 people ride a MotoGP bike as fast as they can, and Marc Marquez always wins.

He found yet another way to win at the Sachsenring. A heavy rain shower between the Moto2 race and the sighting lap for MotoGP left the grid in disarray, with about three quarters of the field heading in to swap from their wet to their dry bikes at the end of the warm up lap.

That left fourteen riders to start from pit lane, five abreast, after jostling for position. At that point, the race should have been red flagged – more on that later – but instead, they all got out of pit lane safely. Just.

Marquez showed himself to be a master of improvisation, pitting quickly, swapping bikes and elbowing his way to the front of the pits. He took advantage of the chaos, exited pit lane first, and led the charge towards the shellshocked remainder of the pack who had started from the grid proper.

He was 8.5 seconds behind the leader Stefan Bradl by the end of the first sector, a deficit which he had cut to 7.7 seconds by the end of the first lap. Before the sixth lap was completed, he had caught and passed the LCR Honda man, going on to win his ninth straight MotoGP race with relative ease.

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Bikes

2015 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R ABS 30th Anniversary Edition

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In case you didn’t know, this is the 30th anniversary of the Ninja motorcycle line from Kawasaki. To commemorate the occasion, Big Green has already debuted the 2015 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R 30th Anniversary Edition and 2015 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R 30th Anniversary Edition motorcycles, and today the 2015 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R ABS 30th Anniversary Edition joins them.

Like its sport bike brethren, this special ZX-14R comes with a special livery, which will be available to only 300 lucky owners (each unit is specially numbered). Finished in a “Firecracker Red” with “Metallic Graystone” paint, along with gold pinstriping and gold brake calipers, you can be certain that the changes are purely skin deep for this special model.

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Rumors

Daimler to Invest in MV Agusta as IPO Rumors Circulate?

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Fresh off the European newswires, reports out of Italy are tipping motorcycle manufacturer MV Agusta as looking to offer up to 30% of the company on the stock market. If true, the move would make good on MV Agusta’s hope of going public by 2016 — noticeably quite ahead of schedule.

Additionally, reports out of Germany are also indicating that Daimler AG (owner of Mercedes-Benz), is looking for a minority stake in MV Agusta, and approached the Italian company these past few weeks about that possibility — a move not to dissimilar to the one that saw Audi AG acquire Ducati Motor Holding.

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Recall

66,000+ Harley-Davidsons Recalled for Front-Wheel Lockup

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Bad news for 2014 Harley-Davidson Touring and CVO-Touring motorcycles with ABS installed, as the Bar & Shield brand has issued a recall with the NHTSA for 66,421 motorcycles that could potentially see their front-wheel lockup unexpectedly during normal operation.

The problem comes about because the affected motorcycles may have been assembled with the front brake line positioned in such a way that it could be pinched between the fuel tank and frame, causing the front brake fluid pressure to increase. If the fluid pressure does increase, it could cause the front wheel to lockup, and possibly cause a crash. To-date, five such crashes have occurred, with thankfully only minor injuries being reported.

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Bikes

Here’s the Honda CB300F & Yes, It’s Coming to America

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We first caught wind of the 2015 Honda CB300F back in March, and at the time we didn’t expect to see the naked small-displacement machine until the autumn trade shows. Well, Honda has proven itself full of surprises, because not only has Big Red debuted the Honda CB300F to the world, but American Honda has also confirmed the model for the United States.

Basically a Honda CBR300R without all of its fairings, the Honda CB300F offers a more upright sitting position, and a little bit less racer flair. At the heart of the CB300F is the same fuel-injected 286cc single-cylinder thumper, which has a longer 8mm stroke than the venerable Honda CBR250R, and thus accounts for its 37cc advantage in displacement.

Perhaps the best part about the 2015 Honda CB300F though is the price tag, which is downright affordable at $3,999 MSRP ($400 less than the CBR300R).

American Honda hasn’t locked down a delivery date for the USA, simply saying that the new model will be hitting Honda dealers in the fall of this year. From what we understand, that’s when you can expect to see the Honda CBR300R as well.

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Bikes

Is a 2015 Suzuki GSR1000 Coming?

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Speculation for the 2014 trade shows is starting to trickle in, and the fine journalists at the German magazine Motorrad have for us the latest gossip regarding a new model for 2015. Confirming a great deal of speculation, Motorrad tips that we will see a Suzuki GSR1000 at October’s INTERMOT show.

Call it a standard, a streetfighter, or a street naked, the GSR1000 is said to be without fairings and based off the Suzuki GSX-R1000, using the same 999cc four-cylinder engine as the superbike, albeit in an unfortunately detuned state — not to dissimilar from the Suzuki GSR750.

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Racing

Bruce Anstey Racing Yamaha YZR500 GP Bike at Classic TT

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Officially the fastest man around the Isle of Man’s Snaefell Mountain Course at 132.298 mph, Bruce Anstey is showing no signs of slowing down at the age of 44. Coming off his historic Isle of Man TT fortnight, the Kiwi will take part in the upcoming Isle of Man’s Classic TT as well.

Starting August 23rd, Anstey will be hunting for another record-breaking lap on the course, this time aboard a very special machine: an ex-factory Yamaha YZR500 500GP bike. Smoke’m if you’ve got them, this 150hp two-stroke beast is sure to delight premix fans at the Isle’s other TT.

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Bikes

Upcoming BMW S1000F Rendered by Nicolas Petit

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Once again the folks at Wunderlich are readying themselves for another BMW model, and the German company has enlisted the services of French designer Nicolas Petit to render the upcoming BMW S1000F sport-tourer, which we are all eagerly awaiting.

Based off the BMW S1000RR sport bike, the S1000F features an upright handlebar design with a more touring-oriented sitting position, to make for better long-road travel. It’s not clear if BMW will follow the lead of Erik Buell Racing, and choose not to detune its superbike engine, but it does seem that BMW wants a bigger piece for the sporty end of the touring market.

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