When news of the 2011 Triumph Speed Triple hit the interwebs, with its spiffy new headlight and crazy-light aluminum frame, the clock immediately started ticking on when the 1050cc triple’s little sibling, the 675cc Street Triple & Street Triple R would get the same treatment from Triumph.
Hopes for a 2011 update were seemingly dashed when the British company posted the current model Street Triple as its 2011 offering, but rumors persisted that we’d see an updated middleweight naked very soon.
Being released as an early 2012 model, our colleagues in France have seemingly gotten the first official photos of the 2012 Triumph Street Triple & 2012 Triumph Street Triple R, as the bikes were unveiled at a new store on the Avenue de la Grande Armée in Paris.
Slap! And that’s what happened when Max Biaggi stopped by Marco Melandri’s pit box after qualifying, after the two riders traded moments stuffing each other during the Superpole sessions. While out on his fastest lap in Superpole 2, Marco Melandri came onto the slower lapping Max Biaggi, and according to Melandri, Biaggi blocked his fellow Italians fast lap.
Subsequently, Melandri returned the favor on Biaggi’s fast lap attempt, while Biaggi would go on to do the same to Noriyuki Haga (and others reportedly) as well. After Superpole concluded however, it was Melandri that got The Emperor’s wroth in the paddock, as the reigning World Superbike Champion stopped by the Yamaha pit, and gave Melandri a couple of light slaps on the face during a worded exchange. Video after the jump.
Do you like the Isle of Man TT? Do you like the third dimension? Do you like watching bikes hurl down city streets at imprudent velocities? If you answered “yes!” to these questions, then we have the cinematic experience you’ve been waiting for your whole life. TT3D: Closer to the Edge (Facebook & Twitter) is a new movie coming out that documents the 2010 Isle of Man TT, and is the first feature-length 3D sport documentary to boot.
Packed with not only footage from the TT itself, the documentary also tells the story behind the race with segments on Guy Martin, John McGuinness, Conor Cummins, and Ian Hutchinson. The movie is narrated by Jared Leto, and should be hitting the big screen in April. We can’t wait for the premiere, but more importantly we can’t wait for the upcoming 100th running of the Mountain Course at the Isle of Man TT in June.
Honda has announced that it will be restarting motorcycle production at its Kumamoto factory as of Monday, March 28th. Initially closing all its facilities in Japan after the devastation caused by the Sendai earthquake, Kumamoto will be one of Honda’s first facilities to re-open in almost two weeks’ time.
While the company’s Sayama, Saitama, and Suzuka facilities will remain closed through April 3rd, Honda will make a decision on when to restart production at those locations as that date becomes closer. Honda will continue to make decisions on its operations from this date forth, keeping a close eye on its supply chain and the good of the country as whole as the situation in Japan continues to change and evolve.
MV Agusta is hosting it dealers meeting this weekend, and it is expected that the Italian company will unveil details on its upcoming 2011-2012 model line-up. With information coming forth about its new smaller Brutale 675 “B3”, a naked version of the companies recently unveiled MV Agusta F3 three-cylinder supersport, MV Agusta is likely to have the bike on sale as early as February 2012, with a base price of €8,990.
This puts the MV Agusta Brutale 675 squarely in the Triumph Street Triple’s price range, but bests its British counterpart with a claimed 120hp (de-tuned from the F3’s expected 140hp output). Also expected to be announced at the dealer meeting is the company’s plan for the releasing the MV Agusta F3, and news of a 201hp MV Agusta F4 “Corsacorta”.
Today we have a concept sketch that should appeal to A&R‘s Ducatisti readership, as Isaac Chavira brings us his rendition of a Ducati Monster 848R. The name sort of gives off what’s going on here, as Chavira has incorporated the 848’s superbike motor into a Monster chassis (a Monster 796 chassis to be exact).
While the Monster line has become Ducati’s air-cooled street machine, we like where Chivra’s head is at when explains his choice for using the 848 Superbike’s water-cooled motor: “As you’ll see I have given it a heart transplant stuffing the 848’s motor into the Monsters chassis. After all they gave it a menacing name, why not have the heart of a beast right?”
When will the first true electric motorcycle from an large OEM hit dealer floors? Pretty soon by what we’re hearing come out of Austria lately. KTM’s Freeride is fairly straight-forward in concept, as it takes the tried and true KTM off-road package, and puts an electrical drive train inside it (easy enough, right?). Designed with help from Austrian firm Kiska, the KTM Freeride looks like a dirt bike, smells like a dirt bike…well, you get the idea.
While KTM Freeride concept has reportedly been more than peppy during testing, it’s big drawback during development has always been its battery life. That’s apparently about to change, as KTM’s lastest version has reportedly more power on-board (there’s been tremendous amounts of progress in battery density in just the past six months), and is set to come out later this year (we’d assume an EICMA launch in November).
Ben Spies is on the factory Yamaha YZR-M1 this year, and is already showing that he has the mettle to battle up front in MotoGP with the best of the best. A former AMA Champion and World Superbike Champion, Spies has his eyes on motorcycling’s ultimate prize, but it’s been a long road to where he is now for the young Texan racer.
Talking about his start in motorcycle racing, Alpinestars has done a quick video on Spies as a part of the company’s “Beyond the Riders” campaign. Like the videos with Jorge Lorenzo & the Repsol Honda riders, there’s some interesting things to hear from our stars of the Premier Class, which tell the story we don’t see on TV. Watch Ben’s story after the jump.
As Japan continues to battle with the aftermath from its 9.0 earthquake, the Japanese motorcycle industry has been placed into a holding pattern while the country handles more pressing issues. With news that the Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha factories would be temporarily shutting down last week, more news has been released updating us on the status with these companies. Issuing current statements are: Bridgestone, Honda, Kawasaki, and Suzuki. Check their statuses after the jump.