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2011 Triumph Tiger 800 XC Breaks Cover

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The first official photo of the much hyped 2011 Triumph Tiger 800 XC has hit the internet, finally showing us clearly what the off-road oriented adventure bike will look like in its final form.

Clad with knobbie tires, tubes, and a 21″ front wheel, the Triumph Tiger 800 XC will differ from its road warrior cousin the Triumph Tiger 800, which will have a 19″ front tire, sans tubes.

Triumph has already told us that the 2011 Triumph Tiger 800’s will have a steel frame, and you can expect the larger motor to have more horsepower and torque compared to the Triumph Daytona 675.

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Bikes

First Official Photos of the 2011 Ducati Diavel – Traction Control, ABS, Multiple Driving Modes, & 456lbs

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UPDATE: Ducati USA just sent us a larger version of the photo posted on Facebook (enhanced version above). Check out the key entry for the trunk under the tail, and how the tail lights extend past the tail section to function as turn signals as well.

Ducati has just released the first official images of the 2011 Ducati Diavel on its website and Facebook page, thus beginning the teasing process as we lead up to the EICMA show in Milan in three weeks (and confirming the name Diavel in the process). Showing the ass end of the power cruiser, we get our first good glimpse of the carbon tank on the Diavel (rumors are the Ducati Diavel will come in two trim levels). Ducati has also announced that the Diavel will sport ABS, Ducati Traction Contorl, multiple riding modes, and weigh 456lbs.

Ducati has also confirmed that the 2011 Ducati Diavel will use the Testastretta 11° engine found on the 2010 Ducati Multistrada 1200, but has coyly made no mention of power figures, leading us to take an educated guess that the “Devil” makes a bit more power than its sport-touring cousin.

Smaller details are starting to come out as well, as we see the frame will get some red paint (as inked-in earlier), along with a central racing stripe down the tank and tail. We’ve brightened up the close-up photo after the jump, but don’t expect to see anything more than some pieces from the Ducati parts bin.

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Racing

The Motegi Infraction

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While Valentino Rossi may have gotten a slap on the wrist from Yamaha Racing Boss Lin Jarvis for over-zealously racing teammate Jorge Lorenzo at Motegi, the Spanish press and Lorenzo have been less reserved with their words about the final laps of the Japanese GP. This hasn’t stopped some cheekiness from the Italian press though, who put together this fake accident report after Rossi and Lorenzo collided on the Twin Ring Circuit. Watch the video above, and make the call if that assigned fault to the right rider after the jump.

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Racing

What Do You Tweet When You Win the FIM MotoGP World Championship?

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One of the great things about Twitter is that it often gives you unfiltered access to people who generally have several layers of public relations officers between them and the fans. No stranger to the interwebs, Jorge Lorenzo is probably one of the most avid Twitter users in the MotoGP paddock, blasting out a steady stream of tweets during a race weekend. So what does the Spanish rider send out to his followers after clinching the MotoGP Championship? Stay classy Jorge.

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News

The Ducati Diavel That Roland Sands Design Built

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Sometimes if you want to know where something is going, it helps to know where it’s been. That seems to be the case as Ducati News Today has esnagged some photos 2011 Ducati Diavel from way back in May of last year. Caught in the United States being fitted with a new swingarm (according to DNT), this version of the Ducati Diavel shows some interesting lines that depart from the photos we’ve seen earlier of the performance cruiser.

But why does this Diavel look so different from the clay models and spy shots we’ve seen? While some will say it’s an earlier model, our eagle eye spots a few parts from the Roland Sands Design parts bin. When we saw the latest spy shots of the Diavel, the bike had some wheels on it that screamed influences from Performance Machines. It’s no secret that PM and RSD have close ties, so we went digging, and our sources tell us that Roland Sands Design has been helping Ducati kit the Diavel with aftermarket parts (note the Öhlins shock which will surely be a Ducati Performance part for the Diavel). More info and photos after the jump.

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Official: 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R Gets 750 RPM Redline Reduction Because of EPA Noise Laws

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We just got off the phone with Kawasaki HQ, and it’s official: the 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R will inadvertently get a power decrease when it comes to the United States because of the EPA’s regulation of noise pollution, confirming earlier rumors from this week. The issue surrounds the EPA’s new methodology for measuring exhaust noise levels, which now involves taking the measurement at a percentage of the total rev range, instead of a specific rpm value.

The result is that the 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R passes the Euro III standards, but fails the EPA standards in its unadulterated form. To come into compliance with the EPA’s Noise Control Act, Kawasaki has lowered the rev-limit on the 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R by 750 rpm in order to meet the new criteria. The byproduct of lowering the rev-limiter will reduce the new ZX-10R’s maximum power output, but Kawasaki isn’t saying by how much.

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News

Ducati Diavel: Closer…closer…

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The folks over at have gotten their hands on a new 2011 Ducati Diavel photo, and were kind enough to ink in a red frame and racing stripe on the bike, to give us a better idea of what the production Italian performance cruiser could look like. With the final lines showing more fit and finish, the Diavel has really transformed before our eyes these past months. The swept back headlight design reminds us of something old and something new, but we’re still not in love with this bike yet (but we’re getting there). How about you?

Source: MotoBlog.it

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Bikes

2011 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 – The Fully Faired Z1000 Tourer

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Rumors have been swelling about Kawasaki introducing a full-faired version of its popular Z1000 street naked, and at Intermot today those rumors became true. Dubbed the 2011 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 (the bike is going by the Kawasaki Z1000S or Z1000SX name in other markets, which has lead other sites to misreport the model name for here in the US), the new heavyweight 1000 street bike uses the same 1043cc motor as the current Z1000, and remains largely unchanged from the Z1000 except for some modifications to make the bike fit a more touring-oriented segment.

Fitted with an adjustable windscreen and hard-mounts for panniers, Kawasaki hopes that the new Ninja 1000 will fill a sportier-touring role in the company’s line-up. Likely realizing that Z1000 owners like to log some miles on their bikes, the 2011 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 seems to be Kawasaki’s response to these adventurers’ wants, needs, and criticisms.

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Bikes

2011 Suzuki GSR750 Unwrapped

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The street-naked segment, what used to be known as the “standard” motorcycle segment, is heating up this year as another Japanese OEM enters the fray with the official announcement of the 2011 Suzuki GSR750. Suzuki’s answer to the growing middleweight street bike segment, the GSR750 is like the Yamaha FZ8 in that it uses a de-tuned sportbike motor (sourced from the GSX-R 750), and employs a relatively cheap and basic frame and component set to make an affordable, yet punchy, bike for the street warrior.

With power in the 120hp range, and weight expected to be under 420lbs dry, the 2011 Suzuki GSR750 stacks up decently well on the spec sheet (compared to its competition at least), and knowing that swap-over aftermarket parts from the GSX-R line should bolt up nicely, the new Suzuki GSR750 should be popular with the modder crowd. No word yet if Suzuki plans on selling the 2011 Suzuki GSR750 in the United States, but we expect the Japanese company will take a page out of Yamaha’s book, and make a late entry into the model year.

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2011 Triumph Speed Triple – Johnny 5 Lives!

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As children of the 1980’s, we grew up with movies that promised us a future where tracked military robots would learn what it means to love and be human in a humorous yet adventurous manner. While we doubt we’ll see when it was shown on the Triumph’s accessories page), the British company has completely re-worked its larger streetfighter offering, and is slowly winning our hearts.

The biggest improvement for the new Speed Triple is the bike’s all-new aluminum frame. Initially reported to drop the 2011 Triumph Speed Triple’s weight by 40lbs, the bike tips the scales at 471lbs with a full-tank of gas, which is only several pounds lighter than the 2010 model’s curb weight, but that doesn’t mean Triumph has been lax in its revisions. More details and photos after the jump.

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LEAKED: 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R Details

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Who has two thumbs, $4.99, and no embargo obligations? These guys [holds up thumbs]! Do you want to know every dirty secret about the 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R, but don’t want to wait until the big end-of-the-year bike shows? Well don’t worry, we won’t make you wait any longer than these overly-hyperbolized introductory paragraphs.

In what can only be described as another “accidental” story leak by Cycle World, this embargoed information could be bought for $4.99 at the right news stand in Hollywood this evening (by the way, it’s a long drive from San Francisco). Since Asphalt & Rubber isn’t under any obligations to keep this information secret, we’ve waded through the non-copyrightable facts and figures on the 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R and printed them here.

The first thing you need to know about the 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R is that it comes in the color green. Continue past the jump for other juicy details.

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