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A “Short” Review About Riding the Ducati Streetfighter V4 S

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Every new model year, I sit down and write a short list with the bikes I simply have to swing a leg over before the year is out.

The list is governed mostly by what catches my personal interest, but also includes important machines across the different segments of the industry, with the idea that I want to be able to speak intelligently about them and what’s going on in our two-wheeled world.

For the 2020 model year, at the top of my list was the Ducati Streetfighter V4 S. The bike not only appeals to my sport bike loving temperament, but it also marks the return of Ducati back to one of its more core elements – the sport bike category.

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Products

Bilstein Set to Enter the Motorcycle Suspension Business

By 14 Comments

German suspension brand Bilstein (rhymes with Frankenstein, for those debating the pronunciation) is about to get into the motorcycle business.

One of the more historic brands in automotive suspension, Bilstein is known best for its products in the four-wheeled realm, and in most current history for its off-road offerings in that space.

But now, Bilstein is setting its eyes on the two-wheeled realm, and for the past five years has been developing its first crop of motorcycle suspension pieces. As such, Bilstein is poised to debut its first wave of motorcycle suspension pieces later this year.

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Dirt

Ducati’s Beppe Gualini Tell Us How to Ride an ADV Bike Off-Road

By 3 Comments

A constant theme you will hear in the ADV space is how you can’t do real off-road riding with a big dual-sport, like the Ducati Multistrada 1260 Enduro and its siblings in the category.

They are too big, too heavy, and have too much power to be real off-road machines, some will tell you. Of course, to say that, you have to forget some history – namely that iconic off-road races like the Dakar Rally were competed on machines that aren’t all that different from today’s ADV bike.

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News

Indian Plays with Home Delivery for Motorcycle Purchases

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Mainstream headlines right now are talking about how the United States is surviving on home delivery purchasing services – like Amazon, Instacart, and UberEats – in order to get the goods we need while maintaining stay-at-home orders. For many, it has become a way of life.

Now, the motorcycle industry is starting to catch onto the same idea, as Indian Motorcycle announces its Click.Deliver.Ride program, which the company says lets you shop, configure, and purchase your new Indian motorcycle online and over the phone – all without changing out of your COVID-19 sweatpants attire.

In reality, the program is just a basic online lead-generation platform for local dealerships, which have always been able to handle the bulk of a motorcycle purchasing transaction over the phone (or via an online form). Though perhaps the ability to home-deliver has not always been so prevalent at the dealership level.

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WSBK

Photos of the Honda CBR1000RR-R All Kitted Out for WorldSBK Duty

By 7 Comments

There are many tragedies to the disruptions coming from the worldwide coronavirus outbreak, the loss of motorcycle being one of them (though certainly at a much lesser scale of importance to many of the losses we are suffering right now).

But for the purposes of being a daily motorcycle publication, not being able to see the new Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP on the WorldSBK stage is certainly a disappointment for us though.

This is because theHonda CBR1000RR-R represents HRC’s great inline-four hope for a production-class world championship title, most notably because the Japanese racing outfit has finally built an all-new racing platform for the superbike market.

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Rumors

Is Honda Working on a Midsized Africa Twin?

By 9 Comments

It looks like we are resurrecting a rumor from five years ago, as once again there is talk of a midsized adventure bike from Honda in the pipes.

It remains to be seen if this new model will take over the “Transalp” moniker (Honda canceled its Transalp trademark in 2016 for the USA, after reviving it in 2013), but right now the rumors from Europe are suggesting an 850cc twin-cylinder ADV bike is coming from Big Red.

Whether the rumor is true remains to be seen, but there is plenty of ammo to see a so-called Honda CRF850L hitting the market.

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News

Watch a Life-Sized Britten V1000 Get Made from Legos

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I will literally publish any story that has to do with motorcycles and Legos, such is my love for the little Danish blocks that marked my childhood. But, I think this is a story that should have some universal appeal to the A&R readership.

After all, who doesn’t want to watch a Britten V1000 – one of the most-iconic motorcycles ever – get reproduced in a full-sized replica made from Legos? 

The build comes from The Brickman, which was commissioned to do the model for toy store in New Zealand, and the work is pretty phenomenal – hundreds of hours went into the work.

Though, it will only take you less than a minute to watch it all come together. Leave in the comments your best guess on how many bricks were used. Enjoy!

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Bikes

Mega Gallery: 127 Hi-Res Photos of the Ducati Streetfighter V4 S

By 12 Comments

As we speak, dealerships in the USA are starting to see the Ducati Streetfighter V4 arrive at their doorsteps, which is certainly some good news in a time where the world (including the two-wheeled one) is a bit crazy.

This news is lucky for those soon-to-be owners as well, because not even the world’s press (outside of a few partnering publications) have been able to swing a leg over the Streetfighter V4 yet, as the international press launch for the machine had to be canceled because of the coronavirus outbreak.

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Bikes

More Photos of that Sexy Carbon Fiber Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R

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Last week, we brought you photos of a carbon fiber clad Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R race bike that was put together by the Japanese brand to help promote the model’s launch, and to give an idea of what to expect from their upcoming spec-series for the quarter-liter screamer.

You liked it. We liked it. The motorcycling internet liked it. And let’s be honest, what isn’t their to like about this new motorcycle when its dripping in go-fast parts and ready to do the thing on any race track you point it at?

Feeling the need for an encore, Kawasaki has released some more photos of its carbon fiber ZX-25R, and naturally we feel obliged to share them with you.

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Racing

This Is the Best “Leg Dangle” Explanation We’ve Ever Seen

By 15 Comments

Ever since Valentino Rossi let his leg fly free in the wind, people have been trying to explain the advantages of the “leg dangle” in motorcycle racing.

While many reasons have been offered (some more accurate than others), and while some pundits have certainly painted a good portion of the picture behind this growing technique on the race track, we have never seen someone explain the subject quite as well as Sylvain Guintoli.

The Frenchman posted his explanation in a video to YouTube, and he is not only clear in his explanation, but also exhaustively comprehensive in his analysis on the subject.

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Bikes

The Vyrus Alyen Is an Outbreak from Another World

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Vyrus Alyen

With all the headlines about the coronavirus that inundate our social stream, I don’t think it’s a big stretch to assume that you would like to talk about anything but a virus on the pages of Asphalt & Rubber.

Let us talk then about a different kind of viral outbreak, the Vyrus Alyen. The latest creation from the boutique Italian house of two-wheels, Vyrus has taken the 1,285cc Ducati Superquadro v-twin engine, wedged it into their hub-center steering chassis, and well…the bodywork is unlike anything on the market.

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