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Erik Buell Racing 1190SX Details – 185hp & $16,995

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When the Erik Buell Racing 1190SX first debuted, EBR was tight-lipped on any specifics about its streetfighter model. Thankfully East Troy has given us a few more details, and we now know that the 2015 Erik Buell Racing 1190SX will not have a detuned v-twin motor from its EBR 1190RX superbike counterpart, so 185hp and 101 lbs•ft of torque will be on tap for street bike fans…as it should be

Additionally, the EBR 1190SX will come with a $16,995 price tag, which prices it just above the Aprilia Tuono V4 R APRC ABS ($14,999) and BMW S1000R ($13,150 – $14,950), while being on par in price with the KTM 1290 Super Duke R ($16,999).

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Bikes

2015 Erik Buell Racing 1190SX Debuts

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While hosting a press rider for the Erik Buell Racing 1190RX at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, EBR unveiled its next street bike, the 2015 Erik Buell Racing 1190SX. Since Asphalt & Rubber, the premier sport bike motorcycle blog, was apparently not invited to the event, we’re a little light on details for our million monthly readers.

However, we do know that the 1190SX is the naked version of the 1190RX, sharing many of the same chassis components. What we don’t know is what Erik Buell Racing has done inside the motor, as motorcycle manufacturers are often prone to detune their streetfighters, to help differentiate them from their superbike counterparts.

Erik Buell strikes us as the kind of man that would be resistant to that trend, if for no other reason than to try something else in the market, cue ZTL brakes, fuel-in-frame chassis designs, and underslung exhaust worshiping. More details as we get them on the 1190SX, but until then, here’s the first photo of the 2015 Erik Buell Racing 1190SX streetfighter.

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Banter

Video: The Genesis of the KTM 1290 Super Duke R

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The Austrians refer to the KTM 1290 Super Duke R as “The Beast” whenever possible, and as our trained crash test dummy Iwan found out first hand, the name is appropriate for the 180hp streetfighter. The first motorcycle from KTM with traction control, the new Super Duke R is mighty, but pliable…and for good reason: KTM designed it that way.

It may not have as robust of an electronics package as the Aprilia Tuono V4 R APRC ABS, but the 1290 Super Duke R has unsettled the Italian bike as the sport-naked to have in your garage…that is, if you can afford it.

How did The Beast come to be from its RC8 R roots though? Never fret, KTM has put together a short video, which tells the genesis story of this monster machine.

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Bikes

Pierobon Ducati 1199 Panigale Streetfighter by Krax Moto

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Do you remember the Pierobon frame kit for the Ducati 1199 Panigale that we showed you back in November? If you’re a loyal reader, you should — it was one of our most popular articles that month.

An answer for those who think that the Panigale’s “frameless” chassis is affected by the same woes as the MotoGP project, Pierobon’s steel-trellis frame replaces the load-bearing headtube/airbox design from Ducati.

While we wait to hear back from the folks at Pieroban about how their creation goes around the race track, the clever Photoshoppers at Krax-Moto have takien the Italian fabricator’s photos, and used them to ink a very impressive streetfighter / café racer concept.

A little headlight here, and little leather seat there — it’s really surprising how little need to be tweaked to make the design work. If the Pierobon folks are sharp, they’ll include Krax Moto’s changes in a kit for customers. Would you take this over a Ducati Monster 1200 S? We would.

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Bikes

Hero Hastur 620 Concept – A Streetfighter with EBR Inside

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The Hero MotoCorp news keeps coming. Last week we reported on the Hero HXR 250R 250cc lightweight sport bike and the impressively practical Hero RNT diesel scooter.

This time, it’s a 620cc streetfighter concept called the Hero Hastur 620. With a parallel twin putting out around 80hp, and claimed weight of only 352.7 pounds wet, the Hastur definitely has a few of key ingredients needed for success.

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Bikes

BMW S1000R Priced at $13,150 Base for the USA

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While we remain firm in our opinion that the BMW R nineT is the most important model to come from BMW Motorrad in a long while (which is saying something, since the liquid-cooled BMW R1200GS was a major step for the iconic and well-selling motorcycle), perhaps the most exciting model to come from Bavaria for the 2014 model year is the BMW S1000R.

Long-expected, the S1000R is the scandalously clad sibling to the venerable S1000RR superbike. Building the streetfighter model, the Germans went an interesting route with the BMW S1000R, instead of dropping mega horsepower, to compete with the Aprilia Tuono V4 R APRC ABS and KTM 1290 SuperDuke R, the Motorraders built a bike with a serious midrange.

True to form though, BMW is aggressively pricing the S1000R for the US market, with the base price set at $13,150. Of course will all things BMW, you have to pay to play with all the goodies.

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Bikes

Ducati 1199 Panigale Streetfighter by Hertrampf

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As soon as Bologna debuted the Ducati 1199 Panigale, the speculation was rife on if/when the Italian brand would bring streetfighter and supersport-class machines to market. We have already seen the Ducati 899 Panigale, which isn’t quite race-legal, though packs the superbike’s design philosophies into a more affordable package with a smaller engine displacement.

As for the Streetfighter, the debut of the Ducati Monster 1200 seems to confirm suspicions that Ducati has no plans to continue with a performance-based street naked. With the demise of the Streetfighter 1098, one can only wonder how much longer the Streetfighter 848 will remain in Ducati’s lineup. Surely when the smaller displacements of the Monster line move to water-cooled engine, the we will see the removal of the 848, much to our chagrin.

This still leaves us with some “what if’s” though, as some believe the monocoque “frameless” chassis design of the Panigale makes a streetfighter variant all but impossible. We would have to say that when the fairingless photos of the Ducati 1199 Superleggera that came out this year, our eyes searched for ways to tailor the Panigale’s naked body into some sort of Streetfighter, though it looks like some Germans have gone a step further.

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Bikes

Radical Ducati Matador

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We haven’t seen something from the boys at Radical Ducati in a while, so their timing with Radical Ducati Matador and the holidays seems like an early moto-related present.

For the un-initiated, Radical Ducati is a small shop in Madrid, Spain that specializes in Frankensteining together custom motorcycles from the Ducati parts bin.

Based around the Ducati 1198 Superbike lump, and featuring all the usual Radical Ducati parts, the Radical Ducati Matador is not only typical of the Spanish firm’s gritty design practice, but also makes us nostalgic for the now deceased Ducati Streetfighter 1098 platform, which hit upon the same raw vein during its brief time in Ducati’s lineup.

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Lifestyle

Watch Jeremy McWilliams Embarrass Some Journalists at the Track While on a KTM 1290 Super Duke R

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Judging from how the KTM 1290 Super Duke R stacks up against its competition (like the Aprilia Tuono V4 R APRC ABS, BMW S1000R, and Ducati Monster 1200 S), the Austrian’s were right in calling the new Duke “The Beast” in their pre-launch marketing.

With 180hp coming from its 1,301cc v-twin engine, and 106 lbs•ft of torque (74 of which start at just 2,500 rpm), KTM has built a road-eating monster in the new Super Duke R.

Taming that beast is no easy task, though luckily the KTM 1290 Super Duke R is one of the Austrian company’s first motorcycles to get traction control. But as our friend Iwan learned at the international press launch in Spain, the Super Duke R still packs quite the punch.

KTM’s tame motorcycle racer, and development rider for the Super Duke R, Jeremy McWilliams was on-hand for the press launch as well. Unfortunately for McWilliams though, there appears to be something wrong with his race-spec Duke, as the front wheel has trouble staying attached to the ground. He should probably have the boys take a look at it.

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Bikes

2014 Kawasaki Z1000 – So Much Sugomi

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We have seen the 2014 Kawasaki Z1000 leaked and teased ad nauseam ahead of the 2013 EICMA show, but now we finally have the official photos and specifications of the Kawasaki’s new street-naked.

For the new year, Kawasaki says that the new Z1000 has a revised ECU setting, along with different camshaft timings and oval exhaust connectors between the header pipes.

Other improvements like connected cylinders (less pumping loss) and a new airbox design, help the 2014 Kawasaki Z1000 reach 140hp (104.5 kW) and 82 lbs•ft of torque from its 1,043cc inline-four engine.

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Bikes

2014 BMW S1000R – 160hp, ABS, & Optional DTC & DDC

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As expected, BMW Motorrad took the wraps off a completely new motorcycle today at the EICMA show, the BMW S1000R. A streetfighter version of the venerable BMW S1000RR superbike, the S1000R drops an “R” from its name along with roughly 30hp, with the naked bike sporting a 160hp peak figure — primarily due to a redline that is 2,000 rpm less than the S1000RR.

Build the 999cc inline-four motor for low-end and mid-range torque, rather the maximum peak horsepower, BMW says that the S1000R makes 7 lbs•ft more torque than the S1000RR, all the way up to 7,500 rpm.

With a peak torque figure of 83 lbs•ft at 9,250 rpm, the BMW S1000R  is now slouch, though with it tipping the scales at 456 lbs (207kg) — the 2014 BMW S1000R is few pounds heavier than its predecessor.

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