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First Sketches of Norton’s 200hp 1,200cc V4 Superbike

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Norton Motorcycles recently got £4 million in grant funding from the UK government, funds that will go towards creating a new manufacturing facility, more jobs, and new models. All-in-all, it’s good news for the British marque and its suppliers, who will also benefit from the grant.

The good news for us though is that Norton plans to bring to market a 200hp V4-powered sport bike, not too dissimilar to the “SG” models that have been raced at the Isle of Man TT.

Adding to the good news is that British site Bike Social has gotten their hands on the sketches, and had a chance to talk to Norton’s Head of Design, Simon Skinner, about the new model and Norton’s future.

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Bikes

Suzuki GSX-R1000 Red & Black Commemorative Edition

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Suzuki already has a classic blue and white commemorative livery for its GSX-R line of motorcycles, but today at the Indianapolis GP, the Japanese brand debuted another commemorative edition of the Suzuki GSX-R1000, this time in red & black.

While the blue and white livery has become the more traditional colors for Suzuki and its GSX-R sport bikes, it was the red and black GSX-R750 machines of Yoshimura Suzuki that dominated the Suzuka 8-Hour in 1986, the first year of the bike’s debut.

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Bikes

These Are Not the Eagerly Awaited Suzuki GSX-R250 & All-New GSX-R1000…But They Should Be

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These images are very likely not of the hopefully-soon-to-be-released Suzuki GSX-R250 & GSX-R1000 sport bikes, as their purveyor, Japanese magazine Young Machine, has a fairly horrible track record with these sort of things…but that doesn’t mean that we should ignore them.

After all, here we see two very attractive offerings, which we hope the folks at Hamamatsu will take a long look at, as the Suzuki GSX-R1000 rendered here would be an attractive update to a name that was once the superbike to beat.

The rendering exercise from Young Machine also shows that a quarter-liter sport bike from Suzuki should be directly related to its liter-bike brethren, not only to strike the aspirational nerve of riders, but also to justify the added expense and limited return on the company’s superbike offering.

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Bikes

New Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R Coming for 2016

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Superbike fans should rejoice to the news that Kawasaki has an all-new ZX-10R in the works for the upcoming model year. The news comes from Germany’s reliable Speedweek publication, which interviewed Guim Roda, the Team Manager of Kawasaki’s World Superbike racing effort.

Talking to Speedwekk, Roda said “we will have a new Kawasaki ZX-10R in 2016. The concept will be the same but, with some details and changes, it will be even more competitive.”

“Given that the current rules are very restricted, the motorbikes have to be developed with an eye on the sport. We are heading on a path that Aprilia, Ducati and BMW have already taken for this year by bringing out new bikes,” he added.

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Racing

Tragedy Claims the Lives of Two MotoAmerica Racers

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It is with a heavy heart that we have to report the passing of Daniel Rivas (pictured after the jump) and Bernat Martinez (pictured above), both of whom died during today’s MotoAmerica Superbike/Superstock 1000 race.

The multi-bike incident occurred during the start of the race and included other riders who were more fortunate, such as Josh Chisum, Devon McDonough, & Kevin Pinkstaff.

Fan video of the start shows Rivas’ bike going down the front straight of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, and then lose speed relative to the rest of the starting grid.

On the ground, Rivas was ultimately struck by another rider. He was airlifted to Natividad Medical Center in Salinas, where he succumbed to injuries. He was 27.

One of the riders involved in the aftermath was Bernat Martinez, who was less fortunate than the rest. After the incident, he was transported from the raceway by ambulance to Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, where he too succumbed to his injuries. He was 35.

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Track-Only KTM RC16 Expected to Cost €140,000

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The motorcycle world is still processing Honda’s decision to make a road-going version of its RC213V MotoGP race bike, and whether you think its price tag overwhelms, or its spec-sheet underwhelms, the Honda RC213V-S is a testament to the engineering that HRC is capable of producing for its racers.

KTM has a similar philosophy afoot. Though Stefan Pierer has made it clear that there will be no successor to the KTM 1190 RC8 R street bike, the company will be making a track-only customer version of its own MotoGP race bike: the KTM RC16.

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Racing

Video: Supermoto vs. Superbikes

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Got a case of the Munnnndays? Don’t worry, we’ve got a little mid-day pick-me-up for you, courtesy of Michelin’s “We Are All Racers” ad campaign (note, we’re not getting paid for this).

It’s just some great on-track footage that features CEV Superbike Champion Kenny Noyes and Team Luc1’s rider Sylvain Bidart.

Click past the jump for some knee-dragging, wheel-drifting, two-wheel good times. It’ll just take a couple minutes of your time.

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2015 MV Agusta F4 RC – Varese’s Homologation Special

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It’s finally here. After much speculation and teasing, the 2015 MV Agusta F4 RC superbike is finally officially official, with official pictures and official specs to boot.

Confirming much of what we already knew, MV Agusta’s spec sheet has the F4 RC making 212 hp with the race exhaust, or 202.5 hp in street trim, while peak torque is 84.8 lbs•ft in either configuration.

Thanks to carbon fiber fairings, titanium connecting bolts and exhaust, lithium-ion battery, forged aluminum wheels, and magnesium casings, the MV Agusta F4 RC is 33 lbs lighter than the RR model, with a 386 lbs dry weight.

As expected, the 2015 MV Agusta F4 RC is equipped with the MVICS 2.0 electronics system, which includes traction control, ABS, rear-wheel lift control, and quick-shifter.

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MV Agusta F4 RC Leaks Again with More “AMG”

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We are still waiting for the 2015 MV Agusta F4 RC to break cover officially, but the top-of-the-line superbike from Varese continues to make itself sneakily available to the public.

First there were the leaked studio photos, which looked spot-on to the photos MV Agusta USA teased us with at its press launch earlier this year.

Now, we have more photos of the F4 RC leaking, though with some changes to the design — namely more prominent “AMG” badging, for MV Agusta’s newest minority partner.

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Yamaha YZF-R1M Gets Homologated by the FIM

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It is something that we have expected ever since we heard of Yamaha’s intent to bring two different variations of R1 to market, so it should come as no surprise then that the Yamaha YZF-R1M has been homologated by the FIM for use in the Superbike & Superstock 1000 classes.

Actually both flavors of R1 have been given the nod by the FIM, though we know that if given the choice, teams will choose to develop the YZF-R1M over the base model, especially as it comes with upgraded suspension pieces and carbon fiber fairings.

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Ducati 1299 Panigale Mega Gallery

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The Ducati 1299 Panigale launch is just wrapping up in Portimao, and while Asphalt & Rubber isn’t there to tell you all about Ducati’s new flagship model, we’ve got a bevy of high-resolution photos of the new superbike for you.

With 205hp from its bored out v-twin Superquadro engine, the 1299 is said to be beast. Thankfully Ducati has put some of the most advanced electronics on the new Panigale, including one of the first inertial measurement units (IMU) on a motorcycle — an acronym we suspect we will be talking a lot about in the next few years.

Unfortunately, our analysis today is limited to the refined looks of the Ducati 1299 Panigale, which has minor aesthetic changes from the 1199…most notably, the wider front cross-section, for better wind protection and aerodynamics.

We’ll have more to say when we’re finally allowed to swing a leg over one, until then enjoy all 167 wallpaper-ready photos after the jump.

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