Tag

suspension

Browsing

Since the Isle of Man TT, I have been hearing some talk about MotoCzysz developing some performance pieces for mainstream market consumption. Since the MotoCzysz crew is now busy making electrons go faster than the speed of light, the obvious candidate for the rumor would seem to be the company’s 6x-flex fork, which was originally tested on a Honda CBR1000RR and would only need some basic adjustments in order to fit modern dinosaur-burning motorcycles.

While I chalked the rumors up to conjecture, there appears to be some truth to the matter, as MotoCzysz was recently up at Portland International Raceway doing some testing. We assume the testing time was for the 2012 MotoCzysz E1pc, which is set to make its track debut this weekend for the e-Power/TTXGP round at Laguna Seca. Tweeting about the test, MotoCzysz let it drop that “performance parts [for] your bike” would be announced soon. Schwing!

For the next model year, Kawasaki is giving a modest update to its flagship model, the 2013 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R. Mostly touching up its work from 2011 with a dollop of new paint, the one intriguing feature of the 2013 Kawasaki ZX-10R is its new electronic steering damper, which adjusts the level of steering damping based on how fast the motorcycle is traveling.

Kawasaki developed the damper with the help of a little Swedish company named Öhlins, and is the first manufacturer to use the new suspension from the famed suspension brand, which is sure to be a standard item on the bikes of other OEMs in the coming years — just like the Honda Electronic Steering Damper (HESD) that Big Red debuted circa 2004.

You know what they say about first-generation Italian motorcycles…Yes folks, the superbike of 2012, the Ducati 1199 Panigale, is having its first technical recall. Ducati North America is recalling 375 units of the Panigale because of an incorrect screw was used to attach the rear swingarm to the rear suspension linkage. The faulty screw could cause the swingarm to detach from the linkage, which would in-turn could cause a catastrophic suspension collapse.

One of our favorite bikes to debut last year, the Vyrus 986 M2 continues to be developed by the small Italian firm, and pictures of the 600cc, omega-framed, hub-center steered motorcycle have been uploaded to the Vyrus Facebook profile page, and show the Moto2 hopeful in its street-legal form.

Breaking cover back in January 2011, Vyrus had hopes of racing the 986 M2 in the Moto2 Championship, as well as selling a street and kit version of the motorcycle to consumers. At €25,000 ready to roll (€50,000 for the race version), the street-going Vyrus 986 M2 might be one of the most expensive supersport-class motorcycles on the market, but honestly, wouldn’t you want to own one these bay boys instead of a comparably-priced liter-bike? We know we would.

Hopefully you have done the laundry since our absolutely raunchy post that showed the 2012 Ducati 1199 Panigale without its clothes on, because we have got some more hardcore and explicit photos for you on this Friday afternoon. A reminder that everything new and exciting has probably been done before by someone else, we can see that Ducati could easily have had some inspiration with the Panigale’s design if they looked at the MotoCzysz C1 990, circa 2006 (and the Britten V1000, circa 1991, etc.). After all, it’s said that imitation is the highest form of flattery.

Housing a VR4 motor instead of the 1199’s Superquadro v-twin, Czysz & Co. employed a similar design that incorporates the frame, airbox, and headstock into a single component. While the MotoCzysz C1 uses a carbon fiber monocoque chassis design (as does the company’s electric superbike: the MotoCzysz E1pc), Ducati has of course made a more practical choice with its use of an aluminum frame (how long will it take for an aftermarket carbon fiber solution to hit the streets?).

BMW did an amazing thing two years ago. Not really known for its performance street motorcycles, BMW took the competitive superbike market head-on, bringing out a motorcycle that not only had class-leading performance figures, but was also priced extremely competitively against its Japanese competitors. That lethal combination of price, quality, and performance made the BMW S1000RR the sport bike to have over the past two years, and it shows in the S1000RR’s sales figures, which eclipsed every other liter bike.

Not wanting to rest too heavily on its laurels, BMW has updated the S1000RR for the 2012 model year, and while the bike may look the same, the German company hopes it has done plenty to its halo bike to make would-be buyers give the S1000RR a good looking over next season, despite going into its third year of production. While the same 193hp engine resides at the heart of the S1000RR, and the curb weight remains a paltry 449 lbs (90% fuel), the 2012 BMW S1000RR gets a bevy of suspension, chassis, and electronics for the new model year.

Simply revising the 2012 Triumph Tiger 1050 before completely updating the model in 2013, Triumph has announced that the Tiger 1050 will get stiffer suspension components for the next model year, along with some cosmetic changes. Including improved dampening and a stiffer spring for the rear shock (108 to 139N/mm.), the British company hopes the revised suspension will give the Triumph Tiger 1050 better feel when traversing the roadway. Other mechanical changes include new handlebars that are 20mm lower than before, meaning the larger Tiger will have a slightly sportier riding position for 2012.

Triumph’s last tweeks to the 2012 Triumph Tiger 1050 is a new cosmetic package, which sees new graphics on the bike’s side panels, new turn signals, and the elimination of some chrome bits. Other bare-metal pieces have been blacked out, including the new aluminum handlebar. The 2012 Triumph Tiger 1050 will come in Phantom Black, while the ABS models will come in Diablo Red, Crystal White, and two-tone matte black color scheme. Pricing should remain unchanged.

BMW Motorrad has been working on its next generation of suspension innovations, and at the 2011 BMW Motorrad Innovation Day the Bavarian company debuted its new Dynamic Damping Control (DDC) technology. An evolution on BMW’s electronic suspension adjustment system (ESA & ESA II), BMW Motorrad’s Dynamic Damping Control goes beyond merely allowing the rider to adjust suspension compression, rebound, and spring settings on the fly, and adds a computer-controlled automatic tuning element to the suspension components that adapts to the road conditions on-the-fly.

For some background, BMW’s ESA II is the forefather for copycat systems found on other manufacturer’s machines, perhaps most notable of which is the Ducati Multistrada 1200, which boasts a “four bikes in one” tagline with its different riding modes that use different engine mapping and suspension settings to tailor the bike to the rider’s needs. DDC takes this idea a step further, as it goes beyond just changing settings in different riding modes (as seen on the Ducati), and instead ties in the suspension system to BMW’s ABS and traction control systems (DTC), allowing the suspension to react when a rider accelerates, brakes, swerves, and fords the river Oregon Trail style (you’ll likely lose all your oxen doing this).

In addition to what was going on with AMA Pro Racing’s multiple restarts to the Daytona 200, the racing organization has handed Josh Herrin a one-event suspension for his part in the last lap crash that saw Taylor Knapp and Dane Westby hitting the tarmac. Herrin’s coming in contact with Westby’s brake lever, causing his brakes to lock and exacerbate the incident, has not only caused him to receive a suspension and subsequent probation from the incident, but AMA Pro Racing has also fined Graves Motorsports, Herrin’s team, for its rider’s actions. Find AMA Pro Racing’s press release and a video of the incident after the jump.

KTM must have read our wish list for Christmas (we originally asked for a reduced price and free puppy with every purchase), as not only has the Austrian company improved upon its already impressive KTM 1190 RC8 R v-twin awesomebike, but they’ve considerable slashed the RC8 R’s MSRP. Prices so low, they’re practically giving the bike away, the 2011 KTM 1190 RC8 R will retail for $16,499 — a nearly $3,500 price reduction from the 2010 model (the RC8 R effectively takes over the price point of the RC8, which has been discontinued for 2011).

Making 175hp (with the right fuel), the 2011 KTM 1190 RC8 R benefits from a dual spark plug ignition setup that features two different spark plugs for different ignition points. Improving not only performance levels, the new spark plug configuration also gives the RC8 R a 12% fuel economy increase, while decreasing emissions. Also new for 2011 is a new crankshaft and flywheel which have increased masses (100g & 1,000g respectively) to smooth out the power pulses of the RC8 R.

Triumph fans were probably delighted when news of the 2011 Triumph Daytona 675R leaked ahead of EICMA, showing off one good looking triple. The highly anticipated “R” version of the three-cylinder sport bike comes equipped with some nice kit, but now the rumors are confirmed that the Daytona 675R will not get any engine modifications, despite its elevated status.

Making 125hp and 54 lbs·ft of torque, the Triumph Daytona 675R only benefits from its Öhlins suspension. Of course that’s like saying someone has only won the SuperLotto Plus, and not the MegaMillions lottto with its Mega Ball prize, as the 2011 Triumph Daytona 675R gets Öhlins premium NIX30 43mm forks and TTX36 mono-shock.