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Ducati Desmosedici GP11 – Christmas Comes Late in Italy

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If you are a Ducati owner, Valentino Rossi Fan, Italian, or have more than a passing interest in MotoGP, then today is the day you’ve had marked on your 2011 calendar (with perhaps the Valencia test being the date of 2010). Finally released from his contractual obligations with Yamaha, Valentino Rossi can officially begin his duties working for Ducati Corse this week, and Ducati has already capitalized on the moment by showing off Rossi’s new leathers to great fanfare. Now the pièce de résistance and the end to our torment, Ducati has finally debuted the Ducati Desmosedici GP11 at the 2011 Wrooom media event, a joint launch event between Ferrari and Ducati held in the Dolomite Mountains.

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How Did the 2011 Suzuki GSX-R 600 Lose 20 lbs?

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Perhaps a bike that hasn’t gotten enough press after its debut at Intermot, the 2011 Suzuki GSX-R 600 managed to shed roughly 20 lbs from its supersport design, making Suzuki the 600cc class leader once again, at least on paper. Suzuki was the only Japanese manufacturer to update its Supersport line for the new year, and instead of a casual redesign (although the GSX-R 600 doesn’t stray far from its predecessor’s aesthetic), the Hamamatsu-based company made a number of technical changes that focused around massively lowering the bike’s sprung and un-sprung mass.

While the styling might remain a little vanilla, we sure do like that spec sheet coming from Suzuki. Tipping the scales at 413 lbs wet (shazzam!), the 2011 Suzuki GSX-R 600 makes the same 123hp at the crank as the previous model, but presumably with better components (note the Brembo monoblocs and Showa Big Piston forks). Continue past the jump to see Suzuki America’s Derek Schoeberle explain where Suzuki made improvements to the GSX-R 600.

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2011 Honda CB1000R Priced at $10,999

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More news from American Honda, as the 2011 Honda CB1000R will be priced at $10,999 when it finally comes to American soil in the new year. The Honda CB1000R goes up against the industry-wide belief that naked sport bikes don’t sell here in the United States (there might be a point to that line of reasoning), and the CB1000R will have to contend with another new but not-so-naked liter-bike contender: the Kawasaki Ninja 1000 (Z1000SX to our European friends, or misguided Americans).

There certainly is more than one motorcycle manufacturer competing for the hearts and minds of riders who are looking for a sporty bike, without the sporty sitting position. As for the incumbents, Honda seems to have priced itself slightly above the Yamaha FZ1 ($10,490), and Kawasaki Z1000 ($10,599), which isn’t terribly shocking and sticks to their usual pricing scheme. True to American fashion, you can get the 2011 Honda CB1000R in any color you want, as long it’s black. Photos and technical spec’s after the jump.

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2011 Honda CBR250R MSRP Set at $3,999

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American Honda announced today the official pricing on the 2011 Honda CBR250R, the company’s 250cc beginner bike. With base pricing on the CBR250R starting at $3,999, the ABS equipped model will cost an additional $500, with an MSRP of $4,499. This price point goes right after the Kawasaki Ninja 250R, which is also sold for $3,999 MSRP. The Honda tips the scales a full 15 lbs lighter than the Kawi, and is equipped with fuel-injection.

We expect Honda’s strategy with the Mini-Me CBR is to offer more performance and features for the same price as the Kawi, which should make things in this part of the market very interesting (Aprilia is trying to play here too with its 125cc Aprilia RS4 125, which will likely cost more than these two bikes). Photos, video, and technical specifications of the new Honda CBR250R after the jump.

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2011 KTM 1198 RC8 R: 175hp…Sorta

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If you’ve heard any loud thuds while visiting A&R the past two weeks, it’s been us falling over ourselves over the 2011 KTM 1198 RC8 R. For 2011, the new RC8 R gets a number of refinements to its already stout package, and for the spec sheets racers the most drool-worthy stat perhaps is the bike’s modest power boost to 175hp, up from its base of 167hp. There’s a kicker to that power figure though, it comes from switching the base engine map, which is designed for 91 octane (AKI rating, which is what we use here in the USA), to a 93 octane map.

It could seem like we’re splitting hairs here, but unless you live next to a race track where gas stations will often carry the 93 octane rated fuel, you’ll be risking pinging KTM’s beautiful 1195cc motor with the lower-rated fuel, and be relegated to using the 170hp engine map while on the street. We don’t know how RC8 R owners will only handle 170hp on the street, hopefully the photos after the jump will help.

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2011 Aprilia RS4 125 Comes to America

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American youths can rejoice to the news that the 2011 Aprilia RS4 125 will be coming to the United States for 2011. The four-stroke 125cc beginner bike may only have 15hp, but it has been done-up to look like the RSV4, and that’s what matters right? Replacing the RS125, the RS4 125 is supposedly just a Derbi in sheep’s clothing, but considering both brands come from the Piaggio mother ship, we fail to see why that would be an issue to a 16-year-old who has somehow managed to convince his/her parents to buy them a motorcycle. The liquid-cooled, four-valve, DOHC motor comes with electric fuel-injection, and is mated to a six-speed gearbox. Weight is 264 lbs with a full 3.8 gallon tank of gas. Technical Specifications after the jump.

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