Latest Posts:
Asphalt & Rubber
Tag

XXX

Browsing
Bikes

XXX: 2014 Honda RCV1000R

By 19 Comments

While the talk of the Valencian GP will be the on-track action between Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo, the off-track chatter is about HRC’s open class race bike for private teams, the Honda RCV1000R. This is the machine that Nicky Hayden, Scott Redding, and Karel Abraham, with other riders expected to be added, hope will close the gap between factory and private teams.

Like its predecessor, the 2014 Honda RCV1000R uses a 999.5cc 90° V4 engine, and while there are many similarities between the two bikes, there are major differences as well. Specifically, the Honda RCV1000R uses conventional steel valve springs, instead of the Honda RC213V’s pneumatic valve springs; and a conventional gearbox, instead of the factory bike’s seamless gearbox design.

Still the RCV1000R is an impressive machine, and in the hands of Casey Stoner the bike lapped within 0.3 seconds as the RCV213V on the same tires. When shod with the CRT-spec Bridgestone rubber, Stoner was within 0.17 seconds of his factory bike lap time. What the will translate to on race day remains to be seen though.

Costing around €1,200,000 for the first season, and €500,000 for the upgrade package in the second season, teams are still paying quite a bit of coin for a GP bike, especially since HRC is barring them from making their own modifications to the engine. Still, the Honda RCV1000R is a much cheaper option to the satellite-spec RC213V. We just think it looks great — a bevy of high-resolution photos are after the jump.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

XXX: 10 Photos of the Suzuki “XRH-1” Testing at Catalunya

By 19 Comments

Suzuki broke some hearts today by announcing that the company’s MotoGP team would not return to the premier class until 2015, instead of 2014 as was rumored.

Telling perspective riders last week about the decision (so they could make alternate plans for next season), Suzuki was still at the Circuit de Catalunya for MotoGP’s post-race test, joining Yamaha Racing (which elected not to go to the rain-sodden Motorland Aragon circuit), Ducati Corse, and a bevy of satellite and private teams.

Shaking down its inline-four GP race bike, codenamed the Suzuki XRH-1, Nobuatsu Aoki was first-up on the machine. But the day’s real work was done by Randy de Puniet, who put in an impressive 1’42.676 lap time near the end of the day — just over three quarters of a second off the top time set by Jorge Lorenzo.

However, despite the impressive debut for the XRH-1, Suzuki’s official reason for its delay back to GP racing is the pace of development on the project.

Part of that development process surely is for the electronics, as Suzuki is currently using an electronics package from Mitsubishi, though the company expects to switch over to the spec-ECU from Magneti Marelli later this year, in the autumn.

If that all whets your appetite, our favorite Hungarian Photographer/Journalist Niki Kovács (be sure to follow her on Facebook & Twitter) has sent us nine more photos of the Suzuki XRH-1, which are after the jump for your viewing pleasure.

Be sure to note the XRH-1’s staked gearbox (a very Yamaha design), which is mated to the “big bang” four-banger. The twin-spars of the aluminum chassis looks likes like an evolution of the GSX-R platform, which shouldn’t be too surprising — though when Satoru Terada talked to GPone, he said that Suzuki hasn’t begun work on a new WSBK machine.

Keep Reading
By
Racing

XXX: BMW Motorrad GoldBet WSBK-Spec S1000RR

By 4 Comments

Lately, there has been a lot of talk about the upcoming changes that will “dumb down” World Superbike racing. With Dorna pushing an agenda that brings the premier production-bike class into something that races bikes that are actually similar to the bikes on the showroom floor, there is a vocal portion of fans and enthusiasts that will hate to see the current spec of machinery go away.

While we may think that making World Superbike more affordable and closer in specification to the current Superstock rules is a positive step for the series, we will certainly miss the bike porn that comes from all the fine WSBK machines.

A motorcycle dripping in sex, one can spend hours drooling over photos like these of the factory BMW S1000RR in WSBK-spec. So a hat-tip to the BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK team, for providing this week’s bathroom reading. There are a couple photos of Marco and Chaz in there as well, for the ladies.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

XXX: 29 Photos of the MV Agusta Rivale 800

By 16 Comments

If there is an “on-the-fence” model from the EICMA motorcycle show, it is the MV Agusta Rivale. Highly anticipated ahead of the show in Milan, the Rivale debuted to mixed reactions regarding its design, giving the small Italian company perhaps its first ugly duckling moment in modern history. We’re still on the fence though.

On paper, the MV Agusta Rivale 800 strikes all the right nerves. Its 798cc three-cylinder motor puts out 123hp, while its heft sums to 375 lbs. Coming with the Varese company’s MVICS electronics package and a €10,990 price tag, perhaps the only thing on the spec sheet that we don’t like about the Rivale is its “second-half of 2013” availability date, which could easily become “early 2014” if the MV Agusta F3’s arrival teaches us anything.

Beauty or The Beast? We have 29 photos from MV Agusta to help you ponder that, after the jump of course.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

XXX: 36 Photos of the MV Agusta Brutale 800

By 13 Comments

We might question the wisdom of building a stroked-out 798cc version of the three-cylinder MV Agusta Brutale 675, but we cannot disagree with the fact that the machine is a sight to behold. Using the same engine that motivates the MV Agusta Rivale, power for the MV Agusta Brutale 800 comes in at 123hp, with 59.7 lbs•ft of torque at 8,600 rpm, which means the new Brutale 80 won’t be nearly as peaky with its horsepower as the Brutale 675.

Fitted with higher-spec suspension and components, along with the MVICS electronics package, MV Agusta hopes that the Brutale 800 will be the feature-rich alternative to the more affordable naked bike, which is the Brutale 675. However you want to make the distinction between the two models, it is another piece of rolling motorcycle art, better known as MV Agusta. We have 36 photos of it after the jump for you to…enjoy.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

XXX: 2013 Bimota DB8 Italia

By 3 Comments

Do you like carbon fiber? Do you like steel trellis frames? Do you like 160hp motorcycles that weigh 390 lbs dry? Well then, we have just the thing for you: 2013 Bimota DB8 Italia.

Pretty much the Bimota DB8 with some “Italian” themed paint, we won’t go into too much detail since the DB8, DB9, & DB11 share pretty much everything except the bodywork…which is probably the only criticism you can lobby at any of those machines.

Bimota sent us these up-close high-resolution photos of the Bimota DB8 Italia from EICMA, and we thought we’d share them with our loyal readers. Enjoy.

Keep Reading
By