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Mandalika Circuit to Be Partially Resurfaced Ahead of Indonesian GP

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The people of the MotoGP paddock were extremely enthusiastic about their return to Indonesia. The series had long-wanted to return to a country that is at the heart of the MotoGP fanbase in Southeast Asia.

Once at Mandalika, the teams and riders loved the setting and the scenery, and were very positive about the layout of the track. It was fast, and it was fun. They were less happy about the surface of the track.

It was filthy on arrival, with mud and dust all over the track, and the riders were forced to make laps on the first day of the test to clean it up, creating a single racing line. Once clean, the track had plenty of grip.

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Rumors

Aprilia Is Working on a 300cc/400cc Class Sport Bike

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By the end of this year, Aprilia will finally bring its new two-cylinder platform to reality, putting the Aprilia RS660 (pictured above) on dealership floors.

This full-faired sport bike will be joined in early 2021 by the Aprilia Tuono 660, and from there we can expect at least one more model from this parallel-twin platform.

But what about something on the smaller end of the scale? There is an obvious hole in Aprilia’s lineup when it comes to the 300cc/400cc segment. That might be set to change, however.

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A&R Pro

Explaining the Mystery Behind the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R

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Perhaps the most talked about motorcycle from the Tokyo Motor Show, at least when it comes to fans and journalists, the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R was also the least talked about machine, in terms of manufacturers releasing details.

Kawasaki pulled the wraps off a four-cylinder 250cc sport bike, and then said…nothing.

In fact, the only official thing that Kawasaki has said about the motorcycle since its unveiling is to put out a press release reminding us that the Japanese brand has said nothing of substance about the new model.

No price has been mentioned. No marks on the calendar, or hints on which markets will get it first (or get it at all).

The release of the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R is a great example of why brands need to have an engaged hand on their public relations, because all hell can break loose when you let go of the wheel.

While Kawasaki is still dropping the ball on this, let us  try and bring some order to this chaos, both with what we know as fact, and what we can reasonably discern from those facts.

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News

Will We See a 250cc Model from Harley-Davidson Soon?

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When it comes to rumors about Harley-Davidson, everything is up for grabs. The Bar & Shield brand has done a complete about-face on its business paradigm, which means that no idea is too crazy for those in Milwaukee.

So, when we hear talk about a 250cc model from Harley-Davidson (supposedly an XR250 street tracker bike), we have to give it some credit, whereas before we might have dismissed it out hand for being crazy talk.

We know that Harley-Davidson is looking at electric models; we know that Harley-Davidson is looking at mainstream segments outside of the cruiser spectrum; and we know that Harley-Davidson will be looking at markets abroad for future growth.

What does this all mean? A 250cc model is almost the worst kept secret in Milwaukee.

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A&R Pro

Triumph’s Bid to Take Over the World with Bajaj

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I’m not sure that the news of Triumph partnering with Bajaj quite made the impact on the motorcycle industry that it deserves.

Maybe it is because we have seen Triumph misstep with smaller displacement machines in the past (with an Indian partner, no less), or perhaps it is because the press release penned by Triumph CEO Nick Bloor was utterly incomprehensible, and devoid of any concrete facts.

Either way, the news is worth spilling some more pixels over, because there is a bit at stake in the coming years for the motorcycle OEMs, and Triumph just made a bid for sizable land grab for it.

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News

KTM Going After Southeast Asia with Philippines Plant

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The ASEAN market is a huge concern right now in motorcycling, with Southeast Asia proving itself to be a growth center for the motorcycle industry. This year we have already seen Harley-Davidson opening a plant in Thailand, following a move Ducati made a couple years back.

Those moves come not only because of the large riding populations that these countries hold, but also because of the burdensome tariffs that these countries impose on motorcycles.

Following suit now is KTM, as the Austrian company has announced a new production plant in the Philippines, which will service that local market, and the ASEAN region.

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News

Harley-Davidson Opening Production Plant in Thailand

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Feeling the effects of international trade, and a future without the TPP, Harley-Davidson is reported by the New York Times to be opening a new factory in Thailand – country that places a 60% tariff on motorcycles in Harley-Davidson’s relevant market.

The news comes at the dismay from Harley-Davidson’s workforce, which has just seen its ranks diminished by 118 jobs at its York plant, in Pennsylvania. Despite this, Harley-Davidson says that the move is about growing sales abroad, not losing jobs in the United States.

“This is absolutely not about taking jobs out of the United States,” said Marc McAllister, the Managing Director of Harley-Davidson’s international sales, while talking to the NY Times. “This is about growing our business in Asia.”

Of course, if Harley-Davidson wasn’t having to side-step a 60% tariff to sell motorcycles in Thailand, one has to wonder if the Bar & Shield brand would be building a factory in Thailand in the first place…

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Bikes

Yamaha YZF-R15 Gets Updated with Variable Valves

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What you see here is the very unassuming 2017 Yamaha YZF-R15, a 155cc single-cylinder sport bike that was designed with the Asian market in mind – as such, the bike will debut in Indonesia in April 2017, and the rest of the ASEAN market later this year.

Hold on before you click through though, as while the R15 might be too small by our Western market standards, the new Yamaha YZF-R15 packs some interesting technology, namely Yamaha’s variable valve actuation (VVA).

Because of this technology, Yamaha says that the 2017 model of the YZF-R15 achieves a 18% increase in power output (19hp in total), and a 4.7% increase in fuel efficiency, all from its 3% engine displacement increase and with the VVA technology.

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A&R Pro

What It Really Means for Harley-Davidson Now That Trump Has Killed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)

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An Asphalt & Rubber reader sent me link recently, outlining how President Trump’s pullout from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would adversely affect international sales for Harley-Davidson.

At first I was just going to post a quick synopsis and send you all to read it for yourselves, if you wanted to dive deeper into the meat of the story. But then, I did some digging of my own.

The story, done by Forbes, doesn’t connect the dots too well. And while I agree with the author’s ultimate point, the reasoning he uses to get there is fairly flawed.

His argument boils down to the fact that the TPP would lower import costs for brands doing business in Asia, and since Harley-Davidson sells 40% of its bikes in the Asian market, it would therefore benefit from the USA becoming a TPP signatory.

The issue of course isn’t as cut-and-dry, and requires a bit of digging into what markets would become more favorable for Harley-Davidson, and where the future of the Bar & Shield brand resides. Buckle-up, because here we go.

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Bikes

2017 Suzuki GSX-250R Debuts in China

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Suzuki has finally gotten into the quarter-liter sport bike game, debuting the 2017 Suzuki GSX-250R in China this month. Before you get too excited, you should know that the GSX-250R is really just the Suzuki Inazuma in new clothing.

This means that the twin-cylinder six-speed street bike makes 25hp, 17 lbs•ft of torque, and weighs 392 lbs at the curb.

Not exactly mind-blowing stats, but Suzuki’s goal with the GSX-250R is to build a more practical and affordable machine, rather than a race bike as seen with the KTM RC390 and Honda CBR250RR. To that end, we’d say they accomplished that goal.

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