FIM has announced that a four-stroke 600cc racing class will replace the mid-level 250cc GP class in 2011. Named Moto2, the series is slotted to be a prestigious, but still cost-effective way to do prototype racing. Read all the changes after the jump, including the Yankee-Swap provision.
Editor’s note: To dispel any confusion, the above photo is a photoshoped “Hyperstrada” designed to be the embodiment of Ducati’s new bike.
Rumors are about that Ducati is already showing to a select number of dealers, what can only be described as a BMW R1200GS killer. Based on their 1100cc air-cooled motor that powers the Monster, Multistrada, and Hypermotard, the new bike aims to be a more trail oriented dual-sport than the other road-tied bikes it shares its power plant with. The new bike is supposedly going to replace that Multistrada in Ducati’s positioning, with a greater focus on having off-road capability.
Source: MotoXMoto
With Max’s move to Aprilia for the 2009 World Superbike season, his official fan club has updated their logo to honor their Emperor.
The logo plays on a number of themes in Biaggi’s career. A Roman frieze that denotes Max’s ego lineage to Roman antiquity. The number 3, his racing number. The red, green, and white colors of the Italian flag. The dark base is supposed to represent the carbon used on Aprilia’s RSV4 race bike. And lastly, four stars that denote his four 250cc world titles.
Source: Official Max Biaggi Fan Club
Rossi pulled no punches this year at Mugello when he debuted his customary custom helmet design for the home venue race. Emblazoned with a picture of his own face, wide-eyed and mouth agape, the design was the talk of the paddock, and a sight to be seen as he put his head down around the chicanes and straight-aways.
Because of all the attention this helmet created, AGV is now offering a limited edition replica of Rossi’s likeness in their top-of-the-line GP-Tech series of motorcycle helmets. The helmet features all the usual GP-Tech bells and whistles, including a carbon-Kevlar shell construction.
Source: AGV
7,130 Ducati Superbikes are being recalled because of voltage regulators that could be damaged from the mighty v-twins radiant heat. Ducati 1098 and 848 owners will have to take their bike into the dealer to have the regulator replaced, a heat shield installed between the voltage regulator and the exhaust pipping, and have a new battery support installed.
This recall specifically affects:
2007-2008 Ducati 1098
2007-2008 Ducati 1098S
2007-2008 Ducati 1098 R
2007-2008 Ducati 1098 Tricolore
2008-2009 Ducati 848
Owners can contact Ducati North America at 1-800-231-6696, with recall reference number: RCL-08-005. As always, you can contact the NHTSA at 1-888-327-4236 or visit safecar.gov.
This video really speaks for itself. The blooper reel starts around the 0:44 time mark. The big take-away here is if you’re running from the French Police, get onto a dirt road as soon as possible…baguettes optional.
New Year’s Eve may not only be ushering in the year 2009, but also closing the door on two generations of American stunt jumping. Robbie Knievel, son of famed stunter Evel Knievel, says that his upcoming big jump over an artificial volcano is likely to be his last jump in the USA.
The Knievel has been studying the $25 million volcano newly refurbished outside the Mirage in Las Vegas for his next last stunt. Robbie will make the jump as part of a television special on New Year’s Eve.
It’s easy to make Polish motorcycle jokes, and we could easily make a few more here if we were so inclined to pick-apart every little mistake a bike builder inevitably makes along the way, but we won’t. Read for more to see how the lastest version of this 4 cylinder, X-pattern motor is coming along.
Chances are you probably didn’t go all the way to the UK to see the NEC show this past week. Which means, you also probably didn’t see Roger Allmond’s Triumph Rocket III concept bike commisioned by Bennetts Insurance. This 2.3L Triumph 3-cylinder powered bike borrows the Triumph Rocket III’s motor, but that’s pretty much where the similarities stop. Click for more after to see the 50 or so pictures and description about that jaw-dropping bike.
Cartoonist Harry Partridge has done up a quick video that encapsulates what Akira, a Japanese Animation movie, would look like if it were made in the USA. The timing surely has something to do with the fact that Waner Brothers is in the process of making a live-action version of the 1988 anime cult-classic.
Described as:
A kinetic, dystopian vision where young motorcycle gangs roam Neo-Tokyo. Post-nuclear war and all hell breaks loose when one is exposed to a government experiment, thus gaining menacing powers.
The live-action version will be developed into two parts with the first installment tentatively scheduled for a summer February 2010 release. Warner Brothers and Appian Way will adapt the two movies from the manga, with each movie covering three volumes of the original comic. Leonardo DiCaprio is slated as one of the films producers, but there is no official word yet on who the cast will be, although speculation puts DiCaprio as Kaneda and Joseph Gordon Levitt as Tetsuo.
Source:
Triumph is recalling 87 2008 and 2009 Thruxton motorcycles for problems with the bolts that hold the front brake calipers onto the fork bottoms. Triumph is replacing the bolts in a recall that is supposed to occur during the month of December. Thruxton owners can contact Triumph at 1-678-539-8782. For more information the NHTSA at 1-888-327-4236 or visit safecar.gov.
