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Range Rover vs. New York Motorcyclists – Seriously, WTF

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With the advent of cheap wearable cameras, the internet has become awash with road rage videos, which unsurprisingly sometimes feature motorcyclists. Sometimes these cameras catch acts of two-wheeled stupidity, and sometimes these videos highlight the dangers motorcyclists must face on the open road.

That brings us to our latest edition, where a large group of motorcyclists in New York are caught on film having an altercation with a Range Rover Sport.

We come into the incident after it begins, with a pack of motorcycles enveloped around the SUV on the West Side Highway, and a couple riders already gesticulating with the driver, Alexian Lien. One motorcyclist pulls in front of the Range Rover, brake-checks the four-wheeler, and is subsequently rear-ended…things then spiral out of control from there.

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MotoGP

MotoGP: This is HRC & This is How They Party

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Marc Marquez has made a name for himself this season, not only by being a prodigy on two wheels, but also for being the light-hearted breath of fresh air that the MotoGP Championship needed so dearly.

Marquez himself is perhaps a stark contrast to his employer, the Honda Racing Corporation (HRC), which is known for being a bit more uptight and mechanical with its persona.

After watching the video after the jump, we think we can safely say that Nakamoto-san and his crew have redefined HRC…and they might just be having the most fun in the MotoGP paddock in the process.

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Racing

Watch Graves Yamaha Build a Superbike from the Frame Up

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Time-lapse build videos are always fascinating, and since it’s well into Friday afternoon now, we are of course padding the post count here at A&R with this installment from the Monster Energy Graves Yamaha AMA Pro Superbike team.

In five hours the Graves crew built this Yamaha YZF-R1 race bike from the ground up, but you can see them put it together in just over a minute’s time. If you look close enough, you can even spot the reasons why Josh Herrin & Josh Hayes are running away with the 2013 AMA Pro National Guard Superbike Championship.

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Bikes

KTM Super Duke 1290 R Debut Coming Very Soon

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In just eleven days, the KTM Super Duke 1290 R is going to make its official production debut. We have already seen the KTM 1290 Super Duke R prototype, which took the 2012 EICMA show by storm.

We have also already seen Jeremy McWilliams take the RC8-powered street-naked up “The World’s Most Famous Driveway” at the Goodwood Festival of speed, which of course only whet our appetite further for “The Beast” that KTM has created.

Just in case we forgot about all that though, KTM has created a teaser website for the Super Duke 1290 R, complete with countdown clock, along with another teaser video.

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Bikes

Video: Ducati 899 Panigale – Your Road to the Track

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In case you missed the news, the folks in Bologna have debuted their new “supermid” sport bike, the eagerly anticipated 2014 Ducati 899 Panigale. Like its larger sibling, the Ducati 1199 Panigale, the 899 features a “frameless” chassis design, a suite of electronic rider aids, as well as the new 148hp Superquadro engine.

Putting together a little video to help launch the machine, we figured Ducati fans and non-Ducatisti alike would enjoy the premise of this short clip, as Ducati’s test rider is portrayed as being unable to end his day with the Babigale — hopping back on the bike for one more romp. What a tough job he must have.

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Lifestyle

Don’t Be Afraid of Getting a Little Dirty

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Do remember when you were kid how pretty much any sport (yes, even baseball) was infinitely better in the mud and the rain? Shirts soaked, pants soiled, grass and mud stains everywhere…and maybe even a bruise or two to match, there is something about slipping and sliding in the rain that amplifies the fun you have.

Well, today I think we found the adult motorcycle version of this theory: a bunch of friends, a bunch of bikes, and a bunch of mess. If some good wholesome hooning in the muck doesn’t remind you that motorcycles are supposed to be fun, well..I feel sorry for you. A quick thank you to the folks at 4H10 for reminding us of that.

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Racing

PJ Jacobsen Meets “The Mountain” at Cadwell Park

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In the United States, race track corners don’t get much more iconic than Laguna Seca’s Corkscrew, but for our brothers and sisters across the pond, two-wheeled spectacle perhaps reaches its zenith at “The Mountain” at Cadwell Park. Known for launching riders off the tarmac with its short and steep incline, The Mountain has been conquered by many a rider, but no one puts on a better show at Cadwell than Tyco Suzuki’s Josh Brookes.

Treating the small hill as the motocross jump that it is, Brookes puts on a show for fans with his long and high leaps. When put to task for the reasoning behind his approach, Brookes shrugs off the questions. “Simple, I do it because its the fastest way I know how to get over there.”

If Brookes is an example on how to properly take the leap at Cadwell, his new teammate, American transplant PJ Jacobsen, perhaps gives us the converse approach of how not to tackle the famous section of British track. Not to worry though, we’re sure PJ got some tips from Josh after his close encounter — found after the jump.

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Racing

Video: This is the Best Contract Announcement Ever – Guy Martin Re-Signs with Tyco Suzuki for 2014

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When it comes to turning the contract season into as arduous of a process as possible, the MotoGP Championship is king. The silly season seems to stretch from Qatar to Valencia, and we’re sure that if we checked at the time of this posting, we could find some intrigue for contracts in 2016. Oy vey.

That’s not how Guy Martin rolls though. If you didn’t know that the truck mechanic, and sometimes TT racer, beats to the sound of his own drum, well…then you probably didn’t know jack about the man from Lincolnshire to begin with.

It seems Martin is just starting to get wind of this whole internet thing, and found out that people were talking about him on it. This lead to his revelation that people were also talking about where he was racing for the 2014 season, and that just did not sit well with Mr. Martin.

Putting rumors to a dead-stop, Guy took matters into his own hands. Long story short, he’s with the TAS Suzuki boys (and girls) for next season, and believes he’ll be on the necessary package to find his elusive first Isle of Man TT race win.

If you don’t speak mouth-full-of-marbles, you might have to watch the video after the jump more than once — it might be the best contract announcement we’ve ever seen.

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Racing

Video: Take A Lap Around Indianapolis Motor Speedway

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MotoGP is back in the United States this race weekend, giving American GP fans their third installment of two-wheeled prototype racing this year. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is playing host to the MotoGP traveling circus, with Asphalt & Rubber included in that statement.

It’s not clear at the time of this writing if The Brickyard will be on the 2014 MotoGP Championship calendar, as the iconic racetrack is rumored to be contemplating the use of its exit option in its contract with Dorna.

Probably one of the least favorite courses with the riders, IMS plays host to a fantastic facility, and is staffed with a great crew of workers. Downtown Indianapolis is also a draw during the weekend, but the fact remains that the infield course, with its mercurial low-grip asphalt and unnatural corner flow is a sore spot for the racers.

Always taking the full-length of the race weekend to come into form, Indy often catches out unsuspecting riders, who have ventured too far off the racing line. We’re not sure if this weekend is Indy’s swan song, but here is one more glimpse of MotoGP course, courtesy of James Rispoli on the GP Tech Moto2 wild card entry. Enjoy.

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Racing

MotoGP: Randy de Puniet & Davide Brivio Talk About Suzuki Racing Testing at Motegi

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One of the great joys of private testing in the MotoGP class is the lack of media control and censorship placed upon the teams. We know that this seems like a backwards concept, but since Dorna can’t block teams from filming at the track, the private tests the MotoGP squads undertake are ever-becoming media and marketing opportunities, and our latest example comes from Motegi and the Suzuki Racing MotoGP effort.

Perhaps one of the most exciting projects in the MotoGP World Championship right now, Suzuki Racing’s bid to re-enter the premier class in 2015 has been eagerly awaited ever since the Japanese factory left Grand Prix racing at the end of the 2011 season.

Now publicly working its still unnamed race bike, with its inline-four engine and Randy de Puniet at the helm, Suzuki Racing has shown that the squad has the potential to run with the other factories, though still not within the restrictions of the upcoming MotoGP rules.

With a season and a half to go in that endeavor, fans are now getting the treat of watching Suzuki develop in real time. Queue the team videos from Motegi, where Davide Brivio talks about the results of the test, and hired gun Randy de Puniet explains the progress with Suzuki’s new chassis. 2015 can’t come soon enough.

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