Husaberg may soon be no more, but that hasn’t stopped the Austria-based Swedish brand from unveiling its 2014 lineup of seven models. News broke last week of plans to reunite Husaberg with Husqvarna, to be known as Husqvarna Sportmotorcycle GmbH as of October 2013, making lineup of of seven off-road bikes including both two- and four-stroke models the final traces of the Husaberg as an independent brand.

These 2014 models will also give us some indication of what to expect from the new Husqvarna models. They’ll also share some similarities with the recently announced 2014 off-road lineup from Husaberg’s parent company, KTM. Husqvarna will introduce its new off-road lineup with Husaberg technology in November at the 2013 EICMA show in Milan, Italy.

Ironically, this final year of Husaberg motorcycles also marks the brand’s 25th anniversary. As such, all 2014 Husaberg models will have 25th anniversary graphics. The 2014 Husaberg lineup will consist of the four-stroke FE 250, FE 350, FE 450 and FE 501 and the two-stroke TE 125, TE 250 and TE 300. Continue Reading »

The Isle of Man government has launched a new app for the 2013 edition of its famous Tourist Trophy races. Available for free for iOS devices at the Apple App store (and soon to be available for Android on the Google Play store), the Isle of Man TT 2013 app offers racing fans a new way to interact with the world famous event.

The app offers a rolling news feed for the Isle of Man TT and its social media outlets as well as a live audio link to Manx Radio TT’s broadcast of interviews and commentary of qualifying sessions and races for this year’s event.

The Isle of Man TT 2013 app also offers profiles of the leading competitors and an interactive map of the fame Mountain Course with video voiced by a TT rider liason officer and race winner Richard “Milky” Quayle giving his tips on how to approach different sections of the course. Continue Reading »

Bombardier Recreational Products announced an initial public opening price of CN$21.50 per share when the company goes public.

At that price ($20.83 in U.S. dollars) for 12,200,000 shares, the IPO would generate proceeds of CN$262.4 million (US$254.8 million) for BRP, the company behind Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles, Sea-Doo watercraft, Evinrude & Johnson outboard engines, and Can-Am‘s ATVs, side-by-sides and Spyder three-wheeled roadsters.

BRP’s stock will be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol “DOO”. The IPO closes May 29. As previously announced, the IPO will offer subordinate voting shares, while the company’s current owners, a consortium of the Bombardier and Beaudoin families, Bain Capital and the Québec government’s public pension plan manager Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, will hold on to 90% of the company’s equity. Continue Reading »

A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about KTM‘s 2014 off-road lineup for Europe highlighted by an updated 250 EXC-F and other updates across the model lineup. KTM has now released information about its U.S.-spec models which include the same updates while keeping some differences from the European versions.

For off-road riders in the U.S., KTM is offering the street-legal four-stroke 350 EXC-F and 500 EXC and their solely off-road XCF-W and XC-W, the four-stroke 250 XCF-W and the two-stroke 200, 250, 300 and 450 XC-W models.

American motocross riders will have the choice of the four-stroke 250,  350 and 450 SX-F as well as the two-stroke 125, 150 and 250 SX models. Cross-country riders can opt for the four-stroke 250, 350 and 450 XC-F equivalents as well as the 150, 250 and 300 XC two-strokes. KTM USA will also offer four youth models, the 50 SX Mini and the 50, 65 and 85 SX. Continue Reading »

If you’ve never seen a sidecar race, you’d be amazed at how different it is from motorcycle racing. Not only do you have some entirely different physics at work with the third wheel, you also have a passenger sprawled over the chassis behind the rider, sticking his body out to either side at lean angles that would make Marc Marquez break a sweat. Check out the video after the jump to see for yourself.

Take a look under the fairing of a sidecar racer and you’ll see how radically different it is from most other forms of motorcycle racing. KTM’s official blog posted a feature on German IDM racers Josef Sattler and Stefan Trautner who are racing the 2013 season in a sidecar powered by a V-Twin engine from a KTM RC8 R. The post offers a rare look at the chassis and engine of their sidecar racer. Continue Reading »

Transport Canada announced two separate transmission-related recalls for the 2012 and 2013 Triumph Speed Triple. At this time, the recall only affects Speed Triples in Canada though a separate recall should be expected for the U.S. market. The recall also only affects the base model Triumph Speed Triple but it’s not clear if the R version is also affected.

According to Transport Canada, the transmission on some units may have been installed with an incorrect detent spring. As a result, the transmission may inadvertently shift out of gear while the Speed Triple is moving. This recall affects 24 units.

The second recall is for an incorrect washer installed under the neutral switch. The washer may cause the neutral indicator light to remain lit even when a gear is selected. A rider may thus mistakenly believe the motorcycle is in neutral when it in fact is not. If the rider releases the clutch in such a situation, the motorcycle could surge forward unexpectedly. This recall affects 33 units. Continue Reading »

Transport Canada announced a recall for the 2012 Triumph Daytona 675 and 675R because certain units may be missing a throttle cable guide.

Without the guide, the throttle cable may get stuck in the steering stop, preventing the throttle from opening or closing properly. Such a situation could result in a loss of propulsion or, if the throttle is stuck open, could make it difficult to slow or stop the motorcycle.

Triumph dealers will inspected recalled units and if necessary install a throttle cable guide. In some cases, the throttle cables themselves may also be replaced. Continue Reading »

MV Agusta will introduce a larger version of the F3 675, using the same bored-out three-cylinder engine as the Brutale 800 and Rivale 800.

Development of the new MV Agusta F3 800 is well underway, with the official reveal to take place in June. The short turnaround would suggest the F3 800 may share other features found on the 675, such as the chassis and MV Agusta‘s Motor & Vehicle Integrated Control System (MVICS) electronics package.

Equipped on the Brutale 800, the 798cc three-cylinder engine claims 123 hp at 11,600 rpm and 60 ft-lb. at 8600 rpm, but it will be considerably more powerful and higher revving on the F3 800. It will likely produce more than 140 hp if it hopes to match up against its class competitors such as the Ducati 848EVO and the Suzuki GSX-R750. Continue Reading »

As expected, Aprilia has filed an appeal with the International Motorcycling Federation‘s International Disciplinary Court for the finish to the second race of the past weekend’s World Superbike Championship round at Italy’s Monza circuit.

The race ended in controversy stemming from Kawasaki‘s Tom Sykes running wide on a corner and missing a chicane on the final lap. Sykes was in third place at the time ahead of Aprilia‘s Sylvian Guintoli, and was able to return to the track ahead of Guintoli, crossing the finish less than a second ahead of the Aprilia rider to take third place.

After the race, Aprilia filed an appeal and race direction ruled Sykes should have ceded position because he gained an unfair advantage by cutting the chicane. Kawasaki later filed a their own appeal with the FIM’s Stewards Panel, arguing Sykes was already well ahead of Guintoli and only ran off track to avoid running into BMW Goldbet rider Marco Melandri. The Panel agreed, reversing Race Direction’s decision and restoring Sykes to third place. Continue Reading »

Vespa has relaunched its official website, Vespa.com, and will begin accepting bookings online for its new limited edition Vespa 946 scooter. Unfortunately, the online booking will only be available in Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

That means those of us in North America will have to settle for waiting for our local Vespa dealers to begin taking orders for the Vespa 946. But those of you in the eligible markets can visit the “Store” section of the Vespa.com site and order their 946.

Available in its current configuration in either black or white until the end of 2013, the Vespa 946 is somewhat of a “halo” model, an exclusive high-end and high-priced model designed to give the Vespa brand a feeling of prestige. Vespa will produce a limited number and then create a new  limited series in 2014. Continue Reading »