Southern California might not quite be the center of the universe, but it is a Mecca for American motorcycle enthusiasts. And at the crossroads of the sportbike community and the Harley contingent is the world-renowned Rock Store on the storied Mulholland Highway in the Santa Monica Mountains. Continue Reading »
A new marketing campaign from Aprilia USA is intended to “connect riders with the brand’s heart, soul and racing DNA” via a new multi-media strategy that includes videos, online trivia with user rewards, an infographic featuring company firsts and its race achievements, plus news about its test-ride tour for the incredible Tuono V4 APRC we fell in love with in our European Literbike Streetfighter shootout. Continue Reading »
A prototype of the 2013 Aprilia Caponord 1200 was one of the headliners of Piaggio Americas’ dealer meeting earlier this month, alongside the Moto Guzzi California 1400. We’ve already heard about Piaggio designer Miguel Galluzzi discuss plans to produce a number of variations of the California, and today we’ve learned further details about the Caponord.
We already surmised the Caponord is derived from the Aprilia Dorsoduro 1200, with a similar chassis and engine. We have also learned the Caponord 1200 will be available Aprilia’s full APRC electronics suite, including traction control, wheelie control, launch control and quick shifter. Also expected are ABS and electronically controlled suspension.
Ducati‘s upcoming 1199 Panigale is the most exciting new sportbike in years. The outgoing 1198 was one of the most highly regarded sportbikes on the market, but the Panigale immediately demotes it to has-been status. It’s especially noteworthy for its monocoque chassis design that eschews a traditional frame for a structure built only around its new Superquadro engine.
We’ll finally get to throw a leg over the Panigale tomorrow when we test it at the fantastic Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. If ever a racetrack could provide equal billing with a game-changing sportbike, Yas Marina is it. It was built for Formula 1 car racing in 2009 at a cost of around $1.3 billion! Part of the 3.45-mile track runs under one of the most amazing hotels you’ll ever see, and the facility also includes the giant Ferrari World theme park and a harbor that sees some of the most luxurious yachts ever created.
The normal life of a motorcycle journalist is actually kind of mundane, as 95% of my time is spent slouched over a computer. But then there are rare days in which we are hosted in lavish accommodations in a cool location to ride some new bike no one else in the world has yet ridden. For a motorcycle enthusiast it’s a charmed life. Yet even by those high standards, my trip this week should be nothing short of epic.
I’m currently getting my bags packed for what promises to be an unforgettable experience. I’m jetting off to exotic Abu Dhabi in the Middle East to ride the most exciting new sportbike in years: Ducati‘s all-new 1199 Panigale. I’m expecting it to be a great leap forward in sportbike development, and that’s saying a lot considering the current 1198 is so damn good.
What’s more, I’ll be riding it on what’s likely the world’s most expensive-to-build racetrack, the Yas Marina Circuit on which the Formula 1 series has raced since 2009. Estimated cost to build: $1.3 billion. Yes, that’s billion with a B.
Get more Ducati 1199 Panigale news and info at www.1199forums.com
It’s not exactly dancing on the head of a pin but it’s awfully close.
Riding a dirtbike allows us to be more adventurous about where we can ride, often taking us to thrilling areas. Check out this video to see someone take this philosophy to incredible heights! Watching it had my heart in my throat as I imagined traversing that snow-covered mountain ridge!
The infamous “American Chopper” TV juggernaut rolls on, with a two-hour special to be broadcast tonight and culminating with a live event on Tuesday evening in Las Vegas.
The interesting thing about this week’s shows is that I’m in Vegas as a guest critic of the builds, a three-team competition between Paul Teutul Senior, Paul Junior and the notorious Jesse James. Earlier today I got a chance to see the vehicles for the first time, and what a trio it is!
Check out our exclusive first looks at their builds after the jump.
Loyal fans of Suzuki’s iconic Hayabusa have something to be seriously worried about. Kawasaki has overhauled its fast and smooth ZX-14, adding a bigger and more powerful engine that promises to outgun the venerable ’Busa.
I just spent a day hammering the new ZX-14R In Las Vegas, beginning with a blast through the desert and ending with several runs down the quarter-mile dragstrip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Even though atmospheric conditions were unfavorable, calculating to a 3000-foot altitude, the 14R posted a blazing 9.77-second run!
Think about this: Here’s a completely stock and EPA-legal production streetbike that can from a dead stop accelerate to nearly 150 mph in just 1320 feet!
Kawasaki has released another teaser for its upcoming revised ZX-14, now dubbed ZX-14R. In the first video, a couple of numbers are cryptically displayed: 84 x 65mm. This is a thinly veiled reference to its bore and stroke dimensions, indicating the biggest Ninja received a 4mm stroke elongation, which would bump the bike’s displacement from 1352cc to 1441cc. The vid concludes with “10/10/2011,” which is the day Kawasaki will release full details on what will undoubtedly be the most powerful motorcycle Kawasaki has ever built. Crankshaft-rated horsepower will likely be more than 200 ponies.
The other two videos don’t offer much usable information. The second one displays the ZX-14′s traditional Testarossa-like strakes on the side fairings, now updated with a curved pattern, while the video’s thumbnail picture shows a revision of the bike’s nose, still with a large air intake above dual headlights, the latter in a new design that might employ LED rings around the main bulb like BMW’s K1600s.
The third video is similar to the previous teasers, using a fictional helicopter-based traffic reporter flying over a city who gets shocked by a mysterious high-speed streaming light over a main artery that explodes into a brilliant flash when it intersects with the city’s core structures. We hope the new ZX-14R didn’t hit a building…
You can check out the video teasers at http://ninja14r.kawasaki.com/witness/.
Kenny Roberts is a true icon of motorcycle roadracing, being the first American to win a 500cc world title, then collecting two more before he moved on to team management.
“Without Kenny, we might not be here,” said Colin Edwards, former World Superbike champion and current MotoGP rider, in the below video. “He was the godfather that brought us all over to Europe and showed us more or less that it was possible. He paved the way for us.”
To celebrate “King” Kenny’s legacy, Yamaha dusted off his 1980 World Championship-winning Yamaha YZR500 for some demonstration laps at the USGP at Laguna Seca in front of an appreciative crowd. Anyone who knows Roberts’ aggressive attitude predicted he would do more than doddle around the track. “Well, he always goes too fast,” said Kel Carruthers, former tuner for Roberts. “He hasn’t gotten any smarter as he got older, so you know he’s going to go faster than he should’ve ought to go.”
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Indeed, as you can see below, Roberts, now nearly 60, rode his old GP bike like he just got off it last year. It’s very cool that Yamaha arranged for this slice of history to be enjoyed by the current generation which has nearly no recollection of screaming GP bikes of old.
