BMW earned its first-ever World Superbike race win at the U.K.’s Donington Park, but missed out on sweeping the round after teammates Leon Haslam and Marco Melandri crashed on the final corner while battling for the lead in the second race.

Melandri earned BMW its landmark first win in Race One leading Haslam in a one-two finish. They could have repeated that finish in Race Two but Haslam low-sided after making contact with Honda‘s Jonathon Rea trying to pass on the inside. That sent Haslam skidding into Melandri, ruining the chance for another double-podium.

The Race Two incident could have overshadowed the milestone victory in Race One, but BMW must be relieved its flagship S1000RR superbike finally earned a race win in its fourth year of competition. Continue Reading »

Increased scooter sales offset a drop in motorcycle sales, but both segments reported increases in net sales for the Piaggio Group in the first quarter of 2012.

According to Piaggio‘s first quarter report, the Group sold 9,400 motorcycles worldwide, down 8.2% from the 10,300 units sold in the same quarter last year. Scooter sales however saw a 7.9% increase to 79,200 units from 73,400 units. The Piaggio Group’s two-wheeled vehicle brands include Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, and Vespa, as well as Derbi, Gilero and Scarabeo.

Despite the drop in units sold, net sales from motorcycles actually increased 10.4% to 44.4 million euros (US$57.7 million) from 40.2 million euros. Net sales from scooters also increased by 8.4% to 154.0 million euros (US$200.3 million) from the 142.0 million euros reported in the first quarter of 2011. Moto Guzzi in particular had a good first quarter with revenues increasing more than 50%. Continue Reading »

It was supposed to be a weekend of celebration. The World Superbike Championship was celebrating its 25th anniversary of racing at Italy’s Monza circuit. Promoters Infront Motorsports brought out 30 landmark Superbikes from the series’ history, while greats such as Fred Merkel, Doug Polen and Carl Fogarty were in attendance for what was supposed to be a weekend to remember. Spec tire supplier Pirelli was also in the celebratory mood  with special silver-striped tires for the Superpole qualifier.

Unfortunately, the 2012 Monza round will be remembered for heavy rains, a cancelled race, a near boycott of Pirelli tires and the series’ largest team issuing a scathing rebuke to race organizers. Continue Reading »

Motorcycle aficionado and owner of GP Motorcycles, a San Diego dealership specializing in European manufacturers, Paul Lima, suffered a paralyzing crash while riding an MX bike on April 4th. Following a 9-hour surgery to realign and stabilize his back, Paul is recovering well and undergoing rehabilitation. Paul has health coverage, but the costs not covered by insurance are mounting and the Lima family can use any help benevolent motorcyclists can afford.

A PayPal account has been setup to accept donations and you can follow his and the family’s progress on the their Facebook page.

Continue Reading »

The Netherlands hosted a dramatic weekend of World Superbike racing that featured a red-flagged wet race, several riders crashing while leading, a first-time race winner, a photo finish between two teammates and the reigning World Champion finishing out of the points because of a poor choice of tires.

The 2011 WSBK Champion Carlos Checa arrived at Assen with the lead in the championship and a three-race winning streak, but opting to run wet tires in Race Two cost him the lead and may have contributed to a crash that severely injured Liberty Racing‘s Brett McCormick. Continue Reading »

Norton Motorcycles announced it will compete in the 2012 Isle of Man TT with a new racebike.

The as-yet-unnamed racebike will use an Aprilia RSV4 engine with a chassis from Spondon Engineering. If that formula sounds familiar, it’s because it sounds like of MotoGP’s new Claiming Rule Team machines. Norton doesn’t mention MotoGP directly in its announcement, though it did say it will receive no factory support from Aprilia just like several CRT efforts.

Critics will argue the racebike is not a real Norton as it uses an engine and frame from other manufacturers (though it should be noted Norton had previously used a Spondon chassis in its NRV588 racebike). Norton did make a number of its own components at its Donington Park facility, including its traditional polished aluminum fuel tank. 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.

Continue Reading »

The Aspar Team officially presented its CRT MotoGP team including riders Randy de Puniet and Aleix Espargaro and the team’s new Aprilia RSV4-based race bikes.

Aspar is using an ART race bike which consists of an Aprilia-designed aluminum frame with an engine based on the RSV4′s powerplant. Whereas Aprilia claims an output of 178 hp from the production engine, Aspar claims the ART’s 65-degree V4 engine produces over 220 hp. Max speed is said to be over 205 mph.

The team will compete under the name Power Electronics Aspar and will wear the blue color of the team’s title sponsor, a Spanish power generator producer. Continue Reading »

The new Aprilia SRV850 V-Twin maxi-scooter is coming to North America, likely slated to arrive later this year as a 2013 model. The Piaggio Group presented the SRV850 alongside the Vespa 946, Aprila Caponord 1200 and Moto Guzzi California 1400 at its North American dealer meeting in Miami, Fla.

Piaggio announced it will bring all four of those models to North America, though as yet only the California has a launch date, set for fall 2012. The SRV850 will likely arrive at the same time, if not earlier, as the scooter has already been launched in Europe. Continue Reading »