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 »

Eric Wood, AMA Pro racer and owner of Woodcraft Technologies Inc., knows a thing or two about making a sportbike go fast. He also knows that racers, especially at the club level, inevitably hit the ground. Thankfully, there are products like the Woodcraft bar end sliders to minimize the damage in a crash.

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This past weekend, Brammo arrived to Sonoma Raceway in Central California ready to do battle. Only this time the electric sportbike manufacturer would be trading blows not with other electric bikes, but with their ICE counterparts at the second round of the American Federation of Motorcyclists series — one of the oldest club racing organizations in the country.  Continue Reading »

For a company with such a rich history in motorcycle racing including nine World Championships in the 250cc Grand Prix category, it comes as a bit of a surprise Aprilia does not already have a 250cc sportbike in production. From 1994 to 2007, Aprilia won nine 250cc Grand Prix championships with an impressive roster of riders which includes Valentino Rossi, Max Biaggi, Jorge Lorenzo, Loris Capirossi and Marco Melandri winning titles.

Despite making a name for itself racing in the 250cc class, Aprilia does not have a 250cc production sportbike to compete against the likes of the Kawasaki Ninja 250 (and its replacement, the Ninja 300) or the Honda CBR250R. Other manufacturers are getting into this segment, or reportedly have plans to as in the case of Triumph and Yamaha. Aprilia may soon join those ranks, with Indian website MotorBeam reporting Piaggio is developing a 250cc sportbike. Continue Reading »

Add another to the list of manufacturers committing to the American International Motorcycle Expo, as Erik Buell Racing (EBR) has announced it will be hosting its dealers at the event to be held in October this year. As such, EBR joins an expanding list of motorcycle OEMs participating in AIMExpo, the powersports industry’s first combined trade, consumer and media event in North America. Continue Reading »

KTM is reportedly developing a new small-displacement sportbike for the Indian market, featuring similar styling to its flagship RC8 sportbike. The new model is expected to use a 250cc single-cylinder engine, leading some to label it the KTM RC25 or KTM RC250.

We’ve heard reports of KTM working on a small-displacement sportbike before, most recently in late 2012 with KTM Chief Executive Officer Stefan Pierer saying a faired version of the 390 Duke is on its way, but it now appears a 250 version is on its way as well. The now infamous leaked Powerpoint slide from a KTM North American dealer presentation also outlined a model curiously called a “Moto3 350” for 2014. IndianCarsBikes reports the KTM RC25 will be available in India for 2014 to be built in India by Bajaj Auto which owns a 47% stake in KTM.

KTM’s Moto3 production racer is officially called the RC 250 R, but the Moto3 racer (pictured below) has much different styling than the RC8, and the new model will likely look more like its angular 1,195cc older sibling than the curvier Moto3 race bike. Amit Nandi, vice-president of premium motorcycles for Bajaj Auto is very specific about the new bike’s RC8 roots. Continue Reading »

Today, Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA, has announced its U.S. road racing teams to compete in the 2013 GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Racing season, which kicks off in March at the famed Daytona International Speedway.  Continue Reading »

BMW has initiated a recall on the 2012 and 2013 S1000RR because the side stands may not have been correctly installed.

According to Transport Canada, the side stand attachment bolts may loosen, causing an S1000RR to fall over while resting on the stand. At the moment, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has yet to announce a recall, but American members of Motorcycle.com‘s S1000RR Forum say U.S. BMW dealers have halted sales pending an upcoming recall.

A user reports the mounting point on the frame may not have been properly cleaned before the stand was attached. Continue Reading »

Italian electric motorcycle maker CRP has launched a new online reservation system, allowing customers to put down a deposit and order the upcoming Energica sportbike.

The CRP Energica is priced at €18,000 (US$23,270), and CRP is now reservations with deposits of €500 (US$646) online at http://www.ecrp.eu/en/order-energica.html. Payments are refundable and are made through PayPal, making it easy for anyone with Internet access to put down a deposit for the CRP Energica. Continue Reading »

Bimota revealed a new concept sportbike at the 2012 EICMA Show equipped with a BMW S1000RR engine.

The Bimota BB2 concept is the first product of a new partnership signed with BMW that would see the German manufacturer supply S1000RR engines for Bimota. The S1000RR engine has class-leading numbers, with the 172.4 hp we measured in our 2012 European Literbike Shootout a 10.4 hp advantage over any literbike we dyno’ed for that shootout or the Japanese Literbike Shootout.

The BB2 mounts the engine in a new aluminum spar chassis and adds an Arrow exhaust, Öhlins  suspension and Brembo monobloc brake calipers. Continue Reading »