The latest Superbike models coming from Bologna, Italy are the Ducati 1198 and 1198 S, which might look like the 1098 R, but are in fact totally new creations with enhanced all-around performance and decent price tags.
Built using experience gathered in years of racing, the 1198s qualify as uncompromising Superbikes representing the unique Italian styling and the innovative maker’s solutions to keep things safe and interesting on the track as well as on the road.
BMW Motorrad USA provides us with this clip in which American pilot Nate Kern, the official ambassador of the BMW S1000RR superbike, shares his riding impressions of the bike.
The 2008 National ASRA Champion shows itself very delighted after this first test on the all-new BMW S1000RR, which he rode without changing any of the base settings.
There’s nothing quite like riding the best there is out there and with the 2009 Ducati 1098R and the corresponsive brand new Bayliss Limited Edition you stand great chances to be doing just that, so it’s nice to get a preview of the blast that you’ll have if paying around $40K for a bike is no problem for you.
Ducati’s exclusive liter-class superbike impresses a rider with the greatest ease. You see, you cannot replace the massive Twin, bag loads of technology and sharp looks with anything. Let’s see what more.
This video shows an unbelievable towards impossible motorcycle save achieved by AMA Superbike racer Jamie Hacking. What is definitely a scene that will remain in the archives of racing as the “greatest save of all times” happened while the American rider came out a high-speed corner on his Kawasaki ZX-10R and suddenly the bike lost traction of the rear tire.
Despite ending up scrapping the floor at over 120mph, Hacking somehow managed to hold on to the handlebar and the bike miraculously saved the day. The racer ended up finishing the race on a decent podium position (you sure know which that is).
Romanian designer Laurentiu Trifescu visualizes how a Lamborghini superbike could look like if the Italian supercar maker would ever consider producing one.
The name Caramelo comes, like in the case of most Lambo products, from a famous Spanish bull. This defeated a lion and a tiger in the Madrid arena in 1877. The animal’s courage and strength impressed the audience so much that they yelled for it to be spared and his name is remembered to this day.
Following the true Italian spirit, the Caramelo is supposed to be a superbike built on a tubular steel frame with single-sided swingarm and powered by a powerful 1000cc V4 engine. The design meets the edge style of the Murcielago and Gallardo and it is characterized by angular lines and cleaner surfaces.
BMWSuperBikes has released the latest video of BMW’s new S 1000 RR Superbike, one in which we can hear the bike idling and being revved while engineers take us through the technical specs and design overview. They also show off the ingenious asymmetrical headlights, so it’s kind of what riders do when they first present a new ride to their friends.
Arai has started to take orders for the barely released Haga Monza replica RX-7 GP helmets. A number of 200 units of the Drudi Performance design helmets will be made and they’re sure few, considering that Noriyuki Haga worn this model during the fifth round of the 2009 Superbike World championship earlier this month. Haga came in second in the first race, but bad luck struck in the second race when the pilot hit a bird and crashed shortly after.
Exceeding both ECE 22.05 and the upcoming Snell M2010 standards, Arai’s RX-7 GP is one of the safest helmets out there and the shell is made of structural net composite (SNC).
BMW has made its all-new S 1000 RR superbike official at last! Going through the performance data – 193 horsepower at 13,000 RPM, 82.5 lb-ft of torque at 9,750 RPM, 455.3 lbs. wet weight – we can’t help being amazed by what the German engineers could deliver; not that we ever underestimated them, but this is the best power-to-weight ratio of all literbikes so far and this is just a promising debut.
The bike will feature ABS and an extremely advanced traction control system as standard equipment while an HP Gearshift Assistant stands for full-power clutchless upshifts so we’re expecting it to break one track record after another.
Easy to distinguish due to the asymmetrical headlights and uniquely shaped fairing, the Beemer will lead to the development of racing bikes that will be piloted by Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus during the 2010 WSBK Championship. Starting from a street legal bike is the main condition for racing so expect it to go on sale in U.S at the beginning of 2010.
During the Nürburgring race of the 1999 Superbike World Champion Season, a leaking Kawasaki goes out of competition, leaving the track filled with oil precisely on a braking area of the track. Marshals don’t stop the race to clean up the mess and racers fall one after the other during the folowing eight laps.
Colin Edwars goes mad of anger and starts throughing debris back on the track as well as giving organizors the finger.
The Two Stroke Shop name says everything about their object of activity, but what it forgets to mention is the fact that the Tropical North Queensland, Australia located shop may have shut the mouth of Japanese manufacturers that are so proud about the performance of their liter bikes.
By retaining the Japanese chassis and replacing the four-stroke engine with an in-house made two-stroke one developing 250 bhp and 160 ft lbs of torque, the company’s owner, Stephen Rothwell and partner as well as two-stroke engine designer for GP race teams, Wayne Wright, have raised the stake to an unimaginable level of performance, but of which they are totally aware.
Rothwell declared to motorcycledaily.com: "What the world needed was an answer to the current litre bikes, which we find anemic," "If a bike can’t hoist the wheel in 4th gear off the throttle then it’s not a superbike."
In a perfect world, that would have been minimum requirement…