BMW has tapped Ruben Xaus (shown here on a Ducati Hypermotard) to ride the S1000RR in World Superbike. The Germans are serious about proving their new machine.
We mentioned last month that there were several proposals being put forward that could affect motorcycling, not only in Europe but worldwide. These included speed limiters, leg protectors etc. (See Euro Gossip June 2008) Now it seems that Brussels, home of the EU and legislation for Europe is adding to the debate with even more suggestions. This latest round of 'good ideas' throws in frontal collision warning systems, similar to the sensors used on cars to detect close objects when parking. The bike system will apparently work on vehicle to vehicle communication as used on modern cars, as well as satellite information.
Heads-up visor displays are also included, as are vibrating seats and handlebars, along with speakers in helmets to warn of impending doom! These latest ideas come in the wake of official figures in the UK that show a decline in motorcycle fatalities last year!
Germany
The
BMW S1000RR has featured heavily here in this column over the past few years, first as a rumor and recently as a definitive machine set to enter the World Superbike Championship. Well now BMW Motorrad Motorsport has announced it has agreed to a two-year contract with Spaniard Ruben Xaus to ride it in the 2009 and 2010 championship. This will be the German factories first entry into World Superbikes, but Xaus has been a WSBK regular since 1998 and has taken 34 podiums, including 10 victories. Announcing the deal, Peter Mueller (Executive Vice President Development & Model Lines) confirmed that they are entering with the intention of winning and not to just make up the numbers!
Will this be the end of the line for BMW's 450X? Rumors indicate some possible SuMo mods, but with Husky under the Germans' control, there might not be a storied future for this radical machine.
BMW's G450X does not bear any relation to the majority of its other models and some are suggesting that given the Husqvarna acquisition (see also Italy below) that it may be the first and last of the line. However, insiders suggest that it may spawn a Supermoto version, complete with 17 inch rims shod with sticky road tires. This would be a cheap option to recoup more of the development costs irrespective of the bikes future!
MZ is one of the world's oldest motorcycle firms still going, but by the end of the year the brand could be just another name in the history books. Founded in 1907 the company survived two World Wars, but now it seems they cannot survive the recession. Its current owners, Hong Leong Industries of Malaysia, who bought the then ailing company in 1996 for £8 million, are set to pull out at the end of the year unless they receive help from the German government. Since taking over, they have not made any profit and it seems despite rumors that they were going to move everything back to Malaysia where labor is cheaper, it now seems they are totally pulling out at the end of this year.
Despite revolutionizing the brand and moving away from the two-strokes that made the marque famous, it has not helped turn the company into a profitable organization. Major awards and a racing history good enough to match the Japanese factories is not enough it seems. (In 2002 they had a 990cc V4 engine with pneumatic valves and were set to enter MotoGP, although it came to nothing due to lack of finance!)
If you want to go to the INTERMOT Cologne 2008 (8th to 12th October 2008), the organizers are advising you start booking transport and accommodation as soon as possible. Special rates are being offered for visitors, traders and journalists on public transport and there are deals on hotels. This is the first of big European shows where most of the world launches take place, apart from those from the Italian factories who will no doubt wait for the Milan show in November.
Husqvarna has a new Development and Management Centre being built in Varese.
It is difficult to know these days as to where to put information on some companies, given their origins, place of business and ownership. Take
Husqvarna for instance, started in Sweden, now in manufactured in Italy and owned by the Germans!
A new Development and Management Centre for the company will be in operation from May next year after a recent foundation-laying ceremony took place at Cassinetta di Biandronno (Varese). This new Husqvarna Motorcycles HQ is to supplement the existing premises. As you might expect the ceremony was presided over by Friedrich Eichiner, a Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG (the owners) along with others from the German factory.
The new building will have a footprint of 2603 square meters, a total floor area of 5800 square meters and a total volume of 25,156 cubic meters. As well as manufacturing areas and offices, it will also include a showroom open to the public. The new establishment has also been designed to permit production levels of up to 40,000 bikes a year, and every section is scheduled to be complete by summer 2009. The structure has been designed in such a way as to cope with forecast growth in the medium term and also to be extended in the longer term without difficulty, showing that BMW predict that they can further enhance the brand and make it appeal to a wider audience!
Ducati's ultra-popular Monster 696 might be available with the 1100DS motor, which would give a whole new meaning to the bike's name.
Despite world success with the 1098,
Ducati's biggest selling bike in Italy last month was the 696 Monster. Insiders predict that the bike will receive an 1100DS motor in the near future as they are happy with the reception the new model has got, but want to offer more power as an option.
This would make sense when coupled with a rumor that the days of the Multistrada could be limited. Apparently a new bike with similar styling to the BMW R1200GS has been seen out testing in the hills close to the Bologna factory. Could be ready for the November Milan show?
Moto Morini's new Sport 1200 is the fifth new model in three years since the historic marque returned to family-ownership. Designed by the Marabese studio to create the classic style of 1970s machines, the 1200 Sport combines the CorsaCorta V-Twin engine with top-notch components so that it can 'deliver exceptional performance with timeless appeal.'
It is actually based upon the Moto Morini 9« roadster, which of course has the Franco Lambertini designed 1187cc 87-degree V-Twin engine. This is now tuned to develop 117 hp at 8500 rpm with a high torque figure of 102 Nm 6700 rpm.
However, it is the color scheme that has really brought the bike to notice. It came with a Gulf Oil scheme of pastel blue and orange, but the oil company objected forcing a rethink. Now it comes with a blue and white version inspired by the American muscle cars of the sixties and seventies as well as British racing green and yellow similar to the Lotus racing colors!
United Kingdom
It is that time of the year when the spy shots start appearing to attract interest prior to the world launches at the major shows. Most of the updated
Triumph range has featured in this column fairly recently. However, a new Bonneville has just been spotted that is very 'seventies' as opposed to current 'sixties' version.
The Triumph Bonneville of the '60s will be joined by a new retro model to represent the 1970s.
The most obvious difference is the cast alloy wheels and the front end, along with lozenge-style silencers. A single disc is used that appears to have come from a sports machine. However, the engine although looking similar to the existing unit appears to be a little larger in silhouette and some are predicting that it may be bigger than the current 865cc unit in capacity terms. Nobody is sure if it is UK model, or maybe one designed for the US market, but it looks as though it is not too far from being production ready, so we will not have long to wait for an answer.
Historic British motorcycle firm,
Metisse Motorcycles stunned tens of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts at the recent Motorcycle World Show at Beaulieu, home of the National Motor Museum. In a sun kissed arena that had just seen world champions parade on two and three wheels, Don Rickman literally blasted into the arena on the first of the new 'Rickman-Metisse Desert Racer' that is now on sale to the public.
The new bike is an exact copy of the machine originally designed and built by movie legend Steve Mc Queen for serious competition use.
It is authentically hand-built by Metisse Motorcycle's in the UK, and is fully endorsed by McQueen's family and features his signature on each one of the replicas.
Scrambles (Moto Cross) legend Don, who was present with his equally famous brother Derek, (a co-founder of the original firm) to see the new bike, could not resist the chance to go for a ride on the number one bike that will be presented to McQueen's son Chad later this month. He told the enthusiastic crowd that this new version was 'perfect and authentic in every respect'.
Only 300 of this Steve McQueen replica, dubbed the Rickman-Metisse Desert Racer, will be made.
A limited number of 300 will be built, complete with an official certificate of authenticity and the firm took several orders even before the bike entered the arena. This Desert Racer faithfully adopts a MKIII chrome-moly, nickel plated, oil in frame chassis. Chromed steel wheel rims, period styled chromed exhausts, scramble rear tire, trials front tire, Amal competition levers & twist grip are in keeping with the period. Likewise a Triumph front hub with BSA rear along with an authentic color-coded tank, seat and panels complete the look.
What really sets it apart are other genuine features, like the styled footrests made to McQueen's original design and 35mm Ceriani forks, which have seven inches of travel which he found to be the best compromise. The yokes come from BSA, which was his preference because of the handlebar position, this being set behind the steering stem for better handling.
Complete bikes are ready to order now at £12,999 utilising a fully reconditioned period Triumph TR6 engine complete with a single Amal carburetor. Steve McQueen once described this bike as 'being years ahead of its time, revolutionary and the best handling rig he'd owned'.
sales@metisse-motorcycles.com
Another historic British motorcycle manufacturer, Brough Superior, has been in the news quite a lot recently due to some models fetching record prices at auction. However, this mention is due to a more modern connection with the name.
The Brough Superior Enineering Limited has been purchased in whole by the Netherton Industries Limited.
A firm called Netherton Industries Limited has recently announced the purchase of The Brough Superior Engineering Limited, together with the assets of The Brough Superior Engineering Limited. This follows an earlier acquisition of Brough Superior Motorcycles Limited. The acquisition includes the patents, the intellectual property rights, and the exclusive rights of the trademark and logo, of the historically renowned company.
Mark Upham (51), the manager of British Only Austria GmbH, (purveyors of early British motorcycles) and lifelong fan of the marque, has been appointed CEO of the new combined Brough Superior operation.
A brand new motorcycle brand has also been launched in a very hectic month, called the Stonebridge. The people behind the cafe racer project are the world famous Ace Cafe, once home to such bikes in the fifties and sixties before it closed. (The cafe has been rebuilt and is now a nightly haunt for London's bikers!)
The bike eschews the sixties with a Norton Wideline-style frame and styling, but the bike uses a 110 hp S&S V-Twin motor from the US to power it. Inverted forks and modern brakes ensure that it can be used in modern traffic. The first bike will be on show at the Sturgis Rally in August and only 100 will be built.
An 82 page report from an expert on Laser technology has just been handed to the UK government. It centers on the equipment used by police to catch speeding motorists. This report shows that their equipment is unsafe to be used on motorcycles as it can give false and very high readings. One example used from tests conducted under controlled conditions, shows that a bike travelling at 12 mph was recorded at 66 mph! No official comment has yet been made by officials or by police authorities, but this comes in the wake of legal challenge that states speed cameras are illegal!
Will Yamaha motocrossers not have shift levers in the future? The Tuning Fork company has filed a patent for a Constantly Variable Transmission.
Japan
Recent figures released by the Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) show motorcycle production in April 2008 fell by a massive 44.2% compared to April 2007. Exports for the same period were also down by 39.3%.
Yamaha have filed patents for a Constantly Variable Transmission (CVT), not for a scooter, but for a motocross machine. This is of course not the first such system, the
Aprilia 850cc Mana is already on sale with one, not to mention the various large capacity scooters. It is expected that they would use the technology on a whole range of bikes in the future. (The Semi-Automatic FJR 1300 has a conventional gearbox mated to an automatic clutch!)
And Finally
In Mumbai, India, a biker who was hit by a car, survived after being thrown over a flyover and falling fifty feet onto the road below. To add to his problems and pain the 28-year-old landed on a steel rod which penetrated his body. Police have yet to find the car, which made off without stopping!
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