It could be argued that it is the form of racing that most emphasizes the skill of the rider rather than the technology and highly secretive advantages of the bike being ridden. In almost all other realms one machine is going to have an advantage over another in one regard and perhaps a disadvantage in another regard. The engines can be different configurations, the weights are going to be different, the power outputs are going to be different. Yes, the best riders still often rises to the top but often a limitation is the capability of the bike rather than the capability of the rider. An idea is often presented – most likely by a manufacturer – to build a series around one of their machines i.e. the Harley-Davidson XR1200R and the Honda CBR250 here in Canada. It often sounds like a great idea and a good promotion for the brand but there is a downside – the costs can really start to add up and the question inevitably asked is “did it sell any more bikes?” to which the answer comes back “probably not enough”. That isn’t to say that the manufacturers don’t keep trying.
For the spectator the racing can be very enjoyable. The bikes are all the same and therefore competitive so it is the skill of the rider that makes the difference- separates the 1st from the 2nd and 3rd if you will. BMW has run the Boxer Cup featuring the R1200S previously in both North America and Europe and they have just announced after a long hiatus that the series will be returning to Europe for a 2018 season. The bike utilized for the new Boxer Cup series will be the retro inspired rNineT Racer. To insure that all the bikes are identical, each race machine will be prepped by Motorrad Germany with a couple of upgrades, most significantly to the suspension and steering. The only item that individual riders will be able to change is the stickers on the bike. The Boxer Cup series is limited to thirty entries with a couple of spots left available for guest racers. Not only will the bikes be identical but the rNine T Racer also levels the playing field by putting a limit on knee and elbow dragging due to the protruding cylinders.
Start your engines and may the most talented racer win. If you are up for the series yourself you will need a racing licence from some FIM sanctioned body. Once you have that in your pre-race clammy hands, BMW will actually rent you a bike for the duration of the season. We do not think that your credit card will cover the deductible so read the fine print. Good luck!
The 2017 AMA Flat Track season didn’t turn out the way most of the participating manufacturers probably hoped that it would have. Indian Motorcycle was happy with the results but not so much the rest of them. The answer for the 2018 season to those woes has a lot to do with throwing money at the series in the form of contingency funds. The AMA just announce that with Ducati’s $180,000 contingency fund thrown into the pot, the total monies available to riders for the upcoming season is a whopping $2 million. The largest chunk is coming from Harley-Davidson who have pledged $562,500 towards the coffers of racers successful on either an XG750R (the newish liquid cooled Street variant) or the venerable XR750. This is the biggest single contingency offering in the history of AMA flat track racing.
Harley-Davidson has announce that the company will be introducing an electric motorcycle. Oh, come on, you say! Didn’t we go down this road already? Indeed, it was in late 2014 and early 2015 that we were seeing and hearing the LiveWire. Canadian Biker spent a couple of the Canadian shows during the 2015 motorcycle show series very near the demonstration booth for the LiveWire where a line-up of enthusiastic folks waited for the opportunity to spool up the electric bike on a rolling platform. Then in the spring of 2015 we attended a riding event for the LiveWire to sample the bike in a real world, on-the-road environment. And it was good. A real motorcycle that rode like a real motorcycle sans the petrol. The LIveWire looked production ready, well finished, well styled and not like some white plastic appliance aimed at non-motorcyclists.
Amid all the speculation that Volkswagen was going to have to unload some assets to pay for the emissions scandal that saw the company facing fines around the world that were reaching into the billions, the idea was floated that Ducati owned by Volkswagen division Audi would be worth somewhere around the $1,000,000,000 mark (it looks so much bigger with all the zeroes). Sell off the Italian motorcycle icon and add the profits to the punitive pool. Several bidders were said to be in the running for the red-hued brand, while some came and some left, but there appeared to be genuine interest in the marque. It seems for a price the profitable company would be a good fit for another manufacturer with deep pockets and the need for an instant icon in the motorcycle world.
prestige of the Italian marque along with their other Italian arm, Lamborghini, will be staying in the Audi fold. BMW has BMW Motorrad (as well as Mini and Rolls Royce) proving that having a cool motorcycle brand in the portfolio makes any car manufacturer look good.
Hold on, you exclaim to yourself. Why is everyone getting so excited by the new Ninja 400? Wasn’t there a Ninja 400R just a few years back? Yes, you keened eyed observer of motorcycle lore, Canadian Kawasaki did indeed have a Ninja 400R in the early days of this decade but it was a quite different beast and its longevity wasn’t….long. The Ninja 400R was an effort to fill a gap. At the time there was a Ninja 250 and a Ninja 650 (it is worth noting that none of these Ninja’s were of the fire-breathing ZX variety – again, totally different beasts). It was obvious back then as it is now that a 400cc class bike would be an excellent option and at the time would be a bump from the 250 and offer a broader riding experience. The hitch was that the 400R wasn’t really a new bike but rather a Ninja 650 with a 399cc engine. The engine was a liquid cooled, 8-valve parallel twin variety providing 43hp and 27ft-lbs torque. Those numbers are going to sound vaguely familiar when we tell you that the engine of the new 2018 Ninja 400 is a 399cc liquid cooled, 8 valve parallel twin claiming 48 hp and 28 ft-bs of torque . So that would a 5hp increase and a smidgen more torque. Enough to get excited about? Depends on how excited you get. The big news is that the old Ninja 400R (based on a bike with a much larger engine and not so sporty aspirations) was a portly 448 lb curb weight. The new Ninja 400 in comparison is a lithe with much more sporting curb weight of 366 lbs – assuming both those curbs are comparable that is a whopping 82lbs lighter. With it’s slipper clutch, the Ninja 400 is obviously intended to be ridden a little harder. That weight difference alone is worth a few extra horsepower.
