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Jensen Beeler

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MotoGP

Valentino Rossi Fractures Leg in Training Accident

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Reports from Europe are saying that Valentino Rossi has broken his leg while training on an enduro bike.

Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport, says that the nine-time World Champion has sustained a “suspected fracture of the tibia and fibula” and that Rossi is expected to go into surgery tonight to repair the injury.

We should caution that these reports have not yet been confirmed, with Yamaha yet to comment on the injury, but if true they could have dire consequences for Rossi’s bid to be the 2017 MotoGP World Champion.

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Bikes

Ducati’s New V4 Engine Named “Desmosedici Stradale”

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In one week’s time, Ducati will unveil its new V4 engine, which will power the next-generation of the Italian company’s superbikes and other high-powered motorcycles.

Set to debut the Thursday before the San Marino GP round for MotoGP, Ducati has begun teasing us some information, the first of which is the new motor’s name, the Desmosedici Stradale.

True to Ducati naming conventions, the name of the engine literally means what it is, a road-going version of the Desmosedici engine that powers Bologna’s MotoGP project.

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News

CARB Docs Show No Changes for 2018 BMW S1000RR

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Documents filed with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) show that no changes will be coming for the 2018 BMW S1000RR, with the emission levels for the popular superbike shown to be the same as those for the 2017 model.

This means that it is unlikely that we will see a new S1000RR model debut at EICMA later this year, despite seeing spy photos of a restyled S1000RR a month ago.

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News

Bosch Invents Carbon-Neutral Synthetic Fuel

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Reducing greenhouse gases will be a huge part of transportation in the coming years, as countries get more serious about climate change and the factors that cause it. This should be obvious, if not already present.

Vehicle emissions have put tremendous pressure on governments, and we are already seeing a trend in Europe for vehicle manufacturers pushing to stop the production of gasoline-powered vehicles within the few decades.

This puts electric motorcycles, cars, and trucks at the forefront of future transportation plans, but Bosch has another idea to solve our transportation and climate needs: synthetic fuels.

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Bikes

Harley-Davidson Quietly Kills Off the V-Rod

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After a 17-year run, the Harley-Davidson V-Rod is finally going to the great motorcycle rally in the sky, as the Bar & Shield brand is quietly dismissing the V-Rod from its 2018 motorcycle lineup.

The V-Rod has always been the black sheep in the Harley-Davidson motorcycle offering, with the motorcycle featuring a high-tech liquid-cooled engine that was developed in collaboration with German automaker Porsche.

The problem with the V-Rod was also its biggest strength: it was unlike anything else in the Harley-Davidson lineup. The Harley-Davidson V-Rod line eschewed everything that was central to the core Harley-Davidson product attributes.

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Recall

BMW Sends Letter to Dealers About Recent Recalls

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BMW is up to its fifth recall, in just five weeks, with a bevy of models been hit with safety concerns. The first recall was for the German company’s flagship model, the BMW R1200GS, which could see its front suspension fail if the motorcycle was subjected to hard use.

The second recall affected BMW models that shipped with panniers, as they did not meet federal requirements for vehicle reflectors. The third recall was for BMW R1200RT Police models, while the fourth recall concerned the wheels on two of BMW’s scooter models.

Today marked BMW’s fifth recall, which affects over 3,000 units of its BMW R nineT roadster model, as they could suffer from a swingarm pivot point pin coming loose.

With the news of all these recalls, BMW Motorrad USA has also sent a letter to its dealers, outlining the status of each recall, how BMW is going to help dealers through this massive slew of recalls, and what the brand will do for its affected customers.

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Recall

Recall: BMW R nineT

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Today we have news of the fifth (#1, #2, #3, & #4 here) BMW Motorrad recall in roughly a month’s time, as 3,368 units of the BMW R nineT (2014-2017 model years) are being recalled for swingarm pivot pin bolt that may loosen itself.

The issue stems from a supplier production process error, where one or more bolts that connect the right-side pivot pin to the frame may loosen as a result of an improper specification of the chamfer cutting process in the frame. 

As a result, proper clamp force may not have been achieved during final torqueing process. If the right-hand side pivot pin to the frame loosens itself, it can affect the handling and stability of the motorcycle, which increases the chances of a crash.

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Bikes

Harley-Davidson Merges Dyna & Softail Lines for 2018

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There is big news from the other side of the motorcycle industry, as Harley-Davidson has merged its Dyna and Softail lines into one, while releasing 13 “new” motorcycles for the 2018 model year.

The new bikes fill out the Softail and Touring lines for the Bar & Shield brand, and feature the company’s new Milwaukee-Eight 107 and 114 engines.

These changes for the 2018 model year mark the most performance that the Softail line has ever seen, with Harley-Davidson Product Portfolio Manage Paul James saying that the new bikes required “the most extensive research and development program in the company’s history.”

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News

Confederate Motors Changes Names, Goes Electric

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We are in the final days of Confederate Motors, as the Alabama-based company just debuted its last motorcycle: the FA-13 Combat Bomber. Once the uniquely styled cruiser is sold out though, a new company will be formed: Curtiss Motorcycles.

The name Curtiss is a nod to aviator Glenn Curtiss, who before he battled with the Wright Brothers for control of the sky, was an avid motorcycle builder and motorcycle racer.

Like its namesake, Curtiss Motorcycles will be looking to the future, and thus its first model will be an all-electric motorcycle.

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