Super Duke
Voxan at the cross-roads
Source: Insidebikes | Carole Nash » Bike News - Tuesday, 8th June 2010, 9:02 GMTCan Voxan motorcycles rise again? The French manufacturer went into receivership again recently, but the rights to use the name have been acquired by Venturi MVS of Monaco. Alastair Walker looks at the odds of a V-twin comeback. Voxan was a great idea; sporty 1000cc V-twin motor, available in a neo-Vincent, Black Lightning model, 70s Cafe Racer and Street Scrambler variants, and all made in France, one of the most influential nations in the early history of motorcycling. I rode all three Voxan models and the Cafe Racer was the nicest of the trio, with smooth, punchy power and steady handling. It’s nearest rivals were perhaps the big Guzzi 1100 twins. The chassis was a little different on the Voxan, with glue holding the frame’s top rails into a sturdy central section. But although Voxan had some novel ideas, they always lived hand-to-mouth and the factory at Issoire was sometimes a quiet place as workers went on short-time, or were temporarily laid off. After a rescue a few years ago, Voxan is in toruble again and it is hard to see how the original plan of making three or four models from engine/chassis platform, especially as the world of V-twin motorcycling has moved on a great deal from the late 1990s when Voxan was founded. There are so many rivals now which didn’t exist back then, from the hi-tech and almost sci-fi styled Vyrus, to the raw, hard-edged performance of the KTM Super Duke 990, or Supermoto. So, the latest news that Venturi MVS, a company based in Monaco belonging to Gildo Pallanca Pastor, currently building solar/electric hybrid cars highlights Voxan’s tricky position. Like Hesketh, the brand may be rebranded as an electric vehicle producer, with futuristic styling perhaps? That would undoubtedly go down well in France, where various regional `departments’ compete with each other to have prestigious technology projects on the go. As France has a much greater influence within the EU than Britain, there is always the chance of EU funding; free factory site, grants for research, indirect subsidies for workers etc. As Graham Manchester, the UK importer of Bimota motorcycles told insidebikes recently; “There is no way you can make a low volume motorcycle in the EU now and not charge the best part of 20K for it. You cannot compete with mainstream factories, doing part-assembly in the Far East, so creating bespoke, hand-built bikes are your only option.” If that is the case, then Voxan must realistically go down the hybrid, or electric motorbike route, if they want to survive - and fly the French tricolour - in the longer term. Read article
Voxan at the crossroads
Source: Insidebikes | Carole Nash » Bike News - Tuesday, 8th June 2010, 8:42 GMTCan Voxan motorcycles rise again? The French manufacturer went into receivership again recently, but the rights to use the name have been acquired by Venturi MVS of Monaco. Alastair Walker looks at the odds of a V-twin comeback. Voxan was a great idea; sporty 1000cc V-twin motor, available in a neo-Vincent, Black Magic model, 70s Cafe Racer and Street Scrambler variants, and all made in France, one of the most influential nations in the early history of motorcycling. I rode all three Voxan models and the Cafe Racer was the nicest of the trio, with smooth, punchy power and steady handling. Its nearest rivals were perhaps the big Guzzi 1100 twins. The chassis was also a little different on the Voxan, with glue holding the frame’s top rails into a sturdy central section. But although Voxan had some novel ideas, they always lived hand-to-mouth and the factory at Issoire was sometimes a quiet place as workers went on short-time, or were temporarily laid off. After a rescue a few years ago, Voxan is in trouble again and it is hard to see how the original plan of making three or four models from engine/chassis platform can work, especially as the world of V-twin motorcycling has moved on a great deal from the late 1990s when Voxan was founded. There are so many rivals now which didn’t exist back then, from the hi-tech and almost sci-fi styled Vyrus, the laid back Harley XR1200, to the raw, hard-edged performance of the KTM Super Duke 990, or Supermoto. So, the latest news that Venturi MVS, a company based in Monaco belonging to Gildo Pallanca Pastor, and currently building solar/electric hybrid cars, highlights Voxan’s tricky position. Like Hesketh, the brand may well be rebranded as an electric vehicle producer, with futuristic styling perhaps? That would undoubtedly go down well in France, where various regional `departments’ compete with each other to have prestigious technology projects on the go. As France has a much greater influence within the EU than Britain, there is always the chance of EU funding; free factory site, grants for research, indirect subsidies for workers etc. As Graham Manchester, the UK importer of Bimota motorcycles told insidebikes recently; “There is no way you can make a low volume motorcycle in the EU now and not charge the best part of 20K for it. You cannot compete with mainstream factories, doing part-assembly in the Far East, so creating bespoke, hand-built bikes are your only option.” If that is the case, then Voxan must realistically go down the hybrid, or electric motorbike route, if they want to survive - and fly the French tricolour - in the longer term. Read article
BSB: Edmeades and KTM eager for Evo debut
Source: British Superbikes - BSB Blog - Mirror.co.uk - Monday, 29th March 2010, 19:51 GMTThe MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship will have another new manufacturer on the grid for this season, with the Redline KTM team confirming that James Edmeades will be competing for the first Evo title. Redline Motorcycles have supported Edmeades for the past two seasons in the KTM one-make series, finishing fifth in last season's KTM RC8 Super Cup and sixth in the KTM Super Duke battle in 2008. The team are now working hard to prepare for the opening round at Brands Hatch with several days of testing planned before the Easter season opener. Edmeades said: "We ran KTMs in the RC8 Super Cup last year and during the season KTM saw how the team worked and with the one-make series not running in 2010 they wanted to continue to be part of BSB. "The new Evo class is a great opportunity to promote both KTM and Redline Motorcycles and we will have a competitive bike to fight for the first Evo title. "We have followed KTM's efforts in the IDM Championship and so when we were looking at this year and what to do next Evo was the obvious choice. "We have several tests planned before the start of the season and obviously BSB has more track time than I am used to from racing in the RC8 series so I am confident we can get it right and be competitive at every event. "It is an exciting time for the whole team and we want to make an impression in the first year of the Evo class." Read article
2008 KTM Super Duke R Battle commences
Source: - Tuesday, 29th January 2008, 11:37 GMT
Last season the KTM Super Duke Championship wowed BSB fans with brilliant bar to bar racing and after it’s successful debut season the series is back again in 2008. Click here to see Adam Child’s KTM race video blog This…
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