Titanium De-Light!
TITANIUM DE-LIGHT!
NCR's M4 and M4 One Shot
HIGH-END ITALIAN SPEEDSHOP NCR is definitely one of motorcycling’s “biggest losers.” With its new M4 (pictured) tipping the scale at a scant 286 pounds, and the M4 One Shot reading 8 pounds less than that, NCR has proven once again that it knows how to put Ducatis on a diet.
Both of these low-fat and tasty Ducati-powered machines are built with titanium frames/subframes, with gas tanks, wheels, instrument clusters, airboxes and fenders all constructed of carbon fiber. Billet aluminum tripleclamps, fork bottoms and rearsets are manufactured in-house, while iop-ofthe-line Brembo brakes, Öhlins suspension and BST c-f wheels are used.
Both M4s feature modular body components, so the owner can swap from a mini to a half to a full fairing via just a couple of fasteners; same goes for the rear end, which can be set up with a full-coverage tail section or a stubby seat platform.
Price of admission is hard to swallow, but very few if any air-cooled, two-valve Ducatis in the world crank out this kind of power. The $49,900 M4 is powered by an 1 lOOcc engine producing 107 horsepower and 84 foot-pounds of peak torque (about 30 and 16 more than a stock 1100 EVO). If you’re spending that kind of coin, you may as well step up to the $69,900 One Shot and its
1200cc mill, which incorporates a billet stroker crank, Ti rods, Ti hardware and NCR-EVR slipper clutch. With 132 hp and 105 ft.-lb. of peak torque, it has a better power-to-weight ratio than the
mighty BMW S1000RR.
So, if your wallet is heavy but you want to shop light, one of these ultraexotic Twins is sure to satisfy.
Blake Conner
UP Chris Carr, for 28 years of flat-track thrills. The 44-year-old, UI seven-time AMA Grand National champion pulled out all the stops this year, taking the green flag 35 times. At Sacramento, Carr (4) narrowly missed out on another mile win; only longtime rival Scott Parker, who retired a decade ago, has more victories. Carr completed the final leg of his “Farewell to Flat Track Tour” at October's seasonending Pomona Half-Mile with a seventh-place finish, good enough for fifth overall in the final points standings. “It’s great to see the sport is in good hands,” he told an appreciative crowd at the Los Angeles County Fairplex. “I know flat-track fans are going to see great racing in the future. Having Jake Johnson, Jared Mees and Sammy Halbert run this thing down to the wire is great for the sport.” Zanotti Racing Harley-Davidson rider Johnson (1 ) won the race and the title, his second.
