This little gem, the Nito N4, has been burning a hole in our to-do list for far too long, ever since we saw it at the EICMA show in Milan last year. It’s not a big fancy superbike, and it’s not even a proper supermoto.
Instead, the 15hp Nito N4 is just an attractive people-mover that extends the Italian brand’s offering of urban-use two-wheelers.
On that vein, Nito says that the N4 is good for over 90 miles of range, can reach a top speed of 90 mph (150 km/h), and tips the scales at 385 lbs.
When I was putting together the story on the pricing for the Aprilia RS 250 SP race bike, I thought I had shared already some photos of the bike from EICMA, but that wasn’t the case.
I am not sure if that oversight comes from the madness of dozens of bikes being released at the same time; a complete lack of sleep for a week coupled to a nine-hour time change; or if simply the paltry number of photos I had taken was the cause of the gallery not going up; but it doesn’t matter. Here we are.
I do want to share these meager photos though (still in hi-def, of course), not so much because of how impressive the Aprilia RS 250 SP is as a race bike (especially now that we know it’s priced at €9,700), but because of the idea behind the machine. Here are some quick thoughts.
The MV Agusta Rush 1000 was a surprise for us in several ways, at the EICMA show in Milan. For starters, the machine arrived the Monday night before the opening of the trade show, and after MV Agusta had already announced its 2020 models.
But then there is also the bike itself, which is styled to be extremely provocative. It is clear, when you are a small design-focused manufacturer that is used to selling limited edition motorcycles, you can find it easier to take risks.
Whether you love or hate the MV Agusta Rush 1000 (I happen to quite like the machine), you have to give the Varese brand its credit – they have no problem taking chances.
When I walked by the BST booth at the EICMA show, I wasn’t that surprised to see an electric motorcycle concept parked in the carbon fiber parts maker’s stall – it seemed like every booth at the Milan show had one, in some sort of attempt for attention.
With a small crowd around what I would learn was called the BST HyperTEK, I wasn’t that astonished that this particular concept was gaining attention. The bike was…lurid.
Built with crazy shapes, an impossibly small battery pack, and eye-catching colors, you would have had to been blind not to be struck by the electric concept.
“Mission Accomplished” I thought to myself, as the South African brand had clearly achieved its objective of bringing passersby (including myself) into their booth, though the carbon wheels on display would have done the trick just as easily.
It wasn’t until later that night though that I would learn that the BST HyperTEK was the work of renowned motorcycle designer Pierre Terblanche, which is of course when everything started to make sense.
Since we know now that the Husqvarna Norden 901 has been given the green light to go into production, I thought I would share this small gallery of the ADV concept from the EICMA show, and provide my thoughts from the trade show floor.
One of the most talked about machines from the Milan trade show, the Norden 901 is Husqvarna’s first adventure-touring machine, and helps marry the brand’s extensive dirt biking history with its more recent street bike offerings.
Saying that, it is perhaps surprising that the Husqvarna Norden 901 is so late in its arrival, as one could easily see how an ADV machine would be a more palatable motorcycle to begin Husqvarna’s straying from the dirt.
Episode 25 of the Brap Talk podcast is now out for your two-wheeled audio pleasure, and as always, it is packed with some interesting motorcycle discussions.
In this show, we cover the EICMA show in Milan, which Jensen attended in-person for Asphalt & Rubber. The biggest trade show in the motorcycle industry, EICMA sees a bevy of new motorcycle debuting for next year.
One of the most polarizing motorcycles released at the 2019 EICMA show in Milan, the Bimota TesiH2 started impassioned conversations just by mentioning its name.
Maybe that doesn’t surprise us though, as the controversial motorcycle represents a crack in time for the Italian brand, as it is reborn with the green euros from Kawasaki Europe.
Pivotal moments in a motorcycle company’s history should be historic motorcycles in their own right, and it is hard to think how a supercharged two-wheeler with a hub-center steering chassis can’t burn its place into Bimota’s story.
If you can’t tell, I fall into the camp that loves this motorcycle (though, I will admit there aspects of the machine that I do not care for), but overall I love the audacity of the Bimota TesiH2 – and it is for this reason for which Kawasaki invested in the boutique Italian brand.
We didn’t know how badly we wanted a scooter in the garage until we saw the Italjet Dragster at EICMA this year. The Italian brand is bringing back one of its most…unique models, with a decisive modern twist.
The funny front-end you see is Italjet’s patented Independent Steering System (ISS), which separates out the front suspension and steering forces, which the Italian company says filters out any roughness from the road, without transmitting any vibrations to the handlebars.
Honestly, we just think it looks cool, along with the exposed steel trellis frame and its aluminum plates.
Episode 24 of the Brap Talk podcast is now out for your two-wheeled audio pleasure, and as always, it is packed with some interesting motorcycle discussions.
In this show, we give a preview of things to come at the EICMA show in Milan, but first we recap what we have seen from the Ducati unveiling event in Rimini, as well as the Tokyo Motor Show.
One of the most anticipated superbikes of the 2020 model year, the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade (say that three times fast) is a true all-new motorcycle from the Japanese brand.
With 215hp on tap from its 999cc inline-four engine, the new Fireblade is posting big numbers, from a small (443 lbs) package.
Though we won’t see the base model in the United States (the current generation CBR1000RR will remain for the price-sensitive), we will see the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP in June 2020, as a 2021 model year machine.
That is a long time to wait, for what promises to be a class-leading machine in the liter-bike space.
It was teased at the EICMA show in Milan, with the Japanese brand saying nary a word about the electric motorcycle chassis it had on display near the back of its booth.
Just one of the many surprises that were quietly shown to the public, this electric motorcycle showed a green steel tube frame, a modest battery pack, and what appeared to be mock engine cases.
Beyond those details, and the fact that this bike existed, there was not much else to say about the prototype, until now.