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Jensen Beeler

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Ducati DesertX Debuts for Your Dual-Sport Desires

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The Italians left the best for last on their six-part motorcycle teaser campaign for the 2022 model year, as today we finally get to see all the details about the Ducati DesertX adventure bike.

In a way, we already knew the important bits about the DesertX, having seen the concept bike at the 2019 EIMCA show.

The idea has involved since that Milan unveiling, however, with the air-cooled motor it showed with in Milan now being replaced by Ducati’s venerable water-cooled 937cc Testastretta 11° engine.

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Bikes

Yamaha Makes a Toprak Razgatlıoğlu WorldSBK Replica R1

By 17 Comments

Yamaha Motor Europe is making the most out of Toprak Razgatlıoğlu’s WorldSBK Championship title (along with the tuning fork brand taking the triple crown in the World Superbike series), and they have something special for 21 lucky buyers.

Making a limited-edition replica of Toprak Razgatlıoğlu’s Yamaha YZF-R1, the PATA Yamaha squad is making the bikes in Crescent Racing workshop.

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Rumors

Bimota Is Working on a “Tesi” ADV Bike with Hub-Center Steering

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The Bimota workshop in Rimini is hard at work. The Italian brand debuted two new bikes at this year’s EICMA show, the KB4 and KB4 RC, both based off the Ninja 1000 four-cylinder platform.

However, it is the craziness that is the Bimota Tesi H2 that is putting the Italian marque back on the map, help by the machine’s supercharged 228hp wedged into hub-center steering chassis with avant-garde carbon fiber bodywork.

Now, Bimota is set to follow-up that hub-center steering madness with another “Tesi” model, this time one that’s focused on the adventure/touring segment.

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Recall

Yamaha FJR1300 Recalled for Problem Created by Previous Recall

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Earlier this year, we wrote about the Yamaha FJR1300 was being recalled, as its second gear could crack while under high loads. The recall affected nearly 2,300 units of the sport-tourer, model years 2015 thru 2021.

Now, the Yamaha FJR1300 is getting recalled again, because the fix that Yamaha cooked up the first time is causing the motorcycle not to accelerate properly. 2,462 units are now affected.

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Reviews

What It’s Like to Ride the 2022 Ducati Panigale V4 S, A Review

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My first proper introduction to the Ducati Panigale V4 S happened in Spain, almost  four years go. Testing Ducati’s first proper four-cylinder superbike around the Valencia circuit was like witnessing a moment in history.

The Italian brand had slaughtered the last of its sacred cows, and laid them as tribute on the alter of speed – Ducati was serious about winning in WorldSBK, and had built a machine designed for that specific duty, with a whatever it takes attitude.

Our first outing with the Panigale V4 S showed that Ducati was on the right track. The bike was potent, not perfect, but potent.

Now here we are again, testing the 2022 Ducati Panigale V4 S at another Spanish race track, and I have to revisit those thoughts from my first meeting.

Potent? Yes, certainly. The 2022 Ducati Panigale V4 S only hones the formula further in terms of on-track potency for the Italian brand’s superbike package.

But how close does this new Panigale V4 come to perfection? That is why we were in Jerez de la Frontera, to look for the unobtainable dream.

Our conclusion? For those who can afford to put one in their garage, the 2022 Ducati Panigale V4 S is two-wheeled nirvana. Let me explain.

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Bikes

Our EICMA Pick for Best in Show: Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello

By 35 Comments

Every year, the EICMA show awards its “most beautiful bike” of the Milan event, and every year the winner is unsurprisingly an Italian machine.

Whether you attribute that to the Italian manufacturers being superior in their motorcycle designs, or if perhaps there is a home-team bias in the EICMA crowd, we will let you decide for yourself.

More often that not though, we take umbrage with EICMA’s picks, as the selection seems to rarely stray from a couple Italian marques, while also overlooking a more worthy recipient.

That is fine and all, and this year’s pick, the MV Agusta Superveloce Ago is a very good looking motorcycle – no doubt about it.

But 2021 is one of those years where we differ once again from the EICMA voting masses, as we would have picked the Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello instead.

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Bikes

The Third-Generation KTM 1290 Super Adventure Models Are Finally Coming to the USA

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Good news from the folks from KTM North America, as the latest iteration of the brand’s KTM 1290 Super Adventure lineup is finally coming to the USA. Booyakasha!

A year late in arriving to our shores, the KTM 1290 Super Adventure S and KTM 1290 Super Adventure R will be 2022 models for the American market, and mark the the coming of the Austrian company’s third-generation of big ADV bikes to North America.

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