It is with a heavy heart today that we have to report the passing of Paul Smart, the affable and legendary grand prix and TT racer.
Smart died in a traffic accident while riding his motorcycle in East Sussex and Kent, in an incident that is still being investigated by English police.
A bike we have suspected from Ducati ever since the Multistrada V4 debuted, the Ducati Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak continues a long tradition from the Italian brand in making a sportier adventure-tourer.
That ethos gets taken to another level with this incarnation though, thanks primarily to Borgo Panigale positioning the base Multistrada V4 as a more all-round ADV bike, with its 19″ front wheel and double-sided swingarm.
Returning the Multistrada to its 17″ ways, the 2022 Ducati Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak features not only a smaller front wheel, but also a single-sided swingarm and other sport-focused choices.
BMW Motorrad’s venerable K1600 platform is getting an update for the 2022 model year, which means we have new BMW K1600B, BMW K1600 Grand America, BMW K1600GT, and BMW K1600GTL motorcycles to talk about today.
While such news would usually be a lot to process, the Germans have made it easy for us, as all four of the K1600 models share in their revisions to BMW’s six-cylinder engine, which is now Euro5 compliant.
Ducati is in the middle of its months long teaser/unveiling program for its 2022 model year machines, and tomorrow morning marks our third installment.
Lucky for us, the Italians have dropped enough hints on what we are about to see, though ironically some of the key details still allude us.
For the motorcycle industry, 2021 is turning into a banner year, as motorcycle sales are booming across all segments. So, it shouldn’t surprise us too much to hear of record sales and standout quarters from motorcycle sales reports.
Here’s an interesting one for you though: Ducati sold more motorcycles in the first nine months of 2021 than it did in all of 2020 (which was 48,042 units).
Now granted, 2020 was an abysmal year for selling motorcycles, but even compared to 2019’s figures, the Italian brand is firing on all of its desmodromic valves.
In the ongoing debate about who is the greatest motorcycle racer of all time, the short-list of names always includes Giacomo Agostini – the the winningest grand prix racer of all-time.
And to earn that reputation, Agostini relied on the MV Agusta, the marque that was almost exclusively responsible for hurling the Italian to 15 world championships and 10 Isle of Man TT wins.
This makes the names Giacomo Agostini and MV Agusta almost inseparable from each other, and today’s news furthers that bond as the MV Agusta Superveloce Ago is a limited edition homage to that legacy.
The KTM LC4 engine is a single-cylinder work of art, but it is not without its faults. One the more well-known issues with the 690cc thumper is its slave clutch design, which is prone to failure and leaks.
For anyone who has experienced the issue (including this author), it is a less-than-fun situation when the clutch system loses pressure and fails to disengage, but KTM has finally acknowledged the issue, and has begun a worldwide recall of KTM and Husqvarna motorcycle that feature the design.
As expected, Big Red showed us a return the sport-touring ways, debuting the 2022 Honda NT1100 street bike for the European market.
Based off the Honda Africa Twin 1100 platform, the Honda NT1100 in many ways is the popular adventure bike, just with 17″ wheels and restyled bodywork.
Before the pandemic, BMW Motorrad saw year after year of record sales worldwide, which was of course scuttled by 2020’s results.
The German brand seems back on form though, with its Q3 2021 sales figures showing that BMW Motorrad is set for another all-time record year.
Fresh off the news that Energica would be stepping down as the spec-supplier for the MotoE World Cup, today at Misano we learn who will be replacing the small Italian outfit: Ducati.
Zero Motorcycles is recalling just over 400 units of the 2020 Zero SR/F sport bike because their rear rotor bolts were insufficiently tightened at the factory.
Because the loose bolts may damage the caliper or swingarm, and thus could reduce rear braking capability and increase the risk of a crash, a recall has been filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).