Our friends across the pond got a surprise today, as the Honda CRF300L Rally broke cover for the European market.
Rumors of the bike coming for the 2021 model year have been pretty rife the past few months, so perhaps “surprise” is the wrong word to use here, and of course the Euro5 regulations have pushed for a number of “new” bikes to debut in Europe.
Still, the bump from the 250cc machine to the 2021 Honda CRF300L Rally is a welcomed sight for this small-displacement machine.
Italian brake component manufacturer Brembo is continuing its investment spree.
Loyal A&R readers will remember that Brembo bought a portion of Pirelli back in April of this year, and now the Italians have gobbled up Danish company SBS Friction A/S, which is known best in the marketplace for the SBS line of brake pads.
The deal sees Brembo taking 100% ownership of the Danish company, in an agreement that is worth 224 million Danish kroner ($36 million), with SBS being valued at 300 million Kr.
While the news of promising COVID-19 vaccines are fueling a hope that 2021 will see the world getting closer to something that looks like normal, the new year will still have its struggles for the motorcycle industry.
One of those struggles will be the Isle of Man TT, which has been canceled by the Manx government because of ongoing viral concerns and the pressing logistical needs of planning the race.
One of the nuggets buried in Kawasaki’s 2021 model year motorcycle debut was the work that the Japanese brand is making on the front for alternative drivetrains to internal combusting engines.
Having already shown us work on its electric motorcycle designs, now Kawasaki is teasing some info from its hybrid-electric two-wheelers.
Our next weekly installment of new Ducati motorcycles sees us with an inter-office collaboration, as Ducati has teamed up with Lamborghini to create the Ducati Diavel 1260 Lamborghini motorcycle.
The effort is mostly a styling exercise, but we would call the collaboration a success between the two brands.
The route for the 2021 Dakar Rally has been announced, as the iconic race once again traverses the country of Saudi Arabia.
There had been hope that this year would see The Dakar leaving the Saudi Kingdom, but with COVID-19 restrictions, opening borders is not a viable option at this time.
That is okay, because the Arabian country has more than enough terrain to challenge the Dakar competitors, and this year we see roughly 3,000 miles of special timed stages being used.
Zero Motorcycles is recalling 659 units of its SR/F and SR/S electric motorcycles for a front brake light switch that might stop working if it gets wet.
Obviously, if the brake light switch fails, then the rear brake light will not illuminate, which creates a safety hazard for the rider – hence, the recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Episode 174 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one comes to us from the MotoGP paddock, as we start the first round of the final triple-header of the season.
On the mics, we have a trio of hosts: Steve English and David Emmett, as they discuss the race weekend’s events, and as they close out the 2020 MotoGP Championship and support classes.
Episode 43 of the Brap Talk motorcycle podcast is back with another weekly episode, for your two-wheeled listening pleasure. In this show, we sit down and talk about a few bikes in particular.
Close your eyes, and imagine you have a Honda Africa Twin. Now, strip away everything about the bike that makes it one of the most potent adventure-touring models on the market, and start adding back the design elements found in the metric cruiser thing. Open your eyes.
What you just built in your head is the 2021 Honda Rebel 1100, and as you might be able to decipher from its name, the Rebel-styled full-sized cruiser features a parallel-twin engine that shares more than a few chromosomes with the 1,084cc motor found in the CRF1000L.
That might seem like a weird way to build a cruiser, but there is at least a little genius in Honda’s madness.
For the 2021 model year, Kawasaki is making an interesting introduction to its lineup – a supermoto model. Based off the new KLX300 dual-sport, we see the 2021 Kawasaki KLX300SM debuting as the other side fo the coin, for the street.