If you go in to your local BMW dealer and ask to look at their latest enduro models, you should brace yourself for a Laurel & Hardy routine, as the e-word is now persona no grata at US dealerships.
Instead, BMW dealers have been instructed to use the word “adventure” instead, newspeaking would-be customers into a segment that BMW literally invented (with a little help from Ewan and Charley).
One of the more anticipated motorcycles at the 2014 EICMA show, off-roaders were expecting to see the new Honda Africa Twin in Milan this week. Instead, Honda trotted out what they’re calling the “True Adventure” prototype. Despite not being a production model, the True Adventure prototype looks ready for prime time, and we got a series of “up-close” photos of the machine. Most obvious is the bike’s parallel twin engine, which is rumored to be 1,000cc in displacement. That sizing/weight class seems to jive with the dual front brake discs, which also sports an ABS tone ring. We can expect Honda to have traction control operating off the front and rear wheel speeds as well, and other electronic packages as well.
Honda doesn’t have any actual new bikes to show at the 2014 EICMA show, but it did bring two “prototypes” of the bikes we most eagerly wanted to see from Big Red. We already posted about the Honda RC213V-S prototype street bike with MotoGP blood, and here we have what Honda isn’t calling an Africa Twin, just yet. The long-rumored dual-sport looks quite similar to the renderings we have already seen, and Honda is using the working name “True Adventure” for now. Expected to be based off the company’s Honda CRF450 Rally race bike, the prototype diverges with its parallel-twin engine, the headers for which can be seen in the photo above. Like the RC213V-S, we hopefully will see the finished machine at the Tokyo Motor Show, later next month.
If you’ve ever looked at your Yamaha WR450F enduro, and wished it was better suited for Dakar-styled adventure riding, well here…
If I’m doing my math right, it’s Monday back home. Time to get the week started. Time to start the…
KTM is finally ready to bring its electric dirt bike, the KTM Freeride E, to the general public, after pump-faking the machine at EICMA three years ago. During that rather large time gap, KTM has realized the errors of its initial design, and has since opted for a liquid-cooled PMAC electric motor, which puts out 21.5hp and 31 lbs•ft of torque. The Lithium-ion battery pack has also been refined, and is now easily swapable (lift-up the seat, and unscrew four screws). With about an hour’s worth of riding time, according to the KTM wristwatches, the integrated battery and BMS unit has 2.6 kWh on-board, and fully charges in 80 minutes (80% in 50 minutes) when hooked up to the KTM quick charging system. The Austrians are making two electric models available: the enduro KTM Freeride E-XC and the supercross KTM Freeride E-SX.
The suspension travel is too short, the Panigale’s 1,199cc Superquadro v-twin engine has too much power, the riding position is all wrong, and let’s just skip over mentioning that the machine is a rolling bone fide crime against motorcycling. Ducatisti, pour out an espresso for this fallen Bolognese, but be forewarned that Arun and the TerraCorsa feed off the hate that this concept brings. Before you sharpen your pitchforks and storm the castle gates at Borgo Panigale though, let me explain briefly how putting knobby tires on a purebred superbike isn’t as bad of an idea as you think. If anything, the gods must be crazy, because it is surprising how well the whole thing works. These crazy Oregonians are onto something…
Contrary to what the AMA or motorcycling gentry may believe, not all motorcycles are created equal. Due to a combination of marketing, riding styles, and environment, the following five types of motorcycles are the country’s most dangerous. While the NHTSA doesn’t track motorcycle accidents and crashes based on the type of motorcycle being ridden (among other things), the cultural factors that surround motorcycle injuries and fatalities paint a stark picture, which we’ve shared with you here.
Late last year we told you about a new supercross concept that Red Bull playing around with, called Red Bull Straight Rhythm.…
Billed as the toughest single-day enduro in the world, the Erzbergrodeo certainly seems to live up to the hyperbole. Four days of events, the Erzbergrodeo is crowned by the last day’s Red Bull Hare Scramble, where 500 qualifiers (pared down from over 1,000 entries) take to the Austrian quarry, and only a handful find the finish line. The Erzbergrodeo is mildly ridiculous, and completely laborious…so, obviously we like it. Thankfully for the 2014 competitors, the rain wasn’t too big of a factor this year…because you know, it’s not like the hare scramble wasn’t hard enough to begin with.
On that fateful day during the Baja 1000, Kurt Caselli’s life was ended far too early. At thirty-years-old and still…
