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The New BMW S1000RR Has Been Caught Out in the Wild

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2019 BMW S1000RR spy photo

What do you call a group of unrleased BMW S1000RR superbikes? A gaggle? A pride? A teutonic trio? The latter sounds more like a porn thing, but then again catching the 2019 BMW S1000RR out in the wild before its debut is very erotic to our two-wheeled minds.

That is exactly what we have for you today, as Germany’s new liter bike has been spotted by a BMW dealer in Spain. Actually, not just one bike can be seen, but several S1000RR superbikes can been seen in nondescript solid-color liveries, which gives us all the tingles.

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Rumors

BMW Begins Teasing Its New S1000RR Superbike

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We have only a month longer to wait until BMW Motorrad debuts its all-new superbike, and the German brand has now begun teasing the new liter-bike on its social media channels.

Showing only a race track, with sounds of an accelerating motorcycle off-screen (and then a quick flash going by), zie Germans are not giving too much away yet, and we are left to our own sources to figure out what is in store for the 2019 BMW S1000RR.

The big news is the arrival of a counter-rotating crankshaft, which should help keep down the front wheel, and improve side-to-side transitions. This means that BMW Motorrad will join Ducati in producing a current superbike engine that uses this race-derived engine setup.

We also expect BMW to bring out several versions/trim levels to the new S1000RR, so as to better take advantage of the changing rules in the World Superbike Championship. This should mean a higher-spec race homologation bike, which could include aerodynamic aids.

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Bikes

Your Definitive Guide to All the New Motorcycles Expected for 2019

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It’s that time of the year again, where Christmas comes early to the motorcycle industry, and we get to see all the new motorcycles that will be coming for the next model year, and beyond.

For the 2019 model year, we expect to see new models debuting at the INTERMOT, AIMExpo, and EICMA trade shows, which are in Cologne, Las Vegas, and Milan.

With things kicking off in Germany next week, we thought we would put together a guide for all the new motorcycles that we expect to see in the coming weeks. There are a bevy of new models that we know will be released at these three trade shows, and there are more than a few rumors of new bikes as well, which may surprise us.

Without wasting anymore time, let’s get down to it. We have broken down the new models and rumors by each manufacturer. Enjoy!

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Dirt

Big Updates Are Coming to the KTM 690 Enduro R for 2019

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When it comes to big trail thumpers, the KTM 690 Enduro R is tough to beat, and because of that reason, the bike has seen few updates over the course of its long product cycle. Seeing that the popular dual-sport could use some love, leaked details from Europe show that KTM plans to update the KTM 690 Enduro R for the 2019 model year.

From the looks of things, the Austrians are going big with the 2019 KTM 690 Enduro R, as the leaked info tips the arrival of a new engine, chassis, and styling, as well as a bevy of new features.

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Rumors

Ducati CEO Tips Winglets for the Panigale V4 R

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When the MotoGP rules moved to ban winglets in the premier class, it was clear that this cut deeper at Ducati than any other brand, and that this simply wasn’t just a loophole closed technical regulation. The Italian motorcycle manufacturer had invested heavily in aerodynamic aids on motorcycles, with an eye on bringing the technology to its production machines.

This led us here at Asphalt & Rubber to speculate for over a year now about the addition of winglets to Borgo Panigale’s upcoming homologation special, the Ducati Panigale V4 R.

Fueling the fire has been the World Superbike Championship’s allowance for winglets, so long as they come on the homologation bike, all but sealing the deal that we would see manufacturers following suit. As such, we have already seen Aprilia dabble in this arena, and now it seems Ducati is about to show its hand.

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Bikes

The Suzuki GSX-R1000 Ryuyo – 209hp of Superbike for a Lucky Few

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The current generation Suzuki GSX-R1000 gets unfortunately neutered for the American market, but it is a stout superbike on the other side of the pond, where its 200hp is unleashed. Now our European friends get to see what the Suzuki GSX-R1000 can do when the Japanese brand cranks it up to 11.

Behold the Suzuki GSX-R1000 Ryuyo, a 209hp superbike that weighs 370 lbs (dry), and is our answer to the teaser photos that Suzuki has been sharing on social media. The work of Suzuki Moto Italia, only 20 Ryuyo-spec machines will be made for consumption, and they will cost €29,990 if you want one.

An homage to the Ryuyo R&D center that tests all of Suzuki’s new models, the Suzuki GSX-R1000 Ryuyo is an example of the technical prowess found at this Japanese motor house.

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Rumors

What Is Up with This Carbon-Clad Suzuki GSX-R1000?

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Suzuki Moto Italia has been making some waves lately, as the subsidiary continues to tease this carbon fiber wearing Suzuki GSX-R1000 on social media.

Using hashtags like  #spotted, #staytuned, #motogp, #2019, and #eicma, we can assume that the bike will debut at this year’s EICMA show in Milan, but what exactly will debut is up for debate.

A second photo (below) shows a link with the Yoshimura brand, with the exhaust company’s logo hidden beneath the tail section, but this information only makes things even more confusing to us.

Perhaps Suzuki is readying a track-only version of the GSX-R1000 superbike?  That seems to be the consensus online, but that doesn’t quite make sense to us though, especially with the headlight and taillight still installed.

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Rumors

Design Patents Show Off 2019 BMW S1000RR Superbike

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Today, we get a good look at the 2019 BMW S1000RR, which after much teasing is likely to debut at this year’s EICMA show in Milan, Italy – though it could arrive as early as the INTERMOT show in Cologne, Germany. Described to us as a “game changer” in the superbike space, the 2019 BMW S1000RR is set to once again disrupt what we have come to expect in the liter-bike category.

Now with CAD renders leaking from the bike’s design patents, we can see quite clearly the 2019 BMW S1000RR in detail. The first obvious change is to the bike’s engine, which is obviously completely new based off the case design. Inside those cases our sources tell us a counter-rotating crankshaft resides.

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Rumors

A Naked Kawasaki Ninja 400 Cometh?

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Team Green surprised us last year, announcing the Kawasaki Ninja 400 sport bike as a successor for the still fresh Ninja 300. For bonus points, Kawasaki brought the Ninja 400 to the US market, where it has displaced its smaller rivals (do you see what we did there??).

Now it seems that Kawasaki is ready to bring another 400cc sport bike to market, as a filing with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) tip-off the upcoming Kawasaki Ninja ER400DK. 

In Kawasaki-speak, the “ER” designation has been used for many of the company’s naked motorcycles over the years, so putting two and two together, logic would dictate that a naked version of the Ninja 400 is on its way for the 2019 model year.

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Rumors

More Details on the New Ducati Hypermotard

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It is by pure happenstance that the featured story at the top of the Asphalt & Rubber homepage is about the new Ducati Hypermotard, which also coincides with today’s story that highlights more info about the 2019 model. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good.

With that said, more information about the new Ducati Hypermotard has leaked, though it will depend on who you ask what those specifics are when it comes to this new machine. This is because we have conflicting reports from the British site BikeSocial and Italy’s GPone.

Both sites have proven themselves to be reliable in the past, which makes it difficult to decipher their differing opinions on the new power and weight figures of the Ducati Hypermotard. So, let’s dive into what we know, and what we don’t know.

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Rumors

This Week’s Honda CBR1000RR Rumor

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We are knee-deep in new bike season right now, and it seems no motorcycle is safe from the internet’s two-wheeled rumor mill. This week, we see a number of rumors concerning the Honda CBR1000RR, and what the 2019 model year will bring for Big Red’s superbike offering.

Credible rumors suggest that the Honda CBR1000RR will see another update for next year, with promises of 212hp as Honda follows the rest of the pack with two variations of its venerable superbike.

Less credible rumors involve the CBR1000RR getting a name change for the US market, as the word “Fireblade” has been registered with the US Patents and Trademarks Office by the Japanese brand.

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