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2014 Aprilia Tuono V4 R APRC ABS – Now with Bosch 9MP ABS, 167 Horsepower, & More Letters in Its Name

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Now 167 hp strong, those crazy Italians in Noale are upgrading there already stout Aprilia Tuono V4 R APRC for the 2014 model year, and for bonus points are adding an ABS package along with those extra ponies on the streetfighter’s peak horsepower figure.

Integrating the Bosch 9MP dual-channel ABS package, which is mated to Brembo M432 brake calipers up-front, Aprilia has made the 2014 Aprilia Tuono V4 R  a bit more stable while braking on questionable road conditions — keeping the bike inline with its competitors.

With a bevy of changes coming to the Tuono’s 999.6cc V4 power plant to boost power, we also see that Aprilia has included its second-generation APRC electronics package to the motorcycle, making it easily the most tech-savvy machine in its category.

Other changes include also a larger fuel tank (4.9 gallons), and a new seat for better street performance and ergonomics. It’s not clear if Aprilia USA will price the 2014 Aprilia Tuono V4 R at its previous $14,999 MSRP, or will continue its aggressive pricing at $13,999, like the company has done with the 2013 models.

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MV Agusta F4 Gets ABS for 2013

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The boys and girls in Varese, Italy are giving only modest updates to the MV Agusta F4 for the 2013 model year, as the company’s four-cylinder superbike will sport an ABS package from Bosch. Featuring the dual-channel Bosch 9M+ anti-lock braking system with anti-rear wheel lift, the F4 will be able to handle better low-traction stops and wet surfaces.

As the name suggests, the Bosch system also keeps the rear-wheel from lifting up during hard braking actions, which may throw a wench in your plans for epic stoppies, but it also will keep Italian dream machine in-check when diving deep into the braking zones.

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2014 Honda CTX700 & CTX700N Coming Soon

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Continuing to blur the lines between established motorcycle segments, Honda has teased out another pair of unique motorcycles, which will formally go-down as 2014 model year machines. Available in Spring 2013. The 2014 Honda CTX700 & 2014 Honda CTX700N use the same 670cc parallel-twin engine found in the NC700 series, which was an engine designed to be a sensible and practical urban power plant for city bikers.

Building something that looks the cross between a street-standard and a cruiser, Honda is offering ABS brakes and an automatic dual-clutch transmission (DCT) as an available $1,000 option. The hope is clearly that the Honda CTX700N & Honda CTX700 will be an approachable and affordable motorcycle for new motorcyclists, and with prices at $6,999 & $7,799 respectively ($7,999 & $8,799 with DCT and ABS), Honda seems to have achieved that goal.

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2013 Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC ABS SBK Special Edition

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Helping commemorate Max Biaggi’s 2012 World Superbike Championship victory, Aprilia USA has commissioned a limited production run motorcycle: the 2013 Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC ABS SBK Special Edition — a model featuring a subtle graphics kit revision that will only come to the North American market.

Sporting the same features and refinements as the 2013 Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC ABS, owners of the SBK Special Edition will also enjoy the new three-level dual-channel ABS system from Bosch, as well as the  Brembo M430 calipers.

The Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC ABS SBK Special Edition also has the same chassis and engine enhancements as the 2013 APRC model, which brings the sporty V4 to 181.4 hp at the crank and 86.3 lbs•ft of peak torque @ 10,500 rpm.

If you can distinguish it from the regular model, expect to see the Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC ABS SBK Special Edition on dealership floors in April, with pricing announced on February 1st (next week).

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A&R’s EICMA 2012 Best in Show: Vespa 946

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It is no easy feat in picking the very “best” from a wide array of motorcycles, like we have to do here with the 2012 EICMA motorcycle show in Milan, Italy. How do you compare an adventure-touring bike to a sport bike, and then declare one better than the other? As you can imagine, the comparison is very much an exercise in measuring apples to oranges.

If our metric of choice was simply based on how much buzz was generated here on Asphalt & Rubber, and on the various social media networks as a whole, then the clear winner would be the KTM 1290 Super Duke R Prototype. With a bored-out RC8 R motor that makes 180hp, the KTM surely performs as good as it look, and it looks quite delectable indeed.

Maybe the best bike of the show should go to the now water-cooled Ducati Hypermotard, or its touring variant the Ducati Hyperstrada. Doing away with the air-cooled DesmoDue design of Pierre Terblanche, the 2013 Hypers are a new chapter for Ducati, and just further proof that there are no sacred cows in the Borgo Panigale factory. Speaking of Panigales, we also have to consider the Ducati 1199 Panigale R, of course if that conversation is to occur, then we have to also include the Aprilia RSV4 Factory ABS.

You see it is no easy feat to pick the “Best in Show” at EICMA, and in even our short thought-process above, there are names that are glaringly omitted. What makes the process possible however is when a new model comes along, and clearly outshines everything else — such is the case with the Vespa 946.

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Photos: The 2013 Aprilia RSV4 R ABS in Matte Black Hi-Res

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We already told you last month that the 2013 Aprilia RSV4 would get a bevy of revisions, not to mention the inclusion of ABS brakes…yet for some reason we had to wait until today to tell you that information again. Yes, it is completely bizarre yet completely normal situation to encounter when dealing with Italians, and especially so with the Noale company. Honestly, it is just one of the perks of working in the motorcycle industry, or not in it, as American Honda seems to think.

What is perhaps more newsworthy than these thinly veiled rants are these first photos of the Aprilia RSV4 R ABS in matte black, which is drop dead sexy in any language. Aprilia is keen to remind us that the RSV4 topped many of the superbike shootouts this year, besting machines like the Ducati 1199 Panigale and BMW S1000RR (we’d be keen to try an RSV4 Factory against the new BMW HP4 though).

Selling the RSV4 has never been a problem of product for Aprilia. The RSV4 is superb, and in its second year of racing, Max Biaggi took it to win the World Superbike Championship. The Roman Emperor repeated that feat again this year, though we doubt it will move that many more units in North America for Aprilia, which sells RSV4’s by the hundreds, not the thousands, in the largest sport bike market worldwide.

If there was ever a brand you wanted to see get its act together, Aprilia, and the Piaggio Group as whole, has to be it. Until that happens though, we will have to view the photos after the jump with a taste of foreboding. Like Eve’s apple, Pandora’s box, and Lindsay Lohan’s driving, the treat is tantalizing, though the headache is probably not worth it. Le sigh.

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2013 Aprilia Caponord 1200 with Aprilia Dynamic Damping

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Leaked well ahead of the EICMA show, we can now officially talk to you about the 2013 Aprilia Caponord 1200, Noale’s adventure-tourer. Using the chassis from the Aprilia Dorsoduro 1200 as its basis, Aprilia says it has modified the “robust” chassis to suit the Caponord 1200’s raison d’être, though you would be hard pressed to get a weight figure from the company.

Inside that presumably hefty chassis is a 128hp 1197cc v-twin motor with 85 lbs•ft of peak torque, which isn’t going to blow the doors off on any spec sheet comparisons. Instead, Aprilia is hoping to entice would-be Caponord 1200 owners with the bike’s bevy of electronics.

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2013 KTM 390 Duke – AYBABTU

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Officially official now, there isn’t much about the 2013 KTM 390 Duke that we don’t already know ahead of the opening of the EICMA show. Built in India by KTM minority shareholder Bajaj, the KTM 390 Duke is a 373cc single-cylinder bike that shares the same chassis as the KTM 125 Duke & KTM 200 Duke.

Suitable for Europe’s A2 licensing system, the largest baby Duke competes well against bikes like the Honda CBR500R and Kawasaki Ninja 300, and thus finishes out the Austrian’s bid to control the small-displacement market.

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2013 Triumph Daytona 675R: A Bargain Racer for $13,499

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Like the 2013 Triumph Daytona 675, the “R” model of Britain’s three-cylinder supersport has gotten a number of refinements and changes for the new model year. Virtually every aspect of the Triumph Daytona 675 has been seen to, and we won’t rehash those changes here (head over to our article on the base model for the full-monty).

Commanding a $1,900 premium over the base model, the 2013 Triumph Daytona 675R adds a TTX rear shock and NIX30 inverted forks to the mix, along with a new quick shifter, higher-spec Brembo monobloc brakes, and some carbon fiber bits.

Would we spend the extra green for the Daytona 675R over the base model? Yup, but the better question is whether you would buy the Triumph Daytona 675R over the MV Agusta F3. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Look for the 2013 Triumph Daytona 675R in dealerships come February 2013.

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2013 Triumph Daytona 675: 126hp for $11,599

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As we saw with the 2013 Triumph Street Triple, the 2013 Triumph Daytona 675 supersport gets a slew of modifications for the next model year. Reworking the Daytona 675’s three-cylinder motor, Triumph has been able to coax an additional 2hp and 2 lbs•ft of torque from the British-born sport bike. Revising the frame and bodywork, Triumph has also shed 3 lbs from the 2013 Triumph Daytona 675.

Accordingly, the Triumph Daytona 675 is now good for 126hp @ 12,600 (redline is 14,400 rpm), while power has been improved throughout the rev range. One of the more obvious changes to the 2013 Triumph Daytona 675 is the adoption of a GP-style low-slung exhaust, in favor of the previous undertail unit. Certain to offend some purists, we think the change has been tastefully done, and it helps to centralize the mass on the three-cylinder track weapon.

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Hi-Res: 20 Photos of the 2013 Ducati Hypermotard

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Our favorite bike of the EICMA show so far? The 2013 Ducati Hypermotard SP, no doubt. Featuring a new 821cc Testastretta 11° DS motor, the 2013 Ducati Hypermotard and its tour-ready compatriot, the 2013 Ducati Hyperstrada bring Ducati’s maxi-motard line into the dark side of liquid-cooling.

Featuring slightly over-square cylinder dimensions, the new Ducati Hypermotard sounds like just what the doctor ordered for San Francisco’s pot-holed streets. Don’t get us started about the white color scheme on the Hypermotard SP, which is drop dead sexy. Consult a doctor before clicking past the jump.

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