We have been seeing for some time now evidence that KTM was set to bring a more touring-focused variant of the KTM 1290 Super Duke R to market, and now today we have confirmation of that fact.
Releasing photos of the still camouflaged 2016 KTM 1290 Super Duke GT, KTM is leaving a little something to the imagination and EICMA, but the company is also confirming that another touring model will enter its lineup.
Ducati was all the talk of last week, after its Ducati 959 Panigale and Ducati Hypermotard 739 were outed in filings with the California Air Resources Board.
According to the CARB documents, the new “middleweight” Ducati sport bike is set to get a 955cc displacement increase, though we wondered what else would change.
Now we have a pretty good answer, as “spy photos” of the production machine are floating around the internet now, which show that the 959 Panigale is very similar in shape to the 899 Panigale it replaces.
In addition to the new Ducati 959 Panigale and the 937cc Ducati Hypermotards dropping today via CARB filings (OEMs control when those documents go public, by the way), we have more news from Ducati, namely its mysterious “This is Black” teaser campaign.
Complete with video that asks more questions than it answers, we know the campaign is tied to an EICMA reveal, since the debut date is the same day as Ducati’s press event in Milan.
What Bologna will announce though is a bit of a mystery, one whose solving is not aided by its accompanying press release and dedicated website.
In addition to the 2016 Ducati 959 Panigale, Ducati is set to update the Hypermotard line, according to documents filed with the California Air Resources Board.
The filing shows three new Hypers: the base model Hypermotard 939, the up-spec Hypermotard 939 SP, and the touring-oriented Hyperstrada 939.
Unfortunately the CARB filings don’t tell us too much about the machines, other than their emissions are lower (thanks to Euro 4 compliance), and that all three street bikes will use a 937cc engine and a six-speed gearbox.
It appears one of our predictions for the 2016 model year has been confirmed, as Ducati is set to update its “supersport” model, the Ducati 899 Panigale, with a replacement.
Outed by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), we know that the new model will come with a two-cylinder engine, with a 955cc displacement, and officially be called the Ducati 959 Panigale.
We all know the new model season is upon us, and Ducati has wasted no time in already letting slip two new models for the 2016 model year: the Ducati Monster 1200 R and the Ducati Diavel Carbon.
The Bologna Brand has a few more tricks up its sleeve, as it plans to debut nine new models at the upcoming EICMA show in Milan. In addition to that, Ducati says we can expect machines the will push the company into two market segments that the Italian brand is not in with its current lineup.
Could Suzuki’s turbocharged Recursion concept bike be coming to market? There have been rumors already, but that news just got a lot more solid because of Suzuki’s trademark filings this week.
Registering the name “Recursion” in both the US and European markets, for use with motorcycles, the Japanese brand seems set to debut the new model in the coming months.
The question of course then turns to how closely the production machine will be to the concept machine, which features a 588cc intercooled and turbocharged two-cylinder engine. Very closely, we hope.
Despite the wishful reports that have been circulating the media sphere lately, Suzuki is seemingly not poised to bring any new GSX-R sport bikes for the 2016 model year, as Suzuki Motor America has confirmed this year’s models will return for next season.
This news is undoubtedly a blow to fans of the Suzuki brand and GSX-R line, who have been keen to see Suzuki reclaim its sport biking crown. There is however a silver lining to this news…
I had the supreme pleasure of being a guest at the KTM factory last week, touring the Austrian company’s headquarters at Mattighofen.
Seeing some things that I should have perhaps not have seen, Asphalt & Rubber can now confirm two things: the Husqvarna 701 Supermoto looks awesome in person, and that there will be a Husqvarna 701 Enduro for the 2016 model year.
The spy photographer who sent us these photos calls this mystery motorcycle a “Husqvarna 701 café racer” which honestly is as good of a guess as any when it comes to figuring out what the Swedish brand is doing with this machine, and its 2016 motorcycle lineup.
Based off the KTM 690 Duke, as is the Husqvarna 701 Supermoto, this machine promises to have a 70hp thumper at its heart, mixed with a short seat-height, clip-on handlebars, underslung exhaust, and an attractive trellis swingarm.
To our eye, the motorcycle in question looks like Husky’s take on the KTM 690 Duke – a naked street bike that’s equally at home in the city as it is in the twisties – more than it does a café racer.
It looks like KTM is getting ready to add another Duke to its street bike line, as spy photos of the above machine have broken cover.
Said to be roughly 800cc in displacement, the new Duke would slot in well between the KTM 690 Duke and the KTM 1290 Super Duke R, which is a fairly obvious base to cover.
What is interesting about the KTM 800 Duke (our name, not KTM’s) though is that at the heart of the machine is a parallel-twin engine, which breaks from KTM’s general affinity for single-cylinder thumpers, and v-twin monsters.