A new R1 for the 2015 model year has been rumored heavily for almost a year now, and today Yamaha confirmed that we will see a new Yamaha YZF-R1 at the EICMA show. The perhaps isn’t surprising, especially since Yamaha teased us this very info at the INTERMOT show last month.
However, this is the first official confirmation from the tuning fork brand, as well as our first non-spy photo glimpse, of the new liter-bike. All of course to whet our appetite.
If there is a common thread for Ducati’s upcoming EICMA reveal, it is the influence and benefits of owner Audi AG. We have already seen the German car manufacturer’s variable valve timing technology find its way into the Testastretta engine, in the form of Desmodromic Variable Timing (DVT).
Our sources say that the all-new Ducati Multistrada, which will debut in just a few weeks’ time, will be the first model equipped with DVT. While Ducati ups its ante in the ADV market, our Bothan spies have tipped us off to another piece of Audi tech that will find its way onto a Ducati motorcycle, as the 1299 will received a “Tiptronic-like” gearbox that allows for touch-button upshifts and downshifts.
BMW Motorrad continues to put out sales records, quarter after quarter, and the third quarter of 2014 is no different. Selling 9,991 vehicles in September 2014, BMW has sold 100,217 motorcycles so far this year, up 7.6% over last year.
This marks the first time in BMW Motorrad’s history that the German company has cleared 100,000 units in the first nine months of the calendar year.
Ducati sent out a rather terse press mailer today, which you can see above. Simply stating that DVT is coming on October 15th, we would normally be scratching our heads over what the Italian manufacturer has in store.
However, since we broke the news yesterday about Ducati bringing variable valve timing to the market, first with its all-new Multistrada, one doesn’t have to be a rocket scientist to put two-and-two together to come up with “Ducati Valve Timing” as the teaser’s subject.
Two weeks ago we showed you the photo that MV Agusta was using to tease its latest model to debut at EICMA. The photo featured Kineo-spoked wheels, and the company’s three-piped exhaust can. This of course left us to speculate that the expensive tubeless wheelset would be attached to either a proper ADV bike from MV Agusta, or some sort of café racer.
A few days later, we found the trademark filings for a “Turismo Leggero” motorcycle, whose name similarity to the MV Agusta Turismo Veloce, made us think our first instincts about that teaser photo were right: this new model was some sort of adventure-touring machine. Well…add another theory to the mix.
At INTERMOT, we just saw the KTM 1290 Super Adventure — a model that KTM is calling “the safest motorcycle in the world” thanks to the machine’s use of the Bosch MSC “cornering ABS” module, and KTM’s robust traction control system.
Basically a 180hp off-road couch, the 1290 Super Adventure is the pinnacle of KTM’s ADV offerings. But, it seems another Adventure model is coming from zie Austrians.
Spotted by one of our readers on KTM’s website, the Austrian company makes reference to a KTM 1050 Adventure model in its owners manual download page. A KTM 1050 Adventure model has been rumored leading up to the INTERMOT show, so the reference is likely to be more than just a typographical error.
Yamaha is teasing some sort of sport bike that will debut at the EICMA show in November, but the Japanese motorcycle manufacturer is being rather terse when it comes to describing it.
A short video with a series of quick cuts is our only clue, though the machine looks to be the new Yamaha YZF-R1, which we have heard rumors of through trademark applications worldwide.
Our theory seems to be supported by the track-going footage, as well as the dual front brake disc setup caught in one of the cuts. Watch the video yourself though, and tell use what you think Yamaha has ready to debut in Milan, Italy.
Yesterday we speculated that MV Agusta’s new teaser photo could be a more off-road offering of the company’s still unreleased Turismo Veloce multi-tourer. A quick dive through the European trademark filings seems to confirm that notion, as MV Agusta registered the name “Turismo Leggero” just two months ago.
Literally meaning “light touring” in Italian, the name isn’t terribly helpful by itself, though its analogous structure to the Turismo Veloce models does give us some sort of framework. How the new model will be “lighter” in the two-wheeled context remains to be seen, though as many have noted, the bike’s Kineo wheels are certainly a good start.
MV Agusta has a new model it is ready to debut, as the company has begun its marketing hype ahead of next week’s INTERMOT show. A simple email to the press, with a single photo, is the only clue we have of what’s to come, outside of the visual or course, and that the file name of the photo is “worth_waiting.jpg”.
That’s not much to work on, but the photo does give us some clues: a wire-laced rim, s tubeless wheel, s Pirelli Diablo Rosso tire, a single-sided swingarm, and the first tip of what looks like MV Agusta’s three-pipe exhaust (a brighter Photoshopped image is after the jump).
In our minds, this narrows things down to just two possibilities: a completely new café racer styled machine, or a more off-road version of the company’s still unreleased Turismo Veloce ADV-tourer.
We are only a week away before the new models for 2015 will begin hitting the internet, but already we are hearing whispers from our Bothan Spies about new motorcycles that are coming forth.
Traditionally Ducati has been a leaking sieve of information, though now under corporate control of Audi AG, the Italian company has been more cautious about letting information slip.
That being said, we’ve heard information from several sources now that suggest a new Multistrada model is coming down the pipe, and will debut at the EICMA show. Likely a response to the ever-crowding ADV space, which sees the addition of BMW Motorrad’s Multistrada-killer, the BMW S1000XR.
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. So far, it looks like the machines are only available in Europe, where KTM has its electric E-Park riding parks. A supermoto is expected as well for the 2015 model year. Pricing for the Freeride E-SX is set at €10,995 in Germany (VAT included), while the Freeride E-XC will cost €11,295.