Latest Posts:
Asphalt & Rubber
Tag

EICMA

Browsing
Bikes

Up-Close with the Ducati 1199 Superleggera

By 22 Comments

The highlight of the 2013 EICMA show has to be the Ducati 1199 Superleggera, which Ducati formally introduced to the press last Monday night. The “super light” street bike may not have the dynamism of being a completely new machine, as was the case with the Desmosedici RR, but the 155kg (dry) Superleggera is just as impressive when you pause to take a moment and examine all of its details.

With only 500 units being made, Ducati says roughly only 50 are unspoken for as of Sunday morning — a pretty impressive figure considering that up until that moment, only a handful of people had actually seen the Ducati 1199 Superleggera in the flesh. Once the 500th bike is sold, that will be it for the Superleggera, Ducati having learned its lesson from the Desmosedici launch.

The most obvious part about the Superleggera is its orange-red paint scheme, which matches the Rosso Corsa paint found on the Ducati Desmosedici GP13. If you only examined the Ducati 1199 Superleggera skin-deep, this would be your big takeaway from the experience, but the beauty really resides in the details.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Zero Motorcycles Debuts New Zero SR at EICMA

By 11 Comments

Every year, the electric motorcycle lineup from Zero Motorcycles grows up a little bit more, both in terms of product evolution and in terms of technology advancement.

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that for 2014 Zero Motorcycles once again has something for enthusiasts: the Zero SR, which builds off the company’s Zero S electric motorcycle, and features 67hp, 106 lbs•ft of torque, and a 102 mph top speed.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Photos: Husqvarna 701 Concept – A Future Supermoto?

By 15 Comments

One of the more eye-catching things we saw today at the EICMA show (besides the Triumph Tiger 800 XC SE), the Husqvarna 701 Concept is an homage to the Swedish brand’s past, and a signal to its future. Truly Scandinavian in its aesthetic, the modern, yet simple, lines of the Husqvarna 701 provide a unique approach to the very cookie-cutter supermoto segment.

Featuring a 650cc single-cylinder four-stroke engine, Husqvarna says that the concept is good for 75hp and “outstanding” torque. Built with a chromoly steel trellis frame, WP Suspension, and Brembo brakes, the real eye-catcher is the custom Akrapovic exhaust and its integrated bodywork shroud.

The seat is made of multiple materials, and is designed to have grippy spots for where the rider sits under braking and acceleration, and slippery spots for where a rider needs to move along the seat unimpeded. We aren’t huge fans of the LED headlight, but otherwise it is a nice concept by Husqvarna.

Will the folks at Husqvarna create an on-road machine in the future? Certainly not. A supermoto perhaps though? Time will tell. Photos of the machine, taken in-person by yours truly, are after the jump.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

2014 Triumph Tiger 800 XC SE — That’s Hot

By 7 Comments

Unless you are into the cruiser thing, Triumph’s press event at the 2013 EICMA show was a fairly timid affair, with talk about the company’s future growth, its plans for emerging markets, and the high-fives over 2013’s business dealings being the soup de jour.

However, we were tickled by one of Triumph’s more minor announcements, the 2014 Triumph Tiger 800 XC SE. Really just a cosmetic reworking of the British brand’s middleweight adventure-tourer, the bright red frame and subtle “Volcanic Black” paint scheme were enough to capture our blogger ADD.

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

Aprilia Racing Making a Return to MotoGP for the 2016 Season — Just in Time for a Rule Change?

By 10 Comments

There is a lot of fascinating news coming out of this week’s EICMA motorcycle show in Milan: the boom in smaller capacity motorcycles, an upgraded Fireblade, a massive push from MV Agusta, but the show is also making headlines which will affect motorcycle racing as well.

Today at the EICMA, during a presentation on Aprilia’s future plans, Piaggio CEO Roberto Colaninno announced that the Italian manufacturer is aiming to make a return to the MotoGP class as a factory entry in 2016.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

2014 BMW R1200RT — Cooler Heads Prevail

By 12 Comments

A big announcement at EICMA that we have seen coming down the pipe since the latest generation of the BMW R1200GS broke cover, the 2014 BMW R1200RT is the next logical step of progression in BMW Motorrad’s push to bring a “precision-cooled” water-cooled boxer-twin to its R-series of motorbike.

The new BMW R1200RT uses a basic formula for its philosophy: take BMW’s already proven touring package, and update it with the company’s latest technologies, while giving a mild facelift in the process. In many ways the 2014 BMW R1200RT feels like previous generations, and in many ways it is not.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Triumph Confirms 250cc Motorcycle is Coming for 2015

By 16 Comments

At Triumph’s EICMA press presentation today, the British brand confirmed that it would have a small-displacement world market bike for the 2015 model year.

Showing a very sporty concept sketch of the machine, Triumph also confirmed that the model would have a single-cylinder engine, be 250cc in displacement, and be manufactured at the company’s new India facility.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

2014 Kawasaki Z1000 – So Much Sugomi

By 16 Comments

We have seen the 2014 Kawasaki Z1000 leaked and teased ad nauseam ahead of the 2013 EICMA show, but now we finally have the official photos and specifications of the Kawasaki’s new street-naked.

For the new year, Kawasaki says that the new Z1000 has a revised ECU setting, along with different camshaft timings and oval exhaust connectors between the header pipes.

Other improvements like connected cylinders (less pumping loss) and a new airbox design, help the 2014 Kawasaki Z1000 reach 140hp (104.5 kW) and 82 lbs•ft of torque from its 1,043cc inline-four engine.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

2014 BMW S1000R – 160hp, ABS, & Optional DTC & DDC

By 29 Comments

As expected, BMW Motorrad took the wraps off a completely new motorcycle today at the EICMA show, the BMW S1000R. A streetfighter version of the venerable BMW S1000RR superbike, the S1000R drops an “R” from its name along with roughly 30hp, with the naked bike sporting a 160hp peak figure — primarily due to a redline that is 2,000 rpm less than the S1000RR.

Build the 999cc inline-four motor for low-end and mid-range torque, rather the maximum peak horsepower, BMW says that the S1000R makes 7 lbs•ft more torque than the S1000RR, all the way up to 7,500 rpm.

With a peak torque figure of 83 lbs•ft at 9,250 rpm, the BMW S1000R  is now slouch, though with it tipping the scales at 456 lbs (207kg) — the 2014 BMW S1000R is few pounds heavier than its predecessor.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

2014 Honda CTX1300 — Not Your Father’s Bagger

By 7 Comments

Honda’s new model philosophy is all about crossovers between already existing segments, and from that we get the 2014 Honda CTX1300 & 2014 Honda CTX1300 Deluxe. Aesthetically similar to the Honda Gold Wing F6B that we saw earlier this year, the Honda CTX1300 features the a modified version of the Honda ST1300’s 1,261cc V4 engine and five-speed gearbox.

Honda’s key focus with the CTX line is the combination of comfort and technology, which is where the motorcycle series gets its three-letter model name. Honda says the CTX1300 has a comfortable riding position and low center of gravity with its 29.1-inch seat, which all makes for an effortless cruising experience that has the American highway system in mind with its 5.1 gallon fuel tank.

Keep Reading
By