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KTM Teases New Motorcycle with an Audio Clip

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KTM is lined-up to release a few new models at the upcoming EICMA show, namely the KTM 390 Duke and the KTM 1190 Super Duke. Both bikes will be naked street machines, though the KTM 390 Duke will feature a 373cc single-cylinder engine, while the KTM 1190 Super Duke will get a de-tuned version of the KTM 1190 RC8 R’s v-twin lump.

Helping promote its new releases, KTM has teased out an audio clip of one of the bike’s exhaust note. Whether to you it sounds like a Super Duke or baby Duke, our sources say it is one mean machine. Listen to this kitten purr after the jump, and leave your guesses in the comments section.

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Bikes

Benelli BN600 – Italy’s Other Street-Naked

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A Chinese-owned Italian brand, Benelli makes some of the most beautiful motorcycles we have ever seen (Benelli Tornado anyone?), but the company has been rather absentee since getting acquired by the Qianjiang Group. Sure, Benelli seems to walk out a new variation of the Benelli TnT or TRE-K just about every year or so, and the Benelli Due has been a work in progress since before the first Obama administration, but for the most part, Benelli has been phoning it in when it comes to its proper motorbikes.

That seems to be changing though, as at EICMA the Italian brand will debut the Benelli BN600 — an 80hp, 600cc, inline-four street-naked. Building off the same established Benelli road-bike aesthetic, the BN600 (we cant tell if that that is Mandarin for either ‘horrible motorcycle name’ or ‘Benelli Naked 600cc’) is an interesting new model from Italy’s other motorcycle manufacturer, as it adds yet another street-naked to the Benelli line, and is close in displacement to the 118hp Benelli TnT 899.

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Bikes

MV Agusta Brutale 800 – Too Much of a Good Thing?

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It made a lot of sense when MV Agusta debuted the four-cylinder side of its Brutale line, as the oddly positioned MV Agusta Brutale 920 was absent from the now exclusively 1,078cc range. Priced close to the MV Agusta Brutale 675, the Brutale 920 likely would have cannibalized sales from its three-cylinder successor.

For a moment there, it seemed MV Agusta was about to shy away from its previous strategy of over-saturating market segments with multiple varieties of similar bikes, but luckily today, balance has been restored in Italian motorcycle land, as the Varese brand has announced the MV Agusta Brutale 800.

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Bikes

30th Anniversary Edition BMW K1300S for EICMA

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To help celebrate 30 years of BMW K-bikes, BMW Motorrad will present a special 30th Anniversary Edition of the BMW K1300S. The BMW K1300S “30 Jahre K-Modelle” is mostly a cosmetic exercise, with the big highlights being the bike’s Alpine White, Racing Red, and Sapphire Black metallic paint scheme, along with its stock Akrapovi? exhaust.

Other features include ABS brakes, BMW’s second-generation electronic suspension adjustment (ESA II), and automatic stability control (ASC). For photos and a full list of features to the BMW K1300S “30 Jahre K-Modelle” that will debut at EICMA, click past the jump.

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Bikes

Spotted: Honda CBR500, Honda CB500R & Honda CB500X

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Honda is set to debut a number of 500cc machines at EICMA next month, two of which we have already glimpsed: the Honda CBR500 & Honda CB500R. Joining the smaller sport bike and street-naked is is the Honda CB500X, a 500cc version of the Honda NC700X.

Spotted all together at an Italian commercial shoot, all three models are said to share a 500cc parallel-twin motor that makes 45hp, as well as the same basic chassis.

Fitted with “traditional” telescopic forks, single brake discs up front, and all three models sharing a bevy of major parts, Honda should be able to be very aggressive with its pricing structure on the new 500cc model line.

Looking at the components as well, it is clear that Honda intends its new CBR500, CB500R, and CB500X motorcycles to be priced at the lower end of the pricing spectrum, making them attractive to newer and price-sensitive motorcyclists — especially our friends across the pond who are riding with an A2 license.

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News

Spotted: 2013 Triumph Daytona 675

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Expected only to get a modest makeover for the new model year, we now have proof that the 2013 Triumph Daytona 675 will bring us mostly only cosmetic upgrades in its new revision. Featuring a frame and updated bodywork, perhaps the most noticeable change to the Triumph Daytona 675 is the absence of an undertail exhaust on the three-cylinder supersport, which has been replaced with a GP-style side exhaust can and routing.

Anticipated to be receiving the same update as we saw with the 2013 Triumph Street Triple, the Daytona 675’s motor has likely been untouched, while the new frame and subframe assemblies benefit from a weight reduction (13 lbs on the Street Triple), and improved handling characteristics. We can likely expect similar gains on the 2013 Triumph Daytona 675, with the GP-style exhaust helping Triumph get past stricter European emissions standards.

Expect to see the official unveiling of the 2013 Triumph Daytona 675 at the EICMA show on November 12th. Two more photos are after the jump.

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Video: 2013 MV Agusta Brutale – 920cc Dropped?

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While the MV Agusta’s future may depend on its three-cylinder machines, the MV Agusta F3 & MV Agusta Brutale 675, many people forget that the small Italian company still has a range of rolling four-cylinder works of art as well. EICMA is getting closer, and as such the promo videos are starting to roll out from Italy, and this latest one from MV Agusta raises some eyebrows.

Showing only its 1090cc four-cylinder Brutale models, MV Agusta has seemingly dropped its 920cc variants (presumably because they competed against the MV Agusta Brutale 675 for buyers), and has added to the line-up the MV Agusta Brutale 1090cc, in addition to the MV Agusta Brutale 1090R & MV Agusta Brutale 1090RR.

There are no additional details beyond what we can see in the video, so we will have to see the tech specs drop before we can fully appreciate what MV Agusta is doing with its Brutale line. Until then, watching some video close-ups of an MV Agusta is a pretty good way to start the day. Enjoy it after the jump.

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Bikes

2013 Ducati 1199 Panigale R Coming Soon

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In about six weeks, Ducati will be unveiling its 2013 model line-up. The star of the show will be the new liquid-cooled Hypermotard, but the Italian brand has several other new models it plans on debuting as well. We have already seen the updated 2013 Ducati Multistrada 1200, with its implementation of the Ducati Skyhook Suspension (DSS), as semi-active suspension package developed by Sachs.

The updated Ducati Multistrada 1200 also features the second-generation Testastretta 11° DS engine, which uses a dual-spark configuration to boost mid-range power, as well as clean up some of the v-twin motor’s emissions. At Milan, we will also more than likely see a middleweight displacement Ducati Multistrada, and our Bothan spies confirm to us that a Ducati 1199 Panigale R will also be making its debut at Milan.

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Rumors

Spotted: Honda CBR500 & Honda CB500?

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If you believe the Honda CBR 250 Forums, Big Red is set to drop some 500cc machines at INTERMOT/EICMA later this year. Expected to be lower-spec models built in the company’s Thailand factory, the 2013 Honda CBR500 & 2013 Honda CB500 are interesting offerings that fall in between matrix of the Honda CBR250R, Honda CBR600RR, Honda CB1000R, and Honda NC700S.

It is not clear what market Honda intends to drop these models in, though we are having a hard time seeing either the Honda CBR500 in North America, but both bikes do represent an added stepping-stone in Honda’s model lineup for new riders. One thing is clear, manufacturers like Honda are starting to question the previously proscribed displacement categories with their new models.

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Rumors

Rumor: Vectrix to Debut an Electric Superbike at EICMA?

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With all the hype that surrounds the electric motorcycle industry, it is easy to forget the company that basically paved the way for the current batch electric motorcycle OEMs. Depending on how closely you follow the space, Vectrix may or may not be a name that is familiar to you, but it should be. By our last count, the American-based, now Chinese-owned (it went bankrupt in 2009), EV company had put more electric two-wheelers on the road in the USA than Brammo and Zero Motorcycles…combined.

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Bikes

Up-Close with the MV Agusta Brutale 675

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Finally making its public debut, the MV Agusta Brutale 675 was easily one of the most anticipated motorcycles of the 2011 EICMA show. Representing Varese’s commitment to more affordable motorcycles, the Brutale 675 comes with a €8,990 price tag in the EU (US pricing is still up in the air, but should be competitive with the Triumph Street Triple). No exactly a surprise in its design, the 2012 MV Agusta Brutale 675 is true to the Brutale format, and follows the lines of the F3 supersport…without fairings of course.

In person, the MV Agusta Brutale 675 comes with the fit and finish you would expect from the historic Italian brand. For as much as I bag on MV Agusta for its various monetary and business troubles, the Italian factory is trying to make available a gorgeous motorcycle at a very attractive price tag. For all the concerns made about how MV Agusta was going “down market” with its brand, the basic bullet points of what defines an MV still remain true with the Brutale 675, which should make it a winner when it comes to market.

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