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This Week’s Suzuki Katana Teaser Video for INTERMOT

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Is it INTERMOT yet? Because that is the only way that we will get Suzuki to stop teasing what is almost definitely a new Katana motorcycle. Giving us the brand’s third installment on a teaser video series (1 & 2), this time around we see the fuel tank of the machine in question.

The shape doesn’t tell us too much. It is clearly for a street bike, and it has some sporty curves to it. Though, we are obligated to say that you shouldn’t read too much into that analysis. The part at the end though, where a katana sword is being drawn, well…yeah…ok.

Expected to be built off the GSX-R1000 platform, the Katana should be a more comfortable sport bike option to the venerable superbike, with an anticipated retro flare from the 1980s, which should help differentiate the motorcycle from the Suzuki GSX-S1000(F).

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Bikes

Here Is the 2019 BMW R1250GS in All Its Official Glory

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We have known about the 2019 BMW R1250GS for some time now. Details about the bike’s new boxer engine were published over a month ago, which tipped off the use of variable valve timing on the venerable GS. We also learned that a displacement increase of1,254cc  was coming, and with that a modest power increase of 134hp and 92 lbs•ft of torque.

Then last week, we got a teaser of the 2019 BMW R1250GS adventure-tourer, as a promotional video was leaked onto the internet, and it showed us in great detail what to expect from BMW Motorrad. More specifically, the video showed us the German motorcycle manufacturer’s new variable valve timing technology, called ShiftCam.

Providing two possible cam lobes for each valve, the camshaft shifts position in the cylinder head to engage one of the two lobes, depending on throttle inputs. Hence the name, ShiftCam.

This allows for different intake valve actuation (timing and stroke) during touring and city riding, for better gas mileage and softer throttle response, but still leaves the engine the ability to wake up during spirited riding, and provide more power.

The new “ShiftCam” boxer engine is coming to all the “R” bikes in BMW’s lineup for 2019, which of course includes the 2019 BMW R1250GS.

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Rumors

Patent Application Shows Off the Indian FTR1200 Street Bike

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The Indian Motorcycle company has been teasing us about the upcoming FTR1200 street bike that it’s bringing to market next year, and now we have a pretty good look at the machine, thanks to a patent application with the USPTO.

Showing the engine and chassis of the Indian FTR1200 in line drawings, we can see that the new street bike will have a trellis frame, and an engine that looks very much like the v-twin motor found on the Indian Scout cruiser.

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If Suzuki Isn’t Teasing a New Katana, Then I Don’t Know What’s Going On Anymore…

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Here is the second teaser video from Suzuki, getting us hyped for a new motorcycle release at the INTERMOT show in Colgone, Germany. Like the first video, this one features a blacksmith creating a Japanese sword…a Katana, if you will.

As such, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to imagine that Suzuki’s teaser campaign is for anything other than the rebirth of the Katana motorcycle. We have seen the name trademarked in various markets, including the United States, there have been concept models of restomod creations shown at numerous times, including in Suzuki’s own show booths.

Lastly, there have been links to the Suzuki Recursion concept becoming the new Katana lineup, which would feature a turbocharged twin-cylinder engine.

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Bikes

Here Is the BMW R1250GS with “Shiftcam” Engine Technology

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We have known about the 2019 BMW R1250GS for some time now, but today we get our first real look of the machine, thanks to the bike’s promotional video, which has leaked on the internet (hat tip to the folks at Motorcular.com). And, despite everything we knew about the BMW R1250GS, the Germans still managed to surprise us.

This is because instead of the “Shiftcam” technology that BMW Motorrad has developed for its revised boxer engine.

Originally tipped to have variable valve technology, we now see how BMW is going to achieve this goal, and the answer is with a camshaft that has dual lobes and a shift gate that engages the high valve lift set during full throttle applications.

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A Quick Glimpse of the Triumph Scrambler 1200

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Triumph continues to tease its big model reveal for the 2019 model year, the new Triumph Scrambler 1200. Releasing yet another teaser video (above) we get our first glimpse of the new machine.

Our sources tell us that the Triumph Scrambler 1200 will be a capable full-sized dual-sport, and it will be fitted with the “high torque” version of Triumph’s 1,200cc parallel-twin engine, which makes 80hp and 77 lbs•ft of torque.

Two model variations are also expected. One will be road-going, and have cast wheels and street-focused rubber. The other will have spoked wheels and knobby tires. We expect both bikes to have a robust electronics package (straight from the Tiger series, if our Bothan spies can be believed).

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Rumors

Is Suzuki Teasing a New Katana for INTERMOT?

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Yesterday, Suzuki posted this teaser video, gearing us up for a reveal at this year’s INTERMOT show in Cologne, Germany. If you watch the clip above, you can tell why…I mean, it has all sorts of sword references, and Suzuki has been doing quite a bit with the “Katana” name as of late.

Recently trademarking the name in the United States, as well as partnering with  custom bike builder on resto-mod versions of the GSX1100, Suzuki has gone out of its way to remind us of this iconic motorcycle from decades passed.

With the video ending with a cursive writing “斬” – Japanese for “slash” or “kill with a sword” – the subject of this teaser should be obvious…or so it seems.

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BMW’s Entire Boxer Range Gets an Update for 2019

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We knew for the 2019 model year that the R1200GS would become the R1250GS – the venerable adventure-touring machine getting an engine upgrade for the next model cycle. With 1254cc of displacement, and rumors of variable valve timing, it was of course inevitable that BMW Motorrad would bring its new boxer engine to the rest of its “R” line. We just didn’t think it would be all at once

Tipped by filings with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), we see though that the entire lineup of R1200 motorcycles will be getting a new engine for 2019. This means that the BMW R1250GS, BMW R1250GS Adventure, BMW R1250R, BMW R1250RS, and BMW R1250RT are on the way.

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A Naked Kawasaki Ninja 400 Cometh?

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Team Green surprised us last year, announcing the Kawasaki Ninja 400 sport bike as a successor for the still fresh Ninja 300. For bonus points, Kawasaki brought the Ninja 400 to the US market, where it has displaced its smaller rivals (do you see what we did there??).

Now it seems that Kawasaki is ready to bring another 400cc sport bike to market, as a filing with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) tip-off the upcoming Kawasaki Ninja ER400DK. 

In Kawasaki-speak, the “ER” designation has been used for many of the company’s naked motorcycles over the years, so putting two and two together, logic would dictate that a naked version of the Ninja 400 is on its way for the 2019 model year.

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This Week’s Honda CBR1000RR Rumor

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We are knee-deep in new bike season right now, and it seems no motorcycle is safe from the internet’s two-wheeled rumor mill. This week, we see a number of rumors concerning the Honda CBR1000RR, and what the 2019 model year will bring for Big Red’s superbike offering.

Credible rumors suggest that the Honda CBR1000RR will see another update for next year, with promises of 212hp as Honda follows the rest of the pack with two variations of its venerable superbike.

Less credible rumors involve the CBR1000RR getting a name change for the US market, as the word “Fireblade” has been registered with the US Patents and Trademarks Office by the Japanese brand.

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BMW R1250GS Details Emerge – Now with VVT?

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We know that for the 2019 model year that BMW Motorrad plans to release nine new models. What those models may be is up for conjecture, though we have a pretty good idea about more than a few of them.

Now, add to the list a new GS model, as some technical details of the 2019 BMW R1250GS have emerged, and as the name suggests a revised design of BMW’s famous boxer engine features as the centerpiece.

The folks at BikeSocial say that the boxer twin will see an increase in displacement to 1,254cc (up from 1,170cc), which means an 11hp power increase, for 134hp in total.

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