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After Feedback, The MV Agusta Superveloce 800 Gets a Color Change

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It seems that the MV Agusta Superveloce 800 will have a new choice of liveries for potential owners when it comes to market, as the Italian motorcycle manufacturer has updated the bike’s color choices after getting feedback from the brand’s fans.

“Following the presentation of the Superveloce 800 in Milano, we took onboard feedback from both the public and importers and decided to create two color schemes, both with a gold-finish frame, that accentuate the neo-retro theme, highlight the curvaceous styling, and align the models to our brand values,” said Adrian Morton, Design Director at MV Agusta’s Research Center CRC.

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Bikes

Is This the Future of the Ducati Scrambler Design?

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If you want to design motorcycles for a living, the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California is the premier place to begin your studies, and attending the school could very well lead to a position as a designer at a two-wheeled or four-wheeled manufacturer. There is no better proof of that than today’s story.

Partnering with the Ducati Scrambler brand, the ArtCenter had students working on designs that explored the future of the Scrambler lineup, and the winner of the competition was rewarded with a training internship at the Ducati Design Center in Bologna, Italy.

In total, 10 projects were submitted for review, and it was Peter Harkins who took home the winning prize. While many students explored electric concepts for the Scrambler brand, Harkins thought of a more classic approach for Ducati’s heritage-based sub-brand.

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Bikes

Design Patent Submitted in Europe for the Honda CB4X Concept

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One of the more lust-worthy motorcycles seen at the 2019 EICMA show may have just gotten closer to coming to reality, as design patents for the Honda CB4X have been spotted. 

The patents come from the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), and while many are pointing to their filing as a sure sign that the Honda CB4X is headed for production, we reiterate our usual caution about reading too much from a patent application.

That being said, if there was a candidate for motorcycle concepts coming to real life, the Honda CB4X (which is based off the Honda CBR650R), is high on our list.

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A&R Pro

More Photos (And Thoughts) on the Aprilia RS250 SP

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When I was putting together the story on the pricing for the Aprilia RS 250 SP race bike, I thought I had shared already some photos of the bike from EICMA, but that wasn’t the case.

I am not sure if that oversight comes from the madness of dozens of bikes being released at the same time; a complete lack of sleep for a week coupled to a nine-hour time change; or if simply the paltry number of photos I had taken was the cause of the gallery not going up; but it doesn’t matter. Here we are.

I do want to share these meager photos though (still in hi-def, of course), not so much because of how impressive the Aprilia RS 250 SP is as a race bike (especially now that we know it’s priced at €9,700), but because of the idea behind the machine. Here are some quick thoughts.

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Bikes

Up-Close and Personal with the Ducati Streetfighter V4 S

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If you haven’t read my thoughts on riding the Ducati Streetfighter V4 S already, I suggest you do so before going further. Don’t worry it is a “short” review – only a couple thousand words or so.

For the TL;DR crowd, the Ducati Streetfighter V4 S is an amazing machine. It has all the low-speed manners that its 1098 predecessor lacked, but does so without sacrificing the astounding speed and horsepower found from its Panigale V4 lineage.

“Refinement” is the word that I keep coming back to when I talk about the Streetfighter V4 S, which is both a nod to the differences found from the Streetfighter 1098, but also an acknowledgement of the bar that Ducati is setting with its motorcycle lineup.

At $24,000 a pop – roughly $5,000 more than its closest competition – the Ducati better bring something extra to the table, and frankly buyers expect a more polished machine when they are paying that kind of pricing premium.

Is the Ducati that much better than the Aprilia or KTM? The journalist in me says the jury is still out, primarily because of the testing restrictions we have to deal with concerning the coronavirus outbreak.

But, I can speak about its refinement, which is what I want to do today.

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Bikes

The One Thing About the KTM 890 Duke R that Has Us Disappointed [UPDATED]

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The KTM 890 Duke R didn’t get the press launch it deserved, thanks to the coronavirus outbreak, but this bike remains high on our list of machines that debuted for the 2020 model year.

In case you don’t know, the 890cc machine is the more burly sibling to the KTM 790 Duke, for only $1000 more out of your wallet. For that price, you get an obvious bump up in displacement, which is good for a 17hp increase (120hp for the KTM 890 Duke).

But, the 2020 KTM 890 Duke R also brings with it a bevy of upgraded pieces, namely brakes and suspension…but not as good of an upgrade as we were led to believe initially.

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Lifestyle

Now You Can Build Your Own Panigale V4 R Superbike, In Legos

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Ducati Panigale V4 R superbike in Lego bricks

There are two things I want to say off the bat. First, we will always post motorcycle-related stories about Legos – partially because Lego bricks hold a special place in this author’s formative years, but also because we want to support Denmark’s #1 export to the rest of the world.

Second, the Ducati Panigale V4 R is absolutely worth every dollar of its $40,000 price tag. Every. Dollar. The bike is amazing. If you want the best superbike on the market, there it is in all of its 230hp glory (of course you’re going to put the “optional” exhaust on it, are you kidding me??!).

That being said, if you want a slightly cheaper alternative to Ducati’s superbike opus, and have a little fun during these “stay at home” days, then we have a good option for you. Say hello to the Ducati Panigale V4 R superbike build kit from Lego.

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Bikes

KTM 390 Adventure Priced at $6,200 for the USA, Arrives May 2020

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If you are looking for a pint-sized adventure-bike, and the BMW G310GS doesn’t slick your hair back, then the KTM 390 Adventure is surely something you have been following.

If that is the case, then you have been following the development of this bike for quite some time, with it taking the Austrian brand just over 6 years to get this bike to market.

But, the KTM 390 Adventure is finally ready for delivery, and in May 2020 it will land at American dealerships, with a price tag of $6,199 MSRP.

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Reviews

A “Short” Review About Riding the Ducati Streetfighter V4 S

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Every new model year, I sit down and write a short list with the bikes I simply have to swing a leg over before the year is out.

The list is governed mostly by what catches my personal interest, but also includes important machines across the different segments of the industry, with the idea that I want to be able to speak intelligently about them and what’s going on in our two-wheeled world.

For the 2020 model year, at the top of my list was the Ducati Streetfighter V4 S. The bike not only appeals to my sport bike loving temperament, but it also marks the return of Ducati back to one of its more core elements – the sport bike category.

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WSBK

Photos of the Honda CBR1000RR-R All Kitted Out for WorldSBK Duty

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There are many tragedies to the disruptions coming from the worldwide coronavirus outbreak, the loss of motorcycle being one of them (though certainly at a much lesser scale of importance to many of the losses we are suffering right now).

But for the purposes of being a daily motorcycle publication, not being able to see the new Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP on the WorldSBK stage is certainly a disappointment for us though.

This is because theHonda CBR1000RR-R represents HRC’s great inline-four hope for a production-class world championship title, most notably because the Japanese racing outfit has finally built an all-new racing platform for the superbike market.

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Bikes

Mega Gallery: 127 Hi-Res Photos of the Ducati Streetfighter V4 S

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As we speak, dealerships in the USA are starting to see the Ducati Streetfighter V4 arrive at their doorsteps, which is certainly some good news in a time where the world (including the two-wheeled one) is a bit crazy.

This news is lucky for those soon-to-be owners as well, because not even the world’s press (outside of a few partnering publications) have been able to swing a leg over the Streetfighter V4 yet, as the international press launch for the machine had to be canceled because of the coronavirus outbreak.

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