An unveiling we expected at the EICMA show last year, Ducati has chosen the new year to unveil the updates coming to its Scrambler 1100 lineup, which now come with a “Pro” moniker.
Late last year, there was much speculation regarding what the tipped” Pro” name would entail exactly, and today we learn that it is a modest upgrade to the Scrambler 1100 line, with mostly aesthetic changes being the name of the game.
It might still be the winter time, but things are beginning to thaw for the MotoGP Championship, as we have our first team reveal for the 2020 season.
Ducati Corse is the first factory to reveal its machine for this year, but of course we all know that what shows up in Qatar is likely to differ to what is seen here, making this more of a livery unveiling and a bit of hype for the upcoming season.
That being said, we are still suckers for some good MotoGP machinery, and the Ducati Desmosedici GP20 is arguably the best bike on the grid right now in grand prix racing.
Another debut seen at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the eagerly awaited Alpinestars Tech-Air 5 airbag vest offers a new name in autonomous airbag safety for motorcyclists.
Boasting the ability to put an airbag in almost any motorcycle jacket, the Alpinestars Tech-Air 5 is a direct competitor with the Dainese Smart Jacket – as the two Italian brands continue to one-up each other in this budding space in motorcycle safety.
One of the bikes we are looking forward to the most in 2020 is the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R. This mysterious small-displacement machine makes some big promises for a motorcycle of its size, namely because of its four-cylinder 250cc engine, which we now know will spin to 17,000 rpm.
Complete with traction control, riding modes, and a quickshifter, the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R is packing some serious tech for a motorcycle that is typically found in the “budget” section at the local dealership.
But, this is all part of Kawasaki flipping the game on its head, and making a motorcycle that is truly unique and special.
The MV Agusta Rush 1000 was a surprise for us in several ways, at the EICMA show in Milan. For starters, the machine arrived the Monday night before the opening of the trade show, and after MV Agusta had already announced its 2020 models.
But then there is also the bike itself, which is styled to be extremely provocative. It is clear, when you are a small design-focused manufacturer that is used to selling limited edition motorcycles, you can find it easier to take risks.
Whether you love or hate the MV Agusta Rush 1000 (I happen to quite like the machine), you have to give the Varese brand its credit – they have no problem taking chances.
When I walked by the BST booth at the EICMA show, I wasn’t that surprised to see an electric motorcycle concept parked in the carbon fiber parts maker’s stall – it seemed like every booth at the Milan show had one, in some sort of attempt for attention.
With a small crowd around what I would learn was called the BST HyperTEK, I wasn’t that astonished that this particular concept was gaining attention. The bike was…lurid.
Built with crazy shapes, an impossibly small battery pack, and eye-catching colors, you would have had to been blind not to be struck by the electric concept.
“Mission Accomplished” I thought to myself, as the South African brand had clearly achieved its objective of bringing passersby (including myself) into their booth, though the carbon wheels on display would have done the trick just as easily.
It wasn’t until later that night though that I would learn that the BST HyperTEK was the work of renowned motorcycle designer Pierre Terblanche, which is of course when everything started to make sense.
If the Husqvarna Norden 901 was one of your top picks from the 2019 EICMA show, then we have some good news for you, as the adventure-touring bike has been given the green light for production by the Swedish brand.
The news shouldn’t come as a surprise to astute ADV fans, as spy shots of the new Husky have already been spotted in the wild, and Husqvarna has a strong track record of bringing its EICMA concepts to reality.
What will be interesting though is where Husqvarna lands on the feature list, and more importantly, how the Husqvarna Norden 901 is going to be priced against its competition.
One of the most polarizing motorcycles released at the 2019 EICMA show in Milan, the Bimota TesiH2 started impassioned conversations just by mentioning its name.
Maybe that doesn’t surprise us though, as the controversial motorcycle represents a crack in time for the Italian brand, as it is reborn with the green euros from Kawasaki Europe.
Pivotal moments in a motorcycle company’s history should be historic motorcycles in their own right, and it is hard to think how a supercharged two-wheeler with a hub-center steering chassis can’t burn its place into Bimota’s story.
If you can’t tell, I fall into the camp that loves this motorcycle (though, I will admit there aspects of the machine that I do not care for), but overall I love the audacity of the Bimota TesiH2 – and it is for this reason for which Kawasaki invested in the boutique Italian brand.
One of the most anticipated superbikes of the 2020 model year, the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade (say that three times fast) is a true all-new motorcycle from the Japanese brand.
With 215hp on tap from its 999cc inline-four engine, the new Fireblade is posting big numbers, from a small (443 lbs) package.
Though we won’t see the base model in the United States (the current generation CBR1000RR will remain for the price-sensitive), we will see the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP in June 2020, as a 2021 model year machine.
That is a long time to wait, for what promises to be a class-leading machine in the liter-bike space.
One of BMW Motorrad’s big reveals for the 2019 EICMA show in Milan, the BMW F900XR brings two big announcements with it.
First, there is the obvious middleweight addition to the XR “adventure-sport” lineup, and second that the German’s 270° parallel-twin will see a 895cc displacement for the Euro5 homologation.
Riffing on the BMW 9cento concept that we saw a year-and-a-half ago, the 2020 BMW F900XR keeps many of the concept’s lines, while infusing more of its bigger sibling into the design as well.
Do not adjust your computer monitors, you are not seeing things incorrectly. This KTM Moto3 bike is having a bit of an identity crisis, as it is now known as the Husqvarna FR 250 GP. Yes, the Swedish brand is making its re-entry in the grand prix racing next year.
Set to be campaigned by Max Racing, which is the team name of former world champion Max Biaggi, Husqvarna’s push back into the Moto3 series is sure to make waves, and that’s before we tell you that the named riders are Romano Fenati and Alonso Lopez.
As you can imagine then, the news made waves when it was announced at the EICMA show in Milan, though perhaps there is some hope that Biaggi’s veteran status can ease the rough edges found on Fenati.