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Doing the math ahead of the Thai GP, it would be hard to see how Marc Marquez would come out of Buriram not the 2019 MotoGP World Champion, as the Spaniard only needed to finish two points ahead of Andrea Dovizioso to clinch the title.

The problem though is that Marc Marquez is not known for taking the easy points, and instead we witnessed a masterful race from the Repsol Honda rider, as he battled his way to the front of the race.

The result was Marc Marquez taking the MotoGP World Championship title in dominating form – a fitting end to his 2019 season.

There is this misnomer in motorcycle design that because a machine is powered by electricity, it has to provoke some sort of design aesthetic from the far future – like there is some notion that this next-generation powertrain can only exist if it looks like it fell out of some sort of science-fiction novel.

I suppose, that trap is easy enough to fall into when you consider the great hope that is being placed into electric motorcycles for our industry’s future, but it surprises me that so few electric motorcycle designs are capable of transcending the tastes of several generations of motorcyclists at once.

A rare machine that did this well was the Mission R from the now defunct Mission Motors, and Tim Prentice from Motonium Design crafted the Mission R to look like a real motorcycle, not a science-fiction protagonist, but yet we only have to look at the Mission One prototype to see how even skilled designers can misjudge the conservative nature of motorcyclists.

Today, I offer you another design that can be mentioned alongside the Mission R as “electric done right” as Walt Siegl has once again added a chapter to his ongoing book, entitled “two-wheeled perfection.”

A collaboration with Mike Mayberry, the man behind the stunning Ronin 47 project that used leftover Buell 1125R motorcycles, this drool-worthy performance is simply called PACT.

A couple weeks ago, we talked about the prospects of seeing Ducati Corse going racing in the Endurance World Championship, and if the Ducati Panigale V4 R could make an appearance at the Suzuka 8-Hours.

It might be a while before we see the Italian manufacturer in the FIM EWC series in an official capacity, but the start of the 2019-2020 season is already giving us a glimpse of what we can expect from Ducati.

This is because the Hertrampf Racing Endurance Team from Germany is using the Ducati Panigale V4 R in the endurance series this season.

The wait is finally over, as Big Red has finally taken the wraps off its revised version of the Honda Africa Twin for the Euro5 emission standard.

The result is a “CRF1100L” motorcycle, which tips the notion that this adventure-tourer has an 86cc displacement increase, as expected. This accounts for a 7% increase in peak power (101hp / 75 kW), along with a 6% increase in peak torque (77 lbs•ft / 105 Nm).

Despite all this, the 2020 Honda Africa Twin gets a modest weight reduction as well, to the tune of an extra 10 lbs (501 lbs at the curb, non-DCT model). But most importantly, the Japanese brand has brought some significant features to the fray, making the Africa Twin not only potent, but sophisticated.

It is hard to believe that it has been 10 years since the Aprilia RSV4 debuted, and yet after a decade of service, the V4-powered superbike is still at the pointy end of the game.

To celebrate that heritage, along with the three World Superbike Championship wins, the team at Noale envisioned one special machine, of which only 10 units would be produced. As such, say hello to the very potent Aprilia RSV4 X.

Now finally making deliveries to the 10 worthy souls who purchased the €40,000 machine, we get to see what a hand-built 222hp (165 kW) 1,078cc V4 engine can do in a 364 lbs (165 kg) dry weight chassis.

After much teasing, and officially debuting the model almost a year ago, we finally know what the 2020 Suzuki Katana will cost American buyers, and the answer is a stout $13,499 MSRP.

We had hoped that the new Katana would be priced aggressively against its naked bike competitors, especially since the “new” machine is largely a restyled Suzuki GSX-S1000F, which comes with an MSRP of $11,299.

That new bodywork must add over $2,000 of value in Suzuki’s eyes though, with the 2020 Suzuki Katana commanding the largest price tag out of the Japanese models in the relevant category.

Swinging a lens for us at the British GP, photographer Tony Goldsmith gives us a glimpse of the MotoGP action at Silverstone.

Photos: © 2019 Tony Goldsmith / www.tonygoldsmith.co.uk – All Rights Reserved

Swinging a lens for us at the British GP, photographer Tony Goldsmith gives us a glimpse of the MotoGP action at Silverstone.

While much was made of the track’s issues with wet weather last year, for 2019 the talk is all about the heat and the sun. Let’s hope Sunday’s race has the same intensity as the weather.

What do you do when six cylinders just isn’t enough? And, why should the Boss Hoss get all the V8 fun when it comes to motorcycles? Haven’t we all secretly desired an eight-cylinder motorcycle in our garage – if not for just a fleeting moment?

I’m not sure that I would have an affirmative answer to any of these questions, but that doesn’t mean that I think the PGMV8 is any less of an awesome motorcycle.

The brainchild of Paul G. Maloney in Australia, there is a certain amount of crazy that comes hand-in-hand in making a 2.0-liter V8 motorcycles with 334hp and 158 lbs•ft of torque, and it’s the kind of crazy this world needs more of. This is exactly the kind of crazy that the PGMV8 is selling.