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BMW K1600 Grand America – Touring, The American Way

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Determined not to let the new Honda Gold Wing have all the fun in the modern tourer category, BMW Motorrad too wants a piece of the American two-wheeled lifestyle, debuting today at the EICMA show the new 2018 BMW K1600 Grand America.

The production version of the K1600B bagger that we saw last year, the K1600 Grand America has grown a bit in a year’s time, and truthfully looks very similar to the BMW K1600 GTL, which already fills the German brand’s need for a full-on dresser motorcycle.

Still, BMW Motorrad says that the Grand America is built for cruising down the highway, and the German brand hopes that the more sweeping lines found on the BMW K1600 Grand America entice riders away from the offerings of other makers.

To our eye, the changes to the Grand America are incredibly subtle, though we prefer the new model to the others in BMW’s six-cylinder lineup.

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Triumph Tiger 1200 Gets Much-Needed Overhaul for 2018

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The name of the game for Triumph’s 2018 ADV bikes is subtlety, but effective updates for the upcoming model year. As such, we have already seen at the EICMA show in Milan that the Triumph Tiger 800 gets modest updates for the 2018 model year.

The 2018 Triumph Tiger 1200 too gets a much needed overhaul, though like the Tiger 800, the changes are hard to spot on the full-size adventure-tourer in the British brand’s ADV lineup.

Triumph is quoting a 22 lbs weight reduction for the new Tiger 1200 though (note the name change too, by the way), along with over 100 other improvements found on the adventure bike.

The biggest improvement comes to the 1,215cc three-cylinder engine, which makes just shy of 140hp in its shaft-drive format – just as it did in 2017.

Hoping to make a splash with adventure riders with its 2018 edition however, Triumph has been sure to pack the Tiger 1200 with a bevy of premium features, starting with WP Suspension’s semi-active suspension pieces.

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2018 Triumph Tiger 800 Breaks Cover with Changes

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The Triumph Tiger 800 gets a refresh for the 2018 model year – 200 of them, if you believe the British brand, though they are hard to spot with the naked eye.

While not a completely new ADV bike, the 2018 Triumph Tiger 800 does get meaningful upgrades to a variety of its core systems, helping it maintain its status as the benchmark in the middleweight ADV category.

Triumph tells us that the 800cc three-cylinder engine has been made more responsive, while peak power remains at 95hp. The Brits have also shortened 1st gear, for better low-speed character. The exhaust has been worked over, as has the new five-position windscreen.

Of course, the feature you will be really happy to hear about is the new “Off Road Pro” mode (XC models only), which lets one turn off the various rider aids, which is ideal for off-road riding, especially if you are a pro. So…that name makes a bit of sense.

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Husqvarna 701 Svartpilen Concept to Debut at EICMA Too

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To compliment the Husqvarna 701 Vitpilen becoming a production model, Swedish marque Husqvarna will show a new concept bike at this year’s EICMA show in Milan. Unsurprisingly, that bike will be the Husqvarna 701 Svartpilen.

We know this because Husqvarna had not-so-subtley teased the new model on its Instagram account: giving us the name, size, and numerous detail shots of the motorcycle concept.

As such, we know that the Husqvarna 701 Svartpilen will carryover many of the design elements found on the Husqvarna 701 Vitpilen. Like the other Svartpilen models though, the 701 Svartpilen will be a scrambler-styled bike, complete with Pirelli MT60 RS tires.

Given its preamble in Milan, we can expect that Husqvarna 701 Svartpilen to be a 2019 model year motorcycle…that is, if Husky can get its act together, as we are long overdue on the two 401 models becoming available, after their release at the 2016 EICMA show.

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Husqvana 701 Vitpilen Finally Going into Production

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On its Instagram account, Husqvarna is teasing the fact that its next Vitpilen model is finally going prime time. That’s right, the Husqvarna 701 Vitpilen will be unveiled tomorrow at EICMA as a production.

This shouldn’t be too big of a surprise for anyone following the Swedish brand (or who read our EICMA preview story), but considering the reception that the Husqvarna 701 Vitpilen concept got at last year’s show, we would expect the Husqvarna stand to be pretty crowded in Milan.

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Honda Creates Eye-Catching Mini “CB” Bikes for Europe

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If you think that the 2018 Honda CB1000R is a fetching motorcycle, then we’ve got some more good news for you, because Honda Motor Europe has debuted at EICMA two more bikes with its “Neo Sports Café” aesthetic: the Honda CB125R and the Honda CB300R.

As you can discern from the names, the Honda CB125R and Honda CB300R are street bikes that shares a lineage with the Honda CB1000R, albeit in 125cc and 300cc packages, respectively.

As such, the 2018 Honda CB125R is basically a redesigned CBR125R (a model not available in the US market), while the 2018 Honda CB300R is a repurposed to create the Honda CBR300R.

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Yamaha Ténéré 700 Is Still A Prototype ADV Model

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Last year, we were teased with the Yamaha T7 concept, a bike we expected to become a 700cc Yamaha Ténéré adventure machine. A year has passed now, and finally we can see the new Yamaha Ténéré 700 at this year’s EICMA show…or so we thought.

Based on the parallel-twin engine found in the Yamaha FZ-07, the Yamaha Ténéré 700 World Raid promises to bring a potent middleweight adventure bike to Yamaha’s dual-sport lineup. But instead, it is yet another prototype teaser from Yamaha.

We are Jack’s utter disappointment.

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We Are in Love with the New Honda CB1000R

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When we first saw Honda’s Neo Sports Café concept, it was a bittersweet moment. We loved the design. It was bold, but understated. It was a clean and modern take on a motorcycle that each year fades further and further from our attention.

The design was so good, we were sure that the Honda Neo Sports Café concept would never see the light of day, and surely not as the new Honda CB1000R.

It is good to be wrong sometimes, because say hello to the very attractive 2018 Honda CB1000R, which brings the Honda Neo Sports Café concept to life, with very few changes.

If it feels like Honda is zigging while others zag, then you would be correct. While the streetfighter segment continues to be filled with uber-aggressive performance machines, Honda is looking to  take a more sophisticated approach with the new Honda CBR1000R, which plays to the bike’s strengths.

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XXX: The Ducati Panigale V4 with Its Clothes Off

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While on the exterior, there might seem to be a great deal of similarities between the Ducati Panigale V4 and its predecessor the Ducati 1299 Panigale, stripping away the bodywork shows that the relation is mostly skin deep.

Yes, the “frameless” chassis design remains, and yes the exhaust routing for the four-cylinder machine mimics that on the twin-cylinder bike, but there are noticeable, even critical differences between Ducati’s superbikes, which should translate to meaningful differences on the race track.

The most obvious is how raked back the Desmosedici Stradale engine sits within the Panigale V4 chassis, which measures at 42° from parallel – the same as the Italian company’s V4-powered MotoGP race bike. No coincidence there.

This allows for the “front frame” to become a much longer lever, and attach to the motorcycle in more conventional mounting points. Both of these factors can contribute to making the Panigale V4 handle better on the race track, and provide better rider feedback – a common complaint of the old design.

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Ducati Desert Sled Model Gets Worst Name, But Best Paint

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For the 2018 model year, Ducati is updating the Scrambler Desert Sled with another color option, one that the Italian brand calls “Shining Black”. As boring as that name sounds, it might be the best retro Scrambler paint job that we have ever seen from Borgo Panigale.

We know that up until this point, the Scrambler Ducati brand has been all about its bright green AstroTurf faux lawns, pristine giant yellow container boxes, and post-authentic marketing calls with skateboards, wide-brim hates, and semi-homeless millennials.

But, the new Desert Sled color scheme (we would have called the color “Shag Carpet Sexy” or “Dr. McNasty”) screams back to another part of the 1970s – a time when souping up passenger vans and living in them was an acceptable thing for non-creepy men to do.

Still, we love the effect that is done with the all-black paint, contrasted with the warm red/orange/yellow rainbow colors. It gets us excited about the Ducati Scrambler Desert Sled all over again.

Now, the only question is how hard would it be to wedge the Scrambler 1100’s engine in this off-road chassis? Not too hard, we think.

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Watch the Panigale V4 Go Full Beast-Mode at Mugello

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The reactions to the new Ducati Panigale V4 debuting at the EICMA show seem to be split, with some Ducatisti excited to see what the new V4 platform can bring to the table, while others are less-enthused about the movement away from Ducati’s v-twin tradition, and the V4’s very similar aesthetic to its predecessor.

Wherever you fall on that spectrum, the Panigale V4 looks the business on paper in terms of power, weight, and electronics. Helping whet our superbike appetites further, Ducati has posted a video of the company’s test riders flogging the 1,103cc machine around the Mugello circuit.

Get ready for the ripping and the tearing, because this is what 214 horses of desmodromic power looks like when its shredding Pirelli tires at speed (we can’t even fathom what 226hp looks like). Love it or hate, this looks like an epic bike to ride.

Oh, we through in some ultra high-resolution shots of the 2018 Ducati Panigale V4 S too, just for good measure. You’re welcome.

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