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Alta Adds Enduro Model to Its Electric Lineup

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The electric motorcycle lineup from Alta Motors quietly grew larger today, with the San Francisco startup adding an electric enduro model to its range. As such, say hello to the 2018 Alta Motors Redshift EX.

The bike is pretty straightforward, as it takes the motocross-focused Redshift MX, makes some chassis changes and adds a license plate, so you can go shredding off-road and on-road alike.

To the finer details, the chassis changes include an 18″ rear wheel, narrower rake and larger offset, a WP rear shock with a custom reservoir, a smaller rear brake, and Metzeler 6 Days Extreme tires.

All of this adds up to a 275 lbs electric motorcycle (which is kind of a thing right now) with 40hp at the rear wheel, and 120 lbs•ft of torque at the countershaft sprocket.

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Bikes

Naughty Quadro by Alexey Afanasyev

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If you needed more proof that the Ducati 1299 Panigale can make for an attractive retro-styled motorcycle (here, here, and here), then may we present to you one more piece of evidence, the “Naughty Quadro” by designer Alexey Afanasyev.

To make the Naughty Quadro, Afanasyev took the Panigale’s Superquadro engine and built around it an attractive and trendy body structure, which should look familiar to Scrambler owners. If the swingarm looks familiar too, that is because it is off of a Ducati Monster S2R 1000.

One of the most noticeable aspects of Afanasyev design is the custom radiator, which creates a tasteful line for the superbike engine, though we’re not sure if it will do the duty in heavy traffic.

Of course, the most interesting aspect of the motorcycle is that it isn’t a motorcycle at all…as Afanasyev has created some very detailed and very convincing renders for his concept on the computer, which include even the dirt and debris on the engine and tires. It’s really well-crafted.

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Bikes

Honda Riding Assist-e Concept Will Debut in Tokyo

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What you are looking at is the Honda Riding Assist-e, a motorcycle concept that Big Red will be debuting at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show, which starts next month.

Honda isn’t saying too much about the Riding Assist-e, but the main purpose seems to be showing off the company’s self-balancing control technology, which keeps the motorcycle upright by moving the front wheel.

This isn’t that different from the Honda Riding Assist concept from earlier this year, with an added “e” of course in the name. That designation of course is for  the electric drivetrain that the concept is sporting.

The Honda Riding Assist-e concept is interesting as a motorcycle, but more intriguing is the technology and what motorcycles it could land on, in Honda’s lineup.

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Bikes

Should Suzuki Bring the V-Strom 250 to the USA?

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The Suzuki V-Strom 250 is already available to our riding compatriots across the pond, but Suzuki Motor of America is considering bringing the model to the United States, which is a bit of good news.

The quarter-liter ADV machine shares a motor with the Suzuki GSX250R, which is really just the Suzuki Inazuma in new clothing. Still, 2018 Suzuki V-Strom 250 provides new riders and attractive entry into the ADV space, at an affordable price point.

The 248cc motorcycle makes just a touch under 25hp from its parallel-twin engine, which gets 88mpg and should be good for roughly 300 miles of range.

Suzuki is looking for feedback as to whether they should being the V-Strom 250 to the USA. So, if you like what you see here, speak-up in the comments section.

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Bikes

Yamaha XSR700 Brings the Hip to the USA for 2018

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Announced today at the AIMExpo, Yamaha is bringing the XSR700 to the US soil, as the tuning fork brand sees an opportunity for the twin-cylinder heritage model in the land that brought hipsters their skinny jeans.

The choice must have been an easy one for the folks at Yamaha Motor USA, with the Yamaha FZ-09 and Yamaha FZ-07 selling well here in the United States, and the XSR900 already being critically acclaimed by the US moto media.

Adding the Yamaha XSR700 to the 2018 model lineup seems like an obvious no-brainer for Yamaha, and we are happy to see it finally coming to the United States of America.

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Photos of the 2018 Honda Gold Wing Leak Online

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What you see here are early leaked photos of the 2018 Honda Gold Wing – one of the most successful and important motorcycles for the Western markets.

Honda is expected to debut this new model at a media event in October, but our friends at MaxxMoto and Oliepeil managed to get their dirty Dutch-speaking mits on these low-res gems, ahead of time.

Beyond the styling refresh, the most obvious change that we can see for the Honda Goldwing is the new front-end, which appears to be a Hossack-styled design – similar to what BMW uses on its K-series motorcycles.

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Bikes

Benelli 302R – Rebranded & Now Euro4 Compliant

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The Benelli Tornado 302 is an adorable motorcycle that boasts Italian design with Chinese manufacturing. When we showed it to you two years ago, it received positive acclaim, and was one of a handful of stand-out bikes that the Italian brand surprised us with at the 2015 EICMA show.

It seems now that Benelli is relaunching the Tornado 302, under a new name, the Benelli 302R. Little seems to have changed in the past two years, aside from a new graphics package on the bodywork, Euro4 compliance, and over course the new moniker.

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Products

Nike Makes Air Force 1 Shoe for 12 O’Clock Boys

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The Nike Air Force 1 shoe is perhaps the most iconic piece of footwear ever created. It spurred an entire industry of sneakerheads – people who collect and trade shoes – and the Nike AF1 is one of the most collectible items for this genre of collector.

So, it’s not surprising that there is industry buzz about a new Nike Air Force 1 being created.

With each release, Nike has kept AF1 brand in line with its urban roots, where playing basketball on the street gave rise to young kids who would dream of following their heroes, like Michael Jordan, onto the courts of the NBA.

Now having more of a cult following, Nike has been branching out with its AF1 offerings, and last month the sport brand debuted a special AF1, which pays tribute to Baltimore’s 12 O’Clock Boys.

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Bikes

Triumph Tests Moto2 Engine with Daytona 765 Prototype

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Triumph wants you to know that it’s getting ready for the 2019 Moto2 Championship, where the British company’s three-cylinder engine will power the intermediate grand prix racing class.

Testing the engine, Triumph has mated the 765cc lump to its supersport machine, making it a Triumph Daytona 765. Getting some help from Moto2 rider Julian Simon, Triumph has been testing at Aragon, looking to evaluate the performance and durability of its middleweight engine.

“At this stage of the development program we are in a good place,” said Steve Sargent, Chief Product Officer for Triumph Motorcycles.

“We are very pleased with the pace that Julian is showing with the latest engine and his feedback has been very positive. We have confidence that we will deliver an engine that the teams will enjoy racing with and a spectacle and sound that will excite the fans.”

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More Leaked Photos of the 2018 Ducati Panigale V4

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Apparently today is Ducati Day, as news continues to come from Italy about the Ducati Panigale V4 and its Desmosedici Stradale engine.

Ducati has already spilled the beans on the new 210hp V4 engine it has been developing for its next superbike, but now we also get more spy photos of the Panigale V4 that will carry it.

These latest spy photos show quite clearly the 2018 Ducati Panigale V4 that will debut later this November, at the EICMA show in Milan.

Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali confirmed the Panigale V4 name today, and for our A&R Pro members, we have gone into a lengthy analysis as to why Ducati is choosing to keep the styling and name of this machine so similar to the previous model.

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Mega Gallery: Yamaha Star Eluder

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With massive motorcycles comes massive photo galleries. As such, we thought we would share with you over 100 high-resolution photos of the new Yamaha Star Eluder, the bagger variant and cousin to the Yamaha Star Venture tourer, in this A&R “mega gallery”.

Fat jokes aside, the Eluder and Venture are interesting bikes, as they straddle features and attributes somewhere between Harley-Davidson’s touring lineup (the Yamaha’s feature a 113ci air-cooled v-twin engine) and the well-selling Honda Gold Wing line (both bikes are rolling living rooms on two wheels).

This positions Yamaha’s to siphon-off riders from two of the best selling lines of motorcycle in the United States, which is surely no accident.

The Yamaha Star Eluder is not exactly our cup of tea, that much is for sure. But, while you can hate the player, you’ve gotta respect that game. Yamaha just upped the ante in the touring space with the Star Venture and Star Eluder.

Take a closer look at the 2018 Yamaha Star Eluder in the photos after the jump.

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