cosmetic Archives - Asphalt & Rubber

Bikes

2012 Triumph Tiger 1050

By Jensen Beeler 09/26/2011 17 Comments

Simply revising the 2012 Triumph Tiger 1050 before completely updating the model in 2013, Triumph has announced that the Tiger 1050 will get stiffer suspension components for the next model year, along with some cosmetic changes. Including improved dampening and a stiffer spring for the rear shock (108 to 139N/mm.), the British company hopes the revised suspension will give the Triumph Tiger 1050 better feel when traversing the roadway. Other mechanical changes include new handlebars that are 20mm lower than before, meaning the larger Tiger will have a slightly sportier riding position for 2012.

Triumph’s last tweeks to the 2012 Triumph Tiger 1050 is a new cosmetic package, which sees new graphics on the bike’s side panels, new turn signals, and the elimination of some chrome bits. Other bare-metal pieces have been blacked out, including the new aluminum handlebar. The 2012 Triumph Tiger 1050 will come in Phantom Black, while the ABS models will come in Diablo Red, Crystal White, and two-tone matte black color scheme. Pricing should remain unchanged.

Keep Reading

Rumors

Rumor: New Kawasaki ZX-14 Facelift Coming This Month? Supercharged Hypersport Later?

By Jensen Beeler 08/11/2011 20 Comments

Rumors are swelling around the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14 (the Kawasaki ZZR1400 for friends on the other side of the pond). First up is that a new updated Kawasaki ZX-14 is set to debut by the end of the month. Expected to be only a cosmetic makeover, the 2012 Kawasaki ZX-14 will mechanically be the same as the current model.

Looking farther down the pipe though, it would seem from reports and patents that Kawasaki has been eyeing putting a supercharger on the hypersport machine, presumably to better position the ZX-14 against the increasingly more powerful 1,000 superbikes, like the company’s on 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R.

Keep Reading

Bikes

2012 Triumph Street Triple – Surprise! New Headlights!

By Jensen Beeler 03/27/2011 13 Comments

When news of the 2011 Triumph Speed Triple hit the interwebs, with its spiffy new headlight and crazy-light aluminum frame, the clock immediately started ticking on when the 1050cc triple’s little sibling, the 675cc Street Triple & Street Triple R would get the same treatment from Triumph.

Hopes for a 2011 update were seemingly dashed when the British company posted the current model Street Triple as its 2011 offering, but rumors persisted that we’d see an updated middleweight naked very soon.

Being released as an early 2012 model, our colleagues in France have seemingly gotten the first official photos of the 2012 Triumph Street Triple & 2012 Triumph Street Triple R, as the bikes were unveiled at a new store on the Avenue de la Grande Armée in Paris.

Keep Reading