Ducati is doing a five-part web debut for its 2021 models, and today we saw the second installment, which focused on the XDiavel and Scrambler range.
If you were expecting big changes and new bikes, you probably left the video feeling disappointed, as there were none.
However, if you are a fan of these two unique genres in Ducati’s motorcycle offering, then there might be some hidden surprises for you.
BMW Motorrad is beginning the release of its new motorcycles for the 2021 model year, and first up is the new BMW R18 Classic.
Calling this air-cooled 1,800cc cruiser a “new” model might be a stretch, since the bike is heavily based off the BMW R18 that is just now getting to dealerships.
One of the motorcycle launches that was swallowed by the coronavirus outbreak was the debut of the BMW R18 – the german company’s giant air-cooled cruiser model.
There is a bit of irony in that fact, considering how long the German brand teased the bike in its near final form, only to see it production debut overshadowed by a global pandemic, but that’s the tough reality.
Alas, the long wait is over, as BMW Motorrad has finally shown us the production version of its much-hyped cruiser model, the BMW R18.
Featuring the largest boxer engine ever produced by the German brand, the BMW R18 boasts an 1,802cc displacement for its two horizontally opposed cylinders.
As was teased, peak power is a paltry 90hp (67 kW), but the real attention-getter is the torque curve: 116 lbs•ft (158 Nm).
That peak torque figure hits at just a mere 3,000 rpm, but the BMW R18 churns out at least 110 lbs•ft (150 Nm) all the way from 2,000 rpm to 4,000 rpm, making for a nice broad power band to play with on the open road.
If you like your motorcycles big, feet-forward, and German, then we have good news for you, as the BMW R18 finally has a release date: Friday, April 3rd.
That’s good news to our ears too, as BMW Motorrad has been teasing the R18 for more than a year with an onslaught of custom and concept motorcycles that feature the big 1,800cc boxer engine.
Expected to come as a platform of machines, we know to expect a model that is very similar to the BMW R18/2 concept we saw debut at EICMA last year.
I just had to add a new tag to the Asphalt & Rubber WordPress story tagging engine: “performance bagger”. It seems a bit oxymoronic if you ask me, but yet, here we are.
What prompted this…unique…addition is the news that MotoAmerica has announced the 14 teams that will compete in the baggers race scheduled for the Laguna Seca round.
The Triumph Rocket III was already an absurd motorcycle, with its 2,294cc three-cylinder engine – the largest of any production motorcycle.
Well, the Brits are aiming for next-level insanity now with the Rocket name, debuting today the Triumph Rocket 3 R and Triumph Rocket 3 GT, which feature a 2,500cc triple that makes 165hp and 163 lbs•ft of torque.
That’s an 11% power increase over the previous generation, though just shy of the performance figures boasted on the Triumph Rocket 3 TFC that we saw earlier this year.
Coming from the ashes of Confederate Motorcycles, the new Curtiss Motorcycles brand has shown another of its two-wheeled creations, this one also an electric model called “Hades” – after the Greek god of the underworld.
The creator of the Hades is none other than J.T. Nesbitt, who brings with him some of the same lines he made famous at Confederate. As you would expect then, the lines of the Hades are provocative, unconventional, and alluring.
In what has to be the shortest commute for an international press launch, our hometown of Portland, Oregon is playing host to the first riding of the Harley-Davidson Livewire.
This is our first press launch with the Bar & Shield brand, and it is a big one at that. The Livewire is a mammoth shift for the motorcycle industry, as Harley-Davidson becomes the first major manufacturer to debut a full-sized electric motorcycle for the street.
The Livewire is a big deal for the American brand as well, as Harley-Davidson is pivoting its business model towards new horizons, new markets, new riders, and most importantly for today’s purpose: new drivetrains.
The Harley-Davidson Livewire is a halo product from Milwaukee, but it shows how far the marque is willing to go in order to ensure its future. The question before us now though, is the bike any good?
It is the worst-kept secret in the motorcycle industry right… We are talking about BMW Motorrad’s upcoming cruiser, which will features an 1,800cc air-cooled push rod boxer engine.
We know this because the German brand has been shoehorning the mammoth-sized engine into a variety of show bikes, all in the effort to get excited about this “Harley-Davidson killer” of a motorcycle.
Spy photos have also given us a glimpse of the bagger that we can expect to see unveiled later this year, but for now we have yet another concept machine to whet our appetites.