For the last year, Moto Guzzi has been trickling out its newest ADV machine. As such, we have had a long time to get the know the Moto Guzzi V85 TT, without actually knowing the machine at all.
Released as a concept at last year’s EICMA show, the V85 became production-ready at this year’s INTERMOT show, but even at that time, Moto Guzzi was mum on details. That all changes today though, as we finally have some tech specs on the 2019 Moto Guzzi V85 TT, and we like what we hear.
It looks like our Bothan spies were right once again, as Ducati has unveiled its latest model for the 2019 model year, the Multistrada 1260 Enduro.
As the name implies, the big feature with the new Enduro is the Testastretta DVT 1262 that makes its way from the XDiavel into the Multistrada lineup.
This means a power bump to 156hp and 94 lbs•ft of torque from the v-twin engine with variable valve timing. Like its counterpart in Multistrada 1260, the Ducati Multistrada 1260 Enduro makes 85% of its torque below 3,500 rpm.
After showing us three repainted Scrambler models at the INTERMOT show in Germany, Ducati has another reveal in the works, and the Italian company has begun teasing a new model that is set to debut this Friday.
Details are tight, but the teaser photo does give us a hint that the soon-to-be-released models like to play in the mud. Our guess? We think this will be the revised Ducati Multistrada 1260 Enduro – or so say our Bothan spies – with the same engine upgrade that came to the rest of the Multistrada lineup last year.
At the core of the update will be the Testastretta DVT 1262 engine, which makes 158hp in its Multistrada 1260 form.
Last year, Moto Guzzi intrigued us with its V85 Enduro concept. The bike was based around a new 850cc, 80hp, longitudinal v-twin platform, and promised to be the basis for several new models for the Italian brand – the first of which would be an adventure-touring model.
Now, that wait is over, and we get our first glimpse of the 2019 Moto Guzzi V85 Tutto Terreno a few hours earlier than expected. True to expectations, the Moto Guzzi V85 TT is a middleweight ADV machine that promises some solid adventuring capabilities in a retro-styled package.
What are you doing for the next 4 hours and 45 minutes? Take a break from your office-drone life and come watch the hardest single-day motorcycle event in the world.
That’s right, the entire Erzbergrodeo is up on YouTube (complete with a livestream chat feed), for your dirty-biking pleasure and two-centric practice of schadenfreude.
This year was the 24th running of the Erzbergrodeo, and this hard enduro hare scramble lived up to the hype once again. Only 23 riders finished this year’s race in the four-hour time limit (out of the 1,500 entrants and 500 qualifiers), and the clear winner didn’t emerge until the end of the course.
The “Iron Mountain” proved once again to be a great equalizer in rider skill and machine setup, which is why so many people flock to this old iron mine in Austria.
Over the years, thanks largely to the support of Red Bull, the Erzbergrodeo has become one of those iconic motorcycle races that lives a live of its own. Each year we see more top riders flocking to Erzberg, and this year saw the debut of the race’s first electric competitor: Ty Tremaine with Alta Motors.
We don’t want to give too much away, for those who don’t know the result and want to come into the stream clean, but it’s a worthwhile watch. Grab a beverage (or ten), turn off the phone, and enjoy!
The KTM 790 Duke hasn’t even made it to American soil yet — though, it strangely can race in the production middleweight class at Pikes Peak… — and we are already talking about its off-roading sibling, the KTM 790 Adventure R.
Built around the same 799cc parallel-twin engine found in the Duke model, the Adventure variant takes things to a whole new level for ADV riders.
Promising light weight, plenty of off-road power, and Dakar-inspired chassis components, this should be the adventure-tourer that dual-sport riders have been asking for.
With the production version of the KTM 790 Adventure R set to debut later this year at the annual industry trade shows, most of our appetite has been sustained by the prototype bike, which has been making the marketing rounds.
Adding some details along the way though, we have a slightly better idea of what to expect in a few months’ time.
It was four months ago that Alta Motors updated its Redshift lineup with the more potent Redshift MXR electric motocross bike, and from that moment we have been waiting for the other shoe to drop.
This week it has, as Alta Motors is showing off the Redshift EXR, a road-legal dual-sport for enduro fans, which just became the first electric motorcycle to qualify for the Erzberg Rodeo hard enduro event in Austria.
The formula for the 2019 Alta Motors Redshift EXR is fairly simple, as it takes the current Redshift EX enduro model, and adds the drivetrain upgrades that debuted with Redshift MXR model.
This means more power (50hp), more torque (42 lbs•ft), less weight (273 lbs), and of course the “overclocking” mode for when a trail truly needs to be shredded. The recharge time has also been improved too, down to 1.5hrs on a 240-volt circuit – win, win, win.
It has been a long-time coming, but Honda has finally has a road-legal 450cc dirt bike back in its lineup. As such, say hello to the 2019 Honda CRF450L.
Taking its DNA from Honda’s 450cc MX bike (which is also updated for 2019), the Honda CRF450L offers mirrors, LED lighting, an electric starter, and even a place to stick a license plate, giving you the ability to on-road, between trailheads.
Other features include a wide-ratio six-speed transmission, 18″ rear wheel, a two-gallon titanium fuel tank, Showa suspension front and back, and more crank mass than the Honda CRF450R MX bike. The curb weight is claimed at 289 lbs, topped up with fuel and ready to ride.
Honda says that the CRF450L will be available in September 2018, with pricing set for now at $10,399.
We broke the story yesterday, but today the news is officially official: Alta Motors will race in the 2018 Ezerberg Rodeo, which is part of the Red Bull Hard Enduro series.
The most grueling and difficult single-day event in motorcycle racing, the Erzberg Rodeo sees 1,500 entires whittled down into what is usually a single-digit summation of race-finishers – and not every year sees a racer cross the finish line – that’s how tough this race is.
Racing for Alta Motors will be Ty Tremaine and Lyndon Poskitt, two riders with a lot of off-road experience.
For those who don’t recognize those names, Tremaine is currently racing with Alta in the 2018 AMA EnduroCross series, meanwhile Poskitt has previously competed in a number of enduro events, including the Ezberg Rodeo, and most notably just soloed the 2018 Dakar Rally to completion.
…and just tell us that you’re racing in the Erzberg Rodeo. ?
For the last week, Alta Motors has been teasing a big announcement on social media, an announcement that features enduro racers Ty Tremaine and Lyndon Poskitt, along with the hashtag #hardenduro.
The news that we should hear officially tomorrow, as our Bothan spies tell us, is that Alta Motors is going racing in the hardest single-day motorcycle race in the world – the Erzberg Rodeo.
Shut out from more traditional competition avenues – like AMA Supercross and Loretta Lynn’s AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship – Alta Motors is taking a different tack, and going into the belly beast while they’re at it.
Triumph is sending a major wakeup call to its colleagues down south in Bolonga, as the revamped 2019 Triumph Scrambler 1200 just broke cover in spy photos, and the bike looks to be a direct competitor to the Ducati Scrambler Desert Sled.
Abandoning its previously frumpy British roadster-with-knobbies design, the new Triumph Scrambler 1200 looks the part, and seems focused on actually going off-road, like a good scrambler should.
It is a big surprise from the British brand, and a bit of a new direction for Triumph, but clearly the Brits have been feeling the post-authentic pressure from Ducati, and are thus responding in kind.