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The headline shares our thoughts on the matter. Is there really a four-cylinder Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R in the works? That is the rumor coming out of Asia, and not exactly a new one.

The bike is expected to debut at the Tokyo Motor Show later this year, in October, with an eye on reviving Japan’s lost history of screaming small-displacement machines.

While there seems to be some evidence that the bike will debut – sightings of a prototype have already been published – our reservations for excitement come from similar rumors that have failed to pan out.

Asphalt & Rubber is coming to you from Varese, Italy this week, as we get ready to ride the Euro4-spec Brutale 800 RR.

Before we ride tomorrow though, we had a chance to sit down with MV Agusta boss, Giovanni Castiglioni, and pick his brain on a variety of subjects (keep an eye on the MOTR podcast for the full interview).

Revealing a few company secrets to us, as all good Italian CEOs do, Castiglioni has provided more insight on the company’s new four-cylinder platform, which will begin to debut this year, likely at November’s EICMA show, but possibly before then.

Described to us as “like Leon Camier’s bike, but without fairings”, the new Brutale 1000 will be the first of three models using the Italian company’s four-cylinder platform.

We have been teased with near four-cylinder models from MV Agusta before, but after today’s announcement, the follow-up story that MV Agusta will launch its new four-cylinder platform in 2018 seems actually plausible.

Something we were expecting at this year’s EICMA show, MV Agusta CEO Giovanni Castiglioni has already shared that we can expect to see a 1,200cc four-cylinder Brutale in the near future.

We say this because its naked street bikes are MV Agusta’s best-sellers, so we expect the new Brutale to be given the nod over a new F4 superbike, in terms of priority, primarily because of financial reasons.

The Honda CB650F is coming to the United States as a 2018 model year machine, so says American Honda. Expected to arrive in August 2017, the Honda CB650F adds a naked option to Honda’s middleweight street bike lineup, complimenting the CBR650F in the range.

The 650cc inline-four Honda CB650F creates a solid middle-point between the Honda CB500F and Honda CB1000R, which helps create a set of steppingstones between Honda’s entry-point machines and top-of-the-line range.

Many words lately have been spent telling the tale of MV Agusta, as the Italian motorcycle manufacturer is at an interesting crossroads for its future. It’s marriage with Mercedes-AMG failed, and now MV Agusta is in a precarious state, financially.

Because of its financial troubles, the motorcycle brand from Varese, Italy has had to rethink it production goals, and its model lineup.

MV Agusta CEO Giovanni Castiglioni sat down with Alan Cathcart (that interview is slowly making its way out from the publications that Cathcart works with internationally) about this subject, and many other topics of interest.

One of the more interesting elements to come from their discussion is MV Agusta’s work on a new inline-four platform, and when we can see MV Agusta’s most iconic models getting a refresh.

We originally thought this delayed endeavor would manifest itself in a new superbike platform, with the next-generation MV Agusta F4 debuting shortly, but as Castiglioni reveals, the first new four-cylinder from MV Agusta will not be and F4, and instead will be a Brutale.

Well, the fun is over. Talking to MCN, Claudio Domenicali has laid to rest any rumors about the Ducati building a four-cylinder superbike to replace the Panigale.

The news confirms what everyone already expected to be the case, as it is hard to imagine a Ducati superbike model being anything other than a v-twin, World Superbike rules be damned.

“I can confirm there is no officially confirmed project at Ducati for a four-cylinder engine to replace the Panigale V-twin,” Domenicali confirmed to MCN. “There is no Ducati four-cylinder superbike planned.”

We have a love/hate relationship with unverified rumors here at Asphalt & Rubber. On the one hand, we strive to break timely and accurate stories for our readers, which means getting the best information as possible, and sharing it with you as soon as possible.

On the other hand though, some wild rumors are worth repeating, not so much for their accuracy, but for how fanciful and romantic it is to think of them being real. Today’s news falls into the latter category, though it comes from the reliable Carlo Baldi of Moto.it.

According to the Italian publication, Ducati is working on a four-cylinder superbike platform, which is likely being developed with World Superbike competition in-mind.

We know, we know, the very concept of a Ducati superbike without a v-twin platform borders on heresy. The rumor isn’t that crazy though, if you think about it, which is probably why it is so delicious to share with you.

We have mentioned already that MV Agusta is getting ready to make an all-new F4 superbike, and from which a new liter-displacement Brutale as well.

Today, we get the first official word of these new machines, as Giovanni Castiglioni confirmed the new models at the company’s “Friends of Claudio” yearly gathering.

For bonus points, Castiglioni also mentioned that a third “crossover” model would be coming from the Italian brand, making for three all-new 1,000cc models from MV Agusta for 2016.

Even though we just finished covering the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas, Yours Truly is still on the road…and I’m actually all the way out in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat (near Nice, France) for the international press launch for the MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800.

We have just had the media debrief on the new Adventure-Sport machine, where MV Agusta President and CEO Giovanni Castiglioni had some interesting news.

First, the Turismo Veloce is the last of the new three-cylinder models from MV Agusta, as the Italian manufacturer feels it has completely exhausted the market segments for the three-cylinder platform.

Second, the MV Agusta is in the process of bringing out an all-new four-cylinder platform, which we presumably will start seeing as early as the 2015 EICMA show, as MV Agusta expects to debut four new models for 2016.

The eagle eyes at the Australian Motorcycle News bring us our first look at the 2015 Yamaha YZF-R1, as Iwata’s superbike was caught testing at the Eastern Creek International Speedway.

With the picture, comes the first rumored details of the new R1, with the biggest news being that Yamaha will bring two versions of the machine to market: one street version, and one for race homologation.

From the photo above, both models will heavily take their styling cues from the current YZF-R6, and will also continue to use a four-cylinder crossplane engine configuration — this revelation squashes any notion of a three-cylinder superbike from Iwata.

Once again the folks at Wunderlich are readying themselves for another BMW model, and the German company has enlisted the services of French designer Nicolas Petit to render the upcoming BMW S1000F sport-tourer, which we are all eagerly awaiting.

Based off the BMW S1000RR sport bike, the S1000F features an upright handlebar design with a more touring-oriented sitting position, to make for better long-road travel. It’s not clear if BMW will follow the lead of Erik Buell Racing, and choose not to detune its superbike engine, but it does seem that BMW wants a bigger piece for the sporty end of the touring market.