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In our mind, the Aprilia SXV 550 (and its smaller sibling, the Aprilia SXV 450) is one of the most impressive motorcycles made in modern time…with one caveat.

The 77° v-twin SXV made headlines with its impressive power figures (70hp for the 550cc version), as well as its tendency to blow itself apart.

A true race bike with lights, the SXV line was a bit of a disaster for Aprilia, in terms of customer reliability, and unfortunately that made the limited number of supermoto and dirt bikes produced by Noale very short-lived with their owners.

So, it warms our heart whenever we see the SXV engine used for other projects, if for no other reason than it makes us wonder what could have been.

Take for example this sport bike custom from Simone Conti Motorcycles, which turns the SXV into something that is quite far from the original design intent.

Enthusiasts of the Honda Gold Wing motorcycle have waited a long time for this day, and now it is finally here, as Honda has finally brought a new Gold Wing to market – the sixth generation of this iconic motorcycle.

The 2018 model comes in two flavors, a bagger version which Big Red is calling the Honda Gold Wing, and a touring version, which is aptly named the Honda Gold Wing Tour.

Both of the 2018 models are all-new motorcycle designs, with virtually no part of the machines being shared with the previous generation bike, and both built around a brand new six-cylinder engine.

Focused around a more compact design, the 2018 Honda Gold Wing is staggeringly lighter than before, with roughly 90 lbs of bulk removed from its mass.

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.

Back in 2013, I was at the EICMA show in Milan, and watched the Brough Superior SS100 makes its world debut. The rebooted British marque had a stunning bike to show-off, and an intriguing game plan to re-enter the motorcycle industry, which included a Moto2 race bike.

Almost two and a half years later now, some things have changed, but the big news is that the Brough Superior SS100 is finally going into production, with three finishes: traditional, racing full black, and titanium.

Available later this year, and already certified for sale in Europe, the Brough Superior SS100 can be yours for a cool €50,000.

When it comes to historic British motorcycle brands, Ariel ranks as one of the top marquees in the business. Currently lending its name to the insane street-legal go-kart that is the Ariel Atom, which Jeremy Clarkson helped make famous with his big mouth..literally, Ariel boss Simon Saunders has tipped, in a press release about the latest Atom iteration, that the company’s next effort will be of the two-wheeled variety.

Caught testing by the lenses of MCN, the British moto-publication says that the new Ariel will be based around the 1,237cc V4 engine found on the Honda VFR1200F, and have a single-sided swingarm, along with a unconventional front-end — possibly of a girder or Hossack design.

The second of Bultaco’s two prototype electric machines, the Bultaco Rapitan Sport picks up where the more mundane, and we use that word relatively, Bultaco Rapitan leaves off. Essentially the same machine at its core, the Rapitan Sport features a more street-tracker aesthetic to mask its electric underpinnings.

This means the same 53hp and 92 lbs•ft of torque powertrain from the Rapitan is featured, which Bultaco developed in-house. It also means that the Rapitan Sport has the same “dual-link” Hossack front-suspension system, belt drive, and 125 mile / 68 mile (city/highway) claimed riding range.

Looking like a very polished design, we like what we see here with the Bultaco Rapitan Sport prototype. We’re not sure how many riders in motorcycling’s conservative ranks will go for its unique pieces of technology and bright yellow street tracker vibe, but we’re a little crazy here at Asphlat & Rubber, and the Rapitan Sport happens to be our particular flavor of two-wheeled insanity.

Like the Rapitan, the Raptian Sport is due out later this year — fingers crossed. No word on price or availability, though we suspect a European debut before any units make it to North America.

As promised, here is the first glimpse of Bultaco’s revival as an electric motorcycle company, and the Spanish brand calls it the Bultaco Rapitan. Really a spin-out project by LGN TECH Design S.L., the new Bultaco is the work product of José Germán Pérez, Raúl Pérez, Juan Manuel Vinós, Gerald Pöllmann, and Jorge Bonilla.

Underneath the Rapitan’s edgy exterior (note the Hossack front-end) resides an electrical powertrain system that the Bultaco gents say they developed themselves. Good for 53hp and 92 lbs•ft of torque, the Bultaco Rapitan isn’t going to blow away the competition with power, but should make for a decent and unique riding experience.

The Spanish firm isn’t saying how much battery is on-board, but claims 125 miles of city riding, and 68 miles of highway riding at 75 mph — which we would guessimate at 10+ kWh, but we all know how accurate these range claims are, right?

Tipping the scales at 416 lbs (189kg), the Bultaco Rapitan isn’t the lightest street-naked on the market, but it certainly isn’t the heaviest either. With 92 lbs•ft of torque, we suspect this should make for a peppy ride, and if the avant garde styling is to your liking (it suits our tastes just fine), then we hope the final production model won’t stray too far.

The legendary brand of Brough Superior is making a resurgence, as the British marques debuted today at the 2013 EICMA show its first all-new street bike in decades, the Brough Superior SS100.

A bit of high-tech meets old school, the Brough Superior SS100 draws heavily from the classic lines of the original Brough Superior SS100 before it, though the modern-day machine incorporates some clever innovations and contemporary pieces.

After visiting three Honda tracks in a row, MotoGP finally heads back to a Yamaha track. Brno is fast, flowing, with a multitude of left-right and right-left combinations which favor the agility and high corner speed of the Yamaha over the more stop-and-go Honda tracks. Here, it is the Yamaha’s turn to shine.

Well, that was the theory. At the end of the first day of practice, it’s the Honda of Stefan Bradl on top of the pile, ahead of Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa, Valentino Rossi, Marc Marquez, and Cal Crutchlow. That’s Honda, Yamaha, Honda, Yamaha, Honda, Yamaha. So much for Yamaha domination. Then again, with just three tenths of a second separating Bradl in first from Crutchlow in sixth, Brno is hardly seeing the Hondas dominate either. There is very little to choose between any of them.