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I had originally intended to follow-up my preview for the 2021 EICMA trade show in Milan with daily round-ups, but after witnessing what was produced in the first two days, that clearly was unnecessary.

There were question marks on what the 2021 show would be like, after last year's cancellation and with the specter of COVID-19 still hovering over Europe and the motorcycle industry as a whole.

We have that answer now, and it is not a good one.

In the 13 years that I have covered the largest motorcycle industry trade show in the world, I can tell you definitively that this year's EICMA was by far the most disappointing.

EICMA, as we know it, is dead.

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Just 10 days ago, we had to bring you the sad news that the INTERMOT show in Cologna, Germany would not be held in 2020, with the show’s organizers looking to 2022 to resume the trade show’s biannual schedule.

With INTERMOT arguably the second-most important trade show for the motorcycle industry, eyes then moved to Milan, to see if the EICMA trade show would follow suit, and today we have our answer.

Because of COVID-19 concerns, and perhaps due to a mild mutiny from participating brands, the EICMA trade show in Italy has announced that this year’s edition would be canceled, with aims to resume in 2021.

I will be honest, I don’t keep that close of tabs on the scooter segment in the motorcycle industry. This is probably because it feels like a separate entity all onto itself. I do try to keep a pulse on the Vespa brand though, and let me explain why.

When you think of scooters, no name is perhaps more iconic than Vespa. So, that makes it an obvious choice, but I also track the movement of the Italian scooter-maker because it acts as a bellwether for the space. Where Vespa goes, surely so too does the rest of the scooter market. 

This is why we have been covering the Vespa Elettrica with a great deal of interest on Asphalt & Rubber. As you can expect from the name, the bike is Vespa’s first electric model, and it is finally ready for public consumption.

Ripping around the streets of Milan, Italy on the the Vespa Elettrica, A&R gets our first feel for what electric urban mobility looks like from Vespa, and we were able to frame that against the company’s other newest model, the potent Vespa GTS Super 300.

As such, here is not-a-review of this intriguing new two-wheeler.

The EICMA festivities kick off tomorrow, with Ducati preempting the Milan trade show with its own media unveil event. The new model debuts will be live-streamed, of course, and we expect to see a bevy of new models from the Bologna brand.

Before we uncover even one bike though, Ducati is sending a clear message of what we can expect to see, teasing a winglet on its live stream promo photo. This aerodynamic aid surely belongs to the Ducati Panigale V4 R, which is expected to be the Italian brand’s big reveal for EICMA.

Episode 66 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is out, and in it we cover all the new motorcycles that caught our eye at the EICMA trade show in Milan, Italy.

There are a bevy of new models that we discuss in the show, with bikes from BMW, Ducati, Aprilia, Indian, Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, Triumph, KTM, and Husqvarna all tickling our fancy.

Some of the highlights include talking about the supercharged Kawasaki Ninja H2 SX; the three-wheeled Yamaha Niken; the 226hp Ducati Panigale V4 Speciale; the very attractive Honda CB4 Interceptor concept; KTM’s two 790 bikes, and BMW’s substantial updates to its GS models.

A bit light on sleep, and certainly over-caffeinated, we think you will find the conversation to be a bit…peppy. Nevertheless, we think you will enjoy this latest edition of the podcast.

One last note for our Californian listeners, we will be doing a live show at the Dainese D-Store in San Francisco on December 13th, at 6:30pm (the show mentions an incorrect time, as schedules have changed since we recorded the show). We hope to see you there!

You can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well.

The EICMA motorcycle show in Milan is the biggest motorcycle event in the world, and each year a bevy of manufacturers come to Milan to show next year’s production machines, as well as the two-wheeled concepts of the future.

For 2017, things are no different, and we expect see dozens of new machines for the 2018 model (here’s a list of all the new models we expect to see in Milan), as well as a few concepts and prototypes for 2019 and beyond.

Since there will be a barrage of article over the next few days, and we don’t want you to miss a single new motorcycle, we have created a single page to consolidate the different stories that we will be covering this week. Right here!

Go ahead and bookmark this link, and check back often, as we will be reporting 24/7 all week on this year’s EICMA show.

Episode 38 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is aptly named, as it covers some of the new bikes that debuted at the 2016 EICMA show in Milan, Italy. There’s no need for a long summary of the show, as Quentin and I merely cover some of the standout machines that caught our eye in Milan this year.

We think you will enjoy this podcast, it’s pretty much classic Two Enthusiasts fodder (when we remember to hit the record button), and we give more than one shout-out to the departed Husqvarna Nuda 900, a bike we hardly knew.

As always, you can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

As promised, here is Part 2 of the 2015 EICMA show coverage by the Two Enthusiasts Podcast. Episode 10 covers all the non-Italian motorcycle manufacturers: BMW, KTM, Triumph, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha, and Victory – whereas Episode 9 deals with all the Italian bikes at the show.

This episode has a bevy of new models to cove;, and as usual, the guys do it with their usual pop-culture references and general irreverence to the motorcycling status quo. We think this is a show you will enjoy greatly – just in time for the holiday weekend.

If you haven’t listened to Part 1 already, you should do so as well.

The 2015 EICMA show is finally over, and of course the guys from the Two Enthusiasts Podcast have something to say about everything that was unveiled in Milan. There is so much to talk about, in fact, that we had to break up the EICMA coverage into two separate shows.

So first up is Episode 9, which is Part 1 of our EICMA round-up. It covers all the happenings from the Italian OEMs: Aprilia, Benelli, Bimota, Ducati, Energica, Moto Guzzi, and MV Agusta.

Keep an eye out for Part 2 (Episode 10), which should debut on Wednesday, and will feature an in-depth discussion on the rest of the OEMs. Yes, that means double the Two Enthusiasts Podcast goodness for this week. Booyah!

The EICMA week is officially upon us, and the first manufacturer to kick off the action is Ducati, with its pre-event press conference. Ducati typically uses this opportunity to launch its new models for the upcoming model year, and for 2016 it is no different.

Technology has progressed though, and for the second year in a row, Ducati has made its lineup’s world premiere available via online streaming.

This means you can see the unveiling of Ducati’s off-road Multistrada, “X” Diavel, Scrambler 400, 959 Panigale, Hypermotard 939, and many others…all from the comfort of your home/office, and on your favorite motorcycle blog, Asphalt & Rubber.

Click after the jump to bring up the live stream. It should start automatically when things get rolling in Milan, Italy at 4:30pm CET, which is 10:30am EST and 7:30am PST.