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LEAKED: Liquid-Cooled Triumph Bonneville T120

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It’s been no big secret that Triumph is about to add liquid-cooling to the venerable Bonneville and its ilk. The cult classic hasn’t changed much in its long and storied past; and don’t worry, beyond the liquid-cooling, it hasn’t changed much for the 2016 model year either.

Thankfully, Triumph has kept the Bonneville aesthetic well inline with what discerning retro-riders and hipsters are looking for in their motorcycles, discretely hiding the machine’s blacked-out radiator.

While the 865cc Triumph Bonneville T100 will still come to the USA for the 2016 model year (free of the EU’s new stricter emission standards), the 2016 Triumph Bonneville T120 will travel worldwide, with its 1,200cc parallel-twin engine.

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Yamaha PES2 Electric 2WD Concept to Debut in Tokyo

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Back in 2013, Yamaha debuted two electric motorcycle concepts: the Yamaha PES1 street bike and the Yamaha PED1 dirt bike. This was a big deal, because Yamaha said it planned to bring an electric motorcycle to market by 2016.

Well, here we are just a few weeks from the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show, where 2016 models from the Japanese manufacturers would typically debut…and it seems Yamaha has more electric motorcycle concepts for us.

The Yamaha PES2, as the name suggests, is an evolution of the PES1, though it does look slightly more ready for production than its predecessor.

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2016 Yamaha YZF-R1S – A Poor Man’s R1

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All the conjecture can finally be put aside, as Yamaha has finally pulled back the curtain on its rumored third variant of the current YZF-R1 – we simply know it as the 2016 Yamaha YZF-R1S.

As was rumored, the Yamaha YZF-R1S sits below what we used to call the “base model” R1, offering an even more affordable option for riders who couldn’t quite afford the current R1’s hefty $16,490 price tag.

Yamaha made no qualms about saying that the current YZF-R1 was a track bike first, a street bike second. Now replacing some of the more exotic parts on the R1, the R1S keeps much of the R1’s track-oriented DNA, but offers it in a more paltry $14,990 price tag, on a bike that is directed at more price-conscious street riders.

The end result is a machine that loses many of its magnesium parts for aluminum ones (oil pan, engine covers, wheels), as well as its titanium ones for steel ones (connecting rods and exhaust headers), which cause the YZF-R1S to gain 9 lbs over the YZF-R1.

Furthering the watering-down trend, the Yamaha R1S loses some power too, thanks in part to the steel con-rods, as well as a revised valve design.

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The Honda RC213V-S Isn’t Sold Out…Yet

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Do you want a MotoGP bike in your garage (or living room, as the case will likely be)? Do you have $184,000 and then some, burning a hole in your pocket? Do you like not living in a house, but think carbon fiber fairings will keep you warm at night?

If you said yes to any of those questions, you should buy a Honda RC213V-S.

In seriousness, if owning a Honda RC213V-S is a notion that does strike you, then you better hurry up with your order. This is because we asked Honda how orders were coming with the RC213V-S, and the Japanese brand responded that reservations for the MotoGP-bike-for-the-street are quite abundant, indeed.

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Suzuki Trademarks “Recursion” in the USA and Europe

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Could Suzuki’s turbocharged Recursion concept bike be coming to market? There have been rumors already, but that news just got a lot more solid because of Suzuki’s trademark filings this week.

Registering the name “Recursion” in both the US and European markets, for use with motorcycles, the Japanese brand seems set to debut the new model in the coming months.

The question of course then turns to how closely the production machine will be to the concept machine, which features a 588cc intercooled and turbocharged two-cylinder engine. Very closely, we hope.

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KTM 690 Duke To Get Upgrades for 2016

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KTM is pulling the interesting move of only alerting certain outlets to the fact that the Austrian company will be bringing updates to the KTM 690 Duke for the 2016 model year. Regardless of that alienating choice, the facts remain, and we’re here to give you the details of their new models.

As such, expect to see the 2016 KTM 690 Duke to get a power boost, roughly to the tune of 73hp @ 8,500 rpm (up 1,000 rpm over the previous model), with peak torque also getting a boost of roughly 6%.

This increase in power comes about partly to internal changes, which include a larger bore and shorter stroke. These give that 690 Duke a very slight displacement increase of 3cc, for 693cc in total.

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Track-Only KTM RC16 Expected to Cost €140,000

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The motorcycle world is still processing Honda’s decision to make a road-going version of its RC213V MotoGP race bike, and whether you think its price tag overwhelms, or its spec-sheet underwhelms, the Honda RC213V-S is a testament to the engineering that HRC is capable of producing for its racers.

KTM has a similar philosophy afoot. Though Stefan Pierer has made it clear that there will be no successor to the KTM 1190 RC8 R street bike, the company will be making a track-only customer version of its own MotoGP race bike: the KTM RC16.

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Here is the $184,000 Honda RC213V-S Street Bike

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Honda has finally debuted its “absolute MotoGP machine for the street” – the highly anticipated and hyped Honda RC213V-S. First off, the rumors are true: this is not going to be an affordable motorcycle.

The 2016 Honda RC213V-S will cost $184,000 in the USA, while Europeans will get stuck with a €188,ooo sticker price (¥21,900,000 in Japan & $244,000 in Australia). In order to buy an RC213V-S, customers must register on a special website, which will open on July 16th.

Each RC213V-S street bike will be hand-built at Honda’s Kumamoto factory, at the pace of roughly one motorcycle per day. For those inclined to doing the math, we’ll save you the trouble…fewer than 300 units will be made, with that number likely closer to 200.

The 2016 Honda RC213V-S will be available in two colors: the HRC Tricolor or plain-jane carbon fiber (our pick). Both colors have carbon fiber fairings, and come with coil spring valves (not pneumatic valves, like on the race bikes). Other changes from the racing machines include the gearbox, tires, brakes, and maximum steering angle.

As far as electronics go, there are five rider modes, a sophisticated traction control system, along with engine braking control, a quickshifter, and an inertial measurement unit (IMU).

Honda says that the RC213V-S tips the scales at a claimed 170kg dry weight (188kg wet in Europe, 190kg wet in the USA), which isn’t exactly mind-blowingly light. For example, the Ducati 1199 Superleggera weighs 155kg dry and 178kg wet.

For track riders, there is a “sport kit” that will bring the bike to even closer spec to the racing machines. It includes a new ECU, revised ram-air tubes, and of course a racing exhaust system. This kit drops the dry weight to 165kg (177kg wet), but it oddly won’t be available to USA market machines…and that’s an important fact to remember.

In the US market, the Honda RC213V-S will be tuned for 101hp at 8,000 rpm (66 lbs•ft of torque) — a figure the bike will be stuck at, since the sport kit is not available to the US market.

In Europe and Australia, the RC213V-S will make a still disappointing 157hp at the 11,000 rpm-spinning crank, but with the sports kit installed, that figure will get bumped to over 210hp at 13,000 rpm. Peak torque is set at 75 lbs•ft at 10,500 rpm, with the sports kit lifting that figure to over 87 lbs•ft.

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Live Stream: Watch the Honda RC213V-S Debut in Spain

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The final production version of the Honda RC213V-S is set to debut in less than 24 hours, at a special press event at the Catalan GP. In case you happen not to be in the Barcelona area tomorrow, Honda has set up a live feed of the event (after the jump).

Still playing coy, all that Honda will say is that the launch will be “the absolute MotoGP machine for the street” – though, it is perhaps the worst kept secret in the motorcycle industry.

Casey Stoner is expected to be on-hand as well, giving the Catalans the treat of a parade lap on the €100,000+ Honda RC213V-S.

We’ll have photos and all the details for you once the Honda RC213V-S debuts, so check back tomorrow at 2am Pacific Time, 5am Eastern Time.

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Honda RC213V-S Spotted on the Road

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All signs are pointing to the Honda RC213V-S road bike debuting the Thursday ahead of the Catalan GP; and if you believe the rumors, Casey Stoner himself will parade the MotoGP-inspired hyperbike around the Spanish track.

Shown above, with Honda test ride Hiroshi Aoyama at the controls, the Honda RC213V-S has been seen on the road, in its final trim. The bike has also been on display in Thailand this past week, helping fuel its official launch in Spain.

This means that in just a week’s time, we should finally know all the details about the RC213V-s. Expected to cost north of €100,000, the hand-built street bikes will be very special machines, with production likely limited to how quickly Honda can make the motorcycles.

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Honda Trademarks “RC213V-S” in Europe

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Adding more fuel to the fire, concerning Honda’s long-awaited V4 production superbike, the Japanese manufacturer has registered the trademark “RC213V-S” with the European Union.

As MotoGP fans should already know, next year’s production race bike will be called the Honda RC213V-RS, which should make the more plain “S” designation sound suspiciously like a street-going model.

Not exactly the most glamorous name for a road bike, especially one of this stature, one could not fault Honda for wanting to draw a link between the production model and its GP-racing lineage.

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