Tag

streetfighter

Browsing

For the 2023 model year, BMW is adding to its M Motorcycle lineup, adding an M1000R streetfighter to its now updated M1000RR superbike. And on that same vein, BMW Motorrad is bringing some real substance for its “motorsports” models.

Whereas the current generation BMW S1000R is a bit…let’s say bland…when compared to a segment filled 200+ horsepower streetfighter road bikes, the new 2023 BMW M1000R is a no-compromises offering from the German brand.

With 205hp on tap, the BMW M1000R debuts with the big horsepower numbers that consumers are looking for, along with a litany of premium pieces that fill this high-end space.

KTM made a big deal about the month of February, teasing not one, but two new KTM 890 Duke motorcycles that were coming soon.

One of those bikes was the 2022 KTM 890 Duke R, while the other is a new trim-level, the KTM 890 Duke GP.

While we will have to wait and see what makes an 890 Duke a “GP” bike (we’re guessing a bellypan some other track bits), today we get to see what the fuss is all about with the 2022 KTM 890 Duke R

And frankly, we are disappointed in what we have to report to you with this story…

Big things are moving in the Norton Motorcycle company. After the company’s purchase by TVS, the Norton V4SV superbike program has been rebooted, with some pretty substantial changes and updates to the platform.

The British brand is set to bring a naked version of its superbike as well, showing a prototype of what is being called the Norton V4CR café racer.

True to the ethos of the café racer genre, the Norton V4CR is very much a superbike without fairings, including clip-ons rather than an upright handlebar.

How do you make a bike like the Aprilia Tuono 660 better? It seems like a tough task to undertake, considering the potency of this “naked” sport bike.

Well, the folks in Noale found a simple way to do it – they made an Aprilia Tuono 660 Factory.

For its “factory” badge, the 2022 Aprilia Tuono 660 Factory gets fully adjustable suspension (41mm KYB forks, and a Sacha rear shock), a lightweight lithium-ion battery (curb weight is now 399 lbs / 181 kg), and in the European market the bike gets a power boost to 100hp.

Sitting in the technical briefing for the Ducati Streetfighter V2 press launch in Spain, you can almost hear a tinge of regret in the voice of Ducati VP of Sales, Francesco Milicia, as he talks about the popularity of the Streetfighter 1098 and the length of time it has taken Ducati to follow through with a sequel.

Fastly becoming an iconic and unique piece in Ducati’s long history, social media is inundated with Streetfighter fans, which has only been fueled further with the debut of the Streetfighter V4 model.

While the V4 model is purely new hotness (and an obscene motorcycle on the street), in many ways, the Ducati Streetfighter V2 is the bike we have been awaiting, for roughly the past decade.

Instead of using the new Desmosedici Stradale V4 engine, the new Streetfighter V2 uses the older Superquadro v-twin power plant. Perhaps the most impressive v-twin engine we will ever witness in the sport biking realm, the Superquadro motor was long tipped to birth a Streetfighter model, but it never materialized.

Ducati tried to fill the niche with the Monster lineup, which was a move that was perhaps truer to the original ethos of the Monster name, but betrayed what has long become the realm of that more docile roadster model. 

The Monster 1200 R was the best attempt to bridge the gap regarding Bologna’s lack of a true sport-naked, but compromises are compromises, and the itch wasn’t scratched. The market rebuked.

As a result, Ducati was forced to sit on the sidelines and watch brands like KTM and Aprilia re-ignite what has once been thought of as a novelty category.

Whatever lunar motions changed the tide inside of Borgo Panigale, those movements parted the waters so the Streetfighter V4 could come to fruition, and Ducati was awarded with strong sales for its 200hp+ “street bike” with wings.

As such, an encore was necessary. Enter the Ducati Streetfighter V2, and why I flew halfway across the world – to Seville, Spain – to ride this new motorcycle and see if it is any good.

We already broke the news about the KTM 1290 Super Duke R EVO, but for those who want to keep things official, the 2022 model year machine is now out in the wild.

The headline news here is KTM adding its second-generation of WP Suspension’s semi-active APEX suspension pieces, though the updated KTM 1290 Super Duke R EVO also comes with a quick-turn throttle, which has a 65° twist (7° less than before).

The Ducati Streetfighter V4 is already a pretty bonkers machine when it comes to “daily riders” that are just as comfortable on the street as they are on the track.

The 205hp on tap seems to come in waves as the V4 engine revs and revs and revs, as you hold onto dear life from the sheer wind force hitting your body.

If you have never experienced this, we recommend it as one of life’s simple pleasures. Like drinking an ice cold Mountain Dew on a hot summer’s day. But we digress…

How do you take a potent machine and crank it up to 11? You give it the “SP” treatment, in the form the 2022 Ducati Streetfighter V4 SP.