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November 2015

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Honda City Adventure Concept – An ADV Scooter?

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Now, I’m not one to talk when it comes to slapping knobby tires on an inappropriate street bike, and heading out to the dirt trails on it. But that being said, the Honda City Adventure concept takes the notion even farther than we could imagine.

For those times when you feel like getting your ADV on, but you know…with a scooter…the Honda City Adventure concept is there for you, and it debuted today at the EICMA show in Milan, Italy.

Honda seems to like blending different kinds of bikes in order to create new segments, we have seen this practice with a number of machines, and it has produced some interesting ideas.

The Honda City Adventure concept is equally interesting, though it seems like the answer to a question no one is asking. Maybe we are wrong though, and there are just thousands of scooter riders out there, eager to hit the trails on their feet-forward machines…

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Bikes

2016 Honda CB500F Gets Much-Needed Facelift

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When the Honda CB500F first debuted, it was a welcomed addition to Honda’s lineup, as the Japanese brand was really filling out its 500cc/A2 offerings, but the bike itself was hardly something to get excited about, especially in the looks department.

That seems to have changed now, with the release of the 2016 Honda CB500F at the EIMCA show in Milan, as the street “standard” is looking a lot more aggressive and edgy with its new haircut.

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Bikes

Ducati Scrambler Sixty2 – 400cc of Hipster

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The eagerly awaited 2016 Ducati Scrambler Sixty2 is the small-displacement machine we have been waiting for from Ducati, and it has finally dropped at this year’s EICMA show in Milan. The Scrambler Sixty2 joins the Scrambler Flat Track Pro as one of the two new Scrambler Ducati models for 2016.

Accordingly, the Ducati Scrambler Sixty2 takes the basic Scrambler chassis and re-sleeves the machine’s air-cooled v-twin for 400cc of displacement, with a 72mm x 49mm bore and stroke (compared to the 88mm x 66mm bore and stroke on the 803cc models).

The result is a bike that Ducati says is better suited for new riders with its 41hp and 368 lbs dry weight. That’s only a 7 lbs reduction from the the 803cc models, so the Scrambler Sixty2 is still a bit heavy, but the Ducati Scrambler Sixty2 does fit into Europe’s A2 license format, so there’s that.

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Bikes

Ducati Scrambler Flat Track Pro – When Hipsters Go Racing

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Debuting today in Milan, Italy – just ahead of the EICMA trade show – Ducati has announced the Ducati Scrambler Flat Track Pro. The model comes from Ducati’s foray into the flat track realm, where Troy Bayliss made a tough return to motorcycle racing.

Ducati’s flat track race bike hasn’t really mimiced anything in the Italian company’s lineup, until now of course. Behold the first new model to the Scrambler Ducati brand, the Ducati Scrambler Flat Track Pro.

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Bikes

2016 Ducati Hypermotard 939 – Modestly More Powerful

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The 2016 Hypermotard family, which include the Hypermotard, Hypermotard SP, and Hyperstrada gets a displacement increase to 937cc, but we knew that already from CARB documents earlier this year.

Now we know that the plus-sized supermoto model will make 113hp (+3 hp from previous) from its Euro4 compliant engine, which also comes with a 10% torque increase (+7 lbs•ft of torque).

The styling is obviously the same, as you can see from the photos after the jump, though there are some subtle changes to the turn signals and handguards, that may look familiar if you’ve perused the Ducati Performance catalog recently.

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Bikes

Ducati 959 Panigale Comes with a Shotgun Exhaust*

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We knew from CARB filings to expect a Ducati 959 Panigale at the EICMA show, with Ducati’s “middleweight” getting a displacement boost that puts its well into superbike territory. And now that the show Milan is finally upon us, we have all the details of the 2016 Ducati 959 Panigale.

As expected, the Ducati 959 Panigale gets a 955cc displacement increase on its now Euro4 compliant engine, via a longer stroke. This means that the 2016 Ducati 959 Panigale makes 155hp of peak power, and 79 lbs•ft of peak torque.

Suspension is done by Showa and is fully adjustable, while the double-sided swingarm remains. However, we predict it is the bike’s titanium shotgun exhaust that we think most Ducatisti will be talking about.

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Bikes

This is the Ducati XDiavel Power Cruiser

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In addition to the Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro, the Scrambler Sixty2, and Ducati 959 Panigale that have debuted ahead of the EICMA show, we can also bring you the first photos of the Ducati XDiavel, the much-talked about belt-driven cruiser from Italy.

A lot of the Ducati XDiavel, and its higher-spec sibling the Ducati XDiavel S, is “what you see is what you get” and not really our cup of tea, to be honest. Though, the models represent an expansion of the Diavel line that is certainly intriguing and likely to bring more riders into the Ducati family.

Underneath all the cruiser styling is a potent and new 1,262cc engine, which has variable valve timing and makes a healthy 156hp and 96 lbs•ft of torque.

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Bikes

2016 Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro – More ADV

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This is Ducati’s first real foray into the adventure-touring segment of motorcycles, and the 2016 Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro promises to up the ante on the Multistrada 1200’s off-road ability, with a purpose-built trail stomper.

As we can see from the photos, there have been several changes to the Multistrada 1200 to make it more ADV capable, the most important of which is the double-sided swingarm, for added strength and rigidity.

Other changes include a 19″ front wheel, shod with knobby tires, a skid plate, and a higher-mounted single exhaust can. We are told the fuel tank has been punched out to 30 liters, which is almost 8 gallons – certainly enough fuel to get you properly lost in the great outdoors.

Of course, with any ADV bike, the scales are the machine’s worst enemy, as the Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro weighs a hefty 516 lbs.

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Bikes

Build Your Own Bimota BB3 – Kits Now Available

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Bimota has a history of providing do-it-yourself kits to customers, allowing racers and owners the ability to use their own engines with Bimota chassis. And now, you can do that with the Bimota BB3, as the boutique brand is offering its BMW S1000RR powered superbike in kit form.

All you need to provide is the 1,000cc inline-four engine from the S1000RR, as well as its wiring and electronics, and the Bimota BB3 kit provides the rest.

While the package should be an affordable way for collectors, enthusiasts, and racers to come about owning a Bimota BB3, the kits genesis is very much grounded from adversity in the business realm.

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Bikes

Bimota Supercharger Kit for Ducati-Powered Models

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Bimota continues to impress, ahead of the company’s new-model debuts at the 2015 EICMA show. Not only will Bimota have two new models to show us, the Bimota Tesi 3D RaceCafe and Bimota Impeto, but the brand from Rimini says it is also getting into the forced induction game.

As such, Bimota has developed its own supercharger, which will be available on all of the company’s Ducati-powered engines that are liquid-cooled, which effectively means the DB8, DB9, & and DB11, as well as Bimota’s models that will debut in Milan, Italy this week.

That should be good news to those owners, as the Bimota supercharger is said to add roughly 15%-20% to the maximum torque figure, as well as smooth out both power and torque delivery.

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Dirt

Watch Ducati Launch Its 2016 Motorcycle, Right Here

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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.

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