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EICMA Debrief: Aprilia’s Audacious Active Aeros

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Sometimes, I wonder why brands debut their machines at the EICMA, or any trade show for that matter, but especially the one in Milan.

Asphalt & Rubber published close to 50 new bike stories from Milan, and we still have a few more minor announcements to get out the door, so imagine for a minute that you are the marketing manager for a brand which  is trying to stand out in that crowd.

This EICMA marked the first year where we really saw some brands abandoning the rat race of EICMA, choosing to release their new models ahead of the show, in order to generate some buzz, and dominate the headlines for a day or two. 

And, no one executed this strategy better than Aprilia.

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Products

The Four Flavors of the Indian FTR1200

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The Indian FTR1200 is coming soon, and it promises to be the American brand’s first proper sport bike. The funny thing is though, it is unlike any other sport bike currently on the market.

It is a complicated concept to understand, so we will save it for another story, but part of the big news surrounding this bike is the robust number of accessories that Indian is making available when the FTR1200 is finally on the market.

As such, there will be four aftermarket flavors that you can use to customize the Indian FTR1200, if you so happen to put one in your garage. Those four flavors are as follows: Tracker, Rally, Sport, and Touring. 

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WSBK

GRT Yamaha Moves into WorldSBK with Melandri & Cortese

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As we expected, the GRT Yamaha squad is moving out of the World Supersport Championship, and into the World Superbike Championship for the 2019 season.

Riding for the GRT Yamaha squad is not who we expected however, though it will be two big names in the sport: former world champions Marco Melandri and Sandro Cortese.

Melandri makes the defection from Ducati, where he was reportedly paying for his ride, to Yamaha. He hopes to best his fifth place in the 2018 championship standings. Meanwhile, Cortese comes into the World Superbike racing having just won the World Supersport Championship title.

Factory-backed in World Supersport last year, the GRT Yamaha team will keeps its factory status next year as well, which leaves Yamaha with four factory-backed YZF-R1 racing machines on the grid in 2019.

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A&R Pro

EICMA Debrief: Ducati’s Debut, Delight, & Dismay

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Done and dusted, the EICMA show in Milan is the biggest trade event in the motorcycle industry, and each year we see dozens and dozens of machines debut in Italy, with much fanfare.

With the bevy of new model releases that occur though, it is easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees. So, we are going to break down the big headlines and moments from this new bike season for you, starting with one of our most talked about brands: Ducati.

Ducati traditionally starts off the EICMA festivities, hosting a pre-event somewhere in Milan days before EICMA. The day of this launch seems to get pushed back further and further each year, as other brands have jockeyed for position, and so this year’s pre-event event was held on the Sunday before EICMA.

To its credit, Ducati does EICMA right, and the Italian company has honed to perfection the balance between of hosting a live event for gathered press and VIPs that is also suitable and entertaining enough to be broadcast live on Italian TV and across the internet.

The EICMA show unveiling might be geared now for mainstream consumption, but for those in the industry there are still some valuable inferences to learn from what is said…and what isn’t said.

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Bikes

Honda CRF450L Rally Concept Quietly Debuts in Italy

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When the Honda CRF450 Rally debuted for rally raid competitors in 2012, there was a cry for a production model of this Dakar-ready dirt bike. It took a while, but Big Red finally answer…sort of.

The Honda CRF250L Rally wasn’t exactly the bike that we expect to see in 2015, and it took over a year (and many, many teasings) for the concept to become a reality for the 2017 model year.

The 250cc platform was an interesting choice for Honda to make for its race-replica dirt bike, especially with the underwhelming debut of the CRF250L model, and thus the want for a 450cc version continued.

Now with the potent CRF450L on the market, it looks like that idea is starting to take shape…though, you would hardly know it from the Japanese brand’s actions at EICMA.

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Bikes

The Arc Vector Is an Electric Superbike Whose Big Plans Are Backed by Jaguar Land Rover

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One of the more interesting developments announced at the EICMA show in Milan, Italy was the debut of the Arc Vector electric superbike, which is being back by InMotion Ventures, the investment arm of Jaguar Land Rover. Yes, as in the car manufacturer.

The link to Jaguar Land Rover was an easy one, as Arc founder Mark Truman was formerly part of the company’s skunk works team, called White Space. Other funding partners include Mercia Fund Managers, the Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund which is part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund, and a number of industry specialist angels.

Arc has been teasing the Vector for the past several weeks, with plenty of buzzwords to go along with its electric motorcycle offering. The company plans a multi-pronged approach to get into the motorcycle industry, which includes creating a line of smart apparel (co-developed with Knox) that includes a helmet with a heads-up display (HUD).

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Bikes

Ducati Panigale V4 RS19 Is Ready for Racing Duty

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In case you missed the launch of the Ducati Panigale V4 R superbike, the 998cc fire-breathing 217hp (162 kW) beast of a motorcycle, Ducati Corse is dead serious about returning to winning form in production superbike racing. In other words, the Bologna brand is all-in when it comes to WorldSBK next year.

Helping them to that object is the Ducati Panigale V4 RS19, a bike that is available only to the racing customers of Ducati Corse.

Dripping in carbon fiber, this track-only weapon is what Chaz Davies and Alvaro Bautista will use next season, as they aim to unseat Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki from their superbike dominance.

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Bikes

Fantic Caballero Rally 500 Is a Minor Work, But Still Gorgeous

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We are big fans of what boutique Italian brand Fantic Motorcycles is doing with its 450cc lineup. To our eye, the Fantic Callabero 500 is modern vintage done right. It almost makes us wish we lived in Europe, so we could go ride the big thumper in anger.

New for this year’s EICMA show is another 450cc bike from the brand, the Fantic Caballero Rally 500. It isn’t an earth-shattering design, and it obviously borrows very heavily from the Fantic Caballero 500 scrambler, but we still enjoy it.

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Bikes

A Better Look at the Pierobon X85R Superbike

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We teased the Pierobon X85R ahead of this year’s EICMA show, and now we have more photos and details of this amazing motorcycle.

Built to be a chassis kit for Ducati owners with an extra Superquadro engine laying around (899/959/1199/1299), the Pierobon X85R takes this potent street bike and makes it into a track weapon.

The concept starts with a steel alloy (25CrMo4) trellis frame, which includes aluminum alloy blocks (EN AW-6082 T6) that have been CNC shaped into lateral plates. The resulting frame can be built out with either a single-sided or double-sided swingarm.

For those interested, the base kit includes the frame, airbox, air ducts, rear subframe, foot pegs, and lateral electronic holders.

That should be enough to get most builders started, though Pierobon also offers its own fuel tank and swingarm designs (the stock units work with the kit though). The result is a truly unique motorcycle with one of the best v-twin engines ever produced.

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WSBK

Honda Dumps Ten Kate for Althea/Moriwaki in WorldSBK

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Honda is making waves in the World Superbike paddock for next season, as HRC has pulled its support from the Ten Kate team, and is instead creating a factory team inside the garage of Althea and Moriwaki, who will jointly run the Red Bull Honda WorldSBK racing effort.

Contracted to HRC, Leon Camier will remain on the Honda CBR1000RR SP2 next season, and he will be joined by Ryuichi Kiyonari. Possessing the correct passport, this news means that the 2019 season will mark nearly a decade’s worth of time since Kiyonari last started a World Superbike race.

As we understand it, Althea Racing will run the logistics and hospitality of the new Honda WorldSBK team, while Moriwaki will handle what happens in the pit box and out on track.

Where this news leaves the Ten Kate team remains to be seen, though the championship is currently without representation from Suzuki, Aprilia, and MV Agusta – the latter making its plans to leave WorldSBK racing clear, earlier this year.

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Bikes

XXX: So Many Hi-Res Photos of the Royal Enfield KX Concept

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If you are like us, you probably just finished drooling over the Royal Enfield KX concept, and were bummed that there weren’t any more hi-res photos to drool over and scrutinize from EICMA.

We feel your pain…that is why we have got close to 100 more photos for you. Booyakasha!

The bulk of the photos attached in the photo gallery concern the design process of creating the KX concept, which are interesting to see, though a little to “marketing focused” for our taste.

But, the real value comes as you scroll down and see the Royal Enfield KX concept in detail.

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