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Jensen Beeler

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There is a joke in motorcycling about the two things you don’t want your friends to catch you riding, with the second part of that punch line involving scooters; and while we like to stay open-minded about our two-wheeled vehicles, there’s a reason you don’t see them covered that often here on A&R. All that goes out the window though if the scooters of the future look like this BMW Concept C Maxiscooter, which was released at EICMA this week.

Proof that the Bavarians can make a good looking two-wheeler (although they usually muck-up the end result after showing an attractive concept), the Concept C is the German company’s exploration of what will likely be the growing segment in the motorcycle industry. As gas prices continue to increase, people are going to have to become more practical about their forms of transportation (this statement goes two-fold for us Americans), not needing/wanting a full-sized motorcycle, the maxiscooter segment could be the answer on how to travel practically while not compromising on performance and image.

Unveiled at EICMA today, Husqvarna has brought to the Italian motorcycle show a special three-cylinder concept motorcycle dubbed the Husqvarna Mille 3 Concept. Using three Husqvarna dirt bike cylinders with a common crankcase, the 993cc v-triple (one in two cylinders, one vertical cylinder) is strikingly unique beyond its peculiar power plant. Slammed to the ground, the Husqvarna Mille 3 Concept takes obvious design cues from Husky’s dirt and motard line. Coupled to that low-slung chassis are spoked rims matted to fat street tires, making the Mille 3 looks like it would be more at home on drag strip than anywhere else.

Although there might be a hidden market segment somewhere between dragsters and motards (we know we like this 3-1-2 exhaust system), Husqvarna doesn’t intend for the Mille 3 Concept to be any sort of production machine. Instead the German-owned Swedish firm that is based out of Italy merely wishes to express flex its designing ink, and we imagine the good press doesn’t hurt things either (how many times do you here us talking about Huskies on A&R?). Photos after the jump.

While the tri-color paint scheme might still be too cool for the United States, Honda has finally seen the light, and decided to bring the 2011 Honda CB1000R to the America after all. Based-off a de-tuned CBR1000RR, the CB1000R is Europe’s fun street-naked from the Honda brand that brings some punch to the table (even more when you bring it back to RR specification). While the headlight might remind some of a certain Star Wars bounty hunter, the single-sided swingarm and radial brakes bring a stylish and sporty emphasis to the CB name (that exhaust pipe is a whole different issue though).

Available in any color you want, as long as it’s black, the white and tri-color paint schemes will stay in the EU for now. Honda is still finalizing the technical specifications on the 2011 Honda CB1000R (likely for emissions purposes), so it will be interesting to see if the CB1000R gets further restrictions to meet EPA noise and pollution standards like the 2011 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R. Expect to see the 2011 Honda CB1000R in dealerships in Spring of 2011. Photos and technical specifications after the jump.

Triumph has been teasing us for months about its new Tiger 800 & Tiger 800 XC adventure motorcycles, and now finally the wait is over as both bikes have debuted at EICMA. Centered around a three-cylinder 799cc motor, the Triumph Tiger 800 & Triumph Tiger 800 XC make 95hp and 58 lbs•ft of torque, which will likely come as a disappointment for many who were expecting more out of the stroked Daytona lump. Things get worse as the Tiger 800 tips the scales 463 lbs at the curb, while the Tiger 800 XC weighs in at 474 lbs, making both bikes comparatively heavy and underpowered to their middleweight adventure bike counterparts.

On the positive side, both bikes have a adjustable seat height and handlebars, while the Tiger 800 gets a 19″ front rim and the Tiger 800 XC gets a more dirt-worthy 21″ front wheel. Both bikes have an optional ABS package that can be disabled, which will make off-roaders happy, while the 5 gallon fuel tank should make long trips easier for the road warriors, and extend how far into the boonies one can adventure.

Triumph fans were probably delighted when news of the 2011 Triumph Daytona 675R leaked ahead of EICMA, showing off one good looking triple. The highly anticipated “R” version of the three-cylinder sport bike comes equipped with some nice kit, but now the rumors are confirmed that the Daytona 675R will not get any engine modifications, despite its elevated status.

Making 125hp and 54 lbs·ft of torque, the Triumph Daytona 675R only benefits from its Öhlins suspension. Of course that’s like saying someone has only won the SuperLotto Plus, and not the MegaMillions lottto with its Mega Ball prize, as the 2011 Triumph Daytona 675R gets Öhlins premium NIX30 43mm forks and TTX36 mono-shock.

American youths can rejoice to the news that the 2011 Aprilia RS4 125 will be coming to the United States for 2011. The four-stroke 125cc beginner bike may only have 15hp, but it has been done-up to look like the RSV4, and that’s what matters right? Replacing the RS125, the RS4 125 is supposedly just a Derbi in sheep’s clothing, but considering both brands come from the Piaggio mother ship, we fail to see why that would be an issue to a 16-year-old who has somehow managed to convince his/her parents to buy them a motorcycle. The liquid-cooled, four-valve, DOHC motor comes with electric fuel-injection, and is mated to a six-speed gearbox. Weight is 264 lbs with a full 3.8 gallon tank of gas. Technical Specifications after the jump.

The 2011 Honda CB1000R gets only minor revisions for 2011, but still the naked version of the CBR1000RR continues to be “too cool” for the United States is finally coming to the United States, and flaunts that fact with its revised color scheme and revised LED front head lamp. While Europe will get the cool tri-color paint scheme, Honda America will only be importing the black version of the CB1000R. CB fans have been clamoring for the Honda CB1000R to be brought to the US, especially with the growing popularity of the street-naked segment.

The fact that the CB1000R’s biggest rival, the Z1000 is available in the USA as well, has helped fuel that fire, and it appears Honda has finally comes to its senses, and pulled the trigger. The CB1000R looks great in black (once you ditch that exhaust rain gutter of an exhaust pipe), but we’re partial to the heritage behind the tri-color paint. We’ll just have amuse ourselves by drooling over these photos. Check them out after the jump.

Finally unveiled, this is the much-hyped 2011 Honda Crossrunner that Honda has been releasing sketches of for the past month. A 782cc 90° V4 that’s derived from the VFR800 series, Crossrunner’s liquid-cooled, DOHC motor makes 102hp and 54 lbs•ft of torque. Honda hopes the Crossrunner will fill in a gap that is a cross between a naked street bike and an adventure bike, but has been very clear that it intends the Crossrunner to be a road-only machine (the Honda Crosstourer Concept should fill the off-road need just fine).

Sans a shaft-drive, the Honda Crossrunner will come with a chain final drive, uses an evolution of the VFR’s VTEC valve system for its 16 valves, and features Honda’s combined-ABS braking system. Road warriors get excited because the 2011 Honda Crossrunner comes with a 5.68 gallon tank. The only downside? The Honda Crossrunner is 530lbs when its on the curb. Photos and technical specifications after the jump.

After first making the 2011 Aprilia Dorsoduro 1200’s owner’s manual available to Aprilia owners, then showing a photo of the Dorsoduro 1200 during Piaggio’s HQ launch in Milan, along with a subsequent video, Aprilia is now ready to officially tell us about its 2011 Aprilia Dorsoduro 1200. Available with Aprilia Traction Control (ATC) and anti-lock brakes (ABS) as an option, the Dorsoduro 1200 makes 130hp and 83 lbs•ft of torque with its 492lbs curb weight (a figure Aprilia conveniently leaves out of its press release). The maximoto to the Shiver’s street-naked, the Aprilia’s 1197cc liquid-cooled platform is under-powered and over-weight when compared to the other bikes in the 1200cc category.

While Aprilia positions the Dorsoduro as a maximotard, we’re not sure how the lack of umpf and extra heft will go over with the sporty crowd. With rumors of a Shiver 1200 still circling about, and an early glimpse of the Tuono V4R already showing a 162hp machine, we’re still not sure how this 1200cc street-only motard fits into Aprilia’s model line-up, and how it will differentiate itself to potential buyers.