Latest Posts:
Asphalt & Rubber
Tag

2017

Browsing
Bikes

More Improvements Come to the 2017 Aprilia RSV4 RF

By 19 Comments

Let’s just be really honest for a moment – the 2017 Aprilia RSV4 RF looks as hot as it is fast. Debuting at the  INTERMOT show in Germany, this is our first look at what the engineers at Noale have in store for the superbike market, also debuting the l0wer-spec Aprilia RSV4 RR for the 2017 model year.

Both bikes benefit from improved suspension and braking pieces, as well as an updated electronics package, which includes Bosch’s cornering ABS.

Like the RSV4 RR, the Aprilia RSV4 RF is compliant with the Euro 4 emissions standard, though Aprilia worked hard to maintain the bike’s 201hp / 84.8 lbs•ft power and torque ratings.

Aprilia was able to do this, mostly by raising the RSV4 RF’s redline by 300 rpm. Aprilia has also done away with its variable timing intake ducts (a 500g savings), deeming them unnecessary now with the updated APRC electronics package.

Several internal changes have been made to the engine, including lighter pistons and a number of friction-reducing treatments. A linear sensor has also been added to the gearbox, which aids in the new quick-shifting functions for upshifts and downshifts.

Typical for the “RF” model, the 2017 Aprilia RSV4 RF comes with premium suspension pieces from Öhlins. It might be evolution, not revolution for the Aprilia RSV4 line, but the Italian superbikes continue to set the bar for others the chase.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

2017 Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 Factory – Just Add Öhlins

By 7 Comments

It goes without saying that if the 2017 Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 is getting a list of updates at INTERMOT, then the same must be true for the Factory version of the potent 175hp streetfighter.

This means that the 2017 Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 Factory takes the new fourth-generation APRC electronics package, Bosch-powered cornering ABS, improved combustion chamber, larger exhaust can, and adds to it the typical Factory-spec improvements like Öhlins suspension (including an Öhlins steering damper).

If you haven’t ridden the Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 RR or Factory, we highly recommend it. They’re so choice.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

2017 Yamaha MT-10 SP – Putting the Europeans on Notice

By 25 Comments

What you’re looking at is the 2017 Yamaha MT-10 SP, a new edition of Iwata’s crossplane-power streetfighter. Despite being just a few bolted-on parts, the Yamaha MT-10 SP is one of the more interesting machines to debut in INTERMOT today.

This is because it pits the Yamaha MT-10 directly against the streetfighter offerings from the European brands – something that was already occurring with the MT-10/FZ-10, even if it was unintended.

The Yamaha MT-10 SP though gives the Japanese a more proper machine to go toe-to-toe with the likes of the Super Duke R, Tuono V4 1100, and other models.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

The Yamaha MT-09 Gets a Facelift & More for 2017

By 22 Comments

Yamaha’s MT line runs with the tagline “The Dark Side of Japan” and promises edgy and affordable street bikes for urban riders.

Someone in Iwata, Japan must have thought that the current Yamaha MT-09 wasn’t quite edgy enough though, which is the only way we can explain the 2017 Yamaha MT-09, which debuted today at the INTERMOT show in Cologne, Germany.

Now with a “twin-eyed” LED headlight design, the Yamaha MT-09 feels a little bit more at home when parked next to the Yamaha MT-10 / Yamaha FZ-10 streetfighter. Other changes include an assist/slipper clutch, quickshifter, new suspension, and a redesigned tail section and fender.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

BMW R nineT Racer – Yet Another Café Racer

By 19 Comments

BMW Motorrad’s INTERMOT unveilings centered around two machines for its heritage lineup, the BMW R nineT Pure and the BMW R nineT Racer. Both bikes are based off the iconic air-cooled boxer-twin engine, and both bikes are exactly what their name implies.

The R nineT Pure is a basic street standard, styled for a forgotten era. The R nineT Racer adds a half-fairing to the mix, adding yet another café racer model to the list of choices the post-authentic crowd can pick from.

Admittedly, BMW’s design team did a good job with the 2017 BMW R nineT Racer, making a tasteful café model from the very flexible R nineT platform. We especially like the subtly done throwback white, blue, and red paint scheme.

The BMW R nineT has done well for itself with urban riders, and the BMW R nineT Scrambler is eagerly awaited, finally launching in the coming weeks around the world.

We expect similarly strong showings for the Racer and Pure models, though if we had to pick from the two, this would be the one.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

2017 Ducati SuperSport – The Sport Bike Returns

By 65 Comments

The Ducati SuperSport is back for the 2017 model year, bringing a street-focused sport bike into Ducati’s motorcycle lineup once again. As you would expect, the 2017 Ducati SuperSport will come in two models, the SuperSport base model and a higher-spec SuperSport S model.

Both bikes use the 937cc, water-cooled, 113hp v-twin engine that’s found in the Ducati Hypermotard 939. Ducati has also used a steel trellis frame for the SuperSport, which looks very similar to the one used on the current Monster line. Obviously, the front fairing takes some cues from the Panigale superbike.

Ducati’s focus is for the SuperSport to augment its street lineup with something sporty that could go on the race track, but would be more at home on twisty roads, even with a passenger on the back.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Here’s Another Yamaha YZF-R6 Teaser Video

By 13 Comments

The 2017 Yamaha YZF-R6 is coming soon. We know this because Yamaha has released a second teaser reminding us to that fact. Set this time at what looks like Miller Motorsports Park in Utah, the teaser video again is light on giving anything away.

A few glimpses of a sport bike can be seen, and of course there’s the aural pleasure of hearing a 600cc inline-four engine being revved out to infinity. Our ear hears a flatplane crank for the new Yamaha YZF-R6, which is a topic we’ve covered before, in the last teaser video.

If we sample the frames to this video, we do get a couple good detail shots. One is of the vents on the fuel tank / airbox cover, another shows us what looks like an LED headlight, the best shot though shows us the shilouette of the new R6, which looks to be based closely off the current R1.

Beyond this, what features could Yamaha be bringing to the class-leading supersport? Only time can tell.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

Behold, The KTM 1290 Super Adventure R

By 26 Comments

We like it when OEMs go big with their ideas, and that’s exactly what the Austrians have done with the 2017 KTM 1290 Adventure R.

The more svelte and off-road focused cousin to the KTM 1290 Super Adventure, this R model is meant to defend KTM’s domain in the ADV world against would-be competitors…like perhaps, Ducati.

The plan here is pretty simple, take the base model KTM 1290 Super Adventure, but add in crash protection, tubeless wire-spoked wheels (21″ in the front, 18″ in the back), and even more travel in the WP suspension pieces (22omm, front and back).

2017 also sees the Super Adventure line getting a makeover, which you will either love or hate, as KTM’s lineup continues to read like a Spy vs. Spy comic.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000R – A Two-Pronged Approach

By 37 Comments

No, that extra R in GSX-R1000R isn’t a typo – Suzuki is releasing two versions of its superbike at INTERMOT today, the 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000R being the higher spec model for track enthusiasts.

Available later in mid-2017, the Suzuki GSX-R1000R takes the already robust package that is the Suzuki GSX-R1000, and adds to it an up-and-down quickshifter, launch control, and cornering ABS feature set.

The suspension has also been upgraded, with the 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000R getting the very noticeable Showa Balance Free forks (note the gas cartridge on the fork bottom), and the Showa Balance Free Rear Cushion rear shock, which is an interesting piece of kit, since Showa says the design does away with the need for separate high-speed and low-speed compression adjustment.

The last item of difference, besides the price of course, is that the 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000R includes a lighter triple tree top clamp.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

The All New 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000 Finally Debuts

By 17 Comments

We have had to wait nearly an entire year for Suzuki to finalize and release its new superbike, after first teasing us at the 2016 EIMCA show with it. But today at INTERMOT, the 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000 is finally ready for primetime.

Because Suzuki already teased us the new GSX-R1000 a year ago, much about the machine is already known. But, for a proper plot twist, there will in fact be two variations of the Suzuki GSX-R1000 for 2017, with a higher spec 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000R debuting as well.

For the 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000 base model, of course everything is brand new. The inline-four engine on this liter-bike features a variable valve timing (VVT), a first in the superbike segment. Peak power is just shy of 200hp, with Suzuki claiming 199hp and 86.7 lbs•ft of torque.

The crown jewel of the electronics package is a six-axis IMU, which brings a 10-level traction control system, riding modes, cornering ABS, launch control, up-and-down quickshifts to the once “King of Superbikes” (the latter three items being on the GSXR-1000R).

With a wet weight of 441 lbs, the 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000 is in the hunt to reclaim that crown, making this a strong return for the Japanese brand in the superbike segment.

Keep Reading
By
Bikes

The 2017 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR Earns that Extra “R”

By 10 Comments

Before INTERMOT this year, Kawasaki USA sent out a cautionary email that Kawasaki bikes debuting at trade show in Germany would be for the European market only, and that those bikes coming to the USA would debut later next month.

So, we can’t say for certain for our North American readers that the 2017 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR will be crossing the pond, but for our European compatriots, here is a new superbike that should get your motor really running.

A byproduct of the World Superbike rules, the 2017 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR is a homologation special, of which only 500 units will be made for public consumption.

To get that extra “R” on its name, the folks at Kawasaki have taken their already stout ZX-10R superbike, and massaged in some pretty choice engine, chassis, and electronic upgrades.

Keep Reading
By