2018 Archives - Page 10 of 14

Reviews

A Short Review of the 2018 Aprilia Shiver 900

By Jensen Beeler 10/08/2017 No Comments

For the 2018 model year, Aprilia is updating two long-time members of its lineup, creating in the process the Dorsoduro 900 and Shiver 900 motorcycles.

Today we will focus on what it is like to ride the Shiver 900, though many of our thoughts about this updated roadster are similar to those we published about the Dorsoduro 900 yesterday – you can read those here.

While previous iterations of the Aprilia Shiver 750 were fairly forgettable, the overhaul that has been given to the Aprilia Shiver 900 makes the peppy roadster one worth considering. Dare we say, it surprised us.

The engine is of course revised, and is now Euro4 compliant, but Aprilia has added a more robust electronics suite, as well as new hardware pieces and chassis updates.

As with the Dorsoduro though, the real strength of the 2018 Aprilia Shiver 900 is its pricing, which at $9,399 MSRP is very competitive against the other European middleweights. Good news too, the Shiver 900 is a potent motorcycle to ride.

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Reviews

A Short Review of the 2018 Aprilia Dorsoduro 900

By Jensen Beeler 10/07/2017 No Comments

It is tough work reviewing two motorcycles in one day, but that is exactly what we did this past week in Ventura, California – as Aprilia USA had us riding the new Dorsoduro 900 and Shiver 900 motorcycles.

Coming to the United States for the 2018 model year, the Aprilia Dorsoduro 900 gets a much-needed update for its tenth birthday, with Aprilia overhauling the affordable maxi-motard with some needed upgrades and modern touches.

In addition to a revised and bigger engine, which is now Euro4 compliant, the Aprilia Dorsoduro 900 gets a modest electronics suite added to it, as well as new hardware.

The overall design of the bike hasn’t changed much, which is perhaps a good thing, as the Dorsoduro has always been a visually appealing motorcycle.

The real strength with Aprilia’s 900cc platform though is the pricing, and at $10,999 the Aprilia Dorsoduro is the cheapest motorcycle in the large-displacement supermoto category – giving riders an excellent bang-for-the-buck offering, not to mention a fun motorcycle to ride.

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MotoGP

Ben Spies Making a Return to Motorcycle Racing?

By Jensen Beeler 10/05/2017 No Comments

Could we see the return of Ben Spies to motorcycle racing? That’s the talk of the paddock right now, and the former MotoGP racer is helping fuel the fires with his social media posts.

Our sources point to Spies gearing up for a return to domestic racing, as he looks to ride in the MotoAmerica Championship (presumably on a superbike), and possibly also as a team owner as well, fielding his own entry.

This should come as a surprising but welcomed bit of news to motorcycle racing fans, as the 33-year-old seemingly retired from motorcycle racing after the 2013 MotoGP Championship season, after extensive damage to his shoulders seemed to rule him out of a future of racing motorcycles.

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Rumors

Rumor: Street-Touring Version of the Kawasaki H2 Coming?

By Jensen Beeler 10/02/2017 No Comments

I like this rumor. I like what this rumor says. And, I like that this rumor doesn’t seem to go away.

The scuttlebutt of the motorcycle industry right now is suggesting that the street-shredding Kawasaki Ninja H2 might be joined by a sport-touring variant.

This Kawasaki Ninja H2 GT – as some are calling it – takes the potent supercharged liter-bike, and makes it a little bit better suited for long-distance riding…well, as better suited to touring that a 200hp+ fire-breathing motorcycle can be.

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Bikes

Should Suzuki Bring the V-Strom 250 to the USA?

By Jensen Beeler 09/22/2017 No Comments

The Suzuki V-Strom 250 is already available to our riding compatriots across the pond, but Suzuki Motor of America is considering bringing the model to the United States, which is a bit of good news.

The quarter-liter ADV machine shares a motor with the Suzuki GSX250R, which is really just the Suzuki Inazuma in new clothing. Still, 2018 Suzuki V-Strom 250 provides new riders and attractive entry into the ADV space, at an affordable price point.

The 248cc motorcycle makes just a touch under 25hp from its parallel-twin engine, which gets 88mpg and should be good for roughly 300 miles of range.

Suzuki is looking for feedback as to whether they should being the V-Strom 250 to the USA. So, if you like what you see here, speak-up in the comments section.

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Bikes

Yamaha XSR700 Brings the Hip to the USA for 2018

By Jensen Beeler 09/21/2017 No Comments

Announced today at the AIMExpo, Yamaha is bringing the XSR700 to the US soil, as the tuning fork brand sees an opportunity for the twin-cylinder heritage model in the land that brought hipsters their skinny jeans.

The choice must have been an easy one for the folks at Yamaha Motor USA, with the Yamaha FZ-09 and Yamaha FZ-07 selling well here in the United States, and the XSR900 already being critically acclaimed by the US moto media.

Adding the Yamaha XSR700 to the 2018 model lineup seems like an obvious no-brainer for Yamaha, and we are happy to see it finally coming to the United States of America.

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Bikes

Photos of the 2018 Honda Gold Wing Leak Online

By Jensen Beeler 09/21/2017 No Comments

What you see here are early leaked photos of the 2018 Honda Gold Wing – one of the most successful and important motorcycles for the Western markets.

Honda is expected to debut this new model at a media event in October, but our friends at MaxxMoto and Oliepeil managed to get their dirty Dutch-speaking mits on these low-res gems, ahead of time.

Beyond the styling refresh, the most obvious change that we can see for the Honda Goldwing is the new front-end, which appears to be a Hossack-styled design – similar to what BMW uses on its K-series motorcycles.

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Bikes

Benelli 302R – Rebranded & Now Euro4 Compliant

By Jensen Beeler 09/19/2017 No Comments

The Benelli Tornado 302 is an adorable motorcycle that boasts Italian design with Chinese manufacturing. When we showed it to you two years ago, it received positive acclaim, and was one of a handful of stand-out bikes that the Italian brand surprised us with at the 2015 EICMA show.

It seems now that Benelli is relaunching the Tornado 302, under a new name, the Benelli 302R. Little seems to have changed in the past two years, aside from a new graphics package on the bodywork, Euro4 compliance, and over course the new moniker.

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News

New Triumph Bonneville Speedmaster Teased for 2018

By Jensen Beeler 09/18/2017 No Comments

Are you ready for another flavor of Triumph Bonneville? We hope so, because the British marque is teasing a new model: the Triumph Bonneville Speedmaster.

Set to debut on October 3rd, Triumph’s social media channels are boasting that the new Speedmaster will have “classic custom style” and “class leading capability” – along with “British attitude” which either means a stiff upper lip, or passive-aggressive social graces…we can’t be sure.

In seriousness though, we can assume from the name and attributes that the new Speadmaster will be getting the same liquid-cooled upgrades that we have seen come to the Bonneville line in past few model years, following in the footsteps of the Thruxton and Bobber.

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MotoGP

2018 MotoGP Provisional Calendar Released

By David Emmett 09/13/2017 No Comments

The provisional calendar for the 2018 MotoGP season has been released, and as expected, there are few surprises. The schedule has been expanded to 19 races with the inclusion of the Chang International Circuit in Thailand, which has a contract to host a race through 2020.

The addition of Thailand hasn’t altered the schedule much. The 2018 schedule is almost identical to this year’s calendar, with just a few minor variations.

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Bikes

Big Motorcycle Debut for Honda Coming in October

By Jensen Beeler 09/11/2017 No Comments

Honda is teasing a big global unveiling later next month. What it is, no one knows – outside of Honda, of course. To help tease us into the debut though, Honda has set up a five-part video series, with the tagline “What Lies Beyond” and a focus on what brings motorcycles to the open road.

We have a little over a month to speculate about what new big 2018 model Honda has up its sleeve for us. Maybe it’s a production version of the Honda Neowing hybrid three-wheeler. Maybe it’s the electric version of the Honda Super Cub…

Or maybe, it’s an all-new Honda Gold Wing, which is what my colleagure Adam Waheed from Riders Domain thinks it could be. Either way, we’ll see soon enough. Hopefully it wheelies, and comes in red.

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