The rumors were true, and the Yamaha Ténéré 700 family just got a little bigger, with the tuning brand adding its third variant of the popular ADV bike to its lineup.
As such, the 2022 Yamaha Ténéré 700 World Raid is an up-spec long-distance adventure machine with only one caveat – it is only coming to Europe.
Ducati isn’t done showing its 2022 model lineup, with the Italian manufacturer suggesting that we will see three more model announcements in the next few weeks.
Teasing three release dates (and thus presumably three new models), Ducati has virtual launches set for February 17th, March 3rd, and March 10th, which will stream on the company’s YouTube channel.
What models could Ducati be getting ready to launch? According to the sleuthing done by Motorcycle.com, we have a good idea what two of those three bikes might be.
The dark horse in the 2022 MotoGP Championship has to be the Aprilia RS-GP race bike. With a budget that is a fraction of the other factories, Aprilia has been able to evolve the RS-GP each season into a sharper weapon – albeit, slowly.
The Italian squad made big steps in the 2021 season, however, and Aprilia is keen to keep that momentum moving forward and see Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales on the top rankings of the score sheets.
Taking one look at the 2022-spec bike, which was on hand for the team’s season unveiling and photography, and we can already see the evolutions in place for the coming season, and motions are under way for a breakout year.
It feels like a broken record to say that the MotoGP team launches have become a bit anemic in terms of what is being presented, versus what is going to be raced in 2022, but today is a little different.
Launching their 2022 Honda RC213V at the Sepang MotoGP test last weekend, HRC is showing off its new bike, in its “new” colors, ahead of the season-opener at Qatar.
This is because the Japanese manufacturer has big changes underway for the 2022 season, and to see that, you only need to take a quick look at the bike displayed in these photos.
Another day, another MotoGP team launch presentation. This time, our eye candy comes from the Ducati Corse factory team, which hopes to find grand prix greatness in the 2022 season.
Though a third of the bikes on the 2022 grid will come from the factory workshop in Bologna, not all of those machines will be 2022-spec Ducati Desmosedici GP22 race bikes.
Additionally, the photos here are almost certainly not the machines we will see on the grid in Qatar at the start of the season, but the high-resolution photos do give an indication of how hard Ducati is pushing the rules and the progress in the MotoGP paddock.
KTM made a big deal about the month of February, teasing not one, but two new KTM 890 Duke motorcycles that were coming soon.
One of those bikes was the 2022 KTM 890 Duke R, while the other is a new trim-level, the KTM 890 Duke GP.
While we will have to wait and see what makes an 890 Duke a “GP” bike (we’re guessing a bellypan some other track bits), today we get to see what the fuss is all about with the 2022 KTM 890 Duke R
And frankly, we are disappointed in what we have to report to you with this story…
Usually when a MotoGP team launches its racing effort for the coming season, our focus is on the bike.
The machines launched at these debuts may not be the 2022-spec bikes we will see at the opening round in Qatar, but they offer some sizable two-wheeled pornography for us nonetheless.
And when it comes to the ECSTAR Suzuki Team, the Suzuki GSX-RR is one of our favorites each year, as the Japanese brand has managed to adapt the four-cylinder bike to be not only one of the most balanced on the grid, but also the most attractive.
If you have been on the KTM website recently, and were wondering why the KTM 890 Duke R is still listed as a 2021 model, then we have an answer for you.
KTM has let slip that it plans on bringing not one, but two new KTM 890 Duke models to market in February, with the 2022 KTM 890 Duke R set to drop on February 7th.
The Austrian brand is also saying that a grand-prix inspired KTM 890 Duke GP is set to debut on February 22nd.
While the most interesting parts of the KTM launch had to do with the personnel changes, and the shift of focus from the purely technical to the human (for a full review, see here), factory riders Brad Binder and Miguel Oliveira were still fascinating on the weakness of the 2021 KTM RC16 and what they wanted fixing for 2022.
Episode 260 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one is a special show as we gear up for the 2022 MotoGP Championship season.
On the mics, we have David Emmett, Neil Morrison, and Adam Wheeler, and they are joined by a special guest, ex-MotoGP rider Danilo Petrucci.
The Italian called into the show while driving, so we apologize for the connection, which drops in quality from time to time, but we think you will find what he has to say to be very interesting.
KTM North America is recalling nearly 400 Husqvarna dual-sport motorcycles because of problems with their brake pad retaining clips. Again…
For those keeping track, four months ago, KTM North America issued exactly this same recall (21V-678) for the same dual-sport models.
The recall specifically affects the Husqvarna FE 501s and FE 350s motorcycles, from the 2022 model year; and interestingly enough for extra moto-nerd points, the two bikes account for roughly a 50/50 split on the vehicles involved in this recall.