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India Boss Tips KTM 390 Adventure Debut for 2019

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It has been a motorcycle that we have long waited for, but it seems that the KTM 390 Adventure is finally set to debut. Based on the KTM 390 Duke platform, which currently shares itself with the KTM RC390, the new ADV bike targets the small-displacement adventure-touring segment.

This means that at the core of the KTM 390 Adventure model should be a 373cc single-cylinder engine, making roughly 43hp. Multiple spy photos of the bike have been spotted over the years, which show a long-travel machine that should be fairly capable off-road.

“With the 390 Adventure we would be making our long awaited entry into the niche premium dual-sport segment which is a very apt segment for Indian roads,” said Bajaj SVP and KTM India boss Amit Nandi, in a statement reported by several Indian publications.

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Bikes

Honda CB300R Coming to USA with Retro-Modern Looks

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One of the surprise pleasures at last year’s EICMA show was Honda’s family of “Neo-Sports Café” street bikes, which brought a retro-modern look to Big Red’s approach road bikes.

While the new Honda CB1000R tickled our fancy the most, we were delighted to see that the theme extended all the way to the Japanese brand’s small-displacement platform, the Honda CB300R.

An attractive and affordable entry-level bike, the Honda CB300R looks like it was designed in Europe, rather than Nippon, which is probably why the 286cc commuter is doing so well in the European market.

Seeing that success, American Honda has confirmed the CB300R as an early 2019 model for the US market – available in July 2018.

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Bikes

Here’s How to Race a $20,000 KTM RC390 R in the USA

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In case you haven’t noticed, the Supersport 300 class is heating up, and perhaps most interestingly with virtually zero machines with a 300cc displacement…but that is a subject for another time.

This has put pressure on KTM to remain at the pointy end of business in the small-displacement category, which has lead the Austrian company to the release of a homologation special for the 300cc class. As such, say hello to the 2018 KTM RC390 R sport bike.

A street legal motorcycle, the KTM RC390 R aims to sharpen the points where the entry-level KTM RC390 is a bit dull, namely by using better suspension and new intake trumpets that widen the powerband, but also with a new triple clamp, clip-ons, and levers.

With an MSRP of $8,499 for the RC390 R, the “ready to race” model commands a $3,000 premium over its lower-spec sibling. Of course, if you are really serious about your racing, you will want KTM’s Supersport 300 race kit as well, which will set you back another $11,000.

That’s right, for nearly $20,000, you can race in the “affordable” 300cc race class with KTM.

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Bikes

The TVS Apache RR 310 Is Finally Here – Et Tu, BMW?

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As expected, the TVS Apache RR 310 debuted today in India, thus ending the bike’s nearly year-long delay in coming to market.

Why do we care so much about a motorcycle that will likely never set foot on US soil? Because at the heart of the TVS Apache RR 310 is BMW Motorrad’s next small-displacement motorcycle: the BMW G310RR.

…well that, and the TVS Apache RR 310 looks pretty tasty as a track bike.

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Bikes

The TVS Apache RR 310S Is Finally About to Drop

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We have been patiently waiting for the TVS Apache RR 310S (formerly known as the TVS Akula 310) to debut in India, though probably not for the most obvious of reasons. Now, with only a matter of hours before it officially debuts, we have some thoughts on the newest sport bike from India.

While we are intrigued by the new motorcycles that debut in India, the TVS Apache RR 310S is a bit more special for Western riders.

Built in collaboration with BMW Motorrad, the TVS Apache RR 310S gives us our first glimpse into what the German brand’s 300cc-class sport bike will look like, which should hopefully debut late-2018.

Based around the same 313cc engine (34hp) that is found on the BMW G310R and BMW G310GS, that TVS Apache RR 310S is expected to be a BMW G310RR wrapped in different bodywork.

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Bikes

Honda Creates Eye-Catching Mini “CB” Bikes for Europe

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If you think that the 2018 Honda CB1000R is a fetching motorcycle, then we’ve got some more good news for you, because Honda Motor Europe has debuted at EICMA two more bikes with its “Neo Sports Café” aesthetic: the Honda CB125R and the Honda CB300R.

As you can discern from the names, the Honda CB125R and Honda CB300R are street bikes that shares a lineage with the Honda CB1000R, albeit in 125cc and 300cc packages, respectively.

As such, the 2018 Honda CB125R is basically a redesigned CBR125R (a model not available in the US market), while the 2018 Honda CB300R is a repurposed to create the Honda CBR300R.

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Bikes

Benelli 302R – Rebranded & Now Euro4 Compliant

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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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WSBK

Ana Carrasco Makes History in WorldSSP 300 – Becomes First Woman to Win a World Championship Race

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History was made in the FIM World Supersport 300 class this weekend in Portugal, as Ana Carrasco became the first woman ever to win a World Championship (solo) race.

Her victory didn’t come easy though, as three riders had a hand on the winner’s trophy, as they came down the front straight away for the final time.

Expertly gauging the draft to the finish line, Ana Carrasco put herself in front of Alfonoso Coppola (+0.053) and Marc Garcia (+0.062), narrowly beating the two Yamaha YZF-R3 riders with her Kawasaki Ninja 300.

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Bikes

BMW G310 Classic GS Concept by Oberdan Bezzi

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The BMW G310R is an unassuming small-displacement machine, from little German company called BMW Motorrad.

Joking aside, the minds in Berlin might be the most successful in the motorcycle industry right now, with BMW continuing to release intriguing new bikes, and also continuing to see steady growth in its sales year after year.

Some of that success is built around BMW repurposing motorcycle platforms for different segments. The company’s boxer engine powers the entire R line, the company’s inline-four engine powers the entire S line, and so on and so forth.

For the G lineup of bikes, BMW is drawing upon its 313cc single-cylinder, for both its beginner model street bike, and an entry-level adventure-tourer. Taking a look at the rest of BMW Motorrad’s lineup though, Oberdan Bezzi has imagined some other niches that BMW could take its G line.

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A&R Pro

Why the Honda Rebel Is The Hot New Bike for 2017

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The following is our second taste of the exclusive content that A&R Pro members can expect to read on a weekly basis at Asphalt & Rubber. This article focuses on a current and critical event that happened in the industry, which is something A&R Pro content will focus on. If you want to have access to this kind of long-form content after this week’s free trial period, we recommend you sign-up here. 

New bike season is just about over, now that INTERMOT, EICMA, AIMExpo, and IMS Long Beach trade shows are behind us.

We could still see some new models and concepts debut later this year in Japan, and there is always the possibility of something interesting showing up at the IMS New York show, but those are less popular venues for new bike releases.

In that case then, we can start making some conjecture about the bikes that debuted this year, many of them for the 2017 model year. Let’s start with the best of the best — I am of course talking about the new Honda Rebel models. No? Not the bike you were expecting?

Sure, these unassuming 300cc and 500cc street bikes don’t have the same sex appeal as some of the more wild machines we saw in Germany and Italy, but make no mistake, the revamped Honda Rebel is the most important new bike we have seen debut this year. Let me explain.

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Bikes

BMW G310R Street Tracker by Wedge Motorcycles

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A few months ago, this pocket-sized street tracker caught my attention on Facebook. It was based off the BMW G310R street bike platform, that much I could tell, but I couldn’t find anymore information on the machine.

A few more weeks of this lonesome photo sitting in my ‘to do” box, and it finally moved on to the place where all good stories go to die.

So, imagine my surprise when our friends at BMW Motorrad Japan sent me the following photos, which depict a new custom bike they commissioned from Takashi Nihira, at Tokyo’s Wedge Motorcycles.

It is the same bike I saw months earlier, but now we know who to thank for its creation, as well as a little bit more about its build. Its is quite impressive, for an unassuming “little” street tracker, don’t you think?

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