A bike that we knew we would see at the 2019 EICMA show, it didn’t surprise us when the BMW S1000XR rolled onto the stage in Milan, but we are certainly glad that we saw it.
Based off the new BMW S1000RR platform, the 2020 BMW S1000XR takes that superbike DNA, and puts it into an adventure-sport format.
This means long-travel suspension, plenty of wind protection, all the damn farkles, and the horsepower to get it all there with a smile on your face.
In an unusual move, Ducati has confirmed in a press release that the Italian brand will be brining the much-rumored Multistrada V4 not for next year, but instead for the 2021 model year.
In its announcement, Ducati said that the V4 machine will be available alongside the 1260 and 950 v-twin models, which adds some more intrigue to what form-factor the Ducati Multistrada V4 could take, and where it could slot into Ducati’s lineup.
This tidbit comes on the news that Ducati has just built its 100,000th Multistrada, in preparation for the 2020 model year.
Now that we have the arrival of the new BMW S1000RR superbike in 2019, our gaze looks deeper into BMW Motorrad’s lineup for the 2020 model year.
Specifically, our attention is on the company’s inline-four sport bike lineup, which always takes its cues from the Bavarian brand’s superbike offering.
As such, a new S1000RR superbike necessitates a new S1000R streetfighter and S1000XR adventure-sport – at least, this is how it has worked in the past.
If you listened to the rumors coming ahead of this year’s new bike season, then we surely are about to see a new BMW S1000XR debuting at the EICMA show in Milan this November. But, what about an updated BMW S1000R? Not so much, it seems.
There has been a bit of back and forth on internet rumors regarding when the so-called Ducati Multistrada V4 would debut, and now we have another piece to that puzzle.
While we know that we will see the new Streetfighter V4 debut at Ducati’s unveiling event in October, it is less clear if the Italian brand will also debuted a V4-powered ADV bike.
The eagle-eyes at Moto.it though have seen EPA filings for a 2020 Ducati Multistrada 1260 GT, which doesn’t seem like a big deal on its face (the model generally just adds items from the Ducati Performance catalog to the Multistrada model), but it does suggest some interesting things.
We know that Ducati plans on bringing its Desmosedici Stradale V4 engine to segments outside of the superbike realm, but only those segments where the high-power, high-revving engine makes sense in that application (and where the cost associated with the machine justifies the pricy engine’s use).
So, it doesn’t surprise us then that the first model to get the V4 treatment is a new Streetfighter from Ducati, the prototype of which was used for that fateful campaign up the Pikes Peak mountain.
Rumors have been rife though that Ducati would put its V4 engine into the Multistrada lineup as well, and today we get our first real proof of that notion, with the Ducati Multistrada V4 test mule caught on the road in Italy, both in photo and video.
We have heard rumors that Ducati would jam its new V4 engine into a Multistrada-type for quite some time now.
But, most of those rumors seemed to confuse the high-powered adventure-sport for the upcoming Ducati Streetfighter V4, so we dismissed them. And yet, talk of a Ducati Multistrada V4 continues.
Now, the rumors are getting more palatable, and even more credible. One reasons for this is a report from Germany’s Motorrad Magazine, which says that they even saw the Multistrada V4 out testing in Bologna.
The MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800 sits in a precarious place on the motorcycle continuum. It is what we would call an adventure-sport motorcycle, a sub-category of bikes that has sprung out of the ADV movement, but with a complete on-road bias.
The ADV segment has been the death of sport-tourers, with the upright seating positions proving to be more comfortable for long-range riding, while the large-displacement engines provide the power that sport riders are looking for.
While ADV bikes are designed to take the road (or trail) less traveled, adventure-sports began showing up for riders who wanted to stay firmly on the tarmac (as was the reality for many adventure-touring machines).
This gave rise to machines like the Ducati Multistrada 1200, BMW S1000XR, several KTM bikes, and Triumph’s fractured Tiger lineup.
The big 1200cc+ bikes have now given way to smaller bikes in the adventure-sport category, the first proper example being the MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800, which first debuted in 2013.
Now Euro4 compliant, and coming in a variety of trim levels, we recently swung a leg over the MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800 Lusso SCS (read our review here).
The only motorcycle in MV Agusta’s lineup with a tall windscreen, bags, and a passenger seat designed for a human, it would be easy to call the Turismo Veloce 800 Lusso a sport-tourer or an adventure-sport, and indeed we do.
But for the Italian brand, the MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800 Lusso is treated like a sport bike…a sport bike that one can ride all day, with bags and a pillion, if you so choose.
It seems like a fine distinction, or perhaps even splitting hairs, but in reality it is a subtle nuance that shows how MV Agusta thinks of its business, what sort of motorcycles it wants to produce, and for which riders it has in mind when it produces them.
Riding the Turismo Veloce 800 Lusso near MV Agusta’s factory in Varese, Italy, Asphalt & Rubber got to see first-hand how this “sport bike with bags” works in the real world.
And while the motorcycle looks no different from the last time we saw it, at the base model’s press launch in the South of France, there have been subtle changes to refine the Turismo Veloce, and to make it compliant with Euro4 regulations.
Getting now to see the premium “Lusso” trim level, as well as MV Agusta’s new “Smart Clutch System”, there was plenty to try on this motorcycle, and while we have a few criticisms, the result with the MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800 Lusso is an ideal machine, if you could only own one motorcycle in your garage. Let me explain.
What you are looking at here is the BMW Motorrad Concept 9Cento. It is a middleweight adventure-sport motorcycle concept that BMW showed off this past weekend in Lake Como, Italy – at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.
The 9Cento Concept is an interesting look into BMW Motorrad’s mindset, with the German brand showing a new platform for its parallel-twin engines. The bike is sporty in nature, and focuses on providing a motorcycle that can do it all: fast canyon-carving, long-distance touring, and urban riding.
The adventure-sport is a crossover concept that BMW has latched onto already with its S1000XR model, and now it seems that the folks in Berlin are looking to add to that lineup even further, with chatter that the 9Cento is likely to become a production model in the near-ish future.
BMW basically created the adventure touring category, popularizing the segment with its Gelände Straße motorcycles. Ever since, the German brand has created more and more “GS” bikes to help diversify its lineup for the tastes of riders, and also to defend its position from other brands.
Here, designer Oberdan Bezzi imagines a different kind of GS – a grand sport. Living somewhere between a scrambler and a maxi-motard, Bezzi’s creation sees the use of an air-cooled 1250cc boxer engine, wedged into a light adventure-sport format.
It is an intriguing idea (and design), and it pokes an obvious hole in BMW’s current crop of motorcycles. We didn’t think the Bavarian brand could use another boxer-powered motorcycle in its lineup, but Bezzi’s Global Sport makes a good case for such a machine.
For the 2018 model year, we see one of our favorite bikes in the Ducati lineup getting the 1260 update. We are of course talking about the 2018 Ducati Multistrada 1260 S Pikes Peak.
The Ducati Multistrada 1260 S Pikes Peak takes its name from one of America’s oldest racing venues, and as a result it is the sportiest version of Ducati’s adventure-touring machines.
Now fitted with Ducati’s Testastretta DVT 1262 engine, the Multistrada 1260 S Pikes Peak makes 85% of its torque below 3,500 rpm on the v-twin engine. That is a good thing, because Ducati says the bulk of Multistrada owners rarely get above 6,000 rpm on their machines.
This makes the 1,262cc engine the perfect candidate for low-revving excursions, like the ones you would take down a dusty fire road. For the sports-focused Pikes Peak model, the choice is a little bit more curious, but we won’t scuff at the 158hp on tap.