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Updates Coming for 2017 KTM 1290 Super Adventure

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It looks like updates are coming for the KTM 1290 Super Adventure, as the Austrian company has been caught testing the machine.

What those updates will be though, is anyone’s guess, as the photos captured of the new KTM 1290 Super Adventure don’t reveal too many changes (see the photos here).

Most noticeable are some revisions to the front of the Super Adventure, with the fairing/headlight and windshield getting some minor shape corrections.

This is likely to improve airflow around the rider, which makes sense as KTM has fitted their test rider with a bevy of wind telltales for aerodynamic assessment.

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Bikes

Honda, Give Us the CRF250 Rally Already

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For the second year in a row, Honda will be showing its CRF250 Rally concept at the prestigious Tokyo Motorcycle Show – further tempting us with its small-displacement adventure bike.

Honda announced the re-showing of the CRF250 Rally concept today, along with a slew of other machines and concepts it plans on displaying at the Tokyo show.

This announcement only seems to confirm the internet speculation, which widely pegs the model to debut for the 2017 model year. Its continued arrival at trade and enthusiasts only fuels that fire.

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Bikes

Tip: Don’t Break Your ADV Bike in Your Teaser Video

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For reasons we haven’t fully been able to understand, there has been a lot buzz lately about the new Himalayan model from Royal Enfield, the Indian company’s foray into the ADV market.

The premise might seem obvious enough, a small-displacement (410cc) adventure-tourer that is supposed to be cheap, rugged, and easy to work on.

There has always been a trade-off to make in buying a Royal Enfield though, with the “unique” charm of owning a motorcycle from the historic brand having to be balanced against its less than stellar reputation for quality and reliability.

While the idea of a simpler and easier adventure-tourer is certainly appealing to a demographic that is like to have to make repairs on the side of some single-track trail, it just seems you are just as likely to be making those repairs because something on the bike broke for no good reason. There’s a chicken and the egg thing going on somewhere here with this logic.

That being said, if you’re a brand that is try to tackle that very problem, it would probably be best not to show your rough and tumble ADV bike breaking when it is used on a modest of jump. Skip to 1:51 in the video, after the jump, and look for the right footpeg coming off during landing. Hrrm.

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Bikes

Wunderlich Hybrid BMW R1200GS LC with Electric 2WD

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BMW aftermarket parts specialist Wunderlich really knows how to promote itself. The German company is known for its one-off machines and concepts, some which have tipped BMW’s hand when it comes to new models. For a boutique German brand, it is impressive that it is known around the world.

So, it shouldn’t surprise us that Wunderlich is grabbing headlines once again, this time with an intriguing concept: a two-wheel drive BMW R1200GS that uses a hybrid drivetrain with an electric front-end that was developed with Italy’s electric specialist Evolt.

Wunderlich calls its creation the BMW R1200GS LC, and it features a 10 kW hub motor on its front wheel, in addition to the GS’s boxer-twin gas engine. The electric motor has regenerative braking, which helps charge its modest battery pack (located under the front beak, to our eye).

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Bikes

So You Say You Want a Small, Light, & Cheap ADV Bike?

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Comments on certain stories are predictable, and as such, we always expect some enduro rider to show up on an ADV story, and lament the weight of the bike in question, calling it too heavy to really go off-road.

That argument is bullshit, of course. Though, it is easier to handle a lightweight machine in the dirt than a heavy one, but you would be surprised at how capable any motorcycle is with a pair of knobby tires on it.

Just in case you are not convinced, we have got a little something for you. Behold the Benelli TRK 502. It’s got the profile of a condor, but the little 500cc adventure-tourer looks like it should do the job you are asking of it.

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Bikes

Benelli Teases the Return of a “Legend” – A Scrambler?

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Benelli is very much the forgotten Italian marque in the motorcycle industry, with Ducati, MV Agusta, and Aprilia (in that order, perhaps) taking most of the attention when it comes to motorcycle that hail from a country shaped like a boot.

The brand has made some fantastic modern models, like the Tornado, TnT, and Tre, and of course Benelli is steeped in a rich history that has some classic motorcycles. Those are the elements that have always attracted us to the brand, and what keeps us longing for more from Benelli.

However, ownership under the Qianjiang Group has proved difficult for motorcycle enthusiasts, with the company’s sexy Italian-designed motorcycles giving way to practical simple people movers. The Benelli TnT25 proves that point.

It seems though that things are slowly coming around for Benelli and its Chinese owners though, with the Italian-born brand sending the above teaser with the message “The Legend is back…” So we dug a little deeper.

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Bikes

2016 Honda CB500X…With You Guessed It, Modest Changes

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For 2016, we know that Honda will bring its big “adventure-tourer” the US market, known to Europeans as the Honda Crosstourer, and introduced to Americans as the Honda VFR1200X. For the 2016 model year, the Crosstourer gets some minor updates, as does its 700cc sibling the Honda NC700X.

So if you’re keeping score, that leaves one more machine to get a modest update for 2016…yup, Honda CB500X, we are talking about you!

A Goldilocks-busting lineup of street-focused ADV machines, the 2016 Honda CB500X rounds out Honda’s lineup with a lightweight and nimble machine that is also good for the A2 licensing countries.

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Modest Changes Come for the 2016 Honda NC700X

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Modesty might be the name of the game so far for Honda’s 2016 lineup, as Big Red announces its lesser models for next year, ahead of the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show, where we expect to see some interesting machines.

One of those models getting a modest refresh for the upcoming model year is the Honda NC700X, Honda’s other road-hobbled adventure-touring machine. The big change for 2016 will be “exciting new styling”, though other changes are afoot as well.

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Bikes

Honda VFR1200X “Crosstourer” Comes to the USA for 2016

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The European market has already had the Honda Crosstourer for some time, and now it will come to the American market as well, as the 2016 Honda VFR1200X.

The Crosstourer gets some updates for 2016, namely a Euro4 compliant engine, an adjustable windscreen, three levels of S-Mode for the dual-clutch transmission (DCT), and a software upgrade that detects uphill and downhill slopes and adjusts shifting accordingly.

For those who may not be familiar with the Honda Crosstourer, or the Honda VFR1200X as American Honda is calling it, the machine features the same 1,237cc V4 engine as the Honda VFR1200F, though it has been tuned to 127hp. It also has the optional DCT gearbox, which riders either love or hate.

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Bikes

Report: KTM 390 Adventure Begins Testing in India

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It’s been a while since we heard about the KTM 390 Adventure, the Austrian company’s third installment to its built-in-India small-displacement motorcycle lineup.

Based off the KTM 390 Duke, the Adventure model has been a long-time coming, ever since KTM CEO Stefan Pierer lit it slip that the dual-sport would be coming, two and a half years ago.

It seems now that KTM is getting closer to production, as the folks at CarTrade are reporting that two test models of the KTM 390 Adventure (codenamed KT22) have been sent to India for R&D, presumably as a prelude to Bajaj beginning production on the budget-friednly machines.

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Reviews

Ride Review: KTM 1290 Super Adventure

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Despite its huge dimensions, not to mention a 30 liter fuel tank, the 2015 KTM 1290 Super Adventure never looks big or bulky. In fact, it is only when you mount the hard luggage that you can tell this bike can really cover long distances.

Apart from a dorky little exposed wire from the heated grips near the throttle, the fit and finish is very high-end, especially the integrated curved lighting in the tank — it is quite a sight. The standard pannier racks look great too, but that means you are stuck with the OEM luggage options which – on the 1190 anyway – were not that great.

At first glance the Super Adventure doesn’t have the massive personality and stance of its German rival, the BMW R1200GS Adventure, but that is in part due to the white color scheme and the absence of the typical beak as a front mudguard.

KTM is going about things differently, and that is something that appeals to many riders…including us.

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