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Rumor: New Honda Africa Twin Coming? To the USA Even?!

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Rumors have long been around that Honda was looking to bring back the Africa Twin model to its line-up; and with a quick scrolling through Honda America’s “Adventure” category, one can see that the less-than-inspiring odd-couple that are the Honda NC700X and Honda CB500X, while fine machines they might be (though we’ve heard the word “soulless” used more than once to describe them), proper adventure-bikes they surely are not.

With the tuning-fork brand putting out the stout Yamaha Super Ténéré, and Suzuki teasing the 2014 Suzuki V-Strom 1000, Honda and Kawasaki have been late to the Great American Adventure Bike party  — though at least Team Green fanatics can pretend like the Versys is a viable option for this category.

With Europeans having a variety of adventure motorcycles to chose from in the Honda brand, bikes like the Honda Transalp, Honda Crossrunner, Honda Varadero, and Honda Crosstourer, us Americans have been left out in the cold.

Well, that might be set to change, as our stroll yesterday though the USPTO’s online database (check-out our find on upcoming Ducati Scrambler) has revealed that Honda Motor Co. has registered “Africa Twin” for use in the American market. Could a proper adventure-tourer from Honda be headed our way?

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Banter

Video: 2,600 Miles Around the Himalayan Mountains

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It’s Thursday afternoon, and you are probably sitting in a cube filing TPS reports when you should be out riding. Might we suggest a stroll around the Himalayas?

If the bossman overlords won’t let you out, then here is the next best thing, as Adam Riemann and his father documented their 4,500 km (2,600 mile), 21-day, multi-national trek across some of the world’s most treacherous, and beautiful, mountain roads.

The narration and story are a bit tough, but the sights are worth the price of admission alone. From the crowded streets of India to the empty solitude of the mountain passes, the Riemann boys seem to have hit every extreme.

We imagine there many more stories that the film doesn’t capture in its roughly six-minute format. To hear those though, you probably will have to undertake the trip yourself. Bring your Pops along too, if you go.

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Racing

Video: Cyril Despres Talks Dakar

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Carrying the #1 plate this year, Cyril Despres is one of the winningest motorcycle racers in the Dakar Rally’s history, having won the rally four times now (fellow Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel is the outright winningest motorcycle racer at Dakar, with six career wins).

Looking for his fifth win in 2013, the KTM rider has stiff competition, namely in the form of his teammate Marc Coma, who has won Dakar three times in his career. Separated by only seconds after thousands of miles of racing, the 2013 Dakar Rally is expected to be just as close between the two factory KTM riders.

With only a few more weeks until the green flag drops in Peru, we have already seen the official unveiling of the 2012 KTM Rally team, and now title sponsor Red Bull is doing its pre-game promotions as well, with a short video that features the Frenchman Despres. Visually stunning, here is a good five-minute distraction from your cubicle drone routine.

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Racing

Photos: 2013 KTM Rally Team

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Gearing up for the Dakar Rally, and the start of the adventure rally season, KTM has debuted its 2013 rally team with Cyril Despres, Marc Coma, and Ruben Faria. Riding the KTM 450 Rally race bike, the three KTM riders are tipped to be the favorites at the 2013 Dakar Rally, with Despres looking for his fifth win, while Coma races for his fourth victory against his teammate and rival.

The Dakar will once again be held in South America, making 2013 the fifth time that the race has been held outside of its namesake territory. A bit of branding yoga, the famous adventure race has been right at home in the varied terrains of Peru, Argentina, and Chilé, and for 2013, the Dakar will visit those countries in that order. New to the Dakar, Honda’s factory team will be on the roster, as well factory teams from Husqvarna and Aprilia.

Because we know how much you enjoy them, high-resolution photos of the factory KTM riders doing their thing, after the jump (HD display owners will also note that A&R has gone “retina” with our post images, woot).

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Bikes

2013 Aprilia Caponord 1200 with Aprilia Dynamic Damping

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Leaked well ahead of the EICMA show, we can now officially talk to you about the 2013 Aprilia Caponord 1200, Noale’s adventure-tourer. Using the chassis from the Aprilia Dorsoduro 1200 as its basis, Aprilia says it has modified the “robust” chassis to suit the Caponord 1200’s raison d’être, though you would be hard pressed to get a weight figure from the company.

Inside that presumably hefty chassis is a 128hp 1197cc v-twin motor with 85 lbs•ft of peak torque, which isn’t going to blow the doors off on any spec sheet comparisons. Instead, Aprilia is hoping to entice would-be Caponord 1200 owners with the bike’s bevy of electronics.

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Bikes

2013 Honda CB500X – Eats Potholes on a Budget

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If you haven’t caught on yet, American Honda has announced a trio of 500cc machines, just ahead of the upcoming EICMA show. Featuring the fully-faired 2013 Honda CBR500R sport bike, and its fairing-less sibling the 2013 Honda CB500F, the slightly taller 2013 Honda CB500X completes the trifecta, and adds an adventure-esque dimension to Honda’s midrange options.

Like the Honda CBR500R & Honda CB500F, the Honda CB500X uses the same modest liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, DOHC, 180° crank, parallel-twin motor that will put down 54hp at the wheel for the US market (tiered-license countries will see a 47hp machine).

A slight variation on the chassis that is shared with the other 500cc machines, the CB500X has a bit more travel to its suspension (5.5″ on the front forks), and the seat height is a full inch higher (31.9″ to be precise). Visually the philosophically similar to the Honda NC700X, the Honda CB500X is also a tad heavier than its relatives, sporting 430 lbs of fully-fuel heft at the curb, which is likely due to its larger 4.5 gallon tank (4.1 gallons on the other models).

Building three motorcycles from one versatile core design, American Honda has some aggressive prices on the CBR500R & CB500F, but the American subsidiary of the Japanese brand has yet to release a price on the CB500x. We would expect something in the $5,000 range though when it hits dealer floors in July 2013, with the ABS version getting a $500 price increase over the base model. Full technical specifications are after the jump.

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Bikes

35 Photos of the KTM 1190 Adventure

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Officially debuting at the 2012 INTERMOT show, the KTM 1190 Adventure is the Austrian company’s answer to the growing competition in the adventure-touring space. Released head-to-head with the 2013 BMW R1200GS and the revised 2013 Ducati Multistrada 1200 with semi-active suspension, we will let you decide which machine stole the show at Cologne. To help you make that decision, we’ve got 35 hi-res studio and action photos of the KTM 1190 Adventure & KTM 1190 Adventure R for your viewing pleasure after the jump.

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News

KTM 1190 Adventure Pricing Starts at €13,990

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Feeling the age of the KTM 990 Adventure & KTM 990 Adventure R, the Austrians debuted at Intermot this week their new adventure-touring machines, the 2013 KTM 1190 Adventure & 2013 KTM 1190 Adventure R. Using a revised version of the KTM 1190 RC8 R’s v-twin motor, both bikes feature 148 hp, and clocks in around 230 kg (507 lbs) fully tanked and ready to go ride.

Debuting along side the new water-cooled 2013 BMW R1200GS, KTM has its work cutout for it in the adventure-touring segment, though with Suzuki debuting the concept for its 2014 Suzuki V-Strom 1000, now is certainly a good time to be in the market for an ADV bike. Feeling that notion, KTM has released the pricing on its Adventure bikes, and we like what we see from the Austrians.

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News

The First Photo of the 2013 KTM 1190 Adventure R

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With a brochure photo of the 2013 KTM 1190 Adventure leaking yesterday from KTM’s website, today we see more photos of the Austrian brand’s new adventure hitting the interwebs on the ADVrider forums. A studio shot of the 2013 KTM 1190 Adventure R, and two more photos of the base model give us a clearer picture of what KTM will “officially” unveiled at INTERMOT in a few weeks’ time.

The changes between the KTM 1190 Adventure and the KTM 1190 Adventure R are subtle, but the “R” is KTM’s more off-road oriented model between the two. As such, it sports a 21″ wheel up front, and an 18″ wheel in the back. Crash bars, a shorter windscreen, and single-piece saddle complete the changes, though we can expect other non-visible additions like upgraded suspension, etc.

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Bikes

2013 KTM 1190 Adventure Breaks Cover

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The folks at KTM briefly let leak a brochure photo of the 2013 KTM 1190 Adventure today, giving us our first good look at the completed machine. A prototype of the bike was recently reviewed by Motorrad, this new photo confirms many of the details that the Germans dropped in that article.

Based on the KTM RC8 R’s 1195cc LC8 v-twin motor, the KTM 1190 Adventure sees the superbike lump re-tuned for its adventure-touring duties, and in that capacity it makes 147hp. Meanwhile at 518 lbs with a full tank of gas, the 2013 KTM 1190 Adventure is a touch heavier than its 990cc predecessor, though we don’t think you will mind.

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News

BMW R1200GS Successor to be Unveiled October 2nd

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We have known for some time now that BMW was working on a successor to its wildly popular BMW R1200GS motorcycle. Expected to be a water-cooled boxer-twin, the new GS is an incredibly important machine for the German brand, and BMW is wasting no time hyping its unveiling. Set to break cover in just over a month at the INTERMOT show in Cologne, our wait to see the next iteration of the GS line is now almost at an end.

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