With industry trade shows like EICMA and INTERMOT having to cancel their 2020 plans because of coronavirus concerns, motorcycle brands are having to get creative on how they are debuting their 2021 wares.
To that end, Ducati has just released its plan, and it involves over a month of stealing headlines with its new model year releases.
After much teasing, and much waiting, the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R has finally debuted in Indonesia, which means we can finally answer some of our most pressing questions about this rad little machine.
First off, the Ninja ZX-25R makes 50hp (37.5 kW) with Kawasaki’s dubious “RAM Air” power rating, which in normal numbers should mean a 49hp machine (though it seems to make 41hp on Akrapovic’s dyno).
The second big piece of information is pricing on the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R, which Team Green has set at 96 million IDR (roughly $6,700). Now, there is an up-spec version, called the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R ABS SE, which include ABS and a KRT Livery option, and it pops for 112.9 million IDR (roughly $7,800).
If you like your motorcycles big, feet-forward, and German, then we have good news for you, as the BMW R18 finally has a release date: Friday, April 3rd.
That’s good news to our ears too, as BMW Motorrad has been teasing the R18 for more than a year with an onslaught of custom and concept motorcycles that feature the big 1,800cc boxer engine.
Expected to come as a platform of machines, we know to expect a model that is very similar to the BMW R18/2 concept we saw debut at EICMA last year.
An email just popped into our inbox giving us a hint at when we will see the Ducati Superleggera V4 superbike. The “Project 1708” machine has been teased a little bit by the Borgo Panigale, but the real news has been the slow leak of information about this exciting new motorcycle.
Built around the 998cc Desemosedici Stradale R engine found in the Panigale V4 R, the Superleggera V4 has carbon fiber frame, swingarm, bodywork, and wheels. This has allowed the Italians to cut 40 lbs from the the already very light Ducati Panigale V4 R, with the Ducati Superleggera V4 tipping the scales at a claimed 152 kg / 335 lbs (dry).
All of this is just “leaked” information about the extra-exclusive superbike from Ducati, but the Italians will officially be showing us the “Project 1708” bike on Thursday, February 6th – at 8am PST (5pm CET).
The Harley-Davidson Livewire will show at EICMA, says an awkward press release to the European and Canadian markets. Our sources confirm that news though, and as such the Livewire will make an official public debut, at the trade show in Milan next week.
The Harley-Davidson Livewire is expected to make a late-2019 arrival, likely as a 2020 model year machine. This makes this debut announcement an interesting one from the Bar & Shield brand, which has seemed over-eager lately to explain and show its future plans, though we can’t imagine why.
After a 42-year hiatus, MV Agusta is returning to the Grand Prix Championship. This iconic Italian motorcycle brand will not be competing in MotoGP however, and instead MV Agusta will make its return in the Moto2 category.
Partnering with the Forward Racing team, MV Agusta aims to take advantage of the rule changes for the 2019 season, which will see a 765cc Triumph three-cylinder engine replacing the 600cc Honda four-cylinder engine that is currently in use.
This change in the spec-engine rule will likely upheave the Moto2 Championship, and MV Agusta wants to be part of that sea change. As such, the bike you see in the photos here will be the machine that launches MV Agusta’s assault on the GP paddock.
To make the MV Agusta Moto2 race bike, MV Agusta is leaning heavily on its experience with its three-cylinder platform, and as such you can see some strong ties between the Moto2 bike and the F3 supersport.
Every time we write a story about the Honda Gold Wing, we end up using the word “iconic” as a descriptor, but why is that? Is it because there are over 250,000 Gold Wings on the road today, putting down miles?
Is it because the model was so important to the American market, that it was the only Honda motorcycle that has been built on US soil? Or is it the legion of loyal fans, that continuously replace their old Gold Wing with a new one, rather than stray to another brand?
It is probably a combination of all these things, and now for the 2018 model year another chapter of the Gold Wing story is about to be told.
Big Red has made considerable changes for the 2018 Honda Gold Wing, most notably putting the giant tourer on a diet (roughly 90 lbs). Now a more compact machine, Honda has made space savings by switching to double-wishbone front suspension.
In person, the Gold Wing (bagger) and Gold Wing Tour (tourer) retain the obvious lines of the previous Gold Wing motorcycles. We think Honda has walked a fine line too in making the 2018 edition look more edgy and modern, while still being true to its classic shape.
The fit and finish on the new Honda Gold Wing is impressive as well, with there being strong attention to the details. When you consider how many miles, and how many years, a typical Gold Wing must endure with a single owner, Honda has to build the Gold Wing to a standard beyond the typical motorcycle.
For next year, Honda hopes to sell upwards of 14,000 Gold Wing motorcycles worldwide, most of which will be here in the United States. Nearly a doubling of the current sales volume, this goal is a tall order. But, the new Gold Wing seems up to the challenge.
Don’t worry, we’ll swing a leg over one in January and see for ourselves. Until then, we have got about 120 high-resolution photos for you to peruse of this iconic motorcycle. Enjoy!
Honda is teasing a big global unveiling later next month. What it is, no one knows – outside of Honda, of course. To help tease us into the debut though, Honda has set up a five-part video series, with the tagline “What Lies Beyond” and a focus on what brings motorcycles to the open road.
We have a little over a month to speculate about what new big 2018 model Honda has up its sleeve for us. Maybe it’s a production version of the Honda Neowing hybrid three-wheeler. Maybe it’s the electric version of the Honda Super Cub…
Or maybe, it’s an all-new Honda Gold Wing, which is what my colleagure Adam Waheed from Riders Domain thinks it could be. Either way, we’ll see soon enough. Hopefully it wheelies, and comes in red.
Italian media is reporting an invitation to a Ducati event at the Misano World Circuit, the Thursday before the MotoGP race weekend held on the Adriatic Coast.
The event has surely something to do with Ducati’s new V4 superbike, with Ducati claiming it will be “the sound of a new era” for the Italian manufacturer.
That sound surely will be of the new V4 powerplant, which will not only replace the company’s iconic v-twin superbike lineup, but also power future large-displacement sport bikes from Ducati – something Claudio Domenicali told Asphalt & Rubber at the Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition launch.
Ducati has finally released its Final Edition of the Ducati 1299 Panigale superbike, and the aptly named Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition packs a punch.
Sharing engine parts with the Ducati 1299 Superleggera (sans its aluminum sleeved engine cylinders and sand-cast casings), the Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition makes 209hp on Ducati’s chassis dynamometer, which should be a comparable figure to the Superleggera, as the latter has power figures quoted from an engine dyno.
Though they may produce similar power figures, the Final Edition Panigale does not quite take the Superleggera’s obsessiveness with weight to the same level, using more traditional fasteners and materials for its design. That is to say, it is without all the carbon fiber goodness found on the SL, including its chassis.
As such, the FE tips the scales at 419 lbs wet at the curb. For those keeping score, that mass is just a pound lighter than the Ducati 1299 Panigale S; and 13 lbs heavier than the Ducati Panigale R, which uses the 1199 motor.
Priced at $40,000 for the US market though, this “half a Superleggera” still packs a considerable punch, and of course it holds the distinction of being the last of Ducati’s v-twin superbikes…for the foreseeable future at least.
In addition to working on a secret Moto2 project, KTM will also be entering into the MotoGP Championship for the 2017 season. The Austrian brand has been busy developing the KTM RC16 race bike platform, with the help of a bevy of test riders.
Initial feedback has been positive, with the RC16 looking very competent – though, it should be noted that everyone saying that is on KTM’s payroll. Still, we expect big things from the project as it develops more this year.