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Honda Trail 125 Coming to the USA for 2021

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If you’re in the market for a small-displacement grocery-getter, then we have good news for you, as American Honda has just confirmed that the Honda Trail 125 will be coming to the USA as a 2021 model year machine.

The pint-sized dual-sport(ish) machine has been on the radar for quite some time, ever since a concept of the bike debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2019.

Looking production-ready, it seemed like only a matter of time before the CT125 (as it’s called in other parts of the world) showed up on dealer floors. Given the history of the Trail 125 in the United States, the bike was certain to come here as well.

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Bikes

Yamaha Ténéré 700 Rally Edition Model Announced in Europe

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The Yamaha Ténéré 700 just debuted for the US market a matter of weeks ago, and already the Tuning Fork brand has a new edition of this middleweight ADV bike for our consumption.

The new model is called the Yamaha Ténéré 700 Rally Edition, and as the name implies, it is a more off-road ready variant of the Ténéré 700 motorcycle.

Before you get too bent out of shape about having to wait even longer for another Ténéré 700 model, the Rally Edition is mostly a parts bin bike, with Yamaha kitting a number of its aftermarket parts to the machine, along with a killer blue and yellow “speedblock” paint job.

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A&R Pro

US Dirt Bike Sales Were Immune to the Coronavirus Lockdown

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That motorcycle sales are down because of the coronavirus lockdown seems like an obvious thing to state. Just for clarity though, American motorcycle sales through the first four months of the year are down 9% compared to last year.

Truthfully, that number is far less than we were predicting here at Asphalt & Rubber, and there is a good reason for that. While the COVID-19 scare has decimate on-road sales (-23%) and scooter sales (-24%), this has not been the case for off-road motorcycles sales totals, which are up 30%.

Even dual-sports seem to be buoyed by having a tire in the dirt, with sales reported to be down only 5% during the same time period.

Looking deeper into the dual-sport numbers though appears to give an insight on this odd dichotomy between street and dirt sales in the motorcycle industry.

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Dirt

Ducati’s Beppe Gualini Tell Us How to Ride an ADV Bike Off-Road

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A constant theme you will hear in the ADV space is how you can’t do real off-road riding with a big dual-sport, like the Ducati Multistrada 1260 Enduro and its siblings in the category.

They are too big, too heavy, and have too much power to be real off-road machines, some will tell you. Of course, to say that, you have to forget some history – namely that iconic off-road races like the Dakar Rally were competed on machines that aren’t all that different from today’s ADV bike.

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Bikes

Yamaha Ténéré 700 Priced at $9,999 for the USA

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The bike we never thought would make it to the United States is getting closer to actually landing on American soil, and today we have even more good news about the Yamaha Ténéré 700.

This is because Yamaha Motor USA has just shared with us pricing for the 2021 Yamaha Ténéré 700, and the Japanese brand has nailed things on the head with their $9,999 MSRP for this middleweight adventure-tourer.

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Bikes

Suzuki SV650 Rally Concept by Oberdan Bezzi

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What can one say about the Suzuki SV650 motorcycle? The bike is in its 20th year of production, and though the model has changed a little by little over time, the same basic formula has stayed the same.

Here, we have a special idea from Oberdan Bezzi, who takes the venerable SV650 and turns it into large-format off-roader.

Dubbed the Suzuki SV650 Rally, the concept looks quite convincing, and it plays into the strategy that Suzuki seems to be building off of.

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Dirt

This Week’s KTM 390 Adventure Rumor

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It feels like the longest rumored machine in KTM’s future lineup. We are of course talking about the KTM 390 Adventure.

The missing link in the Austrian brand’s adventure-touring model range, which we have talked, rumored, and speculated about for well…quite a long time.

About a year ago though, Bajaj SVP and KTM India boss Amit Nandi tipped that we would see the KTM 390 Adventure in 2019. Well, that time is now, and rumors are once again heating up about this small-displacement ADV.

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Dirt

Rumors of Honda CRF850L Come from Japan

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While we continue to hear news that the Honda Africa Twin will get a displacement bump to 1,100cc for next year, now we are starting to hear a new rumor from Big Red’s adventure lineup – namely, that a Honda CRF850L is in the pipeline.

The obvious play here is that the baby Africa Twin model would slot in under the 1,100cc version, as a proper middleweight option to go against the BMW F850GS, KTM 790 Adventure R, and the Yamaha Ténéré 700 (whenever it finally comes to market).

The middleweight ADV segment is very hot right now, and it makes sense for Honda to want to get in on the action. As such, this rumor makes a great deal of sense…but then, it also really doesn’t pass the smell test either.

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Dirt

Ducati DRE Enduro Class Finally Comes to the USA

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When the Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro debuted, the Italian brand took its popular on-track “Ducati Rider Experience” program, and made an off-road version for their new adventure bike.

Based out of Florence, Italy, the DRE Enduro course aimed to highlight the abilities of the Multistrada 1200 Enduro, as well as providing Ducatisti with a dual-sport experience on the level of the Ducati brand.

Asphalt & Rubber was lucky enough to attend the DRE Enduro back in 2016, and found the DRE Enduro to be one part test ride, one part school, and one part Tuscan vacation.

Now, Ducati is bringing that formula to the United States – the Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah, to be precise.

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