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Aprilia Tuareg 900 Concept by Oberdan Bezzi

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When we look at Aprilia’s lineup, it is surprisingly sparse. The brand has only a pair of models with its V4 engine, and another pair with its 900cc v-twin. Four bikes – that’s it.

The revised middleweights – the Shiver 900 and Dorsoduro 900 – debuted in 2017, bringing some refinements to the lackluster 750cc machines that they replaced. The 900cc bikes are not the stars in Aprilia’s lineup though, and they struggle to sell at Aprilia dealerships, but they have a tremendous amount of potential.

We say this because it always felt like Aprilia could have done more with the engine platforms available to the Italian brand. A long-travel suspension adventure-sport makes a ton of sense for the V4 platform, and today we see what could be done with the v-twin platform.

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Dirt

Moto Guzzi V85 TT Priced Aggressively at $11,990

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When we first saw the Moto Guzzi V85 TT, details on the retro ADV bike were scarce – we knew only what we could see. But, slowly the Italian company has shed light on its creation, bit by bit.

Today, we learn what is perhaps the most important aspect of this 2019 model year machine: its price.

Aggressively positioned in the market, the Moto Guzzi V85 TT will start at $11,990 MSRP with its grey paint, while the Moto Guzzi V85 TT Adventure (which comes with bags and red/yellow/white paint job) will retail for $12,990 at the dealership.

With both bikes available in the United States starting in May 2019, adventure riders will have a new middleweight to choose from when they consider adding a new bike to their stable…and the offering from Moto Guzzi is very strong.

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Bikes

More Details and Photos of the Honda CRF450L Rally Concept

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Yesterday, we brought you photos of the Honda CRF450L Rally concept – a machine that Big Red was quietly debuting at the EICMA show in Milan.

And now today, thanks to our friends at American Honda, we have not only a bunch of new high-resolution photos for you to drool over, as well as a few details on this machine.

Before we get to it though, we want to make an above-the-fold plea to anyone who might be reading in Honda factory back in Japan…

Please Honda, please pretty please, make this motorcycle a production model. Don’t change a thing. Just build it. Thank you.

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Bikes

BMW F850GS Adventure Brings the Middleweight ADV

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As we predicted, the 2019 BMW F850GS Adventure made its debut at the EICMA show in Milan, giving the German brand another adventure bike in its arsenal on the segment. Obviously based upon the BMW F850GS that we saw debut last year, the F850GS Adventure takes the middleweight’s off-road capability to a higher level.

At the core of the machine is the same 853cc parallel-twin engine that is in the F850GS model, which means a 94hp (75 kW) peak power figure, along with 68 lbs•ft (92 Nm) of torque. It also means a 538 lbs (244 kg) wet weight at the curb, which is absurdly heavy, if we do say so.

Of course, some of that bloat comes from the 6.07-gallon (23 liters) fuel tank that has been added to the mix, which BMW Motorrad says is good for 340 miles (550 km) of riding, which is no joke. So, there are trade-offs to be made there.

Feature-wise, there is also a larger touring windscreen, which is taller and wider. BMW has also included adjustable shifter and brake levers, for better ergonomic adjustment.

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KTM 690 Enduro R Gets Serious Upgrades for 2019

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We have long been wondering when the KTM 690 Enduro R would get an update, especially after seeing the Husqvarna 701 Enduro get the revised big thumper from the KTM 690 Duke street bike.

That wait is over for the 2019 model year, as the KTM 690 Enduro R gets a bevy of revisions.

A new motor, a new chassis, better suspension, and a slew of electronics, the 2019 KTM 690 Enduro R is better in practically every single way, which should ensure that this popular dual-sport continues to be at the top of the big-bore heap.

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BMW R1250GS Adventure Officially Debuts with ShiftCam Engine

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It is not like the BMW R1250GS Adventure was a big surprise for the 2018 EICMA show. It’s debut was telegraphed in emission documents filed with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), and photos of the machine recently leaked onto the internet.

But, the GSA has always been an important motorcycle to the German brand, and as such, the debut of the 2019 BMW R1250GS Adventure is a bit of a thing.

As expected for the 2019 model year, the big feature on the R1250GS Adventure is the addition of BMW Motorrad’s “ShiftCam” boxer-twin engine. Getting a bump to 1,254cc, this increase in displacement means that there is a modest performance increase of 134hp and 92 lbs•ft of torque.

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More Details Drop on the Moto Guzzi V85 TT ADV Bike

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For the last year, Moto Guzzi has been trickling out its newest ADV machine. As such, we have had a long time to get the know the Moto Guzzi V85 TT, without actually knowing the machine at all.

Released as a concept at last year’s EICMA show, the V85 became production-ready at this year’s INTERMOT show, but even at that time, Moto Guzzi was mum on details. That all changes today though, as we finally have some tech specs on the 2019 Moto Guzzi V85 TT, and we like what we hear.

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Bikes

Triumph Scrambler 1200 Debuts in Two Flavors

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We have been waiting for the 2019 Triumph Scrambler 1200 for some time now, and the day is finally here that we get to see this heavyweight dual-sport.

The Triumph Scrambler 1200 comes in two flavors: the XC model (below) is more street-focused in its design, while the XE model (above) offers a more off-road oriented package for riders, along with more premium features.

Both bikes are based around the Bonneville’s “high power” 1,200cc parallel-twin engine, which means that the Triumph Scrambler 1200 makes 89hp and 81 lbs•ft of torque.

The Scrambler 1200 XC tips the scales at 452 lbs (dry), while the Scrambler 1200 XE model is four pounds heavier, at 456 lbs (dry) – making both bikes quite heavy for their stated purpose.

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Dirt

Bridgestone Finally Gets into the ADV Knobby Tire Game

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We heard rumors of this tire at the beginning of the year, and finally we can talk about the new Bridgestone Battlax Adventurecross AX41 tire. A knobby dual-sport tire made for adventure-touring machines, the AX41 means that Bridgestone finally has an offering for ADV riders.

It is surprising to think that the Japanese brand has been without a tire for such an important market segment for so long, but that is water under the bridge now, with the Battlax Adventurecross AX41 tire debuting at INTERMOT and coming to American dealers at the start of next year.

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Ducati Multistrada 1260 Enduro Debuts for 2019

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It looks like our Bothan spies were right once again, as Ducati has unveiled its latest model for the 2019 model year, the Multistrada 1260 Enduro.

As the name implies, the big feature with the new Enduro is the Testastretta DVT 1262 that makes its way from the XDiavel into the Multistrada lineup.

This means a power bump to 156hp and 94 lbs•ft of torque from the v-twin engine with variable valve timing. Like its counterpart in Multistrada 1260, the Ducati Multistrada 1260 Enduro makes 85% of its torque below 3,500 rpm.

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Up-Close with the Moto Guzzi V85 TT

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I had to check our coverage of the Moto Guzzi V85 TT, to see how many words we managed to use when talking about this new adventure-tourer – 398 words, if you wanted to know – which is pretty astonishing considering the complete lack of actual information coming from Piaggio on this new motorcycle.

Little more was revealed at INTERMOT as well, beyond what we could see physically on the machine. We know that the V85 TT will make 80hp from its 850cc v-twin engine. We know that it will have ABS, cruise control, LED lights, and a TFT dash (which looks great, by the way). Beyond that…well…it’s a very bright motorcycle.

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