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This year might be a throw away for many people (for the record, it lost me at murder hornets); but for Suzuki Motor, 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of its incorporation – having been formed as the Suzuki Loom Manufacturing Co. in 1920 by Michio Suzuki.

To celebrate this century-long milestone and achievement, Suzuki Motor is doing what it does best: bold new graphics. As such, the three GSX-R models are getting a special 100th Anniversary livery, which draws heavily from the brand’s MotoGP program.

These special colors for the GSX-R600 ($11,599), GSX-R750 ($12,699), and GSX-R1000R ($17,999) will be available in only limited numbers  and will be sold as 2021 model year machines.

The Kawasaki Ninja H2 is already a beast of a motorcycle, and for the next model year, this supercharged hypersport is getting a bevy of updates.

The biggest change will be the power output, with Kawasaki bumping the H2 from 200hp to 228hp, all of which while keeping the bike’s Euro4 compliance rating and current fuel efficiency rating.

The power increase comes from technology developed for the Kawasaki Ninja H2 SX sport-tourer. Namely, the H2 gets a new air filter, intake chamber, spark plugs, and ECU. The 2019 Kawasaki Ninja H2 does not get the SX’s balanced supercharger, however.

For the 2018 model year, Ducati is updating the Scrambler Desert Sled with another color option, one that the Italian brand calls “Shining Black”. As boring as that name sounds, it might be the best retro Scrambler paint job that we have ever seen from Borgo Panigale.

We know that up until this point, the Scrambler Ducati brand has been all about its bright green AstroTurf faux lawns, pristine giant yellow container boxes, and post-authentic marketing calls with skateboards, wide-brim hates, and semi-homeless millennials.

But, the new Desert Sled color scheme (we would have called the color “Shag Carpet Sexy” or “Dr. McNasty”) screams back to another part of the 1970s – a time when souping up passenger vans and living in them was an acceptable thing for non-creepy men to do.

Still, we love the effect that is done with the all-black paint, contrasted with the warm red/orange/yellow rainbow colors. It gets us excited about the Ducati Scrambler Desert Sled all over again.

Now, the only question is how hard would it be to wedge the Scrambler 1100’s engine in this off-road chassis? Not too hard, we think.

The KTM 1290 Super Duke R Special Edition is an easy motorcycle to explain. You take the KTM 1290 Super Duke R, raid the KTM power parts catalog, slap some gold paint on the sucker, and call it done.

The extra goodies include an Akrapovi? titanium exhaust, wave brake discs, stiffer triple clamps, adjustable hand levers, carbon fiber engine cover, and of course the orange anodized paint scheme.

Here’s a little clickbait for your Friday consumption, though we think you will enjoy it ultimately. For the 2016 model year, the Kawasaki Ninja H2 will be getting the “bold new graphics” treatment, with a blacked-out paint job that Kawasaki calls “Mirror Coated Spark Black”.

It doesn’t seem any other changes will come to the supercharged H2 street bike, though let’s be honest…how do you improve upon a supercharged hyperbike like the H2 in the first place? It might not be as svelte as the latest crop of superbikes, but we’re told that black is slimming so…

As we speak right now, Endurance World Championship machines are lapping around the Paul Ricard Circuit, competing in the 2016 Bol d’Or 24-Hour race.

Ahead of the endurance event though, Yamaha’s factory teams debuted a tribute to the company’s 60th birthday, as Yamaha Motor Company was founded in July 1955.

For us YZF-R1 fans, this weekend means a special yellow and black “speedblock” livery for the Yamaha race bikes – a paint scheme that will be available to the general public (in Europe, at least) starting December 2015.

This isn’t the first time that Yamaha’s special limited edition speedblock livery has helped spice up the R1, and like its previous efforts, we like the result. The added Akrapovic pipe is a nice touch too.

Speaking of results, Yamaha Austria Racing Team (YART) is sitting in second place, at the time of this writing, just one lap behind the leaders, Honda Endurance Racing. Meanwhile, the French factory team that is Yamaha GMT 94 team sits in 5th (+4 laps), with roughly 11 hours remaining in the event.

We’re sure Yamaha would love to tie-up this press debut with a victory at the French track, with either of its yellow-clad factory teams. Until then, we have some super high-resolution photos of the 2016 Yamaha YZF-R1 in its 60th Anniversary livery. Drool over them, after the jump.

MV Agusta and AMG are at the 66th IAA Frankfurt International Motor Show this week, celebrating the partnership the two brands share, as AMG is a minority shareholder in the Italian motorcycle brand.

Helping that celebration is this very colorful “Solar Beam” MV Agusta F3 800, which is just so damn yellow, we had to share it with you.

The machine isn’t anything more than a paint job, which happens to also be a nod at the Mercedes-AMG GT that rocks the same “Solar Beam” livery, but that’s ok with us — it’s a fetching color design, no?

We won’t waste more words with you: more photos of this impossible-to-lose-in-a-parking-lot motorcycle are after the jump, for your viewing pleasure.

Our friends across the pond get all the cool stuff: crumpets, Ginger Spice, and the 2013 Triumph Speed Triple R “Dark” street bike.

While they may have an overabundance of the prior two items, the Triumph Speed Triple R “Dark” unfairly comes with a limited production run of 30 units, making it one venerable and exclusive piece of machinery.

Collaborating with custom shop 8 Ball to make the limited edition Speed Triple R bikes, Triumph has put together a sporty machine for only £11,349 — £200 over the MSRP of the standard Speed Triple R.

For that extra coin, one gets a color-matched screen and belly pan. Other highlights include the “R 1050” logos (with serial number) and an air-brushed Union Jack flags on the fuel tank.

How very patriotic. Photos after the jump.

Visual aesthetics have always been something of import and interest to me, a trait that is probably tied into the fact that I am visual learner. So it interests me when we see subtle changes having a great affect on a design.

Take the new Repsol livery on the 2013 Honda RC213V — the simple change from black to white creates a significantly different visual understanding of the MotoGP bike, though the basic idea of the livery remains the same.

We can see the same process with the Ducati 1199 Panigale S Nero by Commonwealth Motorcycles, as the Kentucky-based Ducati shop has massaged in a bit black paint on the already stunning Ducati 1199 S Tricolore paint scheme (work by Robbie Nigl of Peach Pit Racing).

The effect? A whole new take on an already very classy looking machine. Nice work guys…now let’s talk about posting some hi-res photos next time, eh? Far too small pictures are after the jump.

Sorry Ducatisti, there is no Panigale-inspired supersport-class Ducati Superbike this model year, but those Italians have made an update to their sport bike line-up for new year with the 2013 Ducati Superbike 848 EVO Corse SE. Sort of like the 2012 Ducati Superbike 848 EVO Corse SE that was debuted last year at EICMA, this one has an aluminum tank, but with the added bonus of a special two-tone “Ducati Test Team” livery.

The Ducati Superbike 848 EVO Corse SE also has Ducati Traction Control, Ducati Quick Shift, an Öhlins rear shock, and upgraded 330mm brake discs. Certainly not what anyone was misguidedly hoping for from the Bologna brand at INTERMOT, but you have to admit, that’s one dead sexy paint job. Expect the real Ducati goodness to drop next month at EICMA. More photos after the jump.

While the Ducati 1199 Panigale is getting a number of revisions under the skin for its second year on the market, like an improved chassis and suspension setup (more on that later), it seems Ducati has also seen fit to offer its superbike in a color other than red. Behold from INTERMOT, the 2013 Ducati 1199 Panigale in Arctic White. Apparently this is the new matte black, which is what we’re all really waiting for. Photos after the jump.