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Rumors

If Suzuki Isn’t Teasing a New Katana, Then I Don’t Know What’s Going On Anymore…

By Jensen Beeler 09/13/2018 No Comments

Here is the second teaser video from Suzuki, getting us hyped for a new motorcycle release at the INTERMOT show in Colgone, Germany. Like the first video, this one features a blacksmith creating a Japanese sword…a Katana, if you will.

As such, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to imagine that Suzuki’s teaser campaign is for anything other than the rebirth of the Katana motorcycle. We have seen the name trademarked in various markets, including the United States, there have been concept models of restomod creations shown at numerous times, including in Suzuki’s own show booths.

Lastly, there have been links to the Suzuki Recursion concept becoming the new Katana lineup, which would feature a turbocharged twin-cylinder engine.

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Bikes

Here Is the BMW R1250GS with “Shiftcam” Engine Technology

By Jensen Beeler 09/13/2018 No Comments

We have known about the 2019 BMW R1250GS for some time now, but today we get our first real look of the machine, thanks to the bike’s promotional video, which has leaked on the internet (hat tip to the folks at Motorcular.com). And, despite everything we knew about the BMW R1250GS, the Germans still managed to surprise us.

This is because instead of the “Shiftcam” technology that BMW Motorrad has developed for its revised boxer engine.

Originally tipped to have variable valve technology, we now see how BMW is going to achieve this goal, and the answer is with a camshaft that has dual lobes and a shift gate that engages the high valve lift set during full throttle applications.

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News

That Crashing Sound You Hear Is Yamaha’s Big Bike Sales in the USA

By Jensen Beeler 09/12/2018 No Comments

Things are not well at Yamaha Motor USA, and over the coming days you are going to read a number of reports from us about Yamaha and its US operations.

Before we dive into the multitude of issues that the Tuning Fork brand faces here in the United States though, we wanted to first talk about Yamaha’s crashing sales, because that best frames the company’s entire situation, and is the basis for the other stories that concern the brand.

Now halfway through 2018, Yamaha sales big bike sales (500cc and up) are down a staggering 19% for the last 12 consecutive months, compared to the same previous 12 months before that.

To put that figure into perspective, the big bike market in the USA is down roughly 8% over the same time period, though that figure is due mostly to Harley-Davidson, which accounts for half of the American bike bike market.

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Bikes

Here’s the 2019 BMW S1000RR, Now with Some Color

By Jensen Beeler 09/11/2018 No Comments

Last week, we brought you our first good look at what the 2019 BMW S1000RR will look like, as BMW Motorrad registered design patents of the machine that showed off its sporty lines.

The grayscale CAD models of the superbike are very detailed, but their cold grey tones can only show so much of what the motorcycle will feel like once we see it debut at EICMA later this year.

Thankfully, one of our readers – Csorin – is pretty good with a pen. Photoshopping in some color and liveries over the gray models, the 2019 BMW S1000RR comes to life.

It is amazing what some artwork and lines can do in terms of reshaping the way a motorcycle looks, and Csorin’s work is a testament to the graphic designers throughout the industry, who spend all day making ugly look good.

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MotoGP

The Decline & Fall of Romano Fenati

By David Emmett 09/10/2018 No Comments

Romano Fenati burst onto the racing scene like a meteor, burning bright and lighting up Moto3. In his first race, at Qatar in 2012, he finished second behind Maverick Viñales. In his second, at Jerez, in difficult conditions, he won by a fearsome 36 seconds. Here was surely a rider to watch for the future.

His ascension to greatness did not run as smoothly as those early races promised. A couple more podiums in 2012 saw him finish sixth in the championship on the underpowered FTR Honda.

After a tough 2013, he rediscovered his form when he was invited to become part of the VR46 Academy, and signed to ride a KTM with the Sky VR46 Racing Team the following year. The change did him good, winning four races and finishing fifth in the championship.

2015 saw less success, Fenati showing signs of frustration. During the warm up in Argentina, the Italian lashed out at Niklas Ajo inexplicably, first trying to kick him, then stopping next to the Finn for a practice start, and reaching over a flicking his kill switch.

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Rumors

What Is Up with This Carbon-Clad Suzuki GSX-R1000?

By Jensen Beeler 09/10/2018 No Comments

Suzuki Moto Italia has been making some waves lately, as the subsidiary continues to tease this carbon fiber wearing Suzuki GSX-R1000 on social media.

Using hashtags like #spotted, #staytuned, #motogp, #2019, and #eicma, we can assume that the bike will debut at this year’s EICMA show in Milan, but what exactly will debut is up for debate.

A second photo (below) shows a link with the Yoshimura brand, with the exhaust company’s logo hidden beneath the tail section, but this information only makes things even more confusing to us.

Perhaps Suzuki is readying a track-only version of the GSX-R1000 superbike? That seems to be the consensus online, but that doesn’t quite make sense to us though, especially with the headlight and taillight still installed.

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Rumors

Hello, Are You the New BMW G310RR Supersport?

By Jensen Beeler 09/10/2018 No Comments

BMW Motorrad will debut nine new motorcycles during this new bike season, and one of the machines we are expecting is the BMW G310RR supersport. Sharing a platform with the TVS Apache RR 310, this made in India small-displacement is built off the BMW G310R street bike, and hopes to take on the likes of the Honda CBR300R, Kawasaki Ninja 400, KTM RC390, etc.

Today, we bring you what could be the first photos of the 2019 BMW G310RR. First spotted by our friends at Oliepeil, the BMW G310RR on display at the BMW Motorrad Days in Japan is dripping in carbon fiber, has “G310RR” blast on its fairings, and is looking the part in its race bike form.

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MotoGP

Change My Mind: Romano Fenati Tried to Kill Another Motorcycle Racer Today

By Jensen Beeler 09/09/2018 No Comments

The Moto2 Championship doesn’t often make the headlines in the motorcycle racing sphere, but I bet you are hearing all about this weekend’s Moto2 race at the San Marino GP. For those who are late to the story, much is being said about an incident where Romano Fenati grabbed Stefano Manzi’s front brake lever, as the pair hurled down the Misano circuit at over 200 km/h.

Caught on camera, the incident in just one of several between the two riders during the Moto2 race this weekend, as Fenati and Manzi traded paint and hand gestures at several points of the competition, but the focus of the attention remains on the shocking act that Fenati took down the back straight of the circuit.

For the fans in attendance, and for those watching at home, you were witness to one of the most irresponsible events that can take place on a race track – an act that I would argue is tantamount to attempted murder on a motorcycle.

It therefore boggles the mind that at this point in time, Romano Fenati still has a license to race with the FIM, once his two-race suspension is completed.

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Rumors

BMW’s Entire Boxer Range Gets an Update for 2019

By Jensen Beeler 09/06/2018 No Comments

We knew for the 2019 model year that the R1200GS would become the R1250GS – the venerable adventure-touring machine getting an engine upgrade for the next model cycle. With 1254cc of displacement, and rumors of variable valve timing, it was of course inevitable that BMW Motorrad would bring its new boxer engine to the rest of its “R” line. We just didn’t think it would be all at once

Tipped by filings with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), we see though that the entire lineup of R1200 motorcycles will be getting a new engine for 2019. This means that the BMW R1250GS, BMW R1250GS Adventure, BMW R1250R, BMW R1250RS, and BMW R1250RT are on the way.

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Rumors

Design Patents Show Off 2019 BMW S1000RR Superbike

By Jensen Beeler 09/05/2018 No Comments

Today, we get a good look at the 2019 BMW S1000RR, which after much teasing is likely to debut at this year’s EICMA show in Milan, Italy – though it could arrive as early as the INTERMOT show in Cologne, Germany. Described to us as a “game changer” in the superbike space, the 2019 BMW S1000RR is set to once again disrupt what we have come to expect in the liter-bike category.

Now with CAD renders leaking from the bike’s design patents, we can see quite clearly the 2019 BMW S1000RR in detail. The first obvious change is to the bike’s engine, which is obviously completely new based off the case design. Inside those cases our sources tell us a counter-rotating crankshaft resides.

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News

Harley-Davidson Opening R&D Facility in Silicon Valley

By Jensen Beeler 09/05/2018 No Comments

When we broke the news that Harley-Davidson and Alta Motors were parting ways, we teased the idea that the Bar & Shield brand might go it alone with its electric future. Since that breakup, there have been murmurings that Harley-Davidson was going to build its own EV design and research center, right in the heart of Silicon Valley, and today those rumors became true.

Announcing the plans during the company’s 115th birthday celebration, Harley-Davidson CEO Matt Levatich described the plan as an extension of Harley-Davidson’s commitment to make electric vehicles, and the move is an obvious grab at some of the top electric vehicle talent that resides in Northern California.

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