After many rumors and some obvious teasers, the folks in Bologna, Italy have finally unveiled the Ducati Streetfighter V2 model for 2022.
The recipe here is simply: take the Ducati Panigale V2 and give it the styling cues of the Streetfighter V4 (sans wings).
When I first met the Aprilia Tuareg 660, it didn’t make much of an impression. It was the 2019 EICMA show, and the bike was quietly on display in a glass box, covered with plants and vines.
The display was so nondescript, that thousands of attendees and hundreds of journalists passed by the Tuareg 660 without even noticing that it was there.
Nothing is subtle about the Tuareg 660 now though, as the middleweight adventure bike is riding the wave of success that has come with Aprilia’s previous two models from its 660cc platform.
Add into that notion how popular the middleweight ADV space has become recently, and we can begin to see why the Aprilia Tuareg 660 is one of the most anticipated motorcycles for the 2022 model year.
So to test its mettle, Aprilia brought us to the Italian island of Sardinia, where the winding mountain roads make for challenging and technical riding on the street.
And to get our feet dirty too, we tackled some rough gravel roads/trails, as well as an off-road circuit that Aprilia created with a good mix of sandy, rocky, wet, and bumpy conditions.
Is the Aprilia Tuareg 660 any good? Ask 31 riders and you will get a Baskin Robins of answers back in this highly personal two-wheeled space.
But, the Aprilia Tuareg 660 does seem to inhabit the Goldilocks zone of the middleweight ADV space that should impress many, and leave quite a few riders reaching for their wallets. Let me explain.
The Yamaha MT-10 is an underrated motorcycle, that isn’t helped by its polarizing “Johnny 5” styling cues. It’s fun, it’s powerful, and it’s affordable.
For many years after its initial debut, you couldn’t go wrong putting an MT-10 in your garage. But then time marched on.
Yamaha let the MT-10 languish for too long without an update, as its European competitors began to up their ante, offering more feature-packed streetfighters to the segment.
For the 2022 model year though, the tuning fork brand is hoping that sport riders will once again remember that Yamaha has a horse in this race, and that the MT-10 is once again the bargain-buy it used to be.
Getting a modest restyling and a bevy of key updates, the 2022 Yamaha MT-10 is certainly worth a look.
CFMoto is not a brand that we talk much about here on A&R, as the Chinese firm has a minimal presence in our core markets of readership: North America and Europe.
When you do hear about CFMoto, it’s usually in relation to the company’s partnership with KTM, but rarely ever is the news about the company’s own creations.
As such, let us introduce you to CFMoto, as you may have seen their latest concept bike making waves on social media. The name needs some work – SR-C21 doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but don’t let that stop you from drooling.
There was some consternation in Austria in August when KTM rolled out a wheel cover for the rear wheel of the KTM RC4 on the Red Bull KTM Ajo bikes of Pedro Acosta and Jaume Masia.
Despite the strict technical rules in Moto3, the specter of aerodynamics has reared its ugly head. Naturally, this advance could not go unanswered by KTM’s only technical rival in Moto3.
What is old is new again might as well be the theme for this week, after the Crighton CR700W reemerged and the Husqvarna Norden 901 finally debut, and that theme continues now with the relaunch of the Norton V4 superbike, which has changed names to the Norton V4SV.
With the company now in the hands of India’s TVS Motor Company, the British firm is starting to make good on some of its previous owner’s promises, and one of those is making the Norton V4 work properly and land into the hands of happy customers.
Long-time Asphalt & Rubber readers might recognize the motorcycle above. It started life as the Norton NRV588, and then later became the Crighton Racing CR700P.
What is old is new again, it would seem, as the Crighton CR700W is getting significant press this week. And although the bike is a massaging of a machine that has been in the two-wheeled nexus for over a decade, Crighton’s work is certainly lurid.
This is because the Crighton CR700W is the only rotary engine powered motorcycles available on the market, and the headline features are certainly worth talking about.
“Harley-Davidson delivered a solid third quarter and we have seen many of our Hardwire strategic initiatives perform well, providing encouraging initial proof points of our five-year strategy,” said Jochen Zeitz, chairman, president and CEO, Harley-Davidson.
That is how the Bar & Shield brand’s press release about its Q3 2021 sales starts out. The company goes on to acclaim its sales progress for this year, citing relevant metrics back to this time period in 2020.
It’s finally here. The Husqvarna Norden 901 is finally here. Two years after its concept EICMA debut, the Husqvarna Norden 901 is here for the 2022 model year.
While it might be the “Blue & White” version of the KTM 890 Adventure, you can tell from the photos that this isn’t simply a rebadged version of the Austrian machine.
Aprilia’s 660 platform is making quite a splash, with the RS 660 dominating the MotoAmerica twins cup field, and the Tuono 660 offering an affordable, yet potent, offering for street riders.
Now, the next installment of the 660cc parallel-twin platform is ready for two-wheeled enthusiasts, as the Aprilia Tuareg 660 is set for its international unveiling (we’ll be riding the middleweight dual-sport in Italy in a week’s time).
With that debut imminent, details about the bike are coming in, most notably its price tag, which for the US market will be a cool $11,999 MSRP (add $600 if you want the Indaco Tagelmust color option).
A bike we have suspected from Ducati ever since the Multistrada V4 debuted, the Ducati Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak continues a long tradition from the Italian brand in making a sportier adventure-tourer.
That ethos gets taken to another level with this incarnation though, thanks primarily to Borgo Panigale positioning the base Multistrada V4 as a more all-round ADV bike, with its 19″ front wheel and double-sided swingarm.
Returning the Multistrada to its 17″ ways, the 2022 Ducati Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak features not only a smaller front wheel, but also a single-sided swingarm and other sport-focused choices.