The third amigo to Ducati’s air-cooled posse debuting at EICMA, the Ducati Monster 797 brings back Bologna’s 803cc two-valve engine to the Monster family.
The return of the Monster 797 also happens to add a third model to Ducati’s iconic street-focused Monster line, offering another affordable entry point into the Ducati brand for those who aren’t interested in the Italian company’s scrambler or café racer models.
Remember the Ariel Ace? The VFR1200F-powered street bike from the revived British brand? The attractive street bike is about to get an even sportier sibling (sketched above), as the Ariel Ace R is set to debut at the NEC Motorcycle Live show, this November.
Unless you are well-coined, the NEC show might be your only chance to see an Ariel Ace R in the flesh, as the Brits plan on making only 10 examples of this R-spec machine.
Details are light at the moment, but Ariel does day that the Ace R will have a unique color scheme, and of course there will be better performance pieces and more power from the limited edition motorcycle.
The FGR Midalu 2500 V6 has been in the motosphere for some time now, but finally the six-cylinder Czech-built motorcycle is available for purchase and going into production. Just in case you wanted a V6-powered street bike, right?
At 577 lbs…dry…it is east to dismiss the FGR Midalu 2500 V6 as being too heavy, and an exercise in excess. The sport bike world’s Boss Hoss, if you will.
But, we have to admit that there is something interesting about FGR’s creation, if for no other reason than the Czech company’s willingness to make something that is a standard deviation or two from the normal motorcycling fare.
The Yamaha FZ-09 will follow it European counterpart, the Yamaha MT-09, for the 2017 model year – getting an “upgrade” to its styling, along with a few performance enhancements.
Yes, this means the face that only a mother can love is coming to US soil; but on the bright side, it’s bringing with it traction control, fully adjustable forks, and anti-locking brakes.
The new headlight assembly features four LED headlamps, with other styling changes being made to the tail section, radiator shrouds, air scoops, and license plate mount (now on the swingarm).
Yamaha hopes that this styling effort will appeal to younger buyers, while the added features will appeal to more pragmatic buyers. Like on the 2017 Yamaha YZF-R6, a quickshifter can be added as an optional accessory item, at the dealership.
Suzuki is giving us an early look at its 2018 lineup, showing the 2018 Suzuki GSX-S750 and 2018 Suzuki GSX-S750Z street bikes at the INTERMOT show this week.
Adding a better compliment to the Suzuki GSX-S1000, these 750cc machines build off the same strategy of taking a track-focused sport bike, and making an naked street bike out of it. For the 2018 model year, Suzuki is revising the GSX-S750 it debuted in 2014, to take on the FZ-09 in earnest.
This time, Suzuki is adding more to its venerable open-class machine, the Suzuki GSX-R750, in order to make the 2018 Suzuki GSX-S750.
Also, two flavors will be available, the Suzuki GSX-S750 and the 2018 Suzuki GSX-S750Z – the latter having ABS brakes and a matte black livery.
Yamaha’s MT line runs with the tagline “The Dark Side of Japan” and promises edgy and affordable street bikes for urban riders.
Someone in Iwata, Japan must have thought that the current Yamaha MT-09 wasn’t quite edgy enough though, which is the only way we can explain the 2017 Yamaha MT-09, which debuted today at the INTERMOT show in Cologne, Germany.
Now with a “twin-eyed” LED headlight design, the Yamaha MT-09 feels a little bit more at home when parked next to the Yamaha MT-10 / Yamaha FZ-10 streetfighter. Other changes include an assist/slipper clutch, quickshifter, new suspension, and a redesigned tail section and fender.
The start of “New Bike Season” is nearly here, with various brands getting their teaser campaigns ready for next week’s INTERMOT show. One of the best in the business at this, Ducati is ready to unveil its long-awaited Ducati SuperSport model.
The rebirth of one of Ducati’s more popular models in the past, the 2017 Ducati SuperSport works on the same idea of making a sporty street bike, which is not only good for spirited weekend rides, but also capable of doing some short-distance touring.
As such, the SuperSport fits a narrow niche in Ducati’s lineup, somewhere between the Hyperstrada 939, the Monster 821, and the Panigale 959.
With the debut of the MV Agusta F4Z – a custom superbike designed in partnership with Italian design house Zagato – I thought we would add some contrast to that machine with another special motorcycle that started life in Varese: Deus Ex Machina’s “AgoTT” street bike.
I recently got to see the AgoTT doing laps at Laguna Seca (note the balled racing slicks), and was immediately impressed with the build – the guys at Deus in Los Angeles really did a superb job with this machine, which has a nice balance of old and new in its design.
I also love the fact that we are seeing some great pieces of work get built from the MV Agusta platform, especially the Brutale line. Adrian Morton and his team at CRC have made a lineup of truly beautiful machines, taking on the difficult task of improving upon the work of Massimo Tamburini.
But the even more difficult task is then to take those finish production bikes and rework them into something that is not only new, but also equally as beautiful.
What we have seen from Walt Siegl, and now from Deus Ex Machina hit the nail on the head, and give us a much-needed break from the Honda CB builds of the last few year. I think you’ll agree, and also enjoy the pictures, after the jump.
What makes a good streetfighter? In the past, the formula was simple: you would take a potent superbike, strip it of its fairings, and maybe attach a flat handlebar, shortened exhaust pipe, or some other distinctively “urban” modification. Boom. Dank wheelies.
Now, the formula isn’t quite as clear. Power is still a must, and a certain level of hooligan-cred helps, but the market has begun to ask for more from these “super naked” or “hypernaked” motorcycles.
Commuter and touring duties have entered the space, electronics have become standard, and a certain level of refinement is expected – such are the treacherous waters that the 2017 Yamaha FZ-10 must navigate, all while hitting a budget-friendly price-point.
That is no easy list of criteria for a single motorcycle to juggle, but such is the nature of life, the universe, and everything. The FZ-10 fancies itself up to the task though, and Yamaha has high hopes for this streetfighter…err, super naked…or whatever you want to call it.
A such, Yamaha recently invited Asphalt & Rubber out to the Tennessee / North Carolina border, to ride over 150 miles (including The Tail of the Dragon) to see how the 2017 Yamaha FZ-10 stacks up to the hype, and to the competition.
I came away impressed with this “retuned” Yamaha YZF-R1 for the street, though with some caveats. Keep reading, and I will explain further.
Many of you have likely seen Walt Siegl’s “Bol D’Or” custom MV Agusta Brutale 800 with a retro-flare. It is an amazing piece of work, and the basis for today’s post, which brings you a glimpse of the David Yurman Forged Carbon Moto by Walt Siegl.
Actually the first model from Walt Siegl’s Bol B’Or line, we are just seeing this motorcycle now because it comes with a twist: it has forged carbon parts, crafted by jewelry maker David Yurman.
A lot can be said about forged carbon, enough worthy of its own article, but the tl;dr version is that the composite material is set to replace traditional carbon fiber parts – in a big way.
If you missed our teaser on the Bottpower BOTT XR1R, then you are in for a real treat, as the race version Spanish firm’s street tracker is a very fetching machine.
The Bottpower BOTT XR1R is the bike that Harley-Davidson should be building right now, and it’s the kind of machine that actually would have benefitted from Buell’s “innovations” for street bikes.
With 150hp and a target weight of 150kg, the BOTT XR1R should be plenty of fun on tight circuits, but still powerful enough for longer courses.
And then of course, once you’re done flogging the XR1R for the day, you will still want to spend a couple hours drooling over its titanium frame, carbon fiber bodyworks, and modern-day electronics.
We have always been a fan of Bottpower’s work, but it still feels strange to say that the Spanish builder has created the bike that America has been dreaming of for the past decade or more.