Tag

suspension

Browsing

After just a year of sales, the Ducati Multistrada V4 is getting a modest update for the 2022 model year, with the headline feature being an semi-automatic suspension lowering system.

The concept mimics the one first seen on the Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 adventure bike, where the preload on the forks and rear shock is reduced at stops and low-speeds in order to help the rider have a firm contact with the ground.

This “Minimum Preload” feature is coming on all 2022 Ducati Multistrada V4 S models, and those with a 2021 bike in their garage can get a software update for free from Ducati.

The KTM 890 Duke R didn’t get the press launch it deserved, thanks to the coronavirus outbreak, but this bike remains high on our list of machines that debuted for the 2020 model year.

In case you don’t know, the 890cc machine is the more burly sibling to the KTM 790 Duke, for only $1000 more out of your wallet. For that price, you get an obvious bump up in displacement, which is good for a 17hp increase (120hp for the KTM 890 Duke).

But, the 2020 KTM 890 Duke R also brings with it a bevy of upgraded pieces, namely brakes and suspension…but not as good of an upgrade as we were led to believe initially.

German suspension brand Bilstein (rhymes with Frankenstein, for those debating the pronunciation) is about to get into the motorcycle business.

One of the more historic brands in automotive suspension, Bilstein is known best for its products in the four-wheeled realm, and in most current history for its off-road offerings in that space.

But now, Bilstein is setting its eyes on the two-wheeled realm, and for the past five years has been developing its first crop of motorcycle suspension pieces. As such, Bilstein is poised to debut its first wave of motorcycle suspension pieces later this year.

Spy shots from Europe show that the 2020 Aprilia RSV4 1100 Factory (say that three times fast) is set to show off a new suspension upgrade for the EICMA show in a few weeks’ time.

The news, confirmed by our Bothan spies, sees next year’s Aprilia RSV4 1100 Factory getting semi-active electronic suspension pieces from Öhlins, along with a new tricolore color scheme.

Interesting news today on the business front of the powersports industry, as Tenneco Inc. announced its intention to purchase Öhlins Racing A.B. for $160 million.

The move would see Tenneco own a majority stake in Öhlins, while a minority position in the company would remain with founder and namesake Kenth Öhlin.

The move is an interesting one since Tenneco has been in the suspension business before, owning the Marzocchi suspension brand.

One of the best streetfighters that money can buy is set to get even better for next year, as the Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 Factory is tipped to get semi-active suspension from Öhlins for 2019. 

The announcement is expected to occur at the INTERMOT show next week in Germany, according to the sleuths at GPone.

If true, the move is a strong update from Aprilia, as it helps the Italian brand keep the Tuono V4 1100  at the pointy end of the spectrum, especially from its closest competitor, the KTM 1290 Super Duke R.

It has been a busy month since our inaugural edition of “What We’re Reading” column, so there is plenty to catch-up on reading-wise. Again, our reading list spans stories that go between the motorcycle industry and also non-endemic media outlets.

This edition focuses heavily on the racing world, and in it we get a glimpse into the world of the MotoGP Championship, from the riders’ perspective. We also see what’s happening in the automotive industry, as well as the media landscape as a whole.

Many of our stories can be brought back to the motorcycle industry, as our industry faces analogous problems to other sectors. Of course, some of the pieces made our list simply because I thought they were interesting and thought-provoking.

Part clearinghouse for stories that we will never get our full attention, and part book club for our loyal readers who are doing their best to survive the work day, say hello to the next installment of the “What We’re Reading” column series.

The Kawasaki Z900 is Team Green’s hot bike for the 2018 model year, as the platform is powering the new Kawasaki Z900RS and Kawasaki Z900RS Cafe motorcycles. Owners of the original Z900 should take note though, as Kawasaki has issued a recall on the machine, which affects 2,383 units.

The recall stems from an issue with the rear shock, where the tie-rod frame mounting holes can become elongated if the rear shock bottoms out. Since this can adversely affect how the rear shock subsequently functions, a recall has been issued.

At the beginning of this month, Ducati posted a promo video for its new Panigale V4 superbike. The video shows the new machine testing in a wind tunnel, touting the tagline that the motorcycle was “shaped by the wind.”

Surely this access to a high-speed wind tunnel for development purposes is the byproduct and one of the benefits of Ducati being part of the Volkswagen Group.

Though, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has all but made wind tunnels obsolete, making such things more of a show of engineering, and thus marketing. We digress.

What is of note though in this video, however, beyond the interesting glimpses of Ducati’s physical fluidic analysis, is that it is a glimpse at one of the Panigale V4’s very early designs.

Water-cooled BMW R1200GS owners will soon be getting a call from their local dealership, as the popular adventure-touring machine is getting a worldwide service bulletin that affects models made between November 2013 and June 2017.

The service bulletin concerns the fixed fork tubes on the BMW R1200GS and BMW R1200 GS Adventure models, which can suffer damage from high stress incidents (going over an obstacle, riding through a pothole, etc), and subsequently fail.

By our math, this service bulletin affects over 150,000 motorcycles, making it a massive global undertaking for the German motorcycle brand, for its flagship model.

BMW Motorrad is recalling a combined 21 units of its 2017 BMW S1000R and 2016-2017 BMW S1000RR motorcycles because of a rear suspension bolt that may become loose. According to BMW’s NHTSA filings, more specifically the recall affects one S1000R unit and twenty S1000RR units.

The bolt is part of what BMW calls the rear suspension deflection lever, and when it loosens it may adversely affect the handling of the motorcycle.