November 12, 2012
Riding the Honda CB1100F
Today, Honda announced its CB1100F retro standard will be going on-sale in the US priced at $9,999. A week or so ago, we got to ride it. The big inline-four promises to recapture the character of classic Hondas in a modern package. 43 years ago, Honda was the maker of motorcycles for the masses. It was the age of the Cub, of You Meet The Nicest People and of motorcycles as transportation. Then, ...
12 November 2012
KTM 390 Duke leaks
Courtesy of NieuwsMotor.NL, here's leaked screenshots of the new KTM 390 Duke. Designed for the European As license tier, its 373cc single makes 43bhp and 26lb/ft, powering a bike that weighs just 139kg/306lbs (dry) Like the 125 Duke, the 390 is built in India in partnership with Bajaj, enabling an affordable price despite the high spec. Its advertised here with finance for just 75 Euro a month
12 November 2012
Roland Sands designs a scooter
The TMAX is hugely innovative in the scooter world for its use of an aluminum spar frame that mounts the motor amidships, not on the swingarm. But, until now, all that's been hidden under fairly anonymous plastic. Enter Roland Sands... The end result is s...
12 November 2012
2013 Honda CBR600RR: bold new headlights
Sales have collapsed in the 600cc supersport market worldwide, virtually halting development. The R6 is now seven years old, this year's new ZX-6R might have TC and 636cc, but is otherwise just a facelift of the old version and the GSX-R is over half a decade old too. For its sixth birthday, Honda is giving the CBR600RR new headlights and BPF forks. ...
12 November 2012
The ultimate Panigale
Ducati's just taken the wraps of the "R" version of its flagship superbike in Milan. There's no claimed power increase, but Ti con-rods, DLC-coated rocker arms and a lighter flywheel boost max revs from 11,500 to 12,000rpm, ridiculously high for a 1199cc v-twin. Other changes are mostly cosmetic, with a host of carbon gewgaws and a full Termignoni system coming on the Ducati 1199 Panigale R as sta...
12 November 2012
News
A BMW S1000RR-powered Bimota
BMW has announced that the 193bhp, 1,000cc, four-cylinder motor from its S1000RR superbike will be used to power a new Bimota. Scheduled to be unveiled tomorrow, the bike will continue Bimota's tradition of housing world-class engines in innovative, exotic frames, creating small production run packages free to focus on extreme performance at the expense of cost and practicality. BMW and Bimota hav...
12 November 2012
For $5,500, the most important new bikes this year
It used to be, here in the West, that motorcycling was about buying the biggest, badest, mostest motorcycle out there. Nevermind your skill level, everyone knew your Viagra was working because your ‘Busa could go 200mph. But that all changed in 2008 when the bottom fell out of the economy and Boomers stopped buying bikes with home equity loans. In 2012, the success of practical, affordable model...
12 November 2012