125 Articles
A Biaggi rep for teenagers
Back in 2010, Aprilia released a Biaggi replica RSV4. It made 200bhp and cost €50,000. Only a handful were ever made. Slightly more accessible is this Aprilia RS4 125 replica being made by Aprilia UK. It makes 15bhp and costs just £4,299, bringing with it a Pirelli Diablo Rosso IIs, wavy discs and a quickshifter as standard. Might sound like all that pales in comparison, but if I were 17, a bi...
27 April 2012
Vespa's unpronounceable future
The Vespa Quarantasei (46 in Italian) is a concept inspired by the 1945 MP6 prototype and it's more wasp-like than ever. Times have changed though and engine technology has made significant advances in the last 65 years. While the Quarantasei is a styling concept, its engine is the real deal. The new motor is an air-cooled, fuel-injected 3-valve 4-stroke. It'll be available as either a 125 with 1...
08 November 2011
68 high-res pictures of Italian teenage hotness
No, this isn’t the RSV4, it’s the Aprilia RS4. The difference is three cylinders, 874cc and 165bhp. The point is that European teenagers, restricted by tiered licensing, can ride this superbike-alike and, soon, so will Americans. Later this year, the four-stroke, 125cc sportsbike will be imported to America, where it won’t benefit from enforced capacity or power caps, but where we hope it wi...
02 June 2011
News
KTM quietly faces the ugly truth about bikes
KTM is utterly desperate for the youth market. So desperate, in fact, that KTM Nightlight Session is a two minute video that has almost nothing to do with the KTM 125 Duke that the video is supposed to be promoting. If it wasn't for the beginning credits, nobody would guess it's even a KTM project since all of the visible branding in the first half of the video is for pinkpark and Scott. Neither ...
19 April 2011
25 high-res action photos of the KTM 125 Duke
While every other bike maker is frightened someone might realize the products they push are fast and dangerous, it looks like KTM is busy embracing the fact that motorcycles are exciting. The 125 Duke is KTM’s attempt to bring Europe’s teenagers into their brand. Creative projects like this one that bring motorcycles together with the skate/action sports aesthetic in an exciting way make a ton...
12 April 2011
News
This is what Paris Hilton’s GP bike will look like
You’ve probably heard by now that Paris Hilton is sponsoring a 125GP team next year. Well, at least her Euro pop sensation/fragrance tie-in brand is. It’s best not to think to hard about it, so we’ll make it simple: Believe it or not, but there is a country in the world where motorcycles are nearly as popular among gawky teens as scented body sprays. That country is Spain. In that country, t...
17 December 2010
KTM plans 250 Duke
According to KTM president Stefan Pierer, the company is developing a 250 or 300cc version of the new KTM 125 Duke and says it should be ready in about 18 months. “We’re working on a 250cc up to 300cc single-cylinder engine, also four valves with twin overhead camshafts,” Pierer told Alan Cathcart. “This has more or less the same external dimensions so we can install it in the existing 125...
02 December 2010
What if Shamu and the CBR1000RR made a baby?
This is Thailand’s new CBR150R, a budget sportsbike from Honda that clearly draws inspiration from both the VFR1200 and CBR1000RR. Word is, the European and Canadian market 2011 Honda CBR125R will look just like this, as will the all-new Honda CBR250R. The CBR125R is a significant motorcycle because, in countries with a sensible approach to regulating motorcycle licenses, it’s learner legal,...
20 October 2010
KTM 125 Duke: underage sex
Featuring incredibly strong styling and sexy components like a radial brake caliper and an aluminum swingarm with exposed webbing, the KTM 125 Duke looks more upmarket than most middleweight nakeds available in Europe. It’s not, it’s a learner-legal four-stroke 125 that’ll be restricted to 15bhp, but if you’re 17 and that’s all you can legally ride, then this is the two wheeled equivalen...
05 October 2010
News
Two-stroke racing ends in 2012
It's the weekend for confirming things we all know at the Czech Grand Prix. Before Valentino Rossi announces he is moving to Ducati next year, FIM have confirmed their own news-that's-not-really-news-at-all and announced 2011 will be the last season of two-stroke racing, with the 125 class being replaced by Moto3 from 2012. The Moto3 bikes will use a single cylinder 250cc four-stroke engine with ...
14 August 2010
News
KTM 125 Stunt and Race concepts in detail
Two of the biggest surprises at EICMA were these small capacity KTM concepts. We're used to seeing 125s built down to a bargain basement cost, which means they typically look more like Chinese-made toys than they do motorcycles, but these two KTMs eschew cheapness in favor of vibrant colors, strong steel trellis frames and beefy swingarms. We particularly like the contrast between the white fork t...
11 November 2009
News
KTM 125 Stunt and Race concepts preview learner legal performance
Adapting the KTM 690 Stunt concept design language to a European learner legal 125cc package, these two KTMs look seriously appealing for only having 15bhp (the legal limit for L plates). No other info right now, but we hope this means we'll see similar production bikes in the near future, maybe even with big boy engines. You can see the World Premiere at th...
10 November 2009
News
2009 Cagiva Mito SP525: more of the same please
We couldn't possibly express the degree to which we lusted after a Cagiva Mito when we were 16. Valentino Rossi won his first championship aboard one in 1994. Since then, the Mito's lost its Tamburini-penned 916 looks and gained something akin to that of a contemporary 125GP bike. Sadly, most are now limited to 12.5 or 15bhp depending on local regulations, but basic engine tuning will take that to...
12 May 2009
News
KTM+Bajaj to unveil 2011 125cc streetbikes at EICMA, Dehli motor shows
Photo: KTM Slated as 2011 models to be manufactured in 2010, little is known about the first two small-capacity bikes from the joint venture between KTM and Bajaj Auto LTD. We know both will be liquid-cooled single-cylinder 4-strokes, with the Euro-spec machine to be unveiled at EICMA this coming November and the South Asian-spec bike to be unveiled the following January at the Dehli Motor Show. ...
30 April 2009