The Paris Motorcycle Show included the debut of the Duke 690 with WP suspension up front and out back to go along with a chassis design based on the 690SM.
It is that time of the year when I can start to be smug as the European shows confirm the rumors that I have published in this column by launching bikes that have been hinted at here. However, Paris is just one show, mainly the one where the Japanese launch their new products, with only a few European launches appearing. Most European factories save theirs for Milan next month, so it will not be until the December column that I can really write, "you heard it here first." Until then, here is what is currently new and waiting in the wings!
Austria
The most powerful Duke ever to come from Austrian firm
KTM was revealed at the Paris show. The 65 hp Duke 690 is based around the chassis of the 690SM, but with a few changes. The computer-aided design gives maximum strength for minimum weight. WP suspension is used at both ends along with all the usual top quality components that we have come to expect from KTM, including a new multi-function dashboard. Overall the bike weighs just 148 kg (326 lbs) and will be on sale in the first half of 2008 at around $10,000.
France's Voxan, a company known more for its cafe racers and naked streetfighters like the Black Magic (pictured), is branching out into the touring realm with the release of its 2008 GTV 1200.
But, if dirt roads or Supermoto is your bag, you can get the same bike devoid of all those road legal necessities as competition versions. This of course further reduces the weight. For those who must have the best, there is also an 'R' model that has better quality suspension and brakes, etc. and the inevitable higher price tag!
France
Voxan has just launched a new touring machine, using, of course, its now well-established 72 degree V-Twin motor to power it. Despite the capacity having been upped to 1166cc, due to French regulations it is capped to 100 hp in terms of power output. The engine is hung from a steel trellis frame with an aluminum swingarm at the rear, inverted forks at the front and an electronically controlled adjustable mono-shock at back end. A large odd shaped touring fairing should provide plenty of rider protection and the standard panniers should hold enough for a week's riding. No prices or production schedules have been released, but expect it to be the middle of next year before you can buy one.
Voxan has enlisted the services of famed minimalist designer Phillippe Starck for its Super Naked IV. Starck collaborated with Aprilia in 1996 on the Moto 6.5 featured above. Hopefully he'll do better this time.
Philippe Starck, the famous designer of kitchen utensils who was responsible for the ill-fated Aprilia Moto 6.5, has returned to bike design with the Voxan Super Naked IV, a limited edition machine. Famous for his minimalist approach, he has managed to reduce the weight down to 180 kg (397 lbs) with his design and the bike may even be produced by the end of this year if there is enough demand.
Germany
As predicted here,
BMW launched the most extreme BMW ever built for the road - the 128 hp HP Sport at the Paris show last month. Developed publically by the factory Endurance Team in the World Championship where it gained respectable results, the bike may be loosely based on the R1200 Sport-Tourer, but is a long way from that soft, long distance mile-muncher.
While they were in performance mode, they also announced that they are to enter the highly competitive World Superbike Championship in 2009. Despite making this announcement, they refused to give details of the bike other than to say it will be a four-cylinder machine of around 1000cc, like most of the competition. If this is the case then, they will of course have to produce a road-going version to be allowed to compete!
BMW also scotched rumors that they will be forced to drop the Boxer motor due to ever tightening emission and noise restrictions. Management stated that they see considerable life left in the design without moving to water cooling.
The first production diesel-powered bikes are on the way. The 1340cc motorcycle is powered by Neander Motorcycles' air-cooled parallel twin with power output boosted by a huge turbocharger.
Fans of the Custom Cruiser will be disappointed in that they stated that such a bike was not high on their project list when questioned about it, although they did not rule out a return to this market segment in the future. What we can expect in the short term is a facelift on the R1200GS and R1200GS Adventure along with the long awaited F800GS that will have a chain drive as opposed to the belt system used on their other F800 models. BMW has also recently confirmed that the takeover of Husqvarna motorcycles is now complete.
We have mentioned
Neander quite a few times before because of its diesel powered machines. It is for the same reason that they appear here once again thanks to their intention of putting into production a 1340cc diesel-powered bike costing a whopping $130,000, or twice the price of a Ducati Desmosedici RR!
The engine has been developed specifically for the bike over the last seven years rather than being something taken from another application, as has happened in the past with diesel machines. The air-cooled parallel twin has a strange crankshaft layout designed to eliminate vibrations usually associated with diesel power. Each one of the pistons has two con rods, these being connected to separate crankshafts that rotate in opposite directions to cancel out vibrations. The normally low diesel power output is boosted by a massive turbocharger, just like in the car world, and its 20.3 psi of boost takes the power up to a respectable 110 hp. The torque though is a whopping 144 lb-ft at just 2600 rpm, which is double what most one liter sportbikes have. The closest two-wheeled comparison to this machine is Triumph's Rocket III which has 147 lb-ft at 2500 rpm, but does so with an additional 1000cc.
Aprilia has reworked the RXV 450 (above) and the 550. The enduros will be one of the first production off-road bikes to come with switchable mapping.
As far as speed is concerned, Neander states a 0-60 time of 4.5 seconds, which is not too shabby considering that the motor has to shift 295 kg (650 lbs). This probably explains why they have mated two sets of 41mm White Power forks at the front to keep it rolling along, although apart from these the rest of the chassis and running gear is pretty much standard fare. If the sound of this single seated custom cruiser-styled bike interests you, then the first production versions will be rolling off the assembly line by the end of the year!
Italy
According to rumors there is likely to be a new four-stroke learner legal 125 coming soon from
Aprilia. The current engine dates back to a Rotax design of some 20 years ago and it is unlikely that it will be suitable to meet the new emission regulations. Piaggio already has a 125cc four-stroke motor that has been used in the Derbi range, so this could easily move across although it would mean a new frame. The drive is on a different side also, so it will mean a whole new bike for the future motorcyclist to cut their teeth on, which is maybe not such a bad thing!
Meanwhile, the factory has reworked the RXV 450 and 550 Enduro bikes to make them more reliable and easy to ride. The factory believes the short service intervals are putting off potential customers in the highly competitive off-road market. In addition, for the first time on a production off-road machine, switchable mapping will be available. Only two maps will be featured, a full-power version and a softer alternative for riding in tricky conditions. A new digital dashboard has also been fitted for the 2008 models which have been tweaked to give better riding positions after requests from their own factory riders.
The Ducati Monster has long been a best-seller for the Italian motorcycle manufacturer, so care had to be taken when it came time to upgrade its design so as not to upset the loyalists who have helped carry the company during its lean years. Here's a peek at the sporty 2008 S4R S Tricolore.
A spy shot of what is believed to be the new Ducati Monster is currently doing the rounds of the European press at the moment. If it is what it appears to be, this will be the first major redesign of the model since the bike was introduced way back in 1993. Careful analysis has shown a new frame and swingarm are integral to the styling, which shows a high level exhaust. This could mean that the factory leaks we have mentioned before about a new Scrambler could have been referring to this machine.
Ducati knows they have to be very careful with styling as its experience in the past with the 999 has proved. The Monster has of course kept them going through some tough times and has always been their best selling bike, so they have to be careful not to upset a very loyal fan base. Don't expect a liquid-cooled motor to appear in the range, which is rumored to break cover at Milan in November, but a three bike line up of a 695, 800 and 1100 is possible, so my informants tell me.
Benelli is gearing up to launch its BX449 four-stroke motocross production bike. The bike features a one unit crankcase and a cassette-type gearbox.
Meanwhile, the Chinese-owned
Benelli factory is all set to launch its BX449 motocrosser as a production machine. After just one year of development the bike is set to be revealed to the public shortly, something of a record. The bike is powered by a 449cc four-stroke Single with a four-valve head and a four-speed gearbox. What is interesting is that the crankcases are made as one unit, with the crank being inserted from one side. Needless to say, the gearbox is a cassette type for this very reason. Power output is rumored to be around 52 hp at 10,000 rpm.
The engine is mounted in a cast and extruded frame, which uses a carbon fiber strut to join the engine cradle to the main frame. These struts will be sold in various levels of stiffness, allowing a rider to tune the amount of chassis flex they want to experience, a first for a production motocross machine. The rest of the bike is fairly conventional with Marzocchi forks and a fully adjustable Sachs rear unit, Brembo brakes, etc. Expect to see larger capacity versions of this motor in the future as well, along with a Supermoto version that we hinted at in an earlier column.
United Kingdom
The 2008 Triumph Bonneville has exclusive throttle body castings that are designed to make the bike look like it still has carburetors despite it being fuel injected.
It is always nice to be proven right and
Triumph did just that when the predictions here about fuel injection on their twins was correct. As the Paris launch showed, the Bonneville-specific throttle bodies have castings that are designed to make it look as though the bike still has carburetors on, just as the current bike does. Apart from this, most of the bikes shown at the Paris Show were just styling and color changes, with very little in the way of brand new bikes, these are still to come, maybe at the November UK show?
Rest of the World
Korea
Hyosung has just revealed the final production version of the GT 650 SX Streetfighter that we mentioned last year. This will be also be the first bike from the Korean manufacturer to use the new 1000cc V-Twin motor, although no date for its release has yet been given. Sources claim the only change has been to the exhaust from the prototype model seen last year.
Japan
We have mentioned many times before not only the continuing growth of the Chinese motorcycle manufacturers, but also the number of court cases that are being taken against them by Japanese manufacturers. Now it seems that governments are getting involved. Japanese officials have recently requested that imitating brand or company names and logos be made a crime in China when they met top Chinese trademark officials recently.
A motorcycle sporting the Tuning Fork logo is easily recognizable as belonging to Yamaha. With the onslaught of small Chinese motorcycle manufacturers, copyright infringements on logos have become a concern of the major Japanese marques.
Currently the use of names or logos confusingly similar to those of well-known brands or companies is prevalent in China. Trademark infringement is illegal in the country, but selling products bearing similar logos or running shops under such names are not subject to criminal liability. The Japanese government has asked China to intensify its crackdown on the use of names or logos similar to those that have been trademarked, in the hope that imposing criminal penalties such as fines and prison terms will strengthen trademark protection there.
As reported here, China's stance toward this issue has started to change, albeit slowly. In June, Yamaha Motor Co. won a lawsuit against Chinese motorcycle makers for using its logos without authorization. China's Supreme People's Court awarded Yamaha 8.3 million yuan, or about 130 million yen, in damages.
And finally!
The following tale should make all male readers think more carefully about where and when they stop to answer the call of nature. Recently a 29-year-old Croatian rider by the name of Ante Djindjic stopped in heavy rain to urinate, nothing unusual you might think. Unfortunately for him, a lightening strike that happened at the same time earthed itself through his penis thanks to his rubber soled boots leaving it as the only option! Doctors claim he will eventually regain full use and all functions of his penis in the future.
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