Austria

Austrian manufacturer KTM has started to release details of its 2008 range and first up is a completely revamped EXC Enduro range. The range, which includes 125cc, 200cc and 250cc 2-strokes as well as 450cc and 530cc 4-strokes, all have new frames and engines. The chassis also get new swingarms, new lighter wheels and are clad in new bodywork in the traditional orange-and-black color scheme. No prices have been announced yet.

The KTM neck brace is now available for the princely sum of $650. Designed to help stop neck injury in the event of spill, it follows on from the Dainese item already on the market. Initial reports suggest that it is impractical on sportbikes, but okay on upright machines where it does not restrict head movement as much.

Germany

We already know we are going to get an F800GS BMW very soon. However, it appears that it may well come with a single-sided swingarm. Nothing new there, but chain drive with wire wheels poses the problem of braking, unless you revert to inefficient brake drums. BMW seems to have solved this by putting a disc opposite the chain wheel and relying on the torque arm to hold the caliper in place, according to a leaked drawing!

BMW has just launched a limited-edition R1200GS in the Netherlands, called the 'Heroes Legend' after the classic rally to Dakar that was dominated by GS bikes. Just 20 will be made costing $31,000 in Holland and will be fully-loaded with hard luggage, etc. Apart from this, there are also rumors of an all-new version in 2008 for general consumption!

We have previously mentioned the debut of the BMW Sportboxer. Now we can report that on its maiden outing it won its class at the Le Mans 24 hour Endurance race. Despite being 60-hp less than most of the competition, it posted its fastest lap, just 4 seconds slower than the winning team! At the heart of the bike is the motor from the R1200S and the bike weighs 195 kg (429.9 lbs) fully fuelled. Redesigned cylinder heads and valves allow the twin to rev to 9500 rpm and give 'in excess of 130 bhp.' Ohlin's suspension is used front and rear in place of the Telelever and Paralever BMW set up. Up-graded brakes from Brembo grace both ends of the bike. There are another three rounds of the championship this year and will allow further development, which will hasten up the appearance of a road going version for 2008!

Another bike we have mentioned before has now completed its first race, the Sportenduro. The 450 single-cylinder machine has now been raced in full BMW Motorrad race livery. As previously reported, the bike uses a unique co-axial chain drive and swingarm set-up to maintain the correct chain tension at all times, even with the long travel suspension needed for an off-road bike.

Italy

We have mentioned repeatedly in this column how many factories are getting all or some of their production done in India or China. Cagiva is now joining in with the new '500' Mito to be produced in India. Another surprise, though, is that the 500cc of the prototype first seen at the Milan Show last November has now risen to 650cc. The show bike had a 510 Husqvarna single-cylinder motor fitted, but the production version will have a 650 V-Twin from Korean manufacturer Hyosung behind the fairing panels. The bike will be produced by Indian motorcycle manufacturer Kinetic , who already has a partnership with Hyosung. This will mean that the motor will not be that expensive and will allow Cagiva to keep the price down and enable them to keep their promise to produce an exciting but affordable sportbike.

Any Ducati fan who regularly logs onto its site and Federico Minoli's blog will know that he is stepping down from the top seat to make way for somebody more in tune with the new owners. He was of course TPG's man when they took control and guided Ducati from a racing company to the major player in the mainstream market they are now, as well as maintaining and raising their profile on the track at the same time.

We have mentioned before that we thought that a new bike was waiting in the wings to replace the Monster, Ducati's most successful model, bar-none. However, word has filtered out that it will actually be an updated Monster that emerges, rather than a replacement. Sources say that the bike has already been signed off and has a whole new profile, which includes a sloping headlight like the Aprilia Shiver. At the rear it has twin upswept pipes exiting either side of the rear light unit. A new frame similar to the now launched Hypermotard will be used to house air-cooled motors taken from the Multistrada and the existing Monster 695. The liquid-cooled S4R and S4RS with their Testastretta motors are set to die in favor of a new naked 1098!

It was almost inevitable that given the amazing success of the 1098 that they would use it as a base unit for several new models. The first will apparently be literally a stripped-down bike with new panels to give it a more aggressive street-fighter look which will appear within the next two years. Expect to see the new Monsters at the Milan show in November this year though.

A lot sooner is, of course, World Ducati Week, or WDW as it has become known. During the Misano-based event that runs from June 28th until July 1st, test rider Vittoriano Guareschi will ride the road-going Desmosedici on the track where it was announced three years ago. Expect Casey Stoner and Loris Capirossi to be out on the pure, track-only GP7 racers.

Expect also to see the Ducati 1098R break cover in a few months. This will, of course, have a motor with 1198cc to make the most of the proposed increase to 1200cc in World Superbike racing for twin-cylinder machines.

Piaggio has just revealed a 500cc version of the big wheel Beverly scooter. It is claimed that this new version will have 39.5 hp and a top speed of over 100 mph. There will also be a 250 version with 22 hp. No prices have been announced at the time of writing.

But, on the subject of money, the Piaggio Group has just announced an increase of 85.5% to $96 million for 2006. Total sales profit was up 10.7% on 2005 figures. During the first two months of this year they claim to have sold some 90,000 units, which is the same number they claimed for the first quarter of 2006, so they are currently looking to do even better this year! In an effort no doubt to make even more money, they are looking at manufacturing scooters in Brazil and Vietnam within the next three years.

Staying with money, if you have some spare cash it looks as though MV Agusta is selling Husqvarna to raise some cash. You may remember that the group was bought from car giant Proton last year by the Genoese investment house GeVi. With the motorcycle group came a debt of € $64 million and they had to immediately put in a cash investment of € $10 million to keep the company going as well as underwriting the debt. Now it seems they want some of that money back! Rumors suggest that it will be BMW that will be buying (as we have mentioned in the past) to speed up their off-road development with the smaller bikes. BMW denies any interest, despite MV's public claims. My informant tells me that Ducati is on the prowl if GeVi decides to off-load MV in total. Could be interesting, given the fact that MV are now returning to full-time racing with ex-Ducati World Champion Carl Fogarty managing their team! Watch this space!

Some may well feel that the 1100cc Moto Guzzi Griso is cool enough and a good looking machine. Obviously Italian 'Firestarter Garage' owner Fillipo Rossopuro disagrees as he has just spent a lot of time and money making it look even more dark and sinister. A new tail unit, tank and mudguards grace the original frame along with clip-ons and rear-sets. New 58mm Marzocchi forks now grace the front end with a Bitubo 3R mono-shock fitted at the rear to improve the handling. If this sounds like the sort of thing you want to do to your Guzzi, check out www.firestartergarage.it

Japan

It is always amazing that the Japanese seem to have a greater love of European bikes than they do of the home-grown product. Ritmo Sereno, a BMW specialist, is offering Cafe racers based on the 1980s R80S. Called the Rocket-R and Rocket-R Basic, they are also available with 1000cc motors of Japanese specification. Despite the styling changes most of the parts used are standard BMW items and there are no tweaks to the engines included in the price. Good news is they are all built with new parts!

Switzerland

Duss is maybe not a name you are familiar with, but you could be in the near future if you are a Supermoto fan. Currently nearing production is the Duss (named after the designer) V2 with a bespoke 120 hp 993cc V-Twin motor housed in its radical looking chassis. Mind you, only those with $35,000 will be looking at one in the flesh (very minimalist!) when they are released!

United Kingdom

The roads around Triumph's base are alive with new bikes, with a large number of prototypes having been spotted out testing, indicating the possibility of a bumper launch session later this year.

We brought you news last year of the new touring version of the Rocket III which is likely to be its most expensive bike to date. The spy shots show it is a complete attack on Harley, with huge panniers at the rear and a big clear touring windshield. However, close scrutiny shows that the bike has a completely new frame and has been restyled rather than just being a 'standard' bike with bolt-on add-ons! Extra bracing appears to have been added around the headstock, confirming that the bike may have been stretched a little to get a lower seat height and better, more comfortable riding positions for both the rider and pillion. Multi-spoke wheels show that quite a lot of the bike is new and there are suggestions that it will also get a new name. Triumph does of course have a few like Thunderbird, Trophy and Adventurer to play with, all drawing on their heritage like Harley. Expected cost? Try $30,000 as a starting point!

There is also a new version of the Speed Triple undergoing testing, possibly the 2008 version complete with Brembo monobloc calipers like the ones used on the Aprilia Tuono Factory. Gold Marchesini wheels are another noticeable change from the current model. But, this is not really the hot news, as we have mentioned this bike repeatedly over the last year. No, there are a few bikes spotted that have not been seen before! One dressed up like a Sprint ST has so far defied all attempts to work out what it might be.

However, the Street Triple 675, which is expected to be in dealers next month, has been spotted undergoing last minute testing, along with what looks like a smaller version of the new Tiger. Hazy shots suggest that it may be based on a 675 chassis and engine, with new ergonomics and bodywork. However, it definitely has the upswept pipes of the larger mount! Going back to names, Tiger Cub seems appropriate if they are struggling to name this little Tiger, but hopefully this new bike will have more pull than the original 200cc singles did! Watch this space for more information as and when it surfaces.

The famous Norton name has once again taken to the track with a brand new bike. Well, not quite. The NRV 588 was actually designed back in 1995 by Brian Crichton, who was primarily responsible for the phenomenal success of the Rotary racers at that time. Thanks to funding from the National Motorcycle Museum at Birmingham, the bike was finally finished and shown to the public at last year's UK Motorcycle Show (and mentioned in this column).

It represents what the works bikes would have looked like now had the team been able to continue development of the Rotary engine. This new model has fuel injection and variable inlet tracts, which boost power to 170 hp. The bike has now been track tested by one of the former works riders, Ian Simpson, prior to a public outing in July when it will be demonstrated by another ex-works rider, Steve Spray.

Hawg Haven workshops in Norwich on the east coast of England are taking the European custom world by storm. 'Barnstormer', their latest creation, just blew away show-goers at the recent Kustom '07 show in Paris last month. Taking the title of 'Best Custom', it is likely to be the first of many awards, given that the whole bike is hand-built rather than using propriety-type frames. The huge curving backbone is made out of aluminum billet and is sandwiched by two wafer-thin gas tanks to create the look of a bi-plane, from whence it draws its name. Made out of two parts bolted together, the three-piece headstock is then bolted to it. This locates to a set of girder forks, again machined from billet, as likewise is the rear swingarm. Movement of this is controlled by pressurized air-shocks that have built-in electric motors so that the ride height can be adjusted. At rest, it sits on its bash plate. Press a switch and it rises four-inches so it can be ridden.

Power for the unique creation actually comes from Missouri in the USA and was built by Ken Francis at Mid West Motorcycles. The Ultima 'El Bruto' V-Twin pumps out 120 hp from its 1850cc and gives a whopping 120 lb-ft of torque. Very useful for providing engine braking as the only brake on the bike is a Harley clutch plate gripped by a very small caliper on the rear! For the record, the bike was created by business partners Jon Quantrell and Terry Clarke, whose background was in the Lotus F1 team. The machinist Bob Gough is also from the same background as the other employee's. Seems car guys do have some good ideas after all!

And Finally

If you like to think of yourself as a good careful rider who takes no chances, always scanning the horizon and mirrors for vehicles that may bring you into a conflict situation so you can pre-empt such situations, the following may make you realize you cannot legislate for everything.

Two motorcycles with seven people on board were killed in the Philippines when a helicopter crashed on them as they rode along on Mactan Island. It is thought that kite strings getting caught in the rotors led to the crash.

The moral being: Look up as well as in front and behind! Stay safe.


Let us know what you think about this article in the MCUSA Forum. Click Here