It’s that time of year again. Manufacturers are set to debut their latest slew of offerings to the motorcycling public at the EICMA and INTERMOT bike shows. Media day for INTERMOT, held in Cologne, Germany, is next Tuesday, October 5th. The EICMA show, in Milan will reveal its new designs on November 2nd. Riders will finally see long-rumored designs in more than spy shot form. And, hopefully, at least a couple of unexpected surprises will surface. Here’s what we anticipate so far.
Triumph Tiger 800
The worst kept secret of the new model year,
Triumph’s Tiger 800 has been strategically leaked with teaser videos from the British marque. These have been supplemented by plenty of spy shots in the international press. What we know so far: The new Tiger is a smaller version of its larger 1050cc sibling, the new design taking dead aim at
BMW’s successful
F800GS. There will be two versions of the adventure-touring middleweight, one enduro-focused, with the other street-oriented. Both will utilize the company’s hallmark Inline Triple engine configuration, presumably in an 800cc version.
Ducati Diavel
The second worst-kept secret this year is
Ducati’s Diavel. The Bologna firm didn’t deliver explicit marketing teaser hype a la Triumph for its new Diavel, but the bike has long been rumored, with plenty of spyshots in the run up to Milan. The new ride seems to slot into the power standard/cruiser category. Whatever nebulous class bikes like the
V-MAX inhabit. Powered by the largest Ducati L-Twin to date, the expected model has been at times dubbed the Vyper and Mega Monster by the media. The Diavel name stems from the Bologna dialect for “devil.” Whether this new devil will be the only new Duc hatching at the bike shows remains to be seen.
MV Agusta F3
The Italian firm
MV Agusta, once again back under Castiglioni control, will debut at least one new model in the F3 Supersport. MV released two teaser shots of the new design promising to create “the most beautiful and technologically advanced 600cc bike of the world.” Details are forthcoming. Also rumored to be in the mix from MV is a new version of its Brutale streetfighter.
BMW K1600GT
BMW has already pulled the curtain on its Inline Six K1600GT. It doesn’t seem that long ago, but last year’s INTERMOT show was the debut of the six-cylinder concept when the wicked lines of the Concept 6 were unveiled. At the time BMW promised the engine would one day power a touring bike, with the K1600GT announced this July. So far the Germans have only revealed engine shots and teaser concept drawings. We’ll have to wait for INTERMOT to get the full show. The German firm’s British subsidiary, MINI, has already released its electric scooter concept at the Paris Auto Show.
Japan…
The EICMA and INTERMOT shows almost always showcase the European brands' new model releases, but the Japanese are want to get their new models ink as well. At the 2008 show it was
Honda’s VFR Concept that headlined at INTERMOT. There will be at least a couple surprises from the Big Four in the week ahead.
Keep checking back to Motorcycle USA for prompt new model releases.
