Aprilia has come a long way with the Pegaso 650 and we’re now witnessing the presence of more than one such model in their lineup. The Factory and Trail are two similar and yet very different models. Although featuring the same engine and chassis, one fits in the supermotard category and the other in the enduro one. This really shows the Italian manufacturer’s talent in transforming a bike depending on the requests of riders, but also how versatile the Pegaso 650 actually is.
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The Honda XRV 750, better known as the Africa Twin, is a legendary model of the Japanese manufacturer, appreciated as being one of the most robust and reliable motorcycles ever produced by Honda.
While several rumors from last year announced the fact that Honda will most likely produce a descendent of the Varadero model powered by a V4 engine, the Italians from infomotori assure about the reviving of the renowned adventure model seven years after being removed from the Honda lineup.
Apparently, the future Africa Twin will be powered by a new 1000cc V2 engine, 200cc less than what the competition has to offer. Look at motorcycles such as the BMW R1200GS, Yamaha Yamaha XT1200Z Super Ténéré and Ducati Multistrada for a comparison base. Still, Honda will have to ensure similar performance figures while weight should be significantly down.
Like in the case of yesterday’s Aprilia Tuareg rendering, the Honda should have chain final drive and a 21-inch front wheel.
Expect Honda to introduce the all-new XRV 1000 Africa Twin at the EICMA show in Milan.
We will come back on this subject as soon as we have more details.
Italian motorcycle magazine Motociclismo has just revealed a sketch that they’ve put together as a result of rumors about Aprilia planning to launch a big-bore adventure tourer. Called the Aprilia Tuareg, the motorcycle would be a 1200cc adventure-sports one, which positions it up against BMW’s recently disputed king, the R1200GS and rivals Yamaha XT1200Z Super Ténéré and Ducati Multistrada.
With that being taken into consideration, Aprilia would really have to get the most out of the 1200cc V-twin engine suppose to power their future desert bike, while also keeping it under the 200kg (440lbs) weight limit imposed by the desire for competitiveness.
As this rendering reveals, the dual-purpose bike will come with a 21-inch front wheel, while a street version featuring a 19-inch one isn’t out of the equation either.
We will come back on this subject as soon as more details are available.
The 2010 Zero DS is an electric bike with guts. It promises 96lb/ft of torque, all while weighing 277 pounds, and claims to have the ability to keep the rush coming on all kinds of terrains. What you’ll like about it the most is that it keeps its word on everything.
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While it may be hard to believe that someone can lift the front end of a fully loaded BMW R1200GS and keep the bike steady for enough distance to call the achievement a wheelie, this video simply blows away all expectations.
It shows a very skilled rider performing a 3km wheelie during the 2.26 minutes video on the Beemer in South Africa. Looking at it, you’re not too far off if suspecting this guy can go like this forever and ever as long as there’s no traffic and the road is nice and straight.
It is things like this that spice up one’s journeys and we really like to see people taking bikes beyond what they thing the limits are.
Italian motorcycle designer Oberdan Bezzi clearly has a soft spot for classic enduro motorcycles and his latest supposition, the Yamaha 660 XT Spirit, is yet another proof from the many. Although Yamaha sells the XT660R adventure bike with success in Europe, Obiboi has created this as a return to the roots of Yamaha’s enduro motorcycles and we’re not far off when saying this could easily compete with models such as the Triumph Scrambler and Moto Morini Scrambler, which occupy a rather subtle but profitable niche on the market today.
In order to be entirely successful, the Japanese bike would have to combine the classic looks with the benefits of a 660cc four-stroke single-cylinder engine that would have to be powerful enough for decent street use, economic and reliable. In what the chassis is concerned, it looks like Bezzi has it all figured out from this rendering right here. A light and narrow frame, decent ground clearance, long-travel suspension and disc brakes should do the job just fine.
Given that Yamaha has recently introduced their all-new XT1200Z Super Ténéré, we can’t see a shiny future for the middleweight concept, but this doesn’t make it a bad one.
The much-awaited and anticipated Yamaha XT1200Z Super Ténéré finally broke loose with the goal of tipping the adventure-touring king, the BMW R1200GS, off its throne and we must say the all-new Japanese bike has all the credentials to make that possible. To begin with, there’s a great demand for big-bore adventure sports bikes in general and, with the right ergonomics, powerplant and innovative features, for the all-new Super Ténéré in particular.
Update: Yamaha has just released the accessories list and pics, which you can now find in our article and picture gallery. Remember, the parts are standard on the 2010 model year, which makes this kind of a limited edition bike as the 2011 one will have them too, but only in the accessories catalog.
British motorcycle manufacturer Triumph has just released a video showing their 2010 models in action just so that they get our juice flowing ahead of the new motorcycle riding season. Most of their 2010 bikes are being produced with little modifications and only get new colors as Triumph, like most other bike manufacturers, likes to play it safe until the global economy starts spinning its wheels more rapidly.
At a first glance, this might look like a custom-made Scrambler with the Ducati name on it, but it is in fact a motorcycle that the Italian maker’s Borgo Panigale factory did delivered back in between the late 1960s and until the mid 1970s, when the US market was avid for this type of motorcycles and Ducati had the racing frame and lively engines of different capacity (250, 350 and 450ccs) to make it possible.
Although this particular one is slightly modified, we like it even more as, at least visually, it is brought up to date and can still ride the dust like in the good old days. If I’d be a Ducati head, I’d seriously think about reviving the Scrambler and have it compete with the Triumph Scrambler, which still goes strong today.
Ducati’s Borgo Panigale factory turns similar to a motorcycle saloon booth every time a new model joins the lineup and this time it was the turn of the Multistrada 1200 to be the soul of the party. The first bike, a white S model to be precise, rolled off the assembly line a couple of days ago and the event took place in the presence of Production Director Silvano Fini, Ducati Motor CEO Gabriele Del Torchio and Product Director Claudio Domenicali, not to mention the crowd of proud workers. We can only imagine how satisfying moments like these are for everybody involved.
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