750-1000cc

Many of the major players offer a pure-D racetrack hypersport for the public’s consumption, and for Kawasaki, that honor falls to the freshly updated Ninja H2 R. The H2 R brings to the table the best Kawi has to offer along with top-flight aerodynamics and a supercharged engine on top of a full electronics suite making it a threat on the track right out of the box. That’s about the only place it’s a threat though, since the H2 R is far too awesome to be street legal, and as a track-only bike, it wastes not an ounce on any silly old mirrors, headlights, or turn signals. Carbon-fiber components complete the package with their own brand of lightweight strength.

Aprilia’s Dorsoduro line added to its stable for MY2017 with the all-new Dorsoduro 900. This supermoto-inspired ride serves as the successor to the popular Dorsoduro 750. It brings over 95-horsepower to the table with a ride-by-wire throttle, variable power delivery, traction control and ABS to help riders cope with the extra power. Not only does this show a certain amount of model-maturity, but it promises some security and safety for those who would use it in their day-to-day riding. Officially billed as a sportbike-supermotard hybrid, the factory also refers to it as “the fun bike.”

It’s not a new model, just a limited edition version of the admittedly brilliant Brutale 1000. But what is the connection with the Nurburgring circuit in Germany?

This utterly gorgeous motorcycle might be space-age on the outside and uses weapon’s grade aluminium, but it is powered by a humble Triumph parallel twin engine. When it looks this good, do you care?

It’s been four years since the last update to Ducati’s SuperSport 950 platform, and now it’s on the receiving end of a fairly major rework ahead of MY2021. Tuned-up fairings enclose a more emission-compliant engine along with beefed-up electronics to complete the package. The SuperSport comes in the base 950 package, but if you’re a bona fide pegdragger, the 950 S version takes things up a notch or three.

Ducati revamped its Hypermotard range ahead of MY2019 with the 950 and 950 SP to replace its outgoing Hypermotard 939 models. The new 950 borrows from the supermotard world for general design and rocks sharper angles for a more aggressive look. The 950 dropped some weight compared to its predecessor and replaced it with ponies for greater performance across the board, and the “SP” comes with top-shelf suspension and wheels, plus an expanded electronics suite and carbon fiber components to sweeten the deal. The hooligan-bike sector isn’t what you’d call the most populated by any means, but I’ve already got some potential competitors in mind for Ducati’s newest jackass bikes.

The first of six Ducati launch episodes to take place over the next twelve weeks revealed the 2022 Multistrada V2, replacing the Multistrada 950. No big changes, just detail evolution to chassis, equipment and electronics.

Is there any western company with whom the Chinese don’t have a partnership? This concept from Zongshen, called the Cyclone RA9, is largely made up of Aprilia chassis and engine as Zongshen is a partner to Piaggio, the Italian group that owns the Aprilia brand, among others. Based around a 987cc v-twin, both chassis and engine come from the Aprilia Dorsoduro and Shiver models.

Ducati will be hosting a series of six web-based premieres of its 2022 model line-up, starting on the 30th September. What could be the most interesting is being saved for last, as the Desert X middleweight adventure bike shown at the 2020 EICMA show is due to be revealed in production form.

Suzuki announces its contender for sports-tourer class honours, taking the GSX-S1000F and giving it a thorough update, with more comfort, more tech, better weather protection and optional hard luggage. Mechanicals stay the same but they were so good in the first place, why mess with a winning formula?

While we’ve known for a while what it looks like, up to now we’ve been short on detail specification of the new Kawasaki-engined Bimota KB4. In advance of its likely appearance at the EICMA motorcycle show in November, the specification has now been confirmed.