Motorcycles

Suzuki is handing out $100 Prepaid Visa Cards to eligible owners of 2004-2013 GSX-R600/750 and 2005-2013 GSX-R1000 to bring in the bikes to have recall work performed in the front brakes.

Continue reading for more on the recall incentive program.

Can-Am carries its sport-cruising roadsters, the Spyder F3 and F3-S, into 2019 with the 100-plus horsepower Rotax engine, as always with minimal design features in order to keep weight down and performance up. The spectacular safety package also reprises its role with traction control, stability control, and ABS on board. Spyders are still something of a curiosity and not quite what you would call mainstream just yet, but the Bombardier Recreational Products presses forward with the F3 / F3-S duo as both its entry-level and most sport-tastic rides in the lineup.

Continue reading for my review of the Can-Am Spyder F3 and F3-S.

The Bavarian motorcycle manufacturer has been the market leader in the adventure scene with their promising GS motorcycles running the show for more than 35 years. Topping this chart is their flagship workhorse, the R 1200 GS series and its flat-twin boxer engine that is undoubtedly the best companion for exploring the unexplored.

Currently, this machine runs on a 1170cc flat-twin boxer engine and is all set to receive some major updates for the 2019 year along with some high-tech features coming in as standard. The new mill is going to make it specked to Euro-V norms and also make more power without losing on any fuel efficiency. What’s the trick? It’s called the BMW ShiftCam technology.

Celebrating 95 years for a company is a big thing and to have survived against all the odds was a mountainous task for Moto Guzzi. Paying tribute to this past effort of custom motorcyclists, MG headed to a major revival plan and launched the new range of V9 platform a couple of years ago that angles towards the cruiser style rather than the V7’s roadster theme.

The first offerings were in the form of the mainstream-custom “Roamer,” and the more sinister “Bobber” that was launched a couple of years ago. For 2019, the Lario eagle moniker is getting a sporty new variant of the Bobber to show its mean and racing side of its character. Called the “V9 Bobber Sport”, is has been inspired from the ‘bobbed’ flat track racers from the ‘50s America.

Harley-Davidson revamped its Street Glide Special yet again for the 2019 model year in an effort to keep it “special.” First, the factory stuffed the largest non-CVO engine into the frame. Then it boosted the infotainment potential with the new Boom! Box GTS system. Color choices span the spectrum so there should be something for everyone on the palette. What else makes the “Special” so special? Let’s find out.

Continue reading for my review of the Harley-Davidson Street Glide Special.

Remember that special GSX-R 1000R with carbon-fiber fairing, top-spec exhaust, race-styled screen and lever guards we spoke about last week? Well, we thought that this was a limited edition affair to showcase Yoshimura’s involvement as the former’s official partner for the upcoming MotoGP season.

At least we were right about the limited edition part. What it is, is the Suzuki GSX-R1000R Ryuyo. It is a not so cheap, nor can be ridden on the street version of the “King of Sportsbike” that gets a bump in power to a crazy 212 hp while losing out a huge 77 pounds, courtesy - so much carbon-fiber.

The Bavarian motorcycle manufacturer has been the market leader in the adventure scene with their promising GS motorcycles running the show for more than 35 years. Topping this chart is their flagship workhorse, the R 1200 GS series and its flat-twin boxer engine that is undoubtedly the best companion for exploring the unexplored. Then there is the R1200RT, a sport touring motorcycle which has many at times been the bestselling model for BMW.

Currently, both these machines run on a 1170cc flat-twin boxer engine and are all set to receive some major updates for the 2019 year along with some high-tech features coming in as standard. The new mill is going to make them specked to Euro-V norms and also make more power without losing on any fuel efficiency. What’s the trick? It’s called the BMW ShiftCam technology.

Kawasaki looks to maintain the momentum it garnered last year by rolling its popular Z900RS CAFE straight over into MY2019. And, why not? It’s hard to argue with success, and the retro-tastic looks and modern performance make excellent bedfellows, especially with the Seventies-fabulous graphics as the icing on the proverbial cake. The “CAFE” falls at the Southern edge of liter-bike territory, which could potentially be dangerous for a new rider, but it carries all the requisite safety equipment needed to keep the noobs dirty-side down. Today I want to get into the nuts-and-bolts of the thing and see what else Kawi has crammed under the hood of this charming little tribute piece.

Continue reading for my review of the Kawasaki Z900RS CAFE.

Heritage sells, and BMW looks to take it to the bank with its R nineT model family that brings classic looks and a timeless engine configuration together. Outward appearances may draw on dated (read: classic) design elements, but performance from the boxer-twin powerplant puts the R nineT in a decidedly modern category that has launched an entire line of sub-models. Today I’m going to dissect the bike that serves as the foundation for the R nineT stable and take a look at the 2017 update that it carries it into MY2019.

Continue reading for my review of the BMW R nineT.

Back in 2013, BMW teamed up with TVS Motors in a Euro 20 million partnership to support them with the manufacturing and distribution of smaller capacity motorcycles, starting with the G 310R. TVS also launched the Apache RR 310 that was nothing but a full faired G310R for the Indian markets.

Now though, the Germans have perfected that sportsbike and have slapped their badge on what we believe is the potent new mini-superbike, the BMW G310RR Supersport. Snapped by our friends at Oliepeil, this BMW G310RR was on display at the BMW Motorrad Days in Japan and has its dad, S 1000 RR, written all over it.

Entering the 650cc twins into the market, Royal Enfield has fulfilled a long-standing purpose of enchanting world customers with its cafe-racer Continental GT 650 and the classic-retro Interceptor which were launched at the 2017 EICMA.

Although late to the party, the bikes are yet to reach showroom floors and will be happening after the EICMA show of Milan in November. After having gathered many eye-balls, Royal Enfield has given us yet another convincing with its stunt of registering a land speed record with the Continental GT ridden by an 18-year-old pretty face during the Bonneville Speed Week.

The Japanese Green Team have officially released images and introductory videos of their new babies of both their sports and naked categories, finally after a couple of years of speculation ever since the 2017 EICMA. It is the Ninja 125 and Z125 that will be revealed at the upcoming EICMA in Milan.

Although we already have the naked Z125 in our markets, it will be replaced with a newer, more advanced update along with its sportier Ninja sibling. While doing so, Kawasaki will finally have a product to cater to the basic A1 license that has so far limited them to the use of mopeds.

Indian Motorcycle, under the expansive Polaris umbrella, blessed its Chieftain lineup with a facelift ahead of MY2019, but the Chieftain Classic alone retains its looks to perpetuate the retro-styling that made it a hit in the first place. The “Classic” benefits from the same under-the-hood fandanglery as the rest of the lineup, so while its looks might be a bit dated in the most delightful ways, you can count on modern safety and comfort all the same. Indian is in the midst of its timeless conflict with America’s second-oldest manufacturer, Harley-Davidson, so today I want to take a look at the new Classic and see how it stacks up against the MoCo. Let’s get to it.

Continue reading for my review of the Indian Motorcycle Chieftain Classic.

With their bikes dominating the WSBK championships, we can see the direct impact of this on their street products. With the integration of technology and electronics from their motorsport experience, they have continuously pushed the limits for better handling and a thrilling ride experience along with ground-breaking technology catering to the rider’s needs.

For 2019, the ZX-10R series is receiving major updates to slay the competition. New developments in the engine architecture will take the power figures to 200 hp+ to all three models. The RR will be a limited edition affair with even more fineness inside that 998cc mill.

Can-Am announced the newest addition to its funny-backwards-trike lineup with the all-new Ryker model that BRP hopes will open up a whole new market for prospective entry-level trike riders. (Trikers?) The Ryker comes with all the electronic fandanglery that you’ll find on its large-displacement siblings, but comes with a choice in powerplants between a mid-size mill and one that falls closer to a liter. An automatic transmission delivers twist-and-go operation for the ultimate in rider friendliness, even for folks who are complete strangers to having their fists in the wind. Could this be BRP’s new big shoo-in? Only time will tell, but meanwhile, we can certainly dissect this most-interesting machine, so let’s get to it.

Continue reading for my review of the Can-Am Ryker.

2014 was the year Ducati started rolling their Scrambler editions, and after almost half a decade, Scrambler is no longer just a model, but now it is a brand. Till today, Ducati has been making Scramblers which could have been abused, but it pleased the urban way and masses, and hence they became glorified street bikes.

And the most successful model is receiving a much-needed update for the year 2019 ‘Scrambler Joyvolution’. The Ducati Scrambler Icon – will now come with modern equipment, revised riding ergonomics, new paint schemes, and better safety tech to keep both wheels planted in all situations.

Harley-Davidson has released its 2019 lineup, and it looks like the newly revamped TriGlide Ultra is the hot ticket to debut all the new tech to come out of Milwaukee this year. The TriGlide combines the stability of a traditional trike platform with all the same tour-tastic goodies that makes H-D’s two-wheeler tourbikes such a success. New this year, an updated infotainment system gives you better touchscreen performance along with better sound system options, but the real performance boost lies in the engine area as Harley beefed up its already massive mill. Attention was paid to the suspension components as well to make this generation of trike smoother than ever before, so as you can see, the MoCo did its homework and gave the people exactly what they want, and more of it. Or, did they? Let’s find out.

Continue reading for my review of the Harley-Davidson TriGlide Ultra,

Built by engineers with years of experience and dominations in production-based Superbike, Superstock and Endurance races worldwide, and most importantly the WSBK MotoGP technology, the 6th gen 2017 GSX-R 1000 was the most compact, the most aerodynamic and the best-handling GSX-R 1000 ever.

The folks who made it themselves are upping the ante for 2019 and will be showcasing a new edition of their “King of Sportsbike” at the upcoming EIMA show in Milan. It is going to be a much more brutal version of the already potent GSX-R 1000R and Suzuki Italy has published a couple of pictures on their social media platform giving us a glimpse of this new weapon, probably in conjunction with Yoshimura.

This is the second teaser we received in a span of a couple of weeks proving that Triumph is on a path to rule the popular scrambler category with their upcoming brand-new weapon, the 1200 Scrambler. This second teaser shows us more of what we can expect from the Hinckley chaps.

The 1200 Scrambler boasts of the new high torque engine used on the Brit’s Bonneville lineup, and to handle all that additional power, this Scrambler gets equipped with bigger wheels, bigger brakes, and bigger suspension.

2014 was the year Ducati started rolling their Scrambler editions, and after almost half a decade, Scrambler is no longer just a model, but now it is a brand. Till today, Ducati has been making Scramblers which could have been abused, but it pleased the urban way and masses, and hence they became glorified street bikes.

And the most successful model is receiving a much-needed update for the year 2019 ‘Scrambler Joyvolution’. The Ducati Scrambler Icon – will now come with modern equipment, revised riding ergonomics, new paint schemes, and better safety tech to keep both wheels planted in all situations.

Indian Motorcycle updated its base-model Chieftain ahead of MY2019 along with the rest of its bagger family in order to present a sleeker, more-modern face to the world. Attention was paid to the aesthetics to include changes to the body panels, front and rear, as well as the saddle. New technology also sees the light of day with entertainment power and comfort features that are meant to help America’s oldest motorcycle brand compete with the second-oldest domestic marque. Some of that gadgetry is geared to make the powerful 111 cubic-inch even more user-friendly and attractive in this great arms-race with its traditional foe Harley-Davidson. Today I’m going to take a look at the new Chieftain and see how it stacks up against one of H-D’s baggers.

Continue reading for my review of the Indian Motorcycle Chieftain.

For 2019, the Japanese green team is bringing in smaller babies of both their sports and naked categories to our markets finally after a couple of years of speculation ever since the 2017 EICMA. It is the Ninja 125 and Z125 that will be revealed at the upcoming EICMA in Milan.

Although we already have the naked Z125 in our markets, it will be replaced with a newer, more advanced update along with its sportier Ninja sibling. While doing so, Kawasaki will finally have a product to cater to the basic A1 license that has so far limited them to the use of mopeds.