Motorcycles

America’s oldest motorcycle manufacturer rolls into model-year 2021 with a new platform that pulls double duty as a celebration of the Chief’s 100th anniversary; the Indian Super Chief. Old-school bagger style and homegrown custom details join to set this new machine apart from the pack. Available with and without ABS, the Super Chief is powered by the proven Thunder Stroke 111 plant. It comes shot in monochromatic paint schemes on the sheet metal with liberal blackout treatment everywhere else. The Super Chief is a rolling history lesson, and class is in.

A handful of the major movers and shakers within the burgeoning electric-vehicle industry have come together in a move calculated to increase EV viability as a practical form of transportation. I’m talking about industry heavies such as the Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Piaggio & C SpA, KTM AG, and Yamaha Motor Co., plus subsidiaries thereof including, but not limited to, Vespa, Husqvarna, and Moto Guzzi. All four have some sort of complete vehicle such as street scooters and dirt bikes with the exception of Yamaha who has so far stuck to Power Assist Electric Bicycles and general electric motor production for use in other applications. These marques have all come together in the spirit of the Paris Climate Agreement to form the Swappable Batteries Consortium whose purpose is reaching a uniform power-pack design that, ostensibly, will make it easier and less expensive to buy and maintain electric bikes.

Vespa rolled out its GTS Super 300 line last year with a new high-performance engine that makes the transition directly over into the 2021 model year. Modern safety and comfort features come stock on the entire GTS family to introduce an element of electronic rider support that’ll help you keep it rubber-side down. All of this runs with the classic, large-frame Vespa style that sets Piaggio products apart from the rest of the world.

We have always been fascinated by speed. The adrenaline rush that it provides has pushed us to build some of the fastest machines on this planet. And we started clocking it way back in 1920 when Gene Walker rode an Indian at 104.12 MPH on Daytona Beach. But way before that in 1903, Glenn Curtiss set an unofficial motorcycle speed record using an aircraft engine and topped out at 64 mph.
The fire for speed is still burning strong and manufacturers continue to push the boundaries of engineering, to add numbers on the speedometer. Icons like the Honda Blackbird and Suzuki Hayabusa still remain the ones to look up to. But there are newbies coming in, and there are coming in hot! We list down the best of these fast junkies.

BMW rolls into MY2021 with a handful of improvements to its base-model R nineT. The updated engine meets EU-5 emissions standards and the electronics suite delivers more safety- and ride-quality features right off the showroom floor. New suspension components boost comfort as well to finish out the improvements for the 2021 R nineT model.

Indian Motorcycle is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its iconic Chief family line, and part of that party belongs to the new Chief Bobber that’ll bring to mind the gassers of yesteryear. Old school lines join with early performance tinkering to give the Bobber a charm all its own even while it makes connections to models from Indian’s own rich history. The Thunder Stroke engine ties it all together with its faux-flathead construction that turns in a thoroughly modern performance that will serve you well in the urban jungle of your choice.

BMW gave its all-surface G 310 GS a soft body redesign ahead of MY2021 along with a handful of drivetrain upgrades to boot. The factory offers the G 310 GS in a pair of standard paint packages, but adds a two-tone 40th anniversary paint package with historical roots all its own. Comfort and safety also saw a buff with a number of new-for-2021 features on Beemer’s littlest GS.

With the Softail Deluxe, Harley-Davidson brings a strong dose of nostalgia and antique design and with it comes H-D’s Big-Twin powerplant — the Milwaukee-Eight 107 — and its 109 pound-feet of stump-pulling torque that turned in a stronger top-gear roll-on than any previous engine family before it with the same 45-degree V-Twin. The charm and engine lope that even the oldest fans of the brand would recognize wasn’t lost, and ABS, security and oodles of laid-back, classic vibes are included in the standard equipment package, so this is truly a melding of two technologically-distinct eras.

Harley-Davidson ditched the Milwaukee-Eight 107 and repowered its Street Bob platform ahead of MY2021 with the powerful Mil-8 114 to give it a performance boost over its predecessor. This makes it the least expensive stoplight burner in the 2021 lineup, as well as the lightest Big-Twin to carry the up-sized Milwaukee engine. The homejob-custom look is a carryover from last year but the graphics package is unique to this year-model setting it apart from its peers.

Harley-Davidson pared down its Softail lineup ahead of MY2021, but its venerable Fat Boy makes the cut to continue into the current lineup. It rolls with the relatively new, 114 cubic-inch Milwaukee-Eight engine in a similarly newish Softail frame, but the overall look still displays the classic genetic markers of the Fat Boy family. Better handling and improved performance join with stock ABS protection to complete the 2021 package.

Harley-Davidson’s 2021 CVO Road Glide is a bona fide showroom showstopper with lots of chrome and a trio of new paint packages. Powered by a top-shelf Milwaukee-Eight 117 engine – the largest production engine from the MoCo to date – this machine rolls with stock ride safety-control features that keep all that power under control. Stock bags and fairings complete the bagger ensemble to make this a viable bike for performance-minded riders looking to tour, cruise, or just boulevard bruise.

Harley-Davidson introduced the Sport Glide in 2018, an all-new Softail model that borrowed from the past while looking to the future. The detachable panniers and mini-fairing give it some (very) light touring capabilities, but it’s the 108 pounds of grunt from the Milwaukee-Eight engine that reveals its true nature as a power cruiser.

Harley-Davidson and the custom-bike culture have always gone hand-in-hand, and the updated-in-2018 Softail Slim makes for a rolling tribute to both. The Slim rides on the same, newly-revamped frame as the rest of the fake-hardtail family for the unmistakable geometry and dated look that you just can’t get from a traditional swingarm. Bobbed fenders and blackout paint tie right into the custom trends of yesteryear quite nicely, but it’s the 107 cubic-inch Milwaukee-Eight V-Twin and its 100-plus pounds of torque that drives the Slim past “historical-tribute” turf right into viable power-cruiser territory. Since the whole point of the original bobbers was to provide a more thrilling ride, I find this pairing of power and panache to be entirely fitting.

BMW rolls into MY2021 with a revised version of its street-legal sportbike, the S 1000 R. It borrows heavily from its race-tastic stablemate, the S 1000 RR. The new model hits the street both leaner and meaner this year to deliver an absolutely essential roadster platform, even though the electronics suite is rather robust within the standard features. Optional electronics and gear can turn this bike into a bona fide race machine.

Harley-Davidson’s cruiser line isn’t usually the first thing that comes to mind for a performance-oriented street machine, but that changes with its recently refurbished Softail Low Rider S model. The steering geometry is sharpened for the sake of agility, and as for power, the torque-rich, Milwaukee-Eight 114 engine delivers the goods with well over 100 pounds o’ grunt ready to be unleashed on the public roads.

Harley-Davidson makes some progress on its “100 new bikes” promise with the mid-2020 release of the new Softail Standard that it carries into 2021. The Standard presents a combination of old-school and custom features over a rather minimalist design, and that has the effect of keeping the price down to make this the least expensive Big Twin the MoCo has to offer. It also makes for a great starting point for you would-be bike customizers looking for a suitable platform.

Once again, Harley-Davidson takes what’s old and makes it new again with its revamped-in-2018 Softail lineup. The drag-tastic “Breakout” is one of the models that made the jump and carried into 2020. Harley offered this bobber-burner with the 109 pound-foot, Milwaukee-Eight 107 and the Mil-8 114 that boasts a total of 119 pounds o’ twist last year, but sticks to the 114 for 2020. The ground-up Softail-family rebuild contains myriad changes from the remarkable to the mundane that go way beyond a handful of re-arranged trim packages. This is a re-invention of the whole range with capabilities meant to offset the loss of the Dyna family, and technology more in line with the current industry standards. We’re talking a renewed focus on the Softails as H-D’s sole (or should it be soul?) cruisers.

Heavily bobbed and blacked-out, the Harley-Davidson Fat Bob came with a choice of engine — the 107-inch Milwaukee-Eight or the 114-inch version – up until 2020 when only the 114 was carried forward. These grunty powerplants, along with a (relatively) sporty new suspension system from the redesign in 2018 give the Fat Bob an aggressive bent meant to appeal to a younger generation of rider. The Fat Bob saw a complete do-over in 2018, so if you rode it before and weren’t impressed, know that you haven’t ridden this Fat Bob.

Harley-Davidson advanced its 100-new-bike agenda in 2019 with the new FXDR 114 that turned the nearly-new Softail into a drag race-inspired stoplight burner. The factory went outside the envelope for design inspiration, with some interesting results that head in an unexpected direction, to say the least. A 114 cubic-inch engine delivers the goods to made the FXDR the most powerful production Softail up for grabs, so you can be assured that it’s by no means an all-show/no-go machine. Plus, an effort to shed some weight to improve handling- and ride-quality, and that translates into even better acceleration to make this a rather sporty, non-Sportster ride.

BMW Motorrad has long been known for the quality of its products, and the factory earns that reputation anew with its MY2020 lineup. In-house electronic innovations and mechanical refinements hold the marque in good stead against even the best market performers around the world. Sporty demeanors and luxe appointments combine across the model spread, and the factory has something for everyone with its Urban Mobility segment up through the top-tier touring machines.

BMW rolls into 2021 with what it calls a soft re-imagination of its plucky little roadster, the G 310 R. Not only did BMW tuneup the looks, but the new G 310 R sports a number of tech upgrades and safety equipment to boot. The engine is a carryover from last year, even though it, too, hits the showroom floor with buffed engine-control electronics and mechanical features. New paint packages finish out the details that make their model debut in MY2021.