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BMW R1200S :Something has happened with BMW since the R1100S was launched in 1998. It was the most powerful BMW boxer then and R1200S will be the most powerful boxer now. BMW wants their bikes to be the perfect road bikes, but the press release leaves us with conflicting messages. It states that the R1200S is for people that find the Japanese and Italian superbikes too extreme whilst providing photography of the R1200S from a racetrack and offering high spec Ohlins suspension and a wider rear wheel to accommodate more racy tyres for more lean on a racetrack. Not to forget that "race ready" 213kg weight. We think that whether it wants to or not the R1200S will initially be compared to bikes such as Ducati 999, Aprilia RSV and Honda Fireblade. Then when everyone has slagged off the lack of top end power and speed it will find its place exactly where R1100S is today. That's with Suzuki SV1000S, Honda VTR1000F, Ducati 1000SS, Buell XB12R Firebolt, MZ1000S and Yamaha FZ1 S. It's not a bad place to be and with a new more powerful GS derived boxer the R1200S can't go much wrong in its segment. It is probably sailing up to be the favourite in this sports all-rounder market. It's between a full on sports bike and a sports tourer basically. But more sporty than ever. And it should be just as fun and safe to ride and slightly more satisfying to look at than the old R1100S. TS
Harley-Davidson: The 2-1 Trike, as H-D calls it, was a no show at the Intermot despite what my source told me first.Harley-Davidson was not the only manufacturer that changed its mind regarding the Intermot show. Also KTM decided to show all its 2009 models at the EICMA show rather than in Germany. Whether Harley-Davidson will show us its 3-wheeled secret or not in 2008 remain to see though.
Ducati : is now ready to take the new Monster design first seen on the 696 to the next level. New from that concept is the addition of the powerful air-cooled 1100 from the Hypermotard. The 2-valve Desmo twin is a pure torque generating machine and max torque output is of 105Nm @ 6.000rpm. At 7.500rpm there's 85 horsepower to play with. Apart from the larger engine, the Monster 1100 also features a single-sided swingarm.
Yamaha : have just released this infomercial on YouTube. The new XJ6 Diversion is set to cater for a growing budget market in Europe and something tells me that the old FZ6 Fazer might be less than budget soon. The engine is to regard as a new engine despite the fact that the main architecture comes from the FZ6. Torque is what the Yamaha engineers has been striving for, but the 78 horsepower max output still doesn't happen until a high 10.000rpm.
Aprilia RSV4: From Italy we have these pictures of the production ready version of the 2009 Aprilia RSV4 Factory and also of the race ready RSV4 superbike which Max Biaggi and another unnamed rider will bee seen on in World Superbike. This is the highly anticipated V4 1000cc superbike set to replace the old RSV 1000 R. We have heard that the standard and Factory version features a 180 horsepower engine whilst the racebike more than 210hp.
Suzuki : launched a selection of the 2009 models in Paris. The big one is the 2009 Suzuki GSX-R1000 and among other changes the engine is new again and more compact than ever. Larger titanium valves and a higher compression ratio should ensure it's up there in the neverending struggle for more horsepower. The chassis has been changed as well with a shorter frame and a longer arched swingarm. This has resulted in a 10mm shorter wheelbase for a nimble handling advantage over previous models. The big Gixxer also features new suspension front and back where the Big Piston Fork from Showa is the highlight. Some mean looking new monoblock front brakes are new as well.
Kawasaki ZX-8R MotoGP Ninja :We know that Kawasaki have left a few surprises for us until later this year. A new Z750 will most likely be unveiled at the EICMA show in Milan in November. It will get Z1000 front and rear end styling points, but still a 4 into 1 exhaust. More exciting are the rumours about a new 800cc Ninja roadbike. Kawasaki dropped the 636 from its model line-up this year and the 750 was dropped several years ago leaving a big gap between the ZX-6R and ZX-10R. Now that WSBK regulation is out in the open when displacement for V-twins are concerned, the in-line four might get bigger too. That leaves an even bigger gap between the 600 and let's say a 1050-1100cc in-line four. With MotoGP going 800 in 2007 there are some synergy effects to consider and the ZX-8R could be Kawasaki's answer. We instructed our designer to make it as much MotoGP as possible, but expect something like this to bear similarities to the new ZX-6R. We hope Kawasaki will launch an 800 to compete with the GSX-R750 even though there are no race series for these machines anymore. Go on Kawasaki, we dare you! Kawasaki Euro marketing boss Leo Schlueter commented: "No comment" and UK marketing manager Martin Lambert commented he wouldn't speak to me on or off the record about new models. We assume in case something would slip.
