Bikesrepublic

Latest News

Maverick Vinales has decided to race in next week Aragon GP with Aprilia Racing after just a two day testing with the RS-GP.

Vinales admitted he felt comfortable with the V4 machine despite spending most of his career in the world championship with a Japanese inline-four motorcycle.

“When I arrived, I felt tremendous pressure, and I was nervous because I had spent so much time on a different type of bike.

“I have always raced with 4-inline; I didn’t know how it would go.

“Instead, I was surprised by how easily I adapted to the engine. It was easy. The bike is very manageable, which is important for long races.

“I lapped in 1’32.4, which is not bad, the benchmark was Ducati, and we were close,” he said.

Many would have thought the Spanish rider would only feature with Aprilia next season. However, he suggests that the remaining race, starting with Aragon GP, is the best learning curve.

 

“Maybe I’m not ready yet; I still don’t feel like one with the bike. I was used to riding a completely different bike, but I think I will understand the bike even better at Aragon.

“Being with Aleix (Espargaro) will also help me because he is fast and I will be able to learn how this bike works quickly,” he added.

BMW has unveiled its latest electric two-wheeler concept that aims to attract today’s youth.

Unlike the CE 04, which has a wider body panel and runs on a bigger and more powerful electric motor, the Concept CE 02 is designed for individuals aged 16 years familiar with intelligent technology.

While it may look more of a typical motorcycle than CE 04, Edgar Heinrich, the Head of Design at BMW Motorrad, stresses that it is an entirely new motorcycle.

“At first glance, there is little about the BMW Motorrad Concept CE 02 that is typically BMW Motorrad – it’s something completely new.

“We want to strive for something novel and be pioneers – which is what we’ve proven ourselves capable of with various projects in the past.

“The Concept CE 02 features new proportions and modern forms of single-track mobility in an urban environment. In addition, we wanted to achieve a level of design innovation that we have not had before at this level.

“Straightforward use was important, but above all, the emotional component was crucial, as well as riding fun,” he said.

The overall design is minimal, which is something that attracts the youth these days.

It is so minimal; the CE 02 does not come fitted with a footrest. Instead, as you can see based on these quirky photos, the rider is resting his feet on a skateboard attach sideways at the bottom of the motorcycle.

Why, you ask? Well, that question itself meant that Concept CE 02 is not built for you (or me). The idea is to offer practicality and allows riders to customize the e-bike accordingly to fit their taste.

Meanwhile, at heart sits an electric motor with a claimed output of 11kW capable of maxing out at 90km/h and a 90km range.

The suspension system consists of a front fork and a single rear shock mounted to the single-sided swingarm, while braking is done by a 2-piston front calliper and a single-piston rear calliper paired to 15″ wheels.

Other features include:

  • LED lights
  • small TFT colour screen
  • 730mm seat height
  • 120kg weight

Zero Motorcycles has launched the Quickstrike package, a limited edition customization kit for the fully electric SR and F model.

According to the company, only 100 of the numbered set will be made available for the global market.

“Zero’s launch of the revolutionary SR / F has brought about a change in the entire market.

“It is extraordinary how the success of a single model can support an entire winning category of high-performance electric motorcycles.

“For this reason, we wanted to create an exclusive and special package that could underline even more the uniqueness of the SR/F,” said Chris Metcalfe, Zero Motorcycles VP of Marketing.

Interestingly, the Quickstrike kit was inspired by the 2019 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, exclusive motorsport events in the world.

The kit includes a host of features such as:

  • anodized brake lever guard
  • front and rear smoked LED turn signals
  • carbon fibre front and rear mudguards
  • rear kickstand pin
  • black aluminium fairing
  • custom mirrors
  • exclusive Quickstrike logo
  • Quickstrike pin
  • Quickstrike bike cover

After teasing us with the Speed Triple 1200 RR Prototype and the Tiger Sport 660, the lads at Hinckley decided to drop a set of photos on the new Tiger 1200 prototype.

Triumph Motorcycles has been making serious waves in the industry ever since they launched the Tiger 900 range in 2019.

Words of mouth were quick to suggest that the next obvious move is to introduce an all-new Tiger 1200; however, the British marquee decided to focus on the middleweight segment, with the Trident 660.

Nonetheless, waiting is over as Triumph Motorcycles has provided a clear look into the upcoming Tiger 1200.

Clad in a camo overall, the Tiger 1200 looks more aggressive than its 900 range, especially with a broader front fascia and bigger LED headlamp.

However, it remains to be seen whether 1200 will feature the new Euro 5 T-plane engine configuration like the Tiger 900.

The T-Plane engine provides an uneven firing order, resulting in a more efficient drive at low rpm and extra push at high rpm, which makes the 900 the best adventure motorcycle that you can enjoy on and off-road.

We like the new Tiger 1200’s slimmer and minimalistic bodywork compared to another manufacturer – which we can’t mention who, but they do speak Germans.

Triumph also confirmed that the new adventure motorcycle is significantly lighter than its closes competition.

We have to wait for its official unveiling for further confirmation, which we think will happen anytime soon.

The Honda X-ADV 750 has no other competitors, making it one of the unique adventure scooters ever built.

The Japanese marquee then went ahead and introduced the smaller ADV 150, which was then followed by Kymco’s DT X360 and Yamaha’s BWS 125.

While the market remains small but it is definitely growing.

However, just to spice things up, one of the renowned concept designers, Oberdan Bezzi, decided to create his interpretation of an adventure scooter by using the C 400 X as the platform to create what he referred to as the C 400 GS.

The C 400 X is a city scooter compared to the C 400 GT, which appears in a bigger body panel and a wider front end, making it not the right candidate to receive the GS treatment.

Based on the design concept by Oberdan, the C 400 GS received taller suspension travel combined with a long beak mudguard.

Meanwhile, the rear frame now features a slender and more rugged look paired to a single shock absorber replacing the dual-shock absorber on the C 400 X.

While this might be just another concept, the design looks promising and considering that BMW already offers the G 310 GS, who knows that there might be a GS version from the BMW scooter range.

The Harley-Davidson Pan America was the talk of the town ever since it was introduced early this year.

The adventure motorcycle was Harley’s first attempt to expand its wings to uncharted territories in an effort to reach a wider audience apart from its classic line of cruisers.

The American company introduced two versions of the motorcycle; the Pan America 1250 and Pan America 1250 Special, both ran by the liquid-cooled Revolution Max V-Twin engine capable of generating 150 horses.

While it is an exciting motorcycle by the looks of it (since we have yet to test it out), the company CEO, Jochen Zeitz, claimed that the Pan America 1250 Special is now the no.1 best selling adventure motorcycle in North America.

“Taking inspiration from our heritage, we wanted to create a motorcycle that redefined the adventure touring category and most importantly was designed and built in America.

“With the Pan America Special now the #1 selling ADV motorcycle model in North America, we targeted a selective expansion into adventure touring as part of the Hardwire Strategy with the goal to reach new and existing Harley-Davidson customers.

“Pan America is squarely built on our mission to deliver a timeless pursuit of adventure for our riders.

“Those who now own or have tested one of our Pan America’s absolutely love this bike – having sold out of our 2021 allocation, we are excited about what the future has in store for Pan America and for the Adventure Touring category at Harley-Davidson,” he said.

That is a bold statement indeed; however, this is where it got interesting because the American brand did not back that claim with any numbers.

While Harley-Davidson might just be pulling a stunt, the brand is clearly putting in substantial effort to reinvent itself.

The Pan America and the newly launched Sportster S (despite the ridiculous tyre size) could spell the start of an exciting journey for the Milwaukee brand.

Archive

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on YouTube