Saturday, May 4 marked the 5th annual Quail Motorcycle Gathering in Carmel, California. With such a diverse collection of historical, rare and outrageous motorcycles, the Quail is an event we thoroughly enjoyed attending last year. To commemorate the occasion, this year’s guest of honor was none other than three-time 500cc Grand Prix world champion, and local area resident, Wayne Rainey. Continue Reading »
The 2013 MV Agusta Rivale 800 has been voted the most beautiful motorcycle of the 2012 EICMA Show in a poll of over 15,000 visitors to the show in Milan, Italy.
The Rivale captured 35.5% of the votes to win the honor, well ahead of the new Ducati Hypermotard SP which finished second in the voting at 22.9%. The two new Italian models are direct competitors in the middleweight motard segment, with the now-liquid-cooled 821cc Hypermotard SP facing off against the three-cylinder Rivale 800.
The Rivale uses a larger version of the three-cylinder engine first introduced on the MV Agusta F3 which was named most beautiful motorcycle of the 2010 EICMA show. Last year, the Ducati 1199 Panigale took the honor.
There’s no cave deep, mountain high or rock heavy enough to have thwarted news of Ducati’s 1199 Panigale superbike launch at the 2012 EICMA show in Milan, Italy. And a few models such as Honda’s NC700S and X, Kawasaki’s Versys 1000 and CRP’s Energica were unveiled without heavy prior fanfare, but gasps of surprise weren’t heard when the wraps were taken off Triumph’s Tiger 1200 Explorer, Husqvarna’s Nuda or MV Augusta’s F3 675 among others, whose existences were revealed months in advance of the show. What we’ve comprised below is our list Top 10 Bikes unveiled at EICMA that didn’t receive top billing but are certainly worthy of your attention.
After a slight delay, Benelli has released its 2011 TNT R160 streetfighter.
First unveiled at the 2010 EICMA Show, the 2011 Benelli TNT R160 is powered by an 1131cc three-cylinder engine paired to a six-speed transmission with a dry slipper clutch. Benelli claims 155.6 hp at 10,200 rpm and 88.5 ft-lb. at 8400rpm.
The chassis consists of a steel trestle and an aluminum cast structure at the swingarm pivot. The suspension system is comprised of a 50mm upside-down Marzocchi fork and a ZF Sachs rear shock. With a full 4.2 gallon tank (1 gallon reserve), the Benelli TNT R160 claims a weight of 474 pounds.
The five-spoke aluminum-alloy wheels are equipped with twin 320mm discs and four-piston Brembo calipers up front and a 240mm dual-piston Brembo caliper at the rear.
Benelli will offer two color versions: white with a red frame or red with a matte grey titanium frame. The Benelli TNT R160 is now available in Italian dealerships. U.S. pricing and availability was not announced however.
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Press release after the jump.
