KTM is now accepting pre-registrations for the 2013 KTM Adventure Rider Rally. Now in its 10th year, KTM USA’s national festival gives adventure riders of all skill levels the chance to ride with and learn from others. The 2013 edition of the Rally will take place Sept. 13-15 in Steamboat Springs, Colo.

The KTM Adventure Rider Rally is designed for the KTM 640, 690, 950 and 990 Adventure and Enduro owners, but riders of all brands of street-legal motorcycles are welcome to take part. Participants will learn adventure riding tips from experts and meet KTM factory riders. KTM will also offer demo rides for its current streetbike lineup. Continue Reading »

When news broke yesterday of leaked details of the new 2013 KTM 1190 Adventure, the first question that crossed our minds was “when do we find out about the R version?” The answer, it turns out, is today, with a new photograph of the 1190 Adventure R now surfacing.

Members of ADVForum, where we found the original leaked KTM brochure, have uncovered new a studio photo of the R model as well as the non-R version.

The 2013 KTM 1190 Adventure R is equipped with larger wheels than the base model, likely a 21-inch wheel up front and an 18-inch wheel at the rear (the non-R 1190 Adventure appears to sport a 19-inch front and 17-inch rear wheel.) We are surprised the tires appear to be street tires and not knobby off-road rubbers. Continue Reading »

Pictures and details of an all-new 2013 KTM 1190 Adventure have emerged from a brochure that briefly appeared on KTM‘s official website. The document has since been removed but not before we got our hands on them.

Expected to be unveiled at the 2012 Intermot show in Cologne, Germany, in just a few weeks, the latest adventure touring bike from KTM will be powered by a 1190cc V-Twin engine, not a 1290cc powerplant as initially expected. The engine is based on the engine powering the RC8R sportbike, though it has been tamed somewhat, with the brochure claiming 148 hp (150 PS for in metric) compared to the 173 hp claimed by the RC8R.

Still, that is an upgrade to the 113 hp claimed by the KTM 990 Adventure R and its 999cc engine. Other highlights revealed by the leaked document include four engine maps plus one for off-road, ride-by-wire throttle, an adjustable windshield, multifunctional display, ABS, slipper clutch and traction control, a first for KTM. The brochure also claims a weight of 235 kg (518 pounds) fully-fueled. Continue Reading »

When you think of making a round-the-world motorcycle tour, you usually think of an adventure touring bike like the BMW R1200GS à la Ewen McGregor and Charley Boorman in “Long Way Round“. Sean Jordan, a Canadian expatriate living in Budapest, Hungary, had a different steed in mind: a Vespa P200E scooter.

On Dec. 3, 2011, Jordan completed his 18-month, four-continent “Vespa360” journey on his beloved Vespa, nicknamed the Hamburglar, traveling 36,600 miles starting in Belgrade, Serbia and finishing in Budapest. After he completed his long journey, Jordan received a call for one final trip: to the Piaggio Foundation Museum in Pontedera, Italy.

The Museum wanted Jordan’s Vespa for its collection and Jordan obliged, taking his beloved Hamburglar from Budapest to its final destination in Italy. Continue Reading »

The future is orange, and it’s also been leaked to the public. This image was leaked from KTM’s dealer meeting, revealing the Austrian company’s plans for new models for the North American market for the next three years.

Notable models listed from KTM‘s outline include the previously confirmed for India Duke 350, three Freeride models (including two electric ones) 1290cc versions of the Super Duke R and Adventure, as well as an expanded use of 350cc engines.

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Official photographs and details of the updated 2012 Suzuki V-Strom have emerged as the Japanese manufacturer continues its prolonged teaser campaign to hype its “New Middle-Class Motorcycle”.

Indeed, the latest teaser is expected later today but images and specifications on the updated Wee-Strom have emerged from Suzuki’s global site.

The 2012 Suzuki V-Strom 650 will again be powered by a SV650-derived 90-degree V-Twin engine with a displacement of 645cc. The compression ratio however is now 11.5:1 instead of the 2011 version’s 11.2:1 ratio.

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OEMs are getting hip to online publishing insatiable appetite for new news. Suzuki is the latest company to trickle out bits of info about its upcoming new model, in this case, numerous teaser images of what looks to be the 2012 V-Strom.

The biggest unknown at this point is what Suzuki has done to the old DL650’s V-Twin engine. It might be something as simple (and cheap) as a repurposed 647cc Gladius engine, but it might be enlarged to better compete with BMW’s F800GS and Triumph’s new Tiger 800 (speaking of which, check out our review of the new Tigers).

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The word “Multistrada” is supposed to mean “many roads” in Italian. One man took the term literally, riding his Ducati Mulitstrada 1200S on a 62,000 mile trip around the world.

Paolo Pirozzi, the president of the Naples Ducati Dreams Club, is a self-proclaimed professional motorcyclist with over 280,000 miles logged on various Ducati motorcycles. All those miles were merely a warm-up for his latest trip, a round-the-world ride across five continents.

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Suzuki has released a another teaser for its upcoming “Middle-class New Motorcycle”.

We wrote about the previous teaser last week, speculating the new motorcycle is an updated Suzuki V-Strom, possibly a V-Strom 650 with a retuned version of the Gladius’ engine. A commenter named Steven suggested it might be a V-Strom 1000 instead. I guess it depends on how Suzuki defines “middle-class”. Perhaps the new model will split the difference with an 800cc engine to compete against the BMW F800GS and Triumph’s new Tiger 800.

The new teaser shows a bit more detail than the previous image … though not by much.

It also remains to be seen how “adventure” worthy the new Suzuki will be. The V-Strom DL650 is billed as a dual sport but it leans more in the road oriented direction.

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Suzuki has released a teaser for a new mid-sized adventure bike, likely an updated V-Strom.

The teaser campaign, which can be seen at Suzuki’s official website, shows the image above, along with the words: “Time For Real Adventures” and “Middle-Class New Motorcycle”. These hints suggest the new model will be an updated V-Strom 650, likely using an engine similar to the one powering the Suzuki Gladius SFV650.

French website Moto-Station suggests the new V-Strom will get a new frame with different geometry from the current model (which has remained relatively unchanged since its 2004 debut). It will likely be equipped with ABS, seeing as Suzuki dropped the non-ABS version from its 2011 U.S. offerings.

We expect more information to be released soon, so check back here for updates.

[Source: Suzuki, Moto-Station via CMGOnline]