Usually new technology seen in racing eventually trickles down to consumer vehicles after a few years of development and testing. What happens then when an entire motorcycle makes the transition from race bike to street bike? The answer is the $20,400 Energica, an all-electric sportbike from Italian manufacturer CRP Racing.
First, the good news: KTM has taken the covers off the 690 Duke at the EICMA show in Milan this morning. The machine is almost entirely all-new from the ground up and, KTM says, brings the company back to its street bike beginnings. KTM’s venerable 690cc LC4 single-cylinder engine is the obvious choice for power, only now it puts out a claimed 70hp and 51 lbs.-ft. of torque — a staggering number for a single.
Triumph’s legendary Speed Triple receives the ‘R’ treatment for 2012, which means it comes equipped with top-shelf parts like Öhlins suspension and Pirelli Supercorsa SP rubber. Judging from its looks alone, it’s plain to see that this is no ordinary Speed Triple.
Triumph worked in close collaboration with Öhlins, to fine tune the NIX30 43mm fork and TTX36 shock to work specifically for the Speed Triple R. To minimize unsprung weight as much as possible, the lightweight five-spoke forged aluminium wheels from PVM are over 3.7 lbs. lighter than those on the standard machine, which equates to better handling, acceleration and braking. Stopping the Speed Triple R are top-spec, four-piston radial monoblock calipers from Brembo, with Triumph’s electronic anti-lock system available as a switchable option. Together, the brakes and wheels offer a 5% increase in braking performance over the standard Speed Triple. Continue Reading »
Ducati revealed its new Streetfighter 848, adding a smaller-displacement version of the original 1099cc Streetfighter first introduced in 2009.
The 2012 Ducati Streetfighter 848 uses an 849cc version of the 11-degree Testastretta engine first introduced with the Multistrada, which should mean a similar 15,000 mile valve inspection intervals.
The design is similar to the larger Streetfighter including the dual exhausts on the right side. The suspension appears to be comprised of Marzocchi components instead of the Streetfighter’s Showa and Streetfighter S’s Ohlins components. Brakes are Brembos as well but they are not monobloc calipers.
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Update: Read the review now on motorcycle.com
Perhaps only Ducati’s street-legal MotoGP carbon-copy Desmosedici has received as much anticipation as Aprilia’s all-new RSV4 Factory. A four cylinder Vee from Aprilia is significant largely because the Italian bike maker has dealt almost exclusively with V-Twins. The big deal here is that Aprilia was able to squish two more cylinders into roughly the same space normally occupied by a narrow V-Twin, thereby keeping the bike slim and light.
We’re finally able to share some pictures and info about the production version of BMW’s new literbike, the S1000RR.
We now know that it has a claimed dry weight of 403 pounds, which should be competitive with its Japanese literbike rivals. The all-new inline-Four powerplant displaces 999cc, and its cylinder head is said to be very narrow and compact, with the valves actuated by “very small” cam followers that are nearly at Formula 1 levels in size. This allows “very high engine speeds,” according to BMW PR materials.
