Bimota revealed a new concept sportbike at the 2012 EICMA Show equipped with a BMW S1000RR engine.

The Bimota BB2 concept is the first product of a new partnership signed with BMW that would see the German manufacturer supply S1000RR engines for Bimota. The S1000RR engine has class-leading numbers, with the 172.4 hp we measured in our 2012 European Literbike Shootout a 10.4 hp advantage over any literbike we dyno’ed for that shootout or the Japanese Literbike Shootout.

The BB2 mounts the engine in a new aluminum spar chassis and adds an Arrow exhaust, Öhlins  suspension and Brembo monobloc brake calipers. Continue Reading »

At October’s Intermot show in Cologne, Germany, Aprilia announced a number of upgrades to its RSV4 Factory, giving the sportbike more power, anti-lock brakes and a number of other updates. This week at the 2012 EICMA Show, Aprilia extended those updates to it’s slightly less upscale but still pretty damn good base model, the RSV4 R.

The production versions of Max Biaggi‘s World Superbike Championship-winning racebike, the Aprilia RSV4 R (all-black in these pictures) and the RSV4 Factory (pictured with red trim)  receive an engine upgrade to reduce internal friction and casing ventilation. Combined with a redesigned exhaust system, the result is a claimed output of 181.5 hp and 86.3 ft-lb. at the crank, compared to the previous year’s claims of 177 hp and 84.8 ft-lb. Continue Reading »

You’d be forgiven if you thought the motorcycle pictured here was a Husqvarna on steroids. No, despite the red and white colors and Husky’s recent reputation for showcasing surprising concept models at EICMA (such as the Mille 3 in 2010 and the Baja at this year’s show), the bike shown here is an all new model called the Brutus from a company called Over.

Designed by Alessandro Tartarini, formerly Lambretta designer and son of the founder of Italian motorcycle company Italjet, the Brutus is a pre-production concept that has been described as being a two-wheeled SUV. Over presented the Brutus at the 2012 EICMA Show, announcing plans for production in 2013.

With its thick Maxxis Bighorn tires, the Brutus is designed to tackle rough terrain including thick sand. And when the temperature drops, Over says the Brutus can be used in the snow. Yes, snow. In fact, the Brutus will be available with a snowmobile conversion kit including skis for the front end and track for the rear. Other accessories include a generator, winch set, tow bar and, if the Brutus doesn’t look oddball enough, a sidecar. Continue Reading »

Italian law enforcement agents seized six scooter models from the 2012 EICMA show in Milan, Italy, after receiving complaints they were counterfeits of Vespa scooters.

The six scooters were seized by the Guardia di Finanza, a law enforcement agency operating under Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance whose responsibilities range from combating smuggling and financial crimes to counterfeiting and copyright violations.

Following a complaint by the Piaggio Group, authorities seized the following six models:

• The Roman by the TaoTao Group
• The WL 101Z by Ningbo Wanli Weiye International Trade Co.
• The Luxury by Bertini S.r.l.
• The Reset Ecologic by WRS S.r.l.
• The Miami by E-Tropolis Italia S.r.l.
• The Milano by E-Tropolis Italia S.r.l.

Continue Reading »

Italian electric motorcycle company CRP unveiled the new Energica in a live streaming presentation last week, but the electric sportbike has now made its “real life” public debut, appearing at the 2012 EICMA Show in Milan.

The CRP Energica is the first production motorcycle to be produced in Italy, and it carries some impressive specs. CRP claims an output of 134 hp out of the Energica’s permanent magnet AC motor. That’s not close to being as powerful as the Lightning Motorcycle’s upcoming which claims 167 hp, but significantly higher than the Brammo Empulse R‘s claim of 54 hp.

CRP also claims a range of 93.2 miles from its 11.7 kWh battery. Other features include LED lightning, Brembo monobloc calipers, Marchesini wheels, a fully-adjustable Marzocchi fork and a fully-adjustable Sachs monoshock. Continue Reading »

Earlier this week, we revealed six all-new Honda models coming to America for 2013. The American Honda announcement was time to go along with Honda’s presentation at the 2012 EICMA Show in Milan, Italy, for the European market and Canada. But there was one model revealed at EICMA that wasn’t part of the U.S. announcement: a new 279cc maxi-scooter called the NSS300 Forza.

The Forza isn’t a new model designation for Honda. Previous models have bared the name before, and Americans may be more familiar with the previous incarnations under its “Reflex” moniker, last available here in 2007. Absent from the U.S. lineup since then, the NS250 Forza has been available in other markets as a smaller option to the 582cc Silver Wing.

For 2013, the Forza gets a liquid-cooled 279cc single-cylinder engine Honda claims gets 24 hp at 8250 rpm and 19 ft-lb. at 6000 rpm. Honda also claims fuel economy of 72.4 mpg which, with the 3.0 gallon fuel tank, works out to a range of about 220 miles. Continue Reading »

The biggest news from KTM at the 2012 EICMA Show was the unveiling of the new 390 Duke and a prototype of the upcoming 1290 Super Duke R. In between these small and large naked bikes, KTM announced a new R-spec version of its middleweight 690 Duke.

The 690 Duke was introduced in 2007 and received a substantial update last year with a 690cc engine claiming 67 hp, leading KTM to call it the world’s most powerful Single in a production model. The 2013 KTM 690 Duke R takes that same engine but adds an Akropovic exhaust KTM claims pushes peak power output to 69 hp at 7500 rpm. Claimed torque remains at 51.6 ft-lb. at 5500 rpm, just like the non-R version.

The 690 Duke R also has a higher chassis and stiffer suspension with more damping, developed during the 2012 European Junior Cup racing series. The new WP fork is 15mm longer than the fork on the regular 690 and offers 150mm of travel compared to 135mm on the 690 Duke. The new fork also separates compression damping and rebound damping between the two fork legs. Continue Reading »

As expected, Honda announced its new CBR500R sportbike will be featured in the 2013 European Junior Cup, a single-spec racing series that competes at European rounds of the World Superbike Championship.

We saw this coming when Honda announced it would supply an all new sportbike for the European Junior Cup, but the news wasn’t official until after Honda unveiled the CBR500R alongside its siblings the CB500F and CB500X at the 2012 EICMA Show. Plus this also gives us an excuse to run a 39-picture gallery of the new CBR500R after the jump.

Racers will ride specially-prepared versions of the CBR500R priced at 19,950 euros (US$25,417), a considerable increase from the $5,999 price tag American Honda is asking for the regular production model. Of course, the hefty price tag also includes the cost of race tires, fuel, race management and servicing. Continue Reading »

Last January, Husqvarna unveiled a new concept model at the International Motorcycle Shows stop in New York City called the Baja. That concept was similar to the MOAB concept Husqvarna displayed at last year’s EICMA show, but with an off-road style mud guard instead of the MOAB’s street fender. This year, Husqvarna returns to the 2012 EICMA Show with an updated version of the Baja concept that looks a lot closer to being ready for production.

The Baja concept is styled after the Husqvarna Cross 400, made famous by Steve McQueen on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1971. This, combined with the concept’s initial debut in New York, means the final production version of the Baja is likely to be brought to the U.S. market.

Powering the concept is a 650cc single-cylinder engine, a variation of BMW G650GS-sourced engine used in the TR650 platform. Other details include a steel tube frame, inverted fork, knobby tires and dual underseat exhausts. The headlight unit now uses a single lamp instead of the multiple LEDs embedded in a number plate used on the original concept as well as on the MOAB. Continue Reading »

BMW announced it will introduce an all-new Boxer to celebrate its 90th year of motorcycle production, but you didn’t think the German manufacturer would stop there without a couple of other special edition models, did you?

To mark the anniversary, BMW revealed special edition “90 Jahre BMW Motorrad” versions of its R1200GS adventure bike, R1200R roadster and R1200RT tourer in Milan at the 2012 EICMA Show.

All three models come in a Sapphire Black Metallic color with matte black engines, gold anodized suspension and brakes, and asphalt gray metallic swingarms, trailing arms and rear frames, and granite gray metallic cylinder head covers, and a nickel-plated polished brass plate on the upper fork. Continue Reading »