Last week, KTM teased its new large-displacement naked prototype, revealing a brief glimpse and an audio recording of the engine on the so-called “beast”. KTM has now revealed the beast, presenting the new 1290 Super Duke R prototype at the 2012 EICMA Show in Milan, Italy.

Due to launch some time in 2013, the KTM 1290 Super Duke R will top a full line of naked Duke models which includes the 125, 200, newly revealed 390, 690 and 990. The new 1290 Super Duke R is powered by a new variation on the RC8R’s 1195cc V-Twin engine with ride-by-wire throttle. KTM doesn’t say exactly what the displacement is except to note it is larger than any previous versions.

How much power and torque does it have? “Very, very much” is KTM’s reply. Remember, this is still a prototype. But it is a prototype that is very near ready for production. Continue Reading »

Italian electric motorcycle company CRP will unveil a running prototype of its upcoming Energica streetbike at the Casa Enzo Ferrari Museum. The presentation will take place Nov. 7 and will be streamed live over the Internet, giving the public the chance to see the Energica before it will be the focus of CRP’s stand at the EICMA show a week later.

A concept version of the Energica was shown at last year’s EICMA show in Milan, Italy, but the CRP is ready to present its fully operational prototype for 2012. Though the company did not compete in either the TTXGP or FIM e-Power electric racing series this year, CRP does boast a racing heritage behind its Energica.

The CRP Energica is based on the company’s eCRP race bike first unveiled in 2010. Later that year, CRP and racer Alessandro Branetti won the TTXGP‘s European Championship before finishing second in the World Championship final to  Muench Racing and rider Matthias Himmelmann. CRP followed that up with a third place finish in the 2011 TTXGP European circuit. Continue Reading »

BMW has unveiled the a new “near-production” prototype of its electric maxi-scooter. The German manufacturer has produced five operational prototypes of the BMW C evolution scooter which will be showcased at various events around Europe to prepare for the launch of the serial production version.

The BMW C evolution maintains many of the styling cues from the Concept e scooter unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. The white side body panels maintain their boomerang shape, though its much more angular and has a rectangular panel on its lower half. A refined split seat and mirrors with integrated turn signals complete the near-production picture.

The scooter is powered by a 14.8 hp continuous output electric motor (as measured by ECE R85 regulations) with a peak output of 46.9 hp. According to BMW, the C evolution has comparable 0-60 kph acceleration to 600cc internal combustion scooters. Top speed however is capped at 120 kph (74.56 mph). Continue Reading »

Honda announced it will enter a works team in the 2013 Dakar Rally‘s motorcycle class, returning to the event for the first time in 23 years.

The Japanese manufacturer competed in the Rally from 1981 to 1989 when it was known as the Paris-Dakar Rally. Honda won five times during that period but then stopped entering its own team. The 2013 Dakar Rally will represent the first time Honda has entered a team in the motorcycle class since the race moved from Europe and Africa to South America in 2009.

Honda will enter a new prototype machine based on the CRF450X, which itself has a winning tradition in Baja racing. The prototype will be produced by Honda’s Motorccyle R&D Center. Honda will also develop kit parts for the standard CRF450X to be offered to other Dakar teams. Continue Reading »

BMW is entering the scooter market this year with its C600 Sport and C650 GT maxi-scooters, but the German manufacturer almost entered the scooter segment nearly 60 years earlier. In the 1950s, BMW produced a pair of scooter prototypes it called the R10.

The first prototype produced in 1953 was equipped with a 175cc Single producing about 8hp while the 1954 prototype (pictured above) was equipped with a 200cc producing about 10hp. Unlike the successful Vespas of that era the BMW 1954 R10 scooter prototype (pictured here) had a large fairing that served as both leg shield and front fender. The end result however made it look a bit like a cyclops version of Snoopy from Charles Schultz’s “Peanuts” comic strip.

Though the R10 scooter never entered production, BMW is trotting it out for display at the second annual Concours di Motociclette, a side event to the Concours D’Eleganza Villa D’Este, May 25-27 at Lake Como in northern Italy. Continue Reading »

Victory Motorcycles is showcasing a collection of Polaris-designed prototypes and custom models in its display at the Minneapolis stop of the IMS tour, Feb. 3-5 at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

The collection will feature concept models and prototypes from over the years by the Polaris Industrial Design studio. The exhibit will include the Victory CORE concept (pictured above) first unveiled at the 2009 IMS, the Victory Vision 800 concept first shown in 2006, and the Polaris Revolver sports ATV (pictured after the jump).

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Escaping our EICMA coverage until now is this iridescent stunner, a running model of the Light Cycles seen in the movie, Tron. Constructed of fiberglass, rolling on 32-inch hubless wheels and powered by a 60ah lithium ion battery system and 40,000w motor, Evolve claims the standard Xenon has a top speed of 70mph, a range of 30 miles and a three-hour charge time. For $55,000 you can order a standard Xenon from Evolve or, for $10,000 more, you can get the XR model which increases range up to 100 miles with a 120ah battery pack, which requires one additional hour of charge time. Evolve says turn around from date of order to delivery is approximately 45 days.

Evolve is working on a more realistic two-wheeler, the Lithium concept sportbike. Evolve says they already have a running version of this streetfighteresque motorcycle that they claim will have a 100-mile range, a maximum speed of 100mph and a charge time of 3.5 hours. Look for it to be available in early 2013 at an as of now undetermined price.

The bread and butter of Evolve’s model line-up is its electric scooters: Zinc, Helium, Neon, Titanium. Prices range from $2900 for the Zinc to $5400 for the Titanium or you can upgrade to the XR version of each model for a $1500 price increase. Ranges vary from 40 miles for the base model Zinc to 110 miles for the XR version.

Evolve is a new electric transportation company with handful of dealers located in major metropolitan areas primarily on the East and West coasts. To order a Xenon, find a local dealer or read more about the company’s products contact Evolve directly at www.evolvemotorcycles.com.

The Harley-Davidson Museum has pulled the covers off discarded prototypes of a leaning three-wheeled motorcycle developed by The Motor Company.

Harley-Davidson commissioned automobile hot rodding legend John Buttera to build the original prototype (pictured above) in 1998. Codenamed the “Penster”, the Trike looks like it could have been an earlier version of the Can-Am Spyder, but it had a tilting front end similar to the Piaggio MP3.

According to The Kneeslider, Harley-Davidson filed a patent for the leaning front end which uses hydraulic actuators to tilt the trike and return it to a vertical position.

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We wrote about the KTM Freeride yesterday on Motorcycle.com and now the Austrian manufacturer has released new photographs of the electric motorcycle prototypes, including pictures from the official unveiling at the Tokyo Motorcycle Show. They are available in our Motorcycle.com gallery. KTM has also released a video of the Freeride in action. Look for it after the jump.

Scheduled to arrive in Europe by late spring 2011 as a street-legal enduro, the KTM Freeride will be the first electric motorcycle produced by a major manufacturer. KTM showed an off-road and a supermoto version of the Freeride in Tokyo to demonstrate future applications of its patented battery drive unit.

The battery produces enough juice for an hour of off-road riding and can be recharged in 90 minutes. Performance-wise, KTM says the Freeride is comparable to a 125cc two-stroke gasoline-powered motorcycle.

For more pictures, check our our gallery.

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Motorcycle engineer, Alfred Boning, created the BMW R7 in 1934 as a prototype. Before World War II, the bike was put aside due to its heaviness and high production cost. In 2005 it was discovered in a box, restored back to its former glory and is now in working order.

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