The storied Indian Motorcycles brand will enter a new era this August at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally with the debut of the 2014 Indian Chief. Powered by the  all-new Thunder Stroke 111 engine, the new Chief will be the first new Indian motorcycle introduced after the company was acquired by Polaris Industries in 2011.

To prepare for the launch, Polaris has released a new image and video of the new Chief, and announced it will be available in North American dealerships later this year with prices starting at $18,999.

The teaser images offer up some details, though nothing not entirely unexpected. We already knew about the Thunder Stroke 111 engine and the Indian head fender light has been a long-time feature on Indian motorcycles. We can also see the silhouette of the headlight with smaller, auxiliary driving lights. The studs on the rider and pillion seat stand out clearly in the teaser image, as does the long, straight exhaust pipe. Continue Reading »

American Honda released a video teasing a new 2014 off-road model which will be revealed in May 14. The 2:21 video was shot with an action camera mounted along the top of the swingarm as the mystery model races around a motocross track.

The most obvious conclusion is the teaser is for the 2014 Honda CRF450R or CRF250R. Honda already updated the CRF450R for 2013, so it’s unlikely to be the model in the video, but the CRF250R hasn’t had a serious update since 2010 making it a more likely candidate.

Of course, it’s possible Honda may have something different in store. Why else would you hold a teaser campaign if there weren’t something unexpected? Perhaps Honda decided to follow KTM’s route and introduce a 350 model. Honda’s also ramping up its racing efforts by competing in the Dakar Rally again, so it’s possible this is a production version of its rally racer which itself is based on the CRF450X.

That being said, off-road motorcycle sales in the U.S. have been on a downward slope the last few years. The sales decline is only recently starting to flatten, but is this a good time to offer something drastically different? Continue Reading »

Yamaha will reveal a new Star cruiser on March 9 during Daytona Bike Week. To promote the upcoming launch, Yamaha released a teaser video revealing a few fleeting glimpses of the new model along with the tag line “less is more”.

The video reveals some details such as dual rear shocks, a solo seat and a new single exhaust design. The key however is the “less is more” slogan which likely refers to the engine displacement. Most Star models have engines larger than 1000cc with the V Star models offering smaller engines in displacements of 942cc, 649cc and 249cc. Perhaps we can expect an engine in the 800cc range to compete against Harley-Davidson‘s 883cc Sportsters or Honda‘s 749cc Shadows.

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We’ve seen a lot of teaser images in the motorcycle industry, but this might be the first time we’ve seen a teaser campaign for a helmet. But that’s what landed in our inbox, a grainy photo of an all-new helmet from Bell Powersports. The photo was also posted on Bell’s Facebook page with the caption “Something wicked this way comes—from Bell in 2013″.

The picture shows a helmet with a vented mask and what appears to be an attachment mount, perhaps suggesting the mask and chin bar is removable. A spokesperson from Bell’s PR agency says the new helmet  is for cruisers and is “like nothing else on the market today”.

Bell will release more information during the second week of January, and we’re curious to see what Bell has in store. We’re also curious about that small pencil eraser-shaped object not-so-subtly placed in front of the helmet. Check back at this space in the next few weeks for more details. Continue Reading »

KTM announced it will unveil a new “beast” at next week’s EICMA show in Milan. The Austrian manufacturer is being coy about the mystery model, promising a sneak peak of photos of the new bike on Nov. 9.

In the mean time, we are left with an audio recording of the engine of the new KTM “beast”. The audio recording can be heard on KTM’s official blog.

We’ve already heard reports KTM will unveil a 390 Duke at EICMA, but we also expect a new Super Duke using the same RC8R-derived 1195cc V-Twin engine that powers the new 1190 Adventure recently unveiled at Intermot. Continue Reading »

Victory released a video teasing a new model for 2013, set to be unveiled at the end of the month.

The video only offers the briefest glimpse of the new model, the 2013 Victory Boardwalk. What we can see is the white paint color, a Kingpin-style rear fender and a similar fuel tank design as the Judge with its hard edges.

We’ll have more when the 2013 Victory Boardwalk is unveiled on July 30. Continue Reading »

It appears as if Kawasaki is gearing up to launch a revised version of its ZX-14 Ninja. We already showed you a video teaser featuring a crop-circle-like number 14 in a farmer’s field.

Now we’ve unearthed a new video that includes the sound of a large-displacement inline-Four motorcycle engine revving out, which you can see after the jump. A green flash across a twisty backroad broadly hints at a Kawasaki origin, followed by a “10-10-2011” date and ending with “Witness the phenomenon.”

We think the October 10 date coincides with Kawasaki’s annual dealer meeting, so we’re reasonably confident we’ll see a thoroughly revised ZX-14 for the 2012 model year. Or maybe you think it’s something else? Let’s talk about it in the Comments section below.

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Bikeland.org has unearthed a video teaser for what it suggests is an updated Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14.

The video (see it after the jump) appears to be part of what’s likely to be a series of teasers leading up to a big reveal on Oct. 10. Though the video itself doesn’t mention either Kawasaki or even motorcycles, for that matter, but Bikeland.org seems confident the video is for a new ZX-14.

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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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Husqvarna has launched a new website for its upcoming 900cc debut in the streetbike market segment.

At the moment, the site, www.husqvarna900.com, is sparse on the details but that will change fairly quickly. Technical specs are expected on June 25 with the first official images to be revealed July 1.

The site also features a video (also available after the jump) of designer Raffaele Zaccagnini discussing the design of the new streetbike. A former Aprilia designer, Zaccagnini was also behind the Husqvarna Mille 3 concept displayed at the 2010 EICMA show in Milan.

Related Reading
A Closer Look at the New 900cc Husqvarna Streetbike
2012 Husqvarna 900 Streetbike Testing
Official Sketches of 900cc Husqvarna Streetbike
Husqvarna Streetbike to Use 900cc BMW Twin
Husqvarna Streetbike to Launch in 2012

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