Honda Reminds Us It's Working On A New Hornet

One of the biggest surprises at the 2021 EICMA show last November was the news Honda is working on a new Hornet model.

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Yamaha Tenere 700 Raid Designs Preview Production Model

Yamaha has filed designs that reveal what the production version of the Ténéré 700 Raid will look like. The Ténéré 700 Raid was shown at EICMA in prototype form as an even more off-road capable version of the Ténéré 700. While the prototype was essentially a Ténéré 700 modified with Genuine Yamaha Technology Racing (GYTR) performance parts, the designed filed with the European Union Intellectual Property Office appears ready for series production.

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Design Filings Suggest BMW CE 04 Electric Scooter is Close to Entering Production (Updated)

BMW is inching closer to launching the new CE 04 electric scooter, as the company has filed designs for the production model with the European Union Intellectual Property Office.

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The Clay Modeler Bringing Motorcycle Designs To Life - Part 2

In Part 1 of our interview with Nick Graveley, we discussed who he is, how he got started in clay modeling, and how he goes about his work. In talking with Graveley, his enthusiasm for the job was infectious, and the conversation naturally flowed, going a lot longer than we initially anticipated.

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The Clay Modeler Bringing Motorcycle Designs To Life – Part 1

Here is a group of names you’ve probably heard of: Massimo Tamburini, Miguel Galluzzi, Gerald Kiska, Hans Muth, Adrian Morton, Pierre Terblanche. Hell, even if you don’t know these names, you’ve definitely seen their work. These are the men responsible for some of the greatest contemporary motorcycle designs in all of history. But have you ever thought about how a design goes from a napkin sketch and turns into a real-life motorcycle? There must be a process by which a 2D rendering transforms into a 3D object.

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Piaggio Files Aprilia RS 660 Design… But is It for the Production Model or the Concept?

Perhaps the biggest surprise to grace the 2018 EICMA show floor last November was Aprilia’s RS 660 concept. In a market where middleweight sportbikes seem to be on the wane, Aprilia bucked the trend with the concept and its 660cc parallel-Twin engine derived from the 1100cc RSV4 and Tuono V-4.

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Harley-Davidson's New Middleweight Engine Detailed in Design Filings

Harley-Davidson has registered designs for its liquid-cooled engine that will power a new range of middleweight motorcycles including the production versions of the Pan America adventure tourer, Custom 1250 cruiser and Streetfighter concepts. The designs, originally filed in January with the European Union Intellectual Property Office and now fully registered, give us the best look yet at the engine that will power multiple models that will be introduced from 2020 to 2022.

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BMW F850RS Revealed in Design Filings

Designs of what appears to be the production version of BMW’s Concept 9Cento sport-tourer have been uncovered from, of all places, Brazil’s Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial (National Institute of Industrial Property). The new design shares similar styling with BMW’s concept, only less aggressive and with the necessary parts to be homologated for street use. The filing does not list a model name, but the name going around the rumor mill is “F850RS”.

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Design Filings Offer Better Look at Harley-Davidson Pan America, Custom 1250 and Streetfighter

(UPDATE: We’ve added higher-resolution versions of the original illustrations —DC).

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Updated 2019 Yamaha YZF-R3 Revealed in Design Filings

Yamaha has registered a design for an updated YZF-R3, revealing a new look inspired by the R6. Prototypes of the redesigned bike (or, at least, the Asian market equivalent YZF-R25) were spotted in Indonesia earlier this year , but the photos were too blurry and dark to show much detail. The registered designs, filed Aug. 28 with patent offices in Australia and Turkey, offer us a much clearer look at the entry-level sportbike.

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New 2019 BMW S1000RR Design Filed in China

China’s intellectual property office has published a design registration revealing what appears to be a new 2019 BMW S1000RR. The design, filed Feb. 23, 2018 with China’s SIPO with a priority filing with Germany’s patent office dated Aug. 23, 2017, reveals a sportbike looking nearly identical to spy photos we published last July.

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New Six-Cylinder Honda CBX Design Registered

MO’s resident moto-sleuth, Dennis Chung, has done it again with this online discovery of these Honda CBX design drawings, which were filed Feb. 1 and officially registered June 8 with Japan’s intellectual property office. As with all drawings of this type, they are both remarkably detailed and frustratingly vague. For example, the side covers over the electronics appear to have Dzuz fasteners holding them on, while there are no hints at all as to what is going into the space between the top of the engine and the frame. Will Honda allow that much light to pass through its motorcycle in the final design? Let’s take a deep dive into what we can surmise from these drawings.

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Piaggio Patents Design for Moto Guzzi V85 Production Model

Last November, Moto Guzzi presented its V85 concept, an adventure-touring model powered by a new air-cooled 850cc V-Twin. Based on the comments in our EICMA show coverage, the V85 concept was very well received by MO readers. If you’re one of those who liked the concept, you’ll be happy to learn that Piaggio has filed a design patent for what looks to be the final production model, and it does not stray too far from the original concept. (UPDATE: better quality versions of the patent images now added, from filings with China’s patent office.)

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Designer Tom Dixon And Customizer Stefano Venier Team Up On Moto Guzzi Custom

Apparently famed UK furniture and lighting designer, Tom Dixon, is an avid motorcyclist and a long-term Moto Guzzi owner. In fact, in an interview with Dezeen he credits his desire to work on his own motorcycles as the impetus for learning to weld – a skill that launched his career creating things with metal.

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Is This a 2017 Honda Monkey 125? Probably Not

Motorcycle blogs across the internet are buzzing about a recently-filed design patent for what looks to be a new Honda Monkey bike powered by the Grom‘s 125cc engine. Though we would love to be wrong on this, we’re not as bullish on this patent resulting in a production model. Here’s why.

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