Why Did BMW Build an 1800cc Boxer Engine?

Earlier this month, BMW and Japanese builder Custom Works Zon presented a rather industrial-looking retro-styled roadster at the 27th annual Mooneyes Show in Yokohama, Japan. The bike itself, christened the “Departed” by builders Yuichi Yoshizawa and Yoshikazu Ueda, was an interesting combination of vintage styling and modern production, making use of a lot of milled aluminum, steel piping and sheet metal and drawing inspiration from the bikes ridden by racer and landspeed record holder Ernst Henne in the ’20s and ’30s.

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World Exclusive! Kramer GP2 Prototype – First Ride

Markus Kramer said it so nonchalantly when I asked him. “Three months ago,” he said. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, so I asked in a different way. “You mean to tell me this motorcycle didn’t exist four months ago?” Again, the response was simple. “Yep.” Markus isn’t a man of many words, but that’s when I knew this ride aboard the GP2 Prototype from Kramer Motorcycles was going to be different. I shouldn’t have been surprised. Back when KTM’s 790 Duke was first announced, I knocked on Joe Karvonen’s social media door, asking the sole importer for Kramer Motorcycles USA whether the 790 Twin engine would make its way into a Kramer.

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Royal Enfield Concept Kx Revealed At EICMA

Concept bikes are often used to showcase the design chops of a manufacturer while testing the water for potential new model ideas. Royal Enfield has clearly stated that the Concept Kx is just to allow the company’s designers to strut their stuff and raise the company’s profile. The Kx certainly does attract attention with its blend of retro and modern styling. Of particular interest is the combination of the massive girder fork and headlight assembly that step cleanly away from RE’s focus on more historically based designs. However, even with this neo-retro design, RE says it drew its inspiration from the Royal Enfield KX of the late 1930s, a 1,140 cc V-Twin.

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BMW Develops Autonomous R1200GS

BMW has developed an autonomous motorcycle that can operate without a rider. BMW showed off a prototype based on an R1200GS to journalists last week in southern France, demonstrating its ability to start up, accelerate, corner and come to a stop without any human input

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Yamaha Tenere 700 World Raid Tour Hits Australia

While we eagerly await the final production version of the Ténéré 700, Yamaha is taking its prototype on an international “World Raid” tour with professional racers and brand ambassadors putting the 689cc adventure bike to the test.

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EICMA 2017: Moto Guzzi Concept V85

To the rest of us, 2021 my seem like its a long way away. For Moto Guzzi, the year – and the company’s centenary – are close enough to start planning for. Case-in-point is the Moto Guzzi Concept V85, the first example of a new line of motorcycles that the folks in Mandello del Lario are developing for the celebration. This line of motorcycles will fall between the V7 and V9 families and the 1400 cruiser line. The cut of the Concept V85 is distinctly adventure-oriented. What many riders may not know is that Moto Guzzi has a long history with off-road motorcycles – though its recent offerings may be lacking much in that regard – that reaches back to the four gold medals won in the Six Day Reliability Trial in 1939 through to the Paris-Dakar rallies in the mid-1980s. The V85 is designed to appeal to riders “who, while never ceasing to dream of Dakar, yearn for a bike that revives the spirit of adventure on their daily journeys.”

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Triumph Tests Moto2 Engine With Daytona-Based Prototype

Triumph has released an update on the development of its Moto2 engine, showing for the first time a prototype undergoing tests at the Ciudad del Motor de Aragon circuit. Triumph is set to replace Honda as the sole engine supplier for the Moto2 World Championship in 2019, using a motor based on the 765cc Inline-Three powering the Street Triple RS.

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2007 Aprilia RSW250 Grand Prix Bike Test

The chance to ride a real-deal 250 Grand Prix World Championship bike is the stuff dreams are made of. I grew up obsessed by 250GP racing. In my teens, in the 1990s I knew every rider, every race number, had the posters on my bedroom wall and all of the races taped on videotape! As soon as I got my Learners, I was on the road on an old RZ250FN, followed by a few TZR250s before I started roadracing on RGV250s in 1995. Even my RGV racebike was painted the same colors as the Ralf Waldman HB 250. Riding the RGV proddie, I dreamed of one day being a 250 GP rider.

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SPIED: KTM E-Duke Electric Motorcycle

KTM fans in the U.S. might not be familiar with the Austrian brand’s electric motorcycles, but KTM has a line of electric off-road machines – the Freeride E-SM, E-SX, E-XC – available in other markets. KTM claims the performance of its e-bikes is similar to internal-combustion competitors.

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2018 KTM 790 Duke Spy Shots

The mid-displacement sportbike category is hotting up, with recent introductions of Triumph’s all-new Street Triple and Yamaha’s updated FZ-09. And then there’s the 800cc Brutale from MV Agusta, too.

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Do Not Watch This KTM 790 Duke Teaser Video

We were stoked to get to see – and briefly hear – the KTM 790 Duke prototype at EICMA, but that was only a few seconds and a cordoned off display. Now, thanks to the glory of KTM’s YouTube page, we get two minutes, twenty-four seconds of rubber-smoking aggression. Since we sacrifice it all for you, our readers, we’ve watched the video a few times…OK, like 100 times in a cold sweat. As a consequence, we have come to the following conclusion: If you are at all enamored with the Duke platform, DO NOT WATCH THIS VIDEO!

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SPIED: KTM 790 Adventure Prototype In Action

With its 1290 and 1090 Adventure (and Super Adventure) models, KTM has nearly conquered the big-bore adventure-bike market (sorry BMW). But total world domination isn’t complete until the lower classes have been scooped up, and with these spy photos of what we presume is a prototype of the 790 Adventure, the Austrian firm looks to be setting its sights in that direction.

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2018 BMW HP4 RACE Preview

Ducati raised the bar when it comes to lightweight materials, introducing its carbon fiber 1299 Superleggera at EICMA. It didn’t take long for other manufacturers to follow, with BMW announcing plans for a HP4 RACE model featuring a carbon fiber frame and wheels.

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KTM 790 Duke Concept Unveiled at EICMA 2016

KTM’s focus at EICMA 2016 is clearly aimed at its naked bikes, with the 1290 Super Duke R and 390 Duke getting big changes for the new year. But perhaps KTM’s most intriguing introduction in Milan was for this, the 790 Duke concept. KTM was sparse on details about the bike, including engine size, but we first brought you spy shots of the Duke back in February, and now we can clearly see the parallel-Twin that’s been rumored about since early 2014. Considering the name, our guess is a displacement around 800cc.

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All-New Victory RR to Race Isle of Man TT

Victory revealed a new electric sportbike prototype featuring an all-new battery module from Brammo. Described as a test bed for the company’s future powertrains, the new Victory RR will make its racing debut in the TT Zero class in the 2016 Isle of Man TT beginning May 28.

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