New Bikes unveiled at EICMA Show in Milan by Manufacturers
The EICMA Show, the world?s biggest motorcycle show, features the most new-bike unveilings showcased on the largest floor plan, with over 1,000 manufacturers of motorcycles, scooters, riding gear and accessories from 35 different countries displaying their wares. And since not everyone was able to attend the 71st edition of the Esposizione Internazionale Ciclo e Motociclo e Accessori (EICMA Show) in Milan, Italy. We thought we?d offer a brief glimpse of what?s coming, this being the second installment.
Ty van Hooydonk, director of Discover Today?s Motorcycling and a senior advanced instructor for the Motorcycle Safety Federation attended this year?s EICMA Show and served as our correspondent/photographer, and supplied us with an early look at some of the amazing crop of the more significant examples of new bikes that made their debut at the gigantic Fiera Milano convention center.
Offered here is a preview of machines that will be available to ride in the 2014 model year. Keep in mind however, that not all models and have been announced for the U.S. market, particularly not the concepts, and prices have yet to be established for many.
We selected 32 bikes that were displayed at the 2014 EICMA Show for brief previews posted in two separate installments. The installment (1 through16) was posted last Friday (Nov. 29), with the second and final installment (27 through 32) posted here today.
17. Kawasaki Z1000SX
Last week, we featured the Kawasaki Z1000. The Z1000SX will be sold in the U.S. as the Ninja 1000 ABS for $11,999, distinguishing itself with more sport-touring intent, compared to its new naked Z1000 sibling. The electronics are also distinctive, with traction control and multiple power modes that change engine mapping, and a new subframe helps to tuck in the new, more integrated accessory hard bags. The engine and brake upgrades will be the same as those of the naked bike.
18. KTM1290 Super Duke R?
KTM?s liter-plus naked bike promises to be competitive with any bike in its class, with a claimed 177 horsepower from a 75-degree, 1301cc V-twin, pushing only 416 pounds, sans fuel, Electronics aid in taming it, with a three-mode, lean-angle-sensing traction control and ABS. It?s all held together with a chromoly trellis frame in true to KTM tradition.
19. KTM RC390
KTM will offer the RC390 plus smaller 200 and 125cc siblings aimed at the youth market as well as to experienced riders who know the thrills provided by lightweight sport bikes. KTM says the 390 weighs ready to ride (only 324 pounds without gas), and the double-overhead-cam, liquid-cooled single-cylinder motor pumps out 44 horsepower. All three versions feature fuel-injection, balancer shafts and steel trellis frames.
20. MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800 Lusso
Utilizing the firm?s 800 in-line triple, with a unique counter-rotating crankshaft for quicker handling, the Turismoi Veloce 800 Lusso is the first true sport-touring bike ever offered by MV Agusta, The Lusso boasts a highly advanced ride-by-wire electronics package with a USB port to connect to mobile devices and tablets. The rider can adjust engine mapping, engine braking, even connect to an MV social media site with a special app, There?s also semi-active electronic suspension, traction-control, wheelie-control, and a no-clutch quick gear-change that works when shifting up or down, with automatic throttle blipping. The instrument panel is a five-inch, thin-film transistor display (TFT), with GPS and Bluetooth connectivity as standard fare. MV will also offer a non-Lusso version with less technology at a lower cost.
21. MV Agusta F3 800 Ago?
This tricolore sport bike honors 15-time World Grand Prix Champion Giacomo Agostini, showcasing special paint, decals and his personal signature. It?s also lighter than the standard F3 thanks to forged alloy wheels and carbon-fiber fenders rather than plastic. The Ago is still powered by MV Agusta?s very compact and lightweight in-line three-cylinder motor, and comes with standard traction control.
22. Suzuki MotoGP test machine
The EICMA Show is known for providing show-goers with a rare close-up look at prototype racing machinery in addition to the latest production-bike reveals. The Suzuki MotoGP machine is indeed exclusive, one of only a tiny handful of race machines that the Japanese giant is now testing as it prepares to re-enter the world?s loftiest class of two-wheeled competition. This hand-built motorcycle has an estimated value in excess of one million dollars in manufacturing and parts costs alone. The components are specially unique, using only the very best and lightest materials. R&D amounts to multiple millions over that. All of Suzuki?s previous four-stroke MotoGP bikes, have been largely unsuccessful, and have been V-fours. Suzuki?s return to MotoGP also marks a return to the inline-four engine type that the company is best known for, with a long history of GSX-R superbike models.
23. Suzuki V-Strom 1000 ABS
Suzuki displayed a major reworking of the old one-liter V-Strom, the production version of the concept V-Strom 1000 ABS first seen in Europe last year. The 1037cc, DOHC, liquid-cooled, EFI, 90-degree V-Twin features a bore 2mm?over than the last model. Suzuki claims that overall, the V-Strom provides a lighter and more powerful engine, with a six-speed transmission and slipper clutch for smoother downshifts. The new V-Strom also comes with Suzuki’s first production traction-control system.
Suzuki states that the new model, with its 503-pound curb weight, is 17 pounds lighter than the old big Strom. The windscreen is so innovative that Suzuki they applied for a specific patent. It’s a?ratcheting, spring-loaded windscreen offering three different angle positions. The base price will be $12,699.
24. Triumph Thunderbird LT
Triumph displayed two new variations built around the Thunderbird Storm powerplant. At 1,699cc it is the world?s largest parallel twin, featuring an increasingly favored, uneven 270-degree crankshaft for a more V-twin-type feel and sound. The LT, which stands for light touring, is yet another entrant to the growing bagger segment, providing a quick-detach windshield and removable saddlebags. For enhanced performance, in addition to classic style, the LT rolls on the first-ever white-wall radials, developed with tire-maker Avon. The other new variation for 2014, is the Thunderbird Commander, a stripped-down cruiser without the touring accessories, that lights the way with Triumph?s trademark twin bug-eye headlights.
25. Triumph 250 tease
The British firm announced it was working on a new 250cc model and flashed a concept drawing of a fully faired sport bike up on flat-screen monitors. In similar fashion to several other large-displacement motorcycle manufacturers, Triumph is moving toward smaller segments to attract younger buyers looking to spend less money on a new machine. The new model will be produced in India to help defray costs.
26. Vespa Primavera
Vespa?s latest Primavera (which means springtime in Italian) scooter takes its name from a famed late-sixties model and will be available in 50, 125 and 150cc variations. This line of small automatic scooters also draws design inspiration from the high-end 946, which is already in production, but saves a great deal of cost with a new body in steel instead of aluminum that allows for more storage room for under the seat.
27. Victory Hammer-S LE
A limited production of only 200 of these Europe-only models will be offered at a cost of just over $23,000, including taxes. Aimed at a more sporting cruiser rider, the bright-white and blacked-out LE delivers twin brake discs up front, special wheels and mufflers, relocated foot pegs positioned farther back, plus one numbered plaque on the bike and another to hang on the wall. As with previous Hammer models, Victory?s 1,731cc V-twin puts its power to the ground through a monstrous 250-series back tire.
28. Yamaha MT-09 Street Rally
Yamaha?s newly released 850cc triple was destined to generate a variety of models, and the MT-09 Street Rally represents the first variant. Displaying some European motard flavor, special body components include: a headlight cover; fuel tank shrouds; side number plates; a wind deflector; and knuckle guards. It also comes with a slim, flat seat and motard-style foot-rests. The Street Rally will be a special edition built up by dealerships with genuine Yamaha parts. Like the already available FZ-09, the MT features Yamaha?s crossplane crankshaft design to smooth out the powerband and produce a blend of torque characteristics generally found only on twin- and four-cylinder machines.
29. Yamaha MT-07
The MT-07 is an all-new 689cc parallel twin with an unusual 270-degree crankshaft that generates a V-twin sound and feel. This latest MT naked bike, among what Yamaha calls its ?Masters of Torque? line, has a claimed weight of just 394 pounds wet, which should make for quick back-road and city handling, aided by the new backbone tube frame and asymmetrical steel swing arm.
30. Yamaha SR400
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The SR is an actual cult classic, first launched in 1978, and now returning to Yamaha?s lineup almost unchanged as the demand for retro bikes of that era continues. It actually starts the old-fashioned way: by kick-starter. Fortunately, it?s helped in its new incarnation with electronic fuel-injection, which also improves fuel economy on the big single. At this year?s MotoGP race in Indianapolis, two SR400s were display as models that are being considered for U.S. sale.
31. Yamaha Tricity concept scooter
Yamaha revealed this concept 125cc three-wheeler in Milan, and spoke of its new, forthcoming line of Leaning Multi-Wheel vehicles. Four conventional telescopic fork legs, and articulation mechanicals, guide the two front wheels. Yamaha says it?s focusing on lighter, narrower three-wheeled scooters than those currently available in the marketplace, designed to help get through European traffic congestion, and at a lower price. The company stated that a production version would be available on the Continent this coming summer for less than $5,300.
32. Zero SR
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California?s electric motorcycle maker Zero, calls the SR its first ever super-high-performance model, and it?s easy to see why. Zero claims a staggering 144 Nm of torque. Compare that to Honda?s new CTX1300 V-four with a claimed 106 Nm. But, with Zero?s optional Power Tank, the company says the 407-pound SR will still have a combined city/highway range in excess of 100 miles on a single charge.
This second installment concludes our selected previews from the 71st EICMA Show held recently in Milan, Italy. The first was posted on Friday, November 29, 2013.
Photos provided by Ty van Hooydonk
