MOTORCYCLE NEWS

Honda Rebel "Bobber"
 

It's A2 licence friendly, it's wielding a retuned 471cc 8-valve liquid-cooled
parallel twin engine "drawn" from the CBR550R, it's got a 180-degree firing
stroke, it's rolling on 16-inch rubber front
and rear, and it's got the mean and moody looks beloved of the bobber generation.

Honda has just released details of this
2017 bike which is badged as a Rebel. The
bike is aimed at the younger market
looking for reasonably cool and not-too-sophisticated transport. But, if Honda
prices it right (which it probably will) we
can see a few older riders being interested
in this fairly modest motorcycle. [More...]

2017 Enfield Himalayan

The Royal Enfield Himalayan is to come to the UK after all. At least, that's what Royal Enfield is currently telling us. Earlier this year (Sump Motorcycle News Feb 2016) we reported that there were no clear plans to bring the Himalayan to the UK, largely due to Euro4 emissions requirements which wouldn't look too kindly on a new carburetted motorcycle trying to slip past through border. However, the Mumbai firm has since fitted a fuel injection system to the revised long stroke 400cc, SOHC LS410 counter-balanced engine (said to be capable of lasting 10,000 kilometres between service intervals), and evidently the motorcycle looks good to go. [More...]

Triumph Scrambler 2017
 

The latest addition to the Triumph Street Twin family is the (immediately) above 2017 Street Scrambler. The details have just been released at the 2016 EICMA show (Esposizione mondiale del motociclismo), and at first glance the bike looks pretty much like the "old" Scrambler. But of course, the Street Twin architecture has significantly upped the ante what with Triumph's new high-torque, 900cc, liquid-cooled engine; ride-by-wire-throttle; switchable traction control; switchable anti-lock brakes; and a torque assist clutch. [More on the Triumph Street Scrambler...]
 

900cc Aprilia Dorsoduro
 

Aprilia has released details of a new Dorsoduro supermoto for 2017. The model first broke cover in 2008 as a 6-speed budget 750 and stayed in production until 2016. A 1200cc variant appeared in 2011 and is still being manufactured. The new 90-degree V-twin has a capacity of 900cc and plugs the gap left by the middleweight 750. Essentially deploying the same 92mm x 56.4mm 750cc Dorsoduro motor, the 900 has increased the stroke to 67.4mm. The horsepower has been rated by Aprilia as 95 @ 8,750rpm with 60lbs-ft of torque @ 4,500rpm. But note that the smaller capacity 750cc engine was rated (by Aprilia) at 92hp. So what's happening? Well, it's simply that the range of exaggeration has been narrowed. Therefore, under the new reporting regime it means that the 750cc engine was probably around 75hp. Either way, the torque curve on the 900 is claimed to be flatter giving more consistent power delivery as opposed to unwelcome rev band peaks and troughs. [More...]

Aprilia Shiver 900 for 2017

Aprilia launched the SL750 Shiver in 2007. The bike was considered an essential weapon in the company arsenal and urgently needed to fill a gap in the middleweight sector dominated by the Suzuki Bandit and the Honda SV650. Put simply, until the Shiver came along, Aprilia was disarmed. So much for the propaganda. Since then, this middleweight roadster has been upgraded many times and has consistently proved itself a competent and workaday package offering no great surprises or high spots, but no nasty shocks or low spots either. So it's bland? No, we've ridden two Shivers and both were strong performers in the mid-range, good performers on the curves, reassuring performers when braking in the wet, and easy on the eye. [More...]

Kawasaki Versys-X 300  
 

A 296cc, 62mm x 49mm, liquid-cooled, DOHC parallel twin engine. Six-speeds. An assist & slipper clutch. 41mm front fork. A Uni-Trak monoshock rear end. Nissin brakes. Adventure bike styling. Maybe 350 - 380lbs to haul around. And a relatively low seat height (no details). It sounds like the latest addition to the Kawasaki Versys-X family. More specifically, the Versys-X 300. The Big K has just released details of this fairly little K (EICMA Show, November 2016), and we can see a wide appeal for this bike. It's designed for newcomers to the motorcycle market, but we can see plenty of older and more experienced riders taking a test ride on this with a view to purchase. It looks like a great little runabout for either the urban or extra-urban environment, and it's underpinned by the engine from the Kawasaki Ninja Z300. The horsepower is likely to be somewhere between 30 and 40, which is pretty modest, but more than enough for plenty of riders looking for stylish transport at realistic speeds. [More...]