▲ Royal Enfield Continental GT650 for 2018.This 648cc bike has been rumoured for some time, and now it's been officially unveiled at the November 2017 EICMA Show in Milan, Italy. It's been joined by the 2018 650cc Royal Enfield Interceptor, both of which feature a brand new air/oil-cooled, fuel-injected parallel twin engine, 4-valves per cylinder, single chain-driven overhead camshaft, a 6-speed gearbox, fuel injection. The front tyre is 100/90-18. The rear tyre is 130/70-18. The front brake is a 320mm disc, with 240mm at the rear. Engine dimensions are 78mm x 67.8mm. Power is a claimed 47bhp @ 7,100rpm with 52Nm (38lbs-ft) @ 4,000rpm. Is Triumph worried? Probably not. But Hinckley will be very watchful. And so will a few other firms currently riding the retro highway.

MOTORCYCLE NEWS

November 2017

H O M E

T O P

S H O P

Honda CB300R for 2018

New for 2018 is this 286cc single cylinder CB300R roadster aimed squarely at the A2 licence category. Any similarity between this and Honda's imminent CB1000R is not coincidental. The power output is quoted at a respectable enough 31bhp @ 8,500rpm. Torque is quoted as 20lb-ft (27Nm) @ 7,500rpm. The bore and stroke are, respectively, 76mm x 63mm. The compression ratio is 10.7:1. Transmission is 6-speed via a wet multi-plate clutch. Starting, as you'd expect, is electric. The suspension is merely workaday rather than anything exciting. The inverted front fork has 37mm tubes with 130mm of travel. There's no adjustment, so one rate will have to suit all. At the rear is a monoshock spring/damper fitted to a Pro-Link swinging-arm with 107mm of travel. There's a 5-position pre-load on that. Wheels are 17-inch front and rear. That should afford owners a decent choice of tyre. The front rubber is 110/70R17M/C 54H. The rear is 150/60R17M/C 65H. [More...]

Ducati 1100 Scrambler

Ducati has added an 1100 (1,079cc) to its highly popular Scrambler range of bikes. So now you've got three choices: the 400cc (399cc) Sixty 2; the 800cc (803cc) Icon; and the 1,100cc. Although the new "Eleven" is clearly styled to emulate its more diminutive brethren (or even sistren?), there are differences worth noting. Firstly however, the engine (all models in this range) is, as you might expect, Ducati's established L-Twin, air cooled unit. Despite the Euro 4 regulations, this lump is clearly still viable—but it's hard to see it continuing for very much longer. The bore on this Desmodromic, 2 valves-per-cylinder engineering masterpiece is 98mm. The stroke is 71mm. The compression ratio is 11:1. Ducati is claiming 86hp (63kW) @ 7,500rpm, and we're not doubting it. Maximum torque is 65lb-ft (88Nm) @ 4,750rpm. Fuel is delivered by injection and is controlled by a Ride-by-Wire throttle. Three riding modes, traction control and cornering ABS are also part of the package. The transmission is 6-speed. [More...]

2018 Triumph Tigers

There are twelve new Tigers on the loose for 2018. Six of them are 800s, and you can figure out for yourself how many are 1200s. There's also more ongoing confusion than in a Donald Trump White House address, and as you read on you'll understand why. But first the models and variants:

Tiger 800 XCX
Tiger 800 XCA
Tiger 800 XR
Tiger 800 XRX
Tiger 800 XRT
Tiger 800 XRX low

Tiger 1200 XCX
Tiger 1200 XCA
Tiger 1200 XR
Tiger 1200 XRX
Tiger 1200 XRT
Tiger 1200 XRX Low

[More...]

Click the link for: October 2017 motorcycle news from Sump

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