▲ For 2018, Yamaha has upgraded its X-Max 125 with this latest incarnation of the successful 4-stroke, liquid-cooled urban scootabout which further reinforces the established X-Max 300 and 400 range. Features include a 120/70-15 tyre at the front (for "improved stability"), with a 140/70-14 at the rear. Traction control and ABS are standard. The engine's Euro4 compliant. The screen and 'bars are adjustable. There's underseat storage for two fat lids. Max power is 14hp (10.5kW) @ 8,750 rpm. Transmission is auto via V-belt. Colours are Radical Red, Sonic Grey, Phantom Blue and Blazing Grey. And what has Yamaha done to prevent anti-jacking/anti-mugging? Sweet eff-ay. No prices yet. Expect around £4,000.

MOTORCYCLE NEWS

September 2017

H O M E

T O P

S H O P

Distinguished Gents T100

Yes, it's all in a worthy cause. Actually two worthy causes. We know that. We're totally convinced. However, we ride our bikes to get away from these kind of social issues, and the Distinguished Gentlemen and their established international charity rides just brings it right back to where we don't want it. However, we're no doubt way out of step with most of the rest of the biking planet, so we're giving you the story anyway—or as much of it as we can stand (there are other misgivings here that we ain't gonna get into here). The long and short of it is that Triumph has created a "one off" T100 Bonneville for an Accident & Emergency Nurse named Phil Green (see main image above). For the best part of a decade, Phil's been struggling with health issues; specifically cancer. So he partnered up with the Distinguished Gents and is hoping to raise the issue of men's health (as if we can get away with these issues in this health-obsessed modern world). Triumph Motorcycles has pitched in with this specially built bike. [More...]

New 2018 Yamaha colours

Yamaha has been at the paint pot again and has mixed up some new hues for 2018. If you were hoping for something more radical with which to see-in the new year, keep those fingers crossed. For now, you'll mostly be seeing red.

And blue.

The "red" refers to "Brilliant Red" for the XSR700, supposedly as a nod towards the classic XS650 which was introduced in 1968 and stayed in production until 1979. Alternately, you can opt for the XSR900 which will be available next year (2018) in "Racing Red". Both colours are no doubt being introduced simply to help keep the Yamaha balance sheet out of the red and into the black—when what the market really wants is something more than a paint job to keep these very worthy (but over-designed) motorcycles on the boil. [More...]

2018 Suzuki SV650X

Suzuki is calling the proposed SV650X a "neo retro" design—which is coy marketing-speak for "let's-warm-over-this-ageing-retro-stuff-and-see-if-we-can-squeeze-a-little-more-juice-from-it". Based upon the established 645cc liquid-cooled four-stroke, 8-valve DOHC 90° V-twin (featuring a bore of 81mm and a stroke of 62.6mm), this "X" model is an "evolution of the SV650 Rally concept" as revealed at the 2016 Tokyo Motorcycle Show. Suzuki will be parading this toned-down middleweight at this year's Tokyo Motorcycle Show (Friday 27th October 2017) and is looking for more market reaction before committing itself to full scale production—which, of course, confirms that the company still isn't sure which way the wind is blowing and is hedging its bets. The 2017 EICMA Show in Milan will take place on 7th - 12th November 2017, but it's not clear if the bike is headed there too. [More...]

Click the link for: August 2017 motorcycle news from Sump

"Live to ride, and ride to live." Amen to that, brother...

EAT SLEEP RIDE REPEAT T-shirt £19.99

This the second edition of these Bobber T-shirts, and they're different from edition one which were printed on grey. Why the change? Well, we received numerous email enquiries asking if we had these tees on black. So eventually we relented and changed the colour (ya gotta keep the customer satisfied, are we right?). Anyway, these shirts sell fast. The new batch is here, but they won't last long. To get yours while it's going, click on the image or the button below. You never know when the production fairy will call it a day...

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