It’s that wonderful time of year again. On Oct. 4, the international motorcycle show circuit kicks off, with the Intermot show getting underway in Cologne.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll see many motorcycles unveiled, in both concept and production form, at the Intermot and EICMA shows and a few select regional follow-ups. Here’s our best guess as to what’s coming on this season’s show circuit.
You’ll note that the American manufacturers (Harley-Davidson, Indian, Victory, Erik Buell Racing) are absent. That’s because they tend to launch their new models at Daytona or Sturgis. As well, we’ve left off a few of the European niche brands (Benelli, Bimota), as they build beautiful bikes every year for the shows, but we never see those machines in Canada. Read on:
Aprilia: Last year, Aprilia arguably had the wildest production bike at EICMA, a street-legal World Superbike machine. Aprilia is unlikely to top that this year, but expect something interesting at EICMA, as they were pretty quiet last year. The Caponard is still likely a while away from an update, but Aprilia’s naked bikes are due for some changes.
BMW: We’ll see the production version of BMW’s G 310 R naked bike at Intermot. We know there’s a fully-faired version coming, as well as an adventurized version. Those could be revealed in concept form at Intermot as well, or maybe saved for EICMA.
We’ve also known about new R Nine T variants for some time. The Scrambler is coming this year (expect it at Intermot), and two other models based on the same platform (one is probably a cafe racer).
The parallel twin lineup (F 800 GS, F800 GT, etc) were updated last year, and the scooter lineup has also been updated in the last few months, so don’t expect anything new there. We haven’t heard anything about the big GS lineup, the superbikes, or the tourers getting an update, although we do expect to see a new bagger at Intermot or EICMA, which could turn out to be BMW’s biggest news.
Ducati: Ducati traditionally releases the bulk of its new machines at Intermot, on home turf. This year, we’re expecting new 803cc models to be added to the Scrambler lineup (which is realizing its destiny as a Ducati sub-brand), along with a bigger. V-twin Scrambler. No doubt the sport models will see some tweaks — there’s a new model, dubbed the Supersport, coming for sure.
FB-Mondial: FB-Mondial has indicated it is dropping a new scrambler at Intermot, and hinted at more.
Honda: Big Red is usually more of a major player at EICMA, but this year, Honda will unveil its new “adventure scooter” and the new CBR100RR at Intermot. There’s a lot of interest in what that new superbike will actually offer; we’ll know more next week.
Honda’s really pushing the adventure segment these days, so it’s not impossible that we’ll see an “adventurized” CB500X, or a Rally version of the CRF250L this fall. As for the rest of the market: It’s fairly safe to assume we won’t see any new cruisers this year, or 600 cc sportbikes. There have been a few rumours of a monkey bike, but nothing’s been confirmed yet. Honda is likely to push its CBR250RR hard on the show circuit (already revealed in Asia), but that bike won’t make it to Canada, the company’s local bigwigs say.
One last prediction: Whether or not we see a production bike based around Honda’s CBR650 platform, we’d be surprised if we didn’t at least see some new concepts built with that four-cylinder motor.
Husqvarna: At the end of September, they announced changes to the 701 lineup just in time for Intermot (which we didn’t see coming). Maybe the 400s will see some updates as well, later in the season.
Kawasaki: A lot of people are hoping for a revival in the 600 cc segment, and some think Team Green is the company to lead that. But is that realistic? After all, it already has what’s arguably the most advanced 600, so why push the segment any further? The hot gossip has Kawi bringing out a turbocharged bike in this segment; it’s possible, but a real long shot.
Aside from that dream, we should see some sort of better explanation of the company’s new “smart bike” technology, and we’ll probably see some sort of four-cylinder retro.
KTM: Last year, we got the 690 Duke R and the 1290 Super Duke GT. This year, we may see some upgrades to the 690 Enduro (based on the 690 Duke R), but the biggest news will probably be the parallel twin platform KTM has been working on.
Moto Guzzi: Although they’re hardly at the forefront of the industry, Moto Guzzi makes a respectable effort to bring out something new at EICMA most years. We’re still waiting for a Stelvio update, so maybe this is the year? A V7 version would the bees knees, like that Stornello scrambler from last year. In fact, we’d love to see just about anything new based around the updated V7 platform.
MV Agusta: Last year, MV Agusta went pure mack daddy with the Lewis Hamilton Dragster RR, and also introduced an updated Brutale 800. This year, we’d be surprised to see anything more significant than that, as the company is in a bit of financial turmoil. Ownership would certainly love to expand the lineup again, but they’re unlikely to do so at the expense of stability.
Suzuki: Ah, the perennial wild card. Last year, the big news was the new GSXR-1000; this year, we’d be shocked if we didn’t see some variant of that bike (most likely a naked bike). Aside from that, expect to see some repackaging of existing models or engines — that’s what Suzuki does well these days, and at a reasonable price.
We’ve been waiting for Suzuki to bring out turbocharged machines for a few years now, and it looks like that plan might go the way of the six-cylinder Stratosphere model, and remain in concept bike purgatory.
Triumph: The British manufacturer dropped an updated 1200 cc adventure bike lineup at EICMA last year, so we can’t see changes coming there (the 800 cc lineup might be ready, though). We’d expect the new liquid-cooled Scrambler to debut, as well as the new bobber based on that same platform. Aside from that, who knows?
Yamaha: This year, the news is all about the new R6. For a couple years now, Yamaha has been delivering hit after hit, thanks to a combination of powerful bikes and attractive pricing. This year, along with the new supersport, we’ll probably see some permutation of the FZ-07 or FZ-09 line (most likely an adventurized FZ-07).
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