Industry News

Triumph celebrates the production of one million motorcycles. The millionth is a one-off Tiger 900 Rally Pro.

Electric bikes are inevitable but do they have to be so expensive? Not according to this Kenyan manufacturer, which is planning on transforming personal transport in Africa by making its product so affordable and practical. Could it find a market in the West?

The story of Harley Davidson is one of a motorcycle that came to be as American as apple pie. But it’s not been an easy ride. This interesting video traces the incredible highs and plummeting lows of an American icon and points out the problems facing the company.

With the opening of a new factory, TVS is making good on its promise to resurrect the iconic Norton name.

Dorna, the rights holder to MotoGP has released the provisional calendar for the 2022 season, obviously assuming that the world will have returned to a semblance of normal by then. Two new tracks and no double rounds at any circuit.

We all know how motorcycling makes you feel better and less stressed but it seems that the benefits go much further than that, with positive effects on the environment and the global economy.

At first glance, that headline could seem a bit confusing. GasGas is a Spanish manufacturer of enduro and MX bikes, so what would it be doing moving into MotoGP? Well, now it is part of the KTM group of companies, along with Husqvarna and with Husqvarna moving further into eco-friendly territory and with new acquisition GasGas needing an image boost in view of its move into road bikes, MotoGP could be the perfect platform.

Ducati progresses the fight for sportbike dominance with its new V4 Granturismo engine. Rather than pigeonholing the plant in just a narrow slice of bikes, Ducati built this engine to be a viable choice for use on street, track, and dirt. Electronics change the lump’s personality to suit a wide range of applications to give it a healthy dose of versatility. Plus, it comes in a compact package that is significantly shorter to allow for lower seat heights and further expand its candidacy throughout the factory’s range of platforms.

Triumph has a long history of off-road competition success but that was a very long time ago. Since the company was resurrected by John Bloor 30 years ago, it has succeeded in every category of road and adventure bike it has entered. The only avenue left open to Triumph was true off-road Motocross and Enduro bikes and, while rumours have been swirling for a while, today it became official; Triumph will build proper off-road bikes. There are few details but Triumph has said that the bikes will be new from the ground up, which could be taken to mean there will be no outsourced engineering other than suspension, brakes and electronics.

It might not be a fair comparison, given the difficult trading conditions at the beginning of 2020, but a better indication is that sales are up 9% against the same six months in 2019, the last ’normal’ year of trading.

Harley Davidson shocked the motorcycling world when it announced the Livewire electric bike, a stunning departure for one of the most conservative and tradition-bound manufacturers in the world. Now, it seems as if the parent company is sending its child out to fend for itself by making it a stand-alone brand, even though it will still be firmly kept within the H-D fold, helping with future projects and being sold through the existing H-D dealer network.

After 29 months of speculations, British motorcycle manufacturer, Triumph, and one of the biggest Indian motorcycle honcho, Bajaj, have formally commenced their desire to produce a brand new range of mid-capacity motorcycles for the world. Both the companies are looking out to handle operations together and bring in sophisticated motorcycles with a low cost of production.

As part of its brand new “More Roads to Harley-Davidson” growth plan through 2022, HD made inroads with the LiveWire electric streetfighter. It is the first in a broad, no-clutch “twist and go” portfolio of products that will put the company right in the center of the electric race.

A run through their US website today gave us a glimpse of the Milwaukee brand’s flat-track-inspired electric motorbike concept sketched out. This street-tracker is said to be developed to bridge the gap between the “lightweight urban” bike concepts showcased at the 2019 EICMA and the premium, high-power, halo model-the LiveWire.

After being the first to market a ’full size’ electric motorcycle, the LiveWire, the American brand took new strides and entered the trail and streetfighter segments as well with the Pan-America and the Bronx. Looking for low displacement fishing grounds, they got on board with a Chinese firm Qianjiang to produce small, affordable, low-power bikes. They are the same chaps who now also own the Italian Benelli.

The motorcycle interwebz are buzzing with the latest rumor that Suzuki is bringing back the DR Big. Spanish trailridersmag.com started the buzz with the report that Suzuki is basing the DR Big, to be released as a 2020, on the V-Strom 1000. Is it insider knowledge or wishful thinking in an attempt to speak it into being?

No doubt about it, electric bikes are becoming more viable all the time, and even the Harley-Davidson Motor Company is getting in on the action. Milwaukee has teased us, literally for years, with tantalizing tidbits from its Project: LiveWire initiative. It finally announced a 2020 release for its streetwise spark-o-matic not long ago, and immediately went about the business of teasing us with two more EV bikes. Well, now we have the skinny on them. The MoCo was at the 2019 X-Games in Aspen, Colorado, and it brought the two new rides for the crowd’s consumption. They’re still in the concept phase, and as such are not necessarily what the production models will look like, but ya’ gotta’ start somewhere.

Triumph inducted two models into the Triumph Factory Custom (TFC) line and takes what were already iconic bikes into legend. The TFC offerings for 2019 are the Thruxton and the Rocket III with 750 numbered editions of each model in new custom designs.

Ducati Paris unveiled the new Diavel 1260 S today ahead of the March release and Topspeed was there to get the scoop. For a three-day oogle-fest, the Paris showroom invites you to come take a look at Ducati’s new addition to its power/sport-cruiser range.

Five months ago we learnt that the Japanese manufacturer filed for a trademark application in the USA for the name ‘Katana’ and a swanky new logo too with the sword. It was more of a logo and name protection really, suggesting that Suzuki has strong intentions of getting it back for real.

Looks like the Gods have heard us because Suzuki just released a teaser video confirming the possibility. The video tells us that the Katana will be showcased to us at the Intermot show next month. The video shows a sword being made on an anvil and a statement that reads “Feel the Edge”.

We brought you this news almost half a year ago where Harley-Davidson ties the knot with Alta Motors to develop next-gen EVs’. It was an equity investment sharing ideologies and infrastructure to set up new technology and R&D to come up with innovative solutions to develop electric motorcycles.

But fresh new information tells us that the Bar & Shield brand had done a complete flip and have exited from its joint motorcycle project with Alta. They have culminated all involvements and investments in the San Francisco startup.

Offering the folks of the sub-continent a taste of America’s dreamy history, Avanturaa Choppers has set up the stage to bring in the country’s first production chopper company that will cater to the premium segment of motorcycles.

Becoming the first Street-Legal choppers to be made and sold in India, the 25 employees strong company has opened its first showroom in Bangalore and plans to open more shops, including in Hyderabad and in Delhi. Their first models are the Rudra and the Pavega and are based on the same powertrain.