Sport Motorcycle reviews

Indian’s “R Carbon” serves as the flagship model for the road-friendly FTR family with a special trim package and exotic materials that set it well apart from the rest of the flat-tracker range. Power comes from the same liter-size, 120-horsepower V-twin engine that drives the rest of the FTR bracket along with top-shelf ride-quality electronics and suspension components to complete the package.

Harley Davidson is busy reinventing itself, helped by the Revolution Max liquid-cooled engine. But where does the company go next? Could we see a sports bike some time in the future?

Ducati rolls into 2021 with a pair of new additions to its famous Monster family. Built to be light, easy to control, and above all fun, the chassis is compact and sporty with ample Monster DNA on display; but its the twin-cylinder Testastretta that really steals the show. In spite of its low overall weight, this is decidedly not a machine for the uninitiated.

Showing the world how to do it right all this while, the folks upped their game for 2020 when they unveiled a brand new streetfighter, the SR/F. The bike features a new “Cypher III” operating system that brings in Bosch Motorcycle Stability Control and a multitude of data onto the TFT dash. USB charging ports, LED lighting, storage space, a fly screen, heated grips, and aluminum bar ends adds to the oomph factor.

Now, the same guys have taken that and slapped aerodynamic fairings, taller handlebar, lower footpegs, and a windscreen to create their exciting new entry into the sports-touring territory. This is the Zero Motorcycles SR/S, unveiled at an event in New York. And honestly, I love how it carries a hint of retro on it.

Triumph Motorcycles took last year’s Thruxton R and levied a bevy of improvements to create the new-for-2020 Thruxton RS. The tuneup is far from just being a facelift. Power increased almost 8 horsepower on the torque-rich powerplant, the bike dropped about 13 pounds from its curb weight, and grunt comes on earlier for a broader, more useful powerband. Triumph finished it off with top-shelf safety electronics, contemporary style, and a two-tone paint package over a blackout frame and powerplant.

2020 is the year the Bar & Shield brand will be aggressively trying on new markets, and the first leg is already underway with the launch of its first electric, no-clutch “twist and go” LiveWire. As part of its “More Roads to Harley-Davidson” growth plan through 2022, this year’s EICMA witnessed Harley-Davidson unpacking their first-ever models, paving the company into the Streetfighter and the ADV category.

Rightly called the “Bronx” and the “Pan-America,” these new babies will be powered by the company’s new Revolution Max engine. Harley hasn’t divulged much information, but enough to just keep us excited through to their launch sometime towards the end of 2020. We’ve gathered them around here for a pre-production review of the Bronx. The Pan-America will follow suit.

KTM’s engineers punched out the 690 engine ahead of MY2016 and shortened the stroke for more power. They apparently did well enough that the “new” engine is, so far, a direct carryover all the way into MY2019. In spite of its dirtbike origins, the Duke family has abandoned all but the vestigial details in favor of a naked-sportbike build that brings top-shelf performance to the supersport size bracket. A modern electronics suite rounds out the “R” variant. The base 690 Duke comes without most of the suite in its stock configuration, but comes with said electronics as part of its optional “Track Pack” equipment package.

Celebrating 95 years for a company is a big thing and to have survived against all the odds was a mountainous task for Moto Guzzi. Paying tribute to this past effort of custom motorcyclists, MG headed to a major revival plan and launched the new range of V9 platform a couple of years ago that angles towards the cruiser style rather than the V7’s roadster theme.

The first offerings were in the form of the mainstream-custom “Roamer,” and the more sinister “Bobber” that was launched a couple of years ago. For 2019, the Lario eagle moniker is getting a sporty new variant of the Bobber to show its mean and racing side of its character. Called the “V9 Bobber Sport”, is has been inspired from the ‘bobbed’ flat track racers from the ‘50s America.

With their bikes dominating the WSBK championships, we can see the direct impact of this on their street products. With the integration of technology and electronics from their motorsport experience, they have continuously pushed the limits for better handling and a thrilling ride experience along with ground-breaking technology catering to the rider’s needs.

For 2019, the ZX-10R series is receiving major updates to slay the competition. New developments in the engine architecture will take the power figures to 200 hp+ to all three models. The RR will be a limited edition affair with even more fineness inside that 998cc mill.

When launched three years ago, the H2 was an elegant artwork of supreme violence making 207 hp, more power than any of the superbikes in competition then. Then came the rest of the chaps who caught on with the horsepower war, with the most recent Ducati V4 making 215 hp. But it looks like the Japanese Green team didn’t like losing this race yet.

So for 2019, they have bumped up their 998cc supercharged motor to produce a lathering 230 hp, and the non-street-legal H2R will be making a mind-boggling 300 hp at the crank! It will also come with a self-healing paintjob, new brake calipers, tires, TFT instrumentation and a new Bluetooth connectivity app.

After making a sweet spot in the hearts of enthusiasts with its Ninja 300, Kawasaki had struck again with its yet another onslaught in the entry-level performance motoring, Z250. It was first launched in 2013 for the Asian markets post which the Japanese Green team gave the Z300 for Australia and Europe.

Designed and engineered on the lines of the bigger Z’s, the Z250 also promises to give the thrills of the Ninja in a more affordable package. After the Ninja 300, we were speculating that Kawasaki might launch its Z300 on our shores, but that seems out of the question at the moment. Nonetheless, we stay optimistic with this Z250 making rounds of eastern roads. It gets Euro IV compliant engine, new color schemes, and the much needed ABS. Good news is never too late.

The Korean manufacturer has been really trying hard with having a success in our market for a long time. All their success stories, if any, have been very short-lived, and with ten models in the country, none of them have a great one to share. Blame their marketing department for not creating the hype.

But without giving up on their standing chance, Hyosung has been undergoing a rescue mission and developed a new platform for their smaller capacity motorcycles. And the first iteration from them is the GD250R. It features a single-cylinder motor and is aimed at a full faired sports segment.

We all had seen the GD250R at the EICMA in Milan a couple of years back, but we couldn’t figure out why it could not generate a considerable interest back then. Then, it was on display at the Long Beach IMS, and looking at the motorcycle in its flesh, faith seems to have gotten restored.

MV Agusta, as a brand, has mastered the fine art of making the hottest wallpaper machines unlike anyone in the business. And the cream of it belongs to the limited-production RC (Reparto Corse) editions. They are a legitimate celebration of MV Agusta’s superior qualities created by the honchos at the racing department, Jules Cluzel and Lorenzo Zanetti.

This year, the factory racers have touched on the hottest performing middleweight sportbikes in production, the F3 675, which also receives mild updates with its powertrain, electronics, and chassis to keep their mark on the ever-improving sportsbike market.

The world of motorcycles is looking at a future where the air is going to help them win races on the track and off it. Aprilia just gave us the world’s first production superbike with aerodynamic winglets. Underpinned by the legendary RSV4 architecture, the new machine will be a limited edition affair of just 125 units, and all of them are heading to North America.

Called as the Aprilia RSV4 RF LE (RF Limited Edition), the carbon fiber winglets on this will change the way future superbikes will look like. It was launched at the GP of Americas in Austin, Texas a couple of months back, and is here to serve a purpose in its life – help Aprilia get on with the new regulations in the WSBK championships.