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ROAD RACING heads to the Isle of Wight LONG WAY UP

EEwan andd Charley’s latest adventure gets a release date

RIDDEN

Everything WE know so far about the 2021 Diamond Races There’s something SPECIAL about the SV650

PATENTS S Honda's Super Cub goes ELECTRIC

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NEWS 3

The Diamond Races:

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NEW road racing festival on the Isle of Wight Kicks off October 2021 That’s right. There’s a new date on the road racing calendar. The Isle of Wight’s Diamond Races, which takes place next October.

At this stage, specific dates haven’t been released, but the expectation is that there will be practice days on Wednesday and Thursday, before the time-trial racing gets underway on Saturday.

The exact date will be announced once the 2021 British Superbikes calendar is confirmed.

The plan is that the Diamond Races become the new endof-season last hurrah for BSB riders, as it’s only a hop, skip and a jump from Brands Hatch to the Isle of Wight.

The event's going to run Superbike, Supersport and lightweight machine racing, a sidecar demonstration and a ride-out to offer visitors the chance to experience the course led by expert racers on closed roads. Oh, and there’s talk of an electric motorcycle race in the future, too.

The track is a 12.4-mile long

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stretch of public roads in the south of the Isle of Wight. It cuts through the picturesque villages of Chale, Kingston, Shorwell and Brighstone – and there’s a fast five-mile coastal stretch along the military road, too.

Developed alongside the Isle of Wight council and experts from motorcycle racing, the new event will be run under ACU regulations. Some of the key players who’ve helped get the event off the ground include Gary Thompson MBE (Isle of Man TT Clerk of the Course), Steve Plater (past Isle of Man TT Senior winner and ex-British Champion), Neil Tuxworth (ex-Honda Racing Manager), as well as James Kaye (exBritish Touring Car Championship driver and Diamond Races cofounder), and Matt Neal (three-time British Touring Car Champion and Honda UK ambassador).

For more information on the new road racing event, visit: www.diamondraces.com

PATENTS Kawasaki’s two-stroke engine for a HYBRID motorcycle Kawasaki’s filed patents for a twostroke engine, which’ll generate energy to power an electric drivetrain.

What is motorcycling going to look like in the future? Are ever stricter emissions laws going to put a stop to petrol-powered fun, meaning we’re all going to end up going electric?

Kawasaki’s come up with a plan to make the best of both worlds; a new two-stroke engine designed for a hybrid motorcycle.

It might sound like a crazy idea.

After all, if you’ve got a two-stroke engine, why do you need an electric motor? But looking closely, it’s no traditional set up. We won’t dive deeply into technical specifics, but

MoreBikes, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6JR Tel: 01507 529529 Editor Ross Mowbray

basically, the four-cylinder 90-degree engine would be pretty much unusable on its own. It’ll generate plenty of power for its size, but there would be a very narrow band of torque. That’s why Kawasaki’s pairing it with an electric transmission.

The two-stroke motor will power

a generator, which in turn charges a battery, and then the battery powers the electric motor that drives the rear wheel. It’s a novel idea, and chances are we’re not going to see this technology on a bike anytime soon, although it’s great to see Kawasaki thinking outside the box.

Editorial design Fran Lovely Publishing Director Dan Savage Publisher Tim Hartley Email editorial@morebikes.co.uk Production Editor Mike Cowton

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Royal Enfield’s Interceptor 650 is the BEST-SELLING bike in the UK The Motorcycle Industry Association has released its latest motorcycle and scooter registration stats – and there’s some good news for Royal Enfield.

MCIA’s data confirms that Royal Enfield’s Interceptor 650 was the best-selling motorcycle in the UK for June 2020. That’s quite a big deal, although not necessarily a massive surprise.

Since the launch of the retro-styled 650 twin a couple of years ago, the £5,500 Interceptor’s been slowly but surely working its way up the sales charts.

More specifically, Royal Enfield has sold 196 units of its Interceptor 650 in June, second only to Honda’s hugely popular PCX 125 scooter (which sold 445 units). It’s knocked 2019’s bestselling BMW R1250GS off its perch (it sold 188 units).

With its value-for-price tag and classic good looks, it’s easy to see why the Interceptor’s proving so popular. We can’t see that changing anytime soon.

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4 NEWS

A nod from the Editor One of life's simple pleasures...

RUMOURS: Yamaha’s working on its own HOT 250 to challenge Kawasaki’s ZX-25R Rumours are swirling in the Asian motorcycle media that Yamaha’s gearing up to release an all-new YZF-R25M. Kawasaki’s ZX-25R has received a lot of love ever since it was first teased at the start of this year, and it looks like Yamaha’s after a bit of the action. There have been whispers that there’s a 250cc, inlinefour in the works from the Iwatabased factory.

It should come as no massive

Ross Mowbray

The digital revolution ❯❯ Even more of the stuff you love

T

here have been some big changes at MoreBikes over the past few months. First we overhauled the newspaper, changing the name and implementing a fresh new design, and since then we’ve gone to work on the website to make it easier than ever to get your hands on the freshest biking content from your smartphone, tablet and computer.

We’ll still be the first to bring the motorcycle news that matters to millions of people, but the new site’s going to be stuffed full with even more of the stuff you love, as we’ve joined forces with some of the biggest magazine names in the game: Fast Bikes, Motorcycle Sport and Leisure, Classic Motorcycle Mechanics and Back Street Heroes.

Fast Bikes has got the sport side covered, with the latest track tests, paddock gossip and set up tips.

Motorcycle Sport and Leisure brings group tests, industry insights and top quality tours to the table. Classic Motorcycle Mechanics will be on hand to offer advice on coming classics, help you get your latest project on the road or snap up that bargain before everyone else, while Back Street Heroes offers an unrivalled insight into a world filled with the coolest custom creations.

No matter whether you’re a trackday addict, a day-in, day-out commuter, a sunny Sunday scratcher, a big miles tourer, a grease-covered workshop dweller or a learner looking to take your first step into the world of two wheels, MoreBikes.co.uk has got you covered. If you’ve not visited the site before, there’s no better time.

Editor

surprise. Kawasaki’s ZX-25R was never going to be without competition for long. Honda’s been quietly working away on a baby Fireblade – and now it looks like Yamaha’s getting in on the act, too.

At this stage, there’s been no official confirmation from the factory, but the rumour is spreading quickly across the internet. What’s the saying? There’s no smoke without fire…

It’s an exciting development, even if it never actually happens, and the rumours are surely confirmation that there’s some real interest in small displacement machines.

If it turns out to be true, that M suffix could be a very important factor. It suggests that the new 250cc Yamaha would be track-ready. That means there’s scope for a new, small capacity production-class race series to look forward to. Only time will tell.

This is Yamaha’s YZF-R1M, the Japanese factory’s track-ready sportbike.

Will the R25M look something like this? We hope so.

Honda’s Adventure Roads heads to Iceland in 2021 – and YOU can take part. Register YOUR interest now Honda’s Adventure Roads is returning for its third edition in 2021. And this time it’s taking 30 riders on Africa Twins across Iceland.

The first Adventure Roads trip in 2017 saw 40 riders take on an 8-day, 3,500km journey from Oslo to Nordkapp. In 2019, riders travelled 3,700km ‘coast to coast’ from Durban to Cape Town in South Africa across 12 adventure-filled days. And next year, Honda’s offering 30 riders the chance to ride a new Africa Twin across the varied volcano landscape of Iceland over 11 days.

Riders will start out in Reykjavik, the most northerly capital city in the world, and wind their way down to the south of the island, before heading through the remote highlands of the north

back to Reykjavik. It sounds like the perfect testing ground for Honda’s flagship adventure bike, as the route takes in perfect tarmac roads, gravel passes, black sand and river crossings.

Open to 30 riders from across Europe, the trip includes the bikes, guides, maintenance, food and accommodation – basically, Honda’s going to look after you. And you’ll get to meet and ride with some of HRC’s rally stars, too.

At this stage there’s been no confirmation of pricing, but the South African adventure set punters back around £6,500, so chances are it’ll be somewhere around there.

Not exactly cheap, but then again it sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

If you’d like to get involved, you can register your interest on the Honda website.

MotoGP: The Circuit of the Americas has been cancelled

NEW colours for Royal Enfield’s Himalayan Famous sidecar specialist and longtime Royal Enfield dealer Watsonian has come up with three specialedition colour options for the Indianbuilt 411cc adventure machine.

For £4,895 (an extra £700) you can buy a Himalayan that’s had its fuel tank and mudguards painted postbox red, sky blue or mustard yellow. You’ll also get a headlight guard and some handguards for your money. Which would you choose?

For more information, visit: www.watsonian-squire.com

In the last official calendar issued by MotoGP, there was a gap at the end of the season which opened up the possibility of GP racing outside Europe.

There were four options: America, Argentina, Malaysia and Thailand. Now there’s one less.

The Circuit of the Americas, outside Austin, Texas, has confirmed it will not be hosting the MotoGP World Championship during the 2020 race season. Instead we’ll have to wait another year for racing to return to Texas – across April 16-18, 2021.

6 NEWS

Ducati’s working on THREE new models

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Enduro 1260 Grand Tour, Diavel Lamborghini and Scrambler 1100 Pro Dark coming for 2021?

Arai’s NEW lid for V-STROM riders

Arai’s revealed a Suzuki 1050XTinspired version of its Tour-X4 adventure helmet – and you can order yours now. The Tour-X4’s renowned for being a cracking bit of kit, and now Arai’s joined forces with Suzuki to release a new colour scheme inspired by the latest V-Strom from the Japanese factory. Ok, it’s no cheap bit of kit – setting you back £649 – but there’s no doubt it’s a quality helmet from one of the biggest names in the game.

This is the standard Grand Tour. Looks great, doesn’t it? Now imagine an Enduro version. Yes please.

Documents filed with the US Environmental Protection Agency confirm that Ducati’s planning to release an Enduro 1260 Grand Tour, Diavel Lamborghini and Scrambler 1100 Pro Dark next year.

There’re a few ways we can work out what manufacturers are working on for the coming year. One of them is environment registration documents. And that’s exactly how we’ve confirmed that Ducati’s planning to release (at least) three new bikes for 2021.

The EPA documents show that the Diavel 1260 Lamborghini, the Scrambler 1100 Pro Dark and

the Multistrada Enduro 1260 Grand Tour are coming. Soon.

Admittedly, the bikes are all based around existing models, so much of the mechanics and technical information will stay the same. We’re expecting the Ducati Diavel 1260 Lamborghini to get a lick of paint and a few trick bits. It’ll be much the same for the Ducati Scrambler 1100 Pro Dark.

Ducati’s released ‘Dark’ models before, so expect a black frame, paintwork, a new exhaust and maybe a few other small changes.

But the big news is the arrival of the Ducati Multistrada Enduro 1260 Grand Tour. It’ll be a

Multistrada Enduro 1260 – with some serious touring equipment. This year’s road-going Multistrada 1260 S Grand Tour got a centre stand, panniers, a new seat, heated grips, additional LED lights, a hands-free fuel cap and tyre pressure monitors. Chances are the Grand Tour version of the off-road capable Multistrada Enduro will receive similar updates.

Ok, so the documents don’t reveal anything particularly revolutionary, but it’s always nice to have an idea of what we’ve got to look forward to ahead of the big bike launches towards the end of the year.

Royal Enfield’s UK & R&D centre has TURBOCHARGED a Himalayan The Custom Crew at Royal Enfield’s UK-based Technical Centre have been busy. They’ve turbocharged a Himalayan and called it the MJR Roach.

Royal Enfield has earned an enviable reputation for its custom projects over the past few years. We’ve seen flat trackers, race-ready café racers,

and now the gang at the R&D centre have decided to take things one step further. They’ve taken a stock Himalayan and created the MJR Roach, a stretched out, turbocharged monster that wouldn’t look out of place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

The Himalyan’s 411cc single cylinder motor has been treated to a Garrett GT 125 turbo. That’s right. They’ve added a turbocharger. And as you’d expect its power output is way up; from 24bhp to a claimed 50bhp. There’s also an extended single-sided swingarm and wheel assembly from Harris Performance.

But they’re not the only differences to the stock machine.

The Custom Crew have been digging around in the parts bin, finding a set of USD MX forks, a nylon-leather ‘gripper’ seat, a fuel tank harness, Continental TKC80 knobby tyres, a quad-projector headlight, a Renthal Fatbar, and a custom switchgear.

We’re not expecting to see this thing rolling off Royal Enfield’s production line any time soon, but it’s great to see the UK design centre pushing the boundaries and coming up with some mad creations. There’s clearly a lot of talent, knowledge and expertise on hand. We can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

Ducati’s PAINTJOB for the Panigale V2

Ducati’s V2 has proved very popular since it was revealed to the world last year, and to build on that success, the Italian factory’s revealed a new White Rosso colour scheme for the ‘baby’ Panigale. If you want to see it in action, there’s a brilliant video of Pecco Bagnaia taking one for a blast at Misano. Visit the MoreBikes website to check it out.

Scotland and Wales restart bike TESTS

Good news for learner riders in Scotland and Wales – motorcycle training and testing is back in business! Scotland restarted training and theory tests on July 22, before resuming Module One and Two tests on August 3, while Wales restarted all motorcycle training and testing on August 3.

Th he MB legal co olumn is co ompiled by m managing pa artner Andrew ‘Chef’ P Prendergast and his bike-riding barristers and ssolicitors at W White Dalton M Motorcycle S Solicitors.

The firm deals w with personal injury claims and its sister a company, Motor Defenc Defence Solicitors, company deals with all the motoring offences.

White Dalton lawyers have a vast knowledge of bike law, and they have full bike licences, too. They don’t act for insurance companies or the prosecution. White Dalton is Britain’s premier specialist motorcycle law practice, and if its professionals don’t know the answer to your question, there probably isn’t one. Don’t rely on the advice from your insuranceappointed solicitor, get proper independent advice.

For road traffic offences, call the Motor Defence solicitors on 0800 280 0912.

For non-offence cases, call White Dalton motorcycle solicitors on 0800 783 6191.

Need advice If you need advice on a biking-related legal question or query, email mail@whitedalton.co.uk. The best Q&A will be published in MB, in confidence, of course.

Q&A

Q

WHITE DALTON 7 Our specialist motoring solicitor Andrew Prendergast guides readers through their legal trials and troubles

Have the old bill got nothing better to do than nick me? I went out for rag about with a couple of mates around the Cotswolds. We were having an awesome ride when we got snared up behind some ‘shed draggers’. You know the sort, slowing everyone down, deliberately ruining everyone’s day by towing their caravans at about a 45-50mph in a 60mph limit. We went to overtake them, but because I was last I had to gun it to avoid getting hit by a car coming from the opposite direction. I managed to get in and avoid the car, but I got stopped by a copper with a speed gun who was up ahead. The copper was none too happy as he reckoned I nearly caused an accident and I had to finish the overtake by coming back over double white lines. I kept my mouth shut until he told me that he didn’t actually record me speeding. Then I let him have it. Basically, I told him to sod off and he had no evidence. We left it that he was going to report me for Dangerous Driving and me laughing at him. I thought no more of it, but I have just got a Court Summons for Dangerous Driving. Within the pack there is a witness statement from the

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policeman, and he has also tracked down the caravan driver. They both say I overtook at speed, caused a car to swerve and came back in over the double white lines. My view is that as the copper didn’t record the speed, I can’t be found guilty. What do you reckon?

A

Are you a sandwich short of a picnic?

Firstly, the limit for a car towing a caravan is 50mph in a 60mph. So, in short, someone was just driving along, within the law, not trying to ‘ruin’ anyone’s day, you half-wit. It sounds to me you were just trying to keep up with your mates and overtaking when you couldn’t see properly. Secondly, you have received a Court Summons for Dangerous Driving, not speeding. Therefore, the fact the police officer did not record the speed is irrelevant. The Crown Prosecution Service need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt you have committed the offence of Dangerous Driving and they have the evidence of the police officer and caravan driver. If the Court hear and accepts their evidence, then that alone is enough to convict you. There does not need to be a video or a recording, etc., of you speeding. So what do I reckon? I reckon you need to be prepared to get a ban for at least 12 months as well as paying out some shekels. Therefore, go organise some legal representation now and get advice before the hearing.

Q

I rode into the car park of my local shop and into a designated bike parking bay. I was just about to get off my original Urban Tiger when an articulated lorry delivering stuff to the shop reversed and knocked into me. He then carried on reversing over my bike until my neighbour (coincidentally) ran over, shouting him to stop.

At this point I crawled out with my broken leg and ankle. The driver got out and started

shouting being have h i for f b i behind b hi d him. hi If I could ld h done, I would have got up and chinned him.

He then shouted at the poor kid from the shop for not coming out of the shop to watch him reverse. He eventually drove off, shouting that I would have to speak to the shop’s insurer as it happened on their property. I am typing this from hospital. I don’t know what to do. Is it the shop’s fault?

A

First off, try not to stress. Easy to say I know, but you’re still in hospital and need to rest up and recover so you can get home. Do not let your thoughts get side-tracked by Mr. Angry driving the lorry. He is well and truly full of the proverbial brown stuff. Mr. Angry was driving the lorry that caused the damage. This happened after he negligently reversed into and over your bike. You can bring your claim against him and his insurance company. On the issue of the Urban Tiger, I genuinely feel your pain. This and the 916 were the posters on my bedroom wall as a teenage boy. Lastly, I wonder if the driver was unloved by his Mother?

Just a thought.

8 NEWS

PATENTS: Honda’s ELECTRIC Super Cub is comingg…

Patents for Honda’s EV-Cub have just gone public, all but confirming we’re going to see an electric version of the Japanese factory’s iconic Super Cub in the not-too-distant future.

First shown as a prototype at the Tokyo Motor Show back in 2015, patents for the EV-Cub were originally filed in 2016, but now they’ve been made public. The scooter detailed in the designs looks nearly identical to the recently revitalised Super Cub which was released a couple of years ago, aside from one obvious difference: its electric motor.

The world’s BESTSELLING scooter looks to the future

So what do the patents reveal? Well firstly, Honda’s kept the machine’s centre of gravity low by placing the battery between the footpegs – essentially, where the engine would usually be.

Interestingly, the patents also detail a clever mechanism which allows the battery to be easily removed. That means Honda’s imagining a future where riders can head to a battery exchange and simply swap out the depleted unit for one that’s fully charged.

KTM’s factory Dakar racer for YOU

It’s not exactly a surprise, as recently we revealed that Honda was working on rolling out infrastructure across Japan to accommodate its Benly-E and Gyro-E scooters.

Of course, there’s no talk of a similar set up in the UK just yet, but if Honda’s idea proves a success at home, maybe they’ll start looking at rolling out the scheme internationally. Either way, it’s clear that Honda’s starting to get serious about electric; at least from an urban mobility perspective.

SPY SHOTS: BMW’s new G310GS and G310R caught road testing It looks like BMW’s been busy updating its small capacity adventure bike and roadster for 2021.

Spy shots have emerged of BMW’s G310GS and G310R out testing in India. And by the looks of things, they’re pretty much ready to go – which indicates we’ll likely see them launched at the end of the year.

Designed and developed by BMW, but manufactured by TVS Motor (who recently snapped up the struggling Norton brand), it’s not a massive surprise that there’re some updates coming for the German factory’s A2 licence machines; the single cylinder motor needed a bit of work to meet new Euro 5 regulations. That’s not the only change, though. There’s been a slight visual overhaul

The National Motorcycle Museum needs YOUR help The National Motorcycle Museum has launched an appeal to help its doors remain open. And YOU can help.

Many businesses have been hit hard by the last few months, but The National Motorcycle Museum is in danger of not reopening due to the losses they’ve incurred as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

That’s why they’re asking for help.

Museum Director James Hewing told MoreBikes: “Without the income from our three sister businesses, the museum may not be able to re-open, and then remain open until they return to normal trading.

The museum itself requires a surplus of around £500,000 per year just to break even. Therefore, on Friday July 17, the museum launched an appeal which gives people the chance to help us raise the

£500,000 required in two different ways.”

You can support the Solihull-based bastion of biking by going to the website and donate to the re-opening appeal fund, or you can buy tickets for their new raffle.

As always, there are some special bikes up for grabs in the raffle. The first prize is a brand new (old stock, obviously) 850cc Norton Commando from 1977. Second and third prizes are good, too. Second is an immaculately restored 1948 Ariel NG 350, and third is a restored 1959 BSA B31 350. Tickets cost just £6 each.

The draw will be held just before Christmas so, if you’re fortunate, you’ll have one hell of a Christmas present, and you’ll be helping part of Britain’s biking heritage!

to give them a sharper look, plus they each get new LED headlights, new fuel tanks and revised radiators.

At this stage there’s been no official confirmation from the Bavarian brand that there are two new bikes on the way, which means there’s no technical information available either. But it’s unlikely that they’ll be less powerful than the outgoing 310 machines which were driven by a liquidcooled single cylinder 313cc motor capable of kicking out 34hp and 28Nm of torque.

Of course, we’re just making educated guesses at this stage. We’ll have to sit tight for another couple of months to find out exactly what’s happening with the new G310GS and G310R from BMW.

It’s that time of the year again. KTM’s launched its new limited edition 450 Rally Replica for 2021.

Taking lessons learned from its rally raid exploits over the past year, KTM’s made some big improvements to its Rally Replica for 2021. Its fiery 450cc engine is mated to a new gearbox and revised shift mechanism. The gear ratios are based around the preferences of KTM’s Red Bull Factory riders, which means the Rally Replica has the same set up as a Dakar Rally champion. It also gets refined WP XACT PRO closed cartridge suspension, cone valve technology and improved aerodynamics.

You’ll need just over £23,500 to get your hands on one, but you could argue that’s a reasonable price to pay for one of 85 top specification rally race machines from the orange off-road specialists. At an extra cost, there’s also a service and support package for Dakar Rally competitors.

Royal Enfield’s off RACING

Royal Enfield will compete in the American Flat Track race series with its Interceptor 650-based FT bike that’s been built with the help of Harris Performance.

It’s not a massive surprise. Royal Enfield’s race-ready version of its FT Concept was supposed to debut back in March. But with events being cancelled far and wide, it’s only now that we’ve got confirmation that the bike’s hitting the track.

It’ll be interesting to see how the bike does out on the track, although the real question is whether or not Royal Enfield’s got a production flat tracker in the works. Let’s hope so.

NEWS 9

Ewan and Charley’s ‘Long Way Up’ will premiere on September 18 Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman’s 13,000-mile odyssey through South and Central America has finally got a release date.

We’ve been anticipating its arrival for a while, having first brought you news of Ewan and Charley’s latest adventure back in September 2019. And it turns out we won’t have to wait too much longer, with the duo’s third series set to debut on Apple TV+ on September 18.

The ‘Long Way Up’ follows Ewan and Charley as they cover 13,000 miles (100 days, 16 border crossings and 13 countries) from Ushuaia in Argentina through Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Central America and Mexico on a pair of Harley-Davidson’s recently introduced electric LiveWires.

The first three episodes will premiere on Apple TV+ on September 18, with a new episode being released each week. You will have to pay to watch them, but with subscription costing £4.99 a month (after a seven-day free trial), it’s not going to set you back a fortune to enjoy the latest project from the much-loved pair.

Harley-Davidson’s HD350 is coming..

And THIS is the bike it’s based on

We’ve been talking about Harley-Davidson’s HD350 for months, and now it seems we’re one step closer to seeing it in the flesh… as the bike it’s based on has just been launched.

Built by Qianjiang (who also own Benelli),

This is what the HD 350 is expected to look like.

we’ve known for a while that its QJ350 was going to be the base for the first of H-D’s learner legal line-up. But with details emerging about the Chinese-built machine, this is what we know so far.

First off it’s going to be powered by a 353cc parallel twin-cylinder engine, which gets the crankcase from Benelli’s BN 302S and the cylinders from one of QJ’s 500cc engines. It’s expected to kick out around 35hp (which makes it A2 licence friendly) and weigh 175kg.

It’s likely that the changes H-D makes to the bike are likely to add a bit of weight, though.

It’ll also get a colour TFT dash, keyless ignition, Bosch ABS unit, USD forks and twin discs.

At this stage we know the Harley-Davidson HD350 has been created primarily for the

ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) market, including Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. It’ll probably go on sale in India, too. But at this stage, we’ve not had any confirmation that the bike will make it over to Europe. While not exactly a given, Harley has been desperate to diversify and recoup some cash from its ever-dwindling big bike sales, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed.

Baby sportbike from BMW coming to the UK? TVS has just updated its Apache RR 310 – and rumours are swirling that a version of it is going to make it Europe with a BMW badge.

We've been talking about the Apache RR 310 for years. Co-developed by BMW and TVS, there’s been speculation that it’d make an appearance over here ever since it was released in India - and a new update makes it more likely than ever before.

A couple of the bikes built as part of the joint venture between BMW and TVS have made it into Europe – namely the G310GS and G310R. And with updated versions of those two bikes caught out testing in the last month (and confirmation of a set of updates for the Apache RR 310), speculation is rife that we’re finally going to see the baby BMW sportbike on British shores for 2021.

Admittedly, there’s not been a mass of changes for the 2020 Apache. The big news, however, is the addition of a TFT dash and Urban, Sport, Rain and Track rider modes. Not exactly revolutionary, but nice additions on what’s essentially a learner legal sportbike.At this stage, there’s been no official confirmation from BMW that we’re going to see the TVS Apache RR 310 turned into an S 310 RR, but considering how well it seems to be going down in India, you’d think it’d be an obvious (and easy) next step.