Feature
BMW’s most striking newcomers are three versions of the R nineT that has been a hit since its launch in 2014. The R nineT Pure is a basic naked roadster, the Racer is a half-faired café racer, and the Urban G/S is a dual-purpose model whose paintwork and orange seat bring to mind the R80G/S that kick-started the large-capacity adventure class in 1980.
Kawasaki recalls an old star with the name if not the modern styling of its Z900, which holds its 948cc, four-cylinder engine in a tubular steel frame. The Z650 is not a four, like its famous Seventies namesake, but a 649cc derivative of the long-running ER-6 parallel twin. Both Kawasaki and Suzuki have new small-capacity adventure bikes, the Versys-X 300 and DL250 V-Strom respectively. Suzuki has also developed a naked GSX-S750 four and a pair of entry-level singles, the race-replica GSX-R125 and naked GSX-S125.
Austrian rival KTM has an updated version of its aggressive 1290 Super Duke R, plus a fourstrong family of revamped Adventure V-twins. Meanwhile sister firm Husqvarna is set for production with its stylish, 375cc single-cylinder roadsters, the Vitpilen 401 and Svartpilen 401. Moto Guzzi of Italy goes for retro charm with a special edition of its updated 744cc V-twin range, the V7 III Anniversario, featuring chromed tank and brown leather seat. New scooters include updated versions of two old favourites, Suzuki’s Burgman 400 and Yamaha’s TMax. The 530cc TMax is hugely popular in Italy, making Milan the obvious venue for Yamaha to unveil the TMax DX, featuring electric screen, cruise control and heated grips and seat. That was outshone at EICMA by Vespa’s glitzy Elettrica prototype, whose silver finish and retro shape hid the fact that it is powered by batteries. Then came the brilliant, chrome-finished V4 SS that heralds Norton’s arrival as a superbike manufacturer.