Australian Motorcycle News Vol 70 Issue 21

“Other brands will be scrambling to close the gap” I RODE APRILIA’S RS660 last week. It’s probably the bike I’ve been most looking forward to riding since it broke cover when the world was still relatively normal at the end of 2019. It’s an enormously well-executed answer to a question the global sportsbike segment has been asking for the last decade. Superbike sales have been in decline thanks to their extremely narrow focus and high-priced performance, and as electronic rider aids are becoming increasingly sophisticated, it’s not unusual for a cutting-edge superbike to be the wrong side of $30K. So Aprilia instead has prioritised electronics, handling and ergonomics over outright performance and, as it says on the cover, it really is the next big thing in terms of real-world motorcycling.…

HERE’S THE FUTURE of KTM’s long-awaited successor to its mini-Duke range. The new Duke has been snapped in near-finished form and there’s little carry-over from the existing bike. It channels the aggressive look of KTM’s larger-capacity street performance models into a package sure to challenge current sales leaders in the very competitive under-400cc market segment. The original bikes in this range fast-tracked Australia’s change from cheap small-capacity models to higher-tech versions nearly 10 years ago. They still sell well enough for several models to continue to be offered while even ones dating back to 2014 have high resale value. Currently, KTM offers the single-cylinder Duke in 125, 200, 250 and 390 forms around the world, including the important markets in India and Asia-Pacific, but all share many components. The Austrian…

THE STAKES HAVE just been raised with CFMoto’s 800MT adventure bike launched as China’s most high-tech motorcycle yet. Matching most of the electronics of its long-established European and Japanese rivals, the 800MT opens a new frontier for China’s motorcycle industry. Officially launched in Shanghai, the CFMoto-made version of KTM’s 799cc LC8c parallel-twin is the first Chinese-made production motorcycle to get cornering ABS, using the same Bosch system as many other brands. It has traction control, multiple riding modes via a ride-by-wire throttle, keyless ignition, a seven-inch TFT dashboard incorporating sat-nav as standard, and cruise control. Add to that heated grips, a heated seat, automatic high-beam headlights, standard fog lights and all for a price (in China) expected to be less than $A14k. Don’t reach for the credit card just yet…

HONDA HAS ANNOUNCED a massive five trillion yen ($60 billion) investment in R&D over the next six years as the company pivots to electric power and doubles-down on rider and driver aid technology with the ambition of ending all road fatalities for users of its products. The firm says that 100 percent of the cars it sells in most markets will be electric by 2040, with shorter-term targets of 40 percent electrification by 2030 and 80 percent by 2035. While the firm hasn’t made similar promises about its motorcycles, it intends to be completely carbon neutral by 2050 and promises at least three electric motorcycles by 2024. They look like being two scooters – one a 50cc-equivalent model, the other a 125cc-class machine – as well as a 125-class motorcycle.…

MOTORCYCLE SALES keep booming, with the first quarter of 2021 an amazing 51.6 percent up on the same period for 2020, according to figures released by industry body FCAI. The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries listed total sales of 27,256 units, an increase of 9279 motorcycles, scooters and off highway vehicles (quads and side-by-sides). Sales of road models rose 20.9 percent, nearly matching the 22.1 percent increase the entire motorcycle industry experienced for all of 2020. The star performer were off-road motorcycles, with a stunning 88.9 percent increase. OHVs rose 57.2 percent and scooter sales were up 26.9 percent. Commenting on the figures, FCAI’s Chief Executive Tony Weber said the increases “reflect a growing confidence in the economy as people use their disposable income to either upgrade or buy a…

THERE ARE MASSIVE shortages of the raw materials required for manufacturing. The Wall Street Journal recently summed it up with the heading: “Everywhere you look the supply chain is a mess”. The most recent shortage revealed is plastics, a critical component of nearly everything we buy. The price of oil surging nearly 60 percent since last November isn’t helping. Then there is what’s dubbed “chipageddon”, a critical shortage of computer chips affecting everything from the motoring industry to consumer electronics.…