Bike updates for 2020

[guzzi850m2]

3 hours ago, jackdd said:

Not 2020 because just released, but interesting to see such a bike from Honda with ABS, the Honda ADV150: https://www.aphonda.co.th/honda2017/motorcycle/automatic/new-adv150

Looks like a PCX in adventure style.

Interesting little scooter, I read somewhere it will cost 95k baht which I believe is about the same as the current PCX?

[JonnyF]

On 10/25/2019 at 9:08 PM, thaiguzzi said:

Different strokes for different folks.

Just the thought makes me want to retch.

A 4 cylinder 250 4 stroke.

What could be worse?

I'd rather have an MZ 250 2T single. No word of a lie.

For that sort of money, i would snap Vocal Neal's 250 Honda 2T NSR off his hands.

Better pedigree, better everything.

Inline 4's are loads of fun. High revving, high performance, howling exhaust, what's not to like?

 

I like twins and triples as well, but there's something about the silky smooth performance of an i4 that's awesome. I still regret selling my GSXR.

 

The NSR250 is a great bike, but as I found out with my CR125R it can be a bit of a pain keeping old 2 strokes running well in Thailand unless you have a lot of free time and can do the work yourself. 

[thaiguzzi]

3 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Inline 4's are loads of fun. High revving, high performance, howling exhaust, what's not to like?

 

I like twins and triples as well, but there's something about the silky smooth performance of an i4 that's awesome. I still regret selling my GSXR.

 

The NSR250 is a great bike, but as I found out with my CR125R it can be a bit of a pain keeping old 2 strokes running well in Thailand unless you have a lot of free time and can do the work yourself. 

As i said, different strokes, different folks.

Me, as i said, hate the things.

Howling exhaust?

Silky smooth?

Hate it.

I don't like high rpm power, nor narrow power bands, nor screaming 5 digit numbers.

The only in line 4's i've ever appreciated were the old XJR12-1300, GSX1400 and older Kawasaki muscle bikes.

All air cooled. All with a flat meaty torque curve.

Something that revs out @ 8-9k max, but has BIG TORQUE all over the place, right off idle.

And a 250-4 aint gonna have any of that.

Let alone a 400-4, nor a 600-4.....

[guzzi850m2]

Ducati is launching a new street-fighter; V4 & V4S, 208hp bikes.

 

They looks very cool despite I normally don't like "alien" looking bikes, brutally powerful.

 

 

https://www.cycleworld.com/2020-ducati-streetfighter-v4-first-look/

[papa al]

papa confused as usual:

What kind of street fighting ?

[guzzi850m2]

1 hour ago, papa al said:

papa confused as usual:

What kind of street fighting ?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streetfighter

 

So papa, you take off all the fairings on your cbr150 and there you go, you got a streetfighter.

[VocalNeal]

On 10/25/2019 at 9:08 PM, thaiguzzi said:

For that sort of money, i would snap Vocal Neal's 250 Honda 2T NSR off his hands.

555. It's 300.????  

 

Has anyone added the 100,000 extra excise to any bikes above over 1000cc?

 

Regardless of price I think I would be in for a 250 four. I don't ride very fast and am not getting any younger. So it would be the sound and the ,hopefully, the snap when it comes onto the cam(s) even if only at 120-ish.

Will it crackle on overun?

[papa al]

2 hours ago, guzzi850m2 said:

So papa, you take off all the fairings on your cbr150 and there you go, you got a streetfighter.

papa is a lover,

not a fighter.

[JonnyF]

On 10/30/2019 at 8:00 AM, VocalNeal said:

555. It's 300.????  

 

Has anyone added the 100,000 extra excise to any bikes above over 1000cc?

 

Regardless of price I think I would be in for a 250 four. I don't ride very fast and am not getting any younger. So it would be the sound and the ,hopefully, the snap when it comes onto the cam(s) even if only at 120-ish.

Will it crackle on overun?

Me too, I ended up on Youtube yesterday watching videos of the old 250cc inline 4 exhaust sounds.

 

CBR250RR MC22, FZR250, ZXR250 etc. Heaven.

[JonnyF]

New Panigale V2. Basically a Euro 5 959. Single sided swingarm. Back to the underslung exhaust like the 899. Very tasty indeed but if I was updating mine I'd go for the V4.

 

[VocalNeal]

On 10/30/2019 at 7:36 AM, guzzi850m2 said:

 you got a streetfighter.

I think streetfighter is marketing jargon for "urban"

[eisfeld]

8 hours ago, JonnyF said:

New Panigale V2. Basically a Euro 5 959. Single sided swingarm. Back to the underslung exhaust like the 899. Very tasty indeed but if I was updating mine I'd go for the V4.

I first thought wow they managed to get back to the old style underslung exhaust of the 899 BUT looking a bit more shows that it actually has a small-ish part sticking out into the air. It's noticeable when checking a picture showing the bike from behind. So unfortunately they didn't manage to go back to the old style but still better than the hideous one they slapped on the current Euro spec 959. I always wonder how they can manage to do a fully packed underside exhaust in the 1100cc V4 but not the 900ish V2. Maybe just cost savings.

 

[Damrongsak]

On 10/29/2019 at 7:22 PM, papa al said:

papa confused as usual:

What kind of street fighting ?

One Ducati taking on a dozen mocy taxis. 

[JonnyF]

21 hours ago, eisfeld said:

I first thought wow they managed to get back to the old style underslung exhaust of the 899 BUT looking a bit more shows that it actually has a small-ish part sticking out into the air. It's noticeable when checking a picture showing the bike from behind. So unfortunately they didn't manage to go back to the old style but still better than the hideous one they slapped on the current Euro spec 959. I always wonder how they can manage to do a fully packed underside exhaust in the 1100cc V4 but not the 900ish V2. Maybe just cost savings.

 

You're right, and now I checked it is actually a single sided exhaust, no outlet on the left hand side. Better than the 959 but still a bit lame compared to the V4.

 

[eisfeld]

New Fireblade. All new with 3 Rs! CBR1000RR-R. No other changes. Just kidding.

 

https://www.asphaltandrubber.com/bikes/2020-honda-cbr1000rr-r-sp/

 

Honda is up there at the top in terms of power now and not left behind like they used to.

[guzzi850m2]

The new KTM 890 Duke R got my attention. More power (119hp) and torque (99Nm) than Yamaha's MT09 power plant (115hp & 88Nm) and very light too, 166 kg dry! Holy cow, this bike sounds like it will be very very fun. Looks, well, not my cup of tea. 

Sadly no more dealers here and as an import, very expensive.

 

[eisfeld]

I tried the 790 Duke and didn't like a few things. When you went a straight line and jerked on one side of the handle bar a little bit it would put a wave through the whole bike, kinda like a snake movement. Felt unstable. It was also a little bit small but OK. The dash was 100% unreadable in sunlight. Not because of reflections but the letters and numbers just disappeared. In the endiIt probably wasn't very convincing because after that I tried the 1290 and that was so much more refined and fun. Spoiled the little one for me I guess :)

 

In Thailand I wouldn't get an expensive KTM. A second hand small cc one without too many farkles that can be serviced/repaired relatively easily? Maybe. But then again I don't like the thumpers.

[eisfeld]

Updated BMW S1000XR: https://www.asphaltandrubber.com/bikes/2020-bmw-s1000xr-eicma/

 

I don't like the look, it's clearly an ant now. Maybe one can take those cheap black plastic pieces off from the front and improve it that way a bit but honestly, they must have aimed for an ant look, no? A full frontal picture would probably even show the mirrors as feelers. The rest of the looks is also a downgrade imho.

 

Performance didn't change, no ShiftCam surprisingly. Gotta try one and see if the vibes are there like on the old model and the new RR, that was the showstopper for me (and many other people).

[eisfeld]

Aprilia RS 660 with half a V4 engine: https://www.asphaltandrubber.com/bikes/2020-aprilia-rs-660-eicma/

 

Pretty impressive specs but I assume it wont come cheap, no pricing announced.

[Matzzon]

On 9/24/2019 at 3:36 PM, thaiguzzi said:

ep. you got that bit right...

I'm not most people.

And i certainly aint ever in the majority.

Don´t have to tell that, but I actually like it. ????

[guzzi850m2]

 Harley-Davidson Just Debuted Two New Bikes With Liquid-Cooled Engines coming mid/late 2020.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/hog-wild-harley-davidson-just-230000462.html

 

The Adventure Touring motorcycle is packing the larger 1250-cc version of the Revolution Max that punches out more than 145 hp and 90 lb-ft of torque and chain driven.

 

To shake things up even further, the company also rolled out the punchy little Bronx roadster. This middleweight naked streetfighter bike, according to the company’s website, has an “unapologetic attitude with the performance necessary to back it up.” It’s fitted with a smaller 975-cc Revolution Max engine but can still crank out 115 horses and roughly 70 lb-ft of torque.

 

 

No photos of the Streetfighter yet but interesting news from Harley, looks like they are making some drastic change to their line-up which is on about time.

[Jai Dee]

Off-topic troll posts (and replies) have been removed.

[P100]

On 9/24/2019 at 3:47 PM, Kwasaki said:

I think different to you, I don't need cornering ABS riding across a river or riding in the desert.

Then you need a different bike so don't complain about the AT coz it's made for all things you don't use a bike for.

[Kwasaki]

6 hours ago, P100 said:

Then you need a different bike so don't complain about the AT coz it's made for all things you don't use a bike for.

Good cool but not complaining just not my thing really.

I have what I like now an old bike, there's nothing on that it doesn't need.

[Grumpy John]

On 9/25/2019 at 9:53 AM, eisfeld said:

Then don't use it? It will not intrude during your offroad activities... I still don't see the issue.

 

Meanwhile for the majority if people who spend the majority on the roads cornering ABS can be quite useful.

 

I am like the majority. I have ridden my AT more than 36500 km so far and maybe 500km of that were offroad including mud, sand and rivers.

 

If you are one of those special cases that has offroad terrain all around him or trailers his bike to it, more power to you but then again I'm sure you wouldn't choose a heavy bike like the AT for those pure offroad sessions, would you?

 

 

Now, let's please get back on topic of new bikes for 2020 instead of bickering about new technology.

"I am like the majority. I have ridden my AT more than 36500 km so far and maybe 500km of that were offroad including mud, sand and rivers."  Mmmm! So you bought a bike that is not ideal for your needs...unless pose value is high on your list of needs.

[eisfeld]

1 hour ago, Grumpy John said:

"I am like the majority. I have ridden my AT more than 36500 km so far and maybe 500km of that were offroad including mud, sand and rivers."  Mmmm! So you bought a bike that is not ideal for your needs...unless pose value is high on your list of needs.

Look, you are dragging the topic offtopic and on top wrong. I wanted a bike that can let me 1. go on longer trips of thousands of kilometers with luggage 2. be comfitable and yet sporty enough on highways 3. do some off-roading 3. reliable 4. good dealer network 5. good value. For the situation in Thailand and my requirements, the AT for me is the ideal choice for my needs. I can't ride one bike which is better for on-road and then after hundreds of km suddenly switch to another bike better suited for off-roading. It has to do it all in one single bike. You might look at the 500km vs 36000 km ratio and think "hey, he's basically just doing on-road so off-road capability is just for show" but you would be overlooking that 10km off-road can take much longer than 100km on-road. It's not about haw far one travels but about where you go, how much time and enjoyment one gets out of a ride.

If you think the AT is a poser bike then I don't know what to say apart from that it's obviously ridicolous.

 

Now, coming back on topic. The first reviews of the new bikes are out and more rolling in. Triumph Tiger 900, Rocket 3, Kawa Z H2, Honda CBR1000RR-ARRR, BMW F900R, F900XR, S1000XR, Ducati Pani V2, KTM Super Duke, Yamaha Tenere 700, Tracer 700..