John Abraham, Bollywood star and avid biker that he is, was recently handed the keys to an Aprilia RSV4 by parent company Piaggio. The RSV4, which is one of the few production high-performance motorcycles in the world to use a V4 engine, is famous for its 294 victories at the Road Racing World Championship.

John was delighted at finally getting to own what he said was his ‘dream bike’ and expressed his gratitude to Piaggio for handing him a bike so highly sought after in the biking circuit.

Ravi Chopra, Chairman and Managing Director, Piaggio Vehicles Private Limited said that the company was glad to offer John the experience that only a true biker would understand. He expressed the company’s pleasure at John becoming an owner of the RSV4, which had been ‘a revolution on the global motor racing scene’.

Aprilia are the reigning World Superbike Champions, having won the Rider’s and Manufacturer’s world titles in 2012. They also hold the record for the most wins of any European manufacturer in the history of competitive motorcycle racing. They also hold 51 world titles, including 38 in the Road Racing World Championship (20 in the 125cc- and 18 in 250cc-class), 4 in Superbike (Rider and Manufacturer double win in 2010 and 2012) and 9 in Off Road disciplines (7 in Supermoto and 2 in Trial).

Piaggio are on an expansion roll in the country. Apart from their Vespa brand, which already has its fair share of dealerships, the company also has Aprilia and Moto Guzzi. The company recently opened another showroom in Bangalore, Tuono Motors, to add to their presence in the country after Gurgaon and Pune.

Story: Jim Gorde

Japanese motorcycle marque Yamaha have taken the wraps off their new offering for the global market – the 2014 YZF-R1 “Race Blu”. The YZF-R1 is well known to be quite a head-turner with its jaw-dropping looks, that being said, the new “Race Blu” livery is simply stunning. The 2014 R1 had its debut at Silverstone during the British MotoGP and Yamaha officials had claimed that this special livery has been based on the factory Yamaha racing team colours.

And boy! The new YZF-R1 is quite an attractive design with its matte black and shiny blue paint; it’s certainly many an enthusiast new poster-boy. Although on the technical side of things there is no change at all, Yamaha officials are banking heavily on the “Race Blu” livery to sell like hot-cakes on a global scale.

While many would agree that technicians at Yamaha should have changed the new R1 on the technical front as well, we think with Yamaha we would have to play a waiting-game till maybe 2015. Pricing of the 2014 YZF-R1 has not yet been revealed.

Story: Sayem Syed

 

Triumph has revealed their new 2014 offering, the new Speed Triple R. The first of the two roadster models which Triumph are debuting in their 2014 portfolio, the new Speed Triple R sports few new cosmetic tweaks to its already impressive package.

The 1050cc triple-cylinder beast now features ABS as standard, the 2014 version also boasts of radial monoblock – Brembo calipers along with high-performance Öhlins suspensions for both front and rear shocks as standard. That’s not all the new Speed Triple R sports a new rear subframe painted bright red, along with Gloss Diablo Red radiator covers, too. The belly pan, mini windscreen and tail are all colour-matched. The new Speed Triple R will be available in two colour tones – Crystal White and Phantom Black.

Officials at Triumph have also disclosed the price of the new Speed Triple R at $16,240 (Rs 10 lakh) base price.

Story: Sayem Syed

 

Kawasaki have unveiled their latest offering to the European market in the form of the 2014 Ninja 300 SE. The Japanese power-brand are garnering lots of praises for the baby Ninja world over since its official debut. At an event carried out by Kawasaki Europe, Mr Yasushi Kawakami, MD pulled the wraps off the special edition Ninja 300.

The Special Edition Ninja 300 stands out from other entry-level competitors thanks to a World Superbike inspired bodywork graphic package and colour-coded wheel rim tapes. Featuring the now famous “elliptical” graphic style of the machines ridden by Kawasaki WSBK stars Tom Sykes and Loris Baz, the Ninja 300 Special Edition will be available in standard and ABS equipped versions from Kawasaki dealers across Europe in late 2013.

Speaking to the media, head honchos of Kawasaki Europe stated that the SE 300 highlights the need to cater to the Kawasaki enthusiasts who adore the baby Ninja even though it is the smallest capacity machine in Kawasaki’s formidable Ninja range. Pricing and availability are yet to be announced.

Story: Sayem Syed

 

Yamaha have taken the wraps of their popular middle-weight supersport offering for 2014, the new Yamaha YZF-R6. One of the most popular models from the Yamaha stable, the R6 has been given a refreshed look by technicians at the tri-fork brand for 2014, while still managing to retain the same aggressive stance its previous avatar was so popular for. At first glance, we can see that the refreshed R6 features an all-new GP-styled titanium muffler, along with magnesium engine covers and rear subframe in order to make the 2014 R6 lighter than its previous versions.

The new R6 also features multiple tweaks and engineering ideas, sourced from Yamaha’s state of the art GP program and implemented at street level to offer even better performance. Technicians at Yamaha have also thrown light upon the fact that the 2014 R6 is a much lighter, stable and better handling bike due to its excessive weight-loss.

Officials at Yamaha stated that the 2014 YZF-R6 will go on sale worldwide in the month of October and will be available in three colour schemes – Team Yamaha Blue/White, Matte Grey and Pearl White. Pricing of the new R6 has been revealed at $11,190 – Team Yamaha colours (Rs 7.1 lakh) and $10,990 for Factory colours (Rs 6.97 lakh) respectively.

Story: Sayem Syed

Royal Enfield have finally launched their café racer model, the Continental GT, in the UK. The new motorcycle infuses the essential café racer design elements with authority and is also the company’s most powerful model.

The Continental GT runs a 535cc bored-out version of the company’s single cylinder, unit-construction engine. Bore diameter is up by 3mm, to 87mm, from the 84mm the 499cc guise runs. Stroke is the same at 90mm. If these numbers seem familiar, that’s because they are indeed identical to the Lightning 535 the company used to have on offer earlier last decade. What aren’t identical, of course, or course are the output figures. The new Continental GT puts out 29.1 PS at 5,100 rpm and 44 Nm at 4,000 rpm, up from the 26 PS and 38 Nm the cast-iron-engined Lightning had on offer. The gearbox is also a five-speed unit, on the left, against the ancient four-speed right shifter, which was complete with the ‘spoon’ for neutral setup. With the bike tipping the scales at 184 kg, the performance should be quite something!

Mechanically, almost everything on the Continental GT has been entirely redesigned for maximum performance. The suspension components are uprated, you get clip-on handlebars,  and the wheels and tyres happen to be 18″ Pirelli Sport Demons: 100-section front and 130-section rear. The fuel tank is also a reasonable 13.5 litres. Royal Enfield will also offer a choice of seats depending on your riding style.

The bike has been launched at £5,200 in the UK. But you don’t have to worry about conversion figures or sky-rocketing exchange rates because the bike will be made in India and should be priced between the Rs 2.2-2.5 lakh bracket. The launch in India is scheduled for later this year. Watch this space!

Story: Jim Gorde