Show Stoppers!
SHOW STOPPERS!
COLOGNE KICKS OFF THE NEW YEAR
ALAN CATHCART
OF ALL THE CHANGES TO HAVE
shaken Europe in the past
few years, the one most
difficult to predict was in
evidence at the 1992
IFMA Motorcycle Show in
Cologne, Germany.
There, on the banks of the Rhine in this most sterile of German cities, were signs that the Europeans finally are returning in force to the motorcycle sales wars.
The Japanese Big Four, usually the stars of IFMA, were overshadowed by a small but vibrant parade of new European motorcycles. Only Yamaha chose Cologne for the introduction of important new models-the front-swingarm GTS 1000 and the YZF750. Yet to some extent these bikes were old news, having already enjoyed sub rosa release the month prior to IFMA in the American and European press (see Cycle World, December, 1992).
That’s not to say the Japanese didn’t have new products on display. But it was the European manufacturers who seemed to capture the momentum of motorcycling enthusiasm. As a result, they also captured the excitement of the show-going crowd.
Careful observers will not be surprised at the identities of the stars of this show. They were Bimota, BMW, Ducati and Triumph, with the Italian and British manufacturers displaying new and significantly revised models that brought gasps of delight from viewers. The German manufacturer, meanwhile, chose Cologne-indisputably the most important of the European motorcycle shows-to debut its long-awaited Super Boxer engine.
Still, there were signs that Europe, as a center of motorcycle manufacturing, has a ways to go before it regains the title it lost 20 years ago to the Japanese. For example, Moto Guzzi attended IFMA, but showed no new models and caused observers to postulate that this proud old company has returned to its former somnambulant condition. Neither Laverda nor Norton organized displays for this most important of shows.
Nevertheless, Cologne showed that in spite of difficult economic conditions worldwide, the motorcycle market is getting healthier. And enthusiasm for motorcycling remains as high as ever.
TRIUMPH
With the slide in the value of the pound sterling working heavily in its favor in foreign markets, Triumph responded to growing worldwide interest in its reborn line with the Tiger, an all-new model based on a rallybike theme, and the Daytona 900, a restyled supersport machine. Both use the modular 900cc Triple, but in very different states of tune. The Tiger’s engine produces a claimed 85 horsepower, and is tuned for torque and midrange power, while the Daytona’s engine is tuned to produce 100 horsepower, the maximum level that can be sold in Germany under the terms of a voluntary agreement. Markets without horsepower restrictions will get a more powerful Daytona, scheduled for release at Britain’s Birmingham Show.
DUCATI
Its official designation is the Ducati M900, but its unofficial factory nickname, II Monstro, or, The Monster, is the handle that has stuck. The M900 (above) was conceived by Ducati designer Massimo Bordi as a musclebike variation of the standard-bike theme. Though it currently is powered by the 904cc V-Twin found in the Ducati 900SS, a long-stroke 972cc version of this engine may eventually find its way into II Monstro’s engine bay. While the M900 made IFMA observers pant with desire, a look at Ducati’s all-new Supe rmono (left) race bike positively made them swoon. As a result of these two bikes, the Ducati display area was the most heavily attended of any manufacturer present at the show. The 251-pound Supermono is powered by a 502cc Single based on the liquid-cooled, four-valve 8511888 Su per bike cylinder head, and is said to produce 72 rear-wheel horsepower at 11,500 rpm. Ducati says 30 customer racebikes, complete with dramatic and innovative styling by Pierre Terblanche, will be built this year, with street replicas available in 1994.
The Triumph Trident 900 Sprint created a stir in Cologne. Its appearance put an end to complaints that Triumph’s line badly needed a café-style bike, a modern version of the Tritons that ruled the backroads of Britain in the 1960s. It also raised questions about a possible return by Triumph to the U.S. market. Though non-commital, a Triumph spokesman said the company’s motorcycles could go on sale in the U.S. by 1994.
PGO
PGO is a Taiwanese firm known in the Orient for its scooters. By the looks of the new V2 1600, it seems the company wishes to bust out of the people-mover world and into full-sized performance bikes. The machine is powered by a whacking-great 1596cc V-Twin with liquid-cooling and four valves per cylinder. The beast makes a claimed 86 horsepower at 5700 rpm. It’s hung in an aluminum perimeter frame with a 55.3-inch wheelbase, and the entire assembly is said to tip the scales at a dry weight of 452 pounds. PGO claims a top speed of about 130 mph and a quartermile time of about 11 seconds for its prototype. The PGO may just be the V-Twin sportbike that enthusiasts have been expecting from the Japanese. The V2 is said to be destined for the U.S. market, but details remain scarce.
BIMOTA
Bimota came to Cologne with two show-stoppers to celebrate its 20 years of motorcycle manufacturing: a completely restyled Tesi and an all-new machine called the DB2 (see riding impression, page 40). The striking new Tesi, characterized by one IFMA observer as making the old-style Tesi look like “yesterday’s news,” carries the 1D-es designation, and will be limited, for its initial year, to production of 50 units. No price was announced for this new realization of the most expensive Bimota.
HONDA
Honda’s CBR1000F, a Cycle World favorite that was missing from the line last year, makes its return in 1993 kitted out with re-done bodywork, a new paint scheme and a front-rear linked braking system called, in Europe at least, the Dual Combined Brake System, or CBS. The system allows foot and hand brake levers to operate different hydraulic pistons in all three brake calipers via secondary hydraulic circuits and a sophisticated proportional flow valve, and is said to greatly stabilize the chassis during heavy braking.
KAWASAKI
Kawasaki chose Cologne for the debut of its revised ZX-6, ZX-7 and ZX-11, shown exclusively in Cycle World last month. A surprise was the announcement of an all-new electric-start dual-purpose four-stroke called the KLX650, and a similarly styled, kick-start-only off-road machine called the KLX650R. Both bikes are powered by counterbalanced, liquid-cooled, four-valve 651 cc Singles, with the R-model using a heavier flywheel than the dual-purpose bike, and employing a lightweight aluminum cylinder of the same type found on the company’s MX bikes. Claimed dry weight of the D-P version is 337 pounds; the dirt version is said to weigh 276 pounds dry. The perimeter frames used by the bikes also are different from each other in that the dual-purpose bike’s frame has a longer wheelbase and more conservative steering geometry, while the dirtbike’s aluminum swingarm pivots on the rear engine mounts. Both bikes will be sold in the U.S. in 1993.
BMW
BMW’s new top-of-the-line sport-touring machine is the K1100RS, which replaces last year’s K100RS. It gets a revised fairing and a 1092cc version of BMW’s Kmotor-the same engine that powers BMW’s impressive K1100LT (see Cycle World, September, 1992). Claimed engine output is limited to 100 horsepower, but compared to last year’s motor, torque is up, listed as 79 foot-pounds at 5500 rpm. The only difference between this engine/transmission and that of the K1100LT is the RS’s taller, 2.81:1 final-drive ratio (the LT’s is 2.91:1). Introduction of the bike to the American market is scheduled for January.
APRILIA
Aprilia proved, by virtue of a world championship this year in GP racing’s 125cc class (not to mention a second-overall ranking in 250 GP standings) that it is a little company that can get things done. Though the company has yet to field a 250cc repli-racer, its 125s own the lion’s share of the very competitive small-bike market in Italy. The RS125 Replica, which weighs a claimed 312 pounds dry, pro duces a claimed 33 horsepower from its tiny two-stroke engine, and is wrapped in very stylish and colorful fiberglass, is one reason why.
HONDA
Though it was introduced at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show, the Honda CB1000 Super Four was not officially introduced to Europeans until the Cologne Show. This sport-standard is the result of an after-hours project by Honda engineer/enthusiasts bent on strapping together something they call an aggressive, no-frills “userbike.” The bike’s instrument layout emphasizes its Spartan nature, while its fork-derived from the RC30 but minus the RC30 unit’s complete adjustability-aluminum swingarm and quality twin shocks speak of the bike's performance capabilities. Look for the Super Four, a.k.a. the Big 1, to appear in U.S. showrooms in 1993, but in limited numbers and with a stout price tag.
YAMAHA
Yamaha wowed the Cologne Show crowd with its GTS1000 sport-touring bike, unveiled in Cycle World last month. It also displayed elements of its European model mix, including the TDR125, a flyweight but firebreathing supermotard-style machine much beloved of European backroad scratchers.
KTM
KTM, apparently back from the brink of financial ruin and now separated from its bicycle and radiator divisions, marked the seriousness of its return to the motorcycle wars with a surprise sportbike. The company’s Cologne centerpiece was this fuel-injected, V-Twin-powered prototype, built by the German Bepono team and raced with increasing success this past year in the German Battle of the Twins series. For IFMA, the KTM factory converted it into a fully streetlegal machine, though it had no electric starter. The engine’s heads are sourced from the LC4 four-stroke Single, and the bike is said to be a serious long-term project that represents the future for the tiny Austrian manufacturer.
