Naked In Milan
Cagiva and Honda strut their stuff
BRUNO DE PRATO
NAKED in MILAN
THE MILAN SHOW USED TO BE IN NOVEMBER, WHEN the weather in the north of Italy is plain miserable. The few diehards brave enough to ride their motorcycles to the show found themselves slipping and sliding on the ancient cobblestone streets, made slippery by the fall fog. Now, the show has been rescheduled to September, when the weather is warm and riding to the show is nothing heroic. And what better way to celebrate the warm weather than by going naked? That seemed
to he the theme of this year's Milan Show, as unfaired sportbikes captured the spotlight. Looking at the new (agiva Raptor, my first thought was. They must be joking." It looks exact/i' like a Ducati \lonster. But then I spied the V-Raptor. aiid changed my tune complete ly! With its bikini fairing recalling a bird of prey's beak in sideview. the V-Raptor is a neat. aggressl\ c-looking madster. The fact that the base Raptor looks like a clone of the Monster is the result of two factors: Claudio (astiglionis
wish for revenge after he had to give up Ducati to an American investment group and, perhaps more significantly, the fact that both bikes were designed by Miguel Angel Galuzzi, who continues to work alongside Massimo Tamburini in the Cagiva Research Center.
Tamburini’s influence is apparent in the composite frame, which resembles that of the MV Agusta F4, as well as in the bodywork, which is more angular than anything Galuzzi has designed before. Even the oval-section, carbon-fiber mufflers are intriguing, with inlets down along their bottom
edges and outlets at the top.
Both Raptors are powered by the liquid-cooled, fourvalve-per-cylinder, dohc, 996cc V-Twin from the Suzuki TL1000S, which was favored over the TL1000R version due to its stronger midrange punch. Figure about 70 foot-pounds, along with 110 horsepower. As a result, the Cagivas should be much stronger-and
more fun-than even the year-2000 Monster, which is now powered by the 78-horsepower, fuel-injected 900SS version of Ducati’s venerable air/oil-cooled, sohc V-Twin.
Like the F4, the Raptors utilize top-of-theline components, in this case Brembo brakes and Showa suspension. Wheelbase measures a relatively short, 56.7 inches, seat height is a low, 30.3 inches and claimed dry weight is 423 pounds. The bikes at the show were pure prototypes; production versions will be available this spring at competitive prices, Castiglioni promises.
Of the Big Four Japanese manufacturers, only Honda was at Milan in full force. Most striking of the various European-only models was the XI1, an ultra-high-performance naked bike powered by a retuned version of the fuel-injected inline-Four from the CBR1100XX. Peak power is said to be 140 bhp at 9000 rpm with foot-pounds of torque at 7000 rpm. With an impressive 90 percent of peak torque available from 2800 rpm, only a five-speed gearbox is needed.
The mighty engine is harnessed in a massive aluminum twin-spar frame with geometry similar to that of the Blackbird. But while the frame is superb, the suspension is nothing to coo about: a conventional 43mm fork up front and a single gas-charged shock in the rear. As is the case with the XX, Honda’s linked brake system is employed, utilizing a trio of three-piston calipers grasping twin 310mm front rotors and a single 256mm rear rotor. The Michelin radial tires are popular sizes: 120/70-17 front and 180/55-17 rear. The XI1 weighs a claimed 485 pounds dry, biased 50/50 front/rear.
Great attention has been devoted to aerodynamics, in order to temper the front wheel’s tendency to get “light” at high speed. To this end, angled vanes in the distinctive radiator cowl create downforce that combats lift. On a similar note, the metal upper edge of the instrument panel is shaped as a sort of mini-fairing to keep windblast out of the rider’s face. As it should be: A 140-horsepower naked bike is in your face enough! U
ITALJET GRIFON
In the 1970s, Italjet designer Leopoldo Tartarini scooped up all of the remaining four-speed Triumph Bonneville 650 engines for use in a slicklooking streetbike of his own design called the Grifón. And now, in a re-run of that same story, he has purchased a number of the old, carbureted Triumph 900cc Triples with which to build the new Grifón 900, a prototype of which was unveiled at Milan. The engine is harnessed in an aluminum single-backbone frame that features a 56.9-inch wheelbase, 24 degrees of rake, 4.1 inches of trail and a low, 29.7-inch seat height; the entire machine is said to weigh 375 pounds. Interestingly, the wheels and tires are unusually sized: 120/80-17 front and 180/70-15 rear. A new-age Eurocruiser? No word on U.S. availability.
