Electronic War Fare

ELECTRONIC WAR FARE

ROUNDUP

Milan confirms that Europe is leading the arms race.

EUROPENA MANUFACTURERS HAVE taken the point in the electronic revolution that is currently sweeping the industry. This theme was reinforced last November at the Milan motorcycle show (EICMA).

Anyone who wants to be a player in the world’s motorcycle, scooter or accessory market has a booth at EICMA—and “booth” hardly begins to describe some of the manufacturer displays, which may occupy 20,000 square feet and include 30-foot ceilings, multiple levels, numerous conference rooms, light shows or even bars. The show is spread across nearly a dozen buildings and 1.8 million square feet in the enormous Fiera Milano Convention Center.

So, it’s also a good place to gauge the current state of the motorcycle industry. BMW, Ducati and, in particular, Triumph are seeing growth in sales or market share, or both. KTM, after the darkness and devastation the recession inflicted on dirtbike sales, is seeing signs of life, and even the Japanese Big Four are feeling a little more adventuresome. New-product announcements also clearly demonstrate the stark differences emerging between the energized European motorcycle companies and the more circumspect Japanese.

Take Honda, for instance: Announcing eight new production two-wheelers and two concept bikes, Honda Motor Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Takanobu Ito, promised no more boring motorcycles. His company then showed, among other things: three new big-wheel scooters, the Mid Concept scooter/motorcycle hybrid with pink seat sides, a 1200cc V-Four Crosstourer adventure prototype that must be pushing more than 600 pounds, the Crossrunner, essentially a VFR800 in adventure drag, and a CB1000R naked bike updated with a new-tri-color paint scheme and the world’s ugliest LED front running light. The contrast with Ducati and its Diavel (see page 42) couldn’t be more stark. The Diavel wasn’t the product of a marketing study but rather the idea of a small group of Ducati employees who serve as its product-planning group coming up with an answer to the question: What should we do next? The target wasn’t a specific power cruiser

“New-product announcements also clearly demonstrate the stark differences emerging between the energized European motorcycle companies and the more circumspect Japanese.”

but instead a look and an attitude somewhere between a naked standard and existing machines such as the Harley-Davidson V-Rod.

The result is a 162-horsepower (claimed), 463-pound bike with short cam timing, superb midrange (claimed) and low gearing that help the Diavel, according to Ducati Engineering head Claudio Domenicali, accelerate from a stop and brake harder than any other bike in its range—including the 1198 R Superbike.

Similarly, the BMW K1600GT and Triumph Tiger 800 (see page 28) adventure Triples seem to illustrate a confidence and a flair for product design that have been missing recently from the Japanese builders. It may be as simple as the fact that motorcyclists are closer to the decision making in the European companies or it may be success beget-

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ting success, but the difference was striking as I strolled through the displays at Milan.

Another trend: Adventure tourers jumped the shark at this Milan show. It was interesting to see a machine such as Moto Guzzi’s new Stelvio adjacent

to a large tech placard that enumerated its every specification—except weight.

Rather than pursuing lightweight Twins or Triples that could

be comfortable at very fast highway cruises and still be useful in off-road situations, manufacturers have decided that adventure touring is just an excuse to build bloated touring machines with upright, comfortable, dirtbike riding positions—hold the off-road capabilities, please. Not unlike a soccer mom’s SUV, the appeal is in the riding position and the look.

But the most overwhelming impression of Milan: Passionate, creative people make up the motorcycle industry, and that passion can be seen over and again in the motorcycles and parts that

they create.

Steve Anderson