Motorcycle News - Freewind Racer – Cafeina Suzuki XF650

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This year is gearing up to be the year of cafe racer kits. We’ve already published a feature documenting a stunning new Yamaha Fazer kit from the UK and an equally impressive set up for the Royal Enfield 650 twin platform out of India. Today we have a kit from the Portuguese workshop of Cafeina Motorcycles. This time though, rather than being pigeonholed to one specific make or model it’s a universal solution showcased here in the form of their own Suzuki XF650 cafe racer.

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March 1, 2020 at 12:36AM

MotoGP News - Zarco outlines top 10 target for debut Ducati MotoGP season

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Johann Zarco says his "main target right now" is to establish a "base" of top 10 finishes in the early part of his first MotoGP season on the Avintia Ducati



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February 29, 2020 at 10:14AM

F1 News - Teams 'shocked' and 'angry' at Ferrari engine inquiry 'settlement'

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February 29, 2020 at 06:58AM

Motorcycle News - MotoGP 2020 Season Preview – Part One

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Repsol Honda phenom Marc Marquez is, as per usual, the early favorite to make it seven world championships in eight tries in 2020. Sure, there are a lot of fast challengers – Yamaha NKT (new kid in town) Fabio Quartararo, Ducati #1 Andrea Dovizioso, Yamaha’s inconsistent Maverick Viñales topping that list – and Marquez is coming off right shoulder surgery. Sadly, the result is likely to be the same. If you’re planning to wager on anyone other than ReMarcAble Marc, best get yourself some odds.

The subtext to the season deserves some exploration. Several high-profile riders are approaching the end of the chain, career-wise. Names like Valentino Rossi, Cal Crutchlow, even Andrea Dovizioso. Jorge Lorenzo has already called it quits (though he’s hanging around as a Yamaha test rider). Likewise, as usual, there is a crop of dynamic young pretenders looking to get in on the big money. Guys like Fabio, the Suzuki duo of Alex Rins and Joan Mir, plus Ducati’s Jack Miller. Now that Marquez is a true legend, mid-career, he will be the target of all these fast movers, young and old. Heading into a contract year, typically a two-year-commitment (unless you’re #93 – more on that later), means plenty of musical chairs. Young guns on the way up versus grizzled vets with surgical scars on the way out. Twenty rounds of grueling travel and high-stakes riding. Hidden agendas. Palace intrigues. No real off-season – always testing, testing, testing.

All of which takes place in a breathtakingly expensive pursuit of second place. And less than that for the two manufacturers, KTM and Aprilia, who have yet to deliver the results envisioned by them and for them a number of years ago. Hope springs eternal for their riders, the Espargaro brothers, Pol (KTM) and Aleix (Aprilia) as both factories are looking to become the next Suzuki alongside Honda, Yamaha and Ducati. Top tier. They appear to have taken another step forward but don’t appear to be there yet.

Marquez wields a heavy-enough bat that he was able to get HRC to sign his little brother Alex, the reigning Moto2 world champion, for the #2 seat on the team. His contract for 2021-22 is already done. He has skills well beyond those of mortal riders, and he loves what he does. He has a powerful motorcycle built to his specifications that only he can ride, as young Alex is about to discover. The world, in 2020, is his oyster. You can cut the tension with a feather.

Management has insisted on a complete MotoGP season preview, despite the likelihood of another Marquez title. I have agreed but am limiting my comments and observations to things about which I’m relatively certain, which, as many of you know, are few and far between. Despite my suspension by FIM, and having been blackballed by Dorna, Motorcycle.com wishes that I continue to submit “racing news.” Beginning now, the deal is I submit articles when there’s real stuff going on. Maybe 15 or 20 columns tops per season. I’m happy, getting out of the October grind. Evans is happy for some relief on his ‘subcontractor’ budget. Now, if someone would just send me to Finland.

You, the reader, however, are stuck, because I still have a few things on my mind.

In an effort to illuminate the fact that MO is getting a great deal from me, I am dividing the 2020 preview into two parts: 1) Most of the Stuff, and 2) The Stuff I Left Out of Part One. This should give you, the reader, the greatest collection of news you can use from the world of MotoGP, even if the organization thereof is rather incoherent. ‘We’ here at MO are tired of the predictable old formats and are seeking ways to bill management without having to do actual research or check specific boxes. Our goal is to become the Jack Kerouac of motorcycle journalism. As an aside, have you ever seen a more schizophrenic use of the editorial “we?”

This, Then, is Most of the Stuff

As of Valentine’s day, subsequent to the Sepang test, we had an idea what’s in store for each of the teams, the easiest way to compare prospects of riders and machines. In keeping with our Dharma Bums approach to 2020, they are presented in no particular order, mostly as an exercise to see if I can remember them all. My most vivid recollection of the recent off-season was how Karel Abraham, after years of loyal, if not productive, service, gets unceremoniously hoisted from his Avintia Ducati seat in favor of downtrodden journeyman Johann Zarco. This change damages the future of the Brno round, as Karel’s dad owns the track and much of the country, and may react poorly to his son, the attorney, getting publicly ejected from his chosen profession, etc. Anyway, here goes.

MotoGP Teams and 2020 Prospects

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Repsol Honda: Marc and Alex Marquez

The good news about this new familial partnership is that dad Julià Márquez can now have both of his usual mental breakdowns simultaneously. And while everyone knows about Marc, young Alex, the unexpected Moto2 champion in 2019 despite several mediocre years there, rode his brother’s coattails to a MotoGP ride on the baddest premier class team in existence. He has been presented with a 2019 RC213V and told to go to work.

It could easily be a long year for Alex, on a steep, painful learning curve while big bro is taking home all the hardware. A long couple of years, now that you mention it. Perhaps it’s genetic, and young Alex takes to the Honda as a fish to water and finds himself some early top tens. It is easy to envision Marc in the role of mentor, as they truly seem to get along. It can’t be easy being Marc Marquez’s little brother, but give Alex credit for standing in there and letting the comparisons shower down while he learns his trade at the top of the world.

One recent bit of news is that Marc will not be 100% when the lights go out in Qatar, rehabbing from surgery on his right shoulder for three months instead of the prescribed six. Not sure why he waited until January to have the surgery. The single, solitary pinpoint of light at the end of the 2020 tunnel is if Marquez gets off to a slow start, not returning to full strength until, say, Jerez. That pinpoint of light would be in the form of an Alien rider, a Viñales or Quartararo, say, getting off to a quick start, winning two or three, and creating a gap to Marquez leaving Argentina. A 60 or 70 point gap. Then, we might have us a horse race.

Of course, none of that is going to happen. But it paints a pretty picture, Marquez finishing third for the year, still in all the podium pictures, but the dream having received a dent due to injury which must, one assumes, be expected in this sport. Having largely escaped serious injury since 2011 in Sepang, one could argue he is overdue. He’ll probably laugh off the shoulder and win the opener and win in Austin and head back home fully healed and ready to rumble again in 2020. #93.

The bad news, for the rest of the riders, is that Marquez’ new contract with HRC is a four year deal, twice as long as a “normal” contract. The somewhat contrived notation that Rossi, for instance, won titles with two different manufacturers, so there, gets flushed willingly by Marquez, who essentially has an entire division of a major international industrial conglomerate devoted to keeping him happy and on top. And no Andrew Luck nonsense for our boy Marc, who still keeps very little titanium in his person. For a guy who pushes the limits of adhesion for fun, he’s had surprisingly few bone-shearing crashes in his career. More hair-raising saves than wrecks.

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Factory Movistar Yamaha Team: Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales

Perhaps the most intriguing team in the 2020 championship, for a host of reasons. Yamaha has already committed to Viñales and Quartararo for 2021, while Rossi will see how he does in the first seven or eight rounds (which, conveniently, would be around the Mugello) before deciding on his future.

This may turn this season into the nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi’s farewell tour, blowing kisses to legions of yellow-clad screamers amidst clouds of fluorescent yellow smoke, fright wigs in place, wanting to be able to tell their kids and grandkids they saw the great Valentino Rossi during his final appearance at [insert track name here]. Rossi, on an improved Yamaha, settling for top-tens during what could be his last season, which should have probably been 2017.

Anyway, Rossi will be an absolute marketing machine in 2020 before taking over a MotoGP slot and going after more championships as an owner/operator. Some of the luster has come off his ranch, as a number of his fast young protégés have failed to launch in Moto2; for a while there it seemed like most of the young fast movers were all coming through Rossi’s academy. Rossi will not be a factor in the 2020 championship. He will, however, factor positively into the bottom line at Dorna, which will ride him hard this year. For me, the notion that he would accept a contract with a satellite team for 2021, even with Yamaha, is unfortunate, since doing so would make him just another top ten rider. Not good. Stop at the top.

Maverick Viñales, once considered championship material, now considered by most to be contender material, recently signed for 2021-22 with Yamaha, positioning himself as the unquestioned #1 rider on what was once the best bike in the business, pre-Marquez. The 2020 M1 has impressed management enough to sign Viñales to a new deal, confident he will be able to compete for a title on the latest iteration. Maverick Viñales will battle for second place this year – you heard it here first.

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Factory Ducati Team: Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci

Early rumblings from Petrucci suggest the 2020 Desmosedici has surrendered the advantage it enjoyed as recently as last year on tracks with long straights, lowering expectations. He turned in a credible performance at the Sepang test while Dovizioso dawdled in the teens, just not really into it. Dovizioso, who entertained dreams of world championships as recently as three years ago, has probably reached the conclusion shared by many others that this is not going to happen. He will settle for the money, the notoriety, the top-five finishes, the celebrity. Not a bad way to earn a living. Capable of scoring a win here or there.

Danilo Petrucci is, to put it bluntly, too normal-sized to win a title in MotoGP. He regularly rides the wheels off his Ducati only to finish seventh, the victim of rear spin and tire wear. Seems like every team owner wants to get rid of him, and that Gigi was shopping his seat to Viñales this past winter. Dude came from nothing, riding an Ioda-Suter in 2013, to within fractions of a second of fame and glory, a story shared by other riders in The Marquez Era. Paging Dani Pedrosa. Now, his size still a factor, he contends, especially at friendly tracks, such as Mugello, where he recorded his first career premier class win last year. I find myself pulling for Danilo; not sure why. Local boy makes good, perhaps. They are going to take away his factory seat next year, pretty sure. Very Darwinian around here.

So, I figure Dovizioso fourth for the season, Petrucci eighth. Does that constitute a successful season for Ducati Corse? I think not. I think the racing division needs to ask itself some serious questions about the bike and the riders. They do not appear destined to factor in the championship to any great extent. And a hypothetical 2021 team of Jack Miller and Pecco Bagnaia would not be expected to threaten Marquez.

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Team SUZUKI ECSTAR: Alex Rins and Joan Mir

The 2020 Suzuki team, one of the few outfits without a satellite team, does have itself a young pair of badass riders. As has been the story ever since the factory returned to MotoGP in 2015, the Suzuki GSX-RR handles like a dream but still lacks sufficient top-end to compete for the full-season podium. These two guys are IMO prime candidates to switch teams heading into 2021, as they may both believe their careers are being stifled by the hardware. Doing so may be the answer to their dreams or the stuff of nightmares. Paging El Gato.

Rins, beginning his fourth premier class season, has shown steady progress, going from 16th to 5th to 4th last season, certainly capable of a top three finish as long as the creek don’t rise. Smooth and fast, he continues to make unforced errors in races that cramp his overall results. In between crashes, he is a consistent top four threat, and had his first two career wins last year.

Mir, a blur in Moto3, a fast learner in Moto2, enjoyed his rookie season enough to place 12th for the year with 92 points, three DNFs and two DNS. His second time around should be majorly improved; he was truly remarkable in Moto3 and has that same extra something that #93 has. Cat quickness. An internal gyroscope turning high RPMs. Rins, I believe, will enter the Alien ranks within three years. Just probably not on a Suzuki.

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While We’re on the Subject

Without wishing to get ahead of ourselves, we need to keep one eye on the teams that will have open seats at the end of the 2020 season. Not the factory Honda or Yamaha teams. Petronas Yamaha will have at least one. Suzuki may have two, as could Ducati. KTM and Aprilia, almost certainly, depending upon how the year goes. Riders seeking greener pastures in 2021 will not likely find them on the top two teams.

Check back here on Motorcycle.com next week for Part 2 of Bruce’s 2020 MotoGP season preview.

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February 28, 2020 at 05:27PM

Motorcycle News - Retro Rumble Redux: Kawasaki Z900RS vs Suzuki Katana

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Lately, it’s like time travel around here. A couple years ago we put the then-new Kawasaki Z900RS up against the Suzuki GSX-S1000 in a slightly apples-to-oranges comparo, Retro or Not(ro), which the Kawi won by a hair. Now that Suzuki has their own retro based upon the GSX-S in the Katana, we felt like we had to do it again. Our duty.

It’s kind of a generational thing, and a Boomer bonanza, though more enlightened youngsters also appreciate these bikes’ looks. So does Ryan Adams:

I guess I should say somewhere in here that I’ve never been a huge fan of the Z900RS. Looking at last year’s model, all I could think was that it looked like a more mass-produced cheaper version of what Triumph does so well with its modern classic line of motorcycles. It wasn’t until I saw the 2020 model at EICMA, in Candytone Green, that I gave it more than a passing glance. The rich green paint chock-full of gold flake stuns in sun and still manages to look show-stopping in low light. The yellow stripe reaching back to the ducktail fender accents the color superbly.

The original Z1 Kawasaki got here in 1972, but the first one I remember seeing was the striped version of year two production – just like the second-year Z900RS we’ve got here, which caused the eyeballs to fall out of my still-loose 13-year-old head in 1973. In that year, the Beatles might still get back together, flower power was still in full swing, and my long-haired bell-bottomed cohort might be actually changing the world for the better.

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By the time the Katana appeared in 1981, we’d got straight: Nancy Reagan just said no, John Lennon had been shot dead, Keith Richards was approaching 40, and Gordon Gecko and AIDS were right around the corner. It was time to party in a more hardened, self-centered way, and the Hans Muth-styled Katana was on the cutting edge of hep, like a bike you might see in an MTV video.

Which era do you prefer? 1973 was a kinder, gentler time, and the Kawasaki is a kinder, gentler motorcycle than the Katana. These two couldn’t be a better match for each other on paper, with nearly identical weights, wheelbases and engine architectures – but they’re way different at the same time. The Kawasaki’s seat is about an inch lower, and when you climb onto it, the suspension sags a tad more. Passengers are happy on both motorcycles, but they’re happier farther and longer on the Kawasaki, which has less of a step from rider to passenger sections. Free, bareback love.

You’re sat just slightly more upright on the Kawasaki, which also offers lower footpegs and more legroom than the Katana.

Meanwhile, the Suzuki reflects ten years of evolution, with ergonomics tuned to offset a decade of horsepower gains. You really don’t sample it much when you’re toddling around town, but when you get to the fun roads, the Katana’s dyno chart advantage begins to reveal itself. To counter that, it leans you a bit more into the wind: At 80 mph you’re holding on to the Kawi’s handlebar to keep yourself in place, on the Suzuki your body’s angle of attack offsets the windblast just right. Its vestigial flyscreen blocks about as much wind as the Kawi’s headlight – but the aftermarket’s already after the Katana with a bunch of taller options should you so desire.

Ryan says: On the freeway riding into a headwind, the Z900RS’ lack of wind protection coupled with its upright ergos had me feeling like my head was going to be blown off my shoulders and sent bouncing down the freeway. Although the Katana doesn’t provide much wind protection, the shape of the front fairing and canted forward riding position made the Suzuki much easier to deal with when slabbin’ it.

On the way to where the fun roads begin, the Katana passes a bit more four-cylinder tingle through its grips, footpegs, and seat than the Kawasaki, really only noticeably above about 6000 rpm, and so for most of us, it’s not really a problem. The Kat’s tapered aluminum handlebar is mounted solidly and its footpegs are aluminum sportbike pieces. Its stiffer suspension also conveys bumps to the rider more than the Kawi.

The Kawi’s chrome handlebar, on the other hand, is mounted in rubber, and its footpegs are topped with it; the Z remains serene however hard you flog its 948 cc four-cylinder. You can hear its mechanicals down there working, but you seldom feel it – and the Z’s more compliant suspension better insulates you from life’s bumps.

Running on the Backstreets

Backstreets was a song on Bruce Springsteen’s 1975 breakout boomer-anthem Born to Run. On our favorite tightish backstreets, the Kawasaki uses its superior low-rev power to keep up with the Katana, at first anyway, when you’re just getting into it and warming up the tires a bit. Once the cudgels are fully erect and the Katana pilot begins to feel his oats, though, it’s not long before that bike begins to use its firmer suspension, more committed ergonomics – and far superior top-end power to gap the Kawasaki.

Ryan says, The Kawasaki never feels lacking in power around town thanks to its mid-range, it’s only once the pace starts to pick up on canyon roads that you blast through its mid-range into a slightly pallid top end, and that’s just where the Suzuki’s ol K5 motor keeps pulling. The Katana delivers strong torque down low coming into a steady mid-range, then keeps screaming past the Kawi up to its 11,000-something redline.

It’s entirely possible to have an epic blast on our favorite roads without ever exceeding 7000 rpm on either of these bikes, but dropping down a gear in the 138-horsepower Suzuki’s excellent six-speed gearbox, or clutching it a smidge, opens up a realm of Chewbacca-style acceleration the 97-hp Kawasaki just doesn’t possess. The longer the straights, the more the Suzuki says sayonara.

On our short-straight favorite roads, the Kawasaki sticks surprisingly close anyway, even with its softer suspension and sparking footpegs. Inputs need to be a bit more deliberate on the Kawi, but feeding in throttle from closed in those second-gear corners always results in smooth, confident drive off the corner.

RA: The Z900RS’ peg feelers grinding permanent scars into our favorite canyon roads as the pace picked up hint at the Kawasaki’s more relaxed demeanor. The Z900RS will get up and go with its bulgey mid-range, but it begins to be outclassed by the Katana when the pace picks up.

At higher revs on the Suzuki in second gear, reapplying gas usually results in a sudden hit of power – luckily nothing the rear 190/50 Dunlop can’t handle, in the dry anyway. Again, that little bit of throttle abruptness bothers some more than others; dragging the rear brake a bit mostly alleviates it, and the rush of power that flows after the initial hit makes it all seem worthwhile.

Both bikes have rudimentary traction control and ABS, of the non-IMU variety. Now that Suzuki’s gone ride-by-wire on the new V-Strom 1050, which runs excellently, maybe the ol’ SDTV valves will soon be a thing of the past on the Katana too.

Suzuki tells us the Katana shares its inverted fork and shock with the GSX-S1000, the only differences being that the Katana gets 520 ml of oil per fork leg instead of 518 ml, and the standard rear preload setting is 3 of 7 in the Katana instead of 4 of 7: If that’s the case, we have to surmise its superior ride and handling, compared to both the S and the Kawasaki, must be down to the new Roadsport 2 tires Dunlop cooked up specifically for it just last year. These things feel way sportier than the previous-gen Sportmax GPR-300 tires the Kawasaki comes with, as well as the Dunlop D214 tires our last GSX-S1000 wore.

We’re back to the ten years of separation: the Katana’s GSX-R derived twin-beam aluminum frame, aided and abetted by its other components, just generally feels more solid, precise and willing than the Z’s retro steel backbone frame and assorted pieces when it comes to aggressive riding. (Heck, let’s face it. The GSX-S is nearly a modern GSX-R.) And we decided that while you could certainly take the Z900RS to a track day and enjoy a brisk session or two, the Katana would probably surprise you and quite a few other riders with its closed-course competence.

But that’s not important right now, because obviously there are better choices if track riding is in your future. These are about riding in a slightly more leisurely way down memory lane. Exactly how leisurely is up to you to decide. For rolling down the boulevard, seeing and being seen, the Kawasaki is hard to beat. It only makes 97 horsepower, but it’s also perfectly content to bimble along at just above idle speed in traffic, while you and your passenger enjoy the plush seat, compliant suspenders, and low seat height.

Once parked out front of your favorite spot and listening to the cover band butcher “Free Bird” yet again, you’ll enjoy the envy of all as they gather round to gaze into your metalflake paint and deep chrome appendages. Actually one of my only complaints about the RS is that it’s so nicely finished, it reminds me of an over-restored original Z1. They were never this nice in my day, punk…

Other than its perfection, there’s really nothing not to like about the Kawasaki, unless you’re still hung up about its 97-hp top end. For the relaxed-fit riding you’re gonna be doing in those mom jeans, though, it hardly matters. Around town the Z900RS ticks all of the boxes a runabout should. Nice mid-range power to squirt through the city is delivered with effortless clutch pull and smooth throttle response, an incredibly well-balanced and nimble chassis gives one the notion it could be the ultimate slow race champion, and upright ergos keep you free to look around as you tiptoe through traffic or cruise off into the sunset down Hwy 1, says Ryan.

Also: I was sure that the wide flat passenger seat of the Kat would earn the praises of passengers where, in fact, it was the Z900RS’ lower more cushy one-piece saddle that left both JB’s favorite friend and my wife happiest.

The Katana is a sharper-edged sword by quite a large margin, but it’s only barely less comfy than the Kawi to ride around upon every day – and if everyday riding includes freeway riding, you’ll like its ergonomics better. The original 1981 Katana was notorious and widely poo-pooed for its clip-on handlebars and torturous riding position; Suzuki went the opposite direction with this homage. In making Italian designer Rodolfo Frascoli’s dream come true, however, they made one really big sacrifice.

Once all that swoopy new bodywork was in place, there was only room for 3.2 gallons of gas. In flog mode, our Katana returned 35 mpg. In normal use, that’ll be more like 40 mpg: Still, not enough range. A serious faux pas on Suzuki’s part.

Still, not serious enough for the Katana not to win this bout by unanimous decision, 269 points to 262. In Objective scoring, the Katana used its superior horsepower to overcome the Kawasaki’s big price advantage. In the Subjective categories, the kid and I both gave the advantage to the Suzuki.

Nostalgia has its place, but when you can have retro, comfort, and 138 horses in a motorcycle that goes, stops, handles, and woos the crowd as well as the Katana, it’s a hard thing to pass up.

2020 Kawasaki Z900RS
+ Highs Easier to ride than a Walmart electric shopping cart down the snack aisle Eminently smooth and refined drivetrain Over the top finish and detailing	– Sighs Some parts, like the exhaust, are almost too shiny/ happy 97 horses are plenty until somebody else has 138 Kind of makes you pine for an original Z1. For about 3 seconds.

2020 Suzuki Katana
+ Highs If we must have a radiator, a curved one is cooler 138 horsepower has your cake and eats it too A great blend of retro comfort and performance	– Sighs 3.2 gallon fuel capacity might work in Tokyo It’s a shame the price crept up like it did For $13.4k it should have real mini-katanas on the sides instead of stickers

John’s In Gear Helmet: Shark Evo One 2 $430 Jacket: Vanson AR3 $563 Gloves: Dainese 4 Stroke EVO $160 Jeans: Trilobite Parado Elastic Men’s Jeans $219 Boots: Sidi Arcadia Tex $179 Ryan’s In Gear Helmet: AGV K6 $550 Jacket: REV’IT! Prometheus $480 Pants: Pando Moto Steel Black $335 Gloves: Dainese 4 Stroke EVO $160 Boots: Dainese Axial D1 Air $450 Scorecard 2020 Kawasaki Z900RS 2020 Suzuki Katana Price 100% 83.0% Weight 100% 99.6% lb/hp 70.6% 100% lb/lb-ft 88.1% 100% Total Objective Scores 93.1% 94.2% Engine 90.0% 95.0% Transmission/Clutch 85.0% 82.5% Handling 80.0% 90.0% Brakes 85.0% 90.0% Suspension 85.0% 90.0% Technologies 77.5% 77.5% Instruments 87.5% 87.5% Ergonomics/Comfort 90.0% 90.0% Quality, Fit & Finish 87.5% 85.0% Cool Factor 85.0 90.0% Grin Factor 90.0% 90.0% John’s Subjective Scores 87.1% 88.8% Ryan’s Subjective Scores 85.0% 88.3% Overall Score 87.5% 89.7% Specifications 2020 Kawasaki Z900RS 2020 Suzuki Katana MSRP $11,199 $13,499 Engine Type Liquid-cooled four-cylinder DOHC four-stroke In-line 4 cylinder, liquid-cooled, DOHC Bore x Stroke 73.4 x 56.0 mm 73.4 mm x 59.0 mm Displacement 948 cc 999cc Compression ratio 10.8:1 12.2:1 Fuel System Fuel injection (ø36 x 4) Fuel injection with SDTV Lubrication system Forced Lub. Wet Wet sump Starter Electric Electric Ignition system TCBI with electronic advance Electronic ignition (transistorized) Horsepower 97.2 hp at 8700 rpm 138.4 hp at 10600 rpm Torque 65.2 lb-ft. at 6600 rpm 74.4 lb-ft at 9400 rpm Final Drive Chain Chain, RK525GSH, 116 links Transmission 6-speed 6-speed with back-torque limiting clutch Clutch type (Primary) Wet, multi-disc, assist and slipper clutch Wet, multi-plate Frame Tubular, diamond Twin-spar aluminum alloy Front Suspension Fully-adjustable inverted fork, 4.7 inches of travel 43mm KYB fully adjustable inverted forkforks, 4.7 inches of travel Rear Suspension Horizontal back-link swingarm with stepless adjustable rebound damping and spring preload, 5.5 inches of travel Link type shock with adjustable spring preload and rebound damping, 5.1 inches of travel Front Brakes Dual 300 mm disc, ABS Brembo radial-mount monobloc calipers, 310mm dics with ABS Rear Brakes Single 250 mm disc, ABS Nissin single piston caliper with ABS Front Tire 120/70ZR17 M/C (58W) 120/70 ZR17 (58W), tubeless Rear Tire 180/55ZR17 M/C (73W) 190/50 ZR17 (73W), tubeless Rake / Trail 25° / 3.5 inches 25° / 3.9 inches Seat Height 31.5 inches 32.5 inches Length 83.1 inches 83.7 inches Width 34.1 inches 32.7 inches Height 46.5 inches 43.7 inches Wheelbase 58.1 inches 57.5 inches Wet Weight (MO Scales) 474 pounds 475 pounds (claimed) Fuel tank capacity 4.5 gallons 3.2 gallons Ground Clearance 5.3 inches 5.5 inches Colors Candytone Green Metallic Mystic Silver or Solid Black The post Retro Rumble Redux: Kawasaki Z900RS vs Suzuki Katana appeared first on Motorcycle.com.

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February 28, 2020 at 02:42PM

Motorcycle News - 2021 BMW R18 Cruiser and Bagger Designs Leak

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While we continue to wait on the slow drip of official news on BMW‘s 1800cc cruisers, we’ve gotten our mitts on design filings for what appears to be the production models of the R18 in cruiser and bagger form.

Published this week by Brazil’s intellectual property office, the designs give us a good look at both versions of the R18 from multiple angles. Key elements such as turn signals, mirrors, fork-mounted reflectors and a giant license plate mount suggest that these are indeed intended for production and not just another concept. The designs also closely resemble the bikes spotted covered by tarps in spy photographs we published back in October.

The design filings give us our first good look at the bagger version, which we’ll call the R1800B for lack of a better name. While the two bikes obviously share the same 1802cc boxer engine, we were surprised at how much the bagger and the cruiser version (which we’ll call the R1800C) differ. Overlaying the right profile images of both bikes highlight these differences.

Apart from the obvious addition of a large fairing, front fender and saddlebags, we notice some changes to the chassis. It appears BMW is using a modular chassis design, as the headstock for the bagger is significantly different from the cruiser. Beyond supporting the added weight of the fairing, the chassis change also resulted in a different rake and trail, with the R1800B bagger’s front wheel brought in closer to the header pipes.

The R1800C also has an additional frame component below the seat for mounting passenger foot pegs. The bagger also has a noticeably larger fuel tank and a significantly thicker two-up seat.

The cruiser’s exhausts end in a rather bulbous pair of silencers with fin-shaped exhaust tips whereas the bagger has straighter pipes with a slash-cut tip, likely to make more room for the side cases. The R1800C also sports wire-spoke wheels instead of the bagger’s cast wheels, giving the cruiser a more classic styling.

The cruiser has one circular instrument nacelle while the bagger’s fairing incorporates four round dials above a rectangular panel. If this panel ends up being a TFT display, it looks like the bagger will have the largest screen we’ve seen on a motorcycle to date. We spy BMW’s multi-controller dial on the left handlebar grip (absent on the cruiser), further suggesting a digital display. Flanking the instrumentation are two side panels, though it’s hard to tell if these are speakers or additional storage boxes.

We already know the engine is an air-cooled 1802cc boxer with pushrods. BMW previously claimed an output of 89.8 hp at 4750 rpm and 116.5 lb-ft at 3000 rpm, with a 950 rpm idle and a 5750 rpm redline. The engine is Euro 5 compliant and is paired with a constant mesh six-speed transmission.

BMW is taking its sweet time in teasing its R18 platform, but these design filing suggest we’re finally getting closer to an official announcement for the production models. We’ll have the latest here on Motorcycle.com as it becomes available.

2021 BMW R1800B Bagger

2021 BMW R1800C Cruiser

The post 2021 BMW R18 Cruiser and Bagger Designs Leak appeared first on Motorcycle.com.

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February 28, 2020 at 12:42PM

F1 News - Formula 1: Ferrari reach settlement over engine investigation

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February 28, 2020 at 12:15PM

Motorcycle News - The Divisionist: Federal Moto’s first BMW bobber

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Some custom shops crank out the same style of build, over and over again. But for Federal Moto that would be terminal. Their crew is young, eager to experiment and wary of stagnation.

So when a local film production company approached Federal to build a custom bike, they picked a genre they hadn’t yet tackled. For their seventeenth project, commissioned by Divisionist Films, the Chicago workshop created their first BMW-powered bobber.

“Eight years ago we started off as a ‘cafe racer’ custom shop,” says founder Michael Muller, “and here we are now moving into the bobber genre. We want to be a diverse shop that isn’t tied to one style of moto … motorcycles are fun, who said you can’t play with all of the kinds?”

Federal started by sitting down with their client, and going through reference material to figure out what would hit the mark.

The resulting concept was a skinny monochrome bobber based on a /7 series BMW boxer. And as luck would have it, Federal had a 1978 BMW R80/7 laying around the shop and looking for a good home.

The R80 needed some love though, so Michael and Federal staffer David Pecaro started by rebuilding the 797 cc motor, five-speed transmission and Bing carbs. The work included new seals and rings, a new electronic ignition, and NGK spark plug boots and cables.

The motor was beautifully finished with a mix of ceramic paint and hand-polished touches. Federal also added custom-made velocity stacks, and custom exhausts with turned tips and a Cerakote finish.

The BMW’s running gear didn’t go neglected either. Federal grabbed the forks and six-piston Tokico calipers from a 2008 Suzuki Hayabusa, and hooked them up to an upper triple tree and steering stem from Cognito Moto.

A new set of 18” rims was laced up with stainless steel spokes from Buchanan’s, using a Cognito Moto hub up front, and they’re wrapped in Dunlop K180 tires. Federal also had the forks anodized black, and the rims powder coated.

Out back, the crew built a minimal subframe, with support for the solo seat and revised shock mounts. A new pair of 15” shocks now holds up the rear end. There are hand-rolled fenders at both ends too, attached to custom-made brackets.

For the fuel tank, Federal sourced a 1977 Husky 125 item—but it was pretty banged up and rusted. They tidied it, fabricated a new tunnel to match the BMW’s frame, and welded in a new cap tunnel and petcock bungs. The gas cap is a custom knurled aluminum part. Chris Paluch designed the subtle fuel tank graphics, which NSD Paintwerks then executed.

Right behind the tiny tank is a scant little bobber seat, upholstered by Dane Utech, a Chicago local, using suede and leather from Relicate Leather. Dane covered the ‘passenger’ pad too and did a stellar job—but you’d need to be brave (and petite) to take a ride on the back of this bobber.

One of Federal’s biggest challenges was the boxer’s stock Bosch ignition coils (they’re big, and usually sit under the tank). So the guys sourced a dual pole Dyna coil, and mounted it under the starter cover. They also rewired the bike around a Motogadget m.unit blue Bluetooth-enabled controller, stashing it away under the tank.

The bulky battery was replaced with an Antigravity Lithium-ion battery, which sits in a custom-made box just in front of the rear wheel. It’s been designed so that its back edge traces the radius of the rear wheel; a neat little touch.

In the cockpit, Federal fitted 7/8” Biltwell ‘Tracker’ bars, and a speedo, push buttons and bar-end turn signals from Motogadget.

It’s also sporting new levers, a set of OEM BMW cables, and Goodridge brake lines. A 5.75” lamp lights the way out front, and a small LED taillight is mounted to the swingarm.

Lean and purposeful, Federal Moto’s first foray into bobbers is a total knockout. If this is what it takes to stave off complacency and boredom, count us in.

Federal Moto | Facebook | Instagram | images by Daniel Peter

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February 28, 2020 at 11:34AM

F1 News - Formula 1: Valtteri Bottas fastest as testing concludes

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February 28, 2020 at 11:22AM

F1 News - Formula 1 livery concept designs - check out some of the more unusual ones

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February 28, 2020 at 09:13AM