The 2010 National BikeSafe Motorcycle Show

The 2010 National BikeSafe Motorcycle Show starts at the Sheffield Arena on Saturday June 12th and runs for two days.  The show is open from 10am to 5pm both days and is well worth stopping by.  With over 100 exhibitors and trade stands, stunt riders, free assessed ride-outs plus lots of family attractions there is something for every motorcycle and scooter enthusiast.  What’s more the show is completely free with free entry and free parking.  For more information check out the official website at http://www.bikesafeshow.co.uk/

Rumour has it there will be a Yamaha Super Tenere 1200 on show and available to test ride, something of a treat as for this year the bike is only available to purchase unseen and untested online from Yamaha. – (UPDATE – this has now been confirmed by Yamaha – ‘Yamaha will be giving free test rides (subject to criteria) on the brand new Super Ténéré and FZ8 at the upcoming National BikeSafe event. This will be the first UK showing at an outside event of both models so be sure to visit the Yamaha stand early to book your test ride.’)

Perhaps even more exciting is the new electric BMW C1-E, the safety enhanced scooter featuring a roll cage and harness for the rider.  Safety may be improved but unfortunately you’ll still look like a complete tool riding one!

The New 2010 Triumph Sprint GT

Well, after a number of recent spy shots we knew this was coming.

Triumph has just released a few details of its new Sprint GT an update of the successful Sprint ST which has been one of the best sports-tourers of recent years.  Fairing changes, a side mounted exhaust replacing the under seat one of the previous model, engine tweaks to produce more bhp (130) and more torque, and with  new style panniers and ABS as standard, it would appear the new Sprint is good competition for the Honda VFR1200.  The Sprint while a success and highly regarded amongst its users, has been almost a well kept secret for the 5 years it’s been on the market.  Hopefully the surge in interest for tourers will shine a spotlight on Triumphs excellent machine. The new Sprint GT is priced at £9499, which at more than £2500 less than the Honda VFR1200, makes it all the more attractive.

Triumph’s press release is below –

Five years after the introduction of the popular 1050cc Sprint ST sports tourer, along comes a new model with greater practicality and more emphasis on the ‘touring’ aspect of ‘sports touring’: the Triumph Sprint GT.

That is not to say the Sprint GT has lost the sporting edge that made the Sprint ST one of the most popular and enduring bikes in the Triumph range. As you would expect from a British machine wearing the famous Grand Tourer tag, the Sprint GT delivers outstanding real world performance in a practical and stylish package.

Performance is taken care of by an updated version of Triumph’s legendary 1050cc triple. First introduced in the 2005 Sprint ST, the latest incarnation of this great engine has been updated to deliver increased power, torque and usability. With 130bhp on hand, the Sprint GT offers excellent real world performance, with development focused on power delivery in the mid-range rather than chasing peak power.

Practicality is the GT’s byword with new 31 litre panniers, ABS brakes as standard, underseat storage, built in rack with well appointed grab rail, 200 mile fuel range and an optional top box capable of swallowing two full sized helmets and offering a 12 volt power supply to allow ‘on the go’ charging of electrical items such as laptops and mobile phones. And price? At £9,499 on the road, the Sprint GT offers real-world performance at a price other sports tourers can’t come close to.

Ducati Multistrada Better Than BMW’s GS?..Yes Says MCN!

This week’s MCN has a road challenge between the new 2010 Ducati Multistrada 1200 and the latest version of BMW’s GS, and they are declaring the Multistrada the new King of do-everything bikes.  Now I think they may have been a bit quick off the mark with that statement as there are a number of things they didn’t test. MCN says the BMW is still the best for long tours but gives points to the Ducati for its fun and versatility on the road.  The Multistrada’s four mode riding ability and all-round sportier profile give the bike a clear advantage for speed and handling in urban environments, and the power blast available from the 150bhp engine sounds like great fun on the highways.

However they don’t test the off-road ability of the bikes and while the tank range queries I had seem to have been answered, a long-term test of the Ducati’s durability would be needed before any ‘Long Live the King’ statements are made.  We’ve seen the BMW get dropped on all sorts of rough surfaces (It was a hobby of Ewan McGregor’s on Long Way Round/Down), make it through rivers, and despite its huge top-heavy weight, cope reasonably well off-road.  I can’t imagine the lovely looks of the Ducati being quite so durable.

Don’t get me wrong I really like the Multistrada, and I think that Ducati have made a superb bike and advanced the technology of biking in general greatly with the gadgetry the machine has.  I’d just need a bit more evidence that it’s ‘The One’ before I would spend £14,000 on it. (Like I have £14,000 to spend A-HA, HA, HA, HA!)

Check out the latest MCN in newsagents now and below you’ll find a brief video review.  Have a great weekend and Ride Safe!

CMG Review of the Ducati Multistrada 1200

Canadian Motorcycle Guide has a great indepth review up for the Ducati Multistrada 1200.  Reviewer Costa Mouzouris certainly gives it both thumbs up and makes it sound like not only a great motorcycle, but a very unique high-tech experience.  It’ll be interesting to see if the Yamaha Super Tenere can measure up.

Check out Costa’s review here…

“Ducati has poured a lot of resources into this machine, testing it extensively for two years prior to its release (the company built 110 pre-production models for testing; the usual number is about 80), and it has incorporated just about every rider aid available into one bike.

The hard work has paid off.” -Costa Mouzouris

The Ducati Multistrada 1200 in Action

I’m going to round off this week’s blogging with some drool worthy videos of the 2010 Ducati Multistrada 1200 in action.  MCN had a great review of the bike in this weeks paper and it sounds suitably stuffed with technology, making it one of the most advanced bikes on the road today.  My main concern of a sub 200 mile fuel tank for a supposed tourer seems to be unfounded according to MCN’s report, but I’ll wait and see some long term tests before casting off all doubts.  Tank range aside the Multistrada 1200 is most certainly a new dawn for motorcycling, and it will be interesting to see how Ducati’s tech gets mimicked, or improved upon, by other manufacturers.

Looks great doesn’t it!  I wonder if in Enduro Mode it would survive a trip down Africa?

Have a great weekend everyone, Ride Safe! : )

Accessorise Your New Yamaha XT1200Z Super Tenere!

Ride The Wild Wind is slowly turning into Yamaha’s press office it would seem, but as mentioned in earlier posts the Turkish Motorcycle Show in Istanbul has seen a flurry of Yamaha news this week and RTWW is just reporting on it, honestly.

However … if Yamaha would like to donate a Super Tenere as the official RTWW bike I won’t say no, just in case any Yamaha staff are checking us out : ) yes I have no shame….

Annnyway… Back to business….

Yamaha has added an accessories page to its web site for the new Super Tenere, and it all looks rather good.  Have to say I’m really impressed by this bike so far, and increasingly nervous that first ride reports will show it to be complete pants! (cough! Honda VFR1200f cough!)

Much of the accessories are pretty standard adventure bike stuff, taller screen, crash bars, belts and buckles for luggage, tank bag, pannier and top box bags, fog lamps etc.  One of my favourites has to be the lower seat option shaving a further 35mm off the standard seat’s lowest setting of 835mm.  Brilliant for those of us who are somewhat, how shall we say, inner leg challenged.  The best one however has to be the original PR image of the ‘Lord of Adventure’ as a tank pad!

Check out the full list of accessories here

More Details on Yamaha’s 1200cc Super Tenere ‘First Edition’

So it’s finally out there motorcycling’s new potential adventure bike king.  On looks alone the new Super Tenere appears every bit the capable do everything bike, and certainly more off-road capable and robust  than the 2010 Ducati Multistrada.  I’m sure BMW are pouring over specs this morning to consider the impact Yamaha might have on GS sales this year.

However, while there’s nothing official yet, rumoured pricing for the Super Tenere was pretty high and it would need to really outperform BMW’s GS variants to justify a possible £2000 more.

Yamaha has listed the big features of the bike as being;

• Shaft drive inline 2-cyl engine – 270-degree crank
• Mass kept low and central for agile handling
• Intelligent Unified Brake System and ABS
• YCC-T with 3-stage traction control plus Yamaha D-mode
• First edition adventure pack
• Tough spoked, tubeless aluminium rims
• Adjustable front and rear suspension
• Adjustable seat height

All of which sound very exciting and technically it appears to tick all the necessary boxes given the bike’s multi-purpose role.  The first road tests will be interesting especially on the hot topic of tank range, with recent ‘tourers’ being barely capable of a blast to the corner shop!

This 2010 Super Tenere is dubbed, understandably, the ‘First Edition’ with no other variants available this year.  For the buyer this means, as well a snazzy ‘First Edtion’ sticker you get aluminium panniers with brackets, aluminium bash plate, and a headlight protector (not for road use).  All this is fine but I worry if it’s a way to justify that rumoured painful showroom price?

RTWW will report on any road tests as they appear and below you’ll find some more images of the bike and a link to Yamaha’s product page where you’ll find quite an exciting video detailing the Super Tenere’s features.

Doesn’t the shaft drive look great! …. and yes I know how weird that sounds.  Yamaha’s Product page can be found here, and don’t forget to check out the features video.

More news and reviews as we get them.

The Ducati Multistrada 1200 Launches..

Well what do you think, should BMW be
worried?

Multistrada 1200 Touring

Ducati have finally taken the covers off its much
anticipated adventure bike the Multistrada 1200 and this we have to
admit it looks good, though the proof of concept will be in the ride.
There are three versions of the bike all with Ducati Traction Control
as standard allowing for switchable riding performance to match
various conditions.

The Multistrada looks impressive..

The three bikes are the Standard, S Sport
and S Touring and all allow riding modes of Sport, Touring, Urban,
and Enduro, yes Enduro, so perhaps the pictures of the 1200 off road
weren’t overstating its potential.

Ducati Multistrada 1200..

So technically and looks-wise it
appears to be a very attractive package. A bit surprised by the
chain drive and the tank isn’t overly huge, but then again the GS
off-road suffers from the weight of the huge fuel capacity, so its
maybe a sensible compromise. Ducati are saying the Multistrada is
four bikes in one and on the surface it 150hp wonder seems like it
could well be.

Full technical specs are available here
– http://www.multistrada.ducati.com/jspmulti/techspecs.jsp

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Ducati Multistrada – The GS Killer?..

The Multistrada 1200 teaser site

Due to make it’s first official appearance at the upcoming Milan bike show, Ducati has confirmed what was on the rumour mill for months.  Its new GS killer ‘do everything’ bike will be called the Multistrada 1200.

There’s been quite a lot of interest in this bike as teaser shots taken during test runs, especially off road ones, showcased a superbly capable machine, which might, might, upset things for BMW.  Their GS has been hugely successful and no other attempt to challenge it has been successful yet, but things may change.

I’m hoping it does as it should shake BMW out of its complaciency and hopefully promote further innovation in the field of ‘adventure’ motorcycles.

Check out the teaser site at http://www.multistrada.ducati.com Personally I shouldn’t get so excited as there’s no way my wee legs would reach the ground on these bikes but one can dream! – Nick

Multistrada 1200: the wait is almost over

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