How do you make a sportbike go faster? Just add another R to it’s name.

Aprilia confirmed it will present the RS 660 at EICMA, releasing an image of the sportbike cloaked in shadow over its social media channels. The production model 2020 Aprilia RS 660 has the potential to shake up the moribund supersport class that in recent years has consisted mostly of small updates like the Kawasaki ZX-6R and limited edition models like the Triumph Daytona 765.

What exactly the hell is the meaning of this, letting a 30-year old kid be the Powertrain Project Engineer for an all-new bagger? What could a callow youth who roadraces a 15-year old GSX-R600 and rides a Tuono on the street, possibly know about the bagger mentality? When they’re not tearing around on sportbikes (and Indians!) because the snow’s too deep up in Minnesota, that 30-year old engineer (who only spoke to us on condition of anonymity) and Product Director Josh Katt are plotting mostly legal routes to get to work on Polaris snowmobiles. If that’s not heretical enough, Indian put a Swedish guy who designed BMW motorcycles for 15 years in charge of design – Ola Stenegard.

The history book (or Wikipedia page, if that’s your thing) on electric motorcycles is rather slim, especially compared to its internal combustion counterparts, but what you’ll find is a myriad of ideas and concepts. Such is the beauty of a technology in its infancy. The section on electric racing motorcycles is even thinner. If you discount the inaugural MotoE championship running alongside MotoGP this year, the biggest stage for electric racing motorcycles has been the Isle of Man TT Zero race, wherein each entry tries to complete one full lap around the 37-mile course as fast as possible. Well, it was until the event was put on hold for at least two years. The machines you would have found at the TT Zero are full of ideas and concepts to win the race, but the one constant is the fact the batteries dominate the vehicle’s overall design. It’s understandable, considering you need a lot of battery to travel nearly 40 miles at 150-plus miles per hour.

The California Air Resources Board has published executive orders certifying a number of unannounced 2020 Triumph models. These include the Thruxton RS, which Triumph has already started teasing, a couple of Bud Ekins tribute Bonnevilles and two new versions of the Tiger 1200.

While the new supercharged Z H2 and retro-styled W800 grabbed the spotlight in western markets, Kawasaki quietly dropped a bombshell for its Asian customers, announcing a new four-cylinder Ninja ZX-25R at the Tokyo Motor Show.

Today, surprising no one, Ducati unveiled the Streetfighter V4 and Streetfighter V4 S naked hyperbikes. Still, it’s good to finally get a gander at the latest winged V4 beast that will be gracing showrooms in model year 2020. We’ve known the general scope of the Streetfighter for a while – a Panigale V4 shorn of bodywork – but now that we get an official look at it, it seems like much more.

Lost in the buzz Ducati’s Panigale V4 stirred since its introduction was the fact its baby brother, the 959 Panigale, had remained untouched. Squashing any concern that the model was going away (at least for now), Ducati today announced the Panigale V2 – the new name for the 959 Panigale – featuring updates and technology from its V4 sibling. While they were at it, the V4 family received some updates too, which we’ll get to later.

The Ducati World Premiere held in Italy’s motor valley brought with it the unveiling of a couple of new e-bikes, a new Panigale V2, slightly tweaked Panigale V4s, and the highly anticipated Ducati Streetfighter V4/S. Other models such as the Diavel and Scrambler received additional color options while the Multistrada 1260 family received a new lux trim package aptly named the Grand Tour. Let’s take a closer look at what Ducati calls “new versions” of these existing models. 

Kawasaki announced a new W800 variant, the third model in the line joining the W800 Cafe and the W800 Street (offered in markets outside the U.S.). We expected a third variant for a while now, as it had shown up in various certification documents, but what’s odd is this W800 model is supposedly the “base” model, with more retro-styling to resemble the original 1966 Kawasaki W1. To be honest, I was kind of hoping for a scrambler variant, and it’s a little curious why the W800 didn’t come out first ahead of the Cafe and Street variants. Product strategy aside, let’s take a look at the new 2020 Kawasaki W800.

After a series of teaser videos, Kawasaki has delivered its new supercharged 2020 Z H2, calling it the arrival of a new generation of Z models. Priced at $17,000, the 2020 Kawasaki Z H2 is the least expensive of all the supercharged H2 models, by a significant margin, though it is also a hefty premium over the rest of the naturally aspirated Z models.

What’s old is new again in the American V-twin wars. The original Indian PowerPlus ran from 1916 to 1924. The new PowerPlus isn’t a bike at all; it’s an engine – an all-new 108-cubic inch (1769 cc) liquid-cooled 60-degree V-twin, and it’ll be powering a new fixed-fairing bagger called Challenger, “the highest-performing American V-twin ever developed,” says Indian. We’ve probably already seen the bike due to a leaker! at a dealer meeting, and our in-house eye that never sleeps, Dennis Chung (see below Indian’s press release). Matter of fact, DC already uncovered even more information, last April, about the new engine than is contained in Indian’s official release (also see below), which just flew in over the transom.

Earlier this summer, Harley-Davidson announced plans to get into the electric bicycle business, and a new trademark application gives us a potential name for an e-bike: “Rude Boy“. Harley-Davidson filed the application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Oct. 15, for use with “electric bicycles; electric bicycle parts and accessories.”

Yes, I know this is a motorcycle magazine. But here’s why you should be interested in and maybe even excited about a $4,500 Chinese-built electric bike that looks like a Puch moped from the 23rd Century: This kind of vehicle is hands down, no question absolutely, the most fun and fastest way to get around a congested urban environment. So, shut up and start reading.

Update: Production has resumed on LiveWire, after tests confirmed a “non-standard” condition was a singular occurrence. The bikes may now again be charged using any method previously available. Below is the statement, direct from Harley-Davidson Motor Company:

Earlier this month, Kawasaki announced an updated Ninja 650 for 2020, along with a number of street bike models returning unchanged except for new graphics. One model that was conspicuously left out was the 650’s larger sibling, the Ninja 1000. We now think we know why, as the California Air Resources Board released an executive order certifying an updated 2020 Kawasaki Ninja 1000.

Newly released filings from the California Air Resources Board confirm the BMW S1000XR is getting updates for 2020, likely including the ShiftCam variable-valve timing system added on the new S1000RR. Those looking for similar updates to the S1000R may be disappointed, however, as CARB documents suggest the naked bike is not getting the same updates.

How much do we like the 2019 KTM 790 Adventure? How about enough to name it Motorcycle.com’s Motorcycle of the Year. That’s high praise. So, when we found video assets from the 790 Adventure’s introduction kicking around the MO Video Archives, we thought that time was right to share Ryan’s firsthand experience with those who don’t like to read. But first a little refresher.

Brazil’s intellectual property office has published a design registration for what appears to be a BMW F800R replacement equipped with the F850GS’ parallel-Twin engine. The leaked design was originally spotted by Motor1 Brazil, which published a few of the diagrams from the filing, but we’ve dug up the complete set in higher resolution of what we’ll assume will be called the 2020 BMW F850R.

Let us open our hymnals to the song of the 60-degree liquid-cooled Porsche-designed V-Rod engine, whose 2001 launch represented the last Radical Departure for Harley-Davidson. With its hydroformed frame and underseat gas tank, this bike was the way to the future, one that sadly ended after 2017. In this review of the new V-Rod Muscle from 10 years ago, you can feel Pete “the Rock’s” pain as he struggles to produce faint praise. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

How about giving incremental updates a little love? So many riders seem to immediately dismiss mid-cycle revisions of motorcycles as being BNG (bold, new graphics) or, as with one comment this week, BNH (bold, new headlights). In the case of the 2020 Triumph Street Triple 765 RS, the comment completely misses the point. Sure it would be great if every model year was a complete makeover year after year, but there’s something to be said for incremental refinement. Model year 2020 is one of those fine-tuning times, and Triumph has delivered a Street Triple that is better in two very practical ways. Additionally, there have been some appearance changes that are bound to appeal to many riders. And all this comes at no increase in cost to the buyer. Sounds like pretty good news to me. 

BMW has made no secret about plans to produce a new 1800cc cruiser. The company has confirmed as much, and commissioned several concept models built around the massive boxer engine. Heck, BMW France is already taking orders, based only on the R18 Concept BMW showed off in May at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.

Kawasaki released another video teasing its latest supercharged motorcycle, showing a glimpse of the bike’s silhouette and confirming it will be called the Z H2.

It was only a matter of time before Triumph’s involvement as the engine provider for Moto2 started trickling down to its production models (the Limited Edition Triumph Daytona 765 aside), and for the 2020 model year that association takes the form of the Triumph Street Triple RS. The top tier of the Street Triple family, the RS version benefits from a host of upgrades and updates to make it even more lust-worthy for those in the middleweight streetfighter market. MO’s boss-man, Evans Brasfield, is at the press launch for the Street Triple RS and will return with a full ride report soon, but in the meantime, let these five nuggets hold you over until then.

Kawasaki announced some changes to the 2020 Ninja 650, including new LED headlights and a TFT color display plus new bodywork that brings its styling more in line with the company’s Ninja sportbike lineup.

For whatever reason, American motorcyclists have been very slow to adopt electric motorcycles, ironic since the most innovative and interesting e-motos are built here in the USA. Zero and Harley-Davidson are both in the electric motorcycle game, and two start-ups – Brammo and Alta Motors – delivered hundreds of motorcycles to paying customers before succumbing to tough market realities.

Yamaha today announced the latest addition to its Hyper Naked lineup, the 2020 Yamaha MT-03. The announcement of a new, baby MT to round out the family really shouldn’t be surprising to anyone who’s taken a close look at the company’s three current offerings – the MT-10, MT-09, and MT-07. Providing an entry-level MT model opens up the possibilities of a rider entering, and staying, within the Yamaha family as they progress up the riding ladder.

It’s an interesting time in sportbike land, as displacement limits have gone up, technologies are ever-improving, and in general, motorcycles are getting better and better. But one fact of life no manufacturer can escape is the looming Euro5 emission regulations. The toughest standards to date, Euro5 rules are said to be significantly more stringent than the Euro4 rules that preceded it. To meet the new standards, some OEMs have simply added displacement to engines to offset the increase in the number (or size) of catalyzers.

Kawasaki released a second video teasing a supercharged Z model, showing a few glimpses of the naked bike and confirming it will be revealed Oct. 23 during the Tokyo Motor Show.

KTM has come to the rescue of GasGas, forming a joint venture with the Spanish off-road brand that will see it continue to produce motorcycles in Girona, Spain.

Last fall, BMW introduced a line of upgrades and accessories for the S1000RR, under the company’s M performance brand. BMW may be planning to expand that concept with a line of high performance M models, as the company has filed trademark applications for M 1000 RR, M 1000 XR and M 1300 GS.

Similar to the street-legal KLX230 we covered last week, the 2020 Kawasaki KLX230R is designed purely for the trails. Changes are minimal between the R and it’s dual-sport sibling, though they make all the difference when riding off-road. We’re happy to see Kawasaki starting to bolster its off-road lineup with models like the new KLX230R and the KLX300R (keep an eye out for that review on the horizon as well) and hope to see the trend continue to bridge the gap between these recreational models and Kawasaki’s closed-course counterparts.

Honda unveiled the new 2020 Africa Twin, revealing a larger engine, lighter weight and a number of electronic rider aides including the much requested cruise control. The 2020 CRF1100L Africa Twin will be offered in regular and Adventure Sports ES models, both available with a choice of manual or DCT versions.

One of these, my friends, is still with us, and the other moved onto its reward, far too soon, the year after this little comparison starring Pete and Riding Man Mark Gardiner. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Crusher Man cometh.

You really do need a program to keep track of all the players at Harley-Davidson. I’m still in a constant state of bewilderment even after all these years trying to keep track of the Glides and Ultras and FXRs and things as they come and go. After passing summary judgment on the new Low Rider S last week, it’s time to move on to the new Touring models, all of which at least still carry the prefix “FL.” (As do some Softails, possibly a Dyna or two – now retired – and possibly a trike. Let’s move on.)