#Eicma2016

There was so much to see at this year’s EICMA show in Italy, including more than 35 new motorcycles ready to fill showrooms in 2017.

It was another busy year in Milan, Italy, at the world’s biggest motorcycle show: EICMA. The world’s moto manufacturers unleashed their latest wares last week, and we furiously pounded out more than 30 articles about every new bike seen at the convention.

On the surface, the 2017 Honda CBR650F and its naked sibling the CB650F don’t look much different than their 2016 versions apart from their new graphic schemes. The overall visual design, including their oh-s0-sexy cascading header pipes are back, and the underslung silencer has only a slightly different shape. Underneath the familiar skin, however, are a few updates that further refine Honda’s two 650 models.

Ducati raised the bar when it comes to lightweight materials, introducing its carbon fiber 1299 Superleggera at EICMA. It didn’t take long for other manufacturers to follow, with BMW announcing plans for a HP4 RACE model featuring a carbon fiber frame and wheels.

Our love for KTM’s beastly Super Duke R is no secret to MO fans, but in some ways – glorious and wonderful ways – it is an exercise in excess. So perhaps something with about 800cc might be more widely suitable to riders of all types?

2017 is shaping up to be the year of the small-displacement ADV bike. Honda ( CRF250L Rally), Kawasaki ( Versys-X 300), and here Suzuki’s V-Strom 250/ABS. Let us not forget the first-to-market CSC RX-3 introduced two years ago.

But soft! What shiny LED headlight through yonder video doth break? It is the Beast – the new 2017 KTM Super Duke R – and Juliet Brasfield is at EICMA to tell us all about the new stuff that makes our 2014 Motorcycle of the Year even more fair than he, including more power, updated suspension, and the welcome upgrade of color TFT instrumentation. 

Our man in Milan, Evans Brassflagons, was running ragged on espresso fumes and adrenaline when he ran into a trio of angle-snouted, aggressively stancing Kawasakis and swung instantly into anchorman mode, which you can see below.

Technically, the Kawasaki Z900 made its debut at Intermot, but information was still preliminary at the time, with the caveat that final details would be released at EICMA 2016. Well, EICMA 2016 has arrived and, as far as we can tell after reading Kawasaki’s press materials, the Z900 hasn’t changed since its debut in Germany – save for a seat height that’s changed by one whole millimeter.

To no one’s surprise, Triumph has developed a Scrambler version of its enviable Bonneville platform, unveiled today at EICMA in Italy. It uses the 900cc parallel-Twin motor as previously seen in the Street Twin, Street Cup and Bonneville T100, not the 1200cc motor from the Thruxton and T120.

Earlier we reported about the new G310GS shown at EICMA, and now here it is in video format brought to you by the highly caffeinated Evans Brasfield. This new GS is essentially the G310R dressed up in GS garb, with a 19-inch front wheel, a beak nose and angular side fairings.

At EICMA 2016, Italian electric motorcycle firm Energica unveiled this, the EsseEsse9 Concept. Resembling an electric scrambler of sorts, the EsseEsse9 was designed with a nod towards simplicity and to expose what until now was always hidden: the battery.

“The Vespa Elettrica will, first and foremost, be a true Vespa, bringing the very latest in electric technology to a vehicle that will retain all the features that have been vital to its success. The style, agility, ease of use and riding pleasure will be the same as the Vespa we have always known, with the addition of technological and innovative connectivity solutions. A perfect mix of excitement, technology, and environmental friendliness that only Vespa can create. Like it has always done in its first seventy years of history.”

Yamaha’s TMAX scooter hit Europe in 2001, and the OG “maxi-scooter” has been hard at work transporting people and their stuff ever since. The beat goes on for 2017, with three models: TMAX, TMAX SX and TMAX DX. The TMAX is described as  a ‘blank canvas,’ for customers who want to add their own parts and accessories.  Sporting special colors and ride modes, TMAX SX is designed for sports-oriented customers. Then there’s the top-line TMAX DX, complete with extensive electronic control technology including D-MODE and Cruise Control – also an adjustable screen and heated grips and seat.

While KTM’s updated 1290 Super Duke R and 790 Duke may be the talk of the Austrian town at EICMA 2016, the newly revised 2017 390 Duke also debuted in Milan and is shaping up to be the undisputed class king in the sub-400cc category. Right off the bat, the first notable change between new and old is the updated styling, with sharper, more angular lines providing a meaner, aggressive stance. Like the rest of the Duke line, the 390 also gets the split LED headlight with LED daytime running lights, while at the back the little Duke receives a new, bolt-on subframe colored in contrast to the main steel trellis frame for a striking appearance.