#videos

Ah, the legendary Phillip Island circuit, the scene of many epic battles among two-wheel gladiators like Gardner, Rainey, Schwantz, Corser, Stoner, Rossi and Iannone, which has long been on my bucket list of racetracks to ride before I die. With significant elevation changes along 2.76 miles of twisting tarmac on the shores of the Indian Ocean and an average GP speed of more than 110 mph, it would be a challenge to learn on any bike, let alone on Suzuki’s most powerful literbike ever.

You’ve read the Review, now see the video! Heart-stopping wheelies, lurid smoldering burnouts and an awesome display of moto-skill. Okay, well, none of that, sadly, but there is some nice action footage of Triumph’s latest, greatest all-new Bonneville variant through the rolling countryside outside Madrid, Espana. And, about two minutes of me channeling Walter Cronkite as I lay out the new bike’s salient points in living color.

Ducati’s Monster is the O.G. of naked sportbikes, first bursting on the moto scene back in 1993 with an air-cooled 904cc V-Twin engine. The liquid-cooled 1200 Monster debuted in 2014, and already it has received several worthy updates to make it more appealing to riders looking for svelter Italian style mixed in with extra power and state-of-the-art technology.

Beginning with Intermot on October 3rd, moving on to AIMExpo October 12th, and EICMA November 4th, we come to the final rounds of the moto show season, the Progressive International Motorcycle Show (IMS) leading off in Long Beach, California. For the moto-public the Progressive IMS tour has six more dates ending February 12th in Chicago. With all the new 2017 machinery to be seen, we recommend attending because the Progressive IMS is the only place you’ll find everything motorcycle under one roof.

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.

Triumph’s new generation of Bonneville models gets expanded to four with the introduction of the T100 Bonneville, and we were one of the first publications on the planet to take it for a spin.

The latest trend among in motorcycling is introducing a new superbike alongside a higher-spec premium versions. European manufacturers like Ducati and MV Agusta had been doing this for a while but the Big Four Japanese OEMs are now joining in, first with Yamaha and its YZF-R1 and YZF-R1M. Earlier, Tom Roderick gave us a look at Honda’s CBR1000RR SP and SP2 and now he takes us through Suzuki’s new 2017 GSX-R1000 and GSX-R1000R.

Suzuki drew inspiration from its classic DR-Z Dakar racer and its production version the DR-Big, in updating its V-Strom 650 and 1000 models. Each available in regular and wire-spoke XT versions, the 2017 V-Strom 650s are available in dealerships now while the V-Strom 1000 models will arrive in showrooms early next year as an early 2018 model.

Some of you may not be familiar with SSR motorcycles, but with 200 dealerships across America, the company is steadily establishing itself within the industry. At AIMExpo 2016, Tom Roderick visited the SSR booth, where he saw first hand some of the cool new models the company will be releasing soon, including the Buccaneer Cafe and Buccaneer Classic. Both are powered by 250cc, air-cooled V-Twins with stylish designs and attractive price tags. Other models include the scrambler-style XF250-DT and custom-looking XF250 Snake Eyes. Both are powered by a 250cc Single. Rounding out the range are the Lazer 6 moped and SEEV-800 electric scooter.

We already wrote about Honda’s new CBR1000RR SP and SP2 when they were first announced a little while ago and now Tom Roderick offers his impressions after seeing Honda’s new special production CBR1000RR SP and SP2 in the flesh at AIMExpo.

Earlier this month, Yamaha revealed an updated MT-09 at the Intermot show in Germany. At AIMExpo, Yamaha presented the revised Triple again, this time under its North American market name as the FZ-09. Key updates include an upgraded fork, assist and slipper clutch and a restyled headlight based on the FZ-10’s unit.

The biggest news out of this year’s AIMExpo is the world premiere of the 2017 Yamaha YZF-R6. With a proven track record in MotoAmerica and World Supersport racing, the R6 gains new aerodynamic styling inspired by the R1 as well as the superbike’s KYB fork and brakes. The new R6 also receives selectable ride modes, traction control, ABS, a lighter aluminum tank and a magnesium subframe.

Sometimes it seems as if the term “history was made” is overused to the point of cliché, but it’s about the only way to describe the competitive rollout of the all-new, purpose-built Indian Scout FTR750 flat-tracker at the series finale of the 2016 AMA Pro Flat Track Championship on September 25, 2016.

Yamaha has gotten good use out of its popular Bolt line, giving us the Bolt, the Bolt R-Spec, and the C-Spec. Now, the tuning fork company has recast the Bolt as a Scrambler. The SCR950 shares much with its Bolt brethren. The same engine and frame are used throughout the line. All sport a 19-inch front wheel and a 3.2 gallon tank – though the SCR’s is now seamless. You can bet this change will make it to the remainder of the line at some point. Still, you get the picture. Yamaha built a platform to support a line of models that could be created with minimal change to components and parts manifests in an effort to keep the price of the bikes down. With the MSRP ranging from $7,999 for the base Bolt to $8,699 for the SCR, the strategy appears to be successful.

I’ve already covered the 2017 Suzuki SV650 quite a bit since I rode the new bike in mid May. Of course there was my First Ride Review, where I basically confessed my love for the bike, and in my Top 10 Features of the 2017 Suzuki SV650 I explained specifically which aspects of the bike I like the most.