#imu

If there’s one thing KTM knows how to do, it’s how to get dirty. The company obviously has its long history of off-road competition, and victories, to its name, and that success has transferred nicely into the adventure bike market. You can even argue KTM’s adventure bikes (along with the BMW GS family) are responsible for this boom in the ADV market.

Following on the heels of the recently updated Superveloce range for 2021, MV Agusta has now announced a refresh for the Turismo Veloce family, which includes the Turismo Veloce Lusso, Lusso SCS, RC SCS, and Rosso. MV’s take on a sport-touring motorcycle, the updated 2021 range is more of an evolution of the family rather than a revolution – spurred primarily by the need to keep up with Euro 5 emission standards.

MV Agusta today announced an updated range for the Superveloce family. What started as a limited-edition motorcycle with eye-catching styling inspired by MVs from the past has received so much fanfare that MV has pumped it into full production. So, what does a new year bring? Not much, except for one major improvement.

It says something when the biggest talking point about an updated motorcycle is the electronics package, but that’s exactly where we’ll begin as today MV Agusta has announced its updated Brutale and Dragster lineup for 2021.

Kawasaki has announced it will be producing the Versys 1000 S for the European market. Currently, the top trim level available in Europe is the Versys 1000 SE, which includes the KECS – Kawasaki Electronic Control Suspension. The new S model will ditch the KECS in favor of traditional 43 mm Showa components at both ends, adjustable only for rebound damping and spring preload. Undoubtedly, this will also bring the price down.

What a time to be a motorcycle rider. Why, you ask? Because motorcycles today are faster, safer, and more comfortable than ever before. Moan all you want about motorcycles becoming too smart for their own good, but it’s this very technology that allows us to be faster, safer, and more comfortable. Today no one will deny the motorized bicycle being superior than the horse and carriage, nor will they deny the advantages of electric starters over the kickers of yesteryear. But it’s really been the last five to ten years that we’ve seen a huge technological jump in motorcycling. Here are some notable advances seen on today’s motorcycles.

The big news in the sportbike world for 2017 was the introduction of not one, but two heavily revised iconic literbikes – the Honda CBR1000RR (and CBR1000RR SP) and Suzuki GSX-R1000R (and GSX-R1000). The previous versions of both models had languished for a number of years without any major updates, most notably in the electronics department, but also in the engine bay. Meanwhile, their competitors, both in Japan and abroad, had made significant gains with their flagship liter-class sportbikes, producing some of the fastest, most powerful, and advanced motorcycles we’ve ever piloted.

At Intermot 2016, Kawasaki announced the Ninja 1000 sport tourer would receive a host of upgrades to enhance both the sport and touring sides of its dual personalities. While there are obvious design changes to make the bodywork fresh, chief among those updates is the addition of a six-axis IMU from Bosch. With it, the 2017 Ninja 1000 electronics suite is now able to offer much more sophisticated levels of control. Both the Kawasaki Traction Control (KTRC) and Kawasaki Intelligent anti-lock Brake System (KIBS) utilize the IMU to get a real time picture of the motorcycle’s chassis orientation, which it can then use to intervene if needed, and the level at which intervention is applied.

Kawasaki’s jaw-dropping Ninja H2 and H2R are back for 2017, and joining them is a third member of the family, the Ninja H2 Carbon. While Kawasaki are calling the Carbon a third member of the Ninja H2 family, the title is slightly deceiving as the bike is essentially a standard Ninja H2 with a carbon fiber upper cowl, bringing it visually closer to the Ninja H2R. The carbon cowl will also be available as an accessory from Kawasaki, able to retrofit onto prior H2 models.

If your occupation is testing motorcycles there’s a certain measure of accepted risk that comes with the job. When cornering ABS (C-ABS) arrived a couple years ago, the general consensus among the motojournos was, Hey that’s awesome, we’ll take your word for it working as described, because no matter how professional we try to be, grabbing a fistful of front brake mid-corner to evaluate this new technology is a line few were willing to cross. Just thinking of the action conjures images of impacting asphalt at a rate approaching lightspeed.

Despite winning the 2015 World Superbike championship in dominant fashion with Jonathan Rea, and the 2013 title before that with Rea’s teammate Tom Sykes, Kawasaki isn’t resting on its laurels when it comes to its aging Ninja ZX-10R platform and today announced its successor in the 2016 Ninja ZX-10R. Since the current platform’s release in 2011, its European rivals have upped the bar in the literbike wars considerably, and with Yamaha’s introduction of the new YZF-R1 last year, the battle for literbike supremacy is tighter than ever. Now, Kawasaki believes it has a contender more than able to take on this stacked field.

Cresting the hill coming onto the front straight at Sydney Motorsport Park (better known as Eastern Creek Raceway), the throttle is wide open in second gear. As I click into third, the front comes up, rests at a neutral position about a foot off the ground, then gently returns to Earth moments later. All the while, the throttle was resting on the stop. Drive never felt interrupted, and despite the roughly 200 horses packed inside the new 2015 Yamaha YZF-R1, there was never a fear of being too liberal with the throttle. That’s when I knew Yamaha has just raised the bar. A lot has changed since the original R1 was introduced in 1998, and with the 2015 Yamaha YZF-R1 and R1M, never has the line between MotoGP and lil ’ol me been so blurred. That’s not just a Yamaha marketing tagline, either. Valentino Rossi himself (along with American Superbike champ, Josh Hayes) had a significant role in developing the R1, with the aim to incorporate the most sophisticated level of electronics on a production sportbike. These are just a few examples: