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2010 MV Agusta F4 Sneak Peak
It won’t be officially unveiled until November, but MV Agusta has released a sneak peak photo of the 2010 F4. It’s not much of a photo, and it doesn’t show much except the headlight, and the general shape of the fairing, front-on.
2010 MV Agusta F4 Teaser
It looks a bit different, but it still has the essential Tamburini styling. What is more important than the fairing is what’s under it. An what’s under it may be nice. We’ve already seen the 2010 Brutale, and that bike is essentially the naked version of the F4. Since already know that the 2010 Brutale 1090R is pretty much brand new, with 85% new components, we can probably assume that the F4 is similarly new.
Still no word on anything like a specification for the new F4, of course.
I guess we’ll still have to wait ’til November for that.
Kawasaki’s 2010 Motorcyles
Big Green has released the details of the 2010 model line today, and some of the changes are pretty nice. Some of them are simply…meh.
2010 ZX10R
First up is the 2010 ZX-10R Ninja. This is one of the “Meh” entries in the lineup. Not much new to talk about here. They’ve modified the bodywork a little bit. They’ve changed the steering damper to a new–and presumably better–one. And they’ve painted the muffler black. Other than that, next year’s ZX-10R is pretty much status quo ante.
My best advice is to wait for a year if you want a big Ninja. Supposedly, Kawasaki is gonna put the bike through a complete redesign for the 2011 model year. Until then, the new Ninja is pretty much what the old Ninja was.
2010 Versys
Another “meh” is the 2010 Versys. It has new headlights, that kind of have a BMW R1200R kind of feel. But it’s is, again, pretty much the same bike as this year’s.
I think we’re done with the “Meh” bikes in the line-up, though.
2010 Concours14
There are some nice changes to Kawasaki’s premier sports tourer. Not, unfortunately, some of the changes rumored earlier this year, like the night vision and HUD I wrote about a while ago. Instead, the Connie gets something called KTRC, Kawasaki’s first-ever traction control system. Also new is the the K-ACT II anti-lock braking system to control those panic stops, a larger windscreen to solve the complaints about the effectiveness of wind management, bodywork redesigned for better heat management, heated grips, upgraded suspension, and new Bridgestone tires.
Oh, and it’s blue. Blue is nice.
2010 Z1000
The Z1000 is the bike where major changes have occurred. The current incarnation of the Z1000 is OK…but just OK. Nice, but the power is kind of soft and squishy. The new Z1000 looks like a big step forward. It’s pretty much a completely new motorcycle, in fact.
First, the engine is completely new. It’s a 1043cc I-4 power plant adapted from the ZX10R, and it provides 136HP and 91lb-ft of torque. That’s a serious improvement over the current incarnation’s 953cc mill from the ZX-9. That means noticeably better acceleration, and improved top-end speed.
Next, the steel backbone frame is gone, replaced by an all-aluminum frame with a monocoque main spar. Fuel storage is now beneath the seat, so the narrower frame and changed fuel tank offers a narrower profile for better knee gripping. That’s helped by the narrow bottom and flared top of the…uh, whatever the thing on top now is, instead of a fuel tank.
There are lots of suspension changes, too, with the rear suspension being an all-new “horizontal” design, and more aggressive front-end geometry.
The styling has been updated, too, giving it a noticeable B-King vibe, but whether that’s a good thing or not is in the eye of the beholder.
Aerostich Branches Out
Aerostich has long been known as a purveyor of fine riding apparel. But now it appears they’ve moved into other areas. Areas that don’t seem closely related to their core competencies.
Aerostich Flip
This new product is something called the “Flip”. It’s a replacement for a regular license plate holder, and at the touch of a button, it flips the license plate down to display a custom message.
One of those messages is the “Lane Share Test” sign shown here. I guess, if you live outside of California, and you want to split lanes at a traffic light, you could order this plate, and display it as you sneak between the lanes. It looks all official and stuff.
I suspect it won’t look official enough for the local mounties to pull you over and ask you what the hell you think you’re doing, however. And asking you exactly what you think you’re doing with a device that’s designed to hide your license plate at will.
I mean, if you have big, brass ones, and you’re willing to risk the ire of the local peaceforcers, go ahead.
But it seems like a high-risk thing to install on your bike.
Still, they have other messages you can buy which are a bit less…controversial. Or, you can create your own custom message.
You’ve still got to get over the problem of a license-plate hiding device, but, if you’re willing to risk it…
Something New From MV Agusta
There was a time when MV Agusta was one of the world’s premier motorcycle brands. Not only did they make fantastic and beautiful motorcycles for street use, but Agusta was also a potent force–and for a time, perhaps the potent force– in motorsports all across the world. Sadly, in recent years, Agusta has suffered a steep decline from those glory days. Not only has MV Agusta essentially disappeared from the racing world, the company has essentially produced only two models for the past decade: the F4 sportbike, and the Brutale naked streetfighter.
This appears to be changing.
Earlier this month, the first spy pictures of a brand newMV Agusta 675cc triple sportbike appeared on the UK motorcycle web site Visordown. Now, Visordown is reporting that they will be revealing a new MV Agusta superbike model in the next few weeks. This bike will not be an F4 model, but a completely new Superbike-class machine, that is also expected to lead MV Agusta back to participation in WSS or WSBK racing. Other than that, no one seems to have any idea about what this new superbike model will be. We don’t even know if it will be a new model that slots in above the F4 in Agusta’s line-up, or if it replaces the F4 as an entirely new model. All we know is that it’s on the way.
I’m not exactly sure what value MV Agusta brought to Harley-Davidson when the MoCo purchased agusta several months ago. But it appears that Harley brought MV Agusta the opportunity to expand their decade-old line-up.
Honda VFR1200F Interview
Honda UK’s test rider Dave Hancock has done some extensive riding of the new VFR1200F. He seems to like the new bike a lot. He’s positively glowing about it.
It sounds like a wonderful machine, doesn’t it? The thing is, while he’s talking about the bike in such glowing terms, I can’t help noticing that he’s wearing a red shirt. And it has a big ol’ white wing on the left breast. That says “Honda” right beneath it. So, I gotta wonder if he’s, you know, the most objective source of information.
I’m just saying.