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Jensen Beeler

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Triumph’s Bid to Take Over the World with Bajaj

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I’m not sure that the news of Triumph partnering with Bajaj quite made the impact on the motorcycle industry that it deserves.

Maybe it is because we have seen Triumph misstep with smaller displacement machines in the past (with an Indian partner, no less), or perhaps it is because the press release penned by Triumph CEO Nick Bloor was utterly incomprehensible, and devoid of any concrete facts.

Either way, the news is worth spilling some more pixels over, because there is a bit at stake in the coming years for the motorcycle OEMs, and Triumph just made a bid for sizable land grab for it.

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Bikes

Ducati Brings DTC EVO Electronics to Older Panigales

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If you happen already to own one of the 2017 Ducati 1299 Panigale models, including the recently released Ducati 1299 Panigale R Final Edition and Ducati 1299 Superleggera models, then you already have the latest and greatest electronics suite from the Italian manufacturer, dubbed the Ducati Traction Control EVO (DTC EVO).

But, if you own a 2015 or 2016 Panigale, whether it be a “base” model or “S” model, you have been out of luck when it comes to taking full advantage of your bike’s Bosch inertial measurement unit (IMU)…until today.

Ducati is announcing that it will retrofit its DTC EVO system for older 1299 Panigale machines, so they can take advantage of IMU’s ability to manage sliding the rear wheel, via a revised algorithm.

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Recall

Nearly 30,000 BMW Motorcycles Recalled for Reflectors

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BMW Motorrad continues to have recall trouble during the 2017 riding season, this time the German brand is recalling 29,281 units from various models, for an issue with the optional aluminum luggage cases, which may block the view of the bikes’ rear reflectors.

The recall affects seven models in total: 2013-2017 BMW R1200GS, F800R, and F800GT motorcycles; 2014-2017 R1200GS Adventure motorcycles; 2016-2017 S1000XR motorcycles; and 2015-2017 R1200R and R1200RS motorcycles.

With the luggage pieces installed, the bikes fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, “Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment,” hence today’s news.

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Podcast

Paddock Pass Podcast #57 – Czech GP

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Episode 57 of the Paddock Pass Podcast sees David Emmett and Neil Morrison on the mics, as they cover the Czech GP at Brno.

Once again this season, the weather conditions were tricky, and as such we saw the MotoGP riders taking a mix of opinions on what tires to run for the race, as well as on their backup bikes in the pit lane.

This lead to some interesting racing action on the track, which will have big consequences on the hunt for the 2017 MotoGP Championship title. David and Neil discuss all the angles (including the angles of all the new aerodynamic fairings), as well as some news from Monday’s test.

The show then concludes with a discussion of the weekend’s biggest winners and losers, as is becoming the custom on the podcast. It’s another great show from the Paddock Pass crew, and you won’t want to miss it.

As always, be sure to follow the Paddock Pass Podcast on Facebook, Twitter and subscribe to the show on iTunes and SoundCloud – we even have an RSS feed for you. If you like the show, we would really appreciate you giving it a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

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News

Yamaha Motorcycle Sales Up Overall, Down in USA

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Yamaha Motor has cause for celebration…just not in the United States, as the Tuning Fork brand posted a 6.6% increase in revenue during the first six months of this year, coupled to a 86.8% increase in net income.

These strong financial figures are due to strong unit sales in emerging markets, like Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, and Taiwan. But, they come with the caveat that sales are flat in Europe, and down in the United States.

Yamaha has some good excuses for its performance in these developed markets: blaming environmental regulations for the lackluster sales in Europe (we assume they are referring to the Euro4 emission requirements), and a weak overall demand for motorcycles in the United States.

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News

Triumph & Bajaj Partner on Middleweight Motorcycles

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There is some big news coming out of the motorcycle industry today, as Triumph and Bajaj have just announced a new global partnership that will see the two brands collaborating on new middleweight motorcycles for the global market.

It is still not clear what the fine-print of the deal looks like, but an obvious guess would be that Triumph and Bajaj will co-develop middleweight motorcycles for both emerging and developed markets, with both brands taking advantage of the other’s distribution to reach new untapped customers.

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Bikes

KTM Finally Brings the Freeride E-XC to the USA

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KTM was the first major motorcycle manufacturer to debut a production-ready electric motorcycle, all the way, way back in 2011. In true KTM fashion though, it has taken six years for the “Ready to Race” brand to be ready for the US market with its electric motorcycle design.

This is because KTM North America is finally bringing the KTM Freeride E-XC to the United States, starting with a handful of dealerships (11, to be precise) who will carry the electric dirt bike, reportedly in limited quantities.

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Bikes

No New Suzuki Hayabusa for 2018?

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We keep hoping that Suzuki will reinvigorate the venerable Hayabusa brand, and bring an updated version of its high-speed hyperbike back into the mix. There has been some chatter that such a project is in the works, though it doesn’t seem that 2018 is the magic year for it to appear.

Looking through the current filings with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), we can see that Suzuki Motor Corporation has filed for the 2018 Suzuki GSX1300R – and the quoted emissions (of which, there are quite a lot) remain exactly the same as what’s quoted for the 2017 model.

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Bikes

“Ducati 959 Panigale Corse” Spotted in CARB Docs

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If you dumpster dive through filings with the California Air Resources Board, you will find that Ducati has a new variant of its “middleweight” superbike ready for us, as the paperwork reveals a Ducati 959 Panigale Corse is on the way for the 2018 model year.

The Ducati 959 Panigale Corse has the same emission figures, and is on the same filing as the current Ducati 959 Panigale, so we don’t expect any radical mechanical differences between the two motorcycles.

But, looking at Ducati’s past with “Corse” models, there are a few pieces of information that we can glean from the news.

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