Showing posts with label EICMA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EICMA. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

2013 EICMA: Three New Triumphs

2014 Triumph Thunderbird Commander


Believe it or not, but “Thunderbird Commander” isn’t the name of a cartoon puppet, it’s a macho, muscle cruiser. It was just unveiled at EICMA, along with its sidekicks, the bookish 2014 Triumph Thunderbird LC and the Action Jackson 2014 Triumph Tiger 800 XC SE.

The 2014 Triumph Thunderbird Commander starts with the firm’s 1,600 cc, parallel-twin cruiser, adding dual front headlamps, plunger-type forks (I think this is what they’re called, if you’re wearing chaps while reading this and know better, please correct me), forward foot controls and lower exhaust pipes. Triumph states these modifications were designed to boost its macho-ness by approximately 42 percent. Riding one while wearing a mustache will boost that a further 5.2 percent. Each new Commander purchase will be accompanied by a matching set of Union Jack y-fronts, one size fits all.

Triumph Thunderbird LC
2014 Triumph Thunderbird LC
In contrast, the Thunderbird LC adds actual functionality in the form a large, touring windscreen, leather panniers and a pillion backrest, along with Harley-style triple headlamps. Each LC will come with a pack of 500 convenient business card-size handouts explaining that no, your bike isn’t a Harley and detailing the many interesting reasons why you decided to buy something that isn’t. Each handout is printed with a Union Jack flag and carries the licensed signature of Steve McQueen(TM).

 Triumph Tiger 800 XC SE
2014 Triumph Tiger 800 XC SE
Like other recent special edition Triumphs, the 2014 Triumph Tiger 800 XC SE wears a red frame and black paint. No other upgrades are evident.


The original was posted in Rideapart.com

2013 EICMA: 2014 Zero SR- First electrical high spec Moto

Can this new 2014 Zero SR banish memories of bicycle brakes and no-name tires? Now with serious acceleration, real motorcycle components and a genuinely useful range, this new Zero SR promises to be a good motorcycle, not just an electric one.
Accelerating to 60 mph in just 3.3 seconds and topping out at 102 mph, this new 67 bhp Zero should be able to keep ahead of both city and highway traffic. As stock ($16,995) Zero claims the 11.4 kWh SR has a 93 mile range in combined city and highway riding. Adding the optional “Power Tank” takes capacity up to 14.2 kWh, which boosts that combined range to 116 miles. Stick to city speeds and the Power Tank-equipped SR can reach 171 miles.
Zero SR
2014 Zero SR electric motorcycle
In other good news, real motorcycle forks, 43mm in diameter, are fitted for the first time. They’re adjustable for compression and rebound damping. The remote reservoir shocks are fully adjustable, but there’s no word on who makes either component.
Looking closely at the tires, we do see an actual brand name on them. Unfortunately, that appears to be “IRC” and the model looks like “Road Winner.” If so, then these are the same non-radial, bias ply items fitted to the $3,999 Suzuki GW250. Still, that’s an actual motorcycle!
 Zero SR
2014 Zero SR
Unlike arch-rival Brammo and its $16,995 Marzocchi/Sachs/Brembo-equipped and radial tire-fitted Empulse, the SR does without a gearbox, shedding weight and boosting efficiency.
Using a standard 110v home outlet, recharging the stock SR will take eight hours, while the Power Tank takes that up to 10 hours total. Those numbers can drop as low as 1.5 hours if you can find a CHAdeMO quick charge station.
 Zero SR
2014 Zero SR
“You will also notice a much more refined look and feel to the entire Zero product range as we’ve spent a great deal of time sweating the details,” states Zero Marketing VP Scott Harden. “This is evident as soon as you climb on board as our new cockpit layout and instrumentation package offers increased utility, a sleeker look and more aerodynamic integration with the headlight.”

Originally posted in Rideapart.com

2013 EICMA: 2014 Brough Superior SS100

Ninety years after the debut of the first SS100, the brand is returning with an all-new motorcycle modeled after it. The 2014 Brough Superior SS100 isn’t just retro styling though, its performance is thoroughly modern. And it should be, because the company hopes to get close to $100,000 for each one it sells.




2014 Brough Superior SS100
1925 Brough Superior SS100
The 1925 Brough Superior SS100
Advertised as, “The Rolls-Royce of Motorcycles,” the original SS100 was famous for its performance guarantee. Each model left the factory having been ridden at over 100 mph by George Brough himself, hence the name. T.E. Lawrence famously rode an SS100. In fact, that’s what he was riding during his fatal crash in 1935.
The most obvious styling cue adapted from old to new is the cylindrical fuel tank. But obvious inspiration is also seen in the V-twin motor and its exhaust layout, as well as in the girder front suspension.


Brough Superior SS100
2014 Brough Superior SS100
That’s not to say that the SS100 is a throwback. The 88-degree, liquid-cooled, 997cc V-twin serves as a stressed member in the steel and titanium trellis backbone frame and uses a horizontal-seal, semi-dry crankcase. It can be tuned to deliver anywhere between 100 and 140 bhp depending on customer specification, with the former presumably sacrificing outright power for greater flexibility. Making 92 lb.-ft. of torque, that flexibility should be generous.
Brough says that stressing the engine has helped keep weight down to a relatively light 395 lbs (dry).
Front and rear suspension is Ohlins monoshocks. The front girder is designed to separate braking and steering forces and is constructed from titanium triangles with aluminum-magnesium alloy legs. The swingarm is made from the same alloy.


2014 Brough Superior SS100
2014 Brough Superior SS100 stripped naked.
The brakes were spec’d because they somewhat resemble old timey drums, but are in fact dual-discs clamped by radial calipers. The Beringer system uses a static central brake pad, with calipers pushing in from the outside. In addition to looking fancy, the arrangement is said to help reduce unsprung weight.
That’s good, because Brough has curiously chosen to use 18-inch rims. Doing so not only carries a weight penalty, but reduces tire choice.


Brough Superior SS100
2014 Brough Superior SS100
Brough Superior hopes to make 20 motorcycles a year, with deliveries starting in 2014. Considerably fewer than the 69 bikes George Brough rode to 100 mph in 1925.


2014 Brough Superior SS100
2014 Brough Superior SS100
2014 Brough Superior SS100
2014 Brough Superior SS100
2014 Brough Superior SS100
2014 Brough Superior SS100
2014 Brough Superior SS100
2014 Brough Superior SS100
2014 Brough Superior SS100
2014 Brough Superior SS100
2014 Brough Superior SS100
2014 Brough Superior SS100
2014 Brough Superior SS100
2014 Brough Superior SS100
2014 Brough Superior SS100
2014 Brough Superior SS100
2014 Brough Superior SS100
 
Originally posted in Rideapart.com

EICMA Everything about Harley

The most important new Harley-Davidson in living memory isn’t made in Milwaukee, but instead at H-D’s new factory in Guragon, India.* And, instead of targeting aging Baby Boomers in the West, it’s instead going after young riders in developing markets in foreign countries. Can it succeed?
*Harley tells us, “Some of these bikes will be built in India, but not all. For example, all bikes for North America will be built — engine and whole bike — in our Kansas City plant.” Lacking further information on where the parts come from, we remain skeptical. Current staff consensus is that the U.S. market bikes are likely assembled in Missouri from globally-sourced parts, largely originating in India. We’ll get to the bottom of it.
These new bikes are the 2014 Harley-Davidson Street 750 and 2014 Harley-Davidson Street 500. The 750 starts at $7,500 here in the U.S., while the 500 costs even less, at $6,500. Those prices are lower than Harley’s current cheapest model, the $8,399 Sportster Iron 883, if not as low as the latest crop of super-affordable Japanese bikes. The Honda CB500F likely out-performs either Street in any objective measure of performance, but starts at just $5,500.

Harley-Davidson Street 750
The 2014 Harley-Davidson Street 750 and 500 already have custom parts available. Picture here: custom wheels and air filter.
Unlike that Sportster, which has been around largely unchanged since its introduction in 1957, these new Street models aren’t just foreign-made, but liquid-cooled. The Motor Company is famously resistant to cooling its engines with water. The V-Rod, introduced in 2001, has met much consumer resistance thanks to its Porsche-designed engine, futuristic styling and yes, its radiator. When it launched its 2014 Touring Range this summer, there was no mention of H2O in any official Harley literature, instead using the nebulous “twin-cooled” nomenclature. Icing on the water-free cake was the absence of any suggestion the radiators were there to improve emissions or performance, with Harley instead saying twin-cooling was intended to, “improve rider comfort.”
Initially, the odds appear to be stacked against these new Harleys. Not only are they made somewhere that’s probably not America, but they’re equipped with modern, liquid-cooled motors and priced at a premium to the competition.
“If Harley can build a good bike outside of the U.S. that is well priced, looks good, performs well and brings new riders into the market they could be on to a winner,” says Harley owner, Harley book author and RideApart contributor Tim Watson.

2014 Harley-Davidson Street
2014 Harley-Davidson Street 750
It’s those new riders that are going to be key. Currently Harley dominates the U.S. market, making around 185,000 of the 452,000 motorcycles that were sold in the U.S. in 2012. Far fewer than the 273,000 bikes it sold here in 2006. Compare that total market volume to India, which totals in excess of 10 million motorcycle sales year and you can see why Harley is eager to explore new markets.
Currently, Harley sells around 2,000 motorcycles in India annually. It hopes these new models will expand that to 10,000 in the next two to three years. In addition to India and North America, Harley plans to sell the Streets in Italy, Spain and Portugal.
Very few details of the Street’s mechanical specification are being divulged. Specs simply aren’t an area where Harleys traditionally excel. The official spec page lists 749 and 594 cc capacities, six-speed transmissions and 480 lbs (wet) weights for both bikes. While it remains a good deal behind that CB500F’s 420 lbs (wet), the Streets are considerably lighter than the next lightest model in the HD stable; the Iron 883 weighs in at a staggering 562 lbs (wet).

Harley-Davidson Street 750
Black-on-black-on-black-on-black may look good in person, but man does it make the 2014 Harley-Davidson Street 750 hard to see in photos
The rest of the Street spec list is a mix of honestly good parts, sprinkled with the odd disappointment. Front wheels are a conventional 17-inches in size, promising a wide selection of affordable tires, but front brakes are gripped only by single-piston calipers. Mid-mount footpegs promise good control and the four-valve per-cylinder heads suggest good power, but no horsepower or torque figures have been released and suspension is only listed as “specially tuned.”
Of course, Harley’s don’t sell on objective measures of performance, they sell on image and there, surprisingly, the Streets excel. They don’t look cheap, they don’t look small, they don’t look plastic. The tank and fenders are made from metal, the engines look impressively masculine despite their middling capacity and, judging by the video, they even sound suitably robust.

2014 Harley-Davidson Street
2014 Harley-Davidson Street 750
“It looks great, sounds great, it’s a Harley, and it’s priced right,” described Harley COO Matt Levatich a few weeks ago. Will that be enough to create a new generation of Harley riders?

Originally posted in  Rideapart.com