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New two-cylinder athletes from Europe

Clash of civilizations

The question of how many cylinders a large-volume sports engine needs is currently decided primarily according to the culture from which the engineers come. In Japan the four-cylinder engines are maintained, in the USA and Europe new two-cylinder engines are constantly being developed.

What can be said in the hype about the Ducati 1098, the surprise about the Buell 1125 R (driving report on page 14), the joy about the success of the BMW long-distance boxer and the excitement with which the KTM 1190 RC8 is expected, shouldn’t forget: The four-cylinder from Japan dominate the world. The in-line engines from the Far East are powerful and reliable driving the motorcycle world. Two-cylinder manufacturers such as Ducati, Buell and BMW are well-known even in their home countries.

If, however, it is not a question of multitude, but of diversity, if the identity of a brand is particularly closely linked to its products, then there are usually two-cylinders behind it. It was not only due to the presence of the reasonably sporty R 1200 S that BMW returned to racing with a boxer motorcycle despite all the technical adversities. With the catchphrase »Boxer«, the term connection »BMW and motorcycle racing« to be propagated gains in impact. To offer a buyable replica of the racer is only logical.

If anyone had any doubts about this, they should look at the photo with two street-legal prototypes. The sportiest of all boxers will probably be presented at the fair in Paris at the end of September. There is increasing evidence of this, and the French, who are enthusiastic about long-distance racing, should receive the endurance boxer benevolently. The opinion that BMW technicians themselves put into circulation that 140 hp could be teased out of a boxer probably only applies to racing motorcycles; for the road it should be around 130 hp. How other boxers, for example the top seller R 1200 GS, benefit from the cylinder head development for the long-haul project, which made such performances possible in the first place, remains exciting.

Ducati is even more closely connected to the 90-degree V2 than BMW with the Boxer, with the exception of a few four-cylinder Desmosedici. Despite Casey Stoner’s leadership in the MotoGP World Championship? For the Bolognese, the close connection between production motorcycles and the Superbike World Championship remains the most important prerequisite for economic success. Therefore, in the scramble over the new regulations, which allow two-cylinder engines with a displacement of 1200 cm, they have made extensive concessions. More far-reaching than the prevailing view, "Why are those 200 cm allowed to have more?".

Sporty (proto-) types

They influence the expected top model of the 1098 series, the 1098 R. Because much fewer tuning measures are allowed than before, the R model must be closer to the factory racer than its predecessors in order to be competitive. And Ducati now has to build 1000 motorcycles instead of 150 as a homologation series, like the big Japanese manufacturers. As a result, more motorcycles have to be sold on the open market, which is why they must not become too expensive. This results in a trade-off that Japanese manufacturers have always complained about. With regard to the 1098 R, it is certain that it will be called that despite a displacement of almost 1200 cm. Your engine has a 106 millimeter bore. For around 30,000 euros, it offers an open exhaust with a control unit in addition to the motorcycle, good for 195 hp. With legal coordination, around 180 hp are left, provided that the erosion process that is common with such values ​​does not set in too strongly until it is ready for series production. Titanium connecting rods, which the 1098 S no longer received, can be considered set, as is the large-scale use of carbon parts. The R is likely to receive traction control that other 1098s can be retrofitted with. It remains to be seen whether the equipment will include an anti-hopping clutch and an automatic gearshift. Anyone who wants to get an idea of ​​the R today can get an impression of a 1098 S tuned by Ducati Berlin. Apart from the engine, it has everything that the R is talking about.

Unimpressed by the sporting successes and sporting political missions of the others, but profiting from the latter, the KTM developers put the finishing touches on the 1190 RC8. This model name only became apparent in the last few weeks, and as with Ducati or other KTM models, it does not reflect the exact displacement, but was chosen for the sake of the triad 690, 990 and 1190. KTM believes the two-cylinder, which will actually have around 1150 cm, to have 155 hp in the production version. After the cladding in the wind tunnel had been optimized in spring, the RC8 recently completed a 48-hour long-term test. It will be presented in November, and everything indicates that it will be at the dealers early. Nevertheless, and although the RC8 will make a major contribution to profiling KTM as a manufacturer of street athletes, the Austrians are in no hurry with top-class sport. This is reserved for an R variant with probably real 1190 cm, which will debut at the end of 2008. Before that, the Superstock EM and some national championships are on the program. Also the German.

Touring version of the Triumph Rocket III – rocket tourer

For more than a year prophets have puzzled over what the touring version of the Triumph Rocket III will look like. Brilliant Erlkonig photos now create clarity.

So the Road King. You could have guessed that Triumph would select the prettiest of all touring Harleys when the task was to find the model for a touring version of the Rocket III. Instead, most of them had ?? the author of these lines not excepted ?? all sorts of Electra Glides and Street Glides with bizarre disguises in mind when they tried to imagine a touring rocket. With the first information about this project, even a two-wheeled high-tech motorhome like the Honda Gold Wing seemed plausible. The puristic approach has prevailed.
In contrast to the American model, the Englishwoman even wears a lower, tighter windshield, presumably so as not to odd the straight-line stability of the mighty 2.3-liter machine. And in contrast to the well-known Rocket models, the three-cylinder got a three-in-two exhaust system with symmetrically arranged, arm-thick tailpipes.
In connection with the Rocket III Touring, speculations about a Power Rocket arose. It is believed that it should act as a counterweight to the Yamaha Vmax before it is even in sight. According to a spokesman for Triumph, these rumors are completely unfounded. The design effort to design the drive train for significantly higher power and torque is currently simply not achievable, so the reasoning.

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