News – Cologne Motor Show: in the East, nothing new? –

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Cologne Motor Show: in the East, nothing new ?

News - Cologne Motor Show: in the East, nothing new? -

Every two years, the motorcycle players meet in Germany for the gigantic Cologne show. A unique opportunity to admire new vintages, trends and accessories. Even if the 2008 show has few surprises in store…

Nothing new at Intermot 2008, which opened its doors to the public yesterday in Cologne (Germany) until Sunday? The observation may seem severe, considering manufacturers of modest size like Moto Morini – which unveils an explosive Scrambler -, or Royal Enfield – which launches a new Bullet Classic 500. But it is undeniable that a slight feeling of disappointment floated during the press days, Monday and Tuesday, in the seven halls of the 6th Salon Intermot…

BMW switches to 1300, Yam ‘, Kawa and Suz’ confirm motorcycles announced

Of course, the new 1300 cc engine adopted on the K series of the local stage – BMW! – provoked curiosity and the crackling of flashes – whose intensity reached its peak with the unveiling of the racing version of the S1000RR, with which Ruben Xaus and Troy Corser will compete in the World Superbike in 2009.

In addition to the complete presentation of the new BMW 2009 (read in a few minutes), the presence of an ABS sensor on the S1000RR stamped with the n ° 111 was surprising, as was the absence of its road counterpart – which BMW must however dispose of. 1000 copies before being able to commit to WSBK -, now expected for the Milan show (from November 4 to 9, 2008).

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Of course, the unprecedented sound of the Yamaha V4 with irregular timing (read) equipping the new YZF R1 was worth hearing.

Under the delighted eyes of the great Japanese leaders and the charismatic boss of Yamaha Motor France Jean-Claude Olivier, the assembly reserved the same welcome for the phantasmagoric V-Max (read), which however hardly needed its 200 ch to stroll in slow motion on the few meters of the demonstration track !

The new Diversion, the Midnight Star 950 and the WR 125 R and WR 125 X (read) took the opportunity to also make their first outings "in public".

A few steps further, the imposing Kawasaki stand has put the small dishes in the big ones to launch its new ER-6N and ER-6F, as well as the ZX-6R vintage 2009 (read).

For their part, the new VN 1700 series (read) and the latest KLX 250, KX 250F and KX 450F (read) show off their finery in abundance..

At Suzuki, the eagerly awaited 1000 GSX-R K9 naturally caused a great rush, everyone seeking to observe closely the revised colors and the original exhausts (read).

For its part, the Intruder 1500 does what it can not to be eclipsed by the future replacement of the SV 650, the Gladius, which proudly shows off its attractive colors and its chassis mixing tubular frame and turntables. If the name of the machine and its look has already raised many questions from our readers (read), the bike is moreover quite successful and its price is always announced as particularly attractive … To be continued !

Honda does not surprise

At Honda, the world’s leading manufacturer has made a great effort to hide the absence of real novelties with a surprising concept bike featuring the historic V4 engine. But the surreal side of the object and the absence of any parts announcing a possible start of production (levers, pedals, cables, etc.) place this constructor prototype – one of the few present at the show – to the rank of simple study without real hopes of near reality.

According to the Honda team on site, the new machine is used to "illustrate the trends Honda are heading towards, such as the return to the V4 engine". Completely eclipsing a new 125 CBF (read) with an austere appearance, the Honda project relaunches speculations on the appearance of a new VFR with V4 engine with a cylinder capacity revised upwards…

While waiting for the event, visitors will have to be content with ABS on the 600 and 1000 CBR (read our) to celebrate 2009, but also new colors and the airbag on the 1800 Goldwing "full options".

Few surprises also on the Ducati stand where the latest Monster 696 and 1100 are enthroned (read), and where a GT 1000 Touring is announced. Would the Bolognese wait for their national show in Milan to surprise ?

For its part, Triumph baptizes its latest Daytona 675, Bonneville, Scrambler and Speedmaster as well as the expected Thunderbird 1600 which will not arrive until the end of summer 2009 (read).

Aprilia: Shiver and Mana GT, generalization of ABS and an RSV4 R at € 15,400 !

It is finally on the side of another Italian, Piaggio, and more particularly of its Aprilia brand, that visitors will experience their strongest emotions: of course, the unveiling of the RVS 4 was not a surprise (read) , but the high degree of finish of the object and its look as sharp as it is spectacular is really something to provoke the general enthusiasm !

Precursors, the brand’s Shiver and Mana models are now dressed in a bubble and a semi-fairing to calmly contemplate long-distance journeys, which these automatic transmission motorcycles should easily overcome. An addition that should fully benefit these motorcycles whose technological advances were struggling to find their place in the hotly contested roadster segment. On the safety side, Aprilia intends in turn to generalize ABS and offers it as an option at 650 € on the Shiver, 551 € on the Dorsoduro and 600 € on the Mana. No price for ABS on the other hand on the sculptural RVS 4 !

In the end, promulgating an Italian sportswoman queen of a German show may seem paradoxical (the EICMA in Milan will take place next month), even elitist and unfair for more "basic" motorcycles. But the Italian hypersport is certainly the most successful motorcycle of the brand and the most technologically advanced. The figures announced by its radiant! – managers are dizzy: 180 hp and 179 kg for the Factory version – which Aprilia announces as "ready to run – for a price of 19,800 € and availability scheduled for March or April 2009.

Nakano and Guintoli want to drive the RSV 4 in 2009 !

In a hurry to enter the World Superbike, Noale’s coat of arms first favors the high-end version before putting the more road version (planned for two-seater?) On sale from September 2009. Asked about the price of the beautiful , Alain Roger from Aprilia France does not hesitate to announce a price much more attractive than that mentioned by some: the RSV 4 R will cost € 15,400 !

In addition, according to the Aprilia France communications manager, no less than three pilots have volunteered over the last three days to support Max Biaggi in 2009: Karl Muggeridge, Shinya Nakano and the French Sylvain Guintoli !

On the other side of the Atlantic, Harley-Davidson confirms its 2009 novelties (read) while Buell presents its radical 1125 CR (test to be continued on Site) and the changes made to its XB12 (read).

Finally KTM, the Austrian manufacturer next to the German show, preferred to wait for the Milan show to lift the veil on its 990 Supermoto R and 690 Enduro R … as well as on the highly anticipated Venom roadster, powered by the v-twin block of hypersport RC8? To be continued !

Are salons losing their luster ?

After a disappointing 2007 Paris Motor Show in terms of innovations and creativity, the 2008 Cologne Intermot was eagerly awaited to reconnect with the overflowing imagination and sometimes incredible surprises that the two manufacturers know how to concoct. wheels.

However, if the plethora of future stars of the year 2009 still has something to celebrate, the lack of real surprises within the Intermot is explained by the fact that all the models present have already been unveiled – and for the most part dissected in their smallest details … Therefore, it is necessary to wonder if the race for reactivity and the first of the information would not end up exhausting the manufacturers, while removing the salt from the real discovery specific to international fairs…

However, reducing the Cologne edition to a tasteless showroom would be unfair since other surprises still dot the 120,000 m2 of the Kollossal event: crazy preparations like the Ginbus 410 from Motorrad Ecke (3.45 m long, 650 kg and 350 hp!) are worth a look, as are the many equipment stands overflowing with upcoming novelties: we can also be delighted with the good French representation in this area !

Above all, the passion for two-wheelers is really there, whether in the aisles or on the 1100 stands of the 2008 edition: the dream share distilled by the Yamaha V-Max, the Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9, the Honda V4 concept, the new Kawa novelties, the BMW S1000RR and the Aprilia RSV 4 are truly palpable !

Will this be enough to convince them to spend € 12 a day (€ 19 for two days, free for children under 11) and thus allow the organization to exceed the 187,000 visitors of the 2006 edition? To find out and to find out the full characteristics and prices of new products for 2009, just one thing: stay connected !

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