The Vespa Elettrica Anasuya Basu
Every November, Milan plays host to the big and the brawny as the world’s biggest two-wheeler show, Eicma (Esposizione Internazionale Ciclo e Motociclo Accessories), is held in the Italian city and every bikemaker worth its salt makes a beeline to show off its latest wares.
Held at the sprawling complex at Fiera Milano-Rho during November 6-11, the 76th edition of the show this year had 1,200 brands and hundreds of previews in six pavilions with dedicated spaces for e-bikes, start-ups, vintage motorbikes and accessories.
Things got a bit crazy on press day, November 6, much of which went in locating the stalls. Elevators, walkways and tunnels — nothing seemed to lead to the right place at the right time. And the Italians were just like us Indians when it came to shoving and jostling to get a dekko of the goings-on. Even they love to catch the show from the front row.
Here are a few of the droolworthy machines.
Hero Motocorp's XPulse 200T Source: HERO MOTOCORP
HONDA
Honda unveiled two new bikes and three upgrades at Eicma. And all of them will add heft to the middleweight category of its portfolio.
A new name in the line-up is the CBR650R sports middleweight. Its styling draws strongly from the CBR1000RR Fireblade — sharp, aggressive lines, extended side fairings, super-short rear section and narrow dual LED headlights. This one has an even sportier riding position than its predecessor, the CBR650F.
Having introduced the trio of naked (without fairing) bikes — CB1000R, CB300R and CB125R — for 2018, Honda extended its Neo Sports Cafe look to middleweight machines with the CB650R. The styling is modern and minimalist, and mixes cafe racer inspiration and a super-compact ‘trapezoid’ form. And the in-line, four-cylinder engine is on full display.
The CB500F, CBR500R and CB500X comprised the upgraded light middleweight trio in the roadster, sport and adventure categories. While the CB500F roadster has a more angled nose fairing and side shrouds, the CBR500R has a sportier riding position. The CB500X adventure bike has more suspension travel, wider steering angle and fairing that also improves wind protection.
KTM Source: KTM
Royal Enfield's Concept KX V-twin engine motorcycle Source: Royal Enfield
Piaggio Group
The Piaggio Group was present in strength with all its brands. The Vespa Elettrica, the iconic scooter company’s foray into the realm of electric vehicles, was on display. It is the first step for Piaggio in the direction of connected vehicles and expected to be fitted out with artificial intelligence systems, both adaptive as well as responsive to human inputs.
Group company Aprilia showed the concept sportsbike RS660, as well as the Aprilia RSV4 1100 Factory and the Aprilia Tuono 1100 Factory edition.
ROYAL ENFIELD
Royal Enfield chose Eicma to give motorcycle enthusiasts a world-first look at its Concept KX V-twin engine motorcycle. Developed in just six months, it was inspired by RE’s Model KX of the late 1930s that came with a 1,140cc side-valve engine and was aimed at the luxury market.
This is a ‘retro-modern’ motorcycle that combines the KX’s low-slung, girder-forked look with state-of-the-art designs and rich materials like copper and leather. The focal point of the development team that worked both in India and at the Royal Enfield Technical Centre in the UK was the V-twin engine. A mix of neo-classical and futuristic design, this bike, as of now is supposed to remain a concept.
KTM
KTM unveiled five new motorcycles. The KTM 690 SMC R returns in 2019 as a lightweight, agile machine with performance-enhancing electronics and powered by the latest generation LC4 engine. The new KTM 690 Enduro R offroader, too, benefits from the same engine, electronics and chassis tweaks.
Leading the 2019 line-up, however, is the KTM 790 in Adventure and Adventure R versions. The first is for enduro (cross-country) riders while the other is a light, agile and technically advanced machine for adventurers tackling tricky terrain. Both have the 799cc LC8c parallel twin that was first seen in the KTM 790 Duke, but here it’s tuned to deliver its torque at lower revs.
The newly-developed KTM SX-E5 is the next step in KTM’s line-up, based on the popular KTM 50 SX with a high-end chassis powered by an electric motor.
Also joining the 2019 range is a sharper, stronger and more refined version of the KTM 1290 Super Duke GT. The sports tourer has the engine performance that’s enough to give it both the street and the race track capabilities of the KTM 1290 Super Duke R.
HERO MOTOCORP
Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, unveiled a premium motorcycle — the XPulse 200T — at Eicma 2018.
The XPulse 200T is an entirely modern tourer bike with retro styling. The XPulse 200 caters to adventurers beyond paved roads. Both of them are likely to be launched early next year.
Malo Le Masson, head of global product planning at Hero MotoCorp, said his company was entering the adventure and touring motorcycle segments with these machines.
The company also showcased its new range of 125cc scooters — Duet 125 and Dash 125 (Destini 125 and Maestro Edge 125 in India). Developed as global products, they have youthful styling, premium features and the latest technology.