Visit Eicma 2016. Trail Space and…girls

Visit Eicma 2016. Trail Space

I can hardly believe that this time we had time to visit the entire room in one day. Of course, we have only stopped at what had to do with adventure motorcycles, their accessories and, of course, where we saw hostesses who deserved to be immortalized by my camera. Well, here is a summary of the brands we have visited and my modest opinion;

Asian Wing

We saw it last year and, although an Asian motorcycle always "pulls back", I have to admit that they don't look bad. Furthermore, to demonstrate reliability, they have prepared a Raid model with rear tanks, windshield, etc., with which they have participated in races in Africa, managing to finish the races (which is no small feat). There was also a preparation with an MST dome that didn't look bad at all. Anyway, I would love for you to come to the next 2D-TRAE and we could try them there.

AJP

Portuguese brand of off road models. They have highly evolved their PR7 model, a single-cylinder adventure with a very good cycle part that will give a lot to talk about if they finally manage to pass the new regulations and launch it on the market.

Benelli

It was one of the brands that I really wanted to visit because I understood that they were going to present the TRK 502 but what was my surprise when I saw that they have put alloy wheels on it. I have gone to ask where the Adventure model with spoked wheels was and they told me that for next year. One more year? Anyway….Shit.

BMW

Well, the big news for me has been the new GS……310!!! Yes, a future super sales is coming. Of course, according to their tradition... will it take a year to get a GS Adventure 310? I'd like to see it. BMW has also presented a new version of its GS1200 in a very spectacular blue color and with a clear Off road vocation; rally seat, specific suspension…. I really liked its colors although it is still too heavy for my taste. Another notable novelty of the Bavarian brand has been a Nine-T with an R80 look for nostalgics. Of course, Off Road skills... I don't see them. The rest of the range does not vary much.

CCM

Another interesting single-cylinder trail although this year they have not come to Eicma 2016. It was an Adventure with an assembled aluminum chassis, that is, it looks like a Lego. The entire chassis is disassembled into small pieces of aluminum using screws. They have achieved a weight of only 130kgs. It remains to be seen if it can hold the trot without dismounting on its own.

Ducati, my big surprise.

I was going to stop by just to take the obligatory photos and in case there was a stewardess who could succumb to my shot, but what was my surprise when I saw the new scrambler Desert Sled. Wow!!! No, it's not a Trail, but…I don't know, I liked it a lot. It is not expensive, it is light, it has a very successful silhouette and colors and the driving position both standing and sitting seems ideal. A motorcycle that you don't notice, neither big nor small, neither light nor fat. A motorcycle that has given me the feeling that it is just as useful for going to buy bread as it is for going to the Alps both on the road and on the tracks, but with character, exclusive. I would love to try it to see if what I imagine can be done with it is really like that. On the other hand, it remains to be seen if we could prepare it for long routes with suitcases and so on, since I haven't seen much place to anchor the supports. For the rest, the little sister of the Multistrada Enduro comes into play with 950cc. Sounds like an excuse to offer a more affordable motorcycle than the unattainable 1200. But it seems perfect to me!!!

Fantic

It rises from its ashes like other Italian brands manufacturing some enduros and small displacement scramblers.

Gas Gas

They wash the face of their models and also dare to expose a Trail 400 copy of a Chinese motorcycle, (I will not say the brand), putting their own name on it. It seems incredible that they believe that putting their brand on it is going to sell it; toothpick suspensions, air-cooled engine, wheels and spokes of very dubious quality... in short, I think they do not understand market demand well or simply to save costs they have changed a designer for a new manager.

Hero

Impossible not to visit your stand. It is an Indian brand of street battle motorcycles but at the entrance they had a raid motorcycle with which they have also participated in several raids, also finishing in good positions. They told me that they had no intention of manufacturing anything similar and I invited them to do so. Can you imagine a low cost raid motorcycle that works well? Another one I would like to try!!!

Honda

If last year I only had to see GS1200 all over the room exposed with the different accessories of the brands, this year it was the turn of the new Africa Twin. Several preparers have taken it as a base for raid motorcycles; Long seat, redesigned front part, suspensions, protectors, high fenders and different tail are some of the changes that the model undergoes by various preparers; Africa queens, MST or the official preparer for Honda Red Moto. New this year for Honda has been the CRF250 Trail. It is the enduro model with a very successful transformation to a Trail/raid motorcycle. Without actually having top-notch components, but I think it can be a very good base for pilots who are starting out (or not) and want to travel on any type of terrain.

Husqvarna

This year without news, they present accessories for the twin sister of the KTM 690, the 701; tank with more capacity and metal supports to put soft side bags among other things. You can also see a transformation to official raid and another by MST. Both very spectacular.

Kawasaki

Another brand that jumps on the light Trail bandwagon with its new Versys 300. Very comfortable position, like a larger motorcycle. Simple but sufficient components if you don't have big demands. The fat Versys still have "zero" Off Road capabilities.

KTM

KTM presents two interesting "things". The first is their new 800cc motorcycles in line, which although they have not put it on any Trail, it is already a step forward that they have done so and are launching it on a road Duke. The main new features are the 1290 Super Adventure R with more Off Road capabilities than the normal model and the 1090 Adventure R. A very good KTM option for adventure trips. 125 horsepower, low weight, good handling, compact and the best cycle part that anyone makes for this type of motorcycle. Another brand that takes advantage of the excuse of lowering the displacement to lower the price and thus make it more accessible to the adventurous public.

 Mash

Small Trail and scrambler motorcycles with a very handsome look but of dubious quality and worse aging.

Mondial

Another legend of the 2 wheels that manufactured exclusive motorcycles reinvents itself and releases a simple 125cc enduro model and they tell me that they will also release a 250cc model shortly.

MV Agusta

My dream still hasn't come true. I would love for them to release an authentic Trail model. Even if it was something similar to the Ducati Enduro 1200 but with the MV seal, but no. At the moment they only have the veloce tourism, a Trail "type" stance on a road cucumber perfect for long trips on asphalt.

Royal Enfield

They release their highly acclaimed Trail: “Himalyan”. With many more Off Road capabilities than its “Bullet” sister, it seems like an economical motorcycle ideal for traveling without haste and breaking away from the rest of the brands. It includes side protective bars and accessories such as aluminum suitcases, fuel cans or soft bags will be offered.

Suzuki

Another curious novelty is its V-strom 250 with a certain Off Road appearance. They also give their 650 and 1000 sisters a little facelift by incorporating both XT versions with tubeless spoked wheels. It would be necessary to prove how these beasts go on the track.

SWM

Another brand that was looking forward to seeing the Superdual model. A Trail with clear Off-road skills. Single-cylinder, light, old Husqvarna engine, spoked wheels but 19″, adjustable suspension, engine guards and skid plate, aluminum case option. It is not a bad option to compete against the few single-cylinder Trails out there. They also have 350, 500 and 650cc enduros that look very good, have a good chassis and very, very competitive prices.

Triumph

Nothing changes in their Tiger and explorer models. The big change to the 800XC was made last year with the addition of the WP suspension, with which I deduce that the bike has improved a lot. (In the absence of testing it). For my taste, it would be necessary to try to lighten it a bit, gain travel in suspensions and therefore, increase ground clearance. The upper stem is also failing. Its operation is too weak to make Off.

Yamaha

His big bet has been the T7 prototype. Undoubtedly if they end up manufacturing something similar to what they exposed, I think that a server would buy it without hesitation. It needs to be worked on a lot because the rear part corresponded more to an enduro motorcycle than to a Trail. I personally prefer less minimalism and more options. To put luggage rack to travel. It mounts the engine from the Tracer 700. It looks like a very springy and nice engine. If there's something I really liked about this bike, it's the measurements. It would have measurements like Huski 701 or KTM 690 but with a twin-cylinder engine. For my taste it is the correct measure. A motorcycle with which you are not in a hurry to complicate yourself in tough areas, that you can take someone behind to get out of trouble but designed for just one person. In short, everything indicates that something could come out for 2018 and possibly next year they will make a definitive presentation of the model. We'll see what comes of all this. The Tenere 660 has no longer appeared on the scene, although I suppose it will continue to be sold for a while longer. Finally, there was a WR450 Dakar inaccessible to most mortals and the flagship of the house, the XTZ1200 Super Tenere, which did not present any changes.

Other brands

More and more brands are coming onto the market launching neo-classic or scrambler models with small displacement and studded wheels that allow you to let your imagination run wild and venture out on a track. It remains to be seen if the chassis and engine hold up to the trot.

Summarizing

The Trail market continues to boom but the brands seem to be afraid of bringing to market what a good majority really want and they play with us to tempt and test us, to put our teeth long and crush us with advertising that only serves to carry out market studies in which one of two, or do not know how to interpret the results or end up ignoring them. What we are beginning to demand more and more are motorcycles that are a little more radical, with character, that you can get into trouble with and get away with, as well as take a highway and maintain a good cruising speed. I personally went to Eicma this year to try to clarify and make a purchase decision between the Benelli TRK502, the SWM Super dual, Husqvarna 701 and the KTM 1090. Once I visited the show, my a priori finalists would be the KTM 1090 for being the most balanced and the one that shows more Off Road aptitudes and the Ducati Scrambler Desert not because of its a priori benefits but because of the curiosity that it creates in me to know how far it is capable of going. I hope to be able to talk about them in more depth in future posts.

the lounge girls

And since man does not live on motorcycles alone, I have allowed myself to attach a gallery of the girls in the salon. It will seem bad to some and good to others. But they are there because they want to and like their work and since this time I had a "good" camera, they were willing to pose for me. He he.
Until the next post!!!