Rennie Scaysbrook | December 27, 2016
The New Year is almost here and so are a heap of new motorcycles! 2017 is going to be a good one… Here’s some we can’t wait to ride.
Have bike, will crush! The Super Adventure R will go anywhere you dare, and then some.
KTM 1290 Super Adventure R
The biggest just got bigger! Even though there’s a very solid argument for ADV bikes to lower their capacity, KTM is going the other way, jamming its explosive 1301cc V-twin from the Super Duke R and Super Adventure into their high-end world crosser. If size really does matter, the KTM’s got it in spades. Fire roads may never look the same again!
Just like his big brother! If the supersport class is indeed dying, it’s just been given a solid adrenalin shot in the nuts with the new YZF-R6.
Yamaha YZF-R6
The unloved and forgotten supersport class is getting its first new bike in what feels like a lifetime. And it’s a real four-cylinder 600, not a jacked up four, or a twin or a triple. We’re hoping this new R6 will be the ultimate evolution of a class that started in the mid-’80s—it’ll have all the electronic bells and whistles of the R1 in a much smaller chassis. It’s time to go apex hunting!
Big H is back! How cool would it be if Nicky rides one of these to WorldSBK glory next year? For us mere mortals, this bike promises to be awesome.
Honda CBR1000RR SP/SP2
Honda’s CBR1000RR is getting its first real workover since 2008. That’s quite some time, especially when we’ve had new bikes from absolutely everyone else in that time. We won’t have to wait long to swing a leg over it, either, as we’ll be heading to Portimao in Portugal to give it a real squeeze. Is this the year the Big H returns to the top of the SBK tree?
Il mio amore! Svelte, sharp and pretty in red. The new Ducati SuperSport is a breath of fresh air.
Ducati SuperSport
Like a fine bottle of red, the new Ducati SuperSport stole hearts when it was shown off for the first time at Intermot in Cologne, last October. This could be the sportbike for all riders with just the right amount of grunt and a chassis that will hopefully hold up the former SuperSport model’s reputation for comfort and cornering prowess. Plus, the styling is divine and a fresh break from current sportbike trends. This’ll be a good bike.
This is the ultimate Ducati superbike. Unrestrained by racing rules or budgets, the Superleggera promises to be an absolute, raging beast.
Ducati Superleggera
Carbon fiber. The name just sounds fast, and the new Superleggera from those sultans of style at Ducati is positively laced with the stuff. Frame, swingarm, wheels, bodywork—it’s all made from the black gold. And there’s another point we love about the Superleggera. It’s got the most powerful production engine of all time. 215hp pushing a claimed 368lb wet. Good grief.
Old school for 2017. The Street Scrambler’s certainly got the looks! Baja scrambling, anyone?
Triumph Street Scrambler
Triumph started the modern Scrambler game back in 2006 and next year, they’re bringing their new baby to town. The Street Scrambler doesn’t differ too much in overall styling and still channels everyone’s inner Steve McQueen, and we’ll be taking it for a spin early in January. Time to get the wax cotton out, boys and girls!
Calling all ’80s Dakar riders! The Urban is a result of the Lac Rose custom from the Wheels and Waves festival in France, and looks utterly bad ass.
BMW Urban GS
The GS name is, in our opinion, steeped in racing heritage. We simply can’t get enough of the early Dakar films of some of the toughest riders the world’s ever seen blasting them across the African desert. So when we saw this one, a bike that looks more like those early beasts than any other GS (or R nineT that this particular bike is based off), we had to have a crack. Hopefully it goes as good as it looks.
If this bike is good (and we bet it will be), BMW won’t be able to build them fast enough.
BMW G 310 GS
Make no mistake, this bike will be an absolute game changer for BMW. The G 310 GS is the key to unlocking the South East Asian and Central/South American markets, but it’s not just for them. We can enjoy this little Beemer, too! Small capacity ADV bikes are absolutely in vogue and for good reason—they’re light, easy to rider and look great. Bring this one on, BMW!
There’s an awful lot riding on this new GSX-R, and Suzuki knows it. They’ll be fine, Suzuki builds damn good sportbikes, don’t ya know?
Suzuki GSX-R1000R
The GSX-R is the 1000cc bike with the biggest point to prove in 2017. We’ve been waiting for a new one for years, and the company knows it must deliver on the promise its shown in MotoGP for the past two seasons. It’s high stakes time for Suzuki, but they’re up to the task. Suzuki builds brilliant sportbikes—pretty much always have—so expect nothing less than excellence from the Hamamatsu heroes. We won’t.
As a design exercise, Husqvarna has knocked this one into the carpark. The Vitpilen is one of the bikes we positively can’t wait to ride.
Husqvarna Vitpilen 410
Oh sweet baby Jesus! Two years of drawings, spy phots and teaser clips later, we will finally be getting a taste of the bike Husqvarna hopes will revolutionize how we view street motorcycles. A perfect blend of old and new, the Vitpilen 401 (and the soon-to-be-released 701) is exactly our kind of bike. And considering it’s using the KTM 390 Duke as the base, we bet it’ll be just a lovely to ride as it is to look at. Fingers crossed.
OK – that’s our 10. What new bikes are you hanging out for in 2017?
