There’s a lot to unpack in the Lightfighter story. This is why Part 1 was dedicated to the concept and build of the electric sportbike. As a quick refresher, the Lightfighter was born because Brian Wismann and Ely Schless wanted to prove an electric racing motorcycle could exist – and thrive – with a geometry-first design. They did just that, building an electric motorcycle around a Yamaha YZF-R1 swingarm, not a big battery. Knowing Wismann and Schless though, simply building the bike wasn’t enough. It had to be good. Hence why they equipped it with Öhlins suspension, Brembo brakes, and OZ Racing magnesium wheels. Further technical support came from Parker Hannifin, in the form of the GVM 210 motor, Kramer Motorcycles and their svelte bodywork, and Pirelli tires, who made sure the bike had the stickiest Diablo Superbike slicks available.

Well what did you expect? Faster, lighter, torquier, more technologically advanced and cleaner, that’s what you get – and in five different flavors: Your regular Tiger 900 is the new “road-focussed” Tiger, with a major step forward in capability beginning with a heavily revised 888 cc inline triple complete with new firing order.

“The GS for the rest of us” was a good subhead, because by 2009 very few of us weren’t already riding one or another version of the pre-existing boxer-powered GS, leaving the new parallel-Twin only to fill in the gaps. Aboard it, the Apostle Pete was able to traverse territory where even action photographers feared to tread. Ten years on, the F850GS and F850GS Adventure soldier on for BMW, and Moab is still in Utah. Whirled without end, amen.

We were expecting BMW to debut its new “Big Boxer” cruisers at EICMA but were left disappointed with yet another concept model. We don’t have anything against concepts, really, but the R18/2 shown at EICMA was already the fourth to incorporate the new engine, and despite the spy photos that have popped up, it seems like BMW’s new cruisers just aren’t quite ready for full production yet.

There are lots of motorcycles trying to get your sport-touring attention. Somewhere in that space Ducati is fighting to grab some attention, drawing upon a name from its past in hopes to lure those who may recognize it. The name, of course, is the Ducati Supersport, and though we’ve featured the bike on the MO pages before – most recently during our staff trip to Laguna Seca – we’ve only ever tested the S model Supersport, complete with Öhlins suspension and the quickshift up and down feature. 

Verily, we said unto you, “If Victory stays its current course of producing high-quality products, and is willing to flex and adapt to a market that will likely shift and morph, there’s no foreseeable reason why we shouldn’t anticipate Victory’s 20th anniversary.” I believe it is peace for our time. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Go home and get a nice quiet sleep. MO proposes, God disposes. Pass the giblets, amen.

Polaris is preparing to update its Slingshot three-wheeler with a new engine design and an automatic transmission. The new engine will be designed by Polaris itself, unlike the General Motors 2.4L Ecotec engine that’s been powering the Slingshot since its introduction in 2015.

Well, you always want more, don’t you? That’s how Triumph Chief Engineer Stuart Wood justifies the world’s biggest-engined production motorcycle, and that’s what the new Rocket 3 wants to deliver. From the 2294 cubic centimeters of the original Rocket to 2458 cc, now there are three 4.3-inch pistons producing a claimed 163 lb-ft. of torque and 167 horses at 6000 rpm, and that’s what it’s all about.

For the past few years, the collective motorcycling world has lost its minds with the Ducati Panigale V4. Understandable, considering how much of a departure it is for Ducati to abandon the V-Twin for its flagship sportbike, but also because the Panigale V4 and V4R are absolute knockouts in the engine department. Lost in the hoopla of the Ducati V4 engine sat the lowly 959 Panigale, a pleasant and capable machine, it serves as a gentle reminder to everyone that Ducati hadn’t completely abandoned the V-Twin. A part of the “Super-Mid” category of sportbikes (“Standard-Mid” being something in the 750cc-ish category, we assume?), it’s a little funny to think Ducati’s lower-displacement sportbike, at 955cc, is now larger than it’s former legendary flagship, the 916 family.

EICMA has come and gone, but at least one manufacturer still has a major model announcement to come.

Last week, Kawasaki presented an electric motorcycle concept at EICMA, but did no reveal many details about it during the show. Today, Kawasaki finally released more information, confirming that the company has been researching electric vehicles for quite some time, including testing both on a race track and in urban environments. Unfortunately, Kawasaki says it remains purely a research project with no plans of releasing an electric motorcycle in the near future.

Stelvio, Stelvio, wherefore art thou, Stelvio? Tis but thy name that is my enemy, and what’s in a name? That which we call a big adventure bike by any other name would smell as sweet; so Stelvio would, were he not Stelvio call’d, retain that dear perfection which he owes without that title. Sorry, but Tor riding around in Italy brings out the Shakespeare in us. The Stelvio was ten years, ago: Now there’s a brand new and even more fair Moto Guzzi adv bike, the V85TT. Swoon. Take all myself, and let God sort them out.

Honda unveiled its major EICMA models, led by the new CBR1000RR-R, a day before the show, but it did have something new to show visitors at the Milano Rho Fiera. In what’s now an annual tradition, Honda presented a concept bike produced by its Rome R&D Centre called the CB4X.

Ducati usually makes a big splash at EICMA, Italy being its home market, of course, but in recent years, Ducati has been moving its product reveals farther and farther ahead of the show, with this year’s launch taking place two weeks ahead of the Milan show.

News flash: OEM suspensions are designed to a price point. So, unless you’re riding a flagship literbike, those suspenders are full of compromises. The stock suspension on the vast majority of bikes out there is designed for an average rider, going an average pace, over an average road. Get outside of those parameters, and the suspension’s performance is compromised.

Kawasaki is acquiring a stake in Bimota, breathing new life into the Italian brand best known for its hub-steering motorcycle designs. Once the deal is completed and passes regulatory approval, Kawasaki Motors Europe, through its subsidiary Italian Motorcycle Investment, will purchase a 49.9% share in Bimota, with the controlling 50.1% being retained by its current owners (formerly Bimota S.A. but officially renamed B and Motion S.A.).

It’s safe to say the collective motorcycling world gasped when they first caught a glimpse of the 2019 MV Agusta Brutale 1000 Serie Oro. We sure did. Boasting 208 horses (212 hp with a pipe!) and some drop-dead gorgeous styling, MV threw a grenade on the streetfighter category a year before Ducati officially unveiled the new Streetfighter V4. And let’s not forget, the Brutale Serie Oro put wings on a naked bike before that other Italian brand, too. But the Serie Oro was limited to just 300 units, all of which were snapped up quickly. Thankfully, like it did with the Superveloce 800, much of the Brutale 1000 Serie Oro is trickling down to its mass-produced sibling, the Brutale 1000 RR.

MV Agusta has decided to streamline three key models – the Brutale 800, Dragster 800, and Turismo Veloce 800 – in order to bring costs down and provide consumers more affordable options into the MV family. The trio of models are part of the MV Agusta Rosso Range and will come in any color you want as long as it’s…red.

In July, MV Agusta announced the Superveloce 800 Serie Oro was going to be made in extremely limited quantities – 300 units to be exact. Those units sold immediately. We can only imagine feedback for that gorgeous piece of motorcycle art went through the roof; enough so that MV Agusta announced at EICMA 2019 the mass production of the Superveloce 800, minus the Serie Oro accoutrement.

The Beverly’s been around the block more than once, starting way back in 2001, but it retains its place at the head of the world’s largest scooter manufacturer’s table. Piaggio showed three versions of the latest Beverly at EICMA – Beverly, Beverly S and Beverly 350 Tourer – but only the Tourer will be coming to America, complete with a sporty smoked windshield and a capacious 36-liter top box. And make no mistake: With its 30-horsepower 330 cc single and 16/14-inch tires, these scooters can scoot. 

Earlier this year, BMW unveiled the Concept R18. Centered around the 1800cc air/oil-cooled boxer Twin, the surrounding bodywork was very historically-inspired, producing a themed motorcycle that would look right at home in the 1930s as it does today. Fast forward to EICMA 2019 and BMW has followed that up with its second concept – the R18/2. Stylistically opposite from the Concept R18, the big 1800cc boxer is still in the middle, but everything around it is BMW’s interpretation of performance cruiser.

The hot news coming from the Aprilia camp at EICMA 2019 was clearly the official debut of the RS 660. Aprilia’s middleweight Twin is sure to be a firecracker, but much like the RSV4 also gave us the brilliant Tuono V4, Aprilia has wasted no time teasing the world with this baby Tuono powered by, you guessed it, the RS 660 Twin. Officially Aprilia is calling this a concept bike, but let’s be real – it’s coming here sooner or later.

Husqvarna revealed an adventure bike concept called the Norden 901. If that alone wasn’t enough to get our juices flowing, there’s the fact the Norden is based around our Motorcycle-of-the-Year winner, the KTM 790 Adventure R.

When Ryan Adams finished riding the 2019 Vespa Elettrica, he came back with one glaring complaint: it’s too slow. Vespa must have taken his words to heart, because at EICMA 2019 there’s a new version – the Vespa Elettrica 70 km/h – upping the top speed to, you guessed it, 70 km/h (or 44 mph for the US crowd). Vespa says this new top speed is the result of optimizing the current components already on the Elettrica and not through any change of hardware. Speaking of hardware, here’s a refresher. It can deliver a continuous 3.6 kW of power, with a peak at 4 kW, putting it roughly on par with 50cc scooters. Where it far surpasses a little scooter is with its 200 Nm of torque. And it’s all completely silent. Maximum range is roughly 100 km, and full recharge can be done in four hours (with 220v).

What happens when you take the already potent KTM 790 Duke, bump its displacement to 890cc, add in fully-adjustable suspension components, and add top-notch brakes? You get the KTM 890Duke R! First the bad news, though: The KTM 890 Duke R will not come to the United States until the fall of 2020 as a 2021 model. Deal with it. Now, onto the cool stuff.

We’re fans of just about any motorcycle Kawasaki’s venerable 649 cc parallel Twin comes in contact with, including the heavily revised but still Sugomi-styled Z650 for 2020 – now available with ABS.

Announced at EICMA 2020, Moto Guzzi has unveiled the V85 TT, a touring-oriented version of the popular V85 adventure bike made up of items plucked from the Moto Guzzi parts catalog – not that that’s a bad thing. Up front, a higher touring windscreen offers greater protection from the wind, thanks to a surface area 60% larger than the standard V85 screen. Out back you’ve got two panniers, capable of holding a ton of stuff – 37 liters for the right case (big enough for a full-face helmet) and 27.5 liters for the left – both lockable with the same key. The panniers were designed along with the overall bike, so there are no unsightly brackets exposed when the bags are off the motorcycle, allowing the V85’s lines to remain true and consistent with or without luggage. Clever.

Moto Guzzi debuted a special, limited edition version of the V7 III Stone – named the V7 III Stone S – at EICMA 2020, paying homage to sporty Moto Guzzis from the 1970s like the 1974 750 S and 1971 V7 Sport. Being a limited edition, only 750 units of the V7 III Stone S will be made, in honor of the 750cc engine displacement. Each unit will have its serial number engraved on the handlebar riser.

Harley-Davidson announced the Pan America adventure bike and Bronx streetfighter are nearing production, both powered by the company’s new Revolution Max engine. The Pan America 1250 and Bronx 975 will be arriving in late 2020 as 2021 models.

Sporting parallel-Twin fans rejoice! Another new engine platform is soon to be available from Aprilia. While it is clearly heading to the RS 660 sportbike first, we expect it to become the basis for a family of motorcycles. Let’s take a look, shall we?

Well, we  love the RC390 and the 390 Duke even more, and the 790 Adventure is our 2019 Motorcycle of the Year, so what won’t be to love about KTM’s all-new 390 Adventure? KTM says it’s harnessed the attributes and DNA from the KTM 790 Adventure as well as the information gathered from nearly two decades of Dakar Rally success, to create a light, agile, ideal entry model. 

BMW revealed two new middleweight twins, the F900XR sport-tourer and the naked F900R. We’ve seen design filings for both the F900XR and F900R as well as the earlier 9Cento concept, but now we can finally see them in full production trim.

Once again, the 2020 Suzuki Burgman 400 is available from Suzuki in the U.S. market. Price and availability not released at press time.

Big news for 2020 from the Energica camp, as the Italian electric motorcycle manufacturer has announced not only a new model – the Eva Ribelle – but also longer range, thanks to the largest battery pack offered on a production electric motorcycle so far. On top of this news, Energica is also reporting revenue growth of 57% over this same time period last year. Energica CEO, Livia Cevolini, credits this to the significant investments the company has made, including participation in the all-electric MotoE racing series, in which Energica is the sole motorcycle supplier with its Ego Corsa model.

The only thing better than a new Suzuki V-Strom 1050 is a V-Strom family with three members based on the same 1037cc V-Twin engine. This updated mill retains the strong bottom end of its forebear while meeting the new, stricter Euro 5 emissions standards. Suzuki also claims that fuel economy will also be good, which means you can squeeze out more miles in the saddle per tankful. Let us introduce you to the Stroms.

The 2020 Suzuki GSX-S1000 line returns with its popular long-stroke GSX-R1000 engine. Not much has changed other than colors. Read on to find out. Price and availability not released at press time.