2014 SUZUKI MOTOGP PROTOTYPES SPIED AGAIN!

We’ll soon know more about Suzuki’s 2014 MotoGP bike, as that Japanese company plans three public and two private European tests beginning in June. About the current machine, factory test rider and GP veteran Nobuatsu Aoki is quoted as saying, “They made a lot of design changes.”

Differences we can see in these recent photos are that the former two exhaust megaphones have become one, and that the starter-access door, previously seen on the right side of the fairing, is gone. Since our Japanese source still says, “Same sound as Yamaha YZR-M1,” we know the single megaphone does not mean the prototype has reverted to an even-fire 180-degree crankshaft. Absence of the starter door suggests Suzuki has caught up with slipper-clutch technology, allowing the bike to be fired in the same manner as the Honda and Yamaha by driving the rear wheel.

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SPIED! 2014 SUZUKI MOTOGP PROTOTYPE!

Read and see photos from Part I of Kevin Cameron’s exclusive look at Suzuki’s MotoGP prototype. [...]

Far-forward seating is also continued. Aoki says the current bike has an all-new engine and chassis, but we can see that the former remains a transverse inline-Four with its cylinders inclined forward. This is in keeping with Suzuki’s long-successful GSX-R series of production engines, rather than being a departure from them, as were its previous MotoGP V-Fours.

The swingarm’s shape may have been refined, as well. Swingarms have evolved from a basic pair of beams joined at the front by a box. Bracing to prevent twist used to be added above the beams, but the need to put fuel under the front of the seat (where it is pushed as the engine’s intake airbox takes most of the volume above the engine) has lately forced suspension linkage downward, making it sensible to place the bracing under the swingarm beams. The next step has been to give up the swingarm-plus-bracing idea in favor of an all-in-one structure. Seen from the side, this is a triangle—entirely sheeted-in save for a slot through which the chain passes—with its apex at the rear axle.

Viewed from above, Suzuki’s current prototype arm looks like a U-shaped tuning fork, the side beams curving around the front of the tire. Since swingarm lateral flexure functions as suspension when the bike is at high cornering lean angle, it is good design to use this curving shape, which allows the whole structure to flex rather than concentrating stress where the side beams emerge from a traditional front box. Also, seen from above, the side beams are quite thin, of the order of 30mm.

For further testing, an arrangement has been made with Team Aspar to rent its rider, Randy de Puniet. Suzuki has said its 2014 team will have two riders, and we can suppose one will be Japanese, taken from the ranks of its national series. De Puniet’s current teammate, fellow CRT front-runner Aleix Espargaro, has also been mentioned as a possibility.

Because Dorna now claims its MotoGP grid is “full” (half the slots being taken by uninspiring CRT teams), Suzuki will supposedly have to make an arrangement with an existing team to get places on the grid. All such arrangements will be in flux once the Honda production racers and Yamaha lease engines arrive to supposedly “transform” the sport in 2014 and eliminate place-holding CRTs. Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta is admired in certain circles for “keeping ’em guessing” with frequent and often contradictory changes of plan, but the current view is that Honda has taken his measure and will not easily tolerate more of what MotoGP boss Shuhei Nakamoto has called “crazy rules.” This is not a solution. It is merely the current political “détente” in this sport. Honda’s goals remain what they have always been: to dominate all classes, even if that makes racing a bore, reducing its value to all.

We have seen Suzuki’s U.S. auto business declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and we know U.S. motorcycle sales fell during the recent depression by some 70 percent. Harley-Davidson announced that U.S. sales of 601cc-and-up machines had fallen in the first quarter of 2013 by an additional 16 percent in comparison with first quarter 2012, so the bad news isn’t over yet. In the words of the song, “What will be the outcome/If the income don’t come in?” Can Suzuki afford MotoGP? We can only speculate. Being in MotoGP is now central to sales in Indonesia, where lads and lasses on 125s dream of greater things, so Suzuki marketeers may say there’s no choice.

The last question is engine architecture. If Honda can win races with a V-Four, should Suzuki give up what it has learned from its own V-Four to go a different way? It makes best sense if there is to be some crossover between MotoGP and production, as in the close perceived relationship between Yamaha’s YZF-R1 production model and its M1 MotoGP racer. GSX-R sportbikes have been the lifeblood of Suzuki sales, so it makes brand sense to bring them and any MotoGP Suzuki close together in concept. Could this mean “super GSX-R repli-racers?” A for-sale production racer? Time will supply answers.

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     2013 BMW F800GT – FIRST RIDE

It’s all in the initials. With the F800ST that BMW has been producing since 2007, the “ST” stands for “sport-touring.” But for 2013, the company rethought and redesigned the ST to provide a little less of the “S” and more of the “T,” then renamed it “GT” for “grand touring.”

If any model sold as poorly as the F800ST has in recent years, most companies would have punted it from the lineup for good. But BMW stuck to its guns, still convinced there is a viable market for a sporty middleweight with long-ride capabilities. “Rider feedback told us they liked the idea of the F800ST,” says Sergio Carvajal, BMW’s Motorcycle Product Manager. “It’s a ‘right-sized’ bike. But they wanted something more comfortable and practical.”

Based on my 200-mile ride over a wide variety of roads as part of the U.S. press launch of the F800GT, BMW seems to have succeeded. The GT is more accommodating than the ST, with revised ergonomics that prop the rider in a more upright, relaxed position. The aluminum frame is unchanged, but the bars are higher, the footpegs are 10mm lower and farther forward, and the seat is about an inch-and-a-half lower (thanks in part to 15mm-shorter suspension at both ends). Plus, a taller windshield and reshaped fairing offer better protection from the elements. Snap on a set of optional hard saddlebags with more total capacity (51 liters) than their predecessors and you have an excellent, easily manageable middleweight for touring, sport or otherwise.

At a claimed 470 pounds (without bags) when its 4.0-gallon gas tank is filled to the brim, the GT is light and lithe, with easy, accurate, predictable steering. In a straight line, it’s rock-steady, thanks in part to a 50mm-longer swingarm. But the GT also slashes through corners with confidence-inspiring ease that makes fast-paced backroad rides more fun and less work. This is no sportbike, to be sure, but it’s more composed than the ST when it comes to spirited cornering.

It’s more comfortable in the process, too, offering a slightly taut but pleasant ride despite its reduced wheel travel. The only standard suspension adjustments are manual preload and rebound damping at the rear, but a simplistic version of the company’s ESA (Electronic Suspension Adjustment) is optional. It allows rear damping to be adjusted on the fly to any of three settings (Comfort, Normal, Sport) with a dual-function button on the left handlebar switchpod; the same switch also toggles the optional ASC traction control on and off. Rear preload remains manually adjustable with a plastic knob.

Among the GT’s numerous other options are two seats: a Comfort version that’s ¾-in. taller than the standard unit and a Low seat that sits about 1¼-in. closer to the tarmac. The bike I rode wore the standard seat, which felt comfy enough, but my time in the saddle was limited to just a few hours.

Although the counterbalanced, 798cc parallel-Twin’s engine internals remain the same as on the ST, refinements in fuel-injection and ignition mapping allow it to pump out a claimed 90 horsepower, 5 more than before. The engine feels peppier throughout the rpm range, with sharp throttle response, brisk acceleration and good midrange torque for its displacement. But it is a middleweight, after all, so don’t expect it to run with the big dogs if loaded with two large occupants and saddlebags jam-packed for weeks on the road.

BMW also offers a wide range of other options for the F800GT. They include heated grips, a centerstand, an onboard computer, a Garmin GPS, a 28-liter top trunk and even an Akrapovic Sport Silencer. The GT is available in three colors—Valencia Orange Metallic, Dark Graphite Metallic or Light White.

Sticker price for the base F800GT is $11,890, which is the same MSRP asked for the 2012 F800ST. Carvajal says that BMW is not likely to import many—or perhaps any—of the base model, however, but instead will offer the bike in two packages that include certain options for less dough than if those accessories were installed separately. The Standard Package gets the heated grips, centerstand, onboard computer and saddelbag mounts for $12,395. The Premium Package adds ESA, ASC and a tire-pressure monitor for $13,190. That’s a steep buy-in for a middleweight, although the GT is the most well-equipped sport-tourer in its class.

Still, whether BMW’s vision for middleweight grand touring is clearly focused remains to be seen. But if it isn’t, don’t blame the motorcycle. Despite its shift in focus, the F800GT not only is much improved at the T end of the sport-touring spectrum, it’s better at the S than it was before.

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2014 TRIUMPH EXPLORER XC – FIRST RIDE

It’s all about the whiskey and the wool here in the Scottish Highlands…and of course, the wide-open spaces that nurture the requisite barley and sheep. Those same rolling hills and lush glens are also brilliant for adventuring. Just ask James Bond. And Triumph Motorcycle’s product manager, Simon Warburton, who’s invited us to the top floor of the United Kingdom to sample the new 1200 Tiger Explorer XC.

In almost every sense this is the same Explorer we already know and love. It’s incredibly easy to ride, very agile, with the 1215cc Triple happily—and quickly—bringing you to digits double the average legal U.S. highway limits (hey, we’re in James Bond territory…with only sheep as witnesses). Meanwhile, if you’re not in a rush to overtake a bustling lorry, the same mill will plug off a stop in second gear, and with equal heart, dawdle about the countryside in its leggy third cog. We love this engine. Shifting is slick, though a hard pull off the line will make you work for engagement from second to third. For a bolt off the line, the Explorer prefers a short shift, or if you’re going to enjoy the miles, a lazy shift through the low gears. At a stop, neutral is always eager for engagement.

There is the same well-behaved shaft drive, KYB preload-adjustable 46mm fork and single rear shock with adjustable damping and preload. In spirited street riding, the XC dips and ducks along the narrow, knotted Scottish back roads as if threaded to the tarmac. Traction control set to the (default) 01 position is perfect, rain or no. There is an 02 setting, as well as disengagement, “If you prefer to crash,” says Warburton. The Explorer comes with standard cruise control, which is a perk, if a bit of hassle to engage if you don’t have a right thumb as long as Gene Simmons’ tongue. A fix is in the works, we’ve been assured.

What is assuredly different about the XC (cross country) version of the 1200 Explorer are the adventure-ready, aluminum rims with steel spokes and tubeless tires designed to keep you rolling even when you take a big hit. And because you’re the type of rider who’ll potentially take your Tiger on big-hit trails, Murphy’s Law will be dialed up a notch, making good sense of the XC’s black engine bars, handguards and skidplate. The last essential of the new kit are the badass-looking aluminum-shrouded foglights that will get you back to camp after that X-tra big day.

For the off-road portion of Triumph’s introduction, we’re led through the gates of the decidedly Scottish Alvie estate. Thirteen thousand acres make up this privately owned Highlands getaway, punctuated by a castle-style abode considered for the final scene of Bond’s recent escapades in Skyfall. After a lunch of wild venison and whiskey-laced parfait (just for flavor!) we are guided to the Alvie’s most wild, rocky wilderness by a groundskeeper in thick tartan. There, we’re let loose for a spell to bounce about the steeps and gullies.

Again, this is the same Explorer we’ve ridden before. A saint on the street, but a wee handful on the rough, the XC feels its size off-road, especially when surfaces are slick and/or mushy (think Scotland). The same steering geometry and compliant suspension that make the bike work so well on pavement get in its way once you take it off. Still, there is no testing of the supplied crash guards, even though we are running the stock Metzeler Tourance tires (gloriously obedient on the street, but not so grippy in the dirt).

After a couple of hours bumping around the misty, wooded grounds of the Alvie, we’re herded back onto the sinewy street surfaces that make the Triumph Explorer, XC or not, a real hero—a true James Bond of bikes. And with huge smiles we continue to connect the green dots, and the pubs, that make the Highlands Scottish.

The statement Triumph is making with this new reiteration of the Explorer is a promising one: “There are a significant number of people who spend a larger percentage of their time on unsurfaced roads, especially in the United States, where there are more unsurfaced roads to ride on. These riders are not pretending to ride around the world—it’s not a dressing-up contest. They simply want to be able to travel along unsurfaced roads to access areas of natural beauty. The changes we made to create the XC were designed to meet the requirements of these riders.”

The 1200 Explorer XC will certainly satisfy the expectations of many types of riders, especially those who want to expand their horizons and look the part doing so. As with other adventure bikes in its class, the $17,199 MSRP (even before panniers) will also require expanding your wallet.

But if you have a heart dialed for excitement (like local heroes Sir William Wallace [Braveheart], Harry Potter and James Bond) you’re bound to end up riding somewhere as profoundly adventurous as the Scottish Highlands. And when you do so, having a motorcycle that’s adventure-ready means everything.

The Explorer is just that: primed for whatever comes (even if it’s only a dozen Highland sheep and a hairy coo or two).

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