INSIDE THE ITALIAN MOTORCYCLE SHOW, PART TWO

On Nov 16, 2006

by Zap

Alpina Wheels were showing off a full display of their colorfully anodized wheels, the tubeless versions which will be used by the Motoworld Yamaha team in 2007.

One of the wildest bikes at the show was this Vyrus 985 that was being shown at the Zard Exhaust booth. With more CnC machined aluminum than you’ll find on a dozen factory race bikes, the Ducati powered street bike was truly a celebration of advanced thing and hands-on craftsmanship.

ÿOkay, here’s the crazy design idea that made the inboard perimeter brake possible run the hydraulics through the front axle.ÿ Is there any credible advance in performance with this design? Maybe, but mostly it just shows how motorcycle design and technology continues to evolve.

The new Triumph super-moto bike? Probably not, but this awesome looking concept bike of sorts was catching many eyes as it stood in the increasingly broad Triumph offerings. The British bike maker is making good use of the old photos of Steve McQueen racing the Czecho ISDT in the mid-60’s when he met Roger DeCoster.

Talk the about bling-bling?Marzocchi was one of the few companies who had a freestyle MX bike on display. The green on green motif was quite the eye catcher and complime3nted their full line of forks that were mated to everything from MX bikes to world-class Superbikes.

Ducati has always had a way of running their pipes in the most simple, yet elegant manner. Widely credited as the pioneer in the under-the-seat muffler movement, the designers took the concept a step further this year with exhaust outtakes on the sweet Ducati Desmoedici RR that actually run through the tail section.

ÿYet another crazy scooter which answers the question probably not many people have been asking how would a nitrous powered Vespa run? No matter the influx of massive Superbikes, Italy is still scooter mad, and you can see the wildest scooter of the whole show in the next installment of photos brought to you from Italy with love.

Where Ducati proved to be subtle and effective with their exhaust routing, Suzuki threw all notions of subtlety out the window when they designed the exhaust pipes on the new 1300cc B-King street bike. Massive is the only word that comes to mind.

The world of American made motorcycles is indeed a small one compared to the number of manufacturers in Europe. With the demise of Cannondale a few years ago, ATK has once again claimed title of the best American made dirt bike. ATK president Frank White couldn’t help but check out the latest product from another American bike maker, Erik Buell. Although the new Buell XB12 Super TT has a seat big enough for two people, the seat cover is actually inscribed with a warning against riding two-up. Huh?

With a wonderfully exotic line of dirt and street bikes on display, the Aprilia booth was swamped every day. One of the stand-out bikes was theÿtwin cylinder Aprilia MXV450. When people talk about Italian artisans, this bike should be one that comes up as a clear example.

Almost going unnoticed, the dual Arrow exhaust tips on the MXV450 exit in front of the rear wheel where the air box is usually found. Sweetly done.ÿ

ÿOut in the back-forty of the massive exhibit hall complex attendees were stoked to find a full scale supercross track for weekend races, plus a mini SX track, and three super-moto courses where they could ride as both KTM and Yamaha were running super-moto clinics.