P122
CN
III LOWSIDE
BY RENNIE SCAYSBROOK
T
he time is fast approach-
ing for new-model season,
and this year it appears to
be starting earlier than ever.
It was heartening to see
Honda use the recent AIMExpo
in Columbus, Ohio, to give the
international public its first taste
of the 2020 Africa Twin, mark-
ing the first time I can think of in
recent history a major manufac-
turer chose the U.S. show over
EICMA in Milan to launch one
of their biggest products. That
shows a degree of optimism
from Honda itself about the state
of the U.S. industry and how im-
portant the Africa Twin is to the
American public, because the
AIMExpo pales in insignificance
compared to the behemoth that
is EICMA, in both physical size
and global reach.
EICMA is going to be interest-
ing this year because for the
first time in many years, Ducati
will not be taking center stage
on Sunday night. Normally, the
Bologna boys get Sunday all to
themselves, with the rest of the
world's manufacturers fighting
over airspace from Monday to
Wednesday, before the show of-
ficially opens to the public on the
Thursday, November 7.
Ducati instead will be launch-
ing their 2020 product line in a
standalone show on October 23
in Milan, and it's there we will
see the production version of
the bike the late Carlin Dunne
raced in prototype form at the
2019 Pikes Peak International
Hill Climb.
Yes, the Streetfighter is back
for 2020, and we are all the
better for it. This is a motorcycle
that's been on the drawing board
from about the same time as the
Panigale V4 S it's based off, and
it'll come packed with the same
ALMOST SHOWTIME
There are lots of
reasons to get excited
about at the EICMA
Motorcycle Show,
which kicks off
November 5 in Milan.
