Dukes on my wall, but now I can't
help but think today's kids have
probably switched in that they'd
more likely have a bike from
Europe on the bedroom wall than
something from Japan. I don't
know if kids even have posters
on their walls anymore. Maybe a
screensaver if more appropriate.
What got me on this train of
thought is that this is the time of
year the manufacturers get all
glammed up to show off their new
wares, to show they haven't just
been sitting on their laurels and
counting the government Covid
bucks we've been throwing at
them the last two years. EICMA
in Milan is the biggest motorcycle
show in the world, as it has been
since it started, but lately it's be-
come a show run by Europeans,
seemingly for Europeans, as com-
panies like BMW, Ducati, KTM,
Triumph and Aprilia have taken the
bull by the horns and brought out
a slew of new models, while Japan
has trundled out the odd new bike
just to remind the world they still
build motorcycles.
I'm focusing purely on the street
and adventure segments here, as
my knowledge on the motocross
and enduro side is simply not
enough to back up any criticism.
The ones who are by far lead-
ing the charge are Ducati, who,
ironically, have shunned using
EICMA as the launching platform
for their new bikes ever since Co-
vid necessitated digital product
launches for a couple years.
B
ack when I began to actu-
ally read motorcycle maga-
zines and not just look
at the pictures, Japan was the
absolute be-all-and-end-all when
it came to leading development
and bringing out motorcycles
whose posters would adorn my
bedroom wall.
Save for perhaps the Ducati
916, teenage Rennie's room was
decorated with pics of the 1995
Honda CBR900RR Tiger Blade
(look it up), Kawasaki ZX-7RR
and, of course, the 1998 Yamaha
YZF-R1 (oh, and Pamela Ander-
son in a Baywatch swimsuit—hey,
it was the '90s).
I'd never be caught dead with
a picture of a BMW or one of the
butt-ugly first generation KTM
P114
CN
III LOWSIDE
BY RENNIE SCAYSBROOK
One of Kawasaki's
electric/hybrid future
bikes. Are we seeing the
reawakening of Japan?
CHANGING
TIMES OF
EUROPE AND
JAPAN
