FEATURE
P44
T
he Milan show was the first
major two-wheeled event of
the new year and as such is
a great guide as to how the motor-
cycle industry is going and what's
hot and what's not. Last year was
undoubtedly the year of the super-
bike with the new YZF-R1, 1299
Panigale and H2 whereas 2016
looks to be more about retro bikes.
The crowd's reaction to Tri-
umph's new Bonneville range,
BMW's R nineT Scrambler and
Yamaha's retro XSR900 paint
scheme coupled with Ducati's
amazing success in 2015 with its
2015 EICMA MOTORCYCLE SHOW
BY JON URRY / PHOTOGRAPHY BY JON URRY, MANUFACTURERS
SOMETHING OLD,
SOMETHING NEW.
THE 2016 MODEL YEAR LOOKS SET TO BE THE YEAR
OF THE SCRAMBLER, BUT THERE WAS PLENTY MORE
TO THE MILAN SHOW THAN RETRO-THEMED BIKES.
Scrambler models seems to have
ensured that this style of bike will be
the hot ticket next year. That said, if
you look at the buzz on social me-
dia, Yamaha's MT-10 is also caus-
ing quite a stir. But it's not all good
news for everyone.
The biggest disappointment for
most at Milan was Honda's perfor-
mance. A lackluster model range
that is lacking inspiration and a
ridiculous concept scooter instead
of any new and exciting metal from
the world's biggest motorcycle
manufacturer doesn't cut it. Ka-
wasaki didn't really have anything
aside from the Ninja ZX-10R, but at
least they admitted as much and
promised some new metal is in the
pipeline. But what of Suzuki?
Everyone was hoping the new
GSX-R1000 would bring this much
loved brand back into the limelight,
but a wait of over a year for a bike
that already seems a little behind
the game is worrying. Promising it
will be cheap isn't exactly a sell-
ing point anymore, just look at the
success of high end machines
such as the 1299 Panigale S, H2R
or YZF-R1M as evidence that if you
make something good, price is no
barrier. A full-on GSX-R1000 could
have been the start of Suzuki
turning things around in a similar
fashion to Yamaha's recent rejuve-
nation, but as it is most people felt
a bit short changed by the 'con-
cept' GSX-R1000.
Anyway, let's have a look at how
the main players fared at the big-
gest bike show in the world.
