Highlights of the upcoming 2019 EICMA   

EICMA, the holy grail of new motorcycles is being held from November 7 to 10. Last year, MV Agusta stunned the world with the Brutale 1000 Serie Oro, which was awarded the ‘Most Beautiful Motorcycle’ at the event. While the competitive supernaked segment was fighting for supremacy in the 170bhp territory, this Italian ventured beyond the 200bhp mark, boasting of a mind-boggling 208bhp. But this time, the spotlight is going to be on the Ducati Streetfighter V4 which is expected to be the highlight of the show. Here’s what to expect from the 2019 EICMA:

The naked Panigale V4

Shortly after Ducati made headlines with the naked avatar of the Panigale V4, the Streetfighter V4 that debuted at the Pikes Peak 2019 and was on the verge of setting up a new record. Until now, Ducati had kept mum about the tech specs, but now they have released a teaser revealing that the bike is going to use the same 1103cc Desmosedici Stradale 90 degree V4 engine from the Panigale V4, but will be in a different state of tune, producing 205bhp at 12,750rpm, while the faired sibling pushes 211bhp at 13,000rpm. The electronics suite will be straight off the Panigale V4 and dry weight is an astounding Ducati will be unveiling the bike on October 23 along with the other models for 2020.

The competition

While the Ducati couldn’t dethrone the MV Agusta, there are two more contenders for the heavy-weight title. The first is the updated KTM 1290 Super Duke R which will be unveiled at EICMA later and the next was a surprise from the Japanese to take on the Europeans, the Z H2, yeah a supercharged naked that will be unveiled on October 23, ahead of the Tokyo Motor Show.

The new orange beast

A couple of months back, spy shots of the 1290 Super Duke R emerged and by the looks of it, KTM has completely overhauled the manic flagship. The spy shots reveal a reworked frame, a completely new, cast-aluminum subframe, a new swingarm along with some cosmetic updates. The bike is likely to flaunt adaptive cruise control as well, something Ducati has been working on which could be featured on the Multistrada 1260 GT. If KTM pulls this off before Ducati, the Super Duke could very well be the first bike to flaunt this tech.

The current-gen Super Duke R produces 174bhp from the 1301cc V-Twin powerhouse and weighs 195kg. With the new Super Duke, the supernaked could very well enter the 200bhp territory, however, we’ll have to wait till EICMA to get more details.

The bike no one saw coming

Though Kawasaki hasn’t revealed, the motorcycle is likely to carry the same inline-four 998cc engine with a supercharger from the H2 and H2 SX. While the H2 makes 227bhp and 239bhp with Ram Air, the H2 SX produces 197 bhp and 207bhp with Ram air. Considering these numbers, the Z H2 is likely to make more than 200bhp.

Going by the spy shots, the tank and the handlebar is very similar to the Z 900, while the fascia looks very similar to the Z1000. Like the other supercharged models, the Z H2 bears the Kawasaki river mark motif. The interesting bit is the tank shrouds, or most likely, winglets similar to the H2R which generate downforce to keep the front end down.

The tail looks very similar to the other models from the Z family, with dual ‘Z’ tail lamps. Other bits visible from the spy pics are the exhaust which is very similar to what the H2 SX has and the full-colour TFT display which Kawasaki showcased a few days ago on the 2020 Ninja 650.

The Z H2 could be the cheapest supercharged motorcycle in the market. Like the other supercharged models, the Z H2 will make it to the country, however, we expect it to reach our shores in mid or late 2020.