2007-Hayabusa's, ZZR1400's, BMW motard, 2007 R1 & Honda

[R1 Biker]

Ok it's time to let you know what we are working on at the moment. Loose strings, hard facts and pure speculation, you'll have to decide for yourself what could make for a hard gift under your 2006 Xmas tree or not. Let's start with the much anticipated upgrade of the current Suzuki Hayabusa. The current EURO 2 regulation expires next summer and Euro 3 takes over. This means that many motorcycles needs new engines and exhausts to conform to new tighter emission rules. GSX1300R is one of them. This will lead to one of two: 1.Hayabusa gets a brand new engine that conforms to Euro 3. 2. Hayabusa will be discontinued in the model range. Now we hardly believe the 'Busa will be discontinued so a new engine and exhaust it is then. But to make this new development worthwhile for Suzuki it needs to appear as a new model. So the speculation goes in the lines of a new GSX1400R with all newly designed aerodynamic body work and a top speed to at least match Kawasaki ZZR1400. Or why not a GSX1500R whilst at it? It couldn't hurt in today's mega cubes market and specially not if it's the fastest motorcycle on the planet too. Expect in particular engine technology from the race winning GSX-R1000 and a brand new crazy looking body work to bring the controversy back now that people are used to the Hayabusa looks. The engine will then be the basis for a big GSR also called the B-king. And with the GSR600 and a large capacity B-king (GSR1400?) there should be room for a naked version of GSX-R1000 in the middle (GSR1000?). We believe one of the reasons we have not heard anything official yet is to avoid any interruption to the sales of the GSX-R models. Comments from official Suzuki sources: No comment.

There are many rumours about Kawasaki ZZR1400 and Kawasaki has not been capable of putting any of them to rest. At the moment we do not even know whether the claim that Kawasaki has produced the most powerful motorcycle ever is true. The first and only press release is more than three months old and we still haven't received the full technical specs. Suzuki will have had time to launch their new Hayabusa by the time Kawasaki decides whether they should brake the 186Mph and 200bhp barriers or not. It's a very complex task now that the Euro 3 regulations lurks in the background and we bet all the worlds engine designers are cursing the new rules at this point. Nevertheless there seems to be plans for both a new Kawasaki tourer and naked Z-series addition with ZZR1400 engine. If the rumours about a Z1400 are true it will be to compete with the long awaited arrival of a Suzuki B-king and the current Yamaha FZ1. Honda's new CBF1000 won't be more exiting than the 600 in this company. Which could be a good thing for some...? Comments from official Kawasaki sources: I will find out for you tomorrow (one week ago). = No comments.

Honda's long awaited V5 road engine is still as unconfirmed as ever. However 2006 will mark the 5th anniversary for the RCV211 on the race tracks. This also leads us to believe Honda will have had 5 years to develop and test a road going version of the magnificent V5 engine. It's all about economy of scale and if Honda were to launch a V5 it would be for several different platforms. This is why we think both the VFR and the Blackbird would benefit from a V5. The VFR would then get a capacity hike to about 900-1000cc whilst a bigger bore version with high performance would be available to the XX to compete against Suzuki Hayabusa, BMW K1200S and Kawasaki ZZR1400. This would also be the most popular decision Honda has ever made if our predictions comes to fruition. Comments from official Honda sources: No comments.

Yamaha has had an amazing 50th anniversary and there is no doubt the other manufacturers will use 2006 to catch up. However, we do not believe Yamaha will rest for long on their laurels. Most of the news desks around the world were expecting a brand new R1 in 2005, however the R6 was the big news. This is why we believe there is a revolutionary new 2007 YZF R1 on the cards. This is why we have got the SP and 50Th anniversary models to clear out all the stock of present R1 engines and chassis. It is also expected that Yamaha will extend even further to its MT range and we might see the new V-max being launched as a 2007 bike as well. Official Yamaha Comments: No details on the V-max and no comments about any new R1.

BMW hard necked denies there is a light weight supermoto with a 1-cylinder engine on the cards for next year. We believe it is however and we know from unofficial sources that something is going on with a high spec supermoto. We give you these three options: F650GS Supermoto, HP1 (high power 1-cylinder) or F450GS Supermoto (based on the Aprilia cooperation). Here is the comment BMW has made: Everything that has been published or discussed in the media at the moment is speculation. The only thing our Head of BMW Motorrad Dr. Diess has communicated in an interview referring to your request to a motorcycle with 150 kg is the following: "Mr Diess what does the production contract with Aprilia, which is so shrouded in mystery, contain?" "Herbert Diess: it means that a new motorbike will be produced there for which Aprilia has also taken on part of the development work. This is due to the fact that we are working at full capacity due to our product offensive which includes the new flat twin models, the new four-cylinder and the new middle class two-cylinder. Our development division has 400 people which are on a level of the Japanese competitors. It would have been very difficult for us to continue growing in this area. With this model we have discovered a market opportunity for a new BMW motorcycle segment and we saw no sense in building up all these capacities at our home base. And our experience with Aprilia has been very good in the past. There will be a single cylinder motorbike and the weight we're aiming for is 150 kilos. This BMW niche motorcycle could be on its wheels by the end of next year at the earliest."

LP: http://raptorsandrockets.com/news.html

[HRC-E.B.]

Thank God for the caveat that this is loose ends and pure speculations. For instance, the argument about the new R1 SP serving the purpose of clearing the present R1 parts stock. While the changes to the 06 R1 are limited in appearance, the bike sports a new frame and cylinder head, for starters... So any argument about clearing left-over stock makes no sense whatsoever...

I think that's an illustration of just how much nobody has any clues about what to expect much beyond two months from now...