It might seem like the Team Throttle editors have a soft spot for adventure bikes. But appearances can be deceiving because over the past few years, my personal preference has slowly started to shift. Why? Until 2020 I commuted 200 km by motorbike every day, rain or shine, summer or winter. Back then, a comfortable ride just made sense.
In recent years, however, I’ve been working much closer to home. Lane splitting seems useless because it hardly saves any time (though I must admit I still do a bit of it). The result? I’ve become a fair-weather rider, and a comfortable bike doesn’t feel quite so “essential” anymore. Fun and looks can carry a bit more weight now. Not that I find my Ténéré ugly – far from it – but a custom chopper or a cool naked is always welcome in my garage too.
Enter the Yamaha XSR900. Built around the well-known and widely praised CP3 engine. The XSR is part of Yamaha’s Sport Heritage line-up: modern tech wrapped in retro aesthetics. For the XSR900, Yamaha drew inspiration from the 1980s, more specifically from the Deltabox frame that it introduced on its sport bikes back then.
That doesn’t mean the XSR900 is a racing machine, but it definitely Continue reading →
For years there’s been a Triumph Street Triple 765 RS sitting in my garage. I barely ride it, and after every riding season I say with full conviction: “next year I’m selling it”! Yet every spring, it manages to seduce me into taking it for a spin, and bam! That addictive engine, sublime handling and phenomenal brakes never fail to plaster a giant grin across my face.
Unfortunately, that grin doesn’t last long. After half an hour, it turns into a doubtful grimace because the riding position is too cramped for my aging body. And when I tuck the bike back under its cover, I often find myself sighing: “Why doesn’t Triumph make a taller Street Triple?”.
When Triumph introduced the Tiger Sport 800 last year, it felt like my wish had come true. But my first encounter wasn’t entirely positive. During my visit to EICMA, I named Triumph’s latest crossover the disappointment of the show: beautifully designed, but the seated test session was a letdown.
Curious to see if a week-long test ride could change my mind, I took the Sport to the Taunus mountain range in Germany, together with a group of riding buddies.
The 800 clearly inherits its styling from the Tiger Sport 660. Extra DRLs, wind deflectors and a bit more fairing at the bottom give it more presence, although it remains a very slim-looking bike. That impression is reinforced by the narrow tail section. The finish is – just as we’ve come to expect from Triumph – impeccable. Also striking: the visible exhaust. On the 660, the muffler is tucked under the bike.
The Sport 800 comes in four colors: Cosmic Yellow looks stunning but not very timeless, the grey version has the most class and the black one is the coolest in my opinion. For the test, I got the Continue reading →
Last Sunday it was once again time to put on our most stylish outfits and hop on our bikes for the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride. Our photographer Michele Micoli was in Genk to capture it:
Have you noticed how every year around October, you’re flooded with motorcycle news about the latest models? Well, you can experience all that excitement in person – and as one of the first – at EICMA in Milan.
EICMA is the ultimate place to be for motorcycle enthusiasts, the sacred ground where the biggest motorcycle fair takes place. The Esposizione Internazionale Ciclo Motociclo e Accessori is held in early November at the Fiera Milano, a massive exhibition center northwest of Milan. For a week, everything that’s new in the world of motorcycles is showcased for the press, industry professionals and the public.
Visiting EICMA had been on my bucket list for years, and this year I can finally cross it off!
How to get there
Getting to the EICMA motorcycle show involves a few practical steps. But don’t let that hold you back – in hindsight, it’s surprisingly straightforward. Here’s a quick breakdown:
EICMA runs for nearly a week, from Tuesday to Sunday. The first two days (Tuesday and Wednesday) are reserved for traders, press and influencers. From Thursday to Sunday, the event opens its doors to the general public. In early September, I booked a ticket for Friday at a price of €15. From mid-September, the price rises to €20, and tickets at the door cost €25.
I flew with Ryanair on Thursday evening from Brussels-South to Milan. But just as Brussels-South is not actually in Brussels but in Charleroi, Milan’s budget airport is located in Bergamo. From Bergamo, a shuttle bus (€10 one way) takes you to Milan Central Station in about an hour. From there, you can take the metro to any part of the city. For EICMA, hop on metro line 1 and get off at Rho Fiera, the final stop.
EICMA, here I come!
EICMA officially opens its doors at 9:30 AM, but like many other eager visitors, I arrived at 8:30 AM. Unsure of the exact entrance location (there are several), I followed the kilometer-long bridge with the poetic name Ponte di Mare, which cuts through the exhibition halls. It led me to a shorter line and conveniently to an entrance located between Halls 22 and 24. Unbeknownst to me at the time, this was where Suzuki and Yamaha were set up, two brands I was particularly excited to check out.
At exactly 9:30 AM, the doors opened. Once inside, it didn’t feel too crowded, though that would change quickly.
My main goal was to check out the major brands, focusing on the latest releases. Beyond that, I planned to Continue reading →
Going on a week-long motorcycle tour in June has become a tradition, here at the Team Throttle headquarters. And a second tradition seems to be emerging: making last-minute decisions about our destination. Last year, we headed to Norway because the weather gods thwarted our plans for Spain and Italy. This year, it looked like all of Europe would turn into one big rain zone during our planned week off. Luckily, two days before departure, the Spanish weather maps cleared up a bit, so off we went!
We, that is Jan_F on a Triumph Tiger 900, Shih on his KTM 890 Adventure and myself on a BMW R 1300 GS. Our destination: Picos de Europa, the mountain range in northern Spain, roughly to the southwest of Bilbao.
We had already planned the routes last year, and after a final check this year, our plans looked as follows: Continue reading →
It’s already been five years since I attended the Belgian launch of the Yamaha Ténéré 700. In a short time, the T7 established itself as the reference within the mid-range adventure segment. The most common criticisms of the standard model were its somewhat limited range and the suspension, which was considered too soft for more serious off-road work. Yamaha addressed this by introducing four additional Ténéré models, offering something for everyone.
The Ténéré 700 Extreme has longer suspension travel and lightweight components, while the Ténéré 700 Explore offers shorter suspension travel and more comfort than the standard model. The World Raid is a T7 with a 23-liter tank and better suspension, and the latest addition to the line-up is the World Rally: a World Raid with a nice retro color scheme and goodies like an Akrapovic exhaust.
Electronics
When it comes to the equipment of the T7 models, we can be brief. The World Raid was the first one to feature a Continue reading →
Those folks at Ducati are something else. If you were considering a Multistrada not too long ago, you would have had to choose between six models (V2, V2 S, V4, V4 S, V4 S Rally, and V4 S Pikes Peak). But hey, the more, the merrier, right? So, Ducati added two extra models in 2023: the V4 S Grand Tour and the V4 S RS.
Let me help you identify the different family members. The V2 is the twin-cylinder, with the V2 S as its more luxuriously equipped counterpart. On the other hand, the V4 is the standard four-cylinder. Wheelie control, cornering ABS and traction control come standard on the “regular” V4, while the V4 S offers more options, including electronic suspension, a larger display with smartphone connectivity, a quickshifter and cruise control. The V4 S Rally is geared towards off-road enthusiasts, the Grand Tour for the travel-hungry, the Pikes Peak for the sporty riders, and the RS for the even sportier ones.
I had the chance to test whether the Ducati Multistrada V4 S Grand Tour truly lives up to its promise as a touring bike and took it for a weekend ride all the way to Normandy.
The Grand Tour comes with a bundle of options on top of the V4 S equipment: side panniers, heated seats for both rider and pillion, heated grips, fog lights, adaptive cruise control (instead of non-adaptive), blind-spot warning, tire pressure monitoring and a center stand. These options can also be ordered on other Multistradas too, but on the Grand Tour, Continue reading →
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