Final up to date:
This week, there was sufficient on the docket to get excited a couple of new sort of punt:
- KTM is engaged on a platform that can slide in proper between Kawasaki’s H2 and the V3R with a neat electronically assisted mechanical supercharger.
- Kawasaki has given us a press launch for his or her Ninja lineup updates… and the ZX-10R/RR are lacking!
- Souo has determined one 1,999cc flat-eight bike isn’t sufficient, in order that they’re publishing a whole vary of “luxurious tourers”
Let’s begin with that droolworthy supercharger, we could?
KTM Patents Highly effective, Environment friendly, Light-weight Supercharger
The Better of All Worlds
The world of high-performance bikes is shortly shifting, and if Staff Orange has something to say about it, that shift will embrace superchargers…bless their beneficiant intentions.
In line with a report from RideApart, KTM has filed a brand new patent for an electronically assisted mechanical supercharger. It is a design that sits completely between its rivals, Honda’s all-electric blower (the V3R) and Yamaha’s E-Turbo patent. The system is intelligent: Whereas a supercharger is mechanically pushed by the bike’s crankshaft, a small, electrically-operated clutch can immediately decouple the supercharger, letting a small electrical motor take over when the engine’s RPM is simply too low.
The top result’s immediate energy and lag-free response at low rpm’s, with the added perk that the electrical motor may also act as a generator for the battery when the electrical motor isn’t offering increase, immediately slicing the necessity for a big, heavy battery, and serving to to punt out a motorcycle that’s gentle, highly effective, and environment friendly besides.
Primarily based on the designs we see from Ben Purvis’s protection at CycleWorld, KTM’s system may be pretty simply fitted to any of the model’s engines – and given the path of the {industry}’s present traits, lower-cc bikes are primed for this platform, thereby tackling ever-stricter EU emission requirements.
Between y’all and us, we expect that KTM’s patent for this light-weight, hybrid strategy could possibly be essentially the most balanced and efficient pressured induction design for a motorbike we’ve seen so far… no less than for future bikes. What do you assume?
For an in depth take a look at KTM’s patent, make sure you take a look at Purvis’s protection on CycleWorld:
Kawasaki Leaves Ninja ZX-10 Fashions Out of 2026 Mannequin Lineup Replace
Overseas Filings Verify Hyper-Litre Bike’s Presence for China and India
Any time an organization appears to be like like they’re prepping to omit a key bike from their subsequent mannequin yr lineup, we’re going to cowl it – and this week, that bike is none aside from Kawasaki’s supersport favourite, the ZX-10.
A handful of days in the past, Staff Inexperienced revealed a press launch saying key updates for his or her ninja lineup; this press launch, to our shock and trepidation, did NOT embrace the ZX-10R/RR duo, although it DID affirm the return of the Ninja 500, Ninja 650, ZX-4R, and ZX-6R with recent colours. These of you acquainted with one of these motion will know {that a} main mannequin to be lacking from a serious announcement usually indicators one in all two issues:
- A serious replace is coming
- The mannequin is being discontinued
Euro5+ compliance has been throwing bitter plums in all people’s salads as of late, so naturally we had been fearful that the 2025 ZX-10R/RR had fallen decrease in Kawasaki’s docket of to-do’s or the bike’s revisions had missed the deadline for Euro5+ compliance… however whereas we’re nonetheless curious as to the bike’s function for the western hemisphere, we now have affirmation from India and China that the ZX-10 siblings will no less than be round in these markets.
Whereas we await a discover from Kawasaki on the bike’s continued function in these markets, the primary change for the ZX-10R/RR (for India and China, at any fee) embrace the truth that the ZX-10R/RR have been revised to publish a slight drop in output, down from the 2025 mannequin’s 200 hp and 84.7 lb-ft to an approximate 193 hp @ 13,000 rpm and 82.6 lb-ft of torque.
We even have affirmation of the machine that’s been taking Kawasaki’s consideration away from the ZX-10R! In line with Bike.com, Kawi’s racing focus has shifted towards the Bimota KB998 Rimini, a supersport with Bimota bones, a Kawasaki ZX-10RR coronary heart, and energy figures displaying off 197 hp at 13,600 rpm and 81.9 lb-ft. at 11,700 rpm. Time will inform what Kawasaki plans on doing with each bikes – and whether or not or not they are going to proceed to crossover like this – however till we have now additional updates, we’re relieved that the ZX-10R/RR seems to be in circulation for sure areas of our good globe… for now.
For an in depth take a look at the brand new specs and the complete breakdown of Kawasaki’s 2026 lineup, make sure you head over to Bike.com:
Quick Filings: Papers Show China Continues to Spend money on Massive-Bore Bike Energy
Souo S2000CT Luxurious Energy Cruiser Vary Poised to Make a Massive Splash
China, ever the nation to be synonymous with “small-cc bikes”, has been wriggling towards barely extra highly effective choices; on this case, we’re ready on a “luxurious tourer.”
Souo has been making headlines for some time as a result of their distinctive flat-8 engines and… I imply, the pure undeniable fact that their bikes are usually an absolute cartridge of a unit. Take the LH2000-5 and LH2000-6, for example; these monsters weigh in round 941 kilos and sport a 71.3-inch wheelbase, with the corporate’s dual-clutch transmission able to 151 horsepower and 140 pound-feet of torque.
Add latest regulatory filings and studies from CycleWorld, and a wholly new mannequin sequence emerges to prepared to interrupt into markets. This new S2000CT mannequin vary is a follow-up to their debutante, the S2000 – a machine sporting Souo’s 1,999cc flat-eight engine and an completely ridiculous (however maybe enjoyable) 8-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Now that we all know this model is aiming to out-spec Honda’s iconic Gold Wing, Purvis’s protection of latest filings exhibits us that S2000CT reimagines the corporate’s flat-eight platform into a real cruiser format, with styling impressed by Honda’s 2000-era Rune.
There will likely be 4 variants in whole, starting from a stripped-back solo cruiser as much as fully-equipped baggers with all of the bells and whistles. Parts of this vary will embrace industry-new concepts like Souo’s resolution to make a complicated Hossack-style double-wishbone system seem like a standard telescopic fork.
For an in depth take a look at Souo’s upcoming flat-eight cruiser vary and extra components of the bikes’ engineering, make sure you take a look at the complete report on CycleWorld:
