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While we expect to see some new motorcycle models at next month's EICMA show, the news out of last week's Intermot was — to put it bluntly — not that newsy.
Back in 2014, the first year of Common Tread, we ran more than half a dozen short articles on new models unveiled at Intermot. (Admittedly, we may have stretched a little and the resulting soup may have been too thin, but we were still figuring out where we were going with this thing.) Now, in 2022, the main thing I have to say about Intermot is there's not a lot to say.
As far as the U.S. market goes, the most interesting model seen at Intermot was surely the Honda CB750 Hornet. Honda had already released information on the new parallel-twin engine that will power the Hornet and, we hope, other new models, but we got a few more details about the rest of the bike at Intermot. Mainly that it will have Showa suspension, with a SFF-BPTM inverted fork in the front, and four-piston, radial-mount brake calipers. The tires will be 120-section front and a 160 rear. Electronics include four rider modes (one customizable) and Honda says the weight will be 418 pounds.
Of course all of that applies only to the European model, since we still haven't heard from American Honda about U.S. availability, price, or specs. (Editorial digression warning: I really dislike writing about new motorcycles that don't have a price tag attached. I mean, almost any motorcycle is interesting to me if the price is $1.50 and there's no motorcycle in the world I'd buy if the price is $150,000. It's safe to say the Hornet will fall somewhere in between, but without knowing what it costs you can't really say whether you'd be interested. Tell me in the comments if you think I'm just being too curmudgeonly and shouldn't hold the lack of a price tag against new models being unveiled.)
Mainly what we've learned about the Hornet is what it looks like. And, perhaps, based on Honda Europe's promotional video, that if you buy a Hornet you'll have youthful good looks and killer dance moves. Or maybe it's that you have to have youthful good looks and killer dance moves to be approved to buy a Hornet. Not sure.
Another case where I expected to learn more than we did was Kawasaki's electric motorcycle. Kawasaki briefly demonstrated the electric bike and a hybrid at the Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race a couple of months ago. But it doesn't seem the prototype displayed at Intermot is much of an advancement from then.
The EV looks a lot like an electric Z400, which is not a bad thing at all. But, since Kawasaki clearly stated that this is a prototype, there's no telling what will change before we see a production version. Specs, power, range... we'll have to keep waiting for details.
Beyond that, the "new" models we saw at Intermot were ones we've already seen before, such as the Zero DSR/X that Tucker Neary reviewed for us last month, or exotic oddities we'll probably never see here in the states, such as the Horex Regina Evo, an unusual combination of retro style and a carbon fiber frame.
I don't expect any groundbreaking surprises at EICMA, but I do expect to see more truly new models unveiled there compared to the slim pickings at Intermot.
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