2021 Aprilia Tuono V4 Factory

Coming directly off of a six-bike shootout the previous day of paltry 900cc nekids, I knew I needed to focus on rewiring my brain to handle the beast that is the Aprilia Tuono V4. I’ve been a fan (and owner) of the Aprilia Tuono V4 platform for some time now – and I’m not the only one around here. From earning the editors’ top spot in our 2017 Supernaked Streetfighter Shootout!, to bringing home the people’s choice award in our Writer’s Choice: MO’s WSBK Sport-Touring Showdown in 2019, the Tuono’s list of accolades run deep through the years both at MO and other publications worldwide – and it just keeps getting better. With an ever more hard-edged category though, the Tuono hasn’t won them all. 

For 2021, we’re looking at incremental changes and a bit of differentiation in the position of the standard Tuono V4 versus the Tuono V4 Factory – now without double Rs and other confusing monikers to keep track of. The Tuono V4 is now more focused on being a street-friendly “hypernaked.” The base model has taller risers, a taller windscreen with slightly more wind protection around the front fairing, lower passenger pegs, a passenger grab rail, and a larger, more accommodating seat (similar to what has been seen before on previous Tuonos) with a more robust subframe for the potential extra weight of a passenger and luggage. The Factory model remains focused on outright performance with Öhlins SMART EC 2.0 electronic suspension, the RSV4-derived tail and subframe setup, and sportier rubber.

Incremental Changes

This has been the story of the Tuono V4 for some time. Not a lot of major overhauls throughout the V4’s lifespan. That’s not to say important changes didn’t happen, but rather that Aprilia put together a machine with such a solid foundation a decade ago(!), it’s only needed those incremental changes over the years to keep the V4 in fighting shape. 

Motorcycle carriers that mount to your vehicle’s hitch can prove to be incredibly convenient for all manner of reasons. The biggest reason being that it will allow you to carry a motorcycle with a vehicle that could not otherwise. Maybe you’re not willing to give up the convenience of your SUV just to haul a motorcycle now and then, or maybe you just like the idea of being able to stow the carrier when you’re not using it. Maybe you hate trucks?

There is a wide range of hitch-mounted carriers on the market. You’ll want to make sure you’re buying one that is well-made, especially if you plan on putting a street bike’s worth of heft on it. You’ll also want to be sure your vehicle can withstand the weight of the carrier and motorcycle. Even the two-wheeler you plan to use it for should be considered. For example, scooters have a serious rear weight bias. If you get a carrier only rated for the weight of your scooter, and most of that weight is being held on one side, you’re gonna have a bad time. With all things considered, let’s take a look at the best goldang motorcycle hitch carriers available today.

Let’s face it, motojournalism isn’t really a profession for overachievers, is it? Some of us like to kid ourselves that it once required a certain amount of writing skill, but rereading some of the things I wrote 20 years ago puts that argument to rest. Then too, it’s mostly moot, since most of the moto enthusiasts consuming our content today wouldn’t know a dangling modifier from an Oxford comma, or care. Neither do I, come to think of it. Is there a video? We only want to know how many ride modes there are, if there’s cruise control, and what time is happy hour? All to say, the journalists in motojournalism aren’t often at the sharp end of the literary, or the journalistic spear; The Bad Editor is here to offer a bit of inside postmortem regarding our motojournalistic malpractice.

It could be that our attention spans have all been ground down to nubs by the www, but in the pre-internet days, there were some writers in the big monthly print magazines whose words you couldn’t wait to sit down under a good light to read. Peter Jones was never one of them. I kid!

But he was pretty good. Pretty, pretty good, and still is. The Kevin Camerons and Peter Egans are the gold standard, and both of those guys’ collected columns – Top Dead Center (1 and 2), and Leanings (at least 1 and 2), are on many motorhead bookshelves and deservedly so. Why shouldn’t Peter Jones collect all his columns into a volume, too?

Funny, we just bumped into a travelling nurse riding one of these, with 60,000 miles on it – and still running strong, of course. Not to be outmarketed by the Euros, naturally Yamaha USA had to give the new “R1 for the real world” their own name when it got here. Yamaha Fazer 1000? Isn’t that a little too Trekkie? How about FZ-1? Done!

When Ashmore Ellis and Anya Violet realized they were some of the only women constantly running into each other at different motorcycle events, they decided it was time for a much-needed change. They wanted to make more connections with like-minded ladies in the two-wheel world who shared their love of riding, so with a flyer shared to their Instagram accounts, and a lot of unexpected reposts, they found themselves greeted at a Temecula gas station by 50 other excited women on street bikes (they expected 15) ready to ride…without any idea of where they were going.

They ripped out to Borrego Springs that day, camped out on a dry lakebed, and the rest, as they say, was history. “Those 50 women were so enthusiastic about it and felt like it was something that was kind of missing,” recalls Violet. The immediate support led to the creation of Babes Ride Out and a few years later, Babes in the Dirt, women’s only motorcycle and dirt bike events that now attract hundreds of attendees of all skill levels.

“When you’re riding dirt there’s a certain sense of freedom about it that you just can’t get riding street [bikes]. I think it’s really due to the space and being in nature,” says Ellis. “I got into dirt biking just watching other women do it. I’d been riding street for a few years, and it never really clicked with me until probably around year three of Babes in the Dirt, so it took me a while to really love it.”

Anya, on the other hand, has been riding dirt bikes since she was six. “My mom rode dirt bikes and got us kids into it, and I was really the only one that really took to it,” she says. “I went from a 50cc motorcycle to a 125 and a 125 to a 250 and just kept upgrading and really fell in love with it.”

Aside from getting exclusive access to destinations that you can only reach by off-road vehicles, both Babes founders love the camaraderie that comes with the particulars of the sport. “I just love the teamwork it takes to get through certain sections,” says Ellis. “Maybe in your mind you don’t think you can do it but there’s your friend over there cheering you on and clapping when you get to the top.”

Pity the poor fool who’s got nothing to do for a week or two but roll around on his motorcycle – no job, no cares, no particular place to be. And if you’re fortunate enough to have all those things working in your favor, chances are you’re carrying around quite a bit of loot in the saddlebags and trunk of your Goldwing, Ultra Glide or big BMW K-bike – possibly even an accomplice. What you want on all of those bikes are tires that stick to the pavement, wet or dry, upright or dragging peg, carry a heavy load safely, and preferably wear like iron. Is that too much to ask?

Earlier this year, we broke news of the existence of the new Yamaha R7, and a couple of weeks later, that Yamaha has plans for more R models to come, with trademark applications in Japan for a number of names from R1 through R9, plus R15, R20 and R25. Thanks to a number of new trademark applications in multiple markets, we believe the next models to follow after the R7 will be the R9 and R2.

Earlier this week, Yamaha filed trademark applications for the names R2, R7 and R9 with the European Union Intellectual Property Office, as well as the respective IP offices in Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, Switzerland and Uruguay (and likely more to follow).

In each case, the individual filings referenced the earlier filings made in Japan, using a process called the Paris Convention, which allows applicants to take an initial filing and apply for similar rights to a trademark in additional markets. This is a fairly common practice in trademark law, as the Convention recognizes the initial filing’s date for all subsequent applications, so applicant’s don’t have to worry about having to apply for trademarks in several markets at the same time.

What’s telling about these recent filings is that protection for only the R2, R7 and R9 names are being sought, suggesting that they are the ones expected to be used sooner. The R7 has already launched, which means the R2 and R9 may be next in line. We have to remind ourselves that trademark filings alone don’t always mean that we’ll see an actual product. They are, however, a sign of what a company has planned, and the selective filing of just these three names in multiple markets is telling.

I think I’m always going to think the one-piece Aerostich suit, be it R3 or Classic, is the best combination of protection, comfort, and convenience for people who ride their motorcycle a lot. But not necessarily for people who stop riding their motorcycle a lot, which is what the MO crew winds up doing since the invention of the Youtube. We find ourselves stopping along the side of the road to shoot video and photos. When you’re rolling, Aerostich airflow is good. When you’re stopped, it gets hot in there in a hurry. Whipping the suit off isn’t usually the answer, since most of the time we’re shooting in sun-blasted SoCal, where there’s not much shade.

Tourmaster, who have a long history of making good gear at great prices, offered up their new adventurish Ridgecrest jacket and pants; who was I to refuse? 

Ridgecrest jacket

As she leaves the box (which looked like a big-screen TV when the UPS man brought it to my door), this thing is rather bulky. But since it was June, I quickly figured out how to remove the lightweight Reissa breathable, waterproof zip-out liner (“an extremely thin waterproof coating or membrane that is lightweight for wearing comfort but extremely durable –  highly resistant to rain, wind and snow while maintaining breathability,” they say), along with the zip-out thermal vest liner. You can roll both liners up tight enough to stow in the big pocket at the lower rear of the jacket, but maybe most of the time in the summer you only need the waterproof Reissa one, which isn’t too bulky at all. In California summer, I leave both liners in the garage.

With no liners, what you’re left with is a lightweight jacket whose leading surfaces are mostly mesh, but with 1000-denier honeycomb nylon ripstop reinforced shoulders, elbows, and forearms backed by CE level-2 Safe-Tech shoulder and elbow armor, which lives in internal pockets in the jacket’s nice, 100%-polyester liner. Two sliding slack take-up straps per sleeve – one above the elbow and one below – let you snug the sleeves up to your buggywhip arms, to help ensure that elbow/forearm armor is going to stay between your meat and the street if the worst should happen, and to control flappage. There’s a removable ¼-inch thick EVA foam back pad too, which will protect you in case of BB-gun attack from the rear: The pocket could fit a real back protector if you want one, up to 17 x 12 inches, though Tourmster itself doesn’t offer one.

Size L fits my 5’8” body with 34-inch waistline quite nicely, leaving room for two more thin layers underneath with the liners in place. With a t-shirt inside, it’s flap-free even on naked bikes at supralegal speeds. Though there seems to be no way to keep the Velcro tabs inside the sleeves from scratching your arms a little as you get in and out, at least the microfiber-lined collar and cuffs treat you right. Cuffs get zippers and a Velcro flap, which allows you to wear all kinds of short or long gloves. Overall, the Ridgecrest is quite comfy and fits well once you’re in it.

Valentino Rossi announced that he will be retiring at the conclusion of the 2021 MotoGP season. The nine-time World Champion confirmed his decision during a press conference today, just as the 2021 MotoGP season resumes from its mid-summer break for the Michelin Grand Prix of Styria in Spielberg, Austria.

The Doctor will retire as one of the most decorated grand prix racers of all time. Over his 25-year career, Rossi has won 115 races, including 89 in the premier class, and appeared on the podium 235 times. He is the only rider to win world titles in the 125, 250, 500 and MotoGP categories.

Rossi won his first world title in 1997, capturing the 125cc championship for the Nastro Azzurro Aprilia Team, winning 11 of 15 races. He won the 250cc class title in 1999, again for Aprilia, before making the jump to the 500cc class the following year. Rossi then won five world titles in the world, first as a Honda rider for the 2001 500cc class and the first two MotoGP class titles in 2002 and 2003. The following year, he joined Yamaha and won more MotoGP titles in 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2009.

The job of a sportbike tire is a tough one. Considering the performance – and variety – of today’s modern sporting machines, an ideal tire needs to be able to warm up quickly, offer good grip in both wet and dry conditions, transfer feedback to the rider, and provide good handling capabilities. Thankfully, all the major tire companies work tirelessly to improve their tires to meet these demands. Of course, longevity is a concern as well, but compared to a sport-touring tire a sportbike tire won’t quite measure up with all the other duties it has to perform.

Here, we’ve gathered seven different tires that are great at handling it all. We’ve focused on street-based tires, since that’s where the majority of sportbike riders spend their time, although all of the tires here are more than capable of handling the occasional trackday or two. If you’re the serious trackday/racing type, we’ll have a separate guide for you coming soon.

Bombardier Recreational Products is making changes to it’s Can-Am Ryker line-up for 2022, with a new Ryker 900 Sport set to replace the Rally Edition variant.

Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board have approved a 2022 Can-Am Ryker 900 Sport alongside the base model Ryker 900. Not listed for the 2022 model year is the Ryker 900 Rally Edition which had been around since 2019. The EPA has also certified the 600cc version of the Cam-Am Ryker for 2022.

While we know the Ryker 900 Sport exists, the certifications don’t offer any clues about what to expect beyond the engines. As with the previous model years, the 2022 the 2022 Ryker 900 models will be powered by the three-cylinder Rotax 900 ACE engine claiming a peak output of 81.9 hp at 8000 rpm. The continuously variable transmission will also return for 2022.

Though the power numbers are identical to the previous model years, the certifications for 2022 list a different engine code. Since the Ryker 900 debuted in 2019, it has been certified with an engine family code ending with “899AHL.” The 2022 engine has the code “899BHL,” suggesting something has changed, and that’s reflected in updated emissions data. The 2022 Ryker 600 also has a new engine family code, now going by “599BHL” instead of the previous “600AHL.”

Airbags are kind of a big deal around here, ever since I had the unfortunate pleasure(?) of putting one to the ultimate test. Since that fateful day, however, I never hop on a motorcycle without wearing an airbag, and I’ve been an advocate to anyone willing to listen that they should wear one, too – no matter who makes it, and no matter how it’s activated.

In the field of smart airbags – that is, airbags not requiring a physical tether to deploy – the choices are a little slim, though options are slowly expanding. This brings us to In&Motion and its smart airbag system. US customers may not be as familiar with the brand as its origins are in France, but the company has been widespread in Europe for a few years and partners with Klim in the US, where its airbags have slowly been gaining traction.

Ostensibly, the In&Motion airbag vest has roughly the same features you’ve seen in other airbag systems – a vest that encapsulates the electronics needed to trigger the system, when a crash is detected, and the airbag protection that surrounds nearly the entire upper body. Big deal, right? Well, the devil’s in the details, as they say, and there are a few that make the In&Motion system stand out.

What It Is

Unlike other electronic airbag vests out there, the In&Motion system actually consists of two separate parts. The first is the airbag vest itself. If you’ve been paying attention to the airbag game lately, there’s nothing too shocking here. Weighing about 3.3 lbs, the In&Motion vest is thin and discreet – more so than, say, the Alpinestars Tech-Air 5. Airbag coverage includes nearly the entire upper body, both front and back, with an additional CE-rated back protector for added protection. There’s also a considerable amount of airbag protection over the collarbones and surrounding neck area.

Twenty-five years ago, Yamaha had an 849 cc liquid-cooled 270-degree cranked parallel Twin in a steel birdcage frame, but the TRX850 faded from view before it even made it to America. Today, 270-degree parallel Twins and trellis frames are all the rage. All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

BMW added two new models to its “Big Boxer” heritage line with the 2022 R18 B bagger and R18 Transcontinental touring model. They join the R18 and R18 Classic in BMW’s lineup of models powered by the 1802cc Boxer engine. Pricing starts at $21,945 for the R18 B and $24,995 for the R18 Transcontinental

The Transcontinental and B share much in common, including the large handlebar-mounted fairing, 10.25-inch TFT color display, color-matched side cases and a sound system from Marshall Amplification. The R18 B has a short windscreen, a slimmer seat and matt black metallic engine and trim. The Transcontinental comes with a top case/passenger backrest, heated seats, a tall windscreen, fairing lowers, additional lighting, engine guards, chrome trim and a Silver metallic engine.

Since they are designed for long-distance travel, the R18 B and Transcontinental are equipped with 6.3 gallon fuel tanks, compared to the 4.2-gallon tank on the R18 cruiser. To accommodate the larger gas tank, BMW modified the double-loop tube frame for the touring models. The chassis geometry was adapted accordingly to support two people and a full load of luggage, with the rake angle decreased to 27.3° from 32.7° and the wheelbase shortened to 66.7 inches from 68.1 inches.

The engine is the same 1802cc air/oil-cooled Boxer with four pushrod-actuated valves per cylinder. BMW claims a maximum output of 91 hp at 4750 rpm. Peak torque is a claimed 116 lb-ft. of torque at 3000 rpm, with BMW claiming 110.6 lb-ft. on tap from 2000 to 4000 rpm. The engine redlines at 5750 rpm and idles at just 950 rpm.

Following the introduction of the supermoto-styled FXE earlier this month, Zero Motorcycles is preparing to launch two more new models for 2022: a DSR/X and a redesigned SR.

The information comes to us via a vehicle identification number (VIN) decoder Zero submitted to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The document included VIN information for the FXE but also listed an as-yet-unannounced DSR/X model. The document also listed a new VIN code for a 2022 SR that differs from the existing SR model, suggesting a significant update for the naked bike.

We already knew a DSR/X model was on the way after Zero filed a trademark application for the name in August 2020, alongside the FXE name. At the time, we suggested the DSR/X may be a more off-road capable version of the DSR dual sport, and that still remains as good a guess as any. Zero currently offers a 7.2 kWh DS model as well as a 14.4 kWh DSR model, plus the DSR Black Forest Edition set up for light adventure-touring. All three existing dual sports are equipped with cast wheels, so we suspect the DSR/X may come equipped with wire-spoke wheels.