The week after EICMA always leaves a buzz in the air; today, that buzz is realized in the fact that sometimes, the covers aren’t lifted until after everybody has wrapped up and gone home.
In this case, the offerings are a little too good to pass up:
- Norton’s going into dual leadership; what does this mean for Norton?
- White Motorcycle concepts has delivered on yet another EV concept boasting new records of aerodynamic drag reduction.
- A closer look at Indian’s fresh new Scout Sixty… and the three variants dropped for 2024.
- CFMoto’s V.04 engine, and the 1,000cc super bike they’re gunning to get onto a circuit ASAP.
Let’s begin with a peep under Norton’s proverbial hood.
Norton Motorcycles Moves into Dual Leadership
Move Geared Toward “Boost[ing the] Premium Market”
For those of you who haven’t been keeping stride with our coverage of Norton Motorcycles, the end of March saw a happy ending to previous Norton CEO Stuart Garner’s pension case. Since then, news from Norton’s source in Solihull has been understandably hush-hush.
Today, that aesthetic changed for the better.
Thanks to some flexible maneuvering, we’re told by Michelle Lieu’s article on iMotorbike that Norton Motorcycles has implemented a “dual leadership model.”
What does this mean for Norton Motorcycles, you ask? According to the article, here are the biggest points to highlight:
- Robert Hentschel – Stuart Garner’s successor – is stepping down into a non-executive member role.
- Nevijo Mance is taking over for Hentschel as CEO and will be overseeing “product design, engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain management.”
- Richard Arnold, appointed Executive Director in June, will maintain his role in the management of marketing, sales, distribution, and customer relations.
According to the article, Norton aims at keeping product quality and brand standards high while focusing on an eventual expansion into India.
With six motorcycles rumored to be on the way, we’re curious to see if Norton will build on their current parallel-twin know-how; my personal opinion is that Norton’s future could very well be aimed at a more accessible crowd of riders.
What do you think Norton will look like in a few years?
White Motorcycle Concepts and Zero Motorcycles Beat New Records with “Intelligent Aero” Concept
Midweight Sports Bike to Debut with World-First Aerodynamic Drag Reduction for EV Bikes
Winglets are cool and all, but how do we feel about a motorcycle built with a duct running clean through the chassis?
The last time we covered White Motorcycle Concepts (WMC), they had just released an electric police scooter with three wheels and a massive air duct making for an obscenely efficient ride. Now, three wheels have turned into two, and the bike has been donated by none other than Zero Motorcycles; in short, WMC just debuted the first mid-sized electric sports bike to carry their hole-y, “Intelligent Aero” patent.
The bike in question is a Zero SR/S with some serious modifications; christened the “WMC Zero SRS INTELLIGENT AERO PROTOTYPE (WMCSRS) concept,” this bike boasts a fist-sized hole and a clear 10% reduction in air drag (over Zero’s other motorcycles, presumably).
Here’s the full, rather exhaustive list of perks associated with WMC’s “Intelligent Air” tech:
- Extends range
- Lowers cost
- Reduces the need for a larger battery
- Cuts down on charging time
- Cuts on battery expenses
- Duct is affordable to integrate and manufacture
- Enables increased top speed (max)
- Maintains a very low risk of component failure
- Aerodynamic advantages increase with higher speeds
Naturally, the CEO of motorcycle concepts is keen on getting EV performance as close to ICE as possible; here is an excerpt from him on just how this unique machine came to be:
| “The whole industry is currently facing a huge technical/commercial challenge to produce an electric motorcycle with performance close to its petrol equivalent. This problem space will not be solved by battery technology alone, it requires a blend of innovations to bridge the gap now and provide efficiency benefits in the future.
When I first saw the Zero SR/S frame and battery architecture, I immediately recognized the opportunity to retrofit a duct. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved, though the duct is limited by existing packaging constraints. It would offer even greater performance if integrated from the start of a motorcycle’s design. Aerodynamics is a hot topic, especially in MotoGP, where winglets and other devices improve lap times, though this efficiency benefit does not always translate to retail bikes. Our intelligent aero duct enhances aerodynamic efficiency, positively impacting upon power consumption, especially at high speeds.” – Robert White, Founder & CEO, White Motorcycle Concepts (WMC press release) |
Follow up the above amazing engineering with words from Zero’s CEO, and suddenly I’m keen to try out this tech for myself:
– Abe Askenazi, Zero Motorcycles CTO (WMC press release) |
What do you think of WMC and Zero’s new concept, and would you want to try the tech out for yourself?
Indian Motorcycles Revives the Scout Sixty for the EU
Refreshed Range Features “Bobber,” “Classic” and “Sport Scout”
After a handful of years, Indian Motorcycles has finally returned the Scout Sixty to Europe’s showrooms!
According to Indian motorcycles, recent press release, the scout 60 comes in two variations:
- Scout Sixty Classic
- Scout Sixty Bobber
Both variants carry Indian’s 999cc, liquid-cooled, 60° V-twin engine capable of 84bhp @ 8500rpm and 64.2lb-ft of torque available at 6200rpm. That’s a lot of power for “Indian’s most affordable model,” but it seems to be the perfect blend for Indian’s target audience, 90% of which are new to the Indian brand upon purchasing and almost 25% of which are new to riding, period.
Perhaps this last fact is the reason why Indian will be offering an A2 license-compliant Scout Sixty with a restriction of 47 bhp.
For those of you who weren’t inundated back in the 20-teens, Indian’s older Scout Sixty was originally withdrawn due to emissions regulations; we are happy to announce that the new Scout Sixty meets full Euro5+ compliance, with the brand’s more powerful 1250cc Scout range still available for 2025.
For those keen on getting their hands on one of these things, here’s a list of the new Scout Sixty’s perks and pricing:
Scout Sixty (Classic and Bobber):
- 999cc, liquid-cooled, 60° V-twin engine
- 84bhp @ 8500rpm
- 64.2lb-ft of torque available at 6200rpm
- A2 license-compliant variant will be restricted to 47bhp
- “Limited” versions will be uprated in price and offer:
- Cruise control
- USB charger
- Three riding modes (Sport, Road, Rain)
Scout Sixty (Classic)
- 25.7”/654mm seat height
- 511lb/232kg weight
- From £11,695 (Classic Limited: £12,995)
Scout Sixty (Bobber)
- 25.5”/649mm seat height
- 516lb/234kg weight
- From £10,995 (Bobber Limited: £12,995)
Naturally, Indian’s VP is more than a little excited to update the Scout Sixty:
– Aaron Jax, Vice President for Indian Motorcycle (Indian Motorcycles press release) |
What do you think of Indian Motorcycles finally bringing their Scout Sixty to European shores?
EICMA: CFMoto’s New V4 Engine
… and the 1,000cc Superbike to Rule It All
“We are always in the mood for a track monster.” – we said as much last week, but are we really ready for a 1,000cc, WSBK-keen beast from CFMoto?
Those of you who kept up with the lineups of bikes coming in and out of Milan’s Motorcycle expo have seen CFMoto’s new “V.04” engine and the “Master of Speed” title bestowed in the general direction of an insane supersport concept. If you haven’t we’re here to tell you that the initial lack of specs from CFMoto made more than a handful of people lash out in a full-on hissy fit.
Thanks to CFMoto’s confirmations, here’s what we know about the engine so far:
CFMoto V.04
- Oval exhaust ports
- Two injectors per cylinder
- Finger followers in the valvetrain
- Double overhead camshafts (DOHC)
- Titanium pistons
- 135.6lbs weight (lighter than that of Aprilia’s 1,000cc V4 engine from 2012, which weighed 152lbs)
- Power is purportedly rated to 209hp @ 14,500rpm and 84lb-ftt of torque @ 12,500rpm
To the above features sheet, we add a concept bike complete with the following choices:
- Enclosed wheels
- Gigantic fairing winglets
- LED lights
- A RAM air intake
- Integrated Akrapovič exhaust tips
Curious about what CFMoto’s movement is for the future? We have a good idea based on the following information:
- CFMoto is gunning for the World Superbike Championship, or WSBK (per Interesting Engineering). This is the tippy-top of supersport prowess on a global circuit, so it’s only fitting that CFMoto would cook on a particularly pretty contraption to gun neck-and-neck in an official capacity.
- For anybody scoffing that CFMoto ain’t ready for WSBK, don’t go hoisting your own petard. We’re talking about a brand that has already won podiums in both Moto2 and Moto3, so there’s a high likelihood that the next step would be a class with a bigger capacity limit (via Motogp.com)
- If visuals are any indicator, then we can consider that this 1,000cc concept looks like Aprilia’s V4, cross-reference this with the bike’s 209hp marker, and deduce that Honda’s supercharged V3 is likely going to have a run for its money.
Of course, we would be remiss to not include a quote from CFMoto on how badass this engine/bike combo is:
– CFMoto representative (via InterestingEngineering) |
Would you want to try CFMoto’s V.04 engine and Master of Speed?