KTM Duke Motorcycles in Avarua, page #32

Moto blog

EICMA 2008: First Impressions

I have had a little walk around checking out the preparations for the show. I haven’t seen anything that I haven’t already seen or heard about previously, but here’s a selection from three of the halls. Yamaha are the only manufacturer to use an industrial crane to place some of its bikes up on high rise stands.

OEMs Plug into Electric Bikes

KTM introduced its prototype electric motorcycle earlier this week, and electric bike manufacturer Zero Motorcycles almost immediately responded by opening sales on its 2009 Zero X dirt bike (look for our review of the 2008 model next week!). But these two companies aren’t the only ones exploring the possibilities of electric-powered motorcycles. In September, Japan’s largest industrial information journal Nikkei Business Daily reported that both Honda and Yamaha have set target dates for launching their own electric-powered motorcycles.

KTM to Enter Supersport Category

As the off-road market continues its tailspin, Austria’s KTM is hedging its bets with a continued surge in its street motorcycle category. Its on-road push began with the liter-size V-Twins in the Adventure, Super Duke, and Supermoto bikes, followed most recently by the RC8 superbike. Now we hear word that the Austrian manufacturer will soon enter the supersport class.