This is an article that shows you pictures of the bikes that were displayed at this EICMA show and features some of the most beautiful motorcycles ever made.  Most of them are models for 2012 and will probably not come to India.  Even if they do they will come with a price range that is very much in the stratosphere and will therefore be out of the reach of common people like us (if there are uncommon people reading this article, and by uncommon we mean rich, maybe you can get the Ducatis and if you can afford them congratulations in advance). In the coming Tokyo Motor Show, Honda will show this unbelievably beautiful motorcycle called the RC-E.  Here is the pic.

And now the disappointing news for petrol heads.  The RC-E does not come with an internal combustion engine, it is an electric bike. Sigh.

Anybody who loves motorcycles knows the name Bimota very well.  A specialist Italian manufacturer who make their own chassis and use their own designs but use engines from other manufacturers.  Bimota has used engines for Kawasaki and those motorcycles have been called the KB series (not Kawasaki Bajaj but Kawasaki Bimota) and similarly Suzuki and Yamaha engined motorcycles have been called the SB and the YB series respectively.  Bimota has also another series the DB, yup that is a Ducati engine in a Bimota chassis.  Bimota’s creations are stunning, after all the TA part of Bimota is Massimo Tamburini, the man who created unforgettable beauties such as the Ducati 916 and the MV Augusta F4 1000 (the BI is Bianchi and the MO is Morri, names of two other gents who made up the Bimota along with Tamburini).  At the recent EICMA show Bimota showed this Hyper Motard motorcycle which they called DB10 Bimotard.  The engines are donated by Ducati from their Superbike.  Now drool.

Now don’t finish your drooling just yet.  Here is another Bimota for you.  This one is based on the Ducati Diavel and is called the DB9 Brivido.  This motorcycle has a frame made from aluminium and chromoly alloy and the engine is 162 PS Testastretta used in the Ducati Diavel.

Very nice, right?  Of course, what else can it be when it is a Bimota.  We here are loving it, not the stuff from McDonalds, the Bimotas.  Keeping them coming Bimota.  So what if we can never ride them, we can stare at them.  Now who is that British bloke who said “A thing of beauty is a joy for ever”?

And now let us get to the Ducati Diavel itself.  At the EICMA Ducati showed another version of the Diavel called the Diavel Cromo.  That is to make an already attractive motorcycle even more attractive.

And for those who cannot have enough of Ducati, here is some more.  We have already brought you pictures of the new 1199 Panigale and now we present pictures of the 1199 Panigale as it would look when it goes racing in the Superstock category in 2012. Ducati showed this at the EICMA and may use its experience in Superstock to go racing yet again in Superbikes in 2013.

And here is some more of the Panigale in the Corse clothes. Corse standing for racing or competition.

What is with the Italians anyway?  How can they go on doing this again and again and again and again….okay, that is too many agains.  But how indeed?  Take for example the MV Augusta Brutale.  Just look at what they did to it.

This gentlemen and the occasional lady, is the MV Augusta Brutale RR 1090 for 2012.  This comes on the heels of the Brutale 675.  This motorcycle is capable of 156 PS of power derived from a 1090cc engine.  It is brutal and it is beautiful.  And talking of the Brutale 675, we might as well lech at it, while we are at it.

This year’s EICMA was not just about beautiful Italian motorcycles.  There were others as well.  For example this Honda Cross Tourer. Built somewhat like a traillie bike it shares its engines with the VFR 1200F, the engine being of 1237cc V4, and puts out 127 PS of power and comes with the double clutch gearbox as option.  Is it designed to take on the BMW R1200GS?  Maybe, maybe not.

The Cross Tourer was not the only Honda on display.  There was another one, with a hint of retro but very modern looking with sleek lines that give the bike a desirability quotient that is usually not associated with Honda’s aesthetics.  Called the Honda NC700S (the S is presumably for Standard) the motorcycle features a 670cc motor that pumps out 47 PS of power but bags and bags of torque for city riding and touring.

Shopkeepers they maybe, the Brits, but they did have that one guy who knew what he was talking when he made the connection between beauty and joy.

Kawasaki too was there at the EICMA and displayed the new Versys 1000 Adventure Sport bike like the Honda Cross Tourer.  The engine in the Versys 1000 Adventure Sport is the same inline four 1000cc from the Z1000.  It puts out 116 PS and apparently has good road and off road manners.

We began this article with an electric bike and will end with one.  This time it is from KTM.  It is called the Free Ride E and looks a bit, shall we say, weird.

This motorcycle comes with a battery of 2.1 kWh and rating of the equivalent of 10 PS of power.  We don’t know about you, but we sure are not going ga ga (not Lady Ga Ga or Radio Ga Ga, Freddy Mercury style) over this.  But we promise we are waiting to go ga ga over the KTM 200 which will be launched by Bajaj.  Now that is a motorcycle, complete with an internal combustion engine that is likely to put out around 25-26 PS of power and give us the wind in the hair or should we say wind on the helmet experience. The best part is that unlike all these other motorcycles that we have shown, this one, the KTM 200 that is, will come to India and will be affordable. And this is how it will look.

KTM Duke 200