Out with the old...

By JIM DUNCAN

It sometimes scares me how quickly the year goes by, but doing speeds of 160km/h plus on the latest sportsbikes doesn't. Strange.

Anyway, the year is getting a little long in the tooth and the major bike manufacturers are slowly starting to leak out details on the models that will be released in the coming year.

As we are now looking towards the new 2002-2003 motorcylce models, it's interesting to see what will be the new gimmick, the selling point, if you will.

The last few years it has been electronic fuel injection, but what of the coming years - oval pistons, electric engines perhaps?

First up is the new 2002 Yamaha R1. Now what could be done to make this bike even better? Fuel injection. Actually, peak power is now reduced to a claimed 140bhp (which is always an over-exaggeration), down 10bhp from this year's carbied model.

Personally, I prefer ye olde carbs, so a 2002 R1 would be a no-no for me, unless the state of lag in the throttle is severely reduced. The design is pretty much the same the current model R1, though the colour scheme will be all-new and the nose is much longer and pointier, too.

Together with the new Deltabox III frame and the implementation of a whole slew of weight-saving innovations, the new R1 will be one to look out for.

Next is the FireBlade. Since the R1s inception, Honda has always been slightly off the mark in terms of power. Not in 2002, sez Mister Honda. Upon first glance the bike looks relatively similar to this year's model, but in actual fact the bike is completely new.

A new frame and swing-arm, new fairing and sharper headlight and an increased engine displacement bordering on what is rumoured to be 1000cc should all see the Blade go even faster. A new titanium exhaust pipe (similar to the stock pipes on the R6 and R1) also made the cut, contributing to perhaps 10% more power. Hoping to take back its place at the top of the food chain, we eagerly await the arrival of the new Honda FireBlade.

Another new Honda which is likely to cause a stir, and perhaps even tempt me to purchase my first V-four bike, is the 2002 VFR (known as the Interceptor in the States). The upcoming VFR800 will take advantage of VTEC, which has been used predominantly on Honda's swankier four-wheelers.

VTEC allows better economy, but more performance - in the vicinity of 10%. That's almost like adding a small turbocharger to your steed. Highly recommended, by the way.

Anyway, VTEC allows electronically controlled variable valve timing and lift (VTEC). In layman's terms it acts like two engines. Because the cam profile is constantly changing, fuel efficiency has been increased, but so has power.

Give the bike a handful and the torque will kick in smoothly but powerfully. The addition of VTEC to a bike is quite a move for Honda and will pave the way for other marques to incorporate variable valve timing into their bikes. The new VFR800 is also said to have been given some new styling cues - let's just hope they haven't screwed with it too much.

BMW will be bringing a new F650CS to the table in 2002-2003. The redesigned bike will take a while to get used to, but also provides many practical features. Though if practical meant 'go-faster' we're sure BMW would sell more bikes.

The new F650CS contains a fuel-injected, single-cylinder, 652cc, four-valve mill and together with grippier tyres should provide those after a streetmoto something to think about. BMW has also ditched the twin, underseat pipes in favour of a standard leg-burner.

Lastly, we'll look at the upcoming Honda Hornet 900. Yup, 900cc (or there abouts) worth of naked street bike, disturb the peace, sort of power. Having ridden both late model 250cc and 600cc naked Hornets, it's got to be said that they are fun bikes. One of the biggest gripes with the 600 Hornet were the brakes. The new 900 Hornet comes with the same brakes featured on the VTR1000 SP-1 and the FireBlade, so stoppies will be even easier, too.

As far as the styling goes, there's not much new. However, the inclusion of raised twin pipes does look quite nice and also affords riders Ducati-like ground clearance. It's supposed to be fun and raw and Honda is hoping it will kick the booty of Yamaha's Fazer 1000.

Well, that's about it. We'll post another one of these new model updates when we get more info on Suzuki, Kawasaki and Harley Davidson models in the coming months. Until then, start saving those pennies.