My Top Ten Bikes from Eicma 2023

I attended Eicma 2023 which is held in Milan, Italy in Fiera Milano or “The Milan Motorcycle Show” as it’s sometimes known. It is one of the largest events in the motorcycle industry with over 500,000 annual visitors and where a lot of manufacturers use this show to launch new bikes and products.

I have not been here before so I was really excited to see what all the fuss was about. For those of you who have never been before, the show is huge and I mean huge! It is held over several halls and you should be prepared for lots of walking!!

I would say this is more of a trade show and exhibition that is open to members of the public to attend, you may be able to purchase the odd t-shirt or hoodie but generally manufacturers are there to showcase their new products, they are not available to purchase at the show.

I thought I’d share with you my top ten picks of bikes from the show. There was an incredible amount of bikes to choose from, so some of you may disagree with my choice, let’s see……

Number 10: Kawasaki 2024 Ninja 7 Hybrid – Price tbc

I like this because it is innovative in that it is both fuel and battery powered. Kawasaki refers to this as a strong hybrid system which ‘combines an internal combustion engine (ICE) with an electric motor for powerful riding, and because of their large battery capacity they are able to run on electricity alone’.

The Ninja 7 Hybrid has a liquid-cooled, 4-stroke parallel twin 451 cc engine and a Lithium-ion battery pack giving you the instant acceleration of a 1,000 cc class bike from a standing start (with e-boost). 

There are 3 riding modes to choose from – Sport-hybrid; Eco-hybrid and low-speed short-distance EV.

The Ninja 7 Hybrid has a walk mode with reverse to help when moving the bike  – opening the throttle moves the bike forward at walking speed and closing the throttle past the zero point moves the bike in reverse. 

This is an excellent mode in my opinion as maneuvering an electric bike can be quite difficult as of course you have no clutch lever in which you can ‘slip the clutch’.

The bike weighs 227 kg (the battery itself weighs 13 kg) and will have a seat height of 795 mm.

I would be interested to see what this bike is like to ride and if you have ‘range anxiety’ which I have experienced with other fully electric bikes.

Oh, and the Ninja 7 Hybrid does look incredibly cool 😎

Number 9: Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono – Price tbc

The Hypermotard 698 Mono is Ducati’s first single-cylinder road-going Supermotard. 

The 659 cc Superquadro Mono engine with desmodromic timing, Ducati say, is their most sophisticated and high-performance single-cylinder road engine ever built and is able to achieve the highest engine speed in its category.

The Hypermotard 698 Mono has a straight double-sided swingarm with a high fender with the rear fairings wrapping around the exhaust. I love the look of the twin silencers which are mounted high up on either side of the tail.

Now this is not a bike for those of us with a shorter disposition – the standard seat height is 904 mm with a low seat option of 889 mm available. At 5’6” I would need the use of a step to get on this bike!

Interestingly, the RVE livery option of this bike was voted ‘Most Beautiful Bike of Eicma 2023’ by the public. I’m not sure I would agree with this.

Number 8: Royal Enfield Himalayan – price tbc

The new Himalayan has Royal Enfield’s first liquid cooled engine, a Sherpa 450 and is their lightest and most technologically advanced vehicle integrated powertrain.

With upside down front forks, ride-by-wire throttle and TripperDash full map navigation tft display, this bike is ready for adventure. 

The original Himalayan bike was inspired by the 60 year old tradition of exploring the Himalayas on a motorcycle and was born in the Himalayas. How good would it be to see this for yourself – an adventure on an Himalayan in the Himalayas.

Some great colour options available too and with a comfortable riding position. This bike garnered a lot of attention at the show.

Number 7: Aprilia RS 457 – price tbc

The Aprilia RS 457 is powered by a liquid-cooled twin-cylinder engine with dual camshaft timing and four valves per cylinder capable of 35 KW of power which of course is the maximum for those riding on an A2 licence. 

With 47 hp and weighing 159 kg (dry weight), the RS 457 has great power-to-weight ratio.

With full LED lights with integrated turn signals (I absolutely wish these came as standard on all bikes!), a 5” tft colour screen and the handlebar controls being backlit.

This is a seriously cool looking bike and does not look like it is only a 47 hp bike.

Number 6: Suzuki GSX-8S – price from £8,199 

You can choose the faired (8R) or unfaired (8S) options here. Personally I would go for the unfaired but I know this will probably divide opinions!

With 83 bhp and 78 Nm of torque, the 8S has an all-new 776 cc DOHC two cylinder liquid cooled 4 stroke parallel twin engine. The 8S has a seat height of 810 mm and a kerb weight of 202 kg.

With Suzuki Intelligent Ride System (SIRS) (a collection of advanced electronic rider assist systems) and a 5” colour tft display, the tachometer doubles up as a programmable rpm indicator light that blinks when the engine reaches a pre-set speed and a function that lets you display large pop-up alerts and reminders. 

There are three colour options available – Pearl Cosmic Blue, Pearl Tech White or Metallic Matte Black. Personally, the blue is by far my favourite.

The 8R – price tbc, also has the new 776 cc engine with 83 bhp and 78 Nm or torque so really it is a question of personal preference.

Number 5: Moto Guzzi Stelvio – price tbc

The Stelvio garnered a lot of interest on the Moto Guzzi stand and I can see why. I do like the look of this bike.

The Stelvio has the Moto Guzzi V-Twin “Compact Block” Euro5+ engine with shaft drive transmission. Its 1,042 cc engine delivers a maximum power of 115 HP at 8,700 rpm and a peak torque of 105 Nm at 6,750 rpm.

Features on the Stelvio include cornering ABS and traction control, cruise control and 5 customizable riding modes – Tourism, Rain, Street, Sport, and Off-Road.

Also on this bike is PFF Rider Assistance Solution using 4D radar imaging technology to provide an exceptionally wide field of vision comprising four different functions: FCW – Forward Collision Warning; FCC – Following Cruise Control; BLIS – Blind Spot Information System; and LCA – Lane Change Assist.

I’d be interested to get out for a ride on the Stelvio, not just to check out all the features but also to check out if the Stelvio’s ‘V’ twin sounds and behaves as previous Guzzi’s 😎

Number 4: Honda CB650R – price tbc

This stylish looking bike comes in two fabulous colours and I can’t decide which actually looks the coolest – matte gunpowder black metallic or grand prix red – I think I’m leaning towards the red 😍

The inline four, DOHC 16 valve engine produces 70kW / 94 hp @ peak – up to a 12,000 rpm redline – with 63 Nm of torque. For A2 licence holders, there is a 35kW conversion available.

Rather interestingly, and unique to Honda, is an E-Clutch option. You have the normal option of manual clutch control or you can choose via the tft screen the E-Clutch option meaning you leave the clutch lever alone. When setting off from standstill, shifting up/down, and coming to a stop, all you need to do is operate the gear lever, E-Clutch does the rest.

I would like to try this, it sounds interesting and I would really like to experience this.

To celebrate four decades of performance machines, Kawasaki are releasing for 2024, 40th Anniversary models of the Ninja ZX-4RR; Ninja ZX-6R and the Ninja ZX-10R.

I saw these in the media before I went to Eicma and was excited to see them up close as I was really taken with their liveries.

Each of the three models will be available in the early 90’s Kawasaki World Endurance livery of green, blue and white reminiscent of the three-times championship winning bikes of the time.

A few stats for each of the bikes:

These 40th Anniversary models did not disappoint up close, they were sooo much better than the pictures I had seen beforehand. The colours look so good together and the bikes are stunning.

Number 2: Yamaha XSR 900 GP – price tbc

This was very nearly my number 1. I absolutely love the styling and colours of this 900 GP – the legend red. There is a power grey option available but for me, it would be the red.

The 900 GP is inspired by the YZR500 racers of the 80’s and 90’s with the front fairing and seat hump iconic of the golden era of Grand Prix racing. 

Underneath the fairings of course is Yamaha’s cutting-edge technology with the latest braking and suspension, riding modes and an array of electronics.

The 4-stroke, liquid-cooled, DOHC 3-cylinder 890cc engine has a max power of 87.5 kW (119 PS) @ 10,000 rpm with a max torque 93 Nm (9.5 kg-m) @ 7,000 rpm. 

With a seat height of 835 mm this looks like it offers a sporty bike position to ride and with a weight of 200 kg, I think the 900 GP could be huge fun to ride. I definitely need to test ride one of these to find out 😎

Number 1: Bimota KB4 – price £29,995

Okay, I know this is way up there on the price scale but when I saw the KB4 I knew this was my number 1 bike of Eicma 2023. 

It is absolutely beautiful 😍😍😍

Bimota, who are partly owned by Kawasaki, have an interesting selection of bikes on offer with some lovely engineering.

The KB4 combines the classic design of the Bimota bikes of the 70’s with modern technology and is described by Bimota as a ‘street legal track bike’ with an innovative high pressure cooling system – the one-piece radiator is neatly placed diagonally under the seat unit.

The 4 stroke, 4-cylinder, DOHC 1043 cc engine pushes out 142 bhp with max power of 104,5kW (142HP) / 10,000 rpm and max torque of 111 Nm (11.3kgfm) / 8,000rpm.

The 810 mm seat height is adjustable plus or minus 8 mm and the KB4 weighs in at just 194 kg.

With Ohlins suspension front and rear, with the rear sporting an aluminium alloy billet swingarm, the KB4 is the perfect modern bike.

I absolutely need to test ride one of these to see if it lives up to my expectations 🤩

Well that’s it, that’s my top 10 bikes from Eicma 2023. The hardest part of this top 10 was that there were many, many bikes on my list but I had to be brutal and I know some of you will disagree with my choices.

As for Eicma, I had an absolute blast, loved every minute of the show, there was sooooo much to see, the food stalls were delicious and the coffee was perfect.

I will be back 😜

BK