5 Most Interesting Bikes Showcased At Intermot 2018

We list down our pick from the best showcases at Intermot 2018

If you haven’t heard of Intermot, it’s an international motorcycle-only trade fair that takes place every year in Cologne, Germany. Over 1,100 companies participate in this fair and showcase what the future holds in the form of concepts, production motorcycles, scooters, e-bikes and custom bikes. It also gives new companies a platform to display their offerings and potential investors and customers a taste of what they can expect. While a number of bikes have already been showcased at Intermot, we’ve picked the top 5 bikes that are sure to give you goosebumps.

Suzuki Katana

Named and designed after the traditional Japanese sword used by samurais, the Suzuki Katana was the fastest production motorcycles from the 1980’s. The now-resurrected bike borrows its design cues from the previous-gen Katana and sports an engine derived from the 2005-08 GSX-R1000. It’s a 999cc, inline-four, liquid-cooled engine that puts out 152PS of power at 10,000rpm and 107.9Nm of torque at 9500rpm. It features electronic rider aids as well as design elements that are in line with the current neo-retro trend in the motorcycle industry.

Kawasaki Ninja H2

The Kawasaki Ninja H2, which is already available in India, has been showcased at the Intermot 2018. The new version brings with it more power and tech for the new year. For instance, the bike’s power output for both the H2 and H2 Carbon has been pushed from 205PS to 231PS, and that’s without ram air. The power spikes to an astounding 243PS from the previous 213PS with the help of ram air. Peak torque has been increased from 133.5Nm to 141.7Nm.

Other than this, the bike gets a new TFT screen with smartphone connectivity, all LED-lighting and a mind-boggling ‘self-healing’ paint. Aside from the above-mentioned updates, the bike remains unchanged.

Indian FTR 1200 and 1200S

First unveiled as a hardcore flat tracker at the 2017 EICMA, the FTR has now been unveiled in its production form by Indian Motorcycles at Intermot 2018. Showcased in two versions, the bikes that broke cover at Intermot are inspired from their race counterpart and features a round LED headlamp, exposed trellis frame and a similar teardrop fuel tank. Features like gold finished forks, race replica colour scheme, and a 4.3 inch TFT touchscreen with three riding modes differentiate the S from the base model. Aside from these, both bikes get traction control, wheelie control and lean-sensitive stability control system as standard. Its 1203cc V-twin motor churns out 120PS and 112.5Nm of torque. A 6-speed transmission transfers power to the rear wheel via chain drive.

KTM 1290 Super Duke GT

The 1290 Super Duke GT gets new electronic aids and a revised front end design for 2019. The electronic updates include heated grips, a 6.5” TFT instrument console with smartphone connectivity, a lean-angle sensor for braking, and traction control. Furthermore, the GT gets electronically adjustable WP suspension at both ends, which can be switched between Comfort, Street, Sport and an optional ‘Track mode’ with the touch of a button.

2019 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R Range

The 2019 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R range -- which comprises of the Ninja ZX-10R KRT, Ninja ZX-10RR and the Ninja ZX-10R SE -- promises to be lighter and faster than the previous iterations. While all three variants of the bike get a ton of changes, the most noteworthy change would be the new ‘finger follower actuator’ which increases the power output of the bike even further. The new setup reduces weight by 20 per cent while offering more power at higher revs. Consequently, peak power now stands at 203PS at 13,500rpm, a 3PS increase over the outgoing model, and 114.9Nm of torque at 11,200rpm, up by 1.4Nm over its predecessor.

Apart from this, all three variants get red cylinder heads and DLC (Diamond-like Carbon) coating on the cams to protect against the wear and tear which will inevitably come with the increase in overall power output.

Of our top five picks from Intermot 2018, we expect the Indian FTR 1200/1200S and Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R range to make it to India pretty soon while the H2 is already available in the country.