AS 2012 gets nearer, the list of exciting new models due to hit showrooms next year is looking decidedly scrappy but an increasing band of manufacturers are putting their faith in 2013.
Leaked pictures of the 2012 FireBlade revealed a relatively minor upgrade rather than a revolution, and hopes of other new models have been dashed. Now it seems Honda will be focussing on the New Mid scooter at shows later this year, and while Ducati's new superbike will be a beacon for the power hungry it doesn't seem likely that it will face many all-new rivals.
Other 2012 newcomers, like the MV Agusta F3, are already familiar having been teased, leaked or officially revealed months ahead of their on-sale dates.
However, 2013 is looking much more interesting. Already it's certain that BMW will have its water-cooled GS replacement on sale in 2013 (the existing GS has already been confirmed as continuing unchanged into 2012) and Triumph is hard at work on a new version of the Daytona 675, also as a 2013 model.
The Japanese manufacturers, which have been particularly hard hit in Western Europe by a double whammy of recession and an unfavourable exchange rate forcing them to up their prices, are remaining quiet at the moment, but it's looking increasingly likely that Yamaha will reveal a new R1 or R6 for 2013, while Kawasaki and Honda are both expected to replace their 600cc sports bikes at the same time.
With economists largely predicting growth in Europe and America during 2012 and 2013, the timing could work out well for the bike firms; even without a boom, steady growth could see a return to pre-recession levels of employment, growth and spending in around 2013 or 2014, coinciding with the much delayed launches of the sort of bikes we got so used to during the first part of the new millenium.
