FEW people have been shouting it from the rooftops but one significant affect of the global financial crisis is that European bikes have been able to leapfrog their Japanese rivals – competing with them in terms of price and often beating them when it comes to performance and quality.
Now that's not something that any of us could have imagined a few years ago, when Europe's combined motorcycle output amounted to some finicky Italian sports bikes, pipe-and-slippers German tourers and the occasional plucky Brit fighting a losing battle against the mighty Japanese manufacturers.
These days the scene is quite different. BMW's S1000RR and Aprilia's RSV4-R are battling to be the top dog in terms of superbikes, with Ducati's 1198 still putting in a creditable showing despite being on the verge of being replaced by something even more desirable. In the 600cc sports class, the Triumph Daytona 675 is soon to be joined be MV Agusta's take on the same theme. Those in the market for naked bikes are as likely to be drawn to a Street Triple or one of the endless variations on the Ducati Monster theme as they are to a Hornet, Bandit or FZ, while adventure bike riders are spoilt for choice – Triumph, BMW and Ducati all offer tempting bikes in a variety of sizes, and they're soon to be joined by Aprilia, while Japan has little other that the Super Tenere, and perhaps the Crossrunner, in that market. Oh, and those looking for a tourer need no go further than a BMW dealer, where they'll be happy to sell you a K1600GT (or any one of the other tourers in their range).
Basically, Europe has got everything its own way at the moment. Even next year things are looking good, with the new Ducati superbike on the cards along with the Triumph Trophy and a new Tiger 1200 all set to go on sale in 2012.
Meanwhile, there's little news from Japan. OK, we're expecting Honda to officially announce the Crosstourer as a production bike in the adventure market, and there's a rash of new scooters on the way, but where's the stuff that's going to put the Japanese manufacturers back in the fight when it comes to sports bikes? The new ZX-10R and GSX-R600/750 show the Japanese aren't about to lie down and hand over that market, but the two biggest players – Honda and Yamaha – haven't had anything new to offer for years.
In reality, while neither firm has mentioned it, we're expecting both of them to have something new in terms. Yamaha's R6 was supposed to have been replaced already, but the firm opted to delay the replacement's introduction, reducing tooling costs and giving the old model another year to pay back it's development expenses. But now the firm has little option but to launch the new machine – if it doesn't, it risks wasting the money that's already been spent on it, since it could become outdated before it's even revealed should further delays be imposed.
Honda is in an even more desperate need for a new sports bike; the CBR600RR is nearly five years old, while the Blade will be four soon – both in markets where, not long ago, we were used to seeing updates every two years. The chances are that the 600, as the older of the two bikes, will be the first to be changed, so a new version for 2012 must be likely. And rumours of a new V4 Honda sports bike won't go away, so perhaps even if the Blade isn't improved the Europeans will have something new to fear in 2012.
While the Japanese firms know that while Europe (and America) isn't as important a market as it used to be – the real money is in Asia and India now – they also realise that if they loosen their grip any further, it will be ever harder to regain the sort of dominance that they have become used to. Will we see a fight back in 2012? There's strong money on it. This year's bike shows promise to be interesting...
