Motorcycles were a lot simpler before the 2020s rolled around. In the 1970s, you just needed to make something that went like stink in a straight line, never mind the cornering and braking. By the time the 2000s rolled around, ‘bigger is better’ was the mantra everyone was following. We’re only halfway through the 2020s, but never has there been such a variety of progress before in the motorcycle world.

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The Multistrada V4 was a completely new approach for Ducati because it moved away from the famed V-twin that was its signature engine layout. It also ditched the Desmodromic valvetrain, which is another hallmark of Ducati technology. This new Granturismo V4 engine gave almost as much or more power as the engine it replaced, with industry-leading service and valve clearance check intervals. It is an engine that is spreading across the lineup, and the valve-spring-loaded head also has variable valve timing, so there are none of the negatives carried over.

The Pan America is a very important model because it was a very big risk for Harley-Davidson. The Motor Co. has some very strong touring brands and models, but it has never ventured into the adventure touring segment before. The Pan America 1250 has a completely liquid-cooled engine with variable valve timing on all the valves. It has a final chain drive. And it has all the possible tech that Harley has thrown at it. In fact, it has some technology, like the electronic suspension that lowers its walking speed. That was a first in the segment, and others have copied since. Whatever else it might be, you cannot deny that it is a huge leap forward for the brand.

It’s been a while since we last heard a small inline four scream to an impossibly high redline. Kawasaki brought the sound of a bygone era back with the Ninja ZX-4R. This isn’t about pure performance, but the sensations you get from an ICE-powered bike - although if you do allow it to stretch its legs, it can surprise you. It has been so popular that more bikes with small I4s have been launched: it has quite literally given rise to the small screamer sports bike segment once again. The ZX-4RR is the high-spec version with better suspension and a standard two-way quickshifter, and is distinguished by different graphics.

Spoiler alert: the list includes a small-capacity Harley-Davidson coming next year

Verge is a motorcycle company from Finland that makes electric motorcycles. The TS is its flagship product. There are a couple of variants that you can get; the TS Pro holds the record for the most miles a motorcycle has done on a single charge. It did this on a run in the real world in London and managed to cover 193 miles, with 7 percent of the batteries’ charge still remaining. The TS Ultra, on the other hand, claims that it can get to 60 miles an hour in 2.5 seconds, travel more than 370 miles in the city on a single charge, and offers a torque figure of 885 pound-feet. This year, it even introduced solid-state batteries with insanely quick charge times. These are all truly amazing things, but what you will find the most amazing is its hubless motor that sits in the rear wheel. It looks like something from the future!

Hubless air cooled electric rim motor

Piaggio had a three-wheeler that was a hybrid, and the Honda PCX is a scooter. So the Ninja 7 Hybrid becomes the first strong hybrid motorcycle ever. It has the acceleration of a liter bike, but needs some kinks ironed out, like the fact that switching from the electric power to the hybrid driveline needs the Ninja 7 to come to a halt. You get an automated manual transmission, and max torque is at just 2,800 RPM!

Harley-Davidson’s CVO models aren’t technically limited. The CVO Road Glide RR is different – it was announced as a limited-run model, and only 131 units were ever sold. At 131 cubic inches, it is the largest V-twin, and twin of any kind, to ever go into production, only missing out on the overall displacement record by a few hundred cubic centimeters. Oh, and this is a Screamin’ Eagle engine that is quite like the Milwaukee-Eight engine, which is low-tech in comparison to other high-performance engines. Everywhere else, though, it is a race bike, with carbon fiber, aluminum, Brembo racing-spec brakes, Öhlins suspension, Akrapovič exhaust, and a chain that drives the rear wheel.

From the Yamaha V-Max to the Harley-Davidson XR1200, the last 10 years have had some shocking discontinuations

The Challenger is Indian’s most well-equipped bagger for the highway. It also gets the largest liquid-cooled engine in an American motorcycle, with the PowerPlus 112. This is paired with a six-speed transmission and belt drive, but even more obvious is its feature set. There is a 7-inch touchscreen, six-axis IMU, rear cylinder deactivation, Apple CarPlay, tire pressure monitoring, and blind spot warning. If you want even more, the Challenger Elite offers some truly amazing options like a tri-tone paint job with crushed glass in it that gives it a 3D effect.

Buell’s sometimes-on, sometimes-off nature makes it difficult for people to remember all the innovation it has brought into its products, and that, engineering-wise, it is up there with the best of them. The Super Cruiser is uniquely Buell in that it is blindingly quick. At the same time, it is very much a power cruiser with quality parts like Fox suspension, Brembo brakes, and a design by Roland Sands. It’s a pity Buell moved away from the rim brake, though.

Honda’s first proper electric motorcycle doesn’t seem to do anything truly extraordinary: it has the claimed performance of a 600 cc motorcycle and a pretty basic 80-mile range. But it is genuinely going to be a big shift: the battery tops up in approximately three hours from a wall socket, meaning you don’t need a fast charger. That’s not just money saved on the purchase of a quick charger, but there will be no need to hunt for one on a ride with the right connector!

Two decades after they rolled off the production line, these motorcycles are still fast, even by modern standards

The V3R is the first forced induction motorcycle since the Kawasaki H2. It is different because it is an electric compressor, meaning it will have control independent of both the engine crank and exhaust gases. Honda hasn’t released any performance figures, but claims that it should have the performance of a 1,200 cc engine. This is an important model because Honda never does anything it can’t scale, so we’ll see this engine or its tech in other Hondas soon enough!

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Sources: Honda PowerSports, Harley-Davidson USA

Source: https://www.topspeed.com/most-iconic-bikes-2020s/