Matt Robinson has been keeping an eye on the latest and greatest bikes to be revealed at the annual EICMA event in Milan, Italy. As ever, the show has unveiled new production bikes, stunning concepts, and designs that have divided opinions. Here’s the lowdown.
EICMA 2026
The 2026 Milan motorbike show is underway. Officially known as the Esposizione Internazionale Ciclo Motociclo e Accessori (don’t ask us to pronounce that), or EICMA, this is the place to show off your brand-new two-wheeled machine to the world. It’s best thought of as the bike equivalent of the Geneva Motor Show. If that still existed.
Lombardy is lovely this time of year, but if you’re not able to make it over to the Fiera Milano exhibition halls, don’t worry, because we’ve rounded up the very best machines to have debuted at the show this year. Maybe read this while eating a thin crust pizza, to get the full effect.
Yamaha RW700
We’re happy to risk opening up the ‘is a scooter really a motorbike’ can of worms, because the Yamaha RW700 looks amazing. Really, it’s incredible that it’s taken Yamaha this long to create a foil for the X-ADV 750 adventure maxi scooter from its arch rival Honda, but it’s been worth the wait.
Like the X-ADV, the RW700 adopts a 17-inch front/15-inch rear wheel setup with a decent amount of suspension travel. But with 160mm at the front and 155mm at the back, there’s a bit more here, and the Yamaha definitely has the edge in the engine department, using the same wonderful CP2 parallel twin found in the likes of the MT-07 and Ténéré 700.
Best of all, it looks like the love child of the aforementioned Ténéré and a T-Max maxi scooter. We want one.
Yamamha Tenere 4 concept
Along with the Tenere -adjacent RW700, EICMA 2026 features a fully-fledged member of the family. Called the Tenere 4, the number refers to it being around 400cc, we assume, with the power coming from a single-cylidner engine.
We’re having to ‘assume’, because Yamaha has been tight-lipped on technical details so far. We can, at least, see that it has long-travel KYB suspension and a 21-inch front/18-inch rear wheel setup, with spoked rims shod in relatively chunky Michelin Anakee Wild 50/50 tyres.
It’ll be taking aim at the Honda CRF 300F, and it looks ripe for adventure trail riding.
Royal Enfield Himalayan 750
No one was surprised to see the Himalayan 750 arrive at EICMA. One of the worst-kept ‘secrets’ in the motorcycling world, it adopts a new 743cc oil/air-cooled parallel twin which, in Royal Enfield fashion, will soon power myriad derivatives, including a Continental GT750 that the bigger Himmy shared a stage with.
It’s the most powerful production engine Royal Enfield has ever made, producing 54bhp. Up until now, the pokiest Enfields have sat at the 46bhp A2 license limit. That’s still a modest figure, but that hasn’t stopped Royal Enfield from furnishing the Himalayan 750 with a comprehensive electronics package including lean-sensitive ABS and traction control working from a six-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU).
It’ll be sold alongside the existing, single-cylinder Himalayan 450, but looks to be a more road-focused effort, with a 19-inch front wheel instead of a 21, and less ground clearance.
Ducati Desert X Rally
There weren’t really any huge surprises from the Ducati camp - it was mostly derivatives of things we were very much expecting. With an all-new Desert X arriving not so long ago, built around Ducati’s new V2 platform, a new Rally based on the same bits was inevitable, but no less welcome to see.
It follows the same recipe as the old one, with more travel from beefier suspension, thus better ground clearance. There’s a 48mm-wide KYB fork (coated in Kashima, of course) providing 250mm of travel, with 240mm at the rear. Ground clearance sits at a lofty 256mm.
All the benefits of the new 890cc V-twin engine remain. It’s lighter and considerably smoother than the old Testastretta unit, and because it has cam chains and a conventional top end instead of belts and desmodronic valves, it should be cheaper to service and with longer intervals.
Ducati Diavel V4 S
Ducati’s take on the cruiser market is delightfully different, and downright deranged in RS trim. And also very expensive, at nearly £35,000. The Diavel V4 S occupies a marginally more sensible middle ground between the entry-level model and the bonkers RS.
The range as a whole gets some useful updates including a smoother throttle at lower RPMs and a tweaked quickshifter, with the S upgrading things further with an Ohlins semi-active suspension system. There’s also a lightweight lithium-ion battery, although that feels like a bit of a token gesture on what’s still a bruiser of a bike.
Also, while hopefully undercutting the RS by a great deal, we still wouldn’t expect much change from £30,000 once it goes on sale. But it’ll seem worth it the moment you fire up that V4.
Norton 450 Urban
This is certainly one to get people talking, but certainly not in an exclusively positive manner. The 450 urban (yes, the lowercase ‘u’ is correct) is a curiously styled thing that’s oddly reminiscent of the Aprilia Moto 6.5, which was designed by Philippe Starck, better known for his work with furniture.
Like the Moto 6.5, the 450 urban is envisioned as a cool bike for city types, but with enough pep to venture into the country at weekends. It’s powered by a single-cylinder engine for which Norton hasn’t revealed any specs yet, but we’d expect it to be close to the 46bhp A2 limit.
Even though this will likely be the cheapest new Norton we’ve yet seen, you still get the same enormous eight-inch touchscreen seen on the firm’s other fresh bikes, and snazzy rider aids working from a six-axis IMU. There’s also a version that adds bits like hand guards, a flyscreen, and fork stanchion protectors.
Honda V3 concept
We’ve been getting a bit more of this bike every year. At EICMA 2024, it was an engine, frame, wheels and suspension, followed up in 2025 by a camouflaged prototype. What’s shown in 2026 is…still not quite the finished article, but the V3R900 E-Compressor at Fiera this year is very close to what will eventually be arriving in showrooms.
Its unusual 65-degree V3 engine configuration features two cylinders on the front bank and one on the rear, with an electrically driven supercharger giving this 900cc unit 1,200cc performance. There are some videos doing the rounds from Honda’s preview event, giving a chance to hear this thing, which we’d recommend you watch/listen to.
Honda says that “development is proceeding at speed, with further updates to come regarding mass production timings”. At EICMA 2027, then, we should hopefully be seeing its final form. It’ll surely be worth the wait.
Honda CRF1150L Africa Twin Enduro Sports
While the wild V3 concept is the Honda that’ll likely draw the most attention at EICMA, you’d be silly to ignore what was going on with the Africa Twin, which has just gone through its biggest changes in years.
What was once the CRF1100L is now the CRF1150, because there’s a new, bigger version of the old one’s parallel twin, now displacing 1,131cc for a decent uplift in power and torque. Best of all, there’s a new Enduro Sports version, with which you can live your Dakar dreams. Even if that just involves bimbling up the lightly gravelly green lane around the corner. We won’t judge.
Should you want to do anything more hardcore, the Enduro Sports can take it. The beefy, 49mm-wide fork provides a whopping 240mm of travel, which is more than you get in a Yamaha Ténéré 700 Rally, and there’s slightly more ground clearance as well, at 260mm.
Honda CBR500R Four
High-revving, small-capacity four-cylinder engines are back in a big way in 2026 into 2027. Various Chinese manufacturers are having a crack, but if you don’t fancy taking a punt on a brand you’ve never heard of, there’s a new option from the most established name in the business - Honda.
Its CBR500R Four features a new 500cc inline-four that revs to 12,500rpm, producing 70bhp on the way. Yes, a Kawasaki ZX-4RR revs higher and is more powerful, but the Honda is nearly £2,000 cheaper at £6,999, and not drastically more expensive than those Chinese options. Plus, those bikes don’t come with Honda’s best-of-both-worlds E-Clutch system, which lets you pull away without touching the clutch lever, and operating the rest of the time like a quickshifter, but smoother.
It’s also just £100 more than the twin-cylinder CBR500R - it feels a bit of a no-brainer to spend the extra to get the additional cylinders, really. The Four is not A2 licence compliant out of the box, of course, but Honda is offering a restricted version for anyone not yet on a full A license.
Triumph Street Triple 798
We actually saw this one first a bit before EICMA, and part of it even earlier. Triumph revealed the new Street Triple 798’s engine first, because it’s the control engine for the Moto2 feeder series next year, succeeding the old 765.
We knew the enlarged triple was going to end up in the Street Triple, but we’re happy to see it arrive regardless. Not that we know much about it just yet - while the updated ‘Striple’ is indeed at EICMA, its full debut with all the facts and stats won’t be until 17 November at Motorcycle Live in Birmingham. Which is Britain’s second-largest city, so in a way, you could call it ‘the UK’s Milan’...
For now, we can at least drink in its radically changed look, with a new daytime running light signature that echoes the headlight shape of the old model. Whether or not it’s an improvement is up for debate.
BMW M1000RS
The supernaked is arguably the silliest kind of motorcycle, and the class has a new king - the M1000RS. Taking the already unhinged M1000 R as a starting point, it ups the power even more, while dropping the weight figure by 3kg.
The weight reduction comes from M Carbon wheels, a lighter battery and a full titanium exhaust. The 999cc inline four is now good for 215bhp, which makes for a top speed of 176mph. Which, on a bike with absolutely no wind protection, could be quite interesting.
The fully fared M1000RR lends its snazzy tail unit and adjustable footpegs, and there’s a new bar to give a more aggressive riding position. The price of all this? £36,220. Oof. BMW will only have to convince 1,000 riders to hand over that sum, which we imagine will be easy enough.
Suzuki SV-7S
The Suzuki SV650 is back! Sort of. We all assumed that was it for the legendary V-twin when it was canned in 2025 due to emissions regulations, only for a partial resurrection under the guise of the touring-focused SV-7GX with a tweaked engine and more electronic.
Now, a naked version if here, which is, for all intents and purposes, a return of the SV650 proper, although Suzuki is calling it the SV-7S. The new engine makes 72bhp and is good for nearly 70mpg, making it an ideal commuter bike, while a range of rider modes (including ‘Comfort’, which limits the power to 60mpg) and a generally easygoing attitude mean it will be ideal for beginners. There’s also an up and down quickshifter, something the original SV650 never had.
It even looks just like the old one, not just because it seems to use the same trellis frame, but also because the old-scool telescopic fork (as opposed to upside-down, now the norm). Best of all, it’ll be cheap - the GX version is only £6,995, so we’re going to hazard a guess at £6,000 to £6,500. Still want that cheap Chinese bike? Speaking of which…
CF Moto V4SR-RR
…This is definitely not going to be a Chinese bike that’s cheap, but it’s one we’re very interested in. With the VRSR-RR (which feels like one too many Rs), CF Moto is having a pop at the Ducati Panigale V4, which is a bold move.
At 997cc, its V4 engine is a little smaller than the Pani’s, complying with the World Superbike Championship homologations (Ducati has a separate bike, the Panigale V4 R, to do that). CF Moto will make its WSBK debut at some point in 2027.
As for the road-going version, it’s slightly less powerful than the Ducati, but revs to a similarly lofty 15,000rpm, and it too uses a counter-rotating crankshaft, which combats gyroscopic forces for better handling. One thing it has that the Panigale doesn’t is active aero, with automatically actuated elements in its huge winglets that improve downforce by 20 per cent.
CF Moto 550 MT-X
Sharing a stand with the likely expensive V4SR-RR is something that’ll be substantially cheaper. It’s the CF Moto 550 MT-X, a bigger brother to the 450 MT, a bike that’s proven extremely popular for anyone wanting a bike that’s small and light enough to be manageable on trails, but big and powerful enough for munching miles on asphalt the rest of the time.
If you’re not restricted to an A2 license and want more power, the 550 MT-X makes perfect sense. Its 527 parallel twin produces a useful 54bhp, but that’s not the only upgrade over the 450. There’s 230mm of travel at the front and 220mm at the rear, 30mm and 20mm improvements on the 450, and at 250mm, there’s 30mm more ground clearance.
Like the look of the package but aim to focus more on riding over solid ground? The 550 MT takes on a more road-oriented setup, switching the 21-inch front/18-inch rear wheels for a 19-inch front/17-inch rear arrangement while adopting a taller windscreen.
Zero Project Ventura
It’s hard to make an A1 category bike cool and desirable, but Zero has managed it with the Projet Ventura. Also, due to a quirk in the regulations, it’ll be far quicker than the average learner legal machine.
A1 bikes only need to make the 14.6bhp continuously, meaning a temporary peak output higher than this is fair game. On an electric bike, it’s easy to do this, as we recently experienced on the Flying Flea C6, and on the Ventura, the peak is 27bhp. That’ll make a huge difference in a bike like this Zero, which we’re expecting to be very light.
It has an 81mph ‘temporary’ top speed, with a 65mph ‘sustained’ maximum. Zero says it’ll be good for 75 miles of real world range. It’ll likely be a lot more expensive than the average A1 bike once a production version arrives, though.
words by Matt Robinson
photography and images provided by relevant press offices and EICMA