The Taiwanese motorcycle manufacturer Kymco has finally entered the adventure scooter market with the launch of the Kymco DTX 360 – a do it all machine, as the company says.
Here is the video of this adventure scooter in action!
This will be a versatile scooter, being able to maneuver easily in urban traffic, freeway, and unexplored roads. That being said, this is not a hardcore off-road bike due to its wheels being only 14 and 13 inches, respectively.
Also, for an adventure scooter, it has relatively low ride height and a long wheelbase. It comes with dual-sport tires and is not quite heavy, being 428 lbs heavy (194 kg).
The DTX 360 sports a 321cc single-cylinder engine that produces 28 horsepower and 22 lb-ft of torque. Some other useful features include:
Traction control
LED lighting
Seat storage
USB ports
Keyless ignition
No prices are disclosed as of now. We presume the bike will launch in Asia and Europe first, with the USA release still unclear.
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An interesting motorcycle safety study conducted in Australia came to some interesting conclusions, mainly regarding the gas tank design on a motorcycle.
When we talk about a crash, most of us will think about our bike colliding with another object. It’s not the only collision that happens in such a case, as the body will collide with the bike, too, the most common collision being with the fuel tank.
In such extreme cases, the gas tank design has more importance than ever, as its design will determine the seriousness of the impact on your pelvis. If you injure your pelvis on the gas tank, some types of issues may occur, like sexual ability and your ability to urinate.
What bikes have the worst gas tank designs when it comes to safety? The three contenders are adventure, dual-sport, and cruiser bikes, respectively, the main reason being the unusually high placement of the gas tank.
If you want the bike that is the safest for gas tank design, always choose a bike with a flat and smooth gas tank.
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Recently released in India, it was only a matter of time when the 2021 BMW G 310 R would launch in Europe. Well, BMW has officially launched in Europe, with three color options and extra features.
The European iteration of this bike features a 313cc single-cylinder, liquid-cooled, Euro 5 compliant engine. It produces 34 horsepower and makes 21 lb-ft of torque. The bike weighs 349 lbs (or 158 kilograms).
The 2021 G 310 R is a direct answer from BMW to a mega-popular KTM 390 Duke, an Austrian-made bike that dominates the small displacement market. To get them closer to dethroning the giant, some new features are implemented in the European iteration.
First of all, this G 310 R iteration will feature full LED lighting and the anti-hopping clutch featured in the 310 GS bike. The mentioned three color options include Polar White, Cosmic Black, and Sport Edition.
Sport Edition isn’t that clear with its meaning. This variation adds red color to the frame and wheels, with the rest of the bodywork being the default.
Pricing is a bit more complicated in Europe. Different countries have different import laws and taxes, which differentiates the price from country to country. Currently, the 2021 BMW G 310 R is on sale in Italy for €5,700 and in the UK for £4,875.
You can buy the 2021 BMW G 310 R in the UK over here!
Well, it is only a matter of time when we hear the announcement of release in the USA too!
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Suzuki makes some killer motorcycles, ATVs, and boats. Even though they carry the same brand name, did you know that its Motorcycle/ATV and Marine divisions are not directly connected? They have their own separate processes, to say at least. To increase the production efficiency, Suzuki Motor of America announced to restructure these two separate divisions.
This change will come into motion on April 1st of 2021. From that date, the two mentioned divisions will function independently, with its own power structure, which is expected to increase production efficiency and speed up the decision-making processes.
Suzuki Motor USA will stay in Brea, California, where Suzuki HQ is situated. On the other hand, Suzuki Marine USA will transfer to Tampa, Florida. This transfer effectively divides Suzuki on both American coasts, which is an exciting move.
Well, this move was expected, as seen in Kawasaki’s example. As is the same with Kawasaki, this restructure won’t affect the customer experience with Suzuki’s products.
Check out more news from the motorcycle world in our News section!
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Royal Enfield is really killing it in 2020! Recently they launched the Meteor 350 and found global success with 650 Twins. To further increase their domination, they will open a new production facility in Thailand, one of their strongest markets, with 30 dealerships around this vast country.
The facility will be built in Chachoengsao, which is quite close to Bangkok. Royal Enfield wants to increase the demand in Thailand with this move and have 36 dealerships by the middle of 2021. This new production facility is expected to make 3,500 bikes yearly, which will further contribute to their goal of expanding in the Asia-Pacific region.
Even though the pandemic negatively impacted the overall sales of motorcycles in Thailand from January to October, Royal Enfield saw positive results. First of all, they enjoy a 71% year-on-year sales increase, with 5,4% of market share in Thailand – when it comes to mid displacement motorcycles starting from 250cc and ending with 750cc.
Royal Enfield also used this opportunity to express their interest in investing in other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. More specifically, they set their sights on Indonesia – a large island nation that heavily relies on motorcycles. It could be a gold mine for Royal Enfield, that’s for sure!
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Since Classic Legends revived Jawa Motorcycles in 2018, which resulted in their expansion to Europe, great sales figures came around. They announced that they had sold 50,000 motorcycles during the past year, which is a real success.
Earlier in the year, things weren’t so well when it came to production. But, when the COVID-19 pandemic came around, the company stood strong and continued producing.
The CEO of Classic Legends, Ashish Singh Joshi, seems pleased with the Jawa Motorcycles brand, despite these challenges. He states that they have “ramped up all their operations to meet customer demands”, which means more retro bikes from Jawa! He expects that they will hit the 50,000 mark faster now, even though the second wave of the pandemic is slowly starting to happen worldwide.
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Energica is preparing for 2021 with new models in its lineup, with RS variants being in focus today. The acronym RS means “Reparto Sportivo”, which translates to the “Sports Department”.
This RS variant will introduce a new ride mode to the electric motorcycle and increase its overall performance. That roughly translates to an acceleration between 0 – 96 km/h in only 2,6 seconds! These will be some aggressive machines, for sure! Mind you; this won’t change the electric motor and the battery that powers Energica motorcycles.
Also, Energica has revealed the Corsa Clienti Kit – an optional upgrade for their EGO+ RS motorcycle. This kit includes Brembo calipers and Ohlins suspension, which further improves the performance of the race track.
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Looking for a feature-packed Bluetooth communication system to partner up with your motorcycle helmet? Well, our quick and swift Sena 20S Evo Bluetooth comm system review will outline one such device!
First of all, the 20S Evo is an updated version of the 20S and shares many similar features. Still, it provides a better transmission signal thanks to the shark fin antenna, better overall sound, and a more stable connection.
So, can Sena 20S Evo come up to the top with the greatest in the ‘premium’ Bluetooth headset market? Read on to find out!
Sena 20S Evo Bluetooth Comm System Review – Features
Here is a quick overview of the main features of the Sena 20S Evo motorcycle Bluetooth communication system:
New shark fin antenna with a better signal
Weighs 61 grams
Can pair up to 9 Bluetooth devices
Uses Bluetooth 4.0 technology for group intercoms of up to 8 participants
Now, let’s dive deep into all of the features of the Sena 20S Evo!
Design & Installation
Right out from the box, we can feel that Sena 20S Evo weighs only 61 grams. It’s a very tactile Bluetooth headset that is surprisingly much easier to use with gloves than what you would think. Another excellent design choice is that it’s not overcluttered with buttons, which plagues many Bluetooth intercom devices.
Sena 20S Evo features a primary button that serves as a Play/Pause function for the built-in FM radio and your music, as well as the button with which you can answer and hang-up calls.
Then, we have the jog dial, with which you can go forward and backward on your audio playlist or navigate the menu. The great thing with Sena 20S Evo is that jog dial and the primary button can serve the same purpose, which is quite handy when you just want to do one tap to answer phone calls.
When it comes to the installation, this Bluetooth communication system can easily clamp on the outer shell of your helmet. We can see that it comes with a boom microphone for open-face helmets and a wired microphone for full-face helmets. They are connected to the audio jack included with the Sena 20S motorcycle Bluetooth communication system.
Of course, the installation wouldn’t be complete without a mention of cabled speakers! You can put them behind the cheek pads of your helmet and connect them with the included adhesive pads. Simple as that!
Bluetooth Pairing
Sena 20S Evo Bluetooth headset is simple to pair with other Bluetooth devices, even with non-Sema intercoms.
Thanks to the Universal Mode, you can pair Sena 20S Evo Bluetooth communicator with up to 9 Bluetooth devices.
It’s simple: you just hold down the Primary button for a few seconds. The device will be put in GPS or smartphone pairing mode. Then, the intercom unit will show up in the Bluetooth devices list, from which you can pair Sena 20S Evo with the desired device.
Here’s one handy feature: you can shake this Bluetooth headset whenever you want to pair it with the last connected device. How awesome is that?
First of all, the Sena 20S Evo has a slight upgrade over the regular 20S thanks to the shark fin instead of a flip-up antenna, which serves as a signal transmitter. It utilizes Bluetooth 4.0 technology but sadly has no Mesh technology.
Check out our Sena 30K review and see if the Mesh technology really makes a difference!
The Sena 20S Evo Bluetooth headset supports eight people in one intercom conversation. One great thing about group intercom conversations with Sena 20S Evo is that all participants can talk simultaneously.
According to Sena, its listed range is 1,2 miles (2 km), a 15% increase over the regular 20S. Mind you, the 1,2 miles range is only applicable in open terrain like the highway. In reality, it will often be half a mile in urban zones, hills, and heavily forested areas.
When you are on the edge of this range, you will start to hear static. At launch, many riders reported problems with random disconnects and the need to manually reconnect after that. Thankfully, Sena released a firmware update that removed this problem in most cases.
Sound Quality
Sena paid extra attention to update the audio quality from the regular 20S comm system. Sena 20S Evo provides high-definition sound, which you can enhance further with third-party earbuds or speakers via the auxiliary port. That is an excellent thing for audiophiles who want to listen to music with state of the art sound quality.
Sena also updated the Ambient Mode, which provides advanced noise control capabilities. For example, you can turn up the external microphone volume to hear what is going on from outside your helmet when you are listening to music. Very handy for those conversations at the intersection or at the gas station.
Overall, the speakers in Sena 20S Evo provide a better sound than its predecessor and are comparable to a mid-range set of over-ear headphones.
Voice Control
This video explains all the intricacies behind the voice control system of Sena 20S Evo!
Of course, the Sena 20S Evo motorcycle Bluetooth communication system supports hands-free operation in the form of voice commands. Just start with the ‘Hello Sena’ voice command, which will trigger this functionality. Another way to start the voice command features is to tap the intercom body two times.
Make sure to say voice commands slower and louder than usual, as the headset doesn’t register the sounds all that well.
With voice commands function on the Sena 20S Evo motorcycle Bluetooth communication system, you can:
start the group intercom function
change FM stations or music from your playlist
use voice commands on your smartphone
toggle Ambient Mode
Additional Features
Here are some additional features of the Sena 20S Evo Bluetooth headset worth a mention:
Built-In FM Radio
The jog dial turns into a dial and enables you to listen to your favorite radio stations. While this is a welcomed feature, many won’t use it as they will play their own music playlist.
Audio Multitasking
You can play music or use GPS navigation over the group intercom conversation, with adjustable volume levels.
Sena App
This video explains how to use the Sena 20S Evo app!
It is a staple of new Sena headsets, which provides additional features in a highly intuitive interface, such as:
Speed dialing
Toggle between standard and high definition audio quality
Sena 20S Evo Bluetooth communication system has no waterproofing certificates. We can confidently say that it’s water-resistant from rain rides, as we saw no negative outcomes from exposing the headset to rain.
Still, make sure that you don’t ride with the Sena 20S Evo unit the whole day if it is raining. You never know what could happen, right?
It’s great to see that Sena listened to regular 20S users’ complaints and placed the rubber plug for the Micro USB port on the bottom, which helps with rain protection.
Battery Life
We are almost at the end of our Sena 20S Evo Bluetooth comm system review, but here are some more words of praise. The battery life is absolutely nuts, with:
13 hours of talk time
10 days in Standby mode
The charge time is also tremendously quick, with only 2,5 hours to get it from zero to hero! Also, the LED light will indicate how much battery is left.
Regarding battery life, we can see that Sena 20S Evo motorcycle Bluetooth communication system is ideal for motorcycle touring.
Oh, and one more thing! You can check how much battery life you have by pressing the jog dial and the Primary button simultaneously. Hold them for three seconds until you hear a threefold blip. A voice will tell you the current battery level.
Price
So, for all these cool features, how much does Sena 20S Evo actually cost? Well, prepare to pay a bit more for these ‘premium’ features, more specifically $225,57/€191,62/£173,43. We say it’s worth it if you are going on a road trip with a larger group.
Check out the availability of the Sena 20S Evo motorcycle Bluetooth communication system below!
So, is the Sena 20S Evo worth over 200 bucks? It depends on what you want.
While it can certainly support up to eight riders in one group intercom session, it sadly doesn’t have Mesh technology support. That results in a slightly lower range and connectivity issues when out of range.
Sena 20S Evo is certainly feature-packed for a ‘premium’ Bluetooth intercom unit, and it gets extra points for that. But, for slightly more money, you can get a much more advanced comm unit in the form of Cardo PACKTALK Slim, which we also reviewed.
Triumph has presented quite a few models for its 2021 lineup, but they’re still at it. The company has teased a new motorcycle – the Tiger 850 Sport.
Here is the video teaser of the Triumph Tiger 850 Sport motorcycle!
The bike will arrive at dealerships on 17th November.
Regarding its specs, it will have an 800cc engine that will produce 94 horsepower and 64 lb-ft of torque. Based on these numbers and the looks of it, the Tiger 850 Sport will be a powerhouse specialized for the road.
Check out more news from the motorcycle world in our News section!
When you talk about Bluetooth communicators, you will most likely hear Sena Technologies and Interphone in the discussion. Well, they have announced a strategic alliance that will finally make devices from these two companies compatible.
Their alliance consists of the fact that Interphone products will share proprietary tech from Sena by 2021. Essentially, this means that even Interphone devices will be able to use the amazing Mesh 2.0 technology!
It seems that the two companies share a common goal – making riding more comfortable for more people. Well, it’s very nice to see this development in the Bluetooth intercom devices market.
Check out more news from the motorcycle world in our News section!
Perhaps looking for a new Bluetooth headset? Head on to our Bluetooth headset reviews section to find the best fit for you!
