EICMA 2025: the touring motorcycles.
Text by Roberto Polleri – Photos by Michele Riello
As every year in November, the two-wheel event returns to Milan, at the biggest motorcycle show in Europe and perhaps in the world. This year there are more than seven hundred exhibitors, with over two thousand brands from fifty countries, ten of them making their very first appearance. The Lombardy show is the chance for manufacturers to display what they are offering the Italian and international market. We at Motoexplora went in person to see the new touring models we will soon see on our roads. We have chosen for you some of the bikes which, in our opinion, will catch the attention of the many fans of motorcycle touring and of Motoexplora trips. Follow us on this little journey among engines, frames and luggage racks in search of the model that best suits your needs. Let us start close to home and go further and further afield. In Italy, Benelli presents the TRK 902 in Xplorer and Stradale versions, which aims to follow the big sales of its smaller sister, the 502, extending its range thanks to the more powerful engine. From Pesaro to Trivolzio, Moto Morini arrives with a series of models covering the different sides of touring, from custom to sport, and above all offers a Corsaro GT made specifically for travelling, alongside the 1200 version of the X-Cape, ready for the longest challenges. Ducati consolidates its range of touring machines, among which the Multistrada naturally stands out, available from the more modest V2 to the extreme V4 RS for those who love not only travelling but really serious performance. Moving west towards Lake Varese, here is MV Agusta stepping into the spotlight with its Turismo Veloce, a mid-size bike with significant power, alongside the Enduro Veloce, very powerful and more at home on dirt roads. Morbidelli adds to the mid-size T502 and T502XR a powerful 1002 with twice the displacement, ready to challenge the most prestigious brands. Moving to other European countries, the first we must mention is BMW, which as always offers a wide range of touring bikes (and more…), among which the small but interesting GS450 stands out, a smaller-capacity bike ready to attract a wide range of enthusiasts who want to enjoy travelling on a bike that is not too demanding. For everyone else, the only limits are being spoilt for choice and the size of your wallet. North of Germany, across the Channel, here we are in the United Kingdom to discover the reborn Norton which, now owned by TVS Motor Company, is launching four different models, of which the Atlas and Atlas GT are two mid-size adventure bikes. The first has a dual-sport character with 19-inch spoked wheels, while the second is a more road-oriented version with 17-inch alloy wheels front and rear. From Solihull to Hinckley to see what Triumph has to offer, where the new generation of the historic and much-loved Bonneville makes its debut, along with the Scrambler 900 and 1200. The jewel in the crown for travelling in the fast lane is still the Tiger, 900 and 1200, but with the 660 and 800 in sport trim too. Still in England but with a wink to the East, here is Royal Enfield which, riding the wave of good commercial success, as well as extending its 650 cc road range, offers its Himalayan in a 450 cc version while we wait to see its even bigger sister, a bike meant for the most distant destinations. Now we change continent. In the Land of the Rising Sun, we meet the most famous manufacturers in the world. Let us start with Honda, always a leading player in touring of every kind, which offers enthusiasts the CB1000F and CB1000GT, aimed at mature riders who love a slightly retro style and travel in its purest essence. Another innovation from the winged brand is the E-Clutch electronic clutch on the historic XL750 Transalp. Kawasaki returns to the spotlight with a name that makes the eyes of anyone who lived through the eighties and nineties light up: the KLE 500, simple and accessible, approved for the A2 licence, it could be the ideal travel companion for beginners and for those who want a versatile and dynamic bike. Suzuki, as well as celebrating forty years of the historic GSX-R, enters the touring sector with the SV-7GX, a new 650 cc crossover sitting halfway between a sporty naked and an adventure tourer. The brand with the three tuning forks, Yamaha, updates its Tracer 7 and Tracer 7 GT with the new Y-AMT gearbox, described as an automated manual transmission. For the historic Ténéré, the range gains the 700 World Raid, a name that clearly underlines its vocation. Same continent but a different latitude, we now move beyond the Great Wall, where we immediately meet CF Moto, a constantly expanding brand that drew great interest in Milan, not only for the arrival of its new flagship 1000MT-X but also for the presentation of the mid-size 800MT-ES. Kove, fresh from racing and commercial success, presents the 652X, a mid-size bike with high-level components, ready to take on competitors of every nationality head-on. For its part, QJ Motor responds to the commercial challenges by introducing five new models, among which the SRT800RX stands out, sitting at the heart of the fiercely contested adventure-touring segment. Zontes, with its ZT703-T, a long-range tourer, takes up the technical solutions already used on the 703 range: the new model keeps the three-cylinder engine and boasts very respectable equipment. Also from China comes ZXMoto, presenting its 820ADV, which uses the three-cylinder engine of the 820RR in an adventure version. From India, on the other hand, comes the TVS Motor RTX 300, the first adventure motorcycle developed entirely with a specific focus on international markets. Electric bikes deserve a special mention, many of them and increasingly in development and improvement, among which Zero Motorcycles appears, undisputed queen of the market, joined today by Honda with the WN7, Royal Enfield with its Flying Flea S6, and TVS Motor too presents three new electric models. Despite their growth, especially in urban mobility, bikes not powered by petrol do not yet seem to have reached a significant level of interest in the touring sector. Regardless of the power source, whether petrol or electricity, travel and discovery seem to be the predominant theme of this EICMA 2025. From small displacements to super tourers, it seems that today motorcycle touring is the largest slice of this complex market. We at Motoexplora are here not only to tell it, but to live it in its deepest sense. See you soon on the road, a flash of the headlights to you all.
