Nude News
Nude News
Hot Hornets, stripper Mondials and café Bonnevilles
HONDA 599: Hey, Big Red, what about us? That’s a question we’ve been asking ever since the Hornet 600 made its European debut in 1998. Seems Honda has seen the light, as it will now bring the reworked-for-2003 version stateside. Power comes from the carbureted CBR600F3 mill, with a 919-style, steel-backbone frame supporting a 41mm cartridge fork, spring-preload-adjustable shock and an aluminum swingarm. Made in Italy, the 599 will retail here for $7099.
MONDIAL RZ NUDA: Following a corporate shakeup in which Swiss duo Daniel Alismero and Rafael Alfonso replaced Italian Roberto Ziletti (the man who two years ago resurrected the blue oval), Mondial arrived at the Milan Show with a new naked bike: the RZ Nuda, a stripper version of the Honda RC51 -engined Piega repli-racer. Styling is headed by bug-eye projector-beam lighting. No word on availability or pricing. (It’s Italian, so probably no on both counts...)
Triumph Thruxton 900: Triumph shocked Milan with the monster-motored Rocket III, then charmed it with the $7999 Thruxton 900, the two models creating a strident contrast between past and future. Created in deference to the Bonneville-based endurance racers of the late Sixties, the bigger-bore, higher-compression 865cc version of the current Bonnie parallel-Twin makes 69 horsepower and 53 foot-pounds of torque. Clip-on handlebars, spring preload-adjustable suspension, sportier steering geometry and a shortened wheelbase are among the chassis changes of this neo-café-racer. Claimed dry weight is unchanged from that of the standard model at 451 pounds.
