Note: Paolo was on-scene at the EICMA show in Milan last week (it helps, if you’re local…). Here’s what he saw, walking around.—Ed.

EICMA is always a great show.You see new bikes, celebrities, enjoy the show atmosphere and you’ll always bump into someone you know. The electric “Fuori Salone”, the aftershow, brings all people together to have a drink in one of the stylish bars of the fashion capital of the world.

But to be honest, there were some big absentees this year.

The lack of motorcycles from Pierer Group (KTM, Husqvarna, GasGas) and BMW definitely left more room for the Asian brands to dominate the show. But, aside from the presentation of the new Honda Transalp and the hybrid Kawasaki, EICMA this year lacked big “shockers” like the Husqvarna Norden’s presentation in 2019, together with the Desert X and other exciting new models.

This doesn’t mean that there wasn’t other good stuff to see. Here is the first installment ofEverything else EICMA—what we saw at the rest of the show, outside the big bike launches.

Helmets

Some new colors and styles were presented at the show by the main brands, but also some newcomers were trying to showcase their new products, especially for the adventure segment, which is still one of the most preponderant of the overall motorcycle market.

The big-name brands showed off some new colors and styles, but there were several newcomer companies showcasing their latest.

From Taiwan, THH produces solid helmets with OK styling. The products are rigorously tested to exceed international standards, including AS, DOT, ECE, JS, NBR, SNELL, CE, and CPSC. Above, you can see quite a unique take on the sun visor, with that not-so-aerodynamic bit at the top. I’m not sure if it’s designed for high speeds.

LS2 and Kabuto also offered different options:

Kabuto and LS2 had designs that looked a lot like Shoei (Kabuto) and Nexx (LS2).OGK Kabutois a Japanese company with production in China which has been making some interesting helmets, more in the low-end market segment.LS2is a young company instead (started in 2017) that has also been trading on its affordability, predominantly on the European market.

Other interesting brands were:

正如我之前提到的,Nexxis another company to keep an eye on, as it’s one of the few with manufacturing still in Europe (Portugal). Their design is quite bulky in my opinion, but certainly interesting and competitive with the Asian brands.Airohshould be familiar with offroad fans, as it’s quite popular in the competition segment. This Italian brand, originally targeting only off-road riders, has moved into street-oriented products, including an interesting prototype of a “helmet airbag.” For now, that was only a concept on display at the show.Klimalso offered some different color schemes for its new line of Krios Pro.Araiseems to be willing to stick to the very solid and classic design that they have been offering for years. Their helmets are very compact, but the color scheme seems to be a bit too retro for me. If you are a big fan of superbikes from the ’90s, you’ll love those though!

Moto

Besides the major OEMs like Honda, BMW, etc., there are always a lot of small manufacturers at EICMA—there are a lot of made-in-China bikes. Some of these brands are already well-known, like Voge and CFMoto, and some are more obscure. Either way, this is surprisingly one of the more interesting sections of the show. This is often your best chance to see bikes that otherwise have only appeared in grainy spy shots or lame OEM press photos.

Obviously, the Chinese manufacturers are growing in strength, especially when you consider the European brands have been moving production to Asia, and even Harley-Davidson is supposed to be working on that. China’s technical know-how has come a long way since the first container loads of Lifan/Qlink/Yamoto/etc. came to western markets.

Chinese bikes still have a strong resemblance to other popular machines that are already on the market. I can see a little bit of Norden here, a little bit of GS there, another bit of Suzuki, a small chunk of Honda, etc.

Considering the specs and the price that these brands can offer, honestly, these machines can be a great deal for people that want a machine at an affordable price, as long as they have realistic expectations of their machines.

One brand particularly impressed me: Kove offered some serious ADV-ready products that, although looked a bit rough around the edges, were looking pretty good in my eyes.

Their Rally bike looked sick and if you are an amateur looking to try racing for the first time (and you are also pretty short), this may interest you. The 450 models looked quite good but my favorite was the suspiciously Honda Africa Twin-looking 800X.On their website,他们声称峰值60磅英尺的扭矩在7500 rpmd 71KW (95 hp) output, which is quite impressive. I’m sure prices will be competitive with the other mid-range segment brands.

Italian Benelli and Spanish Mitt showcased their ADV products too. Benelli has the new TRK800, which appears to offer excellent quality at an affordable price, with Brembo brakes, Marzocchi fork, and a big TFT display with Bluetooth connectivity. We also saw the TRK702 and 702x, with the first one having a 17-inch wheel in front instead of the 19-inch. For some reason, the 700 model is 10 kg heavier than the 800, because it uses the old chassis of the TRK502, and probably cheaper parts. Another interesting detail on the 702 is the integrated dashcam just underneath the headlight.

Mitt, a Spanish brand that’s part of theKSR Import Group, move into the ADV market with its 530 TT. It strongly resembles competitors’ bikes, in particular the Benelli TRK502. This seemed to be the theme for Chinese-built bikes at EICMA.

Italian brand Moto Morini had the old X-Cape 649, now called the ADV-R, which has been beefed up with some extra farkles to make it a bit more adventure-ready. Better suspension, a slimmer off-road seat, a race-style exhaust from SC-Project—but no 21-inch front wheel. Better luck next time!

The Electrics

There were a lot of electric motorcycles on display at EICMA.

There were some pretty cool new machines here, like the DaVinci DC100 and the Aprilia concept. I liked the Energica Experia, which apparently offers a range of 250 km with a full charge, with impressive performance (180 km/h top speed and 84 lb-ft torque). Zero also displayed their bike range, with ever-improving battery range and performance. The DSR/X still lacks a bit of range but nailed the performance side, with its staggering 166 lb-ft of peak torque.