You could definitely say that a lot of people are out revenge buying for the 2023 model year. By revenge buying, I mean spending their hard earned dollars on stuff they otherwise wouldn't. Indeed, the pandemic that has ravaged the world has further heightened the YOLO-mentality of some people, and I think motorcycle manufacturers are aware of this.
EICMA 2022 was indeed one for the books, and the biggest showcase of the motorcycle industry since the pandemic struck. We all have our top picks from the EICMA crop, and because there were so many new bikes unveiled, I found it hard to shortlist my top five. Nevertheless, here are the top five bikes I'm looking forward to riding in 2023.
Aprilia RS 660 Extrema
I'm a big fan of middleweight performance, and parallel-twin-powered sportbikes and naked bikes are definitely up my alley. I've ridden the Aprilia RS 660 before, but the RS 660 Extrema version simply caught my attention. While performance is the same as the standard bike, the Extreme was put on a diet and made extra special with stuff like a carbon SC-Project exhaust system, carbon-fiber belly pan, and special graphics.
Triumph Street Triple RS
Triples have a special place in my heart—in fact, a 2020 Triumph Street Triple RS has a place in my garage, and it's one of my favorite bikes. While I'm not one who really fusses over tech features, I must admit that seeing all the fancy doodads Triumph has thrown into the new Street Triple, particularly the RS variant, has made me jealous. Don't get me wrong, the Street Triple RS I own is an amazing bike, but I can only imagine how much more awesome it would be with the revised tech package and the six-axis IMU. Oh, and that white and yellow colorway on the Moto2 edition is just gorgeous.
Yamaha XSR700 Legacy
I'm a huge Yamaha simp, and any of Team Blue's machines rocking a CP2 engine is a bike I'd love to own. I've ridden the XSR700 several times before, and it's a bike I'll never get tired of. In fact, it's more modern-styled sibling, the MT-07, has been my daily commuter for the better part of three years now. As such, even if the XSR700 Legacy brings only cosmetic changes to the table, I'm pretty sure I'll be heading over to my nearest Yamaha dealer once it makes its way to the market.
Suzuki GSX-8S
No offense to the Suzuki fans out there, but I always thought of Suzuki's modern street bikes to be rather boring and lacking in terms of innovation. Sure, the brand as a whole was part of the Japanese big four, but there wasn't a shadow of doubt in my mind that it was sitting at a distant fourth place. That is, until it dropped a couple of bombshells at EICMA 2022. Provided that the new twin-powered machines—the GSX-8S and V-Strom 800DE—prove to be solid performers, I'm pretty sure Suzuki will have the machinery to up its game against the other Japanese manufacturers.
Kymco RevoNex
Now, this one's a long shot, but I thought I'd bring it up anyway. Kymco's been teasing the RevoNex and SuperNex electric motorcycles for quite some time now, but has never seemed to follow through with the official launch. EICMA 2022 was no different. However, Kymco did present revised versions of the two electric motorcycles, with the RevoNex in particular being right up my alley. That being said, we still don't know if 2023 will be the year that these high-performance electric motorcycles will go to market. One thing's for sure, though, and it's that Kymco will have to pick up the pace as more and more manufacturers venture into electric.
