Around 60,000 motorcycles were sold in Germany alone during the first nine months of last year in line with a massive increase of 95 per cent in worldwide sales.
Adventure bikes and electrics are set to lead the sales surge and Maik Schwarz, who writes for the German bike mag Motorrad Magazin MO, believes buyers are turning to lightweight, enduro-style motorcycles in the same way that car punters took to SUVs.
There are several new models in the sports tourer range, such as the Triumph Speed triple 1200 RR.
"These bikes have a higher riding position and they offer more comfort than conventional road machine although they are shod with street tyres and are not really designed for dirt-riding," says the expert.
Typical Models are the BMW F900 XR, Kawasaki Versys and Yamaha Tracer which will be joined this year by the Aprilia Tuareg 660 and Husqvarna Norden 901.
While electric cars boom, consumers have been slow to adopt electron-sipping two-wheelers. "They are too expensive, too heavy and their range is limited", said Schwarz.
"On top of that, charging takes too long. They just don't suit the user profile of leisure riders who want to cover a few hundred kilometres on the weekend".
New 500cc Honda bikes.
Some cool new electric models are making their debut in early 2022 though and among those worth checking out are the Zero SR, Energica Ego+ and hyper-naked Energica Eva Ribelle RS which the makers say is "an electric e-fighter, aggressive with an urban mojo."
Electric power makes sense for scooters for short hauls and many eyes will be on BMW's sleek new CE 04 Scooter which is aimed squarely at urban mobility and commuters.
The white bodywork gets a modern floating bench seat and the liquid-cooled, permanent-magnet electric motor is located in the frame between the battery and the rear wheel.
Joerg Lohse, who is deputy chief editor at the specialist magazine Motorrad, can detect three big trends for 2022. He expects strong demand for mid-range bikes, a sales offensive by Italian makers and the return of the sports tourer.
What makes these bikes interesting for riders in many countries is that they can be ridden on a car driving licence with no need to pass a specific motorcycle test.
The CE 04 Scooter from BMW is all electric.
Prominent among them are the Triumph Tiger Sport 660, Kawasaki Z 650 RS and the Honda CB 500 series. The Kawasaki is a retro throwback to the legendary Z series of the 1970s, but with modern features such as LCD displays, LED lights and a punchy two-cylinder engine with 67 horsepower on tap.
The Italian industry has been fettling a raft of new bikes, with Aprilia offering the Tuareg 660 in the wake of the RS 660 and Tuono 660. This sees the maker offering a sports bike, naked bike and adventure bike all based on a modular platform. Moto Guzzi has conjured up the V100 Mandello, its first water-cooled V2 which generates 115 horses from one litre of capacity.
Ducati weighs in with the Multistrada V2, 800 Urban Motard, 1100 Tribute pro, Multistrada Pikes Peak, Desert X, Panigale V4 and Streetfighter V2 with 153 horses.
Benelli's new adventure bike is the twin-pot TRK 800 which is made in China rather than in the Italian homeland. It comes with all all the right adventure styling cues and double arched headlights.
That noblest of Italian marques, MV Augusta is meanwhile reprising the desert-blazing past of its sub-brand Cagiva with two new adventure models, the Lucky Explorer Project 9.5 and Lucky Explorer Project 5.5.A
New sports tourers have been rare in recent years but models like the Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RR with its traditional cafe racer style front fairing and powerful three-pot engine point to a revival. In a similar vein are the Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello, Suzuki GSX-S 1000 GT and Honda NT 1100,
BMW does not have a lot of innovations lined up for 2022 but Lohse expects plenty of new models later in the year since the brand celebrates its 100th anniversary next year.
Michael Lenzen, who chairs the German federation of motorcycle riders, expects strong growth in the retro segment represented by machines like the Kawasaki Z650RS or Z900RS SE.
"Chinese brands will make further inroads into Europe too," he said with a nod to manufacturers like Voge, CFMoto odr French-based Mash with its X-Ride 650 Classic built in China. It revives the good old days with a rumbling one-cylinder motor and old-school enduro looks.
Maik Schwarz believes Bluetooth-connectivity between the cockpit and smartphone will play a larger role this year too.
A cockpit TFT display is sufficient for the directional arrow or map display, with the navigation software stored on the smartphone as a free app from the motorcycle manufacturer.
This saves space and makes separate navigation systems superfluous.
