EICMA 2026 breaks its record: the biggest motorcycle show in history
The Milan show closes its doors tomorrow, November 8, 2026, with numbers never seen before. For its 83rd edition, EICMA broke its own record: 765 direct exhibitors, 2,120 brands and 52 countries represented. For the first time, the show occupied ten halls at Fiera Milano Rho, covering more than 300,000 m². Brands from outside Italy account for 74% of the total, and nearly one exhibitor in three is new or making a return. At 110 years old, the world’s oldest motorcycle show has just staged its biggest edition ever.
Behind the numbers, this edition tells a story above all: that of a market on the move again. The Japanese giants are holding their ground — Honda presented the biggest evolution in the history of the modern Africa Twin, the new CRF1150L, and the V3R 900 E-Compressor, almost in production form. The Europeans keep moving further upmarket: Ducati unveiled an avalanche of models, BMW launched the M 1000 RS at €40,000, and Triumph renewed the Tiger 1200 with radar. The Chinese manufacturers, meanwhile, are no longer content to copy: CFMOTO showed the V4SR-RR, presented as the first litre superbike developed in China, with more than 210 hp. And India is arriving too, with the Royal Enfield Himalayan 750 and the return of Norton. In a word: a redistribution of the cards.
For the motorcycle traveller, this record means three things. First, more choice than ever: from affordable mid-size adventure bikes like the Kawasaki KLE650, announced at US$8,799 — well under a Honda Transalp or a Yamaha Ténéré 700 — to big tourers loaded with electronics. Mid-size adventure bikes like the KLE650 or the new Himalayan 750 also show that motorcycle travel is becoming accessible to more people. Second, more technology that is genuinely useful on the road: radar is coming to touring bikes, TFT displays with navigation are becoming standard, and rider aids keep multiplying. Finally, more competition — and competition, for anyone buying a touring bike, almost always ends up meaning better value for money.
There is also a lesson in these numbers for us, on this side of the Atlantic. When 74% of the brands at an Italian show come from elsewhere, it means motorcycling has become a truly global market — and that the new models presented in Milan are reaching our dealers faster and faster. The show is no longer a distant showcase: it is where the bikes we will ride in two years are decided.
EICMA is 110 years old — the first edition dates back to 1914, at the Kursaal Diana in Milan, with fewer than 40 exhibitors from 6 nations. The 2026 edition is the 83rd. In 2026, there are 765. The show has survived two world wars, crises and passing fashions. If it is breaking its record today, it is because motorcycling has never been more alive. And for those who dream of motorcycle travel, that is good news: there have never been so many machines to choose from to ride far away.
And for more motorcycle news and travel ideas, voyagemotoquebec.com.
Photos
Main photo: The new Honda CRF1150L Africa Twin presented on stage at EICMA 2026. Photo: 802xr, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
