Australian Motorcycle News March 2015

Hardly a Davidson HARLEY-DAVIDSON COPS a ribbing. Usually something along the lines of over-priced antiquated tractors, great if you need a boat anchor, and whatever else earns a laugh from your Japanese or European-bike owning mates. But for a brand which is famous for its traditions, and has modelled its entire business around a big old lumpy air-cooled engine and a big old-fashion feeling of mid-life achievement, its last 18 months deserves some credit. The last time H-D tried something different was the water-cooled V-Rod released around the turn of the century, but the staunch and loyal traditionalists couldn’t come to terms with it. Since then, Harley’s forward thinking has been restricted to fuel injection, dual coils, chain-driven cams and self-cancelling indicators. All small steps forward, and all keeping in…

KAWASAKI’S LIMITED-RUN H2 model appears to be just a toe-in-the-water exercise before it plunges headfirst into the world of forced induction with a host of far more accessible machines. Little surprise, given Kawasaki has been hard at work developing its supercharged range-topper since 2009. It obviously doesn’t plan for the technology to be a flash in the pan. All indications suggest the H2 is merely breaking the ice; introducing buyers to the idea of supercharged machines before it gets really serious about selling them in large volumes. Even before the Ninja H2 and Ninja H2-R appeared last year, we revealed Kawasaki had also trademarked the name Ninja R2 . Now we’ve uncovered even more. Kawasaki has also applied for a dozen Ninja titles that could be applied to future machines.…

THE SAGA OF Honda’s effort to produce an entry-level sportsbike to challenge the top-selling Ninja 300 and Yamaha R3 has stepped up a notch with the news from our sources in Japan revealing the new model has already been built and tested. It appears last-minute unspecified delays are preventing it from being released prior to this year’s Tokyo Motor Show in October. Despite the new information, details about the actual bike itself, which will be built in Indonesia to sidestep its punishing import duties, are still sketchy and conflicting. Earlier this year, our Indonesian sources claimed the bike – codenamed K64 – is a V-twin with an engine likely derived from the existing VTR250 engine. Now our Japanese insiders say the project is using a totally new parallel twin-cylinder engine…

THE OUTRAGEOUS CONCEPT motorcycles released each show season are a cherished annual tradition, but every once in a while one pops up early in the year, providing a sense of Christmas in March. The FELINE One concept bike by Swiss designer Yacouba Galle may look like the love child of ASIMO and a production-line robot, but its specifications are quite tasty. Its 801cc, three-cylinder engine is fitted with a full titanium exhaust system and produces a claimed 126kW (170hp) of power. The wheels, swingarm, fairing and fork are all carbon-fibre – helping to keep the FELINE One’s weight down to a stealthy 155kg (dry/claimed). Up front is a girder fork, with a fat 200-section tyre at the rear. According to Yacouba, the FELINE One is all the good things he…

IT’S TAKING ITS time, but Honda’s forthcoming Africa Twin will bring a new dimension to the burgeoning big adventure bike market by adding a real chunk of off-road ability. The company hasn’t revealed too much technical details, but we can now flesh out more missing details thanks to new patents we’ve spied. We already know the bike has a split airbox design, which sits the main mass of the box above the frame – just behind the headstock – with additional sections fitted outside the frame rails, above the twin radiators. The idea allows the fuel tank – which is a big adventure unit – to fill the space behind the engine. This keeps the tank’s mass far lower and narrower than the BMW R 1200 GS or KTM 1190…

Engine Parallel twin 1000cc unit, with twin balancer shafts. Should be good for 82-90kW (110-120hp) Frame Aluminium twin-spar frame inspired by Honda’s CRF motocross models Subframe Welded-on tubular aluminium trellis subframe Airbox The innovative airbox design straddles the frame Radiators Side-mounted radiators help keep the bike slim Fairing Large one-piece unit encloses airbox Wheels Wheels are 21-inch front and 18-inch rear Length Estimated at 2205mm Wheelbase Estimated at 1504mm Seat Height-adjustable seat runs up the tank…