Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol 67 Issue 08 i Australian Motorcycle News

TRIUMPH HAS LAUNCHED its new Bonneville Speedmaster and the finished machine is the most impressive Harley-Davidson rival the British firm has created so far. It comes on the heels of the Bobber, an impressive bike that looks astounding but is perhaps too niche to really trouble the cruiser mainstream. With the Bonneville Speedmaster, Triumph takes the Bobber and adds a healthy dose of practicality without diluting the style. The key change is the addition of a rear subframe to the softtail-esque frame, which is otherwise similar to the Bobber’s, right down to the rear shock under the seat. As well as adding a removable pillion seat, the subframe means that optional luggage can be fitted to add practicality. Speaking of options, by the time the Speedmaster reaches dealers in March…

MOTOGP MECHANICS, LIKE the riders, have limited time to produce the best set-up on which their rider can go out and achieved the best result on any given race weekend. Sure, they’ve had to burn the midnight oil on a Saturday night to come up with the goods on race day, but during the tight confines of a 15-minute qualifying session, or the all-important 45-minute FP3 session, if their rider is having an issue, then the pressure’s on to perform fast prognoses and make slick changes to get them back out and on the track in the shortest possible time. When the Grand Prix Commission introduced a rule that the four mechanics allowed in pitlane during a flag-to-flag race were required to wear helmets, many teams produced lightweight bicycle-type affairs…

MUNICH’S DIAMOND ATELIER has produced some high-end motorcycles over the last few years. But lately they’ve taken a new approach, making a run of customised motorcycles all based around the same platform. This allows them to nut out the quirks and challenges of each build and offer up limited batches of motorcycles that are cost effective and bloody gorgeous. The first to receive this treatment is a Ducati Scrambler Sixty2. The Sixty2 is essentially the same bike as the fully-grown 803cc Scrambler, but with different internals giving it a 400cc capacity. As such the bike is better suited to small city runs than big mile munching. And that’s exactly what the Munich-based client uses this bike for; his workaday commute. Practically cool This is precisely what Tom from Diamond Atelier…

The Milwaukee Eight engines has reduced induction noise, and a dual counter-balanced system designed to reduce engine vibration without totally eliminating the classic Harley-Davidson feel, or the famous ‘potato-potato-potato’ sound A new high-stiffness tubular frame forms the core of the chassis. Harley claims it is 65 per cent stiffer than the old frame, resulting in a 34 per cent increase in overall chassis stiffness. Complexity is reduced with a 50 per cent reduction in component parts, and a 22 per cent reduction in welds Two swingarm designs are used – a narrow unit on most models, and a wider one on the Breakout and Fat Boy to accommodate their fat 240mm rear tyres New monoshock rear suspension preserves the classic hardtail look; the monoshock is located under the seat, with…

Price $29,495 (ride away) Engine 107 standard (145Nm) Seat Height 680mm Wet weight 303kg (claimed) Colours Vivid Black, Twisted Cherry, Electric Blue, Silver Fortune/Samatra Brown, Wicked Red/Twisted Cherry Key points: • Vintage art deco style • Chrome and colour attention-grabber • LED lighting front and rear • Wide, swept-back handlebar • 17kg weight reduction over previous model I WASN’T SCHEDULED to ride the Deluxe until towards the end of the launch, so I could only gaze at it and listen to what those before me thought of the bike while I awaited my turn. The Deluxe is all classic Harley style – whitewall tyres, miles of chrome, big wraparound wheel guards and a choice of bold colours – and the fact that my new Airoh helmet matched the bike maybe…

Price $31,250 (ride away); also available in 115th Anniversary limited edition with 114 engine ($34,495) Engine 107 standard (145Nm) 114 Option ($33,995 ride away) Seat height 665mm Wet weight 305kg (claimed) Colours Vivid Black, Black Tempest, Twisted Cherry, Silver Fortune, Legend Blue Denim Key points: • Increased lean angle • Flat-top 13.2L fuel tank • Raked-out front fork • 18-inch rear wheel with a 240mm tyre / 21-inch front with 130mm tyre • Daymaker Signature LED headlamp • Low-profile riser-mounted digital instrumentation • 17kg weight reduction IT HAS BEEN HARLEY’S top-selling road bike for years, and now it’s even better. The option for buyers to step up from the 107 cubic-inch Milwaukee Eight to the 114ci unit provides additional punch to match the bike’s drag racing style. It gets a…

Visitors to the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit for the Australian MotoGP this year have a treat in store. For now on permanent display in the History of Motorsport Museum at the circuit’s Visitor Centre is a superb collection of GP-winning Italian factory two-stroke racers from Aprilia and Cagiva. The collection was recently acquired by the circuit’s owners, the Fox family, from a private collection in Italy. The array of nine Cagivas, which between them scored three grand prix victories and 13 podiums, covers the glory years of the Italian marque, during the decade when it became a serious rival to the Japanese manufacturers thanks to the passion of the two Castiglioni brothers, Gianfranco and Claudio. Push start The brothers had only one real objective when it all began in…

I think someone forgot to tell the old blokes that it’s probably time to slow it down a notch or two. “It’s time to start acting your age son, and leave that fearless gung-ho business to the young ones … Time you spent more time with the ones closest to you before the rheumatism sets in and you can’t run around with the kids anymore.” That might be the case for normal folk like you and me, but these racers are a long way from normal. Because at a time when they should be thinking about protecting their old and brittle bones, they’re evolving with the world of new technologies, adjusting to emerging riding styles and higher performance, they’re getting faster and faster – and they’re still bloody winning races.…

The Australian Grand Prix is a spectacle. Majestic venue, the best riders and machines in the world… colour, movement, noise and most years, drama too. Why wouldn’t you want to be there? This year is the 29th instalment of the Australian Grand Prix as a round of the world championship. The magic of the event is clear in the commitment fans make to be at Phillip Island in October. Interstaters spend days riding circuitous routes on the best Victorian mountain roads or fly to Melbourne, pay holiday rental charges and top dollar for hospitality packages. It’s a long weekend away with your mates, after all. For those who lined Mount Panorama for the Easter Bathurst Australian Grand Prix 40 years ago, or caught some Island sun during the New Year’s…

“I’m not here to make money in the early years” Jack’s always up for a chat – it just takes a while to get round to his main gig; first there’s cars, music, helicopters and bikes – but not race bikes – to get through. Helicopters? Jack is flying high, not just at his alpine retreat that is his base in tax-haven Andorra, but getting his helicopter license. That’s a spare time hobby when he’s all too rarely back home in Townsville but it’s on the to-do list. “I’ve got 14 hours logged up officially and once I get to 20 hours I can fly alone and keep clocking up the hours, then do a proper test and get the license,” Miller said. “The problem is I never get home…

Yamaha MT 10 MT-10 gets busted THE DAYS MAY be warming up, but the mornings are still quite chilly. It’s a 90-minute each way journey to the office for me, so comfort is a big deal, and the reason I have left the touring screen on the MT-10. However, the screen was only keeping the wind blast off my chest; my delicate little digits were becoming icicles. Hand guard protection was required, but I was after something a bit more streamlined than the VPS Barkbuster units we fitted to our Royal Enfield Himalayan. There is much less chance of me encountering any low-hanging tree branches on my way to the office. Not impossible, just unlikely. A quick search of the Barkbusters webpage uncovered what I required: the Storm hand guards…

1 Smooth Tourer Cassons From $849.95 (02) 8882 1900 cassons.com.au The Arai QV-Pro is a sports-touring helmet with a round, smooth and strong shell for optimum “glancing off” properties reflecting real-world impacts. It also has features including speaker pocket for comms systems, chin curtain and full-support interior. Sizes S-XL in a variety of designs. 2 Stylish Stoppers John Stamnas $285 (f); $190 (r) (07) 5447 7411 johnstamnas.com Goodridge ABS brake lines offer excellent performance, look fantastic and match the factory routing. There are 11 different colours to choose from and Goodridge claims to have brake lines to suit every application. Kits are $95 per line including fittings and can be made longer or shorter to suit bar risers or clip-ons. 3 Totally Charged Ficeda Accessories $109.95 (02) 9827 7561 ficeda.com.au…

NAMES: CONNOR HOGAN, KYLE MIDDLETON AND CHRISTOPHER BAYLES AGES: 17, 27 AND 28 RESPECTIVELY CLASS: INTERNATIONAL CUP EVENT: TRIALS DES NATIONS The Aussie Trials team has taken out the prestigious Trials Des Nations International Cup held at Baiona, Spain. They had to beat twelve other teams and rider Kyle Middleton said it took a lot to get a team there at all. “The Australian Trials community really got behind us and helped out. We knew we could do well, I just don’t think we dreamed we would win it. A big effort from all of us three boys, that’s the unique thing about this event, you need three riders to be at their best all together to win it, helping each other out to find that extra gear.”…

Gripperey When Wet In a full wet race one at Magny Cours, the call for all riders was for full wets. There were two possible options; the standard R wet and a Development Wet, coded DR. The latter is a relatively new addition. Confusingly everybody else speaks of wet tyres but internally Pirelli codes them ‘R’ for rain. The DR was a 200 section, the standard wet is a 190, and the DR is also different in the way the tyre compound is distributed over the tyre carcass during the manufacturing process. The idea is that this wider and differently manufactured tyre would work better than the normal Rain as the track dried out. A wider window of conditions to work in, basically. Fastest man in race one at Magny…

On the final day of competition in the 2017 Yamaha Motor Insurance Australian Superbike Championship, Josh Waters (Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-R1000R) emerged as a deserving champion, outlasting determined efforts from previous title holder Troy Herfoss (Crankt Protein – Honda CBR RR SP2) and another former champ, Wayne Maxwell (Yamaha Racing Team – Yamaha YZF-R1). The result was balanced on a knife edge leading into the final round with Herfoss holding a narrow points advantage over his rivals. And his fifth in qualifying only served to increase tension further. Renowned fast starter Waters occupied the front row with Daniel Falzon (JD Racing/William Adams Caterpillar – Yamaha YZF-R1) and Phillip Island specialist Maxwell on pole. You could feel the anticipation in the air and the crowd held their collective breath as the…

AUSTRALIA’S MOTOGP STAR Jack Miller is determined to be back on his Honda RC213V by the time his home grand prix rolls around in just over a week’s time. So while he was laid up with a fractured leg last week, we got in the ear of the fastest Aussie motorcycle racer in the world about the quickest way around the most picturesque circuit in the world, Phillip Island. This is what he told us… COLIN YOUNG 1. Southern Loop “There are many line choices through PI’s turn two, but my preferred option is to go in late, run it a little wide and to square the corner off for optimal drive out” 2. Stoner Corner “You’ve got to watch out for the wind coming down Gardner Straight, if you’re…

AUSSIE OFF-ROAD STAR Jess Gardiner has claimed the French Enduro championship at her first attempt, becoming the first Australian woman to do so. She won despite coming under pressure from hometown hero Samantha Tichet (Yamaha). The 24-year-old Aussie went into the final round with an injury and a lead of just one point. She dug deep and rode a flawless weekend to win the opening rain-hampered day by almost nine seconds, before backing it up the following day with a winning margin of 26.78sec. “To be able to come here and beat the best French girls in their own country is something I’m very proud of,” she said. “While I may have taken nine wins this year, in every single one I was pushed all the way by everyone, which…

AUSTRALIA’S FOUR-TIME World Enduro champ Matt Phillips had a tough weekend at the British round of the 2017 EnduroGP held over 23-24 September, with the Taswegian slipping to fourth in the title chase. In his penultimate weekend of world class racing following his recent retirement announcement, the 23-year-old Sherco rider finished with a 7-DNF scorecard. Using the same format as the Australian Off-Road Championship, the British GP saw a dozen enduro sprints (Round 13) on day one, followed by cross country racing on day two (Round 14). Local Steve Holcombe (Beta) won the sprints, while Sunday’s cross country was won by Nathan Watson (KTM). “A real season breaker this weekend,” Phillips said of his British GP. “Seventh and another DNF [but] great to see the fans getting into it.” Holcombe…

MV AGUSTA’S RELATIONSHIP with multiple F1 champion driver Lewis Hamilton has already led to a Dragster 800 bearing his initials. Now MV has revealed another model, the F4 LH44 superbike. Based on the range-topping F4 RC, the LH44 gets the same engine as standard, but with a kit that ups it to 158kW via a titanium silencer and an uprated ECU. On top of that, the bike gets candy apple red paint with a pearl white chassis, an Öhlins NIX30 fork and a TTX36 shock. Unusually, both are black anodised rather than Öhlins’ signature gold. The LH44 gets a handmade leather and alcantara seat and a black finish on the engine, plus a tinted screen and carbon fibre fairing. Detail changes extend as far as a CNC-machined rear wheel and…

93,000 Is how many distinguished gentlefolk from all around the world participated in this year’s Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride. Over 93,000 riders from 581 cities in 92 countries donned their tweeds and trimmed their ’tache to raise US$4.7 million for prostate cancer and men’s mental health. Thing is, the target was $5m and they’re still determined to achieve it. If you can help in the last push to raise another $400,000, head to www.gentlemansride.com to donate. Bless you The fourth Blessing of the Bikes will take place on Saturday 14 October at San Remo. Despite its name, it's not a religious event, but one to mark the beginning of the riding season (who stopped?!), to promote rider safety and to remember fallen comrades. For more information, you can find the Blessing…

AUSTRALIA’S FIRST-EVER indoor motocross park is one step closer now that development applications have been officially lodged with Blacktown City Council. Slated for Eastern Creek in Sydney’s western suburbs, the proposed $5 million facility is expected to become part of the Karting precinct adjacent to both Sydney Motorsport Park and Western Sydney International Dragway. Developer Mattew Bartolo said the climate-controlled riding park “will be a safe, world class and most importantly, [a] legal facility for recreational dirt motorcyclists to enjoy their sport and compete year round. “We have left no stone unturned in the lead-up to submitting the plans,” he said. Bartolo says the application is now in the hands of the Council and its approval process, but he’s hopeful it will receive a quick nod so construction can get…

The good old days Crazy racetrack.... Thunder....& destructable esky’s. As soon as I opened vol 67-07 my eye’s were drawn to the photo on page 71. “That’s Amaroo”. I know that clay car park very well. The thunder has become like the seat covers we used back then, sheepish. This used to be my local track. I lived 30 mins away and yes, it was crazy. Reason is after you breached “Bitupave” the track disappeared! You were headed for a dam in some other paddock, but if you looked over your right shoulder, that’s where the rest of the field went! Back then there were more Yammie triples than coffee shops in Bondi. The racing was addictive. The bikes were scary and the opposite sex wasn’t. Where has our racing…

Harley-Davidson has come out swinging for 2018 with an expanded Softail range of eight models built on an all-new, lighter and stiffer chassis. The old 103 Twin Cam engine is gone, replaced by a smoother and more powerful oil- and air-cooled, four-valves-per-cylinder 107 Milwaukee Eight engine, with an optional 114 M-8 donk available in four of the models. The eight new Softail models are the stars of an impressive 2018 Harley-Davidson model line-up revealed in AMCN Vol67 No05. We were invited to California for a two-day road trip to put this new Softail range to the test. From our base in Pasadena, we blasted our way through a thousand twists and turns as we snaked up into the mountains around Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead. While a Hog may not…

Price $23,495 (ride away) Engine 107 Milwaukee Eight (145Nm) Seat Height 690mm Wet weight 297kg (claimed) Colours Vivid Black, Olive Gold, Red Iron Denim, Wicked Red, Industrial Grey/Black Denim Key points: • Bare bones design • Entry point to the big V-twin Softail range • Mini ape hangers • Riser-mounted mini digital instrument panel • 7kg lighter than the previous model • Started life as Dyna model THE FIRST BIKE I rode at the Softail range world launch didn’t start life as a Softail; the Street Bob is one of three Dyna models to shed its twin rear shocks and become a Softail for 2018. It’s going to take a bit of time for the Dyna guys to come around, but once they ride the new bike I think they…

Price $27,495 (ride away) Engine 107 standard (145Nm) / 114 option ($30,250 ride away) Seat Height 710 mm Wet weight 306kg (claimed) Colours Vivid Black, Black Denim, Red Iron Denim, Bonneville Salt Pearl, Industrial Grey Key points: • Smuggled over from the Dyna range • Aggressively treaded tyres • 2-1-2 upswept exhaust • Dual front brake discs • USD 43mm cartridge-style fork HARLEY HAS REMAINED true to its roots with the styling of the new Softail range, with one exception – the new Fat Bob. It’s so radically different from the previous model, and even the other Softail models, that you need to take a moment to soak it all in before you ride it. A 43mm inverted front fork might be the norm for other manufacturers, but it’s big…

Price $31,750 (ride away); also available in 115th Anniversary limited edition with 114 engine $33,995 Engine 107 standard (145Nm) 114 option ($33,995 ride away) Seat Height 680mm Wet weight 330kg (claimed) Colours Vivid Black, Twisted Cherry, Silver Fortune, Olive Gold/Black Tempest, Industrial Gray Denim/Black Denim, Red Iron Denim, Legend Blue/Vivid Black Key points: • Vintage 1950s Harley cues • Detachable two-tone windscreen • Lockable, water-resistant, rigid saddlebags • Taller suspension for increased payload capacity • 17kg weight reduction over the previous model • Cruise control as standard THE HERITAGE CLASSIC is the most expensive model in the Softail range. It’s also the only model to have cruise control as standard. It is also fitted with uprated rear suspension to deal with the extra payload of full panniers and a passenger,…

For the MotoGP circus, it’s the furthest stop-over in the middle of three weeks of long-haul Pacific rim travel. For the riders, it’s a favourite circuit: challenging, but hugely enjoyable. For the championship, it’s a part of an 18-piece puzzle that’s nearing completion. But for Australian racing fans, it’s got to be the highlight of the year. And quite a year at that. When MotoGP left Europe after the Aragon GP, there were still five riders with a strong mathematical chance of winning the 69th World Championship. There’s a chance that the title will be decided here beside the seaside, as it has been five times since the inaugural race at the Island in 1989. (1996 Doohan, 2001 and 2004 Rossi, 2011 Stoner and 2012 Lorenzo). But with two races…

HONDA HAS ALWAYS had a commendable but sometimes problematic determination to do things their own way. Honda founder Soichiro Honda preferred to try something different rather than copy existing technology. It might be a rockier road, but the engineers will learn more along the way. That’s why Honda’s first 500 two-stroke – the NS500 triple of 1982 – was so different: a reed-valve three-cylinder to take on the rotary-valve four-cylinders raced by Yamaha and Suzuki. It took Freddie Spencer to Honda’s first 500 world title in 1983, but by the end of that year the bike was already overwhelmed by Yamaha’s more powerful V4. HRC went away and built their own four-cylinder, but it had to be different to the YZR500. Yamaha’s V4 was essentially two 250cc twins in a…

What’s the last bike you bought for yourself? JM: “I just bought a Kawasaki KX500 off Parkesy (Broc Parkes). It’s a 2003 model, the last of the KX 500cc two-stroke motocrossers. I love two-strokes. And I’ve inherited one of Gazza McCoy’s trials bikes in Andorra from Parkesy. That’s what bit me!” Any specials on the road? JM: ”No exotic road bikes, no.” Any projects on the go? JM: “I’ve got a heap of old two-strokes in Townsville, that I work on with my Dad. We got a Suzuki RM250 and put the engine into an RMZ rolling chassis, from a steel frame to an alloy frame.” Cars? JM: “I have got a couple of nice cars, the main one is a Holden Maloo ute with the supercharged V8, making about…

Not all that glitters is gold; it could be snow and ice Every year thousands of riders mount up for the annual pilgrimage to Phillip Island for the Australian MotoGP, and soon it will be time to get packed up for the 2017 event. We regularly hear of riders coming from every state and territory across the country, and the routes they take to get there often form the highlight of a riding holiday out on the bike. Motorcyclists making the trip down the eastern seaboard from Queensland and NSW have some particularly awesome options available to them with plenty of alternatives to the boring freeway stretches that, while sometimes quicker, can leave you feeling somewhat brain dead by the time you get to the Island. From Sydney to Melbourne…

Almost 48,000 attended the race weekend where Jonathan Rea (KRT) would chisel out a place in the annals of World Superbike history by winning the opening race at Magny Cours in France, and in doing so becoming the first rider in this class to win three successive championships. Neither Fogarty nor Bayliss managed that feat, but the seemingly greatest rider of the modern era blitzed his way to an unopposed title decider, winning by over 16 seconds. But the fates had a cruel DNF, his second blameless one of the year, lined up for race two. He tangled with the crashing Eugene Laverty’s Milwaukee Aprilia and the contact broke his right footpeg assembly off, and cut his right foot open. But he achieved what he wanted to do; win the…

KTM’S WILD CARD star Mika Kallio says he remains focussed on getting a full time race gig for the 19 race MotoGP season in 2018. And the only opportunity, with all the other seats spoken for, is with KTM. That would mean the Austrian factory relieving either Pol Espargaro or Bradley Smith of their current race roles. Espargaro’s position is unchallenged, but some uncertainty continues to swirl around Smith’s destiny, despite KTM’s assurances that he has their support and that his future is “safe.” KTM added fuel to the fiery rumours, too, when recently-crowned IDM Superbike champ Markus Reiterbeger was given the opportunity to test the Red Bull KTM RC16 at a two-day post-race test at Aragon. After last month’s Austrian GP, KTM sacked Smith’s crew chief and put the…

LEON HASLAM EXTENDED his lead in the 2017 British Superbike Championship to 32 points over Aussie Josh Brookes with a win and third-place finish in the penultimate round at the TT Circuit Assen over 29 September - 1 October. The JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider, who is yet to win a BSB title, held on to the win in the opening race despite some very hungry competition from title hopefuls Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) who finished second ahead of James Elison (McAms Yamaha), Sylvain Guintoli (Bennetts Suzuki) and Brookes (Anvil Hire Tag Yamaha) who narrowly missed out on a podium by one second. Compatriot Jason O’Halloran couldn’t replicate the flashes of brilliance we’ve seen from him and his new-for-2017 Honda Fireblade during the year, finishing tenth, some 15 seconds off…

A BIG POINTS haul by Polish rider Patryk Dudek in the Speedway Grand Prix of Poland on 7 October means the battle for the 2017 World Speedway Championship will go down to the wire. Fans at the Australian SGP at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium on 28 October will see either Jason Doyle or Dudek crowned as champion, with the Australian holding a 14-point advantage over his rival. What had been a 22-point lead going to Poland was cut most drastically in the semis and final as Dudek claimed his maiden SGP round win. Dudek was topscorer in the heats with 12, ahead of Vaclav Milik and Bartosz Zmarzlik on 11, Piotr Pawlicki and Tai Woffinden both on 10. Doyle scored nine (two wins, second, third and last) to minimise damage to…

SPECTATORS AND RACERS descended on the NSW Southern Tablelands over the September 23-24 weekend for Wakefield Park’s second annual All Historic Race Meeting for cars and bikes. Melbourne based rider Keith Campbell proved the dominant force, taking wins in two separate motorcycle solo classes, riding a Honda CB77 500cc in the 500cc and Unlimited (Group 1) races, and a Honda CB72 350cc in the 125cc, 250cc, 350cc and Class C races. Campbell took out the opening two Group 1 races from Bob Sayer (Norton Atlas) and Bob Rosenthal (Manx Norton). Race 3 featured a handicap, with Les Toohey taking the win on his BSA Gold Star ahead of Peter Rock (Manx Norton), with Campbell getting up to third despite a hefty time penalty. In the Group 2 races, Campbell took…

We don’t like unsportsmanlike behaviour, when there is disrespect Are you a motorcyclist yourself? Of course I am a motorcyclist! I enjoy riding motorbikes and I love this sport. Since I was young I have ridden with all my bikes all over Europe visiting France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Bosnia, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Great Britain….. You must get a unique insight into the riders and teams; what is the best part about the job, and do you have any favourites? We have a close relationship with all the riders and they are really nice guys. It’s good to be in contact with such personalities in the sport. Before I entered Dorna, I had worked for a sports paper in Spain (SPORT) during 10 years covering the FCBarcelona Soccer Team, and the…

YAMAHA AND HONDA will use this year’s Tokyo Motor Show to debut the latest developments of their self-riding technology. Yamaha first showed its R1-riding Motobot two years ago, saying its intention was to have it lap a racetrack at over 200km/h within two years, a deadline that coincides with the Tokyo Motor Show. Yamaha has now applied for a trademark for MOTOROiD, which signals the firm’s production name for its self-riding project. A trademark, of course, is of greatest use to a commercial product which is available for sale to the public. So while that started out as an eye-opening publicity stunt, it’s becoming more and more clear that Yamaha has autonomous motorcycle technology in its near future. Not one to be beaten to the punch, tech-savvy Honda has revealed…

YOU KNOW ELECTRIFICATION is getting serious when those combustion-loving Italians begin churning out electric-powered motorcycles - and that’s what happened at the recent AIMExpo in Ohio. It’s the work of Italian company Tacita, and is powered by a liquid-cooled asynchronous three-phase induction motor capable of 30Kw and up to 70Nm of torque which, as with all electric-powered machines, is available from just above zero rpm. Dubbed the T-Cruise (yes, really. And no, I don’t think they thought that through), not only does it boast switchable modes, but it appears would-be owners can choose between a belt or chain final drive. And just like on Victory’s electric-powered Empulse (which may or may not appear as an Indian-branded machine sometime in the future), Tacita has included a manual five-speed gearbox for a…

LONDON’S THAMES RIVER and Sydney’s Darling Harbour are playing host to two world-first motorcycle stunts. Travis Pastrana became the first person to successfully land a backflip between two floating barges on the River Thames on Thursday 5 October, a stunt the veteran trickster used to launch his latest Nitro Circus tour. The barges were placed almost 23 metres apart and the 33-year-old had just 45 metres to get himself up to speed before hitting the take-off ramp. Perhaps more impressive was his required stopping distance of under 11 metres, all while processing the feat he’d just achieved. Former FMX star Mike Metzger, now 41, attempted the same stunt on a pair of barges the same distance apart some 11 years ago, though he failed to pull it off and crashed…

Once the Aboriginal trackers were on the case, HG proved easy to find WHEN THE BARMAIDS of Darwin were refused time off to celebrate the end of The Great War in 1918, it was the fiery orator HG Nelson who took up their cause; this action culminated in the Darwin Rebellion, the removal of the NT Administrator John Gilruth and the successful establishment of a seat in the 1922 Australian House of Representatives. And a free beer for HG anytime he broached the bar of any pub, anywhere in the Territory. About this time HG acquired a Velocette GC3 ‘Colonial’ Model; a lightweight 225cc two-stroke with throttle controlled oil injection and a three-speed gearbox. At 40 years of age HG had spent much of his life as a steam locomotive…

THE AXING OF the Dyna range and the V-Rod, reduces Harley-Davidson’s range to Street, Sportster, Softail, Touring CVO and Trike for 2018. Of the four 2017 Dyno models, only three - Street Bob, Low Rider and Fat Bob - were offered a place at the expanded Softail table for 2018. The Wide Glide may be missing, but given Harley’s past form with deleting and then resurrecting old favourtites, expect the Wide Glide to be back better than ever. During the world launch, Harley-Davidson outlined its 10-year strategy to release 100 new models over the next 10 years. It also has a goal to attract two million new Harley riders to the brand in the US, and a further two million globally. That’s four million new riders in addition to its…

Price $30,995 (ride away); also available in a choice of two 115th Anniversary limited-edition models with the 114 engine ($34,750) Engine 107 standard (145Nm) 114 Option ($33,995 ride away) Seat height 675mm Wet weight 317kg (claimed) Colours Vivid Black, Black Tempest, Industrial Gray, Bonneville Salt Pearl, Wicked Red/Twisted Cherry, Silver Fortune/Samatra Brown, Legend Blue/Vivid Black, Legend Blue Denim Key points: • Iconic name • Aggressive steamroller stance with solid wheels • Satin chrome with headlight now integrated into the nacelle • Widest ever front tyre on a production Harley at 160mm • 16kg weight reduction over the previous model • Remote rear shock adjuster (above) “I NEED YOUR clothes, your boots, and your moto-cycle.” Those immortal words by Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator II helped rocket the popularity of Harley-Davidson’s Fat…

Price $24,250 (ride away) Engine 107 Milwaukee Eight (145Nm) Seat height 690mm Wet weight 287kg (claimed) Colours Vivid Black, Wicked Red, Electric Blue, Bonneville Salt Pearl Key points: • Dyna orphan • 70s custom chopper style is groovy baby • Dual tank-mount speedo and tachometer gauges • Headlight visor and fuel tank graphics • 19-inch front and 16-inch rear Radiate cast aluminium wheels • Shotgun 2-into-2 exhaust THE BIG NEWS for one of H-D’s most loved models is it’s no longer a Dyna but a Softail. And if you think the loss of dual rear shocks is no big deal for dyed-in-the-wool Harley lovers, just check out a few online forums – this is a big call by the company. The Low Rider has all the style of a 70s…

The big knobs make the Superdual look totally horn If ever there was one place on earth filled with sweeping plains ripe for the picking by big-bore single cylinder adventure bikes, it has to be the land down under. But when it comes to new machinery, the pickings are slim in the adventure-ready thumper stakes. Yamaha’s Ténéré has been around for almost a decade now, while Kawasaki’s KLR650 and Suzuki’s DR650 have been rolling off showroom floors for twice as long. KTM dished up the 690 Enduro, which has morphed into the Husqvarna 701, while SWM has lately turned out the RS650R. Some of these bikes are more adventure-ready than others, some are significantly cheaper than others, while some have rather more limited capabilities than others, leaving many riders wishing…

Expo! The good thing about Australia hosting its round of MotoGP in the latter half of the year is it means the GP Expo is often the stage many manufacturers use to debut never-before-seen models. You can grab a handful of stickers, try on those new boots you’ve been thinking about, chew Dobie’s ear off about doing the points on your old bike, or just use it to escape the blazing sun or the bucketing rain — highly likely it’ll be one of the two. THE BIKE PARK No, really. If you’ve got an hour to kill before your favourite riders hit the circuit, nick over to the motorcycle parking area — some of the gems you’ll stumble across are worth the entry ticket alone to cop an eyeful of…

UNTIL 1972, THE one-off national championship event was the Australian TT and it rotated among the States. However, for nearly six decades before that, there were events called the Australian TT and Australian GP. In an interesting piece of labelling, 1973-76 saw the Australian Grand Prix contested over six meetings, with a rider’s best four results counting towards the national title. In November 1976, national controlling body the Auto-Cycle Council of Australia voted to restore the AGP as a one-meeting affair and instituted the Australian Road-Racing Championships as the title series with all rounds counting. Bathurst was assigned the AGP in 1977 and subsequently every year bar one, through to 1988, the exception being 1987, when the race was allocated to Winton so Bob Barnard’s team could gain experience of…

GABARRINI’S COUNSEL COMES from working with both Stoner and Miller, so he knows their strengths and vulnerabilities. Gabarrini was crew chief for Stoner’s famous 2007 world title – still Ducati’s only MotoGP crown – and 23 GP wins over four years on the red bikes. Stoner’s second world title on a Honda in 2011 also came with Gabarrini as his race engineer, a two-year stint which saw Stoner’s career MotoGP win tally rise to 38. Now race engineer for Jorge Lorenzo at Ducati, Gabarrini has also been eyewitness to Miller’s talent as crew chief to Australia’s only current MotoGP racer at Marc VDS Honda in 2015 and ’16. “I have said many times it is not really fair to make a comparison between Casey and any other rider because he…

Just as it looked like the five-times world champion Kenan Sofuoglu would inexorably win his sixth title, having taken over the championship lead last time out, a triple hip fracture during a Superpole 2 crash put him out of the Magny Cours race weekend – and maybe more. With this kind of thing not easily fixed, although he went home to Turkey for surgery anyway, it left the field open for previous championship leader and hometown hero Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha WorldSSP) to jump forward again. Trouble is, he was also a heavy faller, hurting his right leg and wrist more than he was letting on. This made his ride to fourth place in front of his home fans an even more impressive feat than it reads on paper. His…

MARK CHIODO (Repsol GAS Racing – Triumph 675) delivered in the final round of the Motul Australian Supersport Championship, scoring two emphatic victories. From the opening salvo of qualifying Chiodo signalled his intentions, stopping the clock 1.021sec clear of his nearest rival Tom Toparis (Cube Racing – Kawasaki ZX-6R). With title winner Ted Collins (NextGen Motorsports – Suzuki GSX-R600) making an early jump to the Superbike class, Chiodo had a point to prove – that he could ride consistently and capitalise on his one-lap pace. Toparis, who was in the midst of preparing for two Grand Prix Moto3 wildcard appearances, knew his battle for the weekend would be with Mason Coote (Aark Racing – Yamaha YZF-R6) over second place in the championship. Race 1 saw Chiodo take charge of proceedings,…

NEWLY CROWNED AND three-time WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea may well be on his way to being the greatest WorldSBK rider ever, but as things stand, with four career titles and 59 race wins, that record still belongs to Carl Fogarty. Now a much more measured and relaxed person than the racer he once was, Fogarty denies he’s looking nervously over his shoulder as Rea starts lining himself up to be the best ever; of course Rea has already done what Fogarty couldn’t, and scored three titles in succession. “I think I am quite mellow these days,” laughed Foggy. “I think people want me to say that I am pissed off that he’s won three-in-a-row, but I couldn’t actually be happier.” However, times have changed and the series is by no…

FRANCE CLAIMED TOP honours for the fourth consecutive year, beating The Netherlands and Great Britain in the 2017 edition of the Motocross of Nations at Matterley Basin, south-west of London on Sunday 1 October. The winning team, made up of Romain Febvre, Gautier Paulin and Christophe Charlier, were pushed all the way by the Dutch trio of Jeffrey Herlings, Brian Bogers and Glenn Coldenhoff who couldn’t better their runner-up position of last year. It was a win Gautier described as “a crazy feeling that never gets old”, but the biggest cheer on the day went to the third-placed British trio of Tommy Searle, Max Anstie and Dean Wilson, who rode to Britain’s first podium placing in two decades. “It was unbelievable, it was awesome. I tried to race as fast…

VINTAGE MOTOCROSS is alive and well in WA after the running of the fifth annual Bridgetown Scramble, an interclub event conducted by Classic MXWA, VMX WA and Vinduro WA. The event is held on a natural terrain track overlooking a series of valleys; event organiser Nick Maxfield said it was one of the most picturesque courses on offer. “It’s an absolutely beautiful track where you can get an entire view of the course. This is an event we pull together once a year for everyone to bring out their old bikes and raise some money for charity. “We’ve got our own Bill Watson from Bridgetown who is 89 years old, and he still races on his Husqvarna.” The feature events were the Peter Squires and Ross Campbell Cups, held in…

JEREMY MCWILLIAMS IS a racer and tester for hire, ready to take on the ‘the kids’ on a TTF1-style racer or evaluate the latest KTM road bike. “You don’t want to let these kids walk all over the top of you,” he said. “If you have a name in racing, you can’t just doddle around to make up the numbers. I love Phillip Island and Eastern Creek, and it’s very difficult to go out and not put a hundred per cent into it. I don’t know any other way to ride a motorbike. If I find myself not really trying, I’d be better to stop. And we love coming over and beating the Aussies in their own backyard.” McWilliams was racing a Yamaha 250 in Northern Ireland, essentially for fun,…