Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol 66 Issue 18 i Australian Motorcycle News

WHILE THIS ISN’T an official project, it’s rare to see an unofficial work that looks as convincing as this. This electric Bimota concept, dubbed the EB1, is the work of four students at the International School of Design in Valenciennes, France. They’ve not only styled the bike but created a photo-realistic CGI animation of it. Maxime LeFebvre, Thomas Mayer, Florian Poulenard and Antoine LeSacq did the design work, while modellers Maxence Texier, Matthieu Piron and Tanguy Koutouan created the images and video. The bike features key Bimota cues, not least the Tesi-style hub-centre steering, and adds a futuristic spin with an electric powertrain and semitransparent plastic bodywork. The electric motor and battery packs are realistically sized, and the steel and aluminium chassis parts are all believably designed. Only the unusual…

BLIND AUSSIE RIDER Ben Felten, who was aiming to set a new world record, has been forced to settle for a national Dry Lake Racers Association (DLRA) gong after bad weather at this year’s Speed Week event at Lake Gairdner in South Australia forced the Sydneysider to call it quits prematurely. Enlisting the help of former GP star Kevin Magee as his ‘eyes’, the pair, both riding Yamaha YZFR1M machinery, needed to exceed 265.33km/h to claim the Guinness World Record for ‘Fastest Speed for a Motorcycle Ridden Blindfolded’. And while Felten fell short of the goal, his top speed of 251.24km/h was enough to claim a new DLRA blindfold record nonetheless. Magee notched up a record of his own during the event, setting a new 1000cc production class record of…

Malloy Aeronautics Hoverbike Back in 2014, well before the, um, rise of drones, British-based firm Malloy Aeronautics unveiled a pretty convincing hoverbike. It used two timber propellers horizontally mounted at the front and rear of the vehicle and both were powered by a centrally located boxer engine. While the original prototype has since evolved into an electric-powered quadcopter affair that can be controlled manually or set to fly autonomously, Malloy's first design was the beginning of the flying motorcycle concept, being both effective and convincing in its design and execution. “We combined the freedom of a helicopter with the simplicity of a motorcycle to create the world’s first hoverbike,” the company said at the time. Colin Furze’s homemade hoverbike Remember that crazy British bloke’s surprisingly successful attempt at building a…

“He was fantastic at everything he turned his hand to, be it on the tools or behind the handlebars” Many country lads were swept up in the motorcycle boom of the late 1960s, and one of them was the supremely talented Terry McDonald. Lee Roebuck, who went on to become a national 125cc champion and highly rated rider of the 70s, also caught the bug, and as a budding dirt-track racer, he had McDonald to look up to. “My first time on the tar was a production race on a 250cc Bultaco Metralla at Bathurst the day after I won a few flat-track races at Orange on a 250cc Hagon/Bultaco slider, which I bought from my good friend Terry McDonald,” Lee remembers. “He was a 250cc national dirt-track champion who…

The whole bike has a solid feel to it and provides great feedback from the road IN A PREVIOUS life as a motorcycle salesman, if there was ever a bike I didn’t have to try too hard to sell it was the Hayabusa. Anyone who came in and started sniffing around the GSX1300R already knew they just had to have it. Unless you’d been living under a rock since 1999 everyone had heard of the rivalry between Suzuki and Honda and their goal of building the world’s fastest production motorcycle. I love the story behind the naming of the Hayabusa – Japanese for Peregrine Falcon, because it preyed on Blackbirds. It’s like an old mythical fable, the stuff legends are made of. You can almost picture a Japanese Manga-style…

The power is useable, the torque linear, and the wheelie happy old Blade has gone The Blade is back and yes, it is better than ever. It’s 90 per cent new, lighter, smaller, with more power and a plethora of rider aids. In SP form it looks stunning too – and so it should for $28,499 (+ ORC). It clearly says Honda on the side, and it’s definitely a Fireblade; but it wasn’t what I was expecting. Over the years, just like me, the Blade has got a little soft, put on a bit of weight, and appeared bulky alongside sharper and younger models. But it’s a different story with the new bike. It’s still a Blade, albeit a much smaller, lighter and thinner one. While the position of the…

The moon’s huge temperature range could melt tyres during the day and crack them at night When President John F. Kennedy made his momentous announcement on 25 May 1961 that the US would put a man on the moon by the end of the decade, it sparked the imagination of the entire world. It also got the propeller heads at NASA busily working away at fulfilling man’s most awesome dream. This was uncharted territory for us earthlings, so hundreds of scientists and engineers began blue-skying all kinds of ideas to pull off what many had deemed impossible. With JFK’s deadline fast approaching, one of the last things to consider was how the Apollo 11 astronauts would get around the lunar surface collecting rocks and other geological oddities before squeezing everything…

THESE RST RIDING gloves are part of the brand’s IOM TT signature range and retain the stitched quilted styling of the three retro leather jacket models. For such a simple-looking pair of gloves, they really are packed with features. There’s Polyurethane knuckle armour embedded within the soft aniline leather upper, a cuff tab to help you pull them on, and well-placed padding to protect the back of your fingers and that bulbous lump on the end of your wrist. They also have a very simple and effective Velcro wrist strap, and an extra layer of leather on the outer edge of the little finger – which always seems to bear the brunt of road rash when things go wrong. We liked The feel of these gloves is incredible thanks to…

BMW R1200RS Engine: 1170cc Boxer twin Power: 92kW* Torque: 125Nm* Seat height: 820mm Wet weight: 236kg* Price: $23,100 (+ ORC) * claimed I KNOW BMW boxers because I used to ride loads of them when I lived in Pommie-land for a few years. Nice, if you like that kinda thing. And if you forgave twin cylinders that fell over from the vertical to the horizontal during the design process and never quite got up again. Riding over the course of a couple of weeks on the water-cooled R1200RS that is destined to be an AMCN long-termer, from city streets to mountain passes and freeways, showed that it’s possible to keep your basic DNA but manipulate the engineering to get more sophisticated and hard-hitting. This still ain’t no sportsbike, and it…

Gear Hauler Kenma Australia From $399 1800 251 145 kenma.com.au The Ventura Aerodynamic Bike-Pack system is now available for the Suzuki TU250X. Once fitted with L-Brackets, the TU250X can accommodate luggage options via the Astro Top-Box, Sport-Rack, Pack-Rack, Grab-Handle or EVO-Rack. This system allows for carrying capacity from 10-102 litres. LifePO4 Saver A1AccessoryImports $119.95 (07) 3451 1300 a1accessory.com.au The Optimate lithium 0.8A 12V battery charger is designed specifically for charging LifePO4 Lithium batteries. Unlike many standard lead acid battery chargers, which deliver a high current, the Optimate delivers the accurate low current charge that a flat lithium battery needs to safely recover. Budget Shark FicedaAccessories $199.95 (02) 9827 7561 ficeda.com.au The new Shark Ridill has an injected thermoplastic resin shell, adjustable venting system, Micro-Lock buckle and EasyFit design to accommodate…

24-26 MARCH Pigs ’n’ Pines Run, Spring Ridge Hotel, Spring Ridge, NSW. $15 entry includes badge and lucky door ticket. Free camping, showers, toilets, free breakfast Saturday and Sunday, entertainment, show ’n’ shine, raffle and auction. Supporting Kids With Cancer Foundation. Hosted by Bikers Australia New England Branch. For more information phone Ceejay on 0459 614 274 or email chickant@hotmail.com. 1 APRIL Fools Run, Sundowner Saloon, Blacksoil, Qld. April Fool’s Day Poker Run. Sign on 9am; stands up 10am. $20 entry. $200 best hand, prizes and raffle. Hosted by Veterans MC Brisbane. For more information email vmcbrisbane@hotmail.com. 8 APRIL Pig’s Arse Poker Run, Isis Club, Bruce Hwy, Childers, Qld. Sign on from 9am; stands up at 11.30am. $10 per hand; raffles and prizes. Meet ’n’ greet Friday night, after run…

Throttles rule THE BIGGEST TECHNICAL change from last season is a new rule that prevents teams without a split throttle body arrangement on their donor roadbike from fitting this system for racing. There are good reasons why you want to have split throttles. With high-compression race engines that spin up the rev range violently exiting corners, and which also create big back torque forces acting to lose rear tyre traction under rapid braking, the electronics side of the equation – ignition timing and cutting – can do only so much. The final actuator feeding the engine are the throttle bodies. If all the throttle bodies are linked together (as per most roadbikes) and thus opening at the same rate as each other, control over gas flow to the engine is…

Too little too late? THE FUTURE OF the Chang circuit is not 100 per cent certain in terms of its WorldSBK presence. This is the third year of a three-plus-two deal, but it is no secret that the venue wants a round of MotoGP. A clash of beer sponsors – Chang for the circuit and Singha for the MotoGP series as a whole – does not help the cause, but even if there is a Thai round of MotoGP held at the track in the future, there still should be a WorldSBK event in conjunction with it. WORLD SUPERBIKE RIDERS were amazed to find such a high level of grip on the Chang International Circuit’s hot tarmac — especially after last year’s PR disaster. Back then, the organisers had re-laid…

THE LEAP OF faith Yamaha made following a tough 2016 has had instant benefits for the 2017 season, with Yamaha having usurped Honda and all the others as ‘best of the rest’ behind Kawasaki and Ducati. Yamaha undertook a complete redesign of all the allowable race additions to their standard bike, in particular the 30 per cent increase in oil cooling capability, meaning the team can now extract the full performance from its engine, even in hot conditions.…

DEFENDING WORLD CHAMPION Marc Marquez shrugged off the setback of three crashes on the final day of pre-season testing in Qatar, his main concern being Yamaha rival Maverick Viñales’ race pace. Marquez crashed twice in the final hour alone as he chased the optimum performance and braking balance. The Honda concedes corner speed and acceleration to Yamaha, leaving Marquez to push to gain time on the brakes. It’s a tricky equation that Marquez has mostly mastered as he now searches to maximise the balance with Honda’s latest dose of horsepower. Marquez’s drop to 11th overall is not a reflection of his potential race pace, but his crashes are a measure of his desire to match the speed of Viñales. “I’m a rider that from the first to last lap is…

Top end green light After a four-year absence, Darwin’s Hidden Valley Raceway has been confirmed on the 2017 ASBK calendar. The 2.87km venue will host the fourth round of the series over 7-9 July. FROM THE FAST and flowing Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, the Yamaha Motor Finance Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) makes the trek north to Wakefield Park Raceway for the second round of the series this weekend 18-19 March. Round 1 winner Daniel Falzon and the Yamaha YZF-R1 CAT/Mainline Dyno Team are understandably pumped for Round 2 and are already targeting an improvement on their fourth-place finish in the 2016 championship. The team spent the recent rain-interrupted Wakefield Park test working on bike setup for a track that is the polar opposite to Phillip Island. “Our pace is…

What got you into bikes? My dad Keo raced at Mount Druitt back in the day, but I didn’t really have an interest in bikes when I was young. I played district cricket and could’ve made it as an all-rounder. I also played rep soccer. I got a Honda Sports 50, which I rode around the backyard, and after that I rode a Honda monkey bike. I was always a little scared about racing, but when I turned 17 I did my first scrambles at Mount Kembla in 1967 on a BSA 350. I went over a 10-foot drop-off and the front wheel had 30 broken spokes out of 36; I was a bit banged up and didn’t finish a lap! I eventually got to B-grade in motocross on a…

On the charge! It’s not just electric bikes for Indian, but also a new flat-tracker and a modern-day Wrecking Crew to go with it. Check out page 14 for the details. INDIAN WILL LAUNCH an electric bike within four or five years, according to company boss Steve Menneto. Speaking to news agency Reuters, Menneto – who is the president of the motorcycle division of Indian’s parent firm Polaris – confirmed the plan, suggesting the eventual machine might be more like a sportsbike than Indian’s usual cruiser and tourer fare. “The characteristics of the powertrain are going to be more applicable to be able to ride a bike in pleasure and twisties,” he said, “Kind of how you would use pleasure bikes today.” The decision to build an electric Indian comes…

More evidence This isn’t the first time we’ve had a clue the NeoWing might be more than a concept. In March last year, design patent images gave away subtle details with an image of the bike’s underside, showing a very well-developed engine, the hybrid drive system and details such as catalytic converters. Completely invisible from normal viewing angles, they hinted at the engineering completeness of the NeoWing concept and its readiness for production. WE’VE KNOWN FOR a couple of years that Honda has been developing a leaning three-wheeled production bike. The company has prototyped machines around the engine and rear frame of the NC750, and in 2015 showed a concept at the Tokyo motor show of its tilting front suspension system on the NeoWing. But while it first appeared that…

AS PART OF Indian’s move towards a sportier image – one that perhaps better reflects the company’s pre-war origins when it was a force to be reckoned with on track – Indian will be racing in American Flat Track in 2017. It revealed its race-only Scout FTR750 late last year (see Vol 66 No 12), using a bespoke 81kW V-twin engine in a steel frame wrapped in carbon bodywork. As well as announcing its works line-up of racers, the firm has now revealed that it will sell customer versions of the FTR750, albeit with a hefty price tag. It’s a clear signal of intent to American rival Harley-Davidson, which is Indian’s main competitor in the flat track series and recently made its race-only XG750R available for purchase. You’ll need to…

FOR THE RIDER in your life that has everything, how about a motorcycle-themed colouring-in book? Colouring-in books aimed at adults have enjoyed a spike in popularity in recent years and now a fellow who calls himself Daily Biker Dan has created one for the motorcycle-mad among us. This is the second edition of Motorcycle Colouring Book and it features 33 highly detailed line drawings of various motorcycles, ranging from current model sportsbikes, nakedbikes and cruisers, through to vintage Vespa scooters and old-school monkey bikes. It’s available at $19.95 (plus $5 for shipping) online at dailybikerstore.com.…

Letter of the issue Winning pics Dear AMCN, Excellent magazine and a regular purchase in this household. Thanks for providing a good read every fortnight. Please find attached some photos from Jonathan Rea’s race-winning celebration at MG corner on Saturday 25 February 2017 After mentioning to my wife – who was watching with me – that he stopped here after winning one of last year’s races, we were excited to see him pull up after his latest victory. I just put my camera to my eyes and started snapping, hoping to get a good shot, and was excited when I saw what I had taken as there was no media photographers on that side of the track, making these photos unique. Keep up the good work. Brett Davis Doreen, Vic…

Many of us dream of riding a full-blooded superbike through our favourite bitumen twisty bits and on to the latest weekend leather-clad hangout; however, real-world practicality and scratching fantasies do not always make good bedfellows. Models such as Ducati’s 1299 Panigale may be supermodel gorgeous, but they lack everyday useability. That’s not to knock people who ride their thoroughbred superbikes regularly, even commute on them daily – all power to you I say. But as the riding population grows older, an increasing number of buyers appear to be looking for a bike that delivers superbike-type performance for the road, coupled with ergonomics to suit. The answer may just be Ducati’s new SuperSport model, and if you want a little more sport in your SuperSport, then the S version will get…

My recent trip to Invercargill, New Zealand, for the Burt Munro Classic (Vol 66 No 13) was a chance to tick one item off my bucket list. But after a week on the road touring the region, that item has already been replaced by another: “Ride the South Island again”. I spent eight glorious days riding down the east coast and back up the west coast of New Zealand’s Southland region, returning home to a mountain of questions from fellow riders. It turns out that touring the South Island of New Zealand is on a lot of bucket lists, and it’s only lack of knowledge of the best way to do it that prevents many riders from going. To be honest, I was in the same position until Adventure Southland…

With five world titles to his credit, three of them in the premier class, there is no question that Jorge Lorenzo is one of the greatest riders of our era – and one of the most successful Spaniards ever to grace the paddock. But will he fall victim to the ‘red monster’ as others before him? With Casey Stoner, four of his closest advisors, and a lot of development in the bank for the GP17, he’s got every chance to unleash the Ducati’s true potential. We caught up with Jorge at the recent MotoGP test at Phillip Island to get to the bottom of why he really made the switch from Yamaha, and how things are shaping up so far. “I’m not here for money ... I race because it’s…

I enjoy the ‘torque-rock’ effect on the bike when you fire up the big boxer-twin 1 Paralever rear suspension uses two links to connect the drive to the transmission 2 The passenger doesn’t enjoy as much seat padding as the rider 3 Vertical twin headlights are a feature that not all buyers will appreciate 4 BMW’s Telelever anti-dive front suspension system might take a little getting used to FANS OF BMW’S boxer models were spoilt for choice by the 2005 line-up of touring bikes. The all-the-bells-and-whistles R1200RT, the rugged dual-sport R1200GS, and the sporty R1200ST were all vying for attention at BMW dealerships. With the amount of media attention that the luxo RT and the macho GS have attracted over the years (deservedly, I agree), let’s give the slightly neglected…

What’s required? YOU WILL NEED a good tape measure and/or a Vernier caliper, and equipment to adjust the preload front and rear. Quick-lift bike stands will also make the job considerably easier. No, we are not referring to your poor posture after a long day in the saddle. Rider sag relates to the amount that a bike’s suspension compresses when you sit on it, and there is generally an optimum setting for different bikes and applications. To work out rider sag we must first determine if the static sag is in the correct ‘zone’ (i.e. 5-10mm). Static sag is how much of the suspension travel is taken up by the bike’s weight. Then we check the sag with the rider on board. It may sound complicated but it’s not, and…

FASHION AND FUNCTION aren’t always easy to combine when it comes to motorcycle gear, and that’s especially true of one item that’s compulsory for learner riders in Victoria: the high-visibility vest. While there’s no known way of actually making a fluoro safety garment look cool, Aussie designer Crazy Horse Moto has at least made it more versatile with this new reversible design. On one side it’s a yellow high-visibility vest with retroreflective stripes that will help get you noticed on the road; flip it inside out and you’ve got a fine black leather number that might well get you noticed off the street, too. We liked The leather has a fine, even grain, is blemish-free and neatly stitched all over. The garment feels solid and hard-wearing. The zips, from Japanese…

IT’S BEEN SIX short months since we collected the Fiat Ducato in a deal that was definitely stacked in our favour. The terms were simple – AMCN gets keys to the magical motorcycle mover but must use liberally and test for utility in all sorts of conditions. Well, with a massive cargo space, cruise control and greenie-gratifying fuel efficiency, these wheels have been turning day in and day out – pretty much non-stop – for a veritable smorgasbord of motorcycling missions. The odometer has just ticked over 13,000km, but there’s still a whopping 26,000km before the first service, so we’re now plotting a bunch of multi-bike comparos and long-range tests for the year ahead in an attempt to hit that magic number in the first year. To date, the white…

He likes a win does Jonathan Rea, so much so nowadays that the Kawasaki ace has taken all four WSBK wins this year in a display of domination by man, machine and team that is almost Doohanesque in many ways. Even the things that Rea has not been best at in the past – qualifying for Superpole for example – have been squashed by his 2017 steamroller of a Ninja ZX-10RR. Rea took Superpole for the Thai round, as he had in Phillip Island. He only has 10 career Superpoles, but with the first two this season already, it’s clearly a much more rounded and potent effort this year – even after taking the championship two years running. Rea won each race at the Chang circuit from the front, as…

THE RED BULL Honda team, running the new Fireblade in 2017, had a tough opening round of the WSBK championship in Australia and life did not get any easier at the second round in Thailand. As expected, the much anticipated 2017 CBR1000RR is still some way from being the usable package its decade-old predecessor was. Work done by the team, along with technical partners Akrapovič and Cosworth, brought a more linear engine response since Phillip Island but, according to Nicky Hayden, it is still no great improvement. “It was maybe a little better in fifth and sixth, but we had a lot of problems with the engine brake this morning,” he said on Friday. “From one lap to the next it was not the same, which was quite frustrating.” Things…

AFTER WINNING HIS second Superpole of 2017, KRT’s Jonathan Rea reached 10 career Superpoles at Chang, matching veterans Carlos Checa and Pierfrancesco Chili. If he does it again – and he surely will – he will draw level with one-season championship-winning wonder Ben Spies. Meanwhile, Jules Cluzel (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) posted his 19th World Supersport pole, and by an impressive margin of almost half a second. The Frenchman now needs just three more poles to reach the impressive 22 of countryman Sebastien Charpentier. The most successful pole man ever is Turkish rider Kenan Sofuoglu with 30, but the five-time world Supersport champion is still sidelined due to an off-season injury to his thumb and hand.…

WITH JUST TWO weeks to the first GP, Maverick Viñales underscored his role as favourite title challenger, setting fastest time yet again in the final tests at Qatar. The new Movistar Yamaha rider has been fastest in all four pre-season tests, starting at Valencia in his first Yamaha outing last year. But the latest margin was promisingly small for his rivals. The top nine were within half a second of Viñales; the top 13 inside one second. The fastest four were all inside last year’s pole time, and the top three were on different makes of bike. Viñales took over top spot from new Ducati rider Jorge Lorenzo with just over two hours to go on the third and fastest day, and stayed there while the rest shuffled. By the…

JOHN SURTEES, THE only man in history to win premier class world championships on both two wheels and four, passed away last Friday, 10 March, after succumbing to a respiratory illness. He was admitted on Friday afternoon to St George’s Hospital in London, where, with wife Jane and daughters Leonora and Edwina by his side, he passed away peacefully soon after. Surtees enjoyed a celebrated and unprecedented career in motorsport. He won 500cc world championships in 1956, 1958, 1959 and 1960, and claimed the 350cc world title three times (1958, 1959 and 1960). Between his motorcycle grand prix racing debut in 1952 and his last race on two wheels in 1960, the British rider stood on the podium 45 times in just 52 attempts, 38 of those being on the…

IT WAS NEARLY two years ago we revealed Harley-Davidson was to reintroduce the Street Rod name, which last appeared on a V-Rod-derived bike in 2007. But we didn’t expect the new generation to be quite like this. Far from being a muscular, high-performance Harley sitting near the top of the range, the new Street Rod is an entry-level machine based around the water-cooled Street 750. Packing a High Output version of the Revolution X 750cc engine, with 18 per cent more power (about 50kW at 8750rpm) and torque up eight per cent compared to the Street 750, the Street Rod will be one of Harley’s least expensive machines. Ditching the usual cruiser looks for something a little more aggressive and up to date, it’s got sportier geometry than the Street…

2015 BMW R1200RT This large-capacity luxury tourer superseded the R1150 RT in 2005 and has since received numerous awards from critics for its savvy engineering and class-leading design. The patented BMW twin-cylinder boxer engine has a low centre of gravity that works with the Telelever front suspension and Paralever rear strut to deliver a nimble and precise ride that belies the R1200RT’s mass. Its substantial bodywork provides great protection for highway riding and, despite some recalls, this machine continues to win fans. What it’s got The BMW R1200RT is powered by an air and liquid-cooled, 1170cc, horizontally opposed, DOHC, twin-cylinder, fuel-injected, four-stroke engine with four valves per cylinder. Power runs through a six-speed constant-mesh gearbox. The front suspension is a 37mm BMW Motorrad Telelever with 120mm of travel. The rear…

It’s normal to get excited round about now at the prospect of another year of MotoGP. A bit more normal though this year. After a brilliant 2016, first time out with Michelin tyres and dumbed-down unified software, some highly significant rider changes add yet more spice to a highly flavoured dish. Changes at the highest level. Like three-times MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo jumping ship from Yamaha to Ducati. Like not-yet MotoGP champ but hot, hot prospect Maverick Viñales taking his place alongside Rossi in the Movistar team. While the triple champ and current defender Marc Márquez faces them all on a Repsol Honda with a brand-new buzz-box engine, and yet another year of maturity in his pocket, alongside his precocious talent. That’s not even mentioning the burning ambition of Andrea…

POSSIBLY MORE THAN any other boot, an adventure riding boot needs to find a balance between comfort, protection and durability. Adventure riders tend to go harder for longer in tougher conditions, and if you’re stuck in a pair of uncomfortable boots while in the middle of nowhere, it’s going to be a long and miserable ride. The instructions for the recent launch of the Ducati Desert Sled were specific: “Adventure-style boots must be worn.” I don’t do a lot of off-road riding these days, and when I do I usually wear my road boots. My childhood experiences with extremely uncomfortable MX boots had also left me a little gun-shy. But McLeod Accessories came to my aid with some proper adventure stompers – the latest Sidi Adventure 2 Gore-Tex boots. As…

IT’S THE LITTLE things that make a big difference when building a café racer, and that’s certainly true with these Rizoma Club L (front) and Club (rear) indicators. Manufactured from billet aluminium, the shiny Italian-made chrome bits are just 43.5mm long and 20.5mm wide. They are also available in a black finish. Fitted to our Sol Invictus Nemesis long-termer, the slim units are almost invisible, exactly the look we were after. And while the indicators are small, the burst of orange light from the latest SMD LED technology belies their size, firing out an eye-catching orange light that even Blind Freddie behind the wheel will see. The Club L front indicators also feature super-bright white driving-light LED bulbs that alternate to orange flashers. While we were fiddling with the wiring,…

Two World Supersport races into the season and we have another first-time winner, another load of technical fails and crashes, and this time a number of exclusions and penalties. The race was finally won, after a last-lap spurt away from two chasing riders (one of whom was to be excluded), by Federico Caricasulo on GRT’s new Yamaha R6, despite qualifying only seventh. “All weekend, after the experience of not finishing in Australia, I worked to make sure I would be able to make good lap times all race long, and in all conditions. I did it like this,” Caricasulo said after his breakthrough win. It could even have been a wildcard winner because local rider Decha Kraisart (Yamaha Thailand) was fully in contention and finished a fine second, to the…

RIDERS WERE FORCED to use race tyres for Superpole 2 during the Thai round of the World Superbike Championship on the weekend after a series of unfortunate events meant there simply weren’t enough to, er, go round. The original shipment of qualifiers was damaged in transit and, while that was remedied with an urgent order from Pirelli’s German-based manufacturing facility, the replacement shipment was subsequently impounded by customs. They were eventually released, but not before Pirelli had no choice but to withdraw the tyre from the allocation and issue each team with one additional soft race tyre to take its place. However, with KRT’s Jonathan Rea on track-best pace using the race tyre, it clearly made little difference overall. “It was funny not having qualifying tyres, but it didn’t change…

The donk Honda has now settled on a power-up engine spec in the hope of gaining some top speed to match Ducati’s Desmosedici rocketship. Torque delivery is still a work in progress, with HRC slowly edging towards maximising the set-up of the control ECU software. The RC213V remains a physical bike to control with only factory ace Marc Marquez able to deliver fast race pace on the limit. “We need to make the set-up more rider-friendly, but I’m feeling good,” Miller said. “I didn’t push outside my comfort zone.” AUSTRALIAN JACK MILLER is ready to race and appears unconcerned at having missed a top 10 time in the final Qatar test shootout ahead of the first race of the 2017 season. The Estrella Galicia Marc VDS Honda rider admits he…

THE NEW ZEALAND Superbike Championship ended in confusion and controversy after the final round at Hampton Downs. Officially at the end of the racing Sloan Frost has retained his championship – just half a point ahead of 49-year-old Tony Rees. But as Toby Summers said after emerging from a meeting with fellow racers and officials: “There are protests left, right and centre.” The controversy erupted after the final race, which also carried the New Zealand TT (Tourist Trophy) title. It was run in two sections, after an early red flag. But then came a second red flag when Alastair Hoogenboezem crashed at the fast turn 1, and officials declared the race. Half points were to be awarded for each section. The race was supposed to be 20 laps but the…

BACK WHEN THE Open, 450cc and 250cc classes (E3, E2 & E1) were combined in order to declare a single ‘outright’ winner of the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship, there was some debate as to whether the 250 and 450 classes would lose their status in the amalgamation. Certainly that seemed to be the case when Toby Price won back-to-back titles on his KTM 500 in 2014 and 2015. Even more so when Daniel ‘Chucky’ Sanders took his KTM 300 two-stroke to outright victory in 2016. Price has since parlayed his off-road skills to win the Dakar, while Sanders is off to Europe to contest the 2017 EnduroGP. And Tye Simmonds, who last year came second outright – and won the 450 class – has forsaken the AORC in favour of…

THE 10TH ROUND of the AMA Supercross was held at the Daytona International Speedway on 11 March. Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac took his fifth win of the 17-race series and moves within striking distance of 450cc series leader Ryan Dungey, whose fourth-place finish leaves him just 17 points ahead in the title chase. Honda’s Jeremy Martin crossed the line second in the 20-lap main event some 17.618sec behind Tomac, with Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson rounding out the podium. Australia’s Chad Reed (Yamaha) finished the race in sixth place and currently sits seventh in the standings on 116 points, 98 points shy of Dungey. “I don’t think it’s a secret that I like Daytona,” Tomac said after the race. “To take win number five of 2017 here is a great thing. I felt…

“I really wanted to bask in my glory” Now you’ve had time to process that epic round win, how does it feel? Honestly, a couple of weeks isn’t enough for a clean sweep like that. I really wanted to bask in my glory for a little bit longer! Now we have to get back down to business this weekend. But it is really nice heading into Round 2 with a bit of a points buffer. Race 3 at Phillip Island looked like it was the hardest by far, with the red flag and also you and Wayne Maxwell coming together at MG Corner. Yes, definitely! Not many people knew this, but the red lights on the start line actually flickered. This caused some riders to almost jump and some to…