Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol 69 Issue 14 i Australian Motorcycle News

AS WE EMERGE from the fog (or should that be bushfire smoke?) of another Christmas period, brimming with resolve for a year done better than however many we have done before it, we need to keep in mind that it will be Easter before we know it, and that being full of resolve is the equivalent of being full of manure if we don’t actually action it. For a lot of motorcyclists, that resolve may include riding more, riding better, riding with more people, just riding – and so it should. It might involve buying a new bike, fixing the one you have in your shed (like Kel Buckley has started on page 96), or doing something special with the one you have, like Guy Martin does on page 78…

BMW HAS FILED patents for wireless charging for its future electric bikes, a technology that’s already widespread in phones and electric toothbrushes. A new patent application from the firm shows how it plans to create an inductive charging pad that sits on the ground. To match, it proposes putting a matching charge receiver coil into the sidestands of its future electric bikes, so simply parking them on the charging pad will start refilling the battery, with no need to mess around with extension cords and plugs. Although inductive charging – which creates an electromagnetic field at the charger’s end and then converts that field back into electricity in the receiver coil – can’t charge a battery as fast as a plugged-in cable, it offers a significant convenience advantage. And if…

DIRECT FUEL INJECTION is already commonplace in cars, but it’s yet to make the leap to two wheels. It won’t be long, though, and Kawasaki is among the pioneers. We’ve previously seen that Honda has developed a direct-injected version of its Africa Twin, but Kawasaki’s take on the idea – revealed in new patent applications – is rather different, as it’s aiming the tech at its highest-performance engines. The new patents show the direct injection system fitted to the supercharged four-cylinder from the H2 superbike, as well as on a normally-aspirated four cylinder similar to that used by the ZX-10R. Direct injection is likely to become a vital tool to combat increasingly strict emissions rules in the future. It solves the problem of unburnt fuel escaping into the exhaust in…

Either everyone was too busy with their Christmas dinner to enter, or last issue’s Mental Twisties page was just way too difficult, cos we didn’t receive any accurate answers for our ‘what year was it?’ quiz. Here are the answers – and Fred sends his gratitude for being able to keep the prizes… Answers for AMCN Vol 69 No 13 1 AMCN Vol 41 No 11 1991 2 AMCN Vol 44 No 08 1994 3 AMCN Vol 37 No 08 1987 4 AMCN Vol 47 No 17 1998 5 AMCN Vol 50 No 25 2001 6 AMCN Vol 39 No 25 1990…

SAM MACLACHLAN AMCN EDITOR MOTOGP In 2020 Marc Marquez will be usurped for the first time since 2015, but it will be his own doing – he will take himself out of the title running, leaving a spectacular scrap for the championship for the similarly-paced throng behind him. Then, just as Andrea Dovizioso finally claims the coveted crown, Marquez will return from injury and mop the floor with everyone in practice, qualifying and the race, reminding the field of the 1.5sec a lap deficit they will need to claim back before 2021. INDUSTRY The general public will stop looking for a transport solution once it realises we already have one – motorcycles. Bikes sales will rise sharply, as will gear sales and rider-training enterprises. Roads will unclog, parking will be…

Paperwork The Mongolian visa is single-entry and valid for 30 days. You need to source the visa in your home country or from an embassy abroad for around $80. You will need Mongolian vehicle insurance, too, which you can buy just after the border. The prices aren’t official so don’t pay more than $20 for 30 days. You don’t need anything else other than your passport, V5 and driver’s licence. Fuel Our tank range of roughly 300km is enough for Mongolia. We met travellers in trucks who were terrified of running out despite carrying 1200km worth of fuel. You’ll find stations in towns and jerry cans in yurts. Routes There are three main routes; north, middle and south. You’ll have more fun in the middle and north. Road conditions Expect…

THE CLOSING SECTION of Kavanagh’s 1953 Ulster 500 GP victory, by the man himself… “As I tore through the pit area again I was signalled plus seven seconds. The three mechanics, Joe Craig and Artie Bell (a former Norton rider) were all jumping up and down. I did everything I knew. I two wheel slid the Norton through third and top gear bends, I scratched it out of gutters and bounced it off walls. For three laps I could see Duke coming into the hairpin and I began to wonder, ‘who will fall off first – him or me?’ “Then down came the rain and I was never so happy. The rain was in my goggles, in my boots, down my neck, it hurt my face; but I pressed on…

Plenty of fuel options are available at Oberon and we suggest you fill up there as it is the most reliable fuel stop for a while. RON 91 and 95 is available 5 days a week at Taralga during business hours, and on weekends up to at least midday. Fix it There is little in the way of assistance across the tablelands so carry basic tools and spares. Across the road from the Taralga Hotel there is a mechanical workshop run by Col who might be inclined to help out, if you can find him. If you get completely stuck you can always call Darren at Shift It Motorcycle Transport and he will come pick you up and take you home in his recovery van. 0419 236 695 Sleep The…

IT’S HARD TO know just how much work will be needed to get the old girl back to her former glory, so I’ll start with the basics and go from there. Because the engine moves freely, I’m going to start with fresh oil and filter. From there, I’ll flush the fuel system – decade-old fuel is never a good thing and tends to turn gunky over time. I’ll check the fuel hoses and replace any that are brittle. The same goes for the brake system. I’ll replace all the seals at the top and bottom of both the front and rear brakes, before replacing the fluid. I’ll check the cooling system – there’s some corrosion appearing where the hose meets the radiator, finger’s crossed it’s superficial, hopefully I can get…

AS THE BATTERED old Hino 4WD fire truck bounced across the paddock towards a distant and dangerous orange glow, a motorcycle sped up behind flashing its headlight. As the sole person on the crew deck and with the intercom to the cab broken, the only way I could stop the truck was to climb up over the top and bang my fist on the roof. Stupid? Possibly. But a couple of seasons of vintage sidecar racing a decade ago (always using three points of contact) made this course of action intuitive. Over three days we averaged around four hours sleep The 30-year-old truck lurched noisily to a stop and the motorcycle pulled up to the cab. It was midnight and the light from the cabin revealed the rider of the…

MAX FRICKE HAS laid the perfect foundation for his first season as a fully-fledged Speedway Grand Prix rider by winning the 2020 Australian Solo Championship. Restricted to four rounds when the Kurri Kurri round was abandoned after just four heats because of track conditions, Fricke sealed the title win midway through the final round having been the dominant performer when the semis and final came around at each track. After four championship victories for Fricke at Under-21 level, this was back-to-back championship wins for him at senior level, ending a seven year period that had produced seven different winners.…

DJ’S OMG switch Aussie IoM star Davo Johnson has signed with OMG Racing for his 2020 TT campaign, and the experienced BSB squad's TT debut, using BMW machinery. Platinum donates During the month of January, Victorian-based dealership Platinum Motorcycles will donate 10 percent of its profits on spare parts to the state’s bushfire victims. Time flies This year marks the 20th anniversary of the passing of the great Joey Dunlop. Vale Trevor Pound Australian Grand Prix racer from the 1950s and ’60s Trevor Pound passed away in December, 2019.…

The year was... 001990 News Engorged with the acclaim its new ZZ-R1100 was receiving, Kawasaki Australia decided to cull a bunch of dealers from its NSW network. Ten dealers received the concise letter informing them that their dealer agreements wouldn’t be renewed. The letter gave no reason as to why the dealers where given the arse, and the effected franchises claimed that this was the first they’d heard of the matter. Sport Retired KTM Australia bigwig and big, nasty 500 dang-dang riding legend Jeff Leisk was in form in France back in May 1990. Leisk finished first overall in the French 500 motocross grand prix in Brou. Leisk’s third in the first moto and second in the final gave him the round win while also keeping the West Australian’s title…

THE HISTORY OF Peugeot Motorcycles – not ‘motorcycles’ – is long and illustrious. Kel Buckley did a good job covering that in AMCN Vol 69 No 01, so I will look forward. After a number of different owners, including Piaggio, the brand started production in China in conjunction with Qingqi in 2006. Eight years later, Mahindra took a 51 percent stake in the company and last year, increased that to 100 percent. The company is clearly looking to south-east Asia to increase sales. Last year it sold about 70,000 light motorcycles and scooters worldwide, but much work is being done at the company’s R&D facilities in both Paris and Jinan, China to build on that number. Peugeot is poised to launch 20 new models in the next three years, including…

“CARLIN AND I met at the 2016 Pikes Peak event, when he was part of the Squadra Alpina program, a mentorship for rookie riders at Pikes. Gracious and calm, he was the perfect tutor to me and the other rookies that year, and I used his teachings as best I could in the following years – first to beat Chris Fillmore, and second to beat him personally in 2018 – both times of which I failed. “Our battle in 2018 was nothing short of epic. Dunne beat me by 0.692 seconds, the closest finish in racing history at Pikes Peak. I was distraught. I’d come so, so close. I wanted that win so bad, and to beat him in the process would have made it even sweeter. “However, Carlin was…

As you read this, BMW’s top-secret facility may be developing your next motorcycle BMW HAS A vehicle development ace up its sleeve in its Miramas test centre. The 1168-acre facility located in the south of France is built on the old Autodrome de Miramas banked-oval speedway, which opened in 1924 but fell into ruin during the great depression, and was finally abandoned in 1933. BMW purchased the derelict site in 1986 and developed the facility allowing it to conduct extensive testing on its two- and four-wheeled vehicles. Thirty years later, Miramas now boasts four test tracks totalling 52km that includes enduro bike test tracks with water crossings and jumps, motorways, racetracks, and high-speed sections where vehicles can be tested at speeds of up to 300km/h. It also offers tyre and…

FOR YEARS, MY Achilles heel at Phillip Island has been the exit of Southern Loop. Botching that super fun, double apex corner has long been my hallmark of a Phillip Island visit – luckily the Australian Superbike School fellas were on hand. “It sounds like you are getting into the middle of the corner too fast, Sam,” Steve Brouggy said. “Instead, slow down the middle part of the turn, get the bike turned properly, and you will be able to drive out harder and faster, setting you up for the rest of the track.” Yep, from the first lap after that piece of advice, I was concentrating on getting the bike where it should be and actually turned, rather than getting greedy on the throttle and totally missing the final…

They labelled it an amazing life. It was a familiar reaction to the passing of Australia’s first world championship grand prix winner Ken Kavanagh in his adopted home of Bergamo, Italy, 15 days short of his 96th birthday. He had lived there for 66 years, with just a couple of trips home. Dovetail that with having his greatest successes before television came to Australia and you have a clue to why Thomas Kenrick Kavanagh was under-recognised here. In the late 1990s his image was far better known in Sweden’s Hedemora than his birthplace of Melbourne (see sidebar). Should that really be the case? Kavanagh’s victory in the 1952 Ulster Grand Prix was Australia’s maiden victory in a two or four-wheeled world-championship GP. He was also Australia’s first premier-class GP winner…

THERE WAS A quirky post script to Ken Kavanagh’s three Swedish TT victories in 1952-53. In 1998, the Hedemora City Council commissioned a new fleet of garbage trucks and held a competition on how to decorate them. The winning image was Ken in action in 1952. Swedish television sent a crew to Bergamo to interview him. The city then invited Kavanagh and Geoff Duke for a visit, with their wives. When Ken arrived, he discovered a second reason for the invitation. The city wanted a top Australian sportsperson there. The largest local business was the Hedemora Diesel Company and it was bidding (successfully as it turned out) to power Australia’s Collins-class submarines.…

If you follow the Jenolan Caves Road all the way past the caves and up the hill on the other side you will find yourself on a glorious stretch of riding road heading towards Oberon. You do not have to go all the way through to Oberon; instead take the left turn on the Shooters Hill Road just after you pass through the small settlement of Edith, signposted Butter Factory Lane. This road runs through the pine forests on an excellent sealed surface and intersects the Tablelands Way south of Black Springs. This stretch of bitumen has been very well made and is very lightly trafficked.…

MOTOGP’S SECOND NEW-millennium decade was very Spanish. In the previous 10 years, dominated by Valentino Rossi, champions came not only from Italy but also from the USA (Kenny Roberts Jr and Nicky Hayden) and Australia (Casey Stoner). From 2010 to 2019, however, Stoner has been a one-off interloper in an all-Iberian fiesta. It started with the first of three titles for Jorge Lorenzo, and has finished with a serial run from Marc Marquez. A new decade is a welcome reminder that nothing lasts forever During all this, Dorna had completely remodelled the landscape. In 2010, big chief Carmelo Ezpeleta was already engaged in battle to cut the dominant Japanese factories down to size. This mainly meant Honda and to a lesser extent Yamaha, for Suzuki was slip-sliding away by the…

VALENTINO ROSSI SAYS it would be a “good idea” but that “motivation” is the key ingredient as Yamaha considers Jorge Lorenzo for the role of test rider in 2020. Lorenzo, who won three MotoGP titles and 44 races on the Yamaha YZR-M1, retired suddenly at the end of 2019 after a winless and injury-plagued season aboard a factory Honda RC213V. “You have to understand if Jorge wants to be a tester. If I can have a motivated Jorge, who says he no longer wants the pressure of 20 races a year but still likes to ride, in my opinion yes,” Rossi said. “For me, if he gets on the Yamaha, he’s fast.” During a winless 2019 Lorenzo’s appetite for risk was severely dented during a slow and painful recovery from…

THE 2020 DAKAR has been marred by the death of Paulo Goncalves, after a fatal crash during the seventh stage of what was his 13th Dakar event. After five years in the factory Honda squad, with a best Dakar finish of second behind winner Marc Coma in 2015, the Portuguese took on a new challenge for 2020 after signing for Hero Motorsport. A blown engine on just the third stage saw Goncalves, 40, replace it single-handedly by the side of the track, dropping him from 14th in the standings at the start of the day down to 111th. However by the end of the sixth stage, he’d clawed his way back 46th overall thanks to three top-10 finishes, showing the courage and consistency that won him the 2013 Cross-Countries Rallies…

JACK HOLDER ADDED to his impressive home season winning the Jason Crump Classic Cup at Kurri Kurri on Boxing Night taking the final ahead of the previously unbeaten Rohan Tungate, impressive German Erik Riss and Brady Kurtz. Brady Kurtz then became the seventh different winner in seven years of the Phil Crump Trophy meeting at Mildura by beating Dan Bewley, Max Fricke and Jaimon Lidsey in the final. The South Australian Sidecar Championship at Gillman was won by Mark Plaisted/Ben Pitt ahead of Mick Headland/Brenton Kerr, Shane Rudloff/Scott Morris and Warren Monson/Andrew Summerhayes. Monson/Summerhayes then won their sixth Victorian Sidecar Championship at Mildura ahead of Rudloff/Morris and Byren Gates/ Mick O’Loughlin with Plaisted/Pitt excluded.…

ZONGSHEN’S PLANS ARE more ambitious than merely aping the original 650cc Norton motor – it’s just announced that a ZS850 version will be joining the 650cc option. Zongshen’s new, large-capacity derivative of the twin has a claimed output of 70kW at 8500rpm from the 849cc ZS850 engine, along with 85Nm of torque – far exceeding the 62Nm of the Zongshen 650 or the 64Nm of Norton’s equivalent. Surprisingly, the Zongshen ZS850 has a fractionally higher compression ratio than the Norton 650 – 12.2:1 rather than 11.5:1. Its peak power and torque also arrive far lower in the rev range, with the maximums coming at 8500rpm and 7000rpm, respectively. Norton’s Atlas needs to hit 11,000rpm before it reaches its full power. Although Zongshen has yet to show any bikes with the…

320KM/H The 2020 CES electronics expo in Las Vegas unearthed an electric bike prototype which claims 200 horsepower (150kW), 200mph (320km/h) top speed, as well as a 200-mile (320km) range. Even more remarkably, the Damon Hypersport boasts electronically adjustable ergonomics that can be changed on the move. VALE COLIN SEELEY British motorcycling legend Colin Seeley lost his battle with illness on 7 January, five days after his 84th birthday. Among a life dedicated to motorcycles, he raced sidecars, was a dealer principal, became a highly-regarded engine tuner, was a race team manager and even added motorcycle designer to his resume. He wrote a book about his life, too, called Colin Seeley, Racer... and the rest. “Riding the Ninja ZX-10RR at the TT is a new chapter for me, one I’m…

OKAY, IT’S ACTUALLY called the Ken Wootton Perpetual Trophy, named after the late, great former editor of Australian Motorcycle News who competed at the inaugural International Island Classic 27 years ago. The trophy is awarded to the highest individual point scorer from the four international team challenge races. Although the prize is awarded to an individual, winning it requires teamwork. Last year the spoils went to Steve Martin, read how he plans to defend his title in our interview on page 126.…

@allieknofflock This photo took some convincing! It went down like this... Me: “I’ll help you put the beef jerky in at midnight if you help me take photos tomorrow” Tyler: “No, I’ll do the beef jerky myself” Me: “I’ll make chocolate cheesecake as well” Tyler: “You we’re suppose to make that for my birthday anyway... Ok, hurry up”. @amcn_mag is another magazine we buy often. Bike fans should read this as there is so much valuable info in these! Even I pick up some things from time to time (I’m more of a dirtbike fan however). We should really subscribe to our favourite magazines and get them in the post! I like to buy magazines so I actually sit down and read or flick through something and not look at…

ENGINE Capacity 169cc Type Single-cylinder SOHC, two valves Bore & stroke 61 x 57.8mm Compression ratio Not given Cooling Air Fueling EFI, single throttle body Transmission CVT Auto Clutch Not applicable Final drive Belt drive PERFORMANCE Power 8.3kW @ 8500rpm (claimed) Torque 12.2Nm @ 7000rpm (claimed) Top speed 110km/h (measured) Fuel consumption 2.7L/100km (claimed) ELECTRONICS Type Not given Rider aides Single-channel ABS CHASSIS Frame material Steel Frame type Tubular lattice Rake Not given Trail Not given Wheelbase 1355mm SUSPENSION Type Peugeot Front Conventional nonadjustable telescopic fork, 85mm travel Rear Monoshock with adjustable preload, 80mm travel WHEELS & BRAKES Wheels Cast alloy Front: 16 x 3 Rear: 16 x…

ENGINE Capacity 1078cc Type 65º V4, 16 valves Bore & stroke 81 x 52.3mm Compression ratio 13.5:1 Cooling Liquid Fueling EFI, 4 x 48mm Weber-Marelli throttle bodies Transmission Six-speed Clutch Wet, multi-plate, slipper Final drive Chain PERFORMANCE Power 129kW @ 11,000rpm (claimed) Torque 121Nm @ 11,000rpm (claimed) Top speed 285km/h (claimed) Fuel consumption Not given ELECTRONICS Type Aprilia Racing/Magneti Marelli APX2 ECU with custom mapping, Power Commander Rider aides Bosch 9.1 Cornering Traction Control, Wheelie Control, Launch Control, Cruise Control, Pit Speed Limiter Modes Race, Sport & Rain CHASSIS Frame material Aluminium Frame type Twin-spar Rake 24.7 degrees Trail 99.7mm Wheelbase 1450mm SUSPENSION Type Öhlins Front: 43mm NIX30…

ENGINE Type 200V brushless three-phase AC induction motor Controller Not given Cooling Liquid Transmission Single speed Clutch Not applicable Final drive Shaft BATTERIES Type Lithium Ion Capacity 13kWh Recharge time Wall charge: 6km range per minute 80 percent: 30 minutes DC fast charger: Not given 80 percent: Not given PERFORMANCE Power 100kW @ 12,000rpm(claimed) Torque 200Nm @ 1rpm (claimed) Top speed Not given Range City: Not given, Highway: Not given, Combined: 200km (claimed) ELECTRONICS Type Not given Rider aides Traction control CHASSIS Frame material Tubular steel Frame layout Trellis Rake Not given Trail Not given SUSPENSION BMW Front: 46mm USD fork, fully adjustable, 120mm travel Rear: Monoshock, rebound damping adjustable, 120mm…

IF EVER I needed convincing the gap between motorcycle and car performance is closing, it was being able to spend a day driving and riding both on the same track to be sure. Sure, a bike’s lap time in the hands of Glenn Allerton pips that of a road car’s mark, in the hands of one of those great driving instructors, but the braking and off-the-mark drive is next level. With the electronics packages these cars come equipped with, too, it’s much easier for an average driver to launch a hot M3 off the line easier than a good motorcyclist can. The days of ambling to the head of the traffic light queue, smugly assuming you can just roll off at quarter throttle, unchallenged, are over. No matter what you…

KEN KAVANAGH WAS a pioneer. He was the first rider from outside Europe to win a world championship Grand Prix (the Ulster 350 GP on August 16, 1952). At that time, riders from just four nations had claimed world championship GP victories: Germany, Great Britain, Ireland and Italy. He was also the first Australian to win a premier-class world championship round (the 1953 Ulster 500 GP), the first non-European signed full time to an Italian factory team, Australia’s first Isle of Man TT winner, the first rider to race Guzzi’s famous V8 500, the most exotic racing machine of the 1950s, and the first Australian to win a major race on a Ducati.…

It was 2006 or 2007, I think, when I purchased this 2003 Kawasaki ZX-636R. I was working for a Kawasaki dealership when the completely overhauled bike was first released and immediately fell in love with its sharp angular lines and what was then diminutive stature. Trading up from a Yamaha TRX850, it had a few thousand kays on the clock, it was the newest motorcycle I had ever owned, and my first inline-four sportsbike. I named her Nancy. “’Cos she’s fancy!” I’d reply when people asked me why. I thought it was the bee’s knees. Falling out of love THREE OR FOUR years and 19-odd thousand kays later, me and my wrists – like many motorcyclists around the world at the time – began to fall out of love with…

Show time 13 FEBRUARY Classic Motorcycle Mecca, Invercargill, NZ. Check out the George Begg exhibit at one of the leading motorcycle collections in the Southern Hemisphere. In total there will be more than 300 motorcycles on display at the Classic Motorcycle Mecca including three out of four publicly displayed John Britten bikes, the largest display of Brough Superior south of the Equator, Harley-Davidsons, Vincents, and tributes to icons such as speedway legend Ivan Mauger and more. For more information see motorcyclemecca.nz. 28-29 FEBRUARY 3rd Annual Drags & Bike Show, Gippsland Motorplex, 150 Aerodrome Rd, Bairnsdale, Vic. Gates open 12pm Friday; night racing from 6pm. Bitumen and dirt drags, 50cc kids racing, trailbikes, roadbikes, quads, stunt riders, burnouts and grudge racing. Live music, trade stalls, food and drink kiosks, and onsite…

AUSSIE ROADS STAR David Johnson has signed for OMG Racing for his 2020 Isle of Man TT and North West 200 campaigns, hoping to go one better than his maiden TT podium achieved with the official Honda squad during last year’s event. It’s the British Superbike team’s first go at road-racing, but with Davo signed for both the roads and BSB seasons, team relationship and bike set-up should be where it needs to be come the gruelling road events towards the middle of the year. “They are an amazing bunch of people who are dedicated to their racing and put their riders front and centre,” Davo said. “The bikes will be top notch, they’re a no-holds barred team when it comes to assembling the best bits of machinery and I’m…

Australian Motorcycle News road test photographs are posed for by skilled, professional riders under controlled circumstances. Attempting to imitate their actions may be dangerous. Australian Motorcycle News supports and endorses rider training and wearing protective riding gear. Especially if you thought you might take a leisurely pedal to see an old mate. What should have been a tough but trouble-free 70km cycle in the cooler hours of the morning, ended up being a 90km slog of exploding tyres, far flung latex showers, decades-old tube offerings and late-to-work bike-shop blokes with a heavily corrugated bum steer, and all completed in the hottest part of a 30-something degree day. Just lucky the beer was cold, eh, Youngy?!…