Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol 70 Issue 09 i Australian Motorcycle News

Island blues I am yet to not have a grouse time there on GP weekend ORDINARILY, RIGHT ABOUT the time you are reading this, I would be at the Island. Phillip Island, that is, the great, currently silent monument to motorcycle racing situated just off the coast of Antarctica. I’m missing it badly. And not just the racing. Most of the motorcycle community turns up there, so not seeing the usual faces, shaking their heads at Marc Marquez’s antics and asking why I said whatever about their bike is hard to accept won’t happen this year. Particularly with how good this crazy season has been. Bumping into Rossi and Uccio at Pinos, then spotting someone you haven’t seen in years, who is a bit fatter, a bit greyer, but essentially…

BIG POWER ADVENTURE bikes will be the talk of 2021 and Honda is planning to supercharge its CRF1100L Africa Twin. Patents have emerged clearly showing how Honda is aiming to fit a ‘blower’ just above the transmission, with intake air pipework from the Africa Twin’s unique headstock-straddling airbox running down the left to the blower’s air intake. The supercharger itself is driven via gears from the crankshaft, and the air it compresses gets fed vertically upwards into intake runners that then loop over and down again into a pair of conventional throttle bodies. Honda’s patent shows two injectors mounted in the throttle bodies, as normal, but also says that two more direct injectors squirt fuel straight into the combustion chambers. Compared to Kawasaki, Honda’s approach is notably different. It uses…

SALES OF MOTORCYCLES, scooters and mopeds in Europe’s five largest markets slumped 17 percent in the first six months of 2020. However France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK, which comprise about 80 percent of the market, bounced back after Covid restrictions were eased. A 23.7 percent growth in July was followed by a 29 per cent boost in August, when comparing months on a yearly basis. This brought the overall sales comparison for the first eight months of 2020 to be down just three percent on the same period in 2019. Global motorcycle sales dropped 21.5 percent, pushed down by India and sales declines in various South American and Asian countries. Total half-yearly sales in the US were down over 15 percent. HC…

Access, AMCN, PO Box 20154, World Square, NSW, 2002 access@amcn.com.au Comfort and speed Please excuse the handwritten letter, but I still live in the dark ages when life was simpler as were motorcycles. I don’t have a computer or a smart phone and I still write letters. I have been pondering whether to send Fred photos of my first bikes. My nostalgia was stirred when I saw the centrefold of AMCN Vol 69 No 24 of Geoff Duke on the Manx Norton. That was my era of motorcycle competition. I met him at the February 1955 race meeting at Mount Druitt in western Sydney when he came here on the Gilera. He signed my program and I still have it as a souvenir, I rode in the Junior Clubman’s race.…

A FUN AND easy first mod to make to a bike is adding an exhaust, but when a bike, such as the FTR1200, comes with a set of throaty Akrapovic mufflers already in place, it removes that option. There really isn’t much reason to change them out, unless you are looking for more sound. And likely making them technically illegal at the same time. There’s a heap of other small mods we can do before leaping to bigger changes, though, such as looking for alternative grips - the current ones almost match the tyre pattern, which might look cool, but aren’t the most comfortable after a few hours under a gloved hand. The bike also misses heavily when it’s cold, too, so we will be looking at ways to improve…

ENGINE Capacity 1078cc Type 65ºV4, DOHC, 16-valves Bore & stroke 81 x 52.3mm Compression ratio 13.6:1 Cooling Liquid Fueling EFI, 4 x 48mm Marelli throttle bodies Transmission Six-speed Clutch Wet, multi-plate, slipper Final drive Chain PERFORMANCE Power 159.6kW @ 13,200rpm (claimed) Torque 122Nm @ 10,500rpm (claimed) Top speed 315km/h (est) Fuel consumption 7.6L/100km (measured) ELECTRONICS Type Magneti Marelli ECU, Rider aides Bosch 9.1 Cornering ABS, Traction Control, Wheelie Control, Launch Contol, Cruise Control, Pit Speed Limiter, quickshifter Modes Track, Sport & Rain CHASSIS Frame material Aluminium Frame type Twin spar Rake 24.5 degrees Trail 103.8mm Wheelbase 1439mm SUSPENSION Type Öhlins SmartEC 2.0 Front: 43mm USD , electronically adjustable fork, 125mm travel…

ENGINE Capacity 1802cc Type Horizontally opposed twin, OHV, eight-valves Bore & stroke 107.1 x 100mm Compression ratio 9.6:1 Cooling Air/oil Fueling EFI, twin 48mm throttle bodies Transmission Six-speed Clutch Wet, multi-plate, slipper Final drive Shaft PERFORMANCE Power 67kW @ 4750rpm (claimed) Torque 158Nm @ 3000rpm (claimed) Top speed 180km/h (claimed) Fuel consumption 5.6L/100km (claimed) ELECTRONICS Type Bosch ECU Rider aids Traction control, ABS Rider modes Rock, Roll and Rain, CHASSIS Frame material Tubular steel Frame type Twin loop Rake 32.7º Trail 150mm Wheelbase 1731mm SUSPENSION Type BMW Front: 49mm fork, non-adjustable, 120mm travel Rear: cantilever shock, nonadjustable, 90mm travel WHEELS & BRAKES Wheels Wire spoked Front: 19…

ENGINE Capacity 599cc Type Inline four, DOHC, 16-valves Bore & stroke 67 x 42.5mm Compression ratio Not given Cooling Liquid Fueling EFI, 4 x 40mm Keihin throttle bodies Transmission Six-speed Clutch Suter multi-plate, wet, slipper Final drive Chain PERFORMANCE Power 95kW @ 15,000rpm (claimed) Torque Not given Top speed 260km/h (est) Fuel consumption Not given ELECTRONICS Type Ten Kate Racing ECU Rider aids Not applicable Rider modes Not applicable CHASSIS Frame material 7075 T6 aluminium Frame type Twin CNC-machined plates incorporating engine as semi-stressed member Rake 19-24º Trail 92-105mm Wheelbase 1365-1403mm SUSPENSION Type Öhlins Front: Fabricated wishbone fork with twin superimposed triangular links and transversely-mounted fully-adjustable TTX36 shock,…

Franco Morbidelli was the first VR46 Academy rider. His parents moved from Rome to Tavullia so their son could learn from the master. When Valentino Rossi created his academy, Morbidelli was his first signing. In 2017 the youngster became VR46’s first world champion when he won the Moto2 title, in 2018 he became the first VR46 rider in MotoGP and at September’s San Marino GP he became the first VR46 rider to win a premier-class race. Rossi believes in him and so far Morbidelli is repaying that belief. After a tough rookie MotoGP year on a Honda, he joined the new Petronas Yamaha squad last season and was immediately overshadowed by stellar rookie teammate Fabio Quartararo. Living in Quartararo’s shadow affected Morbidelli but he kept his cool and kept working…

LORIS CAPIROSSI Loris Capirossi became the youngest-ever rider to become 125cc world champion when he won the Australian round of the 1990 125cc Grand Prix ahead of Bruno Casanova. MAX BIAGGI In 1997, Max Biaggi qualified on pole position, finished second to Ralf Waldmann and was crowned the 250cc World Champion for the fourth consecutive year. MICK DOOHAN In 1998, Australian hero Mick Doohan clinched his fifth 500cc Grand Prix world title by winning the Australian Grand Prix ahead of Kiwi Simon Crafar and Alex Criville. OLIVIER JACQUE It was the last race of the 2000 250cc Grand Prix Season and Frenchman Olivier Jacque held off Shinya Nakano by just 0.014sec to nab his first and only world title. VALENTINO ROSSI Valentino Rossi won the very last 500cc Grand Prix…

I FELT SLIGHTLY nervous as he walked into the implement shed of my fixer-upper farm. Over in the corner near the workbench was the Chinese knock-off Honda water pump I’d used a couple of times, then decided to sell. I really wanted the genuine article if a bushfire ever swept up to our property. So an ‘as new’ fire pump for a fraction of its original cost was for sale. But would he buy it? To get to it he had to walk past a modest collection of motorcycles that anyone with even a vague interest might find slightly intriguing. How would he react? There were the two Yamaha IT 200 dirt bikes, one a fixer-upper and the other a parts donor that could possibly be restored if the market…

AS WELL AS a healthy dose of natural talent, competing at this level requires near sociopathic levels of self-belief. In an era of unparalleled competition, confidence in one’s ability is more critical than ever. In this weirdest of seasons, a bad day can result in ninth, 10th or even 11th place, as it did here, at a cold, wet Le Mans, for three of the championship’s top four. Anyone doubting this need only look at the podium finishers at the French Grand Prix. Both Alex Marquez (Repsol Honda) and Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM) have had to grow thick skin in recent months after numerous setbacks in the first two thirds of their campaigns. Petrucci led every lap, to break clear of a six-way fight for victory But no rider…

Race two so nearly ended in early disaster for the Spaniard as he was tagged by a crashing Eric Granado (Avintia Esponsorama) at the first chicane. Somehow he stayed on, coasting home in sixth for the crown. Up ahead Tuuli won race two from Di Meglio and Josh Hook (Pramac MotoE), who took a debut podium finish in the class at a track he knows well from his time racing – and winning – the Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race. JORDI TORRES (PONS Racing 40) claimed the second ever MotoE World Cup after holding his nerve in a dramatic double header in France. The Spaniard could barely believe his luck when title contenders Matteo Ferrari (Gresini MotoE) and Mattia Casadei (SIC58) were caught out by cold tyres at the…

Round 8 Finishing positions Race 1 DNF F CARICASULO (ITA, YAM), M VAN DER MARK (NED, YAM), S REDDING (GBR, DUC), M FERRARI (ITA, DUC). POLE POSITION ›ESTABLISHES RECORD› T RAZGATLIOGLU 1m36.154s FASTEST LAP ›ESTABLISHED RECORD› M VAN DER MARK 1m37.200s Round 8 Finishing positions Superpole Race FASTEST LAP ›NEW RECORD› T RAZGATLIOGLU 1m36.594s Round 8 Finishing positions Race 2 DNF A LOWES (GBR, KAW), L BAZ (FRA, YAM), G GERLOFF (USA, YAM). FASTEST LAP C DAVIES 1m38.806s RIDER STANDINGS AFTER 8 OF 8 ROUNDS 1 J REA 360, 2 S REDDING 305, 3 C DAVIES 273, 4 T RAZGATLIOGLU 228, 5 M VAN DER MARK 223, 6 A LOWES 189, 7 M RINALDI 186, 8 L BAZ 142, 9 A BAUTISTA 113, 10 L HASLAM 113, 11 G GERFLOFF…

WorldSSP300 The opening WorldSSP300 race was unusual in that it did not feature Jeffrey Buis (MTM Kawasaki MotoPort) out front but in a final sixth place. Finishing two places up on his teammate Scott Deroue (MTM Kawasaki Motoport) gave him the title with one race still to go in Estoril. The race was won by Mika Perez, from Koen Meuffels and Tom Booth Amos, all on Kawasakis. In the second race, Koen Meuffels (MTM Kawasaki Motoport) won his first of 2020; Simon Di Sora (Leader Team Flembbo Kawasaki) was second and race one winner Perez third. Toprak top Superbike Superpole was taken by Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) with a 1m36.154s lap, giving him the first Superpole win of his career. He would go on to win the first race shortly…

Jack Miller MotoGP 8th “I saved the medium rear tyre for the end, expecting the soft to drop off, but it didn’t happen. At the end, I was going with Nakagami. I felt like I could catch Morbidelli. Then I got into a fight with Andrea and just couldn’t make any headway. I felt like we had more, but initially on the opening laps I seemed to struggle with grip compared to the others.” Remy Gardner Moto2 5th “Qualifying was tough, and I got caught out, ending 10th on the grid. Not where I wanted to be, but I was happy with the rhythm and confident of a good race. I’m extremely happy to finish fifth. It was a big comeback from 10th on the grid and we completed our…

MOTOGP WAS HANDED a fresh blow by the news Valentino Rossi tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday, meaning he missed the double header in Aragon. Rossi confirmed via his Instagram page early on Thursday evening that he had two medical tests on the eve of the 11th round of the season after “not feeling good” upon waking up. “My bones were sore and I had a slight fever,” he wrote. He took two tests on Thursday. The first came back negative (as did his routine test, taken on the Tuesday of this week). “But the second one, of which the result was sent to me at 16:00 this afternoon, was unfortunately positive,” he wrote. While the result definitely excludes him from competing this weekend, there is a chance he could…

IN LIGHT OF recent performances, Franco Morbidelli has made his Christmas wish known to team bosses: an upgraded Yamaha YZR-M1 spec for 2021. The Italian currently runs a ‘A’ spec M1, a step down from the full factory bikes of Maverick Viñales, Valentino Rossi and Fabio Quartararo. The most obvious difference is the engine design, with a different air intake shape than the others. Morbidelli has also been lagging behind in terms of top speed compared to his stablemates. Considering his showings this year – one race win and a further podium finish – Morbidelli is still hopeful he will receive a full-factory spec M1 for 2021, even if Yamaha Motor Racing Managing Director Lin Jarvis recently said that would more than likely not happen. “Well, it’s not said yet…

JAIMON LIDSEY BECAME Australia’s latest world champion when he won the FIM Speedway Under 21 World Championship staged as a one-off meeting at Pardubice, Czech Republic on 2 October. Lidsey dropped just one point in the heats and then went on to win his semi and then the final. The win by Lidsey is a great endorsement for the Australian production line of junior speedway talent. He is the only rider to have won Australian Championships in Under 16s 125cc and 250cc as well as at Under 21 level (three times). Leigh Adams, Jason Crump, Darcy Ward and Max Fricke have previously won the World Under 21 crown. In a pleasing coincidence Fricke won his first-ever SGP round just hours after Lidsey was crowned.…

› MODEL 2019 Kawasaki Ninja ZX636G ZX636GKFA IMPORTER Kawasaki Motors Pty Ltd NUMBER OF AFFECTED MOTORCYCLES 80 › ISSUE The wiring harness for the horn may not be durable enough and could break due to vibration at a certain engine speed range, preventing the horn from operating. › POTENTIAL HAZARD Increased risk of an accident or injury to the rider and other road users. › ACTION REQUIRED All affected consumers will be advised by mail to contact a Kawasaki dealership to arrange to have a modification completed free of charge. › MODEL LPR12 Electric Bike Version 1 (designed for children aged 3-6 years), LPR16 Electric Bike (designed for children aged 5-10 years), LPR High capacity lithium-ion polymer battery (5200mAh 6s 22.2V, 10C max discharge rate, charging volts: 25.2V, maximum charging…

Riders have embraced the first-ever solo edition of The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride in September, with more than 55,000 riders worldwide raising over $3.6 million for Movember, the men’s health charity. DGR founder Mark Hawwa said Australian riders, who linked with Team Shannons on the DGR website, ended up as the seventh biggest ride in the world. “With the huge support we’ve had this year, we have no doubt that 2021 will be our biggest year yet as we celebrate 10 years of DGR,” said Hawwa.…

GOING, GOING... Honda made an improved last-minute offer to 500cc World Championship hopeful Wayne Gardner in an attempt to stop the Wollongong whiz from defecting to the Lucky Strike/ Kenny Roberts team for 1987. Gardner had rejected the Rothmans-backed Honda team’s initial offer but as we went to print, was yet to decide for whom he would ride in the 1987 season. Turns out he made a good decision! PICCO PHAROAH Italy’s Franco Picco gives a tourist-inspired thumbs up after jagging the win in the gruelling 4950km Pharaoh Rally in Egypt on his 600 Ténéré. A total of 110 cars, 90 motorcycles and 15 trucks had a crack at the 10-day rally that ripped through desert terrain from the Great Pyramid at Giza to the Red Sea. Picco’s teammate Carlos…

The 2020 MotoGP season is special. It’s the first to be staged in the midst of a global pandemic. It’s the first that hasn’t featured the reigning world champion, since 1960 500cc champ John Surtees switched to Formula 1 the following year. And it’s the first in a very long time to feature so much young talent. As AMCN went to press, Fabio Quartararo, Brand Binder, Miguel Oliveira and Franco Morbidelli had all climbed to the top step of a MotoGP podium for the first time. And if Joan Mir or Pecco Bagnaia step it up one more to the top step in Aragon or beyond, then this will be the first time in seven decades that more than four riders have made the victory breakthrough in the class of…

WAYNE GARDNER VERSUS WAYNE RAINEY, 1989 THE MAN WHO was instrumental in bringing the Grand Prix circus down under claimed Australia’s maiden 500cc Grand Prix in spectacular fashion. A battle to the very end between Wayne Gardner and Wayne Rainey (with Christian Sarron and Kevin Magee hot in the mix, too) saw Gardner victorious and it’s a race the Wollongong Whiz Kid still hails as the most memorable of his career. And who can forget Wayne’s then-wife Donna running down the main straight in her heels to meet and congratulate the 1987 world champ on his win? MARCO SIMONCELLI VERSUS ALVARO BAUTISTA, 2008 “WE HAD A fantastic battle from the first corner to the last,” is how Marco Simoncelli described the race between himself and the Spaniard during the 250cc…

Round 7 Finishing positions Race 1 Round 7 Finishing positions Superpole Race Round 7 Finishing positions Race 2 RIDER STANDINGS AFTER 7 OF 8 ROUNDS 1 J REA 340, 2 S REDDING 281, 3 C DAVIES 222, 4 M VAN DER MARK 203, 5 A LOWES 179, 6 T RAZGATLIOGLU 175, 7 M RINALDI 166, 8 L BAZ 135, 9 A BAUTISTA 99, 10 L HASLAM 91, 11 G GERFLOFF 78, 12 T SYKES 76, 13 F CARICASULO 51, 14 E LAVERTY 47, 15 X FORES 45. Race 1 Finishing positions WSS / 17 laps Race 2 Finishing positions WSS / 17 laps RIDER STANDINGS AFTER 7 OF 8 ROUNDS 1 A LOCATELLI 288, 2 L MAHIAS 204, 3 J CLUZEL 146, 4 P ÖTTL 131, 5 R DE ROSA…

Jack Miller MotoGP DNF “The problem sprung up in warm-up and we swapped the bikes for the race. I was on the ‘dry bike’ but the rain came so I had to swap to the other one. With the short schedule today we didn’t have a chance to fix it. We just had to cross our fingers. Unfortunately, we had an issue . They’ll have to send the engine back to the factory and understand what it was. Before I retired I was struggling for speed. Rins passed me on the straight. We had quite a bit of spinning in a straight line so I swapped the engine map to save the tyre. I thought it was traction control cutting in. But then it died on me.” Remy Gardner Moto2…

Round 6 DNF M FERRARI (ITA, GRE), N CANEPA (ITA, LCR), X SIMEON (BEL, LCR), MATTIA CASADEI (ITA, S58). POLE POSITION ›ESTABLISHES RECORD› J TORRES 1m43.843s FASTEST LAP ›ESTABLISHES RECORD› N TUULI 1m43.696s Round 7 DNF T MARCON (ITA, TE3), E GRANADO (BRA, AVI), A MEDINA (SPA, ASP). FASTEST LAP ›NEW RECORD› N TUULI 1m43.465s STANDINGS AFTER 7 OF 7 ROUNDS 1 TORRES 114, 2 FERRARI 97, 3 AEGERTER 97, 4 DI MEGLIO 75, 5 CASEDI 74, 6 TUULI 53, 7 GRANADO 53, 8 HOOK 52, 9 CANEPA 51, 10 SIMEON 45, 11 TULOVIC 39, 12 ZACCONE 37, 13 MEDINA 36, 14 DE ANGELIS 35, 14 CARDELUS 34.…

DNF N ANTONELLI (ITA, HON), J McPHEE (GBR, HON), J ALCOBA (SPA, HON), K TOBA (JPN, KTM), D BINDER (RSA, KTM), D PIZZOLI (ITA, KTM), T SUZUKI (JPN, HON), R FENATI (ITA, HUS), A LOPEZ (SPA, HUS). POLE POSITION ›NEW RECORD› J MASIA 1m41.399s (E VASQUEZ 1m42.491s, 2014) FASTEST LAP ›NEW RECORD› C VIETTI 1m41.690s (J MARTIN 1m41.754s, 2018) STANDINGS AFTER 10 OF 15 ROUNDS 1 ARENAS 135, 2 OGURA 129, 3 VIETTI 119, 4 ARBOLINO 115, 5 McPHEE 98, 6 MASIA 83, 7 RODRIGO 77, 8 SUZUKI 75, 9 FERNANDEZ 73, 10 FOGGIA 63, 11 BINDER 62, 12 FENATI 57, 13 MIGNO 47, 14 ALCOBA 46, 15 GARCIA 37.…

Tom Edwards WorldSSP300 Grid 15th, Race 1 DNF Race 2 23rd, 22nd overall, 17 points “I liked the track when I came here and in practice it started well. In qualifying it could have been better but I did not get in the right group and then in race one, I had a technical problem from the first lap. I did five laps, went backwards, and pulled into the box. In race two I was going good, going forward in the group then into turn one my bike just hit a false neutral and I ran wide. I was a bit behind the group and I was trying to catch up and had a small crash. I picked it up and finished the race but nowhere near the front. It…

BOTH 2020 WORLD Champion Andrea Locatelli (Bardahl Evan Bos Yamaha) and the former World Champion who gave him the hardest time, Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), were having their final WorldSSP races at Estoril on Saturday and Sunday, and both celebrated wins. The first race on Saturday was not over the planned 18 laps, but a final 12, after a red flag incident stopped the first attempted outing. In the restart it took no time for Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Mahias to tangle and see both play no further part. With the field even more open now, but deprived of two of its potential race winners, Locatelli rampaged his way to another win, although he was being dragged into the orbit of the progressing Philipp Öttl…

Circuit length 5.077km Race distance MotoGP 116.771km Moto2 106.617km Moto3 96.463km The HRC riders’ ‘title’ There are a number of riders who remain in contention to lift the 2020 MotoGP title, but the sub-championships between those riders who can’t are almost as fascinating. Take the one between Alex Marquez and the man who is due to replace him at Repsol Honda next season, Pol Espargaro . The latter has 77 points and 20 of those came in the last two races. Not bad – until you consider that Marquez has banked 40 of his 67 total points in the last two races. Of course, as it stands AM73 will stay on a Honda next year with the LCR team. But with Alex coming on strong, and the noted enmity between…

DNF M BEZZECCHI (ITA, KAL), F DI GIANNTONIO (ITA, SPE), L MARINI (ITA, KAL) POLE POSITION (NEW RECORD) A LOWES 1m51.651s (A MARQUEZ, 2019, 1m52.225s) FASTEST LAP (NEW RECORD) J MARTIN 1m52.081s (A RINS 1m52.767s, 2015) STANDINGS AFTER 11 OF 15 ROUNDS 1 BASTIANINI 155, 2 LOWES 153, 3 MARINI 150, 4 BEZZECCHI 130, 5 MARTIN 95, 6 NAGASHIMA 79, 7 ROBERTS 74, 8 GARDNER 72, 9 LUTHI 72, 10 SCHROTTER 61, 11 CANET 61, 12 VIERGE 59, 13 FERNANDEZ 54, 14 BALDASSARRI 47, 15 DI GIANNANTONIO 45…

AS ROSSI RECOVERS at home from Covid-19, attention turned to a possible replacement rider for next weekend’s Teruel Grand Prix. Who better than Yamaha’s test rider for 2020 Jorge Lorenzo, to step back into the factory squad? “Taking into account the reduced number of staff at events as well as the enforced long stay of YMC’s engineers and non-EU team staff, YMC and Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP choose not to impose the additional stress of having to adapt to a new rider who would be expected to substitute for Rossi for only one single race weekend,” the team’s official release read. Also, Lorenzo’s recent test at Portimao – his first outing for Yamaha’s test team since the Sepang test in February – didn’t bode well, with the five-time world champion…

RORY SCHLEIN HAS become the first Australian rider to win the British Speedway Championship. Schlein top scored in the 20 heats and progressed directly to the final, which he led all the way. His inclusion in the line-up attracted some criticism but his league promoter pointed out that Schlein is a dual national, having obtained a British passport during his UK career spanning two decades. Schlein has put his retirement plans on hold and will race on in 2021 – including defending the British crown.…

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. We also suggest that when riders are in view of the general public, that they attempt to act with dignity and maturity at all times. Unlike the nine alleged adults who gathered at the Hydro Majestic’s café in the Blue Mountains while out testing bikes for our upcoming retro-bike comparo, who proceeded to giggle like school kids when one wag pointed out a rather inappropriate sign. And the more we tried to stifle our childish tom-foolery, the sterner came the glares and louder the tut tuts. Quick, hide the branding!…

DUCATI IS STEPPING away from desmodromic valves for the first time in decades with the launch of the 2021 Multistrada V4. While we’ll have to wait until next month to see the bike in full, Ducati has released details of the new ‘V4 Granturismo’ engine that powers it. Capacity rises from 1103cc to 1158cc, with a bigger 83mm bore instead of the Panigale V4’s 81mm, while keeping the same 53.5mm stroke. But it’s the change to conventional valve springs that comes as a surprise. It’s all about cutting production costs while giving buyers longer engine service intervals. The Multistrada V4 isn’t all about power and high revs. It’s rated at 125kW compared to the Panigale V4’s 157.5kW, and 125Nm (up a fraction from the Panigale’s 124Nm). That means it can…

To the Max AMCN’s revolving racer columnist Max Whale (AMCN Vol 70 No 07) finishes the American Flat Track Singles season in second overall Ryan BEM Irish roadracing legend Ryan Farquhar receives a Queen’s Birthday honour for services to motorcycling. He joins countrymen Joey Dunlop, Sammy Miller Jack blows A dodgy engine combined with the rain killed off Jack Miller’s winning hopes at Le Mans. It could have been a pivotal moment in his title chase this season Rees crashes out A bad crash in the penultimate round of BSB’s Superstock 1000 ended the season early for Kiwi Damon Rees (AMCN guest columnist in AMCN Vol 70 No 05). But with two podiums and four top-five results he will return for BSB 2021…

Inside the biggest BMW engine ever built TO POWER ITS 2021 Gen-2 Cruiser family, BMW has created the largest-capacity flat-twin motor the company has ever produced, the aptly-named R 18 Big Boxer – yes, that’s BMW’s official name for it. A design team led by Josef Miritsch, the Head of Air-cooled Boxer-Twin Projects, began working on the engine in 2016. The fuel-injected Euro 5-compliant motor is reminiscent of the OHV flat-twin engines BMW Motorrad used to build up until the end of the 1960s – but with a much bigger displacement. “The hardest part was fulfilling Euro 5 noise and emissions laws without impacting on the engine’s traditional appearance,” says Miritsch. Measuring 107.1 x 100 mm, for a capacity of 1802cc, is an air/oil-cooled wet-sump design weighing 110.8kg dry including…

THERE WAS PIERRE Doncque’s 1975 Bol d’Or 24 Hours-winning Godier & Genoud Kawasaki, for example, whose tubular steel perimeter frame, complete with rising rate rear suspension, invented the format for the twin-spar chassis nowadays commonplace on most manufacturers’ sportsbikes. Likewise, the single-sided swingarm pioneered by André de Cortanze in designing the radical ELFe endurance racer - also the first motorcycle to race with carbon brake discs – was one of the many ELF chassis patents acquired by Honda to produce the RC30/RC45. Then there’s the 2004 K-series BMW models’ Duolever front suspension, a direct copy of the wishbone fork invented 25 years earlier by Claude Fior. The same front end format adorns the born again Brough Superior models built in Toulouse today, and will also be featured on the Aston…

“With the Yamaha if there’s no grip and you don’t adapt quickly then you go two seconds slower!” Fabio Quartararo was the revelation of 2019 – the rookie was one of the few riders who made champion Marc Marquez sweat. The 21-year-old Frenchman has a huge natural talent to adapt to conditions, just like Marquez. “Fabio’s biggest talent is that he’s very good at finding the limit of the tyres and pushing the bike in the way it needs to be pushed,” says his Petronas Yamaha team manager Wilco Zeelenberg. “If the bike is perfect or not it doesn’t matter so much to him, which is a big strong point. If the bike is a little off he doesn’t complain. He is helped in this area by the Yamaha, because…

“Obviously when I’m working in the box I always try to get the best out of the bike” Brad Binder’s Czech GP victory seemed to come out of nowhere. But in fact he already had race-winning pace in his very first MotoGP race at July’s Spanish GP, but a mistake stopped him from finishing on the podium. Binder’s rookie speed has been sensational – at some tracks. The 2016 Moto3 champion, who came within three points of winning last year’s Moto2 title, looks like he’s been riding KTM’s RC16 for ages. The bike is a huge step forward from last year’s, which Binder found a real handful during last year’s postseason testing. The 25-year-old South African has a real fighter’s mentality, so he’s aggressive in races. And if the bike…

THE TOP STEP INTERESTINGLY, THERE WERE only nine different winners from five nationalities during the event’s 20 years when it was held at Phillip Island. But there were five different winners from three nationalities during the six-year stay at Sydney’s Eastern Creek. CASEY STONER AND VALENTINO ROSSI HAVE STOOD ON THE TOP STEP SIX TIMES Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi have stood on the top step six times. Stoner has six consecutive wins (2007-’12), while Rossi has five straight wins (2001-’05) with his sixth coming in the 2014 event. Mick Doohan (1992, 1995 and 1998) and Marc Marquez (2015, 2017, 2018) share three wins followed by Wayne Gardner, who won twice (1989 and 1990). Australia has had only three different riders on the top step of the Aussie Grand Prix,…

NEW PRICE $15,590 (2003) $13,090 (2014) SECONDHAND $4900 – $10,400 WHAT TO LOOK FOR SPEEDMASTERS ARE well-built, relatively simple machines that like most cruisers are seldom ridden to their limits. So there should be plenty of examples with minimal wear and tear. If possible look for one with plenty of Triumph cruiser accessories already fitted to get more bling for your bucks. Check for items that will soon need replacing – tyres, chain/sprockets, brake pads and brake rotors – and factor their condition into your negotiations. A fuel-injected bike with low kilometres and a good service record is the ideal choice if it’s within your budget. SERVICE HISTORY TRIUMPH CRUISERS are straightforward, robust bikes that pose few challenges for either dealer technicians or home mechanics. The naked styling gives easy…

A-Z OF NEW BIKE PRICES* Claimed / ** Measured 1 KYMCO AGILITY 50 Priced at $2190 (plus on-roads) Kymco’s Agility scooter is powered by an air-cooled 49cc two-stroke engine capable of 2.6kW. It has a seat height of 785mm and tips the scales at just 92.5kg (dry). If you get it serviced regularly, the warranty period pushes out to three years. Four inexpensive ways to physically distance 2 YAMAHA AG125 Motorcycling doesn’t have to be high-tech or expensive and Yamaha’s ag bike is testament to that. It’s powered by a 124cc single-cylinder four-stroke engine, boasts kick and electric start, has a fully enclosed chain and racks galore. It’ll set you back $3569 (plus on roads). 3 SUPER SOCO TC CAFE RACER The $4990 (plus on-roads) price of Super Soco’s all-electric…

AMONG MANY STRANGE events, 2020 is not just the Year of the Rookie, but also the Year of the Brother. Put it another way: to succeed in motorcycle racing, have a sibling with the same ambition. Then ideally you want to keep him at arm’s length. This is one way to explain Alex Marquez’s extraordinary second place at Le Mans the Sunday before last. The younger former bedroom-sharer of the sadly absent current best rider has suffered for years under the shadow of Marc. On Sunday he stepped out of it, and finally made good on the long-ago comment by both his brother and their father that “Alex is faster than Marc was, at the same age”. From 18th on the grid to a strong second was a fine achievement,…

Tom Edwards WorldSSP300 Grid 3, Race One DNF, Race Two 8th, 21st overall, 17 points “In race one from P3 on the grid I was cruising comfortably in P6 in the wet. On the last lap I came into a fast corner, aquaplaned and crashed. We took the chance and ran wets [on Sunday] which ended up being the right choice. Great weekend overall, happy to be back in the front group.” Tom Bramich WorldSSP300 Grid 28th, Race 1 14th, Race 2 DNF, 2 points “We just got stronger as the weekend progressed. Finishing P14 in race one was a little ‘win’ for us after a difficult season. I still expect and want more from myself but we have to take these positives. We ended warm-up in P8 so we…

Circuit length 4.185km Race distance MotoGP 112.995km Moto2 104.625km Moto3 92.070km Red Hot, Ice Cold Winning a MotoGP race from the front row of the grid is nothing new; even Danilo Petrucci has done that before. Last year when he broke through to win a heart-stopping home race at Mugello ‘Petrux’ started third on the grid, just as he did at Le Mans. In both instances his body weight gave him an advantage; being the heaviest rider on the grid allows the Italian to ‘turn on’ his tyres in qualifying, and Mugello does not kill tyres in the same way as, say, Phillip Island and Barcelona does. He did the same at Le Mans, and as he controlled the pace he did not hurt his rubber, as Andrea Divizioso did.…

New middle ground? WHAT A DIFFERENCE a week or two makes? At Magny Cours, there was an in-principle agreement to expand the rules of the current WorldSSP championship to include not only 600cc four-cylinder and 675cc three-cylinder machines of today, but other more or less middleweight bikes of all kinds. Why? The class is shrinking for potential competitive manufacturers as it stands. There will be a ‘new’ CBR600RR model in some markets for 2021 but as a concept, 600cc Supersport fours seem headed for a dead end, even though many manufacturers make sporty ‘middleweights’ still. Aprilia (with a 660 twin), Triumph (765 three cylinder) and Ducati (959 Panigale twin) are also looking keen to join, if the rules can be balanced properly. And there’s the issue. The use of kit…

Arbolino negative, but out More unfortunate than Valentino Rossi’s absence at the Aragon GP, was Tony Arbolino’s. Unlike Rossi, the Moto3 title challenger tested negative for Covid-19 three times but was forced to self-isolate after the Italian teenager was identified as a close contact of a positive case. Arbolino had sat near a positive case when flying from France to Italy on Sunday after finishing second at Le Mans. Not only is it unfortunate in the extreme; the result is cataclysmic for Arbolino’s title chances. He sat 20 points back of title leader Albert Arenas coming into this weekend. “The story of Arbolino is a great example that you can’t do anything to escape this problem,” said Pecco Bagnaia. “He’s negative from three tests. He’s in the hotel doing quarantine.…

WHO SAYS QUALIFYING is important in Moto3? This mad eight-rider dust up was contested by men from the grid’s fourth – Darryn Binder (CIP KTM) – and sixth rows – Jaume Masia (Leopard Honda), Jeremy Alcoba (Gresini Honda) – while a host of championship contenders suffered off days. This was initially to be contested between five men, with pole sitter Raul Fernandez (Ajo KTM) setting the early pace with Albert Arenas (Aspar KTM), Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Honda), Roman Fenati (Max Racing Husqvarna) and Binder close behind. The quintet had built up a three-second lead over the chasing pack. John McPhee’s (Petronas Sprinta Honda) chances looked to have been scuppered by a long lap penalty, taken on lap three, for an indiscretion in qualifying. But the Scot fought back from 17th…

A CONSEQUENCE OF ending the season in Europe with six races over October and November means track conditions are colder than anything we’ve seen before. Saturday and Sunday’s schedule was pushed back after the Moto3 grid endured track temperatures of just 6.6ºC (44ºF) degrees on Friday morning. Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro was believed to have refused to go out for MotoGP FP1 at its scheduled time of 9.55am. A delay of 30 minutes was eventually called after conversations with Safety Advisor Loris Capirossi. “In Le Mans we struggle a lot, a lot, a lot in the warm up in the morning to make the tyres work and we had 53 (12ºC) degrees,” the Spanish rider said. “When I saw 44 or 46 it was no way to go. They did…

HE DID IT in 2015 and has done it again in 2020! VisionTrack Ducati’s Josh Brookes has become the 2020 Bennetts British Superbike Champion in a hotly contested Brands Hatch GP Championship deciding round over 16-18 October. Brookes entered the weekend with a 16-point buffer between him and teammate Christian Iddon, and a further three points separating third and fourth, Honda Racing’s Glenn Irwin and McAms Yamaha’s Aussie rider Jason O’Halloran. In what was undeniably the best Superbike race of the season, all four championship contenders hung it out on the line in race one, but it was O’Halloran that finally pulled a gap to lead over the finish line. O’Halloran closed the championship gap down to 12 points and moved up to second in the standings. Iddon finished race…