Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol 70 Issue 13 i Australian Motorcycle News

WE ALL GOT a lot better at dealing with change in 2020, didn’t we? Not that we had a choice. And 2021 isn’t looking much different in that area, we just have to roll with it. For us motorcyclists, said ‘rolling’ is thankfully much more fun than for those who don’t have the pleasure. There ain’t no need for a face mask in a helmet AMCN’s 70th Anniversary looms this year and, with it, challenges the motorcycle industry hasn’t seen before. There’s always a silver lining though, and for the last six months of 2020 the biggest problem our Australian Industry had was supply – simply getting enough bikes on the floor to sell was the difficult bit. When things got tough, people got going to their motorcycle dealership to…

THE GFC CLAIMED its first major motorcycling scalp when Harley-Davidson announced the closure of Buell. H-D announced some dire financial figures for 2009 and then dropped the bombshell that Buell was closing immediately and that it was also preparing to flog its other cap feather, MV Agusta. Erik Buell, who founded the company back in 1983, remained its chairman and chief technical officer until Harley killed it. After Harley finished him up, Buell started Eric Buell Racing and brought us more motorcycles of engineering brilliance and questionable beauty. SPORT Ben Spies and Cal Crutchlow put the icing on Yamaha’s racing cake with Spies claiming the 2009 World Superbike crown and Crutchlow taking the Supersport title – not long after Valentino Rossi claimed the MotoGP world title for Yamaha. BIMOTA DB7…

Darryn Van Tonder WELCOME TO THE love affair. If you’ve got the courage, fitness and fresh rubber, superbikes are guaranteed to coerce you into a riskier version of yourself. The V2 is uncannily stable in rolling corners with an engine that will make you believe you’re Andrea Dovizioso carving up the Blue Mountains on any given day. It’s notably more uncomfortable than the V4 and doesn’t come with all the electronic extras that a track bike deserves, but it’s a well-rounded machine that’s more at home at the track than it is on the road. When I jumped across to the V4, I immediately understood why so many riders have a love affair with Ducati’s Stradale engine. The sound is truly special and the bike’s powerplant is, in my opinion,…

ENGINE Capacity 955cc Type V-twin, DOHC, 8 valves Bore & stroke 100 x 60.8mm Compression ratio 12.5:1 Cooling Liquid Fueling EFI Transmission Six-speed Clutch Wet, multi-plate Final drive Chain PERFORMANCE Power 114kW @ 10,750rpm (claimed) Torque 104Nm @ 9000rpm (claimed) Top speed 250km/h (est) Fuel consumption Not given ELECTRONICS Type Bosch, Rider aids Cornering ABS, cornering traction control, wheelie control, engine brake control, auto tyre calibration, quick shift, auto-off indicators Ride modes: Race, Sport, Street CHASSIS Frame material Aluminium Frame type Monocoque Rake 24 degrees Trail 94mm Wheelbase 1436mm SUSPENSION Type Showa/Sachs Front: 43mm USD BPF fork, fully adjustable 120mm travel Rear: Monoshock, fully adjustable, 130mm travel WHEELS & BRAKES…

ENGINE Capacity 1254cc Type Flat twin, DOHC, 8 valves Bore & stroke 102.5 x 76mm Compression ratio 12.5:1 Cooling Liquid Fueling EFI Transmission Six-speed Clutch Wet, multi-plate, with anti-hop Final drive Shaft PERFORMANCE Power 100kW @ 7750rpm (claimed) Torque 143Nm @ 6250rpm (claimed) Top speed 200km/h-plus (claimed) Fuel consumption 4.75L/100km (claimed) CO2 emissions 110g/km (claimed) ELECTRONICS Type Not given Rider aids Dynamic Traction Control, Inclination optimised ABS, Hill start control Rider modes Eco, Rain, Road CHASSIS Frame material Steel/Aluminium Frame type Twin section, with F and R bolted-in subframe Rake 25.7º Trail 100.6mm Wheelbase 1514mm SUSPENSION Type BMW/Sachs Front: 37mm fork with Telelever, central spring strut, fully-adjustable,…

Wayne Maxwell WE’RE SUPER HAPPY. I’m a bit overwhelmed, it’s a massive dedication not just from me but also my family. It’s been a massive, massive challenge for everyone… especially when we turned up at Wakefield and I saw that smiling assassin on the Honda. It all worked out for us though, Craig and the guys from the Boost Mobile team gave me a fantastic motorbike and I couldn’t be happier. It’s such a reward to see all the boys at the end of the race, no one had to help me, no one owes me anything, it’s owed to everyone – I’m just the lucky guy sitting on the bike.…

What next? Wayne Maxwell had intonations of retiring before the COVID-19 pandemic, but now with the success of 2020, one further year may be too hard to resist. Maxwell said it will come down to available budget and help from Ducati. “We don’t have enough finances to run again as we did this year, so we are going to make a decision about it over the next couple of weeks. If it doesn’t work out, it’ll just be Moto Tuesdays for me and a few pub meals!” Demmery struck down Supersport 300 rider Brandon Demmery continued his run of bad luck with injuries after he was hit by a stray sign on a very blustery Sunday morning during qualifying. The impact of the sign knocked Demmery from his bike and…

WITH THE R3 Cup not running at the Phillip Island round, the series was held with results from the Wakefield Park rounds only. Carter Thompson (GTR MotoStars Team) was the star, taking pole position and three race wins. “The OJC was great preparation for 300s because there was so much overtaking,” commented Thompson. “These guys (300s) are harder to overtake and you really have to set your move up.” On Sunday Thompson had a nasty spill on the run down to turn one. The race was red flagged once more, but on the third attempt John Lytras emerged with the victory. Thompson came back to win the last race and took the Cup from Lytras and Archie McDonald in third.…

Boost to the sport ASBK’s 2020 Superbike winner Wayne Maxwell’s V4 R Ducati was sponsored by Boost Mobile, a brand not normally associated with motorcycling. Go, Lockie Aussie Lachlan Epis gets a full-time gig in the BSB Superbike class for 2021 riding for the NP Motorcycles Lextek BMW team. Cycle chaos A motorcycle policeman unwittingly triggers a 10-bicycle pileup during the first leg of the Men’s National Road series near Murwillumbah, NSW. No Island Classic Australia Day won’t feel the same this year as Covid kills off the 2021 International Challenge weekend at Phillip Island.…

THE LATEST EPISODE in Suzuki’s long-running saga to replace its current middleweight V-twin engine reveals it will power a range of models, including the V-Strom Adventure bike. For over seven years Suzuki has been developing a circa-700cc parallel twin. A few months ago we revealed it fitted in a chassis with SV650-esque proportions. Now it’s turned up in a taller, V-Strom-style frame. Where the previous design showed a very slim engine sump – perhaps even a semi-dry sump arrangement – to keep the mass as low as possible, the new one shows a much deeper, conventional oil pan. The engine itself is higher in the chassis with the airbox and filter positioned behind the engine, under the rider’s seat. Since Suzuki has managed to squeeze the old SV650 engine through…

AS A TEENAGER, New Zealand-born Joy McKean sailed to the United Kingdom to take up training as a Nurse in Edinburgh, only to suffer the misfortune of completing her internship in London during the Blitz. Surviving in a bomb shelter at night then coping with the resulting trauma during the day was heart-rending so, on her short breaks, Joy took to cycling as far away from it all as possible. Over the war years Joy cycled across most of the British Isles, including the Outer Hebrides Islands in Northern Scotland – which is about as far away from it all as it was possible to ride. After the war she made a quick circuit of Ireland before sailing home to Rangiwahia for a much-welcomed family reunion. This was followed by…

RIDER PROFILE Name Pete Vorst Height 186cm Weight 104kg “Right, I’ll see you under the balls at 10.45 on Friday Morning.” That’s not quite as strange as it sounds. ‘The balls’ belong to the Big Merino located in the New South Wales town of Goulburn and ‘you’ refers to Kel who, post-lockdown, had finally been let loose from Victoria and was on her way through New South Wales to visit family. I’d spent the last week screaming around town on our long-term Indian FTR 1200 S, a task it’s very well suited to, but after having had its first service completed, some ergonomic and suspension tweaking done by Sam, the idea of getting out of the city, onto the open road and catching up with me ol’ mate on a…

ENGINE Capacity 1103cc Type V-four, DOHC, 16 valves Bore & stroke 81 x 53.5mm Compression ratio 14.0:1 Cooling Liquid Fueling EFI Transmission Six-speed Clutch Wet, multi-plate Final drive Chain PERFORMANCE Power 157.5kW @ 13,000rpm Torque 124Nm @ 10,000rpm (claimed) Top speed 299km/h (est) Fuel consumption Not given ELECTRONICS Type Bosch, Rider aids Cornering ABS, cornering traction control, wheelie control, slide control, engine brake control, launch control, quick shift, auto-off indicators Ride modes: Race, Sport, Street CHASSIS Frame material Aluminium Frame type Front Frame Rake 24.5 degrees Trail 100mm Wheelbase 1469mm SUSPENSION Type Öhlins Front: 43mm USD fork, electronically adjustable, 120mm travel Rear: Monoshock, electronically adjustable , 130mm travel WHEELS &…

ROSSI’S FIRST RACING SALARY WAS 24 GRAND. NOT BAD FOR A 16-YEAR-OLD Twenty-five years ago Valentino Rossi achieved one of the most important results of his career: third place in the little-known 125cc European championship. The 16-year-old didn’t win a race during the 11-round series and was beaten into third overall by French youngster Frederic Petit and 25-year-old Lucio Cecchinello, who had relegated himself to the European series after a dismal GP debut in 1994. The top-three result was just enough to guarantee Rossi a place in the 1996 125cc world championship, during which he scored his first GP victory and gained his first legion of fans. Who knows what would’ve happened if he had finished fourth in 1995. For a man who made his name with theatrical flourishes of…

“LIFE TOOK A positive turn for the good with an opportunity to race in Japan for the Moriwaki Company. I arrived mid-summer for the inaugural 1978 Suzuka 8-hour race, and was shown my mount, a Z1B superbike with straight bars, not clipons. During practice I broke the lap record, impressed Mr. Moriwaki with my riding prowess – but also managed to frighten the hell out of his wife with the amount of beer I could consume in a single sitting! “Technically, the Moriwaki Superbike was quite special, benefiting from a load of constant dyno work back in Japan by Mamoru and his men. This provided a reliable and true 125hp, not much by today’s standards, but enough power in hand with reliability to be competitive against the works Hondas. “Regular…

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THE MESSAGE DIDN’T quite come draped in tinsel or with flashing multi-coloured LEDs, but was about as plausible as a flying reindeer. It read: “Marc Marquez’s post-operative clinical situation has been deemed satisfactory by his medical team in Madrid.” Perhaps this is too flippant. “Satisfactory”, in medical terms, is a pretty flexible word. Trouble is, Marc’s upper right arm has also been pretty flexible, and in places where it was not supposed to be. The upshot is no joking matter. In the worst case, it may even be career-ending. Certainly, the return at full strength of the current world’s best for the start of the next season is in grave doubt, and with it also Honda’s prospects of regaining the pre-eminence he gave them, with all but one championship from…

MARIANOS NIKOLIS TOOK a clean sweep on Saturday, taking maximum points to lead the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup. He held a 20-point advantage over Tom Drane going into the final day with Cameron Dunker just one point behind. Nikolis, a 13 year-old dirt tracker from Canberra, decided to take things carefully on the Sunday after clocking lap records on Saturday. “Next year I plan to move to a 300, but I have tried a Moto3 bike around Wakefield Park. The speed and the power aren’t so bad, it’s more the weight of the bike I need to get used to.” On Sunday Dunker and Drane shared a win each, while two podiums for Nikolis was enough to earn him the Oceania Cup for 2020. Results after 3 of 3…

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 were lucky enough to be on two wheels when you reached the end of what was a six-hour traffic jam trying to get back across the Victorian border on New Year’s Eve. Earplugs, CE-approved armour, a full-face helmet, knee sliders and full race boots weren’t enough to block out the tirade of abuse, cans, food and obstacles thrown in green-faced jealousy as riders abided by the state’s lane-filtering laws and politely made their way towards the front of the queue. Good riddance to them and to 2020.…

NORTON’S LAST HURRAH before financial ruin struck in 2020 was the unveiling of its supercharged Superlight SS. Now new details have emerged that show the SS could play a major role for Norton’s new owners, Indian giant TVS. First revealed with very little information in November 2019, Norton claimed 130kW from its all-new 650cc parallel twin, bolted to a carbon-fibre frame that gave it a claimed 158kg dry weight. The price tag was higher even than its 1200cc V4, on which the twin is based. Now a patent application has emerged showing engineering innovation that backs up the wild performance claims. With a Rotrex compressor forcing air into the 650cc engine at 17psi, the maths are there to boost power from a claimed 63kW in normally-aspirated form. The application shows…

MODEL 2018-10 Kawasaki Ninja H2 IMPORTER Kawasaki Motors Pty Ltd NUMBER OF AFFECTED MOTORCYCLES 103 ISSUE The Engine Control Unit (ECU) programming may not control the gear shifting process properly when the transmission gears are not properly engaged. This may result in abnormal wear or damage to the gears, resulting in difficulty or failure to change gears POTENTIAL HAZARD Failure to change gears while riding could increase the risk of an accident…

THE EXCELSIOR-HENDERSON brand is almost inexplicably famous despite a chequered past and now it appears set for a comeback with Indian giant Bajaj. Trademark rights have been applied for in Europe and India, with intentions to use the Excelsior-Henderson name on motorcycles, parts, accessories and clothing. Excelsior and Henderson both date back to early last century, combining and then dying in the 1930s Depression. The name made a brief comeback in the 1990s with US manufacturing entrepreneur Daniel Hanlon’s V-twin Super X but went bust again in 1999. Indian conglomerates have been busy snapping up classic motorcycle brand names; TVS bought the mortal remains of Norton, while Mahindra has scooped up BSA and Jawa. Hero is now involved with Harley-Davidson and Bajaj with KTM and Triumph.…

A bit better looking than its big brother and handles almost as well. All-round smaller and less intimidating than the V4 Uncomfortable after a short amount of time, the sidestand is in a ridiculous position and, if you own testicles, how would you like them cooked? Its handling, stopping and power are breathtaking, the mind-blowing electronics package will help you not hurt yourself and it’s stunning Boasts the thermal management properties of a Weber barbecue, the clutch is grabby and a bit horrible and it should have a fuel gauge…

1980 The original R 80 G/S was launched to selected press in the south of France. It created a new segment – off and on-road appeal and abilities. The single-sided swingarm was a big highlight. 1987 BMW increases capacity and the completely new GS, (no longer G/S) became the fastest most powerful Enduro on the market. 1994 There were several cosmetic changes up to 1994, but in ’94 the big change was the launch of the R 100 GS, with a new and bigger (1085cc) boxer engine, with a new four-valve head with a single overhead cam. 2000 We now jump up to the 1150 GS. On the back of the success of the new 1150, BMW launched the Adventure model for the first time with the 33L fuel tank…

ENGINE Capacity 1135cc Type Inline four, DOHC, 8 valves Bore & stroke 74 x 66mm Compression ratio 11.5:1 Cooling Air Fueling 4 x 32mm Keihin CR smooth bore carburettors, with 80mm bellmouths Transmission Five-speed Clutch Wet, 8 friction plates/7 drive plates, with heavy duty springs Final drive Chain PERFORMANCE Power 88.8kW @ 9000rpm (claimed, at rear wheel) Torque N/A (claimed) Top speed 240km/h (est) Fuel consumption N/A ELECTRONICS Type Dyna S CDI, total loss electrics (alternator removed) Rider aids Graeme Crosby Rider modes Win or else CHASSIS Frame material Steel, based on Kawasaki Z1000 frame Frame type Twin loop with Moriwaki modifications Rake 28º Trail 108mm Wheelbase 1500mm SUSPENSION…

WHEN THE COVID restrictions eased we all headed back to the pub. The front bar was humming except for an occasional feeling of suspicion when strangers or another group walked in. Our little unit took up a strategic position in a corner. We represented a range of ages and experiences but the common thread of conversation was what we were each planning to buy ourselves as a reward for all the crap we’d endured since March. “I’m thinking of upgrading my motorcycle,” said a forty-something rider who still had the LAMS-approved Yamaha MT-07 Tracer he’d bought back in 2018. I counselled him against this plan, pointing out he was still using it as a daily commute, mixed with some spirited weekend rides through the hills. A deep connection had developed…

Tom Toparis It’s been a weird year, I didn’t ride much at all in Australia and I was in hotel quarantine when we heard the final round would be at Wakefield Park. So I called Glen Richards and we put a little team together. After the win on Saturday I didn’t have a good night, feeling quite sick. I didn’t eat anything at all on Sunday, I just wanted to get through the race so the plan was to roll around and get solid points. It’s a shame, because of course you want to win the race to win the championship, but in my situation I’d had a horrible Saturday night, so it was ok.…

Harry Khouri I HAD NO expectations for this weekend, but I didn’t want to play it too safe. My main goal was to secure the championship. It’s strange racing the younger guys… Carter Thompson is a great rider who has had barely any track time, and he is already up the front. On the Saturday I did make a little mistake, coming in to turn nine I pushed it too wide with the wind and ran off track, so I thought I better calm it down a bit. The smaller bikes do get pushed around with the wind a bit more, it’s hard to get your lines perfect. It’s a bit sketchy over the top of the hill, but it’s the same for everyone.…