Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol 71 Issue 14 i Australian Motorcycle News

YOU’RE LOOKING AT an early prototype of the first motorcycle from Brabus, the German company that has been turning out high-end, Mercedes-based vehicles since 1977. Brabus has teamed up with KTM and filed a fast-tracked trademark application for the “Brabus 1300 R” name in the European Union. It will be used on “motorcycles; structural parts for motorcycles; parts and fittings for land vehicles; two-wheeled motor vehicles”. While this prototype is based on KTM’s 1290 Super Duke RR, disguised as a Husqvarna Vitpilen, which a lot of AMCN’s rivals have fallen for, the smoking gun are the wheels, which perfectly match the Brabus Monoblock Z Platinum Edition car rim. Brabus is known to be fast-tracking the project, with type-approval in place for what will be a 2022 model. It is sure…

KAWASAKI IS celebrating the 50th anniversary of its Z brand with the 50th Anniversary Edition of the Z900 and Z650 nakedbikes, and the Z900RS and Z650RS retro-sports. The Z900 cemented a place in Australian racing history with four Castrol Six Hour wins in succession from 1973. In 1984 Kawasaki’s GPz900 started another chapter of production racing dominance, with Rob Phillis taking out the Bathurst Unlimited Production race. The anniversary models come in heritage 1970s two-tone candy paint or 1980s red with black blocks, reminiscent of the GPz900. There are 50th emblems and logos, special textured seat leather, other unique paint and component detail along with an anniversary book. They should be available in the first quarter of this year, however prices are yet to be announced.…

“I WANTED TO KILL THAT CAMEL… BUT HERE THEY CONSIDER THE CAMEL MORE IMPORTANT THAN WOMEN” Dakar novice and ex-MotoGP racer Danilo Petrucci describes his feelings after the crash that nearly cost him an historic stage win in Saudi Arabia. 13.4 The reported percentage increase in Australian motorcycle sales for 2021 compared to 2020. Sparse figures from FCAI reveal a 43 per cent rise in off-road sales and 6.8 per cent for road. The peak body only reports figures for the dwindling number of manufacturers under its membership. GUZZI’S GLORY DAYS AMCN contributor Alan Cathcart’s latest book, Moto Guzzi Factory Racers, covers the complete technical evolution and racing history of its Grand Prix racers up to 1957. This means the legendary V8 and all the innovative singles, twins and four-cylinders…

SAMMY MILLER MBE was guest of honour at the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall, London for the Guild of Motoring Writers Annual Dinner and Awards last month where he became the first motorcyclist to be awarded the coveted President’s Trophy. Previous winners include Sir Lewis Hamilton (2020), Sir Frank Williams (2017) and Sir Stirling Moss (2010). On the same night, the Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum was also represented at the New Forest Brilliance in Business Awards with the New Forest Business Partnership. This award comes on the back of being inducted into the TripAdvisor Hall of Fame, which recognises five years of consistently high customer ratings, and more recently awarded the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Award, putting the museum in the top 10 percent of tourist attractions worldwide. Miller has…

How good is this little YZF-R7 for a Christmas present?! Thanks Santa [Yamaha]! This is our latest long-term testbike and Pete Vorst got to rub out the chicken strips at Sydney Motorsport Park on its very first run. We’ve been hanging out to ride the new Yamaha YZF-R7 in Australia ever since our European correspondent Adam Child told us how good it was late last year (AMCN Vol 71 No 09) after fanging it on road and on track in southern Spain. As you can see from the photos, our new long-termer has been optioned with the fabulous Yamaha 60th Anniversary colour scheme, boasting a yellow number plate up front, anniversary badge, red front guard, gold wheels and speed-block paintwork. The YZF-R7 is powered by the same parallel-twin with 270°…

Motorcycle racing is very simple – all you’re trying to do is get down the straights as quick as possible and around the corners as fast as possible – but also incredibly complex. And MotoGP has never been more complicated than it is now. In the old days it was engine, chassis, suspension and tyres. Now it’s engines, chassis, suspension, electronics, downforce aero, holeshot devices, shapeshifters and tyres. Nor has it ever been closer. At one race last year, the top 10 was covered by 5.4 seconds, which averages out at a difference of one hundredth of a second at each corner between the winner and whoever finished 10th. It’s insanely close – if your bike and rider aren’t 99.9 percent as good as the best, you’re nowhere. The winning…

It looked like a brave decision to launch such an unusual event two years ago, whose idea was it? I’m to blame! The St George Motorcycle Club has a close relationship with the Australian Racing Drivers Club, who run Sydney Motorsport Park for the NSW Government. So we were closely involved with the multi-million-dollar LED lighting that celebrated the circuit’s 30th anniversary. It consists of 132 light towers with 864 individual fittings that cover the entire four-circuit layout. It seemed an obvious opportunity for a different type of motorcycle event. What was involved in getting approval for motorcycles to run under lights? Rigorous testing to get MA licensing. This meant getting a cross-section of riders and racers, including top ASBK guys like Glenn Allerton, one of ARDC’s ambassadors for motorcycles,…

AHEAD OF ITS worldwide launch on 27 January, AMCN can reveal Harley-Davidson will be putting the biggest engine it makes into production models. A trio of new Low Rider models will get the 117 cubic-inch (1923cc) engine, the motor previously reserved for Harley’s ultra-expensive CVO range. The current Low Rider S 114cu in (1868cc) V-twin, with 70kW at 5020rpm and 155Nm at 3000rpm, will now step up to 77kW at 5020rpm and a thumping 168Nm at 3500rpm. We’ve yet to see images of the new Low Rider, but we have seen the type-approval documents, which reveal the Low Rider S will head up an extended range. These are the Low Rider ST, with the ‘T’ suggesting some touring ability, and the El Diablo, a high-end version. A trio of new…

A COMPLETELY REVAMPED 990 Duke looks set to join KTM’s fully faired ‘RC 990’ MotoGP-inspired sportsbike we busted in prototype form last issue (pictured, right). Our latest spy pic shows a much more production-ready Duke than the earlier mules we have caught on film and we expect both to be launched later this year as 2023 models. It’s an important update for KTM because a capacity bump from 799cc to 889cc is the only major revision the original 790 Duke has had since its launch five years ago. Showroom-quality bodywork shows visual proportions more aligned to the 1290 Super Duke. Add this to other major changes and it means the next-gen parallel-twin Duke is entirely new. Although the engine seen here is clearly a development of the existing ‘LC8c’ twin,…

ROYAL ENFIELD’S WIDELYpublished ride to the farthest reach of Antarctica has polarised opinion. On lightly modified single-cylinder Himalayans, two factory employees spent 15 days riding 400km from India’s Antarctic base to the South Pole in temperatures as low as -30°C. However, internet commentators were quick to point out that the expedition was fully supported by vehicles, including a media team, and that the route followed a defined path created every summer. The United States maintains Antarctica’s southernmost base, Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, and a basic track is cut by snowmobiles each summer to take fuel there from the frozen continent’s largest base and research station, McMurdo Station. RE freely admitted its historic journey, called 90 Degrees South, was undertaken on “a compacted snow track” explaining this was an attempt to…

Letter of the issue Fuelled by size I am sitting here reading the road test on the new Ducati Monster (AMCN Vol 71 No 13), and I note that it only has a 14L tank. What is it with modern manufacturers that most of them can’t put a decent-sized tank on their bikes? I bought the first-model Yamaha MT-09 and loved riding it, but got sick of having to stop every second day to put fuel in it. When the first Tracer came out, I traded up to it because it had an 18L tank. I still got the same riding pleasure without having to stop so often. I sold the Tracer last year when my Suzuki GS1100 project was finally finished after sitting in my son’s shed for almost…

These days an adventure bike should be excellent both on the road and off it, right? They should, but the reality is most adventure bikes have a road bias that’s pretty easy to recognise the minute you drop off the tar onto the dirt. KTM’s 1290 Super Adventure R has gained a reputation for having excellent dirt manners while also boasting a sizeable ability to carve up the blacktop, and in 2021 it received significant updates. So significant in fact that KTM is claiming that 90 percent of components are new or revised. And some of them, such as adaptive cruise control, are aimed at making the 1290 a better road mount. With 39 years of experience riding dirtbikes – enduro, hard enduro, trials and five Finke Desert Race finishes…

Classic Legends/BSA Company CEO Ashish Joshi is the man in charge of relaunching BSA, but prior to this has had extensive experience of handling other historic British brands. After working for 15 years at Royal Enfield, rising to become its European Sales & Marketing Director based in London, he was appointed MD of Triumph’s newly-founded Indian operation in December 2010. Besides establishing the British firm’s nine-model CKD assembly setup in Haryana, 40km south of New Delhi, this also entailed planning a brand-new Triumph India factory outside Bangalore, initially to manufacture two versions of a new 250cc single-cylinder model. But in September 2013 Triumph management cancelled the project, although by that April Joshi had already resigned from Triumph to join Mahindra, where he has since been working on strategic growth in…

Despite his immense popularity and fame, Toby Price is one of the most laidback and down-to-earth blokes you could ever meet. No matter where the two-time Dakar winner is racing, and no matter the racing format, he always finds time for his fans, signing autographs, posing for selfies and having a laugh. Toby Price was already a legend in the Aussie dirtbike scene well before his first Dakar win in 2016 made him famous with a wider audience. By that year, he had already won the Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) five times, had won the Hattah Desert Race five times, and had stood atop the podium of the Finke Desert Race four times. He had also won the Australian 4 Day Enduro (A4DE) twice, and represented Australia in the International…

CAST ALUMINIUM WHEELS replace wire wheels on the Softail Standard and Street Bob 114 while there are new paint and chrome options and minor styling upgrades across the entire cruiser range. The Touring range picks up mainly cosmetic changes with confirmation of options to extend the suite of electronic rider-aid options, while the Pan America gets improved visibility for the TFT display screen, and Vehicle Hill Hold Control active time extended to up to five minutes. There is a new Fastback Blue/White Sand colour option for the Pan America 1250 Special. The Pan-Am is proving to be a success for Harley-Davidson, with around 4000 a month being delivered in the US alone. Our Recall Roster figures (see next page) reveal that at least 390 have been sold in Australia. The…

Reinventing hard-edged sportsbikes into performance nakeds is a trick Ducati has successfully accomplished multiple times. Now, for 2022, Ducati has stretched its Streetfighter range again with the launch of the Streetfighter V2. And while it’s the bottom of the rung in terms of the Streetfighter sub-brand, it’s no ‘entry-level’ bike; the 112kW (153hp) V2 is heavily based on the race-ready Panigale V2, but now in a simple naked format. The same engine, similar fully adjustable suspension and excellent lean-angle sensitive electronics as the Panigale V2, the Streetfighter moniker brings a softer seat, lower ’pegs and higher, wider ’bar. The Streetfighter shares the same monocoque frame as the Panigale V2, using the Superquadro engine as a stressed member. The suspension is similar, too, with fully adjustable 43mm Showa Big Piston Forks…

After the sold-out showroom success of its all-new 2021 Trident 660, which since its debut last March has found over 15,500 customers in its first 10 months of production, Triumph has unveiled a second variation on that entry-level theme, as it seeks to expand its formidable new presence in the increasingly crucial 600-800cc middleweight marketplace. This time around the 2022 Tiger Sport 660 is targeted at the Adventure Sports segment, where it confronts a trio of well-established models which are big earners for their Japanese manufacturers. But just as with the Trident, the British company is seeking to bring added value to its offering via a series of features which its main rivals cannot boast. While the Thai-built triple – all its rivals are less powerful twins – is the…

BSA WAS ORIGINALLY a maker of guns and ammo after its formation in June 1861 under the Birmingham Small Arms banner, and by 1863 had completed a factory on 25 acres at Small Heath, turning to manufacturing bicycles in 1880. The company’s first motorcycle appeared in 1910, the year it also acquired the Daimler car company. After a major contribution to the British Army in both World Wars, during which time it had as many as 67 factories, BSA became the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world in the post-war boom, with one in every four motorcycles sold worldwide sporting the BSA badge. In the 1960s heyday of the British industry, the 20,000-strong workforce in its Small Heath factory produced over 50,000 bikes annually for sale all over the world,…

Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari was born in Italy in 1892. When he was 12 years old, his uncle put him on the back of his motorcycle and took him toa week-long car racing event. And a few weeks later, his uncle taught him to ride. Nuvolari was hooked. He started his first official motorcycle race 16 years later riding a 1000cc Della Ferrera V-twin, but a mechanical issue meant he didn’t finish. Another year later, he entered his first official car race, and he won. In the following year, on a Harley-Davidson Model 22J, Nuvolari won the Mantovano Motorcycle Championship and decided he would race professionally for the 1923 season, on both two wheels and four. The then 30-year-old purchased two motorcycles: the 350cc Garelli Supersport two-stroke racer which was the…

SAM SUNDERLAND (GASGAS Team) fully deserves his second Dakar victory, putting together three stage wins and a savvy performance throughout. The key to his win was knowing when to ease off, ceding positions and time to the competition, placing him in exactly the right position to command the final two days. On new year’s day, 144 riders departed the ancient city of Jeddah headed for the remote northern Arabian Desert oasis of Ha’il. En route, Daniel ‘Chucky’ Sanders blasted through a timed section of wind eroded rocks and sand drifts to bestow GasGas with its first Dakar stage win. “Non, non, non,” cried the pedants. Stage 1A was merely the Prologue which doesn’t count as a stage win. Sanders ignored the dissension, happily selecting the prime starting position of 15th…