Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol 71 issue 17 i Australian Motorcycle News

HUSQVARNA’S SVARTPILEN 401 and its Vitpilen 401 sibling are on the verge of a major overhaul that could beat the next-gen KTM Duke models to the showrooms. The proof is in this spy pic of a nearly finished prototype for the next-gen Svartpilen undergoing final tests. Virtually nothing major on this neo-retro is shared with the current model. The frame, engine and bodywork are all completely new, along with a revised front fork. Although continuing with the steel-trellis design, the new frame bears a close resemblance to what we’ve seen on KTM’s upcoming Duke models. There’s also a new cast alloy swingarm, with a moulded-in upper brace, that appears similar to the one seen on the Husqvarna E-Pilen prototype that was shown last year. The single-cylinder engine appears roughly the…

THE ISLE OF Man TT and MotoGP have embraced the new age of armchair racing with two exciting projects. For the first time in its century-plus history, the 2022 Isle of Man TT will be broadcast live around the world. More than 40 hours of coverage are planned, accessed via a one-off fee package. Last year in an exclusive column for AMCN (Vol 71 No 03), TT winner-turned-commentator Cameron Donald predicted a huge new focus when the TT returned. Donald, who had established a new career as TT commentator before the Covid shutdown, was involved in lengthy discussions with Isle of Man officials about the best way forward. As he hinted to AMCN readers in his column: “I believe they have chosen the right path and the world’s oldest motorcycle…

Nostalgic motorcycling is in – and while fads tend to go out of fashion, this retro fad just seems to keep on keeping on, and retro specialist Royal Enfield has been riding the wave and kicking goals. But that’s not just because its bikes come with pre-packaged retro looks, but also because they offer a combination of entry-level price, great build quality and, as models like the adventure-ready Himalayan and Café-racer styled 650s have proved, eyebrow-raising levels of fun. This seemingly winning formula has seen customer levels in Australia balloon and there are now more than 53 dealerships in Australia with RE importer UMI expecting that to increase to upwards of 65 dealerships by the end of 2022 to back-up the increase in popularity of the UK-designed machines. The all-new…

A FULL COMPLEMENT of 30 Moto3 bikes adds 11 rookies to a mixed bag of experience and enthusiasm, with one clear favourite for the title. Leopard Honda’s Dennis Foggia came close to overturning Red Bull KTM’s Pedro Acosta in the closing stages of a year in which the Spaniard had been running away with it. Now Acosta has moved up, along with Fenati, Binder and Antonelli. Foggia was erratic at the start of last year, but set fastest time in February’s Jerez test, to underline that he is the class of the field. Or is he? There are some strong rivals in a grid made up of 20 KTMs (six of them with different names on the tank-covers) and 10 Hondas. On KTMs, Jaume Masia remains with the victorious Red…

DUCATI HATES GETTING beaten and hasn’t won the MotoGP title in 15 years. Finally, it has what it needs to repeat Casey Stoner’s 2007 success. The Desmosedici used to be a pig, but now it’s arguably the best bike on the grid, arrayed with all kinds of go-faster goodies created via aggressive reading of the rulebook. And if factory riders Pecco Bagnaia and Jack Miller can’t get the best out of it, Ducati has six other riders who can run near the front. MAKING THAT FRAME FLEX Chassis stiffness is a huge area of MotoGP development. Engineers want the frame to flex and twist during cornering, to help the bike track the road surface and to make the bike self-turn, by making the chassis bend around its wheelbase. Boreholes in…

LAST YEAR FABIO Quartararo won Yamaha’s first MotoGP championship in six years by extracting every ounce of performance from his factory YZR-M1. The question now is, will that be enough to repeat the success in 2022? Preseason testing tells us Yamaha has made less progress than its rivals, with Aprilia, Honda and Suzuki making the biggest advances. Quartararo has the fight of his life ahead of him if he wants to hold onto his crown. DON’T GO OVER THE TOP Braking g-forces are getting so extreme – spiking at up to 2g charging into corners – that riders need help to stop them getting thrown over the front of the machine during braking. Quartararo and teammate Franco Morbidelli had knee supports (pic 3) attached to their YZR-M1s during testing. Former…

Despite the ongoing challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, BMW Motorrad is riding high as it heads towards celebrating its centenary as a motorcycle manufacturer in 2023. Last year was a record-breaking year for the German company with 194,261 units delivered to customers, an increase of 14.8 per cent over the 169,272 units sold in 2020, and an 11 per cent step up over the company’s previous best in 2019, when it delivered 175,162 units. So last year was the best yet in the 99-year history of the company, which continues to be the largest European manufacturer of premium motorcycles and scooters built in its main Spandau factory in Berlin, in the BMW plants supplying local markets in Brazil and Thailand, and by its partners TVS in India, and Loncin in…

REIGNING MOTO3 WORLD champion and Moto2 rookie Pedro Acosta has continued his impressive run, topping the timesheets and smashing the lap record in his final preseason test before this weekend’s opening round in Qatar. Acosta and new teammate Augusto Fernandez make up the new-look Red Bull Ajo team and the pair finished one-two in combined standings at the end of the three-day test at Portimao. Far more than just one superfast lap, Acosta was quickest at the conclusion of all three days, though it was his 1m41.552s lap set in the first session of the final day, which was nearly one second quicker than Remy Gardner’s record-setting race lap of 1m42.504s. “We have been able to try out many things during this test, which was the key to being clear…

PENRITE HONDA RACING’S Troy Herfoss says the physical demons of his Hidden Valley crash last year are behind him, and the issues plaguing his performance are bike related. The two-time champion endured a painful weekend on the timesheets at the opening ASBK round, turning in his lowest-ever qualifying result of 16th. The pain continued through the race weekend, posting an 11-13 result that leaves him looking for answers. “At the test I still had some doubts about whether the problem may lie with myself or the bike, but we’ve worked through so many possible solutions and I am now confident the issue is bike related,” he said. “There’s always that little bit of doubt there after a crash like Darwin, but I feel like I’m riding okay.” Herfoss has come…

KTM IS WORKING hard on a new generation of small-capacity models and we’ve already busted prototypes of its next-generation single-cylinder Duke and RC models. Now this rough-and-ready early test mule proves the adventure side of the range is under development. A rusted, unpainted frame and slapped-together bodywork is a proof-of-design exercise based around the LC4 390 single-cylinder engine used in the 390 Adventure and Duke. It looks like an enduro now but could well turn into a next-gen 390 Adventure by the time it’s ready for launch and the styling is finished. Certainly it takes KTM’s current model into more hardcore off-road territory, with 21-inch and 18-inch wire wheels replacing the 19- and 17-inch spoked alloys of the current model. It’s at such an early stage that the mild steel-trellis…

AS WE PREDICTED LAST issue, Indian has unveiled the water-cooled Pursuit – a full-dress tourer based on the architecture of the water-cooled Challenger bagger. We dug up the type-approval documents for the bike some weeks ago, so its specifications don’t surprise. Peak power of 90kW and 173Nm of torque come from the same 1768cc PowerPlus V-twin used in the Challenger, with tweaked settings to suit the new tourer. The Challenger also donates its chassis and much of the bodywork, including the distinctive nose fairing. While the look might be in line with rivals from Harley-Davidson, and not a million miles from Indian’s own Roadmaster, the Pursuit is a much more advanced design than it appears. That PowerPlus engine is an overhead cam, water-cooled design, with four valves per cylinder. This…

JUST MONTHS AFTER opening its new, state-of-the-art 7000m2 headquarters, Norton has fast-tracked one of the UK motoring industry’s heavy-hitters into a key role. Professor Sir Ralf Speth, the Bavarian-born engineer who transformed Jaguar Land Rover from a niche UK manufacturer to a global premium powerhouse of design and innovation, is the man to oversee the next phase of Norton under its TVS ownership. Norton claims its new factory at Solihull “will be the most advanced manufacturing facility in the 122-year history of Norton” and Sir Ralf’s “deep insights and guidance will be invaluable to the management team as TVS Motor Company embraces the future of mobility”. Sir Ralph began his career at BMW and 20 years later joined Ford, eventually taking the key role at JLR in 2010, after it…

AS SOON AS the first bicycle hit the streets, someone wanted a lift somewhere. Once bicycles became powered by two-stroke powerplants and belt-drive had given way to chain-drive, the requests intensified. Known as donkeying, the practice proved the perfect means for two young blokes of limited means to travel to and from work, though as early as 1910 newspapers were widely reporting that “an extremely large proportion of motorcycle accidents are attributed to the pillion peril.” These accounts literally took over pages and pages of newsprint with complex, illustrated explanations which, in essence, stated that excessive weight over the rear wheel resulted in “the likelihood of aggravated front-wheel skids, which are the worst imaginable.” Safety was only one aspect of the Parliamentary debate, according to Melbourne’s The Herald newspaper. “Much…

There’s something delightfully old-school about Suzuki’s newest supernaked. Sticking to the tried and true recipe of stripping bare a superbike and bolting on a wide upright handlebar, this old-school flavour is carried through in the GSX-S1000’s simplicity and its almosttoo-loud ways, and I reckon it’s spot on. In an era of radar-assisted electronics communicating with lean-angle sensitive rider aids, Suzuki has fronted up with an updated supernaked that prioritises price and usability over the complexities and bragging rights that come with a tech-heavy $45,000 nakedbike. Okay, Suzuki probably hasn’t prioritised those things. But a relatively inexpensive and really useable roadbike is the result, and instead of looking at the latest GSX-S and seeing a lack of development in a market where even aerodynamics are now playing a role, look at…

More of the same… only better. Minor reshuffles in the upper reaches of MotoGP promise another strong season, with some extra spice. Last year’s hotshot rookies – Jorge Martin and Enea Bastianini – will be even more on-song. But most important of all, Marc Marquez will be back all year, and all action. “If I was going to compete without taking risks, then I wouldn’t be riding to be champion” was what the six-times MotoGP champion (29 at the first race) told himself during a second successive winter of unscheduled recuperation. Two tumbles at the first 2022 tests at Sepang underlined his commitment, while positive words about Honda’s substantial improvement reinforced his threat. Anyone hoping to make his mark in 2022 is going to have to deal with Marquez first.…

APRILIA’S FIRST V4 MotoGP machine used its RSV4 superbike engine and it wasn’t until 2016 that the factory got serious with a full prototype bike. That narrow-angle vee engine made the bike shorter but taller, so only when Aprilia switched to a 90-degree V4 configuration in 2020 did it find the right way forward. After two years perfecting that design it now has a chance of competing for podiums, and even race wins, with Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales. MORE DOWNFORCE, MORE ACCELERATION Aprilia introduced this radical split front wing last year, significantly increasing downforce, which gave them much more acceleration, because in MotoGP the limit to acceleration in the first three gears is wheelies, not horsepower. The two-step 2022 variation has similar downforce but makes the bike easier to…

HONDA WON SIX MotoGP titles in seven years with Marc Marquez, then he got hurt and it was in trouble. The RC213V was always a challenging machine to ride for everyone except for Marquez, so the defeats of 2020 and 2021 convinced Honda it needed to undertake the biggest redesign yet. The all-new bike is already fast – and it was Marquez’s Repsol teammate Pol Espargaro who topped the final preseason test. MORE LATERAL FRAME FLEX Honda tried so many new frames last year – trying to find the right direction for 2022 – that pitlane pundits lost count of the updates. This year’s chassis is very different and yet HRC was still experimenting with different designs during preseason testing. The main spars on Takaaki Nakagami’s bike are considerably less…

A decade and a half ago Klaus Hirsekorn and Alex Baumgartel (K and Alex for Kalex) worked for Holzer Motorsport, which ran Opel’s DTM car-racing operation and still works in the sport, building prototypes for Porsche and other brands. But Hirsekorn and Baumgartel were motorcycle freaks at heart, so they started building bikes, just for trackday fun. Their first chassis – housing an Aprilia RSV Mille engine – worked so well they put Aussie racer Damian Cudlin on the bike. Straight away Cudlin started winning races. “We thought, hmm, maybe this thing isn’t so bad,” says Baumgartel, Kalex’s designer. “So we said, okay, let’s quit our jobs and try to survive in the motorcycle world. We wanted to make track bikes. “The first few years were difficult times, moneywise. We…

DUCATI HAS HINTED at two unveilings planned in March. Most notably, Ducati’s own website briefly showed the name ‘Panigale V4 SP2’ in several places, including listing the bike as a 2022 model in its owner’s manual download section and as a model to which some aftermarket parts can be fitted. The SP2’s specs have also emerged via Ducati Austria’s website, confirming that it is essentially identical to the original Panigale V4 SP, but with the same engine upgrades that have been applied to the standard Panigale V4 this year. Another model that’s appeared, albeit fleetingly, as a 2022 machine on parts of Ducati’s website is the Panigale V4 R. The R is the 998cc version of the Panigale V4 that’s used as the basis for its WorldSBK racebikes, which hasn’t…

08 So many Ducatis on the grid, all with competitive riders, means that the 2022 MotoGP season just got harder for our Jack Miller, in the final year of a factory contract. See our GP preview on page 52. DELAYED IN THE MAIL Flooding has affected deliveries to WA, and to northern NSW and southeast Qld, including subscriber copies of AMCN. AusPost said WA copies should be there soon and it’s making every effort to support other flood-affected customers where it’s safe to do so. MOTORCYCLE TAKES FLIGHT It’s been a while since we reported on JetPack Aviation’s outrageous flying motorcycle. Now we can reveal its Speeder is nearing a second-generation specification, which will move from tethered flight to piloted tests. The plan is to create a machine that can…

WITH THE TOP three in the 2021 Moto2 championship now upstairs to MotoGP, it’s another chance for the big dogs of the middle class to stake their claim for promotion. Missing are Raul Fernandez, Remy Gardner and Marco Bezzecchi, who between them won all but four of the races. Also gone north: single race winner Fabio Di Giannantonio, while Tom Luthi, Xavi Vierge and Stefano Manzi are also missing (retired, gone to WorldSBK and gone to Supersport). There are plenty of challengers left behind: redoubtable chargers ranging from triple 2021 race winner Sam Lowes to last year’s top rookie Ai Ogura, much fancied as Japan’s next big thing. Lowes, aged 31, it not quite the oldest inhabitant: veteran Simone Corsi is back again, aged 34 and lining up for his…

SUZUKI WON THE Covid-affected 2020 MotoGP championship, partly because many of the races were outside their usual time slots, so track temperatures were different and the GSX-RR proved better at managing its tyres than its rivals. Last year’s championship pretty much returned to normal and Suzuki struggled, failing to win a single race. Always conservative, Suzuki has gently tweaked the GSX-RR’s chassis for 2022 and found a useful horsepower increase. HEAD TURNER If you like old-school simplicity, the GSX-RR should be your favourite MotoGP bike. And arguably the prettiest too, right down to the beautifully fabricated carbon-fibre clutch cover. However, Suzuki was the last factory to fit a shapeshifter (which compresses the rear shock for faster corner exits) during the second half of 2022, so it has some catching up…

HONDA CONTESTED THE premier-class of GP racing for the first time in 1966, Yamaha in 1973, KTM in 2017. The Austrian factory has achieved miracles in that time, scoring its first three MotoGP wins in 2020. Those successes raised expectations, so last season (one victory in the dry, one in the wet) was a disappointment. However, KTM has resisted a wholesale redesign of the RC16, MotoGP’s only steel-frame machine, instead focusing on set-up details. KEEPING BUSY Most MotoGP buttons and device levers are on the left handlebar, but even the right hand has more to do than working the throttle and front brake. Thumb lever actuates the front holeshot device. Lever below the throttle is the neutral gate for the seamless gearbox, which allows riders to engage neutral before the…

DUCATI’S PECCO BAGNAIA has nominated Jack Miller as his preferred teammate for 2023 as a pressure-laden shootout looms for the prized slot. While Miller stakes his claim for a new Ducati deal, Bagnaia’s early two-year contract renewal heightens expectation he is the man to end a 15-year losing streak for the red squad. Ducati is overflowing with talent and has cleverly orchestrated competitive tension for 2023, with both Miller and Jorge Martin offcontract this year. Miller’s primary tormentor for the factory gig is Spanish speedster Martin, who scored a Styrian GP win and four pole positions in an impressive rookie season in 2021 with Pramac Ducati. And with an upgrade to Bagnaia’s race winning GP21 the fast, ambitious young Italian Enea Bastianini (Team Gresini) is a wildcard contender. He scored…

THREE STATE SPEEDWAY Sidecar Championships have been staged over the past fortnight and all were won by previous winners who extended their already impressive records. The Victorian Championship (in Mildura on 19 February) produced an eighth victory for Warren Monson, and his passenger Andrew Summerhayes chalked up his fourth. Monson/Summerhayes top scored in the heats with 14 and then won the final ahead of Mick Headland/Brenton Kerr (12), Brodie Cohen/Jesse Headland (nine) and Trent Headland/Darryl Whetstone (13). Cohen/Headland were the last qualifier for the B Final, which they then won by overcoming teenagers Max Howse/Riley Commons (11), Byren Gates/Eli Bock (10) and Shane Hudson/Adam Constable (11). In the South Australian Championship (Gillman, 26 February) defending champions Mick Headland/Brenton Kerr were top scorers on 14 but again found a way of…

It’s only a week or so from the start of MiniGP in Australia, how is the series shaping up? For MiniGP we’ve got 15 riders across four states, with a real mixture of kids. Dorna had to come up with a Road To MotoGP formula that all countries could use, which is how the relationship with Ohvale came about. There is something like 21 countries using the same specification machine. Right now we’re all just really excited to finally kick this series off. The race-style machines have developed quite a following already through Moto Tuesdays at Oakleigh. Tell us about them. Yes, the GP-0 – 10-inch – has three models, a 110cc four-speed, a 160cc and a 190cc. The GP-2 has one model and that is the 12-inch, with a 190cc…