Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol 71 Issue 22 i Australian Motorcycle News

TALK ABOUT SOME awkward bloody timing! News of Suzuki’s plan to pull out of MotoGP at the end of the 2022 season has come just as AMCN goes to print… and as I write this column, the announcement at the end of last week’s Jerez test of the factory’s withdrawal of the Team Suzuki Ecstar squad was yet to be officially confirmed by Suzuki HQ in Japan. If, as expected, that confirmation comes through in the next couple of days, you really have to feel for Joan Mir and Alex Rins, as well as the entire Team Suzuki Ecstar squad. While they will no doubt try their hardest to take wins throughout the rest of the 2022 season, this announcement has got to be soul destroying for the team, and…

HONDA INTENDS TO launch a new model using the name ‘NX500’, according to recent trademark applications. This revives a title last used on the old NX500 Dominator single-cylinder adventure bike. Honda has filed for trademarks on both ‘NX’ and ‘NX500’, both for ‘motorcycles; parts and fittings for motorcycles’, leaving no doubt they’re intended for future models. The NX name has previously been used on dual-sport machines from 125cc to 650cc, most memorably the NX650 Dominator that survived until 2003. The old NX500 was a smaller version, using a four-valve single, and dropped from the range in 1996. While the ‘Dominator’ name is more familiar than the NX title, Honda can’t use it as Norton owns the rights to that name. Expect the new NX to be powered by a twin,…

PERHAPS THE BEST gauge of the significance of this investment is to compare it with MV Agusta’s recent revival. It was a struggling but iconic brand when the mega-rich Russian Sardarov family became its sole shareholder in 2019. Since then more than $A200m has been invested in its operation to develop new models and reach into new market segments. Just one example of its success is the 15,000 presales it has secured for its upcoming Lucky Explorer adventure model. Last year CEO Timur Sardarov, the first industrialist in the world to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, said he expected MV Agusta to exceed pre-tax revenue of $A150m this financial year. If achieved this will be a first for the company. But Sardarov is aiming even higher, confident he can triple…

Access AMCN, PO Box 6, Bittern, Vic, 3918 access@amcn.com.au Letter of the issue Return on investment I am so pleased to see Aleix Espargaro finally coming good on the Aprilia. Three podiums from three front-row starts after lining up in the previous 200 premier-class GPs and finishing more or less nowhere. Not only does it show how dedicated he must be given how far the MotoGP goalposts have moved since he made his premier-class debut with Pramac Racing way back in 2009, but it really makes you feel for the blokes who have a handful of bad races and get dumped on their bums in favour of a younger rider. Do I think he can finally be crowned a MotoGP World Champion in his 11th full season of trying? I’m…

S 1000 R • Drop sensor • Riding modes • ABS Pro • Dynamic Traction Control • Drop Sensor • Hill Start Control • Riding Modes $20,650 (+ORC) S 1000 R Sport Same as base, but adds: • Headlight Pro • Tyre Pressure Monitor • Comfort package • Dynamic Package $24,450 (+ORC) S 1000R Race Same as Sport, but adds: • Sport silencer • M Endurance Chain • M battery • M forged wheels $28,390 (+ORC) S 1000 R M Sport Same as Race, but adds: • No passenger kit • GPS laptrigger • M Carbon wheels • M Sport seat • M Motorsport paint $32,160 (+ORC)…

Top 3 TV 01 MotoGP, Rd7 Le Mans, LIVE Videopass, Kayo, Foxsports 15 MAY 7pm Was Pecco Bagnaia’s victory in Jerez the start of a 2022 winning streak? Check out the live action from Le Mans on Videopass, Foxsports or Kayo, with the Moto3 race starting at 7pm AEST, Moto2 at 8.20pm and MotoGP at 10pm. 02 WSBK, Rd3, Estoril, LIVE Videopass, Kayo, Foxsports 21 MAY 6pm Racing from Estoril starts 6.45pm AEST with WSSP300 Superpole. WSBK Race 1 starts at 11pm. WSS Race 1 starts at 12.15am Sunday, WSS Race 2 at 9.30pm and WSBK Race 2 at 11pm. See the full schedule at worldsbk.com. 03 Red Bull Rookies Cup Red Bull TV ON DEMAND Any time Did you know you can catch all the action from every round…

FOR ANYONE WHO’S watched BSB first hand, it’s a big show. There is a lot of money involved, a lot of factories involved – it’s next level when four or five helicopters are landing at the track for team owners to arrive. The class I race in is called Superstock, but the reality is very different. The one thing I’m really proud of is (out of necessity) my racebike is something I’ve built myself. I’m in the workshop every day, I analyse my own data, build my own ECU maps, tune my own suspension and make my own repairs. Some teams have Öhlins technicians and crew chiefs flying in for the weekend from MotoGP and WorldSBK, 20-plus people for one rider. My garage has a couple of mates volunteering their…

ON A NORMAL day, Ai Ogura’s (HTA Kalex) maiden grand prix triumph would have been the main story here. Having only ever led one lap in his previous 59 GPs, the 21-year-old looked every bit the accomplished winner, as he made good on a pole position for a lights-to-flag victory. Considering Nakagami’s struggles in MotoGP, this was a timely ride. Yet Aron Canet’s (Pons Kalex) was arguably the ride of the day. The Spaniard fractured a bone in his left wrist just seven days prior in Portugal. He had two screws inserted in the joint the following day. So to see Canet run among a leading group that also included Tony Arbolino (Marc VDS Kalex), Sam Lowes (Marc VDS Kalex) and Somkiat Chantra (HTA Kalex) was deeply impressive. The quintet…

A DIVISION HAS begun to form between Raul Fernandez, his current Tech3 team and KTM. Despite last year signing a contract with KTM to step up to MotoGP in 2022, Fernandez is continuing to flirt with Yamaha and appears to have his sights fixed elsewhere for 2023. The Austrian factory has little interest in holding him against his wishes any longer, and Yamaha remains a possible destination in ’23. An insider has described Fernandez, who won eight Moto2 races last year, as a stroppy figure who acts as though he would rather be somewhere else. At Jerez his unhappy start to life as a MotoGP rider continued, the 2021 Moto2 runner-up ruled out of his home GP due to an injury to his right hand sustained in qualifying for the…

APRILIA RECEIVED THE ultimate reward for its fine start to the season. Aleix Espargaro’s third place in Jerez, his third podium of the year, has kept him very much in the running for the title fight. It also means Aprilia will lose its concessions for the first time since it returned to MotoGP in 2015, as it has amassed six concession points (three for his Argentina win, one apiece for podiums at Silverstone last year and Portimao and Jerez in 2022) over the past two years. From next year, the Italian factory will no longer have unlimited testing days at any track of its choice. Nor will it be able to call upon nine engines per rider during a season (it must only use seven). But the Catalan didn’t care.…

THE WRITING MIGHT be on the wall for the internal combustion engine but it may yet have a last hurrah with a revival of the 400cc fourcylinder class. Kawasaki is believed to be readying both a ZX-4R and a retro-styled Z400RS based on a big-bore version of the engine currently used in the ZX-25R. Patents for an unnamed prototype’s cooling system and aerodynamics were published in Japan recently. They clearly showed the ZX-25R’s fairing design and were specifically focused on the low-level side intakes used to cool the alternator and clutch. However, the big reveal came in text which contained the key line that the design would be “preferably applied to a vehicle having a four-cylinder, 400cc engine”. Surely that means the ZX-25R’s 250cc four was designed with a 400cc…

Brayden the brave Aussie battler Brayden Elliott breaks through to finish second to Billy ‘Skippy’ McConnell in the recent round of BSB Superstock 1000. Party time Harley-Davidson sure knows how to throw a party, and is planning a monster for its 120th anniversary in 2023. Davo down A vicious highside in the recent BSB round at Oulton Park puts Davo Johnson out of the Isle of Man TT with a broken pelvis. Get well soon, mate. Tassie out in cold What will it take for Tasmania to host a round of ASBK after again having its round cancelled? “NO COMMENT. I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND MY SITUATION. HAVE A GOOD EVENING” Shattered Suzuki team manager Livio Suppo, who only took on the role a few months ago, speaking to waiting journalists…

The year was… 001984 BEWARE, YE NSW-BASED PIRATES The first one hundred dollar bill is printed in Australia, Medicare has just come into effect to help ease the cost of medical bills for Australians and Bob Hawke gets re-elected, but with a reduced majority. Paul and Linda McCartney get arrested in Barbados for possession of cannabis. Indira Gandhi, who was the fourth Prime Minister of India, is assassinated by two of her bodyguards at age 66. Western Australia becomes the last Australian state to abolish the death sentence for crimes like murder. New South Wales maintained it as a punishment for treason and piracy with violence until 1985, when capital punishment was abolished in Australia. HOW MUCH? For under four and a half grand, you could get yourself a Suzuki GSX750SF.…

Facebook Post of the issue Robbie Phillis still has many fans among the AMCN faithful Instagram Don’t Forget #amcn_mag Comment of the Issue Craig Adam is not a fan of expensive bikes being ‘warehoused’ as they appreciate “What a waste, for a bike like that to have never turned a wheel in anger” Reaching out Want to see your pride and joy featured in AMCN? The only thing we love more than writing about bikes is looking at your bikes. Tag your social pics with @ aumotorcyclenews on Facebook or @ amcn_mag on Instagram, or fire them off in an email to amcn@amcn.com.au And don’t forget to tell us why you love it. Get it off yer chest! Got something funny, new, old or wise to say or share? Do…

1 HEAD OF COMMAND Cassons Australia $599.95 (02) 8882 1900 cassonsmedia.com From Bell’s Heritage Collection comes the Command helmet, which features a gloss vintage white, oxblood (their word, not ours) and blue colour scheme, complemented by a maroon-coloured internal liner. The large eye port is said to feel more like an open-face helmet, while the visor and chin bar offer full-face protection. 2 SKIERS HANDS Moto National $69.95 1300 885 355 motonational.com.au Thredbo winter gloves from Motodry have 150g of Thinsulate for warmth and are lined with a waterproof and breathable Hipora lining. Made from aniline cow leather, they’re reinforced in the palm and along the sides of the little fingers, and have extra padding in the heel of the palms. Sizes S–3XL. 3 GET YOUR KICKS McLeod Accessories $199…

ONE MOMENT SAID everything about the Spanish GP. And perhaps about the whole of the 2022 season. It was the moment when a motorcycle magician did one of his best tricks. Perhaps you’ve seen the picture in the centre pages, of a genius at work. A moment when, single-handedly, Marc Marquez transformed a tense but entirely processional Sunday afternoon into a thriller. Above all, it demonstrated the message of the second race of the European season, and the first one not to be badly affected by the weather. After the topsy-turvy phoney war of the first flyaways, the Big Beasts are Back. The “anyone-can-win” mantra took a severe beating. The resumption of Pecco Bagnaia/Fabio Quartararo hostilities was another proof. By late last year, these two defined the championship. There’s a…

THIS WAS A move fit to win any race. Izan Guevara (Aspar GASGAS) capped a perfect weekend, emerging victorious from a hectic final corner battle. The 17-year-old’s chances appeared limited as he entered Turn 13 for the final time behind Deniz Oncu (Tech 3 KTM) and Sergio Garcia (GASGAS). But a wonderful out-braking manoeuvre around the outside of both men was enough to push him back into the title race. Before then, this had played out in similar fashion to the previous weekend’s race in Portugal. Guevara, Garcia, Jaume Masia (Ajo KTM) and Diogo Moreira (MSI KTM) broke clear to the tune of 1.4sec before Oncu and Xavi Artigas (Prustel CFMOTO) joined them. Soon the pace at the front had slowed so as even Ayumu Sasaki (Max Racing Husqvarna), recovering…

ERIC GRANADO (LCR) has claimed the first two wins in the 2022 MotoE Cup at the opening round in Jerez. His measured double victories were far from plain sailing, though. In both contests, he recovered from slow starts, and took advantage of a clash between Miguel Pons (LCR) and Mattia Casadei (Pons) at the final turn in Race 1, before outbraking Pons at turn six on the final lap in Race 2 for a classy double. The Energica Corse machines used in the class have shed 14kg over the off season. As bad weather limited preseason testing, the class’s 18 riders were still struggling to find a perfect balance going into the races.…

THE NORTH BRISBANE Junior Motor Cycle Club hosted the 2022 Australian Senior Dirt Track Championships over 30 April – 1 May, and riders from the host club cleaned up all the two- and three-wheel classes. Jarred Brook and Briony Hendrickson were defending champions from the last staging in 2019 and both continued a domination that stretches well back into previous years. In the MX Open class, Brook lost once in the heats as Cyshan Weale was the unbeaten top qualifier, before Brook dived underneath Weale on the opening lap of the final and controlled the rest of the six laps while Dale Borlase, Seth Qualischefski and Jordan Dall followed the top two home. The Duke of Edinburgh Trophy was up for grabs in the Pro 450 class and the name…

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. According to our calendar, Tuesday 3 May was Constitution Memorial Day in Japan, followed on 4 May by Greenery Day and 5 May by Children’s Day. A difficult time, then, for a company to deal with the fallout from, or to explain the reasons behind, a major shift in policy. The good people of Japan have a proverb: “Even a sheet of paper has two sides”.…

Retail price $10,490 ride away Distance covered 230km Fuel Economy 5.5L/100km (MOTY) Servicing First: 1000km Minor: 10,000km Major: 20,000km Options added None … yet! We should be further along our journey with the long-term CFMoto 700 CL-X Sport since we decided we wanted one added to the long-term fleet following our Motorcycle of the Year comparo (AMCN Vol 71 No 12). But between a few things out of our control, including some particularly severe rain events, she’s finally got some decent kilometres under its Maxxis rubber. It’s been a baptism of fire for the parallel twin though, as most of the kilometres showing on the single round LCD dash were thanks to a trackday at Sydney Motorsport Park. Deano, AMCN contributor David ‘Wattie’ Watt and myself managed to get some…

OH DEAR. IT’S silly season again. I don’t know if this column will come out before or after we know who’s ‘leading’ the country. That’s not because Deano and Kel couldn’t tell me, it’s more because I can’t be bothered asking. Chances are whoever it is won’t ride a motorbike. Why do I say that? Because if you ride, you’ve got a pretty good alternative to standing on the side of the road in a T-shirt shaking signs at the traffic. Apparently that’s the road to the top of the party hierarchy which makes choosing leaders not unlike choosing pizza deals. There are other similarities too, the hope of waiting for delivery only to be let down by pudgy, tasteless rubbish. Wanting crisp and getting soggy. All that cheap cheese.…

AT A GLANCE, the Spanish Grand Prix marked the return of normality. After two years of closed grandstands, the Circuit of Jerez Angel Nieto was bolstered by 56,000 fans making an almighty racket from sunrise. And after five races which featured little rhyme or reason, last year’s top two riders finally faced off in what will surely be the first battle in a season-long war. On a hot, greasy track, Francesco Bagnaia (Lenovo Ducati) and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) delivered a riding masterclass, cementing their reputations as the leading names on the grid. This was more a battle of wits, as the latter’s repeated attempts to push the former into a mistake failed to pay off. With his lead over the reigning champion never exceeding 0.8sec, Bagnaia didn’t once…

AS JACK MILLER reflected on the crash that ended his (and Joan Mir’s) Portuguese GP last month, he offered a view that many have shared in 2022 – that it’s more difficult to overtake now in the premier class than ever before. “I think it’s just the competitiveness of the class with everyone,” said the Townsville rider. “I think all the bikes have their strong and weak points. You have to approach each bike with a different strategy.” Luca Marini agreed. “It’s just now the speed of every bike is unbelievable. The tyres are really good. Now there is not a big wear, you can ride from the first lap to the last in the same way. Also if you stay in the slipstream, the front tyre pressure rises.” But…