Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol 72 issue 01 i Australian Motorcycle News

WHERE DID THE last 30 years go? I can hardly believe it’s been three decades since Tadao Baba and his team at Honda re-wrote the sportsbike rulebook with the introduction of the 1992 CBR900RR FireBlade. While I never got the chance to test that original Blade back in ’92, four years later I joined ex-AMCN editor Mick Matheson on a comparison test of the revised 1996 919cc FireBlade. Mick was editing Two Wheels magazine at the time, and pitched the new Blade against the Kawasaki ZX-9R, the Suzuki RF900 and the Yamaha YZF1000R Thunderace. While I don’t recall which bike Mick picked as the winner of that comparo, I’ll never forget my favourite bike from what was at the time the fastest road ride I’d ever been on. I immediately…

BMW walks the talk A new communication system from BMW, called ConnectedRide Com U1, allows riders to talk to their pillion passenger or other group members up to 2km away, listen to music together, make phone calls or follow announcements of the navigation system. It costs $499.95. Military aid from H-D Harley-Davidson Australia & New Zealand is offering Australian Partners of Defence members a 20 percent discount on genuine H-D parts and accessories that are bought from its dealerships. APOD is an Australian owned and operated organisation founded in 2012 by veteran families, for veteran families. Sustainable future Piaggio’s Michele Colaninno, founder and chair of the company’s Fast Forward program, which specialises in robotics, has been appointed President of ACEM, Europe’s powerful motorcycle lobby group. He has reconfirmed that ACEM’s…

➡ MODEL 2020-22 Kawasaki KLX230A/G ➡ IMPORTER Kawasaki Motors Pty Ltd ➡ NUMBER AFFECTED 903 ➡ ISSUE Due to a manufacturing defect, the incorrect brake disc may have been fitted to the front wheel. This may cause a reduction in the vehicle braking performance. ➡ MODEL 2014-19 Can-Am Spyder RT and F3 ➡ IMPORTER BRP Australia Pty Ltd ➡ NUMBER AFFECTED 1334 ➡ ISSUE Due to a manufacturing defect, the front drive sprocket may wear prematurely and the vehicle may experience a loss of propulsion. ➡ ACTION REQUIRED Owners of affected motorcycles will be contacted by BRP when parts become available. If you wish to continue to use your vehicle, go to your dealer for an interim repair procedure.…

Letter of the issue Motomuck Win 5L of Motomuck Motorcycle Cleaner to keep your ride shiny valued at $59.95! Include your full name and address in your letter, via post or email. Long letters will be cut to fit, so don’t ramble. The views expressed by readers are not necessarily those of the editor. Access, AMCN, PO Box 6, Bittern, Vic, 3918 access@amcn.com.au Letter of the issue A gentleman lost G’day, I’m following up on your news article in AMCN Vol 71 No 24 titled DGR Raises $53M. This year’s edition of our ride was held without restrictions on a clear, warm and sunny day. Tracey and I have been attending the Brisbane event since 2018 and with excellent organisation, great community support and a large rider turnout, it’s a…

IF THE BLING isn’t your thing, you can save yourself a few bucks by taking a look at the base-model SuperSport 950. The Standard 950 gets you all the same tech, minus a few bling and performance pieces. On the standard 950, the front fork is a smaller diameter 43mm Marzocchi item. They are fully adjustable still but will be a little less precise than the Ohlins setup. On the rear, a Sachs monoshock is put to work, with preload adjustment and rebound adjustment available with tools. You also don’t get the passenger seat cover cowling but it is still available in the accessories catalogue if you just have to have it. The wheels are also plain black minus the Ducati Red tags, and the base model is also only…

EXACTLY ONE MONTH after Jim Moodie’s landmark Production TT win, the Sanyo Honda team scored a 1-2 victory in the Powerbike support race to the 1998 British Grand Prix on a very different Fireblade. As a sign of what WorldSBK eventually developed into, the 1000cc Powerbike class was concocted for 1998 by Donington Park boss Robert Fearnall. At the stage, WorldSBK rules still limited four-cylinder bikes to 750cc – 1000cc fours weren’t allowed in until 2003 – and 750cc roadbike sales were rock-bottom. Bigger was better, as far as customers were concerned, yet there was no international race category for one-litre machines. Enter Fearnall’s Powerbike category. The chance to ride the Sanyo Fireblade on which Steve Plater took victory in the support race – en route to winning the Powerbike…

KENNY WAS NOT averse to entertaining the crowd with his famous and wild wheelies after his wins in road racing. That, too, came from dirt track. The race winners were encouraged to pop wheelies on their victory laps, spectators shouting and Kenny always complied. Sometimes his speeds were measured and wheelie speeds of 190km/h on the dirt were not unheard of. “The wheelies weren’t the problem,” he grinned. “The tank slapper when you came down was. “And then you still had to take the corner with a speed which was way too high. Remember, we had no brakes.”…

1 MESHY WOME Cassons Australia From $339.95 (02) 8882 1900 cassonsmedia.com Ixon’s Ilana Evo Ladies Jacket is an all-seasons jacket with removable waterproof and thermal liners, as well as an advanced ventilation system. The Ilana features a specific ladies’ cut, 600D mesh construction, level 2 CE elbow and shoulder armour, and provision for an optional back protector. 2 HIKARI HAT Moto National Accessories $399.95 1300 885 355 kabuto.com.au The Kabuto Hikari helmet features a new ‘wide view’ internal sunshade, an internal liner, glasses-friendly cheek pads and an Intercom Attachment Space. The Hikari also boasts an easy to operate ventilation system, Pinlock ready visor, micro ratchet buckle closure and an aerodynamic wake stabiliser. 3 FORK IN OIL Honda Australia From $29 1300 559 846 honda.com.au Honda genuine Ultra 5W fork oil…

THE BLOKE WHO hands down punishment to miscreant riders is never going to win a popularity contest. What he might hope to earn is respect. Alas, for one-time racing legend Freddie Spencer, respect seems equally elusive. Once called ‘Fast Freddie’ for his sublime talent on a factory Honda, breathtakingly winning three world championships, the latest internet meme has rechristened him ‘Farce Freddie’, after the latest Assen sanctions. Vulgar abuse. Harder to take, perhaps, was a stinging rebuke from the head of Yamaha Racing, accusing the Panel of Stewards, which Spencer chairs, of serious inconsistency, and further condemning a system where the panel’s decisions require no explanation or justification, and admit no further investigation. A law unto themselves. As at Assen, where Fabio Quartararo’s overtake on Aleix Espargaro for second ended…

THIS WAS A thriller to rival the best of the season. Ayumu Sasaki (Max Racing Husqvarna) rode to a brilliant maiden grand prix win just 30 days on from breaking his left collarbone in a sickening collision at Mugello. After a heroic comeback at the Sachsenring, where he finished fourth, Sasaki held off Aspar GASGAS teammates Izan Guevara and Sergio Garcia in a hectic eight-rider fight. After Guevara scored runwaway victories at the previous two outings, things were more in line with Moto3 tradition here, even if the 17-year-old still led the majority of the race. Originally, he was just clear of Sasaki, Tatsuki Suzuki (Leopard Honda), Jaume Masia (Ajo KTM) and the excitable David Munoz (BOE KTM), while Dennis Foggia (Leopard Honda) recovered from a Long-Lap Penalty, served on…

ALEX MARQUEZ HAS signed for Gresini Ducati for 2023, opening the way for Alex Rins to take his place at LCR Honda. Marquez will race a Desmosedici GP22 – this year’s factory bikes – alongside Fabio Di Giannantonio, who has extended his current deal with the team. “I’m very excited to be starting this new adventure,” said the former Moto2 and Moto3 world champion. “It was crucial for me to change in order to recover the same type of motivation I had when I first joined this class.” While Rins had yet to sign the contract with LCR Honda on the Sunday after the Dutch TT round, he indicated the deal was all-but-decided. “In the end I was managing the Ducati option – the Gresini option – or the LCR…

JOHANN ZARCO HAS been one of MotoGP’s unsung heroes of the year so far, sitting third in the standings and, crucially, the top Ducati rider. And all of this while acting as the factory’s guinea pig, the only rider from their stable persisting with the front ride-height device in the opening 10 races. Zarco’s eff orts will be rewarded with a contract extension, most likely to see him stay put with the Pramac team. “They know how I think,” he said coming into the weekend. “They know the chance to stay with Ducati is the best thing for me to build up my results and get a victory. It’s not signed, but just by talking, it’s almost 100 percent sure. “I joked with (Paolo) Ciabatti and (Gigi) Dall’Igna that if…

YAMAHA’S AARON TANTI has increased his MX1 Championship lead after a dominant 1-1 performance at Round 5 in Maitland NSW on 26 June. Brett Metcalfe (GO24 KTM) took the holeshot in the first moto, but after a frenetic first lap it was Top Ten Pole Shootout winner Matt Moss (BBR 102 Motorsports) in the early lead. A battle for second raged behind between KTM Australia’s Kirk Gibbs, Tanti (CDR Yamaha Monster Energy) and Metcalfe. After taking the lead briefly, Gibbs was passed by championship leader Tanti, who proceeded to gap the field for a dominant win. Gibbs looked to have second in the bag before a fall ended the KTM rider’s podium hopes. After falling to fourth Moss regrouped to claim second from Metcalfe. Dean Ferris (HRC Honda Racing) took…

How did you get into racing and into race timing? My father raced bikes in the 60s until the early 2000s. My mum was always involved in the administration side of things, so as a child I was always at a racetrack. At the two-plus-four events at Sandown in the 70s they had this old clunking Longines timing machine, where you would press a button and a lap time would come out. The time would get passed on to a whole bunch of people and they would calculate the difference in times between each competitor, and you could then generate a lap time. In the early 80s computers started to come on board a bit and at some point I figured out computers could play a role in timing. I…

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 it’s your first day on the job where training includes use of cat litter to avoid one-piece rain suits smelling of urine, shaving your mo so it doesn’t look like you have a hairy nose when wearing a balaclava and using Google Maps to find the closest pub. On the do-not-do list is adopting the bourbon and ciggies diet Pete lived on for the three-day Dumb & Dumber ride which he reckons gave him liver disease and emphysema. Welcome aboard, Peter Martin!…

SPANISH MARQUE VERTIGO is a relative newcomer – established in 2012 and launching its first trials bike in 2015 – but has already achieved significant international competition success. It even tempted big-name riders including Dougie Lampkin into the fold in 2015. He still competes on a Vertigo. Now it’s targeting the road market, registering designs for a street-legal single-cylinder machine that looks like a cross between a trials bike and an urban enduro. While we don’t have technical details, it looks to be powered by a single cylinder, water-cooled, single-over-head-cam engine of around 250cc, mounted in a tubular-steel frame based on its proven trials designs. This means a trellis-style section at the steering head leading into a single tube on each side running down to the swingarm pivot, but with…

THE FINAL FRONTIER When you review the history books, 1986 carried a spacey flavour but there was plenty of other stuff that took place if you aren’t a space buff. The Voyager 2 space probe made its first encounter with Uranus, which sounds kind of painful but was far more successful than the ill-fated Space Shuttle Challenger flight that lasted 73 seconds. The Soviets weren’t put off by America’s mishap and launched the Mir space station. Meanwhile Halley’s Comet reached its perihelion for the first time since 1910. In other news, the United States Senate finally decided outlawing genocide was a good idea, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands agreed to end their 335 years War and the world reacted to news of the Chernobyl disaster. On the planet’s flipside,…

Facebook Post of the issue It’s no surprise that the clash between Fabio Quartararo and Aleix Espargaro at the Dutch TT generated a lot of discussion among readers on the socials. Instagram Don’t Forget #amcn_mag Comment of the Issue It seems like Darren Smith might have missed the point of our annual Adventure Issue… “Can we have one issue without adventure bikes?! OMG” 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…

THE DUCATI PERFORMANCE accessories catalogue could be a rabbit hole of never-ending creditcard debt. Or, it could complete the bike for you and your individual taste. There are a couple of packages to choose from or a multitude of options outside the packages SPORT PACKAGE > Road legal Ducati Performance silencer by Akrapovic > Carbon front mudguard > Carbon tank protector > Aluminium numberplate holder > Rear blinkers $1993.31 TOURING PACKAGE > Semi-rigid side panniers, 25L each and colour matched > Larger smoked windscreen > Heated grips Red $2288.59 White $2310.88…

“WE’RE RESTRICTED ON what we can change to the Superstock bike; the cylinder head and airbox must remain standard. Therefore, the changes Honda has made to the 2022 bike are advantageous to our racebikes, more so the Superstock bike. The intake ports have been reshaped to narrow the airflow, which increases torque. The intake to the airbox has been refined, again to increase the torque. The rules don’t allow us to change these parts on the Superstock bike, so any changes to the roadbikes are transferred to the Superstock bike, even the lighter spring on the ride-by-wire throttle. “Some of the changes don’t effect either the Superstock or Superbike as we change the gearing and remove the rider aids and SP electronic suspension, but we have seen a significant gain…

2008 Mike Di Meglio, Derbi, 125cc Di Meglio had won a single victory in his previous four seasons and had never even finished in a championship top 10. With Ajo behind him and a factory Derbi beneath him, the 20-year-old Frenchman won four GPs and comfortably took the title. 2010 Marc Marquez, Derbi, 125cc When Marquez joined Ajo in the spring of 2010 he had already done two seasons of GPs, during which he’d scored podium finishes. The 17-year-old won his first GP at Mugello 2010 and won nine of the last 12 races to clinch Ajo’s second title. 2012 Sandro Cortese, KTM, Moto3 This was the first year of Moto3 and Ajo’s first year with KTM, who showed faith by putting him in charge of its official team. The…

“WELL,” HE BEGINS. “I was loading boxes onto our truck. I had worked on our ranch and wanted to go home. I always carried a .22 pistol in a holster. While loading, that gun fell from my holster to the ground and it went off, BANG! I didn’t know where I’d been hit, I felt a bit numb. I leaned over and for some reason grabbed my leg, right in the hole of the bullet. It hurt a lot, but the shock was greater. “My father rushed over to me and he laid me flat on the ground. I felt my knee hurt, but there was no blood. I had just shattered the bones, you know?” “The bullet went straight through my knee to my hip. There it was discovered…

COLUMN TIME AGAIN? Geez, thanks Kel, that’s like about 15 minutes’ notice. Things happen fast in the world of AMCN. Except right now this old brain is working faster than ever. Why? The Rocket 3, that’s why. You might be reading about that in an upcoming issue. Unless the tickets add up to a government holiday anyway. Now if you’ve read anything I’ve written in the past, you’ll know the Rooth brain works in weird ways, depending on supplements, as Mr Smith once said while guzzling my last XXXX long neck. So this splurge might be a tad out there, okay? First, some background. There’s a history of Alzheimers hanging around my mob that’s so flakey most of us Rooths get to a certain age and, er, forget we’re old.…

THOSE FEARING THE 2022 World Championship was heading towards a predictable conclusion were made to revise their opinions in Assen. Francesco Bagnaia (Lenovo Ducati) may have controlled a lights-to-flag triumph for the best part of three-quarters distance but this was an outing high on drama. It was also one which few of the 104,244 fans in attendance saw coming. Which sight was most difficult to foresee? Perhaps it was three Ducatis scrapping it out for the podium places around a track that had been like kryptonite for the Desmosedici machines in years gone by. It could also have been that it was rookie Marco Bezzecchi (VR46 Ducati) who pushed Bagnaia (Lenovo Ducati) hardest in just his 11th premier-class race, earning Valentino Rossi’s team a debut MotoGP podium. Or even the…

THE FIM STEWARDS were under attack again after Assen. Fabio Quartararo’s attempted overtake on Aleix Espargaro not only took him down, and pushed his rival off the track and back to 15th, he was later penalised with a Long Lap Penalty, which is to be served when the series reconvenes in Silverstone next month. The reigning World Champion didn’t take the penalty lightly. “Now you can’t try an overtake because they think you are too ambitious,” he wrote on Instagram. “From the beginning of the year some riders made ‘racing incident’ but apparently mine was too dangerous. He added, “Congratulations to the stewards for the amazing job you are doing. Next time I [won’t] try any overtake to think about not taking a penalty.” Nor did Yamaha. Managing Director Lin…

POL ESPARGARO’S FOUL run continued at Assen when he withdrew from the Dutch TT on Saturday morning due to the injury to his left ribs he sustained in a Friday spill at the Sachsenring. He was in some discomfort during Friday’s FP1 and FP2 sessions and on Saturday, it soon became clear he could no longer ride through the weekend. “I feel sorry for the team to not be able to ride the bike,” Espargaro said. “It’s more painful to hear the bikes on track without me there than the pain in my body. But when I woke up this morning I struggled to walk, to breathe. “Jumping on a MotoGP bike you need to be 100 percent. Otherwise, it’s impossible. The injury got worse yesterday. “I want to check…

KAWASAKI NINJA 1000 SX $16,999 (ride away) More of a touring bike than the Ducati. Has 1043cc inline-four cylinder engine with 142hp. It weighs 235kg (wet), has similar-spec electronics but is quite a bit bigger. KAWASAKI ZX-6R KRT EDITION $17,209 (ride away) Definitely a hard-edged racebike with lights. Similar electronic aids, a high-revving four-cylinder 636cc engine putting out 130hp, and weighing in at 196kg (wet). TRIUMPH STREET TRIPLE RS $19,950 (ride away) The 765cc triple punches out 121hp and weighs in at around 190kg (wet). Very much a sportsbike but very naked. Similar tech levels as the Ducati, too.…

“I’M VERY HAPPY and very excited to be able to share the revival of Bimota here with you all. The story has begun three years ago. A small investment bank approached us inquiring if we were interested in an Italian motorcycle manufacturer. The company name was veiled, but when I checked the documents I instantly noticed. Oh, it’s Bimota! “For motorcycle enthusiasts of my age, Bimotas were legendary motorcycles that we used to dream of with their incredible chassis, jewel-like parts and an unaffordable price tag. I immediately flew to Milan. It was November, 2016 – just three years ago. We talked, and I thought, ‘this project will be a success, because he is a real motorcycle enthusiast.’ “I was convinced our project will be a great success and we…

THE LAST COUPLE of Harleys I’ve ridden – Sportster S and Pan America – are equipped with the firm’s new Revolution Max engine, so it was interesting revisiting the torquey, slow-revving Milwaukee-Eight 107 V-twin. The Sport Glide’s V-twin makes a claimed 139Nm at 3500rpm, which is significantly more grunt at lower revs than Sportster S’s 127Nm at a relatively high 6000rpm. As the figures suggest, the Sport Glide is happy to lope along in tall gears barely above idle, which was well suited to the crap weather I rode it in for this photo shoot. But crack the throttle in the lower gears and let the 107 rev, and it delivers plenty enough poke up top to have the rear hoop struggling for grip on wet bitumen. At a hefty…

“That was the time I called my university!” grins Aki Ajo, recalling how it all started. “Because I learned technical things, I learned riding and I also learned business.” The 58-year-old Finn is remembering his self-styled university education, when he was 11-years old. “I started making business with mopeds, as a way to buy a motocross bike. My parents were afraid of me getting a motorcycle because I was a bit wild, but they allowed me to buy shit mopeds, service them, fit parts and advertise them in the local paper. Then parents would come with their kids to buy my mopeds. “When I was 14 I had enough money to buy my first motocross bike, a 1977 Honda CR125 Elsinore. That’s how it started, riding my motocross bike around…

Top 3 TV 01 WSBK, Rd5 UK, LIVE Videopass, Kayo, Foxsports 16-17 JULY From 6pm Round 5 of WSBK takes place at Donington Park. Race 1 starts at 11pm AEST Saturday followed by the WSS Race. On Sunday the Superpole race airs at 8pm and Race 2 at 11pm. See worldsbk.com for the full race schedule. 02 MotoAmerica, Rd7 Laguna Seca, LIVE motoamericaliveplus.com 10-11 JULY TBC Livestream all the action of MotoAmerica Rd7 from Laguna Seca. It ain’t free though; cost is $US12.99 for the round. Head to the website (above) and you can purchase a package, which will get yout six to eight hours of live coverage per day. 03 Flight Mode by Tom Pages Red Bull TV ON DEMAND Anytime In this short movie, FMX rider Tom Pages…

I’VE JUST GOT back to Perth after a big weekend at the Darwin round of ASBK where I qualified 13th and finished 11th overall with a 13-13-12 result in the races. It was a big effort it get it all done (a round trip of over 7500km). Tim Simmons (Dynapumps/VRT Signs Racing team owner) and young WA Supersport rider William Wasley did the big drive. As I write this they are just about on the final leg back to Perth. We looked at various options, including freighting the Yamaha YZF-R1 and all the race gear up there but the costs were prohibitive, to say the least. Tim and I looked at sharing the driving but work commitments didn’t allow for that. Initially it was probably going to be Will’s dad…

AUGUSTO FERNANDEZ (AJO Kalex) showed he is the form man in Moto2 by fighting through to a second straight victory that saw him draw level at the head of the championship for the first time. The race was hectic early as Alonso Lopez (Speed Up Boscoscuro) led the opening seven laps, while big mistakes on laps one and two dropped fancied runner Ai Ogura (HTA Kalex) to 15th, three places behind slow-starting championship leader Celestino Vietti (VR46 Kalex). Behind Lopez, Aspar Kalex men Jake Dixon and Albert Arenas fought among a lead group that also included Fernandez, Marcel Schrotter (IntactGP Kalex), Bo Bendsneyder (SAG Kalex) and Cameron Beaubier (American Racing Kalex). Schrotter hit the front on lap eight before crashing out at Strubben. Arenas briefly took over at the head…

SERIES ORGANISER DORNA launched a survey for fans to complete during the German GP. Within, viewers and fans were asked whether they would like to see a shake up to the structure of a race weekend, with fresh ideas like points awarded for qualifying results, and shorter sprint races held alongside the main event. On the possibility of changing how points are awarded in the series, Monster Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo said, “I think qualifying is good because it’s only a few laps and then we decide in the race as I think this is quite a mythical part of a weekend. So I think about sprint race is not a great idea. “Maybe the only thing I can say is put an extra point like Formula 1 for the fastest…

IT WAS THREE from three again in the Cully’s Yamaha Supersport races, courtesy of Bronson Pickett (Yamaha YZF-R6). He didn’t have it all his own way in the first race, with Paul Joshua (YZF-R6) leading for most of it, only to be pipped on the line. To add to his woes, Joshua was then disqualified from the race over a scrutineering incident. Lachlan Hickey (Kawasaki ZX-6R) was second with Sammy Lloyd-Cox (Suzuki GSX-R600) in third place. Pickett, Hickey and Joshua took the top three placings in Race 2 and then repeated it in Race 3. Pickett leads the series on 215 points, with Hickey on 190 and Joshua on 144.…