Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol 72 Issue 14 i Australian Motorcycle News

“AS WELL AS THE PHYSICAL TOLL, THERE HAVE BEEN HUGE MENTAL CHALLENGES TO OVERCOME” TALK ABOUT down to the wire! After two weeks of intense battle in the deserts of Saudi Arabia, Toby Price brought his KTM home in second place just just 43 seconds behind teamate Kevin Benavides, meaning an elusive third Dakar crown remains out of reach. “Yeah, hard to take at the moment, but at the end of the day I’m going home in one piece, and we got a Dakar trophy,” Toby lamented at the finish line in Dammam. Although Toby has won the Dakar twice before, he certainly knows what it’s like to not go home in one piece, DNFing in 2017 after crashing and breaking his leg, winning the 2019 edition with a broken…

“We'll see if we can come back next year stronger”Toby Price aft er missing out on his third Dakar winner's trophy by just 43 seconds. Read the full report on the event's closest finish on page 104. -20 China’s zero-Covid strategy, which has shut down major cities, has resulted in a 20 percent decline in motorcycle sales for 2022. However, overall sales still exceeded 15 million. PHEW HUGH The caption slipped down the page to the wrong image on our 40th BEARS feature last issue. Hugh Anderson was the man to beat in the Best of British class on this Rob North-framed BSA Rocket 3. MENTAL TWISTIES Well done to Ross Philip from Heathcote, NSW, who not only correctly identified last issue’s changes to the epic vintage trials image but…

Royal Enfield is fast-tracking its entry into electric motorcycles by investing and collaborating with European performance pioneer Stark Future SL. Eicher Motors, RE’s parent company, has taken a 10.35 percent stake in the Spanish company by investing $78m and nominating a director to its board. Stark recently launched its first high-performance electric motocross bike, the VARG. Its electric powertrain could be adapted to street models. The deal paves the way for a long-term partnership in collaborative research and development, technology sharing, technical licensing and manufacturing. Eicher Motors Ltd Managing Director, Siddhartha Lal said: “Stark Future has been able to understand and harness the potential of EV technology by dramatically outperforming ICE (combustion engine) offerings without compromising on range, weight, packaging and cost.” Stark Future Founder and CEO, Anton Wass, said:…

LETTER OF THE ISSUE Fat lotta good Howdy. I have a Harley-Davidson Fat Bob and it was made in 2008 – way before 2018. It is probably the best bike I have owned in my 50-plus years of riding. Those bikes include a Ducati 1098, an MV Agusta F4, a Norton Atlas, a Triumph Bonneville – all great, but if it’s a long trip then the Fat Bob does it. Wayne Nikitin via email Pete was referring specifically to the Softail Fat Bob (AMCN Vol 72 No 13), not the earlier Dyna Fat Bob. We should have made that clear. Deano Figuratively speaking I think I’ve turned into a bit of an old man and have started to read the comparo spec sheets. The latest review of the BMW M…

Developed at Royal Enfield’s UK Technology Centre at Bruntingthorpe, the twin-cylinder engine measures 78mm x 67.8mm and carries a single gear-driven counterbalancer to reduce vibration. The 270º crankshaft is a forged one-piece item for extra strength and durability, and it’s so over-engineered you can well imagine it was built for eventual use in larger capacity engines – only not just yet. The fuel-injected engine employing a Bosch ECU produces a claimed 34.6kW (46.3hp) at 7250rpm at the crankshaft, while maximum torque of 52.3Nm is delivered at 5650rpm – 400 higher than on the earlier 650 twins. However, RE's chief engineer Paolo Brovedani declares there to be no mechanical differences between the engine’s different applications, only that on the Super Meteor the airbox and exhausts are all-new, which with revised mapping for…

BMW S 1000 RR M SPORT 999cc, 154kW (209.4hp) and 113Nm $38,318.62 (ride away) DUCATI PANIGALE V4 S 1103cc, 158.5kW (215.5hp) and 123.6Nm $43,900 (ride away) HONDA CBR1000RR-R SP 999.9cc, 160kW (217.5hp) and 113Nm $52,999 (plus on-road costs) KAWASAKI ZX-10RR 998cc, 156.8kW (213.2hp) and 114.9Nm $42,160 (plus on-road costs) SUZUKI GSX-R1000R 999.8cc, 148.6kW (202hp) and 117.6Nm $26,490 (ride away) YAMAHA YZF-R1M 998cc, 147kW (199.9hp) and 112Nm $37,849 (ride away)…

Australian Electric Motor Co was appointed as the sole Australian distributor for Energica motorcycles and has been working hard jumping through Australian Design Rules (ADR) hoops to finally make the products legal on Australian roads. According to Australian Electric Motor Co’s managing director, Tobin Page, the whole process of getting the first Energicas through the ADR minefield took in excess of 12 months and many, many thousands of dollars. But finally, in October 2022 the first bunch of bikes was approved, including the Ego and Ribelle. And so recent was the achievement that both bikes still wore trade plates when I picked them up. The Electric Motor Co is located in Burleigh Heads in Queensland and sells a number of other electric bike brands alongside its range of Energica missiles.…

THE 16-valve DOHC wet sump Birrell-tuned engine was ‘a soft er spare motor we just had lying around’ but still with all the good stuff from Gilesy’s regular race powerplant which uses standard crankcases like these. The engine measures 75 x 66mm for 1294cc (versus the stock 1074cc Katana’s 72 x 66mm dimensions), and has been bored and sleeved to carry forged JE pistons from California fitted to a stock welded and rebalanced crank and conrod assembly from a GSX1000S, which was a special-edition Katana variant built with racing in mind. The small ends are bronze bushed to combat heat. The stock cylinder head has been CNC ported and flowed to deliver a stronger, more aggressive punch, albeit with a surprisingly moderate 11.2:1 compression ratio and carrying oversize stainless-steel valves:…

TOP THREE TV 1 2023 AMA SX, Rd3, LIVE Foxsports, Kayo & Video Pass 22 JANUARY Check website and local guides It has all started again: the world’s most competitive supercross title, with Aussie Jett Lawrence already getting a dream start to the West Coast 250 title on his HRC machine. 2 Feature film: Tourist Trophy ttplus.iomttraces.com ON DEMAND A film about the passion of the riders who compete at the Isle of Man TT. Featured riders include newcomer Glenn Irwin, TT legend John McGuinness and Peter Hickman. Free on TT+, the official digital streaming channel for the Isle of Man TT. 1996 WorldSBK, Donington Park Fox Sports & Kayo ON DEMAND Corser, Crafar, Slight and Gobert. How’s that for a Superbike World Championship front-row? That’s how they started at…

DESPITE HOLDING a 12sec lead after the penultimate stage of the 2023 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, Australian Toby Price was unable to claim victory for the third time as factory KTM teammate Kevin Benavides went onto claim the spoils by 43 seconds after the positions were reversed in the final stage. American Skyler Howes (Husqvarna) finished third overall, just over five minutes behind Benavides. The win restores KTM to the Dakar winner’s list for the first time since 2019, while it’s Benavides’ second victory after his 2021 success on a factory Honda. For the 45th edition of the New Year’s motorsport spectacular, the Amuary Sport Organisation (ASO) had plotted an event of epic magnitude: an 8000km marathon traversing the inhospitable sandy wilderness linking the Red Sea with the Gulf…

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… and as well as avoiding all and sundry over the Chrissie break so you don’t cop a dose of Covid before the trip of a lifetime to the subcontinent, also applying for your visa with plenty of time to spare, hey PV? It looks like you’re on light duties for a few months to make up for it.…

PICKER CASHES OUT American Pickers TV star Mike Wolfe is selling 60 vintage motorcycles, half of his collection, to fund his new interest in pre-1920s models. NEW HARLEY HEAVEN An amphitheatre with room for up to 700 motorcycles will be built as part of the revamp of Harley-Davidson’s Milwaukee HQ for its 120th anniversary this year. BIKE BOOM OVER Interest rate rises and supply chain issues are blamed for a 19.8 percent decrease in Aussie motorcycle sales in 2022. SCHOOL DUNCE An SUV has hit a motorcycle in the Philippines, ridden by a 12-year-old boy taking four pillion passengers, aged 5, 8, 9 and 10, to school.…

THE YEAR WAS… DOOM AND GLOOM Thirteen years ago, there was a fair bit of doom and gloom in the pages of AMCN, as the world attempted to pull itself from the dreaded Global Financial Crisis. Bike sales were down, R&D budgets were cut and Kawasaki had packed up and sent its MotoGP bikes back to Japan to be shredded. At a time when people needed the comforts in life, the Kevin Rudd-led Australian government introduced new pornography restrictions, and researchers discovered that humans had cross-bred with Neanderthals in the past – so some of those people who act like Neanderthals probably are. And if all that wasn’t bad enough, boy band One Direction formed on 23 July. It wasn’t all bad news though, Australia appointed its first female prime…

FACEBOOK Post of the issue INSTAGRAM Don’t Forget #amcn_mag Comment of the Issue Aaron Barker reckons we’ve already seen superior fixed wings over 100 years ago! “The Wright Brothers did it better” 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 it! Head to www.facebook.com/aumotorcyclenews AMCN’S WEBSITE IS THE PLACE TO BE! Get all the latest motorcycle news and reviews of your favourite bikes…

“In my previous roles I ended up doing a lot of research into the custom scene. When I came to Royal Enfield, there was an opportunity to have a more direct participation in the segment – it’s the bike I was hired to produce. “Our key objective was to design a proper cruiser, but we wanted to keep the approachability of Royal Enfield [and] that’s where the standard base model came in – fairly compact, wide ’bars, but not too much, comfortable seat, but not too big, just a good balance of attributes. And then the Tourer took the customer in a different direction. “Of course, this is our premium motorcycle, it’s the top of our range, and so we want to make sure you have all the details you…

WHETHER it’s because of having more power, revamped electronics, stronger brakes, a more responsive chassis with revised geometry that talks back to you, and winglets straight from the MotoGP paddock, the new 2023 S 1000 RR has a level of performance and a degree of electronic support which puts it on a whole new level compared to its 2019 forerunner. Riding it at Almería, a circuit I know well on which I’ve tested 500GP two-strokes and factory Superbikes alike, underlined its benefits. This is a motorcycle that it’s easier than ever to go fast on – but one on which the inevitable over-confidence this brings with it will pardon your mistakes in a way that’s almost uncanny. So when you get over-ambitious with your turn speed, and have to back…

In 2018 Dorna selected Energica as the sole manufacturer for the all-new MotoE World Cup series. From 2019 until 2022, the Italian company supplied Ego Corsas to the entire field. The Ego Corsa isn’t currently available to Australian customers, but according to the Australian importer there are a few MotoE racebikes for sale – POA! From 2023 onwards, Ducati will be the sole supplier of MotoE bikes and has released details of its new V21L MotoE prototype. With weight and range being such an issue with all two-wheeled EVs, Ducati has taken a slightly different approach to Energica. The V21L is said to run a battery that’s both smaller in size and capacity, and it follows the shape of the chassis rather than being a large brick shape like in…

MODEL 2021-23 Kawasaki ZR1000H (Z1000) IMPORTER Kawasaki Motors Pty Ltd NUMBER OF AFFECTED MOTORCYCLES 21 ISSUE Due to a manufacturing defect, the passenger seat strap may break during use and the occupant may lose balance. POTENTIAL HAZARD If the passenger seat occupant loses balance while the vehicle is in motion, there is a risk they may fall off the vehicle or destabilise the rider leading to an accident resulting in injury or death to the rider, passenger or bystanders. MODELS Kawasaki: 2014-17 H2R, 2017-22 H2R Carbon, 2018-22 H2 SX/SX SE+, 2019-22 H2 Carbon, 2020-23 Z H2, 2022 H2 SX IMPORTER Kawasaki Motors Pty Ltd NUMBER OF AFFECTED MOTORCYCLES 754 ISSUE Due to a manufacturing issue, the plunger in the camshaft chain tensioner may deteriorate over time and could become locked.…

If you’re thinking of purchasing an Ego+ RS but it’s just not narrow-focused or unique enough for you, then perhaps an Ego+ RS with a Corsa Clienti kit fitted is for you. The extensive performance kit can turn your new Ego into the closest thing you can get to a MotoE racer. The kit includes a race battery management system and firmware package, a Brembo radial brake master cylinder and larger, thicker but lighter T-drive 336mm front discs. You’ll get Marchesini forged aluminium wheels and a 520 chain conversion kit. There’s also CNC-machined aluminium triple clamps, race clipons, a front brake lever protection kit and rear seat cowl. But the really flash stuff is a FGRT 208 series fork and S46 rear shock from Öhlins, which is the same kit…

Ralph Hubert ‘Sonny’ Barger Jnr passed away on 29 June 2022 when, after previously surviving throat and prostate cancer, he lost his fight against liver cancer. Sonny was born on 8 October 1938 in the town of Modesto, California. His mother had Italian ancestors and when her family emigrated to America it was customary that the first-born son was named Sonny – but his father thought differently and named him Ralph Hubert, after himself. Sonny’s mother left when he was quite young and his dad, by then an alcoholic, worked on the roads and moved his family to Oakland where Sonny’s grandmother lived. Every Sunday she took the Barger children to the Pentecostal church where hell and damnation were preached. Together with his father and sister, he lived in a…

06 THINGS YOU NEED 1 TIMED TO PERFECTION Tissot $1200 (03) 8844 3302 tissotwatches.com/en-au The T-Race MotoGP Limited Edition, from the official timekeeper for MotoGP and WorldSBK, has a stucture that is inspired by the frame and other components of motorcycles. It’s water-resistant up to 100m, weighs 120 grams, has a wealth of displays and functions, and is limited to 4999 units worldwide. Looks great, too! 2 LOVE GLOVE Cassons Australia $139.95 (02) 8882 1900 cassonsmedia.com Ixon’s RS4 Air men’s and lady’s glove is a highly vented summer weight glove constructed using an abrasion resistant mesh, perforated goat leather palm, and carbon-look knuckle protection. In addition, the RS4 boasts a palm slider, reinforced palm, reinforced edging, short cuff and touchscreen sensitive index finger. 3 DARK AND STORMY Whites Powersports $239…