Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol 72 Issue 18 i Australian Motorcycle News

“EVEN ANOTHER 80HP WOULDN’T HAVE HELPED ME KEEP UP WITH SOME OF THE FAST BLOKES” HOW MUCH power does anyone really need? That’s a question I asked myself after testing Triumph’s new Street Triple 765 RS the other day, and I guess the answer depends on where you’re riding, and who you’re riding with. While even another 80hp wouldn’t have helped me to keep up with some of the fast blokes on track at the Street Triple launch down at The Bend, the 765’s 128hp and 80Nm was certainly more than enough for the road. It’s so flickable, thanks to its light weight, well sorted suspension and wide handlebar, that it’s a bagful of laughs on any twisty road, or on the racetrack. Another midsize nakedbike I’m itching to get…

WE’VE ALL seen leathers with airbags working in racing formulas like MotoGP. Now Honda wants to go one step further, mounting them on a motorcycle but getting them to activate like airbag-equipped clothing. It has applied for a host of new patents that address the slow take-up from road riders for this type of protective clothing. Similarly, the idea of equipping motorcycles with airbags has failed to gain traction across the industry, even though it’s been well over a decade since Honda introduced this technology on its Goldwing. Now Honda plans to cross the boundary between those two safety strategies, mounting airbags on its bikes but intending them to behave more like airbag-equipped clothing. It is developing an airbag that bursts out of the bike’s seat – either ahead of…

FOLLOWING ON from our report about CFMoto’s XO Papio (AMCN Vol 72 No 15), we can now reveal the full details of this miniature marvel. What looks like a scaled-down 1980s endurance racer is powered by the 126cc, air-cooled single-cylinder from the existing Papio, which is a more conventionally styled Honda Grom rival. However, the frame and swingarm are new, along with an inverted front fork. Clever styling reflects the ‘XO’ name in several places, including the headlights. Fairing panels are removable and can be swapped out. Two versions are offered in China and they are incredibly cheap, with the higher-spec one (more colour options and ABS disc brakes) selling for just $A2300. Incidentally, Papio means baboon, giving a clear nod to Honda’s Monkey, Ape and Gorilla models.…

Ducati’s first Monster arrived 30 years ago, back in 1993. I fondly remember seeing it in magazines for the first time, a refreshingly simple and classy naked with that familiar trellis chassis and an air-cooled V-twin engine. It was minimalist and in principle just a collection of bits from the Ducati parts bin – but it worked. This was excellent news for Ducati, as the Monster helped the Italian firm through difficult financial times. I’ve ridden almost every incarnation of the Monster, from air- to water-cooled and rode my own early Monster 600 to Italy when I was young enough not to know better. Now all those trellis frames and air-cooled engines are long gone because Ducati only produces one Monster, launched in 2021 which uses the 82kW (111hp) 937cc…

To improve the old/current 2022 Street Triple was a difficult task, but Triumph has. The new RS is sportier, livelier, racier, more aggressive and so good around Jerez I want to fit some cheap bodywork and race it. Tweak the suspension and it’s a true track tool with a comfortable seat and relaxed riding position. It’s so good, it in part at least, fills in that large gap left by true supersport bikes. Triumph hasn’t sacrificed any of the Street Triple’s road-going prowess in the process. It’s still an excellent everyday machine that is easy to ride, terrific fun in town, sounds wonderful and looks great. Build quality is noticeably good, too, and $20,590 for the RS feels more than reasonable value. After all, not many bikes can commute to work…

It’s been 21 years since the first V-Strom rolled onto Aussie shores and in that time, it has earned a reputation as a comfortable and dependable adventure tourer. But up until now the V-Strom has carried itself with a definite road-riding bias, and a lack of ground clearance, suspension travel and a bulging waistline have resigned it to soft-roading duties. Enter the 2023 V-Strom 1050DE, a V-Strom that now sports a bunch of changes aimed at giving Suzuki’s mighty V-twin all-roader greater off-road chops. Although it’s considered the fourth generation V-Strom, it’s more of an evolution of the V-Strom 1050XT of 2020-2022 than it is an all-new model. The Euro 5-compliant 1037cc, 90° V-twin engine remains unchanged except for a set of sodium-filled exhaust valves which are used to reduce…

It’s common for season previews to assert MotoGP is back and bigger than ever. But that’s really the case in 2023. In terms of competition, the series has never been bigger. Not only are 21 full races penned in, the longest calendar in history, with faraway, first-time stop-offs in Kazakhstan and India; the introduction of MotoGP Sprint swells the schedule to levels of intensity never seen before. A short Saturday race (run at half distance of the Sunday’s Blue Ribbon event) at each round means riders face a whopping 42 races over a hectic nine months where a grand total of 777 points are on offer (that’s 277 more than 2022). The 21 rounds that lie ahead in 18 different countries will be a challenge like no other. Little wonder…

LAST YEAR Aprilia won its first MotoGP race and the RS-GP was probably the second-best motorcycle on the grid after the Ducati, so can the little Noale factory catch the Bologna giants in 2023? “Our 2023 bike is better everywhere,” said lead rider Aleix Espargaro. “The aerodynamics are better, the chassis is a bit lighter and turns a bit better, thanks to the new aero, and the engine is slightly faster. But I’m not sure it will be enough. After Ducati we aren’t bad, but all their riders are very fast.” There’s little doubt Aprilia and Ducati currently build the best bikes, largely because they have embraced downforce aerodynamics, hiring Formula 1 aerodynamicists to unlock the secrets of this hugely important new area of performance. “The engineers have done a…

KTM, LIKE Honda, has a lot of catching up to do. The Austrian factory is certainly throwing huge resources at MotoGP, hiring more engineers from Ducati (who obviously bring Ducati’s secrets with them) and working with the Red Bull Formula 1 team to take the fight to Aprilia and Ducati in the aerodynamics war. KTM has made so many changes for 2023 – new chassis, new engine, new aero – that the RC16 didn’t fly in pre-season testing, but so long as engineers keep moving forward perhaps the squads will be in better shape when the racing gets underway. Therefore, testing has been complicated for KTM, especially for lead rider Brad Binder, who won KTM’s first MotoGP victory in his rookie season back in 2020. “We’ve tried a lot of…

I’m not into pink riding gear, in fact I’ll go to great lengths to avoid it, but the features and mostly-grey colour scheme of Sidi’s Meta riding shoe convinced me to not only put my grudges aside and try them on, but to pull my wallet out and put my money where my mouth is. I opted for the Sidi over its rival brands for a couple of reasons. Firstly, styling; I still wanted it to look like a proper riding shoe. Those ones that go to great lengths to look like a casual high-top skate shoe are clever, but they’re not my bag. Nor did I want the extreme look of a short race-style boot, complete with toe sliders and sewn-on plastic protectors all over a leather shoe. And…

“IT’S GREAT TO BE FINALLY DICING WITH THE GREATS OF ASBK – IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING” PHILLIP ISLAND was a pretty wild time for me and the Unitech Superbike team. Thankfully, it ended very well thanks to their hard work. At one point we had electronic problems with both of our bikes, and were unsure whether we would walk away with any points at all. To fix all those problems and pull it out of the fire to finish sixth has been a big boost to my confidence and the team’s momentum heading into the next ASBK round in Sydney. It’s great to be finally dicing with the greats of ASBK – it’s been a long time coming. The biggest pivot was switching from the Suzuki to the…

Full feature next issue! And it’s a cracker! Will GasGas evolve into an on-road manufacturer? For sure, yes. Using the same model platforms as KTM? It depends – this is a younger audience, remember, but we are only at the starting line. We tried it very fast with the LC4 platform, but maybe that was wrong because we are dominating that segment anyway – it’s our home turf, and in creating more complexity you’re competing against yourself. But for sure, sooner or later you will see a street-legal GasGas supermoto or nakedbike, and this brand will also enter the middleweight twin-cylinder class in the short term, too. So was this the point of going Moto3 racing in 2022, and dominating it – it was a rather successful venture, with GasGas riders…

The smaller models in BMW’s range are about to get the same ShiftCam variable valve timing and lift system used in its R 1250 boxer twins and S 1000 RR inline four. It’s not clear whether the ShiftCam single will replace the 310cc engine in the current G-series BMW models or if it’s intended for a larger-capacity single-cylinder. A super single would plug the substantial gap between the G-series and the 853cc F-series parallel twins. The advantages of the Jekyll-and-Hyde ShiftCam system design are a torquey, less polluting engine at low revs with a performance boost at high revs. A new patent application shows a version mirroring that used in the R 1250 boxer twins. The intake camshaft can slide laterally to bring either a low-rpm lobe or a more…

Chinese powerhouse CFMoto is planning a 675cc three-cylinder to complement the proposed 1250cc V-twin streetfighter and 1000cc, 150kW V4 superbike we’ve already reported on (AMCN Vol 72 No 15). This is all part of an aggressive expansion into international markets that also includes significant updates to existing models. Just one of these is the Australian release of its $16,490 (ride away) 800MT Explore, a ‘flagship variant’ that comes with a retuned version of the 799cc parallel-twin engine, eight-inch multimedia interface, stability and traction control, along with blind-spot, lane-change-assist and rear-collision-warning radar as well as six riding modes. MATCHING THE CAPACITY OF THE OLD TRIUMPH 675 MODELS AND MV’S FIRST F3 Behind the scenes CFMoto has quietly filed a patent application describing a three-cylinder engine that, from the illustrations, appears based…

2016 YAMAHA VMAX FULL TEST: AMCN VOL 67 NO 02 BACKGROUND Yamaha debuted the ground-breaking 1200cc V-Max in Las Vegas way back in 1984, trumping anything at the time in terms of grunt and straight-line acceleration. The V4 format was chosen for its echoes of American V8 muscle cars and its 108kW (144hp) peak power figure was unimaginable at the time. It remained relatively unchanged right through to 2009, when it became the 1679cc VMAX and, as a result of increasingly strict emission rules, had quietly disappeared by 2017. ENGINE ROOM The 1679cc 65º V4 engine was fed by fuel injection and employed Yamaha’s innovative Yamaha Chip Controlled Intake system which varied the length of the intake trumpets depending on how many revs you fed it. With 147kW (197hp) of…

SP DUCATIS have always equated to something a little special, and still do today. The usual process involves taking the base model and adding premium suspension and brakes and reducing weight – which is precisely what it has done with the Monster SP. SP models are still sought after today, and the Monster SP is the ‘entry-level’ SP. But if you want something a little different, Ducati’s Hypermotard is available in SP livery ($28,900) and shares the same 937 Testastretta as the Monster. Above that, you are going to have to dig deep, with the Ducati Streetfighter V4 SP2 ($48,400) and Panigale V4 SP2 ($56,900) significantly costlier SP models.…

THE NEW season sees the introduction of a unified tyre pressure monitoring system for all bikes which should see riders punished for any infringements. Minimum pressure limits (1.9 bar [27.5psi] for the front tyre, 1.7 bar [24.6psi] for the rear) existed last year; but each manufacturer had its own means of measuring it, meaning there was no guarantee the data was aligned or hadn’t been tampered with. It’s believed many of last year’s race winners were victorious with front tyre pressures under the specified limit. That’s set to change. Should a rider’s tyre pressure drop below the required amount for a certain period of time in practice or qualifying, they’ll have the lap time cancelled. If it’s below a certain level over a certain period in a race, a rider could…

DUCATI HAD a huge technical advantage last year and it’s hard to see any factory bettering the Desmosedici this season. The GP22 had multiple race-winning features: stunning braking, acceleration and top-speed, plus a rider-friendly character, so eight different riders could take it to the limit. The GP23 seems to be better in all departments, which is why reigning world champion Pecco Bagnaia was a happy man during pre-season testing. “I feel great with the new bike and its potential is very high,” he said. “We have more top speed with the new engine; something we don’t need but it’s always helpful. At first we struggled with power delivery – it was difficult to use full throttle because the bike was moving and sliding a lot, but then we made a…

YAMAHA FINDS itself in a complicated position this year. It has only two riders in MotoGP, instead of four, and the M1 is the only inline-four on a grid otherwise populated entirely by V4s. The V4s have more horsepower, while inline-fours are usually faster around corners – but they can’t use their sweeping lines if there are a few V4s in the way. This has forced Yamaha to work hard in two main areas: increasing the M1’s straight-line speed, and adapting its chassis so riders can fight with their V4 rivals in corners. The factory’s 2021 MotoGP king Fabio Quartararo is happy enough with progress, with Yamaha halving the M1’s speed deficit at Sepang, from 4.1km/h last year to 2.1km/h. “Already everything is looking much, much better than last year,”…

There’s no doubt in the past, flip-up modular helmets have accompanied grey moto-nomads like fedora hats accompany insta-influencers… they seem an inseparable pairing. But things are changing and the latest Sportmodular from Italian manufacturer AGV is no doubt leading the way. At just 1295g, and made from carbon fibre, this lightweight lid has got to be one of the safest offerings in the world of modular helmets. What is immediately noticeable is the hingeing helmet does not look or feel anything like its bulky predecessors of yesteryear. Gone are the days of bulging pivot-points adorning a weighty dome – in fact the Sportmodular doesn’t even look like a flip-up lid. This was proven on AMCN’s recent nakedbike test when my fellow two-wheeled explorers commented on the attractiveness of my new…

1 WHAT’S THE VECTOR, HECTOR? Whites Powersports From $429 (03) 8720 6000 whitesmoto.com.au The LS2 Vector II Techbot helmet has a fibreglass composite shell, available in three sizes, and a multi-density EPS layer. It also has a removable and washable hypoallergenic liner, laser-cut foam, a chin curtain and a UV-, scratch- and fog-reistant visor. A Pinlock Max Vision is included. 2 LOOK DOWN AT THE STARS Moto National $249.95 (07) 3120 4228 falcoboots.com.au No one will miss you in a pair of these striking Falco Starboy 3 Fluro Yellow boots. They feature a Micro-Synth upper and Air-Tech ventilated inserts, as well as D30 ankle cups for protection, a laces closure, an inner cuff sock lining and a groovy translucent rubber sole. Men’s sizes 42-47. 3 SAND BAGS Kriega Australia From…

“IT’S STILL ALL GUESSWORK FOR THE 2023 SEASON. BUT HERE ARE 13 QUESTIONS THAT WILL NEED TO BE ANSWERED” CAN MARQUEZ win again? Time waits for no man; genius will not be denied. Can Marc Marquez, 30 this year, find the motivation to resist the same tide of youth that eventually did for Rossi. I’d guess yes. Is Joan Mir the teammate to challenge the master? Dominant in Moto3, impressive in Moto2, champion in MotoGP… in 2020, with just one win, and none since – outshone by Suzuki teammate Alex Rins. Repsol Honda team guru Alberto Puig chose Mir over Rins. Plenty to prove. Can Honda reverse the slump? New tech staff – including ex-Suzuki guru Ken Kawauchi; new evolution, including catch-up ground-effect aero… HRC will be stronger this year…

LAST YEAR, CFMoto’s all-electric sub-brand Zeeho showed a maxi-scooter concept dubbed Magnet. Now it looks headed for production with a patent application showing a more real-world version of the machine. Styling and dimensions share key elements with the concept, including the single-sided swingarm, inverted fork and superbike-style dual radial-mount front brake calipers. However, it also has a much more production-style battery pack and rear suspension. A chunky alloy casting doubles as the scooter’s structural centre, with bolt-on tubular subframes front and rear to hold the steering head and seat unit. It’s a solution a growing number of electric bikes are adopting, notably the upcoming LiveWire ‘Arrow’ platform, which debuts with the Del Mar, and in Bombardier’s new range of CanAm electric bikes. CFMoto has also used the same solution for its…

Starts with service I noted with interest that Aprilia has dropped prices on some models. I live in Western Australia, where we have only one dealer and service centre, and I own a Tuono 660. It’s a great bike, but between a 400km round trip to the dealer, and said dealer being hard to deal with, I buy my parts from my next closest dealer, which is 2350km away in Adelaide (great service and great staff). Aprilia would sell more bikes in WA if they at least had a few service locations in a few major centres around the state. Three of my mates would buy a 660 but the lack of service centres and my experience with the only dealer has put them off. There would be no need…

It’s time to say goodbye to the Royal Enfield Classic 350, which we originally put on the AMCN Living With fleet in July of last year, not long after the bike’s local launch. That launch was held on the hills outside of Melbourne and, from all reports, it was a fast-paced affair. That is not what the Classic 350 is all about, so we thought we’d grab one for a few months and subject it to some more sedate cruising. Well, cruising is how our time the Classic started out. Kel selected a few accessories to have fitted to the bike – rider and pillion touring seats, a rear rack and a touring windshield – and then she used it for local rides not far from home, reporting that for…

If you think too much power is never enough, you obviously haven’t tasted a new Triumph Street Triple 765 RS. Sure, compared to litre-class machines, this midsize naked makes a relatively modest 96kW (128hp), but thanks to a broad spread of torque throughout the rev range, peaking at a handy 80Nm at 9500rpm, on the road it rarely feels as though it’s lacking in the grunt department. Big claim, for sure, but I feel reasonably qualified to make it, doing so just a couple of weeks after testing way more potent litre-class (and above) nakedbikes, including the 147kW (197hp) Kawasaki Z H2, the 129kW (173hp) Aprilia Tuono Factory V4 and Triumph’s own 132kW (177hp) Speed Triple RS (see next issue for details). But seriously, how much power do you really…

Ducati has led the way technologically for the last few seasons, with the fastest engine, aided by game-changing downforce aerodynamics. This year is significant because it’s the first time that every factory on the grid is using ground-effect aero, 50 years after the technology arrived in Formula 1 cars. There are two types of ground-effect fairings in MotoGP: those with diffuser ducts and those with flat-sided lowers designed to run parallel to the track. The idea of both is to accelerate the airflow between the fairing and the ground at full lean. This creates a low-pressure area, so the atmospheric pressure pushes the motorcycle into the asphalt, increasing grip and therefore improving turning. Other big changes in MotoGP this year are Saturday’s half-distance sprint races and the introduction of minimum-pressure…

No one can accuse Jack Miller of shying away from a challenge. The Australian fronts up to one of the biggest of his career in 2023, joining KTM after a five-year spell at Ducati, the marque that conquered all before it last year. If preseason is anything to go by, the Austrian factory still has some catching up to do. But it’s a task the 28-year-old is relishing. For the first time in six seasons, Miller enters the first race knowing his future for the following season is already sorted. The two-year deal on offer to partner Brad Binder in KTM’s factory squad for 2023 and 2024 was one of several reasons he returns to the marque where he fnished second in the 2014 Moto3 world title. It’s clear to…

Aussie sunglasses company UglyFish is celebrating its 20th year. I bought my first pair of UglyFish Motorcycle Glasses more than 10 years ago and was impressed by them from the outset. Features of the UglyFish moto range include super-tough polycarbonate lenses to protect your eyes from stones and the like, foam inserts to keep the wind (and bugs) out while riding, and removable temples (arms) that can be replaced with a supplied elastic strap for a more secure fit. My original UglyFish sunnies are the Glide model with the standard smoke lenses. One of the logos has gone AWOL and there are a few scratches on the frame, but other than that they are still going strong. This time around, however, I opted to try the Rocket frame with transitioning…

“IT GOT ME THINKING ABOUT THE TWO NATIONS AND WHAT KIWIS CALL ‘THE BACK COUNTRY’ AND AUSSIES CALL ‘THE OUTBACK’” I’D JUST returned from a week or so riding in a big loop around New Zealand’s South Island to hear the news that the Voice to Parliament referendum had finally been launched. It got me thinking about the two nations and what Kiwis call “the Back Country” and Aussies call “the Outback”. Both are experienced best from the vantage point of a motorcycle. Both are similar, but different. New Zealand’s Southern Alps, with its snow-capped peaks (even at the height of summer) and its “braided rivers” that are fed by pre-historic glaciers, dominate the skyline. The time I was there torrential rain on the West Coast temporarily closed the tourist…

THE WORLDSBK championship kicked off at Phillip Island with only 11 of the 12 rounds confirmed, but just as the paddock was arriving in Mandalika for Round 2 the worst kept secret of the season was confirmed – the paddock’s off to Imola again. For some, Imola is as much a temple to motorcycle sport as Assen is. A unique parkland rollercoaster that is the Italian version of all those other magnificent old-school ‘nature parks’ like Laguna Seca, Brands Hatch and BSB’s Cadwell Park. But for others Imola is anachronistic, too sketchy and just too much in 2023. The last time MotoGP raced at the circuit was way back in 1999. The local authorities, which are in ultimate control as the underwriters and paymasters in many cases, were of the…

RACERS CAME from as far away as Adelaide and Townsville to the Bathurst Showground for what many look on as a ‘mustdo’ meeting when the 2023 Long Track Masters meeting was staged on 4 March. Fans also turned up in big numbers and, while some late afternoon rain delayed proceedings as extensive track work was needed, the post-rain excitement proved as good as there had been during the day and the 119-event program was completed, albeit later than originally planned. The vast majority of races across all 15 classes of competition produced close racing, and if there was not a battle for the lead there was a battle somewhere near the front of the pack. Constant changing of positions was the norm and there were a number of races so…