Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol 73 Issue 05 i Australian Motorcycle News

“DUCATI FOLLOWED HARLEY’S LEAD A YEAR LATER (CUE LAUGHTER AT THAT STATEMENT, TOO) ” I HAD a chuckle the other day when AMCN Road Test Editor Pete Vorst pointed out that “We live in a strange world where other manufacturers are playing catch-up to H-D.” Pete was referring to a Triumph press release about the Tiger 1200 range now scoring height-adjustable suspension to help make the big adventure bike range more accessible to those with short legs. Thanks to its trick semi-active Showa suspension, it was Harley-Davidson which was the first to market with this technology on its Pan America adventure bike that was launched in 2021. In the case of the Pan America, when fitted with Adaptive Ride Height, the bike lowers itself from 25-50mm by automatically reducing rear…

THE FIRST stage of the Australian Motorsport Innovation Precinct (AMIP) at Sydney Motorsport Park has officially opened with the $10 million trackside motorsport technology hub already home to a number of innovative businesses. Developed by The Australian Racing Drivers Club, with support and investment from the NSW Government, the precinct was inspired by the Silverstone Innovation Park Precinct at the iconic Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit in the UK, which houses more than 70 businesses specialising in engineering, electronics and soft ware development. AMIP is already home to an array of businesses leading the way in motorsport innovation, including Australian smart helmet manufacturer, Forcite, which has recently moved from Alexandria to its new design and testing HQ alongside the famous Sydney circuit.…

MUNRO INDUCTED New Zealand’s speed chasing icon Burt Munro has been inducted into the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame. ZARCO TO LCR Winless MotoGP veteran Johann Zarco has been thrown a lifeline as HRC grabs his experience to help steer the development of the new and improved RC213V. HARD TO BELIEVE Thursday 31 August marks 20 years since Reece Bancell lost his life in the final Supersport race at the then Eastern Creek Raceway. MANX LOSSES Two riders Gary Vines (33) and Ian Bainbridge (69) have been killed in separate incidents during qualifying at the 2023 Manx Grand Prix.…

HIGH-END HONDAS Honda announced its year 2000 range of production racers, with the NSR500 V-twin topping the lineup. The 500, including set-up kit, would have set you back just $182,000 (around $324,000 today); an RS250R was a tad less at $37,000 (almost $66,000 today); and the RS125R came with a price tag of $19,100 (around $34,000 in today’s coin). For those desiring a bit of Honda racing goodness but on a tight budget or really short legs, Big Red also offered the pint-sized NS50R for just $4850 ($8638). OH DEER! There were two spectacular crashes at the Czech Republic GP at Brno on 21-22 August. One, involving Jamie Whitham, caused a huge fireball, and the other saw the exit of 125cc rider Masao Azuma. Whitham high-sided his Modenas in the…

1 2023 MOTOGP, Rd11, LIVE Fox Sports, Kayo and Videopass 1-3 SEPTEMBER Check website and local guides Off to Barcelona as the second half of the season gets underway – and Bagnaia looking more ominous by the minute. Who can reign him in around the fantastic Catalunya circuit? 2 2023 SGP, Rd8, LIVE Fox Sports and Kayo 2 SEPTEMBER Check website and local guides The showpiece SGP round has been held at Millennium Stadium since 2001, with three Aussies – Crump on multiple occasions – managing to win the event. Can Doyle, Fricke or Holder do the business in 2023? 3 2023 WORLDSBK, Rd9, LIVE Fox Sports, Kayo and Videpass 8-10 SEPTEMBER Check website and local guides Off to Magny-Cours in France with Bautista holding all the aces but Razgatlioglu…

WITH SOME riding in India’s monsoon season on the horizon, Ixon’s Orion jacket looks just the ticket. As well as having good protection, it’s highly ventilated and comes complete with a lightweight waterproof over-jacket that you can throw on when Hughie sends her down. It landed in my letterbox this morning, so I’m yet to wear it on a bike, but I do know the sizing chart in the back of the Ixon catalogue is spot on, because it fits beautifully. The quality feels better than I was expecting it to and far better than the Ixon jacket I wore a few years ago. In terms of protection, there are CE-approved elbows and shoulders which all feel well positioned, but as is the norm these days there’s no back protector:…

EVERYTHING WAS IN place for a happy homecoming: many of the 93,519 fans in attendance holding aloft the Austrian flag, while members and top bosses looked on. Here was a stage for KTM to showcase its status as MotoGP’s coming force. And although Brad Binder’s (Red Bull KTM) spirited showing resulted in a pair of second places, management of the local manufacturer was made painfully aware that while KTM is not far off being top dog in MotoGP, there is still some way to go. While far from exciting, Francesco Bagnaia’s (Lenovo Ducati) second treble – pole position, Sprint and feature race wins – of his title defence was so dominant it was hard to envision any way back for his title pursuers. Having faced down KTM’s challenge in qualifying,…

HOW MANY ways can you contrive to not win a race? Japan’s Ayumu Sasaki (IntactGP Husqvarna) finds new means to do so after he failed to win a contest in which he led on the final lap for the fifth straight occasion. This time the Japanese rider appeared to have timed his late attack to perfection as he entered the downhill Turn 10 just ahead of Dani Holgado (Tech3 KTM), Deniz Oncu (Tech3 KTM) and polesitter Colin Veijer (IntactGP Husqvarna). But Holgado’s late lunge pushed both men wide, allowing Oncu through to pip the Spaniard by 0.005sec, with Sasaki third. It appeared far-fetched to think Sasaki would be in the victory fight at all after the lead group was splintered on lap four, as Jaume Masia’s Leopard Honda inexplicably cut out…

AUSTRALIAN SPEEDWAY rider Nick Morris will not be able to compete in the sport until at least July 2025. A British Speedway Control Bureau Disciplinary Hearing imposed a two-year suspension of Morris’ ACU Licence and his SCB Registration as well as fines and costs to the value of £1500 ($A2950). The penalties were imposed after Morris failed to comply with an antidoping test before a meeting at Birmingham on 12 July. As per regulations, a refusal to undergo anti-doping testing is regarded for the purpose of application of penalties as being identical to a positive test. Morris pleaded guilty to the charge of ‘Failing to provide a Specimen’, and the disciplinary panel took into consideration that early guilty plea and backdated the suspensions to be effective from 13 July. He has until…

I’m nearly 50. I remember Manx TT at TimeZone and that’s about it. Tell me about the MotoGP game and eSports… how does it all work? The game is called MotoGP23 and it’s a game licenced by Dorna. You have all the controls of a real motorcycle and change direction with an analogue joystick and the rest with the buttons. The controls are your triggers. Left trigger to brake, right trigger to accelerate. You can assign your buttons to change gear, set your ride-height device, your rear brake and rider weight. I started playing when I was younger and realised I was fast, so I just kept playing. These ‘races’ have become a massive event with Dorna backing. How does a race weekend work? You have to qualify by doing a…

LFC700’S FLIPPING MYSTERY CHINA’S BENDA grabbed international attention with the launch of its first four-cylinder bike – the crazy-looking LFC700 cruiser – and now an updated version is in the works. While the new model looks nearly identical to the original, the outline of a separate panel suggests it might incorporate flip-out winglets. Winglets are already an important styling and marketing element for many bikes, and the idea of active, flip-out ones could be even more tempting, especially to gadget-mad Chinese customers. BP BRIXTON STORR NEARS PRODUCTION LAST NOVEMBER Chinese-Austrian brand Brixton unveiled an adventure concept based on the 500cc Crossfire parallel-twin roadster – and now it looks like the production version will be unveiled later this year. Design patents have just been published in China by Gaokin, the company…

Only last month the specifications for Kawasaki’s upcoming pair of electric bikes – the naked Z E-1 and faired Ninja E-1 – were leaked in Australian type-approvals, but recently published European documents put the bikes’ rated continuous power output at just 5kW. That’s little more than half the number quoted on the Australian type-approval – 9kW – for the same bikes. The output discrepancy might be explained by the fact that the European approval shows the rated continuous power output, which is a figure that can be maintained indefinitely without overheating. On electric bikes, continuous output is often the number that is quoted and this can be as little as half the absolute maximum that can be achieved for short bursts of time. The continuous power output figure is used…

CFMOTO 800MT EXPLORE Engine 799cc parallel-twin Power 70kW (94hp) @ 9000rpm Torque 77Nm @ 7500rpm Weight 225kg (kerb, claimed) Seat height 825mm $16,490 (ride away) KAWASAKI VERSYS 1000 Engine 1043cc inline-four Power 88.2kW (118hp) @ 9000rpm Torque 102Nm @ 7500rpm Weight 255kg (kerb, claimed) Seat height 840mm $20,848 plus on-road costs MOTO GUZZI V85 TT Engine 853cc transversal V-twin Power 56kW (75hp) @ 7500rpm Torque 82Nm @ 5000rpm Weight 230kg (kerb, claimed) Seat height 830mm $22,730 ride away DUCATI MULTISTRADA V2 Engine 937cc V-twin Power 93kW (113hp) @ 9000rpm Torque 96Nm @ 7750rpm Weight 222kg (kerb, claimed) Seat height 830mm $23,800 ride away YAMAHA XT1200ZE SUPER TÉNÉRÉ Engine 1199cc parallel-twin Power 82.4kW (110hp) @ 7250rpm Torque 117Nm @ 6000rpm Weight 265kg (wet, claimed) Seat height 845-870mm $26,999 ride away…

Over the course of a 40-minute conversation, you’d be hard pressed to know Senna Agius is still in his teens. Fully engaged, forthright and completely self-assured, he carries the air of an athlete who has a lifetime of experience behind him, rather than just his 18 years. That’s one of the many reasons the rider from Camden, south west of Sydney, is destined for big things. After just three and a half years of living and competing in Europe, Agius is nailed on to win the European Moto2 Championship, triumphing in five of the six races he’s competed in to date. He has already impressed a host of world championship bosses thanks to an impressive string of replacement rides both last year and this. And Senna’s pinning his hopes on…

I BOUGHT MY RD350LC in early 1981 for around $2000, encouraged by Graeme, a non-riding motorcycle enthusiast with an encyclopaedic knowledge of grand prix racing and a gift for tuning engines. It was a step up from my first bike, a DT250cc Yamaha trail bike bought with money made from hay carting during school holidays. I joined Sandringham Motorcycle Club in Melbourne – though Graeme and I lived in a small country town in Gippsland – and in July 1981, we entered our first race meeting to compete in the second round of the new Milledge Yamaha RD-LC series at Calder Park Raceway. I finished 14th in a field of around 40 riders, but it was cold and damp and I dropped the bike at Repco Corner in the second…

I love a good-looking lid and I reckon the Bell Race Star DLX Flex is a ripper in the design department, especially in this restrained Labyrinth Gloss White/Black graphic that subtly shows off the 3k carbon fibre shell construction. That carbon fibre construction not only ensures optimum shell strength, but also means the Race Star DLX Flex weighs in at a light 1540g. This a premium helmet that’s designed to be used on the road and track, and as such it features a deep eye port with what Bell calls ‘RaceView’ orientation, so you can easily see what’s ahead of you even when your head is angled down in a racer crouch. As well as being deep, the eye port is also wide, offering excellent peripheral vision that is of…

1 ENTRY LID Moto National $199.95 1300 885 355 motonational.com.au Airoh’s Connor helmet features a wind tunnel-designed thermoplastic shell. It has a high-flow ventilation system with extraction ports, a multi-density EPS liner, and three shell sizes for a precise fit. The Connor also comes with a removable and washable hypoallergenic liner, and a scratch- and UV-resistant toolless visor. 2 COSY CLAWS Cassons Australia $439.95 (02) 8882 1900 cassonsmedia.com Ixon’s new IT-Yuga heated glove features a softshell upper, goat leather-reinforced palm, and a polar and micro fleece liner. The glove is also insulated and rainproof, so is already warm, cosy and comfortable independent of the Clim8 heating system that regulates warmth depending on the conditions. 3 TURN ON A DIME Pro Accessories $525 (07) 3277 0675 proaccessories.com.au The Ace Bikes U-Turn…

BAGNAIA may have eased to his fourth Sprint victory of the year ahead of a spirited Binder. But all talk surrounded Martin after the Spaniard was involved in two of the race’s big talking points. The first was triggered by Viñales’ miserable start off the front row. By the time he reached the first turn he pulled inside, where he found Quartararo and Martin to his right. As the Pramac Ducati touched the Frenchman, Viñales was pushed into Bezzecchi, Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati) and Miguel Oliveira (RNF Aprilia), who all went down, while Bastianini was pushed wide. Curiously the FIM Stewards declined to punish Martin there and then, preferring to wait until after the race, while they handed Quartararo a long-lap penalty immediately for a minor brush against Lorenzo Savadori…

AS THE BSB season heats up, the big news to drop prior to Thruxton was the announcement that the McAMS Yamaha team would be disbanding – leaving Aussie star Jason O’Halloran on the hunt for a 2024 ride. O’Halloran, who was having a lean 2023 until that point, then proceeded to decimate the field at the super-fast Thruxton circuit. The timing for that result couldn’t have been better, and the word is the O’Show has a new deal for next year almost complete – but it’s not a sideways shift to OMG racing (which has taken over as the official Yamaha factory-backed team). In fact, the rumour is he won’t be on a Yamaha at all. The McAMS team will most likely be sold off in bits and pieces, not…

JASON DOYLE has ensured that he will be part of the Speedway Grand Prix series in 2024 by winning the FIM Grand Prix Challenge Meeting in Gislaved, Sweden on 19 August. Doyle and Slovakian Martin Vaculik tied on 13 points, both from three wins and two seconds, before Doyle won the run-off after passing Vaculik on the opening lap. Polish rider Szymon Wozniak finished third to claim the other berth on offer in the 2024 line-up. Doyle, Vaculik and Lambert are all still battling for a top six spot in this year’s SGP series and, like several others, they contested the qualifying rounds as a ‘back-up’ plan. Currently Vaculik is third, Doyle fourth and Lambert eighth in the 2023 SGP title, so it will be only after the series is…

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 you’ve got a short memory and accept a job at a place you’ve already resigned from once before. Mind you, you did come back to AMCN after a hefty stint a couple of decades ago. Crikey, at this rate, you’ll be buying a pub in Central Victoria before you know it! Good luck, Mav… and thanks.…

“My sighting lap was very, very slow. I put neutral exiting from Turn 3 downhill to Turn 4. I also stopped the engine exiting from the last corner”Who said speed wins races? For Pecco Bagnaia in Austria, it was all about making sure there was enough juice at the end of the race so as to not have to change the mapping. 100 The Manx Grand Prix is celebrating its centenary this year and it was the evergreen John McGuinness who became the first rider to surpass the 110mph (177km/h) average speed over the Mountain Course on his Team Winfield Paton 500 during qualifying for the Classic Senior GP. MENTAL TWISTIES This one, unsurprisingly, stumped plenty! But not Max Harris from Hervey Bay in Queensland. 1. Pink clip 2. Bracket…

HONDA HAS filed patents for new mirrors that promise not only better rear vision, but also improved handling as well. The new design could be related to upcoming naked models including the expected next-generation CB1000R or a naked version of the Hawk 11 café racer, a Japan-only model based on the Africa Twin. The mirrors are mounted on stalks that bolt to the fork legs, just below the top yoke. That means they can be adjusted, but because they’re reflecting the slimmest part of the bike and rider they can be moved closer to the bike’s centreline without limiting vision. That gives an aerodynamic advantage compared to conventional ’bar-mounted mirrors, both in terms of outright frontal area but more importantly is means the wind blast hitting the mirrors has less…

AIR YOUR THOUGHTS OR VENT YOUR SPLEEN Access, AMCN, PO Box 6, Bittern, Vic, 3918 access@amcn.com.au LETTER OF THE ISSUE Listen up As it has done for the past 53 years since I started riding motorcycles, the perennial discussion concerning ‘loud pipes save lives’ continues. If loud pipes do in fact save lives, then let’s take things to their logical conclusion. Everyone get out the tools or credit cards and modify your exhaust systems or exchange them for aftermarket products. Having increased the noise of my Honda, I’ll also sort the Kia to make it ‘safer’. I doubt it will sound that great but apparently I’ll be better protected. There will, of course, be one small problem. With all vehicles making extra noise and being ‘safer’ the cacophony of sound…

Let’s get one thing straight: the Ducati Monster SP and the Triumph Street Triple 765 RS are midsize nakedbikes that are nothing like the ‘cheap and cheerful’ Japanese trio we tested last issue. Sure, the Honda Hornet, Suzuki GSX-8S and Yamaha MT-07 are fabulous bikes, but they are built to a price and can be described as modern interpretations of the Universal Japanese Motorcycle, and for that very reason they won’t appeal to everyone, especially those after something more exclusive… with more power, better handling, better braking and more tech. Luckily, there are several midsize nakedbike alternatives that will definitely up the ‘cheerful’ factor, even if they don’t come ‘cheap’. Two of those alternatives are the Ducati Monster SP and the Triumph Street Triple 765 RS. This pair of Euros…

WHEN FORMER AMCN editor Mike Hanlon reviewed the Yamaha RD350LC in February 1981, he compared it to the speed of light: “Light, being the fastest thing in existence, actually stops time … The RD350LC is almost that fast." Today, 40 years after it went out of production in 1983, the “Elsie” – as the bike was sometimes known – is a sought-after collector’s item, fetching many times its original price. So what made the bike, and its smaller 250cc sibling, so special? Release of the RD250/350LC was both a punt on the market and an end-of-era tribute to the light, fast and cheap two-stroke road bikes which had been popular in the 1970s, but by the 1980s were being outsold by four-strokes. Yamaha pitched the bike directly at the “teenage…

WITH WARM, dry weather already here I’ve added this pair of Motodry Denim Originals Jeans to my riding kit. Available in slim and regular fit, I went for the latter for obvious reasons, and was pleased to find they fit as comfortably as any non-riding-specific jeans. They are manufactured from tough 12oz stretch denim with the upper half lined with a Kevlar thread for extra abrasion resistance. There are easy access knee pockets that feature a hidden external zip so you can quickly remove and refit the supplied CE-1 approved knee protectors, and the protection pockets have a Velcro closure within so you can adjust the height of said knee protectors to suit your leg length. There are pockets for hip protectors as well, but the protectors themselves are optional…

THE FACT Pedro Acosta (Ajo Kalex) had a costume change planned for his slowdown lap indicated he thought a victory in front of the watching KTM bosses was a shoe in. Instead, the Spaniard’s celebrations carried a hollow air as Celestino Vietti (Fantic Kalex) came from 2.2sec back to claim one of the year’s more surprising victories. Acosta had swaggered his way through the weekend, claiming a dominant pole on Saturday. No one could match his speed early on as he quickly stretched out a 0.7sec advantage over Jake Dixon (Aspar Kalex), Ai Ogura (HTA Kalex) and Vietti within four laps. But Vietti soon showed his challenge was real. After disposing with the slowing Dixon on lap eight, the Italian soon passed Ogura. A gap of 1.5ecs lay between him…

JUDD PLAISTED has taken an emphatic clean sweep in the 160cc class, with Levi Russo doing the same in the 190cc class at the fourth round of the FIM MiniGP Australia Series, held at The Go Kart Club of South Australia’s Monarto circuit over 26-27 August. “This weekend was what I dreamed of, to have the series come to South Australia and win at a home round in front of friends and family, it gives me the motivation to keep on it,” Plaisted said after the double victory. With Plaisted on pole position, Archie Schmidt exploded off the line into the lead before crashing out on lap three in Race 1. After making it past Jake Paige, Plaisted had to bide his time behind Isaac Ayad, taking the lead in…