Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol 74 Issue 01 i Australian Motorcycle News

IN APRIL WE revealed Yamaha was developing a semi-automatic transmission with a pushbutton shifter and computer-controlled electromechanical clutch. Our prediction has been confirmed with Yamaha announcing it will be coming to a whole range of bikes in the near future. While Yamaha has yet to specify which models will be offered with the semi-auto box, it says the system is particularly suited to its crossplane engines. Those include the CP4 four-cylinder in the MT-10 and R1, the CP3 triple from the MT-09, XSR900 and Tracer 9, and the CP2 twin from the MT-07, R7, XSR700, Tracer 7 and Tenere 700. Yamaha’s patents showed the semi-auto box on the MT-07 and R7, both expected to get other updates for the 2025 model year, while the images released with the official announcement…

If you love your trackdays or want to step into racing and have a few dollars lying around, KTM’s RC 8C is a dream machine as it is the most focused and uncompromised production motorcycle that has ever been built for the racetrack. Why is it so good? As a trackonly model, it was never planned to be homologated for the road. Free of the compromises necessary to build a road-compliant sportsbike, the Austrian manufacturer, working in partnership with race specialist Kramer Motorcycles, could focus on one design intention: cutting awesome lap times around a MotoGP track like Phillip Island. Every aspect, right down to its adjustable steering head angle and special aero wings, exists to make it quicker apex to apex. This makes for a ride unlike anything you…

I ’ve ridden Harleys with the twin cooled 117ci (1923cc) Milwaukee-Eight donk before and then, just like now, it really impresses. It’s torquey and angry yet with a surprising amount of civility. This gives you the ability to ride in (relative) anonymity when needed, but also allows for that trademarked H-D noise and the ability to disturb the peace as need be. Mind you, the stock pipes look and sound remarkably grown-up… There are no prizes for guessing that torque is the star of the 117ci engine’s show. On paper, the ST’s 77kW (103hp) may not sound a lot but, with 167Nm backing it up, you can get the 327kg bike moving. FYI, that’s 17Nm more torque than a 2024 Suzuki Hayabusa. Considering that all that twisting force is peaking…

TESTED VOL 73 NO 14 BIKE SPOTLIGHT HONDA GB350 ENGINE 348cc single-cylinder POWER 15kW (20hp) @5500rpm TORQUE 29Nm @3000rpm WEIGHT 181kg (kerb, claimed) PRICE $6999 (plus on-roads) “It has convincing retro looks and is well priced, well made and feels bigger than a 350” TESTED VOL 73 NO 23 BIKE SPOTLIGHT ITALJET DRAGSTER MALOSSI ENGINE 181cc single-cylinder POWER 12.9kW (17.4hp) @8250rpm TORQUE 15.5Nm @6250rpm WEIGHT 112kg (dry, claimed) PRICE $10,490 (ride away) “Raucous, racey and a whole lot of fun with a striking feature of hub-centre steering”…

“THE PREMIER CLASS HASN’T SEEN THIS SORT OF FEVERISH VARIETY FOR 70 YEARS OR MORE. IF EVER” MOTOGP IS GETTING crowded. It’s always been tough at the top. But so numerous? Back in the 1950s there was some mechanical and personal variation. Then the Japanese turned up and the smaller classes went mental. But the premier class hasn’t seen this sort of feverish variety for 70 years or more. If ever. Machine-wise, the grid is booming. Three strong factory teams – Ducati, Aprilia and KTM – jostle for position. The balance currently favours the Dukes, but it is increasingly delicate. Aprilia has racked up three Sprint and one feature-race wins so far; KTM is knocking on the door. Then the two troubled Japanese teams – Honda and Yamaha. Both pretty…

YAMAHA HAS finally reinstated another MotoGP team. On Friday it confirmed it will join forces with Pramac in a whopping seven-year deal to run two more YZR-M1s on the MotoGP grid from 2025. The Iwata factory has had just two bikes on the MotoGP grid since 2022, when it parted ways with former satellite team RNF. Now it is keen to stress how Pramac Racing – currently leading the championship with Jorge Martin and Ducati – will operate as another factory team, rather than a pure satellite operation. “The first important step was to keep Fabio with us for the future, the second was to have more bikes in the grid,” explained Yamaha’s MotoGP Managing Director Lin Jarvis. “It’s the result of many months of discussion and negotiation (and) to…

ASSEN WAS THE first chance to quiz Jorge Martin on his sensational move to Aprilia for 2025. The Spaniard revealed he was led to believe he’d be in Ducati’s factory team after finishing second in Barcelona, only to find the mood had changed come Mugello. It was there when he realised he had to make a decision. “I spoke with Ducati after Montmelo and everything seemed quite clear,” he said. “Then on Sunday evening, I saw that it wasn’t that clear. So I took a decision. I also wanted to make clear my future in Mugello, and I did it that way. “But for sure, something or someone arrived (at Ducati) and changed the idea. A bit frustrated because after such a long time trying to go, it always seemed…

SIX ROUNDS with six different winners means the only constant after the GP of Poland at Gorzow on 29 June was that Bartosz Zmarzlik maintained his record of being in the final at every round and again extended his lead at the top of the 2024 title chase. Swedish rider Fredrik Lindgren added his name to the 2024 round winners and was the only rider to get closer to Zmarzlik, albeit by two points, while by finishing second Zmarzlik went farther ahead of the rest of his pursuers. After the 20 heats Zmarzlik and Lindgren were best on 12 points each, ahead of Mikkel Michelsen on 11, Leon Madsen on 10 and a quartet on nine points – Martin Vaculik, Kai Huckenbeck, Jack Holder (a last followed by a win and…

After huge success in ASBK, this year you’ve started working with Team Kagayama in the All Japan Superbike Championship – on a Ducati. Before we talk about that, can you start by telling us how you got your start in the paddock? I was a pretty average club racer and I bought an old Honda CBR1000RR that had a MoTeC ECU. I wanted to improve my lap times so I learnt to read data myself and I’ve always had an interest in maths and physics, which helped. When Aiden Wagner had a World Supersport wildcard in 2015, Stu Winton (a tech expert) asked me to look after data. I explained that it wasn’t my actual job (Adrian is a finance broker) but Stu was confident. Glenn Allerton was crew chief…

The new eight-cylinder Great Wall Souo S2000 ST and GL tourers will have 113kW engines and weigh as much as 461kg. This makes them around 20 percent more powerful and heavier than their main competitor, Honda’s Goldwing. While Great Wall Souo hasn't revealed any details, AMCN has secured this information via leaked type-approval documents seen in China. Designed specifically to take on Honda’s GL1800 Goldwing and Goldwing Tour, the two Souo models are hugely ambitious. They’re the first motorcycles that Great Wall Motor has ever made but designed to go head-to-head with the biggest flagship models in Honda’s range. It makes for an impressive statement of intent, and the new figures show that as well as out-gunning the Goldwing in cylinder-count and capacity, the two models are more powerful and…

IN JANUARY we dug up design registration images that showed a new V-twin-powered Benelli carrying the ‘Leoncino’ badge but on a bike with cruiser proportions – and now exactly such a machine has appeared in new type-approval documents. Where the mechanically-similar QJMotor SRV350 and SRV300 cruisers opt for very conventional onal styling and proportions, the Benelli adopts a more distinctive look. The fuel tank gives a connection to other Leoncino models thanks to its round Benelli e badge set into a scooped-out section on each side. Behind it sits a pair of similarly angular side panels. The seat, meanwhile, is extremely short, with a tiny pillion pad that looks suitable for only the shortest of journeys. The rectangular headlight continues the boxy theme that confirms there’s no attempt at retro cruiser…

WE’VE BEEN left waiting three decades for a new sportsbike in the 400cc class and suddenly the market seems to be getting flooded with them as a host of Chinese brands jump in on the action. QJMotor is the latest with the as-yet-unreleased SRK400RR you see here and on paper it’s very impressive. Chinese type approval filings reveal it has more performance than a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-4RR and styling that mimics the MV Agusta-powered QJMotor Ten78 concept bike that was shown at last year’s EICMA. Power comes from a 421cc c inline four with the same 57mm bore as the Kawasaki ZX-4RR but a fractionally longer stroke to gain an extra 22cc, giving a peak power of 57kW (76hp), or 1kW more than the Japanese bike. It’s bolted to a…

More antics Can’t help but write in and gloat about my ‘bet’ a few issues ago that Marc Marquez would get the factory Ducati seat over Jorge Martin (Anti-antics, AMCN Vol 73 No 23). Okay, I’ll admit it didn’t all play out in the way I said it would, but Jorge’s last-minute defection to Aprilia smacks of the same hot-headed spontaneity that makes him smash screens and rip off visors. Of course his ‘brother’ Aleix Espargaro would have been the real reason and voice behind the snap decision, but all I can say that it’s lucky Aprilia has experience dealing with the over-emotional Aleix as it might come in handy when Mr Smasha-lot turns up next year. Jokes aside, I can’t wait to see Marc on the latest-spec Ducati next…

In terms of clever engineering, BMW is at the forefront. Whether it was ABS in the 80s, telelever suspension in the 90s or electronic suspension in the early 2000s, there’s no denying BMW has both the motivation and the means to push technological boundaries. And even though it’s worked very hard in the last couple of decades to attract a younger customer base via a range of high-tech and class-leading offerings as well as WorldSBK success, there’s also no denying the target market for BMW’s laid-back cruiser family are at the older end of the spectrum. Which is why I reckon BMW has been clever in its restraint when creating the R 12 platform. It was probably Roothy’s column a couple of issues ago that cemented it for me. He’s…

Not so long ago, most engineers in the MotoGP paddock were self-taught former racers who had switched from making motorcycles go fast by riding them to making them winners through design and set-up. Those days are disappearing. Most new MotoGP engineers arrive in the paddock via university, after achieving degrees in mechanical, electronic or aeronautical engineering. However, the MotoGP paddock’s most successful engineer didn’t arrive via either of those routes. Alex Baumgärtel is one half of Kalex, Moto2’s most renowned chassis constructor. The other half is Klaus Hirsekorn. Hence Kalex: K for Klaus, Alex for Alex. “I started aged 10, working in my dad’s machining company, destroying parts and crashing an old Zundapp 50cc in a sandpit near our house,” grins Baumgärtel, who is friendlier and more open than most…

The old adage ‘time flies when you’re having fun’ is certainly true when it comes to time spent with my head inside this Bell Race Star DLX Flex. I can hardly believe I have run this helmet for 12 months already, and I have certainly lost count of the number of bikes I have tested with this lid on my noggin. I have used it on road and track, on highways and byways, and even on the dirt… and with a bit of a clean it comes up like new, both on the outside and inside. I have fitted a Cardo Packtalk Neo to the Race Star, which was a simple job thanks to the easily removed magnetic cheek pads (part of the Magnetic Emergency Release System) and the generous…

The Dargo Road runs from Victoria’s Gippsland region through the picturesque Alpine National Park to meet the Great Alpine Road at Hotham Heights. The route includes a large unsealed dirt section unsuitable for sportsbikes but okay for those with even moderate off-road capability. It is a brilliant ride through some awesome alpine scenery, especially in spring when you want to blow the winter blues away. So get planning now. Access from the south is via either Stratford, or farther up the Princes Highway at Bairnsdale. Stratford is the better option as it adds a little more dirt into the mix, while the Bairnsdale to Dargo section is bitumen. Either way the road offers some nice views over the valley as you ride north from the edge of the Gippsland region…

“HE WAS MAKING ‘PULL OVER’ SIGNS AS DESPERATE AS ANY SEEN NOT BACKED BY BLUE LIGHTS” AS MUCH AS possible, I avoid the M1. It’s boring, it’s constipated by the tinned folk and it’s bloody dangerous. Dangerous? Yes, thanks to some idiot thinking the only way to keep traffic flowing is to make sure there’s no chance to pull over other than designated ‘rest stops’. And aren’t they lovely? Chain-link fencing, stainless-steel tables and toilets – all the ambience of a prison recreation yard. Break down? Hopefully you’ll coast to a stop and not get belted by some knob adjusting his seat temperature. But there are times when it can’t be avoided and last Sunday was a case in point. Every few weeks my mates Kog and Gibbo meet up for…

TROY HERFOSS continued his Moto America season at Ridge Motorsports Park last weekend, competing in the Super Hooligans category in an eventful outing that still sees him firmly in the title hunt. With the second qualifying session cut short, Herfoss ended up fifth on the grid after having only 14 dry laps on the Washington State circuit. With teammate Tyler O’Hara on pole for a wet Race 1, Herfoss made a good start but crashed soon after, luckily remounting before the red flags came out. “In the restart I had good pace with the bent-up bike, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to finish the race,” he said. The second encounter provided better fortunes in the dry, running fifth for most of the race before overtaking Hayden Schultz for fourth in…

When Triumph announced 2024 would be the last production year for the Thruxton cafe racer it explained that the Speed Twin 1200 was filling the same role. Now spy pictures of a revamped Speed Twin explain how that’s happening as the bike gets uprated suspension and redesigned visuals. The bones of the bike are familiar. The 1200cc paralleltwin engine doesn’t have any apparent external changes, and the tubular-steel frame looks to be unaltered. But there are changes to help the Speed Twin 1200 fill the Thruxton’s boots. The wheels and suspension are obvious upgrades, with new parallel-spoke alloys, Öhlins piggyback rear shock units similar to the Thruxton RS’s and a gold-coloured fork. This is not the Thruxton’s Öhlins unit, instead it appears to be a gold version of the black…

Key details of CFMoto’s 675SR have been revealed and it appears the sportsbike will be the first of a range powered by the threecylinder engine. Among the details revealed ahead of its official launch, thanks to type-approvals in China, is the fact its engine will initially be detuned to be eligible for Europe’s restricted licence holders, similar to Australia’s LAMS scheme. The bodywork looks exactly as you’d imagine – developing the same ideas that have already been established on smaller CFMoto sportsbikes like the 300SR and 450SR – but it lacks the extra side winglets of the Aspar-tribute Moto2/3 version that CFMoto recently displayed. It’s quite possible those are being held back for a 675SR-R variant with higher specifications, like the 300SR-R and 450SR-R. Key styling elements include the hockey-stickshaped…

“There should not be an MV Agusta of any kind costing below $40,000” Hubert Trunkenpolz is the T in KTM and he’s just been given the reigns of MV Agusta. He told AMCN €25,000 should be “the entry gate. But there is no upward limit, because I believe we can perfectly well sell MV Agusta models for €60-70,000 ($A100-115,000) provided it’s the right product.” You can read the full interview, including his MotoGP plans for MV Agusta, in the next issue of AMCN. 0.145PSI The tyre-pressure rule in MotoGP adds an extra layer of complexity to the races evident in the Assen round when Marc Marquez gifted Fabio Di Giannantonio third place in a bid to increase his front tyre pressure. It would have worked, too, except for a nudge…

ANSWERS WILL BE REVEALED IN THE NEXT ISSUE WIN! AN AMCN NECK SOCK EMAIL YOUR ANSWERS AND ADDRESS TO AMCN@AMCN.COM.AU FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!…

I am not generally one to shy away from the opportunity to test a new motorcycle, however I wanted to a few weeks ago when I was in sunny Alice Springs. I was only hours away from lining up for the 48th running of the Finke Desert Race when I got the call to see if I could make it to Melbourne the week after to test the new CFMoto 450MT. Straight away I wanted to blurt out ‘not a chance’ – I knew CFMoto was a Chinese brand and the last time I rode a Chinese-made enduro bike, for Australasian Dirt Bike, I was very disappointed, so I was pretty set on politely turning down this opportunity. But that test was quite a few years ago now and intrigue…

Being the daredevil passenger leaning out of a racing motorcycle sidecar outfit, her left shoulder 6cm above the tarmac at 160km/h, wasn’t how dress-cutter Jean Kilpatrick saw her future when she left Melbourne with her racer boyfriend Ray Foster late in 1958. Nor was living on packet soup when funds were tight at race meetings. But her willingness to try anything made her Australia’s first female competitor in motorcycl e grand prix racing. Sydney department-store buyer Margot Terrey sailed to London for the 1950s’ version of the Grand Tour. It was simply part of the adventure when Margot and her friend Dorothy Tonkin made a spur of the moment decision to join Australian motorcycle racer Bob Brown for the grand prix season, his bus being both abode and transport. Margot…

“LITERAL BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS HERE IN EUROPE CHASING A DREAM I’VE HAD FOR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER” SCORCHING ACROSS the finish line at the iconic Portimao circuit to secure my first FIM JuniorGP World Championship points was far bigger than just the race itself. It was the culmination of three years of literal blood, sweat and tears here in Europe chasing a dream I’ve had for as long as I can remember. My passion for twisting the throttle on a motorbike kicked off as a little boy so to now be reflecting on my journey in this sport feels a tad surreal. From the dusty dirt tracks of Victoria to the truly awe-inspiring international circuits in Europe, it has been one heck of a ride. The chance…

EVEN FOR A triple world champion, Pecco Bagnaia hit new heights at Assen. The Italian was irresistible from the start of the weekend, topping every practice session and claiming pole there for the first time in his MotoGP career, before holding the opposition at arm’s length in both the Sprint and feature race to record a second straight double. He made a little piece of history, becoming the first rider to achieve three successive wins at Assen since Mick Doohan won five in a row from 1994 to 1998. The fact Bagnaia bears a tattoo on his right arm of the TT Circuit Assen outline shows the esteem he holds this historic venue. After a shaky start to the year, Bagnaia is hitting peak form at the optimum time, as he…

MARC MARQUEZ’S race result was ruined by a penalty for running a front tyre pressure that was too low. He revealed the mistake came from the conditions on Sunday at the TT Circuit Assen. “Most of the Ducatis, we were very, very on the limit,” he said. “Today was super difficult. Because it was cloudy, sunshine, cloudy, sunshine, track temperature changed about five degrees down then up.” The critical moment in Marquez’s race was when Enea Bastianini eased him off track at Turn 1. The 32-year-old went to see the FIM Stewards to explain how that had affected his race, but to no avail. Asked whether they should take these kinds of circumstances s into consideration in the future before applying a penalty, the eight-time champ said: “It could be. And…

DUCATI CORSE mastermind Gigi Dall’Igna spoke to AMCN’s WorldSBK correspondent Gordon Ritchie about what knock-on effects MotoGP’s 2027 rulebook might have on the production-based racing category. With a capacity decrease being applied to MotoGP and a cap on aerodynamic and shapeshifting intervention, the technical landscape of the WorldSBK paddock will need to follow suit to ensure MotoGP stays the fastest championship. But what that might look like is still very much under discussion. “We have not the answer at the moment, but for sure we are trying to talk with the organisers, to talk to the other manufacturers to understand what we have to do to maintain a gap between MotoGP and Superbike,” said Dall’Igna. “Also this affects not only Superbike, but Supersport and all the other categories. It is a…