Australian Motorcycle News Vol 74 Issue 09

BEGINNING WITH THIS ISSUE WE ARE VENTURING INTO AMCN’S NEXT CHAPTER IN PRINT AND ONLINE WHAT A HUGE WEEKEND of sport we have just experienced. It’s been a massive effort to get it all into this issue but we’ve done it… again. AMCN is a fortnightly beast that can be all-consuming to those involved in producing it. Over the years it has certainly chewed up and spat out a few brave souls. AMCN has also evolved to reflect our changing two-wheeled world. Beginning with this issue we are venturing into AMCN’s next chapter in print and online. It’s a journey that will take us in a slightly different direction while remaining true to the ethos of its founder, first editor and publisher George Lynn (below with motorcycling royalty Geoff Duke) way…

Over the decade since Yamaha released the first-generation of its three-cylinder MT-09, we’ve seen a host of spin-offs ranging from the retro XSR900 to the touring Tracer 9. But calls for a dedicated sports version appeared to be falling on deaf ears until the company filed a spate of trademark applications for the name ‘R9’ back in 2021. Since then there’s been an agonising wait for news, which has finally ended with the unveiling of the 2025 Yamaha R9. It’s a dedicated design that embraces both road and track performance using lightweight components and aerodymanic aids. It would have been relatively easy for Yamaha to simply slap a fairing on the bones of the MT-09 or MT-09 SP and call it done – and that’s largely how it made the…

Papers filed for Aussie type-approval show the eagerly-awaited Royal Enfield Bear 650 for the first time. Way back in May 2023 we revealed that RE’s planned 650cc scrambler would wear the name ‘Bear’, and earlier this year we got a glimpse of it thanks to design registration filings. Now the first real pictures have emerged of its finished form. As expected, it carries the full name ‘Royal Enfield Interceptor Bear 650’. While the overall shape isn’t surprising – we already knew it would share its bare bones with the existing 650 twins, with a scrambler refresh – the finished machine is remarkably striking. This is thanks largely to paintwork with something of a bright, 1970s vibe that stands out from the 50s and 60s-inspired looks of other 650 models in…

IT’S BEEN WORTH the wait for Honda’s CB1000 Hornet, promised for this year but now a 2025 model. A higher-spec SP version will sit beside the standard version. What’s more, in the markets where they’ve been announced, the CB1000’s prices undercut all key rivals in the same way that the twin-cylinder CB750 Hornet does in a class below. The engine is the 999cc four from the 2017-on Fireblade, with the same bore and stroke but a reduced 11.7:1 compression ratio plus new camshafts and timing to put the emphasis on midrange grunt rather than outright power. Not that it’s short of the latter, peaking at 111.6kW (150hp)and 11,000rpm and 104Nm at 9000rpm. The SP version gets a different exhaust with a servo-operated valve that opens at 5700rpm to allow gases to…

WE FIRST SAW KTM’s plans for a semi-auto gearbox back in early 2023 and now it has previewed the technology before it’s launched on a production model for 2025. Semi-auto boxes are shaping up to be the hot new tech ticket for next year, with Yamaha and BMW already following Honda’s lead. KTM hasn’t simply followed the herd, though, as its new design – simply called AMT for ‘automated manual transmission’ – ploughs a slightly different furrow. A centrifugal clutch automatically disengages when revs drop to idle and engages again when they pick up. That means KTM needs just one electronic actuator, rather that the two its rivals use, to shift the gears. But it adds a complication because the centrifugal clutch makes it impossible to park in gear. So…

BRAKE MANUFACTURER Brembo has bought suspension specialist Öhlins for $A600m. The cash deal is Brembo’s biggest and follows the sale of its 5.6 percent stake in tyre maker Pirelli for $A454m. “With this addition, we take another step forward in our strategy to provide integrated intelligent solutions, leveraging synergies across key technologies,” said Brembo’s Executive Chairman Matteo Tiraboschi. Brembo and Öhlins service the motorcycle and car industries with motorcycles making up around 13 percent of the brake manufacturer’s worldwide business. Öhlins, the subject of a major feature in AMCN ’s recent Adventure issue (74-07), is expected to finish this year with earnings of around $A200m. In recent years Brembo has expanded aggressively, acquiring SBS Friction, J.Juan and AP Racing braking companies, along with Marchesini wheels.…