Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol 74 Issue 16 i Australian Motorcycle News

DESPITE BEING nothing more than a bare chassis and engine, Honda’s V3 concept model was the undoubted star of last year’s EICMA show in Milan – and now it’s taken a big step closer to production as Honda files for trademark rights to the name ‘V3R’. Honda has been clear it hopes to get the V3, shown complete with a radical electric supercharger at EICMA, into production, but the new trademark gives a clue as to the style of bike – or bikes – that the engine will appear in. Think back to Honda’s previous model branding and there’s a fairly rigid structure to the combinations of letters and numbers used. For example, ‘CB’ always means ‘street, four-stroke’ and adding an ‘R’ means you get a fairing thrown into the…

White Motorcycle Concepts’ recent tie-in with Zero to develop a more aerodynamic version of the US brand’s SR/S sportsbike is being followed up by a tie-in with styling powerhouse Pininfarina. Our world exclusive road test of the prototype (see page 58) is the start of a process that could see the British design put into production with Italian styling. The patented aerodynamic duct concept, first seen on the WMC250EV land-speed bike of 2021, involves funnelling air through the middle of the bike rather than pushing it all aside, allowing a small frontal area and less drag than a conventional design but without the compromised riding position of a streamliner. WMC points out that there’s often free space inside a bike’s fairing and under its seat. Shifting components around allows those…

ROUND 01 MINIGP ROAD TO MOTOGP CHAZ WILLIAMS has grabbed the top spot in the FuSport FIM MiniGP 160cc class with a double victory at the season opener held at the Newcastle Kart Racing Club over March 7-9, while Judd Plaisted marked a successful transition to the 190cc class to record the round win in the larger category courtesy of a win and third place. Thanks to ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, scattered showers were the order of the weekend with the wet weather sweeping in every few hours to spark chaos on the track and in the pits, but that didn’t stop some strong rivalries emerging in every class. Williams (ESG – Black Diamond Asphalt) started the weekend with pole position and a win in the opening 160cc race, with the…

WIZARD OF RACING: BEEN THERE, DONE THAT! Peter Bom, AMCN’s latest recruit to our MotoGP coverage, is one of the most respected commentators in the series. His keenly-considered analysis is based on a career as a crew chief that saw him help guide Cal Crutchlow to the World Supersport title in 2009, Stefan Bradl as Moto2 champion in 2011 and Danny Kent in Moto3 in 2015, the first British GP world champion since Barry Sheene in 1977. Bom is one half of the popular Oxley Bom MotoGP Podcast, where he teams up with AMCN’s Mat Oxley to share insights as the season unfolds. Bom is also presenting exclusive analysis videos for AMCN of each MotoGP round this year, which you can watch on amcn.com.au as well as our social media…

Since 2001, Yamaha’s WR250F has been hammered around the Aussie bush and enduro tracks. When AMCN asked if I would like to attend the media launch for the latest version in the form of the 2025 model, as a keen enduro rider and ex racer of course I was going to jump at the opportunity. Many of you offroad riders will remember the name Lyndon Heffernan, and it was at his property to the west of Batemans Bay on the NSW South Coast where the day would unfold. Lyndon runs the Yamaha offroad training facility on his 145ha slice of dirt riding heaven – so a huge thankyou first of all to Lyndon and his sons for letting me ride on their stunning property. I say letting “me” ride –…

Do you have a moto story you’d like to share with AMCN readers? Get in touch via amcn@amcn.com.au It all started as most bad ideas do, over a few beers. Six Aussie mates, a 5000km journey, and a plan to ride from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Buriram, Thailand, and back, hitting two MotoGPs along the way. It was ambitious, reckless and almost guaranteed to go off the rails. The first stop was RC Big Bike Rentals in KL’s northeast, where the boys were keen to sort their bikes. Some checked tyre pressures, others fiddled with luggage straps – Mick, of course, was already talking about wheelie contests. One rider, though, had things dialled in: Shane, aka ‘Teacher’. He was well prepared, organised and a great asset to the group. If…

Dom, you’ve been a stalwart of the St George Motorccle Club for many years now and you’ve just won not only the Unlimited F2 class but also the AMCN Most Improved award! Can you tell us a bit about your racing background? I was born around motorsport! My dad is a 13-time undefeated Caribbean champion – but in cars, not on bikes. When I was four he bought me a Pee Wee 50, because in the middle of the race track there was a motocross track in Trinidad. I could ride around while he was racing, and it just went from there. So since the age of four I’ve been on a bike but then the track was bought by a greenhouse company so it closed. Not too long after,…

A recent patent filing could usher in a new era of brake technology for production motorcycles. Atemo might not be a name you’re immediately familiar with but it’s a giant Japanese automotive supplier that’s parent to big motorcycling names Showa, Nissan and Keihin – putting it in an ideal position to take a holistic view of motorcycle components. Its latest patent shows how a front fork can be designed to help with cooling the braking system. With Honda owning 40 per cent of Astemo and electronics brand Hitachi taking another 40 per cent, designs from the company have a direct route into mainstream production, so we are getting a glimpse into the immediate future here. The idea is simple and builds on a concept presented at last year’s EICMA show. Astemo…

Rumours of a new Honda CB1000F are swirling in Japan with reports that it could be shown as soon as the end of March after Honda announced the long-lived CB1300 Super Four and Super Bol d’Or models are about to be retired. Both the Super Four and Super Bol d’Or are direct descendants of the 1992 CB1000 Super Four that was Honda’s first ‘retro’ four-cylinder machine, drawing on the legacy of the CB750 that defined the superbike class in 1968. They’ve become a staple of the Japanese motorcycle landscape, remaining in production and on sale in Honda’s homeland long after exports ended. With the air-cooled CB1100 also now gone from the Honda range, the demise of the CB1300 models – which are going out with a set of ‘Final Edition’…

KAWASAKI IS treading a lonely path as it pioneers hybrid motorcycles at the moment but it could be joined by Yamaha in the near future after the reveal of a prototype hybrid scooter. Shown in action in a YouTube video from Yamaha Japan, the new machine takes a simple but flexible route to hybrid construction. It’s able to operate as a pure, zero-emissions electric bike or entirely on petrol power. But it can also combine both for maximum performance or run its petrol engine at constant speed as a generator while powering the rear wheel electrically, to turn it into a range-extender. The company calls the machine a series-parallel strong hybrid, as it’s able to operate as both a series hybrid – the range-extender set-up where the petrol engine charges…

KING OF THE BAGGERS HERRIN TAKES FOURTH DAYTONA 200 VICTORY JOSH HERRIN and the Warhorse HSBK Ducati team have made history after taking out their third consecutive Daytona 200, finishing five seconds clear of Vision Wheel M4 Ecstar Suzuki teammates Richie Escalante and Tyler Scott. The win for Herrin is his fourth overall, putting him one behind Scott Russell and Miguel Duhamel on the all-time list. “Being mentioned in the same sentence as (Scott) Russell and (Miguel) Duhamel is special” he said. Fourth was BSB and Isle of Man TT legend Peter Hickman, campaigning his self-run Triumph 765 team with factory support after his debut last year. Michael Dunlop took his Milwaukee Ducati V2 to ninth, while Aussie ex-pat Shane Lloyd-Maggs finished a credible 19th. TROY HERFOSS went into damage…

AMCN ARCHIVES again have a large contingent of speedway riders based in Europe for the 2025 season, which kicked off with meetings in England over the weekend of March 16 and 17. The three levels of league competitions in the UK will feature 29 Australian riders in team line-ups as the tracks open their season, while leagues in Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Czech Republic and France will soon commence their seasons with Australian involvement in those countries as well. The ‘class of 2025’ as usual includes riders ranging from our Speedway Grand Prix contenders, through to seasoned campaigners continuing to make significant contributions to their teams, to the first-timers striving to make their mark in the sport. The Premiership – the top tier of league racing in the UK…

The highly anticipated R 1300 GS Adventure has hit Aussie shores – and not a moment too soon: it’s little brother, the R 1300 GS, is still strutting around with AMCN’s 2024 Motorcycle of the Year gong swinging off its handlebar; last November Adam Child did the world launch in Spain; and now it’s my turn to cut loose on BMW’s much-anticipated beast in real Aussie conditions. As the old saying goes, “Never judge a book by its cover”. I can’t say I’m not excited to ride the new R 1300 GS Adventure. I am. After spending some time on the regular GS, I wondered how different the Adventure would be when it finally arrived. I wonder no longer as I lay eyes on the GS Adventure Trophy in the…

Ducati Corse may be hogging the headlines with its near-total domination of MotoGP, but away from the limelight something no less exciting has been brewing in the Italian marque’s engine department in Borgo Panigale – namely, an all-new 890cc V-twin, which we see here for the first time in the radically overhauled 2025 Multistrada V2. At a claimed 54.9kg, Ducati say it is their lightest V2 yet. Peak power is up, while service intervals – 15,000km or 24 months for minor services and 30,000km for a valve inspection – remain the same. Ducati purists might baulk, but the Italians have gone against tradition by ditching the desmodromic valve timing used in the outgoing Testastretta V2 in favour of conventional chain-driven cams and spring-loaded return valves. It’s not often that a…

OH DEAR, THE birthdays are coming faster than dog legs at Oran Park these days. Ouch, that’s a dead reference isn’t it? Oran Park? Thirty years ago, we used to test bikes for Two Wheels and I did a bit of classic bike punting there too. Nice place to get to know, especially for a bloke who’s from out west where corners are rarer than basket case Vincents. But Sydney grew too fast and now there’s a whole lot of fast memories buried under another bunch of McHouses. I’m yet to be convinced that progress makes life better. Maybe in dentistry, possibly in better brakes and definitely tyres, and… “Managed 18 holes twice last week, really starting to get somewhere…” Mango’s a wonderful bloke, even for a Kiwi. But this…

So there I was sitting at the gate ready to ride an electric motorcycle for the first time on one of the world’s most famous old F1 circuits in front of a massive crowd of petrol heads. In fact I’d only seen the Savic Motorcycles C-Series a short while before and I knew very little about it, except that it had had a total suspension and inverter upgrade since AMCN last rode a prototype in 2023 (AMCN Vol 72 No 17). Savic’s C-Series is almost ready for an official launch and I had been invited to spin a few laps at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival, which is Australia’s mini-version of the UK’s Goodwood Festival, featuring everything from F1 cars to drift cars. Last year the organisers brought out Ford’s electric…

Aerodynamics is a hot topic these days. Especially in MotoGP, where winglets, airducts and other such devices improve lap times and prolong grip via increased tyre life. But this enhanced aerodynamic efficiency has yet to be translated to customer road bikes, other than a small selection of expensive, low-volume, ultra-high-performance racers-with-lights that are targeted at Superbike race grids. That’s likely to change in future generations of electric two-wheelers, thanks to the intelligent application of aerodynamic technology developed by a company in the hinterland of the F1 racecar industry in the UK. There are three essential factors governing the science of forward motion: torque, weight and aerodynamic drag. Torque (not power, which is of secondary importance in getting the show on the road via acceleration and keeping it there) is the…

Russell Murchie loves two things, art and motorcycles. Neither of which he can trace back to his family or his upbringing. “I don’t know, I was 20, I just decided to buy a cheap bike and it sort of stuck,” he tells me as I walk around his studio admiring the walls which are covered in artwork, both his own and others’. It’s a late adoption that wasn’t exactly mimicked in his artistic journey, which kicked off in an era when digital graphics were in their infancy. Born in 1975, Russell was at the dawn of a new technology that would reshape visual storytelling in his lifetime. “I started digital stuff really early on,” he recalls. While studying photography at Melbourne’s RMIT, he was introduced to computer graphics through a…

PHEW! I CAN finally take a breath and share my experience from Round One of ASBK alongside WorldSBK at Phillip Island a few weeks back. In my first column last issue, I mentioned a career highlight, but now I can proudly say I’ve stepped up… literally… and I WON my first race! Even more exciting, I made history as the first female to win an ASBK race outright! YEW! Leading into this historic moment, I was fastest in morning practice and qualified second, right at the front for Race 1 on Friday afternoon. It was intense but I played my cards just right. I was leading for a few laps and having a clean, fun race at the front, but when the last lap came around, I knew it was crunch…

THE FIRST OF 22 races can’t predict a season but the Thai GP was rich in omens. The most obvious being that putting the best rider on the best bike in the best team would only have one outcome. As demonstrated by Marc Marquez’s pole position and two assured wins, in both the Sprint and Sunday’s main race. “He was playing with us,” said new factory Ducati teammate Pecco Bagnaia, who managed rather implausibly to remain cheerful for the cameras, at least most of the time, after finishing third in each race. Although the glumness crept through in the post-race press conference, where Marc and second-placed younger brother Alex hogged 90 per cent of the attention. Pecco’s support crutch was the assertion that he had missed the finer nuances of…

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