Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 141 i Australian Road Rider

When the crew at BMW aim their sights on a new market, they rarely miss. Take for instance the GS series and its place in the adventure market, the R Nine T models in the retro segment, or even the S1000 range in the supersports category. These bikes became big players, right from the start. The Bavarians see an emerging market, and then tackle it by releasing “premium” highlyengineered models to suit, giving riders from each fold an upper-market option. This strategy has worked well for BMW, but it’s not so easy when it comes to the beginner market. Why? Because beginners demand cheaper pricing. Perhaps this is why it’s been so long since BMW built a sub-500cc motorcycle, and in turn why the German manufacturer has largely been missing…

“Still, it was a delight. In a very masculine, adrenalin-soaked, holy shit kinda way” Certain things define certain brands. Ducati? Performance and handling. Harley-Davidson? Street presence. Honda? Unbreakability. And when it comes to KTM? Engine, engine, engine. In this case we are talking about the brand’s hero LC8 V-Twin. Early 1998, as the company grew in size and the need to expand its hitherto singlecylinder range with a twin-cylinder product line became a priority, KTM’s chief engineer Wolfgang Felber was commissioned to make preliminary studies of twin-cylinder engine formats and vehicle concepts. By August the same year, the decision was made to go with a 75-degree V-twin design, but with special emphasis on light weight and, especially, compact build. The first LC8 was complete and had its first dyno run…

A lone motorcyclist, crossing the desert of Arizona. Dark, ominous clouds building to the left. A bend in the road means heading straight into their path. Thunder, to make Thor proud, booms in rolling waves. Lightning flashes across the sky. Tumble weeds running like scared dogs across the highway. The heavy drops of rain turn to hail, making riding like a traverse through a storm of frozen peas. Searching for shelter. None to be had. But then, a few miles on, a deserted gas station. This is it — the famous Route 66. HOW THE HELL DID I GET HERE? Coming from the relatively laid-back Cairns, in Far North Queensland, it’s a long trip to the south-west of the USA. Las Vegas is sensory overload — glaring, flashing lights, thousands…

HARLEY-DAVIDSON FXRG PERFORMANCE RIDING JEANS Classically styled jeans with traditional waist and straight legs with slight boot cut to fit over riding boots. Does it get much more basic than that? Well, there is more than that; they are CE2-approved, fully lined with ROOMOTO protective lining from hip to waist, and come with removable hip and knee armour. Now that they’ve clocked up two years of regular wear, they’re still a very comfortable pair of riding jeans that look good. In really hot weather they’re a bit warm while you’re stopped, but get back on the road and airflow fixes that. Like other Dragginmade jeans that have achieved the CE 2 approval, these HD FXRG jeans had to provide more than 7.6 seconds of resistance against a belt grinder. More…

ARIETE VINTAGE GOGGLES Here we have a set of retro-style goggles. They’re produced in Italy and made for the road. The Vintage goggles combine modern technology in the frame and lens, with highly specialised hand-finishing on the sewn leather and metal components. The frames are made of chromium-plated steel, with side venting for comfort. The inner surface of the goggles is made from hand-sewn natural leather for comfort, while the suede outer surface has been specially treated to provide enhanced weatherproofing. The cylindrical lenses provide great visibility and protection from UV rays and have had anti-fog treatment on the inside surface. The headband has a double buckle for easy adjustment, and a non-slip silicone band on the inside to keep it in place on the rider’s helmet. Colours: Black or…

HE’S A HAPPY CHAPPY! Dear ARR, I continue to be impressed by the ongoing evolution of ARR — it’s very much for the better! The 132 pages of interesting reads mean great value for money. In fact, it’s the only magazine I subscribe to and I have for many, many years. Change is good. I enjoy reading about peoples’ experiences and their riding trips, especially those undertaken in Australia. We can’t all afford to go off on overseas rides, so the local ones are great fun. The bike reviews are great, however can I ask that you also do reviews of scooters? I am referring to 125cc and above. It’s been a while. On the subject of bike tests, over the years, a critical issue for me has centred around…

There’s no question the Wankel Rotary engine is an ingenious concept. Out with all the reciprocating parts of a standard engine — the pistons, valves and conrods — and in with solely rotating parts. This equals a small, high-revving, smooth and lightweight package. Sounds perfect for a motorcycle, right? Unfortunately it never really took off in the motorcycling world. Sure, there have been a dozen or so production rotaries built in the past like the Norton Classic and the Suzuki RE5, but few models really stood the test of time. The earliest production Wankel motorcycle was called the Hercules W-2000 and it sold well during the 1970s. Despite being German-built, its build quality was pretty shabby and so too was its power figures. Still, what a sound!…

✶ BEST ✶ Cruiser • ARR140 • WINNER: HARLEY-DAVIDSON DYNA LOW RIDER S Runner-Up: Victory Octane Third Placing: Harley-Davidson Road King Harley-Davidson’s hot-streeter Low Rider S was a hands-down favourite here at ARR HQ. Editor Leech was beside himself at the dynamics and considered refinement of the bike. And he got a little carried away telling us about it in ARR #140… “Every time I rode that bike into a town, I felt like the lead in a Tarantino movie. All sinister and edgy, with gritty steel guitar strains and emerging through backlit smoke.” Oh dear me. The Victory Octane was a close second. Such a shame that Victory bit the big one. That bike deserved better. We said…“The Octane is well worth a hard look if you like it…

I’m going to start this review from the wrong end, sort of. When you read the following, keep in mind that this bike has an RRP of a dollar under 12½ grand. The reason I’m saying this upfront isn’t because the Z900 feels like it’s been built down to a price and you therefore need to cut it some slack; I’m saying it because of the opposite. It’s quite remarkable that Kawasaki can afford to sell a bike of this quality and ability for such a small amount of money. If this was a learner legal bike being sold as a loss-leader to encourage younger riders into the fold, then perhaps it’d be less surprising. But this is a proper, full-power 948cc inline-four producing 125bhp and 98.6Nm, and therefore has…

I had a few reasons to head off for the weekend, not the least of which was to help a mate celebrate his birthday: dodgy geezer by the name of Mick Matheson — you may have heard of him. It was also time to take our long-term Tracer 700 for a good long spin and I had a 600km-odd loop planned encompassing a lot of tarmac plus a fair bit of dirt. The top of the loop was to be just outside of Mudgee, north-west of Sydney on the other side of the Blue Mountains, but rather than take my usual route, a mate had been banging on about the beautiful camping spots along the banks of the Turon River, which crosses your path at Capertee, accessed by the unsealed…

Soft, generic ear plugs. I’ve been using them for a long time now and frankly, they drive me berserk. I never seem to get a perfect seal, they pull out when I’m putting on my helmet and after a few days on the road, irritate my ears. I have persisted because I like to block out wind noise while riding and am acutely aware of the long-term damage that can be done to hearing by not using ear protection. With this in mind, and the fact that I have become thoroughly addicted to podcasts, I asked Andy Strapz, the Melbourne-based agent for Earmold Australia, to arrange a couple of sets of Earmold earplugs for me: a basic set — the Insta-Mold Custom Plugs for listening to music, and the more…

HARLEY-DAVIDSON’S 100 NEW MODELS! Harley-Davidson plans to develop 100 new bikes over the next decade, with part of its future range consisting of electric bikes. Bill Davidson, great-grandson of Harley founder William Davidson and vice president of the Harley museum in Milwaukee, has confirmed the ambitious target. William spoke about the firm’s plan for electric bikes and talked about the Livewire project it demonstrated a few years ago. “It is progressing and we will eventually introduce it,” he said. A range of electric motorcycles is part of Harley’s way of reaching a wider customer base outside of its usual demographic. Based on what William has said, we can expect electric Harleys to become a core part of the manufacturer’s future strategy as it explores ways of diversifying its range and…

VENTURA LUGGAGE FOR HONDA CMX500 Once fitted with Ventura L-Brackets, the Honda CMX500 will accommodate a range of luggage options via the EVO Pack and Rack, Astro Top-Box, Sport-Rack, Pack-Rack or Grab-Handle. The Ventura system allows up to 102 litres of luggage-carrying capacity, with two Aero-Spadas zipped together all the way down to the 10-litre Sport-Pack. Available from better bike shops Australiawide, or direct from kenma.com.au THE GOOD OIL … RRP: $399 to $549 SIZES: 10 to 56 litres COLOURS: Black…

Don’t forget to write! We mean it. We love to hear from you and everyone else does too; these pages are among the most popular in the magazine. Preferably, keep left ers under 300 words so we can fit more in, though we will allow the odd exception without taking to it with the editorial knife. Yes, we will chop ’em when we have to. Do include your real name and some contact details just in case we need to clarify something. Please write to gleech@universalmagazines.com.au or send mail to Road Rider, Unit 5, 6–8 Byfield Street, North Ryde NSW 2113. — SNAG CB TOURER TALE Dear ARR, I refer to your review of the Yamaha Tracer 700 in the August issue. In the box titled “What Else is on…

Most motorcycle riders know the Manic Street Preachers, a Welsh indie pop band that thrashed their guitars into the limelight throughout the ’90s for their hit song, “Motorcycle Emptiness”. First released in 1997, the record reached respectable chart positions across the globe and was even named the 86th best song of all time by one leading British music mag. For motorcyclists the world over, however, the song became a modern anthem: a soundtrack for the ride. I’ve listened to this track on hundreds, maybe thousands of occasions since — sometimes on repeat. In fact, I even included it in an article I wrote for ARR’s 100th Edition Special (“100 Best Riding Songs for the Road”). But truth be told, I’ve never really understood it — or rather, have never been…

“Is this a two-way road?” My American mate, Dave, who lives in Florida is wide-eyed and can’t stop the grin from showing underneath his helmet. We’re surrounded by snow heaped up over the height of a double-decker bus on either side of the road, snaking through one blind corner to the next. It is the width of one-and-a-half cars, if that. As we’re standing on the side of the road making yellow snow, a bus goes past in the opposite direction. Kissing the kerb is the order of the day. We do find a few high viewpoints where we can see through the snow cuttings for a kilometre or so, make a dash to the next viewpoint and repeat. We play in the snow road caverns for an hour or…

In my time I’ve had many pairs of motorcycle boots, but my default has always been to buy the best race boot I could afford. My rationale is that if they’re designed to prevent you from crashing your brains out on a circuit, they must off er good protection for the road. The downside of this thinking is that I’ve often hobbled about in tight-fitting and stiff boots unsuitable for anything other than a racing crouch, and the one pair of off -road boots I own are close to useless once off the bike. All of which makes these boots from Forma a breath of fresh air for my feet. They are the Adventure Low, which also happen to be the first short boots I’ve ever had. They are exquisitely…

WHAT YOU GET OVER AND ABOVE THE ROCKET III ROADSTER • ABS • Back rest pad • Engine protection bars • Panniers • Quick-release screen Reborn Triumph knew it had to get seriously involved in the cruiser category. Yes, it had its America and Speedmaster, but it wanted to make a more individual statement rather than doing what the Japanese majors had done to buy into the segment by building Harley- Davidson clones. To muddy the waters even further, there was a size war brewing, with Yamaha launching the 1670cc Road Star Warrior in 2002, and Honda the VTX1800. To put the mafter firmly at rest, Triumph decided to up the ante and go for a displacement of 2294cc. Huge news indeed. In 2005 the Rocket III hit the market.…

For those who’ve just joined us, this is one of our long-term test bikes. It’s Suzuki’s middleweight LAMS sportster and the newest iteration of the long-lived SV650 platform. I have been testing this bike for over six months, with lots of interstate travel, urban commuting and fast riding. I’ve come away mostly impressed with its performance, but after 10,000km I found there were a few ergonomic and aesthetic modifications that I wanted to make to suit my style. RENTHAL STREET FIGHTER HANDLEBARS The stock handlebars, while comfortable, give little control when cornering hard. They forced me to sit upright with my back hunched, not something I want from a sportsbike. I Settled on a pair of 7/8 Renthal Street Fighter handlebars; they are flafter, wider, and still comfortable enough for…