Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 148 i Australian Road Rider

It was meant to be “soft” adventure — six days of self-guided motorcycling nirvana on 1000km of sealed roads connecting Kakadu, Katherine and Litchfield —three of Australia's most drop-dead beautiful national parks. Meticulously planned over six months to coincide with the dry season in the top end, clear blue skies, rainless days and perfect riding conditions were practically guaranteed. But what I got instead was a self-guided survival course on the 1001 ways the Australian outback can bake you, shake you and basically suck the life out of you before sunrise — a trial of heat, thirst, sand and sun in an unforgiving country home to the world's largest population of saltwater crocodiles, kamikaze kangaroos, and the most technically challenging gravel roads I have come across in more than 20…

ENGINE  Type: Liquid-cooled, four-stroke, SOHC, 8-valve, parallel twin Capacity: 1200cc Bore x stroke: 97.6mm x 80mm Compression ratio: 10:1 Engine management: Electronic fuel injection PERFORMANCE  Claimed maximum power: 76hp (57kW) at 6100rpm Claimed maximum torque: 106Nm at 4000rpm TRANSMISSION  Type: Six-speed Final drive: Chain Clutch: Wet, multi-plate, torque-assist CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR  Frame: Tubular steel cradle Front suspension: 47mm Showa cartridge fork, 90mm travel, non-adjustable Rear suspension: Single KYB shock, 73.3mm travel, adjustable for preload Front brakes: Twin 310mm disc, Brembo two-piston floating caliper, ABS equipped Rear brake: Single 255mm disc, Nissin single-piston floating caliper, ABS equipped Wheels: 32-wire spokes, 16x2.5 front, 16x3.5 rear Tyres: Avon Cobra AV71/72, front 130/90-16, rear 150/80-16 DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES  Rake: 25.4° Trail: 92mm Claimed dry weight: 237.5kg Seat height: 690mm Wheelbase: 1510mm Fuel capacity:…

YAMAHA TRACER 900 GT ENGINE  Type: Three-cylinder, four-stroke, liquid-cooled, DOHC, four-valves per cylinder Capacity: 847cc Bore x stroke: 78.0 mm x 59.1 mm Compression ratio: 11.5:1 Engine management: Electronic fuel injection, ride-by-wire PERFORMANCE  Claimed maximum power: 113.5bhp (84.6kW) at 10,000rpm Claimed maximum torque: 87.5Nm at 8500rpm TRANSMISSION  Type: Six-speed Final drive: Chain Clutch: Wet, multi-plate slipper CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR  Frame: Diamond-style steel Front suspension: Fully adjustable KYB fork Rear suspension: Linkage assisted, spring-preload and rebound-damping adjustable KYB shock Front brake: Hydraulic dual disc, 298mm rotors with ABS Rear brake: Hydraulic single disc, 245mm rotor with ABS Wheels: Cast aluminium Front tyre: 120/70ZR17M/C (58W) Rear tyre: 180/55ZR17M/C (73W) DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES  Rake: 24° Trail: 100mm Wet weight: 227kg (with panniers and brackets) Seat height: 850/865mm Wheelbase: 1,500mm Fuel capacity: 18…

The Moto Guzzi California had the unfair criticism of representing a marketing exercise designed to simply cash in on some of the success enjoyed by a certain brand from Milwaukee in the USA. It has to be said that none of this was helped by the name chosen by the marketers at Guzzi’s Mandello HQ all those years ago. Of course, there can be no doubt there are Harley design cues inherent in the bike, and offering a European cruiser gave Harley-leaning buyers another option, but the Cali gains its own identity and credibility due to the length of the bike’s production run. Indeed, the first Cali landed right back in 1972, known as the 850 California. The bike featured the then-new Tonti frame. Engineered by Lino Tonti, it offered…

ROAMER DAVE Dear ARR, I just got ARR #146 and had a quick look and spotted your comment about me and how I had helped Andrew Merchant of Cairns. Thanks for the kind words about me. Yes, I do enjoy ARR, it’s now the only mag I pay a subs for because it evolves, it’s still relevant and informative and has that sense of community. I was happy to help Andrew because that is me — whenever I can I try to help. Now that summer is here, I am out on the bike and will be clocking up many kms on the road. All this as I slide into retirement! I’m working part-time now, mostly because I want more time to travel and more time on the bike. Speaking…

BONNIE PAIR Dear ARR, The article, in the September/October edition of your excellent journal, by Seddo on his two bikes and their technological pedigrees prompted me to write something about two of my bikes. They are both Triumph Bonnevilles, with air-cooled, vertical twin engines (360o firing order). Both bikes are fitted with disc brakes and electronic ignition. They are, however, separated by 33 years. The bike on the right of the photo is a 1979 T-140 D special, a product of the Meriden Works during the days of the government-sponsored cooperative (a brief article about that appeared in the same edition of ARR). The bike on the left is a 2012 product of the relocated Triumph factory in Hinckley, Leicestershire. That bike captures the shape of the original, but with…

British bike news outfit MCN is reporting that Norton Motorcycles revealed a new Minitwin Sportsbike at UK motorcycle show Motorcycle Live, based on the firm's flagship V4 superbike. Called the Superlight, the new bike sports similar lines and the same high attention to detail as the firm's 200bhp+ machine, only now with a 105bhp 650cc parallel twin engine producing 55.3ft-lb of torque. There’s the inclusion of traction, wheelie and launch control, as well as a six-axis IMU. There will also be three riding modes to choose from — Road, Sport and Pro-Race — alongside a quick-shifter and auto-blipper for more seamless shifting up and down the box. Displaying all of your vital information is a colour 7in HD display, too. The engine acts as a stressed member within a twin-tube…

We were standing beside the ridiculously beautiful V4S discussing whether or not to spend the next two hours going through its huge suite of electronics, or just let me ride off with the owner’s manual in my pocket and a contact number in my phone. Decision made, I hit the starter and after a couple of revolutions the engine boomed explosively into life. Suddenly we were shouting at each other to be heard over what must be one of the loudest standard pipes on the road. A couple of handfuls of throttle had the pair of us grinning like Cheshire cats and shaking our heads in disbelief as the ground vibrated and everyone turned to look in our direction. How Ducati has got away with this is a mystery, but…

The lights showed both bikes were pre-staged so I inched forward until the stage lights on my side lit up. The giant man-child in the other lane decided to play silly buggers and didn't move for almost all of his allotted 20 seconds, time I spent making up convoluted insults based around dubious parentage and erectile dysfunction for when we met again on the return road. Finally, all four stage lights illuminated, the tension and revs rising in anticipation. I stared, unblinking, as the three yellows flickered down the Christmas tree and with a final twist of gas, dumped the clutch just before the green came on to record what I imagined would be an astonishing reaction time and a glorious win. What I actually got was a massive amount…

HIRE OR BYO You don’t have to be a Mensa member to know that travelling by motorcycle anywhere other than in your home country can be costly and a maze of bureaucracy that only bean counters love to pore over. I’d be buying a new adventure bike every year if I had a dollar for each time someone asked me, “How much does it cost to ship a bike overseas?” “Should I Hire?” “How do I go about buying a bike overseas?” There are many ways to live your dream of international motorcycle travel. Me, I like to bring my own bike. Other options are to buy a bike when you get to where you are going or hire a suitable steed. I’ll try to list some of the pros…

The GP Weekend at Phillip Island sees thousands of bikes all trying to be in one place at the same time. It’s like the red crab migration on Christmas Island or some such mayhem. Last year, Grey Ghost ride captain Paul took a mob down to the island via the Snowy Mountains. This year he wasn’t going to bother, instead opting for a leisurely (if you can call it that trying to follow Paul) up the coast on a medley of roads that demonstrate the best NSW has to offer. We took our cues from the new Motorcycling the Hunter publication, with lunches at the delightfully traditional Bank Hotel in Dungog and stops at Singleton and Gloucester. As it turned out for us, it was an adventure bike excursion with…

OVER TO YOU! Send us a good-quality pic of your steed and a few words about it and we’ll be happy to publish here. Send to: gleech@umco.com.au. Go to it!…

Of course there are a multitude of accessories for the Bobber to enable owners to customise it to their tastes, and with more than 120 items to choose from it should be easy to make it unique. For a full overview, go to Triumph Australia's website at triumphmotorcycles.com.au but here's a quick rundown. First cab off the rank would have to be some black, stainless V+H pipes which look awesome, help the motor breathe a bit easier up top and sound delicious. The slash-cut end-caps can also be rotated so you can point the noise in any direction you like. A mere $1528 to you sir. If you spec the ape hangers, you might want to complete the laid-back look with the optional foot boards, which also come with a…

Sports touring. The thing I like to do most. Well, in the top five anyway. Lobster devouring and “nothing” feature pretty highly as well. It’s what bikes are about for me. Long trips, time to soak up the atmosphere and outrun those weekday demons. Interestingly, there is a letter in this issue from a reader asking me what bikes I’d own if I was paying myself. It’s a bit of an indictment on me that I haven’t applied a lot of thought to that specific notion (mainly because I’m as poor as a church mouse and I get to ride test bikes often). So I thought about it. Long and hard. After a few reds and with a furrowed brow, I’d narrowed it to three potentials: the BMW S 1000…

I arrived to motorcycle Japan with a notion that its society was pretty uptight. To my delight, everyone was so jokey and smiley. The moment I went to the john, I understood why. Sensing my approach, the toilet cover automatically lifted and jets sprayed a mist of electrolysed water (to ensure that “dirt” wouldn’t stick). The über high-tech contraption was so intimidating I forgot why I’d sat down in the first place. The arm rest and wall-panel controls had more gizmos than a TV remote: a heat control for the seat; music options; a built-in massager “to help defecation”; a bum gun for cleaning the privates, including a "turbo wash" option; a button for “front washing” and another for “rear washing”. Plus a heated blow-dryer. The Japanese had turned the…

CHOCKA FULL OF GOOD STUFF! Roderick and his band of merry men take us through everything you need to know to tour the glorious New England area of NSW on a bunch of Beemers, Snaggy grabs Harley’s FXDR114 by the scruff of the neck, and Rixy bungs the all-new Tiger into the terrain. AND, OF COURSE… A stack of maintenance tips, new products, gear on test, all brought to you with a sprinkling of silliness to keep you lot informed and entertained. Until then!…