Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2018 i Motorcycle Mojo Magazine

I’m very fortunate to have ridden in various countries. Not all of them were on my bucket list at the time, but after experiencing a particular place, I usually have a desire to return, because I feel I haven’t seen enough of it and the surrounding area – I therefore end up adding the place to the list. A lot of you reading this have ridden the Pacific Coast Highway in California. I’ve heard countless stories of your travels when we’ve spoken at motorcycle shows. I, like many others, have yet to ride the whole thing. I’ve been on part of it, but as with the world, there’s a lot more to see and do. In Jamie Elvidge’s article “19 Secrets of California’s Southern Pacific Coast Highway” (p. 24), she…

While riding home from work one day, I saw a bike that looked very familiar. I then realized it was one of my bikes that I’d lent to a pal who was new to motorcycling. He has recently obtained his licence after taking our off-road course, and a licensing course with the Canada Safety Council. He wants to buy a big bike, so in an attempt to convince him to start with a smaller one, I let him sample my BMW F650GS. I followed my buddy incognito to see how well he was riding. The first thing I noticed was that he certainly wasn’t afraid to use the throttle. He was riding through a busy commercial area, on a two-lane road with a lot of intersections and cars merging in…

LIST PRICE $19,499 WARRANTY 2 years, unlimited mileage CONTACT ktmcanada.com ENGINE TYPE Liquid-cooled, 75-degree V-twin DISPLACEMENT 1,301 cc POWER 160 hp (118 kW) at 8,750 rpm TORQUE 103 ft-lb (140 Nm) at 6,750 rpm BORE AND STROKE 108 x 71 mm COMPRESSION RATIO 13.1:1 FUEL DELIVERY Keihin EFI with 52 mm throttle bodies TRANSMISSION 6-speed FINAL DRIVE TYPE Chain FRONT SUSPENSION 48 mm inverted fork, electrically adjustable for damping and preload, semi-active REAR SUSPENSION Single shock, electrically adjustable for damping and preload, semi-active WHEEL TRAVEL Front: 200 mm (7.9 in.) Rear: 200 mm (7.9 in.) BRAKES Front: Two 320 mm discs with four-piston radial calipers Rear: 267 mm disc with two-piston caliper; semi-linked ABS WHEELBASE 1,560 mm (61.4 in.) RAKE AND TRAIL 26 degrees/120 mm TIRES Front: 120/70ZR19 Rear: 170/60ZR17…

LIST PRICE $25,299 (as tested) WARRANTY 12 months, unlimited mileage CONTACT kawasaki.ca ENGINE TYPE Liquid-cooled inline-four DISPLACEMENT 998 cc POWER 197 hp (147 kW) at 10,000 rpm (207 hp w/Ram Air) TORQUE 101 ft-lb (137 Nm) at 9,500 rpm BORE AND STROKE 76 x 55 mm COMPRESSION RATIO 11.2:1 FUEL DELIVERY EFI 40 mm dual injection TRANSMISSION 6-speed FINAL DRIVE TYPE Chain FRONT SUSPENSION 43 mm inverted fork, adjustable rebound and compression damping, spring preload adjustability REAR SUSPENSION UniTrak, gas-charged shock with adjustable compression and rebound damping, remote adjustable spring preload WHEEL TRAVEL Front: 120 mm (4.7 in.) Rear: 139 mm (5.5 in.) BRAKES Front: Dual 320 mm discs with 4-piston calipers Rear: 250 mm disc with 2-piston caliper; ABS WHEELBASE 1,480 mm (58.3 in.) RAKE AND TRAIL 24.7 degrees/103…

As a home-run two-wheeled Trivial Pursuit question, it has few equals: Over 40 years ago, in 1975, Harley-Davidson competed in the 500 cc World Championship against Suzuki and Yamaha with a race-winning two-stroke Grand Prix racer of its own design – true or false? Sorry to disillusion the Hog faithful, but however unlikely, it happens to be true! Okay, not exactly a full season of GP competition, more just a handful of races on the world stage, including one for Harley-Davidson’s factory rider Gary Scott, who retired his RR500 from the Austrian GP held at the Salzburgring in early May that year with engine problems. But by then, the same such bike had already finished seventh in the season-opening French GP at Paul Ricard in the hands of Michel Rougerie,…

Have you ever wondered how the people in charge of handing out driver’s licences actually get their certification to do so? Here is a behind-the-scenes glimpse into one of my favourite jobs on two wheels. I’m not sure what the actual job title is, but I occasionally get the opportunity to work as a demonstration rider during the certification process of road-test evaluators. If you are like me, you practise and hone your skills continually, always aiming to be a better rider. The ultimate goal for me is to ensure my safety at all times when on the road. And, since motorcycling is what I do for a living, I do strive for excellence in my work – every day. But what if the job sometimes requires that you not…

The first indication that I was entering the Deep South was the road sign designating Virginia SR 20 the “Constitution Route.” The second was the tangy smell of barbecue wafting from what looked like a horizontal oil drum on someone’s front porch. And the third was dropping the kickstand in the parking lot of Appomattox Courthouse, the National Historic Site in Virginia where generals Lee and Grant brought an end to the U.S. Civil War. I had arrived here to attend the annual Horizons Unlimited Travellers Meeting, and as a part of our weekend, we toured the courthouse grounds. We heard the tales of Lee’s surrender and how Lincoln – in an effort to heal rather than conquer – granted freedom to the entire Confederate Army, bidding them to return…

I met Kathy Hubble in 2003, when we raced against each other in the SV Cup Series at Mission Raceway in British Columbia. I was enamoured of her confidence and skills on a motorcycle. When I first started racing, there weren’t many women at the track, and while I didn’t mind racing against and hanging out with the guys, there was an instant camaraderie whenever I met another woman racer. My first thought about Kathy was that she was totally badass! She not only raced motorcycles, she also worked in the stunt industry, had her pilot’s licence, could ride a unicycle like a boss and do practically everything. I felt in some ways that I was meeting a kindred spirit, someone else who was willing to try anything and seemed…

60 The number of years that S&S Cycle has been in business. In 1952, George J. Smith began building his own go-fast parts for his motorcycle because no other parts existed. In 1958, he partnered with Stanley Stankos and started S&S Cycle in Smith’s basement. Today, S&S Cycle is the world’s best-known aftermarket high-performance American V-twin parts manufacturer. 11 The number of national races on the 2018 Flat Track Canada’s schedule. The schedule began in Quebec and continues into Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. Go to flattrackcanada.com to find a race near you. 135.452 That’s the record-breaking average speed in miles per hour (218 km/h) that English road-racer Peter Hickman achieved on the Mountain Course while taking the victory at this year’s Senior TT race at the Isle of Man.…

I Love meeting cool youngsters who road race. Last year I got to meet a new kid on the scene who has since become a good friend, as well as a fierce competitor. Jack Roach is fairly new to motorcycle racing, but it seems to me that he has a bright future ahead of him in the sport. Jack only began riding a motorcycle in August of 2016, at the age of 13. “He heard the sound of a sport bike ripping through a valley in Austria and said he’d like to do that,” his dad, John, tells me. “And that’s how it started. He couldn’t even shift gears at that point.” Since then, he’s won three mini club-racing championships and finished second in the Kayo MiniGP Challenge Cup in…

IN PRACTICE, THE SUSPENSION WORKS REMARKABLY WELL, SOAKING UP BUMPS SEAMLESSLY AND GLIDING OVER ROUGH ROADS WITH NO HARSHNESS KTM’s latest 1290 Super Adventure S is fittingly named, since it’s the adventure bike equivalent of a supersport machine. A quick look at the spec sheet reveals that its 1,301 cc liquid-cooled, 75-degree V-twin pumps out 160 hp. That’s two ponies more than Ducati’s powerful Multistrada S, but more importantly, the Super Adventure S produces 8 ft-lb more torque than its Italian rival, at 103. That’s huge torque on a bike that claims a dry weight of just 222 kg. But supersport machines are temperamental, highly focused machines that sacrifice comfort and utility on the road in their relentless pursuit of track-day lap times. The S tagged onto the Super Adventure’s…

THE AROMA OF THE CASTROL R EXHAUST FUMES WAS SOMETHING FANTASTIC, AND WE ALWAYS USED TO RIDE BEHIND IT TO ENJOY THIS LOVELY SMELL I thought that a “blast from the past” might hold some interest for Motorcycle Mojo’s older readers, especially those with a love for older motorcycles. I was born in South Africa and started riding at the age of 16, when my dad gave me his 1955 350 cc BSA B31, which he bought brand new; it was my pride and joy for several years. I lived in Cape Town and soon made friends with several others who also had a love of motorcycles, and it wasn’t long before we started going for rides together on the weekends. Cape Town and the environs have some of the…

DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Most four-stroke motorcycle engines need occasional valve adjustment, or at least a valve-clearance check. Adjusting the valves means setting the appropriate clearance between the base circle of the camshaft, otherwise known as the camshaft heel, and the tip of the valve or rocker arm, depending on the valve train setup. This clearance is important because it compensates for the expansion of the various engine components as the engine heats up, thus allowing optimum engine performance and preventing engine damage. If the clearance is too tight, for example, it may completely disappear when the engine reaches operating temperature, in turn preventing the valves from closing fully. A valve that doesn’t close fully will allow combustion gasses to escape, which reduces engine performance. Worse yet, though, is that if the…