Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2018 i Australian Motorcyclist

ELECTRONICS ON motorcycles. Are they all they’re cracked up to be? For me, I’m a bit over the increasing use of electronics; they have dumbed down the feeling to the point where a lot of motorcycles lose their character. Isn’t the rider supposed to be the one in control of the motorcycle? Yes, to me she or he is. I’m the one who twists the throttle and decides how hard; I’m the one who squeezes the brake lever and how hard; and I’m the one who leans the bike over and how far. If I crash as a result, so be it. And if you disagree with what I’ve said here, maybe you should be driving a car. A motorcycle is about fun, it’s about living a bit dangerously, isn’t…

PRICE: $15,499 / $16,999 (plus on-road charges) WARRANTY:Two years, unlimited distance SERVICING INTERVALS: Every 10,000km or 12 months ENGINE: Liquid-cooled in-line three cylinder, 4-stroke, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder BORE x STROKE: 78 x 59.1mm DISPLACEMENT: 847cc COMPRESSION: 11.5:1 POWER: N/A TORQUE: N/A TRANSMISSION: 6-speed, wet multi-plate assist/slipper clutch, chain final drive SUSPENSION: Front, 41mm inverted fork, adjustable preload, compression and rebound, travel 137mm. Rear, monoshock, adjustable preload and rebound, travel 142mm. DIMENSIONS: Seat height 850-865mm, weight 227kg (wet), fuel capacity 18 litres, wheelbase 1500mm TYRES: Front, 120/70/ZR17. Rear, 180/55/ZR17 FRAME: Diamond BRAKES: Front, twin 298mm discs with radial mount four-piston ABS calipers. Rear, 245mm disc, single-piston ABS caliper. FUEL CONSUMPTION: N/A THEORETICAL RANGE: N/A COLOURS: Nimbus Grey (Tracer), Midnight Black (Tracer GT) VERDICT: GO FOR THE GT, IT’S WORTH…

SUMMER IS FAST approaching, we’ve had a few hot days already but the heat is yet to set in. This means it’s time for you to think about some summer gear for your motorcycling. We’ve approached the distributors, and the gear from those who want you to know about their products is featured below. Consider that when making your purchase! HELD BIKER FASHION www.heldaustralia.com.au LIGHTWEIGHT VENTILATED SPORTS JACKET - $250 Made from a Heros-Tec 600D (Denier) outer shell with a mesh liner, 2 external pockets, 2 internal pockets, cool mesh material in front, back and arms, arm adjustment, soft touch collar, CE approved soft protectors at shoulders and elbows, full connection zip and reflective detailing. Available in a couple of colours and sizes 48-62 = XS-4XL. DESERT SUMMER GLOVES -…

“IT’S A PITY MICK’S not here,” laments Kristy as she pours me a beer in the bar of Wahgunyah’s Old Empire Hotel, “he’s the bloke with all the stories about this place.” Kristy’s one of those welcoming country publicans who, when a stranger walks in, asks them what they’d like, how they are, how’s the day been and what brings them to town. I told her I was after a drink and some stories about the place, oh, and a feed which had been dialled up on the run into this place. For most of the final half hour of the late arvo ride up the Federation Way I’d been smelling breakfast. Then I crossed the Murray Valley Highway and hung a left and understood. That stack that’d been blowing…

HOW LONG HAVE YOU got? Here’s a selection of summer breaks from half a day to a fortnight. Do you reckon one of them might suit you? EUNGELLA, A DAY OUT OF MACKAY The only difficult thing about Eungella is the pronunciation. ‘Yunjeller’ is close. A ride up there from the coastal heat of Mackay (even if you’re just passing through) is just the thing. It’s a pleasant and well-maintained road through the cane fields from the Bruce Highway up to the scarp that marks the Great Divide, and then an exhilarating series of corners to get you to the top. Apart from being cooler, Eungella is also pretty and well supplied with ice cream. Have a look out of the Sky Window at the edge of the range before…

THE AUSTRALIAN Motorcycle Council recently announced the launch of a world first rating system for motorcycle clothing – MotoCAP. We’re not sure what this is going to do for the cost of motorcycle gear in this country but it will probably push prices up. It may also mean that if you’re not wearing the highest level of gear should you be injured, your insurance company won’t pay as much, so is this a good idea or not? Let us know your thoughts – contactus@ausmotorcyclist.com.au The press release is as follows… “The Motorcycle Clothing Assessment Program (MotoCAP) is the first of its kind, and will give the motorcycle community more information when they are making choices about the clothing they wear when riding,” Brian Wood, Chair of the AMC Protective Clothing…

WE LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU, the letters are among the most keenly read parts of the magazine. Please try and keep letters down to no more than 300 words.Then you can read many, not just a couple.We do reserve the right to cut them and, unless you identify yourself and at least your town or suburb and state, we will print your email address instead. Please address letters to contactus@ausmotorcyclist.com.au or Australian Motorcyclist Magazine, Suite 4b, Level 1, 11-13 Orion Rd, Lane Cove West NSW 2066. All opinions published here are those of the writers and we do not vouch for their accuracy or even their sanity. NEW, NEW, NEW! LINK INTERNATIONAL has come on board and will be supplying the lucky winner of our monthly letter competition with some…

THE MAN! Toby Price has recently been crowned 2018 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Champion. Toby’s journey to the 2018 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship title has not been an easy one. His crash at the 2017 Dakar Rally forced him to spend much of the year recovering. Returning to competition at the 2018 Dakar last January, Price impressed with his outright speed, ultimately taking two stage wins and finishing in third position overall and that was not being 100% fit! Riding with great consistency throughout the 2018 season has paid off for Price. Multiple stage wins as well as podiums at the Atacama Rally and Desafio Ruta 40, added to his win in the final round in Morocco, have resulted in the 31-year-old becoming a worthy first time world champ.…

IT’S A RIDER’S PARADISE. New motorcycles from the world’s great bike factories (and from some remarkable small ones); amazing (in the real sense of the word) custom bikes; gadgets that you never realised you had to have; new and both practical and good-looking luggage; motorcycle tours to all the great roads of the world. They’re all together here in the one place on the banks of the Rhine within easy reach of bottomless supplies of the local and soothing, easy-to-drink pale ale, Kölsch. At the beginning of October in even-numbered years, the gates of the Cologne Trade Fair swing open for motorcycle show INTERMOT. I’ve been attending this show since 1990, under various names (the show, not me) and originally in Cologne, then in Munich and then back in Cologne…

AS THE WARMER weather approaches it’s time to burn some tyres through the mega twisties on roads that are usually closed during the winter months. We’ve covered just about every other road in this area, but in a way you might say we’ve left the best till last. One word of warning though, be wary of the mighty Bogong Yeti who preys on motorcyclists, we’d hate to hear of him/her/it getting a fresh meat intake to grow even larger! Oh? You’ve not heard of the Bogong Yeti? Being a High Country dweller he/she/it only comes out of hibernation when the temperature starts to warm up and is usually very hungry for some fresh motorcyclist flesh. If you’ve been lucky enough to spot the Bogong Yeti (and survived), and have a…

HOW MUCH FUN can be had with a couple of baby 125s? Well, Ralph and I grabbed Suzuki’s GSX-S125 and GSX-R125 and headed off up to the Blue Mountains to find out. Aimed at two different types of riders, the baby GSXs share just about every part other than the fairing, tank and handlebars. Being the bigger fella between the two of us I chose the more upright and roomy GSX-S, so that left Ralph to don his racing kit and look like a boy racer on the GSX-R. The banter in the office in the days leading up to our ride was of who reckoned who could beat whom, who could get a higher top speed and who reckoned they would get a better draft from whom. To and…

THE LATEST motorcycle and ATV sales figures have been released. The overall figure shows the market to be down 6.2 per cent (7.5% for road bikes), so where are the main players in the industry sitting and who’s responsible for the falls? Here’s what the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries has to say: “National sales data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries showed the third quarter 2018 year-to-date result at 68,494 compared with 73,058 during the same period in 2017. “The 2018 market remained relatively steady in terms of its composition with road bikes remaining the most popular category and comprising 40 per cent of the market. Off-road bikes took a 34 per cent share, ATV/SSVs accounted for 21.5 per cent of total sales, and scooters recorded a…

This is a new section to Australian Motorcyclist. It is for those of you wishing to sell your motorcycle - nothing better than selling your pride and joy to another likeminded motorcyclist.We’ll also be advertising some classic motorcycles for you to peruse over and possible buy. So, sound like a great way to get your bike sold? Send us a hi-resolution pic, the price and some words (up to 100) including your name and contact number to contactus@ausmotorcyclist.com.au Ads must be sent to us by the last week of every month. Now for the important stuff, your ad will reach a great market for only $150 inc GST. 1988 BIMOTA YB4 EX-WSBK $35,000 neg Up for grabs is Andrew Stroud’s ex-World Superbike Bimota raced back in 1988. Bimota factory race…

Head north out of Omeo on the Omeo Highway where you’ll quickly be ripping up the tread on your tyres through the start of the twisties. Anglers Rest is not far away and the Blue Duck Inn (if it’s open) is worth grabbing a bite to eat, coffee or whatever depending on the time of day. About 11km out of Anglers Rest you need to turn left onto Bogong High Plains Road. Follow this past Rocky Valley Reservoir and into Falls Creek. Once you’re finished checking out Falls Creek, continue on to Mount Beauty. About three kilometres past Mount Beauty, turn left onto the Tawonga Gap road and follow it all the way to the end (maybe even turn around and do it a few times), then turn right onto…

TAKE ONE YAMAHA MT-09, convert it into a tourer then update it after a couple of years, producing one of the best touring motorcycles in the world. That’s the new Yamaha Tracer 900 GT in a nutshell and to find out just how good it is, I headed over to NZ to have a bit of a punt on one. What better place in the world than Queenstown, NZ and the simply stunning roads and scenery to showcase the Tracer GT? Then add a huge dump of snow the day before my arrival to make the scenery even more outstanding. The new Tracer 900 GT was the focus of the launch but Yamaha Australia will also be bringing the ‘standard’ Tracer 900 (improvements in styling, wind protection, rider/ passenger comfort,…

In case you’re in a real hurry and don’t have time to read my deathless prose, here’s a quick summary of the top news. The Indian FTR 1200s were, without a doubt, the top new models at the show. KTM’s 1290 Super Duke GT stirred the juices too, as did both the Triumph Street Scrambler and Street Twin.The new BMW R 1250 GS looks like carrying on the type’s domination.There was far too much there to cover it all, but I hope I’ve given you an impression of the show. And I really liked Benelli’s BN 302 R!…

WE GET TO RIDE SOME pretty cool motorcycles here at Australian Motorcyclist. But when I was recently offered the chance to ride the $114,500 BMW HP4 Race around Sydney Motorsport Park (SMSP), that was something special. This is the highest spec motorcycle you can buy from a dealer in this country. Think carbon fibre, lightweight, big horsepower, World Superbike level electronics and suspension and you’re getting the idea of what this bike is about. I headed out to a wet and foggy SMSP to give it a whirl. The HP4 Race is a track-only motorcycle and a proper race bike, even though there’s really no high level world race series it fits into. I guess you could club race it, (or take it to the Irish Road Racing Series, which…

Two thousand kilometres of hot bitumen in the Northern Territory, a borrowed Indian Chieftain and Roadmaster, and being paid to do it by the NT Government. It doesn’t get much better than that for motorcycle enthusiasts Brad Foster and Nigel Collin. NIGEL AND I went to the same school in Sydney. He was three years older than I so of course he never spoke to me unless I was doing something to annoy him. Fast-forward 30 plus years and we’re now good mates. We met again probably 10 or 15 years back at a conference that he was emceeing and I was attending and have stayed in touch ever since. When he decided to write a book on business five years ago, Nigel took off around Australia on a motorcycle…

THE TRIANGLE of bad-arse aesthetics / rumbling big cubes / drag-race contender makes for perfect symmetry in the latest Harley-Davidson to arrive on our shores. With only ‘FXDR’ on its badge and ‘114 cubic inches’ on the rather loud and proud air filter (and side cover), there is little that gives a hint of the bike’s real purpose. The fat 240 rear tyre gives somewhat more of a clue to its role, although for me it’s the long, low and lean silhouette that indicates that the ground may be about to shake and the earth might move. Before we get onto the seismic shaking, however, I need to convey my feelings about the riding position, the cost of entry and the unHarleylike and not entirely comfortable ride. The bad news…

SETTING UP YOUR suspension can make the world of difference to any type of riding you do. You don’t necessarily need to put twenty thousand dollars’ worth of MotoGP spec hardware into your bike, but knowing how and what to do to your standard suspension or getting a suspension guru to set up your forks and shock provides knowledge well worth having. I have put together a bit a basic guide to help you understand what you should be looking at doing, or partly doing depending on the adjustment available. WRITE IT DOWN! Before we go anywhere, grab some paper, a pen (make sure it’s working) and a tape measure. Write down every measurement you take, one at a time. Thinking you’ll remember each of them will result in having…

PRICE: $3890 &$3990 (plus on-road charges) WARRANTY:Two years, unlimited distance SERVICING INTERVALS: Every 6000km or 12 months ENGINE: Liquid-cooled single cylinder, 4-stroke, DOHC, 4 valves BORE x STROKE: 62 x 41.2mm DISPLACEMENT: 124cc COMPRESSION: 11.0:1 POWER: 10.8kW @ 10,000rpm TORQUE: 11.5Nm @ 8000rpm TRANSMISSION: 6-speed, wet multi-plate clutch, chain final drive SUSPENSION: Front, telescopic fork, non-adjustable. Rear, monoshock, adjustable preload. DIMENSIONS: Seat height 785mm, weight 133kg (S), 134kg (R) (wet), fuel capacity 11 litres, wheelbase 1300mm TYRES: Front, 90/80/17. Rear, 130/70/17 FRAME:Tubular steel BRAKES: Front, 290mm disc with twin-piston ABS caliper. Rear, 187mm disc, single-piston ABS caliper. FUEL CONSUMPTION: 4.33 litres per 100km, premium unleaded THEORETICAL RANGE: 253km COLOURS: Metallic Triton Blue, Solid Black VERDICT: LIL’ RIPPERS!…

APRILIA SHIVER 900 ALL IN OUR APRILIA SHIVER 900 has enjoyed the fitment of two awesome accessories from the genuine Aprilia range. Firstly a set of Akrapovic slip-on mufflers and to finish off the look, a set of smaller LED indicators. Akrapovic mufflers - $2913.05 A rather expensive item but the result is more torque, smoother running and a great v-twin sound. Aprilia dealer, Bikebiz at Parramatta fitted up the Akrapovic slip-ons for me and they mentioned it took a couple of hours to fit. Having now ridden the bike for a few weeks with these slip-ons, I’ve found the extra punch they have given the Shiver is very nice indeed. See your local Aprilia dealer or a www.aprilia.com.au SW LED indicators - $83.50 x 2 Smaller, LED indicators should…

RAINDROP? WATROPROP! Okay, settle down in the back seats there. You will no doubt remember the Watroprop I introduced you to some time ago. No? Drawing a blank? It was the clear plastic disc stuck to the front of the helmet visor with a suction cup and spun by a propeller to shed raindrops. A cord looped around your neck kept you from losing it if it flew off, though mine never did. Ah! There you go, you do remember it. I have used this gadget on and off, and have made new friends just about every time I did. They would come to jeer and stay to be amazed by the effectiveness of this thing. But there was a certain amount of buyer reluctance, mainly due to the fact…