Indholdsfortegnelse for April 2019 i Australian Motorcyclist

Pure Harassment I HAVE just come back from the World Superbike Championship, held . has to be one of the best racetracks in the world and with Mother Nature turning on a glorious patch of blue with a light cool breeze off the ocean to keep you lightly cool in the blazing sun was something that topped off a great weekend of racing. And that racing was surprising and action packed through all classes. But not all was well. One thing that caught my eye was the blatant harassment of motorcyclists by the Victorian Police. I picked up Ralph on my way down to the Island in a lovely BMW X4 M Sport car as BMW was the reason I was headed to WSBK – for their team launch. About…

PRICE: $8440 & 8640 (plus on-road charges) WARRANTY:Two years, unlimited distance SERVICING INTERVALS: Every 10,000km or 12 months ENGINE:Air/oil-cooled parallel twin cylinder, 4-stroke, SOHC, 4 valves per cylinder BORE x STROKE: 78 x 67.8mm DISPLACEMENT: 648cc COMPRESSION: 9.5:1 POWER: 35kW @ 7250rpm TORQUE: 52Nm @ 5250rpm TRANSMISSION: 6-speed, wet multi-plate slipper clutch, chain final drive SUSPENSION: Front, 41mm telescopic fork, non-adjustable, travel 110mm. Rear, twin-shock, adjustable preload, travel 88mm. DIMENSIONS: Seat height 804mm (Int), 793mm (GT), weight 202kg (dry) (Int), 198kg (dry) (GT), fuel capacity 13.7 (Int), 12.5 (GT) litres, wheelbase 1398mm TYRES: Front, 100/90/18. Rear,130/70/18 FRAME:Tubular steel BRAKES: Front, 320mm disc with four-piston ABS caliper. Rear, 240mm disc, single-piston ABS caliper. FUEL CONSUMPTION: N/A THEORETICAL RANGE: Roughly around 300km COLOURS: Interceptor: Orange Crush, Silver Spectre, Ravishing Red, Mark Three,…

SO, AS AN OXYMORON, somewhere up there at the top of the tree along with ‘humorous German’ [excuse me? – The Bear], ‘military intelligence’ ‘stable political leadership’, ‘cheap 10,000km service’, ‘pristine motorcycle workshop’, ‘quiet Harley Davidson’ (and ‘quiet Harley Davidson owner’), must be ‘Victorian Outback’. I mean the state doesn’t even have a quarter million square kilometres. It’s less than a third of NSW, about a quarter of SA, just over an eighth of Qld and less than a tenth of WA. It’s the most densely populated state in the country and you can ride from its north west corner to its south east tip in a comfortable 11 hours. So when a joint pushes itself as Victoria’s ‘most outback pub’, they’re endowed with either a massive sense of relativity…

FOR THE FIRST TIME, Kawasaki Racing Team (KRT) world superbike team held its team launch in Australia. It makes sense in this day and age of live streaming. The first round is held in Australia at Phillip Island, so with everyone in the team all in the one place anyway, why not reveal the new team colours and riders for the season! The riders are four times World Superbike Champion, Jonathan Rea and, replacing last year’s other rider Tom Sykes is British Superbike Champion (BSB), Leon Haslam. Last time I met Leon he was riding for BMW with Troy Corser as team mate and has been riding in the unique regulations of BSB until getting the call to join the factory Kawasaki WSBK squad for 2019. The launch was at…

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. IS THAT YOURS? Hello Bear, My subscription to Aus Motorcyclist magazine arrived today. After flicking through the pages, idly looking at the pictures…

CHUCKING A SICKIE is viewed as a proud Australian tradition, even though blagging a day off work to go and do something fun is hardly the exclusive province of Australians. Hell, ask the Greeks. Their entire economy is built on not giving a shit about work. I’m of the view that while I used to tell work I was sick, I was actually doing something quite healthy, i.e. riding my motorcycle on largely empty mid-week roads. And it comes highly recommended for its health benefits. For starters, the Highway Patrol is tired and digesting its weekend feeding frenzy on Mondays and Tuesdays. Sure, it’s still out there (it’s always out there), but it’s not out there in the same gross numbers it sashays about in on the weekend. Resources, people!…

DESTINATION UNZUD “Destination Paradise” could easily be the motto of the seventh edition of the BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy which will hit the ground in early 2020. BMW Motorrad revealed that it will take place in New Zealand – just another dream destination for most adventure riders worldwide. The participating nations now face a busy time, hosting their qualifiers and selecting their teams for this exciting and unique global adventure competition. Eighteen international teams, plus, as in the 2016 and 2018 editions, an international female contingent will be selected during the next months. Reckon you’ve got what it takes? Visit www.bmwmotorrad.com.au for more. ANY ROAD, ANY TIME The 2019 Kawasaki Versys 1000 SE is a versatile motorcycle built for sport riding and touring. Featuring a premium package of technology…

A BUSHFIRE, LOOKING WEST FROM THE GED. TASMANIA SUFFERS BUSHFIRES JUST LIKE THE MAINLAND, BUT FORTUNATELY THEY SEEM TO BE RARE ON THE EAST COAST. OVER HERE, TASSIE IS HOT IN MUCH NICER WAYS. YOU WOULDN’T THINK that at less than 70,000km² Tasmania could be home to several different climatic zones, but there you go; you probably wouldn’t think that it holds one of Australia’s ‘Greats’, either. In history, the word ‘great is handed out sparingly. People like Alexander or Friedrich received the soubriquet and deserved it, whereas today in Australia it can be applied to a hamburger or a TV commercial. Happily, it has been saved for some of the best of our roads. You would know two of them, both in Victoria: the Great Ocean Road and the…

BACK DOWN TO PHILLIP Island I went having just come back from Kawasaki’s team launch. It was now BMW’s turn with their all new world superbike team and bike on the first day/night of the first round. The riders for this year are the very experienced and 2013 WSBK Champion, Tom Sykes and relative newcomer and last year’s Superstock 1000 champion (on a BMW S 1000 RR), Marcus Reiterberger. The team is run under the Alpha Racing banner with a widely experienced crew, being led by team manager, Shaun Muir. Shaun said, “The progress and development of the new S 1000 RR so far has been very positive. BMW Motorrad engineers have done a great job in getting the Superbike to a good level”. Dr Marcus Schramm, head of BMW…

UNLIKE LUCKY STARR and his many imitators, I haven’t been everywhere, but I have been around. Here are a few tips from those journeys. AUSTRIA The great thing about Austria is that it probably has more wonderful motorcycle roads squeezed into such a small area than any other place in the world. That’s what you get when you own a substantial part of the Alps. Of course Austria would own even more of the Alps and have even more great motorcycle roads if its southern population hadn’t voted to become part of Italy, but there you go. On top of that, it’s one of the countries where hotels have realized that there’s money in motorcyclists, and the alpine part of the country has many places which specialize in looking after…

IT ALL STARTED WITH the purchase of two second-hand BMW G 310 GS bikes. After a shakedown run on some dirt we decided to take them on a bit of a lap around the Northern Rivers using as many dirt roads and back roads as possible. It was to be a four day trip starting and finishing at Alstonville, which all went pear shaped on the last day when we had to backtrack over most of the route due to road closures because of bush fires at Tabulam. We fitted both bikes with the fairly road-orientated tyres which come as standard fitment from new; we found these to be an excellent choice on all but the steep descent down the Rocky River road. Fuel tanks filled and bags packed we…

I wrote this piece a couple of years ago when the 2016 Classic TT had just ended. To read it again now brings back lots of memories, great and not so great, the emotion of it all and the effort required to simply get yourself and bike on the grid to the other side of the planet. This race was the culmination of five years of graft, preparation, expense and ‘living’ the Isle of Man and the TT course. To see my son Alex win his class and see him on the podium with Michael Dunlop, Dean Harrison and James Hillier, three TT professionals with well over 20 TT victories between them, is something even now I find hard to fathom. It’s almost surreal. To see him retire from that…

IT’S GREAT TO HEAR that you guys and gals have bought a bike on our recommendation. Mike had read about our F 750 GS launch review and went out and bought the top of the range with panniers, screen and low seat and seems to love it… For his effort to let us know he’s the latest winner of the awesome Nelson-Rigg shirt and backpack. Send me your size and postal address, mate. SW GSING Stuart, I just wanted to let you guys know that I waited with bated breath to read about what you thought of the new BMW F750GS. I read it, loved what you wrote, went and test rode one at my local dealer and bought it! I bought the top of the range Tour with a…

CREATING HYPE and then maintaining the momentum until the bike in question is finally released seems to becoming the norm. Royal Enfield has produced many teasers along the way for the release of the new 650 twin cylinder range comprising the Interceptor and Continental GT. Behind the scenes, Royal Enfield has been growing quickly of late. In 2018 it produced near 850,000 motorcycles, that’s about 80,000 per month. The plan for 2019 is to roll out just over one million! To achieve those numbers, Royal Enfield clearly needed bikes like the 650 range. The company was obviously aware of the need to get the Twins right, too, because they hired several development riders who have worked for more well-known brands to help hone the design of the 650. One of…

WHO DOESN’T LOVE A discount? We put the call out to the manufacturers and distributors for their upcoming specials and here is where you can save some hard earned for the next month or so… MERLIN www.merlinbikegear.com.au PILSBURY JACKET - $299.95 As part of the expansive heritage range, the Merlin Pilsbury jacket offers classic styling whilst retaining all the features of a modern motorcycling jacket. A classic mid length men’s jacket with adjustment belt at the waist, the Pilsbury is made from premium 1.2mm cow hide leather and features CE Level 1 Safetech Italian elbow and shoulder armour, with the option of using back armour courtesy of the inbuilt pocket. Internally the Pilsbury features a mesh lining for improved air circulation along with a removable full length thermal liner, allowing…

FOR THIS RIDE WE based ourselves in Darwin, hence it starts from there… DARWIN The Darwin region, like much of the Top End, experiences a tropical climate with a wet and dry season. A period known locally as “the build-up” leading up to Darwin’s wet season sees temperature and humidity increase. Darwin’s wet season typically arrives in late November to early December and brings with it heavy monsoonal downpours, spectacular lightning displays, and increased risk of cyclone activity. During the dry season, the city has clear skies and mild sea breezes from the harbour. Being a major city everything you could imagine is available to get you prepared for your trip and afterwards with loads of places to relax and soak up the atmosphere and humidity (when we were there).…

HOW OLD IS YOUR motorcycle? Has it done a lot of kilometres, been through heaps of dirt, sat around or been ridden through salty beach areas? Well, the wheel bearings can start to lose their smoothness, which can in some circumstances change the way your bike will ride/handle. Changing the wheel bearings is (most of the time) a fairly simple job, the only time you’ll really struggle is if they’re seriously seized in the wheel. That will require some heat from a gas torch and some muscle! LOL! Tools required for the job are – • Spanners/sockets to remove wheel • WD40 or similar • A towel or rubber mat to protect your wheel on the ground. • Block of wood • Hammer • Muscle • Wheel bearing removal tool.…

YEP, I’VE DONE IT again…got myself another full restoration to do. This time it’s a 1976 Kawasaki Z900 A4 in Diamond Green. My friend Nigel had one too many sherbets one Saturday afternoon and was bidding on a number of bikes, winning the Z900 A4 (Caption: “My Bike”) and then deciding he didn’t want to do another full restoration, offering it to me instead. Long story short, I didn’t want to do another full resto, I wanted to buy a two-stroke and pollute the streets with wonderful two-stroke fumes. Nigel said, “Mate, go home and think about it. Think about the fun you’ll have and the money you could possibly make!” So, I did go home and think about it, talked about it with the Minster of Finances and decided,…

FAR TOO MANY PEOPLE treat Lithgow as just somewhere to pass through, or at best refuel on their way to somewhere else. They’re missing a place that not only has a remarkable history but also has a lot going for it today. The town sits in a beautiful valley, and although it bears some of the scars of its rich industrial history to this day, much of that industrial heritage has been turned to advantage. Take the Tin Shed, which now houses a terrific coffee shop which could not be more motorcycle friendly. They’ll even open a special parking area if a group of riders rolls up so your bike will be well looked after. Lithgow has much to recommend it to riders and other travelers alike. At Maiyingu Marragu…

THE WINNERS “Only those who play win. Only those who risk win. History favors risk-takers. Forgets the timid. Everything else is commentary.” - Iveta Cherneva First of all, let’s dismiss the doomsayers, those who would tell us that recent downturns in motorcycle sales mean the end of our much-loved recreation. There are still plenty of people buying bikes. Sure, sales of the mega-costly touring bikes are down significantly. It’s quite possible that the reason usually advanced – that the buyers are getting older, and are on their last bike – might have some justification. But take a look at the sales of Learner Approved Motorcycles (LAMs bikes) instead and they’re much more reassuring. Practically all of the top-selling bikes in Australia are LAMs machines. That means there is a significant…