Indholdsfortegnelse for May 2019 i Australian Motorcyclist

“Motorcycling has been a great ride… my whole life since I’ve been motorcycling has been wonderful,” said Arlen Ness when I interviewed him after he was recognized with the Lifetime Achievement honors by the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall Of Fame in 2016. Sadly the ride came to an end for the King of Custom motorcycles on March 22, 2019, after battling with bone cancer. With few words, Arlen conveyed his priorities every day: family and friends. “I’ve met so many nice people. Friends all over the world… We can go almost anyplace and stay with friends. It’s been great.” The most important things in Arlen’s life were his wife of 59 years Beverly, his children, grandchildren, friends and motorcycles… in that order. However motorcycles almost never happened. “I discovered…

“Hi Bear,” writes Peter, Bear Army Trooper #10.“I made sure that I brought home evidence of my recent assault on the Dolomites. It was only a recon mission and I reckon there will need to be many more Bear Army tours of duty to even come close to conquering the area. What a great place to ride!” How true,Trooper, how true. Maybe we should launch an all-out invasion? The Bear Army is ready to deploy. LET’S GO TO JAPAN THE FIRST TIME I visited Japan was to ride Honda’s brand-new 500cc Turbo, or Obrut as it became known for the reverse writing on the front of its fairing. That was 49 years ago. I swore then that one day, I would ride Japan’s amazing roads. Still haven’t. I’ve now been…

SUPER SOCO TS PRICE: $4990 (on-road) WARRANTY:Two years, unlimited distance SERVICING INTERVALS: Every 6000km or 12 months ENGINE: 17” Bosch Electric, Lithium Ion battery POWER: 2400w rated TORQUE: 120Nm from take-off TRANSMISSION: Constant-one gear SUSPENSION: Front, 43mm inverted fork, non-adjustable. Rear, monoshock, adjustable preload. DIMENSIONS: Seat height 770mm, weight 78kg (with one battery), wheelbase, 1320 mm TYRES: Front, 70/100/17. Rear, 100/70/17. FRAME:Tubular steel BRAKES: Front, single disc. Rear, single disc. THEORETICAL RANGE: 80km (single battery), 160km (two batteries) COLOURS: Red,White, Black and Orange VERDICT: SOCO IT TO ME…

THERE’S ALWAYS something to celebrate, isn’t there. It might be just that you’re a year older, although you might not actually feel better afterwards. And in Germany, as in so many other countries, there’s the venerable institution of Father’s Day – which is in fact celebrated mainly by those who are not yet fathers because the ones who are, take the family out for the day and foot the bill. It’s a little different for my neighbor and me. We’re both fathers, but both of our daughters have moved out. This makes it a bit less of a day to celebrate, but that doesn’t mean we can’t put the day to good use anyway, together with the immediately following weekend. That good use was going to be a ride through…

DUCATI SCRAMBLER 1100 FITS LIKE A GLOVE FUNNY HOW YOU can ride many bikes and they all have their little idiosyncrasies and then you get on a half familiar bike and it feels like you’ve lived with it for ever. This is just how I feel whenever I ride the Ducati Scrambler 1100. The seating position is just right, as is the handlebar which makes riding the 1100 so easy and simple. Basically I’ve been riding the 1100 around as per any other owner would – mainly commuting and I went for a quick weekend blast for a coffee. I am thinking I might play with the suspension a little to feel the changes and we’ve also got a Coocase from Kenma – www.kenma.com.au to fit up. Until then… SW…

“For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: “It might have been!” - JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER CONTRARY TO WHAT you may think after reading the papers or watching the goggle box, there has hardly ever been a better time to travel – either within Australia or overseas. Here at home we’re heading for a relatively settled winter if my mole at the Weather Bureau can be believed, and a settled winter is a terrific time to travel – especially up north. Meanwhile, most of the troubles you read about overseas simply won’t affect you; that includes the supposed hostility in Turkey (in my experience, Turks are hospitable to a fault) and alleged increased immigration vigilance in the US. I mean, seriously – if that worries…

THIS MONTH’S LETTER of the month was a tough one. Do I go the funny, or do I go the practical advice? Well, I went the practical advice as the idea from Sharon is a great one. Well done, Sharon, please send me your t-shirt size and postal address, you’re the winner of the fabulous Nelson-Rigg shirt and backpack from Nelson-Rigg Australia – www.nelsonrigg.com.au . Cheers, Stuart. A PLASTIC BAG? Dear all, I was rather perplexed regarding the use of a soggy old plastic bag to soak clutch plates in Stuart’s article in issue 73. It seems a messy and wasteful way of doing it. I use a cheap plastic container for this purpose – this way, I don’t have to worry about leaks, and I can use the oil…

TIME TO RALLY The Possum has put together all the latest dates of the upcoming rallies in this country. They are –MAY  3 – 5: XS1100 Rally, Wellington Caves Caravan Park - see XS1100 Australia website. 10 – 12: Loaded Dog Rally, Tarago Showgrounds. Catered lunch Sat to brekkie Sun. 17 – 19: Ruptured Budgie Rally, Moto Guzzi Club QLD. at Mingoola, 60km west of Tenterfield. Catered and bar. 17 – 19: Pelikan Rally, BMW Club SA, Camp Kedron, Barmera SA. Catering for pre-registered. JUNE 8 – 10: 50th Alpine Rally, Snowy Mountains Highway, Yarrangobilly. BYO everything. For this year only, c/vans etc welcome. Get to this one, it’s going to big! 8 – 10: SA Ranges Rally, Farina Campground, Farina SA. BYO everything. 7 – 10: Wintersun Rally, Olympic…

PRICE: $21,700 (plus on-road charges) WARRANTY:Two years, unlimited distance SERVICING INTERVALS: Every 16,000km or 12 months ENGINE: Liquid-cooled two-cylinder, 4-stroke, 270-degree DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder BORE x STROKE: 97.6 x 80mm DISPLACEMENT: 1200cc COMPRESSION: 11.0:1 POWER: 66.2kW @ 7400rpm TORQUE: 110Nm @ 3950rpm TRANSMISSION: 6-speed, wet multi-plate clutch, chain final drive SUSPENSION: Front, 47mm inverted fork, adjustable preload and rebound, travel 250mm. Rear, twin shocks, adjustable preload and rebound, travel 250mm. DIMENSIONS: Seat height 840mm, weight 205kg (dry), fuel capacity 16 litres, wheelbase 1530mm TYRES: Front, 90/90/21. Rear, 150/70/17. FRAME:Tubular steel double cradle BRAKES: Front, twin 320mm discs with radial mount four-piston ABS calipers. Rear, 255mm disc, twin-piston ABS caliper. FUEL CONSUMPTION: 5 litres per 100km, premium unleaded THEORETICAL RANGE: 320km COLOURS: Fusion White and Brooklands Green, Cobalt Blue…

THE DEVELOPMENT of the Versys 1000 has come along in leaps and bounds from just a handful of years ago. It used to be a fairly plain, run of the mill bike. Then came the update a couple of years ago, and now for 2019 we have the hamburger with the lot, SE version. I’ve always liked bikes that fit into the ‘Adventure Sport’ type of category. They’re perfectly suited to all that our country can throw at touring riders – that includes well maintained dirt roads. I already liked the outgoing Versys 1000 for its easy going nature and silky smooth in-line four cylinder engine, so let’s see what the new improved SE is like… Take the 1043cc engine from the Z1000, fit it with electronic throttle valves (so…

SO ANYWAY, AS I pull into the BP servo at north Forbes, an old bloke’s just paid for his fuel and is shuffling back to his car. “I’m trying to find the cemetery,” I tell him. He squints into the morning sun and smiles. “Good luck, mate,” he drawls, “I’m trying to stay out of it.” He chuckles then tells me to just head out on the Bogan Road and I won’t miss it on my left. I pass a sprinkler fanning water onto the front lawn of a cottage obviously the home to a gardener, make a quick note of its location and then pretty soon the grave paddock appears. At the gate there’s a map of the various sections. (Heaven forbid a Catholic’s bones had to spend eternity…

PORTLAND Portland is the oldest European settlement in the state of Victoria and apart from supplying pretty much everything you need before setting out on your trip, there are some good sights to see. They include the Portland Powerhouse Motor and Car Museum, Whaler’s Bluff Lighthouse, Portland Botanical Gardens, World War II Memorial Lookout, Cape Nelson Lighthouse and the useful Portland Visitor Information Centre. NELSON Situated on Glenelg River, some two kilometres from the mouth, it still provides views of the ocean across the sand hills to the south on either side of the river estuary. The area offers close proximity to wild ocean beaches, the beautiful estuary of the river and the surrounding Lower Glenelg National Park. Within easy reach for a leisurely day trip there are extensive wineries,…

THE 2019 EDITION of the QBE International Festival of Speed was poised to be very exciting with a good mix of local and international talent. Extremely heavy and consistent rain put an end to the racing halfway through the final day with the headline races of the QBE TT Cup not able to complete their final two races. But they weren’t the only highlights of the meeting, there were many other exciting races on the scheduled 59 race program. For me, the highlight was always going to be Alex Pickett riding my mate Chris’s (Alex’s dad) and my Yamaha FZR1000 in the Period 6 1300 races and the RB Racing Fastest Top 50 (from P4, P5, P6 Unlimited and Pre Modern F1), as well as the big bad Suzuki GSX1260…

TAKE THE BALLISTIC Yamaha MT-09, add in flashy paintwork, a quickshifter, some trick KYB forks and an Öhlins shock and the result is the MT-09 SP. This is a bike I’ve been seriously hanging to ride. I love the whole insanity of the MT concept and fixing the cheapish standard suspension fitted to the MT-09 by throwing in top level componentry made me excited to see how much better the SP handled. THREE TIMES THE FUN The 847cc three-cylinder crossplane engine has always been the strongest point of the standard MT-09. With plentiful power, linear torque and that raw character, it’s a proven package that brings smiles to anyone who samples it. Being Euro 4 compliant, it hasn’t lost its charm or potency and making 82.8kW and 87.5Nm of torque,…

THE DESTRUCTION, um, I mean… deconstruction has begun for the Z900. This is the time when you really find out what you’ve got and how painful or easy the restoration is going to be. Three things popped straight out – the pillion peg brackets and the rear indicator brackets had at some stage of its life been cut off. I went into a mild panic as I expected these would be near unobtainium, but the joys of buying over the internet came up with the goods once again. This is something that’s easily overlooked: just check out the pics on the web. The second thing I noticed when stripping the bike down is all the bolts are pretty much useless. Many have been changed for the wrong ones so a…

SEE NO EVIL ARIETE ‘FEATHER’ GOGGLES PRICE - $179.95 IT WAS ONE OF THOSE long and prolonged email chains to Ron at Link International and in a nutshell looked like this - ‘Mate, I’m on the lookout for a classic style of goggles, to fit both open and full face helmets, that are light, comfortable and can fit over my prescription glasses (yes, my mother did warn me) and won’t fog up, will look fab, won’t slide off my helmet and be lost like my last ones; motocross style would be great. Oh, and Italian would be sensational.’ Fortunately, Ron managed to make sense of all that. He offered the Ariete Feather model from their extensive catalogue. I say - ‘Ariete, that sounds French’ and Ron points out that ‘they…

I COULD THROW OUT ALL subjectivity with the bathwater and admit I instantly fell in love with the Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE. Taking only the first few hundred metres exiting the hotel in Lorne Victoria, through the first set of curves leading towards the famed Great Ocean Road the love gushed. My inner sweeping needle was edging to the maximum 10 out of 10 for power, torque, light clutch, sweet gearbox and strong, progressive Brembo M50 brakes. There was an intangible ‘this is just right’ feel to it. I had already called it a stunner for looks and build quality during the Media presentation the night before. The XE was a laid-down misère so I might as well spend the time pool-side sipping on Triomphe D’Anis cocktails, enjoying two days…

PRICE: $22,499 (plus on-road charges) WARRANTY:Two years, unlimited distance SERVICING INTERVALS: Every 12,000km or 12 months ENGINE: Liquid-cooled in-line four cylinder, 4-stroke, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder BORE x STROKE: 77 x 56mm DISPLACEMENT: 1043cc COMPRESSION: 10.3:1 POWER: 88.2kW @ 9000rpm TORQUE: 102Nm @ 7500rpm TRANSMISSION: 6-speed, wet multi-plate assist/slipper clutch, chain final drive SUSPENSION: Front, 43mm inverted fork, electronically adjustable, travel 150mm. Rear, monoshock, electronically adjustable, travel 152mm. DIMENSIONS: Seat height 840mm, weight 257kg (wet), fuel capacity 21 litres, wheelbase 1520mm TYRES: Front, 120/70/ZR17. Rear, 180/55/ZR17 FRAME:Twin tube aluminium BRAKES: Front, twin 310mm discs with radial mount four-piston cornering ABS calipers. Rear, 250mm disc, single-piston cornering ABS caliper. FUEL CONSUMPTION: 5.7 litres per 100km, premium unleaded THEORETICAL RANGE: 367km COLOURS: Emerald Blazed Green / Pearl Storm Gray VERDICT: COMFORTABLE,…

EVERY MOTORCYCLE has a pair (or triplet) of tyres and it’s essential they be in good condition for your safety and enjoyment. So as we do every year, we put the call out to the various suppliers to let us/you know about the latest and greatest black round things on the planet! BRIDGESTONE www.mcleodaccessories.com.au AX41S Fronts from $189.95, Rears from $279.95 The new Battlax Adventurecross Scrambler (AX41S) gives attitude, fashion, design and performance all in the one. A lot of research went into making sure the right look (combined with performance) was achieved for both Scrambler and Café Racer machines. Compounds and technology from Bridgestone’s sport touring range of tyres give great performance. S22 Front - $199.95, Rears from $269.95 Bridgestone’s new hypersport tyre allows you to experience the full…

PRICE: $13,499 (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: 82.8kW @ 10,000rpm TORQUE: 87.5Nm @ 8900rpm 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 130mm. DIMENSIONS: Seat height 820mm, weight 193kg (wet), fuel capacity 14 litres, wheelbase 1440mm 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: 6.22 litres per 100km, premium unleaded THEORETICAL RANGE: 224km COLOURS: Silver Blu Carbon VERDICT: ‘SPECIAL’ RIDE…

FOR MANY motorcyclists, being out on the open road is a form of escapism. Outside big cities, the fresh air, the sweet smell of farmland, the ocean breeze, winding roads, everything keeps you focused on the ride, and helps you forget about everything else. Having had a tumultuous adolescence and then enduring a major car accident in my mid-30s which put my wife and children in a coma with subsequent trauma and brain injuries, plus the unexpected passing of my mother and pressures of work and fatherhood, I found the Black Dog of depression barking at my heels and in my mind. With a career around the waterfront in boat building and later marina management, on-water activities like surfing and boating had always allowed me to free my mind from…