Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2020 i Australian Motorcyclist

Finding time YOU KNOW, LIFE CAN be a busy old thing, before you know it years have flown by. In my case, I hadn’t been for a ride with some old work mates for what turns out to be over five years. It seemed every time there was a ride on it was either deadline or I was away somewhere. However, this all finally changed and a day I was free (and the weather was good) I jumped on the CB1300S and caught up with ‘the guys’. It was a relatively short ride for this bunch of blokes as they normally punch out 400km day rides. On this one, being around 220km, we had plenty of time for coffee and plenty of BS over lunch. The ride started from Thornleigh…

TRIUMPHTIGER 900 GT PRO PRICE: $21,950 (plus on-road costs) WARRANTY:Two years, unlimited distance SERVICING INTERVALS: Every 16,000km or 12 months ENGINE: 888cc liquid-cooled three cylinder, 4-stroke, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder POWER: 70kW @ 8750rpm TORQUE: 87Nm @ 7250rpm TRANSMISSION: 6-speed, wet multi-plate clutch, chain final drive SUSPENSION: Front, 45mm inverted fork, adjustable compression and rebound, travel 180mm. Rear, monoshock, electronically adjustable, travel 170mm. DIMENSIONS: Seat height 810-830mm, weight 198kg (dry), fuel capacity 20 litres, wheelbase 1556mm TYRES: Front, 100/90/19. Rear, 150/70/R17 BRAKES: Front, twin 320mm discs with radial four-piston cornering ABS calipers. Rear, 255mm disc, single-piston cornering ABS caliper. FUEL CONSUMPTION: 5.50 litres per 100km, premium unleaded THEORETICAL RANGE: 363km COLOURS: Korosi Red, Sapphire Black, Pure White VERDICT: Good, different.…

QUEENSLAND HAS DONE WELL to keep the coronavirus under control, but it’s still a pain – although by the time you read this, I hope it will be less so. But whatever the conditions, I suspect that even Brisbanites will be ready to let it rip on a good, long ride. Well here it is. Six and a half hours (admittedly not counting the wait at the border checkpoints if they still exist) and 420 kilometres, over an interesting variety of roads with only a little bit of motorway. Yes! Keep in mind that border controls may change. At the moment, as I understand it, you may just have to apply for a pass which you can do online. But check with Queensland Health before you head out; they have…

THIS IS A VERY short ride, but one that you can make part of a great loop around the Healesville, Marysville, Reefton area. Start out of Healesville and head south on Don Road. At Mount Toolebewong stay on the bitumen for Mount Donna Buang Road. If you continue straight on Don Road you’ll be on gravel and miss the fun. You’ll have a different kind of fun of course. Follow Mount Donna Buang Road all the way to the end and turn right. Follow this road down into Warburton and pick one of the local cafes for a coffee. Once finished, head back the way you came to ride the fun again Distance – roughly 40km Fuel – Healesville, Warburton Road conditions – check with parks.vic.gov .au as snow falls during…

Per person prices for the tour are in NZ$ INCLUDED 14 day tour 13 nights’ accommodation 12 days’ riding including 4 at the Burt 9 breakfasts Welcome drinks Lead Rider Tour Guide Support Vehicle with 8 passenger seats and tour guide Farewell Dinner and celebration of the tour Entry to all Burt Munro Challenge events including live music Turbo ticket to Motorcycle Mecca and Bill Richardson Transport World Milford Sound Cruise Paradise Cap Burt Munro Challenge commemorative T-shirt. Not Included - anything not listed above.…

AN ENGLISH CLERGYMAN AND writer, Sydney Smith, once asked “What two ideas are more inseparable than beer and Britannia?” Well, let me make my own bid for immortality with “beer and bikes” instead. And it seems that Sydney brewers (as opposed to Sydney smiths) agree with me. Take a look at these labels adorning containers of the amber fluid. Young Henry’s Hoppy Porter is of course a fairly blunt claim to the association. Calling it “Motorcycle Oil” might be considered to be gilding the lily, but then again after a certain time in the evening, you do have to rub your point in or nobody understands it. If you know what I mean. No, seriously. How often have I tried to discuss Carolingian infantry tactics late at night, only to…

FROM 7 AUGUST THE doors of Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art are set to reopen as preparations for the world exclusive exhibition ‘The Motorcycle: Design, Art, Desire’ rev up. Director Chris Saines said thousands of visitors had returned to experience the permanent collection and exhibitions including ‘Mavis Ngallametta: Show Me the Way to Go Home’ since QAG reopened on 23 June. ‘Now, in line with the Queensland Government’s Roadmap to Recovery and our COVID-19 safety plan in place, we look forward to welcoming visitors back to our second site the Gallery of Modern Art as we prepare for our must-see summer exhibition, ‘The Motorcycle’. ‘From 28 November to 26 April, 2021, ‘The Motorcycle’ will feature more than 100 motorcycles from the 1870s to the present day, right across GOMA’s entire…

RATED 5 OUT OF 5 HELMETS Boorowa Hotel 37 Marsden St, Boorowa T: 02 6385 3000 E: Boorowa.pub@gmail.com W: www.boorowahotel.com.au SO ANYWAY, IT MUST’VE been around 10.30 when the shots started. From memory the first ones were green. Now, I don’t usually drink from thimbles, but I also don’t usually mix my drinks during a session. I don’t tend to frequent themed hotels. And I sure don’t go to places of worship all that much. But after an arvo spent in a Catholic church in central western NSW, followed by an evening in an ‘Irish’ pub drinking wine before switching to Guinness, I confess I continued chucking any semblance of usual behaviour and accepted an invite to knock back some ‘nobblers’ of various colours and constituents with a few lads.…

A REVISED SUZUKI V-STROM 1000 has been a long time coming but Suzuki has done it right – keeping the price relatively low ($20,990 ride away) and producing a very capable adventure machine that has also got rid of that ‘vanilla’ feeling of the outgoing model. The new V-Strom 1050 XT is a ripper! Remember Dr Big? That awesome Dakar-inspired DR750 beast? Well Suzuki has given the new V-Strom 1050 a retro restyle to look similar to Dr Big, more power, an upgraded electronics package, a few more gadgets, a new seat and a new capacity in name only, but one that still makes this one of the cheaper big boy adventurers. The decal on the side says, “1050” but this is only a name change from the outgoing ‘1000’.…

MUCH OF THE HUMAN race has been educated to expect instant gratification. This has made another significant part of the human race a lot of money. Take a look at the profit reports from buy-now-pay-later services. What, you may ask, is wrong with that? Well, not necessarily very much at all. Many people are happy to be here for a good time not a long time – although when the good time come to an end they may change their minds – and they are perfectly entitled to that attitude. There are, however, some problems with it. I’m not so much talking about people overcommitting themselves financially or filling their homes with so much crap that they can’t move. That is the fate of those who are simply not smart…

OTHERS HAVE TRIED BUT no one has come close to replicating the superbikelike scooter that is the Yamaha TMAX. It now has a greater capacity, more room and more awesomeness. If you like to surprise people on two wheels, the TMAX is THE bike to do that on. Yamaha claims the new 560 is the fastest TMAX ever with maximum power up from 33.7kW @ 6750rpm to 35kW @ 7500rpm and peak torque up from 52.8Nm @ 5250rpm to 55.7Nm @ 5250rpm. The Euro 5 friendly Yamaha is claimed to be 5km/h faster and accelerate quicker. This is certainly the case in the 70km/h-120km/h range – the TMAX pulls a lot faster than you would think. Top speed is good enough to have you in lights at your local Police…

OVER THE FOLLOWING PAGES you’ll read about three of the latest sports tyres available. As it turned out all three have a distinctly different construction feel, while all having mega amounts of grip. All three sets were tested on my Honda CB1300S and ridden around 1000km each set. Longevity is never going to be a consideration with a sport tyre so there’s no use punching up huge kays, but as a general rule you’ll be looking around 5000km for a road only (no track) ridden bike. SW First up is the Bridgestone S22. I have ridden with the S22 on a number of other bikes and have always found them to be a great all-round tyre. As much as the S22 is listed as a sports tyre I reckon they…

WELL, AFTER SAVING, SAVING, saving over the last few months I’ve finally been able to afford some of the big purchases for the Z900. These included the brand-new exhausts, engine side covers and brake calipers. The brake calipers turned out to be a nightmare, but a surprise in the one package. As I’ve found with many parts on the A4, there are a lot of one year only built parts, which makes them even more rare than bits for other bikes – the brake calipers are among these items. Trying to find a pair for this twin disc setup had comments made to me like, “Good luck finding them”, “hope you’ve got plenty of money”, and so it went on. Then I received two separate messages, one from a guy…

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. LETTER OF THE MONTH WELL, IN RESPONSE TO my last editorial regarding whether people have taken some of their super…

WHAT DOES CHANGE REALLY mean? Essentially, change should mean letting go of the old and encouraging something new to develop. Something will become something else. We do not end up where we started. The end result is very different or completely different from what we started with. The reason I opened with this little definition of change is because when you jump on the new Tiger 900 it’s going to be totally different to what you’re used to with the outgoing Tiger 800 range. Is it for the better? From a riding perspective, yes. The engine is pretty much all-new, you might say. Yes, it is still a triple cylinder, but most of the internals are new and the main talking point is the new firing order. The 800 had…

WE KNOW YOU PROBABLY can’t do this right now, but there’s always the future, right? HEALESVILLE  Healesville is home to some great galleries and studios, or hook up some tasty lunch at one of the al fresco cafes and popular pubs. Explore boutique shops, and stock up on fresh regional produce from the huge range of local growers and suppliers. Healesville township is a ‘must do’ and you can even take a train ride on Yarra Valley Railway. Originally part of the old railway system, the Yarra Valley Railway offers short tourist rides across the Watts River, under the Donovan’s Road overbridge and through the historic tunnel near TarraWarra Estate. Open Sundays, public holidays and Wednesdays during school holidays. Trains depart on the hour between 10am-4pm. Explore three markets held…

SUZUKIV-STROM 1050 XT PRICE: $20,990 (ride away) WARRANTY:Two years, unlimited distance SERVICING INTERVALS: Every 12,000km or 12 months ENGINE: 1037cc liquid-cooled V-twin cylinder, 4-stroke, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder POWER: 73kW @ 8000rpm TORQUE: 103Nm @ 4000rpm TRANSMISSION: 6-speed, wet multi-plate slipper clutch, chain final drive SUSPENSION: Front, 43mm inverted fork, adjustable preload, compression and rebound, travel 160mm. Rear, monoshock, adjustable preload and rebound, travel 160mm. DIMENSIONS: Seat height 850-870mm, weight 247kg (wet), fuel capacity 20 litres, wheelbase 1555mm TYRES: Front, 110/80/19. Rear, 150/70/17 BRAKES: Front, twin 310mm discs with radial four-piston cornering ABS calipers. Rear, 260mm disc, single-piston cornering ABS caliper. FUEL CONSUMPTION: 4.85 litres per 100km, premium unleaded THEORETICAL RANGE: 412km COLOURS: Pearl Brilliant White/ Glass Blaze Orange, Champion Yellow No.2, Glass Sparkle Black VERDICT: No longer vanilla.…

IT HAS BEEN a couple of years since we held an Australian Motorcyclist Magazine Tour but our great association with Paradise Motorcycle Tours has got the brains – (AMM) (PMT) --together to come up with our next tour: The Rider’s Tour! This is a tour that is NOT to be missed. It really is going to be that good. Not only will the tour be covering a lot of the best of the South Island, but the cream is we’ll be tying it in with the Burt Munro Challenge – four days of blow your mind racing events, motorcycles, and simply old fashioned motorcycling fun. Before we get into the details, if the first paragraph had you saying, “I’m in already!” well, do not delay and book your spot. Contact…

YAMAHA TMAX 560 PRICE: $16,599 (ride away) WARRANTY:Two years, unlimited distance SERVICING INTERVALS: Every 10,000km or 12 months ENGINE: 562cc liquid-cooled twin cylinder, 4-stroke, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder POWER: 35kW @ 7500rpm TORQUE: 55.7Nm @ 5250rpm TRANSMISSION: CVT automatic, belt final drive SUSPENSION: Front, 41mm inverted fork, non-adjustable, travel 120mm. Rear, monoshock, adjustable preload, travel 117mm. DIMENSIONS: Seat height 800mm, weight 218kg (wet), fuel capacity 15 litres, wheelbase 1575mm TYRES: Front, 120/70/R15. Rear, 160/60/R15 BRAKES: Front, twin 267mm discs with radial four-piston ABS calipers. Rear, 282mm disc, two-piston ABS caliper. FUEL CONSUMPTION: 5.76 litres per 100km, premium unleaded THEORETICAL RANGE: 260km COLOURS: Sword Grey, Icon Grey VERDICT: Scoot like a superbike.…

IMAGES AND VIDEO ARE the perfect way to remember your trip; the perfect way to put a smile on your face six months later when you’re sulking about being back home on the sofa. Here’s our guide to getting the best results. Remember cameras with films in them? Remember those weird, oblong disposable cameras that always seemed to cut out half the people from the shot? What a pain in the behind it was running out of film mid trip. What a disappointment when you had the film developed only to find the pictures all trashed because you accidentally opened the back cover of the camera on day five. Sure, to get world-class images and video still requires decent kit and years of experience, but you can get some cracking…

WAY BACK IN TIME, when I was 19 years old, two mates and I decided to ride to Bathurst at Easter time. Obviously, this could only mean that we were intending to attend the annual bike race meeting and camp on the mountain. Yee-hah, bring it on! This story is penned by one of those mates, a bloke called Kim (who now lives on Thursday Island). Phil Salt mist veils the sleeping sea-side town of Lennox Head. Nothing disturbs the tranquil pre-dawn serenity except the soft burble of a red Honda 400/4 as it smoothly glides along the deserted main street, through the darkness of the sugar cane farms and into the hills as it makes its way to the appointed meeting at Alstonville. All the pre-tour feelings of excitement…