Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 165 i Australian Road Rider

Sports bikes never went away, they just got more radical. Going fast on a motorcycle is one of the joys of riding. Feeling the wind, hearing the noise, enjoying the rush of endorphins as you wind the throttle on, driving the bike forward, tipping it hard into turns, finding the edge of your tyres, performance and ability. It’s not really about outright speed – you’ve gone faster in an aeroplane. Airbus, however, is a very well named company, because it never set out to get its passengers’ heart rates up, despite traveling at hundreds of kilometers an hour. Second gear through a racetrack hairpin can be a lot more heart pumping, although chance are you’ll be doing less than 80km/h. 20-odd years ago sportsbikes were morphing into race bikes. The…

Triumph obviously has a lot of faith in its new 1200 Tiger range, now with a three-year warranty. These machines are taking on Japanese, American and other European brands in the most hard-fought category of all – adventure. The design is modern, adventure-focussed and compact. The bodywork is all new, as are the graphics and colour schemes. And you will be able to get one for under 30K. Just. Compared to the bikes they replace, the new-generation Tigers are lighter, more powerful, better suspended and more comfortable. Indeed, Triumph claims the new bikes are more than 25kg lighter than the previous generation and up to 17kg lighter than the closest shaft drive competition (based on a comparable specification). So lighter and more powerful than the BMW twins, but not trying…

“…THE SPORTSTER S IS ABOUT ENJOYING THE RIDE AND FORGETTING YOUR PROBLEMS.” It’s not about the performance. The first thing you should know about the Sportster S – it is not a sportsbike. The second thing – it’s a stonking load of fun to ride. It’s a 121-horsepower performance cruiser, with style, a low seat and an aggressive attitude the critically important features – at least as far as Harley-Davidson is concerned. Forget practicality, forget comfort, forget sporting prowess or carrying a friend around, the Sportster S is about enjoying the ride and forgetting your problems. That Harley’s engineers have managed to make a motorcycle from a design concept with stupid fat tyres, pathetic rear suspension travel and that hellishly convenient low seat that actually works as well as it…

APRILIA RS660 On paper the Aprilia 660 looks to be a competitor to the R7, but they are quite different beasts. The R7 is a Supersport track specialist that works to some degree on the street. The Aprilia is more street focused yet works to some degree on the track (we assume, we’ve not ridden it there). The Aprilia runs a higher specification in terms of engine performance, chassis sophistication and electronics. Consequently, it costs $5000 more. So… they are both in the same postcode but don’t really live anywhere near each other. TRIUMPH STREET TRIPLE A naked triple with three versions, from the LAMs S-model to the 20K RS. There’s great spec and sporting ability available. KAWASAKI NINJA 650 Available in both LAMs and full-power versions, Kawasaki’s Ninja 650…

The front wheel came up off the bitumen as I pinned the throttle and stayed there until I grabbed the next gear, something which isn’t particularly surprising on a big-bore hyper-naked … until you understand the front wheel was lofted at over 100mph… The new Speed Triple RS is sportsbike, roadster, modern marvel and high-performance machine rolled into one, a hyper-naked. Triumph has shoe-horned a firecracker engine into a compact chassis to create not just the best Speed Triple ever, but a machine that really takes it to the numerous other hyper-nakeds. While the old bike rode much better than its specs suggested (and had a loyal following because of it), the new one features class-leading power, weight, suspension and chassis dimensions. THE INITIAL IMPRESSION When first viewed, the Speed…

“TWISTY ROADS, THEME PARKS, BEACHES, CAFES AND SHOE SHOPS” I sat looking over my scrambled eggs at attractive people exercising, the sparkling Pacific providing a stunning backdrop as I pondered how wonderful life can be. Yet it was going to get even better on this shinning 21° morning. Within 10 minutes I’d be riding a twisting deserted road through pristine rainforest and an hour after that I’d be doing coffee on a deck overlooking some of the best mountain views Australia has to offer. Welcome to Coolangatta, a two-wheeled holiday wonderland. Typically, a motorcycle touring holiday is thought to be the linking of a series of destinations. Each day you pack up and ride to a new one. This can be a joy… and a lot of work. There’s the…

“…A COUPLE OF BLACK BEARS, LOTS OF DEER AND ELK, MANY BUFFALO, ROADRUNNERS IN NEW MEXICO, A BOBCAT IN TEXAS AND A COYOTE IN DEATH VALLEY…” Have you even seen how a foreign tourist reacts when they see their first kangaroo? That’s how we looked when we saw our first grizzly bear, a massive, beautiful beast. Except a kangaroo won’t eat you. And Americans think Australia is dangerous just because we have a few snakes and spiders. Over the years riding in the USA, we had seen a couple of black bears, lots of deer and elk, many buffalo, roadrunners in New Mexico, a bobcat in Texas and a coyote in Death Valley, but this was our first encounter with a grizzly. We were in Glacier National Park in the…

BMW R 1250 GS A brilliant bike developed over decades; a sensible buyer would seriously consider the German machine. Pricing will be similar if upgraded to match the spec of the Pan America. KTM SUPER ADVENTURE S Upgraded with adaptive cruise control for 2021, KTM’s off ering is powerful, capable and comes from a company with a dirt bike background. Seriously high performance in an adventure bike. TRIUMPH TIGER 1200S New for 2022 and thoroughly revitalised, with three cylinders and shaft drive. We haven’t ridden one yet, but if it’s as big a leap forward as the company’s 900s was when it came out, the new machines will be excellent. ALSO WORTH A LOOK Suzuki’s 1050 V-Strom is a great bike but doesn’t off er the tech or capability. Ducati’s…

A modest windfall had my mate Slim thinking about a new bike. Not a new new bike, it wasn’t that much of a windfall, but enough to consider spending maybe 10 grand. If he could find something for half that, even better. More important was that it was the right bike, one that would potentially see him through the rest of his riding life without breaking the bank along the way. Like me, Slim is his late 60s, retired, in relatively good health but carrying a few war wounds. He has been riding sports bikes, many of them Ducatis, at breakneck speeds for more than 40 years but now struggles with clip-ons and especially rear-set foot pegs. He wanted something comfortable, fast and reliable, and for the money had narrowed…

LOOKING BACK It’s been a decade of Ducati Panigale. Named for the town where there are produced, Borgo Panigale in northern Italy, Ducati announced the new machines in late 2011 and we were riding the new monocoque-chassis equipped sportsbikes from 2012. Looking surprisingly fresh after the 1098/1198 models – which were much better looking than the ill-conceived 999 – we had red superbikes again. The engine, known as the Superquadro, was an extremely oversquare (bore bigger than the storke) 90-degree V-twin which revved to the heavns that’s to that short stroke. Advanced electronics, premium fuel and other smart technology help push power up to 195hp. At the time it was the most powerful twin you could buy, and one of the most powerful bikes, with an excellent power-to-weight ratio. Top-of-the…

Sometimes, in the fantasyland we know as high fashion, exclusivity means a lot more than price: value becomes an abstract where people are willing to pay ridiculous amounts of money to have something because, well, someone else doesn’t. So when a famous fashion house like Christian Dior decides to collaborate on a project with an iconic brand like Vespa the result is likely to be spectacular and the price eye-watering. Thus we have the very rare, very limited edition, no expense spared, beautiful and unique Vespa 946 Christian Dior. Yes, the 946 was first shown as a limited edition model back in 2012, one described by Vespa as ‘devoted to aesthetic and technological perfection’, has been ‘re-interpreted’ by Maria Grazia Chiuri, Creative Director of Dior’s women’s collections. Thus we had…

Harley-Davidson believes more and more of its customers (and potential customers) are looking for higher performance from their bikes, so it’s announced three new 2022 models which should be here soon, all offering better engine performance and handling than their predecessors. In addition there’s a raft of new CVO models, with premium paintwork, stereo systems and an incredible quality of finish for those customers looking for a premium product and are willing to pay for it. A NEW SPORTS-TOURER Harley is pitching the new Low Rider ST at a sports-tourer. It’s an updated, high-performance version of the Low Rider S with a set of small panniers and half fairing. The idea is you can use it as a day-to-day sporty cruiser and still be comfortable on the occasional longer trip,…

“…DESIGNED AS A TRAINING PLATFORM FOR RIDERS TO DEVELOP RACE SKILLS.” Riding fast is an adrenaline rush; it’s why sportsbikes exist. The new Yamaha R7 will give you that rush, although it will do it for a lot less money than just about anything else you can describe as a full-size sportsbike. Rounding up bigger, faster motorcycles in the twists and turns of Sydney Motorsport Park is an absolute buzz, the pleasure of being able to get hard onto the throttle early without much fear of the dreaded highside offering a different sports ride to a machine with mega horsepower and high-tech rider aids. The R7 offers heaps of bang-for-buck in a compact package. It replaces the legendary R6 in the streetbike line-up, Yamaha dropping the road-registrable version for just…

APRILIA TUONO V4, $28,230 The cheaper Tuono is now a more rounded, longer-distance package (heading down the KTM Super Duke GT path) but still delivers Tuono excitement all day long. It matches the Triumph in sport performance. The $4k more expensive “Factory” is the hyper-sports version and it stands close to the top of the naked bike heap. It brings elevated track performance but loses some “all day” ability. YAMAHA MT-10SP, $25,199 The Yamaha offers a lot for the money. It’s arguably the best-sounding engine from Japan, in a great frame with Öhlins electronic suspension. They have signature styling as quirky as the Triumph. Owners love them. DUCATI STREET FIGHTER V4, $29,800 More power, similar weight, comes with Showa fully adjustable suspension. Öhlins is OEM on the V4S for an…

I was a pre-teen and hooked on I.C.E. The rush of adrenaline, the smell, the feel. They were, and still are, addictive. I take a hit as often as I can. In my humble opinion, there is only one way to really experience I.C.E. – not cooped up surrounded by metal and whizbang safety features, but out on two wheels, raw, involved and exposed. Unfortunately, it looks like the days of unfettered I.C.E. are numbered. I.C.E. has many children. There’s the raw, balls out, suck and blow; the sedate double banger; the slower single thump; three and four burner – even six hitters… Everyone still here on this spinning orb hasn’t lived a day without I.C.E. but its days might be numbered. I don’t know how I feel about that.…

"Stuck? Nuh, mate. It’s not me who’s stuck. It’s you.” I used this line over and over with great effect with my mates back home during the pandemic. While they killed time during lockdowns tiling their bathrooms, learning how to bake sourdough cookies and other such nonsense, I pretty much did whatever I wanted in Bali, which never suffered a lockdown yet somehow managed to evade the brunt of the pandemic. One thing I was not able to do was to travel overseas without doing a week’s quarantine on return – a total deal-breaker for a hyperactive bastard like me. Travelling around Indonesia was also a bit tricky because of sporadic travel bans introduced with no notice when infection numbers spiked. And while I did manage to sneak in two…

Intuitive Cube has a bunch of innovative mounts to make it easy to access your phone and mount your GoPro. Although fairly new to Australia, Intuitive Cube was founded in 1977 and has been making phone holders since 2012. While Cube offers phone cases, there’s also a universal holder that easily slips around your phone’s corners and the Infinity Adaptors, small stick-on mounts. Combined with a huge range of accessories and a vibration damper to reduce the tingles getting to your phone, Intuitive Cube offers some new and interesting ideas on the best way to carry your tech. INFINITY MOUNTS Cube uses its Infinity system between the phone and the bike. There’s a range of options – stick-on mounts in carbon fibre or brushed metal colours and the Infinity Adaptor…

I With the 2020 National BMW Motorrad Rally approaching, I was in a quandry: take my beautifully restored historic R90S? Or sully my beautiful Ducati Monster with luggage? Instead, I bought a new BMW G 310 R. I tried for the G 310 GS, but alas the lower seat height on the R made the decision easy. I had started riding back in the early ‘70s with a few small-capacity Japanese bikes, gradually moving up to more powerful machines like the K 100 RS 16 V, which was a wonderful machine for long-distance touring. In fact, I had a variety of BMW machines over the years that were either second-hand or restored by my late husband. These days, being somewhat older, lighter and shorter, the G 310 R suited me…

MORE INFO links.roadrider.com.au/165DesertX With its 8-valve Testastretta engine, Paris-Dakar styling, dirt bike features and adventure bike capabilities, the new DesertX looks like being an incredible bike for those talented enough to throw such a big, powerful bike around sand dunes. Surprisingly affordable at $24,200 ride away, this 110hp machine might give away some power to the bigger adventure bikes, but this is more dirt bike than adventure tourer. It reminds us more of the KTM 950 Super Enduro of 20-odd years ago than anything currently available, although Ducati is offering such an array of accessories it looks like it’ll make a very handy off-road tourer and would have to be a frontrunner for the right bike to ride around the world. It’s got around nine inches of wheel travel in…

Both LAMS and full-power versions of the new Aprilia Tuareg 660 adventure bike will be in showrooms in the coming months. Designed to be tough enough for harsh adventure riding conditions yet civilised for cities, the new Tuareg is the first Aprilia to have that name in decades, and the first adventure bike since the company was bought by Piaggio. The engine is taken from the road bike 660s – RS and Tuono – but tuned for adventure riding. In this configuration the motor (the full-power version) produces 80hp, with a very flat torque curve, with 75 per cent of the maximum torque being available any time after 3000rpm and a maximum of 70Nm being reached at a low 6500. This should make the Tuareg easy to keep on the…

“It’s all about the character,” one of the designers tells the camera about the new BSA Gold Star soon to be manufactured under the re-born brand name by Mahindra, the giant Indian motor vehicle company. Taking all sorts of design cues from the past, the British-based team wanted to build a bike that is unmistakably a Gold Star, yet complies with modern requirements. So it’s a liquid-cooled single where the original was air-cooled, there are disc brakes, modern electronics and no end of other technology that didn’t exist in the 1950s – but it’s not there because they wanted to put it there, but rather they were forced to by circumstances. What the new BSA team wanted to build was “an authentic and reliable BSA riding experience. This modern classic…

La Nina was in full swing last summer, drenching rains sweeping across the east coast, saturating the land and keeping bridges and causeways continually wet. I came to one with a bend where the road turned about 60 degrees in the water to run diagonally up the far side bank. It was difficult to see slippery green slime on the concrete causeway and I soon found myself unexpectantly laying in the water with the bike on its side. Getting up, I saw my phone sailing through the air, pulled from my pocket by my headphones. I grabbed the cord, but that just caused the phone to detach from the lead, plopping into the water, followed by a mad scramble as I fought to find the device I’m so dependent on…

The most popular accessories are likely to be the adaptive rider height, spoked wheels and panniers. Harley also offers many other accessories. The grey test bike had a full suite of protection options such as crash bars, radiator guard, headlight guard, exhaust guard and heavy-duty bash plate. That bike had done some fall over work previously (fortunately not by us) and it was clear all this stuff worked well. Riders intending to get off the beaten track (or take the less beaten track) should sign up for the lot. Luggage wise, all needs are catered to. There’s soft luggage, road-biased panniers/top box, and off -road-biased aluminium boxes. Nigel’s bike had the “sport” plastic pannier/top box set and I had the rugged off-road set. Nigel was impressed with the “sport” set,…

Spotting a trailer-equipped, strange-looking Indian Vintage with a horse’s saddle as a back seat in the NSW outback town of Lightning Ridge was pretty bizarre… and realising it was being ridden by a grandmother only made the situation more unusual. But that’s part of the Barbering Biker show. “I wanted a steampunk equestrian vibe… design wise it was the only Indian I could get to match the idea in my head,” Chris Keeble, aka The Barbering Biker, told ARR. “I’ve had it wrapped, it’s not a paint job. I wanted it to look like it had been stuck in a shed for the last 100 years when I found it. Rusty, vintage, looks old… I don’t have to clean it, the rusty look is deliberate. I keep adding to it,…

“THE BIKE SEEMED TO FALL OVER IN SLOW MOTION...” The landslide over the Pan-American Highway occurred just moments before we arrived. That meant we were at the front of an unending line of vehicles. Since we were on bikes, we naturally filtered to the front of the roadblock. It was nearing midday when we stopped and now, two long hours later, we were still waiting. We were forever expectant that the orange-vested worker would wave us through at any moment. In these situations, it’s easy to become gripped in a mania of impatient expectation. We had a plan for the day and it did not include losing two hours at a roadblock. Even though we were determined not to forget the golden rule of motorcycle travel – you’ll get there…

MOTUL CARE PACK WINNER WIN THIS Every issue we’re giving away this beaut pack of Motul cleaning gear worth $49.95. All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is send us a pick of your shining steed and we’ll pick what we think is the best shot and comment and the top blokes at Motul will fire out this pack to whoever wrote it. Simple. Pack includes some of the best washing and detailing products on the market: • Wash & Wax, a waterless cleaner that leaves a wax coating • Moto Wash, good for all surfaces • Scratch Remover, a micro-abrasive cream for painted surfaces • Helmet & Visor Clean, to keep your lid and your view pristine. If you’re the winner and you…