Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 175 i Australian Road Rider

“Mate, if I’d been by myself I might have pushed the thing over and set fire to it — but all my mates were having the same problems.” I was talking to a bloke I’ve known for decades about his adventure bike and how it wasn’t performing the way he’d hoped during a 4500km trip through Far North Queensland. “At one stage, roadworks had closed the main road, so we ended up on a detour which was soft, bumpy and as tiring as hell — unless you were doing around 100km/h, when the bike was basically skimming across the top — but it was downright scary to slow down. A mate had a tank slapper so bad he needed a time-out to gather his wits about him. I was thinking…

UPFRONT HIGHER-PERFORMANCE LAMS DUKE FOR 2024 With a new engine and chassis, the 2024 KTM 390 Duke represents a major step-up in performance and capability to the version it replaces. The new chassis features a steel trellis main frame and die-cast aluminium subframe for better stiffness when it’s needed, and better feedback to the rider. It’s complemented by new triple clamps with a revised offset for improved handling and stability. At the back is a new lightweight swingarm that curves around the now off-set shock, repositioned to provide more space for a larger airbox while also reducing seat height. The engine, dubbed LC4c, has grown to 399cc. KTM describe the powerplant as “completely redesigned” with “newly optimised cylinder heads and gearboxes, as well as meeting EURO 5.2 compatibility standards”. The…

COVID-19, extreme weather events, inflation… there are numerous things in recent years which have impacted everyone’s ability to enjoy motorcycling, so we thought we’d have a look at the reasons why we know riding is better now than, well, probably ever. Of course we don’t know what it was like to ride in the early days of motorcycling, but for the last 40 years or so your editor has been throwing a leg over his bikes, week-in and week-out. Put simply, it’s better now than ever, and here are just a few of the reasons why. 1. SAFETY For all my bitching about over-policing, harsh penalties and stupidly low speed limits, getting drunks off the road — both the idiots behind wheels and those behind handlebars — has saved countless…

SPECIFICATIONS ENGINE Type: Liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, DOHC, four-stroke parallel twin Capacity: 799cc Compression ratio: N/A Engine management: Bosch EFI with rideby-wire throttle PERFORMANCE Claimed maximum power: 91hp (67kW) at 9250rpm Claimed maximum torque: 75Nm at 8000rpm Fuel consumption: 4.4L/100km TRANSMISSION Type: 6-speed Final drive: Chain Clutch: PASC Slipper CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR Chassis: Tubular steel Front suspension: 43mm KYB upside-down fork, fully adjustable, 160mm travel Rear suspension: KYB monoshock, fully adjustable, 150mm travel Front brakes: Twin 320mm discs with J.Juan four-piston radial calipers Rear brake: 260mm disc with J.Juan twinpiston caliper ABS: BOSCH 9.1 MP Cornering ABS Tyres: Michelin ANAKEE tubeless 110/80-19 front, 150/70-17 rear DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES Rake: 28° Trail: N/A Claimed wet weight: 231kg Seat height: 825 (optional high seat +30mm) Wheelbase: 1531mm Fuel capacity: 19L ELECTRONICS, RIDER AIDS…

SPECIFICATIONS ENGINE Liquid-cooled, 4-stroke, DOHC, 4-valve, 2-cylinder Power: Not given Torque: Not given Capacity: 655cc Bore x stroke: 78 × 68.6mm Compression ratio: 11.0:1 Fuel system: Fuel injection Ignition: Digital TCI TRANSMISSION Type: 6 speed Final drive: Chain Clutch: Wet multiplate, cable actuated CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR Chassis: Steel Swingarm: Steel Front suspension: conventional fork, 130mmm travel Rear suspension: Linkage mount shock, rebound and ring preload adjustment, 130mm travel Front brakes: 4-piston semi-floating 298mm dual discs, ABS Rear brake: Single-piston calliper, 245mm single disc, ABS Tyres: Front: 120/70ZR17 (58W), Rear: 180/55ZR17M/C (73W) ELECTRONIC RIDER AIDS Brake control (ABS): Yes Riding modes: No Engine power modes: No Traction control: Yes Wheelie control: No Inertial Measurement Unit: No Quickshifter: No Cruise Control: No DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES Rake: deg Trail: mm Claimed dry…

SPECIFICATIONS ENGINE Type: 2 cylinders, 4 stroke, DOHC parallel twin. Liquid cooled + additional oil cooler. Titanium Akrapovic full exhaust system Capacity: 889cc Compression ratio: 14:1 Engine management: Bosch EMS with RBW Fuelling: DKK Dell’Orto (throttle body 48mm) Fuel consumption: 10.5L/100km PERFORMANCE Claimed maximum power: 135hp @ 11,000rpm Claimed maximum torque: 98Nm @ 8250rpm TRANSMISSION Type: 6 speed, quickshifter Final drive: 520 Chain Clutch: Cable-operated PASC slipper clutch CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR Chassis: Cro-Mo steel frame (25CrMo4 tubular steel) Front suspension: WP XACT PRO 7543 USD for ks adjustable for preload, compression and rebound damping. 120mm wheel travel Rear suspension: WP APEX PRO 7746 single shock. Adjustable compression (high/low), rebound and preload. 120mm wheel travel Front brakes: 2 × radially mounted 4-piston caliper, brake disc ∅ 290mm Rear brake: 2…

Hay Street’s Red Light district reputation may have waned, but you can still get blown away in Kalgoorlie: take a trip out to the viewing area of the Super Pit. You can look at as many pictures of this pit as you like, but nothing can prepare you for the sight of this massive hole in the ground first hand. It really is mind blowing. The open cut is 3.5km long, 1.5km wide and more than 600m deep. It is also possible to see it from space, we are told. It was day three of a six-day tour from Perth, east to the goldfields, south to Esperance and the coast before looping back to the Western Australian capital. Six ageing riders on six big bikes (sports-tourers and adventure bikes), out…

WHATZ NEW OMNI CRUISE & AIROH CONNOR HELME Cruise control is awesome technology, but it’s still fairly rare on motorcycles, especially smaller or older bikes. Omni-Cruise is a way to emulate cruise control without the electronics or massive expense — it’s a well-designed clamp which locks your throttle at the desired lever, but can be disengaged to release the throttle quickly and easily, essential for safety. The unit itself is a skinny aluminium clamp with a spring-equipped tensioning bolt. You simply slide on the supplied silicone ring up to the switchblock end of the handlebar, place the Omni-Cruise over the handlebar from the front and tension it up. In use you get the bike to the speed you want and the throttle opening you need to maintain that speed, and…

Cooler in these warmer months while being protective and comfortable thanks to smart design and modern technology, Falco’s Marshall boots have been a bit of a surprise package since they turned up recently at Australian Road Rider HQ. A low-rise adventure boot, they feature Italian design and Euro quality at a competitive price. The Marshalls fill a niche by offering a lightweight/lightduty adventure option for those days when riders aren’t expecting to be knee deep in mud or falling over in rocks. This type of boot is about extra convenience and the Marshalls don’t disappoint, with super-fast on/off appeal via a single, adjustable aluminium micro buckle. Another advantage overfull-length boots is a cooler ride in summer. D30 impact protection is used over t he rider’s ankles, there’s full-grain leather uppers…

With a weight saving of up to 8kg over standard batteries, unparalleled options for custom mounting and strong, efficient and reliable starting, lighting and ignition power, Motocell batteries offer a high-tech option to run your bike’s electrical system. The Motocell lithium motorcycle battery is one of the lightest lithium batteries on the market, weighing in from as little as 200 grams — you can reduce up to two-thirds of the weight of a lead-acid equivalent. Fitted with three-position brass terminals, they are easily fitted into the factory position or mount them under seats, in battery trays, under swingarms, pretty much any position you can imagine. The state-of-the-art extra-tough nylon outer casing is completely weatherproof and offers extreme levels of durability, while monitoring the level of charge in your Motocell lithium…

Well, I’m back from my winter holiday, a lazy two-month, 10,000km jaunt to the tip of Cape York with my better half riding shotgun. And no, we didn’t take the bike, although we might have thought about it 45 years ago. A 4×4 dual-cab ute is a much better fit in our dotage, as is our comfy camper trailer with a large compressor fridge to keep the beer and wine icy cold. I’m making that bit up about maybe taking a bike 45 years ago. There was no road to Cape York back then, just a maintenance track for the overland telegraph line. No bridge over the Archer River, no ferry across the Jardine either. One of the first people to ride a motorcycle all the way was Dave Saunders…

UPFRONT 2024 BMW F 900 GS & GS ADVENTURE BMW’s mid-range twins are growing again, now at 893cc, up 42 from the 850s which were introduced in 2018. More power, a better torque curve, fully adjustable USD Showa forks, and positioning as the best offroad adventure bikes (or enduros as BMW likes to call them) the company has ever produced are the highlights of the new bikes. The entry-level F 750 GS has also seen changes to become the F 800 GS in the lineup for 2024. BMW’s parallel twin adventure bikes have proven to be some of the most popular midweight tourers around the Australian Road Rider office, proving to be comfortable and capable on the bitumen while offering a very competent ride when the road turns to gravel.…

UPFRONT KAWASAKI’S NEW 400 CRUISER Long, low and sleek… the recipe for a good-looking cruiser is age-old and simple, yet manufacturers so often get it wrong when looking for a new style to attract buyers. Not so Kawasaki with the new Eliminator… it’s small, simple and very learner-friendly, yet has the cruiser style that should attract anyone looking for a lightweight inexpensive cruiser. A round headlight and mirrors complement the slightly raised, pull-back handlebars. The 18-inch front wheel is tall enough to complement the style while being a practical choice for the engineering and steering dynamics, too. The trellis frame does look a little unusual, wrapping around the twin-cylinder 400cc engine, but that allows the 13-litre fuel tank to sit neatly above. The bike rides on twin rear shocks, another…

ROAD RIDER TEST CFMOTO 800MT EXPLORE I was going from freeways to backroads to dirt roads and even the occasional fire trail when it hit me: the CFMOTO 800MT explore is the modern example of the British twin of the ‘50s, the Universal Japanese Motorcycle of the 1970s the adventure bikes of the 1990s — affordable, versatile, practical go-anywhere motorcycles. By modern standards those older bikes wouldn’t be considered “go anywhere” bikes, but plenty of people, myself included, didn’t hesitate to take their road bikes down dirt roads and byways, simply because we didn’t have anything else. Of course, for decades we’ve had extremely capable adventure bikes with lots of the latest tech for their generation, but they have often had price tags which made eyes water, or affordable dirtbikes…

YAMAHA MT-07LA ROAD RIDER TEST I was stringing together a series of corners when it hit me: dynamic motorcycle riding is a highly technical skill, somewhat akin to playing a wind instrument and dancing at the same time. With an instrument it is the keys, with a motorcycle it’s the controls, but either way they must be operated at precisely the right moment. The musician needs to make sure their breath is timed for the music; the rider needs to ensure their body is in the correct position for the corner… It’s a tricky business and those thinking they’ll master music or riding effortlessly are unrealistically ambitious. Editor Nigel tested the Yamaha MT-07LA (and its sibling the XSR700) in issue 158 and his review is still relevant, for the only…

TOUR QUEENSLAND TO ALBERT, NSW “Y ou are cordially invited to CHUMPS…” I didn’t need to read any further, I was going. The last three plague-ridden years meantd was long overdue fora decent ride. As it happened, the destination was Albert NSW (population ..26), 62km from the geographical centre of NSW and 865km from my front doorvia the shortest, most boring route. I had some holidays up my sleeve so I’d see if I could find a non-boring method of getting there. As I was Triumph Speed Triple mounted, I felt honourbound to find as many twisties as I could. The first 260km were a bit of a mixed bag. My house to Rathdowney was typically dull, with the Queensland end of the road, from Rathdowney to the Kyogle turnoff…

SPECIFICATIONS ENGINE Type: V4 Granturismo, V4 - 90°, 4 valves per cylinder, counter-rotating crankshaft, Twin Pulse firing order, liquid cooled Capacity: 1158cc Compression ratio: 14:1 Engine management: Electronic fuel injection system, Øeq 46mm elliptical throttle bodies with Ride-by-Wire system Service intervals: 15,000km or two years (valve clearances every 60,000km) PERFORMANCE Claimed maximum power: 170hp (125kW) @ 10,500rpm Claimed maximum torque: 125Nm (12.7kg, 92 lb ft) @ 8750rpm Fuel consumption: 5.5L/100km TRANSMISSION Type: Six-speed w/- straight-cut gear. Up/down quickshifter Final drive: Chain Clutch: Multiplate wet clutch with hydraulic control, self-servo action on drive, slipper action on over-run CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR Chassis: Aluminium monocoque frame Front suspension: Öhlins Ø 48mm fully adjustable USD fork with TiN treatment, electronic compression and rebound damping adjustment with Öhlins Smart EC 2.0 event-based mode Rear…

“…A BIG, LOW MACHINE WITH A DARK PRESENCE…” BMW wants a slice of Harley’s pie. The Motor Co. commands over 80 percent market share of the big-bore cruiser market in the USA, and Indian owns most of the rest. BMW wants a slice of the action, and the new R 18 Roctane might just be the bike to take it. The cruiser market is driven by appearances: for a bike to be successful, it must look good. So BMW invested a lot of time and money into developing a machine where a lot of the cables, hoses and wiring are hidden away so the engine could be the stand-out feature. The biggest-ever BMW Boxer engine was developed to power the bike, and for the Roctane it’s been finished in beautiful…

ARR TRAVEL WESTERN AUSTRALIA GOLDFIELDS Our group are all TERRAs (Trials Enthusiasts Road Riding Associates) — current or former moto trials (formerly Observed Motorcycle Trials) riders getting together for a road ride during the week, and a few mates. Riders on this TERRA road trip to the Goldfields were myself (Paul Church) — 2019 Yamaha Tracer GT 900; John Bristow (J.B.) — 2017 Triumph Tiger Sport 1050; Jon Stout — 2022 Ducati Multistrada V4S; Carl Jones - 2019 BMW R 1250 GS Adventure; John Bigg — 2010 Yamaha Super Tenere XTZ1200; and Mike Bode — 2014 Triumph Tiger Sport 1050 (in Diablo Red).…

I Get Routed can safely ship your bike to Europe so you can tour without the hassles of hiring or buying a bike. With the business offering deliveries to both the UK and Spain, you’ll have the opportunity to take your own bike to iconic events like the Isle of Man TT, the Goodwood Revival, MotoGP races and World Ducati Week. Australian Road Rider might even publish the story of your trip if you take lots of good pictures and write about it! There will be a shipment from Sydney to Barcelona loading late January and bikes available for collection in Barcelona on Monday 25 March — a week before Easter. As we go to press it is almost booked out, but contact Get Routed for more dates. There will…

By now we’re right into the southern hemisphere’s riding season. Most of us here in Oz are lucky that our riding season is virtually all year round, but the better weather brings out more riders. In October, the annual pilgrimage to the MotoGP is the unofficial start of our riding season. A trip to Phillip Island to see the best riders in the world holds adventure, challenges and good times no matter if you’ve ridden from Perth or just around the corner. We all marvel at the racers’ skills while we ride to survive on our goat tracks called roads, constantly being challenged to keep the wheels sort-of on the ground. Traffic around our cities seems to be more aggressive, with bad driver behaviour more prevalent than ever. I’ve had…

UPFRONT CFMOTO 800NK & 800NK ADVANCED CFMOTO’s new 800NK Sport and 800NK Advanced will arrive next month, offering a KTM-derived engine and a list of specifications unmatched by the competition. At their core is a 100hp machine weighing in at under 190kg… so performance will be solid up to silly speeds, and all coming in at the introductory prices of $10,990 ride away (800NK Sport) and $12,490 (800NK Advanced) ride away. Controlling the horsepower is a chromemolybdenum steel frame with an alloy swingarm and adjustable KYB suspension. The 799cc parallel-twin, DOHC engine with 285° firing order produces 81nm of torque at 8000rpm. It has three riding modes, a slipper clutch and quickshifter. Lightweight forged aluminium pistons and chrome ceramic-coated piston pins are employed to reduce piston weight and, therefore, reduce…

The sign said Roadkill Cafe, a strange name for a restaurant. We were in Seligman, Arizona, on the famous Route 66 and had stopped at the Roadkill for lunch. The cafe got its name back in the 1930s Great Depression when Route 66 was the “Mother Road”, the highway followed by travellers escaping poverty and dust bowl conditions further east and heading to California for a better life. Urban myth has it that the cafe would cook up any roadkill that motorists brought in. They don’t do that anymore, but the menu reflects its past reputation with choices like “Splatter Platter”, “Smear of Deer” and my favourite, “One Eyed Dog Hit in the Fog”. We were in this Route 66 town on the return leg of our first American road…

LAUNCH REPORT DUCATI MULTISTRADA PIKES PEAK Charging up a mountain road, slamming through the gears and flicking from one switchback to the next, I was soon confronted with a horrible, yet common obstacle: torn-up asphalt and a ridgeline created by trucks and buses and weather, right where I had planned to put the Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak, at an extreme lean angle… But where sportsbikes — and especially the racetrack refugee variety — often want to bounce off large road irregularities and potholes, the Öhlins semi-active suspension on the Pikes Peak will thump on through, absorbing much of the punishment and only sending a little through to the rider, enough to let you know this isn’t the playground it was built for, but actually doesn’t mind playing in. I was…

Now Europe’s largest motorcycle manufacturer, KTM races in nearly every class imaginable — except Superbike. And despite little history in Supersport or Superbikes, the track-only RC 8C sold out its entire 2023 production run in two minutes and 38 seconds — at a price of 39,900 Euros ($67,000) each! Some of the buyers had missed out a year earlier, when KTM offered only 100 RC8 machines; they hung around online for more than four minutes before being sold out. Clearly there’s passion for fast KTM track bikes, the company leveraging its Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP success into bike sales. It was in 2021 that KTM management decided to team up with its former employee-turned-racebike constructor Markus Krämer to develop a high-end limited-edition track day tool powered by its stellar 889cc…

SPECIFICATIONS ENGINE Type: Air / oil-cooled two-cylinder four-stroke boxer engine with two chaindriven camshafts located above the crankshaft Capacity: 1802cc Compression ratio: 9.6:1 Engine management: Electronic manifold injection / BMS-O with Egas PERFORMANCE Claimed maximum power: 67kW (91hp) at 4750rpm Claimed maximum torque: 158Nm at 3000rpm Fuel consumption: 5.6 l/100km (claimed) TRANSMISSION Type: Claw-shifted 6-gear transmission in separate gearbox housing Final drive: Shaft drive Clutch: Single-disc dry clutch CHASSIS & RUNNING GEAR Chassis: Double-loop tubular steel frame with bolt on lower frame rails Front suspension: Telescopic front fork, 120mm of travel Rear suspension: Steel dual swingarm with central spring strut, 90mm wheel travel Front brakes: Dual disc brake, diameter 300mm, 4-piston radial calipers Rear brake: Single disc brake, diameter 300mm, 4-piston radial caliper Wheels & tyres: F: 3.5in × 21in…

Transform your Multistrada V4 Pikes Peak into a long-distance tourer with extra protection and comfort with Motorrad Garage. There’s a full line up of new SW-Motech products designed to make the to help you carry the load and avoid damage. Check out www.motorradgarage.com.au to view a huge range of accessories for bikes of all kinds.…

Shannons is giving motoring enthusiasts the chance to win a trip for two to the 2024 Monaco Histories, one of the world’s most nostalgic motorsport events. The 11-day trip includes premium economy airfares, luxury accommodation in Paris, Nice and Monaco, first-class high-speed train tickets to Nice, exclusive Monaco Historic Race hospitality tickets and $5000 spending money. Plus, win an all-new Indian Motorcycle FTR Sport — all up there’s over $90,000 in prizes! So, if you’re a motoring enthusiast, call Shannons on 13 46 46 to take out new eligible car, bike or home insurance to enter. www.shannons.com.au/monaco…

It’s hard to believe the Yamaha MT-09 has been available for a decade, but it’s true. The first models started appearing back in 2013. Launched off the back of a collapsing world economy triggered by the GFC in 2008, the MT-09 was the right bike at the right time for many riders. In Australia it launched at the bargain price of $10,999, thousands cheaper than its competitors, yet it offered a new engine, modern styling and a great ride. The engine is a triple, but not, as some probably think, the company’s first. There was the XS750 triple back in the 1970s, a largely forgotten machine because it didn’t have the sales or publicity of the 650 twin or 1100 four. But it probably wasn’t history which inspired a new…

LAST LOOK LOOKING BACK The R 1200 GS is 20 years old. A groundbreaking model that has sold in incredible numbers since its launch (and upgrade to 1250), the R 1200 GS changed motorcycling. Twenty years ago it was sportsbikes that dominated the thinking of riders: they would consider motorcycling as a sport, a way to go fast and feel the need for speed. Bikes like the GS offered speed on dirt roads, away from speed cameras, radar traps and police LiDAR. They also catered for an ageing demographic of rider, blokes who were finding sportsbikes too uncomfortable, too focused, too fast and too much… touring was more interesting than outright speed. Charlie and Ewan helped, too. The pair of movie stars had come back from their travels and Long…