Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 19 i Australian Adventure Bike

ZERO OUT NOW Is it a great time to be an adventure rider? Is it ever! There are more bikes to choose from than you can possibly dream of, and there are more riding opportunities on offer than you could ever point a Michelin Anakee Wild front tyre at, whether you want to do your own thing, or be part of an organised group ride. Adventure riding is a recipe for good times on two wheels and once you experience it for yourself, you’ll fully appreciate why more and more riders are loading up and heading for the hills. And a big part of what makes adventure riding so great, I reckon, is that it’s entirely your own gig. If you want to do it on a Himalayan and choof…

Chinese-owned Italian brand Benelli looks set to deal a full-house of ADV hardware in 2023 after recently announcing a brace of new models that will be landing Down Under over coming months. Headlining Benelli’s ’23 adventure range is the TRK 702X, which is powered by a new parallel-twin cylinder engine that delivers 56kW at 8750rpm and 68.2Nm of torque at 6250rpm. The motor is housed in a steel tube frame that is matched with a USD fork and single shock rear end, with a 19-inch wheel up front and 17-inch wheel out back. The bike weighs in at 235kg wet, with a 20 litre fuel tank. Alongside the 702X, Benelli also offers a 702, which runs cast alloy wheels compared to the spoked wheels of the 702X. Benelli also offers…

NEWS ROOM KTM has just pulled the wraps off its 2023 model 690 Enduro R, which looks all set to maintain its place at the forefront of big-bore four-stroke single-cylinder dual-sport and adventure machines. At the heart of the KTM 690 Enduro R lies the most powerful production single-cylinder engine available. With over 30 years of consistent development, the KTM LC4 powerplant has slowly morphed from a 553cc race-spec engine in 1987 to the fully-fledged 693cc machine it is today. Not only has the LC4 stood the test of time, it has essentially created a segment unto itself. This has proven to be the ideal baseline for KTM’s 690 range, which also includes the 690 SMC R supermoto bike. For 2023, the KTM 690 sports a simple but effective LCD…

NEWS ROOM Longtime leading FNQ trail and adventure tour operator Cape York Motorcycle Adventures has announced a first of its kind partnership with GasGas for the 2023 season. After using Suzuki bikes for their tours for the past 20 years, CYMCA says the move to GasGas bikes is just the latest innovation the company is bringing to its customers. “The GasGas bikes are a lot lighter, and that means they’re better handling in technical conditions, and the suspension is better for the type of riding we do,” enthuses CYMCA boss and the legendary King of the Cape, Roy Kunda. “The bikes are fuel-injected, so that makes them more fuel efficient, plus they have a hydraulic clutch, the handlebars are stronger, the rims are heavy-duty, and the wide-ratio gearbox is ideal…

ADVENTURE RIDE There’s nothing quite like making a grand entrance. And this time it was one of the grandest of all: skulking around in my underpants in the Brisbane Motorcycles showroom, desperately looking for my second riding sock and a missing knee guard amongst the contents of two Giant Loop dry bags I had just unceremoniously dumped on the floor. I tell ya, this fly ‘n’ ride ADV touring game is a palaver. Sure, it all sounds so glorious and rock star-like: fly in, climb aboard a shiny new bike, then just go! Ah, one wishes it was that easy. I’ve done it a lot, and you’d reckon I would have the act down pat by now. But no, I always end up with gear strewn everywhere, then just stuffing…

It’s fair to say that when Adventure Moto boss Steve ‘Wolfy’ Smith and his team decided to make the Triumph Scrambler 1200 XC their bike of choice for their annual give-away promotion in 2022, more than a few ADVers spun a, ‘Say what?’ reaction. Adventure Moto has been running the promo for six years, and it’s been mega-popular, because it is so easy to enter. For every $300 you spend at Adventure Moto or their aligned Tyres for Bikes business, you get a ticket in the bike draw. Automatically. Too easy. In years past the prize bikes have included an Africa Twin, Ténéré 700, KTM 790 and more. But for the first time in 2022, the prize bike was of the scrambler genre, as opposed to a true adventure bike.…

Riding east to west across Australia is no mean feat. Doing it by yourself on a brand spanking new and untested bike that’s just landed in Australia, that you’ve owned for just two weeks, and right there you’ve upped the ante by a minimum 250 per cent! Now, throw in our crazy La Nina weather, where the legacy of frequent flooding rains threatens to make the outback impassable, mix all those factors together and your head starts to spin. Who in their right mind would take on such a challenge, is an entirely fair question to ask. Enter Peter Mansbridge, an understated, laid back and practical sort of problem solver of a bloke who possesses a determination and mechanical ability that if he put his mind to it, he could…

IT’S A MAD WORLD Mention the ‘C’ word to Clubby and he gets that chook’s bum kind of look. It’s the same look you get when your dog gobbles up cat poop with an intensity usually reserved for Schmackos. And they’ve gobbled it up so quickly there’s nothing you can do. And you know they are going to try to lick your face to share the moment. Well, that’s camping for Clubby. DOGGY BAG Palaver is a word frequently used by his Editorial Lordship and when it comes to camping, he’s pretty accurate; it’s an unnecessary, elaborate and complex procedure. I’ve just come back from a four-day adventure and you know what, I agree: this camping caper is way overrated. Why in the hell would you stuff about carrying all…

NEWS ROOM KTM has delivered a sharp upgrade to its mid-weight monarch: the 890 Adventure. The Austrian brand says the new bike has been crafted as the ultimate master of all conditions and distances. The raspy and responsive LC8 engine with ride-by-wire power remains, with output of 105hp and 100Nm of torque. A low centre of gravity with the low-slung 20-litre fuel tank design pushes the bike’s slim form to the fore and accentuates the ergos, while a seat height of 825mm from the two-piece saddle is possible, and saddle options and a lowering kit can take it even lower. The robust steel sub-frame means that the heaviest of pillions and packages are a breeze. For 2023 one of the most significant changes has been made to the front mask…

DUCATI DESERTX It’s the weather forecast that’s been dominating ADV news broadcasts for years now: it’s raining new adventure bikes, and in true La Nina style, this downpour doesn’t look like stopping any time soon. Every manufacturer has been getting in on the action, and now a legendary Italian brand that for so long has been best known for crafting some of the most scintillating fire-engine-red, two-wheeled road rockets known to man has stepped up to the plate. Yes, Ducati has come out swinging with its new DesertX, which leapfrogs right over their long-running Multistrada soft-roaders and dives deep into the world of off-road biased multi-cylinder ADV machines. And the emphasis is on deep, real deep, into the dirty end of the ADV playground. ON THE MONEY When the wraps…

HIMALAYA ADVENTURE The handlebars were shaking from side to side in a slow tank-slapping dance as the soft sand tried to take the front wheel out from underneath me. Right then, ‘Lean back, throttle on!’ are words to live by, as my Royal Enfield Himalayan slows its headshake and the speed increases just slightly, but enough. The ground gets harder and I see Dean has pulled over, so I stop next to him. “That was a little dicey,” I offer. “I thought you might have been in trouble there?” “Yeah, I thought I was in trouble, too!” Dean barks back. “I didn’t see the soft stuff in the dust …” We’d made it through without major difficulty, but a couple of days later one of our Indonesian friends would roll…

PROJECT BIKE As strange is this might sound, there’s something reassuring about knowing you’re about to slide off the edge of a perfectly good gravel road, where there’s nothing but a whopping great drainage ditch between you and oblivion, but you’re doing it on a pint-size thumper … rather than a whopping great multi-cylinder ADV behometh that would be ploughing into the undergrowth at twice the speed and with twice the mass pushing behind it! Indeed, I was actually pleased to be making this indiscretion — after a downhill off-camber blind turn covered in gravel caught me with my pants down — aboard our Honda CRF300 Rally project bike, rather than a way bigger bike. I would have been in a whole world more hurt if I was barrelling off…

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE BEER? Iron Jack. Or Peroni. Or a big stein of German weissbier. WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE TO DRINK A BEER? Anywhere after a ride, when the weather’s hot and the beer’s real cold. WHERE WAS THE BEST POST-RIDE BEER YOU’VE EVER TASTED? The balcony of the pub at Lake Hawea in the south island of New Zealand after a huge day of trail riding in the mountains. How good was the view! TELL US ABOUT THE ONE PLACE WHERE YOU REGRET DRINKING TOO MANY BEERS? The beer tent at the 1989 MX des Nations at Gaildorf in Germany. Memories of the evening’s events are very, very foggy, but to this day I can recall hanging out the passenger window of a Ford Fiesta rental car with Aussie…

@australianadventurebikemag Feel free to tag us into anything you post and you may well end up leaping from the screen to the page!…

NEWS ROOM It’s all been going on in the world of Suzuki: World SX champ Ken Roczen pulled a rabbit out of a hat and signed on to ride for Suzuki in the AMA SX and MX in the USA one moment, and then — hold onto your hats! — the next moment the wraps came off yet another brand new Suzuki V-Strom. That’s right, V-Stroms have been breeding like rabbits in recent times and hot on the heels of the new V-Strom 1050 pairing and the V-Strom 800 DE, which are joining the long-standing V-Strom 650 XT, comes the arrival of the new V-Strom 250 SX in Australia. And it’s a bike that is set to provide a whole new generation of adventurers with an introduction to the V-Storming…

Yamaha Motor Australia has set retail pricing for the much-awaited new Ténéré 700 World Raid edition — but are you sitting down? The new T7, which comes complete with twin fuel tanks, steering damper, boosted suspension and upgraded dash and connectivity will hit local showroom floors priced at $25,499 ride-away. That price puts it deep in the territory of a flotilla of other multi-cylinder ADV rivals, including KTM’s 890 Adventure R, the Husqvarna Norden 901, Ducati’s new DesertX and BMW’s F 850 GS, all of which have larger capacity engines. Aprilia’s Tuareg 660 is another combatant. Meanwhile YMA has also released pricing for the 2023 Ténéré 700, which has now jumped up to $19,999 ride-away. Yamaha claims post-pandemic freight charges, which have risen markedly over the past two years, along…

The third member of CFMOTO’s popular neo-retro 700CL-X series, the 700CL-X Adventure is now available in Australia. The 700CL-X Adventure brings a scrambler attitude and heightened off-road capability, combined with thrilling performance. CFMOTO says the bike is designed for ‘riders who have a love and appreciation for modern motorcycle culture and who express their distinctive personality and style via their chosen motorcycle’. Standout features of the new Adventure include: + 693cc, liquid-cooled parallel-twin, DOHC engine + 55kW maximum power at 8500rpm + 68Nm maximum torque output at 6500rpm + Ride-by-wire throttle and Bosch EFI + Cruise Control System + Two riding modes: Street & Off-Road + CF-SC slipper clutch + Chrome-moly alloy frame and aluminium alloy swingarm + Ground clearance increased by 10mm over 700CL-X Heritage + Thicker, flatter scrambler-style…

GASGAS ES 700 Talk about smashing the senses, this was like Darryl Brohman copping a king hit from Les Boyd. Boof! After being treated to a steady diet of super luxurious multi-cylinder ADV hardware over recent months, climbing aboard the new GasGas ES 700 and racking up the miles on it was like strapping yourself to the wing of an airplane and holding on tight. The shiny red Gasser is adventure riding done raw. No screen, no fairing, and no plush and comfy saddle, all wrapped up in full-on big-bore thumper dual-sport ergos from a manufacturer whose heritage is deeply ingrained in the dirt bike world. If you’ve got a no-nonsense desire to push the off-road boundaries of adventure riding, the ES 700 is a bike that will take you…

If there’s one thing we’ve come to expect from our old mate ‘Decimal’ Dave Morgan, it’s that he will always turn up to the start of a ride and make a grand entrance, in one way or another. Like the time we were down at Thredbo and he went to cold-start his mighty XR650R BRP — Big Red Pig — and promptly fell off the sidestand and tore his hamstring on the way down. Ouch. Or the time he turned up at Sunny Corner and was emphatic that he had to show us his new crutch … say what? Actually, it was a crutch — like you would utilise if you'd torn a hamstring — but he had cut and shut it and strapped it to the side of his…

DESTINATIONS Famous last words. You just have to love them. And how they can come back to haunt you. Fast. Let’s turn the time machine back to 2011 and the inaugural Ténéré Tragics Run to the Rocks gathering, staged at Arkaroola Village in the spectacular Flinders Ranges of South Australia. I’d thrown an invite out for any other Ténéré devotees to join me in a get together in the Flinders, which included two nights at Arkaroola. On the day in the middle I’d put together a mud-map of a ride around the northern end of the Flinders, which started with the rough and rocky run out the back of Arkaroola and headed directly west past Umberatana Station and on to Copley for morning smoko. I’d done the same ride a…

ON SAFARI We’ve said it so many times before: Australia is a vast brown land, and so much of it is indeed brown, because it’s hot out there, real hot. And because it’s often so hot, you need to treat riding in the summer months seriously, because excessive heat can have a real impact on you and your machine. So you need to be prepared! HYDRATION PACKS ‘Man is not a camel.’ And that is indeed so true. That was the original catch phrase for the Camelbak brand, the company creating a whole new industry when it calculated you could carry your drinking water on your back and access it easily through a tube. Which sounds so simple! Now there are dozens of brands making hydration packs. A Camelbak, or…