Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 31 i Australian Adventure Bike

MAKING A SPLASH Any day in the saddle of an adventure bike is a great day. Even when your chosen line takes you straight through a filthy mud hole. But the golden rule is always ‘power on and front end light’ to try and get as little of the dirty brown bow wave on yourself. TUNNEL VISION Adventure riding is always about solving the mystery of what comes next. What’s around the next corner? Or over the next hill? Or at the end of the next tunnel? And the best thing is, whatever happens to be lying in wait, it will be the next adventure! WIDE BROWN LAND When the World Raid meets the Aussie outback, you bet good times are on the agenda. It’s all about the adventure, through every…

As we go to press with this issue, the KTM Group and parent Pierer Mobility Group are facing the financial fight of their lives to avoid being declared bankrupt. Late last year KTM implemented drastic measures to stave off formal bankruptcy, after revealing the group had debts of some 2.9 billion euros and a stockpile of hundreds of thousands of unsold motorcycles and bicycles around the world. On November 29, KTM entered a voluntary ‘self-administration’ insolvency process, impacting some 2500 creditors and more than 3600 employees. An Austrian court-appointed administrator is overseeing KTM’s restructuring plans, with a 90-day timeline established in which to determine the company’s future. At the heart of KTM/PMG’s woes is a massive glut of unsold motorcycles and bicycles, the result of post-pandemic over-production. Increasing inflation, climbing…

How good is the adventure riding in Tasmania? It’s awesome! We’ve done more than a few tours of duty around the Apple isle, and now you can by hooking up with the crew from Tassie Devil Adventure Rides. A family-run business based in northern Tasmania, TDAB offers all-inclusive tours that are designed to immerse you in Tasmania’s natural beauty, breathtaking scenery and brilliant riding. You can choose to ride one of TDAB’s Suzuki DR650 hire bikes and fly in for their five-day Eastern Explorer tour, or bring your own bike and start your journey aboard the Spirit of Tasmania. The tours include pub-style accommodation, all meals, bike hire (if required), fuel, support vehicle and expert guidance. For more details check out the website or call Tassie Devil Adventure Rides on…

Leatt has launched its first motorcycle adventure helmets with the recent unveiling of the 9.5 Carbon and 8.5 models. The new helmets mark a significant expansion for the South African brand, completing its head-to-toe line-up for riders across all terrains. The new Leatt helmets combine road and off-road elements to deliver the best of both worlds. A streamlined shape delivers smooth aerodynamics, while a wide eye port and peak visor is typical of off-road helmets. Plus, a set of Leatt 4.5 Velocity goggles are included in the kit with each model, alongside a photochromic shield, additional clear shield and Pinlock 120 XLT. Available sizes are XS to XXL and a wide range of accessory cheek pad thicknesses are available to fine-tune the fit. The 9.5 Carbon is offered in a…

Ducati has pulled out all the stops with its Multistrada V2 and V2 S models for 2025, the renowned soft-roaders featuring major updates for the new year. Headlining the upgrades is a massive 18kg of weight being sliced off the new models, to bring it in at a running weight of 199kg plus fuel for the V2 model, or 202kg for the V2 S with its semi-active suspension. Powering the bike is Ducati’s new V2 engine, which is an 890cc 90-degree V-twin with IVT variable intake valve timing that is extremely compact and lightweight, weighing in at just 54.9kg. The new motor delivers a healthy 115hp at 10,750rpm and produces 92Nm of torque at 8250rpm. Five riding modes (sport, touring, urban, enduro and wet) are on offer in an engine…

What was your reaction when you first set eyes on pictures of BMW’s new R 1300 GS Adventure? I sure remember mine: I went, “What the … are they serious?!” and promptly choked on my morning Corn Flakes. The new 1300 GSA had a face that only a mother could love. And then a photo of a BMW designer working on a clay model of ‘that fuel tank’ hit my Inbox and instantly I figured they had to be taking the piss. Surely. That designer was either getting paid by the hour, or more likely getting paid by the kilo, because I had never, ever seen so much clay used in the modelling of a motorcycle fuel tank. It didn’t just look huge — it looked absolutely ginormous. IN REAL…

Here I was, just ten days before an international ride, planning to cross southern India from east to west — from Chennai, the original Indian home of Royal Enfield, to the stunning coastal city of Goa. But here’s the catch: I had no plane ticket, no accommodation, no route planned and wasn’t even sure who my riding companions would be. By the time I arrived in India, my key riding buddy had missed his flight. As I sat outside the rendezvous point, nervously checking my watch, I thought to myself: could you imagine if this was Clubby? He’d be in the west wing of Northern Beaches Hospital Emergency Ward with apoplexy! Even my own blood pressure started rising as the hours ticked by. The morning monsoon drenched me and no…

It’s the unwritten rule of the ADV rider wingman’s code book: No matter when, no matter where, the ADV wingman is always there. But at 8.47pm on a Tuesday night, the Darcinator was pushing the friendship. I knew he wasn’t away on a ride, so I politely wondered to myself, What’s going on at MAD TV HQ? as I reached for my phone to read his text message. “Mate, I can’t figure out this bloody bash plate! Are you a chance to come take a look at it?!” That explained it: Tool Man Dave and his trusty shammer (that’s a half-shifter/half-hammer Swiss army tool, for the uninitiated) were in a world of technical hurt. Clubbman to the rescue! SHAMMER-TIME! I know Dave had been waiting a while for Royal Enfield’s…

Most modern motorcycles have a range of suspension adjustments that can make the bike more compatible to the rider’s weight, speed, riding style and personal preferences. The bike can easily be made harder or softer, more stable or more agile, or more comfortable — the list goes on and on. Most owner’s manuals will offer a very basic ‘How To’ guide when it comes to setting up your bike and generally speaking will attempt to help steer you in the right direction. Everyone can make their bike work better with a few tweaks to their suspension clickers. Even if you fall outside the so-called ‘Average Rider’ category, you can still make your bike better, you just may not get it perfect. Many people are concerned that they may ‘stuff things…

If there’s one thing you can bank on about an Aussie summer, it’s that the weather gets hot and sweaty, and it can stay like that for months. Which can make your choice of ADV riding gear a tricky one — you still want protection, but you also want airflow to try to get some respite from the heat and humidity. I’ve been wearing this Leatt Flowtour jacket and pants set for 12 months now and it’s become my go-to gear for hot-weather rides. Why? Because it’s vented, seriously vented, and as soon as you start moving you start to feel airflow, and for me that’s critical to beating the heat. The Flowtour gear is constructed with Leatt’s Ripstop material in the main shell parts, which is combined with large…

Over two billion euros. That’s a hell of a lot of zeros. A business just doesn’t get that deep in the red — or in this case, shall we say, burnt orange — in short order. KTM and the Pierer Mobility Group’s fiscal woes must have been building for some time and only as the business filed for self-administration late last year did the true numbers begin to reach the public domain. To think KTM/PMG reportedly had around 130,000 unsold motorcycles and 80,000 unsold bicycles on its books is gob-smacking. That’s so much uncapitalised stock, yet even if they could all be sold ASAP, it would barely make a dent in the debt. Gulp. ORANGE DEJA VU But it’s not the first time KTM has teetered on the edge of…

Yamaha has taken the wraps off the 2025-model Tenere 700 — and the new bike boasts some solid updates. First and foremost, the 16-litre fuel tank has been reshaped and shifted forward and downward to improve the bike’s C-O-G and reduce the top-heavy feel. There’s also a new one-piece rally seat, while up front the bodywork and quad LED headlights have come in for a restyle as well. In the engine room, the T7 now boasts ride-by-wire YCC-T electronic throttle control and the rider has the choice of dual ride modes: Sport or Explorer. ABS and TCS can be switched off at the press of a button. The ABS has three settings, which can be selected through a dedicated button in the cockpit or using the bike’s new switchgear via…

We’ve been saying for months now that the 450cc-or-so category of adventure bikes is all set to explode on the back of the massive popularity of the new CFMOTO 450 MT and Royal Enfield’s Himalayan 450. After KTM recently unveiled its 390 Adventure R, BMW has now stepped up to the plate, using the EICMA Show in Italy late last year to pull the wraps off it’s new F 450 GS — and what a spunky little beast it is too, even if the bike shown in Milan was a concept model. Decked out in BMW’s Trophy livery of red, white and blue, the F 450 GS show bike certainly looked ‘production enough’ to get throngs of small-bore ADVers drooling into their beers. The BMW 450 is powered by a…

2024 might have finished with the KTM Group in all sorts of financial distress and ultimately entering into self-appointed administration, but that certainly didn’t slow down the announcement of new-model bikes for 2025 — they just kept coming one after another. In the ADV uber-tourer stakes, KTM first showed the 2025-model 1390 Super Adventure S, which is a road-biased adventure tourer featuring a new 1350cc engine (up from 1300cc previously) that punches out an eye-watering 170hp and 145Nm of torque. The new motor is loaded up with Camshift technology that is claimed to improve rideability at lower revs, increase peak performance, lower emissions and reduce fuel use. The 1390 Super Adventure S also features WP semi-active suspension as well as KTM’s all-new portrait-style eight-inch touchscreen dash, radar-enabled active cruise control,…

If you like a little scrambling in your adventures, take a look at Royal Enfield’s new Bear 650: this thundering beast is packed with scrambler style and loaded with a 1960s soul! The Bear 650 harks back to a time when a then 16-year-old rookie desert racer named Eddie Mulder — aka Fast Eddie — became the youngest rider to win the famed Big Bear Run desert race held in California’s inhospitable Mojave Desert. Mulder shocked the desert racing fraternity to beat off 765 riders and capture the Big Bear Run win aboard a 500cc Royal Enfield Fury. “When you got out on the track, the green flag dropped and the bullsh*t stopped,” Eddie said, in an ethos that parallels Royal Enfield’s development of the new Bear 650. The new…

Adventure riding is so awesome because the journey can be every bit as good as the destination. Which is precisely the case with this trip, which involved my first visit to the annual Walcha Motorcycle Rally held in the picturesque highlands of the New England region of northern NSW. AAB ad man Mitch Newell has a few WMRs under his belt and has long been talking up the show, so when the planets aligned for the 2024 Rally, I was in. And when a Benelli TRK 702X test bike arrived the day before our trip, I thought, Why not? So I climbed aboard the Chinese/Italiano soft-roader and spent the entire tour of duty trying to keep Mitch’s dust in sight. And Mitch was kicking up plenty of dust aboard his…

FIRST THINGS FIRST: WHERE DID THE CHARLEY BOORMAN AND MOTORCYCLES STORY BEGIN? My father John is a film director, and back in the early 1970s he made a movie with Sean Connery, and it turned out Sean and his family would live with us in Ireland for a time. Sean’s son Jason wound up being one of my closest friends and back then we found an old Honda Monkey bike in a stables, so we spent time getting it going again. When it ran, Jason kept riding it until finally he gave me a go. So I jumped on it, and my dad and Sean were standing in the paddock watching, and as I went sailing past them, my dad reached out and grabbed me by the hair and yanked…

First things first: let’s give CFMOTO Australia due credit, for just as we were going to press with this issue of AAB, news came through that no less than 1000 450 MTs had been sold in Australia since the bike’s arrival mid last year. And there are stacks more riders with orders in the queue and waiting for their bikes to arrive. From the moment we first rode the 450 MT at the bike’s world launch in the Philippines early last year, we knew it would strike a chord with Aussie riders. Performance and pricing under $10,000 ride-away were instantly in the 450 MT’s favour, and it didn’t take long for local riders to swarm toward it. Initially the 450 MT was typically accompanied by the caveat ‘for a bike…

Adventure riding can be quite a unique pastime because so much of what we do involves making calculated compromises. We want to be able to ride out of our garage on a bike and in gear that will work across the complete spectrum of terrain and riding conditions. From bitumen to sand, from freezing to sweltering, from clear skies and dust to mountain mist, fog and rain. We don’t ask much from our equipment — hah! HELMET HEAD Finding a great adventure riding helmet is a perfect example of the compromises I’m talking about. It’s not a motocross helmet and it’s not a road helmet — it’s an adventure riding helmet and it will help you deal with all of the conditions mentioned above. But where do you start you…

Back in AAB issue #29, Clubby introduced us to Chigee’s AIO-5 Lite smart riding system, which he’d fitted to AAB’s CFMOTO 450MT long-termer. I was lucky enough to be invited to ride the 450MT when the AAB/MAD-TV crew headed way out west into the NSW/ Queensland outback on a week-long tour of duty late last year, which gave me plenty of time to get to know the Chigee unit. And afterwards I managed to snaffle the Chigee to keep it long-term and fit it to my own Ténéré 700. Originally, Clubby had mounted the Chigee to the 450MT using the included handlebar mount kit, which positioned it below the CFMOTO’s TFT display. I chose to get Chigee’s crossbar mount, which is designed to fit to 12 to 16mm diameter horizontal…

Tinder for motorcyclists: is that a thing? Over the years, I’ve seen a few couples take their first steps toward romance on the trails. Jeez, courtship? Is that even a word these days? Replace that with hook-up! Or maybe not? Those motorcycle tours can be dangerous things, particularly the ones in far north Queensland, where you’re up to your armpits in water likely filled with snapping handbags while carrying DR-Zs with sticks through the wheels. The adversity of jungle heat, humidity and difficult trails forges lifelong memories and friendships. But are friendships conducive to marriage? Nugget, our partners and I recently travelled to Cairns to witness our good friends Woody and Ellyse of Ellwood Motorcycle Adventures tie the knot. This was a match made in heaven. Woody is the svelte,…

Honda’s NX model designation is back and means ‘New X-over’, which aptly fits the new NX500 soft-roader, a bike that in previous times was known as the CB500X. Honda says the new NX500 is fun on winding roads, fun on gravel trails and is ready to go the distance. It’s powered by a lively 471cc twin-cylinder engine with assist/slipper clutch that is also shared with Honda’s CB500 Hornet and CBR500R road bikes. The NX runs 19/17-inch cast aluminium wheels and features a Showa 41mm separate function fork and shock with 135mm wheel travel. A new five-inch full-colour TFT screen includes Honda Roadsync connectivity for on-screen turn-by-turn navigation and access to other smartphone functions. A new LED headlight and tail light are part of the package along with a redesigned windscreen,…

So how do you display a new bike at the world’s biggest bike show when you don’t actually have a new bike to display? If you’re Kawasaki, you take a great big box, cut a hole in the front of it, then hang the front end of the prototype bike out of it and whack great big logos over the box that say: “Life’s a rally. Ride it! KLE Kawasaki.” And that’s exactly what Kawasaki did at the EICMA Show in Italy late last year. From what could be seen of the bike, it had long-travel front suspension, a 21-inch front wheel, large single front disc, dual header pipes and seemingly rally-style bodywork that was decked out in a camo finish. While Kawasaki remained tight-lipped about details of the bike,…

Aprilia has pulled out all the stops with its Tuareg model, recently announcing the unveiling of a special Aprilia Tuareg Rally version which has been developed with the input of Aprilia Racing rider Jacopo Cerutti. “It was fascinating to be involved in developing a production model like the new Tuareg Rally,” Cerutti said. “The goal was to make it as similar as possible to the bike with which we won the Africa Eco Race, and I can say we succeeded!” Standard features on the Tuareg Rally include a high front guard, thicker aluminium skid plate, sturdier handguards with metal backbones, new chain guide, larger sidestand base and 20mm taller seat. Heavy-duty spoked wheels with high-strength forged aluminium rims are also included, while KYB suspension offers 240mm wheel travel, but with…

Turn the ADV time machine back about 18 months or so and if I had said to you, “The top-selling adventure bikes in Australia will soon be a pair of 450s,” you would have labelled me wacko and sent me to the asylum. The Australian adventure bike landscape through the past decade or so has seen the sales stats well and truly dominated by big bikes. Bikes like Yamaha’s Ténéré 700 and before it, Honda’s Africa Twin. And before it, BMW’s 1200/1250 GS and GS Adventure twins. And before that, the venerable Suzuki DR650 and Kawasaki’s KLR650 have been consistently strong sellers. Here in the land down under we love big adventure bikes for covering big distances, all loaded up and taking aim off the beaten track. Sure, riders have…

Benelli is a motorcycle brand with such a long and storied history, so it was revealing to discover just how many Aussie ADV riders had absolutely no idea what this bike was. “That’s a pretty flash-looking jigger, Clubby, but what is it?” “It’s a Benelli, mate.” “A what?” “A Benelli. It’s a historic Italian brand now owned by the Chinese.” “Never heard of them.” “You must have, they’ve been in business for over 100 years. They actually made the world’s first production series six-cylinder sports bike, the ‘Sei’, back in the 1970s. Surely you’ve heard of that?” “A what? Who the hell would want a whopping great six-cylinder bike?” “Well actually, mate …” Little did they know that I am the proud owner of a Honda CBX six-cylinder sports bike,…

During the back end of last year, I ventured deep into the wilds of southern Africa to a country called Namibia to take part in the ninth running of the BMW International GS Trophy event. My role at the event is to act as an official marshal, which means I am something of a ‘tour guide’, leading competitors through the route to each of the special stages. Nambia was my fourth GS Trophy event, after attending previous events in Mongolia in 2018, New Zealand in 2020 and Albania in 2022. WHAT IS THE GS TROPHY? The GS Trophy is an international teams competition for BMW GS riders. It’s part serious competition, part adventure ride and total huge GS global get-together! To help get your head around this event, picture almost…

Okay, it’s time to get even more serious about honing your braking skills. Last issue we covered the basics of braking and looked into how bike set-up can help you stop more safely and with greater confidence. This issue I’m going to detail a couple of more advanced braking skills, as well as discuss the impact ABS (anti-lock brake system) has on modern-day machinery. FRONT-BRAKE SKIDS Practising front-brake skids is a more advanced exercise and to be honest, it can feel a little weird at first and might not be for everyone. The basic idea is to ride along in the standing position as slow as first gear will allow — with the clutch out — without stalling. Lean back so your weight is biased to the rear of the…

You bet we were stoked when a package of OnGuard locks and security gear arrived at AAB HQ, because we like to take the security of all our bikes rather seriously. As we all know, motorcycle theft is a real issue, so the tougher you make it for the thieves to get your two-wheeled pride and joy, the better! OnGuard is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of locks and security devices for cycling and powersports users, and their range of products is extensive. Just have a look at their website — they offer everything from armoured locks to cable locks to U-locks to disc locks to ground anchors and more. The big daddy product in the OnGuard range we’re trying out is the Mastiff 8019LP loop chain with X4…

BMW’s F 850 GS adventure bike is built for exploring wide-open spaces. But when you’re levelling up for a serious adventure, make sure you start your search with SW-MOTECH luggage and protection parts. You’ll find a range of rugged, waterproof and transportable luggage solutions for all bikes. From tank bags to luggage sets to lights to accessories, SW-MOTECH products are trusted by adventure riders around the globe. Ask for SW-MOTECH at your favourite powersports dealer. Proudly distributed by A1 Accessory Imports.…