Innehållsförteckning för #378 20-11 från Just Bikes

If you fancy having one of the Royal Enfield’s ‘Bullet Trials 500 Works Replica’ special editions in your garage, now’s your last chance. After making its local debut at last year’s Australian Motorcycle Festival in Wollongong, the final shipment of Bullet Trials 500 Works Replicas reached Royal Enfield dealerships in April. Paying homage to the success of the Royal Enfield Factory Team at the International Six Day Trials in the 1950s, the Bullet Trials 500 Works Replica features a choice of red or green frames (matched to a silver and chrome fuel tank, respectively), with the ‘48’ on the nearside battery cover referencing the introduction year - 1948 - of Royal Enfield’s swingarm rear end. Other features include slimmer mudguards, block-tread tyres, a reinforced rear subframe with a carry rack,…

With the MXstore 2020 MX Nationals halted by the coronavirus pandemic before it even started, series organisers Williams Event Management (WEM) have released a tentative schedule for a return to racing. This year’s nine-round calendar had been due to start at Horsham on 4 April and conclude at Coolum on 23 August, but restrictions on public gatherings and interstate travel that came into effect in March means the series has yet to turn a wheel in anger. A new calendar was released on 22 April, but WEM stress it’s still provisional and anticipates the relaxation of government restrictions. Under the revised calendar, nine rounds are retained and racing starts on 9 August, with all nine crammed into a two-month period, concluding on 11 October. All locations from the original calendar…

Have you ever tried some bolognaise sauce on your sushi, or maybe some wasabi on your lasagne? We’re sure someone must have tried this, but based on those examples, Italian-Asian fusion doesn’t sound all that appetising! While questionable in the culinary sense, a blend of the best of Italy and Japan in mechanical terms can produce something far tastier, as evidenced by the Yamaha ‘XSR900 Abarth’; a limited-edition special that was unveiled at the 2016 EICMA motorcycle show in Milan. While based heavily on the XSR900 production model that reached the Australian market in the same year, the Abarth collaboration resulted in a distinctly different and very attractive machine. FIRST FUSION The XSR900 Abarth marks the first collaboration model from the Japanese motorcycle brand and the Italian tuning house better known for an association…

Following two concepts and a lot of anticipation, BMW’s R 18 cruiser has finally been revealed. While not BMW’s first cruising motorcycle (remember the R1200 C?), the R 18 represents a new approach to the cruising category. With its low, sleek and unashamedly retro styling, the R 18 is aimed more directly at similar cruisers from Harley-Davidson and Indian, while the large-capacity boxer twin will give most traditional cruisers a run for their money in the power and torque stakes, too. CLASSIC STYLE While the R 18 takes obvious inspiration from BMW history, it’s perhaps surprising to learn that the modern R nineT was also influential, but not in the way you may think. BMW Motorrad’s Roland Stocker, one of the design team on the R 18, explained that the…

Ural Australia have released details on their sidecar outfit range for 2020. The familiar and popular CT and Ranger models carry over largely unchanged following major mechanical updates, including the adoption of fuel injection, made for 2019. Across the board, changes for 2020 are mostly cosmetic, including new high gloss and semi-gloss paint finishes. There are some new model variants, though, including the Adventure, Sahara Special Edition and the ‘FRWL’ (From Russia With Love) Limited Edition. New for 2020, the Adventure is based on the Ranger, but adds a bunch of optional extras, bundled together as a package. The Adventure package starts with an adjustable touring windscreen, sidecar windscreen, H4 LED headlamp bulb upgrade and headlight stone guard. Hand guards and leg mud guards for the rider have been included,…

The ongoing changes to the 2020 MotoGP season in the wake of the coronoavirus has led to some major changes including the cancellation of three rounds. On 29 April, the FIM, IRTA and Dorna announced the cancellation of the German Grand Prix, the revived Finnish Grand Prix and the Dutch TT; the latter cancelled for the first time in 71 years. Dropping these rounds from the 2020 calendar also means the cancellation of supporting MotoE, Northern Talent Cup and Red Bull Rookies Cup events scheduled for the same grands prix. Due to coronavirus-related travel restrictions, the MotoGP category had to abandon its opening race at Qatar in March, although Moto3 and Moto2 did race. Since then, the next six grands prix, including flyaways and European rounds, have been either rescheduled…

Having already ridden Kawasaki’s Z650L naked, I was keen to test the bigger, beefier new Z900, so when the opportunity came up recently, I jumped at it. Obviously, with almost 300 more cubic centimetres, the Z900 would offer more grunt, but would it offer a better riding experience? LARGER, BUT LITTLER Replacing the Z800 from 2016, the new-for-2017 Z900 is much more than a case of just sticking a few extra horses in the engine. For starters, there’s an all-new chassis, with the Z800’s backbone frame replaced with a trellis frame, which is a factor in the Z900’s substantially reduced weight. Even with its larger engine, standard ABS and substantial 17-litre fuel tank, the Z900 tips the scales at 210kg; a full 21kg lighter than the Z800. While shorter than…

Indian’s flat track-inspired street bike, the FTR 1200, will soon be available in ‘FTR Carbon’ form. Unveiled at the start of May, the FTR Carbon is based on the higher-specification FTR 1200 S and features the same tech and rider-assistance features. Appearance is in the style of the FTR 1200 S Race Replica, but the FTR Carbon takes that look and enhances it with an abundance of carbon fibre. Genuine carbon fibre has been used for the front mudguard, headlight nacelle, airbox and fuel tank covers, with identifying ‘Carbon’ badging on the fuel tank console. A pillion seat cowl has been added in carbon fibre, too. The use of carbon fibre shaves 3kg off the dry weight compared to the FTR 1200 S – 225kg vs 228kg – while the…

Norton looks like it will go the way of being revived and reinvented under Indian ownership following the sale of the brand to TVS Motor Company Ltd in April. Whether this will save the brand that went into receivership in January with more than £14 million (AU$2M approx.) in debts is yet to be confirmed but early indications are that TVS are committed to the future of the brand and will continue some or all of the models in Norton’s existing product lineup. Announced on 17 April, the deal saw Norton Motorcycle Holdings Limited and Norton Motorcycles (UK) Limited sold for £16 million cash (AU$32M approx.) to a subsidiary company of TVS Motor Company. As well as Norton Motorcycle assets, TVS Motor Company have a licence to occupy the current…

Both Alex Rins and Joan Mir will be on the Suzuki GSX-RR until the end of 2022, having extended their contracts by two years. Rins renewed his contract with Suzuki Racing Corporation in April, with Mir inking a new deal at the beginning of May. Both riders joined the factory Suzuki MotoGP team from Moto2, with Rins making his MotoGP debut in 2017, while Mir graduated to the premier class last year. Those extra couple of years’ experience have paid off for Rins, who scored his first two MotoGP race wins in 2019 (CotA and Silverstone), while Mir’s best result in his rookie year in the premier class was fifth at Phillip Island. “My wish was to continue with Suzuki and finally this is what I did. I believe that…

If you’ve always wanted to ride a sportsbike at some point in your life, but have always put it off, you’ll empathise with my mate Doug. Having turned 50, Doug sits in an unenviable statistical group – the middle-aged male who decides to take up riding a sportsbike. Call it a mid-life crisis, call it making up for lost time, call it whatever you like, actually; the fact is Doug fell in love with bikes – particularly fast ones - and because I work for JUST BIKES, he figures I’m the fount of all knowledge when it comes to motorcycles. That’s how I enter this story. STEP-THROUGH START To backtrack a few years, Doug’s introduction to motorcycling was on a Vespa around Sydney; that gave him the bug. From the…

The Rickman story, for those unfamiliar with it, is one of determined brothers who thought they could do better with what British – and Japanese – motorcycle manufacturers were offering riders. That determination is echoed in Ron Davis, the owner of the bike featured here, as he also defies accepted bike logic and does his own thing – with impressive results. When JUST BIKES spotted this motorcycle, a 1974 Rickman Metisse CR, for sale at the 2017 All British Rally, we weren’t alone in taking a long and detailed second look at this beautiful machine. But in conversation with Ron, we found that beauty isn’t just skin deep. BROTHERS’ TALE Don and Derek Rickman started out as racers, specifically in scrambles competition, but, dissatisfied with the scramblers produced by the…