Table of contents for Issue 353 in Motorcycle Trader

If you ever want to be reminded of how fat, old and slow you really are, well, I’ve found the perfect place for you: go and do a track day during an Oceania Junior Cup practice or selection day (or any other junior development-type ride day). You’ll never feel more hopeless on a motorcycle, and you may never ride again. You’ll certainly never consider yourself fast. I’m no fighter pilot – even aboard a jet like a 2020-model Yamaha R1 – but those kids… “I can’t even.” Like a school of piranhas, they cut me up from every direction. And once they were done devouring my fat carcass, I didn’t see which way they went with their corner speed and pack mentality. Yep, I’d just had my first-hand encounter with…

Sit back and grab the popcorn because Indian Motorcycle has upped the performance ante over its historic rival by unveiling “the most powerful engine in its class”. The ‘PowerPlus’ engine is an all-new 108-cubic-inch (1769cc) liquid-cooled, 60-degree V-twin that delivers 90kW (121hp) at 5500rpm and 178Nm at 3800rpm. The performance-oriented engine will debut in Indian’s forthcoming Challenger fixed-fairing bagger, due to arrive early next year. The Challenger will take on Harley-Davidson’s Road Glide Special, which is powered by the 163Nm Milwaukee-Eight 114. The PowerPlus engine, which takes its name from the historic Indian motorcycle built between 1916 and 1924, adopts several features from the smaller Indian Scout’s liquid-cooled 1133cc V-twin. This includes overhead camshafts and four-valve heads; a relatively high compression ratio of 11:1; 52mm dual-bore throttle bodies and a…

Triumph has spruced up its popular Street Triple 765 naked bike with more performance and sharper styling as part of a Euro 5 emissions update – just two years since the Moto2-derived bike’s unveiling. The iconic British brand has so far unveiled the flagship RS and LAMS-approved 660 S variants, so expect a mid-spec R version soon. Prices remain unchanged for the December-bound bikes, with the RS retailing for $18,050 and the 660 S for $13,175 (plus on-road costs). Despite complying with stricter emissions regulations, the RS’s 765cc triple engine gets more mid-range torque, going from 77Nm at 10,800rpm to 79Nm at a gruntier 9350rpm, which is sure to bode well for road riders. Peak power is unchanged at 90kW (123hp) at 11,750rpm, but Triumph says mid-range power has increased…

ENGINE TYPE: Air/liquid-cooled horizontally opposed twin CAPACITY: 1254cc BORE & STROKE: 102.5 x 76mm COMPRESSION RATIO: 12.5:1 FUEL SYSTEM: EFI PERFORMANCE POWER: 100kW (136hp) at 7750rpm TORQUE: 143Nm at 6250rpm TRANSMISSION TYPE: Six-speed CLUTCH: Oil lubricated, hydraulic FINAL DRIVE: Shaft CHASSIS & RUNNING GEAR FRAME TYPE: Two section, load-bearing engine/gearbox FRONT SUSPENSION: USD telescopic 140mm travel REAR SUSPENSION: Single sided swingarm, 140mm travel FRONT BRAKES: Twin 320mm discs, four-piston floating calipers, ABS REAR BRAKE: 276mm disc two-piston floating caliper WHEELS & TYRES WHEELS: Cast aluminium TYRES: 120/70 ZR17 front, 180/55 ZR17 rear DIMENSIONS & CAPACITIES WET WEIGHT: R:239kg RS:243kg SEAT HEIGHT: 760-840mm options WHEELBASE: 1530mm FUEL CAPACITY: 18 litres OTHER STUFF PRICE: R from $21,265, RS from $22,565 (plus on-road costs) COLOURS: Black Storm Metallic (other options) WARRANTY: Three years/…

When making changes to your bike do one thing at a time 1 Tyre warmers are a worthwhile investment that perform two vital roles. Firstly, they give you the confidence to head out on track with tyres at operating temperature offering close to their maximum grip from the first lap. Secondly, they greatly reduce or eliminate cold tearing (surface of cold tyre heats while tyre carcass is still cool). You’ll get a greater life from a set of tyres using tyre warmers so they soon pay for themselves. 2 If you don’t yet have tyre warmers then park your bike in the sun and rotate it every so often to allow another part of the tyre to catch the sunlight. I’ve tested this method with a temp gauge and found…

While I may have harsh words for early Softails, there’s no question there are some very collectable models among them. Without doubt the most desirable are 1990-on Fat Boys with their (for the era) shockingly stark stylings. A starring stunt role with Arnie Schwarzenegger in the Terminator II movie no doubt helped push sales along at a time when times were tough for the industry as a whole. If you can find one in good nick at the right price, preferably in the eye-catching silver-grey livery, hang on to it.…

The CB750 Owners’ Club is running a raffle to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their hero bike, with first prize being the choice of a fully restored 350, 500 or 750 (which are all 1972 models). Tickets are $50 each, with all proceeds going to the Black Dog Institute, which assists in the treatment of male depression. The show-stopping bikes have been painstakingly restored by Puds Four Parts. For ticket sales, call 0499 355 725 between 9am and 6pm. Competition drawn November 24.…

Quite a few years ago, I got picked in the New England regional basketball team to play at the state championships. I was living in Moree at the time and it was a pretty big deal to be selected. The assumption among the locals was that I must’ve been a gun player. Our first game was against Wollongong and we were beaten by 70 points. ‘Beaten’ is probably the wrong word – ‘humiliated’ might be better. I was reminded of this at Motorclassica this year where plenty of people turned up on what they thought was an ace display bike to be confronted with real display bikes. What they thought was an immaculately clean bike suddenly looked filthy and minor blemishes stood out like dog’s balls. I talked with quite…

WHEN IT COMES to riding gear, Triumph would have to be the master of smooth subtlety. Jackets, pants or gloves, the technical apparel is more akin to a timeless suit than some garish, in-yer-face or on-trend proposition you might find elsewhere. The adventure bike segment is the serial offender in that regard, and that’s where the iconic British brand’s Beinn jacket comes in for those who prefer to go against the grain. The Beinn achieves its subtle classiness through the combination of functional fabrics with considered design, and possibly having somebody fashionably qualified to say ‘Nup, looks daft. Go again, you right geeza’ or ‘Smashing job, chaps. Fancy a pint?’ Whatever the apparel team is doing, it’s working. Ideal for the brand agnostic, the Beinn is equally as comfortable on…

The bus driver said it was my fault. He’s looked ahead and there was plenty of space between the bus and the taxi but when he’d looked again, I’d suddenly appeared on the TS185. It’s possible bikes can sometimes be too manoeuvrable for their own good. I’d been helping a mate paint his house and looked like I’d been standing in a paint booth for the past three weeks. It wasn’t a big impact, but it bent the back wheel and the fork. I dragged myself and the bike onto the footpath, called a towing service, found a bench in Hyde Park to sit on where I could still see the bike and settled down to wait. There was an old bloke up the other end of the bench in…

“They call me ‘The Human Backpack’ because I’m a great pillion.” Okay then... It was April 2009, two months before the Isle of Man TT, when I was summoned to the tiny island earlier than usual. The TT organisers had arranged a media event to promote that year’s races, and motorcycle journalists from all over the world were in attendance. A handful of top TT riders at the time and I were joining them for a series of PR events. After two days of talking journos through bus tours around the course, photoshoots and long lunches, I was looking forward to the final event: pillioning a journalist over the mountain section of the course on closed roads. Yes, some PR guru thought it’d be a brilliant idea to give these…

1 c) First time to Arkaroola and Central Australia. 2 b) Pirelli MT60s. 3 d) FNQ it is. We’ve alerted the RFDS. 4 a) He said you don’t need any but b) if you insisted. 5 b) The float needle spring. 6 a), b) and possibly c). 7 d) Singapore 8 a) 850 9 c) FOMO 10 f) All of that and beaten cancer. 11 d) Cervera is the man behind Bill’s Pipes. 12 c) 90,000, one third of which were leased to the unsuspecting Russians. 13 d) Can’t believe they didn’t stick with it. 14 b) An Encounter Overland Man truck. 15 a) It didn’t really. 16 d) It didn’t save weight. 17 b) Income for the dope heads. 18 c)…

SUZUKI GOES BUSH Suzuki has kitted out its popular DR650SE and DR-Z400E dual-sport bikes with a host of upgrades at no extra cost, which are typically undertaken by customers anyway. With rideaway prices of $9490 and $9390 respectively, the DR650SE Tanami Edition and DR-Z400E Cape York Edition (pictured) feature as much as $1200 worth of off-road ability. In the DR650SE’s case, this includes a 20-litre Acerbis polyurethane fuel tank (to address the bike’s small 13-litre tank); more off-road oriented Pirelli MT21 Rallycross tyres; plus a Suzuki alloy bashplate and handguards, and Tanami swingarm decals. Meanwhile, the DR-Z400E Cape York Edition picks up a Pro Taper SE alloy handlebar and grips; Pirelli Scorpion tyres; Suzuki alloy bashplate, handguards and radiator guards. Turn to page 80 for more on the DR650SE. SWAP…

ENGINE: TYPE: Air/oil-cooled, four-valves-per-cylinder, pushrod single-cam 45-degree V-twin CAPACITY: 1868cc BORE & STROKE: 102 x 114mm COMPRESSION RATIO: 10.5:1 FUEL SYSTEM: Sequential port EFI PERFORMANCE: POWER: 68kW (94hp) at 5000rpm (estimate) TORQUE: 165Nm at 3000rpm TRANSMISSION: TYPE: Six-speed, constant-mesh CLUTCH: Wet multi-plate FINAL DRIVE: Belt CHASSIS & RUNNING GEAR: FRAME TYPE: Steel twin-loop FRONT SUSPENSION: Telescopic Showa fork, 49mm, no adjustment REAR SUSPENSION: Showa monoshock with remote preload adjustment FRONT BRAKE: Single disc with four-piston caliper REAR BRAKE: Single disc with two-piston caliper DIMENSIONS & CAPACITIES: WET WEIGHT: 330kg SEAT HEIGHT: 680mm WHEELBASE: 1630mm FUEL CAPACITY: 18.9L TYRES: FRONT: 130/90-16 REAR: 150/80-16 OTHER STUFF: PRICE $33,995 rideaway WARRANTY Two years/unlimited km www.Harley-Davidson.com Light handling Responsive engine Nice packaging No heel-toe lever Not cheap…

ENGINE TYPE: Liquid-cooled, four-stroke, DOHC, eight-valve parallel twin CAPACITY: 500cc BORE & STROKE: 69 x 66.8mm COMPRESSION RATIO: 11.5:1 FUEL SYSTEM: EFI PERFORMANCE POWER: 35kW (48hp) at 8500rpm TORQUE: 45Nm at 5000rpm TRANSMISSION TYPE: Six-speed FINAL DRIVE: Chain CLUTCH: Wet, multi-plate CHASSIS & RUNNING GEAR FRAME TYPE: Tubular-steel trellis and plates FRONT SUSPENSION: 41mm upside-down telescopic fork, nonadjustable, 125mm travel REAR SUSPENSION: Monoshock, adjustable for preload, 50mm travel FRONT BRAKES: Twin 280mm discs with twin-piston calipers, ABS REAR BRAKE: Single 240mm disc with single-piston caliper, ABS WHEELS & TYRES WHEELS: 17-inch alloys TYRES: 120-70-17 front, 160/60-17 rear, Pirelli Angel ST DIMENSIONS & CAPACITIES WET WEIGHT: 217kg SEAT HEIGHT: 750mm WHEELBASE: 1600mm FUEL CAPACITY: 21 litres OTHER STUFF PRICE: $9790 rideaway COLOURS: Matte Black Metallic, Metallic Matte Cognac Red, Black Glossy…

MENTIONING THE WAR I have read your piece on bikes throughout the first and second world wars and found it very informative. I’m writing to say there was not a mention of the Norton bikes being used. These were used in WWII and I have a photo of my father at the helm of a 1938 350cc, which are very rare. He took it to Poland in 1938 and later used it in Egypt. He had a fall in the sand where the exhaust pipe burnt into his leg and dug himself out and returned to base for medical treatment. Tough man. This photo was taken when they were getting ready to help Poland fight the Germans in 1938. He was just 17 at the time. Steve Sawbridge sjpools@bigpond.com ADVENTUROUS…

Was there ever a motorcyclist who thought he had every bike he needed forever already? Can motorcycling keep you young? Nobody at MT would deny it but, just in case, I offer proof. Yep, meet Allan Gray, although chances are you might have already. I knew him as Mr LandCruiser before we finally met at Terrain Tamer HQ, in those days an old post office building in Melbourne. That was about 20 years ago, but when this old bloke in overalls climbed under Milo and started making grunting noises I figured I’d better shake his hand. That led to a well-oiled, gnarly handshake fuelled by grunts that let me know journos had to do more than show up in his workshop to impress. It’s hard not to like quiet people…

(HEAD OF BMW PRODUCT AND MARKETING) It’s no secret the motorcycle market is under pressure.  How’s BMW going? We’re likely to end up this year just 50 or 60 units behind last year which, compared with the rest of the marketplace, means we’re comfortably outperforming it. This has been helped by sales of the G 310 R, but BMW brand loyalty is strong and we’re doing well in all the segments in which we’re engaged. Product aside, what’s keeping you at this high level? I hope it’s partly because of how we support our dealers to be profitable and, in turn, help them provide a premium service to customers. Customers expect more these days and a lot of our effort goes into improving the relationship between customers and dealers. We…

In case you missed the seemingly endless cycle of launches and announcements since 2017, Harley-Davidson has made a huge generational leap with the big-bore engines and Softail series chassis, to the point where you can argue the current Softail Heritage Classic (or FLHC in Hogley-speak) is by far the most significant thing since sliced bread, or when the series first launched. We recently copped a 114-cubic-inch version of the toy (aka FLCHS) for a couple of weeks and, before we head off into the hills, let’s have a quick look at where we’ve been. Alright, a little test here. Who among you has ridden an early Evolution Softail for any distance? We’re talking from 1984 and on, with the rigidly-mounted engine and underslung shocks. Remember the ride? You should –…

SPANNER: You remember when you ran for the senate and didn’t quite make the quota? ROOTHY: C’mon Grant, it was only to raise awareness of some bush issues, and I did it twice. If they’d given me a ticket to Canberra I’d have stuck the old TL125 up the stairs of Parliament House and gone to jail instead. Got to speak with heaps of politicians, though. Enough to thoroughly disillusion me with the whole bloody process. You know I hate talking about politics. Why are you doing this to me? SPANNER: I’m just a tiny bit pissed off that NSW has finally adopted a sensible club plate scheme for motorcycles and states like Queensland are still stuck in the dark ages. Hardly anyone gets this, but Australia was a bunch…

SHED MASTER? I wondered if you might consider taking a look at Dave Kellett’s contribution to motorcycling in southeast Queensland as a Shed Masters feature. DaveKellettMotorcycle. com.au Mr Kellett’s tag line is “We’ll give it to you straight”, and he’s known as the region’s (the country’s?) best frame straightener. He carries, nay, exudes, a lifetime of motorcycle engineering wisdom. But that’s not why I’m writing. Here it is: his avocation is the sidecar. In dealing with him over the six-month period of a project concluded almost two years ago, I’d say he’s forgotten more about these outfits than most people have ever learnt. He also has great backstories about campaigning in Europe and elsewhere in sidecar racing, most of which he’s too modest to tell most people about. Mr Kellett…

ENGINE: TYPE: Air/oil-cooled, four-valve single CAPACITY: 644cc BORE & STROKE: 100 x 82mm COMPRESSION RATIO: 9.5:1 FUEL SYSTEM: 40mm Mikuni BST40 PERFORMANCE: POWER: 32kW (43hp) at 6400rpm TORQUE: 54Nm at 4600rpm TRANSMISSION: TYPE: Five-speed, constant-mesh FINAL DRIVE: Chain CHASSIS & RUNNING GEAR: FRAME TYPE: Steel FRONT SUSPENSION: Telescopic fork, leading axle REAR SUSPENSION: Monoshock, preload and compression damping adjustment FRONT BRAKE: 280mm disc with two-piston caliper REAR BRAKE: 230mm disc with two-piston caliper DIMENSIONS & CAPACITIES: WET WEIGHT: 162kg SEAT HEIGHT: 885mm WHEELBASE: 1490mm FUEL CAPACITY: 13L TYRES: FRONT: 90/90-21 REAR: 120/90-17 Simple Reliable Very capable Small fuel tank Painful seat Rims a bit soft…

YAMAHA YZF-R3 AND MT-03 (2019) PROBLEM: The front brake lever may break when a strong gripping force is applied, resulting in the loss of all brake functionality at the front of the motorcycle. ACTION: Contact your nearest Yamaha dealer and a replacement brake lever will be fitted. SPANNER SAYS: The worrying thing here is that if you’re squeezing the front brake lever hard enough to snap it, you obviously really, really need to stop in a hurry. It’s the perfect storm, so if you have a 2019 R3 or MT-03, get ye to your nearest dealer ASAP. HONDA CBF300N (2019) CBR300R (2018) CRF250L (2017) PROBLEM: The groove on the main gearbox shaft was incorrectly manufactured and is oversized, which could result in circlips flicking out and causing damage to the…

1 Three brilliant Italian engineers Bianchi, Morri, and Tamburini originally created Bimota as a hobby in 1972. By taking the first two letters of each name, Bimota was born. 2 Bianchi departed Bimota in 1972, followed later by Tamburini who went to Ducati where he designed the 916 and headed the Cagiva Research Centre in San Marino. When Cagiva sold Ducati in 1997 Tamburini stayed on, later designing the MV Agusta F4. 3 In 1975 Bimota designed the chassis for Johnny Cecotto’s 350cc World Championship-winning Yamaha. They followed this in 1976 and 1977 with the chassis for Walter Villa’s winning Aermacchi Harley-Davidsons. These, and other early designs like the KB1 for a Kawasaki 900/1000 four, were quite conventional in concept, but were superbly designed and constructed. 4 The designation SB2…

OGGY STYLE Without Oggy Knobs, if you’re riding in some foggy smog, and you crash your stocky rod, you could end up with a shoddy bod. Translation: Oggy Knobs protect your bike, and Kenma has them available to fit Yamaha MT-09, Kawasaki Z650, Kawasaki Ninja 650L and CFMoto 650NK. The company is also now distributing fender eliminator kits for those bikes. The Promoto kits are made in Australia, come with the required brackets and are designed for use with OEM licence plate lamps and Australian numberplates. No tneed to drill holes or cut wires. Oggy Knobs: $195-$289 Axle Oggys: $99 Fender eliminators: $129-$169 Kenma.com.au BIG BOX What’s in your box? This GearWrench seven-drawer one has 173 combination tools in the roller cabinet. The cabinet, GearWrench says, has been constructed from…

It’s a good thing they can’t talk, as you can imagine the complaints It’s funny how some weeks you get engaged with a detail in your life and, suddenly, it seems all-consuming. Like you’ll pull a bike out of the shed to work on it and then three pop up in your social media feed. Then another gets ridden down the street past your house. I’ve been having one of those weeks with FireBlades. There’s a first-model 1992 example lurking somewhere in the depths of the shed and it was long overdue for a gallop. So it gets pulled out into the sunlight for the first time in a few months. Despite the inattention I’ve been lavishing on it, it fires up after a couple of stabs on the starter.…