Table of contents for #421 24-02 in Just Bikes

Now that you are reading this, did you know that you can have JUST BIKES sent directly to you? If you regularly buy from your local newsagent or super-market, please keep supporting them – we love them! But if you keep missing issues you may want to consider a subscription. Full disclosure – Australia Post is pretty busy these days so delivery can be a bit slow, but at least you won’t miss an issue! You can have your mag delivered to your door for only $90 for 12 months. See page 119 for coupon or scan this QR code to order…

Following Ducati’s introduction of new colour options for models like the Monster, Supersport 950 and Hypermotard, they’ve now done the same for the Panigale V2. In addition to classic Ducati Red, the Panigale V2 is now also available in a ‘Black on Black’ livery. Ducati says the new livery enhances the bold character of the Panigale V2 with its all-over dark matte grey finish, accented with gloss black sections on the lower fairing, extraction vents and front mudguard. Large ‘V2’ graphics on the flanks are also in gloss black, with Ducati and Panigale branding picked out in red. Red accents are added to the wheels and there’s a subtle Italian tricolore on the extraction vents that the Ducati Red version doesn’t get. Another exclusive is new materials and graphics on…

This year’s Italian MotoGP round saw Andrea Dovizioso inducted into the MotoGP Hall of Fame, with a special ceremony held for the recently retired rider ahead of the Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley at Mugello in June. Born in 1986, Dovizioso made his grand prix debut - as a 15-year-old - in the 125cc class in 2001. The Italian would go on to win the 125cc World Championship in 2004 before spending three seasons in the 250cc category, finishing third, second and second in that championship. Stepping up to MotoGP in 2008, Dovizioso rode Honda and Yamaha machinery over his 15 seasons in the premier class, but is best remembered for his time on the Ducati Desmosedici. Across eight seasons with the factory Ducati team (2013 to 2020), Dovizioso won 14…

At present, Triumph have only two models that are LAMS legal for Australia – the Trident 660 and a de-tuned version of the Street Triple. That’s soon to change, though, with a pair of all-new models to wear the famous Triumph badge due for local release later this year. Badged as the ‘Speed 400’ and Scrambler 400 X,’ the upcoming models will be part of Triumph’s Modern Classics family, alongside the Scrambler 900/1200, Speed Twin 900/2100, Thruxton RS and various Bonneville variants. But where those models are exclusively for full licence holders, the Speed 400 and Scrambler 440 X will be road legal for learners. The 400 pair are all-new from the ground up and run single-cylinder engines; a feature not seen on a Triumph in five decades. Both singles…

BMW Motorrad’s manufacturing plant at Berlin-Spandau recorded a major milestone in late June, with the one millionth GS motorcycle with a boxer engine rolling off the production line. Berlin Spandau has been producing BMW motorcycles since 1969, while GS models with the flat twin boxer engine have been a constant at the German factory since 1980. The millionth boxer GS was an R 1250 GS, with the standard 100kW/143Nm 1,254cc flat twin, six-speed transmission and shaft drive, as well as the standard Telelever front and Paralever rear suspension. Finished in Style Triple Black with gold rims, the millionth boxer GS also featured hand guards, panniers and auxiliary lighting from the factory accessories range. The Australian-market equivalent to the milestone model is the R 1250 GS Triple Black; a road-biased touring…

Shannons are giving motoring enthusiasts the chance to win a 2023 Indian FTR Sport and trip for two to the 2024 Monaco Historics in their latest competition. The FTR Sport up for grabs is a new model for 2023, replacing the FTR S and defined by features like the bellypan and headlight fairing that give it a modern, sportsbike look. Indian describe the FTR Sport as a bike designed for riders to cut loose and enjoy the pure sport of motorcycling. Powered by the same 92kW/118Nm 1203cc, liquid-cooled v-twin as the rest of the MY23 FTR range, the Sport also has the same six-speed transmission and Brembo brakes. Other features include fully adjustable Sachs suspension front and rear, 17-inch alloy wheels and Metzeler Sportec tyres. The FTR Sport’s tech package…

Alex Lowes will stay with Kawasaki’s factory team in the FIM Superbike World Championship next year, after putting pen to paper ahead of his home round at Donington Park in late June. The one-year contract extension will lengthen Lowes’s time in WorldSBK to 11 years and his tenure with the Kawasaki Racing Team (KRT) to 5 years. The new deal will also put the 32-year-old Brit into the ‘free agent’ sector at the end of the 2024 season, alongside his teammate, Jonathan Rea, and current WorldSBK Champion and points leader, Álvaro Bautista. Lowes’s new contract means that, at time of writing, Kawasaki is the only manufacturer to lock in its riders for the 2024 season, with Yamaha, Honda, Ducati and BMW factory teams all yet to confirm their lineups for…

The last time JUST BIKES featured a build from Kingston Custom - the ‘Spirit of Passion’ in 2021 - we described it as the most individual creation we’d seen on the BMW R 18 platform. We’re going to have to reset that judgement, as Kingston’s latest creation, ‘The Crown,’ is even more individual and totally unique. Thanks to builds like the ‘White Phantom,’ ‘Good Ghost,’ ‘Spirit of Passion’ and a string of BMW-based bobbers and café racers, Kingston Custom is now one of the best-known custom motorcycle houses in the world. Based in Gelsenkirchen, between Essen and Dortmund in Germany’s west, Kingston Custom was founded by Dirk Oehlerking in 2010. Oehlerking has a history in motorcycling going back much further than this, though, with the man himself saying he has…

Triumph’s Tiger 1200 GT Explorer is in the record books after being used to set a new Guinness World Record for the longest distance travelled on a motorcycle in 24 hours. The record, officially known as ‘The greatest distance on a motorcycle in 24 hours (individual)’, had stood since 2017. Back then, American Carl Reese rode a BMW K1600 GT for a total of 3,406.17km at a special test track in Texas. Triumph broke that record in a similar closed-circuit environment; the highspeed ring of the Nardo Technical Centre in Italy. The ‘individual’ element of the record meant that only one rider could be in the saddle for the entire 24-hour period. Triumph chose their brand ambassador and five-time Enduro World Champion, Ivan Cervantes, to complete the feat. Ahead of…

Harley-Davidson Australia has announced the lineup for the Saturday night concert that’ll rock this year’s National H.O.G. Rally at The Bend motorsport park in South Australia. The concert at the all-Harley event this 22-24 September will be headlined by The Angels, whose catalogue of timeless Aussie rock anthems (Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again, No Secrets, Marseilles, Take a Long Line, Shadow Boxer, etc.) is sure to get the H.O.G. crowd pumping. The iconic Aussie tock band will be fronted by Nick Norton, who steps out from behind the drum kit to replace Dave Gleeson on lead vocals. The National H.O.G. Rally will mark one of Norton’s first gigs up front, but he’s been with The Angels since 2011. John Brewster (guitarist and founding member), says Norton is…

Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the promoters of the annual Dakar Rally, have released initial details for the 2024 event, including start-finish dates, the basic route and an all-new stage format. The 46th edition of the Dakar will once again be held in Saudi Arabia, starting on 5 January and concluding on 19 January, 2024. According to race director, David Castera, the challenge will be just as daunting next year as it was this year. Next year’s Dakar will see 14 days of racing over 12 stages, starting in the country’s north-west at AlUla, which the rally raid last visited in 2020. Competitors will cover approximately 5,000km over the two weeks, with the route heading south-east into the Empty Quarter, before heading back west and finishing on the Red Sea coast…

Sydney isn’t the Antarctic. Far from it, in fact, but winters can still get cold here. Head inland and it gets even colder. I ride all year round and some of the most enjoyable rides I’ve had have been in the colder months. For that reason, I’ve always worn a warming baselayer on cold rides, whether here in Sydney or more extreme winter environments, like Tasmania and the High Country. Until recently, I thought woollen undergarments had better warming properties than synthetic equivalents, but the new ‘Heatrub’ gear from Zerofit proved me wrong. WHAT IS ZEROFIT HEATRUB? Developed in Japan, Zerofit Heatrub synthetic baselayer undergarments are designed to keep you warm in the coldest temperatures without restricting movement, which is what you need on a motorcycle and especially on an…