Table of contents for #381 21-01 in Just Bikes

Sales of off-road bikes, ATVs and SSVs have defied COVID-19 to improve by significant numbers in the first half of 2020. Compared to the same six-month period in 2019, dirt bikes sales increased by 42.4 per cent, with ATV and SSV sales up by 50.9 per cent. This resulted in the overall new motorcycle market in Australia improving by 24.5 per cent for the first six months of the year. It’s good news for brands that are active in both these categories, as off-road bike sales were down 1.6 per cent and ATV sales were down 8.5 per cent in 2019. According to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions on travel have driven the improvement in dirt bike sales. “We believe that, instead of spending…

Before the 2020 MotoGP World Championship had even started, the silly season was underway and the biggest news for next year is Pol Espargaro’s signing with Repsol Honda, replacing Alex Marquez. Announced on 13 July, the deal will see the 29-year-old Spaniard join the Repsol Honda team for the next two seasons, with Marquez to step down to the satellite LCR Honda team, at the expense of Cal Crutchlow. The younger of the Marquez brothers had been a late inclusion to the factory Honda team for 2020, following the surprise retirement of Jorge Lorenzo. Espargaro will come to Repsol Honda with seven years’ experience in MotoGP, the last four of which have been spent with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and their developing RC16 project. In his first three years…

One Way Machine’s Julian von Oheimb is a custom bike builder that’s never rested on his laurels. A winner in the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building (in the Modified Harley-Davidson class) in 2014 and runner up on two other occasions, the German engineer and craftsman is always seeking more success. Julian’s past AMD entries have been created specifically for that competition, and built using a no-expenses-spared and no-holds-barred approach. In 2018, Julian entered the AMD World Championship with the bike you see here. He describes it as his ultimate creation. And it delivered the ultimate prize… ONE WAY, ONE MAKE, ONE MAN We’ve featured One Way Machine builds in JUST BIKES in the past, and if you’re seen those earlier features, you’ll know that Julian has a distinct…

What started as a concept is now a reality. And it’s a reality that will be coming to Australia. At last year’s Tokyo Motor Show, Honda presented the ‘CT125 Concept’; a machine clearly reminiscent of the local hero CT110, but connected to a model even further back in Honda’s past. That model, of course, was the Cub. TRAIL ORIGINS, AUSSIE LEGENDS Launched in 1958, the Cub (later called Super Cub) was purely a roadgoing motorcycle, but it didn’t take Honda long to respond to demands for a hardier version, as well as one that tapped into the 1960s trend for street scramblers. The result was the CA100T ‘Trail 50’, released in 1961. Also known as the Trail Cub and Hunter Cub, the CA100T was billed as an off-road version of…

KTM has released details of their 450 Rally Replica for 2021, which will be limited to just 85 units worldwide. The Rally replica is as close as us mere mortals can get to the machines ridden to victory at the Dakar Rally and in the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Toby Price, Matthias Walkner and Sam Sunderland. Upgrades made to the ultra-exclusive MY21 Rally Replica have been inspired by input from the factory racing team. The Rally Replica’s 450cc fuel-injected SOHC single-cylinder engine remains, fueled by Keihin EMS injection, lubricated by twin oil pumps and with an Akrapovic exhaust system as standard. For 2021, this has been matched to a brand-new six-speed gearbox with a revised shift mechanism. The direct influence of PANKL Racing…

How often do you see motorcycles in an art gallery? Not very often, but when you want to put on an exhibition that celebrates the motorcycle as a design object, you go straight to two guys: Chares M. Falco and Ultan Guilfoyle. Falco and Guilfoyle are the curators of ‘The Motorcycle: Design, Art, Desire’ - an exhibition that will open exclusively at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) this November. With more than 100 motorcycles on show, this will be a must-see for motorcyclists, of course, but Falco and Guilfoyle are aiming to attract those without a wired-in love for bikes, too. While the exhibition will have echoes of ‘The Art of the Motorcycle’, the wildly successful exhibition curated by Falco and Guilfoyle that attracted more than 2 million visitors…

Everyone who knows bikes (and even most people who don’t) knows what a Vespa is. However, knowledge of the Vespa’s commercial cousin, the Ape, is far less widespread. That’s a shame, really, as the Ape, especially in its passenger-carrying form as presented here, is a charming machine that deserves more attention. When this unit was listed for sale with JUST BIKES, its rarity and condition caught our eye, so we were keen to find out more about it. Fortunately, the owner/seller Paul Savoy was only too happy to oblige. Paul started by clarifying that the Ape has nothing to do with primates; it’s actually pronounced Ahh-pay and is Italian for bee. An appropriate name, as the Ape was the “working” companion to Piaggio’s Vespa (wasp) scooter. AIR COOLED ATTRACTION Listing…

The new Honda CMX 500 has arrived in Australia, and the 2020 version of the LAMS cruiser comes with new features, as well as a new model variant. A firm favourite with Aussie riders since its local launch in 2017 (746 sales in 2018 and 309 sales for the first six months of 2020), the CMX 500 combines booberinspired cruiser looks with a smooth, responsive engine, easy handling and a comfortable riding position. The engine, frame and most of the cycle parts are unchanged for 2020, which means a 471cc liquid-cooled DOHC parallel twin, connected to a six-speed transmission and chain final drive, producing 34kW and 43.3Nm maximums. The slim engine is combined with a steel diamond frame that’s narrow, too, designed to enhance rider comfort in the saddle, which…

World Superbike veteran Marco Melandri has made a surprise return to the WSBK grid. The 37-year-old Italian had retired from racing at the end of the 2019 WSBK season, but was lured back by Marco Barnabo of Barni Racing Team. Melandri will replace Leon Camier at Barni Racing for the remainder of the 2020 season, after the Brit parted company with the team on 16 July. The deal with Barni Racing Team sees Melandri reunited with Ducati, but the Italian’s last ride on the red bikes was with the twin-cylinder Panigale R in 2018. He will now ride the new four-cylinder Panigale V4 R. Speaking on WorldSBK.com, Melandri seemed as surprised by his return to racing as everyone else! “The situation was quite surreal, in normal conditions I never thought…

Less than a decade ago, the idea of a supercharged motorcycle from a major manufacturer seemed pretty fanciful. Sure, there had been supercharged bikes in the past, but these were confined to the dragstrip and salt flats, while the turbocharged era of the 1980s flared brightly but only briefly. More recently, we’ve seen aftermarket kits and home-built concoctions for those that like their blowers on two wheels, along with a handful of supercharged specials from “manufacturers” you’ve never heard of that never seem to advance past the concept stage. So, a blown production bike from a trusted brand all seemed a bit like the Holy Grail until Kawasaki dropped the H2 in 2014. Gamechanger? Yes. Mindblower? Absolutely! In simple terms, the H2 is a litre-class sportsbike with a centrifugal supercharger…