Australian Motorcyclist Issue #110 by Tony Clemenger

HARPER TRONGER MARTER

A NEW BREED OF SPEED

Harley-Davidson® adds performance and factory-custom style to its 2022 motorcycle line-up with the reveal of four new models, each powered by the Milwaukee-Eight® 117 powertrain, the most-powerful factory-installed engine offered by Harley-Davidson®.

The new Street Glide™ ST and Road Glide™ ST in the Grand American Touring line-up, and the Low Rider™ S and Low Rider™ ST in the Cruiser line-up, combine V-Twin muscle with tough West Coast styling influences.

Enough said, book your test ride.

Karen Finerman

FREESTYLING

Honda

TRIUMPH

LONG

INDIAN PURSUIT

Indian’s drinking water

LONG TERMERS

Meteor

EDITORIAL

Check this out

WHAT

Well, how about that

BEAR TALES

It’s your choice

NEW BIKE PRICES

Place your order, or grab one while you can

BORIS

Best night, ever

SIGNATURE BEAR

Jock has a look at motorcycling

Editor Stuart Woodbury

Contributing Editor J Peter Thoeming

Sales Manager Ralph Leavsey-Moase ralph@ausmotorcyclist.com.au

Designers FriendsLoveDesign.com

Photographers Nick Wood Creative, Half Light Photographic

Contributors Robert Lovas, Boris Mihailovic, Chris Pickett, The Possum, Colin Whelan, Nick Wood, Bob Wozga

Editorial contactus@ausmotorcyclist.com.au

Subscription enquiries ausmotorcyclist.com.au, contactus@ausmotorcyclist.com.au

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Australian Motorcyclist magazine is published by Australian Motorcyclist Magazine Pty Ltd. 17 Weeroona Place, Rouse Hill NSW 2155. Phone 0412220680

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E D I T O R S P E A K S

OFF HE GOES

IT’S WITH SADNESS

Chris is the ugly one in the middle!

THAT I report Ralph is leaving Australian Motorcyclist as our Sales Manager as he heads off into semi-retirement and to spend far more time with family. Ralph has been in the motorcycling industry since the early ‘90s and has ridden just about everything released since then, and has also been to many places around the world as a part of this. Ralph is switched on when it comes to the industry and is renowned as a great all-round bloke. I wish him all the best in whatever retirement brings and he has agreed to still lead our Morocco tour with Edelweiss Bike Travel later this year. It is a bucket list tour, so how could I deny him that!

Ralph’s replacement is another renowned motorcycle industry

ﬁgure, Chris Pickett. Yes, he is my good mate but ‘Picko’ has been in the industry for many years and been there, done that. I’m sure he’ll do a good job and I’ll work him to the bone and all that stuff. He knows I’m full of it, but it’s good to stir him up! Chris’ duties are obviously to sell ads for the magazine, but I’ll also be getting him to attend the occasional launch, do some road tests and test some new gear – lucky him. That’s if I can get him away from drinking coffee at the local café and get him off his surfboard!

At the recent Classic Challenge race weekend where Alex (Chris’ son) Pickett raced our FZR1000 it was great to have some readers come up and say hello. I’m not a show pony when it comes to being the editor of this magazine, unlike

many other present and ex-editors of various magazines who big note themselves and bath in the ‘so-called’ glory of being in such a position, so when readers come up to me and say, “Hey Stuart…” I can sometimes come off as a little shy to begin with, but then once we get over that, we can talk each other’s ears off! LOL! So, don’t you be shy, say hello.

One other thing I do get from anyone that recognises me is they all say how they love the magazine. I will (most of the time) ask if you think there’s anything better we can do with the magazine, and most of the time the reply is, “just keep doing what you’re doing”. This isn’t overly helpful, in a way, but it does say loud and clear that we’re doing the right thing and producing a magazine which you love to read. If you do think there’s anything we could do better, or would like us to feature something different, drop me an email – stuart@ ausmotorcyclist.com.au

Enjoy!

Cheers, Stuart.

The new Kawasaki Z650RS combines Retro style with modern Sports technology. Distinctive styling notes like a classic round LED headlight, needle instrumentation, 70’s influenced bodywork and colours, plus a twin-cylinder engine, create a stunning neo-retro segment reference point. The Kawasaki Z650RS is destined to impress all riders with its lovingly distilled spirit of RETROVOLUTION.

PARALLEL TWIN 649cc ENGINE

MODERN RETRO STYLING LEARNER APPROVED EASY TO RIDE

LAMS RETRO-SPORT STYLE

SPOKE-STYLE WHEELS

LOW SEAT HEIGHT LED HEADLIGHT FIND

WATCH ME

Here’s an exciting new partnership between Breitling and Triumph Motorcycles, combining a limited edition of Triumph’s class-leading Speed Twin and Breitling’s distinctive Top Time watch for 2022.

The bike – Limited to 270 worldwide. Stylish and distinctive Breitling edition paint scheme, incorporating a unique polychromatic blue colour matched to the original 1951 Triumph Thunderbird colour. Hand painted coach line detailing, unique premium features and ﬁnishes, including: bespoke instrument faces with styling cues from the watch design, unique perforated black leather seat with stitched detailing and branded billet machined engine detailing, and these are just the tip of the iceberg! Arriving June ’22 with a ride away price of $31,990. Customer applications must be submitted to: specialeditions@ triumphmotorcycles.com.au

The watch - Opportunity to purchase a Breitling Top Time Triumph limited-edition chronograph with a personalised matching edition number. An eye-catching ice-blue dial references both the Speed Twin’s Polychromatic Blue and a rare, blue-dialed Breitling Top Time from the 1970s. Two distinct versions of the Top Time Triumph chronograph released, with one reserved for Speed Twin Breitling Limited Edition owners and individually numbered to match the edition number of the bike.

Breitling Top Time Triumph Edition: $7590 (inc. GST) Breitling Top Time Triumph Owners Edition: $7890 (inc. GST)

Strictly limited. Available early March through Breitling Boutique (Sydney, NSW, and Chadstone Shopping Centre,Vic) and Breitling.com

How does that sound! Ride your bike and wear it too. Just watch me!

COLLAB ME

To celebrate the release of the new Euro 5 model Royal Enfield 650 Twins and 11 Colourways, Royal Enfield has partnered with SA1NT Motowear to bring an exclusive, limited edition collection of riding and lifestyle apparel to new and existing Royal Enfield customers. Starting from 4th February until 31st March 2022, purchase a new Euro 5 Interceptor 650 or Continental GT 650 in-store or online, and add the RE x SA1NT “Unbreakable” Kit for an exclusive promotional price of $790,

saving you over $450. Already own an RE? All Royal Enfield riders get a store-wide discount, so you can choose to purchase all or part of the RE x SA1NT “Unbreakable” Kit. Simply enter “ROYALENFIELD10” at the checkout to get 10% off your entire order - store.royalenfield.com.au This Limited Collection includes a specially branded RE x SA1NT Unbreakable Jacket, Unbreakable Straight Jeans, and five RE x SA1NT branded T-shirts to choose from. Get some.

WATCH THIS

The Australian Superbike Championship has two new homes to watch all the action. Stan Sport is showing every round of ASBK live and if you’d prefer the freeto-air version, SBS is showing ASBK as well. If you’re on Facebook the ASBK page has a live stream for all races and you can stream it to most tele’s nowadays or via a Chromecast.

WEAR THIS

MV Agusta is launching its new apparel collection, Heritage, themed around the vintage pictures and graphics that built the history of the brand. Heritage represents a sentimental legacy, a tribute to the legendary riders, the designers and the engineers who made MV Agusta the quintessential symbol of speed, racing and Italian elegance in the past 75 years. Straight from the company’s archives, classic pics, logos and taglines were reinterpreted to create the new collection of t-shirts, sweaters and caps. See your local MV Agusta dealer or mvagusta.store/ pages/collection-heritage D

TRACE IT

UK Bodywork Specialist, Pyramid Plastics, has added yet more options to the range of parts for the Tracer 9/GT. This time they’ve developed a new Fly Screen, Hugger, Engine Plate and Spray Guard.

Pyramid’s parts are all designed speciﬁcally for the Tracer 9 and are aimed at improving protection for both rider and bike, as well as offering a more rugged appearance. The new Fly Screen offers the rider a much lower screen –reducing wind noise to a minimum and giving the bike a ‘Street’ look. Initially available in Matte Black, colour options will soon follow. Adding the Hugger and Spray Guard will signiﬁcantly reduce the effect of any dirt thrown up from

the rear wheel. Both are available in a subtle Matte Black option. The new Engine Plate provides ultimate protection for the Exhaust Headers and Lower Engine. Mounted using Pyramid’s robust bracketry and ﬁtting kit, the Tracer9 is now equipped for all terrain.

View the Pyramid Site for the full Tracer9/GT Range: https:// pyramid-plastics.co.uk/collections/ yamaha/bike-model_tracer-9+bikeyear_2021#collection-products

Pyramid also stocks the full Puig, Ermax, Customacces, GB Racing & Pro-Race ranges too – you can browse the full range on the website. For more info just contact Sales, email sales@pyramid-plastics. co.uk or message via Pyramid’s Live Web Chat during opening hours of 9/5:30pm.

RELEASE OF THE SUZUKI

GSX-S1000 a handful of years ago saw a no frills, easy to ride and powerful four-cylinder motorcycle derived from the 2005 GSX-R1000 hit the market which has become very popular –especially thanks to some sharp pricing. For 2022 Suzuki has upped the ante giving the new GSX-S1000 plenty of fruit, but still retained super sharp pricing.

That price is $17,290 ride away and let me tell you, this is one hell of a motorcycle for such a small amount of money. As I mentioned to Suzuki’s Australian marketing manager, you could charge another ﬁve grand and no one would bat an eyelid, especially when the main competition is another ten grand!

So, what is making the ‘new’ GSX-S1000 such a great motorcycle? We have to start with the engine. Why? Because the GSX-S1000′s inline-four is simply an evolution of the 2005 Suzuki GSX-R1000 K5, a legend among sportbikes, with tweaks centred on making the now Euro 5-compliant power unit even easier to use. Making it even more brilliant, I say! Capacity, bore and stroke, and compression are unchanged but camshafts, cam chain, and valve springs, along with a slipper clutch, are new. Power and torque are virtually the same, but the low-to mid-range is juicier and to top things off the mid-high range is also much healthier. In fact, the new GSX-S’s midrange delivery feeds you with exquisite fruit, despite having the raw power of a meat eater. It drives like a naked bike with a far greater capacity as it serves up bucketloads of grunt - and does so from almost anywhere in the revs. On occasion I would change down a couple of gears and ﬁnd there was no need to. The nowstandard (and supersmooth) up-and-down quickshifter is awesome, but drive is instantaneous and mighty. For this new model the engine now revs 1000rpm higher to its soft rev limiter, helping to make the GSX-S quicker than I was anticipating as well as more fun. 5-mode traction control (versus three on the old model) plus off broadens how you might like to set up the GSX-S. With the traction control disabled, which can be done on the move, a whiff of throttle will send the front wheel skyward in the ﬁrst two gears. Yes, it’s an older, nononsense engine but one that makes this value-based supernaked both usable and enjoyable - ride along using its torque or hang onto its revs like much sportier

machinery. And, as a cherry on top, it belts out a charismatic and meaty induction roar like a GSX-R sportbike. There are three uncomplicated riding modes to choose from, all of which change the engine character and power curves but still give full power. These SDMS (Suzuki Drive Mode Selector) modes were called A, B, and C, but now someone has decided they are Active, Basic, and Comfort.

Suzuki has in the past been criticised for having harsh and sometimes aggressive fuelling and A, or Active, is still a little sharp, however the softer B mode is perfect for road use and probably also any track work you might like to do with this bike. C, sorry, Comfort delivers a much milder map and throttle response and would be ideal for traversing a muddy track to get to a campground, or something like that.

The other electronics ﬁtted to the GSX-S include a new ﬂy-bywire throttle, which is lighter and more compact; and another pair of functions that are simply great to have. First is the Suzuki Easy Start System. Press the start button once and the

bike will start on its own. No need to hold it down or use throttle or pull in the clutch. Second is Suzuki’s Low RPM Assist function which ups the revs slightly when releasing the clutch from a standstill.

The suspension units on the new GSX-S are similar to the previous models, but with revised settings thanks to the small increase in overall weight, and the improved grip from the OEM Dunlop Sportmax Roadsmart II rubber.

The standard settings in the rear work effectively during normal riding, with the fully adjustable 43mm KYB fork initially a little too hard for my liking. Luckily, they are fully adjustable, and a few small adjustments had them bang on the money.

Steering is accurate and stability is excellent. On a smooth surface, the

Roadsmart IIs worked amazingly well. On some rougher goat tracks the tyres gripped well but the shock needed some ﬁne tuning. But considering its weight, power, and price, Suzuki has done an excellent job of setting the bike up for all eventualities.

Comfort has been improved with a new seat and tapered handlebar which is now 23mm wider and 20mm closer creating a more upright riding position. The launch saw us ride a good 400km and never was I uncomfortable, in fact, throw a seat bag on and ride this fruity beast whenever you want! The most comfortable supernaked? It could be. Riding it anywhere can also be a happier time thanks to an increase in fuel capacity to a 19-litre tank. The shape of the tank is also different which helps increase comfort.

An aggressive, futuristic new look will be a love it or hate it relationship for many. The new stacked LED headlight, while shedding huge amounts of light, will polarise some. As will the camo effect plastics. The small winglets are for cosmetic effect only, and Suzuki doesn’t claim any downforce or performance gains.

A new full LCD, brightness adjustable instrument panel is compact and full of all the info you need. Scroll through and adjust settings via the easy-to-use button on the left side switchblock.

Warranty for the GSX-S is now three-years unlimited kilometres, and you get three colour options - Glass Sparkle Black, Metallic Triton Blue, or Glass Matt Mechanical Gray.

Accessories add a nice personal touch with some carbon pieces, coloured Brembo calipers, rim tape,

axle sliders, heated grips, tank bag and tank pads.

Delivering a reasonably priced, desirable, and usable naked road bike was key with the new Suzuki GSX-S1000, which is exactly what the factory has done. An abundance of torque, electronic rider aids that are sufﬁcient for any rider, and an aggressively competitive price point make this a tempting machine. You could argue it’s basic and lacking in spec, but the bikes you’re probably comparing it against are ten grand more, at a minimum. I love its minimalism and everyday usability – if only it had switchable ABS for some more minimalist fun…

Why spend more money than you must? The amazingly good GSX-S1000 is itching to give you smiles for miles.

Specs

SUZUKI GSX-S1000

PRICE: $17,290 (ride away)

WARRANTY: Three years, unlimited distance

SERVICING INTERVALS: Every 12,000km or 12 months

ENGINE: 999cc liquid-cooled in-line four cylinder, 73.4x59mm bore/stroke, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder

POWER: 112kW @ 11,000rpm

TORQUE: 106Nm @ 9250rpm

TRANSMISSION: 6-speed, wet multi-plate slipper clutch, chain ﬁnal drive

SUSPENSION: Front, 43mm inverted fork, adjustable preload, compression and rebound, travel 120mm. Rear, monoshock, adjustable preload and rebound, travel 130mm.

DIMENSIONS: Seat height 810mm, weight 214kg (wet), fuel capacity 19 litres, wheelbase 1460mm

TYRES: Front, 120/70/ZR17. Rear, 190/50/ZR17

BRAKES: Front, twin 310mm discs with radial four-piston ABS calipers. Rear, 220mm disc, single-piston ABS caliper.

FUEL CONSUMPTION: N/A

THEORETICAL RANGE: N/A

COLOURS: Glass Sparkle Black; Metallic Triton Blue; Glass Matt

Mechanical Gray

VERDICT: Juicy and great value

SECOND OPINION

EX-WORLD SUPERBIKE RIDER, EX-WORLD Endurance champion (twice) and ex-Australian Superbike champion, Steve Martin was along for the ride. Being a good friend of mine I asked him for some words on the new GSX-S, and here is what he had to say…

“Preconceived ideas are something you should never have before you test ride any bike, but I think it’s something we always tend to have. In my case I’ve ridden all the previous models from the ﬁrst original GSX through to the initial reintroduction around eight years ago and also one on a race track a few years ago.

With that in mind my preconception was that I was going to be a little disappointed in the new bike with just some points I didn’t gel with in the past. Well for 2022, I’m glad to say I’m hooked. The electronics are a massive improvement giving the GSX-S a way better and easier to ride feel on the road. The seating position is also amazingly comfortable which means it’s joyful to gobble up the kilometres, now making it the almost perfect work/weekend combo machine. The suspension although not super high tech absorbs bumps well adding to the overall good feel of the bike.

Suzuki has worked hard on keeping the price of the ‘22 machine affordable and honestly, if it cost four grand more I don’t think many people would argue: great quality at a nice price point.” D

It was a dozen years ago today, Mr Honda told the boys to play…

WORDS THE BEAR / PHOTOS HONDA R&D AMERICAS

IT NEVER REALLY CAUGHT

On in Australia, but the VT1300 Fury was a seriously important model for Honda when it was released. Honda MPE Australia (Motorcycles, Power Equipment – marine products were not yet important) ﬂew me over to the US in 2009 to sample the bike and write it up for the Australian market, something they had never done with another model.

The young bloke who handed the bike over to me – I’m sorry, I have forgotten his name – was one of the designers, and when he said “This is the only bike we have designed that came back almost entirely unchanged” he sounded as if he still couldn’t quite believe it. Let me just say that I liked the bike very much, even though I could not understand why they hadn’t

The designers were given free reign within a limited budget and just two requirements. The bikes had to be full on runners, and they needed to stay true to the core concept of the production vehicles

given it a bigger engine – and I never got an explanation.

The year after the launch of the Fury, Honda introduced the rest of the VT1300 lineup with the Sabre, Stateline and Interstate. But that wasn’t all they did. In a remarkable expression of faith for a Japanese company, they also gave three young designers from Honda Research & Development America the opportunity to build customs based on where their visions would take the Fury, Stateline & Sabre. The designers were given free reign within a limited budget and just two requirements. The bikes had to be full on runners, and they needed to stay true to the core concept of the production vehicles.

The crunch was that they had only three months from start to ﬁnish to design and build their concepts.

sporting bias

There’s nothing like hitting those apexes with millimetre precision, and the CFMOTO 700CL-X Sport is engineered to deliver the goods. Time after time.

10,490 $

RIDE AWAY

The ‘Sport’ moniker has real meaning, straddling both form and function. Highlights include Brembo brakes, petal discs, sticky 17-inch Maxxis rubber, a solo seat, clip-on handlebars and bar-end mirrors to create an inimitable ‘go-fast’ package. experience more together

693cc DOHC parallel-twin engine Bosch fuel-injection Ride-by-wire throttle and cruise control Sport and Economy modes Slipper clutch 41mm KYB upside-down fork, fully adjustable

KYB shock with preload and compression adjustment Brembo M50 radial-mount calipers with twin 320mm petal discs

Brembo P34 twin-piston caliper with a single 260mm disc Continental ABS braking system

Maxxis MA-ST2 tyres CL-X Sports styling 3 Year Warranty Available in Nebula White or Velocity Grey VIEW NOW

The Furious (Chopper), Switchblade (ProDrag) and Slammer (Bagger) had to be ready to debut at the December 17th, 2010 International Motorcycle Show at Long Beach, CA. From there, they would be taken on a nationwide tour through the next year. I don’t imagine that Erik Dunshee, Edward Birtulescu and Nick Renner got a lot of sleep during those three months.

The Stateline became a classic bagger, called “Slammer”. Designer Erik Dunshee took on the task of revealing the life of low. “Fueled by elegance and power the Slammer sports a fully adjustable air-ride suspension, NAV/Multimedia, 10” subwoofer and 500 watts of power,” said Honda. “With a full front end conversion, including a lean 23“ custom wheel, the designer achieved all this without frame or engine modiﬁcation.” Man, he didn’t have time! “Low has never looked so good.” True, true.

The bike had fully “air ride adjustable” front and rear suspension with a range from 6” ride height to 2.25” lowered. It had a custom spec crossover twin pipe exhaust, full custom bodywork including a leather drop seat and a three speaker, including a 10” subwoofer, 500-watt sound system. The composite coated narrow track front rotor had a sixpiston caliper.

HISTORY

New bikes for 2022

The Sabre became the Pro Drag “Switchblade”. Conceived by designer Edward Birtulescu, Switchblade was a racing-inspired cruiser with styling cues from Formula 1 and MotoGP. “With one look you know that Switchblade is fully committed to precision and performance,” said the company. It featured Carbon ﬁber bodywork, three-way adjustable racing suspension and a single sided swing arm with a 535 chain conversion.

“Switchblade has a mass centralized proportion to reinforce this super sport assault,” or so they said. Might have a slight problem with cornering

clearance there, mind you, despite the onboard GPS lap timer & data acquisition unit.

Finally, designer Nick Renner took the Fury and turned it into “Furious”, a classic hardtail chopper. “A bold blend of new and old school flavour. Pounding the street with a 23 inch wheel up front and a 20 on the rear, Furious makes no apologies,” said Honda with more enthusiasm than grammar. The bike got 45 degrees of rake and was converted to a hardtail to create a successful clean, pure chopper. To reinforce the point it had metalflake paint, variegated leafing,

SWITCHBLADE

and a diamond stitched seat. “Long and low, clean and mean... Furious is an instant Neo-Classic.”

I have to say that I love the idea. I wonder where the bikes went after their national tour? Love to see them in the metal. Next time I get to the States (whenever the hell that might be) I’ll ask Honda America. In case you were wondering, Honda MPE in Australia is not talking to us; no idea why. D

This is a slightly edited version of a story I wrote for ADVrider.com. Check out my other stuff on the website.)

FURIOUS

THE BMW R 18 CLASSIC

BERLIN BUILT SINCE 1923

The heart of the Bavarian motorcycle, built and crafted in Berlin. A modern cruiser with a nostalgic sense of BMW design, the R 18 Classic reminds one of the beginnings, of the first cruisers suitable for touring. The drop-shaped tank is an icon from our history and emphasises – as does the elongated end silencer – the typical streamlined flyline of the R 18 Classic. The large windshield protects the rider from the wind and weather and the softbags have 15.5 litres of space for everything you might need on a trip. The heart of the machine is obviously the boxer with the most displacement we have ever built. It stands for relaxing tours and pure enjoyment. #SoulFuel.

Learn more → bmw-motorrad.com.au

IT’S TIME TO GO

A LONG TIME...

As the country (and the world) open back up it’s time to dust off that motorcycle and plan a trip away. It might have been a while since you used any luggage you’ve got, and it may have fallen apart lying around. So, it’s time to look at what’s now available so you can pack what you need, to get away on that motorcycling holiday and arrive complete. As per usual, we put the call out to the various distributors and here is the motorcycle luggage they want you to know about.

SPECIAL FEATURE LUGGAGE

Lextek Luggage Box 32-litre - $69

Lextek 32L Luggage Box is the ideal solution for storing your helmet, gloves and essentials on your bike. Fully sealed to keep water out while riding and a secure lock with two unique keys. With an easy to fit universal mounting plate and a large red reflector that will make sure you are seen on the road. This modern top box is everything you need to add much-needed storage to your motorcycle or scooter. The Luggage Box comes with a fitting kit and instruction manual.Your bike needs to have a suitable top plate or luggage rack to secure the mounting plate. *Not suitable for luggage racks with pillion back rests.

Lextek Panniers 50-litre - $122

From commuting weekends away, to long journeys, Lextek panniers provide mega carrying capacity for your bike. The panniers are supplied with wide centre straps to spread the load of your luggage across the pillion seat. Panniers additionally allow high luggage capacity without upsetting the balance of the bike. The panniers feature a large cargo pocket, a smaller pocket on the outside and another smaller pocket to the rear, allowing optimum weight distribution of luggage. The panniers also include rain covers to help keep your luggage dry. Can be used in conjunction with a Lextek Tank Bag or Luggage Box to suit your travelling needs.

Lextek Magnetic Expandable Tank Bag 28-litre - $169

This tank bag offers an easy luggage solution for the rider of any motorcycle with a metal fuel tank. It literally only takes seconds to both load up your belongings and attach it to the tank. It’s truly spacious which is a must these days and is a great option for longer journeys as the bag can be expanded to carry even more belongings. Can be used in conjunction with Lextek Panniers or Luggage Box.

SW-Motech Legend Gear – LH Saddlebags – From $546 each

SW-Motech’s LH Saddlebags are perfect for cruisers. Stateof-the art materials with classic style. Legend Gear combines ageless ‘retro’ design with choice materials and a versatile fastening system. Bags are connected to SW-Motech SLH carriers, which mount to the bike’s fender strut. LH Bags are available in 19.5L and 25.5L bags.

SPECIAL FEATURE LUGGAGE

SW-Motech PRO Tank Bags – From $182

SW-Motech’s PRO tank bags have a timeless design in conjunction with durable materials and sophisticated product features. Bags feature an intergraded guide rail ﬁtted to the bottom, which makes the connection to the bike-speciﬁc tank ring an easy process. The robust PRO tank ring with magnetic guide aid secures the PRO tank bag with a mechanical snap lock. Also available is a range of accessory bags, which mount via the MOLLE system. Sizes range from 3L-22L.

SW-Motech Urban ABS Cases – Side cases from $1171, top case from $351

SW-Motech’s Urban ABS cases are available as top and side case option. Aerodynamically shaped and made from ABS plastic – perfect for naked bikes and bikes with a short rear. Light weight at 1.4kg, but extremely robust. Integrated theft protection on the inside of the cases, keeps them locked to the side carriers. 16L per case. Also available as top case.

SW-Motech TraX Aluminium Cases –Complete kits from $3141

(depending on bike)

Top of the range aluminium side and top cases (available as complete kits or separately), available in black (powder coated) or silver (anodized). Cases are water and dust proof and come with heaps of additional features and accessories, like bottle holders, inner bags, lid nets and outer expansion bags for additional capacity. Perfect for any adventure, on or off-road. Also available as complete side and top case sets.

SW-Motech Waterproof Rear Bags – From $29

SW-Motech’s waterproof rear bags range from 8L to 70L in size, which means there is a bag for every occasion. Made from durable 500D Polyester with welded edges and the roll top closure is sure to keep your gear water and dust proof. Mounting straps are included and bags can be connected to each other.

Adventure tail pack - $139.95

Made from 600D Ripstop construction and featuring a main compartment that’s PVC coated for dust and water resistance, side and top pockets, equipped with rain cover, shoulder strap, multiple attachment straps, reﬂective strip for night safety and a 50-litre capacity.

Travel tank bag - $139.95

Made from 600D Ripstop construction and featuring front compartment and small transparent holder, equipped with rain cover and shoulder strap, PE boards for shape retention, four magnets for secure holding, non-slip anti-scratch base and has an expandable from 17L – 26L capacity.

Explorer tail pack - $189.95

Made from 600D Ripstop construction and featuring a large expandable main compartment and side pockets, cover for loading extra gear, equipped with rain cover, shoulder strap, multiple attachment straps, PE boards for shape retention, reﬂective strip for night safety and 115-litre capacity.

SPECIAL FEATURE LUGGAGE

Aluminium Top Case –V-STROM - $699

Perfect for hauling all the gear you’ll need for a day or overnight trip. The Genuine Suzuki aluminium top case has a capacity of 38 litres and features 4 tie-down spots on the lid.

Dry Roll Bag - $129

This stylish black dry roll bag features a silver Suzuki logo on the side, and is made from welded tarpaulin, with reﬂective details with an additional shoulder belt included. Measuring approx. height 30cm, width 30cm and depth 55cm and its capacity is approx. 35 litres.

Aluminium Side Case Set – V-STROM - $1399

Endurance Velcro Saddle Bags - $589

Touratech’s ENDURANCE Velcro saddle bags are waterproof and dust proof. The twin saddle bags feature a roll-up closure made from extremely wear- and crease-resistant material. They can be used on a wide range of motorcycles, and generally, an extra luggage rack is not required.

D-Tail Tail Bag Stealth Black - $219

Featuring a 20.9-litre capacity with a deluxe main compartment with 240 cubic inches of expansion volume, dual moulded side accessory pockets, easy grab reinforced handle, integrated hidden rain hood, reinforced textured neoprene non-slip pad for paint protection, sleek streamlined air ﬂow surface design, top organiser pocket and a universal web mounting system for secure attachment.

SPECIAL FEATURE LUGGAGE

Corbin Fleetliner saddlebags for the 2020+ Triumph Rocket 3 - $8999

These high-quality panniers are the perfect addition to your Triumph Rocket 3. They provide a whopping 100 litres of storage and can take an adult LARGE size helmet. Can be painted in any colour or they can supply them unpainted for your preferred workshop to ﬁnish them off.

Corbin Glovebox compatible with most Corbin backrests - $1299

This glovebox has a capacity of 4 litres and that is just enough to hold the essentials. The perfect location to store your phone, wallet and keys and a small bottle of water. Can be installed on the rear of most existing Corbin backrests or supplied with a new Corbin saddle and backrest setup.

NELSON-RIGG nelsonrigg.com.au

CL-890 Expandable Sport Saddle Bags - $199.95

Lifetime warranty and featuring maximum UV protection, made from UltraMax fabric, 100% waterproof rain cover, expandable, easy access, lockable reverse coil zippers, heat resistant panels, heat resistant exhaust panels, strap mount and the CL-890 compact size is compatible with all types of motorcycles with upswept exhausts.

Corbin Trunkbox to suit the Kawasaki GTR1400 - $4499

CL-1100-R Commuter Lite Tank Bag - $149.95

Lifetime warranty for this great little tank bag, which features a 4 shielded magnetic mount, and 4-point strap mount, is expandable, touch screen device friendly, with a 100% waterproof rain cover, made from UltraMax fabric, universal ﬁtment attaches to metal, aluminium and plastic tanks, dual mounting system hidden under nonslip protective base, moulded EVA “carbon-like” panels allows bag to hold shape, adjustable internal organiser panel and a charging cable port pass through.

PRO ROAD PACK

PRO REAR BAG

PRO RACK PACK

PRO CARGO BAG

SPECIAL FEATURE LUGGAGE

Hurricane Enduro TankbagSE-3060 - $49.95

Rigg Gear lifetime warranty featuring 100% waterproof PVC tarpaulin with welded seams, UV-coated outer material, quick release strap system for easy refuelling, protective base material, straps in base to help secure your belongings, waterproof zipper ﬂaps, clear touch screen device friendly top pocket, small mesh pocket under lid and a rubberised carry handle for easy transport. Holds 2 – 6 litres.

Hurricane Sierra Saddlebags SE-4050 - $369.95

Lifetime warranty for these stylish looking saddlebags, which have a strap mount, maximum UV protection, 100% waterproof tarpaulin PVC, al seams are 100% waterproof and electronically heat welded, watertight roll closure with quick release buckles, UV Coated material, securely mounts using patented Rigg strap system, removable stiffener, side bottle pocket holds 850ml bottle (not included), side Molle panel to add other optional accessories, each side is collapsible with compression straps for smaller loads, ﬁrm internal back plate helps support bag, replaceable back pad helps protects bags from contact with rack, purge valve makes for easy compression, reﬂective accents, lightweight saddlebag liners and easily mounts to most motorcycles with racks.

SE-3070 Hurricane Tank Bag - $199.95

Lifetime warranty for this tank bag featuring 100% waterproof PVC tarpaulin with electronically welded seams, quick release strap system for easy refuelling, protective base material, waterproof zipper ﬂaps, clear touch screen device friendly top pocket and 11-litre capacity.

Hurricane Duffle Bags

- SE-4025 - $$169.95 & SE-4040 - $199.95

Lifetime warranty on both the 25-and 40-litre bags. They feature a strap mount, maximum UV protection, 100% waterproof tarpaulin PVC, all seams are 100% waterproof and electronically heat welded, watertight roll closure with quick release buckles, UV coated material, securely mounts using patented Rigg strap system, Rigg strap can also be used as a separate tie down system, removable internal panels, can be mounted across or along seat or tail section, purge valve makes for easy compression, dualpurpose carry handles and reﬂective accents.

CL-1060-M Mini Tail Bag - $99.95

Lifetime warranty on the tail bag which features maximum UV protection, rubberised zip pullers, 100% waterproof, rain cover, made from UltraMax fabric, strap mount, lockable reverse coil zippers, quick release straps and moulded EVA “carbon ﬁbre-like” panel allows bag to hold shape.

ROYAL ENFIELD royalenfield.com.au

Classic 350 & Meteor Side Box Kit - Side Box - $76, Side Box Pannier Rail - $51, Waterproof inner Bag - $33

This 12.5 litre capacity fully injection-moulded box with styling cues of a classic ammunition crate, is the perfect embodiment of purpose and style. Add a waterproof inner bag, to protect any of your valuables. Requires Black Commuter Pannier Rail, which is available separately. Load Limit: 3kg.

Classic 350 Rear Rack - $150

Keep your motorcycle ride-ready with this black powder coated luggage rack. Made from 16mm steel tube, it is versatile and corrosion-resistant. It mounts behind the passenger seat and includes an integrated grab handle for the passenger. Load Limit: 3kg

Himalayan Pannier Mounting Kit (Black)

- $260

Utilitarian design and rugged by nature, the pannier mounting kit reﬂects the styling cues of the Himalayan and ﬁts neatly on to the frame. Made from 18mm mild steel, it is powder-coated for durability.

Himalayan Aluminium Pannier set - $1200

These rugged aluminium 26-litre panniers (available in Silver or Black) set off the purposeful styling and ‘go anywhere’ nature of the Himalayan. They boast thick-walled aluminium construction and ABS corner protection along with top mounts for strapping down additional loads. A lockable lid ensures safety and peace of mind. Pannier Mounting Kit available separately.

THE BEAST CARVES ‘EM UP

AMONTH OR SO

BEFORE the Old Bike

Australasia Classic Challenge held at Sydney Motorsport Park, exIoMTT racer, Alex Pickett did a test day on the FZR1000 Period 6 race bike. Alex hadn’t raced a bike in just over two and a half years so he wanted to see if he still had his ‘mojo’. Well, he certainly did and I was a little surprised he went so fast so soon. Usually, Alex will build slowly into his normal fast lap times, but it only took him a couple of sessions and he was back on it.

Roll on to the weekend of the Classic Challenge and Sydney’s crazy rain-sunshine-rain-sunshine was back for the ﬁrst day’s racing.

Due to the wet track surface, Alex decided to sit out qualifying and the ﬁrst Period 6 Formula 1300 race. This did cost him the overall win, but Alex needed to err on the side of caution due to a career change, which meant he couldn’t risk getting hurt, and as dangerous as racing can be on the odd occasion, it’s far easier to crash in the rain than the dry, as one of our good friends found out when he crashed on

another bike’s oil after a blow up. So, the Saturday was an easy day for us and we caught up socialising with racing friends whom we hadn’t seen for some time due to Covid. It also meant we left the track early and had a great late afternoon/dinner full of laughs.

Roll on Sunday and the weather was looking more promising, despite the street outside being wet when we woke up. The track was a little wet

Saturday was an easy day for us and we caught up with racing friends we hadn’t seen due to Covid. It also meant we left the track early and had a great late afternoon/dinner full of laughs

when we arrived but soon dried out for the ﬁrst race. Alex had to start last and was into 3rd overall on the ﬁrst lap. This was an amazing display of skill as he carved his way through the pack.

As the races were two classes mixed into one, this also meant Alex was 1st in class. The two bikes ahead were Kawasaki ZX7RRRRRRs with two top level racers on board. Alex sat in 3rd overall and enjoyed following the two in front and was a bit of a larrikin pulling wheel stands everywhere. Mind you, this is different to the power wheel stand you see in the opening

For the second race Alex started third on the grid as it was a progressive grid, meaning wherever you ﬁnished the previous race is where you start the next. Alex soon got into 2nd overall and again, 1st in class but I was worried his rear tyre would go off and sure enough it did, on the ﬁnal lap. This allowed the fellow in third to get alongside Alex exiting a turn, at which point he decided to turn over on Alex and hit him. Alex rolled off and came in 3rd overall and 1st in

Cheeky… very cheeky

The lads – Alex, Chris & Stuart

All set up

Plenty of other classes ran at the OBCC - Adjustable footpegs? Darryl Bullock, the snapper, got this one timed perfectly

class. We let this incident slide, but this particular person should know much better, having raced in ASBK. As you can probably tell, I wasn’t happy.

The ﬁnal race of the day was a special feature race of the Top 45 fastest 750cc up to 1300cc bikes, called the Unlimited Challenge. The grid was based off qualifying so Alex started off at the back. He was into 2nd on the second lap and started to reel in the leader – the super quick Mark Vaartjes on an equally quick ‘Pre Modern Superbike’ ZX7RRRRRRRR. The race had been shortened to only four laps instead of six so it could have been quite a close ﬁnish if it went the distance. Alex also set the fastest lap time in this race by half a second.

Overall results saw Alex ﬁnish 2nd in Period 6 Formula 1300 and 2nd in the Unlimited Challenge. This is an amazing result for someone that hasn’t raced in over two and a half years and sat out qualifying and the ﬁrst P6 race. Some of this comes down to the high-quality products used on/in the

bike. Motul 300V engine oil, Pirelli Diablo Superbike slicks, RK Chain, NG Discs, SBS brake pads and Venhill braided brake lines are some of the consumables. Visit linkint.com.au and kenma.com.au for these products. We use VP Racing Roo 99 for the fuel, which costs an absolute bomb, but does give us consistent performance.

The main man who built the fastest

Alex and eldest son with his Unlimited Challenge trophy

Period 6 Formula 1300 bike in the country is Shaun Sutcliffe at D Moto Motorcycle Engineering. Shaun is without doubt a genius (even though he won’t ever admit it). The top secret design of the internals (only because he can’t remember what he did!) means this bike sounds like no other FZR1000 / in-line four cylinder of a similar period. A couple of our readers were out at the track and loved hearing this strong sounding machine. So, if you want a race bike (or any servicing or work done on your bike), D Moto is the place to go. Shaun can build you an amazing machine, and one that’s reliable. Apart from putting fuel in and checking the tyre pressures I didn’t touch the FZR all weekend.

What’s next for the mighty FZR1000… I will be pulling it apart for a clean and check and I aim to have a ride on it for a PCRA club round in August. I also hear the Australian Titles will be in Tassie next year, so we’ll try and tee that up with Alex and see if we can get the number one plate.

Colac - Tanybryn, VIC

CRACKING RUN

WORDS – STUART • PHOTOS – VARIOUS

NOW HERE’S A CRACKING

good run if you’re out in the Otways, it’s the run from Colac to Tanybryn which will give you plenty of fast sweepers, plenty of tight stuff and some open stretches. For this ride I started out of Colac.

COLAC

Colac serves as a gateway to the Otway Ranges to the south and Great Otway National Park.

Colac became a shire in 1864 and a city in 1960 and is one of Australia’s premier dairy regions, while also producing top quality fruit, vegetables, grains, livestock, dairy products and poultry. Most of what you could need on this relatively short trip is available here.

CARLISLE RIVER

Mostly just a landmark for this route, but the river rises to the east and is a tributary of the Gellibrand River.

Farm allotments were taken up in the Carlisle River valley in 1892 and a sawmill was started in 1893. A butter factory was established in 1899 and in 1902, when the narrow-gauge railway was opened to Gellibrand and Beech Forest, dairy produce was transported across country to the Gellibrand railway station. In 1902 a public hall was built, serving as the ﬁrst school (1905). There was a hotel during 190727.

A racecourse (1909) was converted to a recreation reserve in 1933 and reticulated water was provided for the village in 1955. Despite being on a relatively remote back road, the village maintained a steady population well into the post-war years. The butter factory continued until 2003.

CHAPPLE VALE

Landmark for this route. Blink and you’ll miss it.

LAVERS HILL

Lavers Hill is on the Great Ocean Road between Port Campbell and Apollo Bay, but on the inland section of the road north-west of Cape Otway, and at the junction of the roads to Cobden and Colac. The small commercial centre of

COLAC – TANYBRYN, VIC

Fill up at the 7-Eleven servo on Princes Highway and head east, turning right onto Gravesend Street. Ride about two kilometres and turn right at the Elliminyt Mini Mart (Irrewillipe Road). 5km in turn right onto Underwoods Road and turn left at the end. Follow Carlisle Road to the end, which has a Stop sign. A couple of kilometres before the end the road does turn to gravel, however when dry it is normally very well maintained and easily rideable on any bike.

Once you’ve turned left onto Lavers Hill Road this is gravel pretty much until just before Lavers Hill. Again, very easily rideable on any motorcycle when dry. Once you come to the T-intersection turn left to continue on Lavers Hill Road. Follow this all the way to the end, of which you have two choices – turn right and roll down the hill to Skenes Creek, or turn left and head to any number of camp grounds within short distance and a number of delightful waterfalls.

Distance – 107km

Fuel - Colac, Lavers Hill Road conditions - alerts.vicroads.vic.gov. au

featuring a number of cafes, a bakery, a pub with a bistro, and a couple of information centres. The landmark wood sculpture at the junction of the Great Ocean Road and Colac Road is the “Drift”, which is a tribute to the marine environment, prehistoric skeletal ﬁnds, shipwrecks and the agricultural machinery of the area, designed by artist James Catell.

Lavers Hill is an area noted for scenic beauty. Perched at the highest point on the Great Ocean Road, views can be enjoyed of the rolling hills and timbered forests of the Otway Ranges.

Lavers Hill is also a handy base for exploring the natural attractions of the area, including the Triplet Falls,

Hopetoun Falls and Beauchamp Falls. The Great Otway National Park surrounds much of Lavers Hill, with the Melba Gully section, located just south of the town centre, consisting of rainforests located in one of Victoria’s wettest locations. Night visitors are able to view glow worms on trails through the forests. Around a 20-minute drive north-east of Lavers Hills is the Otway Fly - an elevated tree top walk through an exquisitely beautiful beech myrtle forest, featuring a 45-metre-high lookout tower.

FERGUSON

Another blink and you’ll miss it location along this route.

BEECH FOREST

Beech Forest, named after the beech myrtle trees which are common in the area is a tiny township which achieved its moment of national fame in 1983 when 61-year-old local potato farmer, Cliff Young (Cliffy), became an iconic ﬁgure of endurance when he won the Sydney to Melbourne run known as the Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon.

The town has become part of an excellent, circular day trip from Apollo Bay which takes in Cape Otway, the tiny settlement of Lavers, the Otway Ranges and Otway Fly Treetop Adventures, before reaching Beech Forest and then returning through the Otways to Skene Creek north of Apollo Bay.

Beech Forest has become a popular retreat for people wanting an alternative lifestyle. It is popular with artists, organic farmers and those who want to live in the bush away from tourists and crowds.

TANYBRYN

Don’t blink here as you need to make the decision to turn left or turn right! D

ROYAL ENFIELD’S ‘CLASSIC’ MOTORCYCLE has been around since the beginning of time. Well, it feels like it! But for 2022 Royal Enﬁeld has given this old school design a total freshen up.

Royal Enﬁeld wanted to retain that old school cool inspired by the original post war G2 model with traditions and craftsmanship of the past as it is reborn on the new J platform.

With a timeless aesthetic through the curvaceous mudguards and teardrop fuel tank, hallmark casquette headlamp, distinct lines of the crankcase covers, classic styled paint

The ride consisted of a decent mix of twisties and of course some straight bits of road. I think someone got to 122km/h, indicated on their speedo, whereas I (of course), didn’t go over the posted speed limit! Ha!

colours, the distinctive thump that pumps out of the exhaust – they all harmonise as one to give you

a timeless classic in a modern day beauty.

For the launch of the Classic 350 we were treated to an exquisite winery stay just outside of Melbourne, which ﬁtted perfectly into the elegant style the Classic 350 portrays. The ride consisted of a decent mix of twisties and of course some straight bits of road, on which was fun to see who had the ‘fastest’ bike. I think someone got to 122km/h, indicated on their speedo, whereas I (of course), didn’t go over the posted speed limit! Ha!

An all-new tubular steel frame houses the same engine as the Meteor 350 – the J platform 349cc single. It

LAUNCH

has a balancer shaft for smoothness, light clutch, smooth gearbox and the fuel injection makes things a breeze. If you ever rode the previous Classic model in either 500 or 350 variant you knew it vibrated as if the conrod would fly out the side of the crankcase, and there were times when starting the carburetted single was a challenge. Thankfully that’s no longer a thought that will cross your mind. Despite it not being a speed machine, the J 350 does just fine at clearing off from tintops at traffic lights and from around 60 – 90km/h it is nice and punchy – perfect for city and suburban life.

The tubular steel frame is beeﬁer

Ergonomics are great. The more supportive footpeg position is what makes all the difference and when I rode one of the models on the launch fitted with the accessory Touring seat, all day comfort is what I got.

than the Classic version of a couple of years ago, handling is light and stable and doesn’t feel like you’re riding a wavy boat through the Indian Ocean the way the previous model’s ‘ﬂexy’

frame sometimes did. With a seat height of 805mm and wet weight of only 195kg this is a bike that anyone can handle comfortably.

Ergonomics are great. Even compared to the Meteor long term bike we had, which was super comfy to ride, the Classic 350 is another step above. The more supportive footpeg position is what makes all the difference and when I rode one of the models on the launch ﬁtted with the accessory Touring seat, all day comfort is what I got.

Fit and ﬁnish on the new Classic 350 is a huge step forward from the previous models as well. Royal Enﬁeld really has produced a great

looking classic. Four models are available – Halycon, Signals, Dark and Chrome with the Halycon offering three colourways and the rest offering two colourways each. That’s a total of nine different bikes to choose from! Pricing is well thought out, which should see plenty of Classic 350s roaming the streets. The Halycon starts at $7990 ride away up to $8790 ride away for the top level Chrome, and all bikes come with 3 years unlimited kilometre warranty and roadside assistance. If the total ‘classic’ theme isn’t to your liking there is the ‘Dark’ version which comes with alloy (not spoked) wheels. It kind of gives a modern twist on the classic theme. Interesting idea.

The Classic’s new instrument cluster combines the timeless theme of an analogue speedometer with the functionality of an LCD display. A discreet USB port mounted below the handlebar enables essential charging on-the-go and I dare say the “Royal Enﬁeld” logo on the right hand side of the instrument cluster could be for the navigation system called Tripper.

Specs

ROYAL ENFIELD CLASSIC 350

MODEL: Royal Enﬁeld Classic 350

PRICE: From $7990 - $8790 (ride away)

WARRANTY: Three years, unlimited distance

SERVICING INTERVALS: Every 4000km or 12 months

ENGINE: 349cc air/oil-cooled single cylinder, 72x85.8mm bore/ stroke, SOHC, 4 valves

POWER: 15kW @ 6100rpm

TORQUE: 27Nm @ 4000rpm

TRANSMISSION: 5-speed, wet multi-plate clutch, chain ﬁnal drive

SUSPENSION: Front, 41mm telescopic fork, non-adjustable, travel 130mm. Rear, twin-shock, adjustable preload, travel mm.

DIMENSIONS: Seat height 805mm, weight 195kg (wet), fuel capacity 13 litres, wheelbase 1390mm

TYRES: Front, 100/90/19. Rear, 120/80/18

BRAKES: Front, 300mm disc with two-piston ABS caliper. Rear, 270mm disc, single-piston ABS caliper.

FUEL CONSUMPTION: N/A

THEORETICAL RANGE: N/A

COLOURS: Halycon: Green, Grey, Black; Signals: Desert Sand, Marsh Grey; Dark: Stealth Black, Gunmetal Grey; Chrome: Red, Bronze

VERDICT: Feel the pulse of a single cylinder

It’s powered by Google Maps and the Royal Enfield app. Our Meteor 350 had it fitted and I’m sure the Classic will benefit from having it on there too.

The range of accessories available for the Classic 350 are far more than any other Royal Enfield model, from memory. A very comfy Touring seat available in Brown or Black, which also raises the seat height slightly, although this is not an official rise in height according to Royal Enfield. If you think the standard seat is too tall, you can get a 32mm lower, Low seat option too. Footpegs, windscreen, panniers, bags, backrest, headlight rim, mirrors and protection bars and sump guard are also among what’s available. We’ll be getting the Emerald Green with Copper decals, Halycon version as our new long term bike as the Meteor 350 it replaces has been returned and sold. I can’t wait to ride this little beauty everywhere. I suspect you might feel the same! D

crazy good – probably a bit of overkill actually, that’s how good they are. For the launch we got to roar around Sydney Motorsport Park, and it was one nger braking for the most part.

SCAN ME

e parallel twin cylinder CP2 engine is the renowned MT-07 powerplant. It is, of course, the ‘HO’ (High Output) version that I rode during the launch, however you can also get a LAMS version which really opens up a vast market for the R7.

e engine has great torque, but for

the track, it could do with a bit more power for that extra bit of oomph along the straights. On smaller tracks like Wake eld Park, Winton Raceway or Morgan Park it would liven up a lot of litre sportsbikes (in the right hands). To make the R7 more pleasurable, there’s no traction control, no power modes, so for those that think you can just smash the throttle exiting a corner, beware, I got a bit throttle happy at times on the track and had the rear kick out.

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If you wanted to compare the R7

with the MT-07, the triple clamps are set 20mm further apart and the o set changed by 5mm, the caster angle is also changed, with all these changes to place more weight over the front wheel. KYB inverted forks help increase rigidity over the MT-07 telescopic units and the R7 rear spring has been beefed up. e frame has been pinched from the MT-07, however a new aluminium centre cover (was resin) is now rigid mounted. is helps increase torsional rigidity around the swingarm pivot. e wheels are similar

RATED 4 OUT OF 5 HELMETS

Llanvihangel Crucorney, Abergavenny

Wales NP7 8DH (just off the A465) T: 01873 890258

Skirrid Inn

THIS IS ALL TRUE:

I rock up to the Skirrid Inn just after midday on a freezing Monday. Storm Eunice is raging in from the Atlantic with a steady snort of 70km/h gusting to 100. It’s extreme. The pub’s named after the hill across the ﬁelds that, legion has it, was cloven apart by a lightning bolt way back before Mt Ararat hit the news. And it don’t open till 5.30pm. Damn. Researched everything except opening times.

So, I check the map – yes, a paper atlas – and head north as the rain lashes under a wind that would blow a black dog off a metal chain. The backroads, the hedgerows, are narrow one lane challenges where visibility is mostly less than 50 metres with slim pullover zones every 200 metres of so. You’re basically overwhelmed by hopes that no bugger is coming the other way.

In late winter it’s manageable, in summer it must be chaos.

Up past a stunning old ruin of a

priory and then ignore three ‘Road Closed’ signs heading up a backroad mountain pass, eventually I ﬁnd a ﬂuro - clad worker who tells me to just take it easy and keep on the mountains side of the roads – less chance of wash - aways. Reassuring.

At the top of the pass the clouds pull back for a bit and the view back down the valley is stunning. A local sheep ﬁxes his gaze on me and is unmoved when I tell it that I’ve eaten

some of its relatives. Then it’s back on the slightly wider A - class road and into the village where it’s only 4.30 but there’s white smoke pumping from the pub’s far chimney.

Either a new pope’s been elected or the pub’s opening a bit early. Turns out Francis still has the gig and the back door’s unlocked, and I head in.

The ﬁre’s raging – burning wood because there’s no Welsh coal anymore and the stuff from Azerbaijan ‘burns

The fire’s raging – burning wood because there’s no Welsh coal anymore and the stuff from Azerbaijan ‘burns like rocks’ – and Cathy’s behind the bar with a smile and attitude as welcoming as the hearth.

like rocks’ – and Cathy’s behind the bar with a smile and attitude as welcoming as the hearth.

“We saw you (me and another couple) out there waiting so no skin off our nose to open a bit early.” You know it ain’t going to go downhill from here.

Now there were three reasons I wanted to get to the Skirrid: It’s allegedly the most haunted pub in the UK; it claims to be the oldest pub in Wales; and thirdly, and most importantly, it’s the birthplace of the worldwide practice known as the Prudent Boozing.

Cathy shows me up to my

PUB OF THE MONTH

room on those very same stairs , that which wind around a noose suspended from a plank on the top ﬂoor.

Legend has it that 180 people have been hanged from the ‘hanging beam’ after being found guilty in a court of law which used to be convened on the ﬁrst ﬂoor. That’s where some of the ghosts come from, again, apparently.

On the ﬁrst landing there’s a framed portrait of Henry Nurse III, founder of the Prudent Boozer Movement. I drop my stuff and head back to the bar where Geoff, who’s run the place for 17 years has come in for a chat on his day off. And of course, we start with old Henry:

In 1878 Henry Nurse III, for the eleventh time in as many weeks, fell down the ancient back stairs of his local pub, the Skirrid Inn in Llanvihangel Crucorney, Abergavenny, Wales.

History records old Henry as “an inebriate and member of the gentry”, but this fall was, even for him, the ﬁnal straw.

He took stock of himself and later that same day, maybe the next, “Henry sat down and feverishly began to write The Prudent

Boozer’s Handbook, extolling his newfound philosophy of temperance. “The third drink,” he scribed, “should be brandished like a shield against Louche Boozing, or worn with pride, as one wears a ﬁne wristwatch.” Word soon spread of this amazing new practice and Prudent Boozer chapters began to form across the land. The central tenant of the PB movement was known as a Four Step

Savour the 1st Drink Sip the 2nd Nurse the 3rd and Skip the 4th.

In 1882 Cyril Kent - Dudley, a devout PB member who later designed the gates of Buckingham Palace, designed a Coat of Arms for the thriving society. He set out to

myriad life advantages offered by the PB Four Floor program. They are, as depicted:

1. A more balanced life (the Scales)

2. Getting the monkey off your back (the Creature, at top)

3. Greater success in love (the King/Queen of Hearts)

4. More potent sexual congress (the Male/ Female symbols)

5. Improved health (again, the Heart)

6. Increased physical strength and safety (the Helmet)

7. Superior ﬁscal acumen (the Purse)

8. A slender waist (the Monkey’s Sash)

9. A heightened sense of aesthetic appreciation (the Laurel)

10. Sounder judgment (the Knight’s Ear).

The Prudent Boozing movement grew, forced underground in the USA during prohibition, but still slowly ﬂourishing, with movie stars and even

politicians taking its pledge.

In 1983 Ronald Regan wrote a letter of appreciation for their work. New tracts have been written over the years with genuine ones now almost impossible to ﬁnd. There are chapters in 5 continents with Australia one of the most vibrant. My mate Grahame Mackie’s very close friend, Dan Frogan is a very active member.

The Australian Chapter has its own Facebook page, and the Sydney branch holds regular meetings, often at the Cricketers’ Arms in Balmain.

In a village full of oak trees and acorns, Geoff pauses for breath as I marvel at how something so big has grown from a seed so small. A world -

HIGHLIGHTS

Belgrade, Riding in the mountains of Albania, Sofia, Rila Monastery, Ohrid Lake, Butrint.

TOUR DATES

JUN 12 - 26, 2022

SEP 3 - 17, 2022

wide phenomenon that began here in the Skirrid Inn.

But Geoff’s not near done. He’s a classic host with a total passion for this pub, and who lives it and breaths it (oh yes, and drinks it) every waking minute, well the drinking is just most waking minutes.

On a wall of the bar there’re three close framed documents. One’s a page from a 1680’s wages book for the pub, another is from 1783. The third is an explanatory note for the others and ends noting that they were a presented by a previous owner as ‘a memento of their custody of Wales’ oldest Inn’.

Yep, there’s that ‘custody’ word which Geoff totally endorses. When he and wife took over the place in 2005, it was being run down by an English bloke who had St George’s Cross English ﬂag on the wall. In Wales. He soon got rid of that, put up the

standard of the last King of Wales and started getting this grand pub back on its feet.

The Skirrid’s a major haunt (if I can use that word) of paranormal clubs and ‘investigators’ and other anoraks of such things and the reason I can only stay the one night is the place is booked out tomorrow by a group of ghost - detectors. They’ve been coming here for 20 years.

And no, Geoff doesn’t think they’d welcome me taking photos.

A few years back an apparently now - discredited psychic (as opposed to the other soon - to - bediscredited psychics) had a vision. The ghost was from a speciﬁc grave on the left as you enter the nearby churchyard. Row of four etc etc.

The anointed headstone belongs to Fanny Price. It’s bloody hard to read when I rock up there that bleak South Wales afternoon. Not sure just why she’s the one who haunts the pub but apparently, she does, regularly.

It’s a beautiful graveyard - heaps of fallen and falling headstones,

PUB OF THE MONTH

uprooted by trees and earth slips, stud the place and under the entry alcove are two stones from the 1500s. This place is old.

Dinner is ﬁlled with laughter and stories, yarns with a few locals and regulars like Colin whose photos adorn the dining room, and Dermot who has his pew at the end of the bar.

By the time you read this, Geoff and Sharon’ll be gone. They’re handing over the place to young Emily and her partner, who run the store next door. She’s been working here for years, explains some of her plans to leave most and freshen up some of the faded stuff.

Took Geoff and Sharon a while to ﬁnd a new custodian they could be sure would look after the place and they are conﬁdent they have. They’ll both be just a phone call away.

So, a top night’s ﬁnished off with one of the most comfortable pub beds I’ve ever had, in a room (room 3).

Sadly, but not surprisingly here was no appearance of any ephemeral Fanny (or any other type for that matter).

In the morning I bottle my disappointment and smile as I pass the portrait of

Henry Nurse III.

For me he’s up there with Ern Malley, Helen Demidenko, Konrad Kujau and to a lesser extent even my mate, Dan Frogan.

Henry’s father was David Art Wales. He had no mother. Because he is an invention.

If you’ve got this far and not

connected the bloke’s name: Henry Nurse III, with his third edict of “Nurse the Third”, and twigged this is all a hoax, you should be ashamed.

But the piss-take, the fun the attention to detail whilst not taking yourself too seriously, perfectly ﬁts this unique, this special pub.

And that’s the truth. D

You must go here

Only 6 rooms, all doubles/twins with ensuites from £45 a night which is bloody cheap over here. No surcharge for super - natural visitors.

No common room but jug and brew makings in each room

No lock - up or undercover parking but CCTV and lights in the parking around the back.

No point in numbering the beers on tap, but over a dozen whiskeys on the back shelf.

On the unique character scale this place is simply way off the barometer. Special. And surrounded by special riding roads.

Value for money compared to others I’ve stayed in this trip was extraordinary. Have to give it 4 helmets, drawn down by the lack of undercover parking and single person room rates.

My night here was one of the most memorable and enjoyable I’ve had in a pub. If you plan to ride Britain, plan to ride here

8 out of 5 for character 110 for value

E V E N T

Possum comes out of the tree 45th Karuah River Rally

WORDS/PHOTOS – THE POSSUM

It was with some interest that I watched the weather and other websites in the week leading up to the most recent Karuah River Rally. The long-range forecasts back in December had been indicating up to 500mm of water across the causeway on the track into Frying Pan Creek Campground.

I launched from home and had a couple of showers to content with along the way, but the most exciting moment was when half a dozen or so forest rats thundered across the road with no regard for the trafﬁc coming from both directions! Handfuls of brakes, some swerving and a lot of cursing occurred.

Forest Rat is the name our North American cousins give to deer of all types. They cause as much damage and more there as Skippy does here. And

now the bloody things are in plague proportions all through the bush on the Eastern Seaboard. In support of my argument, I spoke with the President of the BMWTCNSW and he told me he had been involved in a collision with a deer on his way home from the Kosciusko Rally last December and was still windy about riding in the bush.

Arriving in Dungog (Aboriginal word for ‘place of many potholes’), I found a couple of the rally organisers who had come into town for a meal and some liquid refreshments. They told me of the heavy rain at the campsite on the Friday night, but the causeway was not too deep, and the road in was pretty good.

The local IGA supermarket had a ﬁne selection of grape juice on special, so now fully prepared, I set sail for the site. Due to a bridge collapse

on one of the tracks into the site, there was only one choice for access. The forestry track was potholed in places but generally pretty good, and only about 150mm of water in the causeway.

Arriving on site, I presented myself to the control tent, signed in, paid my dues and received my complimentary Covid compliance instruction sheet.

After setting up the tent, I went off for a wander and found most of the usual suspects had arrived and were settling in with a cool refreshment. Many BMWs on Club Plates, as well as new models were scattered around, and plenty of KTMs and Huskys covered in dust and mud were sighted.

Later in the day the herd was assembled and Rob Lovett made all the usual announcements and introduced

Dave, the President to present the Awards. Before handing out the trophies, Dave thanked Club stalwart Wazza for making them all again – and ﬁne pieces of polished and stained fence railing they were too!

Following the rafﬂe, the Actual Pudding was held up and auctioned off. The lucky contestant paid $150 to carry the Pudding to Blayney for Henning’s Stroke 5 event in March –see the BMWTCNSW site for details. The organisers had been hoping for about 60 folk to show up, and were very happy with the 110 that attended.

For future planning, the clubs Far Cairn Rally at Tottenham in September is well in hand, so pencil it in. It is a good ride and gives a struggling town a bit of a kick along. D

Longest Distance

Male – Frank Cachia (one of our contributors) rode up from Melbourne – 1224 km – and kept his perfect attendance record intact

Oldest BMW ridden to the Rally – 1958 R 60, went to Henning and as no surprise he also picked up, Oldest Combined Age –127 years!

Hard Luck – Pogo carried this away following a minor electrical ﬁre in the overstuffed boot of his Can Am. I think he tried to ﬁt 50 litres of beer into a 45-litre storage space!

Highest Combined Club Mileage – Wobbly Boot Tourers.

EDELWEISS BIKE TRAVEL IS keen to get an Australian Motorcyclist magazine readers’ tour on the go once again. Covid wiped out our ﬁrst try, but 2022 is the year!

This will be a trip not to be missed.

A 14-day trip to Morocco includes places that are not on the normal Edelweiss Morocco tour, so we all get something special for joining it.

The ‘Best of Morocco’ tour will run from 8 October to 21 October 2022. Not only that, but we have organised an annual readers’ tour from now on. So, get your interest registered with the folk at Edelweiss and let’s get out there and have an awesome time!

Edelweiss Bike says…

“If you think of Morocco, you automatically conjure up images from 1001 Nights, of colourful bazaars and historic Kasbahs, but also of endless sand dunes, barren mountains and palmfringed oases.

“In cooperation with Australian Motorcyclist magazine, we have created an exclusive tour just for you!

“Experience oriental ﬂair, awesome roads, interesting people and a completely new culture on this motorcycle tour through Morocco. It will introduce us to the Orient with new impressions: The witnesses of the Islamic culture, the royal city of Marrakesh, the fortiﬁed city of Aït-Ben-Haddou, the multi-faceted landscapes of the high Atlas, the couloirs, the desert and the oases create the setting for this motorcycling tour through the kingdom of Morocco.”

Best of Morocco

(Tour code: SPT22008)

8 October 2022 – 21 October 2022

14 days/13 nights – 12 riding days

Day 1 Arrival in Marrakech

Day 2 Marrakech to Essaouira

Day 3 Essaouira to Agadir

Day 4 Agadir (rest day)

Day 5 Agadir to Tizourgane

Day 6 Tizourgane to Foum Zguid

Day 7 Foum Zguid to Mhamid

Day 8 Mhamid to Zagora / Agzd

Day 9 Zagora / Agzd to Boumalne Dades

Day 10 Boumalne Dades to Ait Ben Haddu

Day 11 Ait Ben Haddu (rest day)

Day 12 Ait Ben Haddu to Taroudannt

Day 13 Taroudannt to Marrakech

Day 14 Departure from Marrakech

Highlights

• All the highlights of Marrakech

• The old town of Essaouira

• Agadir and the Atlantic beaches

• Ride through the dessert

• Camp in the dessert

• Wadis and oasis

• The gorges Todra and Dades

• The ancient town of Ait Ben Haddu

• Two times crossing the Atlas Mountains

• Riding the Atlas and Antiatlas mountains

• The most spectacular pass Tizi n Test

• Fantastic food, Berber culture, etc.

Daily distance

175-330 km

Included services

• All overnights (comfortable middle-class hotels, oriental kashbahs and riads) during entire tour

• Breakfast every day

• 2 picnics/lunches

• 13 dinners

• Motorcycle rental with unlimited mileage

• Third party liability insurance for motorcycles

• Comprehensive vehicle insurance for motorcycles with deductible according to the

Riding level

As you can imagine, Morocco has dirt roads, so please bear in mind that your experience level should be high enough to manage riding on dirt roads. We’re told the degree of difﬁculty is not beyond any normal rider who has ridden on a dirt road in Australia. (The Bear says it’s a snack; he had no problems on his Yamaha XS1100, overloaded with luggage) If you haven’t ridden on dirt, you’ve got time to do it before the tour.

booked motorcycle model

• Tour information package in English or German including safety tips, details about the hotels, the route and the sights

• English and German speaking tour guide on motorcycle

• Support van for luggage transportation

• Edelweiss Riding Tips

Optional services

Optional deductible reduction on included motorcycle insurance

(Cover All / Cover Plus)

Services not included

All services not mentioned and all items of a personal nature.

Please note

This group tour is not suitable for people with limited mobility.

Terms and conditions

Edelweiss terms and conditions can be found at edelweissbike.com/ en/reisebedingungen.php. D

Tour price per person in USD

TECHNICAL

I’ll bet you that when Mark ‘Moogy’ Klingman wrote “yah got to have friends, the feeling’s oh so strong” for Bette Midler, he didn’t realise that he was writing instructions for the design of an electric motorcycle. And not just any electric motorcycle, but the ﬁrst one I have seen (and I’ve seen a lot, believe me) that gets it right.

There are electric motorcycles that look pretty good, but in the end they all look like electric motorcycles.

Triumph’s Project TE-1 on the other hand is unquestionably a Triumph which is electric only at second look. At ﬁrst sight it is just a really cool, somewhat futuristic, and very fast-looking motorcycle. Of course you can tell it is electric, but that fact doesn’t hop out and slap you in the face.

But this paragon did not just come from the productive skills and imagination of Hinkley’s design department. Triumph called on its

friends to help in the TE-1’s creation.

“The unique collaboration between Triumph Motorcycles, Williams Advanced Engineering, Integral Powertrain Ltd, and WMG at the University of Warwick funded by the Ofﬁce for Zero Emission Vehicles through Innovate UK, was set up to create ground-breaking developments in specialist electric motorcycle engineering and innovative integrated technology design,” says Triumph with commendable modesty.

Phase Three of the TE-1 project is now complete with the final build of the prototype demonstrator that you see in these photos. It integrates for the first time all the latest (and final) innovations from the project partners. Individual contributions to the prototype demonstrator included:

Triumph:

Final chassis, including frame, subframe, cockpit, panels and wheels, ﬁnal drive system including transmission

and Gates Carbon belt drive, electronics, Öhlins USD cartridge forks, unique prototype Öhlins RSU, Brembo M50 monobloc calipers, and Triumph motorcycle control software.

Williams Advanced Engineering:

Final iteration of prototype WAE battery pack incorporating dedicated cell packaging for optimum centre of gravity, vehicle control unit, DCDC converter, integrated cooling, charge port, and styled carbon covers.

Integral Powertrain:

Final prototype powertrain with scalable integrated inverter and combined motor with silicon carbide switching technology and integrated cooling.

WMG, University of Warwick:

Final pre-live trial simulation completed, with all results indicating that the project is on course to

“We have ambitious targets focused on delivering a riding experience that is new and exciting, but ultimately intuitive and familiar”

TECHNICAL

deliver the intended performance and durability outcomes

Key project achievements during this phase include test results that exceed current benchmarks and targets set by the UK Automotive Council for 2025, providing a platform with great potential for future development in electric motorcycle performance.

“The overall objective of the TE-1 project has been focused on developing

electric motorcycle capability, in order to provide an input into Triumph’s future electric motorcycle offering, driving innovation, capability, and new intellectual property, and enhancing the credibility and proﬁle of British industry and design,” says Hinckley. We are seeing the future, and the future is Triumph.

The Triumph TE-1 team began Phase Three by building an initial mule bike which incorporated the battery, inverter,

motor, and chassis into one machine. Using this platform, the project partners worked to optimise software integration across the complex systems, involving hundreds of hours of detailed testing to ensure the functionality of all the features. Software aspects need to behave accurately and intuitively, as a customer would expect. This was validated in real life simulation work [not sure about this – can you have real life simulation? – The Bear] carried out at WMG, involving powertrain rig testing and simulations to assess safety critical motor function and vehicle control.

Durability testing on the primary transmission was conducted to ensure a full understanding of the fundamental differences in electric motor load application for vehicle use, efﬁciency, and consequences to gear life. Alongside this work, the Triumph-led design of the bespoke chassis has focused on delivering the intended styling as closely as possible.

Steve Sargent, Triumph’s Chief Product Ofﬁcer said: “During Phase Three we have focused on building the physical foundation of Triumph’s ﬁrst electric prototype motorcycle. I am pleased with the outcome of Triumph and the TE-1 partners’ efforts in creating a demonstrator bike that is not only visually so desirable with clear Triumph DNA, but also packaged with an exhilarating and thrilling brandnew electric powertrain that has such potential for the future.

Integral Powertrain’s E-Drive Division is similarly pleased. “We are absolutely delighted to complete our part in this project and deliver what we set out to achieve which is a scalable, ultra-highly integrated motor and inverter, with no phase cables, busbars, or separate cooling circuits. For the TE-1 application, the motor achieves peak and continuous power densities of 13 kW/kg and 9 kW/

kg respectively which is 60% higher than new APC technology roadmap targets for 2025. All of this has been achieved using materials and processes compatible with volume automotive production and importantly using a length scalable motor platform.

“The inverter concept, which is also scalable by tuning the number of Silicon-Carbide power stages for different diameter motors, has really delivered on performance. The TE-1

unit is capable of >500kW! This gives us the opportunity to optimise this platform for production.”

“I look forward to continuing the development of this demonstrator vehicle through Phase Four and using our knowledge and capabilities to bring all of the partners’ cutting-edge technology together into a ﬁnal result which will guide Triumph’s electric strategy for the future,” adds Steve Sargent. “Our experience tells us that

at this stage of a project there is no substitute for actually riding a bike while developing driveability, handling and character, and we have ambitious targets focused on delivering a riding experience that is new and exciting, but ultimately intuitive and familiar. I am really looking forward to my ﬁrst opportunity to ride the completed prototype.”

May I put my name down for a run right after yours, Steve? D

L

N G T E R M E R S

by the Ikon and Proven Products suspension changes.

‘‘Begin at the beginning,’ the King said, gravely, Handling is noticeably improved

LONG TERMERS

WELCOME TO THE SECOND part of our High Street Twin / Tearoom Racer project. This is where you discover the remaining details.

The fate of most of our project bikes is to be built, used for a time and written about proliﬁcally but then disposed of to make available time, garage space and money for the next project. This one is different because I intend to keep this bike; it is the third of the motorcycles that I think should form the basis of a mature-aged rider’s garage. With this in mind, I did not only specify the particular changes and ﬁtment of parts that it should undergo. I chose the very best to which I had access.

I might be in love with this motorcycle, but despite the many musical contentions to the contrary, love is not free. The question of payment usually comes up at some stage, whether we use products supplied gratis or at a discount by the industry, or bought.

It’s a bit complicated to do a proper breakup, so let me just say that we paid full price for about a third, got a discount for another third, and received the remaining third gratis, for

review. We also got the bike, which was a demonstrator, at a good price. The careful work that was done by Robbie at Northside Motorcycles was paid for, as was the outstanding paint job by Lawrence at Collideascope. Our Ralph helped me with a lot of the stuff I did myself, and he didn’t get paid. Not in money. Let’s say he got some vocational assistance in return.

Below, you will ﬁnd a comprehensive list of the work done and the parts used, along with the reasons for their selection. Some of this duplicates information from the ﬁrst article, but you are likely to be referring to it for different reasons.

The bits

How did we build thee? Let me count the ways… sorry, Bill, I’ll steer away from your sonnets. But how do you write about the parts of a build that took nearly a year, and didn’t proceed on a linear basis at the best of times? Alphabetically? By product, or by brand, or by supplier? Might just forget about any order at all, and just list what we did as it occurs to me, under the name of the supplier. That’s how I kept track of it while we were building up the bike.

Triumph Australia (psimporters.com.au)

Most importantly of course, we sourced the bike from the Australian Triumph distributor, PS Importers. They were not only extremely helpful with that, but also kindly provided some accessories.

Heated Grips: There are several brands of heated grips on the market, and I presume that they would all do the job more or less well. I have had Oxford grips in the past, and have been happy with them. The reason I did not use them this time is that the functionality of Triumph’s own grips is already installed, and they show up on the instrument dial. As well, the grips look good and their activation is really, truly cool. Beautiful work, Hinckley.

Tyre Pressure Sensors: Like the grips, the sensors operate by way of the standard instrument dial. That makes them elegant and easier to install, as well as (presumably) more reliable. Reliability is everything with pressure sensors.

Headlight Guard: I liked the pattern, and the guard came with its own headlight rim and ﬁtted on well.

Unfortunately, photos do not do justice to the Collideascope paint job which is outstanding.

Once again, an OEM part was the best choice.

Knee Pads: I was pretty sure that Triumph’s own knee pads would stay in place, once ﬁtted. We shall see. They certainly look the part.

Collideascope (collideascope.com.au)

A word about Collideascope: the place is not just a paint shop. They will do just about any kind of work on bikes, so it is ideal for crashed or somewhat decaying motorcycles as well as just standard engineering stuff. Mechanical work is done to a very high standard, and Collideascope will arrange transport for your bike if required. This could just be the allrounder shop you’ve been looking for. I have not had anything other than painting and a little bit of panel beating done there, but I imagine the quality of the rest of their work would match the outstanding results. When I was last up there I met a bloke who had had his VFR1200 rebuilt from the ground up. It looked terriﬁc and

I might be in love with this motorcycle, but despite the many musical contentions to the contrary, love is not free

he was very pleased although he did mention that Lawrence takes his time. Not a bad thing if the job is good. Paint: I had the tank, side covers and front guard painted Candy Red with creamy white details and gold stripes. The tank and guard match the style of the more upmarket Triumphs in the past, without copying their colours. Triumph side covers were mostly black, but I thought they would look better if they matched the tank, and I think they do. The hand-drawn style of the “Bonneville” logo is from an old advertisement

and looks far better than the usual nondescript Eurostile typeface. I had the foot levers, injector covers and handlebar holder painted gloss black. Originally I wanted them in the same red as the tank, but Lawrence refused to do that and I can now see his point.

Ceramic Coating: The exhausts get hot, so I had the headers, exhausts and exhaust heat shields ceramic coated in matt black. I like the shape of the mufﬂers – a bit like Norton reverse cone items – and love the sound, so we left them alone otherwise. Collideascope’s ceramic coating is as good as their paint.

MotoGadget (motogadget.com/en)

Blinkers: For reasons I cannot easily explain, I do not like the large blinkers ﬁtted to most motorcycles, including the Triumph Street Twin. While the latter does not have the weird “dog’s dick” blinkers that Triumph imposed on the market for so long, the standard items were…

The bike is beautifully integrated and stylish without losing any of its essential Triumph look.

LONG TERMERS

Cheap as chips and all the way from China, the tank badges do not require screw holes in the tank.

just kind of big and intrusive, like most other OEMs. The MotoGadget blinkers, with ﬁttings designed speciﬁcally for Triumphs, are tiny and stylish and powerful. What more could one ask for?

Blinker Fittings: These are designed to ﬁt straight into the space left by the originals and they look… well, not at all obvious, because they are so small and tidy. Standing, perhaps, rather than outstanding? The language fails me.

Motone (motone.co.uk)

Tank Rack: Even Lawrence from Collideascope, a keen critic of other people’s ideas regarding the appearance of motorcycles, liked this. “That’s cute,” he said while deprecating other aspects of my creative efforts. The tank rack will help the bike to carry large and oddly-shaped loads such as pumpkins from farmers’ markets, secured with

I am not a great believer in combining motorcycling and telephony, but there are advantages.

a net or a couple of straps. One day I’ll tell you what some acquaintances from my past used to do with these racks.

Luggage Rail: The SW-Motech luggage I put together for this bike is asymmetric. One side will hold a normal-sized pannier, while the other has the much smaller toolkit. I thought it would be wise to ﬁt the luggage rail to hold the pannier away from the wheel; there is no need for anything similar on the toolkit side. Since it is ﬂat black, the rail does not intrude visually.

Rideworx (barkbusters.net)

Barkbusters Aero: Just about all of my bikes, going back as far as I can remember (yes, all right, I know that might not be very far) have had Barkbusters ﬁtted to them. They not only protect the clutch and front brake levers, they also keep your ﬁngers safer. And they are beautifully

The Barkbusters admittedly present a completely different look, but they work somehow.

made and intelligently designed, not to mention that they are Australian. These particular items are intended for road and race bikes and can be used with or without the small translucent shields.

SW-Motech (motorradgarage.com. au/47_sw-motech)

Crash Bars: Or, er, engine protection bars. I have been using a few SWMotech parts lately, so the solidlooking crash bars were an obvious choice. They bolt securely onto solid parts of the frame and are coated in a tough (black!) ﬁnish. They will not protect every bit of the bike in case of a crash, but they do look after some very expensive parts.

Bar Clamps for Lights: It was an obvious choice to use the SWMotech bar clamps for the Rizoma spotlights since I was using their crash bars. One odd thing was that when ﬁtted, they obscured part of

The OEM Triumph headlight guard comes complete with a new headlight rim to attach it.

the SW-Motech logo on the bars. Funny. The spots use a thinner screw to fasten to the clamps, so Robbie made up sleeves for them.

Pannier and Tool Bag: I suppose if I wanted the bike to look really “genuine” I would have ﬁtted Craven panniers to it, but they are very bulky. Their mounting hardware is not even remotely unobtrusive when you’re running without the panniers, either, and that was what I want to do most of the time to keep the bike

slim. SW-Motech came to the rescue with some of its “Legend” luggage. Unlike almost all other pannier systems, these bags are clipped into Molle loops on a sleeve that ﬁts over the pillion seat. I can leave that on most of the time or I can remove it by just sliding it off the back of the seat. The Legend luggage has a pleasant old-time look about it and is available in a variety of sizes and styles. It uses the now-common rolltop closure and mostly comes with a

rain cover on top of that. Individual bags have Molle loops on the outside.

Water Bottle Holder: This can be mounted on the Molle loops on the outside of the pannier and holds the bottle securely. It can hold liquids other than water. What? Like fuel.

Kenma: (kenma.com.au)

DNA Air Filter: Unlike some other modern motorcycles the Street Twin makes changing the air ﬁlter easy. I took advantage of that to ﬁt a

Spectacular South Africa Himalayan Heights

LONG TERMERS

This is what it looked like before, with just the Ventura rack and small bag installed.

to breathe more freely and liberates some extra horses as it does that. I feel that this is probably the easiest and most effective way of helping the engine along.

Ventura L-Brackets, EVO Rack, various bags: If you are not familiar with the Ventura rack system, it consists of two “L brackets” which are specifically designed for the model of motorcycle. These bolt onto the sides of the bike’s rear without requiring any alterations to the frame. They are finished off by fitting one or another standard rack from the range. I chose the EVO rack because it is flat without the loop that other Ventura racks have. I can turn it around and have it lying flat on the pillion seat, which is quite tidy. Check the variety of bags available on Australian distributor Kenma’s website, or look directly at ventura-bike.com.

TEC Bike Parts (tecbikeparts.com)

Rider and Pillion Footpegs: Much less bulky but still comfortable and effective, these have a quality black coating and complement the style of the bike. I don’t like fat standard

I am very happy with the result, and you will be reading more about this motorcycle

motorcycle footpegs with their metal bases and rubber tops. Sue me. Brake & Clutch Levers: Not only are these also coated in what looks like a long-lasting and attractive black, they are also strong, a high standard technically, and adjustable. Centre Stand: Looks good, works well although it does not lift the bike terribly far. It’s also a lot cheaper than the Triumph item.

Mirrors: I love these. They are sort-of bar ends, although the Barkbusters sit outside them on the handlebar, and both their circular shape and short stems are just right. Maybe I’m kidding myself, but the mirrors themselves seem particularly clear.

Adventure Moto (adventuremoto. com.au)

Chain Oiler: I saw the Cobrra chain oiler on the interwebs and ordered it from Adventure Moto. Haven’t ﬁtted it yet, but it looks simple enough.

Ikon (ikonsuspension.com)

Fork Springs and Shock Absorbers: I replaced the original suspension with Proven Products fork springs and Ikon shock absorbers. This is almost a reﬂex rather than a decision: Triumph, like almost all other manufacturers, has price points to meet so suspension is not all it could be. This is not really a problem; Hinckley understands just as well as we do that customers will rarely push cheaper suspension beyond its limited ability and will be happy with the lower price that permits. This relatively inexpensive upgrade gives you better all-round suspension with damping adjustment on the rear which means superior handling, improved turn-in and the ability to cope with our potholed and rippled roads without requiring a weightlifting course. The bike turns in more tidily and generally feels

tighter and more competent. This is the one change I would make even if I could do nothing else, and Ikon is Australian.

Yamaha Motor Australia (yamahamotor.com.au)

Taillight: For reasons best known by myself, and even then not especially well, I do not like the original randomly kidney-shaped Triumph taillights. I ﬁnd Yamaha’s circular Bolt taillight, on the other hand, stylish and particularly suitable. What to do? Call Yamaha…

Rocky Creek Designs (rockycreekdesigns.com.au)

Charging Telephone Cradle: Rocky Creek has been my go-to for both electrical and other accessories for quite a while now, and they were the obvious people from whom to source the charging cradle. I don’t need a GPS unit because my phone covers all the navigating help I require, and this ﬁtting holds it securely and well within my ﬁeld of sight. It is also well designed and charges the phone unobtrusively as I ride. Rocky Creek products are well made, and help is available if you ever need it.

Rizoma (rizoma.com)

Spotlights: These were not original with this project. I sourced them from Rizoma for our recent Honda GB400 build and liked them enough to re-use them with this one. They are small but quite powerful, as well as being black… of course. See the explanation of the bike’s styling for details of the colour choice. Small inserts had to be made to ﬁt them securely to the SW-Motech clamps,

but that was easy enough. Wasn’t it, Robbie?

Radguard (radguard.com.au)

Radiator guard: Every bike needs a radiator guard; unfortunately, Radguard up in Coffs Harbour has not had the opportunity to make one for the Street Twin. I will ﬁt one when they become available; I have been very happy with their work in the past.

Lord Knows Who (ebay.com.au)

Tank Badges: These came from China and are plastic. The chrome ﬁnish, however, appears to be long-lasting and they cost bugger all. I guess the one thing potentially in question is the quality of the adhesive. I am hoping for the best, and so far all is good.

LED Indicator Resistors: They work to slow down the ﬂash rate of the blinkers. Robbie at Northside sourced these, and I never got around to asking him what brand they were, if any.

Which one should it be?

There you have it! The Tearoom Racer / High Street Twin is just about done. I am very happy with the result, and you will be reading more about this motorcycle. I’ll go into some more detail regarding the luggage next month. Should you want any more details after that, to ask questions, or to have your say on the name (High Street Twin or Tearoom Twin), drop me a line at thebear@ausmotorcyclist. com.au. Keep your eyes open for the bike, too, and feel free to talk to me about it, or to just pass the time of day. I’ll see you on the road.

Okay, time for a shot of Jameson’s or two and then to bed. Full details next month! D The footpegs you have when you don’t have any footpegs: spare and light, but still comfortable.

If nothing else matters, suspension does. Ikon shocks are adjustable both for preload and damping.

Crash bars and spotlights integrate beautifully with the overall design.

GO BIG TO GO OUT

Indian’s New Pursuit Cruisers

WORDS THE BEAR / PHOTOS INDIAN

Iwas talking to a friend in Germany who is in the motorcycle industry, and he told me about a ride he and a couple of his colleagues had done on big cruisers. The Germans call these kinds of bikes “Dickschiffe” which, you may be disappointed to learn, does not mean what it immediately appears to. It means “fat ships”. They had ridden their Dickschiffe into back country Poland, partly to get some idyllic rural photos. He said that the reception from the locals had been outstanding: they all wanted to know just what the hell these two-wheeled monsters were and what it was like to ride them. Consider that the biggest old-time motorcycle in the Polish countryside would have

been a 125cc two-stroke.

That brought back some memories for me, too. Touring on a big cruiser (BC) is quite different from most other kinds of motorcycle travel. You sit there in what feels like an armchair and you drift through the countryside, able to enjoy both the scenery and the reaction of the roadside folk you pass. Prejudice against such bikes is largely restricted

to other motorcyclists; the people you meet on your travels are usually fascinated by them.

My past choices for BC cruising have been the Victory Vision, Indian’s Springﬁeld, H-D’s Road King (admittedly not one of the biggest bikes from York PA) and one of the BMW 1600s. The last of these is not a cruiser as such, but it serves the same purpose and gets the same reaction – as well as being lightning fast.

Indian has just launched another bike with the potential to ﬁt into the BC category for me, the Pursuit. It is more like one of the BMWs in some ways with its sophisticated technology than relatively basic bikes like the Road King and the Springﬁeld, but it’s clear that I‘m going to have to get used to that from the

motorcycles now being released. Old man, take a look at your life… and learn to update.

Indian calls the bike “the next generation of American V-Twin touring” and backs it up by listing “the liquid-cooled PowerPlus engine, seamless ride-enhancing technology, a chassis-mounted fairing, and loads of touring amenities”. The bike is available in two models, the Indian Pursuit Dark Horse and the Indian

Indian calls the bike

“the next generation of American V-Twin touring”

Pursuit Limited, both equipped with what they call the Premium Package. Management’s heart is certainly in the right place. “Touring bikes are one of the ultimate expressions of freedom,” says Mike Dougherty, President Indian Motorcycle, “enabling unforgettable experiences through longer escapes and epic adventures on the open road.”

Propelled by the Indian PowerPlus engine, a 108 cubic-inch, liquidcooled V-twin that delivers a classleading 122 horsepower and 128 ftlbs of torque, the bike will deﬁnitely enable some epic adventures with the Highway Patrol if you forget that you’re on a cruiser and wind it out.

I don’t have room for most of the

cargo – the adjustable preload is managed from the convenience of the motorcycle’s infotainment system. Incidentally, the new electronic preload is also available as an accessory upgrade for all Indian Challenger models. The Pursuits are also ﬁtted with Intuitive Smart Lean Technology which “keeps riders conﬁdently grounded by utilising a Bosch IMU to add cornering control to the dynamic traction control and ABS.”

specs (check the Indian website), but it’s worth mentioning a couple of the tech features. The premium package ﬁtted to both the Pursuit Dark Horse and Pursuit Limited includes an all-new electronically adjustable rear suspension preload from Fox. This allows riders to adjust their preload for optimal comfort and handling under varying conditions. Whether riding solo, two-up or carrying more

The bikes also have seven-inch touchscreen displays powered by RIDE COMMAND, Bluetooth, navigation, and Apple CarPlay. And just in case you were wondering, they do have heated grips and heated seats. All of which, including the other stuff I don’t have room to list, amounts to a BC that would make for some truly high class travelling. I’m going over to Europe later this year – well, I hope I am, I’ve booked my ﬂights. I wonder if Indian will lend me a Pursuit for some epic adventures of my own? D

L O N G T E R M E R S

TSUPER SOCO CPX Regular Fare

HE ELECTRIC SUPER

SOCO has well and truly earned its place in the Bear garage. As expected, it sees a lot of use for short trips to places like the Post Ofﬁce, but with a milk crate on the back it is also being pressed into service for the shopping, and I ride it into the city because its electric propulsion makes it less likely to be booked if I park it in marginal spaces. There is one thing, apart from that lack of internal carrying capacity, that I would change if I was designing one of these. That is the charger. With the CPx, as with many electric scooters,

the charger is removable which means that charging requires me to open the seat, pull out the charger and its base, and ﬁnally connect it to the scooter and to a wall plug. When it’s done, I have to do that in reverse before I can whisper out of the garage.

I would prefer the charger to be integrated with the scooter, so I would just have to plug it in – and unplug it – instead of doing all of the above. Yes, sure, that’s a ﬁrst world problem. But the Super Soco is so convenient in so many other ways that I’d like it to be perfect… I could just leave the charger and its

cables at home if I wanted to make a bit more space under the seat. But what would I do then if I did run out of power at some stage? Not that it’s likely to happen – I don’t even get range anxiety – but, you know, just in case. With the charger integrated into the scooter that would not be a worry. I could just use any power plug. So, there you go, I can ﬁnd things to complain about on even the best of vehicles. The Super Soco distributors, Urban Moto Imports, will probably want their scooter back now. Rats.

SUZUKI BANDIT 1250 Geared up

530ZXW chain - $229 (120 link) 44 tooth rear sprocket - $75 18 tooth front sprocket - $25

WHEN I PURCHASED

MY Suzuki Bandit 1250 it had, in the past, been pretty much left alone, as in, left totally stock except for the slip-on Scorpion mufﬂer. With 32,000km on the clock the chain and sprockets were nearly in need of replacing and seeing as how I wanted to play with the gearing it was the right time to replace both front and rear sprockets and ﬁt a top-level chain.

RK Chain and sprockets available through Link International (linkint. com.au) and all good bike shops is what I chose. I stayed with the 530-pitch chain and steel sprockets

This is such a good bike. You have no idea unless you’ve ridden one!

and did consider putting a lighter 520-pitch chain and alloy sprockets on but decided on longevity over a few ponies. With the gearing, the standard Suzuki ratio of 18 tooth front, 43 tooth rear is pretty good, but for that tiny bit of extra acceleration I put one extra on the rear – a 44 tooth sprocket. Sure, it will knock the top speed down, but I think 250km/h (rough guess, of course) is enough on the road. As I expected the

one tooth has given the Bandit just that extra bit of pep and even giving it what you might call a bit of a refresh and making it feel more modern than it’s 2011 year of manufacture.

The RK Chain is the GB530ZXW Gold which is one of their top-level chains. Designed for hypersport and road race motorcycles I’m sure it can more than handle me riding the Bandit like a man possessed. RK Chain state the ZXW is an ultra-high tensile strength chain which will enhance acceleration and reduce horsepower drag losses. Utilising ultra-high tensile strength components and combined with the XW-Ring featuring quad lubrication pools with multiply seal contact points to ensure a long-lasting

L O N G T E R M E R S

performance chain.

I use an RK Chain on the FZR1000 race bike in 520 pitch and with the power and especially the large amount of torque running through the chain I have found it doesn’t easily stretch and shows no sign of wear after four race meetings, whereas other chains I have used start to show tight spots after three races.

RK Chain and sprockets are the goto whenever you’re in need of a new chain and sprockets, so for an item that is hugely overlooked most of the time it’s one area of your motorcycle that you really should be paying a lot of attention to. The chain and sprockets are what get your power to the ground and if they’re not in tip top condition you not only lose power, but gear changing can become harder too. You also don’t want your old and worn-out chain breaking as it can near cut your leg off when it whips around. I was on a borrowed race bike a few years ago when a chain broke – it cut one side of the subframe in half and smashed the engine case – I was extremely lucky my leg didn’t come in contact with it! With that in mind, how about you pop out to your bike and have a look at the chain and sprockets to see if they need replacing. If you’re unsure, ask your motorcycle mechanic.

Given a ‘Stuart’ detail before being handed over to its new owner.

ROYAL ENFIELD METEOR 350 Bye, bye Little One

WELL, THE TIME MUST always come, and it has been a good time we’ve had with the Meteor 350 blasting us around town. I got the call from Royal Enﬁeld Australia that someone wanted to buy our little weapon. They had obviously heard ours was the fastest little space object in the universe and wanted to experience their own galactic adventures.

Ralph was the ﬁrst to ride our little brown beauty. 1000km from Melbourne in atrocious weather and handed it over to me. He was cold and wet, the bike was ﬁlthy, but the comments were all positive – “this little thing is so comfy”, he would keep telling me. Maybe the cold got to his head and

that’s all he could say?

I’ve done many little trips and found the Meteor to be such a handy bike to have in the garage. I think the backrest and areas to strap occy straps to is what made this bike so handy, and not to mention it is super comfy to ride. Sure, it’s no superbike in terms of acceleration but the 350 single cylinder has enough zip to pull away from tin tops at trafﬁc lights and for city and outer suburb speed limits up to 90km/h it is perfect. It will sit at 100-110km/h easy enough but push it much past that and any hills you come to will knock a few kays off the speedo, but that’s not what this bike is about – city riding, having a weekend blast through some twisties for breakfast and a coffee is the name of its game. I highly recommend having a look at the Meteor as your run around machine. I’ve had a lot of fun on it.

4 litre - $99.90

GOING RIGHT THROUGH THE Bandit to get it up to my standards, changing the engine oil and ﬁlter are a good start. Link International has recently taken on the iPone range, so they sent me some of the ‘Full Power Katana 10W40’. This is a full 100% synthetic oil specially designed to meet the requirements of sporty riding on the road. It guarantees optimum lubrication to exploit the full performance of a high-revving engine. Formulated with esters and highperformance additives, revs are quicker, and the engine protection is ensured even at full power.

The ‘Speed & Easy Shift’ innovation transforms your riding experience. Gear changes are faster and more precise, the gearbox is smoother, more pleasant and mechanical noise is signiﬁcantly reduced. Big claims but I have noticed the gear changes are smoother and I always ﬁnd a motorcycle goes better with fresh oil, so feeling any power difference would have to be a back-to-back dyno thing.

One handy thing is the bottle containing that slippery goodness comes with a pouring spout – this makes it easier to pour into the engine, however it is always recommended you use a precise measurement, like a clear oil bottle so you don’t overﬁll the bike. Check out the entire range of iPone at linkint.com.au SW D

THE FIRST OF OUR two readers’ tours this year is with IMTBike Tours and Rentals. IMTBike celebrates its 25th anniversary of running fabulous tours this year. This tour will be part of that 25 year celebration, so let’s show IMTBike how Aussies like to party! The tour is one chosen by Stuart and features the best of all worlds – vino, twisty roads and amazing sights. We’ve all been locked down and September will be the right time to get overseas and experience one of the most amazing tours in the world. Stuart can’t wait to lead this tour and have a great time away with you. He suggests booking your spot now so you don’t miss out! Of course, IMTBike has a refund covid policy in place, but let’s hope the world has moved far beyond that by then. Get to it!

Daily Itinerary

Day 1: Madrid Arrival

Day 2: Madrid – Soria

Day 3: Soria – La Rioja

Day 4: La Rioja – Ribera del Duero

Day 5: Ribera de Duero – Salamanca

Day 6: Salamanca – Rest Day

Day 7: Salamanca – El Bierzo

Day 8: El Bierzo – Bragança

Day 9: Bragança – Guimaraes

Day 10: Guimaraes – Porto

Day 11: Porto – Rest Day

Day 12: Porto – Ciudad Rodrigo

Day 13: Ciudad Rodrigo – Ávila

Day 14: Ávila – Madrid

Day 15: Flight home

Included in Tour:

Airport pickup on the ﬁrst day of the tour.

Overnight accommodations in high quality hotels

A gourmet evening meal every night (except on rest days).

Complete buffet breakfast every morning.

New model BMW motorcycle fully equipped with 3 BMW cases.

Tour handbook (normally about 70 pages-very comprehensive) and highlighted map.

Expert multilingual guide on a motorcycle.

Multilingual guide in support vehicle which will carry your luggage, any oversized purchases you make; or even a passenger or two.

Tour Souvenirs.

Not included in Tour:

Air ticket, lunches, gasoline, drinks, tolls, personal spending and tips

The details from IMTBike are…

THIS DREAM TOUR WILL lead you through some of the most prestigious wine regions in Spain and Portugal. You’ll begin your journey in Madrid, the Spanish capital, and travel through charming wine regions such as La Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Rueda, El Bierzo, Douro, Porto and the area in which “Vinho Verde” is produced. This magniﬁcent motorcycle route will wind you over mountains and through inﬁnite

vineyards. You will also visit millenary villages, castles and fortresses that still remain as proud vestiges of the once mighty region of Castile.

This tour takes place a few weeks after the “Vendimia” harvest and this means the aroma of freshly pressed grapes and the festive atmosphere of the wineries will accompany us during our tour. Now combine this with fun twisty roads with impeccable asphalt and you are in for an amazing vacation! On this journey you will see for yourself why this route is designed for connoisseurs of great

motorcycle roads, wine, history and gastronomy.

Transfer from the Airport to the Hotel is included. You will have free time to rest or visit the city until the welcome meeting at the hotel in the afternoon. We will enjoy a welcome dinner after the meeting at a typical Spanish restaurant. The ﬁrst and last day in the itinerary correspond to the arrival and departure days of the tour. You may have to leave a day early depending on your country of origin. Please book your ﬂights taking this into account. D

Tour Facts

Start / End – Madrid

The Bear Says

Scott and IMTBIKE are among the very best motorcycle tour operators. Not only do I have happy memories of my tour with them, I am going on another soon!

Total Distance - 1,770 miles / 2,850 km

Total Time - 15 Days

Riding Days - 13 Days

Rest Days - 2 Salamanca, Porto

Breakfast - 14 Included

Dinners - 11 Dinners

Daily Mileage - 165 miles / 275 kms.

Hotel Overnights - 14 Nights

Riding Season - Spring, Autumn

Highlights: 6 cities declared World Heritage by UNESCO: Segovia, Ávila, Ciudad Rodrigo, Salamanca, Porto and Guimarães. All of them connected by the best imaginable roads. Wine, wine and more wine! This tour goes through the major wine regions of Spain and Portugal.

Accommodations: Awesome hotels. First-class historical Pousadas and Paradors plus a few specially selected boutique hotels with local ﬂair. Pousadas and Paradors are Castles, Palaces & Fortresses converted into motorcycle-friendly hotels.

*All IMTBIKE lodgings are hand-picked for their quality of service, local charm and strategic locations.

The price

€ 5645 - The base price of every tour is calculated for a single rider on a BMW G310R and sharing a double room

Add passenger + € 4030

Add Single Room Supplement + € 1260

BMW G310R + € 0

BMW F750GS + € 220

BMW F800GT + € 400

BMW F850GS + € 400

BMW R1250RS + € 625

BMW R1250GS + € 625

BMW R1250GS ADV + € 780

BMW S1000XR + € 780

BMW R1250RT + € 780

BMW K1600GT + € 1185

W H A T S A Y Y O U ?

WE LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU, the letters are among the most keenly read parts of the magazine. Please try and keep letters down to no more than 300 words. We do reserve the right to cut them and, you do need to provide a name and at least your state, if not, town or suburb. Please address letters to contactus@ausmotorcyclist.com.au or Australian Motorcyclist Magazine, 17 Weeroona Place, Rouse Hill NSW 2155. All opinions published here are those of the writers and we do not vouch for their accuracy or even their sanity.

LETTER OF THE MONTH

JOHN GETS THE MOTUL Chain Care Pack

this month. The more you’re aware that heat stroke can and possibly will creep up on you on hot days is something not to be ignored. For all your lubrication needs, check out the Motul range

stops, I drank lots of water, but barely made it. Splitting headache, dizzy, couldn’t walk straight, and knocked me out for 36hrs. Deﬁnitely not nice, but I’ve never suffered from this again before or since.

I took delivery of a Spyder in Perth a couple of years ago and rode it home to Broome (2200km) in three days in 40+C temperatures no problem at all. Be careful heat stroke can sneak up on you!

THE HOT TIP

Hi Bear, Useful info on heat stroke in current issue. In 2015 I did a Cambodian motorcycle tour on 200cc Honda Phantom cruisers with a bunch of my friends. The ﬁrst day was, for Cambodian roads, a lengthy 325km from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap in a humid 40+C. I’ve toured on motorcycles all over Australia, Asia and Europe, but on that day, I got heat stroke. I had decent ventilated gear on - I’m in the red jacket in photo - we had plenty of

All the best mate, John Kennedy Kalbarri, WA

Hi John, good to hear from you and thanks for the note and photos. You’re right about keeping an eye out for heat stroke. My symptoms were pretty much the same as yours, just add nausea! How’s life in the west?We are getting an on-again-off-again summer that’s no use at all. Best regards, The Bear

Hi folks, I actually moved south from Broome to Kalbarri in November. I retired from Perth to Broome in 2006 and loved it, however it has become not such a good place to live now. Kalbarri is much smaller, but safer and quieter. Some good riding roads around here as well - I’m currently running a Spyder F3-S and a KTM Duke 200. But we’ve had so many consecutive 40C+ days that are not conducive to riding.

Keep safe, John Kennedy

WELL DONE

Boris,

I want to congratulate you on your previous couple of columns. You must be starting to mellow in your old age,

and I must say it is great reading about trials and tribulations of your riding adventures. It’s always the ones where something that went wrong that we always remember (and laugh) about. The rides that go perfectly are easily forgotten, but those ones where you think the world will end are the ones you have many drinks and laughs over for many years. Keep it up, mate.

Cheers, Ron Maitland, NSW

FIRST DIBS

Hi Stuart, I am loving your Suzuki Bandit so if or when you go to sell it, I want ﬁrst dibs on it.

Regards, Ryan Melbourne South, VIC

Hi Ryan, I will keep you in mind, but I’ll probably do what I did for the H1 500 and do a little piece in the mag and let all the readers who might want it, have a chance to buy it. That’s if I choose to sell it, I’m loving it too! Now can the rain bugger off so I can get a couple of decent rides in! LOL! Cheers, Stuart.

DON’T WAVE

Hi Stu, Love the magazine and have to say it’s by far the best in the country.

Keep up the great work. What I am emailing to you about is the letter from Frank Cachia about waving from the last issue (#109). I really don’t see the point of waving to other road users or motorcyclists, do you wave to other people in cars when you’re driving around? No, that would be just plain weird, and I ﬁnd it’s the same deal while riding a motorcycle. You don’t know the other person/s going the other way and we really aren’t in some “brotherhood” or “special group” as some people make out. We ride a machine, just like most of us drive a machine. So, forget the wave and concentrate on your riding, not looking at other people going the other way.

Regards, James Maroochydore, QLD

HELP FIND ONE!

Hi Stuart,

Just read the magazine, has your bike sold yet? Working on the better half now if it’s still available. Whereabouts is it located?

Thanks, Tim Blatch

Hi Tim,

Another reader beat you to it! He called me Christmas Eve and gave me a deposit.

If you want one, keep your eyes peeled as they tend to rarely come up for sale and usually sell fast. Have a great New Year. Cheers, Stuart.

Hi Stuart

Just read your leader piece in the latest magazine

Congrats to the new owner of the H1, but I’m really surprised that I was the only other one interested. Now I’m really pissed that I was that bit too slow Ah well, better keep my eyes open but if you do hear any whispers, please think of me

Well done with the mag, great work and a fantastic read Cheers, Tim Blatch

So, readers of Australian Motorcyclist, know of a great Kawasaki H1 500 for sale? Let me know and I’ll pass you onto Tim. Cheers, Stuart.

CRAZY

Hi Stuart, I want to say a job well done on the articles about Alex Pickett and Chris racing in the Isle of Man. Alex sure did have some bad luck and bad things happen around him. How he went back after such bad luck is a testament to his big balls! And that’s what I reckon you need to race at the Isle of Man TT. Also, I know this is

continued on page 106..

WHAT SAY YOU

to improve my biceps

continued from page 104...

to improve my biceps

Hi Harry,

to improve my biceps

Hi Harry,

GOODLY

Hi Harry,

too bad, but will certainly consider Mick at MJM. I know a few people who have had their seat done by him. Thanks for the kind words. Merry Xmas!

I’m sure your legs look ﬁne to the ones that care…your family. As for your bike not being a very good exercise machine, you better get an adventure bike and do some hillclimbs, that will get the muscles burning! - Cheers, Stuart.

THE NOISE

COVID 1

Dear Stuart,

Cheers, Stuart LOVE IT

year’s late, but can you congratulate him for me on his class win at the Classic Superbike TT. What an achievement and I think it’s a shame such a talent didn’t continue over there, I’m sure he would have followed in fellow Aussie, Cam Donald’s shoes and won the TT at some stage. All the best, Mark Concord, NSW

COVID 1

Dear Stuart,

Gents,

Dear Stuart,

Hi Mark,

Clearly there is a lot of economic downturn as a result of COVID19 and it is further impacting on car sales and I would think motorcycle sales (which I think have been down anyway pre Covid19).

There is nobody much on the roads in the ACT except those who by necessity have to go out for work or food and essentials.

Braidwood. Purpose to ride, have a social get together and have some food whilst out. Now, no such trips.

Hi Stuart, Firstly, great mag, love it each month. The Kawasaki Versys 1000 S you reviewed in the last issue (97) was great. I was looking at the electronic suspension version last year but you have just sold me on this new model. Not only is it cheaper, which is great for keeping things happy with the “boss”, but as you mentioned you’d be hard pressed to really notice the difference between the two. I like the grey paintwork as well, let’s see how the “Highly Durable Paint” goes in real life. Regards, Mark, QLD

There is nobody much on the roads in the ACT except those who by necessity have to go out for work or food and essentials.

GREAT STUFF

GET A BOAT?

I have been managing to use the bike for essential trips within the conﬁnes of the ACT border but that is a big change from our weekly ride group where we would usually ride out of the ACT to, say, Goulburn or Boorowa or Yass or

Hi Stuart,

I love the Culture article in the last issue (#107). It was a great to be taken back to a more freer time and having topless painted girls is just one of those good times when people weren’t so caught up on how someones shirt has to be “this long” and not “that long”. I remember back a few years ago when you ran a cover shot with a girl and a rusty bike and the reaction some ‘special’ people wrote into you about. They all need to relax and just realise times were different and a bit of history every now and again is a good thing.

Clearly there is a lot of economic downturn as a result of COVID19 and it is further impacting on car sales and I would think motorcycle sales (which I think have been down anyway pre Covid19).

Yes, Alex is a talent and one that has really gone unnoticed here in Australia. Over in the Isle of Man, Alex was tipped to be the next big thing from Australia, but wife and now kids took over. That’s good as he can race our FZR from time-to-time! Cheers, Stuart.

Braidwood. Purpose to ride, have a social get together and have some food whilst out. Now, no such trips. I know there has been panic in terms of buying up of products like loo paper, tissues, hand sanitizer, pasta, canned tomatoes and other products. This panic buying has been ridiculous in my opinion and created a problem of store supply where there was no need to stockpile goods at home. I note that the news reports say that a small supermarket group Drake’s has refused to buy back 150 x 32 roll packs of toilet paper and 150 x 1 ltr sanitizer. I am GLAD they refused a refund as the individual concerned was having about 20 people chase these products and then he attempted to re-sell on E-Bay. Serve the bugger right for being a scungy individual!

Hi Hugh,

I know there has been panic in terms of buying up of products like loo paper, tissues, hand sanitizer, pasta, canned tomatoes and other products. This panic buying has been ridiculous in my opinion and created a problem of store supply where there was no need to stockpile goods at home. I note that the news reports say that a small supermarket group Drake’s has refused to buy back 150 x 32 roll packs of toilet paper and 150 x 1 ltr sanitizer. I am GLAD they refused a refund as the individual concerned was having about 20 people chase these products and then he attempted to re-sell on E-Bay. Serve the bugger right for being a scungy individual!

Hi Peter/ Stuart, I would like to throw in my two bobs worth regarding exhaust noise. 10 years ago I decided that I would do mobile machine servicing throughout NSW and beyond (if they pay) 98% of my work traveling is by motorcycle. After about 2 years I decided to fit a set of Staintune exhaust which raised the decibels slightly, and I did find that it did catch the attention of surrounding vehicles better than with the standard exhaust, this was a good safety feature for me as I am constantly traveling slightly quicker than surrounding traffic and being noticed certainly helps you do it safer. I must say 98% of the motorists on the road weekdays are very accommodating in allowing you to do your bit without adding extra pressure on your riding.

I know there has been panic in terms of buying up of products like loo paper, tissues, hand sanitizer, pasta, canned tomatoes and other products. This panic buying has been ridiculous in my opinion and created a problem of store supply where there was no need to stockpile goods at home. I note that the news reports say that a small supermarket group Drake’s has refused to buy back 32 roll packs of toilet paper and 150 x 1 ltr sanitizer. I am GLAD they refused a refund as the individual concerned was having about 20 people chase these products and then he attempted to re-sell on E-Bay. Serve the bugger right for being a scungy individual!

for speeds between 5 & 8 kilometres over the limit) and when you are lane splitting and you come across a good sort sitting in her car with a short skirt on try and keep your eyes focused on the gap ahead and not the gap beside you as your motorcycle will happily head in the direction that you are looking.

Thanks for the kind words, although I don’t think the shiny paper would go too good as shit paper. LOL! Cheers, Stuart.

Yours in Motorcycling, Ian Gregory, Regents Park

BORIS

reasons for the daily ﬁgures of these deaths, however this pandemic of COVID 19 is not normal and as you would know has the potential for totally overwhelming the hospital and medical resources of all countries. I am not aware of any cancers etc you can catch from shaking someone’s hand or touching contaminated surfaces. So, comparing normal worldwide deaths to COVID19 deaths is like trying to compare apples and oranges.

STEP AWAY FROM THE TOOLS

All the people dissing Boris “Get a Life”. Don’t read it, you know where it is. Last page! Ignore it!

I felt your editorial came across as dismissive of the seriousness of Covid19 and smacked a bit of self-centredness in highlighting the inconvenience it has caused you. I like bikes and riding too, but many people have had to alter travel plans etc for the greater good.

Don’t ruin a top read because of one page, personally I love his column (even though I feel he has a ﬁrm grip on his nether region). Be a boring read if we succumb to the lowest common denominator. No name provided

Cheers, Peter

I haven’t enjoyed a bike mag like this since the old Two Wheels that as a kid I’d eagerly pedal my pushy to the newsagents for every month and read every page once I got it home. I love all bikes and respect anyone

Love the mag, keep up the great work. With all this rain that’s lashing the Eastern Seaboard would you consider

All that said, I think your quoting of ﬁgures of the people that die daily from cancer, heart disease, diabetes, mozzies and murders is an unfair comparison! Yes to date the total numbers of COVID19 deaths World Wide would be exceeded by a week’s worth or less perhaps of the

doing an article on riding through water? Maybe some tips will help us that have to ride no matter what the weather is.

Regards, Jon Brisbane, QLD

A couple of little tips from someone who does trafﬁc riding every day whilst concentrating on zipping through the trafﬁc you tend to not remind yourself of speed camera locations and they are becoming very savage nowadays (been booked 4 times

who shares the passion, regardless of their ability or choice of machine. So, I have subscribed, to most of the magazine, but thanks for the spare shit paper at the end :) Hugh Jorgan

BORIS 2

Stuart,

I think that all the media reporting though is worrisome for Australian people as it is repeated and repeated and like the bushﬁres you do not get a break from it. Every time you turn on the T.V, look at Facebook, listen to the radio it is in your face or ears.

Hi Jon, Only tip I can give you at the moment is, maybe get a boat!? The water levels are way too high to pretty much ride anywhere just now. A boat would be your best option. Ha! Seriously though,

I try to reduce my listening/reading/ watching to once or twice a day to keep up with developments - more than that is

I don’t always agree with what Boris has to say but I am well aware of how he writes to get a reaction. As for the couple of blokes that sent letters in the last issue, I think

I try to reduce my listening/reading/ watching to once or twice a day to keep up with developments - more than that is

Hi Bear, I had a really good laugh at your comment “somebody stop me before I modify another perfectly good motorcycle” (AM #105) - as this is so quintessential of me! If you view the included pictures of my last two bikes you will see that I could not help myself trying to make my BMW F700 into what I considered the best tourer for exploring out of the way places. Likewise my poor Suzuki GSX S750 was piled up with all kinds of add-ons to make it into my perfect road tourer. I just can’t help myself – LOL.

good idea, I will add it to the list. Cheers, Stuart.

SHOW US

Hi Stuart, I read that you’re going to help Shaun at D Moto do up a GPz750R. Will you be showing us progress reports in the mag? It would be great to see. Thanks, Peter Modbury, SA

Hi Peter, Good idea. Let’s see how we go. Cheers, Stuart.

OLD BEAR STUFF

Hi Bear

Steph and I were riding the 3 mountains loop behind the Gold Coast yesterday. We stopped for a coffee at Beechmont and came across this. Enjoy. Cheers, Iain Rae

HE LIKES IT

Hey Stu,

Like you I fell in love with the looks and simplicity of the Triumph Street Twin (in polar blue), but was told by the dealer after paying a deposit that it will not arrive here in South Australia until May or June. The years (2 years your junior) have not mellowed my impatience (I too am “considering the end” and have a “timescale for planning”). The dealer suggested the limited edition EC1 as an alternative ($17,150 vs- $16,590) which is due to arrive in January – so I forgo the polar blue model (you lucky lucky bastard –a nod to Monty Python) and ‘settled’ for the EC1 in matt aluminium silver. Now we come to the most important part of new motorcycle ownership – what modiﬁcations to make? I have similar views to yours on the evolution of my Street Twin – I have outgrown any unrealistic views on my abilities to be a café racer (my ex son-in-law stirs me about the ‘chicken-skin’ left on the edge my tyres). So, I concur with you that my Street Twin will become more of a Tearoom Twin. My daughters and wife caution me about ruining the looks of a such a good looking motorcycle (how well they know me)!

Great mag. I am liking that new Z650RS quite a lot. I popped into my local dealer after reading your review and having owned an original Z650 20

Due to delays in obtaining parts here in Adelaide I have ordered the

Suzuki)

I have sourced on the net:

years or so ago I love that Kawasaki has produced the exact same colour and not tried to just sort of replicate it. I think I’ll have to sell one of my bikes and grab the new RS. Cheers, Mick

• a sidestand extender plate (I had the unfortunate experience of the side stand on the fully loaded BMW GS 700 sinking into soft ground and crushing my ankle and breaking a few bones)

Hi Mick,

Yes, I like the new Z650RS a lot too. How good do Learner’s have it nowadays! Cheers, Stuart.

CONCERNING

Hi Stuart,

• A RAM mirror mount to screw into the hole vacated by the standard mirror to mount my Garmin GPS I currently have an expandable Nelson Rigg seat bag which will serve as storage for non-touring riding, but I plan to ﬁt rear bags for touring and am impressed with the quality and ﬁtment

TOUR OPERATOR DIRECTORY

ADRIATIC MOTO TOURS – Europe www.adriaticmototours.com info@adriaticmototours.com

CENTRAL OTAGO

MOTORCYCLE HIRE AND TOURS – New Zealand www.comotorcyclehire.co.nz info@comotorcyclehire.co.nz

EDELWEISS BIKE TRAVEL – Worldwide tours* *Guided, Self-Guided + Rental www.edelweissbike.com

IMTBIKE TOURS & RENTALS

– Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Europe and Thailand www.imtbike.com tours@imtbike.com

of the Hepco and Becker C BOW holders/bags (particularly the lockable and waterproof Orbit side cases). I have always ﬁtted tank bags (using tank ring mounts) to my bikes but this mounting method is not feasible with the offset screw cap on the Triumph. I have seen many tanks scratched by magnetic tank bags and harnesses and so am rather reticent about going down that path.

So, ﬁnally I look forward to following your modiﬁcations to your Tearoom Twin and would love to get your advice on possible additions my Triumph.

Have a safe and merry Xmas.

Regards Mike

Firstly, what you and the crew do with Australian Motorcyclist is awesome. However, I am concerned about the amount of motorcyclists dieing on our roads. The ﬁgures are simply gobsmacking and all I can put it down to is all of this covid money and wherever else people have got their money from over the last year or so and are buying everything in sight means that a lot of riders don’t have the proper skill levels to handle a current machine. SO let me put the call out to anyone that hasn’t ridden a motorcycle in a while, please go and get some training. Stay Upright is the one that comes to mind but I’m sure there are plenty of other motorcycle trainers out there that can help improve your skills. It could save your life! Pretty important.

Regards, Brett Oatlands, NSW

Hey Mike, we just did the photos for my Tearoom Twin today, so you should be able to read about my alterations and additions in the next issue. I agree with most of yours, but I’ve taken it a bit further. I reckon it would be great for the two of us to go no a ride together to compare our changes. Send me your email address and maybe we can sort that. I seem to spend a lot of time in SA lately –

Hi Brett,

Yes, you are quite right to be concerned, the numbers I’ve heard (not conﬁrmed so I won’t quote anything) are shocking and all I can say is the same as you – go and get some training. Even if you think you know how to ride, there is a level of training for you. Cheers, Stuart. D

The Bear D

The guide to the stars - The who’s who in the zoo of motorcycle travel worldwide is what you’ll ﬁnd here. We’ve travelled with many of them and know them all, so they come highly recommended. In alphabetical order, they are:

MAGIC MOTORCYCLING – Thailand and Croatia www.magicmotorcycling.com tour@magicmotorcycling.com

MOTORRAD TOURS – Worldwide ofﬁce@motorrad-tours.com www.motorrad-tours.com

PARADISE MOTORCYCLE TOURS – New Zealand & European Alps www.paradisemotorcycletours.co.nz

RIDE THE WORLD

MOTORCYCLE TOURS www.ridetheworldmotorcycletours.com david@rtwmotorcycletours.com

ROMANIA MOTORCYCLE

TOURS – Europe www.romaniamotorcycletours.com ofﬁce@romaniamotorcycletours.com

SOUTH PACIFIC MOTORCYCLE TOURS – New Zealand www.motorbiketours.co.nz ofﬁce@motorbiketours.co.nz

TEWAIPOUNAMU

MOTORCYCLE TOURS – New Zealand www.motorcycle-hire.co.nz nzbike@motorcycle-hire.co.nz

WORLD ON WHEELS

– Europe, Iceland, South America, India, Asia, Mexico, Africa & Himalaya www.worldonwheels.tours Adventure@WorldOnWheels.Tours

view restricted with standard mirrors)

THE CHOICE IS YOURS

WHEN I BOUGHT MY ﬁrst motorcycle, a black Honda CB72, that was all I bought. It must sound utterly weird to anyone getting started in motorcycling today – or indeed over the past few decades – but I did not even think about investing in a helmet, jacket, pants, gloves and boots. To be fair, there was no helmet law in those days and just about the only riders who wore helmets were owners of old British bikes, who favoured pudding basin items, and the cops. They wore black open face helmets, at least partly because full face stack hats were unknown. I think I saw my ﬁrst full face in 1968, and that was intended for race car drivers.

When I did decide to buy some bike gear, I headed down to the edge of Sydney’s Chinatown in George Street to my usual men’s outﬁtters, Stoliar Brothers. The sign on the front of the shop might have said ‘Army Surplus’, but I could usually ﬁnd any clothing I needed in the claustrophobic productchoked tunnel inside. Stoliar Brothers offered a selection of leather bike jackets, all ‘Brando’ style named after the jacket ‘Johnny’ wore in ‘The Wild One’. When I say ‘selection’, I mean different sizes. They were all black and identical in all other respects with a diagonal zipper across the front, two slit pockets as well as a chest pocket and a tartan lining. They were the epitome of cool.

While elbow, shoulder or back protectors had not been thought of, the leather of the jackets was substantial – I think it was horse leather and would guess it was about 3mm thick. That meant it took a while before the jacket stopped looking as if you had a number of coat hangers secreted about your person while wearing it. But once it did, it was quite

How many motorcycle jackets do you have?

Once I had bought the Brando jacket, I saw no need for any others. I wore my jacket in rain, sun, snow and even, on one memorable occasion, hail.

impressive, and I suspect also quite protective.

Stoliar Brothers also offered motorcycle gloves and boots, but they were not promoted as such. Both were derived from equipment allegedly worn by ﬁghter pilots and were black. Made of leather they were lined with kangaroo fur in the case of the gloves and lambswool for the boots. I eventually folded and bought some when I began to ride long distances in winter. That was some time later, when I began to understand just how much enjoyment riding a motorcycle offered.

How many motorcycle jackets do you have? Once I had bought the Brando jacket, I saw no need for any others. I wore my jacket in rain, sun, snow and

even, on one memorable occasion, hail. Things are different today. Motorcycle clothing manufacturers offer us an amazing variety, and of course we buy them. I have ﬁve, but my summer jacket had seen better days, so I started looking around for a replacement. My search for a ventilated summer jacket came up with the Bering Riko. This not only has lots of mesh and is also not entirely black. Much of it is grey which does not absorb the sun’s heat nearly as readily as black.

“Created and developed in France” and made in China, the jacket is 100 percent polyester inside and out with some Scotchlite reflective material. The fit is called ‘regular’ and feels pleasantly tailored to me with my slightly generous figure. It has three pockets, two outside and one inside. The main zipper is from YKK, the pocket zips are unbranded. The overall impression is of a quality garment with neat sewing and tidy finishing. Inside, the Riko has CE Level 2 protectors from Omega in the shoulders and elbows. This offers the highest level of protection under CE but still feels quite light.

Sydney summer weather has meant that I have been able to try the jacket in 34C sunshine and I can tell you that it works remarkably well in the heat with very good airﬂow and protection from excessive heating by the sun. The jacket has proven to be an excellent choice, and at $179.95 it’s good value too. D

E W B I K E P R I C E S

G 310 GS

$8090

F 750 GS $13,590

F 750 GS Tour $17,305

F 750 GS Low Susp $13,840

F 750 GS Tour LS $17,005

F 850 GS

F 850 GS Rallye

APRILIA

www.aprilia.com.au

BENELLI

www.benelli.com.au *All

BMW

$17,990

$18,390

F 850 GS Rallye X $22,305

F 850 GS Tour

F 850 GS Low Susp

$21,805

$18,240

F 850 GS Rallye Low Susp $18,640

F 850 GS Tour Low Susp $21,505

F 850 GSA

R 1250 GS

$TBA

$23,490

R 1250 GS Rallye $24,940

R 1250 GS Rallye X

R 1250 GS Exclusive $28,140

R 1250 GS Spezial $31,390

R 1250 GSA $25,490

R 1250 GSA Rallye $26,390

R 1250 GSA Rallye X $31,590

R 1250 GSA Exclusive $30,790

R 1250 GSA Spezial

SCOOTER

C 650 Sport $14,150

C 650 GT $14,990

BROUGH SUPERIOR

broughsuperioraustralia.com.au

SS100 (Euro3)

SS100 (Euro 4)

Pendine Sand Racer

001

CAN-AM (BRP)

can-am.brp.com

Ryker

$13,799

Spyder F3 $29,299

Spyder RT $39,299

CF MOTO

www.cf-moto.com.au

ROAD

650NK

R 1250 R Spezial

R 1250 RT

R 1250 RT Sport

R 1250 RT Elegance

R 1250 R Spezial

DUCATI

www.ducati.com.au *All Ducati prices are ride away ROAD Scrambler Sixty2

NEW BIKE PRICES

Chief Vintage $33,995

Springﬁeld Dark Horse $35,495

Springﬁeld $35,995

Chieftain Dark Horse $38,495

Chieftain Limited $38,995

Chieftain Elite

$49,995

Challenger Dark Horse $39,495 Challenger

KAWASAKI

www.kawasaki.com.au

ROAD

Z125 Pro KRT

Ninja 400 SE

HUSQVARNA

www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com/au *All Husqvarna prices are ride away

Vitpilen 401 $7875

Svartpilen 401 $7875 701 Supermoto

INDIAN

www.indianmotorcycles.com.au

KTM

www.ktm.com.au

PIAGGIO www.piaggio.com.au

ROYAL ENFIELD

www.royalenﬁeldaustralia.com

*All Royal Enfield prices are ride away

ROAD

Meteor 350 Fireball

$7890

Meteor 350 Stellar $8290

Meteor 350 Supernova $8690

Interceptor 650 Classic $10,790

Interceptor 650 Custom $11,090

Interceptor 650 Chrome Mk2 $11,390

Continental GT 650 Classic $10,990

Continental GT 650 Custom $11,290

Continental GT 650 Chrome $11,590

ADV TOURING

Himalayan 410 E4

$7690

Himalayan 410 Base $8190

Himalayan 410 Mid $8390

Himalayan 410 Premium $8590

SUPER SOCO

www.supersoco.com.au

*All Super Soco prices are ride away

ROAD

TC Café $5490

TC Max alloy wheel $7990

TC Max wire wheel $8290

SCOOTER

CUX $4990

CUX Special Edition Ducati $5490 CPX $7690

CPX dual battery $9990

SUZUKI

www.suzukimotorcycles.com.au

ROAD

GSX-S125 $3490

GSX-R125

GSX-R600 $14,990

SV650 $8990

SV650 LAMS $9190

GSX-S750 $11,790

GSX-R750 $15,990

GSX-S1000

GSX-S1000F

Boulevard S40 $7990

Boulevard C50T $11,190

Boulevard M109R $19,790

ADV TOURING DR650SE $8290

V-Strom 650 $10,990

V-Strom 650 XT $12,290

V-Strom 1050 $16,490

V-Strom 1050 XT $18,990

SCOOTER

Address $2820

SWM

www.swmmotorcycles.com.au

ROAD

Gran Turismo

$7490 Silver Vase 440 $7490

Gran Milano 440

SM 500 R

$7990

$8990

SM 650 R $9490

ADV TOURING

Superdual

TRIUMPH

www.triumphmotorcycles.com.au

*All Triumph prices are ride away

ROAD

Trident 660

Street Triple S 660

Street Triple R

Street Triple RS

Street Twin

Street Scrambler

$9990

$12,840

$14,990

$18,140

$19,950

$16,190

$18,590

Bonneville T100 $18,290

Bonneville T120 $20,890

Speedmaster

Thruxton RS

Speed Twin

Tiger Sport 850

Speed Triple 1200 RS $28,490

Speed Triple 1200 RR

SPECIAL EDITION

Street Twin EC1 $17,150

T100 Goldline $19,190

T120 Goldline $22,090

Street Scrambler Goldline

Bobber Goldline

Speedmaster Goldline

Scrambler 1200 XC Goldline

Scrambler 1200 XE Goldline

T100 Bud Ekins

T120 Bud Ekins

Thruxton RS Ton Up Edition

Tiger 1200 Alpine

Tiger 1200 Desert

Rocket 3 R 221 Edition

Rocket 3 GT 221 Edition

LIMITED EDITION

Street Twin Goldline

Street Scrambler Sandstorm

T120 Diamond

T120 Ace

Scrambler 1200 Steve McQueen

$19,490

$23,790

$24,690

$26,090

$18,000

$19,900

$27,150

$27,250

$28,750

$35,850

$36,850

$16,900

$18,990

$20,350

$20,650

$26,100

Daytona Moto2 765 $28,990

CRUISER

Rocket 3 R

Rocket 3 GT

ADV TOURING

Scrambler 1200 XC

Scrambler 1200 XE

$34,450

$35,490

$23,450

$24,890

Tiger 900 GT & GT Low $21,150

Tiger 900 Rally $22,390

Tiger 900 GT Pro $24,190

Tiger 900 Rally Pro $24,790

TRIUMPH FACTORY CUSTOM (TFC)

www.triumphmotorcycles.com.au

*All TFC prices are ride away

TFC

3 TFC

WORDS BORIS MIHAILOVIC

BEST NIGHT EVER B O R I S

MOST OF YOU WOULD have worked out by now that I do stupid shit on motorcycles. It’s always been like that, and only the Road Gods know why I’m not yet dead.

Still and all, one of the stupidest things I have ever done on a motorcycle was to go hunting on one. With a brace of guns (a 12-gauge pump-action and a .308), and a pair of like-minded, similarly-armed individuals.

It was a long time ago.

Back when a man could tie a ﬁrearm to his motorcycle and ride somewhere and shoot things like feral animals and bottles and the moon, if he was so moved by the vapours of the night.

Of course, such things are no longer possible. I understand the Safety God would now take a dim view of wild-haired, helmetless youths roaring around deserted roads on loud motorcycles in the dead of night with high-powered riﬂes.

But back when I was doing that sort of thing, the Safety God had not yet ascended the Throne of Australia, and His concerns were not my concerns.

So my two companions, let me call them Branko and Dragan, headed west one afternoon at the start of winter on high-powered Japanese motorcycles with guns tied to the seats.

roaring into town with a deer tied to its bonnet was something I had to do. But I didn’t have a Cadillac, and deer were hard to come by around Dubbo back in the ’80s.

I was OK with that. A feral pig or a big kangaroo would do just as well, and if a GSX1100EX isn’t the Cadillac of motorcycles I don’t know what is.

So we rode out past Dubbo, and by the time we got out past Dubbo, it was 10pm, and pretty much zero degrees. We had found a deserted dirt road running off the highway (yes, this was all pretty much make-it-upas-you-go shit), and there seemed to be kangaroos around, judging by how many near misses we’d had just getting there.

We had a few sips of Stones, unpacked the guns, loaded them, slung them across our backs (two each), and idled off up the dirt road.

We couldn’t really ride much faster because the wind-chill was appalling. We couldn’t wear helmets, because you can’t aim a gun with a helmet. And we couldn’t wear gloves, because you can’t ﬁre or reload a gun with gloves. Interestingly, you also can’t see very well when the liquid in your eyes keeps freezing, while your nose gushes icy snot, and your hands are burning and aching and not really controlling the bike in any meaningful way.

night. So we rode on.

Animals leapt out at us, and went belting across our path. Each time that happened, we’d grab the brakes with frozen hands, the bikes would slide to a stop, then we’d go fumbling for the guns and there’d be yelling.

“Turn the bike! I need light! There! There! No! There! Are you blind? THERE!” Just understand there was an F-word before and after every nonF-word.

The F-words became more frequent when we started dropping the bikes in our efforts to kill things, and we resorted to blazing away into the night at where we thought the animals might be. Which was after they had run across the road, we had dropped the bikes, and they had disappeared into the darkness.

It wasn’t long until we had smashed all of our mirrors, broken all of our levers, bent our handlebars, and in my case, left a lot of my hand-skin glued to the frozen barrel of my .308. We had also dropped ammo, lost our sleeping bags, and Dragan had ripped open his chest when he fell off his bike and shattered the bottle of Stones he’d had tucked into his jacket. He looked like a slasher victim, which he was, in a way.

I think we were about 20-odd kays up that dirt road before we decided we’d had enough hunting for the evening.

We’d run out of ammo (or lost it), Dragan was bleeding profusely, but it was so cold his blood was ﬂowing slowly, and none of us wanted to damage the bikes anymore. We still had a 500km ride to get home.

We lit a ﬁre. We drank the two remaining bottles of Stones, and we fell asleep about two am, stinking of blood, gunpowder, and frostbite.

Best night ever. D

Photo by Barnabas Imre

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