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EDITORSPEAKS
Going Old School
WE’VE GONE
ALL nostalgic in the office here and there are a couple of ‘new’ (old) bikes making their way into the everextending list of long term bikes.
Let’s start with the one The Bear has acquired. It’s a Kawasaki GPZ 750 Turbo. He used to have one and has lusted over another one forever, and I’ve always told him to just get one! Only a couple of weeks ago he was saying again how much he’d like one and I said, “Do it, or you’ll forever be wondering or wishing you’d got one”. So, through a friend of a friend The Bear has got himself a tidy 750 turbo. He’s pretty chuffed and excited and well done to him. I’m sure he will be writing the odd piece every now and again about his turbo.
The next bike is one that I have acquired. It’s a 1984 Suzuki GSX1100S Katana, it’s in need of minor restoration but anyone who knows me, will already know that this will turn into a full-on restoration. I did a swap for my CBR900RR road bike (Black Beauty) which you will have seen in these pages before.
I will be doing regular features on the 1100 Katana and I can already tell you that I’ve got the tank and bodywork off for painting, the wheels off for vapour blasting which I will then lightly polish and repaint and I’ve sourced a new old stock front guard and bought many other items that need replacing or changing back to original. The
of its ownership has changed out the front end for a later model 1100EFE or 750ESD which has different anti-dive forks and a smaller 16 inch front wheel as against the original 19 inch front. It was quite a find to actually get a 19 inch front wheel in the proper pattern for this year model! It seems they are extremely rare and even more rare than the ‘cross spoked’ 82/83 model.
Mick Hone Motorcycles has become my new ‘friend’, or is that the other way round seeing I’m pouring money into their wallets? Mick has a heap of NOS Katana parts so I’m grabbing what I need as I go along. Obviously there are some parts that even Mick doesn’t have, so I’ve searched eBay a million times and turned up a pretty good result so far from the various sites across the world. I will of course be using products from some of our advertisers like, Kenma, Ron Angel and Ikon Suspension and while I’m super excited to be the owner of an 1100 Katana, it will be a couple of months before I get the paintwork back to get it on the road. The entire project will probably take a couple of years to reach my standard. I cannot wait for that day and you’ll be able to read about what it was, to what it is very soon.
What is the bike you’ve always lusted after? Flick me an email at stuart@ausmotorcyclist. com.au and maybe we’ll put a bit of a readers’ list together, I guess so long as we print those pages on waterproof paper for all the drool! LOL!
Cheers, Stuart.
NEWS
ON THE MOVE
Those wonderful folks at RMS (Roads and Maritime Services) in NSW are trialling a mobile safety inspection service in some areas of the state. The MTA (Motor Traders Association) has raised a number of concerns, one being that the quality of inspections may fall, which could impact on the safety of vehicles on the road. It will be interesting to see what the impact on earnings of mechanical workshops will be, too. Still, it could be quite handy.
STILL DOWN
Australia’s motorcycle market fell 1.2 per cent in the fi rst quarter of 2018, with all the market categories except for scooters affected by this slight decline.
The latest note from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries shows that 21,614 motorcycles, ATVs and scooters were sold during the first three months of 2018, compared with 21,886 for the same period in 2017.
Honda was the overall leader with a 22.5 per cent share of the national market, followed by Yamaha with 19.4 per cent and Kawasaki at 10.8 per cent.
Road motorcycle sales dropped most at 2.6 per cent. In this category, Honda climbed to market leadership with a 21.5 per cent share, followed by HarleyDavidson with 18.9 per cent and Yamaha with 16 per cent.
Off-road bike sales fell 0.5 per cent compared with the first quarter of 2017. Yamaha maintained its market leadership with a 25.1 per cent share, followed by Honda with 23.3 per cent, and KTM with 21.4 per cent.
Scooters came back from their recent stumbles to defy the market trend with a 2.9 per cent climb in sales during this first quarter. Piaggio held a 28.9 per cent share, followed by Honda with 24.2 per cent and Vespa with 21 per cent.
GET COLD
1969, the year the first Honda 750/4 appeared and re-wrote the book on performance and reliability, was also the year of the first Alpine Rally. Organised
by Paul Giles, a motorcycle shop owner in Richmond NSW (Hawksbury Honda), was also a member of the Willoughby Motorcycle Club. The destination was the Yarrangobilly Village on the Snowy Mountains Highway, about 70km east of Tumut. BYO everything except water and firewood. The Queen’s Birthday Weekend was the chosen date, and the rally remains on that date to this day. Camping about 900 metres above sea level with overnight temperatures down to -15 degrees C is a test for any gear and many motorcycle batteries. After 20 odd years of running the Alpine, Paul’s health was failing, and he handed the reins to Henning Jorgensen in 1990.
Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the Alpine Rally, and Henning is keen for as many riders, and especially former rallyists, as possible to turn up and mark the date in 2019. For the first time, the No Cars rule will be deleted. For the 50th only, anyone with a badge from a previous Alpine is invited to bring the caravan, mobile home or whatever alternative camping arrangement might strike their fancy. There is also camping at Talbingo for those wanting some civilised comforts. As with previous Alpines, the RFDS will benefit from monies raised. Be a part of history, roll up and show how good you were back in the day! For more information visit http:// alpinerally.webs.com/ D
TRIUMPH IS RENOWNED
for creating new models from its existing range (just look at the many T100 Bonnie variants of a couple of years ago). So it’s no surprise that they have taken the one platform, in this case the muscular Bonneville T120, and given us two totally different bikes – the Bobber Black and Speedmaster. The Bobber Black is for the café riders who want some muscle on tap, even if they only use it every now and again; the Speedmaster is for the touring rider who wants to travel our big brown land without the bulk of a big cruiser. For the launch of these two bikes we did a city ride and some drag racing, for the Bobber Black, and went to the Hunter Valley on the Speedmaster – a perfect way to show what these two bikes are all about.
ENGINE
Both bikes run on borrowed power, the T120 Bonnie parallel twin. The “HT” High Torque tuned engine is bang on the right choice for both bikes. A massive 106Nm of torque at 4000rpm gets you punching along hard from a standstill, as a certain Harley rider who thought he could smoke the Black from a set of traffic lights found out.
BOBBER BLACK
Blacked and bad ass is the concept for the Bobber Black. The standard Bobber becomes the Bobber Black with a subtle difference that makes a world of difference to the ride, and that’s the front wheel. The Bobber Black has a fat 16 inch front versus the 19 on the Bobber, as well as larger 47mm forks as against the Bobber’s 41mm. The result is superior handling and more comfort.
The name of the game with the Black is aggression and muscularity, and the smaller front wheel and larger forks are helped by blacking out the engine and almost everything else. It all gives the Black an air of purpose. If you like looking at details then the Black is right up your alley, too. Triumph has left the “Amal carbies” in metal with the brass ring, and
WINTER GLOVE COLLECTION
GORE-TEX® gloves are durably waterproof, windproof and highly breathable –guaranteed. Water stays on the outside while perspiration can easily escape from the inside. Less moisture is trapped in the insulation, so it remains drier thus keeping hands warmer. The result: enduring weather protection and personal comfort, balanced heat transfer and optimum moisture management –even in harsh conditions. Your hands stay warmer when it‘s cold, and drier when you perspire.
With it's special structure, the hydrophilic membrane applied to D-Dry® fabric ensures a perfect waterproof seal while permitting remarkable breathability that promotes the elimination of the moisture produced by the body. This technical material was developed by D-Tec® to ensure the the maximum comfort under di erent weather conditions.
the accessory side plates make them look even better again. Triumph has also looked at the finer details, like the drum brake-inspired hub, battery cover with a stainless steel strap, rear mudguard loop and the nicely sculpted top yoke which all go into the WOW factor. Buyer’s will still be finding bits and pieces that aren’t as obvious yet still bring a smile, when you’re sipping a beer perving on your new ride. As I mentioned we did a nice city type ride during this launch which took in the National Park twisties. The Black was nice and
swift and only limited by the usual low pegs of any cruiser. When we arrived at Sydney Dragway to give the Black some runs down the strip I kind of wondered what we were doing there on this type of bike, but after laying down some times in the 12 second bracket I was surprised at how well the Black pulls along. The fastest time set was obviously by the lightest rider (not me!) with a 12.3sec pass. The best I could get was a 12.9 so when the time came to have a shootout against each other I had a little trick up my sleeve – psych them out.
It had worked until I made my way into the final against none other than Charlie Boorman. Yep, the Long Way Down rider was up against the Big Fella in the final. I tried to psych him out, too, but by then everyone had caught onto what I was doing and Charlie won with a 12.8 to my 13.1. The bike I was riding did start to splutter with the low fuel level which I was hoping was going to give me a little better top speed – but it didn’t. I also said (as did everyone else) that it was in Charlie’s contract that we had to allow him to win.
Excuses, excuses, he won. But, the biggest rider got second and the fastest reaction time of 0.04 and boy didn’t I rub that into all of them. LOL!
I love the floating single saddle hard tail look of the Bobber, I dare you to not like it too. Just look at the bike from the side, the rear and then the other side and tell me it isn’t a piece of beauty. You can also adjust the seat in two positions – Up and Forward for a more dynamic style of riding, or Down and Back for a more relaxed style. The instrument dial can also be adjusted to suit you.
Dual discs on the front are the other change for the Black. Add Brembo calipers and this is a seriously good package. You’ll be surprising some more fancied machines as you slip up the inside on a weekend blast.
Don’t forget that all the standard Bobber features are on the Black too. Things like ABS, Rain and Road power modes, traction control, torque assist clutch and LED lighting. On top of that, the instrument dial is packed with everything you could want.
For those who like it easy, the Black is fi tted with a single button cruise control, which is simple and easy to use.
Accessories are extensive and super stylish with over 130 items to choose from. Triumph has made things a little easier for you offering two “kits” to suit different tastes. The first is the “Quarter Mile” which includes clipons and various other items, or the “Old School” which has an ape hanger style bar among others. And don’t forget to check out the tasty throttle body covers.
You can get the Bobber Black in two colours – Black…or Black. Gloss or matt, that is, and why would you want anything else? This is a mean mother that will tear up the street.
SPEEDMASTER
The previous Speedmaster was a pretty popular model, more so than its stablemate, the America. I was looking forward to seeing what the new Speedmaster would be like; the
previous model was light and easy to ride. In a nutshell, while the new model is still pretty easy to ride, it feels like a much larger bike.
Having ridden the Bobber Black the day before, the first thing that left me a bit cold was the “Beach” style handlebar. It was too hard to hold onto at highway speeds as it’s angled almost straight back. Low speed riding was fine, but get up over 90km/h and it was tiring.
SPECS
TRIUMPH BOBBER BLACK
The pillion seat was my next concern with this bike. It’s tiny for what is a touring styled cruiser, so if you want to put your missis (or your bloke) on the back, she (he) better really love you. Or you could shell out for an aftermarket seat. That is all I’m going to say.
As a laidback cruiser, the Speedmaster fits the brief pretty well. It’s got a bucket load of torque and is easy to fit up with a screen and panniers. Triumph has also made up two accessory kits to make things easier – the “Highway” comes with panniers, screen, comfort seat, wider and far more comfortable pillion seat and chrome engine bars, backrest and some other bits and bobs. The “Maverick” kit strips the bike back to something more along the lines of the Bobber with a quilted brown saddle and a flatter raked out handlebar, which is something that really made it for me. I don’t mind the forward pegs of the Speedmaster and having a handlebar I could comfortably hold onto for long periods was nice. The Maverick also has Vance & Hines exhausts and other tasty items. I see the Maverick taking the place of the Bobber for those who don’t like the floating saddle.
Otherwise the Speedmaster is essentially the same as the Bobber Black. Big brakes, High Torque engine and all the other delightful inclusions, although the Speedmaster is fitted with the smaller 41mm forks from the standard Bobber.
The Speedmaster does have that timeless Triumph character and I reckon it would suit those coming from the previous T100 Bonnie and looking for just a bit more all round. D
COLOURS: Jet Black, Cranberry Red, Fusion White and Phantom Black with Hand Painted Coachline
VERDICT: HI, TORQUE
RACK IT UP With SW-Motech’s
New Adventure Rack & Pro Side Carrier
SW-Motech revolutionised the market with the introduction of the first removable carrier over 15 years ago. They have now released a range of luggage racks, being even more robust and versatile – just what we needed for the Australian market. And in SW-Motech fashion, rear racks and side carriers still support attachment of other manufacturers’ cases and now allow for carrying of Rotopax fuel and water cells.
ADVENTURE RACK
LASHING EYELETS
SW-MOTECH MOUNTING KIT
• Maximum strength, minimum weight
• Perfect for demanding adventures and off-road use
• Designed for mounting of hard and soft luggage
PRO SIDE CARRIER
SW-MOTECH MOUNTING KIT
• Extremely durable due to its optimised shape
• Completely removable with improved QUICK-LOCK release system
• Bike specific ensuring perfect fit
‘The’ rubber tree!
RubbeRy, gooey goodness
Lay down some black stuff compiled by
stuart
Tyres ain’t tyres, or is that “oils ain’t oils”? Whatever it is, tyres are a major concern for any motorcycle rider. They help you stick to the bitumen, or get grip out in the dirt; either way that set of tyres that gives you the amount of grip, wet weather performance and longevity you are looking for is something you shouldn’t skimp on. Imagine throwing on a set of rock hard old rubber blocks shaped into a tyre? I’ll be the one taking bets to see how long you last before you crash. What we have done here is compile all the latest and greatest tyres available on the market from those suppliers/ distributors who want you to know about their products. Think about that when spending your hard earned –these guys are giving you the info, so consider returning the favour. SW
b R id G e ST o N e www.mcleodaccessories.com.au
b attlecruise H50
The Battlecruise H50 front tyre has
been developed with a larger contact patch and more uniform contact pressure distribution. Claimed to require less force to handle heavy American V-twin motorcycles with easy and precise cornering. In addition to the Battlecruise H50 tyre’s handling performance, Bridgestone focused on the vertical stiffness of the tyre to ensure ride
comfort on long trips. Wet weather performance is claimed to be among the best in its class. Available in a massive range of sizes.
b attlax A41
The new Battlax Adventure A41 offers “a new way of exploring”, says Bridgestone. With an 3LC design front/rear for better feel,
SPECIAL FEATURE Tyres
grip and stability, light and linear handling, 5% increase in road contact patch, new tread design
for improved water drainage and a full size range for 17,18, 19 and 21 inch applications.
Battlax S21
Cut two seconds a lap off your lap times, according to Bridgestone, with the Hypersport S21. Major improvements were made over the previous S20 Evo tyre which allows higher corner speed, more stability and more grip on the exit of a corner. The
S21 has maintained its renowned wet weather performance and increased longevity by a claimed 36%.
Available in ten different sizes to suit most a wide variety of motorcycles.
METZELER
www.cassons.com.au
Roadtec 01
This class winning sport touring tyre offers masses of grip on a wider range of tarmacs due to new tread design, has a larger and
makes them very stable, precise and predictable. Available in 14 different sizes to suit many applications.
Enduro 3 Sahara
For the serious adventure rider, the Sahara offers very good on road performance, dedicated tread
shorter contact patch increasing tyre longevity on the rear. Improved compounds for longer safer rides and the ‘tuning’ of the Roadtec 01s
compound perfectly combining on road cornering grip and off road traction, fast self-cleaning tread pattern geometry and great handling with easy corner entry, stable cornering and high safety margins when riding at the limit. Available in fi ve sizes.
Sportec M7 RR
This supersport tyre is engineered to empower true riders with its
SPECIAL FEATURE Tyres
completely new profi les, structure space materials, compounds and tread patterns. A dual compound rear for increased mileage also makes this tyre a good option for those sport touring riders in search of more grip. High silica compounds for offer good grip in the wet and contact feel in all conditions, with the high stiffness structure for reactive feedback and sporty and agile handling. Available in nine different sizes.
SHINKO
www.shinkotyres.com.au
705 series
Dot approved, H rated (130mph) dual sport tyres designed for 75% street 25% trail riding are quickly becoming one of the most popular offerings in the Shinko range. An aggressive tread pattern provides
excellent wet and dry adhesion on and off the bitumen. Constructed with a rubber compound specifi cally designed to resist tearing while
off road to give the rider the best experience in a range of conditions. Four ply nylon construction. Pricing for all sizes available on the website.
804/805 series
The 804 (front) / 805(rear) series features an aggressive 40% on road and 60% off road pattern for better dirt riding performance, without sacrifi cing pavement grip. Aggressive tread pattern provides excellent wet and dry adhesion while offering higher mileage than its direct competitors, the 804/805 features big block banding throughout its tread design which signifi cantly increases its on road wear so you can have more fun in the dirt. The rubber compound is designed to resist tearing while off road. Four
Wondering what all those markings on your sidewall mean? Here they are!
ply nylon construction with pricing for all sizes available on the website.
HEIDENAU
www.heidenautyres.com.au
K60 Scout CCC Compound
The CCC (Cool climate compound) tyre is Heidenau’s newest development in a 17 inch (only available in 150/70-17 and 170/60-17) fi tment for larger bikes. The CCC offers a high mileage tyre that is more suited
to cold climate and wet conditions compared with its higher mileage brother, the RSA (High mileage) version of the K60 Scout. With an approximate 20% difference in mileage the CCC is a great alternative for increased grip and feel in cooler conditions. Pricing for all sizes available on the website.
PIRELLI
www.linkint.com.au
Diablo Rosso III
This fresh rubber from Pirelli offers technology developed for the World Superbike Championship, claims unprecedented handling for a new generation of sporting behaviour,
bi-compound with wide side soft stripe offering full grip starting from mid-lean angle and a large footprint area for improved adherence. Look for a full report from the new, even sportier Diablo Rosso Corsa II world launch in the next issue. Available in a wide range of sizes.
Scorpion Rally
A carcass developed to offer high resistance, to work in enduro competitions and to respond effectively in overcoming obstacles. Optimised distribution of blocks
ensure effective braking. Designed for those capable of riding even on unexplored ground, irrespective of the type of surface and the weather conditions and a specifi c compound resists tears, cuts, abrasion and wear. Available in a wide range of sizes.
Night Dragon / Night Dragon GT
Now available in a GT edition for rear sizes, the Night Dragon and Night Dragon GT are claimed to offer better adherence, road holding and look than
standard tyres for custom/ cruiser motorcycles. Optimised for the new V-Twin engines with more power and higher torque
this tyre has excellent grip and higher mileage with a good balance between reliability and life. Available in a wide range of sizes.
CONTINENTAL
www.ronangel.com.au
Road Attack 3
The new Road Attack 3 combines the performance of a true sports tyre, and mileage of a sports/tourer. Conti’s ‘MultiGrip’ compound technology makes a gradual and seamless transition between the
soft/grip compound on the side of the tyre, to the fi rm/wear compound in the middle of the tyre. ‘Rain Grip’ compound provides excellent dry grip and warmup, and its higher silica content ensures outstanding wet grip. Available in a wide range of sizes.
TKC70
With a 60/40 road/dirt focus, the TKC70 offers the road performance of a sports touring tyre, while still performing very well off road. Conti’s ‘Continuous Compound’ tread technology gives a fi rmer middle and softer sides for the
best grip/wear ratio and great feel. Conti’s ‘Rain Grip’ compound with a delicate balance of Silica provides excellent grip in any conditions, and a Controlled Flex Zero Degree belted carcass provides great damping and feedback. Available in a wide range of sizes.
Sport Attack 3
A true hypersports tyre with patented DRT steel belt technology and a unique tyre contour to
improve the bike’s handling and provide outstanding feedback to the rider. Conti’s patented
‘Continuous Compound’ provides a gradual and seamless transition between the soft/grip compound on the side of the tyre to the fi rm/wear compound in the middle of the tyre, and their ‘Traction Skin’ textured tread surface is ready to ride with no break in period. Available in a wide range of sizes.
Storm 3D X-M
Offers high performance plus extended mileage, claimed to deliver 15%-20% extra mileage compared to the Storm 2 Ultra. Interlocking three dimensional
points hidden in the sipes improve stability and grip, limit tread fl ex and allow the tyre to warm up quickly (3D Sipes), the high performance single and multi-compound super rich silica tread enhances wet grip (SRS) and offers superb handling and stability characteristics. Available in 16 different sizes.
Trailrider
A road biased adventure tyre for 90% on-road, 10% off-road. A new super rich silica compound using the very latest compounding technology enhances wet grip, the
multi-compound treads on radial rears enhance mileage and grip, interlocking three dimensional points hidden in the sipes improve stability and grip, limit tread fl ex and allows the tyre to warm up quickly. The high tech carcass construction and next generation compounds deliver superb grip and handling. Available in 18 different sizes!
Spirit ST
Ultra-high performance hypersport touring tyre with a highly loaded silica compound, combined with state of the art polymer technology
without compromise on dry roads. Even after 5000km, experience exceptional braking in the wet. Michelin claim that after 5000km, a Road 5 tyre stops as short as a brand new Pilot Road 4 tyre thanks to the evolutionary XST Evo sipes. With its dry grip, stability and the
for excellent wet and dry traction and handling. Interlocking three dimensional points hidden in the sipes improve stability and grip, limit tread fl ex and allow the tyre to warm up quickly. Avon’s latest technology construction design gives ultra high performance handling and stability characteristics and multicompound rear tyres for all round tyre performance. Available in 19 different sizes.
MICHELIN
www.gasimports.com.au
Road 5
Using the latest combined technologies of Michelin 2CT and 2CT+ and the latest generation of compounds and siped tread, Michelin Road 5 tyres are claimed to offer you the best wet grip compared with its main competitors,
claimed best handling versus its main competitors, thanks to patented ACT+ casing technology, it offers even more riding pleasure. Available in nine different sizes.
Anakee Wild
Get ready for stability and comfort on the road thanks to the radial technology available for the very fi rst time on this high-grip tyre.
Shown with Racing Silencer.
Enquire today.
The new Scrambler ® 1100 is a mature motorcycle, Born to satisfy the most demanding motorcyclists. Two wheels designed for those looking for the taste of Performance, without sacrificing the Scrambler ® style.
SPECIAL FEATURE Tyres
The innovative tyre tread structure provides improved road/off-road traction as well as manoeuvrability and precision. Excellent longevity and resistance in the face of adverse conditions thanks to the optimised tread depth and novel tyre tread components. Improved resistance to high temperatures and other deterioration thanks to the optimised tread depth and new materials. All of these components combine for a great adventure tyre. Available in 13 different sizes.
Commander II
Commander II is claimed to be able to last for up to 25,000 miles, a new standard in longevity. No compromise on stability
and manoeuvrability thanks to its high density and therefore stiffer frame (Michelin Amplifi ed Density
Technology), the Commander II features premium handling and responsiveness. The top layers in the back are made of aramid fi bres, which combine resistance and a lightweight feel for perfect stability, even at high speeds. Brand new longitudinal tread provides outstanding water evacuation, and thus excellent grip on wet surfaces and a radically different design for an explosive look. A “premium” sidewall fi nish gives your motorbike an immaculate appearance. Available in a massive 33 different sizes. D
Don’t worry, at this rate you’ll have your tyres by next year.
A TOURIST SOUL
Across town or across the country, the perfect travelling companion.
DISCOVER NEW ADVENTURES.
Jump aboard Benelli’s new adventure-oriented TRK 502 with modern styling, low seat height, planted road feel, large dual ABS brakes and 20lt fuel tank. Its comfortable ergonomics, great wind and weather protection, capable suspension, and efficient and powerful twin-cylinder engine enables you to turn each day into a new adventure, without limitations.
$8790 RIDE AWAY
To book your TRK502 test ride, contact your local Benelli dealer or visit benelli.com.au
AUSTRALIA
Panniers are an optional extra
The Details
Sizes available include…
Front – 90/90/21, 110/80/19 and 120/70/19
Rear – 150/70/17, 150/70/18 and 170/60/17
Australian pricing was not available at the time of writing.
METZELER KAROO STREET
More street, plenty of dirt WORDS PICKO PHOTOS METZELER
METZELER’S KAROO tyre range has been a bit of a staple among adventure riders for some time now. What has been lacking, though, is a Karoo that could handle the power of bigger adventure bikes, which can easily destroy them if ridden with some verve. Block patterns and big horsepower sometimes struggle to play nice together. That’s now a thing of the past, it seems, with the Karoo Street designed to handle all that power both on the road and in the dirt.
SYNTHETIC DREAMS
Prior to sampling the Karoo Street I was given a lengthy tour of the Pirelli/ Metzeler factory just outside Frankfurt in Germany, giving me a wonderful insight into how Metzeler and Pirelli tyres are designed and made. Head of R&D, Oliver Haupt, took me on a journey from the way the tyres are developed, to the last part of the process: inspection and then packaging. The Pirelli/Metzeler concern has a number of factories throughout
world, with the original factory in Frankfurt making essentially all the radial tyres, to newer factories in China, Indonesia and Brazil making the crossply range.
It’s a fascinating process, and a very complicated one. Radial tyres require more intricate machinery and labour intensive manufacturing processes than crossply tyres. It’s easy to imagine the tyre development process being pretty much the same throughout, but I found out that that’s far from the truth. The actual design process has almost a limitless variety of options for compound and carcass design but of course the machinery, and manpower to an extent, limit what can be done in a cost-effective way.
Currently in the Frankfurt factory, the future and the past are working together. Part of the motorcycle section of the factory has been converted to autonomous work stations, where the tyre can be produced in one place instead of at least 10. Eventually the older work stations will be phased out. The cost of these in house developed autonomous machines? Many millions of dollars each.
This new machinery produces the tyre in a way no other manufacturer can match, according to the Pirelli/Metzeler crew. The tyre compounds and tyre carcass are produced together while the tyre is in its end curved state, not put together flat and then curved into the end shape the way most manufacturers currently do it. This gives much better stability and performance on the edges of the tyre.
What’s really exciting about this is that new tyres can be developed and produced much more quickly than ever before. The R&D team can come up
with a new idea and have it to the test facility in Sicily in mere days instead of many weeks. The new design is simply sent via computer to the new machines and they do their thing, with hardly any human input from that point. And with no human input in the production, there are fewer chances of irregularities in production. These are nothing you’d pick up when using the tyres, but in high end products like the racing slicks, there may possibly be very slight but vitally important differences in performance. Natural rubber has almost disappeared from motorcycle tyre manufacturing. A massive number of chemical combinations produces an equally massive number of polymer interactions, and combined with an almost unimaginable number of wire, black carbon, silica and ply choices, you can see why the options are mind boggling. Currently only one size of the Karoo Street tyre is manufactured at the Frankfurt factory, a radial, with the rest being produced in other factories. Most development is organised from Milan in Italy, in consultation with each of the factories which mainly develop and produce tyres for their own areas. Indonesia does South East Asia; Brazil, South America and so on. Some testing is also done in these areas, and largely depends on the type of tyre being tested, but the main testing is done in Sicily. And it’s in Sicily that I got to sample the Karoo Street.
STREET SCIENCE
Getting a block pattern adventure tyre to behave like a road tyre has been a very difficult journey, according to Metzeler’s design and testing team. Traditionally block tyres don’t wear well and don’t like wet conditions or high speed. The
challenge was to overcome all of these issues but still have a tyre that was dirt capable. As you can imagine, quite a number of designs were developed and tested before the Karoo Street became market ready.
Metzeler has used four different block shapes and sizes on the rear and on the front. Multi-compound use has been normal for many years now but Metzeler found that using two compounds was sufficient for the Karoo Street. Obviously a harder wearing compound is used in the middle and a softer one on the edges of the tyre. The compounds have a high silica content to wear well and also cope well in wet conditions.
Testing the Karoo Street in Sicily where the original testing had been done by Metzeler staff was a no brainer. Conditions included a snow lined mountain pass, dry river beds, mountain villages with narrow roads, tight winding roads and even a high speed run on an Autostrada with no speed limit to spoil the fun.
I was able to test the tyre on a variety of bikes too: a Honda Africa Twin, Ducati 950 Multistrada, 1090 KTM Adventure and a BMW 800 GS. All quite different machines and interestingly, one reacting differently to the others.
Straight up it was off road where I got to sample wet and not so wild terrain and quickly discovered that my new boots were not waterproof. Some street riding on narrow lanes was next, until we tackled a wide dry riverbed, leading up towards Sicily’s pet Volcano Mount Etna. I was already impressed by the tyres’ ability on the mountain tar roads so far, as the test team were setting a fearsome
Luggage
Seats
Helmet
Riding Suits
early pace. It was easy to love the tyres early in the piece, not so Honda’s auto gearbox on the Africa Twin. Into the gravel I went and I threw everything my limited Dakar credentials made available at the tyres. Lots of grip and lots of controllability on the dirt. The Karoo Street was a winner so far.
Before long I found myself riding through tunnels on the side of a mountain, with enough deep, waterfilled holes to make life interesting. One of the holes won out, and I was soon on my side and half submerged. After much laughter by testing colleagues I was up and at it again. Trying to ride slowly through muddy holes to give my distinctly non-waterproof boots an easier life, on a tall bike with no clutch, isn’t a smart idea as it turned out. But soldier on I did.
As I wound my way up the mountain pass towards Mount Etna I started to gel with the auto Honda and was amazed at how good these new Karoo Streets were. I was pushing quite hard trying to keep up with the Euro hot shots and both the front and rear tyres handled amazingly. All the grip I needed, under hard acceleration out of tight corners and also under very heavy braking, even with the Africa Twin’s long travel forks not exactly in their natural habitat. Later on during a photo shoot, I gave the Karoo Streets every opportunity to misbehave on the Ducati Multistrada and once again, they both performed superbly.
After a fantastic lunch near the peak of Mount Etna, I was full of pasta, prosciutto and a double espresso, so was well wired for my run back down the mountain to the coast. My mount was
the KTM 1090 Adventure. Once again, the pace was hot, led admirably by the head of the Italian testing team. Slow, he was not. It must be said that he was doing his best to ensure the assembled throng of motorcycle magazine scribes were not going to go home wondering if the Karoo Street could handle being thrashed on the road or off.
I had already worked out that the tyres loved the rain, as I wound my way back down from Mount Etna in very average wet conditions. The melting snow had made the roads near the top a bit of a skating rink. Well, there was no skating for me on these new Metzelers, so that was another plus.
Back to risking it all on the big KTM. After a couple of late and heavy braking manoeuvres to actually make it around some corners I started to get a feeling that not all was as it was before. I actually started to think my rear tyre was losing some pressure, but the front was skating about a little as well. Now to be fair, we were all having a red hot crack at this stage, and it was only under heavy braking that this was happening, not acceleration. As anyone who has ridden one of the big KTM Adventures will know, they are not short on power. Don’t get me wrong, it was never worrying, just something I noted. I think it was just the suspension set up on that bike. Before long I was on the Autostrada and sitting at well over 200km/h on the big Kato. Metzeler’s designers said that high speed stability was one of the challenges they tried to meet. Well, that they did. Rock solid the whole way up to 200 plus. The reason for this is the profile of the tyres, which
is a road profile but with the block adventure pattern, not something tyre companies have been able to achieve before, apparently.
Back at our digs I chatted to a fellow KTM rider who felt exactly what I did, with the tyres sliding slightly under brakes. We put this down to the KTM’s ABS which seemed a bit more sensitive than the other bikes we rode. No big deal, a trait of the bike rather than the tyre, and you can turn the KTM’s ABS off anyway if it’s an issue.
Later that night while sampling some more pasta and Sicilian red wine, the subject of mileage came up. I once destroyed an off-road biased Metzeler Karoo in just over 3000 kilometres on a Triumph Tiger 800. It was mainly high speed stuff on tar and outback roads but I was a bit shocked at the time how long it didn’t last.
Metzeler’s head of testing said the new Karoo Street had given much better life during testing. On a BMW R 1200 GS they had achieved on average 10,000 kilometres from a rear and 15,000 from a front, with what he called ‘normal’ riding. Now that is impressive, especially if their ‘normal’ riding was the race event I was a part of in Sicily. The other challenge they wanted to beat was having similar performance from the tyre all the way from brand new to worn out. Apparently they did.
So, most modern tyres work well in most conditions, some obviously better than others, but I simply could not fault the new Street Karoo in the conditions it was designed for. More grip than most mortals need on the street and very able off-road. Just watch out for muddy waterholes.
Oh, that’s right, that was me, not the tyres. D
BRIDGESTONE T31 BATTLAX
Awesome weapons WORDS
STUART
THE ‘T’ SERIES OF Bridgestone sport touring tyres has consisted of the T30, T30 Evo and now the all-new T31. We’ve tested the T30 and T30 Evo over the last couple of years and now we’ve been using the T31 – all on the same bike. There is no better way to compare tyres than on the same familiar bike and same roads.
As I write this review we’ve ridden 3261km on the T31s and to say they are a few steps up from than the outgoing T30 Evo is an understatement: the T31 has progressed by leaps and bounds, especially in the wet and in overall feel/feedback.
One change from the previous T30s to the new T31 is a new tread pattern which improves the two main benefits of this tyre – wet weather performance and great feel/feedback.
An increase in the grooves on the side of the tyre is responsible for the greater wet weather performance. The centre part of
the tyre has seen a reduction in the number of grooves, with greater rigidity. This is what Bridgestone claims to provide far better wet weather braking, which I don’t doubt. The T31 feels as if you can ride it normally in the rain, not have that ‘on edge’ feeling that some tyres produce as soon as a bit of rain starts to fall.
If you’re wondering why there’s a reduction of the centre grooves, Bridgestone has changed the angle of the remaining
grooves for better performance. This also helps give better stability in the dry as the tyre doesn’t need to ‘dance around’ on the grooves – it can just bite and help stop you.
The crown (shape) of the T31 has been changed to make it slightly rounder for the grooves to work better in the wet, but also for a somewhat better steering response and the overall better feel you get with this tyre.
Bridgestone worked quite hard on optimising the front tyre compound so that the molecules allow the rubber to flex a tiny bit more, which helps with that bite onto the bitumen. Think of a set of dots on a page – some with a gap in between them and the other set all with a consistent spacing and uniformity. This is what the molecules look like in the new T31. It seems that everything I thought of from my time on the T31s is just what Bridgestone is claiming they’ve done with the tyre - perfect. You don’t want claims not to backed up in real life, do you!
Dry weather grip is great and I’m so impressed with the performance
that’s available that I’d be more than happy to do a track day. I’d expect to and have plenty of grip to push at a high level. That relates to on-road riding because you’ve got enough grip to truly relax no matter what the changes of the road surface might be – smooth to really rough tar.
Sizes & prices
Fronts: 110/70/17 through to 120/70/19 - from $169.95
Rears: 150/70/17 through to 190/55/17 – from $221.95
GT version – Fronts: 120/70/17 or 120/70/18 - $209.95
GT version – Rears: 170/60/17, 180/55/17 or 190/55/17 –from $299.95
Life seems to be around the same as the previous T30 Evo with a guestimate being around 12,000km for most riders. As you can imagine this can vary with how well you look after your tyre pressures and how fast or slowly you ride. For the super-fast I reckon you’ll see 8000km and if you ride a bit more carefully you might see around 15,000km from your time on the T31s.
The T31 is available in the normal carcass or a GT carcass for those
heavier big bore tourers. I’m so impressed with the new Bridgestone T31 Battlax I would happily put them on any bike from a commuter to a big litre sportsbike and be confident they’d give me more than enough grip wet or dry. Grab a set from your local Bridgestone dealer and enjoy. D available
Benelli leoncino
One OF tHe MOst anticipated bikes of 2018 has been Benelli’s Leoncino. Shown at the EICMA exhibition in Milan back in 2015, it has taken a while to be released. Meanwhile Benelli has managed to keep interest in the bike strong, which would have been hard to do considering all the other bikes that have been released by other manufacturers in the meantime.
A bit of a history lesson about Benelli will get us to the Leoncino. Benelli was established in Pesaro, Italy in 1911, which has given rise to dubious claims that it is the oldest of all European motorcycle factories still in operation. In the beginning, it was just the Benelli Garage, which repaired bicycles and motorcycles. In 1921, Benelli built its first motorcycle, using their own engine which had by then become a 98cc model.
Two years after that, using a version specially designed for competition, Tonino “The Terrible” Benelli took to the track. He displayed an extraordinary natural talent as a rider and embarked on a highly successful career which confirmed the company’s exceptional capacity for development and production. Riding a Benelli 175, Tonino Benelli won four Italian championship titles in five years: in 1927, 1928 and 1930 with the single overhead camshaft (SOHC) version, and in 1931 with the double overhead camshaft (DOHC) version.
Unfortunately, a bad crash during a race in 1932 cut short his brilliant career. Tonino died following a road accident on 27 September 1937.
As World War II loomed, the Benelli company introduced its four-cylinder supercharged 250cc racing bike. This was intended to compete in the 1940 season, building on Benelli’s success in the 1939 Isle of Man TT Lightweight 250cc race. With the start of the war, the Benelli Four was limited to competition in a handful of Italian domestic races.
Wartime destruction caused Benelli to remain out of production until 1949. By 1951, the company was offering a range consisting of 98cc and 125cc lightweights (the Leoncino
or lion cub) and 350cc and 500cc singles. The Leoncino was available in both two-stroke and fourstroke forms. The need for cheap transport in post-war Italy meant that these lightweight models became immensely successful.
Roll on into 2018 and the lion cub is back and ready for the masses, to hopefully once again become an immensely popular model, but this time internationally. I think that Benelli has done a great job with this bike.
High levels of build quality and a great modern retro style make the Lenocino stand out from the crowd. From the front right to the back the CentroStile styling centre has made the Leoncino flow and the added touches from the little lion on the front guard to the LED indicators, tail light and headlight all fi t extremely well. Even the horseshoeshaped daytime running light looks mega cool.
As you would expect with a high quality build, the paintwork is a real standout, especially the red which looks just like a glass of fine Pinot. I’m not much of a fan of the matt silver and I think the black will make the Leoncino’s details blend in too much, but that’s just me. The only thing that’s out of place on the bike is the number plate bracket. It does look like an afterthought, but I’m sure someone like Rizoma will come up with a stylish side mounted billet aluminium version. The only other thing that looks out of place is the exhaust. I know emissions rules need to be adhered to so the lovely Leoncino can be sold around the world, but ditching it for an aftermarket full system would make it look so much more awesome.
The 500cc parallel twin engine (LAMS) is the same one as fi tted to the TRK502 we featured in issue #62. While the TRK did have a bit of vibration, this engine in the Leoncino is totally different. There is virtually no vibration, the exhaust note is different (much better) and the power and torque are much more exciting. Benelli redesigned the airbox
and the exhaust which obviously means the ECU would need to be remapped and this is what creates this exciting mid-sized powerplant. I would happily ride the Leoncino every day as there’s enough power and torque for the city type of riding this bike is designed for.
Suspension on the Leoncino includes huge 50mm forks and a stylish side-mounted shock. Both ends are adjustable and even on the standard settings I was quite happy to ride through the city and then have a bit of fun out in the country without feeling that I should adjust them. The 1443mm wheelbase and wet weight of only 186kg gives a good balance of quick turn-in and stability. The Pirelli tyres are also a great choice.
Front braking is by 320mm discs with radial mounted four-piston front calipers backed up by Bosch ABS and a large 260mm rear disc with a single piston caliper. You might think this is overkill on such a small bike but the Leoncino near feels like a sportsbike with its huge stopping power – great to have for city riding.
Ergonomics are your typical sit up and beg style of a naked bike and while the rider triangle is comfortable, the seat is a touch hard after a couple of hundred kilometres. When you think about it, that is more than adequate for city riding and a weekend blast through your favourite twisties for a meat pie and a coffee.
Accessories are not available in Australia as I write this, but Benelli Australia is sourcing a whole range of tasty items, including rider apparel. As much as it would be hard to improve on the style, Benellis range will consist mostly of bling; a photo of the bike with bar end mirrors, meter screen and levers showed a knockout-looking bike!
Competition for the Leoncino comes mainly from three other bikes – the Yamaha XSR700, Suzuki’s SV650X and the Ducati Scrambler Sixty2. They all cost around $1500 more and are not as stylish, so the Leoncino should be a clear winner in the mid-sized retro market. D
BRAKES: Front, twin 320mm discs with radial mount four-piston switchable ABS calipers. Rear, 260mm disc, single-piston ABS caliper.
FUEL CONSUMPTION: N/A
THEORETICAL RANGE: N/A
COLOURS: Red, Silver, Black
VERDICT: LITTLE LION, A BIG ROAR
GOING SOUTH
Kiama, NSW words/photos THE BEAR
From the centre of Sydney, anything from 130km and 2 hours up.
Tarred roads all the way, with some freeway if you choose that.
There was a time when Kiama was an annoying interruption to the flow of a southward trip for a touring motorcyclist. You had to slow down as you reached the first houses coming up Gipps Street, then there was the left-hand ninety degree turn around Hindmarsh Park, another ninety degree turn, and more houses before you could let the bike have its head in the Kiama esses. Oh, okay,
there was a good fish & chips shop in Terralong Street, opposite the park, but that was it.
And now? Well, the place has been bypassed by the highway, so if you’re going south you hardly notice the town after passing Bombo beach. But of course the very fact that it’s been bypassed suddenly makes it interesting – and with good reason. Like most towns that have had the pressure of through traffic removed, Kiama has settled down and become more relaxed.
Nothing illustrates that better than the Collins Street terrace which holds a couple of cafés and some souvenir shops . With its line of trees protecting it from the street, the timber terrace which used to house blue metal workers now offers a pleasant break from the road. There is usually enough parking out front for a bike or two, even though Collins Street is part of the remaining through road. I’m not suggesting that the Hungry Monkey, the Amaki Café or even the Ritzy Gritz Mexican Stonegrill in Collins Lane are high cuisine destinations, but I’ve eaten at both cafés and enjoyed the food. The stone grill remains on the ‘to-try’ list.
The main thing, though, is the relaxation the little terrace offers –whether it’s for a cup of coffee, a meal or a wander through the shops.
Unfortunately one of them is called a ‘Shoppe’, a weird antique-ism I have always despised, but you can’t have everything. There’s fuel across the road, too, and the blowhole to look at down by the lighthouse. I’m not sure about this, but I feel somehow that it doesn’t blow as enthusiastically as it used to when I was a kid. Maybe Climate Change will fix that with the extra energy it dumps into the sea. If, indeed, it does.
A variety of enjoyable routes will take you down to Kiama and back to Sydney. The most obvious is the Grand Pacific Drive which begins in Royal National Park, crosses the Sea Cliff Bridge and then winds its way south through Wollongong and its suburbs. Collins Street in Kiama is actually part of the Drive. But there are other options, like the B69 from Campbelltown through Appin
or the B88 from the Old Hume Highway through Picton and Wilton. From the former you can take Clive Bissell Drive and from the latter, Mount Keira Road to visit Mount Keira Lookout on the way, and then continue down the just slightly scary Mount Keira Road to the Princes Highway. There are also somewhat longer rides through the Southern Highlands and down (or up) Macquarie Pass, but we might leave them for another day… ride. D
LAUNCH TEAROUTMAP#64
‘WEIR’ ARE WE GOING?
Mundaring, Western Australia
SHORT BUT LONG is the name of the game with this ride. Short distance, long time to ride, as there’s so much to see and do along the way.
MUNDARING
Located 34km east of Perth, the Aboriginal name of the area ‘Mindah-lung’ is said to mean ‘a high place on a high place’. It was anglicised to become ‘Mundaring’. The Mundaring area is part of the Perth Hills area, easily accessible by the Great Eastern Highway.
MUNDARING WEIR HOTEL
Popular weekend spot with Perth’s motorcyclists. “Old world charm and beauty is what first catches the eye, then the stunning food and relaxed atmosphere”, they say. The hotel can take a lot of time as it’s such a pleasant place to be. Celebrate Sundays with a traditional lamb spit roast, wood fired pizzas and a seasonal counter meal menu.
Live music is also a regular Sunday offering, with one of three resident bands. The bush band or pop-folk music is popular with riders.
MUNDARING WEIR
Enjoy an outdoor lunch at one of the many beautiful picnic spots. Free gas barbecues are provided. Marked nature walks around the Weir allow you to stroll through the native bush. If you prefer to relax, just sit back and watch the day go by. From July to November you can observe wildfl ower season and enjoy the striking array of native fl owers.
Visit the No1 Pump Station to learn about the outstanding early engineering feat of pumping water nearly 600km from Mundaring Weir to the Goldfi elds. Mundaring Weir is open every day of the week until 6pm (closes at 5pm from May to September). No1 Pump Station is open Saturday and Sunday and public holidays from 12–4pm (except Good Friday and Christmas Day).
PERTH OBSERVATORY
Western Australia’s oldest observatory is located on Walnut Road in Bickley. The Observatory has served WA for over 120 years and remains actively involved in the service of public education. In recognition of its scientific, cultural and historical significance, the Observatory was entered on the state’s Heritage Register in 2005. The Observatory is now run under a community partnership agreement between the Department of Parks and Wildlife and the Perth Observatory Volunteer Group. You can do various tours but seeing as you’ve just been to the Mundaring Weir Hotel on a Sunday, why not get on the observatories Sunday tour! The interesting 45-minute tour includes: stepping back in time to see how astronomers took photos of the stars in the Astrograph Telescope, the chance to climb 15 metres to the top of the Lowell Dome for a breathtaking view of the grounds (it’s ok, there are stairs), learning which telescope is where and what they do and were famous for, exploring the museum and of course visiting the AstroShop for ice cream, drinks, toys,
www.hemamaps.com.au
‘WEIR’ ARE WE GOING?
This is a relatively short ride but will more than likely turn into a full day’s ride if you stop at the various sights along the way.
Head south out of Mundaring on the Mundaring Weir Road, around ten kilometres past the Weir you need to turn left onto Aldersyde Road. At the end, turn right onto Walnut Road, then turn left onto Glenisla Road and continue to the end, turning left onto Canning Road on then right to stay on Canning Road following the Kelscott/ Brookton sign.
Ride to the end turning left onto Brookton Hwy, then right onto Gardiner Road. Around four kilometres along you need to turn left onto ‘Croyden Road’ which is a little one way bridge across the river. Turn left onto McNess Drive and follow it all the way to Albany Hwy where you need to turn right for the short ride into Armadale.
OPTION
After turning right onto Albany Hwy, around four and a half kilometres you can turn right onto Waterwheel Road, ride to the end and turn right onto Churchman Brook Road following past the dam to the end, turning left onto Brookton Hwy and into Armadale.
FUEL
Mundaring Armadale
DISTANCE
66km
Option – 17km
gifts or a special memento of your visit. Sunday Guided Day Tours are from 2 to 4 pm on the first Sunday of each month. Price: $15 adult, $10 concession. There’s no need to book, just pop in and they’ll meet you.
PERTH HILLS WINE REGION
Boutique vineyards scatter the region with an abundance of outstanding wines on offer. Stand out varieties include Shiraz and Viognier, with the more unusual Tempranillo, Mourvedre, Zinfandel and Durif.
The Perth Hills are full of charming cellar doors owned and operated by local families with many young and progressive winemakers who are passionate to create vibrant (and award winning) wines.
Scattered throughout the Region are many restaurants providing delicious menu options ranging from appetising platters through to a la carte dining. Of course, if you’ve had one too many make it an overnighter by staying at one of the many beautiful bed and breakfasts.
ARALUEN BOTANIC GARDEN
Araluen Botanic Park is home to many species of Australian and international flora. A unique micro-climate featuring loam soils and high rainfall provides an unmatched opportunity to cultivate exotic and cool climate plants in Western Australia. As a result, Araluen boasts successful plantings of a variety of exotic species in addition to the profusion of native plant species that thrive in the area. Spending a few hours wandering around will have you mighty relaxed and ready for a coffee at Chalet Healy Café located within the grounds. Visit http:// araluenbotanicpark.com.au D
IT’S
FUNNY, YOU
KNOW –whenever someone I’ve met finds out what I do for a living, they say “You must have the best job in the world”. And of course I do. But while others perhaps can’t get away as frequently as I do, they can (mostly) get away at some time or other. A slice of my life is available to most people, considering how the cost of travel has fallen in the past few years. And the most convenient and inclusive, if perhaps not the absolutely cheapest, way to travel is on a motorcycle, on an organised tour. It can be the most enjoyable, too, if you pick the right tour. Here are a few suggestions.
BEACH BUMMING
Beach’s Motorcycle Adventures has announced an interesting extension of its October Italian tour. They have invited veteran riding coach Ken Condon* to join this Italian Idyll. Running from the 14th until the
28th of October, starting and ending in Florence, this magical tour goes from one coast to the other, showing you the best of Italy, inside and out, says Rob Beach.
“As you ride from the Mediterranean to the Adriatic on an itinerary that explores serene coastlines, pastoral hills and crosses the Gran Sasso mountain range you will have an opportunity to improve your riding as much, or as little, as you like. Ken will be available for casual conversations, group coaching, and daily lessons at no additional charge to you.”
For those wishing to explore off the bike, three cities that define urban life on the peninsula all get their own day. You arrive in Florence, which is ranked as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. A guided walking tour is included, allowing a closer look at her artistic and cultural heritage. In Rome, a fullday private tour is provided to give you a personal look at one of the
birthplaces of Western civilization. Siena, in the Tuscan hills which kept it insulated from the sweeping changes of the Renaissance, offers an opportunity to explore the medieval cityscape and delectable cuisine for which it is known.
“In case these ancient cities don’t impress you, each day on the Italian Idyll has been thoughtfully planned to offer a variety of routes from the snow-clad peaks to the sun-drenched coasts,” adds Rob.
You’ll explore six regions of Italy, Tuscany, the Marche, Umbria, Lazio, Molise and Abruzzo. They offer scenery that will take your breath away while the terrain provides riding opportunities not available anywhere else.
Italy is a paradise for motorcyclists. Besides the riding, there is magic to be found in the antiquities: the magnificent museums, the art treasures, the architecture, the parks, gardens and streets, and food
0024 + years
wine that is nothing short of irresistible.
“And the people!” says Rob. “Yes! In short, the entire Italian Idyll is magical!”
*Who is Ken Condon?
“With more than three decades of motorcycle riding experience, including road racing, touring, dirt riding, and commuting, Ken has
learned what it takes to become a skillful, confident rider,” says Rob. Ken has been a certified Motorcycle Safety Foundation RiderCoach for almost two decades. Recently, Ken has added the Riding in the Zone Personal On-Street Training Program to help street riders become safer and more proficient. He will be available during the tour for coaching
as the resident riding coach and tour companion.
FORWARD: ROLL!
Here is a small collection of photos from Chris ‘Pappy” Papworth, a loyal
Making friends is easy when you match their height.
AlpsAdventureAdriatic
member of the Bear Army. As you can see, he is leading an invasion of Vietnam by the abovementioned Army – or at least he’s wearing the T-shirt! Stay tuned, we should have more from the intrepid trooper.
SIZE DOES MATTER
Our contributor David Reeves from Ride the World (Australia)
He’s reached the frontier! But… what now, Pappy?
recently gave us some advice regarding travel insurance. He has come up with something you will need to remember if you are planning on renting overseas.
“I was discussing Travel Insurance with a Travel Agent today,” David writes. “Covermore Travel Insurance has introduced an over 200cc policy but there is a point to be very aware of and it reads:
You are the registered owner of a motorcycle in Australia that has an engine capacity greater than or equal to the engine capacity of the motorcycle/ moped You are hiring.
“An example of a problem this could cause is if you hire a Harley Davidson Ultra Classic to ride in the USA, the motorcycle you own back here at home must have an engine capacity of at least 107 cubic inches aka 1754 cc.
“To be covered you would need to own a Harley with a Milwaukee
Eight with 107 cubic inch or CVO with 117 Cubic inches, an Indian with a 111 cubic inch ThunderStroke or a Triumph Rocket III with a 2.3 litre engine.
“I offer Travel Insurance policies that do not have this requirement.” That’s definitely one to keep in mind.
ALASKA – FOR YOU?
“There’s an Alaska for everyone!” says Phil Freeman from MotoQuest, which he started up there. “I have spent over twenty years riding hundreds of thousands of miles to the ends of all of the roads in Alaska, only to discover that there are jeep trails that take you even further off the map into the vast expanses of unadulterated wilderness. Most of these jeep trails lead to active or played mines and are in such remote locations that you get a true sense of solitude and appreciation of the enormous scale of untamed nature.
“Over the years I talked to locals, rode past trailheads and prospected on my own and during tours, but eventually I decided to put together what I thought would be the best one week dual-sport ride possible. I wanted to show riders the places that even Alaskans seldom goplaces where herds of caribou color
New Zealand’s only BMW Motorrad approved Travel Partner
Guided and self-guided tours and rentals RIDE WITH THE BEST.
the landscape, bear sightings are not uncommon, and eagles slice through the sky from above and below where you are standing. The riding would involve stream crossings, climbing to
the tops of mountains, and worldclass views of pristine wilderness that few ever experience.
“That ride, the one I had been dreaming of putting together,
is now a reality. The Alaska Backcountry Explorer gives our
Yes, bears do have right of way in Alaska. Should be the same here!
riders a chance to sample onand-off the grid places full of wildlife with a constant backdrop of jaw-dropping scenery. If you have ever imagined exploring the true Alaska, then please join us on this ride, and get ready to never forget it!”
For a more training-focused version of this tour, you might consider signing up with MotoDiscovery on their Alaska Wild ADV Training Tour. MotoQuest helped them put together this itinerary in the Alaska backcountry, which features hands-on training with Dragoo Adventure Rider Training. But, as they say, there’s more.
“I have driven or ridden the Alaska Highway to and from Alaska eight times now. Nothing can prepare you for the vast landscapes you will traverse. Add to this the spectacular scenery of the Fraser River Valley, a soak in Liard Hot Springs, and a day ride into Skagway, Alaska, and you have yourself an all-you-caneat buffet of natural wonder,” adds Phil.
“Our North to Alaska Adventure takes place during a magical time of year, when the leaves are just coming out, the highways are empty, and wildlife is everywhere. Along with seeing caribou, sheep and buffalo, one year our riders counted 30 bears alongside the road!
“Don’t be surprised if you
encounter temperatures in the mid-80s Fahrenheit or flirtatious snow flurries. The weather can vary dramatically this time of year. You may just pull into Anchorage to find that it is 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and you return home with a sun tan on your face. It is extreme up here, and this can only attract riders who can roll with diversity. If you truly want to earn your trip to Alaska, then the North to Alaska Adventure is for you.
“I hope to see you in Alaska this summer!”
See https://www.motoquest.com/ for more. The mailing address is MotoQuest, 2780 Dawson Street, Signal Hill, CA 90755. D
www.edelweissbike.com
2018
TÉNÉRÉ TRAGICS
BAY TO BUSH RUN
Two-state Tragedy
WORDS CLUBBY PHOTOS IKAPTURE
HELLO, MY NAME IS CLUBBY and I am an alco... Oops, sorry, wrong self-help group introduction; let me start again.
Hello, my name is Clubby, and I am a Tragic, a Ténéré Tragic.
Curiously enough, Ténéré-itis is a disease that affects a substantial slice of the population.
I suffered in silence for years, but in 2011, as publisher of my own dirt bike magazine Trail Zone, I had the means by which to publicly ponder who else might suffer the same affl iction.
So I put the word out through the magazine and asked, ‘If I stage a ride just for Ténérés, will anyone come?’
And with that I set off from Sydney, taking aim for the Flinders Ranges, acting like the Pied Piper of Ténérés and picking up new-found fellow Tragics as I went.
The first night in Hillston there was about a dozen of us; the next night in Broken Hill there were more than 20; then the next night at Arkaroola in the Flinders the Tragics pack was 50 strong.
Ah yes, clear proof I did not suffer alone, and the Ténéré Tragics brotherhood was well and truly born. Each year since then my wife Tania and I have hosted the Ténéré Tragics Run, moving the Safari-style ride from state to state.
We’ve ridden northern and southern NSW, central Queensland, the Victorian high country, the Flinders (twice) and last year even floated the whole shebang across Bass Strait for an unforgettable lap of Tasmania. Every year the golden rule of the Tragics Run is simple: no Ténéré, no start.
We limit numbers to around 70 Tragics plus crew, as we like to keep things manageable at the lunch and overnight stops.
Each year the Run sells out in a day, with Tragics coming from all states of Australia and riding the full range of Ténérés, from the legendary first model 1983 XT600ZL Ténéré through to the latest XT1200Z Super Ténéré.
The Tragics themselves are just as varied a bunch, from youngsters in their 20s through to a handful of old stagers in their mid to late 60s. What they all share in common is an absolute passion for the original fat tanked Japanese adventure bike. For this week of the year the Ténéré is king, as we all overdose on lashings of the Ténéré spirit.
Last year’s Tassie Tragics Run was always going to be a hard act to follow - the apple isle is simply mint on an
1. The range – all classics, all being ridden.
2. Snake on a bike! That’s not the seat cover I put on.
3. Carefully trained mechanics were on hand at all time
adventure bike, let alone doing it with 70 of your best mates, all on Ténérés.
Still, the hope was a dual-state run in 2018 might get the job done, hence I plotted out a five day and 2200 kay romp filled with Ténéré goodness that started in Hervey Bay on the Queensland Fraser Coast and finished at Dubbo in central NSW.
But what set the stage for more Ténéré goodness than the Tragics could ever have wished for was the surprise arrival of Aussie Yamaha Dakar ace Rod Faggotter, who gatecrashed the Welcome dinner in Hervey Bay aboard Yamaha’s Ténéré 700 World Raid prototype.
The exclusive appearance of the only
Raiding the World!
The surprise arrival of the Ténéré 700 World Raid prototype at the Tragics Run turned out to be the first stop in the much awaited new Ténéré’s 2018 global promotional tour.
The prototype, which features the twin-cylinder CP2 motor from the MT07 wrapped in a purpose built and off-road ready chassis and suspension package, will head to South America, USA and Europe this year to be filmed being ridden by Yamaha racing legends for Yamaha’s Ténéré World Raid movie.
Official specifications of the Ténéré 700 were few, but the bike certainly looked production ready, and had the Tragics drooling into their Ténéré juice in anticipation. Rocket Rod had sole custody of the keys to the new bike, and commented: “It certainly feels lighter than the current 660, has more power and better suspension and better brakes, so if the production bike is like this, it looks like being a good thing.”
Headliners, Balaclava, Nekz
Held Cold Champ Winter Gloves
Pantz
Truly Tragic
The Tragics are indeed a tragic bunch, who eat, sleep and breathe the Ténéré spirit. At the Farewell Awards dinner at the conclusion of each Ténéré Run an award is presented to the most Truly Tragic of Tragics.
This year the Truly Tragic award delivered a dead heat result, with Melbourne’s Mike Haysom and Darwin’s John Wheeler scoring the gongs. Wheeler, who set off from Darwin a week before the event, got 700km into his long ride to Hervey Bay, only to be forced to turn around by the pain of recovering shoulder/arm/wrist injuries following recent surgery. He parked his Ténéré back at home, then flew to Hervey Bay to attend the Welcome dinner, then hastily arranged a lift with ride sponsor Greg Parker from Pro Accessories for the Run, and then another lift after the Run to Adelaide with South Australian Tragic Colin Jay, from where he could fly home to Darwin.
Meantime Haysom, who rides a legendary first-model 1983 Yamaha XT600ZL Ténéré, trailered his bike to Dubbo, then set off on his own for Hervey Bay, only to have his classic thumper give up the ghost in the middle of nowhere, around 140km south-west of Toowoomba.
Haysom stashed his bike in the bush off the side of the road, then thumbed a lift that eventually got him all the way to Brisbane, where he stayed with relatives for the night, before borrowing a car to race to Hervey Bay the next day to arrive in time for the welcome dinner. Immediately upon his arrival at Hervey Bay, the Tragics ‘family’ clicked top gear and St George Yamaha dealers Phil, Matt and Josh Halpin – who all ride with the Tragics – arranged for a friend to collect Haysom’s stricken bike from the bush, and then transport it to the finish of the Run in Dubbo.
Haysom then played a game of planes, trains and automobiles via public transport to get to Dubbo, where local Tragic Col Hayden offered him his XT1200Z Super Ténéré to ride on the final day of the Run, in what was a supreme example of the Ténéré Spirit.
Ténéré 700 prototype in the world was an absolute coup for the Tragics, who got to touch and feel the booming new off-road biased twin-cylinder Ténéré - but alas, Rocket Rod was the only one allowed to ride it.
Rod rode with the Tragics pack on day one’s 430km route from Hervey Bay to Kingaroy, before peeling off to continue filming with a European camera crew for Yamaha’s upcoming Ténéré World Raid promotional movie.
After day one’s meandering route through the Sunshine Coast hinterland and then inland to the peanut capital, Kingaroy, from day two onward the Tragics started trekking south west down the back side of the Great Dividing Range into NSW.
Day two deposited the Tragics in the border town of Stanthorpe, but only after a morning tea stop at 500 GP legend Garry McCoy’s roadhouse cafe at Cooyar, and battling massive afternoon thunderstorms near Allora in the Darling Downs.
The next day the Tragics rumbled south to Tamworth, the country music capital, and then on day four they took aim on historic Gulgong, the town made famous by the original ten dollar note.
The Tragics’ course is a constant mix of lonely tar back roads and even more lonely gravel roads and forest access routes. It’s just the kind of riding Ténérés have long been made for, and with riders following daily route instructions, they can ride at their own pace, but with the added confidence a sweep crew is following should there be any issues.
For the fifth and final day, a looping run from Gulgong took the Tragics south to the famed old gold mining settlement of Hill End, and then west to the finish of the Run in Dubbo.
Proceedings then wound up with the traditional Farewell Awards dinner, at Taronga Western Plains Zoo, where a stack of prizes was handed out and the Tragics could begin to relive another massive week of Ténéré goodness.
Of course with one Tragics Run complete, the immediate question is, where to next?
All I would tell the Tragics at Dubbo is that the 2019 Ténéré Tragics Run will be staged in south eastern Australia, and will likely start at a brewery and finish at a winery...
If you’ve got a Ténéré and want to ride with the Tragics, simply follow ‘Ténéré Tragics’ on Facebook or Instagram and get in fast when details of the next Run are announced. D
ULTRA COMPACT POCKET PUMP
Weighs only 570g
Inflate a low or flat tyre quickly and safely
Ideal for use on motorcycles, ATV’s and scooters
MINI JUMP STARTER
» includes a USB charging port and a 4 in 1 cable
» LED flash light with 3 illumination modes
» Will start anything up to a 3 litre V6 petrol car engine!
TYRE GAUGE
Measures PSI or KPA
0-60 PSI/0-4.2 KPA read out
50mm (2”) analogue dial
300mm (12”) braided flex hose
Push button air bleed valve
Protective rubber gauge guard
Self-locking air chuck PLUS A SECOND 45° chuck for those hard to
get to valves
1. Who’d have thought there was so much tragedy in the world?
2. With one of these you don’t need a scarf.
RATED 3 OUT OF 5 HELMETS
Tathra Hotel
8-12 Bega Street, Tathra NSW 2550 02 6494 1101
hello@tathrahotel.com.au
For function enquiries, please email food@tathrahotel.com.au
THE USUAL WAY this column gets written is I head out for a few days riding and hit a few pubs. Usually there’re a few pretty ordinary dives and then I find a good one, get the story take some pics and send it all in to Stu.
This all works because there’s no commitment to featuring any particular place. If it’s ordinary or worse I just head out in the morning and have another go.
This month it was a bit different. On March 18th, powered by winds that’d blow a dog off a chain, fires ripped into the heart of Tathra on the NSW south coast.
Seventy homes were lost in the space of a couple of hours. The firies stopped a complete annihilation of the town, the main front halted at the edge, but flying embers rained down over the place and homes ignited.
So I rang Stu and suggested we feature the place and enthuse riders to get down there and support the town. He said he’d already planned to do a ride guide to that part of town so it was “let’s go”.
I overnight at the Ulladulla pub and then, after a brilliant sunrise over the port, head down the Princes Hwy, grab breakfast at Tilba where the double storey B&B is still calling itself the ‘two story’ and then take the sharp turn for Bermagui.
From there it’s just keep the water on the left for an hour of sweet riding, over the wide Bega River and into Tathra. The pub’s on the southern ridge which leads to the headland so I pass the lower township which seems unscarred, up the rise and I’m out front of the pub.
In the bush just behind the pub, the branches are all black, the eucalypt leaves that remain are all brown, the
The first verse of Cliff’s poem
You’ve Ruined the Pub
By Cliff Wallis
You’ve ruined the pub, yells the man driving by.
The rusted on locals are going to cry
You got rid of the pokies and the TAB’s had its day, Last bets were placed at the beginning of May.
You’re using fresh food and the beers are all new,
Where the pokies once were, you’re going to brew.
You’ve ruined the pub, yells the man driving by
We hope you go broke and the taps all run dry.
Sayaka and Cliff
grass singed to within maybe 30 metres of the pub’s deck. It was a close call.
Inside, the bar’s a knockout. Nothing like I’d expected: polished wood floors, high ceilings, a new style visible kitchen. It’s airy, breezy, and all done with taste.
Sayaka, who runs the place with partner Cliff, welcomes me and there’s no problem leaving my jacket on a table while I head down to the wharf for an appointment with Betty, a volunteer at the museum.
Tathra Wharf alone is sufficient justification to visit this town. A beautifully restored and maintained double storey building - upstairs is the museum, with a very decent café underneath. (closed on Mondays)
Tathra and this wharf have stories, the museum has their testaments, and Betty Koellner knows them all. The Wharf was constructed in 1907 and is the last remaining sea wharf in NSW. Betty can remember the last freighter to do the south coast run back in 1954.
We soon touch on the fires but the flames that roared up the ridge just weeks before were not the first time Betty’s seen the town under threat.
She was still at the local primary school when, one morning in July 1942 she was woken by an explosion. Running in her pyjamas to the headland she saw thick black smoke billowing from a freighter a few miles off shore.
It was an America Liberty ship, The
William Dawes, and it’d been torpedoed by a Japanese sub. Five on board were killed and the rest herded into the lifeboats and were in turn rescued by fishing boats from Merimbula.
“We knew the Japanese were out there in the submarines. At night we’d take the handles off the taps and we’d make sure all the eggs were collected from the chook houses because the sailors would come ashore in the dark try to steal food. Sometimes they’d take chickens. They were probably tired of fish!”
Also on the headland that morning was 17yo Lorna Stafford, who was a member of the Volunteer Air Observer Corps and her sketch of the entire incident, resembling some ancient cartoon strip, is part of the museum collection.
Lorna’s grandfather, William Stafford arrived as a free settler in Port Jackson back in 1883. His ‘calling’ was listed as a bricklayer. He found his way to
the south coast and eventually set up a brickworks just up the road at Kalaru, early in the 19th century. His son Lot took over and in turn his son Ron, Lorna’s brother, took the reins.
(Next day, now 96 and not in great health, Ron and his wife Doreen give me a big chunk of time to share their story. When you’re down here, drop into the store’s yard at Kalaru and check out the five old brick kilns, all made from their own, handmade bricks.)
Anyway, after Betty and her offsider Anne have shared their stories and their time, and after I’ve watched a bloke wrestle on the wharf for 20 minutes with a real rod-bending fish only to lose it at the last, I head back up to the pub.
It’s filled up since I dropped my jacket: couples, families, groups of tradies all relaxing in a hum of chatter.
When Cliff and Sayaka bought the pub in October 2015 it had a dozen poker machines and wall-to-wall TAB.
For six months they kept it going as they formulated their plans and dreams.
In May 2106 they closed it down and renovations began. The year’s planned work turned into 18 months and when they reopened in November 2017, it was a different pub.
The pokies were gone as was the gambling. The beer taps featured 10 craft beers, a couple of ciders and no Carlton product; the kitchen had been revamped to accommodate professional chefs, the non-smoking rules were enforced and the pool table, suspected of being the epicentre for drug deals, was removed.
“Local ABC Radio ran a story on us getting rid of the pokies and gambling and then they made a story on TV on it. The ABC facebook page had 200,000 views of that story.
We were getting letters from people all over Australia asking us if we’d come to their town and take over the pub and get rid of the poker machines.”
But not all the locals were impressed: “A group of them marched in and said, ‘we’re boycotting the place’ so off they went and haven’t been back.”
Cliff continues that the changes, “split the town in two. We had a lady who was managing the place; one day she was outside writing up a blackboard menu and someone pulled up outside and stopped their car and screamed, ‘you’ve ruined our fucking pub’. I then wrote a poem called, “you’ve ruined
the pub”. Some of the local musicians have put it to music.”
Dinner for me is local oysters followed by chilli coconut prawn fettuccine with fennel and tomato salad plus a couple of IPAs, and a bit of post prandial table hopping introduces me to mainly locals who all love what’s been done here.
Then it’s back to a standard motel room without aircon or any other garnishes but the bed’s a queen and next morning the shower’s powerful, hot and endless.
I take Super Ten down the snaking road from the headland to the beach, past the shops and camping area, all untouched and then a left and up into the higher ground behind – where people with money buy houses with views.
This is my first time in the aftermath of an urban bushfire and the first impression is amazement at the randomness of the devastation.
In the middle of a succession of untouched homes, a single dwelling has been obliterated. Another place has everything in its surrounding garden burnt to the dirt and yet it’s unmarked, not even the windows have exploded. Up the back, at the very edge of the settlement, the trees are all charcoal and yet many of the perimeter homes have been saved whilst their immediate neighbours down the slope have been exterminated.
Modern day place
This is a pub that has faced its challenges in a town that has done likewise.
If you like to be in a place where you have to shout over the muzak of spinning pokie wheels and the screaming commentary from the Dapto Dogs or Menagle Trots whilst downing a tasteless lager and waiting for a huge portion of deep fried, reconstituted, truckedin ‘pub food’, then this is not the place for you.
But if you enjoy relaxing in a quality establishment serving bespoke food and drink in a safe and relaxing environment, then you’ll like this place.
The motel rooms at $110-$130 pn are prohibitive for a single rider but shared among three they become more tolerable.
There’s no undercover or lockup areas for bikes but you can park close to your room.
There’s free Wifi throughout and all the locals I met were up for a friendly chat.
The lack of facilities for riders dragged the rating down to 3 helmets and the pricey rooms saw accommodation value for money at just 80 where 100 is the median. But on the unique character scale it scored 9/10.
Not sure I’d stay there again but I’ll be dropping in every time I’m down the far south coast of NSW.
I chat with a truckie who’s waiting for a bloke in a digger to finish razing the remains of one home and mention how the place next door is unmarked.
“The bloke driving the digger and his mates saved that one. They refused to evacuate and stayed here stomping on the embers as they landed. People reckon they saved four places in this street.”
They’re ripping down a gutted house on Oceanview Terrace, halfway up the hill. Above them all the places are gone but there’s no work going on and in some, there won’t be for a while.
“Those two were uninsured,” he says pointing up the hill. “The top one was owned by a couple of teachers and they had no cover at all.”
This is what tragedy looks like. This is broken dreams.
I head back down to Andy Poole Drive and breakfast at the bakery. It’s busy with locals and tradies. The mood is upbeat and ‘business as usual’. People just getting on with it.
Then it’s west for my appointment with Ron Stafford at Kalaru and on to Bega. My panniers and top box are stuffed with socks, shirts and a jacket bound for the Salvos.
John is managing the store. He’s a rider and we talk bikes first and then we talk helping. The clothes are welcome but they’re also problematic. Right now the people who’ve lost everything have also lost anywhere to store anything so, unable to be distributed, they’re piling up at the Salvos.
So one option is to hold off with the donations but just maybe I have a better one. If you’re heading down to Tathra, stuff your spaces with clothes and when you get there, knock on doors of surviving homes. Ask them to hold them until their neighbours have rebuilt and then hand them over. It’s direct, it’s personal and it seems much more the way riders help out.
It was a good gamble to commit to this pub and this town. Tathra’s not on its knees but could use your support; and the pub, while not cheap is a real eye-opener as to just what a country pub can be. Go there with mates! D
THERE
HAVE
BEEN thousands of motorcycle models produced over the years, but there is a select group that has changed motorcycling’s direction over the years. I threw the question out to The Bear and Ralph to get their top ten picks and together we have come up with what we consider to be the top ten motorcycles that influenced the world. Here they are, in no particular order.
HONDA CBR900RR FIREBLADE
1992 saw the release of the Honda Fireblade. For too long previously, ‘superbikes’ were all about power and not about handling or braking. Tadao Baba, the designer of the CBR900RR, wanted specific things in his new bike – essentially he wanted power, handling like nothing before it and
BIKES
THAT CHANGED THE WORLD
WORDS STUART
component was to outshine another; the whole bike had to work together as a unit. Baba’s aim was also to make his sports bike lighter than a 600cc sports bikes of the day, so a target below 190kg was set. Much to the frustration of some of the bike’s designers Baba stuck to this, demanding parts to be redesigned rather than compromise; the result was a bike that left all in its wake. One interesting thing to note is the origin of the bike’s now legendary name. A botched translation into Japanese of the French word for ‘lightning’ gave birth to the name FireBlade.
BMW R 1200 GS
BMW Motorrad defines what adventure touring is today with its R 1200 GS. Starting out back in 1992
(just like the Fireblade) as an R 1100 GS, the bike turned the off-road adventure market upside down. Riders could actually tour long distances, riding dirt roads that only an enduro bike had previously been able to handle. The big (excuse the pun) secret is the boxer twin engine. Keeping weight low in the bike allows it to carve up dirt ‘roads’ that many other big bore adventure bikes simply can’t. Roll on to the current R 1200 GS and it’s a bike that will take you around the world and has decisively shaped adventure touring.
DUCATI 916
The world near wet its pants upon the release of the Ducati 916 back in 1994. Design cues were taken from the rare Honda NR750 with its underseat exhaust, narrow waist, similar squaredoff dual headlights, and single-sided swingarm holding a large-section rear tyre. And who could forget Carl Fogarty, Troy Corser and Troy Bayliss riding these beauties to their limits in World Superbike competition! The 916 brought on a whole generation of bikes with underseat exhausts; the trouble was they were bloody hot for the rider and especially the pillion. Today the underseat exhaust generation seems to be almost over.
TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE
The Bonneville continues to influence the worldwide market with the resurgence of café racer and retro styled bikes. Originally released back
in 1959 featuring a parallel-twin fourstroke engine the Bonneville has been manufactured in three generations over three separate production runs. The first two generations, by the
defunct Triumph Engineering in Meriden, West Midlands, England, were 1959-1983 and 1985-1988. The third series, by Triumph Motorcycles in Hinckley,
Leicestershire, began in 2001 and continues to the present (2018) as a completely new design that strongly resembles the original series and, as you’d know, has a massive worldwide following.
The name Bonneville derives from the famous Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, USA where Triumph raced the salt and still does today with a number of records under its belt.
HONDA GOLDWING
It’s big, it’s brash and it started off this way – although not with the full touring gear. Back in 1974 the Honda Goldwing was a naked motorcycle and touted as a tourer, but it was the fastest (and possibly the biggest) motorcycle on the market. The team behind “Project 371” settled on a layout that became the characteristic Gold Wing: a liquid-cooled flat-four SOHC engine, with a gear-driven generator that contra-rotated to eliminate the engine's torque reaction. 1984 saw the introduction (re-introduction, actually – the first design had one) of the flat six which still adorns the bike today.
The Goldwing has always been a relaxing bike to ride over big distances, but it’s also been blazingly fast. The Goldwing spawned the big tourer market with other manufacturers pretty much following the same design (aside from the engine) – long wheelbase, big, protective fairings, integrated panniers and topbox and even from an early stage – a radio.
SUZUKI GSX1100S KATANA
The Big Kat is wanted dead or alive to this very day. The big, powerful air-cooled in-line four cylinder was very popular with drag racers and the polarising looks of the Katana’s fairings literally stopped traffi c, as The Bear found out when he fi rst rode one through Kings Cross back in the day.
The Katana's design started when Suzuki hired Hans Muth, ex-chief of styling for BMW, to update the company's image. The three-man Target Design team consisted of Muth, Jan Fellstrom and Hans-
Georg Kasten. The design worked through several variations - ED1 and ED2 versions. The ED1 design would be modified for production as the GS650G Katana. The shark-like faired ED2 (GSX1100S) was a more radical design which incorporated favourable aerodynamics, with a special emphasis placed on highspeed stability, and was repeatedly wind-tunnel tested in Italy. Claimed by Suzuki
to be the fastest mass-production motorcycle in the world, ensuring that the new looks were matched by unprecedented performance levels. So radical was the design departure from previous mass-market motorcycles that Suzuki wondered if the Katana 1100 would appeal to the masses. It did, and was a sales success, and had a lasting impact on motorcycle design. Portions of the design ethos are still visible in many current sport motorcycles, including the faired-in aspects of both the seat and the tank.
BSA GOLD STAR
Exclusivity and power is what made the Gold Star shine, you might also say that it started the limited edition models that most manufacturers have released over the years to the current day. The Gold Stars were 350 cc and 500 cc single-cylinder four-stroke motorcycles known for being among the fastest bikes of the post-war era. Being hand built and with many optional performance modifications available, each motorcycle came from the factory with documented dynamometer test results, allowing the new owner to see the horsepower produced – much like you might get a certificate or plaque with a limited edition model now.
VESPA MP6
Upon seeing the MP6 for the first time, Enrico Piaggio exclaimed, "Sembra una vespa!" ("It resembles
a wasp!") Piaggio effectively named his new scooter on the spot. Vespa is both Latin and Italian for wasp - derived from the vehicle's body shape: the thicker rear part connected to the front part by a narrow waist, and the steering rod resembled antennae. “The Wasp” has seen many of the world’s most beautiful ladies adorn the seat side saddle throughout its lengthy existence and is available in a number of capacities today. The appeal of the Vespa to the style-conscious was/is the weather protection. People would (and still do) modify their Vespas, adding lights, mascots, accessories, various racks and crash bars. A new lifestyle evolved from the day the MP6 rolled off the production line back in 1946.
KAWASAKI Z900
The Z1 (released back in 1972) was noted for being the first large-capacity Japanese four-cylinder motorcycle to use the double-overhead-camshaft system in a production engine, with almost all motorcycle today still using this layout). When it was introduced, only the MV Agusta 750 had this, and it was a limited-production, very expensive machine. The Kawasaki was less than half the price. “New York Steak" (as it was codenamed) was
claimed as the most powerful Japanese 4-cylinder 4-stroke ever marketed, it had electric start, was smooth, with damped vibration, straight-line stability and linear acceleration – a combination that just about all manufacturers try to build into their motorcycles today.
YAMAHA MT-09???
And today? I see Yamahas MT-09 as being a motorcycle that is changing the market place. It’s cheap, has a stonking engine and with its short wheelbase is mega fun to ride, and who hasn’t wanted a bit of cheap fun in their life at some stage? Everyone has!
There seems to be one common theme with most of these bikes, and that’s power and speed, and I guess that’s part of the reason we love motorcycles! So, do you think that we’ve missed an important motorcycle here? Well, write to us and let us know what you reckon should be included! Send a quick email to stuart@ausmotorcyclist.com.au
SOME THAT DIDN’T MAKE THE LIST BUT WERE DISCUSSED AT LENGTH
DKW 250 (copied by the Japanese, Harley-Davidson and BSA, and more)
Honda CB72 (best of the early Honda range)
Honda XL250 (fired up the trail bike / adventure bike category)
BMW R100RS (first fully faired production motorcycle, designed with a wind tunnel)
Moto Guzzi V8 Racer, 1957 (Just because it’s crazy)
BMW R 80 G/S (the beginning of the range)D
CANARY SONG
Ride the world in miniature, and in style
Words/photos the beAR
LIKe the SonG SAYS, “It’s a Big, Wide, Wonderful World”. And you wouldn’t be the only one if you wanted to ride it all. The problem for many of us is that we’re getting a bit long in the tooth to fit all of it into the remaining years of our riding life.
Fear not, pilgrims. I have found a way in which you can do most of it in a week. Amazing? Unlikely? Of course. True? Well, sort of. Close enough for starters, that’s for sure.
My bag was one of the first off the carousel at Reina Sofia Airport, and I heaved a sigh of relief. I’ll tell you why some other time, but be assured that I was not at all sure that it would make it. With the bag rolling contentedly behind me I set off to find my chauffeur – it was nearly midnight and I wanted to make the trip to the hotel as easy as possible. I was back in Tenerife, back in the Canary Islands and ready to ride the “Big, Wide, Wonderful World”. I can’t help it, I have to insert one of my little fact snippets here. Think of it as a way to keep myself awake
in the taxi after 35 hours of travel from Sydney. The Canary Islands are not named after the birds. It seems likely that the birds are named after the islands, although I have never seen any there. But then I’m too old to be checking out the birds all the time. The islands are also not named after dogs (‘canes’ in Latin) allegedly found there by early explorers. Yes, we’re talking the Romans here – and possibly the Greeks were there even before them. No, the islands were (supposedly) named after a Berber tribe from North Africa who settled here before historical times. I have a lot of time for the Berbers, who in my experience have a terrific deadpan sense of humour. But that’s neither here nor in the Canaries.
My visit to the islands was to take part in what my friends at Edelweiss call a ‘Touring Centre’ trip. I was to be a guest at a motorcycle tour which is (mainly) based at a single venue, with daily rides that return to the same hotel in the evening. In my opinion this is a wonderful idea. You don’t need to pack and unpack every day, and as long as
there is a good selection of restaurants nearby, you won’t be eating from the same menu every night either. Patience. We’re getting to the big, wide, wonderful world side of all
2.
3.
anywhere else.
4. The higher you go, the colder it gets.
5. The islands are so steep that even the restaurants need distinct levels!
6. The islands have a number of unique plants.
7.
1. The view from the top, scientific base in the distance.
Old blokes on Tenerife are just as good at giving advice as
Arabic menu? Well, north African, anyway. And delicious.
Volcanic remnants form weird chimneys and other outcrops near Teide.
this. As the Edelweiss catalogue says, “despite their… proximity the Canary Islands are very different from each other”. Different enough to present you with just about any landscape that you might see – or, more to the point, ride - elsewhere on the planet. While Gran Canaria is known as the ‘miniature continent’, with its wide range of landscapes, the other islands each make their contribution as well. Tenerife, for example, holds Teide, the world’s thirdhighest volcano. Our five days of riding would only allow us to visit three of them, but between them they give you a pretty good idea of what the Earth has to offer, anywhere at all.
Back to the size of the islands for a moment: Tenerife is 2064 kilometres square, with Gran Canaria at 1560 and La Gomera at 370. That’s a total of 3994 square kilometres. In comparison, Tasmania is 68,401 kilometres square. The islands are tiny.
They don’t feel like it, though, and that’s because of the variety of their landscapes and microclimates. We discovered this on our first morning’s ride – through tourist developments, through a more or less original Canarian village up to a pleasant café with a wonderful view (and good coffee) and then into the open pine forest that covers the steep slope of the Las Cañadas caldera. Despite being the biggest volcano on the planet, at least by volume, Teide is not the biggest scenic feature here; the caldera is much bigger horizontally and holds its own desert as well as the bulk of the mountain. It is the remnant of a volcano that was more than double Teide’s 3700 metre height.
Big numbers for little islands. The pine trees are unusual, too. Unlike most conifers these ‘Canarian pines’ grow back after fires, like Australian gum trees. They have learned to survive volcanic eruptions. Seriously.
Edelweiss facts
We stayed at the Costa Adeje Palace Hotel, a four-star H10 property right on the coast not far from Tenerife Sud (Reina Sofia) Airport. Pleasant and comfortable hotel with all mod cons, including a beach bar next door with a substantial range of beers and bubbly. Not that that matters, of course. We ate there for a couple of nights and tried out some of the area’s restaurants as well.
For more information on this trip and the many other Edelweiss tours, check www.edelweissbike.com . I travelled as a guest of Edelweiss.
Gear guide
opportunity to try out some new riding gear. Apart from the BMW helmet, which
Riding across the desert-like lava plain to Teide, past frequent snow patches, is surreal. Erosion has carved the different types of lava into impressive shapes, and it’s difficult to estimate size because there are no yardsticks. It’s only when you realise that those coloured dots in the distance are people that you see how big everything is here.
The cable car partway up the mountain was running (sometimes weather conditions close it), and we slid up to the lookout where you can truly see how vast the caldera is. It’s still impossible to imagine how huge the original volcano must have been, despite a diagram comparing it to the current Teide. Coming from a flat place like Australia, all these near-vertical rugged slopes looked almost unreal to me.
I’ve reviewed elsewhere in this issue, that meant Climate Mid boots, a Scrambler jacket and Summertime gloves in matching brown, all from Dririder (dririder. com.au). I was going to wear my Draggin Jeans (dragginjeans.net), as well, but some bastard stole them and there wasn’t time to get new ones – so hello, Levis!
The remarkably sophisticated $249.95 boots have microfi ber and breathable abrasion
resistant fabric uppers with micro injected inserts and a Hipora waterproof and breathable liner. The moulded Nylon shin and ankle guard protects your bones as does the shock absorbing latex foam on fl ex
panel. The vulcanised anti-slip sole works well, too, when you put your foot down on slippery tar. The boots turned out to be comfortable while riding, and easy to walk in.
The $299.95 Scrambler jacket comes with detachable waterproof and thermal liners and a mesh comfort liner. There are perforations for ventilation. The stylish brown outer shell is made of Maxtex 700D with an (unobtrusively) oil coated Vintage surface. There’s CE Armour in the shoulders and elbows and an EVA back pad, which I replaced with a CE pad. I like this jacket very much, partly because it is
We rode on through snow fields to a restaurant where I tried the local chicken soup, and here’s an unusual confession: it was better than my chicken soup. Amazing.
Across from the restaurant was the beginning of another set of excellent corners, up to the rim of the caldera and then down again before turning south to return to our hotel. The ride back is halfway up the slope of the caldera, rather than down on the coastal plain where the freeway covers the same distance. It must have been a bugger to build, with lots of deep and steep erosion gullies to bridge and difficult volcanic rock slopes to traverse. But you only need to take a look at the Canaries’ history to understand why the road is up here; constant invasions and
raids made life difficult enough even up here away from the sea.
Next morning, the ferry took us over to La Gomera in about an hour. Think of a cone with deep grooves cut out of it, running from the centre down to the rugged coast. We rode up along the side of one of these, the Barranco del Cabrito, to the rainforest at the top – told you the islands are different – and then down the other side to a small town on the coast. Like just about all the roads in the Canaries, these were excellent (thanks to the German taxpayer, by way of the EU) and afforded a couple of wonderful lookouts. But all was not to go smoothly…
One of our riders found uneven ground and dropped his R 1200 RT.
This tour seemed like the ideal
comfortable on the bike but also because it looks like an expensive non-motorcycling jacket when you’re wandering around. The colour helps a lot; I’ve never willingly worn any other colour but black before, but this was just right. Am I mellowing?
The Summertime gloves offer a lot of value at $99.95, too. Made of leather with mesh panels for cooling and Air-Gel palm pads and Neoprene comfort cuffs as well as CE certifi ed knuckle protection, they have everything you need without looking too technical. Double layer palm, and a Tricot comfort Liner plus Smart-Tip forefi nger and thumb. They look a bit like sports car driving gloves – and what’s wrong with that? Like the other gear they performed well in varying conditions.
Unfortunately, he dropped it on his big toe. He was wearing good motorcycle boots, but the weight effectively crushed his toe. First aid helped a bit and he managed to complete the day’s riding, but that was it – he and his wife had to fly home. There are some things you just can’t prepare for.
Despite the unfortunate interruption, our lunch at the coastal town was
1. La Cañada, below Teide, is a complete desert.
2. In the rainforest on La Gomera.
3. Going over the day’s ride. That’s Peter, our guide, on the right.
excellent. They had two menus – local and ‘Arabian’. The latter was actually North African, and probably tastier than it would have been over the couple of hundred kilometres in Morocco. All in all, Canarian food is tasty and affordable – especially outside the main tourist areas.
Apparently La Gomera had a unique whistling language, now being revived, which was used to communicate across the wide and deep valleys. I’m not sure about ‘unique’ – Sydney’s building workers have a whistling language too, used to communicate with any female walking alongside a building site. The message does tend to be fairly basic, admittedly. We spent the rest of the day sampling the many curves running around some other ravines and taking a look at the La Gomera airport, which resembles the deck of an aircraft carrier that someone’s stuck onto the side of a cliff. Runoff? Nope. The landing ‘deck’ starts and ends in vertical drops. By the time we got back to the port at San Sebastian we were thoroughly and happily whacked, especially me. The Honda Africa Twin takes a bit of turning, due to the 21-inch front wheel. But I’d really like to go back to La Gomera some time and explore the rest of it, on any bike I could lay my hands on!
Eduardo, a Brazilian rider with whom I’d made friends, decided he wanted another photo while the rest of us headed for the ferry. When he didn’t show up immediately, our fearless leader Peter got flustered for the first and only time on the ride and rushed off to fetch him. Lesson learned by Edelweiss – future tours will allocate more time to photography.
A somewhat longer boat ride, on a Hobart–built wave piercer ferry, next morning took us over to Gran Canaria; the ‘miniature continent’. This is a two-day trip, partly because of the longer ferry
ride but also because there are simply so many roads to ride. Even with two days at our disposal, we only managed to see the best part of half of the island. We only covered 270km, but saw some spectacular views of the almost unbelievably steep valleys and rode more corners than I can possibly remember. Yes, it’s almost over the top – in fact it is precisely over the top, past the 1500 metre high Cruz de Tejeda.
Overnight was right on the edge of a caldera in a small hotel attached to a golf club. The high point (not in the geographical sense) was dinner at a truly outstanding little restaurant, also right on the edge of the vertical drop. I managed to stumble in my thongs and cut a slice off my big toe (the god of toes had it
in for us, clearly). The kindly host at the restaurant helped me wash the blood off my foot and thong with a bottle of water and a linen cloth. The food just kept on coming, and we staggered back to the hotel happy and full.
The Edelweiss information booklet describes Canarian roads as “narrow and twisty, with many blind curves and sheer drops”, and they’re not wrong. Most of Gran Canaria’s (and the other islands’) roads are marked with the green line that means ‘scenic’, too. We took a detour in the morning up one of the ravines to a small, lone volcanic cone that has been turned into a village over the centuries, with cave dwellings all around and through it. They all seemed to have electricity and running water.
Up over the top again, on another set of roads just as spectacular as the day before, we reached the coast at Santa Maria de Guia. Forgive me for not being more specific here – the roads all run into one after a while despite the constantly changing scenery. I do remember flowering almond trees and wide carpets of yellow flowers. For the first time I saw considerable numbers of gum trees. They’re common in Spain, Portugal and Morocco but still have to become a regular feature of the landscape in the Canaries.
The ferry ride back was relaxing, and Peter managed to get the traditional shot of me asleep in my seat. I can’t help it – ferries make me sleepy… I think we were all grateful for the quick
ride back to the hotel on the freeway.
One more day of riding; and this time without a ferry stage. We headed north along a different route into the Badlands around Teide. More spectacular corners, but also a few straights which allowed me to stretch the Africa Twin’s not inconsiderable legs. At one point we could see two different lava fields – one seven million years old, and the other a mere hundred – the oldest and newest lava flows visible on the island.
Instead of turning east at our restaurant from day one, we continued north and found a completely different side (in more ways than one) of Tenerife. The north coast is wetter and greener than the south and east, which makes riding different again. Not that
1. A look at my Africa Twin and some agriculture from a mirador, or viewpoint.
there are fewer corners; they just have a bit of leaf litter on them occasionally…
At Icod de los Vinos we stopped to take a look at an ancient Dragon Tree. This one is considered a natural, cultural and historic symbol of the islands and even has a legend attached to it that links it to Hercules. This part of the island is most reminiscent of mainland Spain. On the way back south, we tackled another spectacular bit of riding over the Teno range… you can tell I’m running out of superlatives.
When I say that the Canaries are like a miniature version of the “big, wide, wonderful world”, I’m not joking. Go and ride them; they will encourage you to get out and see the rest of our spectacular planet. D
2. The roads across the top are in excellent shape.
3. With the Gigantes, huge black cliffs, in the distance another unique plant flourishes.
4. A statue of a native Canarian king watches our bikes.
5. You can see how much wetter the windward sides of the islands are.
6. Edelweiss offers quite a variety of bikes, including BMWs and Ducatis.
7. “Welcome to the Teide cable car!”
The ClassIC WOrKshOP
Words PICKO
THERE ARE MANY motorcycle workshops around, but not many which you can trust to take care of your classic motorcycle. Now, when I say, classic motorcycle I don’t mean your clapped out 1990 Yamaha YZ250, or your Honda postie bike that’s seen 20 owners since Australia Post realised its humble workhorse was past its best. But a Silver Shotgun, now… It’s best to take your classic to a workshop or specialist who knows your brand inside out. That’s not always easy to do of course, especially if distance isn’t your friend, but if you are new to classics then make sure you do your homework before you trust the shop or individual with your pride and joy. You shouldn’t be paying the mechanic to learn on your bike, you should be paying them to do the job properly.
I work part time with a renowned Ducati specialist and I have a few of them myself. From day to day I could be working on anything from a 1960s single to an 1198. We don’t touch anything after that. We do the stuff the
modern Ducati dealer won’t touch, and they do the stuff we won’t touch.
Besides simple services and repairs, we also fix engines and parts from all over Australia, including some from other Ducati specialists. You want intricate repairs done to your 1978 900SS that no one else can do? No probs, that’s our bread and butter. Enough of the selfgratification. What I wanted to relay to you is a tale of woe we were recently involved in, and a reason why you should take your classic to someone you can trust.
The particular gent had owned his Ducati V-twin from new, bought as a young bloke flush with cash back in the mid ’70s. He enjoyed it for a number of years before marriage, kids and money issues forced the bike into the dark recesses of the shed to be covered by sheets and almost forgotten.
With kids all grown up and a divorce making him take a rethink of life, he got the old girl out and started a restoration. Word of mouth led him to a known Ducati wrench a few hours away. A plan was hatched
The new pistons must have got lost
between the two, a fistful of cash was exchanged, and the owner eagerly awaited the engine’s return to slot back in the restored chassis.
Months went by with no word, until the fateful phone call from the wrench to say the engine had been stolen from the workshop, as well as all the new parts bought to repair it.
The true story was that the engine had indeed been taken, as payment for an unpaid debt owed by the wrench. Whether this is totally true or not doesn’t matter. Some calls were made and the engine was able to be reunited with its owner. This saga went on for months. The crazy thing was that the owner of the engine then gave it back to the Ducati wrench “because he was already invested in the rebuild”, whatever that means.
Some months later I get a call from the owner. He had indeed got his engine back, nice and clean, and had installed it back into its original home. It was clearly unhappy though, as was he. It didn’t run right, it leaked oil from the head, and when he tried to tension the head studs, a couple were obviously stripped. Bring it down I said. It was a very tidy thing when it turned up, nice shiny paint, new Conti mufflers, rebuilt wheels etc. Money was tight he said, do what you can for minimal spend he added. All the money had gone into the cosmetic resto, as well as the four and half grand for the engine.
When the heads and barrels were whipped off we were gobsmacked. Where was the promised stroker crank, new pistons, rebuilt heads? Nowhere. It had been cleaned and placed back together with absolutely no new parts. Old mate had paid for all this work
FOR A COMPLETE RANGE OF TINTED & LARGER SCREENS
and got nothing in return. He’s now paying us to fix this wonderful looking machine, but has been left with a really bad taste in his mouth.
Like I said, do your research.
A mate of mine is right into vapour blasting and metal polishing. He does great work and until recently had been doing a fair bit for a local classic repair shop that had popped up in our area. Anything from small repairs to full restorations. Aermacchi to Zundapp. They could do it all apparently.
My mate gets the gig to vapour blast a complete running Z900 engine in good nick. It didn’t need rebuilding, just the outside surfaces cleaned up. Now anyone in the game who knows anything about anything will tell you that this is fraught with danger. It can be done, and I’ve done it myself on one of my own bikes, but the taping up of holes to make sure the blasting material stays out of the engine is vital. And I mean vital. This mob wanted to take the easy route and talked my mate into doing the job despite his
misgivings. He told them he would take no responsibility if anything got into the engine and that they had to tape up the necessary holes. No probs came the answer back from the shop dudes.
The job was done, the engine installed and the owner rode away on his shiny Jaffa Kwaka. A very short time later the engine ground itself away due to the blasting material that had found its way inside the engine. The shop rang my mate, accused him of shoddy work. He in turn accused them of the same. The Z900 owner hated them all. No one was happy.
The upshot was the shop owed him money, which they then refused to pay. It was a civil matter and he eventually agreed to pay half of the engine rebuild to appease the fools at the workshop who should have known better.
There are charlatans out there, be careful. D
1. Rust on a new crank? Mmm…
2. Freshly bored cylinders? Don’t think so
Look after Your Chain
You know, your chain and sprockets (yes, okay, unless you have a shaft or belt drive) are important items that need regular maintenance. Many riders hardly give their chain a glance between services at their bike shop (Uh hum…yes, Bear I’m talking to you! (Aww… The Bear)) but even if you don’t want to adjust your chain, at the very least give it a damn spray with some chain lube. You will find your bike rides more smoothly and it’s easier to change gears. Talk about value!
Regular contributor Robert Crick, who writes some very interesting travel articles for us, has taken on the job of telling you just how easy it is to look after the essentials – instead of your finding out the hard way. SW
BasiC anD essentiaL maintenance of your motorcycle’s drive chain can not only extend the life of the chain and sprockets, but help avert getting into highly unpleasant difficulties.
Adjust your droop
Chain adjustment is one of a few basic maintenance undertakings that every rider should be able to do; and it’s easy –if you know what you’re doing.
The first requirement is to keep an eye on the stretch of the chain’s parabola: basically, how much it’s drooping. There’ll be specific metrics relating to this in your owner’s manual, on-line or even on a sticker on the bike. If the droop is outside the recommended parameters, your chain needs adjusting.
Sorry if that sounds a bit simplistic. But I’m assuming, hopefully not too judgmentally, that there might be readers as careless as I, as I discovered recently. That is, I discovered that I’m careless; not that the readers are.
Touring through Glenn Innes in the north coast hinterland of NSW not so long ago, having returned there after
riding the old Glenn Innes to Grafton road (mainly gravel), a passer-by drew my attention to the seriously drooping chain that I had not noticed. Photos would later show it had been drooping excessively for several days and several hundred kilometres!
Fixing it was beyond my capacity both in terms of knowhow and tools. To cut a long story short, I was to spend three days in Glenn Innes waiting for a muchneeded new chain and sprocket set to arrive and be installed.
So now I have added a new-found skill and the essential tools to my carry-withme gear. Hopefully, this brief advice might help others (and myself) avoid the problems of an errant chain parabola.
GEt INto stEp
Step 1
Eyeball the parabola; and, if it looks different to how you thought it looked on the previous occasion, measure the distance between the slack position of the chain (bottom of the droop) and the position of the chain when you lift the chain up in the same place. Do this midway between front and back sprockets. You might be well advised to make this measurement regularly rather than rely too much on eyeballing.
The manual for my BMW F700GS says the gap (chain deflection) should be 30-40mm (motorcycle with no weight applied, supported on its side stand). But check your manual. Or, with any luck, your bike will have a sticker with the advised maximum chain deflection on it.
Measuring the deflection won’t be a problem if you’re home, but it might be if you’re on the road. Having a few measurements marked on the spanner you’ll need (see steps 3 and 4 below) might help. To add another complication, being sensitive to a very dear friend, if the bike has a factory lowered suspension, the range becomes 20-30mm (for the F700GS).
Step 2
Loosen the axle nut a couple of turns. You’ll obviously need the right size spanner in your kit bag. For the
F700GS, it’s a size 24mm. Yours might be different. You’ll need to check it physically because the manual probably won’t tell you.
Step 3
Loosen the lock nuts on each side of the bike’s axle. For the F700GS, that’ll require a size 13mm spanner. But, again, yours might be different; and the manual may not help.
Step 4
Turn the adjusting nuts on each side bit by bit to get the chain to the correct parabola or droop. On the F700GS, you’ll use the same 13mm spanner as for the lock nuts (despite the seeming size variation in the photos). At this stage, check the position of the chain (with the measurements marked on the handle of your spanner!). The scale checks should be used to see that the readings are the same on each side.
Step 5
Tighten the lock nuts on each side. The F700GS manual says they should be tightened to 19Nm but I don’t imagine everyone will have a torque wrench with them! I don’t even own one.
Step 6
Tighten the axle nut (in the case of the F700GS, to 100Nm!). This might well be the most crucial step so don’t get lazy simply because it’s the last one.
Wearing it
A chain that’s worn beyond its useby date – like, showing stretch marks – can wreak havoc on the sprockets; not to mention other possible horrors like coming off (the chain, that is).
This I learned in Glen Innes to my frustration and cost (in terms of both time off the road and money for goods and services).
There are a couple of ways to check for chain wear:
1 tHe CLeAN WAY
According to the F700GS manual, you’ll need a level and firm surface with the bike on its centre stand. This won’t be easy for my friend with the factorylowered suspension as hers doesn’t have a centre stand; but she has a very cooperative husband who holds the back of the bike up for her so she can oil the chain. That would work.
With the bike in first gear – the engine is NOT running (just to be clear) –turn the rear wheel in the direction of travel until the chain is tensioned. The instruction is then “measure the length of the chain over 9 rivets below the rear wheel swing arm.” Obviously keeping the chain tensioned.
The manual says that the maximum chain length in these circumstances is, wait for it, 144.30mm. How on Earth does a normal person measure 0.30mm?
The manual cautions that, if the chain has stretched to the maximum permissible length, get professional advice.
I’m guessing that this rule of thumb would have some wider application, but your manual or chain packaging might clarify that.
2 tHe DIRtY WAY
Again, with the bike on its stand– and engine NOT running or likely to start – apply tension to the chain (probably good enough to use the side stand this
time). In one diagram I saw this was done by squeezing the top and bottom rungs of the chain together; hence my descriptor “the dirty way.”
My bike doesn’t lend itself to doing that, so I had to settle on pushing the bottom rung of the chain up tight to get the tension. Use latex gloves!
The idea is then to try and pull back the chain from the rear sprocket. The chain should be tight on the sprocket. If there’s give in it, that’s a sign of stretching. It’s probably an indication that you need to seek professional advice.
Frankly, I’ll stick to the clean way.
tools to Carry
If I’d picked up on the drooping chain early enough, I might have rescued both chain and sprockets. But even if I’d had the knowhow, I would have been left high and dry without a few basic tools in my pocket or saddle bag. So now I have tucked away with my puncture repair kit: a 24 mm spanner for the rear axle; a 13mm spanner for the lock nuts and adjustment nuts; and a few measurement markers indelibly written on one of the spanners to gauge 30-40mm. Measure what size your bike is and carry them.
I suppose I should have a measurement instrument that at least covers 144.30 mm, but I don’t. And don’t forget to carry a small can of chain lube, you can get them small enough to hardly take up any room at all.
There you have it. Unless you look forward to three days in Glen Innes (or somewhere less savoury), take note and carry out these few steps. D
lONgTERMERs
ApriliA Shiver 900
Out with the Old, in with the gOld!
SBS Sintered padS
price - $70 a side front, $55 rear
One thing i noticed on the Shiver when I attended the Australian launch was that the front brakes lacked bite. I wondered if Aprilia had put a couple of blocks of wood in place of the brake pads but alas
they hadn’t, just fitted a set of pads that lacked feel and power. So yeah, probably some wooden blocks. Roll in the lovely people at Kenma who distribute SBS Brake Pads. They sent over a set of sintered pads for both front and rear and after twenty minutes or so and a ride into the office the next day to bed them in, the Shiver’s brakes have power, they have bite and most of all they have feel! A huge transformation from a bike that did make your heart skip the occasional beat to one that gives you all-day smiles – it’s as different as that.
SBS brake pads are available from your local bike shop or visit www.kenma.com.au; you and your bike will love the result. SW
KAwASAKi Z650l take me away
KawaSaKi pannierS and frameS
price - $459 (bags) $169.77 (frames) Throwing a set of panniers on our wonderful Z650L is such a great idea,
two day getaway. If you’re a good/ light packer, a trip to Phillip Island for the races would be fine. Semi soft in construction and with ‘Kawasaki’ logos, the bags are 14 litres in capacity each and do come with waterproof liners. There’s the main inner part of the pannier which has an inner net to help keep your items in place when the pannier is open and an outer smaller pocket on each bag for things like your phone, wallet and the like. The brackets were a ten minute fit, all that needed to be done was remove the rubber bungs under the side tail, bolt up the bracket with everything supplied in the Kawasaki kit and slide the panniers on. They are secured with a strong snap clip. All up, the width of the bike fitted with the panniers is only 815mm, about as wide as the mirrors. SW
as riding the bike is always a delight. Good thing Kawasaki has designed panniers that aren’t too big and fit in well with the overall design/size of the bike itself. Intended for the solo rider, they are adequate in size for a one or
KAWASAKI
everything
KAWASAKI Z650L
this keep
Z650L
TAKEN AWAY (INSERT SAD FACE)
Sadly, all good things must come to an end and what this means is that it is time to return the beautiful Z650L to its owners – Kawasaki Australia. You know that feeling when you don’t want to let something go but have to? Well, I can tell you it felt like a long ride back to Kawasaki from what was a short ten kilometre ride. All the thoughts of fun and joy flowed through my brain, I wanted
to let it rip one last time, I wanted to enjoy how easy it is to ride, feel how strong the brakes are and pretty much enjoy the bike that has brought so many smiles to my dial over the last seven or so months. I did have the option to purchase the Z650L, but my very slim wallet is being burnt by a little project I got hold of. We ended up turning our ‘green frame’ into a little ripper of a bike. To give you a bit of a rundown on what we did – we fitted numerous pieces of Rizoma beauty, fitted the single point Barkbusters which turned out to be the biggest talking point of the bike, Oggy Knobbs, Axle Oggys and an Oggy tail tidy all look amazing. The boys at D Moto worked their magic with what can be done to standard suspension. Protecting the radiator was the world famous Radguard and we also fi tted their levers and pick up knobs. Giving the Z650L a load of grip and feel we fi tted up tyres from Bridgestone – their soft (racy), RS10R front and sports S21 rear, which towelled up all before it at Kawasaki’s Team Green track day at Wakefi eld Park. Then we moved onto the extensive list of Kawasaki Genuine Accessories – Akrapovic exhaust, tank pad, seat cowl and fi nally the awesome set of panniers. What a bike and what a great time we had riding it. If you want to enjoy the delights we enjoyed, get to your local Kawasaki dealer and jump on a Z650L, you’ll love it! SW D
used&abused
Suiting a bull berik Volante one-piece leather suit
Price - $999.95
Being such a tall giraffe I need many cows to donate their protective goodness to me for a one-piece leather racing suit and Berik has always served me perfectly over the many years I’ve been wearing their products (just over ten years now). I’ve crashed in them, worn them in the rain and to the other extreme, roared around racetracks in 40 degree heat and mega humidity in Malaysia! Why have I always chosen Berik you might ask? Sizing is the big one and comfort is the next. There’s nothing
worse than having an ill-fitting onepiece suit on a racetrack. It impacts how fast you can ride a bike. So, onto the new Berik to hang proudly on my shoulders – the Volante. It is not the top level Berik suit in their lineup but you wouldn’t know it when you put it on. Fit is bang on the money – all the protectors are in the right places, knee sliders in the right spot and there’s enough room to fit a back protector (required for racing) and plenty of flexibility in the suit so that I’m 101% comfortable to move around on the bike. The Volante also features elbow sliders but the only time they’ll be getting used is if I’m sliding down the road on my butt and my wallet is burning huge holes in it watching the bike destroy itself! Features of the Volante suit are a 1.11.3mm premium full-grain cow leather
construction with Super Tense-textile stretch fabric at the elbow, crotch and back of the knee to provide flexibility and comfort; a removable mesh lining with Super Airtech at the body and Air Mesh at the calf offer better comfort and air circulation and is washable when it gets smelly from all that sweat! CE approved internal protectors at the shoulders, elbows, hip and knees are there if the worst happens, but I’m not a fan of hip armour as it tends to restrict my movement so I took them out of my suit. External TPU/ aluminium protectors are placed on the shoulders, elbow and knee, there’s an aerodynamic hump, perforated leather on various areas to improve ventilation, stretch leather panels at the back armhole, knees and back of the waist for comfortable and flexible movement; a Neoprene collar,
cuff and hem to reduce thickness and give greater comfort, double layer leather reinforcement on the elbow, shoulder and seat, Velcro inside the front panel to facilitate a chest protector if needed, wrist belt on the cuff to offer better convenience, tail bone padding and of course removable plastic knee sliders. I prefer leather knee sliders so fitted my own to this suit.
As you can see, the Berik Volante is feature packed and for the price is a bargain and a half! I’ve worn suits priced at double this and they still only offer the same features.
Sizes range from 48-62 Euro and the Volante is available at your local bike shop, Champion Ride Days or www.ficeda.com.au SW
KEEPING A BULL DRY
Dririder Thunderwear jacket and pants
Price - $69.95 (jkt) $44.95 (pnt)
You know, I’ve had all sorts of wet weather gear over the years and I always seem to find my way back to the cheaper price range of wet weather over jacket and over pants. They have always been waterproof and while some of them may only last around 12 months, it’s another cheap purchase to get a new set.
The Thunderwear wet weather top and pants from Dririder are probably what you’d call in the mid-priced bracket and rightly so as they offer more features over the cheaper plastic jacket and pants you might get. Both jacket and pants are made from 100% polyester so you will sweat a bit if it’s hot – I’ve never had any ‘over’ styled wet weather gear that hasn’t. Both feature double stitched seams and the electronically bonded taping to make sure they’re waterproof is wide and appears to be done well.
The jacket has a wide brushed nylon lined collar for comfort and the Velcro closure is ample enough so that no matter what size neck you have, it will do up! How many jackets have you
had that near choke you – not the Thunderwear. Two large pockets on the front have large storm flaps and I’ve had my phone in them and no water has got in (thankfully). Sizing is as per the normal Dririder sizing. For example – I take a 4XL in the Dririder range and the wet weather gear is a 4XL. Dririder has calculated
the extra sizing required to go over your jacket and pants comfortably – a big well done to them for that! Finally, the jacket has elastic cuffs. The pants are probably the best wet weather over pant I’ve had. There’s no zipper that gets caught half way and you either get wet or rip the pants trying to get them zipped up. No, Dririder has thought of a motorcyclist, even one that might still be wearing gloves as the pants feature large gusted leg cuffs with a snap closure and the waist is well elasticised that makes them sit up and not ride down slightly when you sit on the bike. Well done Dririder, I’m over the moon with the Thunderwear jacket and pants. I might even go play in some muddy puddles like a kid. Available in either black or fluoro and sizes XS-6XL. See your local bike shop or www.dririder.com.au SW
PANTS ON A BULL Dririder Vortex
Adventure 2 pants
Price - $329.95
The Dririder Adventure 2 pants are the match to the recent review we did of the Adventure 2 Dririder jacket. They feature a 900 Denier construction with heavy duty 1200 Denier on the knees. The CE approved armour is height adjustable which is a fantastic feature to have for various sized riders. There is a mesh comfort liner and removable 100g thermal liner and removable waterproof liner. Thigh vents are adequate for all but the hottest of days and for comfort there’s powerstretch in a variety of places. Adjusters are placed in the waist and legs and there’s four pockets to store your bits and pieces in. As with the jacket there is a connection zip and the Adventure 2 pants come in three colours – Black, Grey or the ones you see here, Sand. Sizes range from S-6XL. I took a 4XL with plenty of leg length too. See your local bike shop or www.dririder.com.au SW
FLOWING ALONG BMW AIRFLOW2 HELMET
Price - $681.82
“A crown is merely a hat that lets the rain in,” said Frederick the Great. A
motorcycle helmet is, or should be,
much more. BMW’s Airflow helmet has won the prestigious (it really is, I’m not just saying that) Red Dot Design Award, which tends to indicate that it meets that requirement.
The AirFlow2 Helmet is a premium quality jet helmet which, as the name suggests, offers excellent ventilation. Its two large ventilation zones supply a good flow of cooling air to the wearer’s head – with my limited thatch I can really feel the coolth – and you can close the vents to make it waterproof. The strong glass-fibre reinforced plastic outer shell has an interesting, blocky shape a little like a bobsled helmet. I’m not quite sure why they’ve done this, but it certainly makes for an attractive shape which seems to make the helmet smaller, too – without reducing protection.
In the heat, as I found on my recent trip to and around the Canary Islands (yes, yes, but someone has to do it) the helmet is by far the coolest I’ve ever tried. Whether the visor is up or down does not affect ventilation. And all you have to do is slip a couple of sliders a few millimetres to turn the vents off and the helmet into a more normal open face when it gets cold. Actually,
this is an interesting point. The Air Flow is a remarkably simple helmet. It does have a “double-glazed”, 3D curved and anti-scratch pull-down visor and padded ratchet strap fastener. As well, the interior padding can be removed for washing, but apart from that it is remarkably simple. It has what it needs, and that’s it.
As far as I’m concerned that is a major advantage, at least with an open-face helmet. You might want an additional tinted visor, for example, on a full-face touring helmet but you want a daily, around-town hat to be simple, light and immediately comfortable. Check, check, and check with the Airflow2. It does have a couple of BMW-branded “aluminium elements’ at the bottom of the shell, but that’s kind of fun. As you would expect, the helmet is a quality product; everything has not only been thought through, but it looks and feels like it.
The aerodynamics are excellent, and the helmet neither lifts nor presses down at any speed. Of course I only tested it at legal speeds… It could be a little quieter, but that’s a subjective judgement that depends on what helmet you’ve been wearing before you don the Airflow2. As for me, it’s now my day-to-day ride to work helmet. That’s pretty high praise.
So would I rather wear a crown or a BMW Airflow2 helmet on the road?
Definitely the latter. PT
GIVE ME SUMMER!
Dririder
Summertime Gloves
Price - $99.95
I found a brown, rather than black, jacket in the Dririder range and decided that I wanted brown gloves as well. No disrespectful comments here! These Summertime items are constructed in leather with mesh panels for cooling. For added safety they have CE certified knuckle protection and Velcro closure to keep them on my hands in case I do a cartwheel off the bike. The Air-Gel palm pad makes them comfortable on the handlebar grips, and the smart tip means I can use my phone while wearing them.
They’re also good quality and feel comfortable. And they’re not black –just for a change. PT
VERSATILE FOR THE WIN SCHUBERTH E1 HELMET
Price - $999
The French Army Knife, which I’ve been told was developed well before the Swiss Army Knife, was never as great a success. This may have been down to the fact that it featured no blades or anything, just half a dozen corkscrews, but what do I know? Seriously, versatility is a winner. Look at our mobile phones these days. Is there anything they can’t do? Not much, and that’s why we all carry them with us. Well, that and the ability to talk to ourselves whenever we feel like it without being considered a mad person.
I’d say the relatively new Schuberth E1 helmet is about as versatile as anyone would ever want a helmet to be, keeping in mind that I don’t like communication setups in my hats. Not to say that the E1 can’t hold such a thing, but it doesn’t come with it. What does it come with?
Schuberth calls it a “dual sports helmet for enduro touring and adventure bike riders,” which sums it up pretty well. Out of the box it presents as an enduro helmet,
complete with a vented, large shield. Take it out and you realise that it is also a flip front helmet. Then you see that inside its optical class 1 visor is an anti-fog lens (probably better known to us as a Pinlock), and a sun visor which drops down from inside the shell. The air channels inside the shell provide comfortable
preventing the visor from misting-up. The large, switchable vent on the chin piece provides plenty of air to breathe. The chin piece of the E1 can be swivelled up as a single piece together with the visor and shield; the shield can be fixed in three different positions. The visor can be used independently from the
up and down again they maintain their position. On the inside of the helmet Coolmax textiles provide comfort and transport moisture away effectively. The inner lining can be removed easily and can be washed.
The E1 is stable in the wind, without pendulum effect or lift and minimal buffeting. Schuberth says that it is extremely quiet; I didn’t find that, but it’s important to keep in mind that quietness depends on the bike as well as the helmet. It meets the testing standard ECE R 22.05 and can, therefore, be used throughout Europe and Australia.
I got hold of an E1 especially for my Mexico/SW USA ride. This turned out to be nearly 5000km of varying conditions, and while I did miss having a French Army Knife (the Americans and Mexicans still use corks in their wine bottles) I found that the Schuberth E1 did everything else that I wanted it to. It kept the sun off my face with its shield and out of my eyes with its sun visor; it protected my face from the hot, dry wind with its visor; and it opened easily and smoothly when I wanted to take a photo. I even took some shots without flipping up the chinpiece and the visor. This is not a cheap bit of gear, but you can see where the value is. I expect to
HOW’D IT GO?
Klim Kodiak Jacket & Pants
Prices - $1495 / $1150
Yes, I’ve written about this suit before and given you the technical details, but I thought I’d bring you up to date with its performance. I wore the suit on my recent three week Baja California trip – not just to Baja but also to parts of the South-Western USA – and it proved to be the perfect choice. I didn’t attempt to test its protective features in case of a fall – sorry, I do draw the line there – but I tested everything else. Long days on the road, rain, heat (high thirties) and cold (down to minus one) included.
With its ample vents to maximise air flow on the one hand and careful waterproofing of everything including zips on the other, it provided all the comfort I needed.
The Kodiak comes in Regular, Stout and Tall sizing to fit just about any rider, too, including even me!
“Kodiak is a Euro-designed and fit Jacket and Pant that will handle four seasons in one day,” says Klim and I am not going to argue.
There is a drawback to the suit; however, but it only applies to stupid people.
Just south of Loreto on the east coast of the Baja peninsula, I lost my
bike key. After a hot, exhaustive and exhausting – and fruitless - search, I finally did what I should have done in the first place. I sat down and thought. Then I took off my pants, turned them upside down and shook them. The key fell out. I had put it into the ventilation slot – open because of the heat – instead of the pocket right next to it – and it had fallen to the bottom of the pants’ leg where it had hidden in the seam.
As I said, this only applies to stupid people like guess-who; as for you, you’ve been warned. For anyone of medium intelligence and above, the Klim Kodiak suit is just about perfect. PT D
SUZUKI V-STROM DL650
WORDS/phOtOS thE BEar
If KawasaKi’s KLR650 is the Swiss Army Knife of motorcycles, Suzuki’s V-Strom 650 is the Leatherman. A bit heavier, a bit bulkier, a lot more specialized and a hell of a lot more comfortable to use.
When Phil and Brenden of MotoQuest Tours & Rentals offered to lend me a bike for my Baja California trip, I was duly thankful. When they suggested a V-Strom 650, I knew I’d hit the jackpot.
I’ve owned one of these bikes and I did some fairly good trips on it, so I knew what to expect. Or I thought I did. As it turns out, the 2017 model that I picked up in Long Beach was a major upgrade on my old bike – and that included the seat, which is covered with a particularly comfortable material. Even service station attendants in Mexico commented on it!
If you think that the seat cover is a fairly minor component on a bike, you haven’t done enough long-distance work. I was looking at well over
Incoming! A few shells are not going to bother the V-Strom DL650, especially the wire-wheeled XA.
3000km, and that seat cover made every one of them a lot more bearable (sorry). In the end I did nearly 5000 –and lived to write the tale.
With its 20 litre tank and super-relaxed riding position, the DL makes a terrific touring bike. Sure, it lacks the outright power of something like a BMW 1200 GS, but that really only matters in two situations: on an American freeway,
where 85mph is considered normal (unless the traffic is banked up); and when overtaking on other roads. I didn’t ride the freeway much, and I just sat on about 120km/h in the right-hand lane; and overtaking in Baja is not a problem because there is so little traffic. When you do get into heavy traffic, the liquid cooling keeps the engine happy.
Suspension is adjustable for preload and rebound damping, and the seat height is reasonable at 835mm. So is the wet weight, at 213kg. Keep in mind that luggage does add to that quite substantially, as does a pillion. The pillion seat seems just as comfortable as the rider’s perch, too. The (more expensive) XA version has hand and engine protection and wire wheels.
MotoQuest sets its bikes up with big Pelican cases on racks of their own design, so there was plenty of luggage capacity on the bike without even
carrying anything on the rack. The bike had no trouble lugging the extra weight, either, and when I tackled some gravel and sand there was no noticeable effect on the handling. I didn’t drop the bike once, which admittedly had more to do with the remoteness of some of the ‘roads’ than with my riding skills. Somehow the idea of lying beside my horizontal bike out there didn’t appeal.
Even a 20 litre tank may not be enough if you don’t fill up in time.
Usually there is a lot more that I could say than the limited space available to me in this column allows, but not this time. The Suzuki V-Strom DL650 is just right: an excellent, comfortable and handy gadget with everything you might need –just like a Leatherman. D
GRIZZLING
STAY! GOOD BEAR
I was just going to write about the overall improvement in traffic manners among drivers when – ping! – another one attempted to clean me up. And in the way I find most annoying, too. You know when someone moves over on you in your lane, and you sound your horn, and they look you in the eye… and keep coming? This bloke wasn’t even angry. He just didn’t care about me. The temptation is to boot the side of the car, but that might simply have seen him run me into an oncoming truck. So, I have seen an overall improvement in manners on the road – but it isn’t universal. Let’s be careful out there, as Sergeant Esterhaus used to say.
DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY
Nearly two and a half thousand years ago, Socrates said, “The secret of happiness is not found in seeking
Not a competition any more, but where do you reckon I was when I took this photo? And no, it’s not the ancestral home of the Bear family.
A reader complained recently about being booked for parking behind the NSW State Library. “I thought you’d fixed the city parking so we didn’t have to pay,” he grumbled.Well, my friend Victor and I did put together the City Council’s policy that allows bikes to park anywhere in the City where cars can park, without paying for the space.The only limitation was that bikes have to obey the same time limits as cars. But this was different: the parking behind the State Library doesn’t belong to the City. It’s part of the Domain, and different rules apply.The easiest way to tell is to see whether car spaces are marked with white lines. If they are, you’re not in Kansas… er, Sydney City, any more.
more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.” Good advice then, and good advice now. So why have I
bought another bike, and why is it a Kawasaki GPz750 Turbo?
It’s not actually because I feel the need for any more boosting. I can get myself into sufficient trouble on my Ducati Scrambler or even the H-D Sportster 72. No, it’s nostalgia more than anything else. Some of my happiest motorcycling memories involve the original Turbo
I owned. It was the first one into the country (I think) and I bought it direct from Kawasaki Australia after seeing a photo of it in a press kit – no interwebs in those days. Its VIN ended in ‘17’, which I believe meant that it was the 17th production bike off the line. I’ll bore you with more as I work on the ‘new’ bike, but I thought I’d just let you know that I’m “still crazy after all these years”. Quick, who wrote that? And while we’re on the subject of getting responses from you, please note that we’re dropping the ‘Where’s The Bear’ page. There just didn’t seem to be much interest in where the hell I was…
Peter ‘The Bear’ Thoeming
NO, OFFICER, I SWEAR IT’S NEW CABERG GHOST ‘RUSTY’
Price - $499.95
The aggressive look and shape of the Ghost helmet combine with outstanding functionality. It offers four different combinations from the one helmet, which is unique on the market. The Bear swears by his, which is matt black. Now the new ‘Rusty’ version has to be the coolest crash hat on the market! It looks just like an old rusty piece of metal and will certainly stand out from the crowd. Available in sizes S-2XL. See your local bike shop or www. cassons.com.au
TOUGH LADY RUKKA TOUGHTRAIL
BOOk YOUR
NEWINTHESHOPS
black and yellow graphics or black with dark grey and pink details in sizes 34 to 48. Toughtrail trousers are available in black and in dark green
The Toughtrail ladies suit (jacket and pants) has been designed to ensure that female motorcyclists are suitably geared up to cope with any and all weather conditions. Features like a Goretex membrane, detachable thermal liners, numerous stretch inserts and adjusters, eight zipped ventilation openings, eleven pockets, D3O protectors and many more top class features will make any lady a tough trail rider (or touring rider for that matter!). Available in light and dark grey with orange-coloured applications, dark grey combined with
with black elements with normal leg lengths in sizes 34 to 46, and with shorter leg lengths in sizes 34 to 44. Visit www.innotesco.com.au to purchase or view the entire Rukka range.
READY TO VENTURE
VENTURA – KAWASAKI
NINJA 400
Price – from $349
Once fitted with the correct L-Brackets, the Ninja 400 will accommodate a range of luggage options via the EVO Pack and Rack, Astro Top-Box, Sport-Rack, PackRack or Grab-Handle. The Ventura system allows up to 102 litres of luggage carrying capacity with two Aero-Spadas zipped together all the way down to the 10 litre Sport-Pack. Available from all good bike shops or visit www.kenma.com.au
BE QUICK TO LOOK QUICK
AGV PISTA GP R : MUGELLO 2017
Price - $1999
The price might burn a hole in your wallet but you’ll be the only one on your block (and possibly in Australia) wearing this limited edition Valentino Rossi replica helmet. He wore the original for the 2017 Mugello MotoGP race. Rush into your local bike shop to secure yours (but make sure you stop at the ATM) or visit www.agvhelmets. com.au for the full range. D
Match your luggage to suit your riding: cruise, commute or tour, Ventura has you covered.
WHATSAYYOU
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. Then you can read many, not just a couple. We do reserve the right to cut them and, unless you identify yourself and at least your town or suburb and state, we will print your email address instead. Please address letters to contactus@ausmotorcyclist.com.au or Australian Motorcyclist Magazine, Suite 4b, Level 1, 11-13 Orion Rd, Lane Cove West NSW 2066. All opinions published here are those of the writers and we do not vouch for their accuracy or even their sanity.
important factors.
(a) Cost per hour, which is now at least $100.
(b) Time duration for the minor/ major service.
(c) Service Intervals.
I’ve been contemplating getting a smaller bike to do all my general commuting and keep my tourer for just that.
off the road more than on.
Typo or facts?
Regards, Harry Stephens
Pitt Town
Hi Harry,
efforts he gets the Rocky Creek Designs T-shirt. SW
WE TYPE IT, WE MEAN IT
Hi Stuart,
For those of us who have to take our ‘modern’ loved one to the dealer to keep it ship-shape, there are three here that many buyers may not really consider. For his
NOW THAT’S A LETTERBOX!
Gents,
Somewhere near Sheffield, Tassie, from memory.
Ian Warren
So, I was a bit taken aback to see that the Benelli TRK 502, April Issue page 76, needs a service every 4,000k. At first I ignored this as a typo until in this May’s issue the Royal Enfield Rumbler 350 is also 4,000k and yet the Kwaka Ninja 400 is 12,000k.
What’s going on?
These aren’t a Ducati Panigale 959 at 15,000ks or Aprilia Shiver 900 at 10,000ks.
It’s now a question I’ll have to ask the sales people during my search to make sure the bike isn’t going to be
WANKER
Hey Boris,
How the hell do Stuart and Bear put up with your crap all the time? You really are a wanker with the rubbish
No typo there, mate. I also questioned Benelli Aus about the very frequent servicing intervals and they said this is what the factory recommends. Benelli Aus has been having talks with them about getting this changed for our market as the factory don’t really understand the long distances that get covered over here. The head Benelli Aus tech has mentioned they’ve not had any troubles with the bikes.
I think what the whole issue is, is that big distances aren’t really covered over there, hence the low interval to get people in servicing their bike at least once a year, which should be done no matter the suggested kilometre interval or brand name on the tank.
Cheers, Stuart.
you carry on about – riders can’t do this, shouldn’t do that. You’d cop a right royal floggin’ if you carried on like that at my local.
Reginald Smith
Bourke NSW
AUTONOMOUS CARS
Stuart,
Yes, I did see the news about a cyclist being killed in Arizona by a Volvo SUV while in autonomous mode. I’ve also seen the article about a female motorcycle rider in Norway being severely injured when rear ended by a Tesla S while it was in autopilot in 2016.
The Motorcycle Council of NSW has made several submissions in response to discussion papers on the introduction of autonomous vehicles
into Australia. The MCC has also made a submission and appeared before the NSW parliamentary StaySafe committee’s inquiry into driverless vehicles.
As a result of the crash in Norway, the Federation of European Motorcyclist Associations (FEMA) approached RDW, the Netherlands Vehicle Authority who approved the use of the Telsa S in Europe. As a result of FEMA’s approach, RDW has conducted some research.
The report concludes on page 3 that the test vehicles “detect motorcycles worse than cars when the motorcyclist is riding more than 1.20 metres from the centreline of the vehicle/ lane”. (If you’d like the PDF of the report, send us an email at contactus@ausmotorcyclist.com.au )
The photos in the news reports of the Norwegian crash (these are at the end of the report) indicate that the Tesla S hit the motorcycle on the left hand fender; this indicates that the rider was riding to the left of the lane and not detected by the Tesla S.
None of the reports that the MCC has seen indicate that sensors used for adaptive cruise control or for lane departure warning, detect motorcycles as well as they can detect cars.
Toyota North America CEO Jim Lentz has said “A hundred or 500 or a thousand people could lose their lives in accidents like we’ve seen in Arizona.” www.usatoday.com/story/ money/cars/2018/03/29/self-driving-cars-uber-crashtoyota/468804002/
The question is how many of these one hundred, five hundred or a thousand will be motorcyclists involved in crashes because the autonomous vehicle was unable to detect motorcycles.
Safe riding, Brian Wood Secretary
Motorcycle
Council of NSW
I’VE SEEN HIM EVERYWHERE
Hi Stuart,
I always saw you as someone like “The Ghost Who Walks” but I’ve now seen you riding twice in the last week. Once with you flying along up the Putty Road, then riding through Sydney and how did I know it was you? Well, there’s no one else that makes a full sized motorcycle look like a monkey bike!
Cheers, Ezio
Wetherill Park
TALENT OR NO TALENT?
Good morning, Bear. Ref. your riding tips (Bearfaced, No 63) I picked up one from Guy Allen and his All Moto site; many years ago. His advice? “ Your motorcycle can almost certainly out-ride you “. It saved my bacon years ago when I was chasing a mate down the southern side of Mt Mee and entered, way beyond my talent certification, a sharp left hander cut into the hillside with nothing more arresting than the view straight ahead ! With his advice in mind I committed to the bend and thanks to that and Metzler Tourance tyres I’m still here. Even dragged a peg; which on an old Transalp with about a metre of ground clearance is an accomplishment to be proud of.
Cheers, Ross Halpin, Mitchell. QLD
Hi Ross,
Your talent obviously didn’t run out as you didn’t crash! I’d say it’s more confidence is what brought on the fear factor you would have experienced.
Good work on scraping the peg –you hoodlum. Hahaha!
Cheers, Stuart.
CRUISIN VIETNAM
Hi,
A quick picture from Vietnam at Tram Tau. Will send some good pictures and a bit of a small story later when I get home.
Cheers, Pappy
International incident! Bear Army invades Vietnam! Thanks, Pappy. The Bear
The “Bear Army” might have invaded Vietnam, but it (or at least me) wasn’t going to stir up the Chinese. Riding along the red river where it forms part of the Vietnamese and Chinese border was as far as I’d take it...
Cheers, Pappy
VICROADS PROMISES A BILLION
Dear Bear,
In my opinion this “promise” of $1 billion and the review of the Calder Highway wire rope barriers would not have happened without the CFA WRB complaints, the aggressive anti WRB policy of the IRG (Independent Riders Group) and the serious media cover of the deadly neglect of country roads. This is VicRoads trying to worm its way out of its responsibilities and avoid accountability yet again.
REGIONAL ROADS VICTORIA
is a decade too late at least. VicRoads has blood on its hands and must be held to account.
REAL AUSTRALIA
If the forces for safer roads back off now I believe VicRoads “review” of the Calder Highway WRBs will find they only needed minor adjustments, the promise of $1 billion will fade and VicRoads will slide back into its city-centric existence and more Victorians will die and more families will be hurt by road trauma. More speed limits will be lowered and more road users blamed for the blood on our roads.
This is not the time for the forces for safer roads to back off.
*All Indian Motorcycle prices are ride away CRuiseR
KAWASAKI
www.kawasaki.com.au
Road
Z125 Pro KRT
Z300 Special Edition
Versys 650/L ABS
Ninja 650/L ABS
Ninja 650/L KRT Edition
Z650L ABS
Ninja ZX-6R
Ninja ZX-6R 636 KRT
Z1000 ABS
V-Strom
www.swmmotorcycles.com.au
TRIUMPH
www.triumphmotorcycles.com.au *Some Triumph prices are ride away
Triple R
675
BEARFACED
THIS IS THE LIFE
MY BIKE’S thermometer reads two degrees, fortunately plus and equally fortunately in Celsius, and I am heading east on Interstate 8 in California. Contrary to the song, it does rain in southern California; I’m about as far south as you can get before encountering the foundations of Donald Trump’s wall, about 20 miles north of Mexico. I’m also at about 4000 feet in the Sierra, so the rain is not just cold, it’s icy. The ice warning on the V-Strom’s dash is fl ashing. And I’m in the clouds, so visibility is about sixty feet. The Pine Creek Wilderness of the Cleveland National Forest drops behind me, and I attempt to fi nd out if there’s a hotel at the Golden Acorn Casino on the Campo Indian Reservation.
No luck. I can’t even find the casino in the fog, just the truck entrance which leads to a vast (I assume) and empty potholed plain. The one small hut is dark and empty. There are no trucks, no sign of life except weeds. I find my way back to Interstate 8 and continue east. My map’s scale is too large for me to be able to find any potential stops.
But then a sign flashes – or perhaps just slips, I’m certainly not going fast –by. Boulevard, it says, followed by a small motel billboard. What I can see of the motel does not look promising – it’s a used-looking twostorey rectangular building in the middle of a parking lot, with no
shelter for a car or bike – but by now I’m ready to settle for the Bates Motel. There are no other buildings that I can see.
Unfortunately, I’ve passed the turnoff to Boulevard while I was admiring the blocky motel, so I leave the freeway on the on ramp. There’s nobody there to see me, and I doubt that out here they’d care enough to mention my misdemeanour to me. There’s no-one in the motel office, which looks well-worn on the way to worn-out. I hit the bell and the bloke who comes to the counter looks exactly like the kind of bloke Hollywood would choose to man the counter at a lonely motel in the rain. But he’s friendly and helpful, and volunteers that a little while before it had not been raining. It had been snowing.
When I pick up a flyer for a pizza place from the counter he informs me that It is the only place in town and only does takeaways. He notices my thoughtful look at the rainy forecourt and helps out.
“Fella who runs it owns the motel,” he says. “You can probably convince him to deliver.” I ring the number on the leaflet and after a few of the
strange buzzes that American phones make, a deep voice answers, takes my order and happily agrees to deliver it.
“Do you sell liquor?” I ask hopefully. No, he doesn’t. “Is there a liquor shop in town? Could you pick me up a bottle of wine?” Oh, no, he couldn’t do that. Looks like a dry pizza, then.
When he arrives in his typical huge pickup – is it racist to call these what everyone I know calls them, namely Navajo Cadillacs? - he brings the pizza over to my room and before I can pay him he says, “You wanted some wine?” Yes, I did. “Okay,” he says, pointing to the truck, “hop in.” I leave the pizza on the bed and we head off into the rain. After half a mile or so the neon lights of a typical country liquor store emerge from the rain and fog.
My new friend comes in with me and offers advice on a few local reds; I follow it and select a $16 bottle. But there’s a problem. American wines still have corks, and I don’t carry a corkscrew any more. No problem for my friend. He reaches up to the wall holding all sorts of small, liquor-related items and pulls down a corkscrew. He pops the bubblepack after a quick look at the clerk, opens my bottle and then puts the corkscrew back in the bubblepack and back on the wall.
“No need for you to spend five ninety-five for just one use,” he says and drives me back to the motel. When I pay for the pizza, he refuses a tip. And when I get back into my room, just like in “Where The Wild Things Are”, my supper is still hot. The wine is good, too, and I can hear the rain letting up a bit.
Does it get any better than this? D
ADVERTISERS LISTING
BORIS
SLAP ME, BABY
TANK-SLAPPERS HAVE largely gone the way of Barnaby Joyce’s’ political career. And it’s probably just as well. The New Age riders, hipster bitch-monkeys, and those under 30 simply lack the correct chromosomes to deal with tank-slappers.
The departure of these terrifying happenings from our current safetyfirst riding experience is certainly a matter of evolution. The laws of physics have not changed. But the way we address them has.
The addition of steering dampers, better suspension, friendlier tyres, electronic rider aids, and more restrained riding behaviour have combined to reduce the occurrence of the tank-slapper to the point where it rarely happens.
Entirely uncoincidentally, as the tankslapper has largely faded from our riding experience, so have pants full of shit, crushed and brutalised thumbs, orbitattaining highsides, and awkward hospital visits by grim-lipped girlfriends.
But there was a time when tank-slappers were the monster at the bottom of the garden, sitting and waiting and ready to pounce on you, and kick you into the arms of an orthopaedic surgeon like a meaty football.
That was a hell of a time back then, wasn’t it?
Just about anything you bought would, at one time or another, try and murder you with a tank-slapper (aka Death Wobble). And since proper men who were serious about their motorcycle riding only ever bought 1100cc Jap bikes, stupid Italian rubbish so full of character it only worked when it felt like it, and terrifying Harleys shod with tyres made from lard, these murder attempts were dead serious.
Normally, a tank-slapper would occur due to a combination of factors. Tyre and chassis stiffness, forward weight transfer, road surface, landing a long wheelie after the front tyre has stopped spinning, Jesus is having a bad day, or Just Because.
Sometimes they would start off small and gentle, and if you stopped doing
what you were doing they would go away. They were like little warnings only idiots and drunks ignored.
And sometimes they would not be gentle oscillations of the handlebars at all. Sometimes they would, upon the instant, become wrist-snapping, thumb-mashing (if you had clip-ons), head-shaking, bronco rides that ended in crunching catastrophe no matter what you did.
They were the best because they horrified you the most.
They were a legitimate, responsibilityfree excuse to munt yourself into a tree.
“I was just belting along, and suddenly it went into a Death Wobble, and could you rub some more lanolin into my back? Those bed sores are really stinging today,” was a common conversation in hospital wards.
Of course, back in those days, hospital wards were huge, often housing 50 or more patients ranged along the outsides of long hospital halls. So you got to share your tales of tank-slappers with lots of people.
No doubt this went a long way to cement the reputation of the motorcycle in the minds of normal Australians as a death-machine ridden by death-wishing retards.
Think about it. A motorcycle, being ridden at speed, would suddenly, and apparently entirely apropos of nothing, make a serious attempt on your life.
What could you do when it happened?
Well, like said, sometimes if you backed off gently it would stop.
If you chopped off the throttle hard and jumped on the brakes, it might a) tuck the front and grind your Levis into the meat of your thigh; b) highside you like the panic-
WORDS BORIS MIHAILOVIC
filled bitch you showed yourself to be; or c) get worse and do both a) and b) at the same time.
You just never knew.
Sometimes you could ride past them and through them.
My old Kawasaki would begin to tank-slap at 110km/h on the freeway. If I maintained that speed, the oscillations would increase in vigour until I went to Jesus. If I accelerated past 110, they would ease off and stop. They would also ease off and stop if I slowed down, but slowing down was not an option in those fast old days. Only bitches, cowards and wimps slowed down. And powering on was the man’s way to survive.
Often relaxing your death-like grip on the bars was enough to stop the tank-slapper. Blokes I knew swore the cure was actually almost letting go of the bars and allowing whatever was happening to correct itself. Apparently, hanging on for grim death only made things worse. I tried this a few times and it kind of worked.
Of course, the fact you could try anything at all indicated that tank slappers didn’t occur in corners. That would have been just too diabolical and certainly outside the laws of physics. When a bike has entered and is negotiating a corner it is too busy dealing with centrifugal force to concern itself with tank-slapping. Do I miss them?
Not at all. I am much happier without them.
But a small part of me wishes it was still around to scare off the new kids who bedevil my beloved motorcycling with their safety first, last and always bullshit. That’s not what it was ever about, bastards. D
