Motorcycle Monthly - June 2019 - Preview

GET UP TO SPEED

THE WORLD’S

BIGGEST BIKING MONTHLY!

ISLE OF MAN TT

2019

THE ESSENTIAL BLUFFER’S GUIDE

June 2019

WIN WIN!

ING ★ COM D

S FROM IGN IN S E

Honda’s SECRET

’S

M SMA ON R EY T !

TH R E IDI LE NG GE ND

Yamaha’s ’99 R6

Why the new Versys is SO good!

THE FAC TO DE SI

Buy this NOW

KING SHOW WHA T RY

Camera and comms

Catching the mobile phone drivers Hail the Zed

1973’s Original Bruiser tested

TWO police forces in the UK are using gizmo that can tell if a phone is being used in a car

It’s early days for a piece of equipment being tried out by a pair of British police forces, but so far it’s working. The Police are using a device that can instantly tell if a mobile phone is being used in a car that’s moving. > More on Page 4

#156

NEWS 3

New patents appear for the Honda six-cylinder retro café racer If the finished bike actuallyy looks like these designs, Honda will sell a shedload of them

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Words: Tony Carter It's been nearly two years since we first brought you the first information on a six-cylinder café racer-style motorcycle that was exposed when patents were filed by the factory.

Whilst it may have been quiet with the plans for the multi-cylinder future model recently, the fire under the retro-rocket has now been re-ignited by the appearance of new patent designs showing not only how the bike is planned to look (at the moment), but also details of the engine.

Size-wise, there’s no indication on the patents of how big the bike's motor would be, but given that Honda has its sohc 1,833 horizontallyopposed, liquid-cooled six-cylinder Gold Wing motor already out there, and it has been on sale for over a year, wouldn’t it make sense for this to at least leech some of the mechanicals from the proven powerplant to the upcoming model?

Possibly, but in reality it’s very unlikely that this motor is going to end up being anywhere near the size of its behemoth touring sibling though, but there’s no denying that the café racer-styled bike looks more the part than anything we’ve seen so far in the modern retro class. If the bike ends up looking like the designs here then it’s going to be the coolest in the class by miles.

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FACTORY SECRETS #

Amazing enduro

1

Check out an awesome helmet video from Aussie KTM man Daniel Milner as he chases his KTM team-mate Lyndon Snodgrass through the bush at incredible pace. You’ll love it. Go to MoreBikes.co.uk and search ‘Enduro’.

FACTORY SECRETS #2

Dunlop’s Peak Michael Dunlop is set to make his debut at the ‘Race to the Clouds’ Pikes Peak International Hill Climb this June – just three weeks after contesting the Isle of Man TT. The 18-time TT winner is going to be taking part in the Heavyweight category of the invitation-only event, riding a 2019 BMW S1000RR.

Kawasakki patentss radar safety

Thrash it out Kawasaki has filed designs for a new radar-assisted safety system with the Japanese Patent Office – and it confirms that the firm is joining the radar revolution alongside Ducati and KTM. The patents detail new front and rear radars, fitted to a Kawasaki Versys. In practice,

THE WORLD’S

BIGGEST BIKING MONTHLY!

Motor Cycle Monthly, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6JR Tel: 01507 529529 Editor Tony Carter Editorial design Fran Lovely and Charlotte Turnbull Publishing director Dan Savage Publisher Tim Hartley Email editorial@motorcyclemonthly.co.uk Production editor Mike Cowton

the front radar will work to measure the distance between the vehicle in front, and use ABS and an electronic throttle to control its speed. It’ll also engage automatic braking if there’s a hazard ahead. The rear radar will work to measure the distance to the vehicle behind, and will alert the rider Picture desk Paul Fincham and Jonathan Schofield Group advertising manager Sue Keily Divisional advertising manager Zoe Thurling 01507 529412 Advertising Emma Knott 01507 529583, Mirela Vulaj 01507 529409 Advertising deadline for July issue Thursday June 6, 2019 Distribution 01507 529529 Marketing manager Charlotte Park

if it starts catching up quickly, meaning riders will be able to react and move out of its path.

At this stage, that’s about as much as we know, but considering Kawasaki’s relationship with Bosch, we reckon it’s likely the German brand will supply the radar tech.

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Go to MoreBikes.co.uk to watch what happens if you park your bike just behind a metal barrier in Chenai, India. It gets thrashed by a cop. Yep. Watch the weirdness happen on film.

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4 NEWS

Catch the mobile phone drivers

New tech being tested by the Police is being used to target those that won’t abide by the law Words: Ross Mowbray Thames Valley and Hampshire Police are rolling out the use of mobile detection technology to find drivers using devices while behind the wheel.

The technology works to show the Police when motorists are using their phones – and then flashes a warning at the driver telling them to stop using their phone and concentrate fully on driving.

The forces in question say that the technology will not be used as an ‘enforcement tool’, but instead will be used to focus on educating motorists and identifying offending ‘hotspots’.

That’s a shame, but these are baby steps with this identifying tech at the moment. Although not given as a reason for the hold-back on using the detectors to fine offending drivers, one element in that is surely that the detectors being field-tested can’t yet work out if it’s the driver or passenger using the phone, it can only tell officers if there’s a phone being used in a particular car that’s on the move.

Thames Valley Police and Hampshire Constabulary have developed the new technology with Westcotec Ltd, and although the detectors are the first of their kind to be used by Police in the UK, similar systems have been tried by British councils previously. The two detectors will be located on the A34 in Oxfordshire, andwill be posted at different locations throughout the Thames Valley and Hampshire area over the coming months.

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How does the detector work?

Essentially, the detector works by picking up 2G, 3G and 4G signals, before then flashing a warning message to alert people in cars who are using their phones.

One area the detectors are finely tuned in, however, is the use of ‘hands-free’ systems, so if people are using a Bluetooth-enabled device, the detector will recognise the connection and not flash up the warning sign.

At the minute, the technology

cannot tell if a passenger or a driver of a vehicle is using a phone, so the warning sign will be activated regardless of who’s using the mobile whilst the car being watched is moving.

Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley, Matt Barber, said the system was “not fool-proof”, but added that the Police needed to “make it as socially unacceptable to use your mobile whilst driving as it is to drink and drive”.

Yamaha is offering motorcyclists the chance to test ride its Sport Touring range this month.

Dealers across the country will be opening their doors across May 11-12, offering the chance to test ride Yamaha’s new-for-2019 Tracer 700 GT, its Tracer 900 and the super-practical FJR1300 tourer. That’s not all, because there will also be opportunities to swing your leg over the Japanese factory’s innovative three wheeler, the NIKEN. If you’re interested, get in touch with your local Yamaha dealer (or head over to the website) and book yourself in. Of course, availability will vary from dealer to dealer, so if there’s something specific you’re after, you’re best off giving your local dealer a shout.

NEWS 5

Suzuki’s next generation DR BIG caught testing

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The current V-Strom

It’s a grainy photo, but it shows a brace of new DR BIGs out in road testing camo paint.

Here’s some great news for fans of modern retro Adventure bikes. Rumours have been swirling that Suzuki’s developing a new version of its iconic DR BIG – and a spy shot has appeared in Switzerland confirming it’s well on its way.

First published on AcidMoto.ch, from what we can see in the grainy phone image, the new DR appears to be an evolution of the Japanese factory’s V-Strom 1000 rather than an entirely new machine. Considering the current V-Strom’s comparative lack of agility on the rough stuff, and

the motorcycle market’s widespread enthusiasm for off-road capable adventure machines, taking the current Strom down this route could be a clever move from Suzuki.

The new DR comes with long-travel suspension, a decent amount of ground clearance, a new windscreen and an adventure-style front mudguard – reminiscent of the original DR BIG, which originally appeared in the late 1980s with a 727cc single cylinder motor and was then boosted to 779cc (making 54bhp) in 1990.

An artist’s impression of how the new DR BIG could look

The originall DR BIG G

Yoshi’s Scrambler

Yoshimura has recently unveiled a new race slip-on exhaust for the 2019 Ducati Scrambler. It’s claimed to boost max torque by 6.3%, and adds 3% extra horsepower. Price is £450.

Watch Keanu

Keanu Reeves has taken the chance to show off his prized motorcycle collection at his Arch Motorcycle HQ. From his green Ducati, which was used in The Matrix Reloaded, through to his custom-built Arch motorcycles, Keanu’s got some seriously cool kit. Watch the video interview at MoreBikes.co.uk and search ‘Keanu’.

6 NEWS

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Academy call

Energica has just launched a training academy for its range of electric motorcycles – and if you fancy riding the Italian brands MotoE racing machines on track at Modena in Italy, now’s your chance. Taking place on May 31st and June 23nd, the course will set punters back 990 euros (around £850).

Ducati tests NAKED Panigale V4 R on track ahead of Pikes Peak Following the news that Ducati’s dropping the Multistrada 1260 for this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, and would instead be running in the exhibition class with rider Carlin Dunne at the helm, we reported that Ducati was working on

a new stripped-down Panigale V4 R for the iconic race. It looks like we were right, because Dunne has been caught track testing with a pair of naked Panigale V4 R superbikes in the States.

Caught on camera at Chuckwalla

Valley Raceway in California by a reader of American motorcycle website Asphalt and Rubber, the snap all but confirms that Dunne will be racing a stripped-back Panigale V4.

Quite how a 220+bhp, MotoGP-

derived superbike will cope with the tricky Pikes Peak mountainside course remains to be seen, but Dunne is pretty much guaranteed a lot of interest when he takes on the 12.42-mile-long course on the final Sunday in June.

Bud Ekins ISDT-winning TRIUMPH TR6SS sells for £97,750!

At the April Stafford Show, the annual Bonhams Spring Sale was held, and the hugely popular event smashed the record books with a bevvy of rare machines going under the hammer.

Top of the bill was a 1962 Triumph 649cc TR6SS ridden by Bud Ekins, which sold for a world-record auction price of £97,750 – over three times its top estimate.

The original Trophy model helped Ekins win a gold medal in the 1962 International Six Days Trial. The American bike racer's machine (Ekins performed the famous jump as stunt-double for Steve McQueen in The

Great Escape), was just one of the star lots of the Spring Stafford Sale.

Another record-breaker weekend was a 1925 Coventry Eagle 981cc Flying-8, which sold for a massive £218,500, whilst a third world record was also set for a 1935 Vincent-HRD 498cc Series-A Comet, which went at the bang of the gavel for £97,750. The rare Series-A, one of only a few ‘intermediate sump’ types, was totally restored in 2015 by famed VincentHRD restorer Glyn Johnson and has been on display ever since.

The performance of this top-selling

trio went towards an auction total of £3,892,397, which is an all-time record sale for Bonhams Collectors’ Motorcycle Department. “What an incredible weekend!,” said James Stensel, Head of Bonhams Collectors’ Motorcycles. “We are thrilled with the results of this sale, not only for breaking our own auction record, but also for achieving three world auction records for individual marques and models.”

Invest in ARC

British electric motorcycle startup Arc is gearing up to launch a crowdfunding campaign to get its Vector motorcycle into production.

The funding, set up on Crowdcube, will help ARC with development of its new limited edition £90,000 Vector electric motorcycle – which was shown to widespread acclaim at the big bike shows towards the end of 2018.

TT trailer is go

To whet your appetite for next month’s TT event you can watch the the official trailer for the world’s toughest road race by going to: MoreBikes. co.uk and searching ‘TT’.

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8 CROSSWORD

IT’’S THE MOTOR CYCLE MONTHLY

CROSSWORD!!

Win a FANTASTIC Bluetooth system PLUS HD camera Crossword compiled by Ben Rumbold of MotoXwords

HERE we go then - it’s the latest brilliant Motor Cycle Monthly C Crossword and we’ve lined up a ouple of cracking prizes for one co ucky winner. lu Be the first completed and orrectly filled out crossword co pulled from the upturned MCM

helmet this month and you could be the person to win the amazing Midland Bike Guardian motorcycle dashcam camera PLUS a brilliant Midland BT Next Pro Bluetooth communication system.

With the Midland camera selling

Worth over £350!

for £119.99 and the Midland BT Next Pro single comms unit costing £234.99, that means that one of you will get over £350 worth of top motorcycling kit for FREE! The only thing you have to do is complete this crossword and send it in to us. S’easy stuff.

Here’s some info about the prizes prizes...

Midland Bike Guardian camera

BIKE GUARDIAN is the first motorcycle dashcam offering Full HD continuous recording, documenting everything that happens whilst riding. Widely used in cars, dashcams have become accepted as an efficient and highly useful tool in providing video evidence of incidents on the road, including accidents, nearmisses and driver errors.

BIKE GUARDIAN now provides such an option for motorcycle and scooter riders, universal fitting and suitable for all types of riding, from daily

commuting to long-distance touring. As well as being a dedicated motorcycle dashcam with continuous recording, BIKE GUARDIAN can also be used as a bike-mounted action camera, capturing up to two hours of HD quality on-bike footage.

BT Next Pro - Ultra Range

The BT NEXT PRO is the flagship model from the Midland range of motorcycle Bluetooth communication systems, the most advanced solution on the market for those who want

the highest performing intercom for conversations on a bike, with unrivalled sound quality.

Bluetooth 4.2 Dual Core technology links up to four bikes in communication, each one with rider and passenger.

With a one-to-one intercom system you can talk with up to six people. All this in Full Duplex mode, with digital quality, DSP noise suppression system and AGC system (that can be disabled) to control volume automatically according to background noise.

Available in SINGLE and TWIN unit

options. RRP £234.99 (single), RRP £409.99 (twin) BT NEXT PRO is designed and produced by Italian consumer technology specialists MIDLAND, with more than 45 years’ experience of bringing communication solutions to market globally in the automotive and sports sectors, ranging from Walkie Talkies and CB transceivers.

BT NEXT PRO and BIKE GUARDIAN are both distributed exclusively in the UK by Bike It International Ltd.

CROSSWORD 9

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Aprilia’s new RS 660 has been caught out track testing once again. You can see the snippet of what could end up being one of THE bikes of 2020 in action by logging on to MoreBikes. co.uk and searching ‘660’.

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1: Electronics designed to prevent any front-end lifting. (4,7,6) 8: Armoured military vehicles or vessels for fuel. (5) 9: Kawasaki’s Sport Tourer model ranging from 600s up to 1400s. (3) 10 & 24 Down: ‘Give it the wide-open throttle position, sir!’

The pitboard might say. (4,3) 11 & 28 Down: German naked retro roadster that sports the firm’s classic boxer twin 1170cc motor. (3,1,4,1) 12: Gore___, base fabric for a lot of waterproof riding gear. (3) 14: Italian brand for rubber bands that obviously aren’t made of the most precious metal. (10) 15: Still the dominant chassis maker in Moto2, unaffected by the switch to Triumph engines. (5) 17: Back-flipping Frenchman who won back-to-back titles for 15 Across. (5) 19: See 3 Down.

21: Goodwood hosts one of speed, for example. (8) 25: Helmet brand FM were known as ‘Helmets by___’. One for the early repeat crossword entrants there! (5) 27: Ms Carrasco, first ever female winner of a motorcycling world championship last year. (3) 29: Makers of ‘Advance’ motorcycle oils. (5) 30: One of the smallest parts in an engine’s cylinder, notoriously easy to lose in the workshop. (6,4) 33 & 20 Down & 32 Down: Spectacular showpiece built around a bike riding in circles, but horizontally. (4,2,5) 34: Continent that still makes, and buys, the most motorcycles in the world.

(4) 35: Popular Spanish track day and testing circuit near the Mediterranean coast. (9) 38: Naked street bike available in 401 or 701 engine sizes from a KTMowned historically Swedish brand. (9,8)

Down

1: Recent addition to safety in riding suits which inflate in anticipation of an impact. (6) 2: Alert! Suzuki’s classic ‘feet-first’ cruiser model. (8) 3 & 19 Across: Naked Japanese street bike also designated CB125, 300, or even 1000. (5,3,6,4) 4: The primary direction taken by the Long Way Round boys in their first expedition nearly 15 years ago. (4) 5: Vital component in moving the drive chain, can be changed in size to affect the gearing. (8) 6: Yamaha’s predecessor to the groundbreaking YZF-R1. (10) 7 & 16 & 31 Down: How we Brits measure our fuel economy. (5,3,6)

Ducati has joined forces with Spin Master Corp, creating a remotecontrolled Panigale V4 S that’s easy to wheelie and drift! It gets to 20kph and will cost just under £150.

May 2019 Issue #155

38

Across

It’s a toy

Last Month’s Answers:

9: What 9 Across was known as outside of Europe and the designation of the leading green superbikes today. (2) 13: Deal or No Deal, riding over to this continent may not be so easy after this year. (6) 16: See 7 Down.

18: The general look of a bike, its visual design, form if not necessarily function. (10) 20: See 33 Across.

22: Popular Spanish circuit which pays big money to host the final round of MotoGP. (8) 23: A single circulation of a circuit. (3) 24: See 10 Across.

25: One either side of the bike for either rider or pillion, you’d be like Fred Flintstone without one! (8) 26: Although 15 Across may now dominate, this classic Japanese engineering company took the first Moto2 title with the Gresini team. (8) 28: See 11 Across.

31: See 7 Down.

32: See 33 Across.

36: Now known more as the famous dad, the Rocket has run a famous race school at Donington for years. (3) 37: Common abbreviation for a trike or quad. (3)

Across

1 Triumph Bonneville, 7 Agility, 9 Utah, 11 Sahara, 14 Chin, 15 Intellilevers, 19 Steel Trellis, 21 Arai, 25 FM, 27 Pillion, 30 Elbow, 32 Nash, 33 Radiator Hoses, 34 VFR, 36 Preload, 38 Ducati Multistrada.

Down

1 & 22 Down Thatcham Approved, 2 Iridium, 3 Petronas, 4 Ossa, 5 IMU, 6 Exhausts, 8 XR, 10 Tune, 11 Steve, 12 Ariete, 13 Ace, 16 Valve, 18 & 17 Across Small Arms, 20 The Nook, 23 Methanol, 24 Forearms, 26 Mahindra, 28 LED, 29 Italjet, 31 Daytona, 35 RAC, 37 KM.

Here’s the legal bit that you need to know To be in with a chance of winning, fill in your details on the form and return the completed crossword to: Motor Cycle Monthly, June 2019 Competition, Mortons Media Group Ltd, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR. Competition closes: June 7, 2019 Mr / Mrs / Miss / Ms (please circle)

#3

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10 ADVERTORIAL

ADVERTORIAL 11

NEWS 13

Honda’s MOVING wings-for-themirrors plan for the 2020 Fireblade Aero details on the next generation Fireblade clearly on the way, according to the company’s design department

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Dakar route OK

These are the latest drawings showing just how seriously Honda is taking it’s development of the Fireblade for next year.

The designs, unearthed by Motorrad magazine in Germany, show the new mirrors fitted with wings to smooth airflow around the extremities of the road-going bike. The designs appear to show the bike’s most outer wings able to be turned up or down for differing aero effects.

Indicators are built into the mirrors in the drawings, showing that this development for the next gen bike really is set to debut on the roadster.

Expect the ‘wing-mirrors’ to appear on the Honda Fireblade at the end of this year at the big bike shows and be part of an updated Fireblade which will go on sale early 2020.

Want to customise your BMW R Nine T? Then how about playing Hookie?

Hookie has made a name for itself over the last few years with its eclectic mix of custom bike builds – but it’s the Dresdenbased custom house’s bolt-on kit for BMW’s R Nine T that really catching the bike world’s attention.

Halfway between a tracker and scrambler, the stylish DIY kit allows you to change the design of your bike – without the need to weld or grind. You can use the original screws and holders from the base bike, while its handmade carbon fibre fuel tank cover is fixed with a quick release, allowing you to change the tank’s appearance in a matter of minutes.

It’s not cheap with the price starting from €4,900 (approximately £4,250), but for more information, visit www.hookie.co/moto-kit/

If you want to see a pretty cool video of the Hookie stuff in action, go to: MoreBikes.co.uk and search ‘Hookie’.

Valentino Rossi wants Yamaha to “develop the deflector” Valentino Rossi has spoken out about the need for Yamaha to further develop the M1 MotoGP bike and improve rear grip.

Ducati, Honda and Aprilia have been hard at work developing aerodynamics, and Valentino Rossi reckons that Yamaha need to do the same. Here’s what the nine-times world champion said: “I’m putting pressure on Yamaha to get something similar to what Ducati used from an aerodynamic point of view and I hope I can try it soon. It’s a small component, it doesn’t upset the bike, but it can help.

“We want to develop the M1 more and more. We need to think of everything and continue with the work we are already doing.

The deflector, for us in particular, could be a keystone. We have had problems with heating the rear tyre for a long time and as demonstrated by this point Yamaha has been the first to use a similar solution, but has not explored the possibility of obtaining advantages even on dry surfaces.”

Following the news that the Dakar Rally will be taking place in Saudi Arabia, more details have emerged about the route for 2020. The course is now set to depart from Jeddah on January 5, before arriving in Al Qiddiya on January 17 after 12 stages and over 9,000km (5592.34 miles) of racing.

New GSX-R colours

Suzuki Japan has announced a range of new colours for its GSX-R1000R for 2019. There’s MotoGP blue, a red and black, and white and blue options.

At this stage, there’s been no news if the new colour schemes will make it over to the UK and Europe, but they’re available in Japan now.

14 NEWS

Kawasaki plans a MotoGPderived WSB super racer Race boss admits that it might just be the only way the Japanese factory can catch up with the Ducatis In an extremely frank interview with racing outlet Speedweek.com, Kawasaki’s Race Director Ichiro Yoda admitted that the green team was chasing its tail in WSB, trying to peg back the all-conquering Ducati of Alvaro Bautista.

For the past four years WSB has been the dominant shooting ground of Kawasaki with Jonathan Rea crowned as World Champion from 2015 to 2018. So far this season however, it’s been Bautista and the red bike that has won all 11 races (a new record in the championship).

With it’s 16,350rpm rev limit and MotoGP-derived tech, the Ducati V4 R has smashed its way to the top of the timesheets.

Kawasaki has found itself very much a runner-up to the Panigale, and Yoda is clearly smarting at the experience. The Kawasaki race boss admits that if Ducati are still able to run with the bike next year (if WSB bosses don’t put restrictions on Ducati for 2020 to level the playing field, from a performance point of view) then Kawasaki will have to take matters into its own hands – and that will mean making something very special to take on the Panigale on its own MotoGPtype terms.

The FIM has already reduced the rev-limit of the Ducati by 250revs, whilst giving the Honda in the

competition an extra 500revs to try and make things a bit more competitive, so it’s not a done deal that the Ducati will be able to stay in the incredibly fast trim that it has been so far in 2019.

“Getting near to Ducati this season is difficult. Their engine comes from the MotoGP world championship; the whole package is from MotoGP,” Yoda told Speedweek.

“The V4 R is a MotoGP bike with Pirelli tyres. Even if we were authorised to use the parts under concession, we would be limited. We would still not be able to achieve the performance of Ducati.

“The only solution is to build a bike similar to MotoGP. An extreme bike to be produced in limited numbers.

For Kawasaki it is easy to build 500 of these bikes.

“WSB’s philosophy has always been to use production bikes to try to lower costs, but with the arrival of the V4 R, everything has changed.

“Now is the time for us to dedicate ourselves to designing an extreme WSB machine!

“We have a lot of experience in MotoGP and with powerful four-cylinder engines, it shouldn’t be complicated for us to do it. If Ducati continues with this bike next season, we need a bike like this to beat them. We are not in WSB just to be here!”

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This is the Ducati Panigale V4R that’s prompted Yoda’s outburst.

Unique Monkey

It’s Japan-only, but this is what you can turn a new Honda Monkey into. Made by Japanese firm Kitaco Engineering, the bike gets a 10-inch front wheel (instead of 12), a 181cc kit, bigger throttle and cosmetics. Nice.

“The only solution is to build a bike similar to MotoGP. An extreme bike to be produced in limited numbers. For Kawasaki it is easy to build 500 of these bikes.”

Ichiro Yoda, Kawasaki Race Director

Short Ducati story

Ducati has released a short film, which details the Italian factory’s path to glory, from postwar engine production through to top-level racing success. It’s a fine few minutes of your time. Check it out at MoreBikes.co.uk and search ‘Ducati’.

16 WORLD LAUNCH REPORT

Behold the Kawasaki's Versys 1000 SE is flippin' marvellous WORDS: Mikko Nieminen, Editor of Motorcycle Sport & Leisure PHOTOGRAPHY: Kawasaki