Motorcycle Sport & Leisure - August

AIRBAG JACKETS SHOULD YOU BUY ONE NOW?

BIG

THRILLS ON A SHOESTRING S

Fantic Caballero 500 Rally

Benelli TRK 502 X AJP PR7

SWM SuperDual 600 X

ADVENTURE: Across Australia on

postie bikes ◆ Henry Cole’s Top UK rides

Q&A: How adventure bikes got the beak

No.719 August 2020

◆ Kawasaki Z650 ◆ KTM 390 Adventure ◆ Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 Factory

£4.40

PLUS! RIDDEN: Harley Iron 1200

Contents

PAY LESS

Get the original & best bike magazine every month

P28

40 NEW

36

News

7

Motorcycling is slowly emerging from the lockdown slumber. This is what has been going on.

14

26

28

38

Products

Kit guide

Our quick guide to summer textile jackets. After reading this, all you need is sunshine.

Your letters

MSL readers put the world to rights once again. Pay attention, these guys know what they’re talking about.

Feast your eyes on the top 10 products that got us excited this month.

TOURING & ADVENTURE

Maynard Hershon

57

You can learn a lot about riding during lockdown. Even if the trips are limited.

Subscription offer

Your chance to save £££ and get the magazine before it's in the shops.

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58

60

64

76 4 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

Touring news

You can escape the urban Singapore and have an adventure just a ferry ride away.

Day ride

Can a £499 moped make it to Land’s End? Our travel man Peter Henshaw finds out.

Mid ride

Fly-Ride trip to Greece takes in mountains, twisties and a typhoon named Zorba.

Long ride

Across Mongolia with a group of Royal Enfield Bullets – what could possibly go wrong?

69

Richard Millington

70

Australia on Postie bikes

Some people have the gift of finding things, others have the gift of losing them…

Nathan Millward takes a group across Australia on Honda CT110 Postie bikes.

TEST FLEET 80

August 2020

Suzuki V-Strom 1050XT

Mossy finally gets to meet his ride for the summer.

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70 76

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86

Where to, guv?

Henry Cole shares his top destinations to visit in the UK on two wheels.

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20

30

KTM 390 Adventure

The small KTM is a strong contender of the top spot in the small-capacity adventure bike category.

Harley Iron 1200

89

The updated middleweight from Kawasaki puts the rider in charge of the fun.

Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 Factory

Could this be the ultimate supernaked? Surely a bike can’t get much better than this?

40

90

91

What does the first ride on a Harley feel like? Mike gets good vibrations.

Kawasaki Z650

Unsung heroes

It’s not all about massive bikes from big manufacturers. When it comes to adventure bikes, there’s plenty of choice.

Moto Guzzi V85TT

Nathan compares the Guzzi to a selection of adventure bikes.

Royal Enfield Interceptor 650

This is a magic bike. It can change the way you ride.

ROAD TESTS 10

Honda Africa Twin

Cruise control proves controversial on the Africa Twin.

Yamaha TMAX

Easy living is what the TMAX has to offer. Great!

BMW F900XR

Mike makes acquaintance with the new sports tourer.

Kawasaki Ninja 1000 SX Tourer

Stu is still smitten with the bike. He just needs to ride more.

KNOWLEDGE 78

92

98

Knowledge

Do you know where the adventure ‘beak’ originated? Find out here.

Tried & tested

Airbag jackets are the latest safety feature for riders. But what are they like? We find out.

Kevin Cameron

MSL tech expert Kevin Cameron looks at engine cooling – it’s not just a question of air or water…

30

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Test Ride

THE ZED PUTS

YOU IN CONTROL OF THE

FUN

The new Euro5-compliant Kawasaki Z650 receives improved styling and handling, plus full-colour TFT clocks Kawasaki Z650

I

WORDS: Adam ‘Chad’ Child PHOTOGRAPHY: Double Red

n 1976 Queen with Bohemian Rhapsody topped the charts, it was the second warmest summer on record, and Kawasaki launched their very first Z650.

Kawasaki was already dominating the big bike market with the legendary Z1-derived Z900, but now hoped to appeal to a new audience with a lighter, but still powerful, Z650. Back in 76, when Stallone first wore his Rocky shorts, the motorcycle market was very different, and the fourcylinder Z650 was still regarded as a big bike, but essentially the virtues of the original bike are used by Kawasaki today.

Kawasaki wanted the Zed to have ‘nimble handling, compact style,

Z-family appeal with incredible poise and performance’. It’s strange how history repeats itself. Over 40 years on and Kawasaki delivers a revised Z650 with a similar design brief – nimble, compact with a noticeable Z-styling. The revised Z650 now sits as bike number three in the Zed family. If you removed the badging and logo, it would still be easily identifiable as belonging to the Zed brand, which is one of the most recognisable on the market.

In 2005 Kawasaki launched the hugely successful ER-6N. It was an entry-level commuter designed to be robust, which explained its popularity with riding schools and commuters alike. However, the ER-6N also

20 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

appealed to a new young audience who enjoyed the fun and sporty appeal of the middle-weight Kawasaki. Some ERs were even transformed into race bikes for the Lightweight class at the TT, which was introduced in 2012 and was won by a Kawasaki.

Over the years the ER-6N was tweaked and polished, but in 2017 it received a major overhaul and was re-branded as the Z650, an evocative name given how much the original Z was loved in the 70s. The new Zed 650 was a huge step forward in development over the old ER-6N. Although the engine layout remained the same – a parallel-twin with 649cc capacity – everything else was

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