Motorcycle Sport & Leisure March 2020

HEATED GLOVES

Do they work? Good value? We find outt

TOURING BOOTS

Everything you need to know

TRIUMPH

No.714 March 2020

GERMAN & AUSTRIAN N

ALPS S Why you need d to ride here!

ARCH KRGT-1 £65k of Hollywood dream from Keanu Reeves & Co.

UK off off-sale sale date – 06/03/2020

£4.40

THRUXT TON RS

NEW Need to know ◆ Your letters ◆ First rides

Triumph’s £7900 Street Triple S

F

ollowing the launch of the Thruxton RS (see the launch ride report on page 18), Triumph has announced the new 660cc, A2 licence compatible, Street Triple S naked sportbike.

The big news is that the Street Triple S has had a visual overhaul for 2020 – much like its RS sibling. It comes with new LED headlights, new bodyw ywork w (including a new fly screen, air intake, side panels and rear unit), new mirrors and a new paint scheme. It looks smart, don’t you think?

Away from its styling, the S has also been brought in line with Euro 5 emissions regulations. But don’t worry, despite the increasingly stringent rules there’s been no loss of performance. The A2 A restricted i d version kicks out 477bhp and 60Nm of torque, wh hile the derestricted model offers 95bhp and 66Nm of torqu ue.

Although the S sits s at the bottom of the Streeet Triple line-up, it still com mes fitted with some top quality kiit, including Brembo and Nissin n brakes, Showa suspension, Pirelli Diablo Rosso III tyres and d a couple of

riding modes (Road and Rain), which work to adjust throttle response and traction control settings with the press of a button.

We’re looking forward to getting i our hands h d on this. hi It’s I’ a lot of bike for the money.

Specification STREET TRIPLE S Price: £7900 Engine: 660cc liquid-cooled, 12 valve, DOHC, in-line 3-cylinder Power: A2 model: 47bhp (35kW) @ 9000rpm / Derestricted: 95bhp (70kW) @ 11,250rpm

Torque: A2 model: 60Nm @ 5250rpm / Derestricted: 66Nm @ 9250rpm Seat Height: 810mm Dry Weight: 168kg Tank Capacity: 17.4 litres Contact: www.triumphmotorcycles.co.uk

Top Stories

Kawasaki sign John McGuinness for 2020

Quattro Plant Bournemouth Kawasaki sign John McGuinness for 2020 Road Racing campaign Road racing legend, John McGuinness will contest the 2020 Isle of Man TT and International North West 200 road races for Quattro Plant Bournemouth Kawasaki.

McGuinness, who celebrates his 30th year of racing in 2020, will ride Ninja ZX-10RR machinery in the Superbike and Superstock classes at both events. It will be the first time McGuinness has ridden a Kawasaki at either event.

However, the now 47-year-old has previous experience on a green machine from the 2004 Ulster Grand Prix Superbike race.

John McGuinness said: “I’m delighted to announce my plans for the 2020 International road racing season and equally delighted to be riding for

Quattro Plant Bournemouth Kawasaki. Their record on the roads with James Hillier, in terms of both results and reliability, along with their reputation within the bike industry, speak for themselves, and with it being such a family-orientated team, it’s the perfect fit for me. It’s a highly reputable, professional team who have achieved great things on both the roads and the circuits and, for me, they tick all the boxes.

“After my performances at Macau, I really got my mojo back and, with my leg now 100%, I feel like I’m riding as well as ever. Joining Kawasaki and Pete’s team and riding the Ninja ZX-10RR is a new chapter for me, one I’m excited about and really looking forward to.”

Estonia trials speeding time out Think speeding will get you to your destination quicker? Not in Estonia it won’t. The Police have been trialling a new kind of speeding penalty – and rather than receiving a fine or points by default, if you get caught you’ll be given a choice between paying a fine or taking a time out.

So how does it work?

Well, if you’re caught breaking the speed limit by 20km/h (12mph) or less, you’ll be given a 45-minute time penalty, and if you break the limit by up to 40km/h (25mph) then you’ll receive a 60-minutte time penalty. Simple.

The trial comes as a reesponse to an increase in road incidents and fatalities in 2017.

It’s an intriguing approacch.

8 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

The UK’s first motorcycle-only electric charger The Bike Shed Motorcycle Club has revealed its new motorcycle-only electric charging point – and it’s the first of its kind in the UK. Based at The Bike Shed’s Shoreditch HQ in London, the 7kW EO Mini Charger is free for all motorcycle riding customers to use during opening hours. Installed by EO Charging, the 7KW Mini Charger is described as ‘the smallest fast charger on the market’.

Contents en

PAY LESS

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18 NEWS & OPINION: 7

News

40

Kit guide

16

Maynard Hershon

42

The High Sider

Latest products

TOURING & ADVENTURE

24

30

32

Here’s the monthly motorcycling news in brief.

It’s a long ride home for Maynard on the new bike.

Ten products that we are excited about this month.

All you need to know about touring boots before you spend your cash.

Our man in racing leathers looks at how bikes and drugs mix.

51

Touring news

Save £££ and get the magazine before it’s in the shops.

52

Day ride

Your letters

56

Mid ride

Subscription offer

MSL readers, have your say. The floor is yours.

68

60 66 68

74 78

4 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

34

Around the world in 40 days.

Island hopping in Scotland.

Moving to Spain. What a great excuse to ride there!

ROAD TESTS 10

Long ride

Big South American tour concludes.

Richard Millington

18

This is all-year riding with a twist.

Yamaha MT-03

You don’t always need the biggest bike to have fun.

Triumph Thruxton RS

The latest retro Triumph is launched in Spain.

German/Austrian Alps

26

Suzuki GSX-R1000R

History Boy

34

Arch KRGT-1

44

Honda CB500X Rally Raid

There are some fantastic roads and scenery round here.

A gem of a railway station to visit.

Bagging a trip of a lifetime

Here’s what you need to consider before parting with your money.

Mossy tries to tame the fire-breathing Suzuki.

The Arch is hand-built, unique and eye-wateringly expensive.

Taking adventure to the next level.

March 2020

91 TEST FLEET 90

Honda CB500X

91

Yamaha Niken

94

Kawasaki Versys 1000

95

It’s time to say goodbye to the capable Honda.

96

Two wheels at the front are ideal for winter, right?

The Versys has been good to Bertie all year, but this is the end of their time together.

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Suzuki V-Strom 1000XT

Stu declares the V-Strom the perfect bike for winter riding.

KNOWLEDGE 85

86

96

EDITOR: Mikko Nieminen mnieminen@mortons.co.uk DESIGNERS: Charlotte Turnbull and Fran Lovely PRODUCTION EDITOR: Mike Cowton PICTURE DESK: Paul Fincham and Jonathan Schofield PUBLISHING DIRECTOR: Dan Savage PUBLISHER: Tim Hartley GROUP KEY ACCOUNTS MANAGER: Steff Woodhouse: swoodhouse@mortons.co.uk 01507 529452 / 07786 334330 GROUP ADVERTISING MANAGER: Sue Keily DIVISIONAL ADVERTISING MANAGER: Zoe Thurling zthurling@mortons.co.uk 01507 529412 ADVERTISING SALES: Charlotte Mountain cmountain@mortons.co.uk 01507 529538 SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER: Paul Deacon pdeacon@mortons.co.uk CIRCULATION MANAGER: Steve O’Hara sohara@mortons.co.uk MARKETING MANAGER: Charlotte Park cpark@mortons.co.uk COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR: Nigel Hole EDITORIAL ADDRESS: MSL Magazine, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6JR WEBSITE: www.mslmagazine.co.uk GENERAL QUERIES AND BACK ISSUES: 01507 529529 24 hr answerphone help@classicmagazines.co.uk www.classicmagazines.co.uk ARCHIVE ENQUIRIES: Jane Skayman jskayman@mortons.co.uk 01507 529423

Knowledge

Do you know the traffic signs? If you do you’re in the minority.

Why won’t they build it?

102 Classic test

This time we put the real and retro side by side – Honda CB750 and CB1100.

Body kits can transform the looks of bikes. So why don’t we see more of them?

108 Tried & Tested

Buyer's guide

114 Kevin Cameron

Suzuki TL 1000S has a reputation, and it’s unique. But is it a good buy?

Heated gloves are a must this time of year. Here’s what we think of them.

Motorcycles are important in so many ways.

40 0

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PRINTED: William Gibbons & Sons, Wolverhampton The publisher accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. If you are sending material to us for publication, you are strongly advised to make copies and to include a stamped addressed envelope. Original material must be submitted and will be accepted solely on the basis that the author accepts the assessment of the publisher as to its commercial value. © Mortons Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publisher. ISSN: 1478-8390 MOTORCYCLE SPORT & LEISURE (USPS:001-522) is published monthly by Mortons Media Group Ltd, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6LZ UK. USA subscriptions are $66 per year from Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 Cty Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921. Periodical Postage is paid at Bancroft WI and additional entries.

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Test Ride Triumph Thruxton RS

THE NEW

KING OF

RETRO

of power, Triumph has taken the Thruxton, added a bit pec lost some weight and sprinkled it with high-s that components. The question is not whether makes it better, but how much better!

T

WORDS: Dave Manning PHOTOGRAPHY: Kingdom Creative

he slight name change reflects the nomenclature that Triumph uses for their regular road bike range – standard, R and RS – meaning that the new Thruxton RS is the sportiest and highest specification of the Thruxton segment of the Bonneville range, whilst retaining the brand’s iconic and classic styling. Yes, this does mean that the model fills a niche within a niche within a niche, but it also means that it is at the very top of the tree as far as sporty Bonneville models go.

That high spec that enables the RS suffix brings both increased power and reduced weight, with some subtle tweaking of pretty much all the major components of the more basic Thruxton models.

IT’S BEEN TO THE GYM…

The increase in power comes in the form of a number of upgrades to the 1200cc powerplant, which include a revision to the cam profile, higher compression pistons (now at 12:1)

and a shaving off of weight from some of the engine components, including the crank. Triumph actually makes great note of the 270 degree crank configuration that is not only used for the RS, but the entire Bonneville range, saying that it results in ‘the classic sound of a British twin’ regardless of the fact that the new Bonnie motor’s crank results in a firing order that is actually closer to that of a vee twin rather than a traditional parallel twin’s 180 degree crank (like the Bonnie always was), so the soundtrack is actually closer to a classic Italian than Brit…

Those engine components that have been on an enforced New Year’s diet include the clutch, a magnesium cam cover, the addition of a rareearth alternator, thin-walled engine covers, a low inertia crankshaft and, and thanks to the crank’s reduction in mass, the engine’s balance shafts have been able to be slimmed down, too.

The new model offers a 6kg weight saving. That may not, initially, sound like much, but it is just shy of an imperial stone, and there’s probably

18 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

not one of us who wouldn’t notice that kind of weight loss if we did it via this year’s resolution diet.

Because of all that, with a claimed 104bhp, the new Thruxton RS achieves 8bhp more than the previous Thruxton R. While this may not really sound like a great deal, the new bike also has an increased punch of torque – giving not only a maximum torque figure that is lower down the rev range than earlier models, but also more grunt across the entire rev range, peaking at 83ft-lb at 4850rpm, which is 700rpm lower than the point at which its predecessor produced peak torque. This is something of a surprise, given that the new RS engine, with an impressive 20% reduction in inertia, actually revs harder and higher than the R, peaking 500rpm higher. Unsurprisingly, this perkier, more responsive engine is much more appealing from a rider’s perspective, as various riders had considered last year’s 1200cc Thruxton to rev a little slowly, and to not have the instant drive that a large capacity twin should have.

LAUNCH

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 19

German & Austrian Alps

68 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

TOURING & ADVENTURE

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE…

…with the sound of bikers having a brilliant time touring around the German and Austrian Alps! Here’s how to join them

T

WORDS: Alan Dowds PHOTOGRAPHY: Alan Dowds, Yamaha, iStock

ouring in the Alps? Completed it mate. That’s what many of us think.

But even the most hardened UK distance fans are likely to have stuck to ‘our’ side of the wonderful European mountain range. The western and southern side of the Alps – the French, Swiss and Italian regions – are glorious, and most of us have had a taste of them. The Route Napoleon, Col de la Bonette, and the Great St Bernard Pass – all legendary Alpine riding routes, and more than deserving of their plaudits.

But there’s much more to the Alps. Look on Google Maps, and you can see the enormous snow-capped peaks extend eastwards into Slovenia, Lichtenstein, Austria, and just clip the bottom part of Germany.

Follow these longer routes and you can still get down into Italy if that’s what you fancy. But there are other options open afterwards too – places such as Croatia, Bosnia and even Hungary are all just a skip past the south-eastern Alps. But we’re concentrating on southern Germany and Austria here, because we’ve had a couple of trips around this region of late, and had a proper ball.

And we reckon you would enjoy the area too!

KNOWLEDGE Riding ◆ Buying ◆ Rating

Fewer than 10% of British drivers know what common road signs mean Worrying findings from a recent study suggest that most road users don’t know the majority of traffic signs

I

t looks like the majority of Brits who took a recent quiz need to go back to driving school – or at least take their theory test again – after the results showed that fewer than 10% of participants scored full marks in the Highway Code themed quiz!

Putting 1700 British motorists’ road sign knowledge to the test to find out if they knew their no entries from their level crossings, the quiz was all about separating the seasoned motorists from automobile amateurs. The results were a bit of a mix, with some surprising – and not-so-surprising – outcomes.

WHICH REGION REALLY KNOWS THE RULES OF THE ROAD?

In terms of location, the results were a little all over the place.

The North East put in quite the showing, performing best out of any region. However, the rest of the North wasn’t quite so well informed, with both Yorkshire and the Humber, and the North West earning penultimate and

last place respectively.

The southern regions fared poorly, earning 8th, 9th and joint 11th places overall, while Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland proved their mettle, coming in near enough the top half of the final rankings. The full results of performance by region is as follows: 1. North East 2. East of England 3. West Midlands 4. Wales 5. Scotland 6. Northern Ireland 7. East Midlands 8. South East 9. Greater London 10. Yorkshire and the Humber 11. North West & South West

THE ROAD SIGNS BARELY ANY DRIVERS UNDERSTAND When it came to the signs that had motorists stumped, the

results were telling. Despite being fairly common, more than half of motorists guessed the ‘no buses permitted’ sign incorrectly, while ‘miniroundabout ahead’ put a quarter of Brits in a spin. The ‘end of controlled parking zone’ was answered correctly by only one in five, too!

The ‘risk of grounding’ sign confused a third of drivers, with wrong answers ranging from ‘bumpy surface’ to ‘towing not permitted’, while the ‘level crossing without barrier or gate ahead’ posed its own set of problems. Drivers in the East and East Midlands struggled to identify it, while – get this – not a single London-based

participant could guess the correct meaning.

WHO SCORED THE HIGHEST IN EACH REGION?

Proving that wisdom really does come with age, Generation X (44-54) performed best with Baby Boomers (55+) closely following in second place, faring better than participants from other age groups. Millennials in the 25-34 age range came in third place while, perhaps unsurprisingly, Generation Z (18-24) performed the worst when it came to proving their road sign recognition – suggesting that testing standards for new drivers may be slipping.

What, who, when?

The survey was completed in early November 2019 by car dealership Brindley Garages Group.

All 1700+ respondents were current owners and drives of a vehicle, with a valid licence.

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 85

WHY WON’T THEY BUILD IT? ve never seen You’ve just seen an awesome bike at a show. You’v g it – and now anything like it before. You can picture yourself ridin transform a you’ve decided you’ve got to build it. But how do you icon, particularly standard machine into a head-tturning two-wheeled h a bolt-on kit if your mechanical skills are limited? The answer: wit

M WORDS: Ross Mowbray

ost bikers have a slightly distorted view of custom motorcycles. As a rule, we tend to think of outrageous choppers and turbocharged streetfighters, but that’s not really the case.

Technically, a custom motorcycle is one that has been changed from its standard factory form. It’s that simple.

You don’t have to be a mechanical whizz with an engineering degree to create something special, there are an abundance of parts and accessories out there to make your bike unique. Even if you’ve never changed a single part on your bike, with the right attitude and a bit of elbow grease you can turn your pride and joy into something spectacular.

86 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

CUSTOMISE your BMW R NineT with Hookie’s bolt-on KIT Got a BMW RNineT? Want to customise it? Hookie’s latest moto-kit could be just what you’re looking for.

Hookie has made a name for itself over the last few years with its eclectic mix of custom bike builds, but it’s the Dresden-based custom house’s bolt-on kit for BMW’s RNineT that really caught our 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. We love it. It’s not cheap, and will set you back €4,900 (approximately £4,250), but either way, there’s no doubt it looks fantastic. www.hookie.co

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