Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2016 i BIKE

>> It’s late in the afternoon on the sort of day when you wish you’d not bothered with that thermal lining. The sun’s high in an immaculate sky, bleached mountains dominate the view in every direction, and we haven’t seen another soul all day. We feel on top of the world, but this isn’t the Himalayas. It’s not even the Alps. This is Wales, just a few hours from home yet a world away from daily life, and where the adaptability of our adventure bikes is astonishing. Yesterday we flew here in sumptuous comfort, then spent a memorable afternoon leaping down amazing back roads. Now we’re skipping along forest tracks and hilltop trails, and tomorrow we’ll luggage up for the fast A-roads home. Our huge test – including pillion picks,…

WHEELED OUT AT the 2016 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, this is BMW’s R5 Hommage. It’s a special built to celebrate the 80th birthday of their original R5, a sportsbike based on 500cc racers. Beemer’s creative director Ola Stenegard says it’s, ‘the essence of a motorcycle... a combination of old-school and high-tech.’ And that last bit’s important. While it uses an original R5 twin and looks like a hardtail, the Hommage is advanced. Suspension features an adjustable remote-reservoir shock and period-looking forks have the latest internals. There’s a six-piston radial caliper and even a specially-developed supercharger. At light load four-stroke engines waste fuel energy sucking air in past a part-shut throttle. One solution is to downsize the engine, so for any given torque the throttle is further open and so losses…

>> Where are you now? We just finished the North and South America leg and took a cargo freighter from Uruguay to Europe. We are now in Madrid, which is about halfway through our trip. >> What’s the big plan? Our original idea was to spend a year riding from Seattle to Ushuaia, Argentina. But our plan morphed into a round-the-world extravaganza. Next it’s Morocco then into Southeast Asia and then back home to North America. >> What inspired you to make this journey? Right now we have an opportunity that is unique in the history of mankind, where a person of normal means and wit can ride the globe on an overland trip of their own design with a high probability of success. We can step out of our…

Transferable affections Like many of us I fell in love with the Triumph Thruxton R as soon as I saw it; a fabulously balanced vision of style and up-to-the-minute engineering. Having owned over 35 bikes in my 33 year biking career, I’d never bought a new one. Ever. I remedied this at my local Triumph dealer, and put down a deposit on one, without seeing it in the flesh. December came and I took a trip to the NEC to see it for the first time. I wasn’t disappointed; it was even nicer than I’d expected and I felt good about my decision. Two days later I swung a leg over a shiny new silvery grey R model, and rode off on a test ride. I returned to the dealership…

ONE HUNDRED AND fifty-four miles per hour. That’s fast. It feels fast if you’re prone on a sportsbike, wedged between clip-on handlebars and tight rearset footpegs. On a lofty adventure bike it’s outrageous. KTM’s Adventure verges on comical. Its 1195cc V-twin has 134bhp at the wheel, and is ‘crunchy, exciting and fun’, according to Steve. It revs in a flash, its light friction-free internals flicking the tacho into five figures. The 1190 is light and geared to exploit its punch, so hard acceleration has the electronics stepping in as the chassis tries to rotate around the rear spindle. Turn off the traction control (scroll, select, next sub-menu, scroll, select, press and hold, close the throttle, press the back button…) and it needs no encouragement to wheelie off the throttle. In…

‘This mellowed, stretched-out 800 gives true flexibility’ TRIUMPH’S TIGER 800 is a bike I’ve ridden plenty, enjoyed plenty and recommended plenty. It’s plenty of bike for just over 11 grand too. In range-topping XCA guise you get a bundle of extras: spoked wheels, bashplate, engine guards, spot lights, heated seats, pannier carriers, big alternator, plumbed-in sockets – the list is long for your extra cash. Along with the BMW F800GS it looks like being the sportier adventurer’s choice, because it’s lighter and so perhaps more agile and easier to play with than larger capacity, larger scale bikes. Triumph’s three-cylinder engine is a real highlight. The 800cc triple has been polished, buffed and smoothed out to give the longest, flattest torque curve in the history of tractors. Part of me wishes…

TWO FLOORS, 150 BIKES The collection is housed in a purpose built two storey building that comes across like some kind of ultimate Honda showroom. Fifties bikes on the ground floor, follow the timeline upstairs for ’60s and ’70s stuff, then back downstairs for ’80s. Next door is David Silver Spares’ HQ. SWEET CB92 11,000rpm 125cc twin with electric starting was one of the first models to come to Europe. A bit of a shock for BSA Bantam riders. Pressed-steel frame with leading link forks was typical period Honda. As was overhead camshaft air-cooled twin cylinder engine. 1953 BENLEY 1953 J-type Benley (derived from the Japanese word for convenient) is the oldest bike in the collection. Never exported outside Japan, this was Soichiro Honda’s first proper motorcycle. The design has…

Bryan Shawcross grew up in Macclesfield where he and his mates formed Team Oaf in the 1980s. A keen traveller Bryan has visited over 50 countries. Now lives in the Lake District and rides an Aprilia Tuono and CCM Supermoto. ‘The bus crossed the road and nudged the house opposite. Shit’ THE BUS CRASH CERTAINLY SPED UP my plans for some Trans-Saharan adventure. It was back in the good-old 1980s: Margaret Thatcher; miners’ strikes and dreadful spells of unemployment. It was all pre-internet and selfies, but on the plus side there were plenty of thriving pubs, LCs were £500 and Team Bike were in their heyday of 24-hour endurance racing. Things could have been worse. I’d already bought a few maps of Algeria, Mali and Niger and had read a…

>> There are many well-known bike routes across these neighbouring counties, and they’re well known for a reason: they’re amazing. Better still, most conveniently terminate at the start of an equally fine stretch of riding road, and the counties are dotted with great places to grab a bite, soak in the beauty or take that essential selfie. >> A-roads allow a smooth and flowing lap around the perimeter of these Midland gems. Head to the market town of Melton Mowbray on the twists and belly-floating dips of the A6006, swoop into Rutland on the A606 and pick up the A6003 south – from Uppingham to Rockingham this rides high atop broad valleys, with stretching vistas and rolling sweeps. Swing west on the tree-lined turns of the A4304. The A447 north…

>> Kawasaki ZX-10R Total mileage: 1645 Tyres: Bridgestone RS10 Price: £13,785 otr Story this month: long distance commuting on the A14 filtering at what seems like a thousand miles per hour. >> Triumph Street Twin Total mileage: 2516 Tyres: Maxxis Promaxx Street Price: £7350 otr Story this month: trackday at Rockingham Motor Speedway, impressed by new Maxxis tyres. >> Suzuki SV650 Total mileage: 1079 Tyres: Dunlop Qualifier Price: £5635 otr Story this month: trackday at Rockingham, scenic runs between Melton Mowbray (Leics) and Peterborough (Cambs). >> Honda Africa Twin Total mileage: 1484 Tyres: Dunlop Trailmax Price: £10,499 otr Story this month: winning the group test in Wales and a long, leisurely jaunt to Suffolk. Quite a good month really… >> Royal Enfield Classic Total mileage: 795 Tyres: Avon Roadrider Price:…

This month: Honda CRF1000L Other bikes ridden: Morini 500 Camel, lots of adventure bikes Miles ridden: 974 BEING LAZY I’M REALLY TAKEN with the DCT transmission. On the road it’s brilliant. In normal use you can forget about gear-changing and concentrate on the line and visibility and what’s for tea. But it takes a while to overcome clutch use habits when riding slowly. My throttle hand and the fuel injection can’t deliver the sensitivity of low speed control that a clutch can. That makes feet-up U-turns awkward. And worse with a cold engine. At the Honda Adventure Centre (p44) instructor Pat Jackson reckons that for off-road use it’s best with the DCT in manual, with gravel button on, TCS on lowest level of intervention (and rear wheel ABS off, obviously).…

This month: Yamaha Super Ténéré Other bikes ridden: KTM 1290 Super Duke GT Miles ridden: 1168 Discovered during our big adventure bike test (p29), this fast, flowing 35 mile stretch of riding perfection is the best route into/out of North Wales. Starting at the tip of Bala Lake, the well surfaced B4391 snakes its way around the perimeter of Snowdonia National Park, dipping and rising and twisting its way through trees, hedgerows and an open mountainous landscape. Using the Super Ténéré’s mighty motor to punch out of corners, charge through trees and whoop at proper air over one sharp crest before calming down to enjoy the view down to Penybontfawr, this is exhilarating riding. As we branch off onto the B4396, things settle down, the landscape flattens out and it’s…

This month: Kawasaki ZX-10R Other bikes ridden: Triumph Street Twin, Suzuki SV650 Miles ridden: 578 THE SUN IS STARTING to warm Rockingham’s National Circuit and sitting in the scrutineering bay is my Kawasaki ZX-10R. Oh yes. Today is going to be good. After months of leading me astray on the roads, the Kawasaki is finally where it should be: on a trackday. Not only that, but Bike’s Paul Lang and Mike Armitage have just turned up with a selection of this year’s test fleet bikes so we can compare the ZX-10R to machines with less than 194bhp. After a session or two to get my bearings I try a bit harder and the Kawasaki begins to make sense in a way it doesn’t on the road. Into the first corner…

This month: Harley FXR Shovelhead Other bikes ridden: Harley FXR Evo Miles ridden: 582 THIS BAG CONTAINS the only real Shovelhead essentials – lots of tools. They don’t stay in the bag long, as you might imagine. I never leave home without them, even if I’m only walking to the pub. My only friends in this life of comedy woe. >>Melco plug spanner Made in Sheffield (when things were made in Sheffield) the PS14 never lets you down (unlike Shovel sparks). >>Bahco 8in adjustable Top quality Swedish brand. Big enough for wheel spindle nuts, nifty enough for throttle cable adjusters. >>4-bit screwdriver Cheap but not at all nasty no-name item with very easy to swap bits. Seldom used as a pry bar or chisel. >>LED torch Ultra-bright cheapo mini-lighthouse. Brighter,…

Paul Lang Art Director >>I’ve got an odd desire to go from Rutland, the UK’s smallest county, to Vatican City, the world’s smallest city. I just need the courage. Mark Graham Sidecar Expert >>As the owner of old Harleys any ride is an adventure. I want to take my Shovel to Rome, though. A real test of man, machine and AA cover. Jon Pearson Off-road Editor >>In September it’s the Hard Alpi Tour. It’s a 36-hour, 800km race across the Alps, with 80% of the route off-road. Be nice to finish.…

MOTO3 IS OFTEN presented as an outlet for built-up, raging hormones and all-round nuttiness. But occasionally a cool head emerges above the sound and fury. In 2016 that man is 20-year-old Brad Binder who has staked his claim as a future star of Grand Prix racing with a succession of daring yet mature displays that have put team bosses in Moto2 on high alert. The first South African Grand Prix winner since 1981 had amassed more than 70 starts in the junior category before his first win came. And what a win it was. Sent to the back of the grid for a minor technical infringement during free practice and qualifying at Jerez, Binder passed 33 riders in 18 laps to claim victory. Two others soon followed, including victory in…

OAKLAND: INDUSTRIAL CITY, California, USA. Shiny malls and gated suburban communities are not the sell. It’s not quite a wasteland but it’s most definitely ruff tuff. Arlen Ness, grand master of customs, cut his teeth here with a shop on East 14th Street. ‘Oakland is rough around the edges,’ he says. ‘And Oakland is a motorcycle town.’ Perfect territory for fun and games then. Harleys generally, FXRs largely, with mad baggers chucked in for good measure. A heady mix of heavy metal tortured with an impressive lightness of touch. The artists in this case are Unknown Industries. Not quite so unknown if you dial Harley Wheelies into the YouTube. And the name Brad Lackey might ring a bell if you’re familiar with Grand Prix Motocross… first American to win a…

THE DATES MONDAY 1ST AUGUSTAND THURSDAY 1ST SEPTEMBER THE RULES NO TRACK BIKES Your bike must have a numberplate and treaded road-legal tyres NO TYREWARMERS No lap-timing, datalogging or any other unnecessary faffing, either NO VANS OR TRAILERS Bikes only in the paddock – any vans and trailer will have to be parked outside Ride with Bike Get guidance from Bike's testers and racers TO BOOK GO TO bikemagazine.co.uk/trackdays…

THE END OF the nineties saw the birth of the inline four 1000cc superbike as we know it, in the shape of Yamaha’s template-setting YZF-R1. It took Suzuki until 2000 to reveal their response, but the resulting GSX-R1000 K1 was worth the wait. Loosely based on their GSX-R750 it instantly became king of the new superbike class with its genuine 140bhp from a stunningly free-revving engine – it was the lightest and most powerful machine everyday riders had ever had access to. However, Suzuki had no time to rest on their laurels as rivals Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha put the big GSX-R under annual attack. But with each evolution Suzuki always found their way back to the top. The GSX-R1000’s finest year was 2005 – the K5 was widely regarded…

B-ROADS ARE THE most challenging routes to ride well because the view can suddenly go from a mile down to 20m, you get lots of elevation change, some bits are well-signed and others aren’t, and of course there are lots of corners. By comparison, A-roads are easy because they’ve had so much money spent on them to engineer out the dangerous sections – on the whole they’re straighter, flatter and more boring. Another advantage of B-roads is you don’t have to ride at silly speeds to have fun. You can have a challenging ride at 60mph, whereas you would have to be doing three figures on an A-road to get the same buzz. On a B-road you’re aiming for flow – linking one corner to the next in a smooth…

This month: Suzuki SV650 Other bikes ridden: Honda CBR600RR, Mobylette V50 Miles ridden: 2315 HAIRPINS ARE EASY. There’s a straight bit, a U-turn, then another straight. Rockingham’s layout is mischievous, however, and while it is easy to learn it’s also technical enough to play with lines all day. The hairpin is no exception. The final corner on the ace National circuit, it’s a right-hander called Tarzan. Three crafty elements try to catch you out. First, it’s not constant radius. Second, it gets wider as you go round. This is due to the third bit, a pitlane entrance on the corner exit where the track narrows. Oh, hang on, there’s a fourth, perhaps most important – the kerbs are in odd places. To avoid turning-in too soon, running desperately wide and…

£1500 saving KTM 1190 >> Like the look of the fast, exciting and inspiring KTM 1190 Adventure in our massive giant trailie test on page 29? Good news. phmotorcycles.co.uk will cheerfully sell you a new example of the 1195cc V-twin exploration device for £12,499 – that’s a grand and a half off list. Sign up for some PCP action and it’s less than £155 per month. Your only chance Benelli 900 Sei >> Fine handling, quality components and – the real highlight – a six-cylinder motor. Benelli’s superbike started at 747cc in 1972 and went up to 906cc in 1979. North Cornwall Motorcycles (01288 355162) are selling a zero-mile spanker, still smeared in protective grease from the factory, for £15,999. Don’t expect a cut-price PCP deal. Down by £2336 Yamaha…

THE DUTCH DUCATI owners club might be the biggest in the world, but that doesn’t prepare you for the scale of their annual club races. For a start they take over Assen, a course they call the Cathedral of Speed. The last weekend in May culminates in 13 races on Sunday, with practice on Friday, and Saturday reserved for qualifying. Oh, and a demonstration race featuring a brace of Brittens. Wandering round you half expect to find hen’s teeth on sale such is the quality of the bikes – including a Ducati 750 from the 1972 Imola 200. In the paddock are classic Ducatis with tyre warmers on, presumably to the horror of any closet collectors. But, given the Dutch are famously open minded, there’s plenty non-Ducati content, including British…

ALONG, HOT DAY in the Spanish sun taking serious enduro bikes seriously was taking its toll on my energy. Leaving the 62bhp bike for last might not have been a smart idea. I was a passenger for my first few kilometres on the revised 2017 KTM 500EXC-F, hanging off the back like a flag and grumbling, ‘why does anyone buy these bikes?’ But when too much acid in my forearms forced me to hold something back, suddenly the 500 made sense. Instead of racing I was enjoying the ride. 62bhp? You wouldn’t know it. Best trail bike ever? Possibly. More power means taller gears and lower revs for less effort. It’ll run for hours on its 8.5-litre tank, is more stable than smaller capacity bikes over distance yet maintains agility…

IT’S SOMETHING THAT I’ve written many times for different Hondas over the years, from CBR125s right up to their MotoGP bikes, and it’s true with the Africa Twin: it feels like a bike I’ve ridden before, even though I haven’t. Quite how Honda do it with so many and such different bikes is a marvel. All is sweet, simple and typically functional when you hop on the CRF. It’s like it’s been set-up just for you. The 998cc parallel twin engine is beautifully smooth at every speed, wafting on a usable midrange with a deep, rich, prominent burble. There’s ‘only’ 90bhp reaching the wheel, yet on proper roads the Honda never feels like you can’t stay with the much faster KTM or Ducati. Handling is sweet, plush suspension has a…

Honda Adventure Centre On: Honda Africa Twin >> Level one, two and three courses Costs: £499 two days, kit hire is extra Where: Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales hondaadventure centre.com Off-road Skills On: BMW 650, 700, 800 and 1200GS >> Level one, two and three courses, plus special women only sessions Costs: £499 two days, kit hire is extra Where: Ystalyfera, South Wales offroadskills.com TrailQuestAdventure On: Triumph Tiger 800XCx >> One day adventure rider training for novices, or off-road adventure experience Costs: £250 one day Where: Malvern, Herefordshire trailquest adventure.com Yamaha Ténéré Experience On: Yamaha XT1200Z >> A riding experience that includes instruction and a ride, rather than courses Costs: £250 one day, £20 kit hire. Two day £450 Where: Mid Wales yamaha-tenere-experience.co.uk yamaha-tenereexperience.co.uk Ducati Riding Experience On: Ducati Multistrada Enduro >> Two days…

» 2001-2002 Suzuki GSX-R1000 K1/K2 Loosely based on the 2000 GSX-R750, and a huge step forward from the old 1100. Chunky-looking aluminium box-section frame joined six-pot calipers and gold titanium nitride-coated USD fork. 988cc – 170kg – 140bhp – £2600-£3500 » 2003-2004 Suzuki GSX-R1000 K3/K4 More powerful, slimmer and easier to ride. Radial four-pot Tokicos are teamed with smaller front brake discs to improve turning. Uprated fully adjustable suspension and forks, bit more power. 998cc – 168kg – 150bhp – £3500-£4000 » 2005-2006 Suzuki GSX-R1000 K5/K6 An intoxicating mix of serious grunt, record-breaking low weight and unprecedented ease of use – so good BMW based the S1000RR on it. Came with a stumpy, trapezoidal titanium can as standard. 999cc – 166kg – 160bhp – £4000-£5500 » 2007-2008 Suzuki GSX-R1000 K7/K8…

This isn’t a limp brochure-style round-up of all the bikes you can buy. No, your guide is far more useful as it only contains bikes that we have tested, with comparable on-the-road prices plus data, expert opinion and must-know detail gathered by fussy full-time testers. We do hundreds of thousands of miles, dyno, datalog, weigh and answer the big questions. Don’t buy a new bike without reading this first. *44-YEAR MODEL CYCLE This is Harley’s new XG750R racer for AMA Pro Flat Track. Using the liquid-cooled V-twin from the Street 750, it’ll eventually replace the legendary XR750 launched way back in 1972. 18-year-old rider Davis Fisher was 8th first time out at the Springfield Mile, behind three older XRs. It was won by a Kawasaki ER-6. * PIGS IN SPACE…

Nigel Grimshaw >> 500 quid doesn’t buy much these days. Half a dozen decent meals out, a weekend away with the missus, an iPad for the kids. Or a 36-year-old Steyr Benz Puch Maxi Sport with MoT and rare Mangalesi forged alloys. Add a sunny day and like-minded mates (they come for free) and look skywards as your First World worries float away. Mike Armitage >> Some mates shake their heads at my Moby. Yet this has to be the best way in biking to spend £400 – it’s perfect for popping to the pub, my kids giggle going on the back and it costs bugger-all to run. And on a ride out like this you have more laughs and see more great things than you’d ever imagine, all within…

This month: Suzuki GSX-R750 Other bikes ridden: Honda CRF250RE, test bikes (p29) Miles ridden: 530 I’M SURE I’LL STRIKE A CHORD with some when I say I took my bike apart two years ago and it hasn’t seen a road or track since. Do you know the tune? I have a sweet spot for the GSX-R750 SRAD. I bought one in a terrible state for just over a grand and have spent so much time bringing it back to a mildly upgraded life, I need to see the job out. I entrusted the more difficult bit – an engine refresh – to someone who knows what they’re doing. But since then, two years and four months ago, the bike has sat under a nice orange blanket. Some progress though: the…

This month: Honda CBX750F Other bikes ridden: unfinished Ascot and CB400 (in my dreams) Miles ridden: 216 MY CBX750F DAILY DRIVER has long been chewing up right-hand fork seals and after removing the fork yet again – a major agg due to the air adjustable system’s plumbing – I discovered the reason: a slightly bent stanchion. Further inspection revealed a worn upper bush so that needed replacing too after, of course, expertly straightening the leg. Cue Abba Motorcycle Engineering (motorcycle-frame-straightening.co.uk) in darkest Essex who offer a well affordable three to four day turnaround. David Silver (davidsilverspares.co.uk) stocked both items and whilst I was at it I changed the oil and filter, both available from my North London neighbour, Tony Huck at Maitland Racing (0207 485 0473) along with aftermarket dust…