Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2017 i BIKE

» You can blame the 1980s for lots of things. Shell suits, Chris DeBurgh’s Lady in Red and the Morris Ital, for example. But the ’80s also saw rapid development that shaped today’s bikes – variable valves (’83 Honda CBR400F), aluminium frames (’83 Suzuki RG250), big bikes that handle like small ones (’87 Yamaha FZR1000) and upside-down forks (’89 Kawasaki ZXR400). Placing a BMW K1, Honda CBR1000F and Ducati Paso in front of a bathroom shop reveals more. Heated grips, gear position indicator, ABS and modern riding position? All present, and served on visual wonders that create traffic chaos. And yet, despite period cool with modern usability, ’80s bikes are missed in the modern classic boom. This means ace bikes at not-gone-silly prices, which is mega – unless, like me,…

NEXT MONTH THESE pages should be straining under the load of next year’s hot-poop new motorcycles. The EICMA show is in November, where all the major manufacturers wheel out their latest work. There will be, for example, the brand new Z900RS from Kawasaki, their four-cylinder device which they hope will take them deep into the ever-growing market for traditional feel-good motorcycles. However, they already have a proven and desirable retro in the range. Remember the glorious ZRX1200? It’s still a current model... Introduced twenty years ago as the ZRX1100 and upgraded to 1200 in 2001, the musclebike is still sold in Kawasaki’s home market. This year’s green Final Edition still looks ace, and has been around so long that it’s cheap – at £7995 in Japan, it’s three grand less…

Luxurious 1977 Honda GL1000, £1995 » In a world of classic prices gone bonkers, Honda’s original GoldWing is looking like decent value. Obviously, it’s a bit of a bus, but you could ride one to Rome, no bother. This example is slightly scabby and hasn’t been taxed since 2003, but it’s from a dealer and looks like decent value. Budget for £500 worth of carb cleaning, tyres and seals and it should be good to go by May 2018. Loud 1977 Laverda Jota, £15,000 » The fastest production bike on the market in 1977 was the Laverda Jota. They’re raw, loud, brutish and utterly compelling. They’re also a proper investment. You need to do the research, but this is claimed to be a genuine bike (there are a lot of…

» 28-31 Oct, 2017 Horizons Unlimited Travellers’ Meeting, Germany If you missed the HU Germany summer event, this is your last chance to get some autumn Euro riding and hang out with fellow travellers. Set in the Campingplatz Pfrimmtal campsite, the venue is close to the Rhine with easy access to the Pfälzer Wald, one of the best riding areas in Germany. horizonsunlimited.com/events/germanyautumn-2017 » 29 Sept – 1 Oct, 2017 Overland Expo EAST, Asheville, United States of America Join America’s fast-growing overlanding scene in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains. The Expo offers off-road training, presentations from authors, film-makers and industry insiders, plus there are demos, vendors and, of course, the chance to meet travellers from all over the world in all kinds of rigs. overlandexpo.com/east/…

SUPERPRESTIGIO » Top of the bucket list for any race fan must be the now annual dirt track bash at the Palau San Jordi, Barcelona (16 December). Traditionally it’s billed as MotoGP world champ Marc Marquez taking on American flat track heroes such as Brad Baker. While this is true, the event draws some of road racing’s finest riders indoors onto a tight dirt oval – see people such as US Superbike champ and ex-Moto2 champ Toni Elias mixing it with world endurance riders and supermoto stars, as well as dirt specialists. The event always delivers frantic gravity-defying action and awesome racing (and crashing). Better still, ticket prices are a reasonable €22 – so all you need to do is bag yourself a cheap flight. dtxbarcelona.com X-TRIAL WOR…

‘Forget the starter and exercise your leg’ KICKSTARTS ON NEW bikes? Yes, both the Mash and Royal Enfield are so endowed. Forget the starter motors, it’s time to exercise that leg. Straddle the Enfield, fold out the starter rod and swing away. The first kick wakes the Classic, the second gets it sat up in bed, and the third has it on its feet and ready to go, to an old-school phut-ut-ut-ut-ut. The Enfield’s endless lineage means an engine prominently on display, each part easily identifiable. Unlike Guzzi’s V7 and the Triumph T100, there are no fuel injection covers here – only the battery and airbox are hidden, behind glad-they’re-metal shields. Twist the throttle and you see the butterfly control turn on the throttle body. Even the (obsolete) starter motor…

‘Note, no barriers, no hospitality units, no transporters and no special passes’ BIKE PADDOCK The scene in the bike paddock. Note, no barriers, no hospitality units, no transporters and no special passes. Note also that the ‘building’ in the background contains a Bavarian themed bar selling foaming steins of fine beer, sausages and pretzels. British Superbikes could learn something here. Crowd are about to be deafened by the sound of MV Agustas being fired up. MV AGUSTA REPLICA Revival race eligibility rules alternate. This year they allowed bikes upto 500cc and 1966, but most are replicas of the bikes that raced in period. The fabulous sounding 500cc MV Agusta triples were made in Staffordshire, not Italy, by the Kay family. The bike raced by the Dunlop brothers blew-up while leading…

» The 1290 S comes spec’d up with electronics and more can be turned on. And more fettling is available depending on the type of roads you ride… EXHAUSTING Akrapovic end can (£800) is expensive and all about looking good and sounding better. Which it does, very well. RALLY PEGS Bigger surface area, toothy grip. They are designed for standing up in muddy boots, and they work well. £130 a pair. HEATED GRIPS Why wouldn’t you fit them as standard to a bike being ridden in the UK, or indeed any part of northern Europe? CARBON PANEL Almost unnoticed carbon-look side panels hide a gaping hole in the frame and mask the shock absorber. Why it isn’t standard we’re not sure.…

» It’s the variations in the roads that really sets the Pyrenees Mountains apart from other European destinations, that and the fact that Pyrenean link roads are almost devoid of traffic so there’s no crawling behind caravans and coaches. If big views are what you want the passes can be linked together more quickly than in the Alps and cutting down the middle is the French-Spanish border with its tight hairpins to the north and more winding Spanish tarmac to the south. » The Col du Tourmalet is the most famous pass in the Pyrenees. Again it’s all about tight hairpins and it reduces to a tight single-tracker towards its peak. It’s very accessible from the French town of Lourdes, too. Ride south on the D821 and D921 and in…

‘The Isle of Wight is a lovely place to explore on a bike though in summer there can be a lot of traffic on its small country roads’ OUR LAST FAMILY holiday to the Isle of Wight and we borrowed a mate’s roof box, scraped the max headroom barrier on the ferry ramp then had to do a U-turn on the deck under the stern glare of a parking attendant and drive to the lower lorry deck. This time I decided to ride the V7, leaving room in our seven-seater for everyone and the luggage. I had a nice route planned through the South Downs while the rest of the clan would take the motorway. But as I followed the family Vauxhall onto the A1 the car’s engine management light…

The sensible choice 2015 BMW R nineT £8195 » Since my first ride on one in 2014 I have been a huge fan of BMW’s R nineT. I can’t justify the cost of a new one, however with cash in hand you can find mint, low mileage examples £3k less than a new one. That’s the range-topping nineT for less than buying the base model Pure (see p40). The wife would say it’s wasted cash, as it’d only do what my ’93 Ducati Monster does. But looks, air-cooled power and fantastic handling are a step on – it’s a bike that’ll do anything I want and a future classic. Hopefully used prices will continue to fall. The emotional choice 2007 Triumph Daytona 675 £4895 » Prices of ’90s bikes are…

THE LITTLE GANG THAT I rode with in the summer of 1980 have an annual re-union to ride bikes, tell stories, drink beer and share reading glasses. This year we’re in Shropshire for a day’s trail riding, guided by Bob Dixon of Adventure Ride UK. The 1980s was a long time ago, so who knows what really happened, but my two-stroke tinted memories are of a summer of peg scraping, parties, conversations with policemen and lots of crashes. Most of those get offs were harmless. Some weren’t. Anton crashed his Suzuki GT250 into a minicab and still walks with a limp. Marcus binned his Yamaha XS750 and suffered a brachial plexus injury, paralysing his right arm. It hasn’t put him off motorcycles, he’s here with his 1971 Honda SL175 that…

Hugo Wilson This month: the editor has been to Spain to test a German bike made in India using bits from China (among other places). He’s also been lapping the M25 on our Ducati SuperSport and watched terrier racing in Yorkshire. New BMW G310GS on page 34 Mike Armitage This month: our deputy editor grew up during the frantic development of the 80s, and a catchy acronym or pair of 16-inch wheels get him buzzing. BMW K1, Honda CBR and Ducati Paso all at the same time knocked him off his feet. 1980s wonderbikes on page 60 John Westlake This month: John went for a ‘gentle’ trundle in the countryside with ex-MotoGP and current WSB team gaffer Paul Denning. He’s also struggling getting his head round our Fireblade’s constant desire…

Tasty £2000 off Honda CTX1300 Maybe more suited to the American market than reserved UK buyers, the classy Pan European-based cut-down luxury cruiser has gone from Honda’s range. The 1260cc V4 was 15 grand but obviously now dealers want to clear stock – Padgetts (01924 478491) have spankers for £12,999. And three-year-old low-mile minters are now just £9k. £850 discount Ducati Scrambler The high-mudguard semi-military Urban Enduro version of Ducati’s profit-swelling Scrambler has quietly slipped off the bottom of the range. There aren’t very many new ones left in showrooms, however Italia Moto (01522 511851) have got one at £7999, which is £850 off the list price. You pay almost that for pre-loved ones. £1000 reduction Harley Fat Bob For some, the custom style, hard-hitting big-twin grunt and engaging vibes…

TOM SYKES IS a great rider – a World Superbike champion who only missed out on a second championship by half a point. But Jonathan Rea is in a different league and Sykes has struggled with that. He’s blamed the bike and the changes to the WSB rules and I’m not surprised because he cannot seem to do anything about Jonathan – it must be damaging to his self belief. I know that situation from when I raced for Foggy Petronas with Troy Corser as my team-mate. Before that I always thought I had the measure of my team-mate, but Corser kept beating me. I didn’t know what to do. I remember once when I was completely down in the dumps I said to my dad, ‘look, I’ve always thought…

» 26-28 January Island Classic, Australia Big classic racing festival with star riders like Jeremy McWilliams on an epic circuit in southern hemisphere sunshine. The UK are current champions in the international team contest. Go on, you know you want to. islandclassic.com.au » 8-11 February Burt Munro Challenge, New Zealand Invercargill, hometown of legendary Kiwi speed merchant Burt Munro, has hosted an annual rally since 2016. There’s lots of racing; street, drag, sand, hillclimb and speedway. burtmunrochallenge.co.nz…

‘I thought I’d build my version of the Laverda V6’ THE REVOLUTION SHOW, Hastings is held in a small arts centre a pebble’s throw of the beach. It was a fraction of the size of the Bike Shed’s recent London epic, but everything there was worth a hands-clasped-behind-the-back peruse. None more so than this behemoth… ‘I built an Alfa-Romeo V6-engined bike a few years ago, but I had the engine the other way around and it had grounding issues,’ explains Chris Barber, ‘so I thought I’d build another V6, but with the engine this way around.’ That is with the crank running down the centreline of the bike, like a Moto-Guzzi twin. ‘I started looking at the Laverda V6 – wonderful 1970s endurance racing white elephant. The bloke who designed…

There is no doubting your road bike trackdays are great and so this year we managed to rock up at a Promo Racing day at Mugello for a spot of trackday fun… Ann on the pillion with me. What a hoot, Luca Cadalora turned up and then we got the feeling something was afoot as the afternoon did not seem to be planned like the morning. It transpired each participant’s best time from the four earlier sessions gridded them in a six-lap sprint later that day. So we check out the qualifying, I had the second best time among a heap of trackbikes – I was on my road-going GSX-R1000 K7. The start was rolling, riders line astern. I passed a chap on a Ducati race bike and was away,…

Z1000 R For 2017 Kawasaki produced an updated Zed they sell alongside the base model. The R’s engine produces the same torque and power and is fully-Euro4 compliant. The rear shock is swapped for an Öhlins S46DR1S unit with useful remote preload adjuster, and Brembo M50 one-piece calipers gripped 310mm Brembo discs. Still no rider aids. AKRAPOVIC EXHAUST Some owners swapped the original quad exhausts for a single-sided 4-1 Akrapovic system. There’s not much performance gain to be had by upgrading, but if you still want bragging rights full Akra systems for V1 bikes cost £600 used. A new Akra 4-1 system for 2010 models onwards costs £1182, including VAT, from performanceparts- td.com SX AND VERSYS In 2010 the Z1000 was used as the base for the Z1000SX. The SX…

‘You can filter, but do so carefully and be ready to pull up for anything’ At the risk of sounding like a full-fat law dweeb the Court of Appeal said, back in 1972, that a motorcycle filtering outside of a temporarily stationary queue was ‘entitled so to do’ and further back in 1968 the Court of Appeal confirmed that if you… ‘have a motorcycle you are in the fortunate position of taking up so little road space that you can slide along the off side of traffic’ but, and here is the clincher, ‘because you are blinded to a great extent as to what goes on on the left-hand side of the road, you must… ride in such a way that you can cope with an emergency’. The law on…

IT’S QUITE OBVIOUS what Harley-Davidson are doing with the new Street Rod. The feel-good-retro boom is right up their alley so they’ve souped-up the Indian-built Street into a bike to attact folk who aren’t their usual customers – a V-twin with badge appeal but ‘normal’ characteristics and £6745 on the road. I quite like it. It looks a bit ’70s XLCR and has an able dynamic, with un-Harley cornering and perky motor. Our group test shows it’s not to all tastes, mind (page 40), so I’ve wheeled our new test fleet bike to a local meet to get more opinion. Styling is right given the many viewers and positive nods. Most say they’re not Harley people, but that the Rod has appeal. Lots ‘ooh’ at the price too – expectation…

SEEMS LIKE ONLY YESTERDAY that my CB400N street-tracker was finally finished, but after a summer of intermittent fun, it’s gotta go ’cause I need to fund my next, almost certainly ill-advised build: post-industrial chic is what I’m now striving for – something between a poor man’s Ronin (my 2016 BOTY) and a Bulldog, Honda’s soon to be production-ised 2016 concept bike. I say ‘intermittent fun’ because the carbs have been a sod to get right (my fault: I rebuilt them) and electric probs have been frequent. The latest challenge was indicators that kept blowing bulbs, caused by repeatedly failing flasher units at eight quid a pop from Wemoto – in one instance causing a small fire in the tightly-packed electrical bay beneath the seat! Tracing the wiring back to a…

IN JUST TEN KILOMETRES, the B-432 manages to embody everything that’s brilliant about riding in Spain. First, a complete lack of weekday traffic. And second, bend after bend of smooth and grippy tarmac. Ride out east from Olost, wide-open Catalan countryside hazing away to the south, before carving into lightly-wooded valleys. Turns tighten as energy levels heighten, the turn-off to the faster BV-4404 flashes past on the left. And then the road climbs in a succession of wacky corners. Rock walls rise on either side of the road, before a few straights provide warm-down time towards Prats. There are more fantastic routes nearby. The N-141c, for example, which vaults the escarpment between Tona and Collsuspina in a series of cambered switchbacks. Or the BV-4241 that navigates the southern reaches of…

ELEPHANTS »Paul Lang, Bike’s designer, is a Ducati fan – especially of bikes from the 80s/90s Cagiva era that are dotted with trunks. The Paso on page 60 had him in tears of joy. ’PED PURCHASING »Staff writer Ben has bought a moped. He’s of the digital age, so a Yam QT50 is his introduction to two-strokes, manual chokes, fuel taps, rust and disappointment. FLAWED BEAUTY »Moto Guzzi’s Daytona isn’t that good, yet deputy editor Armitage has long been smitten. One in his local bike shop is causing plenty of ‘should I, shouldn’t I’ turmoil. STUPID ENGINES »The Meteor is a 27-litre V12 for tanks, based on the Merlin used in Spitfires. Not what you usually find in a Rover SD1. Its eccentric Yam-riding owner is…

‘27 years later Triumph finally fully embraced their history’ WHEN JOHN BLOOR restarted Triumph motorcycle production in 1990 he wanted to forget about the marques past, which was then associated with vibration, oil leaks and unreliability. Now, 27 years later, selling 63,000 bikes a year (more than they ever did under the previous regimes), having introduced 15 new models in the last 12 months and having signed up to supply Moto2 with engines from 2019, they’ve finally fully embraced their history. A new £4 million visitor centre will open at the Hinckley factory on 1 November, with some of the marques most iconic machines on display. The bikes range from the very first 1902 machine to current models. They include the 1956 Bonneville streamliner that set a World Land Speed…

» 9-12 November EICMA Milan, Italy EICMA – Esposizione Internazionale Ciclo Motociclo Accessori – is the Death Star-sized motorcycle show held annually in Milan. This year there’s the additional draw of hip evening and night events running the week of the show in the Lambrate district of Milan. The Milanese moto community do things with style so even though details are sketchy, I’m booking a flight. eicma.it/en/ » 18-26 November Motorcycle Live, Birmingham I’m fundamentally against the judging of custom bikes. But whatever turns you on. I’ll still have a good look at Motorcycle Live’s Ace Builds finalists, that are part of an expanded custom offering at this year’s NEC show. acebuilds.motorcyclelive.co.uk » 2-4 February, 2018 Elefententreffen Thurmansbant-Solla, Germany A motorcycle rally designed by Bear Grylls, and not the kind…

4-5 November Skegness Beach Race, Skegness, Lincolnshire Held on Skeggy’s otherwise donkey-infested beach, the AMCA-run beach race is the East Coast’s biggest annual off road bash. Entry is free, so you can sit within stumbling distance of the slot machines and have your chips stolen by seagulls while you watch. amca.uk.com 14-18 November Baja 1000, Ensenada, Mexico The 1200-mile point-to-point Baja 1000 races from Ensenada to La Paz and is ‘the world’s most iconic, oldest, prestigious and longest continuously held desert race’. Who could argue. This year is the 50th running of one of the greatest (and also one the toughest) off-road races on earth. score-international.com…

‘Throttle response is addictively sweet’ TRIUMPH’S BONNEVILLE T100 delivers an incredibly calm and refined ride. After wafting at its prim handlebar even sportsbike-fan Langy is forced to admit that life on the easy-going Bonnie is very enjoyable. It’s all about the way the inline twin encourages you to ride, short-shifting and utilising the surge of feel-good torque that dominates the lower half of the rev range. It’s where the engine sounds and feels finest, where throttle response is most addictively sweet. It’s lush. Tool around between 2500 and 3500rpm and that’s third gear at 35mph, and fifth at 50 – perfect for lazy Sunday pottering. Release more of the 900cc twin with its lullaby-calm throttle response, roll cleanly through turns and it’s soon apparent that the Triumph is a marvellous…

HARLEY’S NEW FAT Bob is a mad, bad bike. You can tell by the LED headlight, the industrial bronzed-look pipes and the bare-chested tread pattern on the tyres. It shuns typical dealership language such as ‘heritage’ and ‘classic’. Instead, Harley-types talk about ‘zombie apocalypse escape ability’ as if it should be an entry on the spec sheet. A new approach for sure… Underneath the dystopian cosmetic shell lies a world of change, and it’s change for the better. The old-school Dyna platform previous Fat Bobs were based on is gone, and with it the harsh vibrations. They have merged the Dynas into the Softail line-up, using a new frame that’s stiffer and lighter, a rear monoshock replacing the old dual suspenders. The result – a lighter Fat Bob with better-suspension…

PERFORMANCE TESTING » Its high centre of gravity and big power make the KTM wheelie in first, second or third. This hampers acceleration – the traction control gets in a flap, or it’s going up instead of forward. Even so, the giant trailie gets to 150mph well within a mile – it’s seriously fast. It also stops sharpish. Weight transfer pins the tyre down, and 49m is as good any ABS-equipped bike. FACTS AND FIGURES » A sportsbike engine and brakes in a taller chassis with semi-active suspension. As happy slogging out the miles as it is hounding sportsbikes. TYRES » The standard Pirelli Scorpion Trail II tyres are lasting well – 4000 miles in and they look like making double that easily. Wet grip is good and dry grip…

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. *PARIS-DUCATI The Dakar is a tortuous test so it’s understandable that BMW and Yamaha trade on past victories. And Ducati could too. Edi Orioli won twice on Ducati-powered Cagiva Elefant 900s. Hubert Auriol (known as a GS rider) would also have won on an Elefant but crashed while leading, breaking both ankles. He still finished. * KAR-ASAKI... This is Kawasaki’s…

Yamaha TRX850 Trevor Ingham I bought my first Yamaha TRX back in 1998, when it was just a couple of years old. I went everywhere on that bike, including a trip to Slovenia, but sold it so I could buy this one. It’s the same colour, year and everything, but had only done 9500 miles – and the other bike was getting very high miles. This one had dropped off its stand in the previous owner’s garden which had bent the fairing, so I got a good deal and did it back up. It’s showing 23,000 miles now. I took it to the Classic TT last year – my grandson Dan Ingham races a Suzuki GSX-R750 and Honda RVF400 NC35, and I helped him in the pits with the refuelling.…

ABRITISH ENDUROGP HAS BEEN NINE YEARS coming back to the UK. When Hawkstone Park was announced as the venue I was in early with my entry, keen to get the KTM 250 EXC TPI and me in a race riding up Hawkstone’s famous hill. The bike is proving reliable so pre-race chores were simply double checking every nut and bolt, cleaning and oiling the air filter, fitting new tyres and then worrying about my fitness. Hawkstone is part of motocross folklore thanks to Dave Thorpe’s 500cc heroics but as a venue for enduro it is as impressive as it is hard work for bike and rider. The problem is I was enjoying myself in the two-hour race and as my confidence grows seemingly with every ride on the 250 TPI,…

‘The front slammed down so hard my chest hit the tank and my teeth clacked together like castanets’ LET’S START WITH AN ADMISSION: the photo you see here does not match the story I’m about to tell. This picture makes me look competent and, believe me, that was not the case when I wheelied our Fireblade last week. I’d pulled out onto a dead-straight A-road and immediately overtook a car that had just pulled out too. So I was on the wrong side of the road, accelerating past a line of traffic. There was nothing coming the other way, no junctions, no reason for them to overtake, good visibility… all seemed well. In fact, all seemed so well that I did what riders of litre sportsbikes do very rarely on…