Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2021 i BIKE

Motorcycles are extraordinary machines. This month 1 have enjoyed the white knuckle 2oobhp thrust of a Kawasaki ZH2 and the cosseting heated seat of the new BMW R1250GS 40th Year Edition. But while extraordinary performance and laugh-at-winter technology are very impressive, it’s as memory generation devices that motorcycles really excel, and for that you don’t need a supercharger or adaptive headlights, though I’d strongly recommend a test ride on the Kawasaki to anyone in search of life experiences. Bikes turn mundane journeys into a lifeaffirming joy, inspire adventures of self-discovery and challenges of skill and stamina. All you need is a motorcycle and a small sense of adventure to make the ride of a lifetime, whether you’re headed for Siberia, Silverstone or, like the cheery Bike team in the picture,…

[NOISE CAMERAS] Banned: rural riding at risk The peace and tranquillity of lockdowns has shone a not-positive light on noisy motorcycles. Is this the end of loud endcans, or worse still a ban on riding in the sticks? In 2020,81 regions of Germany joined a ‘Motorcycle Noise Initiative’ that led to noise cameras (like speed cameras, but triggered by noise) and bans on motorcycles at weekends. Now UK lockdowns are increasing the risk of these initiatives coming here, says the head of the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA), Tony Campbell. ‘The problem of noise has been exacerbated by lockdowns when people have taken the opportunity of quiet roads to enjoy their bikes in a safer environment than normal. But what that’s done is emphasise the fact bikes are noisy. ‘It seems…

Tassels and leather riding chaps? Shut up. ‘Cruiser’ might conjure images of Yamaha Viragos and clip-on ponytails, but here in 2021 the cruiser is cool again. We’re talking on-trend styling with premium-quality engineering, all-singing rider aids and brand desirability. And performance that’s perfect for cluttered camera-infested roads: how does twice the torque of a headcase BMW S1000RR grab you? Harley-Davidson have been perfecting big style, big grunt motorcycles for the last 300 years, and the Low Rider S is i868cc of long-stroke V-twin thunder with more than a dash of 1970s XLCR1000 groove. But The Motor Company no longer have it all their own way. BMW have created the largest boxer engine ever and are clearly after H-D buyers with the gloriously retro R18, while the vast triple in Triumph’s…

It’s July 2017 and me and partner Chris Mills are two months into our 18 month North/Central/South America ride of a lifetime; it turns out to be longer but that’s another story. We are both in our 50s, I’m retired having spent over 27 years with the Royal Mail – I have a pinned and plated hip following a horse riding accident and they couldn’t find me an office job. Chris and I met through a mutual love of Harley-Davidsons and riding them. Not obvious choices for the challenge ahead… Having ridden the Trans Labrador Highway, Newfoundland, Canada in June 2017 we’re now up for our second mini challenge – The James Dalton Highway, Alaska – made infamous by TV shows Ice Road Truckers and The World’s Most Dangerous Roads.…

Metzeler Sportec M7 RR Used for: Five years Price: £220 (120/70 ZR17, 190/55 ZR17) » I’ve yet to try Metzeler’s new M9 RR but its still-available seven-year-old predecessor, the M7 RR, is the go-to road tyre for my Honda SP2 and BMW S1000RR. Even my Honda CB1300 had a pair, which makes as much sense as Mr Creosote buying Nike Airs. The M9 hasn’t caused real discounts for its older relative yet, but the M7 is so all-round reliable I struggle to see how I’ll notice the M9’s fancy, traction-control-friendly, ways. Maybe that’s why the M7 isn’t seeing clearance offers yet – those who know, know it’s bloody good. Confidence in most conditions is why I love them, and a cold, wet autumn trackday proved that outright. Grim conditions, puddles,…

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. Stick it to the man » Troy Bayliss was in heavy celebration after winning the 2006 WSB title for Ducati when they phoned to see if he wanted a wildcard in the final MotoGP race at Valencia. Bayliss asked for a big fee. Ducati said ‘no’, but eventually agreed to a vast win bonus, confident they wouldn’t have to pay up.…

Back in 2000 I’d just started on Bike and was told to tour the UK for a feature called Cool Britannia with Dan Walsh – a journalist who rightly qualifies as one of motorcycling’s best ever writers. I was on a new Kawasaki ZXR750, he was riding a Fazer 600 and we were heading north. Way, way north for our first time. Our first taste of the A82 starts at Loch Lomond and it’s bone dry – a rare state as the overhanging trees normally drop water and leaves on the pock marked tarmac 300 days a year. As we are swept along by the meandering, wiggling road my mind drifts to the inky black water on my right side and the massive pike patrolling the water’s edge. You approach…

What’s the best way to come up with a truly interesting and ground-breaking two-wheeled design? Focus groups are all well and good, but as a breed us bikers are a conservative bunch – we’ll only talk about what we know. Time-served motorcycle designers often aren’t much better. Just peek at the last fifteen years of Suzuki’s endless lookalike models for evidence. No, what you need to do every now and then is inject excitement by giving complete freedom to a designer who doesn’t know one end of a bike from the other. That way you get brilliance like the Aprilia Lama. At the start of the 1990s, Aprilia employed Philippe Starck. The avant-garde French designer was quite handy at penning lights and furniture and industrial gubbins, but something with two…

‘Aimed at less experienced riders considering BMW’s F750GS’ Confusingly, Triumph’s new Tiger 850 Sport is neither an 850 or especially sporty or related to the 1050 Sport. But don’t let any of that put you off – at £9300 it looks like being the best value Tiger in the range. It replaces the base model 900 Tiger, and it’s effectively the same bike with a detuned engine, LElights, a big colour dash, and new graphics. Like the Tiger 900GT and Rally, the 850 Sport’s engine has the new T-plane crank configuration and a capacity of 888cc, but power is down from 94bhp (a) 875orpm to 84bhp @ 85oorpm. That drop is thanks to electronic twiddling – there’s no difference in the engine components. Torque falls from 64 Ib.ft (а) 7250rpm…

This is Honda’s new Rebel 11oo, the company’s first custom that could legitimately challenge Harley’s big-selling Sportster 1200. The new Rebel isn’t a V-twin though – it’s powered by the 1084.cc parallel twin motor from the latest Africa Twin. The new model is due in UK dealers in March. Japanese customs often get sneered at but the Rebel 500 – same style, smaller engine – is a big seller. In Italy and Germany it outsold the Suzuki V-Strom 650, BMW F850GS and Ducati Multistrada 1260 in 2019. In the UK it’s the biggest selling major manufacturer custom. Honda say they want to pick up sales from Rebel 500 owners looking to upgrade, but there’s also a chance they’ll nab a few customers who might have been considering a Harley –…

Cappadocia sunset Cappadocia, central Turkey, is renowned for its ‘fairy chimneys’, created by volcanic eruptions, erosion and wind. And then human beings came along and carved homes, chapels, tombs, temples and even entire subterranean cities into this alien-looking landscape. Today, most of these ‘caves’ are boutique hotels. Visiting Cappadocia was one of the highlights of my ride from Serbia to Central Asia on a 2009 Yamaha Ténéré. And while I wish the bike were lighter, it never had any mechanical problems on the 15,500-mile trip. Random encounters Often times chance meetings can turn into the best memories of a trip. Such was the case when I was wild camping in Paracas on Peru’s west coast with a German rider I’d met (for the third time) on my tour of Latin…

Ignore the fancy paint work and the spiffy new electronics and equipment on BMW’s 2021 R1250GS ТЕ 40 Year Edition for a moment, and just appreciate what four decades of development can do for a motorcycle. This bike might have a wet weight of 268 kilos, but it hides its bulk like a big man in a well cut suit. From the moment that the clutch is released you’re confident enough to do feet up, walking pace, full lock, figure of eights. That magical, easy handling agility is at the heart of the appeal of the big GS. So hurrah for a process that started with the fashion setting R80G/S of 1980. Dynamically there’s little difference between this year’s bike and last year’s model; the 1250 was heavily updated for…

Miles ridden: 1032 Rider: John Westlake Tyres tried: Bridgestone RS11 Fuel used: 23.6 gallons Hours spent fiddling with electronics: 7.4 Just thinking about a bike that’s more track focused than the standard R1 is enough to send most road riders running to their osteopaths. The base model is a phenomenal track tool that’s always near the front of Bikes sportsbike shoot-outs… until we leave the circuit. On real roads it’s too stiff, too focused and too unforgiving. But here’s the thing: the Rl’s more focused brother, the R1M, is a better road bike. Because of its exotic semi-active suspension, you get all the R1 goodness – 197bhp, ace rider aids, MotoGP styling and the best exhaust note this side of a WSB paddock – without the crashing pain of too-firm forks.…

‘Major services require a full day in the workshop’ DOUBLE CREAM OR SWARFEGA? Fuelling for the 675cc inline three engine should be fabulously smooth. If it’s not, or the response is a bit switch-like, then the throttle bodies probably require balancing. It’s something that should be done every 6000 miles, but often gets overlooked or even ignored as it’s fairly involved. The correct way is to set up the free play in the throttle before balancing the bodies, so that the injection system can self-adapt as it should. IMPORTANT BITS ‘N’ BOBS Early Street Triples (2007 to 2012) use low-quality hose clips. They work loose, so should be tightened at every service (bikes from 2013 onwards have self-tightening clips that aren’t as much faff). 2007 to 2010 bikes were also recalled…

‘What better way to promote the growing sport of flat track in Japan than hiring a car park’ Shoei Hornet ADV £399 shoei-europe.com » This is my first choice lid for filthy weather because it’s almost as quiet as a normal lid but the peak keeps 95% of rain off the visor. Buffeting is minimal, even in wild cross winds, though some riders have said big touring screens get it bobbling. I never noticed. It’s also a decent off-road helmet provided you don’t want to wear goggles – I’ve used it while doing a flat track endurance race (don’t ask) and preferred it to my old motocross lid. JW Shark Explore R Carbon £360 nevis.uk.com » A do-anything lid that claims to be many helmets in one. The liner is…

If stampeding bike development in the ‘80s and ‘90s put your head in a whirl then, if you’re like me, you’ll be fond of an acronym or ten. TSCC, YPVS, EXUP, SRAD and CBS are woven into the fabric of biking. Who can resist a bit of FAI (Fresh Air Intake, the holes in an FZR1000 fairing)? Kawasaki didn’t go big on acronyms. ZXRs carried a few letters about ram-air, but in the UK the only common one was KIPS (Kawasaki Integrated Powervalve System) on two strokes. They’re making up for it now. Our long-term test Z H2 has more letters than a sorting office. It’s due to the befuddling array of electronics and make-life-easier widgets crammed into the 998cc supercharged supernaked. The Zed has KIBS (Kawasaki Intelligent anti-lock Braking…

With six consecutive World Superbike championships under their big green belt, it’s not surprising Kawasaki’s race team played a central role in most of the updates to this new ZX-10R – either asking for changes they need to win again, or handing over the innovations they employed to keep Mr Rea on top. But there are a few nods to road riders too – the first three gears are lower to help mask the ZX-10R’s weaker bottom-end thrust compared with rivals, there’s a full colour TFT dash and you even get cruise control as standard. Kawasaki’s Martin Lambert: ‘Apart from the winglets you have to look at the detail to see the changes. That is a typical Kawasaki engineering approach – everything has been proven to work. It hasn’t been…

‘I want to ride twisties. If I want to go fast in a straight line I use a train’ Given that the new S1000R’s engine comes from the latest 207bhp S1000RR, BMW could easily have made it rival hypernakeds such as Ducati’s 208bhp Ducati Streetfighter V4. But they didn’t. Instead, BMW kept the power at the old model’s 165hР and gave the new one an even wider spread of torque, the R1250RS headlight, a new slimmer frame and all the latest electronics. They pared 6.5kg off too, getting weight down to a class-leading 199kg wet. Though the absence of 200bhp will put off buyers desperate to win pub bragging contests, the decision makes sense, and not just because it meant BMW could use the same engine as the S1000XR. Project…

It was 1975, I was 18, rodea 1972 Kawasaki 500 H1 and was working at Loughborough’s Brush Electrical Machines. My mate at work, Steve, was two years older and had a 900 Z1. We rode to Dieppe in France and two days later crossed into Spain near Port Vendres. We camped at Rosas for a week and I bought the Easy Rider shirt from a shop there. Quite an adventure – no mobile phones, no compulsory crash hats, no breakdowns, just lots of petrol and two-stroke oil for the H1. Sadly Steve died later that year. The shirt is tatty now, think I will get it copied. 45 years and 23 bikes later still buying Bike (bought the first one). Richard Haywood, email Where’s the Youth? On the cover of Bike…

Giulio Fabbri, Ducati’s Product Communications Officer, is talking: ‘We think this is the best Ducati we’ve built. We didn’t just want to improve it in a few areas, we wanted to stretch a blanket over it.’ We’re standing in the Ducati Store, a few hundred yards from the factory gates in Bologna, where new Multistrada V4S wait for a hastily rearranged lockdown launch. Fabbri’s choice of words is unorthodox, but the meaning is clear; if the previous V-twin Multistrada – 158hР, variable valve 1262CC V-twin, semiactive suspension, flagship electronics – didn’t excel enough at almost everything, the new bike will give it a damn good go. To do this they’ve thrown everything out bar the Multi’s ‘many road’ concept and started again – ramping up performance, technology, off-road ability and…

‘It crosses my mind to turn back. But, sure enough the more I hit unfamiliar territory the more my excitement builds’ You would think riding from Minehead to Magadan would be reasonably straightforward, in so much as it is a journey from one town to another. Albeit from the UK all the way to Russia’s Pacific coast. However, when it comes to riding big distances, in remote places, life is not straightforward. And so, having started this trip solo, 1 find myself sitting in a cafe beside a fuel stop, two-hundred-and-fifty miles short of Magadan with Christian (more of whom later) trying to get some heat back into our systems. It is dark, cold, there are no hotels for hundreds of miles, there is talk of bears on the edge…

In 1989 the new BMW K1 looked like a plasma-propelled speed-cycle built to rush the citizens of Eurotopia between cities in the sky. Disappointingly, it turned out to be a decent sports-tourer that ran best on unleaded petrol, but it was certainly a showstopper. And on this magical night, I was riding one. Up ahead two teenage boys who had snuck into West Berlin through one of a growing number of holes in the wall that had divided the city since 1961, were experiencing their first taste of capitalist decadence. They stood stock-still on the pavement and stared. Not at the neon-lit nightclubs or into the street’s heaving bars and restaurants, already bouncing as the city warmed up for the wildest New Year’s Eve in German history, but at the…

Go, go, go… It’s the start of the Freetech Endurance race, Mallory Park. Riders line up ready for the green flag to drop and sprint to their bikes Le Mans-style. Over 80 teams compete in the six hour long race. Several classes are in action including 50cc, Street/ Plop Honda Cubs with 110 engines, Streetstock 125s and Superstock 125s with no tuning restrictions. Each team is allowed two to four riders. ‘Good fun, though’ Here’s Rhyan Leighton, halfway through the day’s racing on his Honda Cub. Or rather off it. ‘It’s only my second experience of racing on track,’ says Rhyan. ‘I normally race off-road enduro. The weather’s atrocious, good fun though – don’t get me wrong.’ Over the length of the six-hour race there are just a handful of…

» Honda’s current VFR arrived in 2014 and is gurgling V4 proof why the firm have such a great reputation. Build quality and finish are exemplary, the VTEC 782cc motor is a whirring gem, handling is super-secure, and it forms a glorious whole. The best-yet in the iconic VFR line – 10kg lighter than the previous model with new forks and single-sider, adjustable seat, traction, heated grips and modern looks. Yet nobody buys it. Steered by fashion we’re potty for tall adventure-style behemoths, leaving this slick trad’ sports-tourer in the shadows. Stop being finicky and grab a bargain you’ll keep forever; new ones are £9499, used start at £5k.…

It’s not the Terrible Triumph’s fault this time. I blame women of a certain age. Last month I was basking smugly in the joy of finally having my 1968 650 twin running properly and reliably. It had cost me a new electronic ignition, on top of a hefty bill for a generator, clutch and primary drive. All memories of vast expense melted away as I indulged in the type of fettling you perform only on a sorted bike, adjusting the bars and levers into fall-to-hand perfection. You know, the pleasurable and tinkering stuff. I needn’t have bothered. Taking the Triumph on an errand, I managed to venture only 300 metres when an elderly lady in a Ford Focus came flying out from a parking spot and broadsides in front of…