Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2021 i BIKE

Destination daydreaming is getting out of hand. Seriously, it’s a wonder this issue ever made it to press as I spent most of the month fantasising about summer rides in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales when I should have been pounding on a keyboard. In my head, right now I’m on a Yamaha TRX850 on the ascent out of Weardale heading over Bollihope Common towards Middleton. It’s great. And some rides have actually happened. I’ve been to The Peak District twice, for trials bike humiliation (p116) and a slow tour (p52), and up to into Lincolnshire too. After our year of lockdown each excursion felt like a proper escape. Roll on the rest of summer. Next on the agenda Wales (later this month, and again next, maybe twice), Cornwall (late…

For going off road... Yamaha 700 Ténéré Going off-road? Can you afford to drop it? And can you pick it up again? The £9500, 205 kilo, 72bhp Ténéré is well made and well balanced, has decent on-road performance and dirt agility. My choice for the Pyrenees and the Peak District. For tarmac... Ducati Multistrada I’ve done big miles on twin cylinder Multistradas, and love them. Fast, comfortable, poised and great fun to ride. Some complain about noisy screen, but it works for 5ft 10in me. The 1250 is great, but the 950 is slightly lighter and crisper. For all round ability… BMW R1250GS A zillion customers can’t be wrong, the 1250GS is an amazing device. A great tourer with magical low speed balance and off-road ability. It’s a job to…

New bikes versus our dyno, scales and datalogger THEY SAY 187.4bhp Suzuki say 190 metric European horses, which is just over 187 post-Brexit nags. They claimed 194bhp for the previous model... 110.6 lb.ft They talk about optimised midrange, but though very large this figure is four grunts lower than Suzuki claimed for the old Busa. 264kg Erm, yes. The Hayabusa is a big old bird and Suzuki’s scales reckon it weighs as much as BMW’s burly R1250GS Adventure. 42.1mpg Measured to the standard enforced by our ex-friends in Europe. Looks reasonable for a heavy, fast, super-powerful rocketship. 186.4mph Suzuki don’t boast about flat-out speed, but they still adhere to the Japanese manufacturer’s voluntary 300kph (186.4mph) limit. £16,499 This is quite cheap. You get 180mph, 182bhp, a full suite of posh…

On the evening of Saturday 13 March I sat at the computer looking at ebay when I spotted a 1999 Suzuki GSXF600 at £820, with three minutes to go on the auction. I took another sip of wine and thought… I’ll go £850 for that. Winner. I emailed the seller and arranged to drive up to Lincoln the next Saturday with the van to collect it. When I got there I explained to the chap that it was an impulse purchase and I had not actually ridden a bike in 35 years. He looked at me for a couple of seconds and then explained a few things and started the motor. It sounded good to me and in the van it went. After getting home I organised some insurance and…

‘No other naked supplies such smooth, unruffled rides and sense of refinement, while still being able to shear the space-time continuum’ Wheeling the Kawasaki out of Bike’s bomb shelter and a colleague wanders over for a shufty. His eyes run over the imposing lines, substantial build and fairground-ride sparkle of the Z H2 SE. ‘Impressive thing,’ he says. ‘Not really a supernaked though, is it?’ With Ducati’s Streetfighter V4 based on a race-winning superbike and KTM’s Super Duke R having the excess blubber of a supermodel, I see where he’s coming from. These are the benchmark supernakeds, the fastest and most focused plastic-free bikes and make the Zed look chubby, suggesting softness, even inability. Thing is the Kwak is most certainly naked and it’s very definitely super. In fact, it’s…

Mat is a TT winner, endurance racer, author and MotoGP paddock insider Twenty years ago 15-year-old Chaz Davies became the youngest rider to contest a full season of grand prix racing, the 2002 125cc world championship. This year he’s still fighting for world championship glory. Davies may not be Barry Sheene or Mike Hailwood but no other British rider has spent so many years on the world stage. During those two decades Davies has done it all: 125 GPs, 250 GPs, MotoGP, World Supersport and World Superbike. Along the way he’s won 34 WSB races, finished WSB championship runner-up on three occasions, won the World Supersport title and become the first Briton to win the Daytona 200. The 34-year-old Welshman is modest, so he’s never grabbed the headlines like some…

£16,500 Aprilia RSW125 » Yes, it’s ‘only’ a 125. But this 2003 Aprilia is a factory Grand Prix bike raced by the Aspar team. This means swanky Brembo, top-drawer Öhlins, carbon bodywork, wheels that weigh as much as a packet of Walker’s salt and vinegar, and a super-crisp two-stroke single making 50bhp at 12,500rpm. That’s 400bhp per litre. Yes, four hundred. Weighing just 70kg, it’d be hilarious on a trackday riding around the outside of... well, everyone. It’s got the wrong mudguard and is missing the data acquisition sensor for its forks, but has a certificate of authenticity from Aprilia. £15,000 Aermacchi Ala d’Oro » The greatest overhead-valve single ever? Aermacchi’s Ala d’Oro (Golden Wing) must be up there. The oversquare motor features an external flywheel (like a modern MotoGP…

Improve your vision – it’s all about your head It needs to feel strange » You go where you look, so really look. Using vanishing points to read the road is great, but try significant head movement to see far around a turn like the late, great Norick Abe above. If it feels daft you’re turning your bonce enough, and will be rewarded with a more flowing ride, crisp lines and less running wide. Back where you came from » Radical head turns are the secret for effortless feet-up U-turns as well. You want to go back where you’ve come from so that’s where to throw your gaze, and not down at the middle of the road. Full-lock peg-scuffing turns will follow in no time. Shuffling your bum to the…

How stuff works, and why things are made this way There are some hoary old mistruths that just won’t go away. The one that always gets me is that ‘for a given capacity a longer stroke gives a bigger lever arm and that gives more torque’ – often seen in new bike launch pieces. I can see how this looks logical and therefore people think it must be true. Well, sorry, no – it’s way simpler and more complicated than that. Combustion engines work on differences in temperature, caused by the release of heat (one of the two forms of energy, along with work) during the combustion process. In a cyclic combustion engine, as the gas temperature rises then, because it is trapped in a closed chamber, its pressure goes…

‘While the new Monster is cut from very different cloth it’s very, very good. In fact, it’s something of a revelation...’ Hands up. Yes, it’s true, I wish that the 2021 Ducati Monster was still tied together with welded steel tubes. I miss the fact that it doesn’t sit pinging in the sun after spirited escapades, and my inner traditionalist feels mildly disappointed that it hasn’t the sweepy lean-loving rock-solid handling of historical Ducatis. But I’ll get over it, because while the new Monster is cut from very different cloth to previous models it’s very, very good. In fact, it’s something of a revelation. The Yamaha MT-07-shaped tank, MV Agusta-alike light and compact high-ride stance indicate that Ducati’s most famous model has been lavished with contemporary thinking. And it’s a…

Replacing a chain is one of those jobs that’s almost impossible to do safely without the right tool - whacking the chain master link rivets with a lump hammer really doesn’t cut it. You can pay £100 for a posh chain breaker kit, but this one I bought for about £20 years ago works fine. You get exactly the same components as the posh kits, and it’s certainly solid enough for intermittent amateur use. The only downer was that my set didn’t come with instructions, so each time I use it I spend 10 minutes re-fathoming which anvils work with which press plate then forgetting to put the spring in and having to start again. One day I’ll remember to write it all down. Or not.. JW Ebay: £15-25…

It is safe to say Brexit hasn’t been the Armageddon some pessimistic commentators anticipated, at least so far as travel to the EU by motorcycle is concerned. Yet there’s one very large change in the law which needs addressing before we flock to Dover. And it is this... If you sustain an injury, or collision damage, while riding in the EU the pre-Brexit method of bringing a claim in your home jurisdiction ie Great Britain has now gone. That’s to say if you are injured within the EU the direct right of action you had pre Brexit, and during the transition, against the insurer of the vehicle that harmed you, to be brought in a British Court using a British lawyer, with proceedings in English has now gone. Also, the…

The body position required to get a trials bike round a corner is deeply weird. You tip the little machine one way by pressing with your inside foot, stick your knee out the other side, straighten the inside arm and do something with your hips I never quite mastered. Around me in a sunlit field on the edge of the Peak District, various road-riding mates are flapping their knees while swerving erratically or going round in circles. Every now and then I stop my practicing to watch. A bunch of 50-somethings in motocross jerseys blundering randomly about on tiny motorcycles is a mesmerising sight. It’s like a modern art installation with added giggling. With turning mastered (ish) we set off across the farm where Trials Day is based – chief…

» Because the lap times of early TT riders were slow compared with today’s it’s easy to assume the old boys weren’t trying very hard. Crummy black and white footage (often shown on YouTube at the wrong speed) doesn’t help either. But I challenge anyone to watch parts of this colour video of the 1952 Senior TT and come away with anything other than awe for the top riders of that generation. The fast sections look utterly terrifying – you can see the bikes losing traction on corner exits as the rear shocks have nervous breakdowns over the bumps. And there’s one slow motion sequence of 1949 world champion Les Graham tying his MV in so many knots it makes you wonder how his frame didn’t snap. The race itself…

BMW ProRace boots Used for: two months Price: £225 Info: bmw-motorrad.co.uk Something about manufacturer-brand kit always makes me wary; surely it’s average stuff with a hefty tag due of the label. These BMW boots show it’s a foolish assumption. They do the racy thing with replaceable sliders, go-faster flashes and soft suede on the inside for ‘best possible contact with the bike’, yet are also utterly pleasing for normal use. They open wide and have a natty strap to pull them on, the inner is sumptuous, insoles can be removed and washed, and they have a higher CE ‘superior pass’ for abrasion, cut and rigidity. Despite reassuring toughness of the synthetic leather they’re very comfy, and waterproof too. Genuinely love ’em. Shop around and find them for £185 or so.…

£1600 saving Triumph Speed Trip’ RS Later in this fine edition of your favourite motorcycle magazine you’ll find a test of the all-new Speed Triple 1200 RS. With more cubes, extra power, less weight and sportier build it’s a sensational thing. But its performance focus means it hasn’t quite the on-road presence, easy-going feel and confidence-boosting roadholding of the previous 1050. Fortunately there are dealers still with 2020–model 1050cc versions of the posh RS – Laguna (01622 681765) only want £11,995 for a box-fresh one. £1200 saving Yamaha MT-09 SP We like the SP version of Yam’s fruity triple. With its fancy Öhlins shock and side-mounted remote adjuster it’s got the air of a proper special, and with upgraded forks it handles better than the base MT too. This year’s…

Telephone 01733 468099 Email: bike@bikemagazine.co.uk facebook.com/bikemagazineUK twitter.com/BikeMagazine [BEEN THERE, GOT THE T-SHIRT] ‘Interested in a trip to Alaska? Hell yes’ In ’06 John Shaw contacted us (a guy we met on a European ride). ‘Were we interested in a trip to Alaska ?‘ Hell yes. Five bikes were air freighted from Wiltshire to Vancouver. Thanks to Customs delays we rode stupid mileages through British Columbia, Yukon and into Alaska. We had a rear wheel puncture in the middle of bear country in Yukon. The T-shirt came from the Harley dealer in Fairbanks where I bought a new spare tube. Best question on the trip: ‘Is that a real Triumph?’ How do you even answer that? The bike in question is my one owner 1996 Thunderbird 900. Thanks for being there…

‘It’s more satisfying spending money on the V7’s quality, charisma and sensations than on black boxes and flashing lights’ Exactly 12 months ago we had a feature celebrating how motorcycle manufacture is now truly international. There was a Japanese bike made in France, an Italian machine created in China and a British bike originating in India, and it was all pleasingly cheerful. ‘You should worry about where they’re from as much as you should a mobile phone or dishwasher,’ said the verdict. Whoever scrawled the words was clearly a numpty (it was me). Because this is the new £8600 Moto Guzzi V7 Special, and a huge part of the reason it’s so adorable is that it’s an Italian bike, made in Italy, by Italian people (probably). We’ve always liked the…

Hugo Wilson Multi bike owner Picks his top events for June, with a very classic flavour. Chippy Wood Enthusiast Has photographed bikes on every UK corner. Knows roads. Mike Armitage High mileage rider Used bike bargain hunter with a personal thing for Gold Wings. John Westlake Riding scientist Home mechanic and trials wobbler who’s been back to school. Pete Boast Road tester Track day instructor who’s running a race team this year. Andrew Dalton Biking lawyer Knows how to get insurance companies to pay out.…

Dainesee Wave £125 dainese.com » The classic built by the people who, along with Barry Sheene, came up with the idea in the first place. It’s a near-perfect piece of design, which is why the Wave has barely changed since I got this yonks ago. The shell is hard plastic with a honeycomb crumple zone behind, and the sections articulate for easy movement. It fits perfectly and is light and vented enough to use on the hottest days. After six years the shoulder straps are losing their elasticated powers but it’s still perfectly serviceable. JW Knox Track Vest £179.99 planet-knox.com » This is Knox’s Aegis CE approved back protector, but worn using a zip-up gilet rather than straps so, unlike other back protectors I’ve tried, it is really comfortable. There…