Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2024 i BIKE

Will this year see the second coming? With increasing sales, new bikes from major players and the returning icons, it genuinely looks like 2024 marks the return of the sportsbike. We've been pestering dealers, poking manufacturers, and the unearthed facts, trends and figures make exciting reading. Encouraging goodness is on page 30. However, I'd suggest the sportsbike never went away. Two reasons. First, BMW have no bodier shifting the SioooRR – they flog more in the UK titan any bike apart from that GS. Second, more significantly, you still see loads of faired bikes with clip-on ‘bars. Pootle into a bike meet, two-wheel friendly cafe or dealer, and there'll be loads of great sporty bikes from the logos and 2000s. We all still flippin’ love ‘em. Why did we stop…

Beneath the metalflake sheen of many customs is, well, not much – just a standard bike with a few bolt-ons. This Honda is the complete opposite – a hands-down victory for function over form that turns a classic Honda CB400F into a howling turbocharged sportsbike with FireBlade forks and an Aprilia RSV1000R rear end. In fact, that's underselling it, because almost every component is bespoke – Canadian builder Rick Denoon even made the wheels. ‘Yeah, I kind of wish 1 hadn't done that,’ he tells Bike from his workshop in Winnipeg. ‘Building those wheels was a ton of work – 1 promised myself I'd never do it again. There was a pile of swarf about four feet high by the lathe when I was pulling material off a chunk of…

Imagine a rally that actually finished in Dakar and could be won by a modified road bike. Sound good? Well, such a race exists, and this year an Aprilia Tuareg 660 took victory, beating swarms of Yamaha Tenere 700s and full-on KTM 450 Rally bikes in the process. Starting in Monaco and running for 3750 miles through Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal, the Africa Eco Race channels the spirit of the old Paris-Dakar by following similar routes and encouraging modified road bikes as well as the usual 450CC single-cylinder rally machines that dominate the official Dakar (which is now held in Saudi Arabia). Incidentally, the ‘Eco’ element of the Africa Eco seems tenuous – from what we can see, some of the support vehicles have got solar panels and that's it.…

PRICE £1369.99 AGV Pista GP RR Guevara Motegi WHAT IS IT? 100% carbon fibre full-face lid with metal vents (five front, two rear extractor) and 5mm thick visor. 360° Adaptive Fit system allows tailoring of pads for ideal fit in neck nape, cheeks and top of head. WHAT DO WE LIKE? If you're going to wear a mad lid, then don't hold back. This rep of 2022 Moto3 world champ, Spanish kid Izan Guevara, is right out there, and all the better for it. He likes a tune, by all accounts, so die graphics reflect his penchant for a jungle banger. Its profile is collarbone safe and there's provision for a hydration system fit, too. Got to keep your fluids up on a weekender, eh? They're only making 2000 of…

The xley interview Motorcycle racing is super-cool, at least for real people who prefer real sport over mere games. Like rough, tough American author Ernest Hemingway, who once said: ‘There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.’ (We didn't agree with him about bullfighting.) In other words, motorcycle racing is vicious and dangerous, and anyone who tries to make it to the top risks their life every step of the way. And yet one of many things I like about the sport is that some of its greatest exponents really don't look like they earn their living by charging around racetracks at stupid speeds and carving up anyone who dares get in their way. Take reigning MotoGP king Pecco Bagnaia. If you saw…

Watch the video Episode 1 live right now with more following weekly at www.bikertekshop.co.uk Want to prepare for an action-packed year of motorcycling? Spend a bit of time with road tester Michael Neeves as he shares his wisdom in a special series of new bootcamp videos. It's all too easy to get a bit giddy once warmer weather arrives and the opportunity to wind it on through some finally-dry sweepers presents itself. A brief pause and a sit-down with a cuppa while watching this latest series of BikerTek videos could make everything even better. There are six videos that will be released from Wednesday 21 February, with die first episode covering speed management. Neevesy is joined by reader Gavin Freeman as they rattle around some of the challenging roads that…

Taking on a professional racer at racing is clearly a ridiculous endeavour unless you're another professional racer. Which I'm not, by 25 years, 1.5 stone and copious amounts of whatever talent is measured in. Yet here we are. Exiting the hairpin at the Champions Flat Track School, British Superbike star Glenn Irwin is sliding his little Honda CRF100 into the corner behind me, relentlessly gaining as I frantically try not to be too awful. Of all the professional racers to end up racing, Glenn is a particularly poor choice: in 2023 he won 10 BSB races, led the most laps and even after being punted off by his arch rival in a pivotal round, still only lost the championship by half a point. Plus, to make my chances on dirt…

Bahco S4RM ratchet spanners Ratchet spanners aren't everyday useful – a socket and ratchet or normal combination spanner largely copes. But I like these when there's not the height for a socket or limited room to swing a regular spanner, and they're a labour-saver. The four-sizes-in-one design means Swedish quality is surprisingly affordable (a set of individual spanners from 8-19mm is more than twice the £50 you get these for) and the snickety ratchet mechanism is still good after 12 years. bahco.com…

» The glow beyond the horizon? That subtle warmth in the breeze? That's spring is that, on its way to warm both tarmac and cockles. We'll have to endure chilled tarmac for a while yet, mind, so increase your grip by getting your tyres nice and warm. Assuming you haven't got warmers in your garage, the way to do this is by accelerating and braking. You'll occasionally see riders swinging the bike around when they set off, like a racer approaching the grid – and it does nine-tenths of bugger all. Load is what generates heat in tyres, and load is put through them with the twistgrip and the brake lever. And, of course, your bike will feel nicer and handle better when the rubber has a bit of warmth.…

I clearly remember riding the new SRAD-model Suzuki in early 1996, in a test with the Yamaha YZF750 and also-new Kawasaki ZX-7R. The GSX-R came out on top. We were impressed by how compact its engine was and how it revved – it spun up like a two-stroke – and it was about 20kg lighter than the others. And the fuel-injected W model in ‘98 was better again. Our bike is a fine example. There are no signs of neglect and overall condition is mostly original, unrestored, and really quite good. It would be an excellent base for a full ‘modern classic’ resto, but we're not that way inclined – our SRAD is serviceable and so we're using it. We don't know the previous service history though, so it's in…

1 Jamie Turner Nobody has the depth of knowledge or can explain tech as well as our professor of mechanical engineering. This month: variable timing in KTM's newest V-twin. KTM variable valves, page 20 2 Martin Fitz-Gibbons Ex-staffer MFG has much curiosity and inquisitiveness (and facial hair). Partial to a sporty device, he's dug deep to investigate the truth behind the sportsbike boom. Bike investigation, page 30 3 Jim Moore Our Jim cut liis journo teetli working on Performance Bikes in tlie 1990s and fully understands clip-ons and sliders. Just the fella to test the current sporty best-sellers. Group test, page 48 4 Mat Oxley Our MotoGP insider says his deep dive into the use of artificial intelligence took ‘longer than any other feature I've done’. No wonder – this…

SUSPENSION Showa rather than Ohlins, presumably because of Showa's motocross pedigree (Honda'sfactoryteam run them). Incidentally, the Beta sticker on theswingarm refers to the tool company, not the rival off-road lot. FRAME Alloy beam frame with split front downtubeto allow a centre port exhaust. Want to see one in real life? Check out a Honda CRF450-it's almost identical. ENGINE All new 450cc single cylinder with desmodromic valve actuation rather than springs. Higher rev limit could push power close to a marketleading 60bhp. KTM bosses must be feeling rather picked on. Just months fter Triumph launched an attack on the Austrians’ off-road empire with a 250CC motocross bike, along come Ducati with a 450 complete with desmodromic valves, high-end components and lots of red paint. Though the Desmo450 MX you see here…

At last it feels like variable valve timing is taking off on bikes. We've had bike-specific stuff before, of course – Honda's VTEC, Suzuki's mechanical WT – but it's only recently that proper, car-type stuff has started to transfer. Sorry to put it like that but conceptually the car valvetrain is way more advanced, really because the suppliers had to get it sorted for the mass-market car manufacturers, driven by pollutant and CO2 emissions limits – the latter of which we don't get on bikes. The bike world started the advanced stuff with Ducati Variable Timing – dual camshaft phasers, which lias pretty much been going-in tech on cars for some time. But as 1 have said before, this may have been a technology that worked well on Ducati's engines…

Bike, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough, PE2 6EA Telephone 01733 468000 Email: bike@bikemagazine.co.uk facebook.com/bikemagazineUK twitter.com/BikeMagazine September 2009 and I buy my first Ducati – a 2007 home S – in Cambridge and spend the day riding home to Aberdeen, receiving compliments every time I stop. I signed up for the Ducati Owners Club, which was free. Unknown to me they sent a free welcome pack – stickers, keyring, etc. You got something every year. My final year with the Ducati was 2013, which is when the T-shirt was issued. I made a big mistake selling the bike – it was the only bike I would look back to in the garage, and I miss looking for tunnels and underpasses just to hear that exhaust note. George Morrison, Aberdeen IF…

Chin buried on the tank. Arse perched up in the air. A howling 636cc inline four pinging off a 14,500rpm redline, the speedo a rapidly-climbing flicker. Is there a better combination for raw, sporty fun and adrenaline-filled apex hunting than a proper supersport bike? I highly doubt it. If the thought of having a proper sportsbike screaming and darting doesn't get your juices flowing, I suggest nothing truly will. It may look strange on the outside that Kawasaki's ZX-6R lias made a return to dealers for 2024, but I'm bloody glad it has. Just a few years ago it looked like the middleweight sportsbike sector was moving away from aggressive, track-honed machinery to go down the route of more practical, comfortable, reserved machinery – or, in odier words, a load…

IMPROVED COMFORT Footpeg position is quite relaxed and there's a reasonably deep seat, although it isn't as good over long distance as it could be. Too much sports, not enough tourer. Suzuki lengthened the ‘bars by 23mm in 2022 and brought them 20mm closer to the rider, so wider ‘bars on earlier models are a worthwhile modification. Taller pilots will benefit from a more generous accessory touring screen; one came as standard on the ‘Tour’ version, along with soft luggage. The fairing doesn't offer much in the way of hand protection, so hand guards and heated grips are also popular upgrades worth sniffing out. And pillion accommodation is questionable. BEEN FIXED, RIGHT? Early 2015 machines – both the naked GSX-S and this faired F model – were recalled due to…

£6895 Husqvarna 701 » This is a 2018 version Husky with the big power-up (70bhp), extended service intervals (6000 miles) and ride-by-wire throttle, as well as all the essentials that make a more recent supermoto much more of a pleasure than an exercise in self-flagellation. Thanks to two balance shafts, the 693cc unit has the silkiest operation of any big single, as well as fine economy and plenty of power. This example wears crash bungs – kind of a good idea with the foot-out fun these things encourage. With a scant 1973 miles under it, this is a very attractive near-mint stocker. £3191 Suzuki DR-Z400SM » Another sensible steer is this petite 398cc offering from Suzuki. And sensible needn't mean dull. With a real 35bhp and an all-up mass of…

Price £12,999 Engine 899cc DOHC parallel twin Power 103bhp @ 8000rpm Torque 74 lb.ft @ 6500rpm Rake/trail 25.8°/111.6mm Wheelbase 1502mm Seat height 860mm Kerb weight 206kg (estimate) Tank size 15.8 litres Colours just these ones (black/white/orange) Availability now THESE BITS, PLEASE » HOT GRIPS £240 The bike's pre-wired for heated bits so control is from the easy-to-master (but slightly cheapfeeling) switchgear. Three settings, and they get plenty warm enough. » TECH PACK £860 Slick quickshifter, cruise and extra modes work for a 1500km ‘trial’ – then pack up. You'll miss them, so be ready to hand a dealer cash to turn the widgets back on. » SCREEN £118 I don't mind feeling breeze on shoulders but if you're really planning big miles on an SMT get a big screen. There's…

Watching ‘A great reminder of Gobert's flamboyant brilliance’ Hero: The Go Show Anthony Gobert passed away recently. The Australian had a constant battle with addiction and never reached his potential, but was still one of the most naturally gifted riders of all time. This short video of his wild antics in WSB is a great reminder of his flamboyant brilliance. Round the outside, passing two at once, backing it in… YouTube search: The best of Anthony Gobert Erzberg: Rider's eye view Ever wondered what it's like tackling the Erzberg Rodeo? Find out through the eyes of Italian hard enduro rider Sonny Goggia and marvel at his determination. You'll ache just watching it. Then get to the end of this 54-minute clip and realise he was only a quarter of the…

SMALLER TANK New rules dictate the fuel tank capacity reduces from 24 to 21 litres. The smaller tank has allowed BMW to lower the seat, so the rider sits more'in'the bike. AERODYNAMICS All-new wings for 2024 give a higher top speed while revamped winglets also increase downforce. The changes were driven by Christian Gonschor, who runs BMW's new test project. CHASSIS Yamaha had to reinforce the front of the R1M's frame to cope with Toprak's braking, but BMW say the M1OOORR's coped OK. More of a problem was that the rear wheel spent so much time airborne. ‘Toprak shouldn't have to adapt his style too much for us – we need to come to him’ BESPOKE ELECTRONICS The rest of the grid use a Magneti Marelli ECU, but BMW use…

Yes, the new Svartpilen 401 is essentially a KTM 390 Duke styled by someone with a check shirt and bountiful tattoos, but we must admit they've done a fabulous job. If you're after urban transport, you'll struggle to find anything cooler this side of an expensive one-off custom. Everything has been changed from the old bike – engine, chassis, electronics, switchgear… the lot. That comes courtesy of the revamped 2024 KTM 390 (KTM own Husqvama), which means you get a perky cutting-edge 45bhp single-cylinder engine, steel trellis frame, 5in TFT dash, cornering traction control and high-quality WP suspension. Most of die engine changes are to die cylinder head, but these don't chase power – they cut weight and help with emissions, according to Husqvarna. The 2bhp power increase is due…

Suzuki's new twin wades into a part of the market that's chock full of enticement. There's established competition (see this month's group test, page 48) and relaunched favourites, not to mention other factory-fresh offerings. Here's how the new GSX-8R compares against its rivals – and against its forebears. To give a real sense of where the Suzuki and its key competitors place in the market, we've included some pre-loved options for good measure. There's a 20-year-old GSX-R600, which was the 8R's supersport predecessor, plus a Yamaha TRX850-the original parallel-twin sporty road bike. All figures are manufacturer's claims… well, apart from the 2004 GSX-R. Today's claims are usually realistic but two decades ago they were generally wildly optimistic, so we've used measured output from our tests of the time.…

What a glorious array of tasty adrenal gland twanging options. Picking a middleweight sportsbike in 2024 doesn't mean choosing between a 599CC inline four and, erm, another 599CC inline four. The market's never been so rich and varied – and this group test brings together very different protagonists. Honda's CBR650R has been selling by the boatload since 2021. Fireblade family styling, A2-compatible performance and a time-proven engine have seen to that. Yamaha put together an equally compelling proposition with their R7, but using very different ingredients – this lightweight parallel twin blends MT-07 power and character with a sharp chassis and attitude, and a genuine sense of value for money. And then there's Aprilia's magnificent RS660, a machine that blends twin-cylinder punch, poise, practicality, tech and achingly attractive styling in…

After 100 miles of off-roading in the sizzling, brutal Moroccan desert on a large-capacity adventure bike, I would expect certain things. My back should be aching from landing jumps, my limbs battered from fighting over 220kg of machine through sand, stones and savagely fast trails. The bike will be feeling a little worse for wear in the 27°C heat, too. Yet none of this occurs with the new Ducati DesertX Rally. Is it the best off-road adventure bike ever built? It could well be. The standard DesertX is a fine bike – it was our 2022 Bike of the Year, after all. But the new Rally takes things to the next level, both in terms of spec and stature. With even longer-travel suspension and a seat height of 910mm that…

Getting the hump, but not for long On the journey from one home (Sydney, Australia) to another (Wai, India), I traversed many countries – Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, China, Pakistan and India. So I witnessed machines and beasts of all kinds being used as transport; from yaks and camels to tractors and tuk-tuks. Jealousy crept over me, seeing tourists cross mountain ranges in the comfort of 4x4s or a farmer on a cart being pulled by his trusty camel. This feeling was always short-lived as the sight of my first bike with me, on a journey to distant lands, dissipated almost all the pain in my body. Fuel's gold I knew that in remote areas I wouldn't find the 98 octane fuel my bike craved, but I prepared as…

» The Indian brand's return to market in 2014 featured three versions of one bike: the Chief, the Chief Vintage (with tassels) and the Chieftain (with fairing and headstock angle tweak). The range was vamped a bit in 2017 then a lot in 2019. Yet the first-gen Chief is still the best-looking of the lot. With a 1811cc air-cooled Thunderstroke V-twin, six-speed ‘box and belt final, it's almost nifty for a rig weighing 835lb. But it's chief purpose is to have presence – and that it more than manages. With preposterously valanced mudguards, ridiculous chromed headlight nacelle and footboards the size of skateboard decks, it makes Harley-Davidson's best efforts look apologetic. Want in your face with get up and go? Go Indian.…

Despite all the speed cameras, enforcement vans and occasional traffic cops, it is possible to ride ‘enthusiastically’ without putting your licence at risk. You just have to adopt a stealthy mindset and use your common sense. Having spent 15 years as a traffic cop, here's what I do now I've retired… Choose the right road B-roads are your friends here. If you go for a blast on a fast A-road or the local bypass, you'll have to do 120mph to get any sense of speed, which will obviously land you in a world of pain if you get caught. And you are more likely to get caught because, as a traffic cop, that's precisely the sort of road I'd keep an eye on. And it's certainly where the speed camera…

A16 Road ‘n’ Race end can (Suzuki GSX-R750) Used for: four months Price: £215 Info: a16roadnracesupplies.co.uk In the 1990s an aftermarket end can was the first thing to fit if you bought a bike (closely followed by mini indicators and a small numberplate). So, I didn't mind the race can on my Suzuki GSX-R750 SRAD when I bought it… or didn't until it gave me tinnitus and caused a village petition. Solution? This road-legal can from A16. It's got the classy finish and weight reduction of a racy item, but the (removable) baffle means curtains don't twitch. There's a deeper, edgier burble than standard at idle and low revs, but it's inoffensive – and crucially keeps the decibels in check when exploring all the GSX-R's revs. Handmade in Lincolnshire, there…

Know How Ahead of its time It's 1982 and the Yamaha factory is going full tilt trying to out‑invent and outsell its rivals – going toe-to-toe with Honda, no less. It's a high-risk strategy. 1980 had been good. With domestic sales having doubled from one to two million units over the past five years, the big boss of Yamaha Motor – president Hisao Koike – pledges to increase sales to three million by 1981. And he does. Yamaha is riding high, and four million units becomes the target for 1982. The machine that would help achieve that figure was the XZ550. On paper it was more than a match for the Honda CX500 it was pitched against; a claimed 64bhp playing the CX's 50bhp, from a DOHC, four-valves-per-cylinder, 70°, liquid-cooled V-twin.…