Innholdsfortegnelse for #353 18-12 i Just Bikes

BMW Motorrad has established a tradition of unveiling new concept motorcycles at the annual Villa d’Este concours on the shores of Lake Como in Italy. Recent concepts have included the retroinspired ‘R 5 Hommage’, futuristic ‘Vision Next 100’ scooter, ‘Concept 101’ bagger and the R90S-inspired (and R nineT-based) ‘Concept Ninety’ café racer that was created in collaboration with Roland Sands. This year, BMW Motorrad unveiled a concept that points the way to what a future adventure sport model might look like – the ‘9cento’. Pronounced ‘No-vay Chen-toe’, the name translates as ‘900’ and while no detail was provided on the concept’s powerplant, speculation has already pointed to the 9cento previewing a smaller, 900cc version of BMW’s existing S 1000 XR sports tourer. BMW’s Head of Design, Edgar Heinrich, says the…

Honouring a model from their past, MV Agusta have released an all-new ‘America’ roadster. The third such revival of a model name that first appeared on an MV Agusta in 1975, this latest version follows the previous F4 750 Brutale-based limited-edition upgrade kit from 2005 and, more recently, a special edition Brutale from 2012. The new America is essentially the same as the US market version released last year that was limited to just 50 units – one for each state of the union. The 2018 version that’s coming to Australia benefits from the latest Brutale upgrades, including a new balance shaft, new valves and redesigned intake and exhaust cams on the engine, as well as upgraded electronic controls with new algorithms and engine mapping. The 798cc liquid-cooled triple is…

Lowry Australia are the new Australian distributors for Beta Motorcycles, following an agreement confirmed between the Australian distributor for YCF dirt bikes and Betamotor S.p.A in May. Previously, Beta’s enduro and trials models were handled by two separate companies, but they’re now both under the Lowry Australia banner. “Lowry Australia is very excited to be joining the success story that is Betamotor S.p.A Italy,” said Patrick Lowry, MD Lowry Australia. “We are both honoured and excited for this opportunity to work closely with the factory into the future as they continue to grow their brand and product range. “I plan to be actively involved in continuing the support and enthusiasm that currently exists for the Beta brand, and look forward to guiding its future growth in Australia.” Beta’s existing local…

Glenn Scott has announced his return to the Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK). The former Australian 125cc Champion and an experienced campaigner in both domestic and overseas competition across several classes, Glenn confirmed in May that he’ll coming back to domestic competition with Kawasaki. Serving as both rider and manager for his own ‘GSR Kawasaki’ privateer outfit, the 26-year-old from the NSW Central Coast will be joined by Al Samuels as acting Crew Chief, Adam Raffe as race day Technician, partner Tamara Sexty as PR and Communications Co-ordinator, while Glenn’s brother Greg will be responsible for securing sponsorship. As he’s arriving halfway into this year’s series, Glenn aims to reacquaint himself with the premier domestic class first, then make a full assault on the championship in 2019. “Every racer strives for…

OK. First thing to get your head around with this project and the crew who built it are the numbers involved. What you’re looking at here are three builds, rather than just one. All were created by London-based custom bike builders, Auto Fabrica, and the XSR900-based ‘Prototype Two’ is the main bike of the three featured here. Prototype Two is also classified by the English builder as a ‘Type 11’ that includes Prototype One, also based on a new Yamaha XSR900 triple, while Prototype Three was built on an older XS750. Just to make things a little more complicated is the fact that Prototype Three came BEFORE Prototype Two, while Auto Fabrica’s output since this trio has skipped Type 12 entirely, moving on to Type 13 and Type 14, before…

The great man had been diagnosed with prostate cancer at the time but declared himself unwilling to die until he had finished the design that would “save” MV Agusta. And so it came to pass. The MV Agusta he created, the F4 750 Serie Oro – and which was subsequently placed in the Guggenheim Museum as bona fide “art” – did indeed save MV Agusta from oblivion. After all, how could a company that now produces the most beautiful motorcycle ever built simply cease to exist? Quite obviously it couldn’t. This is the bike of Agostini and Hailwood. This is the bike of Read, Surtees and Ubbiali. This is the bike that won 270 Grand Prix races, 38 World Riders’ Championships, and 37 World Constructors’ Championships. The company may never…

Honda’s CB1000R naked has been reborn as a “neo sports café” roadster. Now available in Australia following its debut at EICMA last year, the new CB1000R not only looks different to past CB1000 roadsters, it also feels and performs differently, according to Honda. The neo sports café tag is how Honda describe the new model’s stripped-back “retro industrial minimalism” styling that combines sports naked and café racer elements, with a focus on textured metal (instead of plastic) for trim parts, like the airbox cover and radiator shrouds, while the engine features machined sections to break up its predominantly black finish. The tank is a highly-sculpted unit, while the headlight is also distinctive and features finishing that picks up on the metal trim pieces. At 212kg, the new CB1000R is a…

After being in the wilderness for the past few years, the future of the Australian Supercross Championship is now looking brighter, as AUS SX Holdings, the team behind the very successful AUS-X Open in Sydney, have assumed the commercial rights for the entire series. Confirmed in May, the agreement between AUS SX Holdings and Motorcycling Australia (MA) will build on the groundwork laid by the sport’s governing body in bringing the sport back to prominence. Motorcycling Australia is excited to work with AUS SX and see Supercross taken to the next level,” said MA CEO Peter Doyle. “We have spent the last few years reviving Supercross and bringing it back to the forefront as a blue ribbon Australian Championship. With AUS SX Holdings taking control of the commercial rights of…

The dates for the 2018 FIM Oceania Newcastle International Supermoto have been locked in, with the event to take place on 1 and 2 September. After last year’s International Supermoto was held at the Newcastle Showground (due to construction works for the Supercars round), the event returns to the Newcastle Foreshore this year, which organisers are predicting will attract a crowd in excess of the 50,000 that attended in 2016. “Last time we were at the foreshore in 2016, we had a huge crowd of 20,000 on the Saturday and 30,000 on the Sunday,” said event promoter Graeme Boyd. Incorporating the Australian Supermoto Championship, the Newcastle International Supermoto will feature top domestic supermoto riders and international competitors. Last year, Adam Miller won ahead of Ben Attard, while Luke George was…

If you’re reading this article and you’re of a certain age, MV Agusta really needs no introduction. Mere utterance of the name would evoke memories of Agostini, Hailwood and Surtees, amongst others, who took the brand to no less than 37 World Constructors’ Championships through the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. If you’re not of that “certain age”, you probably associate MV Agusta with their current efforts in World Superbike and World Supersport competition, as well as a string of fast and stylish naked (Brutale), sports (F3 and F4) and touring (Turismo Veloce) motorcycles. MV Agusta’s modern aura of style, speed and desirability was set decades back by the brand’s aforementioned racetrack dominance. Their first world title came via Cecil Sandford, who won the 125cc World Championship on MV’s 125 ‘Bialbero’…

While the quest for more power can be all consuming, improvements to ride and handling will have a greater influence on how your bike performs. No matter what you ride – sportsbike, tourer, naked, adventure machine, scooter or dirtbike – there are big improvements to be had by spending some of your hard-earned cash on a suspension upgrade. OE SUSPENSION Unless you ride a high-end sportsbike, chances are the standard suspension set-up on your motorcycle could do with some improvement. After all, when motorcycle manufacturers equip their machines with suspension, they are bound by various parameters; they try to build one bike to suit all people, riding in all conditions, and they try to do it at a price that will keep their respective accounts departments at bay. But every…

While Royal Enfield have traded off their military heritage with special colours and detailing in the recent past, the new Classic 500 ‘Pegasus Edition’ is a more specific tribute. Produced in collaboration with the British Ministry of Defence, the Pegasus Edition honours the British Army’s airborne forces from World War II. Limited to 1,000 units worldwide, the upcoming Classic 500 variant is defined by the blue-on-maroon ‘Pegasus’ flying horse emblem on the tank; the same logo worn by the Parachute Regiment and other elements of the British Army’s 6th Airborne Division. These airborne forces served with the distinction during World War II and were actually the first combat troops to engage the enemy on D-Day when they attacked the Benouville Bridge in France. That bridge was later renamed Pegasus Bridge.…

Husqvarna’s Vitpilen 401 and Svartpilen 401 (White Arrow and Black Arrow) have finally arrived in Australia, with the two distinctively-styled roadsters reaching local ‘Husqvarna Real Street’ dealerships in May. LAMS approved, the two new nakeds run the same 373cc single-cylinder engine, sixspeed gearbox and other mechanical features. Styling is very modern, with the same basic bodywork shared between the two variants, but each is defined by its own colour scheme and detail differences: the Vitpilen is a pure, café racer-style roadster, while the Svartpilen is more closely linked to Husqvarna’s off-road heritage. The Vitpilen/Svartpilen engine, essentially the same as that in the KTM 390 Duke, has listed maximum outputs of 32kW and 37Nm, with max torque said to be available from low in the rev range. Electronic fuel injection and…

Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Johann Zarco will join Red Bull KTM Factory Racing for 2019. Zarco signed a two-year deal with KTM on 3 May, ending speculation of a possible move to Suzuki, or even a ride with Repsol Honda in place of Dani Pedrosa next year. The deal will see the 27-year-old Frenchman join Pol Espargaro on the factory RC16, replacing Bradley Smith. KTM’s Motorsport Director, Pit Beirer, welcomed Zarco to the team, but acknowledges there’s a challenge in ensuring they can provide a bike to match the Frenchman’s talents. Zarco’s international career started in 2007, when he won the very first Red Bull Rookies Cup, and after joining the 125cc class in 2009, finished runner-up (behind Spain’s Nico Terol) in 2011. Stepping up to Moto2 in 2012, Zarco had…

After a stellar debut last year, the ‘Antique Motorcycle Weekend’ hosted by the Australian chapter of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America (AMCA) is returning for 2018, with the club’s second big bike weekend to be held on 25 and 26 August at Bulli Showgrounds (north of Wollongong in NSW). The Antique Motorcycle Weekend is the AMCA Australia’s main event for the year, so all efforts go into making it the best it can be. Those efforts paid off handsomely last year, with the event attracting thousands of classic bike owners and enthusiasts. Despite the “American” name, AMCA Australia caters for all bikes of all types, as long as they’re 35 years old or older. So, if you’ve got a classic British, Japanese or European machine, it’s welcome at the…

BMW has a long history of producing some of the world’s best mile-eaters, beginning with the fully faired R 100 RT that first saw the light of day back in 1978, powered by an aircooled 980cc boxer twin and essentially kicking off the comfortable long-distance touring genre. Production of the R 100 range was momentarily paused in the 1980s as BMW pressed ahead with development of its water-cooled inline four-cylinder K100 range, but BMW fans wanted their beloved boxer twin, and in 1995 the company launched the air/oil cooled R 1100 RT, which featured four-valve heads, a trick Telelever front suspension and Paralever rear-end, making it a technological tour de force at the time. BMW upgraded the RT for the new millennium and in 2002 launched the slightly larger capacity…

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