Innholdsfortegnelse for #355 19-01 i Just Bikes

For the first time in more than a decade, next year’s MotoGP season will start without Dani Pedrosa on the grid. The 32-year-old has announced that he will retire from the sport at the conclusion of the 2018 season, ending a grand prix racing career that started in 2001. Pedrosa’s future in MotoGP was looking uncertain after Jorge Lorenzo replaced him at HRC and Repsol Honda, signing a two-year deal this past June. And while there were potential opportunities with other teams for the 2019 season, including the new SIC Petronas Yamaha satellite team that will make its debut next year, the Spaniard ultimately decided to retire from the sport. Announcing his retirement on 12 July - the eve of the German MotoGP round – Pedrosa said that, while it…

Moto Guzzi has created a series of three ‘Special Edition’ versions of their V7 III (the third-generation V7 launched here in June), with each bringing a distinctive look and style to the naked sports commuter. The ‘Carbon’, Rough’ and ‘Milano’ share the same 38kW/60Nm 744cc transverse v-twin as the existing V7 III, as well as that model’s six-speed gearbox, steel cradle frame, 40mm tele fork front end and twin shock rear, Brembo front brake, 18-inch/17-inch wheel combo and a 21-litre fuel tank. Of the three Special Edition models, the V7 III Carbon is limited to just 1,921 individually-numbered units (reflecting Moto Guzzi’s foundation year) and defined by carbon fibre side panels and a black satin finish for the fuel tank, engine and exhaust. Complementing this is gloss black on the…

For their first ever auction at the Barber Motorsports Museum in Alabama, USA, this October, Bonhams have secured some high-end consignments, including a pair of motorcycles that are expected to sell for six figures each. Any item associated with Steve McQueen draws attention and few more than his motorcycles, which have been popping up at auctions for years now. However, amongst that long list of bikes owned and ridden by McQueen, few are more memorable than the Husqvarna that ‘The King of Cool’ rode in the well-known 1971 documentary film On Any Sunday. That bike, a 1970 Husqvarna 400 Cross, also appeared with McQueen in the saddle on the cover of US magazine Sports Illustrated. To be offered with extensive documentation, including a California Department of Motor Vehicles slip naming…

Tom Sykes will end a nine-year association with Kawasaki in World Superbikes when he leaves the Kawasaki Racing Team (KRT) at the end of this season. The split was said to be a mutual decision between the 32-year-old and KRT WorldSBK, but frosty relations between Sykes and team mate Jonathan Rea, as well as Rea’s crew chief Pere Riba, have been apparent this season, with personal circumstances away from the racetrack also fuelling the decision. “I feel the time has arrived; the moment to make a change in my career and seek new challenges,” Sykes said in a statement released on 13 July. “I feel I have given all I can within KRT. I am now the best rider I have ever been, and I have the experience and performance…

There is so much going on here. Most of it is spectacular and hilarious. Some of it is terrifying. But all of it is appropriate for the task at hand. And that task, friends and relatives, is “Smyert Fashistam!” Or, if your Russian is less than fluent, “Death to Fascists!” which was one of the Soviet war-cries during the Great Patriotic War (aka WWII). The other Soviet war-cries were “Oooorrrahhhhh!” “Bey, Kolyi, Ganyi, Biri V’Palon!” (Beat, Slaughter, Chase and Imprison), and “Hande hoch!” (Hands up!). The first was a general howling as the Red Army advanced, the second was something the great General Suvorov came up with during his trouncing of Napoleon, and the third came in handy as the Red Army crossed into Germany in 1945. The Ural (And it is pronounced “Ooh-ral”…

BMW Motorrad Australia has created a test ride and track day programme that’ll be visiting selected racetracks on the east coast. Kicking off at Queensland Raceway on 20 August, each Track Experience day will present participants with the opportunity to test ride a wide range of current BMW motorcycles, including the latest S 1000 RR, S 1000 R and S 1000 XR. There will also be the opportunity to test-ride a BMW motorcycle in conjunction with a track day on the participant’s own motorcycle. Participants can use their own motorcycle for this event, and then take the opportunity to also test ride the BMW motorcycle of their choice on the race track. Selected riders will be invited to apply for a test ride of the new HP4 RACE, BMW’s carbon-framed…

KTM New Zealand has announced details of their third annual rally for KTM Orange Adventure riders – the ‘KTM New Zealand Adventure Rallye: Northland 2018’. Returning to the North Island, specifically the Northland and Coromandel regions, this year’s Adventure Rallye is a six-day ride with the promise of incredible terrain and access to trails normally unavailable. The main route is shorter and less technically challenging than past years, consisting of winding back country roads, gravel trails and light-duty off-road tracks. But for those that want a challenge, the optional breakout route will provide it, with plenty of tough terrain, steep hills, sand and mud, plus a KTM NZ Adventure Rallye first in the ‘4 Chili’ options for the truly brave. Kicking off in the Bay of Islands on 30 November…

Another year, another dominant performance from Jonathan Rea in World Superbikes. That’s the situation at the midpoint of the 2018 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship, just as it has been for the past three years, really. And while it may seem like a case of ‘situation normal’ in the series, there has been a bit going on in the championship, with arrivals, departures and records being reset. FRESH BLOOD, FAMILIAR FACES Amongst the new signings to the championship over the northern hemisphere winter, there were no “famous names” coming for fans to get excited about. There were, however, new faces, starting with Yonny Hernandez, who had joined Team Pedercini Racing after a partial season in Moto2 last year, preceded by a five-year stint in MotoGP. Also new was Turkish rider…

My brother Alice summed up this helmet perfectly after hearing me rave about it. “It sounds like a helmet for people who hate helmets,” he said. “You nailed it,” I laughed. “That’s exactly what it is.” I will explain why in a second, but there’s a few things you have to know first. Firstly, thanks to the rationalisation of Australian helmet laws, you can now buy Schuberth helmets in this country, rather than ordering them on the Internet and hoping for the best. And while you can buy models like the E1 (flip-front adventure tourer) and C4 (flip-front tourer) right now, you can’t buy the M1 open-face lid that got me and Alice so giddy… not yet, anyway. Secondly, before you buy your next helmet, you really should look long…

Harley-Davidson dealers in Australia and New Zealand have previously gone up against each other in the ‘Judgement Day’ custom competitions, but now, local dealers will get the chance to pit their custom bike-building skills against some of the best in the world. This year, for the first time since its inception in 2015, Harley-Davidson’s ‘Battle of the Kings’ custom bike competition will be open to dealers from Australia and New Zealand, with the best A-NZ offering competing against bikes from Mexico, Japan, Europe (pictured), Africa, South America and the Middle East. The local stage of the competition will see seventeen H-D dealers throughout Australia and New Zealand each use a bike from the Harley-Davidson Dark Custom range (Street 500, Street Rod, Iron 883, Iron 1200, Forty-Eight, Forty-Eight Special, Roadster, Fat…

Husqvarna has released details on the 2019 version of their FS 450 Supermoto, which benefits from updates recently added to the MY19 FC 450 motocross model. Key changes include an all-new frame that claims to deliver improved handling, while a redesigned engine offers more usable power. The frame has been redesigned to be stiffer for what Husqvarna says is better rider feedback and optimum straight-line stability. Complementing this are modifications to the Husqvarna-exclusive carbon fibre subframe that is now a two-piece design and is 250 grams lighter. The engine is lighter, too, with a redesigned cylinder head shedding 500g compared to the MY18 FS 450 and making the SOHC 450cc single even more compact. Complemented by a more compact silencer, these engine changes are said to deliver improved usability and…

With Yamaha’s fortunes on the rise in the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship, Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark have resigned with the factory-backed Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team for the 2019 season. The resigning, done at the Misano WSBK round and announced on 20 July, ended speculation that one of the Yamaha riders would be joining Jonathan Rea at the Kawasaki Racing Team next year, replacing Tom Sykes. The 2019 season will be van der Mark’s third with the Pata Yamaha team and the fourth for Lowes, who’s been with Yamaha since they officially returned to WSBK competition in 2016. To date, the 2018 season has been Yamaha’s most successful since that return, with both van der Mark and Lowes recording their first ever WSBK race wins. The…

With their retro-inspired XSR models, the fast and furious MT nakeds, the all-new YZ65 off-roader and radical Niken trike, Yamaha has been churning out some pretty interesting stuff of late. Most of the aforementioned models would be familiar, even if some, like the Niken, aren’t officially here yet. But in the North American market, there’s stuff that even we aren’t familiar with, like the new ‘Star Venture’ v-twin tourer and its bagger cousin, the ‘Star Eluder’. Created specifically to feed the North American market’s appetite for baggers, the Star Eluder arrived there at the start of this year, with the likes of Harley’s Road Glide Special and Street Glide Special squarely in its sights. No doubt Yamaha hopes to pinch some sales off Indian’s Chieftain Limited and Dark Horse, the…