Issue#109 Dec 2014

T ES ECRIC OTE P G PR IK IN L : B AR IA WHE EC NE R SPESTYOU T LA

WORLD TRAVEL HOW TO DEAL WITH BORDER CROSSINGS

HARLEY ROAD GLIDE

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CONTENTS #109 “It’s not what you’ve got but how you use it when it comes to the road ahead.” — Reynolds reflects on pu ing racetrack experience to use on the road, p39 NEWS FOR ROAD RIDERS 10

Yamaha looks to an economical future, Triumph abandons a new model range, Harley moves to India, celeb stuff-ups and loads more.

ON THE ROAD

BIKES TO RIDE

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NSW Central and Southern Tablelands: Gunning to Bathurst the fun way.

Central Qld: Exploring the hidden gems of central Queensland Flinders Ranges: Sightseeing the beautiful SA outback by road.

Border Crossings: The ins and outs of going between countries abroad.

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Harley Road Glide: The best big-twin tourer gets be er.

Can-Am Spyder RT: Three wheels and three cylinders.

Honda CBR300R: Honda’s baby sportsbike gets a makeover and more go.

Yamaha Stryker: Lean and mean chopper off the showroom floor.

The Long List: Victory, Ducati and Project Bolt.

80 112

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GEAR ON TEST 120

121

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Dririder Symmetry Jacket: A comfortable cruisy jacket option.

Pirelli Scorpion Rally Tyres: Knobby rubber for big bikes that’s good and lasts!

Shark Speed-R Helmet: Looks fast si ing still.

Intaride Turntable: You spin me right round, baby right round like a record baby...

37 39 145 146

28 30 88 124

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Hearing: Cause, effect and care of this vital sense on the road.

Hits and Misses: The good, bad and ugly of motorcycle innovations.

128 132 138 140

YARNS AND LAUGHS 6 32 35

Mathochism: Order from chaos.

Boorman: Riders on the storm.

Seddo: Changing pace.

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MONTHLY MAIL

SPECIAL FEATURE 106

Zoe: The joy of birds.

Reynolds: Racer’s edge.

Don Whistance: The great escape.

Last Look: Merry Christmas.

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Big Shot: Reward on the back roads.

Route 66: Win a US trip!

Stay With Us: Rider-friendly places.

Whatz New: A mixed bag of new stuff.

Readers’ Rite: All about the ride.

Price Guide: New-bike news and prices.

Subscribe Here: Win a Yamaha Bolt!

Bike Supermarket: Products, services and other cool stuff.

Advertiser Listing: Where’d you see that ad again?

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 5

MATHOCHISM

ORDER FROM CHAOS MOTORCYCLES ARE THE PERFECT PERSONAL ORGANISER iding clears the head. You go out for a strop just for the sake of it, leaving some hassles behind for a while.

When you return, you’re relaxed, thinking be er and somehow re-energised.

Someone once accused me that by jumping on the bike instead of knuckling down I was being self-indulgent and wasting time, but I’ve no doubt the ride is therapeutic and, in the long, a more efficient use of time than ba ling on.

Here’s a case in point. At home and work, I’ve got jobs piled on jobs but nothing’s ge ing done because machinery and equipment keep breaking: both mowers are broken, one with a hole in the side where the conrod came out; the new-ish ute snapped a CV joint and the old one is unregistered because

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it’s one of the piled-up jobs; the camera has packed it in, as has the printer; the multimeter has gone walkabout. I could go on but you’ll rapidly get bored.

Long story short, it’s as if I’m swimming against the tide, exacerbated by ARR’s impending deadline. So yesterday I threw up my hands and went for a ride. Just a couple of hours.

It’s funny how a ride borne of frustration goes. At first I was aggressive, then I was focused on the road and the lines, then I was captivated by the beauty of the countryside in the late a ernoon light, and finally I was heading back home and thinking in a slightly detached way about all the chaos waiting for me there.

Returning at sunset, I realised I could see the individual trees in my forest of

“I’m sure there are other ways to achieve the same level of Zen, but mine’s on the motorcycle. Always has been and I expect it always will be”

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challenges. Priorities, solutions and a timetable fell into place as I wrote out a list. Next morning I got stuck in, feeling positive about it instead of overwhelmed.

I’m sure there are other ways to achieve the same level of Zen, but mine’s on the motorcycle. Always has been and I expect it always will be.

Thankfully, the bike isn’t one of the bits of machinery that broke down. Then I’d be stuffed!

JOHN’S LEAVING Sadly, we’re saying farewell to John Arens this month. A er 12 years on ARR and almost 25 in the industry, our advertising manager is bowing out. I’ve worked with many ad reps on bike magazines, the vast majority of them motorcycle enthusiasts and dedicated to what they do, and John stands out among them.

We will miss him around here. It will not be the same without his Buell Ulysses parked outside the Universal Magazines offices. He did a very long commute every day on that bike from his home on the Central Coast of NSW to North Ryde. I know that he and the bike won’t miss that routine — the quality of riding will only get be er now!

The good thing is ARR is keeping him close, as he’d like to be. We’ll get to enjoy his friendly company at shows like the upcoming Melbourne Motorcycle Expo and next year’s Ulysses AGM, and he’ll still be pu ing his two bob’s worth into the magazine. I’m glad I can flick him editorial work now. That kind of thing is always a bit of a conflict when a guy’s selling ads, but that’s no longer an issue and John’s motorbiking experience is too extensive to waste.

John is being replaced by Sean Sco , a bloke who’s going to fit in well and keep ARR fat and healthy. Welcome to ARR, Sean.

As I said, it’s farewell to John. Not goodbye. I would like to thank him for so many years of hard work and success.

He’s been an asset in every sense and the magazine owes to him so much of its current status as Australia’s top motorcycle travel magazine. All the best to you, John. ARR

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Roadrider A U S T R A L I A N

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Editor Mick Matheson

R O A D B I K E I N S U R A N C E

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Photographers Anne Baker, Jeff Crow, Tim Munro Contributors Charley Boorman, Shane Graham, Ariel Hill-Matheson, Mark Hinchliffe, Zoe Naylor, Greg Reynolds, Geoff Seddon, Sam Manicom

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Any advice in this document is general advice and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement available from THiS Insurance and your objectives, financial situation or needs before acting on this advice. The Insurance is underwritten by Thistle Underwriting Services (TUS). TUS acts under an authority to bind cover on behalf of QBE Insurance (Australia) Ltd. Current as at 1 Feb 2014.

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This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiries should be addressed to the publishers. The publishers believe all the information supplied in this book to be correct at the time of printing. They are not, however, in a position to make a guarantee to this effect and accept no liability in the event of any information proving inaccurate.

Prices, addresses and phone numbers were, after investigation and to the best of our knowledge and belief, up to date at the time of printing, but they may change in some cases. It is not possible for the publishers to ensure that advertisements which appear in this publication comply with the Trade Practices Act, 1974. The responsibility must therefore be on the person, company or advertising agency submitting the advertisements for publication. While every endeavour has been made to ensure complete accuracy, the publishers cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. * Recommended retail price ISSN 1329 – 1734 Copyright © Australian Publishing Pty Ltd MMXIV ACN 003 609 103 www.universalmagazines.com.au Please pass on or recycle this magazine.

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BY NEWS EDITOR MARK HINCHLIFFE (HINCHM@HOTMAIL.COM)

NEWS FOR ROADRIDERS BLACK DOG RIDE 2014 BLACK DOG RAISES BIG BUCKS FOR WORTHWHILE CAUSES nstead of the usual ride to the Red Centre, the fi h annual Black Dog Ride circumnavigated Australia to honour Steve Andrews, who completed the first Black Dog Ride around the continent in 2009 by himself following the suicide of his mother and the death of his best friend's wife, who was also struggling with depression. Steve founded the Black Dog Ride in 2009 as an independent, not-for-profit organisation, whose mission is to raise awareness of depression and suicide prevention.

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This year, the Black Dog Ride raised more than $400,000 for the Everyday Hero campaign and a brilliant $405,000 was raised for Lifeline and Mental Health First Aid ■ A bacon-fuelled bike.

Why? “Because we are ■ Black Dog Ride Raffle driven by bacon,” they reckon winner Suzanna McIver and her BMW R nineT

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This year, the Black Dog Ride raised more than $400,000 for the Everyday Hero campaign, and a brilliant $405,000 was raised for Lifeline and Mental Health First Aid. Fi y-five riders, six

NEWS support crew and two media crew travelled 14,500km around Australia from Bateau Bay, NSW, to Bondi, NSW. The average daily distance travelled was 540km and the longest distance in one day was 839km. Along the way, the Black Dog Riders enjoyed at least 49 organised meals with community members. Apart from the stalwarts who did the entire “lap”, there were also state rides that intersected the main ride at various points. About 450 state riders rode an average of 3200km in seven days within their home state to help raise awareness of depression and suicide prevention. You can check out the day-by-day rundown of the 32-day event at blackdogride.com.au.

As part of the fundraising, BMW Motorrad gave away a BMW R nineT motorcycle in the Lifeline Black Dog Ride Raffle. The winner was Suzanne McIver, of Gosford, and she picked up her bike from Worthington BMW Motorcycles. The Black Dog Ride raffle raised more than $60,000 in total for the cause.

Suicide is the leading cause of death in Australians under the age of 45, with one suicide a empt every 10 minutes.

Eighty per cent of all suicides are by men, with males in regional locations experiencing much higher rates of suicide than the national average.

One in five Australians will

experience mental illness every year.

It’s the leading cause of disability in Australia and depressive disorders are the most common identifiable risk factor for suicide.

Lifeline’s online crisis-support chat service reaches out to young and remotely located Australians who are reluctant to seek help through traditional telephone crisis lines or face-to-face counsellors. Mental Health First Aid conducts courses to teach mental health first-aid strategies to be er equip the public to help those experiencing depressive and mental disorders.

Contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

YAMAHA NEW CORE BLUE CORE ENGINE LEADS YAMAHA INTO A MORE ECONOMICAL FUTURE amaha has developed a new Blue Core engine which is compact, powerful, but also more economical. The first bike to get the new line of Blue Core motorcycles will be the 149cc FZ-S. The 149cc engine has 9.7kW of power at 8000 revs and 12.8Nm of torque at 6000 revs, but has 50 per cent be er fuel economy than a similar conventional engine.

So far these models are only available in Asia, but Yamaha plans to expand the range, no doubt making bigger-capacity models for Australia, North America and Europe.

It says 40 per cent of its two-wheel fleet will have the Blue Core engine by next year and it will be producing five million Blue Core engines for motorcycles and scooters by 2020. The plan is part of Yamaha’s initiative to reach two trillion Yen (about $2b) net sales by 2017.

Motorcycles will represent about half of that business.

Yamaha will also expand its ROV (Recreational OffHighway Vehicle) segment and venture into industrial robots, smart power vehicles and industrial-use unmanned drones.

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■ Yamaha’s FZ-S Version 2.0 is the first model to carry the new Blue Core engine

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 11

NEWS

TRIUMPH HALTS 250 PLANS TRIUMPH RETHINKS LEARNER MARKET MACHINES riumph Motorcycles has halted development of its 250cc bikes. The learner machines were to be built in India and unveiled next year, but Triumph director of sales and marketing Paul Stroud has confirmed they have put development on hold.

“Following a review we have placed the 250cc bike project on hold for strategic reasons relating to its specific segment,” he says. “During an exciting period for the brand, Triumph continues to invest and expand its model lineup and enter new markets, as demonstrated with our successful launches into Brazil and India. Through our expanding market presence and model offer we will continue to evolve our product range to reinforce our position as a premium

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motorcycle manufacturer and answer the requirements and demands of a global motorcycle audience with exciting and innovative products.”

While Triumph produced the Street Triple 660 especially for Australia’s learner-approved motorcycles (LAMS) market, the 250s were specifically being designed for emerging markets in Asia and South America. However, a 250 could also have given some competition to the fierce 250300cc LAMS market here.

Perhaps Triumph is stretching itself a bit too much with a host of new models and updates in recent years. In fact, it was quite a feat for the Australian market to get a specific LAMS Street Triple out of the company.

When it was unveiled early this year in Brisbane,

TROPHY THEFT

r Learner riders still have Triumph's Street Triple 660 to learn on!

Triumph Australia flew out global export sales boss Peter Huckin.

“Australia came to us because LAMS had just come out, but it took us about 18 months to two years to be able to respond,” Peter

THIEVES STEAL BRITISH NATIONAL MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM TROPHIES

ore than 100 trophies have been stolen from the British National Motorcycle Museum. They are valued at tens of thousands of dollars and a £20,000 ($35,500) reward has been offered. Thieves took almost the entire collection of trophies, including some from the TT, and smashed all the museum’s trophy cabinets.

It’s not only a sad loss for Britain’s motorsport heritage, but also dumb.

Museum director James Hewing says the thieves will be unable to sell the trophies because “everybody would know what they were”. The only value will be for the silver content of the trophies.

“The stupid thing, of course, is a lot of them weren’t silver. They’re either silver plate or nickel,” he adds.

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told ARR. “We couldn’t do it straight away because we introduced seven new models last year and our research and development department was pre y busy. However, it only took six months to develop the bike.”

r The trophies stolen include TT, World Cup and Geoff Duke

The iconic 4-bikes-in-1 Multistrada 1200 S Touring further evolves to take you wherever your heart desires with performance, comfort and safety, and now with the innovative Ducati Skyhook Suspension (DSS), to actively respond to any challenges thrown up by the terrain.

The second-generation Testastretta 11°, 150hp L-twin engine has reintroduced the Dual Spark concept for incredible engine smoothness and response, this increases torque to an impressive 124.5Nm. Equipped with electronic 48mm USD forks and rear mono-shock, both with the new DSS technology, the semi-active system constantly re-adjusts damping to maintain optimum vehicle

equilibrium – as if it was suspended from the sky.

With a dry weight of just 206kg the Multistrada 1200 S Touring comes standard with 4 Riding Modes, 3 Power Modes, Ducati Safety Pack (ABS + Traction Control), Ride-by-Wire, Hands-Free, Quick detach 58 litre Side Luggage, Heated Grips, Centre Stand, new higher and wider screen and two 12v power outlets; it really is the ultimate bike to go wherever you want to go!

For a limited time, all new Multistrada 1200 models purchased and registered will receive complimentary 3rd year Factory Warranty coverage and Rider Assist.*

NEWS

INSURANCE “HELL”

MADE IN INDIA HARLEY STREET 500 COMING FROM INDIA

r Make sure to cancel your insurance after you sell your bike

NIGHTMARE TURN OF EVENTS AFTER BRITISH RIDER’S BIKE SALE British rider faces thousands of dollars in insurance claims a er a man who bought his Kawasaki ZX-10R had a fatal crash. And there is a lesson in this for all riders.

A loophole in the British insurance law means 48-year-old Paul Duffy may be liable for all costs involved with the accident that killed banned driver James Bryson simply because Duffy forgot to cancel his insurance when the purchase was made.

Insurance experts in Australia say you probably don’t have to be afraid of what the seller does on your old bike.

However, they stress that you should make sure you put the right day/time on the registration transfer form so you don’t get pinged for their traffic offences!

You should also cancel the number plate from your e-toll account so they don’t rack up charges in your name. That said, the experts haven’t checked every policy wording out there and it does pay to read the small print.

Suncorp Group spokesman Reuben Aitchison says AAMI and Insure My Ride policies are fine. The AAMI Motorcycle policy wording says: “We will cover you or anyone you authorise to ride your motorcycle for legal liability arising from loss or damage to another person’s vehicle or property resulting

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from an insured incident caused by the use of your motorcycle in the period of insurance.”

Likewise, Insure My Ride policy wording says: “If you hit something else: We’ll pay up to $20 million, for damage to someone else’s property. We’ll come to the party if damage is caused by your bike and, where you, or someone you let ride it, is found to be at fault.”

The specific reference to “your motorcycle/bike” means if he has sold it to someone else, and has the paperwork, then it is no longer his bike, so he is not liable for what they do on it a er it has been sold, says Reuben.

In the British case, Bryson was riding uninsured when he crashed into a Toyota Yaris in Scotland, just seven days a er buying the bike. But because Duffy forgot to cancel his insurance policy, MCE insurance brokers say they are liable for the accident and can claim the costs back from him in court.

According to Duffy, who is recovering from leukaemia and looks a er his disabled wife, “Lawyers said that because Mr Bryson had died and had no insurance, they would be paying out on my policy. Because he chose to buy my motorcycle, I am, in the eyes of the law, giving him permission to ride the bike and I am in breach of my contract. So if I have any assets, MCE can take them from me to recover costs. I am effectively having to pay for an uninsured driver having a fatal accident.”

It also appears that Bryson, 28, was serving a four-year driving ban and had only just been released from prison a er a empting to evade three police vehicles

Australia will get the Harley-Davidson entry-level Street 500 motorcycle from India. Harley-Davidson Australia marketing director Adam Wright has confirmed that the learner-approved bikes will arrive here in February and they will come from Harley’s Indian plant “at this stage. That’s what is on the current production schedule, but that could change,” he says.

“The Street 750 has been selling like hotcakes in India and they have yet to start selling the Street 500.

However, huge demand in India could force us to get the Street 500 from Kansas.”

Adam also says the price will be between $10,000 and $12,000 ride away, with final confirmation at the Melbourne Moto Expo in November when top Aussie stunt rider Matt Mingay will unveil his new Street stunt bike.

He also confirms there will be no shortage of supply and he hints about attractive finance deals to attract new customers to the brand.

In an analogy to cars, it sounds like the BMW 1 Series which started as a bit of a joke, but was designed to introduce new customers to the brand, hoping to retain them as they traded up to a 3 Series, 5 Series etc.

r Harley’s Street 500 is learner legal and will retail for under $12k

in a friend’s car while nearly three times over the drink-drive limit.

The father-of-one was unable to be saved by paramedics a er crashing the Kawasaki next to a stone wall. It is a sad case and we wish Duffy well. In the meantime, take care when selling your motorcycle.

HOW DO YOU MAKE THE ULTIMATE TOURING VEHICLE EVEN BETTER? WE FOUND THREE WAYS.

HIGHER TORQUE. SMOOTHER RIDE. FEWER FILL-UPS. Introducing the all-new 2014 Spyder® RT .

With a new Rotax® 1330 ACE™ high-torque engine and a new 6-speed transmission, the road has never been so inviting. The high-torque response of the ACE engine gives you 40% more low-end torque and now can go up to 405 kilometres at 100 km/h on one tank of gas. *While the new 6-speed transmission provides an incredibly smooth ride for you and your passenger. Add in a unique Y-frame design and 7 automotive technologies, and that rush you feel will be equal parts exhilaration and confidence.

See offers at canamspyder.com

FOR PRICING & TEST RIDE CALL 1300 725 949

©2014 Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP). All rights reserved. ®, ™ and the BRP logo are trademarks of BRP or its affiliates. Products are distributed by BRP Australia Pty Ltd. *Tested at a constant speed of 100 km/h. Fuel mileage may vary depending on the following: Spyder RT models, personal riding habits, weather conditions, trip length, vehicle condition, vehicle configuration and other conditions. Up to 325 kilometres tested at a constant speed of 120 km/h. Break-in mileage may also vary. See an authorised BRP dealer for details. Some models depicted may include optional equipment. Always ride responsibly and safely. Always observe applicable local laws and regulations. Don’t drink and drive.

NEWS

STARS SET TO DO BATTLE BAYLISS ANNOUNCES ALL-STAR SCRAMBLE FOR MOTO EXPO he all-star Scramble event which thrilled crowds at the Brisbane Moto Expo earlier this year will return for the Melbourne Moto Expo on November 28–30.

Three-time Superbike world champion Troy Bayliss has confirmed some of the star riders, including threetime Speedway world champion Jason Crump, World Supersport champion and Moto GP racer Chris Vermeulen, four-time Mr Motocross Stephen Gall, and nine-time Australian Dirt Track champion Paul Caslick.

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He said a full list of riders will be announced soon but assured visitors they could expect to see some of Australia’s most successful motorcycle athletes. Entry to the Moto Expo will include free access to the Baylisstic Scramble event in the main arena at noon on Saturday and Sunday.

The Moto Expo will have up to 100 exhibitors and entertainment will include streetbike stunts, ATV, side by sides (UTV), mini moto, Freestyle Moto X, trials and more. Tickets: www. motoexpo.com.au

BECKHAM AND BIEBER IN MOTORCYCLE INCIDENTS We love nothing more than poking a bit of fun at high-paid stars who ride motorcycles. Recently, soccer legend David Beckham dropped his bike in LA, while young pop prince Justin Bieber nearly mowed down a pedestrian when he mounted the footpath on his Can-Am Spyder roadster in Beverly Hills.

Apparently the 20-year-old was trying to avoid LA’s notorious traffic jams so he illegally mounted the footpath. Bieber, who was wearing a flannel shirt and jeans, nearly hit an elderly woman who was using a walker, according to eyewitness reports.

It isn’t the first time Bieber has had issues on the road. In June, his Escalade SUV collided with another vehicle while he was being pursued by paparazzi.

We know Beckham can ride as we saw his talents in the BBC TV show Into the Unknown, where he rides through South America on a Triumph Scrambler. However, even the best of us have had our moments. He apparently lost control of his custombuilt Super Vintage 93in Knuckle motorcycle in the middle of Sunset Boulevard, LA, as he tried to avoid paparazzi. He walked away unhurt, but a little embarrassed.

r See Australia's best past and present racers scrap it out in the Moto Expo arena

BIKE “HEAVY WEIGHT” RETURNS POLARIS INCREASES STRENGTH IN MANAGEMENT otorcycle industry heavyweight Peter Nochar has joined Polaris as the Victory & Indian sales and network director. Peter was a head honcho at several car companies including BMW, Kia and VW in the UK and Australia for several years and was the boss at Harley Australia for the past six years. He’s also a very capable rider and has already thrown

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a leg over the new Indian Chief. “I was really impressed with the power, handling and comfort,” he says. “I am sure there is huge potential for both the Victory and Indian brands and I look forward to contributing to their success and having fun along the way.” Peter follows former Suzuki GM Perry Morrison, who joined Polaris as executive director of government relations in April.

r Justin Beiber on his Can-Am Spyder, trying too hard to avoid the paparazzi

NEWS

APPLE WATCH “DANGEROUS”? he new Apple smartwatch arrives in January and safety experts warn it could make our roads a li le bit more dangerous, especially for motorcycle riders, who are already difficult to spot amid the traffic without adding another driver distraction. The laws that ban the use of handheld mobile phones while driving won’t be able to be extended to watches because it will be too difficult to patrol. How could a police officer tell if someone was accessing a smartwatch or just adjusting the time on their watch?

Steve Spalding, RACQ executive manager of technical and safety policy, says the impact of new technology on driver distraction will “always be a challenge for regulators and police enforcement. It is therefore important that drivers or riders remember their primary responsibility is to remain focused on the safe use of their vehicle (or motorcycle) and not allow a device to distract them from this task,” he says.

“While road rules can be applied

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“The laws that ban the use of handheld mobile phones while driving won’t be able to be extended to watches because it will be too difficult to patrol” for illegal phone use in a vehicle, or possibly new ones introduced for future communications technologies, the far greater cost is the loss of life, or lifechanging injuries that a distracted driver can cause in a crash. Driver distraction is a major safety issue and responsible for a significant number of serious crashes and fatalities every year. The safest advice is to switch off devices that have the potential to distract you because by just taking your mind off the driving task, or your eyes off the road, you put yourself and others at risk of death or serious injury.”

If you love technology and want to get one, the Apple Watch will cost at least $US349 ($AUS400). The Apple Watch interfaces with your iPhone 5 or higher

and it is likely there will be a substantial number of specialised apps just for the device.

BMW SETS SPEED RECORD VALERIE THOMPSON JOINS THE 200MPH CLUB even-time motorcycle land-speed record holder, Valerie Thompson, is the newest member of the Bonneville 200mph Red Hat club. She rode her BMW S 1000 RR to 208mph (334.74km/h) on the Utah Salt Flats at the 28th Annual World of Speed.

Six out of eight of Valerie’s passes were over 200mph (321.6km/h). On her last run of the event, Thompson enjoyed her best speed on the salt with a first pass at 209.85mph (337.72km/h) and a return run of 207.71mph (334.27km/h), se ing a new MPS-G 1000 record at 208.81mph (336.04km/h).

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r New Red Hat club member Valerie Thompson rode her BMW S 1000 RR to 208mph at Bonneville

“I’ve wanted the 200mph Club Red Hat since I started racing on the salt, so it’s an awesome achievement for me,” she says. “This was my first time racing

at an USFRA sanctioned event and I was very impressed. Everything went smoothly and we got in a lot of runs. I can’t wait to come back next year.”

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NEWS

DRAGGIN JEANS WINS INTERNATIONAL AWARD STAY SAFE AND FASHIONABLE IN AWARD-WINNING JEANS ustralian motorcycle clothing company Draggin Jeans has won its second international Red Dot Award for Product Design. This time it was the company’s Holeshot jeans, which won the award for “seamless fashion design”. Holeshot is the first product in the world to be approved to the highest level of motorcycle apparel protection (CE EN13595-1:2002 at Level 2) while also looking like normal fashion jeans.

They are lined with Draggin’s exclusive Roomoto protection

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fabric, which offers race-level protection of 7.45 seconds of road abrasion. They also come with CE-approved Level 2 hip and knee armour. The Roomoto lining also has an antibacterial treatment and “climate control” to take away heat and sweat from the skin, according to Draggin GM Fiona Mackintosh.

“At Draggin we are independently proven to have the best technology on the inside, so for us we are most proud of Holeshot because they look cool,” says Fiona. “We really wanted this jean to look like the jeans our non-

“It is great this design success has now been externally recognised both by Red Dot and the high sales volume”

SKILLS SESSION FERRIS WHEELS OFFERS ADVENTURE TRAINING otorcycle adventure tour company Ferris Wheels has joined with professional motorcycle training company motoDNA to offer adventure training to riders wanting to a end their tours. motoDNA Motorcycle Academy director of coaching Mark McVeigh says Ferris Wheels owner Mike Ferris has helped develop the training modules used in their adventure training program. Mike says that regardless of a rider’s experience, he believes there’s always room for improvement and encourages all tour participants to consider brushing up their skills with some professional tuition before embarking on one of their international motorcycle adventures.

“You’ll be on unfamiliar terrain on

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rider friends wear and that’s what the Holeshot has achieved. It is great this design success has now been externally recognised both by Red Dot and the high sales volume.”

Earlier this year, Draggin became the first motorcycle clothing company in the world to pass all the stringent DuPont safety tests and the first licensee to be approved to use the DuPont Kevlar Preferred Licensee logo.

American chemical company DuPont invented the strong and lightweight synthetic fibre in 1965 and is now issuing show-cause le ers to manufacturers that claim they use Kevlar. So far, 180 products have been removed from the market for falsely claiming they include DuPont Kevlar.

probably an unfamiliar bike, in unfamiliar conditions, such as the opposite side of the road,” he says. “It’s best that your reflexes up are to scratch and that you have the best possible skills in your toolbox for when you might need them in a hurry.”

Mike says they have seen a lot of “unfortunate incidents” in their 20 years of operation and as much as 90 per cent of those can be a ributed to an ineffectual braking technique. He advises riders to brush up on their emergency braking technique before embarking on one of his adventures.

The motoDNA Intro to Adventure training course teaches skills such as body position, braking, clutch and thro le control, turning seated and standing, line choice, cornering, cambers, climbs and descents, turning on hills, picking your bike up, wheelies, logs, rocks, river crossings, luggage packing and weight distribution, even towing another bike.

Courses are conducted at motoDNA’s private training centre at Noosa, on the Sunshine Coast. The course is limited to

■ Draggin Jeans Holeshots jean have won an award for their seamless design

five students per coach and costs $495. motoDNA doesn’t just offer adventure riding training. It also offers track training, road training and even lanefiltering training with an impressive array of hugely talented instructors, including MotoGP winners Chris Vermeulen, Garry McCoy and Kevin Magee.

r Adventure riders can brush up their skills at the Intro to Adventure training course

triumphmotorcycles.com.au

NEWS

CELEBRITY BUILD KEANU REEVES LAUNCHES HIS FIRST MOTORCYCLE even years ago, Hollywood star Keanu Reeves formed the Arch Motorcycle Company with LA friend Gard Hollinger to customise bikes. Now they are releasing their first ground-up motorcycle, the “retro-modern” KRGT-1.

The limited-edition bike is powered by a 2032cc S&S V-Twin and comes with Öhlins forks, Race Tech shock, BST carbon-fibre wheels and a he y $US78,000 price tag. For that price you’d want it delivered personally by the Canadian hear hrob! They claim they created more than 200 parts for the bike, which took more than 300 machine hours to produce using state-of-the-art CNC and water-jet machinery.

It closely resembles a Harley Sportster but with a fat 240mm rear tyre, Sons of Anarchy front end and a clean rear end thanks to the “hidden” shock. Arch claims 90kW of power at the rear wheel and a whopping 165Nm of torque. Its website also has some interesting background info on Keanu, including the fact that the

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50-year-old star of The Matrix and Speed has long loved motorcycles and only ever owned two cars.

“His first motorcycle was a Kawasaki 600 Enduro, followed by the beginning of his Norton affair and the first of many he’d own over the years,” says the website. “O en away from home and his Nortons, he got in the habit of buying a bike when filming on location and selling when the shoot was done. He’s owned a

Suzuki GS1100E, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1974 BMW 750, a Kawasaki KZ 900, an ‘84 Harley Shovelhead, and a Moto Guzzi among others.”

Visit: h p://archmotorcycle.com/

MUDGUARD LAW SANITY PREVAILS — AND THERE’S MORE TO COME nsightly long rear mudguards will soon be a thing of the past under new moves to remove unnecessary red tape requiring new motorcycles to meet Australia’s arcane rules.

The new change involves deleting the mudguard extension specification from the national vehicle standards. It is a rare and sensible display of agreement between Australian and state/territory governments. The rule has no bearing on vehicle safety and will mean almost 70,000 new motorcycles no longer require retro-fi ing with rear mudguard extensions every year.

The government claims the change will save the industry $14.4 million in compliance and manufacturing savings every year, leading to lower prices for new motorcycles. We doubt it, but maybe if they dropped some of the other requirements such as blinker lens colours,

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“The FCAI looks forward to continuing to work with the government to identify and support the removal of other outdated and unnecessary Australian Design Rules” number plate placement etc it might begin to have an effect on bike prices.

The new move is in line with the Australian government’s response to the Productivity Commission’s report on Australia’s automotive manufacturing industry to accelerate harmonising ADRs with United Nations Vehicle Regulations, so hopefully those other issues will eventually be addressed.

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries has welcomed the Australian government’s announcement, claiming the old standard was “outdated”.

“The FCAI looks forward to continuing

to work with the government to identify and support the removal of other outdated and unnecessary Australian Design Rules, which impose additional cost without any safety benefit,” FCAI boss Tony Weber said.

Some sanity seems to be prevailing in the bureaucracy of late as this follows recent changes in NSW to the similarly arcane rules about how far indicator lights have to be from each other and Queensland’s recent consideration of dropping Australian Design Rules (ADRs) for helmets in favour of recognised international standards.

NEWS

FRENCH MOTORCYCLE AMONG THE MOST EXPENSIVE new French company, Midual, has reinvented the boxer twin and produced the Type 1 motorcycle, which is one of the most expensive in the world at almost $200,000. The only new motorcycles costing more are the one-off goldplated, diamond-encrusted “Goldfinger” Lauge Jensen, which sold for $850,0000, and the titanium-laden Ecosse Titanium RR at $320,000.

Midual showed two of its limited edition of 35 Type 1 bikes at the exclusive Pebble Beach auto show.

The stunning handcra ed Midual Type 1 features a

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single-piece aluminiumcast monocoque frame, bespoke personalisation which includes 45 types of leather and 25 sand-casting shades, and a luxury fouryear maintenance program where the bike is picked up and taken back to the factory for service work. The bike will only be available to European owners.

Midual’s Type 1 has been 15 years in development from when the boxer engine went on display in Paris at the Mondial de l’Automobile show. The 1036cc motor is tilted forward 25 degrees to keep the wheelbase short for more precise handling and

remove torque snatch from the transverse cranksha .

It is rated at 79kW of power at 8000 revs and 100Nm of torque at 5300rpm, which is well short 91kW and 125Nm of the latest boxer twin

incarnation in the BMW 1200 models.

It features a single analogue speedo on the single round headlight, but seven small analogue gauges on the fuel tank set in

“Midual’s Type 1 has been 15 years in development from when the boxer engine went on display in Paris at the Mondial de l’Automobile show”

HARLEY TURNS ON WOMEN MORE THAN MEN AND IT’S MORE THAN LOOKS THAT SWAYS THE LADIES… arley rates higher with women than men, according to American dating service BikerKiss. And some women even find Harleys sexually exciting!

The Southern California online dating service asked about 3000 members (1900 men and 1100 women), “Is Harley your favourite motorcycle brand”, and 31 per cent of women said yes, compared with 19 per cent of men. A loaded question to patriotic Americans, maybe, but it shows that women like a nice, big status symbol.

The most common answer to the question was that Harley motorcycles are “gorgeous and expensive”. One dating club member said, “I love it when I am on

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a Harley. It gives you all the a ention you want.” Another said, “It’s not about being pretentious or anything, or like I’m doing it out of vanity. I just love it deep down.”

But here’s the thing that HarleyDavidson will love the most: some women are able to orgasm while riding a Harley because of the vibration from the big twin-cylinder engines.

While Harley may be able to claim sexual excitement as an a ribute of its bikes, BMW can’t do the same as a recent court threw out a claim by a Californian rider that his BMW K 1100 RS gave him a permanent erection.

If it’s not about sex, then riding a Harley is about lifestyle, the BikerKiss

dating service found. BikerKiss.com is the world’s first biker dating site for biker singles who are looking to meet other biker friends.

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ZERO GOES THE DISTANCE Zero S electric motorcycle has joined the Iron Bu Association by covering 1000 miles (1600km) in 24 hours. Rider Terry Hershner completed the set distance in 22 hours 57 minutes

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with a specially modified 2012 Zero S with streamliner-style bodywork to create be er aerodynamics for greater range and the regenerative braking set to 80 per cent, more than twice the level of the regular bike.

The bike and Terry went on crash diets for be er efficiency, with the bike dropping several kilos of weight and Terry trimming down from 89kg (196lb) to 81kg (179lb). Terry also planned his ride so he wouldn’t have to use the brakes much, including freewheeling down hills to squeeze out more distance.

His route was planned to start and end at ChargePoint Headquarters in San Jose, with regular visits to ChargePoint charging stations positioned at the exit of most Californian freeways and in many shopping centres. The entire trip from ChargePoint cost just $21.43.

Iron Bu Association president Michael Kneebone said he thought it would take a few more years before an electric bike had qualified a rider for the IBA as most certified rides are completed on big touring bikes from Harley-Davidson, Honda or BMW. Terry also recently won the Ve er Challenge, which pi ed his electric motorcycle against fuel and diesel motorcycles to see who could travel at highway speeds on the least amount of energy.

MH370 PLATE ATTRACTS BIDS

SIKHS MUST WEAR MOTORCYCLE HELMETS ntario Premier Kathleen Wynne has ruled against turban-wearing Sikhs being exempt from wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle as she says safety is the foremost priority. It follows a $100 fine given to Sikh Baljinder Badesha, who rode without a helmet.

The Premier claims that in jurisdictions with mandatory helmet laws, death rates in motorcycle accidents have gone down 30 per cent and head

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injuries down by 75 per cent. Ontario has a mandatory helmet law which the courts have found doesn’t infringe on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms or the Ontario Human Rights Code.

The Canadian Sikh Association says the decision is “deeply” disappointing.

Last year, a Queensland court ruled that a turban-wearing Sikh didn’t need to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle, but that ruling has not yet been tested for motorcycle riding.

The Malaysian owner of a motorcycle with the number plate MH370 — the same as the flight code of the missing Malaysian jet — plans to sell the motorcycle and give some of the money to charity.

Retired soldier and now goat and chicken farmer Othman Ahmad, 68, almost sold his 35-year-old C70 Honda motorcycle to two men for about $170, but his son alerted him to the significance and value of the registration number.

The bike had been lying unused in his son’s workshop in need of repair.

Othman now plans to sell it for “a reasonable price” and to donate part of the proceeds to charity, according to the Metro Ahad newspaper.

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Pick up your copy at an Authorised Harley-Davidson Dealer. Or if you can’t wait, simply download at h-d.com.au

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AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 29

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On your itinerary, you will journey the real America, meeting the fair-dinkum folk that call the heartland of this amazing country home, eating in true American diners and staying in historic hotels and motels along the way. Beginning in one of the US’s premier cities, Chicago, you will venture across eight states (Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California), encountering numerous cultures and tackling all sorts of geography, from the magnificence of the Great Lakes to the Corn Belt of Illinois, the rolling hills of the Ozarks, the mesmerising Llano Estacado and the Painted Desert. You’ll be crossing the High Plains, climbing through Alpine regions, the Grand Canyon and dropping into the blistering Mojave Desert, before we reach the Land of Milk and Honey and topping it all off in the light-spangled Las Vegas.

You will also visit iconic Route 66 sights such as the Wagon Wheel and Wigwam Motels (Pixars inspiration in the animated movie Cars), the 1929 Chain of Rocks Bridge, St Louis Gateway Arch, Devil’s Elbow Bridge, Gary’s Gay Parita gas station, 4 Women on the Route, 9-foot highway, the Blue Whale of Catoosa, 1933 Texaco Station, Big Texas Steak Ranch, Santa Fe, Cadillac Ranch, Jack Rabbit Trading Post, Apache Death Cave, Twin Arrows … and much, much more!

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■ The riders struggle as the thick sandstorm starts to roll in

RIDERS ON THE STORM Riding 12,000 kays across Africa, the final leg has a few surprises as Charley completes another epic adventure before finishing in Cape Town

CHARLEY BOORMAN e’ve only got a few thousand kilometres to go. Apart from some deep sand in Botswana, it’s been relatively plain sailing and the bikes and support trucks have performed 100 per cent. We’re heading to South Africa’s only ski resort — not for the skiing, but for the off-road track to get there! Tiffindell is just below 3000m and within spi ing distance of the Lesotho border. The nearest place of note would be Rhodes, a quaint li le arty town where we always stop off for a bite to eat and a break. We turned right from the tar and started to pick our way through the twisty gravel tracks, following the Garmin Zumo 590. We were bunched up together, a situation which normally sorts itself out a er a few kilometres and the spread

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between bikes widens.

From nowhere, a blanket of gloom came down across the valley. It was an eerie, even foreboding feeling, as if somebody had just switched off the lights and the world was awaiting something bad to happen. The skies were black and the wind howled. Instantly the sand li ed from the earth and we couldn’t see more than a bike or two’s length ahead. The temperature dropped, the rain screamed down on us and I knew that we’d stumbled into a freak and dangerous situation.

The riders had no choice but to stop.

Riding was near on impossible, both due to the wind and visibility. As soon as we stopped, two bikes were blown over and it felt like all hell had broken loose upon us.

The wind was li ing debris — wood, sand and even stones all around us. Glancing behind me I could just see the lights of our support Land Rover, and then to the le an 1.5m sheet of corrugated iron about 10m in the air somersaulting towards us like a piece of paper in the wind. I likened it to a hurricane scene from a US news report. Sure enough, the iron sheet lost height and smacked into the side of the Landy, smashing the mirror and gouging

a deep wound into the door. Shit, I said aloud, we’ve got to get to some shelter and quickly before someone gets hurt.

We managed as a group to turn all the bikes around. We were stumbling like drunks, eyes stinging from the sand and ears desperately trying to filter out the mayhem. Communication was difficult as we shouted and gestured at each other.

We retraced our steps metre by metre in first and second gear. All the time we were looking around to avoid flying debris.

Goggles and visors were thick with red sand and mud, as were faces and necks — in fact we were still shaking sand out of our undies later that night at the hotel.

As quickly as we’d fallen into this maelstrom, we exited it. The sun returned and we regrouped to lick our wounds and recover. Tim, our Land Rover driver and medic, was a bit peed off looking at his injured Landy (you know what them Land Rover dudes are like...) while the riders, now with panda eyes, stepped back and looked at the pock-marked red sandy bikes.

Nobody had been hurt and we all felt pre y cool to have experienced that li le taste of craziness. We got the maps out and played with the Garmin Zumos until we

CharlEy boorman

“A blanket of gloom came down across the valley. It was an eerie, even foreboding feeling as if somebody had just switched off the lights and the world was waiting for something bad to happen” found an acceptable route and off we went.

The “perfect storm” — a real adventure and lots to talk about over dinner!

That’s Africa for you. You can rely on something interesting and sometimes challenging happening every trip. That, of course, is part of the magic and being prepared for the unexpected is a rule of thumb in Africa.

Two days later, we arrived on the southern coast of Africa, near a place called Jefferys Bay — one of the top surf coastlines in the world. Interestingly, some of the cult documentary film The Endless Summer was shot here by Bruce Brown — who would go on to create our own motorcycle cult documentary On Any Sunday with Steve McQueen.

If you’ve not seen either of these, then shame on you!

We rode into a world heritage site, Baviaanskloof Reserve, part of a protected wilderness of about 500,000 hectares. The track was incredible, with steep drop-offs, stunning views and a wilderness that surrounds you, making you feel both privileged and humble.

While riding along I pondered what was best — the riding or the viewing.

It’s both really, but sometimes the riding can be so good that you focus only on the track ahead and miss the views.

And seriously, these views should not be missed. Having passed some mountain

zebra, narrowly avoided spla ing into a giant tortoise and being screamed at by a baboon, I was just so wrapped up in it all.

But with my mind and eyes now off the track, I realised I was coming in far too hot for the next bend. Pushing the bike over into the bend and weighting the outside peg to stop the rear spinning out, I flew into the apex and thought, “Shit, am not going to make this….” I ended up grabbing a fair bit of brake — something that should have been done before the bend, not in the middle of it. I was happily surprised that the bike immediately slowed in a very controlled and “no drama” manner, even though I was in thick rocky gravel. The Enduro Mode ABS just dealt with the situation and I railed around with no issue. These are seriously good electronics, BMW! Further along I had another nice treat. At the side of the road were two Cape buffalos staring right at me and looking quite bemused. They monitored me as I got up alongside. I remembered everything I’ve been taught about this animal — it’s a grumpy old git and not to be messed with. All the guides will tell you to avoid ge ing in their way. They’re very aggressive, unpredictable, and will take on lions, leopards and even rhino.

They might not win, but they’ll die trying.

Not wanting to have about a ton of wild animal stamping all over me, I gave it a

wide berth and manage to scoot around it. What a day and what a trip.

We all rolled into Cape Town a couple of days later. New mates made, old friendships recharged. This old motorcycle malarkey is just such a special way to share experiences and see the world. I do count my blessings.

Tomorrow I leave for London, where my family have by now forgo en what I look like — thank god I’m on tele now and again to remind them. ARR

TOUR AFRICA Africa 2015 — tour north or southern Africa with Charley as your guide?

Each year Charley takes a group of people across southern Africa, riding BMWs from Cape Town into Namibia, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and Lesotho before returning to Cape Town. Riders can do the whole adventure or a section of it. This year we’re also doing a special ride across Morocco. Check out the details and learn more at Charley’s website, www.charleyboorman.com

MAPS4AFRICA Mapping in Africa is key to the adventure. We use Maps4Africa.

Charley is a big GPS fan, but at the same time he loves a good oldfashioned map. All of the Africa routes are planned using Maps4Africa paper and electronic mapping. The information on these maps is fantastic and the paper versions are waterproof and anti-tear. Check them out at www.maps4africa.net

GARMIN ZUMO 590

r One of the many water crossings in Baviaanskloof Reserve

All of Charley’s trips use the Zumo motorcycle GPS. It’s been his weapon of choice for many years now. Each bike is fitted with its own unit and each day’s route is loaded, allowing riders to ride at their own pace in small groups. The tour avoids riding in big “follow the leader” type groups, instead riding in twos and fours, with a sweeper bike and support truck following way behind in case of problems. See garmin.com/zumo/

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 33

G N I N N I W G IN H T Y R E V E S I

CONGRATULATIONS GLENN ALLERTON

2014 AUSTRALIAN SUPERBIKE CHAMPION

L140627

www.linkint.com.au/rk

SEDDO

CHANGING PACE Bikes come and bikes go, but not anymore.

Now’s the time for the collection to grow…

GEOFF SEDDON otorcycle collectors fall into three groups: those who stick to one marque, those who stick to one genre and those who have trouble selling stuff.

I dips me lid to all of them and it got me thinking about what sort of collector I would be if I had the money and space.

Take Graeme, a long-time Ducati rider who bought a cheap Moto Guzzi a decade ago to get around on while he rebuilt his GTS. He fell in love with the Guzzi’s simplicity and character and now owns 10 of the blessed things. He still hasn’t finished the 860.

The pride of his fleet is a 1952 Falcone Sport, a sporty 500 horizontal single which he describes as the green-framed 750SS of the Guzzi world. The oldest is a 1946 Super Alce single and the newest a 2010 Breva, which is his main touring bike. The sportiest is a 2000 V11 Sport (he also owns a 1992 Mk V Le Mans) and the plushest a toss-up between the 1983 California II and 1973 850 Eldorado.

The 192cc Galle o from 1960 is also curiously cool.

Although Graeme has stuck to one marque, there is much variety in his collection and all are ridden, albeit not at once; he might have four or five registered at any one time on a mixture of normal and historic plates. Sourcing at least one example from each decade gave him purpose, but also required patience. When something you want comes up, he says,

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you never have the money. When you have the money, nothing comes up.

John has a similar-sized collection of mostly classic Japanese iron from the ‘70s and ‘80s. Like Graeme, he has a mechanical background and enjoys restoring bikes as a hobby. His collection includes all the right Hondas — CB750, CBX1000, CB1100R, RC30 — and a Z1 Kawasaki 900, as well as a few curveballs like Yamaha’s unloved TX750, Suzuki’s rotary-powered RE5, a rare CX650 Turbo and a brand-new 916 Senna.

As a former A-grade road racer, John raced many of these bikes in their heyday

For most of my life, I’ve happily sold every bike and car I’ve owned to finance the next one. With hindsight, maybe I should have kept a few, but then I wouldn’t have owned all the others and as a former bike shop owner, he has a good feel for the market. So his collection doubles as a valid investment in retirement. All are accurate meticulous concours builds displayed in a purposebuilt high-security garage with other period memorabilia, and few see any road miles. He has other bikes for that.

And then there’s Wayne, an eBay addict

who simply buys on whim and price. He pretends he’s gonna move them on but has on-sold just one of a dozen bikes he’s imported over the past seven years. The only things his bikes have in common are they were all built before 1989 — which makes them easy to import and register — and were as cheap as chips.

Unlike John and Graeme, Wayne is not so interested in collectibles and originality. His shed currently houses a bunch of Shovelhead big twins and Ironhead Sportsters, a couple of early GSX-R1100 slabbies, a Yamaha V-Max, a Honda GL1000 Gold Wing, a twin-cam CB750 and a BSA 650 bitsa. In following his own muse, Wayne has amassed a large eclectic collection for less money than a new Commodore. Almost all are roadworthy but not all are registered at the same time.

For most of my life, I’ve happily sold every bike and car I’ve owned to finance the next one. With hindsight, maybe I should have kept a few, but then I wouldn’t have owned all the others. Now that the kids are gone, I’ve joined the ranks of those who have trouble selling stuff and so far, so good; the collection is slowly growing. The Commando is close to roadworthy and I’m already dreaming about the next bike. I don’t know what it is yet, except that it won’t be British or Italian. I don’t have two cents to my name but I’m thinking a side-valve Harley or Indian Scout would be cool.

That or a hot rod.

My be er half isn’t so sure. How many toys do you want, she asked. I told her however many I’ve got, plus one. Poor lass didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ARR

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 35

zoe

MOTORCYCLE DIARIES: APRILIA TUONO ZOE NAYLOR

The joy of birds o, the other day I was taking an Aprilia Tuono for a leisurely ride up the Bells Line of Road before turning le onto the very picturesque Darling Causeway towards Leura, when out of nowhere I suddenly felt something tap my helmet. I thought I’d hit a tree branch but that was near impossible as there were no trees covering the roadway.

Then, as I caught a glimpse of my shadowed silhoue e on the road, I noticed the wingspan of an almighty bird leering down towards me.

“Ahhhhhhh” I screamed at the top of my lungs, but the shriek reverberating inside my helmet was not only deafening but also futile as I realised no one could hear me. I suddenly panicked and every motorcycle riding technique I had ever learnt quickly vanished into thin air. I felt my body spike with adrenalin, my hands clench the handlebars and my shoulders rise up to my ears. All I wanted to do was pull over, but realised I couldn’t as I’d find myself playing out a dramatic scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds.

I took an almighty breath and somehow managed to click into survival mode. I released my grip on the brakes and rolled on that thro le with more assuredness than I’ve ever felt, and somehow remembered the countersteering drill I’d recently learnt at the California Superbike School track day. I made small, short, tight turns down my side of the road to a empt to dodge the

S

winged beast. A er seconds (that felt like hours) I was finally able to return to enjoying my ride and take in that spectacular view.

One of the things I learnt to appreciate at the California Superbike School training day was that motorcycles actually love being used to their capacity.

They are designed to lean and love being put in the right position. The ergonomics of the bike work best this way. They’re not designed to be driven like old ladies having a round of golf and for so long now I have been terrified of really rolling on the thro le a er picking the

“I never got to actually see my feathered friend but I wanted to say thank you for contributing to my tool kit of riding experiences” line round a bend. On this occasion I certainly didn’t want to become another statistic of the ominous “spare parts corner”.

I had heard of birds swooping passersby as they walked near a bird’s nest in spring, but motorcyclists?

This was something I had to keep an eye out for.

Sadly, the route home was equally terrifying. As I put my newfound strategy of “head down low and go, go, go” into action, the coast seemed clear.

There was no bird up in the sky, no bird in my immediate rear vision and nothing up ahead. I rolled on the thro le and then, feeling like Roger Federer losing a grand slam for the second time in a row, out of nowhere the bird came swooping back. Useless screaming soon ensued as the bird relentlessly made a meal of my helmet… again.

One of the things I do love about surviving terrifying situations is that you can actually achieve a newfound sense of confidence. Think completing the bungee jump from Kawarau Bridge in Queenstown, New Zealand, skydiving for the first time or taking on a double black diamond ski run. Some might argue these sorts of activities only lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, but in my mind, completing these hair-raising tasks can help you look fear straight in the eye and develop a new layer of self belief. They can give you the courage to tackle some of life’s curveballs.

I never got to actually see my feathered friend but I wanted to say thank you for contributing to my tool kit of riding experiences. I can now say that “dodging a crazy, wild bird while riding a motorcycle at full speed” has been added to the list. My confidence is definitely growing every time I sit in the saddle.

Till next time… ARR

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 37

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GREG REYNOLDS

RACER’S EDGE

It’s not what you’ve got but how you use it when it comes to the road ahead remember when I started road racing. A er 10 years of riding on the road, one of the first things to get used to was using the whole width of the track. The next thing was dialling up to just how much faster you could go around corners using every last inch of tarmac, compared to using just one lane.

Obviously the wider the track, the faster you can corner, and the earlier you can get on the gas on the way out.

I started road testing not long a er that and, over a period of years, I have ridden with plenty of very quick and experienced riders on many a big comparo or sports ride. One thing I noticed with several other riders was their apparent reluctance to use the extreme le -hand side of their lane. They would usually go around a le hander with their helmet directly above the inside white line, but their tyres rarely came within half a metre of the actual apex of the corner.

Back in the day I was a fairly competitive chap so I just treated it like a li le edge I had over most of them, which allowed me to keep it smooth when we were pushing things to the max. A racer’s edge if you will! I have noticed the same reluctance in many riders since then and it has always mystified me. I regularly run the tyres as close to the apex of a le hander as possible without touching the white line, if there is one. I reckon you can go about 10km/h quicker through le hand corners than right-handers of the same radius, simply because of the extra width of road you can use.

Right-handers are a completely different animal because you are leaning into the oncoming traffic. To avoid the possibility of a face full of Kenworth, I

I

usually aim to apex right-handers about a metre inside the centreline and work it out from there. Clear vision and traffic awareness are the keys to tyre position in right-handers.

I asked a very experienced colleague recently why he rarely used the very inside of le -handers and he told me it was his “margin for error”. This is a

“Back in the day I was a fairly competitive chap, so I just treated it like a little edge I had over most of them which allowed me to keep it smooth when we were pushing things to the max. A racer’s edge if you will!” viewpoint I just can’t understand. Surely the more width of road you use, or make available to use, the more margin for error you have. I have certainly never run off the inside of a corner!

There are obviously a few things to be wary of in the extreme le corridor. If there is gravel near the edge of the road, then cars and trucks can kick it up onto your line. Occasionally there may be armco, or rock outcrops, or guide posts too close to the edge of the road. These hazards are usually obvious before you commit to the corner so you can pick your

moment. Ideally you want a white line on the inside which is over a metre from the guide posts, but it’s not essential.

I won’t argue with cars or trucks about using the extreme right-hand side of my lane, but I will always defend my usage of every inch of the le -hand side. I would also rather crank the bike in a fraction early and hit the apex, rather than a fraction late and miss it completely. The extra room on the corner exit is a safety aspect, especially in the wet.

This practice may have saved my bacon the other day on Thunderbolt’s Way, riding the Victory Cross Country Tour.

It was dusk as I plunged down a dip and cranked over hard to the inside line of the uphill le -hander leading out of it. At that instant a truck was flying down the hill towards me, totally commi ed, and using half my lane! He came close as it was, but if I had been tootling along in the middle of my lane he would have fla ened me.

Now I am not holding myself up as some legend of speed, or riding guru, who has come up with something previously undiscovered! I am simply making the observation that while some riders regularly run their tyres to the very apex of le -handers, the vast majority rarely get within half a metre of it. If all this sounds a bit far-fetched to you, then check the lines used by your mates and other riders. You are definitely in the minority if you are regularly clipping le -hand apexes.

I reckon that whether you are going really quick on a sportsbike or simply punting along on your cruiser or heavy tourer, you will be smoother and quicker if you use this le -hand corridor. You have to use the edge to get the edge. ARR AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 39

SHARK PATROL They say never judge a book by its cover.

The same goes for Harley’s Road Glide

STORY: MICK MATHESON PHOTOS: H-D, MM y any objective and dynamic standards, the Road Glide is Harley’s best tourer. It is also Harley’s ugly child, afflicted with a face only a mother could love. As is o en the case with anything so good and yet so bad, the two polarising features are inseparable. The Road Glide’s distinctive “shark” fairing is both the reason for its superior status and the affliction that turns off many potential buyers.

If you make the entirely subjective judgment that the Road Glide is not pre y enough for you, you rule out your chance to experience a bike that doesn’t just grow on you, it urges you out onto the highway. Harley-Davidson says Road Glide owners clock up more miles than any other H-D customers, a statement that tells me Road Glide owners know what they want, know a good thing when they ride it, and don’t give a rat’s arse about anyone else’s aesthetic prejudices. I’m sure some of them even like the sharky looks.

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40 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

I admit I prefer the looks of the Street Glide and its cute, rounded fairing.

However, it’s a heavy li le fairing mounted on the forks and triple clamp, and you feel its effect on the handlebars.

Side winds affect it and the steering is heavier at low speeds. No such dramas with the Road Glide and its framemounted fairing that frees up your control over the handlebars. The Road Glide handles like a “normal” tourer more than one of the traditional heavy tourers like its stable mates. In fact, if you’re coming from a background of Japanese or European bikes, this is the Harley you’ll feel at home on.

That’s the difference a fairing can make. If it weren’t for that unique windjammer, the Road Glide could be any other H-D tourer because it rides on the same frame, is powered by the same engine (give or take a li le liquid cooling) and rolled along the same line when they doled out the features. It is most like the Street Glide: air-cooled 1700cc engine, low-profile seat, and panniers but no top box. ►

HARLEY-DAVIDSON ROAD GLIDE SPECIAL

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 41

In Australia we only get the Road Glide Special, which means a few extra features. The package includes the bright, white Daymaker LED headlights, and the 6.5GT-spec Boom Box sound system with its touch-screen and GPS navigation.

Naturally, all the other improvements from Project Rushmore, introduced for the 2014 Touring line-up, are incorporated in the 2015 Road Glide. This time round

the fairing looks very much like the old one, but its lines and curves are subtly different, its vents have changed dramatically, and it has been brought closer to the rider so that the touchscreen is within reach.

The aerodynamics are great, considering the standard screen is a shorty. With the high, central vent and the two lower ones open, there’s minimal

■ Stability on the open road is beyond question

r Quality of finish is superb

42 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

buffeting and ample protection from the breeze, with no pressure on your chest and li le on your head. This and the higher quality of the 6.5GT Boom Box let you hear the music quite clearly, but it’d take a taller screen to make it really good.

Closing vents increases the amount of turbulent air coming over the top but it will prevent raining splashing through.

The speedo and tacho are mounted to

HARLEY-DAVIDSON ROAD GLIDE SPECIAL

CVO ROAD GLIDE ULTRA If the Road Glide is good, this is great.

Harley-Davidson’s Custom Vehicle Operations (CVO) has crafted a mastertourer from the Road Glide by fitting its entertainingly torque-laden 110ci (1800cc) engine, increasing its luggage capacity and passenger comfort with a top box, upping the overall level of luxury and blinging the hell out of it all.

This bike will be the plaything of only a handful of buyers willing and able to cough up 49 grand.

The CVO’s pillowy-plush seat lifts you higher and brings you closer to the handlebars (and their heated grips) than on the standard Road Glide, making it feel almost like a

different motorcycle. The CVO also gets something I’d add to a standard Road Glide — the taller screen. For me, this puts the polish on the touring finish, smoothing airflow, reducing wind noise and improving your enjoyment of the stereo. Additional protection comes from the leg guards, which hide the radiators for this model’s TwinCooled engine, another step up from the stock Road Glide.

I revelled in the ride on this Harley.

It’s a treat to pilot a CVO and I can now understand why the well-heeled would want one. Everything’s top of the line, and when you’re not simply basking in the warm glow of opulence, you’re wringing every one of the 156Nm from the rip-snorting engine.

the top triple clamp and the colour touchscreen is higher up in the fairing, but I’d prefer to see these swapped so you can more quickly see the meters and, more importantly, so the screen can be be er shielded from the sun, which sometimes makes it impossible to see anything on the display. No point having a GPS if you can’t see the map!

The well-protected cockpit is matched to a neutral riding position with handlebars that are lower and further back than on both the Street Glide and older Road Glide. The seat is low and, even though it’s firm, it’s quite comfortable with a narrow front to aid short-legged riders to reach the ground.

I liked the riding position a lot, but I suspect that if you’re a bit taller than my 183cm you might feel a bit cramped.

The pillion seat is a token affair, perfect for the person who’s going solo but well short of what you’d want for a regular pillion. Of course, H-D has millions of alternatives to choose from.

One good change is from the airassisted rear suspension to shocks that have a handy knob for changing the preload se ing. You have to drop the panniers to reach them but on the new tourers it’s a simple task — just open the lid with one hand, remove the two quick-release fasteners inside and li off the box. It’s not electronically adjusted suspension but it’s pre y convenient for when you add a load to the bike.

Fine-tuning the suspension would be worth it because the Road Glide handles nicely, especially with its frame-mounted fairing. The steering is as sweet as it comes on a big bike. The combination of long wheelbase, slowish steering geometry and wide tyres adds up to easygoing, responsive steering so you never miss a line and always feel the bike is working with you. Clearance is adequate so progress is quick, especially if you’re smooth, and you have to be a bit brutal before you sense any complaint from the dampers. There was no shortage of winding roads during this ride and the Road Glide was a joy on them.

Like the Street Glide, the rear end could be more compliant for the sake of comfort. That’s the trade-off for the sportier handling and low-slung coolness of these two models, and it’s a compromise I could live with but I’d always be debating whether I was happy with it. ► AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 43

ANTIQUE BROWN

ANTIQUE BLACK

HARLEY-DAVIDSON ROAD GLIDE SPECIAL

QUICKSPECS Model: Harley-Davidson Road Glide Special Price: From $34,495 (ride away) Colours: Amber Whiskey, Superior Blue, Black Denim, Vivid Black Warranty: 2 years, unlimited distance Servicing intervals: 8000km Engine: Air/oil cooled, OHV, 45° V-twin with 2 valves per cylinder Bore x stroke: 98.4 x 111.1mm Displacement: 1690cc Compression: 9.7:1 Power: Not quoted Torque: 138Nm @ 3500rpm Transmission: Chain primary drive, wet clutch, 6-speed gearbox, belt final drive Frame: Double-cradle steel Dimensions: Seat height 695mm, weight 372kg (kerb), fuel capacity 22.7L, wheelbase 1625mm, rake 26º, trail 170mm Suspension: Front, 43mm forks. Rear, twin shocks with preload adjustment Brakes: 3 x disc brakes with 4-piston calipers. Electronically linked. ABS Tyres: Front, 130/60B18 (61H). Rear, 180/65B16 (81H) Fuel consumption: 5.1L/100km Theoretical range: 445km Verdict: A dynamic winner for the long-distance lover of big twins

r Four-spot Brembos with ABS all around

r That’s one very packed cockpit!

Stability is beyond question. There’s never any excuse for a white-knuckle grip on the bars, and when you set the cruise control you can relax with u er confidence that the Harley is unshakable.

The linked braking system is equally cooperative. It’s a very good set-up, balancing the bike well and using all the stopping power of the three four-piston calipers. ABS is there for back-up, but I’m yet to need it on one of the new Harley tourers with their feel and control.

Harley is obviously trying hard to prove its bikes do stop well these days, because the brochures all boast about their use of Brembo brakes, a very rare instance of the Motor Company dropping the name of an outside supplier.

When you’re cruising along, the wind noise over the low screen whips away most of the sound pumping up from the 103ci engine’s big cylinders and rumbling exhaust. But if you listen closely you can hear it, and you can feel the civil amount of dull vibration coming through

the chassis and handlebars. Load it up with a fistful of thro le and the big engine sounds good and shakes like it has muscle, but never badly. For all the weight of this tourer, the engine’s got the power to perform well on the road and in town. It goes quite hard away from the lights and up through the lower gears in quick time. It also has the torque at lower revs to hold its tall sixth gear any time you’re not in a real hurry. It’s happy to overtake without a gear change but snicking down to fourth is a be er bet.

You know when you’ve revved it past the strong midrange because performance fla ens out, but a short nudge from your le foot clicks it up a gear and the engine delivers another surge of acceleration. The vibrationdamping system is so effective it hides the vibration as revs rise higher, and with the breadth of the powerband it’s not hard to lose track of which gear you’re in. You commonly realise you’ve been touring in fourth rather than top. The ► AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 45

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HARLEY-DAVIDSON ROAD GLIDE SPECIAL

clutch is smooth and light enough, the drivetrain tight.

The large fairing has lots of space for more than just the dials, meters, speakers and vents. These include a 12V outlet on the lower le corner and a special compartment for your smartphone or music player.

The Boom Box can be plugged into your music or linked by Bluetooth; I always preferred the former to avoid the need to re-pair the device a er stops. The controls on the touchscreen are straightforward and they’re equally well designed on the switchblocks. It doesn’t take long to learn the menus and shortcuts in the Boom Box infotainment set-up. I’m yet to try the voice activation and full functionality provided by a headset for the Harley tourers, but if it’s as good as the rest of the

system it’ll be great.

The luggage capacity of the Road Glide’s two top-loading panniers is 64L, which will sort you out for a modestly equipped tour on your own. The panniers are long and thin, not always the best shape for some items, but I’ve always managed to put in what I need. A rack would be the perfect addition for anyone who needs more space, but you can also consider a top box.

I can’t offer any criticism of the finish on the Road Glide. Harley is one of the best when it comes to fit and finish and the Rushmore tourers seem to be the best examples of them all. The paint and chrome are spot on, and the four colours for the 2015 Road Glide are all just right for a bike like this: the Whiskey

Amber of the test bike for those who want to stand out; the dark blue for a more sombre look; glossy black, which always goes well; and the ma e black that’s all the rage these days.

The four colours give the Road Glide four individual characters, at least in appearance, but whether you go for the mean ma e look, the loud orange or those in between, this bike is a brilliant tourer.

It’s certainly not the pre iest thing out there, especially beside the Street Glide, but it’s be er to ride — be er than every other big-twin tourer on the market, in my opinion. Harley does great touring bikes, and the fact that this is arguably their best says a lot. But I think the thing that speaks volumes for it is that Road Glides clock up more miles than any other. ARR AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 47

THREE BY THREEIII It takes two to tango, but Can-Am’s new triple-cylinder Spyder shows it takes three to boogie

48 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

CAN-AM SYPDER RT LIMITED

STORY: MICK MATHESON PHOTOS: ANNE BAKER, MM hree-wheelers are still a very different and unusual breed.

It used to be the same with three-cylinder engines but they’re now a common and extremely popular powerplant, and for very good reasons. Smooth, powerful, tractable, compact and versatile, they’ve motored Triumph into the mainstream, got MV Agusta excited about mid-size motorcycles, made Yamaha’s MT-09 one of the most popular bikes in Australia, and now taken Can-Am’s Spyder to a new level of sophistication which, in my mind, is exactly what the US company’s premium model deserved. The Spyder RT Limited is a very slick machine now that its three-wheeled chassis has been mated to a three-cylinder engine.

That’s not all that’s new in this luxury roadster, which also comes with a sixspeed semi-auto transmission that quickly grows on you, an incredible level of fairing protection and other valueadding features. It adds up to a terrific touring machine. ►

T

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 49

This begins with the fact that the new Spyder is very simple to ride, at least once you get your head around the obvious differences between it and all the things you’ve ridden that have just one front wheel. It had been a long time since I’d ridden one, though there have been a few quads in the meantime which have probably stood me in good stead — the urge to countersteer wasn’t there from the moment I rode away. We’ll bypass all that, though, and look at the finer differences, like the fact your le foot has nothing to do thanks to the paddleshi gearbox that keeps your le thumb and forefinger dancing either side of the switchblock instead. Your right hand does li le more than twist the thro le as there’s no brake there — that’s all done through the one pedal in front of your right foot.

With so few control functions, you

50 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

It's a very comfy spot sitting behind the Spyder's generous fairing

CAN-AM SYPDER RT LIMITED

NEW SPYDER F3 The second Spyder to carry the gruntier F3 motor will be the F3, a feet-forward roadster styled as a modern-looking muscle-cruiser. One of its key features is what Can-Am calls UFit, enabling the owner to tailor aspects of the riding position to suit themselves.

The F3 will be offered in both manual and semi-auto SE6 transmission options, and a large range of accessories will be available when it hits the local market in autumn next year.

“The Spyder F3 represents the next era for the Can-Am Spyder line-up and for on-road riding as a whole,” Can-Am executive Chris Dawson said.

It will become the fourth model line in the Can-Am roadster range, slotting in with the existing RS, ST and RT models. Pricing is yet to be announced.

quickly come to grips with the Spyder’s demands, though perhaps your le hand might complain about being overworked when you factor in the blinkers, screen adjuster, stereo controls and more.

Your thumb is sometimes busier than a texting teenager’s, but it’s not so bad most of the time. The switch layout is logical and the bu ons can be felt through all but the thickest gloves so you rarely have to glance down to check what you’re doing.

I worked all this out in the few minutes it took to veer onto the motorway and climb the mountains with the city behind me. On the way, I decided I was going to like this 1330cc inline triple. Like the 1000cc V-twin that’s still used in the RS and ST models, this is a Rotax powerplant. It doesn’t li the bar of Spyder performance so much as hurl it skyward, from the twin’s 75kW and 108Nm to 86kW and 130Nm. At the

same time, the rorty pulse of the V-twin, which feels so exhilarating in the sporty Spyders, gives way to the triple’s silken smoothness, with only a mild tingle coming through the bodywork as the revs rise. Raise the screen and you can listen to its pleasant drone.

This bigger engine is geared much taller than the V-twins, mainly because it produces so much more bo om-end torque. Can-Am says there’s 40 per cent more torque at low revs, and that feels about right. Instead of showing 45005000rpm at highway speeds, the triple is down around the 3000-3500rpm mark and still responds at least as strongly as the twin. The Spyder’s acceleration won’t pin your pillion to the backrest because the power is hauling 459kg of dry mass plus all the rest, but it’s fast enough to escape the lights ahead of all other traffic and to get past slower vehicles in a short stretch without any fuss.

You can set this motor into economy mode to save fuel. The response and acceleration drop off a bit, but not so much that a relaxed rider will miss it, and the so-called advanced combustion engine (ACE) becomes more frugal. I didn’t get to properly measure the effect, unfortunately. Overall consumption is higher than on a lighter bike, though, my average being bang on 7.0L/100km in mostly country riding.

I used the cruise control a bit on the way. This system holds the most consistent speed of any vehicle I’ve ridden, rarely varying more than 1km/h either side of the speed you set. It’s very smooth too. The one downside is that the self-cancelling trigger, a ached to the Spyder's built-in stability control programming, is too sensitive. It shut off the cruise control three times during the test — an annoyance rather than a danger. ► AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 51

Our pillion reports that her seat was as comfy as comfy as the luxurious set-up for the rider

LUXURY THAT WON’T LIE DOWN Western Motorcycles, nestled against the foot of the Blue Mountains on the edge of sprawling Sydney, has been selling roughly one Spyder a week, a very impressive number considering the Can-Am’s oddball appeal and relatively high price points. Dealer principal Ray Moody is understandably very happy he took them on.

He says the buyers are diverse, but after we talk for a while it’s clear two things stand out for him. First, a fair proportion of Can-Am owners live on the other side of the mountains where the roads are open and the riding less congested. Second, and this is a point Ray is obviously delighted about, Spyders extend the riding life of many people who had been on the verge of giving up the bikes because of age, injury or anything else that made two-wheelers too hard. Especially big touring bikes.

The RT Limited has all the cachet and luxury of a Gold Wing, Electra Glide or K1600, but with the obvious advantage that you don’t have to hold it upright or resort to a car. The appeal of that is undeniable.

52 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

The brand-new transmission is a beauty. The ratios are all spot-on, keeping power on if you’re revving the engine and going hell for leather, or being small steps apart when you’re tooling along. All you have to do to change gears is push the up or down paddles on the le handlebar and the electronically control gearbox and clutch will do the rest. You don’t even have to roll off the thro le or blip it for downshi s — the computer does it all for you. There’s a mild lurch at worst, and perfect smoothness at best, with the odd loud clack for good measure, and if you slow right down, the gearbox will

change down through the gears all by itself. The more I used it, the be er I liked this gearbox and I can see why Can-Am is crowing about it.

There’s a reverse gear as well, activated by pushing two bu ons. On a roadster, it’s a must-have feature, one I used frequently.

Another bu on adjusts the rear shock preload through five se ings. I tended towards the firmer range. The ride quality is pre y good on this long-travel suspension, the front end displaying very li le roll through corners thanks to an anti-roll bar, comfort remaining high

CAN-AM SYPDER RT LIMITED even through bumps that you expect will jolt you, and only a bit of jiggliness over bumpy roads disturbing the otherwise planted feeling of the Spyder. The speedsensitive power steering is light enough and extremely direct and accurate, though of course on a bike that doesn't lean through corners, you have to put more physical effort into cornering. This uses muscles you don’t use on a twowheeler but they get used to it.

Stamp on the brake pedal and you’ll want good arm muscles to hold you up.

With its three fat contact patches, the Can-Am slams to a stop. Dynamically, this is its hands-down advantage over a motorcycle, which cannot hope to put such braking power to the ground. You can steer the Spyder while hard on the brakes, too, another safety benefit.

The seat height is only 772mm but height is not an issue on a Spyder. It is a

very wide, so and comfortable saddle, which is the main thing — an all-day perch that is part of an unbelievably accommodating touring machine. The big footboards allow leg movement, the handlebars felt just right to me, and the massive frontal area of the three-wheeler translates to more wind-stopping aerodynamics than you’ll get without a roof. With the electric screen at its lowest se ing you can see over the top, and feel and hear some wind blast. All the way up, you’re si ing in still air — so still the drawstring cords on the cuffs of my winter gloves hung limply below my sleeves, and it didn’t take much of a raised voice to speak with my pillion.

She caught a li le buffeting in the back seat, but less than on most big tourers.

Her seat, complete with wrap-around backrest, was as comfy as mine. Her huge grab handles (with inbuilt heaters,

no less) helped during cornering; with no lean angle to lock a pillion in place, they have to hang on around bends. The Spyder provides big footboards for the pillion too.

You can go for tankful a er tankful on the RT Limited. Can-Am claims you can go just over 400km on the 26L tank, according to constant-speed 100km/h tests. That’s not unrealistic given my average of 7.0L/100km, which would be good for about 370km. In the real world, I typically filled up before 300km but never put more than 20L into the tank.

I was always ready to get straight back on, swing onto the highway, turn up the music and ride. The sound system has two front speakers and two at the back, with AM/FM radio and the ability to plug in a music player. My stupid iPhone 5 wouldn’t let me access all the controls, something it does on other bikes too, ►

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 53

CAN-AM SYPDER RT LIMITED QUICKSPECS Model: Can-Am Spyder RT Limited SE6 Price: $41,990 (plus on-road charges) Colours: Silver Platinum Satin (2015 colours TBA) Warranty: 2 years, unlimited distance Servicing intervals: 15,000km Engine: Liquid-cooled, DOHC, 12-valve, in-line triple. Cruise control, stability control, traction control, eco mode Bore x stroke: 84 x 80mm Displacement: 1330cc Compression: 12:1 Power: 75kW @ 7250rpm Torque: 108Nm @ 5000rpm Transmission: Semi-automatic 6-speed gearbox with reverse, belt drive Frame: Steel Y-frame Dimensions: Seat height 772mm, weight 459kg (dry), fuel capacity 26L, wheelbase 1714mm Steering: Speed-sensitive powerassisted Suspension: Front, double A-arms with anti-roll bar and single shocks, 174mm travel. Rear, single shock, 152mm travel, preload adjustable Brakes: Front, 2 x 270mm discs with 4-piston calipers. Rear, 270mm disc with single-piston caliper. Linked through single pedal. ABS. Park brake Tyres: Kenda Radial Front, 165/55R15.

Rear, 225/50R15 Fuel consumption: 7.0L/100km (average) Theoretical range: 370km Verdict: The complete touring package with power and sophistication

54 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

but that’s Apple’s fault. Other devices work fine. The sound quality is good, as is the volume, especially in the comparative silence of the cockpit. The Garmin Zumo navigator, with its Bluetooth connectivity, wasn’t fi ed to the RT Limited I had, but it is part of the package on this rangetopping model.

It also comes with a travel bag, one of those ones on wheels with a pull-out handle, and it slots neatly into the front cargo area under the bonnet. This vehicle has 155L of storage capacity, about the same as a Gold Wing, but in this case divided into five main sections: two sideopening panniers, a deep top box, a deeper front bin and a small compartment in front of the rider’s lap. The maximum payload is an impressive 224kg.

Other conveniences include heated hand grips, good headlights with the high beams being the upper pair, a huge 1200W alternator output, and excellent control of engine heat so that it’s not broiling you. Careful design like that sums up the effort Can-Am has put into this new Spyder, and the care has paid off.

You might want a roadster for practical reasons or just to try something different.

Whatever you motivation, the RT range is the way to go for smoothness, sophistication and performance. As I said, this new engine, transmission and chassis are excellent, and with the new bodywork they make the RT an amazing touring machine. In Limited form you get the best Can-Am has to offer, and while more than $42,000 is a big wad to hand over, it’ll get you onto a unique and impressive long-haul vehicle. ARR

SPORT START

56 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

HONDA CBR300R

ING Economical, desirable and inexpensive.

Honda’s CBR300R is the ideal first motorcycle

STORY: MATT SHIELDS PHOTOS: TIM MUNRO remember being in my teens and wondering how the hell I could save enough money to buy something I could ride on the road. I bought a dual-sport Honda Dominator with all the money I could scrape together a er selling my first car. It was enough to buy the 650 Honda, but nowhere near enough to buy a 250. This was when learners were limited to 250s and I figured I’d just ride it in the bush until I got my full licence.

For a long time then, and even now, 250s held their price very well.

From cheaper rego and insurance, to cheap running costs and excellent economy, their small capacity makes sense to more than just the learners they are intended for. The bigger Dominator made sense as a bike to learn to ride on the road. It had a mild engine, great handling, and good suspension and brakes. A er riding dirtbikes as a kid, the transition to the big dual-sport on the road made things a lot less daunting — I’d never ridden among cars before! ►

I

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 57

“The CBR’s engine characteristics make the bike a lot easier to ride at low speed” In 2008 the rules changed for learner riders and a greater range of motorcycles could immediately be ridden. The Learner Approved Motorcycle Scheme (LAMS) brought a new set of rules governing the machines learners could ride, opening up the capacity limit to 660cc and imposing a power-to-weight ratio no greater than 150kW per tonne. LAMS is in place right across Australia now. Everything in Honda’s range from the Today 50 scooter to the CBR500R sportsbike is learner legal. So is my old Dominator!

With the introduction of LAMS, everyone thought the old 250 class was dead. Yet despite a steady increase in the number of learner-legal new motorcycles between 500 and 650cc in capacity in recent years and the greater choice on the second-hand market, the old 250 class is still alive and well. Kawasaki’s Ninja 300 triggered a change, though. With a 58 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

sharp re-style and a boost in capacity from 250cc to almost 300cc, Kawasaki built an aspirational motorcycle at an affordable price, with engine characteristics improved for a learner rider. Honda has joined the capacity shi with the CBR300R and wrapped it up in a big-bike-looking chassis, a move away from the pipe-n-slippers VFR-inspired CBR250R. First produced in 2011, the CBR250R was a ground-up design for Honda. It carried the CBR prefix, but that was only a nod to true sporting intentions and it inherited none of the CBR250RR production racer’s characteristics.

Honda built a great handling, pleasantly powered machine in the 250R. It was fast enough to get you away from the traffic first, was light, easy to handle and economical. It ticked all the boxes in terms of a learner bike, but was soon a step behind in every respect when the Ninja 300 was introduced.

In building the 300R, Honda has done more than reshape the bodywork.

The only internal changes are an 8mm longer stroke and a heavier counterbalancer, and the 250’s original design has allowed Honda to afford a much greater

performing machine with very li le in terms of mechanical change. While and extra 3.3kW an 3.2Nm don’t sound like much, they represent a 17 per cent increase in power and 14 per cent increase in torque. Best of all, the stronger torque comes on lower in the rev range. The CBR’s engine characteristics make the bike a lot easier to ride at low speed. You do need a few revs on the tacho before it moves in a hurry but it’ll easily pull away

r Simple braking package, great performance

HONDA CBR300R ■ Big bike looks and a quality finish

NOT MADE IN JAPAN

faster from the lights than anything with four or more wheels.

The boost in performance means you don’t have to work the thro le and gearbox as much, and at high speed more experienced riders will enjoy a bike that provides a more energetic riding experience. The gearbox is light in its operation and top gear shows 6500rpm at 110km/h. This is right in the sweet spot of the engine’s performance and gives you

r Dash is simple, but has essentials like fuel gauge and clock

enough punch to pass other vehicles on single-lane roads with confidence.

Despite a boost in performance, I still managed an average economy below 3.5L/100km! While the longer stroke and heavier counter-balance are the only internal changes, the PGM fuel-injection system has been remapped and there is a new exhaust to match the sportier look.

When Honda designed the CBR250R, predecessor to the 300R, it selected a compact double-overhead camsha cylinder-head design that uses a roller rocker-arm system to actuate the valves.

In a small-output, low-stress engine like the CBR’s it is extremely efficient and economical. Its design allowed engineers the freedom to use the optimum valve angle, valve size, port and combustion chamber shape they required. Don’t say there’s no R&D in these li le bikes!

The service intervals are still 12,000km with a valve check every 24,000km and, being a simple design, services are less expensive than any multi-cylinder engine. Another good point is the sharper styling of the CBR that brings it into line with the bigger sportsbikes and moves it away from the sports-touring VFR look.

This move makes a lot of sense as the ►

It’s a global market in motor vehicles these days, but it may surprise many people to know that motorcycle production outside a manufacturer’s hometown has been going on for donkey’s years. All the major European manufacturers are doing it, the Japanese have done it for some time and the Americans are in on it too. The name on the tank doesn’t always indicate a bike’s origins anymore.

Honda does it, of course, and the CBR300R is the latest model to come out of Thailand, the second country after Belgium in which Honda chose to produce motorcycles.

Here’s a look at Honda’s motorcycle production history outside Japan, listed according to the year in which production began there: • 1963 Belgium • 1967 Thailand • 1969 Malaysia • 1971Mexico and Indonesia • 1973 Philippines • 1976 Brazil • 1977 Italy • 1979 USA • 1985 India • 1986 Canada and Spain • 2006Argentina and Pakistan

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 59

CBR is a motorcycle that mostly younger riders will be taking to, the same riders who don’t see themselves on a sportstourer anytime soon.

The styling change has produced a thinner tail section that makes the standover height of the bike shorter. At 785mm high at the saddle, the CBR feels shorter than other bikes with a similar

r New-style exhaust is part of the performance improvement

60 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

seat height I have ridden of late. Shorter riders should sit on this one before discounting it as being too big to handle.

The overall ergonomic package, while looking sporty, is relaxed, roomy and comfortable. The handlebars are wide and sit not so low that you are hunched forward, and the footpegs are low and neutral. Smaller riders won’t find the

r Pillion seat is minimal but grab handles are excellent

seating position or the size of the bike imposing and taller riders won’t feel like they are crammed onto a pocket bike.

The CBR’s chassis is basic and performs brilliantly. With a 37mm front fork, single shock with preload adjustment and twinpiston front and single-piston rear brakes, it is made up of de rigueur components for

r The old CBR250R with its VFR-inspired look

HONDA CBR300R QUICKSPECS Model: Honda CBR300R Price: $5699 (plus on-road charges) Colours: Ross White Tricolore, Millennium Red, black Warranty: 24 months, unlimited kilometres Servicing intervals: 12,000km Engine: Liquid-cooled, singlecylinder DOHC four-stroke Bore x stroke: 76 x 63mm Displacement: 286cc Compression: 10.7:1 Power: 28kW @ 8500rpm Torque: 27Nm @ 7250rpm Transmission: 6-speed, wet clutch, chain drive Frame: Steel twin-spar Dimensions: Seat height 785mm, weight 164kg (wet), fuel capacity 13L, wheelbase 1380mm, rake 25º, trail 98mm Suspension: 37mm fork, no adjustment 130mm travel. Single shock with preload adjustment Brakes: Front, 296mm disc with twinpiston caliper. Rear, 220mm disc with single-piston caliper Tyres: IRC Road Winner RX-01 Front, 110/70-17 (54S). Rear, 140/70-17 (66S) Fuel consumption: 3.5L/100km Theoretical range: 370km Verdict: Great handling, excellent power characteristics and great price.

An excellent first motorcycle

sharper side of comfortable. It turns fast, and the suspension isn’t too aggressive in its actuation. The turning circle is huge and the brakes aren’t aggressive in their response. Everything is tailored to providing a great platform for a rider to hone their skills with ease and confidence.

But once you do get out on faster, more challenging roads, you find the suspension deals well with bumps and always remains composed. It’s a great balance, the kind that learner riders need to evolve their skills.

The ABS version of the 300R runs Honda’s Combined ABS system, where the rear brake lever also applies a portion of braking force to the front, while the front brake lever only applies pressure to the front brake. The brakes are strong in their power and give great feel at the lever. ABS is available as an option for an extra $300 and that’s a very small price to pay for the added peace of mind, especially if you are just starting out on the road.

r IRC Road Winners are great-value and performing tyres

“By improving the engine’s power and, more especially, torque characteristics, Honda has made it a complete package”

r Engine cutaway shows a beautifully engineered unit. Check out the compact cylinder head design

Another small price to pay is the retail price of the CBR. At $5699 there’s a lot of motorcycle for your money and a lot more motorcycle value when you consider the typical Honda build quality.

Honda has precisely developed the CBR300R by working on those aspects of the CBR250R that fell short. The 250 had light controls, excellent brakes, light gearbox, easy steering and great ergonomics, but by improving the engine’s power and, more especially, torque characteristics, Honda has made it a complete package that is

hard to go past as a first motorcycle to learn the ropes on.

The CBR300R engine was designed for a global model. That means in every market around the world where you can buy a Honda CBR300R, it’s exactly the same machine. From markets where motorcycles are almost purely utilitarian to the richest countries in the world, the requirements to satisfy buyers are actually fairly simple. You need it to be economical, desirable and, the key to success, inexpensive. The CBR300R ticks all those boxes. ARR AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 61

62 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

YAMAHA STAR STRYKER

STRYKING Great value, looks and performance — Yamaha’s Stryker is a production chopper like no other

STORY: MICK MATHESON PHOTOS: JEFF CROW i ing low in the saddle with the bike’s front end raised high before you is very cool. Don’t ask me to put a finger on it because I don’t know if the satisfaction comes from having all that heavy metal in your eye-line, or si ing in that devil-maycare riding position, or having Easy Rider running subconsciously in the background. Whatever it is, I’ll take it. It drew me straight to the Stryker. I stood beside it with my knee level with its seat and the front wheel way over there somewhere. The front wheel is so raked out you can see it over the

S

triple clamps as you ride along.

But they said the Stryker is nimble and lightweight. Really? I strolled around the back and wondered about the huge 240-section rear tyre with its ultra-low 40 per cent profile. Squa ing down and looking forward, I could see the forks disappearing into the distance — the steering head angle is a pre y flat 34 degrees but then the triple clamps angle the forks another six degrees fla er again. The wheel at the end was a tall 21-incher, though fortunately it wasn’t too skinny.

Ha! Nimble and lightweight? How could this exaggerated factory chopper possibly do that?

I could taste the humble pie coming as I rode ►

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 63

■ Yamaha has done its homework with the Stryker’s handling

away. With my bum low, my feet up and out on the forward-mounted footpegs and my arms at chest height on the handlebars, control came easily. Slowly pu ing down a narrow laneway shared with pedestrians, the Yamaha was balanced, stable and kinda lightweight.

No floppy steering, no big push either way from the huge curve of the back tyre, no need to saw on the handlebars to keep the machine straight on its ultra-long wheelbase. Was this chopper really able to deliver the good without the bad?

A bit further along I pulled a feetup U-turn on a li le country road, no worries. It’s not MT-09-nimble but the Stryker was proving eminently manageable. Who’da thunk it?

The Stryker is the latest of Yamaha’s new range of ta oo-culture stars — bikes for tough guys rather than old guys. Less chrome and more black; less classic and more back streets. It’s aimed mainly at men in their 20s and 30s, and updates ageless, aggressive styling with contemporary curves and lines.

If you like the look of choppers, you ought to like this, but if you don’t, it’s an intentionally malleable starting point for people who like to customise. Its radiator is a shy thing that doesn’t stand out too much, and the engine is all fins and no hoses, as if it were air-cooled in the oldschool way.

Liquid-cooling allowed Yamaha 64 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

to minimise tolerances in the motor and maximise performance. Like the handling, the powerplant is more than you’d expect from past experience, and overall the Stryker is a rare motorcycle indeed — a chopper with real performance.

Its natural environment is the city.

It looks at home there and feels it too, in spite of the long wheelbase which will never be as good as, say, an SR400 in traffic. Regardless, I was able to filter along at a decent pace because the Stryker’s a cinch to manoeuvre without being quite as agile as something like the li le SR. The lively engine helped. It has four-valve heads for efficient breathing, well-tuned fuel management, and a relatively short-stroke crank throw for quick revving. The powerband is broad and flexible, just right for the constantly variable pace of city riding.

The impression of nimbleness and light weight never le while I rode in urban areas. The Yamaha’s wet weight is 293kg, not bad for this kind of bike, and I would have pegged it as lighter most of the time. The very low centre of gravity must emphasise this impression, especially with such a low seat. I reckon this is one of the best big bikes for small people, for all these reasons.

On a cool morning I headed north out of Melbourne on the Hume, feeling the chill more intensely because of the rather

exposed riding position. Later in the day, when the sun had warmed everything nicely, riding the Stryker was bliss, just the way the motorcycle gods intended.

With the wind in my face I couldn’t

DO IT YOURSELF Among the most effective bits of customisation you can do on any bike, especially a chopper, is to get rid of the extraneous bits and pieces that you find all over the place. Handlebar wiring can be hidden away inside the bars; electrical components can be positioned away out of sight; anything unnecessary can be stripped off.

For all its good looks, the Stryker still has its share of untidy details. Exhaust heat shields, the exposed horn, the bulky sidestand mount and cut-out switch, the sheathed wiring on both handlebars …

Yamaha could no doubt have cleaned up a lot of this in the first place but cost and, to some degree legislation, wouldn’t let it go that far. It’s not as ifYamaha is alone in this, and indeedYamaha does a better job of keeping things smoother than some other brands.

This will probably be the next area manufacturers look more closely at as they try to find additional ways to persuade customers to ride away on their bikes.

YAMAHA STAR STRYKER wipe off the smile, but with the wind on my chest I grimaced a li le a er riding at higher speeds for extended periods.

Holding 100km/h or so isn’t hard because the higher front end offers a bit of windbreaking effect to take the load off your body. For this sort of bike the Stryker is a good traveller.

You don’t stretch to reach the handlebars or footpegs so the riding position is quite comfortable and relaxed.

It’s a wide machine but it doesn’t spread your legs too far, and you have a wide seat for lots of support, though the padding is very firm.

Out on the road the engine showed more of its good breeding. I’d have said it was bigger than its 1300cc because it punches well. Being a Yamaha, it has

r Exhausts look great but lack bark

just five gears, all it needs. A sixth ratio would just mean extra gear-changing.

It pulls top gear strongly, but the motor does like to rev to give its best. Torque peaks at only 3000rpm but power comes on strongest at 5500rpm and feels like it holds for a while beyond that, rather than hi ing a wall like so many other big twins. I’d be surprised if other, bigger V-twin cruisers could get away from it on power alone. You don’t mind revving the Stryker because its pair of balance sha s ensure smooth running all the way with only minimal, tingling vibes.

Go hard and there’s no real engine note, which is a pity. I’d love to hear a bit more of it because it is a fun thing to have a play on. When you do, the pegs will scrape early but the real ground

r Engine lines ooze simplicity

clearance doesn’t run out till you’re a respectable distance over on the side. The tyres grip well and their contact patches are solid enough to mean you can forgive it a lack of ABS, considering the single disc brakes at each end are moderate rather than strong. Actually, the rear brake does fairly well, making the most of the fat back wheel. The motor will wring out through 160km/h on to 180 and more, but you’ll want to ensure a decent stopping distance if you try it.

Around town I hadn’t had much trouble with the short travel of the rear suspension, which consists of a single shock on progressive-rate linkages. I never have high hopes for low-bummed cruisers on bumps, but it wasn’t until I was doing open-road speeds on the goat ►

r Single disc brake is modest, not strong

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 65

YAMAHA STAR STRYKER tracks of misplaced political priorities that the Stryker revealed its rear suspension is no be er than most. It’d bo om out on medium-sized bumps and on one occasion launched the back wheel off the ground and me out of the saddle a er a pothole. It never felt unsafe, just uncomfortable. I’d think twice about subjecting a pillion to it.

Be er to impress a pillion with shorter rides around town. There you can avoid most bumps and the speeds are lower. The Stryker’s good clutch and gearbox encourage smooth operating so you can impress your pillion even more. You’ll have to be smooth to avoid unnerving them as they perch up behind you on the kicked-up seat with their legs curled to reach the footpegs and nothing to hang onto but you. Feed in just the right amount of grunt and they’ll hang on tight. It’ll be up to you by then, because presumably the Stryker’s own impressions have helped do the groundwork. The imposing and tough styling have unmistakable impact.

QUICKSPECS Model: Yamaha Star Stryker Price: Black $14,999, grey $15,299 (plus on-road charges) Colours: Ma Grey, Midnight Black Warranty: Five years, unlimited distance Servicing intervals: 6000km Engine: Liquid-cooled, OHC, 8-valve, 60° V-twin Bore x stroke: 100 x 83mm Displacement: 1304cc Compression: 9.5:1 Power: 54kW @ 5500rpm Torque: 103Nm @ 3000rpm Transmission: Wet clutch, 5-speed gearbox, belt drive Frame: Steel double-cradle Dimensions: Seat height 668mm, weight 293kg (wet), fuel capacity 15L, wheelbase 1750mm, rake 40º, trail 109mm Suspension: Front, 41mm fork, 135mm travel. Rear, monoshock with preload adjustment, 100mm travel Brakes: Front, 320mm disc, 2-piston caliper. Rear, 310mm disc, 1-piston caliper Tyres: Front, 120/70-21 (62H). Rear, 210/40R18 (73H) Verdict: Cool and aggressive without the bad habits

66 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

The lack of any obvious Yamaha branding can help too. Your sweet and innocent pillion may ask, “Is that a Harley?” You can answer, “It’s a chopper.”

Like a good chopper, there’s not much clu er on the Stryker. The dash is a low-profile pod on the top triple clamp, and even it is unclu ered, showing only basics including two trips, the time and fuel level. Luggage is a dilemma you’ll have to solve yourself and the 15L fuel tank will force you to find fuel every 200km or so to be on the safe side. I didn’t get a good handle on fuel consumption this time around but you would squeeze 300km from the tank if you ran carefully all the way.

The Stryker’s unadorned simplicity is part of its a raction, but its proper chopper looks are clearly the main appeal. Yamaha has put a lot of effort into making the machine work superbly in almost every aspect. It has done a marvellous job of combining the timeless chopper aesthetic with modern touches and flawless engineering that carries a huge five-year warranty. The a ention to detail is admirable, as is Yamaha’s desire to have its chopper handle and go so well. Few bikes have ever so successfully blended this level of performance, engineering and tough-guy good looks.ARR

r Little chrome, lots of black, and barely anything that says Yamaha

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THE LONG LIST This month we pick up our act by getting sporty on the Multistrada, and Greg celebrates being back on the Victory Cross Country Tour by doing a big three-day ride DUCATI MULTISTRADA GRANTURISMO The Ducati has done a lot of si ing and waiting while I’ve tested other bikes over the past few months. Every time I’ve thrown a leg over the Multistrada again, I’ve smiled, glad to be back on the faithful machine I’ve done so many kays on this year. I’m lucky enough to have so much temptation pushed my way in this job that it’s easy to cast bikes aside and go for the next shiny thing, yet the Ducati has lost none of its gloss for me.

That’s a sure sign of a great bike.

A couple of days ago I got off Yamaha’s cute li le MT-07 (the review is coming up next issue). A erwards the MTS seemed huge in comparison, but within a minute I was back into Multistrada mode and swathing through Sydney a ernoon traffic on my way out. I reckon I filtered most of the way from Strathfield to Parrama a on a choked-up motorway.

The panniers didn’t make it too awkward but a few smaller bikes whizzed past more easily. However, I consoled myself with the thought that if I was going through torture like this every working day, I would have le the bags at home.

Before I’d set off on that ride, the Ducati gave me a moment of concern.

I had the fob in my pocket but when I flicked the ignition switch there was nothing — not a hint of power showing on the dashboard. I flicked the switch on and off a few times to no avail.

Flat ba ery? It had only been parked overnight, but you never know. Flat ba ery in the fob? Unlikely a er less than a year on the road. I checked the fuses: all good and tight. Flicked the switch again and on she came, good as gold! No dramas since either.

Another thing that’s been on my mind for a while is the fact that the hazard lights sometimes come on when I hit the le indicator. Now the hazards are meant to come on if you hold the blinker switch to the le for a few seconds, but 68 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

they’ve been coming on occasionally no ma er how briefly I hit the switch. I’ve tried to change my thumbing technique but that doesn’t make any difference.

And I cannot for the life of me activate the hazards accidentally on purpose, if you get my meaning. When I mentioned it to Craig McMartin at Ducati Australia, he admi ed it happened to him too. Like me, he’d initially blamed himself. He’s trying to find out more.

Last month I mentioned the Pikes Peak, the sportiest of the Multistradas. I’d had plenty of fun on it and it rekindled the urge to treat the Granturismo like a Ducati is meant to be treated — fast and hard. I took a bit of a detour a er leaving Sydney, aiming for some quieter country roads with corners and climbs. They were rough roads — the kind you don’t necessarily enjoy as much on a sports bike — but the Multi wasn’t going to complain one bit.

An hour a er crossing the mountains I reached the bo om of the first good, winding ascent.

I thumbed the Ducati into Sport mode and let it rip. Oh yes! The V-twin roared with delight and I thrilled at the feeling of the rear tyre hooking up and driving me out of each corner. The strong brakes, the lovely tip-in, the need to tuck my toes up on the pegs so I didn’t grind my boots away on the tarmac. And if I gassed it hard enough, the front end would li , as if to say that’s it, mate, you’re on it today.

What a ride that turned out to be.

It reminded how much sports bike there is under the Multistrada’s upright ergonomics and ever-practical luggage system. I might not want a sports bike these days, but that certainly doesn’t mean the urge to go hard is gone. The Multi knows how to be my sports bike when the mood takes me — and what a sports bike it is. — MICK MATHESON

LONG-TERmer tests VICTORY CROSS COUNTRY TOUR The Victory Cross Country Tour arrived back in my shed at the perfect time. With three days off and a birthday party to a end in northern NSW, the Victory was just the thing for the trip. The big Yank just loves the open road and with spring in the air, it was the perfect recipe for covering miles.

I don’t mind a bit of comfort these days and the Victory has that aspect totally covered. It is a heavy tourer extraordinaire, capable of transporting the rider relatively fatigue-free to any destination. I don’t mind a bit of music either, but I don’t like having it plugged into my ears. The Victory allows me to plug in the iPod and listen to my music through four quality speakers.

The stereo gets louder automatically as the speed increases and it is highly effective up to around 120km/h. There is also a display on the instrument panel showing the song title, album and artist.

Bu ons on the le handlebar control the volume and allow you to skip to the next track. It keeps this old rocker entertained and relieves the boredom of highway running at the speed limit.

While the Victory gobbles up the highway kays effortlessly, the suspension is well up to the task of handling the bumpy NSW back roads. My track north involved the Pu y Road, Bucke s Way, Thunderbolt’s Way, and a few minor connecting roads.

The road through Gresford and Dungog is a suspension test in itself these days but the Victory lapped it up.

I rode the last hour in steady rain but didn’t bother to don the wet weather gear. As long as you are rolling along at 100km/h, the fairing and screen keep you almost totally dry. The surface of my leathers was barely damp when I arrived.

The next day I visited a mate near the old gold mining town of Hillgrove, just off Waterfall Way. This involved a bit of dirt and it wasn’t long before the Victory’s dirt road limitations were exposed. The long wheelbase keeps it stable over hardpacked surfaces, but as soon as the going gets loose it feels every kilo of its weight.

If you encounter a sandy stretch or a bit of mud, you had be er know what you’re doing. I wouldn’t fancy trying to pick it up on my own or, worse still, being pinned underneath it on some isolated road!

This 1300km ride took the odometer

past the 10,000km mark and the engine and transmission feel completely bulletproof. The motor will plonk away all day in the 2-3000rpm range using its vast reserves of torque to punch it along.

If you need to get sporty it will happily buzz up to the 5000rpm redline in the lower gears, and get there surprisingly quickly.

Having said that, while it revs quite freely, it does feel a bit asthmatic under hard acceleration. I think a set of freer breathing pipes would make a world of difference to the Victory. We were going to try some accessory mufflers for that reason and I would love to hear that 1.7L V-twin really bark. Unfortunately the Cross Country Tour has to go back soon so next issue will be the final wrap-up.

Seeya out there. — GREGOR

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 69

PROJECT BOLT

ON A LONG WIRE Mounting wider handlebars involves some crucial detail work

“Lengthening part of a wiring loom is something that should only ever be done properly”

It looks complicated but it is simply unplugging and rerouting

ith the mezzanine floor construction at Mick’s shed taking more time than anticipated out of Project Bolt’s progress, it was decided it would be best for it to head closer to the coast for summer. Lucky me! There’s nothing be er than escaping to my sun-drenched shed on a sweltering hot a ernoon and having a bike to work on!

The first job on the agenda was to get the control cables sorted. With the switchgear in place on the new Ventura handlebar, I simply unplugged the two harnesses from the main loom and re-routed them down the handlebar, under the tank and in under the mainframe spar.

Lengthening part of a wiring loom is

W

Switchblocks had to be rolled back for new handlebar and throttle cables now run over the brake lever

70 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

something that should only ever be done properly. I’ve seen people cut sections and lengthen the loom with a two-dollar crimper, using the same colour wire for all of them and a boxful of joiners that came with the crimper. Don’t do it. If you can’t make the distance safely — leaving a li le slack in the line when you turn the new handlebars to full lock each way — take the section of loom to an auto electrician to get a simple plug-in extension made. This way there’ll be no cuts, no joins and no change to the original wiring harness.

While the handlebar is mounted in a very natural position and the le -hand switchgear and clutch lever sit where they should, the position of the brake lever and the restriction caused by

The quality of cable covering isn’t the best!

the metal dogleg in the thro le cables doesn’t allow both the switchgear and brake lever to be placed where they should be. As the longer, taller handlebar has effectively moved the controls away from the bike, longer cables are now in order anyway. A different design of the thro le cables will be needed to get the brake into the correct position and both control cables need an extra 170mm or so.

One option for ge ing longer cables is to retro-fit something from another bike. Your local workshop will be the best place for this as they can compare them off the shelf if they carry them. Another way is to get a set of cables made to suit your build. A good workshop will be able to do this for you. We are going to do it and show you how next issue. The third option is to buy a tailor-made kit for handlebar extensions such as this. Local stores may have them or look online.

With the new brake lines bled, tank fi ed back on and new cables about to be fi ed up, it’ll be ready to go out and blow off the cobwebs, enjoying the best days of summer as we throw on the next lot of gear that Santa has dropped off for our Bolt! — MATTHEW SHIELDS

Cable ties are all that's needed to finish off the cabling

GUNNING

IT FROM BATHURST You can have it all to yourself on this excellent rider’s road in central NSW

72 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

NSW CENTRAL & SOUTHERN TABLELANDS

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 73

■ There aren’t many straights on this old road that follows preautomobile priorities

STORY & PHOTOS: MICK MATHESON t’s difficult to imagine what the view was like for the blokes who lined up to race on the old Vale Circuit outside Bathurst 80-odd years ago.

The saleyards have gone, replaced by a quiet industrial area, and the tarmac no longer ends less than 100m up the road. Vale Rd still heads out to Perthville, though, and if you don’t turn off where the pre-war racers did, you’ve got a great ride ahead of you on a route that runs between the more major northsouth routes of the Hume and Olympic highways. Any time you’re heading up or down through mid-NSW, this is the way to go.

There’s not much to break your momentum for almost 200km and it is one of those flowing rides that makes bike travel such a joy. It takes you from Bathurst down through Crookwell to either Goulburn or, as we’ll do this time, Gunning. It’s not only a good leg to throw into your trip through NSW, it makes an excellent outer leg on a loop out of Sydney. Bathurst is a lazy three hours from Sydney, Goulburn another two hours, and then the run home up the Hume is another couple — perfect for a big day run or a relaxed weekend away, taking in the sights as you go.

A small sign on a pole on a nondescript

I

74 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

■ Woolly jumpers and windy thumpers: old and new rural industries

NSW CENTRAL & SOUTHERN TABLELANDS corner of Vale Rd marks the historic race circuit’s start line, and a few metres later, high on a fence, is the sign for the finish.

Not much further on, you can open the thro le a li le as you enter the 100 zone and leave Bathurst behind. The road meanders through typical central NSW rural countryside. You’re barely in your stride before you slow for Perthville, a pre y li le place with a pub that looks you in the eye as it entices you in for a cold one, but every time I ride past it’s much too early to stop, let alone consider a beer.

Georges Plains, another timeworn li le place with a good dose of charm, is around 50km out of Bathurst. On the south side of town, the T-junction makes it obvious you must take a right.

On this entire route, everything’s well signposted so navigation isn’t going to be an issue. (Don’t fret about trying to work out how to do this ride from the south either, because the signs make it just as easy.) This is where Vale Rd ends and Trunkey Rd begins, about 40 kays since you le Bathurst.

■ Gunning is a good place for fuel, food and a look around

■ A true Tablelands vista: sweeping roads, big skies, open country

“If you like a bit of serious adventure riding, just west of Trunkey Creek is Pennsylvania State Forest” The next 20 kays to Trunkey Creek are as pleasant as the first stretch, the road sweeping through rolling farmland, never challenging but always involving. It is fast enough to be interesting yet slow enough to let you check out the views. You dive through a few li le patches of cooler forest and when you eventually feel you’re into the bush proper, you plunge downhill into the speed zone for Trunkey Creek.

Take a le at the T-junction and, if you’re ready for a break, stop at the cute li le pub on the right. I’ve had a few drinks at the Black Stump Hotel over the years and stayed for dinner one night. It’s always friendly and rarely empty. Last time I passed through, I ran into a bloke from the BMW club on his 1981 R100RS, which he’d owned since new and done more than 600,000km on.

“It’s one of the family,” he said.

By the way, if you like a bit of serious adventure-riding, just west of Trunkey Creek is Pennsylvania State Forest, which has plenty of good-quality roads through it that’ll take you to other places like Blayney, Wyangala Dam and Cowra, and there’s a hell of a hill climb in the south-west corner for those who go out of their way for a challenge.

That’s not for us today, though. Our ►

LOOKING FOR MORE There are a few routes you can take through this region of NSW. If you head south-east out of Bathurst on the O’Connell road, you’ll enjoy the blissful ride from Oberon to Goulburn, which is sealed all the way.

Taking the road out of Bathurst to Blayney, you follow the Olympic Highway out to Cowra, from which you have the choice of continuing on towards Wagga Wagga or turning south onto the Lachlan Valley Way through Boorowa towards Yass.

A couple of deviations add variety to the Bathurst-Crookwell route too. Heading south, try taking the Rockley turnoff as you come through Perthville; you’ll re-join the main route just before Trunkey Creek. Or soon after Georges Plains, turn right onto Wimbledon Rd then left on Three Brothers Rd at Newbridge, to re-join the route at Trunkey Creek.

Anyone who gets their kicks on lesser roads, especially on an adventure-touring bike, only has to look at the web of minor roads all through the area to know they’ll have a great day.

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 75

■ A handful of sweet bends greet you on the way into Crookwell

■ Winter sun filters through leafless poplars, a reminder of the Great War

ride gets more interesting from here.

Coming up, there are sections of corners, steep dives into deep gullies and even a bit of dirt. What, don’t tell me you didn’t suspect there was a reason why this gem of a road is so overlooked and under-trafficked? Ah, but those of you who don’t like gravel roads, relax. This is one ride that’ll either change your mind or at least get the bad bit over and done with quickly and fuss-free.

You can probably count the total length

76 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

of dirt kilometres on one hand — the three stretches are so short I’ve never bothered measuring them, though I do know one of them isn’t even a kilometre long. And currently they’re in excellent condition, with barely any corrugations and no loose sand. Yeah, they may be a bit slippery a er rain, but you’ll be right.

My Multistrada ate them up.

These innocuous bits of dirt keep the traffic away and I’d be happy if they never seal them. Alas, I’m sure it’ll

happen soon enough.

But first, there’s a great run of tarmac to ride. Soon a er leaving Trunkey, you’ll pass Abercrombie Caves, a place worth checking out if you’re into nature’s darker nooks. The huge natural arch is spectacular and was home to some of Australia’s earliest bushrangers, the Ribbon Gang, who were mainly escaped convicts led by a man whose grievances included being flogged a er he was seen swimming naked by the

NSW CENTRAL & SOUTHERN TABLELANDS ■ One of Tuena’s old churches.

For a tiny town it has a lot to see

colony’s governor.

If it’s a hot day, you can take your chances of being caught tog-less in the Abercrombie River, a li le further down the road. The road begins to twist with more verve on the way down to the beautiful old wooden bridge over the river. If you’re going to stop, do it just as you get off the bridge. I never have because the next few kilometres contain some of the best bends of the ride as tighter le s and rights lead you over a

low hill and down to Tuena Creek and its interesting concrete bridge. Gas it up the short straight, brake for the sharp righthander, and then the road narrows as it winds up through a steep gully where the road surface is suddenly a bit dodgy compared to what it was down below.

When you eventually straighten up for the crest, you’re about to reach the first bit of gravel road. It is full of bends, too, and I had fun on the Ducati, having flicked it into Enduro mode. The surface

this time was grippy and smooth (on my return run I didn’t even bother changing out of Road mode). On the more open parts it was easy to maintain 100km/h.

The couple of dead kangaroos, however, hinted that I should keep up my guard.

The next two shorter bits of gravel road aren’t much further on. There are some tall hills and great views here too.

The descent into Tuena is a hoot.

Smooth and twisty, it’s just a shame it’s short. I’m always tempted to turn around

“There is a reason why this gem of a road is so overlooked and under-trafficked”

r The cemetery outside Binda dates back to the area’s early days

and do it again. The entry to the 50 zone is a good time to back it off because at the very bo om of the hill, just a er you enter town, there’s a pinched causeway without room for you and an oncoming vehicle — things may not end well if you meet someone coming the other way. Not that this is likely in sleepy li le Tuena, which always feels like the forgo en outpost on the most remote part of an obscure road. It was once another booming gold town and still carries the remnants of the era in the form of glorious old churches and ro ing ► AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 77

NSW CENTRAL & SOUTHERN TABLELANDS ■ Locals relax at Trunkey Creek’s Black Stump Hotel

ruins. It’s a very picturesque place and its general store, with the small pioneer museum it includes, is worth a look.

If you’re keen to stay, there’s some accommodation and a good campground down by the creek.

You’ll find more good riding on the road to Crookwell, about 60km away.

On the way you trickle through Binda, a town that once looked rundown and unloved but seems to have found its enthusiasm for life again. The old twostorey buildings are looking good and this is yet another town on the route where you won’t regret stopping for a while.

Crookwell is the bigger smoke around here, though, where you can get more than basic unleaded fuel as well as greater choice in menus and accommodation. If you’re going on to Goulburn, head straight through town, but we’re aiming for Gunning with no need for the delights of Crookwell, so we’ll turn right as we come into town, where the signs point to our destination.

78 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

“The road begins to twist with more verve on the way down to the beautiful old wooden bridge over Abercrombie River” The road climbs through some long bends in the forest before emerging on higher ground, with some wind turbines looming over the hill on the le . It gets windy here, no doubt about it, and winter runs can be miserable if you’re not rugged up. It’s also that much colder down this end of the road compared with Bathurst.

But with the corners on this bit of the route, and its expansive views, you can’t let a li le chill put you off. Some 40km from Crookwell you’ll reach a

T-junction where you turn right onto a nearly deserted section of what was once the Hume Hwy and ride down the hill into Gunning. That’s our cue to stop for some fuel and a feed in one of the cafes.

You can’t see it, but over the other side of town is the modern Hume going east to Goulburn and west to Yass, each about 40km away. You can opt to cross the highway and ride down to Gundaroo and Canberra too.

Whichever way you go from here, you’ll set out feeling great a er a couple of hours or so of thoroughly enjoyable riding. This route is one of the highlights of inland NSW. ARR

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central queensland

GEMS

Central Queensland has some fantastic roads for the adventure tourer — you just have to look a little further for them

STORY AND PHOTOS: MARK HINCHLIFFE hen planning a trip, I o en pull out the Hema Motorcycle Atlas and start dreaming. My eye is drawn to an area of Central Queensland where only one ride is recommended — a short blast from Rocky to Mt Morgan, a road which has been closed for a couple of years for flood damage works.

It seems a pre y dismal state of affairs for all those riders in that part of the state and for all those southern riders chasing the warm winter sun. I’m feeling pre y sad for the good biking folk of CQ. A closer inspection of more detailed maps reveals a varicose-vein goldmine of brown twisted lines that spell fun in any adventure rider’s lexicon. The lines connect a vast array of historic gold mining towns throughout the region, criss-crossing over the Great Dividing Range and fording creeks and rivers. I’m not feeling so sad anymore: I’m inspired.

With four days up our sleeves, I reckon we can explore a fair bit of this region and see if we can fill in the blanks. Not that I need much inspiration for an expedition, but I also have the loan of a Yamaha Ténéré which the blue tuning fork company has fine-tuned for more adventure with some tasty extras. (See the sidebar on page 84 for modification details.)

I was riding with two friends, Nick and Peter, on BMW R 1200 GSs — the last of the air/oil-cooled models and the first of the wasser boxers — so it was going to be interesting to see how the Yammie thumper would handle the boxer competition on the long haul.

Our trip starts with an early mark on Friday a ernoon at a Brisbane service station and our plan is to get to Nanango or Goomeri before the roos come out and the sun dips low on the winter horizon. So we head over our usual run, crossing Mt Mee with a short blast across a dirt shortcut on Delaneys Creek Rd that bypasses Woodford.

We make the decision to head through the Jimna Forest rather than taking the highway. The red mist descends and the pace quickens again, and as we hit some slippery red soil a er a short cloudburst that had recently passed the area, the knobbies on the Ténéré come into their own and I twist the thro le to make ground on the GS twins. I stop near the end of the dirt to get a photo of the other bikes coming down the road and when I mount the very tall bike, I get my leg caught on my tail bag, overbalance and dump the ►

W

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 81

■ Hivesville Road first thing in the morning.

Beautiful…

■ We made it! Emu Park beach

■ Some of the glorious blacktop on Mount Morgan

Ténéré on its side. Like any good mate, Nick helps by ge ing his camera out and taking a cheap shot!

Thankfully, the bike doesn’t have a scratch on it and we are pre y soon back on the pace, charging into Goomeri for a fuel top-up with the cool winter sun starting to melt into the horizon and a fresh chill in the air.

Mindful of the long ride ahead of us tomorrow, we decide to stick to the Burne Highway and stay overnight in Gayndah where we have spent many a raucous evening. Rooms in the Grand Hotel cost $50 and there is no discount for this distant relative of the owner. Meals in the restaurant are quite expensive, but quality is as good as the capital city so we don’t complain too loudly. However, noise is a factor throughout the night, with a hotel full of itinerant workers from nearby roadworks, gas fields and orange plantations. At 4.20am, when the first of the workers begin clumping down the wooden stairs in their Hard Yakka work

82 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

and safety boots, we are woken. Blearyeyed, we set off for a coffee and brekkie roll at the Westside Takeaway before forging through the heavy mist on the Burne Highway.

With visibility down to about 100m, it’s a slow ride, but only a few kilometres along the highway we turn right on Ideraway Rd and immediately le on Dalgangal Rd, which becomes dirt and rolls across grazing land to become Mungy Rd. It’s an open, rollicking road and the pace is usually quite high, with sudden stops for wandering ca le. But today we’re taking it very slowly in the heavy mist and frequently stopping to wipe our goggles dry. The road empties out onto the Monto-Mount Perry Rd, where we usually turn right into the charming small former copper-mining town of Mt Perry. But today we spear le and head into unfamiliar territory on the road to Monto.

We follow the signs to Monto for a while until the road splits. Le is Monto and straight ahead is Mountainview Rd,

which lives up to its name. The mist is starting to li in patches and our pace li s along with it. This wandering dirt road changes its nature from wide to narrow, to two-tyre tracks and back to graded sections. The many rough sections are perfectly handled by the Teknik-prepped suspension and I’m clearing a big gap on the GS boys. To be fair, the Dunlop D606 knobbies seem to be throwing up a fair dust trail and together with the moist air, it’s making visibility difficult for my mates to stay too close.

I’d love to tell you where we went, but we got lost. Eventually we found our way through the web of gravel roads into the almost deserted Kalpowar, the last part a compelling, fast-paced, twisting-tar romp that intertwines with the rail line. From here, we headed north towards Gladstone over tar and dirt sections, through multiple concrete causeways, avoiding loitering ca le and eventually cresting a steep range for a dramatic glimpse of why they call the next town Many Peaks.

central queensland YAMAHA XTZ660 TÉNÉRÉ Price: $13,999 ride away Modifications: • Bark Buster VSB handlebars $79.95 • Bar Risers Adapter Clamps $55 • Bark Busters with wind deflectors $165.95 • Guard-It engine protector combo CB0023 $389.95 • Pivot Pegs $239 • B&B Offroad Engineering rear rack $180 • Dunlop D606 tyres $250 • Tag handlebar grips $30 • Barrett single-outlet exhaust $495 • Teknik front and rear off-road suspension $990 TOTAL $2874.80

The Grand Hotel was moved here from Gladstone in 1907 and publican Wayne Barker moved here from Gladstone in 2014. He’s a Fireblade owner and he’s keen to a ract bikers back to Many Peaks, which is not only at the end of a reasonably entertaining tar ride from Gladstone, but also in the middle of a wealth of forestry roads.

Wayne says he can advise riders where to go and explore the many old mines and trails in the area. Rooms are $65 a single or $85 a double and I’ve been told the T-bones are to die for, but we’ve arrived early for lunch so we press on.

The Gladstone-Monto Rd isn’t the most interesting road, but Lake Awoonga adds to the scenery if you can take your eyes off those dangerous-looking ropewire barriers that plague this road. When it finishes at the Dawson Highway, near Calliope, we turn le , looking for one of the dirt roads that connects to the Bruce Highway. However, as we turn into Blackgate Rd, a big sign greets us with “Road closed”. We figure there’s no harm in checking out what the problem is so we venture on to find a shallow crossing over Calliope River is the only hazard and the road has been recently graded anyway.

Soon we’re back on the Bruce Highway, with virtually no alternate routes north to Rockhampton except for dirt loops off to the west, which return to the highway a er several kilometres. But it’s be er than si ing on this mind-numbing road

“A closer inspection of more detailed maps reveals a varicose-vein goldmine of brown twisted lines that spell fun in any adventure rider’s lexicon” with its many roadworks stops and ridiculously slow temporary speed limits.

We take so many of these roads it’s all a blur, but it’s engrossing and we seem to have plenty of time up our sleeves.

Soon even the alternate routes dry up and there is no choice but to sit on the highway into Rockhampton, where the temperature is now 29 degrees in the middle of winter.

We follow the signs to Emu Park for a photo shoot on the beach and an On Any Sunday moment, then a wander up the coastline to Yeppoon, where we stay with Peter’s brother Paul and his wife Julie, the local GP. She also makes a great beef soup! Their view across the water to North Keppel Island is the perfect backdrop to an evening drinking beers, recounting the day’s travels and working out our return route.

Fresh from a good sleep, we breakfast on Anzac Parade at the Coffee Club, fuel up and set off for some bat caves, armed

with a hand-drawn map and a set of directions from a local lawyer. Hopefully his legal instruction is be er than his route instructions because we end up at another dead end with a sign from the Livingstone Shire Council CEO that reads “This road is temporarily closed to traffic”.

We U-turn and head back through Rocky, bound for the historic gold mining town of Mt Morgan in the ranges.

This road has been out of action for a couple of years, but we are told it’s now open again and isn’t it a cracker for the local Rocky boys on their sports bikes!

Beautiful hot mix blacktop, scything switchbacks, racetrack esses … and a 40km/h speed limit! Seriously? There is only a li le bit of guard rail work le to finish, but I get the awful feeling that when that is finished, the limit might only creep up to 60km/h.

At Mt Morgan we grab morning tea at the bakery and discuss the alternate routes we had planned to take to avoid ►

■ Twin Creeks Road has an excellent riding surface and backdrop

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 83

central queensland having to sit on the Burne Highway.

However, the morning goose chase for bat caves has chewed up our time and we resolve to make up time to Biloela by staying on the highway.

The first half to Dululu is actually quite compelling as it crosses several ridges and throws up interesting scenery and highspeed bends. However, from Dululu it’s flat, uninteresting, straight and starting to get quite cold.

At Biloela we stop for lunch at the Rise Bakery, famous for its pies, and I’m guzzling an energy drink to rouse me from my highway stupor. The 660cc thumper isn’t in its comfort zone in this world, but at least the seat and riding position are comfortable.

We’ve definitely had enough of highway for the day and our tyres are crying out for some dirt, so we check the map and find a long brown line that runs south off the Dawson Highway just west of town and almost runs into Cracow.

The turnoff points to Camboon and the first part of the lonely and underused Crowsdale-Camboon Rd is a superbike rider’s dream, with fast and smooth bends. However it only runs about 10km before turning into smooth dirt that meanders through very dry and desolate countryside.

We see a pristine new coal seam gas plant off in the distance. And from here south, the road turns nasty. It seems the trucks come up to the gas fields from this direction and they’ve pounded the road into submission. Luckily there hasn’t been any rain for a while, so there are no ruts, but the sand and bull dust make our ride captivating to say the least. There are blue-stone rock shelfs hidden under some of that loose stuff and our wheels bang into them at speed and send us on our wiggling way.

Somehow our pace doesn’t seem to have slowed and we’re hanging on whiteknuckled all the way down what is now the Defence Rd. It ends at the EidsvoldCracow Rd and while we’re tempted to turn right into Cracow to stay another night in Fred Brophy’s hotel, we plan to stay closer to Brisbane tonight for a halfday ride home the next day.

As we head east on the straight tar, we pass several cruiser riders heading out to the Cracow pub. It used to be a horror stretch, but these days it’s an easy ride for almost any bike until about the last 10km of dirt, which can vary from smooth to hell-on-earth, depending on truck use, ► 84 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

r With a few tweaks the Ténéré is the ideal machine for the Aussie outback

AUSTRALIANISED YAMAHA XTZ660 TÉNÉRÉ Sometimes maligned as a bit of a “softie”,Yamaha Motor Australia has “Australianised” the XTZ660 Ténéré.

For Australia’s harsh conditions, Yamaha Australia has toughened-up the Ténéré with some Australian-made accessories. YMA marketing guru Sean Goldhawk says he wants to offer the kits “down the track” or at least a voucher to get the suspension set up.

The accessory pack on this bike adds almost $3000 to the $13,999 rideaway price, but it converts the Ténéré from a Toyota RAV-4 softroader into a rugged Jeep Wrangler offroader.

While it’s unfair and pointless to compare the Australianised Ténéré thumper to the two 1200cc Bavarians I accompanied, I can at least say I kept up and never felt like the poor cousin thanks to the accessories which improve performance, comfort, and make it look quite a ruggedly handsome machine.

The most important modification in the Australianised pack is the suspension, which has been fine-tuned

by Teknik Motorsport in Jamisontown, western Sydney.

Owner Nick Dole says the standard suspension has been designed for Europe and not really for riding off road.

“The standard forks and shock are very

soft,” he says. “I don’t use the standard fork springs because the bike is too heavy for them.”

Nick uses five different fork spring rates to suit the rider weight and three in the rear. However, he keeps the standard shock and revalves it. “I think the Yamaha shock performs quite well.

I’ve compared the modified standard shock against bottom-of-the-range Euro aftermarket shocks and it’s just as good.” Handling is also enhanced by the aggressive Dunlop D606 knobby tyres.

The single Barrett exhaust replaces the standard twin system, so it decreases weight and seems to make it rev a little better. The Ténéré is fuelinjected so it adapts to the new muffler with few burps and pops.

A bash plate, engine guard and Barkbusters protect the bike, a rear rack makes it more accommodating for a long haul and the rest of the mods make it more comfortable to ride.

My favourite creature comforts are the Pivot Pegs, which take the pain out of standing up and give plenty of lever control, plus the Barkbuster BBZ shrouds which keep the winter wind chill off your hands.

The only thing I added was a Wunderlich wind deflector to improve protection from wind buffeting and the only other extra I’d consider is a steering damper if you are doing sand.

“At 4.20am, when the first of the workers begin clumping down the wooden stairs in their Hard Yakka work and safety boots, we are woken”

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r Not bad value for just over $20 at Hivesville pub!

■ A real water crossing!

“Soon even the alternate routes dry up and there is no choice but to sit on the highway into Rockhampton, where the temperature is now 29 degrees in the middle of winter” recent grading, weather and the gods.

We wish them luck as we eventually turn off about 40km down the road at Cheltenham Rd, where the sign points to Mooroongie, Coonambula, Yerille and Narayen. It’s an entertaining roller coaster all the way into Mundubbera that we have done on several occasions. There is only one split in the road and you can go either way. Not only is the scenery interesting and ever-changing, but the gravel surface varies through almost every colour in the rainbow — red, pink, white, grey, ochre, orange and brown. It’s difficult not to love this road.

At Mundubbera we top up for our final blast south to Hivesville before the sun sets. We cross the Burne River and return le toward Gayndah across another riotous rollercoaster of tar and gravel into Hivesville, where the pub has single rooms in dongers for $50, plenty of undercover parking for about 100 bikes 86 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

and great pub grub. But we’re the only ones here on a Sunday night and they even have to call in the manager to cook us a meal. And what a massive and wellcooked piece of rump it is for just $22. We repay her kindness by spending up big on the bar that night before bedding down in air-conditioned comfort.

Next morning there is a light frost and -0.5 degrees on the GS instrument panel. We take a short ride to Wondai for breakfast and find the Old Wondai Rd to head dead south. The red-soil road is shiny slick, but quite grippy. However, the low squiggly ruts indicate it could become as slippery as an ice rink in the wet.

We rejoin the Burne Highway yet again for a short blast, turn le on Wansbeck-Manumbar Rd and ride the ridges looking for the Mt Stanley signpost that indicates the start of the Linville Forestry Rd that traces the head of the Brisbane River with about 40 creek

crossings along the way.

At Moore we recharge with fuel and coffee at the motorcycle-friendly, lime-green Kai Lounge before the final push home down the Brisbane Valley Highway, cu ing across to the EskKilcoy Rd via Gregors Creek Rd. This was mainly dirt the last time I rode it, but it’s now all tar. It’s still an engrossing ride with plenty of twists and turns, including some teeth-clenching bends across blind crests!

The GSs race away from me on the final rough and twisty tar down by Somerset and Wivenhoe dams and we wave farewell as we part along the way.

As the Ténéré rumbles its one-note song down the final kilometres of this 1800km ramble, I’m feeling pre y comfortable and content. I’m also pre y confident that I may have found my next bike as well as several new entries for the motorcycle atlas. ARR

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90 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

FLINDERS RANGES

HORSE

ERS

Who says you need a dual-sport to explore the beauty of the Australian outback?

► AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 91

STORY: SHANE GRAHAM PHOTOS: SG AND SA TOURISM COMMISSION iving on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in South Australia has a lot of things going for it. From glorious sunsets against the backdrop of the stunning beaches and surrounds of Coffin Bay to the rugged coastline of Whalers Way, it truly is one of the most picturesque places in the world.

But a li le way north-east, just far enough to make it a weekend’s worth of riding, is the spectacularly rugged outback oasis that is the Flinders Ranges.

It’s also just over 350km north-west out of Adelaide, making the Ranges the perfect place to head for a weekend away.

And that was the exact plan six of us had

L

— to spend a weekend exploring the area as far north as Leigh Creek and Blinman and as far south as Quorn.

The meeting point was the Hawker pub, on Friday a ernoon just around beer o’clock a er an early getaway from work. There was time to give the bikes a quick once over and then we se led down for a meal. The next day was the real first day of our adventure.

Saturday appeared only through wellrubbed eyes as the call of bacon and

eggs became irresistible. Good food was mated with good company to share many coffees with over the next few days as the stints were all short ones and the pace leisurely.

We le Hawker and headed north for Parachilna, 90km up the road. This stretch of road set the scene for the weekend as the weather turned it on and we had our first glimpses of the breathtaking scenery of the outback Flinders Ranges. From here, the ride only got be er.

“This great ride was turning out better than we expected. Our eyes were wide open wherever we went, trying to take it all in”

■ The Pinnacles

■ North Blinman Pub: a nice respite for weary travellers

r Liz outside Linman store — they make great beef pies!

92 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

FLINDERS RANGES ■ Creative dining at Parachilna

r Hey I know you! Catching up with old friends on the ride

■ The road to Blinman

At Parachilna we stopped at the tourist pub for coffee and the occasionally ingested fly. While we were there, three riders pulled in on dual-purpose bikes.

They were on a three-week trip out of Melbourne and had travelled from Birdsville that day. We had a great yarn about their journey and plans, ending with a look over their contrasting choices of machinery.

We geared up and headed off north again towards Leigh Creek for a look see.

It is worth noting that though the roads are in quite good condition through the area, the ca le grids can catch you out because they appear at irregular intervals.

They were the biggest downside of the road conditions on the trip.

Leigh Creek was just a fuel stop really.

A bit of a scoot around the housing area and we’d seen the sights. We were early

for lunch so we decided to head to Copley, which was about 6km up the road to the end of the bitumen. For us this was the turnaround point.

Copley was nice to see but very small.

The people at the local caravan park and deli couldn’t have been nicer or, for that ma er, do enough for us. It turned out to be a good idea to visit Copley as while we were there, two other riders we knew pulled up — husband and wife team Francisco and Patricia Piragibe from Adelaide, who were also riding around the Flinders Ranges for a few days. We all sat down for lunch and had a great catch up. It was icing on the cake for the day’s ride, which was drawing towards its end as long shadows indicated it was time to travel back to Hawker.

The kangaroo carcasses that were strewn along the road told us that riding

late wouldn’t have been a smart move.

Back in Hawker, it was time to se le in and have an early night to prepare for what was to be the most spectacular ride of the weekend.

Sunday saw us up and ready to roll at 9am. A er the obligatory bacon and eggs start, we headed to Blinman via Wilpena Pound. The day was shaping up to be exceptional: cool, sunny and windless.

Nothing could stop the sun hi ing our faces and keeping our line of sight as far as we could see, but the ride was through a close bushy highway, with plenty of curves that kept us more than interested in the ride.

There were a lot of 4x4s on the road and we all agreed that looking at their bullbars, winches and spotlights kept you focused on the fact that we were all sharing the road. The stretches were long enough to ► AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 93

FLINDERS RANGES ■ Motel room for one, anybody?

r From left to right, Charlotte and Robert, Phil Green, Liz Graham and Sandra Green

“Long shadows indicated it was time to travel back to Hawker. The kangaroo carcasses that were strewn along the road told us that riding late wouldn’t have been a smart move” pass on if we needed to and the traffic was intermi ent, which le us mostly to enjoy what we had intended to do: ride.

Wilpena Pound was interesting enough for just the ride there, but was matched by the spectacular scenery of the surrounding country. It had been rapidly changing over the last 10km as we rode into the Pound. Offering a change to the solitary nature of the road and some of the previous places we’d been in, Wilpena Pound was busy, with lots of people around. It was also a differentlooking part of the world from the Eyre Peninsula, with stark-looking trees, hills and colours typically Australian. This great ride was turning out be er than we expected. Our eyes were wide open wherever we went, trying to take it all in.

Travelling from Wilpena Pound to Blinman, 60km north, the ride really

got interesting: long sweeping curves through high-rolling hills, wide open roads (still li ered with ca le grids unfortunately) all set through the amazing backdrop of remote Australia in all its splendour. Our bikes were mainly cruisers, from 650cc to 1700cc. We didn’t need dual-purpose bikes to explore this amazing part of the outback.

Everyone I have talked to since about the Hawker to Blinman via Wilpena Pound ride agrees it’s a great journey, but I seriously think that’s an understatement.

In my opinion it is a significant ride and one definitely worth doing.

On offer at the end of the trip is good food at the Blinman pub, an optional tour at the local mine, and a selection of arts and cra s shops. This capped off the ride nicely, but even be er was that we had the chance to ride back to Hawker via the

■ Great Wall of China near Blinman

■ Hawker Pub and Motel

94 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

road we had just travelled on!

On the way back we stopped at various roadside parks for snapshots, but we could feel the enjoyment was coming to an end as we headed south. A couple more days in the area would have sealed the deal for us, but I see it as another invitation, or excuse, to head back.

Hawker pub beckoned at the end of the day’s ride and finally, bed. With our homes more than 500km away, Monday would be a long ride back to the peninsula. Taking Pichi Richi Pass on the road to Quorn gave us another reason to smile. Quorn is a must do — for the train ride as well as for breakfast at Susan’s restaurant. You've got to love great food.

And you've got to love a great ride with great mates. This ride in the Flinders was also a reminder of what a great country we live in for riding. ARR

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96 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

border crossings

CROSSING OVER STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY: SAM MANICOM ne of the things I love about ge ing together with overlanders, old and new, is the types of conversations that end up rolling. Combine high points and low with anticipation and a beer or 10, and the tales of the road really flow — o en until deep into the night.

It strikes me that one of the biggest fears for new travellers is the issue of border crossings. There’s an edge in the air when this subject comes up, but borders shouldn’t be feared — quite the opposite. It’s a mindset thing in

O

part, though. Crossings are usually a buzz because each is an opportunity to learn and to watch people. Borders are frequently there simply because a faraway colonialist drew a line on a bit of paper. These lines have o en split tribes, and being able to see how generations of lateral development has evolved is fascinating. Take the border between Kenya and Tanzania as an example.

This border split the Masai tribe. On the Kenyan side the men wear vibrant scarlet robes, on the Tanzanian side you are more likely to see a bit of deep purple or mauve going on. The difference between the architecture, geography, customs,

One of the biggest concerns of new two-wheeled travellers abroad is border crossings.

But fear not, they are a diverse experience to be relished clothing and the cultures from one side of the line to the next can be dramatic.

All good? Not a chance. Some of the crossing scenes can be so bad that even your most extreme nightmares won’t have described them to you. But that just makes them even more interesting, doesn’t it? ►

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 97

■ Another sign understood in any language. A minefield this time

Relax, though. You can ease off and really enjoy the border crossing experience if you follow a basic set of rules — or tips if you are easier with that title. Some are fact, some are common sense and some are a tangle of paperwork unfolded. None needs bravery or aggression, and certainly none needs impatience, but sometimes friendly assertiveness is the go. But here’s a brief reality check before I write on: some border crossings are a complete doddle.

They couldn’t be more straightforward or be er sign-posted, or staffed by more pleasant people. Bit of a non-event really.

Thank goodness they aren’t all like that!

I’d like to tell you what some of the tips are but not in any order, because with border crossings that’s the first thing that always seems to be lacking. Order, I mean, and that’s the first tip. Nothing will be as you anticipate, but equally, nothing a crossing throws at you is insurmountable — especially if you have a plan B. Plan B equals peace of mind and that is a very fine thing to arrive at a border with. Know where there’s another border point and you can feel more relaxed —

98 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

“There’s an edge in the air when this subject comes up, but borders shouldn’t be feared — quite the opposite. Crossings are usually a buzz because each is an opportunity to learn and to watch people.” escape routes are a fine thing. It’s so o en the case that one crossing is a pain in the proverbial, but the one 50 miles away is no more than a mini adventure.

One of my favourite techniques is to find out which crossings are the least used. They are o en the easiest and the most fun. Why? The officials there are far more likely to treat you as an interesting event in their day, rather than another hassle. The difference can be huge. It’s a bit like dealing with a mass production line, or a co age industry.

One of the keys to border crossing is to find out how to say hello, please, thank you and goodbye in the language of the country you are rolling into. If you are no good at languages, write them on a bit

of card and keep it handy. Even if people see you reading out the appropriate words, that’s fine. They appreciate you making the effort and strangely, a bit of card reading can work in your favour in another way. “Hello, how are you?” in someone’s language can o en make them think you are fluent! The card makes it pre y obvious you aren’t!

You do have to be on your toes at a crossing, but I think a laid-back a itude laced with respect is the go. Wear the cleanest, neatest clothes you have. Hunt out officials as soon as you can — don’t be surprised if you find them in an unmarked hut! Treat the officials with the respect of a handshake, a smile and a greeting, and they will o en welcome

border crossings ■ A sign understood by everyone, regardless of language

■ The essentials for India

you as an individual rather than an inconvenience in their day.

Try to stay the night at a town close to the border. This means you’ll be fresh, and it’s easy for you to get to the border as it opens. Crossing points are usually closed at night and have differing opening times, so ask the locals. By starting at opening time you have the whole day to deal with stressed officials and their paperwork.

And you are far less vulnerable to bribery requests because you haven’t put yourself under end-of-day time pressure.

I don’t like paying bribes. Each time a bribe is paid, the next traveller to arrive is likely to have double trouble. Besides that, paying a bribe is the easy way out.

Why do that? You are on the road to experience new things and to deal with new challenges, aren’t you? This is one.

Get stuck in with style and an open mind and the chances are you’ll enjoy each grubby hand that gets stretched out in your direction. But don’t be a purist. Every traveller has to accept that sooner or later there will be a time where a bribe simply has to be paid. It might be a life or death situation, or it may be a trip-killing moment. ►

■ A military checkpoint in Ecuador

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 99

One thing to do before the crossing day dawns is to fill your fuel and water bo les and get stocked up with easy-toeat food such as peanuts, biscuits and boiled sweets. You’ll be happy if the next day turns into a long one, and as you are going through the day, sharing your goodies can make you friends. A boiled sweet in that grubby hand is o en all that’s needed.

Besides such practicalities, these border towns can be enthrallingly fascinating. Just mind yourself, though.

Do get your bike off the street overnight, even if it’s into the reception area of the dive you are staying in. The people you can meet in the border eateries can be real fun. You’ll be mingling with smugglers, escapees from the law, runaway husbands, merchants and truck drivers. On several occasions truck drivers have actually helped me through a border the next day. They know which offices a vehicle driver needs to go to, which bit of paper has to be signed or stamped by who, and they always know where to get the best cup of coffee.

The last town before the border line is also a great opportunity to get rid of excess local currency and to buy some for the next country. This means you aren’t so vulnerable to the money sharks at the border crossing itself. These guys are o en complete rogues and are excellent to chat with as a result. And sometimes

r Cash gets you places and out of places too

their sleight-of-hand antics are as top rate as the best magicians! Probably ought to count your fingers as well as the folding stuff… Do keep enough loot for any likely official fees, though.

When you are ge ing ready to do your crossing, you can make life easier for yourself. Have a bag just for your paperwork. I use an A4 plastic zip wallet.

That’s passport, carnet, inoculation certificates, your bike registration documents, your driving licences and

plenty of photocopies of the lot. You’ll need ‘em. Border crossings are black holes for paperwork copies.

Leaving your bike una ended while you deal with the officials? The reality is that most people are honest, however poor, but don’t put temptation in their way. I’ve never had anything nicked from my bike. Knobs and switches diddled, but no the . But I do work on the premise that one day it’ll happen. Anything hanging off my bike at a crossing is ■ You’ll find great food stalls at border crossings in Asia

■ Witchdoctors’ stand in Kenya

100 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

border crossings ■ A laid-back post in Mali

r Boiled egg stall at the India/Pakistan border. Beats a hamburger!

something I can afford to lose if I have to.

A bit of night-before luggage-juggling a chore, but it’s that peace of mind thing again.

You usually buy vehicle insurance at the border. There will o en be a shack or a ta y office by the roadside and sometimes they are unmarked — that’s a people-watching moment. Where are others doing their vehicle entry thing heading? Faisal the insurance man’s sister’s brother-in-law’s uncle’s aunt just

happens to have a border shop selling pots and pans so it’s the logical place to base his insurance empire…

Is the policy you track down worth having? I suspect that in some countries it has no value other than to appease a policeman if you get into trouble. Be warned, it’s not unheard of that you have to ride uninsured and without tax to the next town to hunt out the right office. It’s all part of the game. And don’t forget to have your senses firing on all cylinders

on your first miles. This is your chance to start learning the rules of the road in the new country. What an amazing difference that line on a map can make.

Take South Africa as an example. A car comes up behind you and indicates to overtake but doesn’t. He flashes his lights and hammers his horn. You feel obliged to move over to the edge of your lane, in spite of the fact that there’s plenty of space for him to overtake. That’s the way overtaking is done. The vehicle in front ►

r 'Peace to all men'. An ominous message at a border crossing!

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 101

border crossings

“None needs bravery or aggression, and certainly none needs impatience, but sometimes friendly assertiveness is the go”

r Get used to queues

r Those panniers have been around a bit

102 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

is supposed to get out of the way so the faster vehicle behind can keep on his bullet-like trajectory!

At many crossings you’ll be mobbed by young men offering to help you through the offices and the paperwork. They will want to be paid, of course, but they can make your life a lot easier. I don’t see this as bribery by the way; to me they are just making a living. Having said that, we try to work our way through everything ourselves. With no time pressure because we are among the first to start the day, and because we have a fascination for what is happening, the adventure is usually a fun and confusing mix. Oh — and when local people doing their own paperwork see you having a go for yourself, they’ll o en help you along.

One of the border crossings from

my round-the-world trip stands out rather strongly, but not for reasons I’d anticipated. The stand-out feature was the surprise on the customs officials' faces when my partner Birgit had, um, dealt with a problem. It takes her quite a while to get impatient, but when she does she can be a tad feisty. Being only 5’1”, she gets away with plain speaking where I wouldn’t have a cat’s chance.

The tang of stale body odour hung in the air around the customs officers who’d quickly started what we thought was the usual game of hassle. Ah, so we don’t have entry stamps for our bikes in our passports — I had a mental groan at this point; here comes a fine. Apparently when we’d crossed into Guatemala, the Aduana should have stamped our passports to confirm that our bikes had ►

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“Fear border crossings? You’ll be surprised at how much fun they can be, how many surprises they can hold, how much you can learn, and how many amazing people you’ll meet”

r Get a full tank of fuel on board before crossing

104 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

entered the country with us. They hadn’t done so and we hadn’t known that they should. Birgit wasn’t having any of it. She told the officers in a firm but friendly way, “It’s not our problem. Your officials should be well trained enough to do their jobs properly, and if they aren’t, then it’s up to you to sort out the situation.” The officers

looked a bit stunned for a moment and then, seeing the friendly but determined look in her eye, the senior officer gave in.

“You are right,” he said. “One day these young officers will learn. Please accept our apologies.” Didn’t expect that!

Fear border crossings? You’ll be surprised at how much fun they can be, how many surprises they can hold, how much you can learn, and how many amazing people you’ll meet. Talk straight, be friendly, and enjoy the sensation of being between worlds. It’s a ball. ARR Sam Manicom travelled around the world by motorcycle for eight years, covering five continents and 200,000 miles.

He is the author of four highly rated travel books — Into Africa, Under Asian Skies, Distant Suns and Tortillas to Totems.

All are available from Amazon either in paperback or e-book format. His first book is now released as an audio book for download. All his books are available from www.adventuremoto.com.au and www. sam-manicom.com.

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hearing protection

STORY: MICK MATHESON PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK, ARR y late aunt always insisted she’d rather go blind than deaf. “I’d be distraught if I couldn’t listen to music,” she’d say. I’d argue the opposite point.

You can’t ride motorcycles when you’re blind, can you? I’d diligently cover my eyes when I rode. Today I still hit the road looking for adventure with excellent vision.

But the music doesn’t sound as nice anymore. I’m sure it’s not quite as distinct or crisp as it used to be, and the highpitched ringing is not feedback on the soundtrack but the nagging annoyance of tinnitus. Too late, I have become diligent about protecting my ears as much as my eyes. I’m not alone in my suffering, either.

One in six Aussies suffers reduced hearing and the proportion is rising. Almost a million Australians have damaged ears through exposure to excessive noise.

Hearing loss and its associated conditions are common to motorcyclists. It’s not loud exhausts that do the damage — they’re nothing compared with the roar inside your helmet when you ride, a sound that is literally deafening.

If you stood under a jet aircra ’s engine running at take-off speed for a minute or so, you’d probably suffer hearing damage, yet the noise levels inside a motorcycle helmet when we ride can be almost as high — and we ride for hours at a time, for years of our lives. ►

M

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 107

■ Wind noise on a naked bike is potentially very noisy, but some badly designed fairings can be worse

STEREOS Understandably, riders with stereo systems on their bikes are reluctant to wear anything that would block the music. You need a very good fairing and screen to make an on-board stereo system useful while you ride, for two reasons. First, the music has to compete with the wind noise, which means one rock concept is trying to drown out another. Second, the breeze reduces the clarity of the music. Touring bikes with cut-down screens look cool but their style ruins the ambience.

Bikes like the Goldwing, Ultra Glide and Spyder RT have windjamming fairings that produce a pocket of reasonably quiet, still air in the cockpit. You might get away without hearing protection on them at highway speeds. A rule of thumb is that if you can hold a conversation with your pillion using a slightly raised voice, your cockpit is probably quiet enough. Not many bikes achieve this.

If you wear earplugs designed to block the frequencies of wind noise, you’ll still get decent clarity out of your stereo if you turn up the volume a bit more.

Victory’s Cross Country has a fairing that makes it easier to listen to the music played from the bike’s own stereo

WHAT IS TOO LOUD? The generally agreed safe maximum noise level is 85dB. That’s louder than an idling ADR-compliant bike and about equal to a vacuum cleaner. In a workplace health and safety situation, you could do a full eight-hour shi without being required to wear hearing protection. Above about 90dB, things are ge ing bad. Fire up the lawn mower (91dB, in our example) and your ears will

108 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

be OK if you get the job done within a couple of hours, the time it takes for that level of noise to do irreversible damage to your hearing (though your workplace safety officer would demand you don earmuffs if it’s your job).

On your bike, dangerous volumes arrive once you cruise above about 50km/h. Testing by German helmet maker Schuberth found that wind noise around a helmet averaged 100-104dB, for which safe exposure time ranges from 15 minutes down to only seven. This was at highway speeds and the faster you go, the louder it gets. For 115dB, a level most of us will experience at times, it’s not even one minute. None of this lets us go for a decent ride, does it?

To reach jet-engine noise levels you’d be doing licence-losing speeds, but when you consider that a legal-speed ride should never last more than an hour — usually less — before you hurt your ears forever, the situation isn’t a happy one for us motorcycle enthusiasts. Every time you get off your bike and your ears

are ringing, you’ve damaged them. I bet you’ve experienced this frequently.

But there is an answer: prevention through protection. And it’s pre y simple.

EARPLUGS: THE ONLY OPTION? “You can sit behind a good screen, wear a quality helmet without vents and wrap a scarf around your neck to reduce wind noise, but the best and easiest way to protect your hearing is to wear earplugs,” says Aaron Dalle-Molle of Earmold. He and Julie Dalle-Molle make their living from hearing protection with a business that covers every aspect from huge commercial contracts to making custom earplugs for individual riders.

Nothing else works as well as earplugs. Whether they’re foam, rubber or silicone, they will do the job well.

The key is to ensure they fit well and are in good condition. “If you have a big ear with a small plug, it’s like a bath that leaks water,” says Aaron. “A large plug won’t fit well in a small ear either.

hearing protection HOW IS HEARING DAMAGED?

r Sadly, a nice sounding, better looking and performance improving exhaust could be bad for your hearing

Fitment is the crucial thing.”

A good set of earplugs will not block all noise but they will take away the damaging effects of wind noise. “The frequency of wind noise is in the 30005000Hz range, so that’s the critical one to block,” Aaron says. Independent tests of Earmold’s InstaMold custom-made plugs, which happened in increments from 125Hz to 8000Hz, showed they were at their best at 4000Hz, where they blocked an average of 41.5dB. This means that if the helmet is experiencing that 100-104dB measured by Schuberth, an InstaMold user’s ears would only experience a safe 60-odd decibels.

■ Riding fast can create noise levels in your helmet almost equal to being beside a jet engine at take-off speed

The effect is slightly smaller at other frequencies, so other sounds may come through more clearly — a conversation, music, car horns etc.

Other earplugs will have different levels of noise reduction. Aaron says Heardefenders, the ribbed rubber plugs, are rated for 12 or 24dB of a enuation, depending upon whether they have one or two filters. “Any protection is be er than none at all,” he says. The material and methods used to make the plugs play important roles and it involves nanotechnology. “InstaMold uses 11 sizes of filler, not one like some, creating a molecular maze to buffer the sound,”

Odd as it may seem, your hearing relies primarily on the health of tiny hairs deep inside your ear. I’m not talking about the hairs that seem to sprout from your ear hole as you age, but those inside the cochlea where they should be safe. When sound pressure enters your ear, it causes vibration in the hairs which, like guitar strings, vibrate differently according to their length. The vibration causes electrical signals to flow to your brain, which interprets the sound.

Excessive sound pressure damages the hairs and will even break them.

It’s like playing your guitar with a hammer, except in this case you can’t replace the strings. Once they’re gone, they’re gone and you’re deaf.

As the hairs deteriorate, so does your hearing, and on the way you can suffer maladies like tinnitus. Hearing loss usually starts with a decreasing ability to hear higher frequencies, but in the end all frequencies will be affected if you continue to be exposed to excessive noise.

Aaron says. Like a bike’s exhaust system, the more difficult it is for sound waves to find their way through, the quieter it gets.

Even foam plugs do this well, but Aaron cautions they are, as the packet says, throw-away items. Use them once and as soon as they’ve been compressed and then expanded again, their structure ► will have been compromised and their

■ Adding a deflector like this Wunderlich unit to your screen can reduce wind noise

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 109

■ Here’s an earful: The poor little cochlea has no defence against loud noise, and once it’s damaged your hearing will not recover

UNDERSTANDING DECIBELS Decibels (dB) are a measure of sound pressure, not volume per se. How “loud” something seems to be can vary depending upon its frequency (or pitch) and other factors, which is why a low-pitched sound reaching your ears at, say, 70dB may sound quieter than a high-pitched noise measuring the same 70dB. It’s possible to selectively block specific frequencies more than others. You can reduce wind noise by targeting its frequency range. Tests of Earmold’s InstaMold plugs indicate they cut wind noise by around 41.5dB (4000hZ frequency) but sounds coming in at 1000Hz is chopped by 26.9dB. The decibel scale is parabolic, meaning it does not rise in steady increments like the temperature scale. Rather, it’s an ever-steepening curve so that the difference between 10dB and 20dB is much less than the

110 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

effect will be reduced by as much as 50 per cent. Don’t buy a set, buy a pocketful.

One point to remember is that the Australian Standard that rates hearing protection sets a higher benchmark than the European and American standards, so anything with the AS mark has been rated at a superior level.

The bo om line is that only proper earplugs will really protect your hearing.

Anything else is just fiddling at the edges.

HELMETS Some helmets are quieter than others, but no helmet is good enough to bring wind noise down to an acceptable level, not even the top-shelf brands. You should wear hearing protection under any helmet. In many ways, making a helmet quiet works against its safety by increasing weight, reducing ventilation and even making it uncomfortably tight.

As Shoei states in its literature, silence “achieved at the expense of safety and comfort … is not an option”.

The best you’ll find in Australia is BMW’s System 6 EVO helmet. BMW is one of the rare companies to make a specific claim about the volume levels inside the helmet — 84-86dB, a very respectable figure barely louder than an idling ADRcompliant bike, but also on the cusp of where noise begins to harm your hearing.

Most helmets are much louder inside.

Many factors influence the volume inside a helmet, from its overall shape through external protrusions to the padding inside. Venting is one of the

rAn adjustable screen lets you set it to minimise noise.

The R1200RT can be highly effective at reducing the volume

biggest creators of noise: “Airflow through a helmet’s vents is that whistling noise you hear,” Aaron says, adding that the quietest helmet he has is an old one made before vents became a feature. One thing that can spoil an otherwise good helmet is if it has gaps around your ears. The gaps may be designed to accept the speakers of a headset, but they can act like li le noiseenhancing chambers. On the other hand, padding pressed firmly against your ear has a beneficial damping effect.

Add a camera to the helmet and you’ll increase the noise you experience.

The other thing to consider is the combination of your bike’s fairing (or lack of it) and your helmet’s aerodynamics.

Sometimes they complement each other to good effect; other times they clash, making wind noise worse.

You can reduce the volume inside your lid by keeping the visor tightly shut and fi ing some kind of wind deflector around the base of the helmet, around your neck, to seal it off.

FAIRINGS A fairing is not always the answer to your ears’ prayers. We’ve tested naked bikes that are quieter to ride than some full-faired bikes. The airflow over a screen and around a fairing can be smooth and quiet, or it can be rough and noisy. The wind might be pushed out wide and over the top of you, or it might skim over the screen and slam into your helmet. Don’t count on bodywork to give

hearing protection you peace and quiet as you ride.

You can try fi ing an a ermarket screen of a different shape or a clampon wind deflector to improve a fairing’s performance. You could also try changing to a different helmet, but that quickly becomes a very expensive experiment!

In my experience, the bigger the fairing and screen, the more still and quiet things are behind it. There have been some exceptions, including some barn-door screens that allow the wind to tumble over the top and pummel your ears, but most are pre y good. Some are great, such as the new Harley tourers (as long as they wear the taller screens) and Spyder RTs. Others are consistently good, like the Guzzi California Touring, Triumph Trophy 1200 with its screen dialled up, new BMW R 1200 RT with its screen raised at least a li le, and more.

Still, none is ideal. You could get away with doing shorter rides every now and then, but on tour you’d be be er off pu ing in the earplugs most of the time. On any bike with lesser protection, the fairing will not reduce the volume sufficiently to excuse you from blocking your ears.

MUSIC IN YOUR EAR Piping music into your helmet is a good thing for your hearing, or it can be.

However, using plugs that don’t block external noise will only force you to

crank up the volume and therefore do even more damage to your precious cochlea. Speakers mounted in your helmet are likely to be no be er, as they’re not stopping those external sounds either.

Most MP3 or i-thingy players can pump out over 100dB at full volume.

That’s well into going-deaf territory.

Think about it: If you’re riding along with the dial cranked more than 80 per cent of the way to maximum, you’re adding a dangerous level of noise to the already excessive volumes in your helmet. Not a good idea.

However, noise-a enuating devices which can also play music are brilliant.

Not only do they block unwanted noise, they permit you to keep the music volume down to a safe level.

A QUIETER RIDE The next frontier in hearing protection for riders might be noise-cancelling helmets, though there appear to be many technical issues to overcome so don’t hold your breath. The technology is already well established in headsets and even custom-fi ed earplugs, but they block frequencies not associated with wind noise. Until we get a breakthrough there, every ride you go on is damaging your hearing more and more unless you wear earplugs that fit and seal properly.

WEARING EARPLUGS At first, wearing earplugs feels wrong.

You can’t hear properly, they feel uncomfortable, they’re another delay before you finally get geared up to ride. But as everyone who’s in the habit of using them knows, those early impressions vanish after a few goes and then riding without earplugs is the thing that feels wrong.

You can hear with earplugs in – you can hear close traffic, sirens and conversation, albeit not as easily as without plugs. It’ll depend a lot upon whether the plugs are most effective in the 3000-5000Hz range where wind noise exists.

After wearing earplugs for a while, it’s a shock to go without them. The noise is awful – so bad you suddenly understand why your hearing would suffer so badly.

Those of us in the habit of doing it every time will never willingly go without ear protection, while those who don’t bother will soon regret it when they realise the ringing in their ears is louder than the conversation they’re struggling to hear. Riding with ear protection not only protects your hearing, it reduces fatigue and increases the pleasure of your ride. ARR

r Only use noise-attenuating earplugs with music players or you may increase r Your helmet and your bike’s screen may complement each other or conflict, sending the damage to your ears decibels down or up respectively

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 111

HITS AND MISSES When they get it wrong, it’s very wrong.

But when they get it right, it can be amazing

â– Born on the 1920s, the motorised monowheel was one of those inventions that didn't have great success. An excellent innovation with roots back to hand and pedal powered contraptions in the 19th century, they are a novelty to see these days!

112 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

MOTORCYCLE TECHNOLOGY

STORY: MATTHEW SHIELDS ar out, improbable and sometimes stupid — all sorts of innovative ideas in motorcycle technology have come and gone in a flash or remained to become the norm. They’re the things that could spell disaster or success for any new motorcycle. Very li le separates a stroke of genius from a mistake.

In the world of motorcycle design and manufacture, mistakes used to be made on a regular basis. Brands arrived, released a handful of models and then vanished again. These days, a model’s success or failure is imperative — for the shareholders as much as anything else — and with all the money invested by manufacturers to produce products that sell, misguided advancements in motorcycle innovation don’t o en happen. But that’s not to say they don’t.

There have been many memorable blunders in motorcycling over the years, caused by many things: manufacturers telling consumers what they want, trying to get something to market too quickly with not enough R&D, legislation governing development direction, or a failed a empt at creating a “revolutionary new direction in design and performance”.

These days, focus groups, market research and the all-deciding dollar have dictated the way in which development of motorcycles has occurred. As a result, there are a lot of fantastic technology and design features available on new motorcycles that weren’t imaginable a few years ago. ABS, traction control, mode selector switches, electronically controlled suspension adjustment, big-bang firing engines and adaptive headlights are just a few great innovations that improve our experience today. But that’s not to say some things don’t slip through the net and make it to showroom floors where they o en sit, covered in dust, until their price drops low enough to a ract a purchase.

Here we look at some developments in motorcycling that missed the mark, and others that have made it. Some learnt by their mistakes and got be er, some hit the ground running, and others faded away into history as quickly as they arrived. ►

F

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 113

Z-SPOKE It was touted as the “greatest invention since the wheel”: Yamaha’s Z-spoke. By using a long, single spoke that crossed from one side of the wheel rim to the other via tabs on the hub, it made the wheels somewhat lighter. It also made the wheels somewhat dangerous as they broke the cross-over tabs at alarming rates.

Introduced to the YZ in 1984, they didn’t see the light of day in 1985 on the MXers. The trials-model TYs got away with running them because of the lower stresses placed on them.

But they weren’t to last much longer.

r Set to be the greatest thing since the wheel, the Z-spoke was anything but

114 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

SEAT BELTS AND EJECTOR SEATS Honda was reportedly working on a seat belt system fi ed to an ejector seat only a few years ago, as indicated by patents lodged at the time. Pegged to work on the likes of their big touring machines — ■ Looks like an amusement park ride!

where you won’t be hanging off the side of it — the patents drawn show a seat belt a ached to an “ejector” seat that separates from the bike in the event of a crash.

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather control my destiny in a crash, not my seat…

MOTORCYCLE TECHNOLOGY ENCLOSED CANOPY SCOOTERS There have a been a few enclosed canopy scooters over the years, but none of them tried to appeal to car drivers more than the BMW C1. With the convenience of a scooter, plus many safety features of a car, the C1 was built to be ridden without a helmet. It featured roll bars, a roll cage and aircraft-like seating harness.

In the end it was underpowered, overweight and top heavy.

An electric version of the C1 has been shown in the past few years, but nothing has come of it. Instead, BMW has gone to the market with its more standard-styled C-evolution electric scooter. The other canopied scooters, like the Benelli Adiva (folding roof stored in top box), were for weather protection, not safety like the C1.

■ Enclosed canopy scooters are great in

PILLION SEAT STRAPS Pillion seat straps had a place in the past. Back in the days of flat, wide, plush seats, pillion straps helped a passenger stay put on the back of a bike. But seats aren’t always like that, and bikes move a lot quicker, so why do manufacturers continue to stick them on the pillion seat of every bike that doesn’t have some sort of pillion grab rail?

Some markets, like Austria, Germany and some US states, have required some sort of passenger grab handle by law. No doubt a law wri en by someone who’s never been pillion on a 200hp superbike and tried to hold onto a seat strap…

ELF BIKES Remember the Elf 500s of the ‘80s and ‘90s? In the melting pot of Grand Prix racing’s technical innovations, the Elf 500 was both good and bad.

Responsible for the revolutionary turbo-charged F1 Renault in its day, expectations were high when Elf sought to expand its development involvement from four-wheel racing to two. A er being involved from the early ‘70s in smaller sponsorship roles, Elf put in a bigger effort financially and developmentally from the late ‘70s for a decade.

From the angular dustbin fairings

like the Gilera CX125’s, through the swingarm front-end of the Yamaha GTS1000 and Bimota Tesi, to the underslung rear shock a la Buell, the influences of the Elf racer’s innovations have been few but impressive. Then there’s the really beaut stuff: a carbonfibre chassis in the mid-‘80s that was never raced; the single-sided swingarm patent adopted by Honda, dubbed ProArm; and using the engine as the bike’s main frame.

Some of Elf’s innovations achieved only fleeting success in history, but the good ones remain and those that didn’t weren’t bad at all.

■ Elf’s technical innovation was good, rarely bad and sometimes ugly ■ Pillion seat straps are one of the least efficient ways of ensuring a pillion stays on

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 115

THE 16IN WHEEL The emergence of the 16in front wheel on production sportsbikes sits high on the list of bad stuff from the ‘80s, a decade that also brought us big hair, neon, shoulder pads, stonewashed jeans and Milli Vanilli. It earned notoriety a er its appearance on Italian sportsbikes and sports-tourers like the Moto Guzzi Mark IV/V Le Mans, Bimota DB1, Ducati Paso and early 851, but was at its worst on the heavyweight Japanese fourcylinder sportsbikes like the Kawasaki GPz900R and, worst of all, Suzuki

GSX1100EFE. Honda tried to re-think the concept on the first CBR900RR FireBlades in the ‘90s, using a different tyre profile and chassis geometry, but it failed again.

Development of the 16in wheel began in the late ‘70s as tyres and wheel sizes evolved in pursuit of be er handling in bikes that were ge ing rapidly more powerful. Front-wheel sizes plunged from the standard 19in down to 17 and 16, encouraged by the characteristics of the new radial tyres with ultra-low profiles. The 16in wheel didn’t last long

■ Beautiful to look at, but those wheels didn’t help the Ducati F1 750’s handling.

■ Honda’s Goldwing airbag, released in 2006, was 16 years in the making

116 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

thanks to the bad-handling dynamics they gave — they stood the bike up if you braked in corners and made many models prone to disastrous tankslappers. Engineers quickly went up to 17s, where they se led on the now ubiquitous 120/70 radial size, with a few smaller deviations here and there. You can still find a few 16s on recent models, but its application doesn’t tend to go further than cruisers, scooters and a few obscure commuter models, and they’re typically higher-profile tyres than the failed hoops of the ‘80s.

■ Honda’s 16-inch wheeled Fireblade heads the 1992 model line-up

ON-BIKE AIRBAGS The production airbag made its debut on Honda’s Goldwing and was dubbed the Motorcycle Airbag System (MAS). At first it sounded like a silly idea, fi ing a motorcycle with an airbag. But sobering quotes from Honda said crash data from Japan’s Institute for Traffic Accidents Research and Data Analysis (ITARDA) in 2003 indicated most injuries and fatalities occurred in head-on crashes. No doubt, with a bit of pressure from government to try to curb the trend — as Japan is the world’s biggest motorcycle producer — Honda decided the airbag was a logical way to save lives and thus the MAS was born.

Honda had researched airbags on motorcycles since 1990 and brought the system to market in 2006 as a model option of the Goldwing.

Detecting impact via sensors and deploying in 0.015 seconds, the system does have merit; there are reported cases of it saving riders’ lives. But where and when will we see it next?

MOTORCYCLE TECHNOLOGY ROTARY DAMPERS Rotary dampers have a smooth and controlled damping action that can be tuned to a very finite point. Used in suspension systems, they can give superb suspension actuation. On Suzuki’s 1997 TL1000S, it didn’t.

The system overheated and faded, turning the rear shock into a pogo stick. The TL1000S gained notoriety for its handling characteristics and was recalled and fi ed with a steering damper.

A year later the heavy, long and low TL1000R was released to show the TL wasn’t evil. But the spark was gone and, with the eventual discontinuation of the TL1000R, so too was the rotary damper rear shock. The system works brilliantly in F1 racing. It allows manufacturers to build a more compact suspension system, resulting in a shorter wheelbase, so maybe Suzuki or another manufacturer will be brave ■ Suzuki’s TL1000S was built to be a Ducati beater, but ended up beating itself with its rear shock enough to give it a go again.

■ Dainese’s airbag is at the forefront of airbag development

AIRBAG JACKETS/ LEATHERS A highly innovative aspect of motorcycle safety of late, the airbag has started to show its merits a er a bit of a rough start. On the road-riding side of things, it was all too easy to get your hands on a cheaply produced, unprotective motorcycle jacket with a pocketful of CO2 bo les, a collar of inflatable plastic and

a bungee cord to tie to the bike. It was a simple way to inflate the airbag, but fraught with problems. On the racetrack, there’ve been many anecdotes from the likes of Jorge Lorenzo ge ing annoyed with airbags not working like they should. But those were in the early days.

The development of the airbag in riding gear has occurred at the highest level of speed and consequence: MotoGP.

And the results show it.

The airbag as part of protective riding gear is a lot more complex these days. Dainese’s D-air system operates independently of the motorcycle and incorporates acceleration, gyroscopic and GPS sensors to determine if you are in a crash and then deploy the airbag. Almost intuitive, the airbag is highly effective in a crash.

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 117

SERVO BRAKES A servo in the brake system takes braking input and amplifies it to highlight intention rather than effect: a squeeze on the lever that would have just washed off a few kilometres an hour now has you sliding into the tank if a servo is fi ed. Servos can be a good thing — they weren’t always. Servos have been around on motorcycle brakes from the early days, when most drum systems operated with a servo-effect by the leading shoe.

The problem arose with the early electronic servos. BMW’s first EVO system wasn’t as refined as it should have been.

The electrically power-assisted brakes with an ABS system had a different feel to them. The servo boosted power to the calipers, but low-speed control was something the system made difficult — a word that should never be associated with a braking system. The servo didn’t operate without the ignition on.

Most worryingly though, if the rider didn’t go through a correct startup procedure, they could ride away without any brakes and the system was rumoured to have the odd glitch that wasn’t shown on any data analysers.

At ARR, we had many dangerous experiences with them. Years into their life since release, reports of servos failing

are becoming increasingly common.

But haven’t things changed? BMW’s current Integral ABS uses a brake booster and the feel, control and power in the system is superb. It is undoubtedly at the forefront of braking systems on roadbikes.

Even sportsbikes are dabbling with servos like Honda’s ABS-equipped CBRs, which copped a bit of criticism for their earlier system. The “brake-by-wire” system uses a control unit to convert brake lever

pressure to electronic power units to generate pressure on the brake pistons.

This system allows a more finite ABS response as it is monitoring more of the braking system than just wheel speed.

Thanks to the power they produce, and teamed with ABS and great feel, a well-designed servo-braking system is great and you can only imagine they’ll be more prevalent in motorcycling in years to come.

■ Honda’s limited edition CBR1000RR with servo-assisted ABS

COUNTERSHAFT DISC BRAKE (ATK)

r The countershaft brake shed precious weight off the rear wheel helping suspension actuation when shocks needed all the help they could get!

118 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

From frame-builder to motorcycle maker, ATK took to building its own Rotax-powered machine a er its success building light and sharp frames for Honda XRs. The early models featured a countersha disc brake. Its advantages included reduced unsprung weight on the rear wheel and therefore be er suspension actuation.

Suspension advancement was at the forefront of motocross development from the mid-‘70s as engine performance improved in leaps and bounds. In the old numbers, a foot (30cm) of suspension travel wasn’t unheard of by the early ‘80s. Handling improved a vast amount thanks to the likes of the Monoshock (1975), Full Floater suspension (1981) and alloy frames (1997). The heavy and complex countersha brake never made that much of an impact in suspension development.

MOTORCYCLE TECHNOLOGY TURBOS Turbocharging a streetbike is not the stuff of dreams as it used to be. It is now possible any day of the week, and there are some great Aussie tuners that specialise in fi ing turbochargers to bikes. Chances are you’ll see one at your local beachside ride destination any given sunny weekend.

Kawasaki kicked off the turbo craze in 1978 with the Z1R TC — a stock Z1R fi ed with an American Turbo Pak compressor in the States — and ended it with the

GPz750 Turbo in 1985. The first production turbocharged motorcycle was the Honda CX500. Other turbocharged motorcycles include the Suzuki XN85, Yamaha Seca and Honda CX650.

Turbos were o en fi ed to smallercapacity motorcycles to produce the same sort of power as a bigger engine. The turbo became obsolete on production bikes as larger-capacity machines improved power and torque characteristics and fuel economy,

cancelling any advantages the smallercapacity turbos may have had.

The future for production-fi ed turbos lies in the development of systems to run on small petrol engines.

This development path is set to be more for emissions and economy than performance, but nonetheless it’d be something to brag about!

But is the future rooted in superchargers? Kawasaki’s incredible new H2R may be the proof.

■ The 80s was a great time long passed for turbos like the CX650. Hopefully, Kawasaki’s new H2R signals a new era of turbine assitance!

ROTARY ENGINES Rotaries were all the rage for a stint in the mid ‘70s a er MZ built the first one in 1960. BSA tried to build one that became the Norton Classic, Yamaha showed one, Kawasaki tested one, Honda was rumoured to have had one coming and

Norton came late to the party with the Commander and F1 in the late ‘80s.

Rotary engines produce high power from small-capacity engines. But 46kW for the 500cc RE5 and a 255kg wet weight weren’t enough to save it. The weight gain was through complex systems

to cool the Wankel engine. BSA’s twinrotor design was put into production

by Norton in the Classic. The Roton race bike built by ex-Norton mechanic Brian Crighton and Aussie Chris Oldfield scored a point in GP racing, but never got the financial backing to secure its future.

■ Suzuki’s RE5 is the best known rotary motorcycle, but it was way too heavy to make a good name for itself

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 119

TESTING,TESTING ■ The Symmetry is a close fit that doesn’t flap in the breeze despite its light build

DRIRIDER SYMMETRY JACKET This has to be one of the most comfortable, unrestrictive motorcycle jackets I’ve worn, thanks mostly to the DriRider Symmetry’s light weight and suppleness. In my opinion it has li ed the bar for comfort, because unlike other lightweight jackets I’ve tried, it doesn’t flap about all that much in the breeze and it’s warmer than you’d expect. This last point may not seem that important at this time of year, but when I began testing the Symmetry, winter hadn’t let go.

It was a chilly six degrees the first morning I rode in it, wearing only a longsleeve T-shirt underneath, but that was enough. I was cool, but not cold. That was a long day and the temperature dropped as I rode into the night. By then I was wearing a jumper as well, but I was fine.

The windproof design, relatively close fit and, most importantly, the effective thermal liner conspire to give this jacket more warmth than you’d expect when you check it out in the showroom.

Now that the warm weather’s here, I’ve le the lining behind and admire the Symmetry’s lack of sweatiness on all but the ho est days. This jacket isn’t vented and its waterproof lining, while breathable, is stitched inside the lining so can’t be removed. This keeps a fair bit of heat in, though I’ve found that opening the cuffs and main zip a bit helps relieve it. Once again, the light weight is a benefit and this jacket’s a lot be er than many non-vented ones.

The fit for me is excellent, which obviously helps, but another aspect I like is the unobtrusive nature of the armour in the elbows, shoulders and back. The elbow and shoulder armour meets CE standards so must work well, but it doesn’t pull or poke. The EVA back pad is light so you barely notice it’s there and it doesn’t hang heavy and drag the collar against your neck — but its high density should prove beneficial in an impact.

The Dri-Tec H2O waterproof lining has worked well to date and is assisted by the water-repellent Teflon coating on the outer material. There’s a generous storm flap inside the exposed main zip.

I wouldn’t expect the Symmetry to last a long day in the rain without some dampness seeping in around the edges, but then again it had surprised me in other ways already.

The lighter and more supple feel comes from the fact it’s made from 500 denier nylon, a bit lighter than usual. Its level of safety in a crash is kept fairly high, with triple stitching in critical areas, a tough main zip and the ability to zip the bo om to matched pants. The waist and

Look what we’ve got for you this month: a set of adventure tyres, a waterproof jacket, full-face lid and a u-beaut turntable! arms can be cinched tighter for a be er fit too.

Typically of Dri-Rider, the Symmetry incorporates a bunch of thoughtful design touches. It has plenty of pockets, all with zips and all of them either waterproof or under the waterproof layer: two outer pockets, one inside the le breast, and two low inside the front panels. These are duplicated in the thermal lining, which I really like because it means you’ve got the same set-up summer or winter. There’s an additional pocket inside (also duplicated on the liner) for your mobile phone or MP3 player, secured by a Velcro strap. Above it, elastic loops provide a secure route for the player’s cable on its way to your ears.

The polyester lining is so and pleasant against your skin, as is the rolled neoprene collar. All the outer zips have large tabs so they’re simple to use with gloves on.

I like the look and cut of the Symmetry, and being a more traditional bloke I went for the black one. Trendier guys might prefer the brown Symmetry now that this colour is back in fashion.

Actually, I almost wish I had got the brown one as it does look good, but I guess I don’t appreciate new fashions until they’re about to become old ones.

I do appreciate this DriRider jacket, though. It’s billed as a sports-touring jacket, and while it’s too light for serious sports riding, it’s also a good option around town and for a casual cruise. It’s comfy, inexpensive and performs well above expectations.

— MICK MATHESON

DETAILS

■ Zip-out thermal lining is soft and toasty

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■ The zip is exposed but the wide storm flap underneath blocks wind and water

Price: $299.95 Colours: Black, brown Sizes: S–6XL Info: www.dririder.com.au, 1300 300 191

product reviews PIRELLI SCORPION RALLY

The current crop of adventure bikes are fantastically suited to riding Australia, but like a cheap pair of hiking boots, you wouldn’t consider their standard tyres for serious adventure riding. In standard form, with only a couple of exceptions, standard tyres on adventure bikes err on the side of comfort and road on-handling over off-road performance. A lot of big adventure bikes won’t see red dirt, back country trails, beaches or sand dunes in their lifetimes, so it makes sense in a global market that manufacturers select these tyres for standard fitment.

But I’d include myself in that group of people who like to take these big adventure bikes off the beaten track. To do this it’s vital to fit a tyre capable of harnessing an adventure bike’s massive

power, as well as providing excellent directional control and a good lifespan.

Ten years ago, riding the Gawler Ranges, the Flinders National Park and the red dirt between them, I was struggling on a very worn rear hoop a er four days on the bike. Times have changed and these days tyre life is a very important factor when 100 horsepower is the base output in the adventure class.

At the top end of the scale you can have 160hp: with that much power and always more than 220kg on board, traction is an imperative too!

Pirelli’s Scorpion Rally is an adventure tyre built to serve the true adventure rider who seeks out the kind of back roads that are never marked and quite o en don’t look like roads at all.

During the off-road press launch of the Suzuki V-Strom 1000 ABS in and around Kinglake National Park, I got a firsthand look at these tyres in their most demanding terrain. Slick, wet, muddy roads were a bit less daunting than what they could have been because the front tyre gave great directional control. The rear drive was good in these conditions, but the V-Strom’s excellent traction control helped here too. With the traction control off, the rear tyre still gave great drive and as a result of the V-Strom’s great power characteristics it was a fun challenge to keep it moving. The front tyre design has a taller block that gives the front wheel be er traction when cornering and braking, as well as longer life as there’s more rubber to wear. On to sno y backcountry trails and the tyres

were in their element. Bite in the front end was great while the wider blocks in the rear don’t have any adverse effects on ge ing traction.

With a carcass made of thick ply cords and a reinforced bead, there was no sign of a pinch or a tear in the tyres — something that was all too common 10 years ago. The rubber compound has been engineered to resist tearing and provide good mileage. The tearing is something that can happen on the road more easily. Riding with these tyres on tarmac — designed for good mileage and resistance to wear — you’d easily think they aren’t for the road at all.

But once you get over an initial fear of cornering on a “knobby” and find their limitations in the wet, the Rally performs very well for an off-road-biased tyre.

They can be heard, but aren’t too noisy on the freeway. They give great traction and directional stability cornering, and excellent traction braking. They are definitely not up to the performance level of a road-focused tyre — like Pirelli’s own Scorpion Trail — but they aren’t meant to be.

A er the V-Strom press launch, other duties, and then back to me for another few hundred kilometres of exploring back roads around home, the tyres still had life in them yet. And that was a er a lot of abuse, and not the kind of riding you’d typically put these tyres through on any one big trip, or maybe a few for that ma er.

As an adventure tyre that is intended for these big bikes, the Rally does an excellent job and will work for most people going off-road on one of these big bikes. If you aren’t looking for that extra drive on sno y, rock-strewn hills, great directional stability on dusty open roads at the expense of some handling and comfort on the tarmac, stick with your standard fitment adventure rubber. This tyre is for serious off-road riding. If only I could have kept the V-Strom longer to find out how long these tyres would really last… — MATTHEW SHIELDS

DETAILS Price: 110/80-19 (59R) $209, 150/70-17 (17M) $265 Other sizes: Also available in 90/9021 (54R) front, 120/100-18 (68M) and 140/80-18 (70R) rear Info: www.linkint.com.au

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 121

SHARK SPEED-R HELMET There’s nothing quite like ge ing new bike gear, especially if it’s a new helmet.

So when the parcel containing my spanking new Shark R, supplied by the handsome, erudite and infinitely generous Dave Maddok at Ficeda, arrived on my doorstep, I did my happy dance up and down the hall for a bit. Perusing the frankly excellent Ficeda website the week before, trying to choose from the myriad designs on offer, was a thoroughly enjoyable distraction from proper work. I finally plumped for the Avenger model in ma e orange and black, as its bold design and colour scheme virtually jumped off the page. Despite its totally ma e finish, this helmet manages to shine like a beacon out in the real world, a paradox my brain has yet to unravel.

It’s not quite fluorescent but it is pre y well unmissable.

■ This is just one of many colours and schemes available

It weighs 1.68kg, which is right on the money for a quality helmet, and the construction feels ruggedly reassuring.

It’s packed with features for its $530 RRP. It comes Pinlock and tear-off ready, has a removable nose mask, an easily a ached chin cover to help reduce noise and keep out the chills, is specifically designed to accommodate the Bluetooth audio system Sharktooth, and even has special provision to hold the arms of your eye glasses comfortably in place within the lining if needed.

Ventilation is courtesy of a large chin vent which blows air up the inside surface of the visor to help prevent misting, and another on the forehead allowing air to circulate between the inner foam and the partly mesh liner.

Both of them make a real difference.

Externally, on a lid specifically designed for riding naked bikes, there are some nice aerodynamic touches including twin rear spoilers as well as

■ Flip-down tinted visor in integral with the Shark helmet

■ Vents and aero panels feature on the Speed-Pro

a flared rubber skirt at the neck. Not only do they look cool, they also do a good job of keeping the helmet stable at speed and reducing li . Even though I never venture far without earplugs, this does seem to be quite a quiet lid, courtesy of its relatively unclu ered external design and the fairly pointy chin helping to cleave the air with less turbulence.

When I squeezed my noggin through the tight opening le by the luxurious padding, the fit was nigh-on perfect. If you have a head like a chewed toffee you may not be so lucky, but for me this has turned out to be one of the best fi ing and most comfortable helmets I’ve ever had.

Undoubtedly the coolest feature of this lid has to be the Top Gun flip-down inner black visor. It’s controlled by a lever on top of the helmet and even though it’s a bit of extra work to li both external and internal visors, you soon get the hang of it. The beauty of the system is, of course, the ability to flip from a tinted to a clear visor at will, and as someone who’s ridden through too many British winters, where it doesn’t get light till a er breakfast and is dark again by lunchtime, with nothing but a race-tint visor I really appreciated it. — NIGEL CROWLEY

DETAILS Price: $499.95 to $529.95 (Carbon $599.95) Colours: Many!

Sizes: 54–62 (XS–XL) Info: www.ficeda.com.au, (02) 9827 7561

122 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

product reviews INTARIDE BIKE TURNTABLE Sometimes the simplest inventions have a big and unexpected impact. This turntable’s effect is out of proportion to its humble reality. It’s a few bits of flat material sandwiched together so the top turns freely while the bo om stays put on the floor, but the relief it brings to a motorcyclist’s life is far greater than you’d ever expect. That’s no exaggeration.

Most of us don’t have the luxury of a huge circular drive-in, drive-out parking area, so we have to turn our bikes around.

That’s OK, but when you stop and think about it, it’s a pain. If, like me, you have a garage, you’ll know exactly what I mean.

Pushing the bike around in a three-point turn isn’t something you’d complain about, but you would avoid it if possible.

Besides, in most confined spaces it’s not a three-point turn but five, seven or more.

Since ge ing the motorcycle turntable from Intaride, the process for me requires li le muscle, no balance and less time and hassle. It’s the motorcycle parking equivalent of sliced bread.

Installation couldn’t be more straightforward: find the bit of garage floor where the bike’s centrestand normally sits and plonk the turntable down right there. Done. It won’t go anywhere, maintaining a good grip on the concrete floor all on its own. If it ever gets in the way for some reason, or needs repositioning, just pick it up and move it.

The turntable’s two main parts are

nylon discs joined by a central sha . The bo om one sits on the floor and doesn’t rotate; the top one supports your bike via its centrestand and does rotate. A contoured rubber top layer provides traction for the stand, which doesn’t budge while you li the bike onto it or once the bike’s weight is on it. The top rotates easily — there’s no resistance worth speaking of, though it’s not slick like it’s on ice.

When you ride into the parking spot, let the front wheel go over the turntable, which is just 12mm high so you barely notice it. Stop so that the feet of the bike’s stand will come down fairly well centred on the turntable (it doesn’t have to be exact), dismount and hoist the bike onto the stand. To spin the bike, just push

down on the rear end to li the front wheel and push the bike around. Even the biggest bike can be spun 180 degrees in a few seconds. You’re then all set to ride straight out of the garage next time.

The only pitfall is to not go screaming into the shed and jam on the brakes before you reach the turntable. If you do, you’ll get a brief hard-stopper as the front wheel sends the turntable into a spin. It’s not too dramatic but do it once and you learn not to do it again.

The turntable will support up to 430kg so just about any bike with a centrestand will work on it. If you lack a centrestand, there are other spinners that will do the job but they’re not as simple as this one.

You’ve go a love a simple invention that works so well. — MICK MATHESON

DETAILS Price: $199 Info: www.intaride.com.au, 0402 157 607 ■ Just pivot the bike on its centrestand and it rotates with ease on the turntable

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 123

WHATZ NEW

BMW HIRE IN MELBOURNE BMW motorcycles are now available to hire in Melbourne through Europcar Australia and Off Track Motorcycle Rentals.

Off Track Motorcycle Rentals will supply a full range of BMW GSs from Tullamarine airport and in the CBD. All bikes come with ABS and a full range of riding gear is available for hire.

Visit europcar.com.au/motorcycles.

EDELWEISS BIKE TRAVEL TOURING GUIDE

PROGRAM 2015

The freshly printed Edelweiss Bike Travel touring program for 2015 has just been released and there are no less than 70 once-in-a-lifetime rides around the world!

The number of manufacturers getting involved has increased, with BMW, Ducati, Triumph and Harley-Davidson all partners this year.

You can check out the schedule at edelweissbike.com.

BMW Motorrad USA

F 800 GS Adventure

The Ultimate Riding MachineÂŽ

MOTORCYCLE TOURS WORLDWIDE 2015

2 WORLDWIDE NUMBER1

3

CONTENT BeneďŹ ts, Partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .07 Tour Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 World Calendar, Tour Dates . . . . . . . . . .08 Around the World Expedition . . . . . . .18 Social Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Around the World Sections . . . . . . . . . .20 Edelweiss Feschtl (EBK) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

WORLDWIDE NUMBER1

WORLDWIDE THE NUMBER 1 EUROPE

PLANET EARTH! For more than 35 years we have been exploring our planet on two wheels. Together with our tour members, we have continuously found new and interesting aspects of Mother Earth. These great group experiences still enlighten us, even after 35 years in business. We now offer everything from guided motorcycle tours on rental bikes to the Around the World expedition on your own motorcycle.

There are tours on electric motorcycles, scooters and electric mountain bikes.

And it doesn’t matter if you tour with us in the Alps, the Rocky Mountains, the Atlas mountains, in India, in China or anywhere else in the world - there is a choice to suit every taste. So study this catalogue carefully. Our tours provide a huge diversity in landscape, culture, motorcycle brands, cuisine, road quality, daily rides, group sizes, climate, sightseeing, overnight accommodations and much more. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our customer service team (which is much easier to do today than it was in the 1980s!).

HERE’S THE PLAN: IMPROVISE.

What we absolutely guarantee is that we have learned a lot over the last 35 years! More than 36,000 motorcycle riders from around the world have added to our experience and helped us to ensure that our tours are more interesting and more unforgettable than ever before. We are, of course, proud to be the world’s leader in guided motorcycle tours and we will work all the harder to keep that status over the next 35 years. We look forward to welcoming you on a tour around the world in 2015, and to enjoying your enthusiasm and satisfaction with what we are doing.

Discover the BMW F 800 GS Adventure. Seek any horizon – when your bike has this much versatility and range, it doesn’t much matter which direction you choose. Anytime, anywhere, any weather, its optimized wind and weather protection and 6.3-gallon fuel tank can take you places you’ve never seen. Learn more at bmwmotorcycles.com.

Surprisingly low monthly payments are available through BTZ 3JEF čś‘ OBODJOH BTL ZPVS MPDBM EFBMFS GPS EFUBJMT

*Motorcycle shown with optional equipment. Š2014 BMW Financial Services NA, LLC. Š2014 BMW Motorrad USA, a division of BMW of North America, LLC. The BMW name and logo are registered trademarks.

124 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

EDELWEISS BIKE TRAVEL

THE F 800 GS ADVENTURE. UNSTOPPABLE TRAVEL ENDURO.

Alps Riding Training (ERS) . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Alps Riding Academy (6AA) . . . . . . . . . .26 Alpine Backroads – Zero Emission (0AB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Alps and Lakes (CAL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Best of Europe (BOE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Breweries and Castles (CBC) . . . . . . . . .34 Touring Center Alps (ATC) . . . . . . . . . . . .36 High Alpine Tour (HAT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 The Ultimate Alps Tour (CUA) . . . . . . . .40 Alps Extreme (4AE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Majestic Alps (9AS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 Formula 1 Alps Tour (9FU) . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Touring Center Dolomites (DTC) . . . .48 Grand Alps Tour (CGA). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Royal Edelweiss Dream (RED) . . . . . . . .52 Insight Moto Grand Prix (9GP) . . . . . .54 Kings and Castles Tour (CKC) . . . . . . . .56 Corsica-Sardegna (9SK) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 Tour of Tuscany (BIT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

Tuscany by Scooter (2TU) . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 The Heart of Italy (4IT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 Best of Italy (9SI). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66 Rome to Sicily (RTS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Mediterranean Alps Extreme (4SA) . .70 Andalusia Tour (ATS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 Christopher Columbus Tour (CCC) . .74 Tour of the Pyrenees (PYT). . . . . . . . . . . .76 Pyrenees Extreme (4PE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78 French Riviera by Scooter (2CO) . . . .80 Adriatic Rollercoaster (4SC) . . . . . . . . . .82 Pearl of the Adriatic Sea (CAS) . . . . . .84 Croatia by Scooter (2CR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86 Iceland – Fire and Ice (3FI). . . . . . . . . . . .88 The Viking Experience (CVE) . . . . . . . . . .90 Touring Center Norway (NTC) . . . . . . .92 Adventure North Cape (ANC) . . . . . . . .94 Celtic Tour (3CT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96 Highlander Tour (3HT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98

NORTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA Classic Cuba (CKU), Best of Cuba (CCB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Adventure Costa Rica and Nicaragua (ACR). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Colorado Adventure (ACO) . . . . . . . . . 106 California Off-Road Training and Tour (6RA). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Best of America (CBA), California Extension (CBE) . . . . . . . . . . 110 Highway Number 1 (CHO) . . . . . . . . . . 112 Canada West Tour (CCW) . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Majestic Nova Scotia and Newfoundland (CNF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

SOUTH AMERICA Adventure Machu Picchu (ACP) . . . 120 Adventure Patagonia (APA) . . . . . . . . 124 Adventure Altiplano (AAP). . . . . . . . . . 122

AFRICA Morocco Tour (MCT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Adventure Big Five (ABF) . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Royal Morocco Dream (RMO). . . . . . 130 Adventure Kilimanjaro (AKI) . . . . . . . 136 South Africa Tour (SAT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

ASIA Oman Adventure (AOM). . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 South-East Asia (3SA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 Above the Himalayas (3LA) . . . . . . . . . 142 Laos and Vietnam (3LV) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Adventure Myanmar (3MY) . . . . . . . . 144

PACIFIC New Zealand Tour (NSZ), North Island Extension (CNS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Have fun and a safe ride!

WEBSITE: www.edelweissbike.com | TRAVEL BLOG: www.worldtourer.com | FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/edelweissbike | E-MAIL: worldtours@edelweissbike.com EDELWEISS BIKE TRAVEL Sportplatzweg 14, 6414 Mieming, Austria | PHONE: +43.5264.5690 | PHONE FROM NORTH AMERICA: 011.43.5264.5690

Werner and Coral Wachter Founder & Owners of Edelweiss Bike Travel

Scouting Tours. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 Tour Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Guided City Tour (GCT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Tour Booking Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 Custom Tours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Terms and Conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 Worldtourer Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Imprint, Partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

NUMBER 1 IN GUIDED MOTORCYCLE TOURS WORLDWIDE THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE TOURING When Edelweiss Bike Travel started in 1980 with the ďŹ rst scouting tours, a whole new concept in motorcycle touring was born. Since then a lot has changed, and today you can experience the Edelweiss-style art of touring on 70 different tour destinations on our planet. It doesn‘t matter if you want to travel in Europe, South America, North America, Asia, Africa or PaciďŹ c - we guarantee an unforgettable experience!

THE EDELWEISS TEAM! All Edelweiss team members share their enthusiasm for motorcycling and travelling, their love for details and the common riding and working experience. The 13 team members located at headquarters in Austria, the 13 customer service agents in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Thailand, Ukraine and the United States of America, together with over 50 tour guides worldwide, form a perfectly sized team, where all know each other and work together.

As we have been leading our international clientele around the world for 35 years now, we know about the necessity of having a safe ride. In addition, one of the most important things is to listen the individual needs and requirements of our customers and to tailor our tours accordingly. So today we offer you 12 different tour categories, from the basic Ride4Fun tours to the luxurious Royal vacations, from our Classic tours to the fancy Scooter tours, or from the adventurous expeditions to the brand-named motorcycle tours. We can offer the right tour for everybody.

So if you like travelling to far-ung countries, meeting people from different cultures, navigating new and unfamiliar routes, or if you simply want to meet new people - with Edelweiss Bike Travel, you are on the right road!

�The secret of motorcycle touring means you get out, and you don‘t waste time just dreaming about doing it some day.“ Rainer Buck CEO, Edelweiss Bike Travel

NEW AND INTERESTING STUFF COBRA SLIP-ON FOR YAMAHA BOLT Cobra’s Yamaha Bolt slip-on is designed to give the 950 V-twin a “deep, rumbling sound”.The muffler is tapered from 4in to 4.5in at its end and is finished in a matte titanium colour to match the stock system’s heat shields.

Price: $549 Visit: linkint.com.au/cobra

SQUEAKY GATE 9 If you’re heading to the NSW North Coast this summer to sample some of the country’s primo riding roads, you won’t find many better places to spend a day or two than Squeaky Gate Retreat.

Located on the banks of the mighty Clarence River at Ashby, 60km north of Grafton, Squeaky Gate is an ideal base from which to tackle several superb rides, including the Gwydir Highway from Grafton to Glen Innes, the Grafton-EborArmidale road and the Summerland Way. The region is also criss-crossed by a network of dirt tracks that you can follow up into the Great Dividing Ranges and all the way to the Queensland border with a good GPS to guide you.

If you prefer to just kick back for a while, you can relax on the verandah, beer in hand, looking over the Clarence, chuck in a line, explore the river by boat or kayak, or take a half-hour ride over to Yamba on the coast for a swim at the beach and a feed of the area’s famous Yamba prawns.

There’s also big shed where you can park your bike, plus a workshop.

Squeaky Gate is run by (very) long-time motorcyclist Lance “Gibbo” Gibbens and his lovely wife Cheryl.

Squeaky Gate has two rooms. Rates are $129 per couple, or you can have the whole B&B section for $199 per night. Should you wish to bring a small group with you, or you’re travelling with kids, this can be catered for as well. Contact Gibbo and he will work out a deal for you.

Go to squeakygateretreat.com for more info, or call (02) 6645 4076 or 0409 272 458.

AKRAPOVIC FOR BMW R12GS/GSA Akrapovic has added to its range of Slip-On Line exhausts with a black version for the BMW R 1200 GS and R 1200 GS Adventure.

The outer sleeve is crafted from titanium, which is then black-coated. Designed for the 2013–2015 BMW R 1200 GS and the 2014–2015

R 1200 GS Adventure, the system is claimed to improve power and torque while reducing weight.

The exhaust is finished with a heat-resistant carbon-fibre end cap and optional stainlesssteel or titanium headers are available. The system was designed to complement BMW accessory panniers.

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 125

BARKBUSTERS Barkbusters has been a leader in motorcycle handguards for more than 30 years. First made in 1983 by Ted Goddard at the request of a rider needing crash protection, Ted registered the Barkbusters trademark in 1984 and the rest, they say, is history.

Bought by Rideworx in 1998, Barkbusters are the most recognised handguards in the world. The company has an extensive range of products, with handguards for both road and off-road applications.

Check out the range at www.barkbusters.net.

COFFS COAST TOURING TRAILS GUIDE Coffs Coast, on the North Coast of New South Wales, has released a new online Touring Trails Guide. It lists some top sealed-road routes for motorcycles, and even off-road 4WD tracks if you feel up for it.

The new guide adds to the current trails, rides and drives portfolio available at www.coffscoast.com.au/trails, which includes 20 great routes.

INTERPHONE F-BEAT The F-beat is a speaker/microphone system that is claimed to have sound quality to rival even the best stereo headphones.

The F-beat fits all helmet brands and can be synced with smartphones, GPS systems and MP3 players using Bluetooth so you can use it to stay connected, directed and in the groove.

The F-beat features a DSP filter that automatically adjusts volume to compensate for environmental factors such as wind so it’s great for riding in all conditions.

Price: $149.95 Visit: ficeda.com.au 126 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

NEW AND INTERESTING STUFF UNDER ASIAN SKIES

“Every day an Adventure”

Under Asian Skies is author Sam Manicom’s second book. A mix of drama, majesty, laughter, mystery, love and disasters, the stories cover the vast expanses of Australia’s outback, through the twists and turns of New Zealand and into exotic South East Asia. The journey goes on through India, Nepal, Pakistan and Iran over two years and is a truly great tale.

Jump on sam-manicom.com to listen to a sample of the audio book or for more information on how to get yourself a copy.

UNDER

ASIAN SKIES

NOLAN N-86 Nolan’s N-86 is a sporty looking helmet with all the functions you want in a sports-touring helmet. It runs Nolan’s Internal VPS (Vision Protection System), which is a flipdown tinted half-visor.

The liner is super comfortable and has an anti-bacterial treatment so it fits, feels and smells great.

A quick-release visor system is easy to use, can run a pinlock (that it comes with), has removable chin and nose flaps and plenty of ventilation. What more could you need?

Sizes: XSM-XXL Colours and prices: N-Com Graphics $369rrp, Graphics $349rrp, Plain $299rrp Visit: ronangel.com.au

MUSTANG SUMMIT

SAM MANICOM

Australia to Europe by motorcycle

Summit is Mustang’s latest touring seat designed for 2014 FL Touring models from Harley-Davidson. The one-piece design is 480mm wide and the seat takes the rider back 45mm on the bike. The passenger seat is

420mm wide and fits perfectly with the standard speakers and backrest.

The seat is heated and has a dual-zone high/low settings for rider and pillion, with illuminated switches on the left side of the seat. There are several styling options and it’s worth checking them out at mustangseats.com.

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 127

READERS RITE WINNER

RENTA HOG — TRIP TO GRAND CANYON I thought I would send a short le er and photo of a recent trip to Salt City and extol the virtues of the HOG Rental system.

On the way home from a business trip to Houston, colleague/fellow biker Gerry and I decided to take a few days vacation and break our journey back to Perth via Salt Lake City, Utah. We made bookings a few weeks in advance with the extremely helpful Mitch Burningham of HD of Salt Lake City. Come the day, we donned our leathers and le the suitcases at the dealership and within an hour of opening we were on the road on a couple of shiny, almost-new Heritage So ails.

We had made no plans other than to head south toward the Grand Canyon and see what unfolded. Once clear of the city freeways we headed south, riding on windswept open roads with the obligatory gas and coffee stops to break the stunning scenery. We eventually found ourselves in the quaint adobe town of Kanab on the first night and discovered the Dog House Tavern (small but very homely, with a great range of local beers).

The second day took us further south across the windswept plains beneath the Vermilion cliffs and into northern Arizona and the north rim of the Grand 128 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

“Even though there have been so many changes, I have recently discovered the ride is still the same — complete with welcome experiences of freedom, connection, and the odd dose of adrenaline and bone-chilling cold weather”

on’t forget to write! We mean it. We love to hear from you and everyone else does too; these pages are among the most popular in the magazine. Preferably, keep le ers under 300 words so we can fit more in, though we will allow the odd exception without taking to it with the editorial knife. Yes, we will chop ’em when we have to. Do include your real name and some contact details, just in case we need to clarify something. Please write to roadrider@universalmagazines.com.au or send mail to Road Rider, Unit 5, 6–8 Byfield Street, North Ryde NSW 2113 — Matho

D

WIN THIS, LOOK HOT Every issue we’re giving away this beaut pack of Motul cleaning gear worth $49.95.

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is write to us. We’ll pick what we think is the best letter every month and the top blokes at Motul will fire out this pack to whoever wrote it. Simple. Pack includes some of the best washing and detailing products on the market: • •

Canyon. The northern side of the canyon is surprisingly lush and forested, almost alpine like, except for the occasional bison!

A er spending a good two hours being awestruck by the canyon, we backtracked into Utah to visit Bryce Canyon, another breathtaking landscape but spoilt a li le by the tacky mock western pitstop at the entrance.

We continued north to Richfield for the night, only stopping to let some cowpokes drive ca le across the desolate backroads.

Accommodation proved to be at a premium in the small town due to a one-night-only Beach Boys concert. Thankfully we found two spare rooms but no spare tickets.

The final day’s ride back to Salt Lake City culminated in a ride through the Mount Timpanogos Wilderness park just to the east of Salt Lake City in the snowcapped mountains of the Wasatch Range.

A great adventure covering a modest 900 miles on two very comfortable and reliable HOGs. Well worth the few emails to set up the booking and a few $$ for the bikes.

Robin Hill Perth, WA

Wash & Wax, a waterless cleaner that leaves a wax coating Moto Wash, good for all surfaces

•

Scratch Remover, a micro-abrasive cream for painted surfaces

•

Helmet & Visor Clean, to keep your lid and your view pristine.

Email roadrider@universalmagazines. com.au or mail to ARR at 5/6-8 Byfield St, North Ryde NSW 2113. We’ll do the rest.

LETTERS A QUESTION OF STYLE OR A BLATENT ADVERTORIAL? It’s a lazy Sunday morning here in Melbourne and I am reading my latest subscription of ARR. This is one mag I read from cover to cover and also take interest in the female perspective of our great passion, as my other half has developed an interest and has toured with me around Tassie. She is now planning to get her licence.

I was massively disappointed and felt cheated by Zoe Naylor’s regular article; it smacked of advertorial without any real substance to the topic the headline was suggesting. The brand was mentioned six times by my count, including a reference to the website.

I do hope in future the magazine will treat its readers with less contempt by keeping a closer editorial eye on the content of its contributing writers and at least have the courtesy of saying it’s an advertorial, not a feature article, as other publishers do.

I have no issue with advertising when it is presented straight up and not hidden in an article, where all credibility is lost.

Sydney radio is famous for Cash for Comments with its shock jocks. Is this the way for ARR? Brad Fry Brighton East, Victoria Must admit, I was expecting some flak over Zoe’s column. However, it’s certainly not cash for comment. Zoe gets no direct benefit from it; McLeod’s has been a commi ed advertiser for years and does not look like stopping, so we’re not trying to keep them on board by pushing their barrow. The invitation from McLeod’s for Zoe to get involved in design will, of course, bring them benefits, but at the same time Zoe is excited about the prospect of it and we both feel she can contribute something worthwhile. At the same time, I think we can get a couple of good columns out of it — columns that will add insight into how our riding gear is developed etc. Let me know if we get it wrong! – Matho

Last year my son bought a lowkilometre, 2006, exceptionally maintained R 1200 S, without the ABS or lunatic servo brakes. In May this year, at about 17,000km, while on a trip which we had planned for years, we reached Rockhampton. We had gone via Stanthorpe and Maryborough to our motel at the coast near Rocky. A er both of us checked his bike we felt that it was behaving as if on tram tracks — shi ing sideways when accelerating or decelerating. Upon examining the back wheel, we found significant lateral play.

Yes, it was the crown-wheel bearing, though the seal had not leaked. Not having Roadside Assist, he had a difficult task ge ing his family cars’ Roadside Assist to ship it back to Wollongong, since BMW dealers are a bit thin on the ground in that region. He flew back. It was discovered that the whole drive and casing had been damaged beyond repair and he waited to get a used replacement from the UK. The entire exercise was rather expensive for him.

I have kept renewing my Roadside Assist since buying the K 1300 S new in 2009 as it would be indispensable in those areas, or anywhere judging by the reardrive stories I hear. Fortunately I have not had to use it. I don’t know if it is of great use, but I am using the requisite rear-drive oil, with added Molybond, and at over 42,000km I have not yet had any problems.

Same with my previous 2004, R 1100 S, which covered 30,000km.

As far as the K 1300 S goes, I find it a great touring and twisties bike and that was my third trip to Rocky on it. It has fantastic torque and fuel consumption (generally a constant 4.4L/100) and I have no trouble ge ing over 400km from a tank even when forced to use 95 RON in country towns. I have one of those BMW “sausage” bags which fits onto the parcel rack with its bo om flap and a couple of straps, and it holds all the stuff I need for more than a week of touring.

Hannes Jürmann Email

THE DREADED DRIVE?

NANNIES ON THE LOOSE

The Roadside Assist le er by Mark Meyer (No. 107) shows another case of the dreaded BMW rear drive. It is incomprehensible that BMW could be producing such dodgy rear drives for so long. Apart from Mark’s case adding to numerous others I know about, I had a closer experience with the same problem.

Regarding the le er “Sobering Thoughts” in #107, what are you mate? You sound like a walloper or some sort of nanny. I don’t know of anybody who goes riding and gets a skin full like you assume, then tries to ride home.

As Matho said, we like to be responsible while riding. I enjoy a beer with my lunch

on day rides, however on long trips I prefer them a er the ride and even then not too much if I’m up early for another big day in the saddle. But that’s just me and I wouldn’t presume to tell others to do the same.

People are entitled to their opinion, however I suggest you knew your le er was a load of old cobblers or you wouldn’t have requested your name be le out.

Maybe you don’t even have a bike — perhaps a busted old Toyota Crown with a fan stuck on the dash and drive around looking through Coke bo le glasses believing in your own self-righteousness.

Matho was too polite to you.

Paul Cadman Email

REAL ROAD RACING I have just read your news article on the Lions Road TT (News, ARR #107).

Having just ridden this road I wish to inform you that this is the worst piece of bitumen road that I have ridden in the last 12 months.

“People are entitled to their opinion however I suggest you knew your letter was a load of old cobblers” To describe this as one of the best motorcycling roads on the east coast of Australia is dangerous and foolhardy. This road is in extremely poor condition and should be treated with great caution and respect. One can only assume that the author of this article has never ridden it.

Having said all that, I love the concept of this event and plan to support it wholeheartedly.

Rick Email Yes, that road is in poor shape, but I’d argue that doesn’t necessarily rule it out of contention as a good riding road. I think that depends on your perspective and expectations, and I’ll admit my perspective is based on the fact I am surrounded by crappy roads and I have very low expectations! I guess I’m used to using caution and showing respect without losing the enjoyment. Mark Hinchliffe, who wrote the story, has ridden the road many times on a variety of bikes. — Matho AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 129

IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT THE RIDE I just subscribed to ARR (iPad) a er reading a couple of editions and enjoying them more than I thought I would.

Thanks for doing what you do there and I believe you are succeeding in making motorcycling even more enjoyable than it already is.

I’ve been riding (off and on) now for exactly 20 years and have owned five bikes in that time, one of them for 16 of those 20 years — it was a great love affair.

I recently joined the Beemer throng and got myself a five-year-old 1200 GS (and true confession time, my 16-year love affair was with a dear old 1100 GS, but there was less of a throng at that time). There have been a lot of changes in the last 20 years when I think about my adventures back then. I recall one of the first BMW safaris,

from Brisbane to Cairns, entry fee of less than $100, and that included an open bar all-you-can-drink-booze-up in Cairns on the last night (messy). Yes, times (and a itudes) really have changed.

Despite the messiness of the aforementioned night in Cairns, I did meet the man who became one of my best friends and a favourite riding mate. Together we have tackled many rides including Cape York and an epic Melbourne to Broome via the Tanami Track, Gibb River Road, and back to Melbourne extravaganza, which included a day of 800km in the dirt. One of the major a ractions of motorcycling for me is the people you meet along the way, the friendships you forge, the days sharing mechanical know-how in the shed, the lies you tell in the bar. It’s an intrinsic, yet underrated and under-reported part of

■ Sandy’s shot taken between Wee Jasper and Tumut. What a ride!

the motorcycling experience.

Even though there have been so many changes, I have recently discovered the ride is still the same — complete with welcome experiences of freedom, connection, and the odd dose of adrenaline and bone-chilling cold weather. I recently rode from Kurrajong, NSW, to Castlemaine, Vic, with the guiding principle of avoiding as much major highway as possible. In the end the Hume Highway only got me for 24km as I found one incredibly good riding road a er another for a day and a half. A er a period of mild ambivalence towards my new machine (where I wasn’t sure I wanted to commit to it), I am now completely in love with my adventurous companion.

Sandy Harman Email

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If it wears the Andy Strapz brand, it’s made to the highest standards here in Australia.

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ROAD BIKE & SCOOTER PRICE GUIDE Can I afford it? Is there something better for the money? ew bike prices can go up and down like the stock market, so in every issue we’ll bring you the sticker prices. To be completely up to date with things like factory discounts and incentives, check the Road Rider website (www.roadrider.com.au) where we will bring you all the special deals, bonus offers and cashback promotions we can find.

We have included the importers’ websites, which is the place to go if you’re looking for more information. You’ll see that we haven’t listed every bike on the market (yet) but we aim to get

N

BRAND & MODEL APRILIA

WE SAY

www.aprilia.com.au

www.urbanmotoimports.com.au

Road BN302 ................................................ Expected sometime this year ........$TBA BN600i............................................... Base-model mid-sized four ............$8990+orc BN600S LAMS ................................. New LAMS model ...........................$8990+orc BN600R ............................................. New sporty naked bike ...................$9990+orc BN600RS LAMS ............................... Another new LAMS model ............$9990+orc BN600GT .......................................... Available soon .................................$TBA BN600GTS ........................................ LAMS Model ....................................$TBA TNT 899 ............................................. Mid-sized entertainer ......................$16,990+orc TNT 1130 ........................................... Naked dynamite ..............................$19,990+orc TNT 1130R ......................................... More explosive ................................$22,690+orc Tre-K 1130.......................................... Out of the ordinary..........................$18,490+orc Adv Touring TRE-K Amazonas ............................. Be an individual...............................$19,690+orc BIMOTA

www.urbanmotoimports.com.au

Road BB3 .................................................... 1000cc BMW, Italian flair ................$TBA DB5R.................................................. Light and lovely sportsbike ............$37,990+orc DB8 Bi Posto ..................................... Sleek and powerful .........................$47,990+orc DB8 SP .............................................. The sweetest candy ........................$47,990+orc DB8 Oro Nero ................................... Expensive excitement ....................$84,990+orc Tesi 3D Evo ....................................... Exotica erotica .................................$50,890+orc Tesi 3D Naked................................... The full skeleton on show ..............$55,990+orc DB9 .................................................... Muscle streetfighter ........................$44,990+orc

132 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

Benelli will soon be releasing a LAMS-model BN600GTS. Don’t have much more info but keep your eyes peeled in coming issues.

PRICE

Aprilia prices are maximum recommended advertised ride-away price.

Road Shiver Sport 750 ABS...................... Oh so good.......................................$13,990ra Dorsoduro 750 ABS ......................... With ABS ..........................................$12,990ra Tuono V4R APRC .............................. Upright sportsbike ..........................$21,990ra RSV4 R APRC.................................... High tech, high spec........................$23,990ra RSV4 R Factory APRC ABS ............. Racing black .....................................$29,990ra Dorsoduro 1200 ATC/ABS .............. Insane in the brain ..........................$14,990ra Adv Touring Caponord 1200 ATC/ABS ................ Truly great all-rounder ....................$22,990ra Scooters SR50R Carb SBK .............................. Biaggi replica ...................................$3990ra SR MT 50 2T ..................................... Entry point........................................$2450ra SR MT 125 4T ................................... Cheap commuting ..........................$3290ra Scarabeo 200 ie................................ Crisp performer ...............................$4990ra SR Max 300 ...................................... Do it all..............................................$6490ra SR Max 300 ...................................... New 2014 Model..............................$7290ra SRV 850 ATC ABS ............................ Large with the lot ............................$14,990ra BENELLI

there with all of them. Sometimes even we struggle to find the details of the smaller, newer importers. Meanwhile, enjoy this most meaningful of Australian bike listings, covering the bikes you’re interested in.

The prices are the most up-to-date ones available from the distributors. They may change, of course, subject to specials coming and going. We’ve also made it abundantly clear which prices are ride-away and which don’t include on-road costs; the difference to your final payout can be significant, so don’t compare apples with oranges.

DB9S.................................................. Sharper on the street ......................$46,990+orc DB10 .................................................. Sharp style .......................................$37,290+orc DB11................................................... Testastretta 11 at last .......................$56,990+orc BMW

www.bmwmotorrad.com.au

Road S 1000 R ............................................ Naked supermodel..........................$19,290+orc S 1000 RR.......................................... Still the one to beat .........................$22,400+orc HP4 Competition.............................. For serious sports riders.................$32,450+orc R nineT .............................................. Simplicity with max style ...............$21,250+orc R 1200 RT .......................................... Have your cake and eat it ...............$30,790+orc K 1300 R ............................................ Evil Wulf ............................................$21,990+orc K 1300 S ............................................ Autobahn eater................................$23,990+orc K 1300 S Motorsport ....................... Flashy sports-tourer for 2015 .........$28,990+orc K 1600 GT ......................................... Power touring ..................................$35,990+orc K 1600 GT Sport ............................... Luxury but lighter, sportier ............$36,490+orc K 1600 GTL ....................................... Euro luxury touring .........................$37,590+orc K 1600 GTL Exclusive...................... VIP .....................................................$42,500+orc Adv Touring G 650 GS ........................................... You’ll be surprised ..........................$9990+orc G 650 GS Sertao............................... Rough it or not.................................$10,990+orc F 700 GS............................................ Not really a 700 ...............................$12,890+orc F 700 GS ........................................... Low suspension model ..................$13,140+orc F 800 GS............................................ Great adv tourer ..............................$16,690+orc F 800 GS............................................ Low suspension model ..................$16,940+orc F 800 GS Adventure ........................ Go further .........................................$18,650+orc F 800 GT ............................................ Dynamically designed ....................$16,300+orc R 1200 GS ......................................... All-road master ................................$21,950+orc R 1200 GS Adventure ...................... Luxuriously roughing it ..................$24,550+orc Scooter C 600 Sport ....................................... Sporty maxi......................................$13,990+orc

PRICE GUIDE C 600 Sport Special Edition ............ Here in October ...............................$15,090+orc C 650 GT............................................ Let’s tour!..........................................$14,990+orc C 650 GT Special Edition ................ Seat heating .....................................$16,665+orc C 650 GT SE LS ................................ Low suspension model ..................$16,465+orc BOLLINI

www.motorsportimporters.com.au

Road Speed 200 ......................................... Economy ticket ...............................$2290+orc Cruiser Retro 200........................................... New release .....................................$TBA CAN-AM (BRP)

www.brp.com

Road Spyder RS SM5................................ The “Spyder” experience ..............$19,990+orc Spyder RSS SE5 .............................. Supersports auto.............................$23,990+orc Spyder ST SE5 ................................. The sports-touring Spyder .............$25,490+orc Spyder ST LTD SE5.......................... The ST with more............................$28,990+orc Spyder RT SM6 ................................ New 1330cc triple engine ...............$31,490+orc Spyder RTS SE6 ............................... RT plus semi-auto and more .........$39,990+orc Spyder RT Limited SE6.. ................. The full touring triple ......................$41,990+orc CF MOTO

www.cfmoto.com.au

Road VNight ............................................... Great learner ....................................$2690+orc Jetmax 250 ....................................... Freeway capable scooter................$4190+orc Leader................................................ Not fussy ..........................................$2190+orc 650NK ................................................ May ruffle some feathers ...............$6290+orc 650TK................................................. Bargain touring................................$7749+orc Cruiser V5 ....................................................... Where’s the engine?........................$4190+orc CONFEDERATE

www.urbanmotoimports.com.au

Cruiser X132 Hellcat...................................... Badass ..............................................$79,990+orc X132 Hellcat Combat....................... American war machine ..................$94,990+orc X135 Wraith ...................................... Available soon .................................$TBA DAELIM

www.daelim.com.au

EDITION DISCOUNT MODEL Limited-edition models are usually decked out with extras and cost a little bit more, but the CFMoto 650NKS limited edition is actually a lower-spec model that costs less.

The 650NKS arrives at $5990 ride away, which is a good saving on the already top-value 650NK at $7290. Until 30th November, the NKS also comes with a free motorcycle jacket. The NKS model is shod with Chinese CST tyres instead of the German Continental ContiRoad Attack 2C tyres on the standard model which I have been reviewing for the past few months. CFMoto says the brake specs on the NKS are the same, but the supplier is different and the NKS has slightly different styling, a different tachometer and different headlights.

CFMoto Australia director Michael Poynton says they brought in the lower-spec model to appeal to a more budget-conscious buyer. He expects the 650NKS to be well received by the LAMS market, given the class-leading power of 41.5kW and the unmatched value this model represents.

“Since we launched our first 650cc naked just over two years ago, we’ve gone from strength to strength with this model and sold more than 1000 across the country,” he says.

“Riding on the NK’s success, we wanted to release a limitededition model for the more budget-conscious customer offering even greater value for money.”

The NKS comes in Matte Black, Crystal Blue and Sunburst Orange and has a 24-month unlimited-kilometre warranty, supported by a nationwide network of more than 80 dealers.

Road VJF250............................................... Adequate style .................................$3990+orc Cruiser Daystar 250 EFI ................................ Fat, feet-forward cruiser .................$4920+orc Scooter Bbone ................................................ Its clothes are off .............................$3490+orc Besbi .................................................. Small and cute .................................$2190+orc S1 ....................................................... Nice style ..........................................$2990+orc DUCATI

www.ducati.com.au

Road Monster 659 ABS ............................. Monster the LAM ............................$12,990+orc Monster 696 ABS ............................ Easy to handle .................................$13,990+orc Monster 796 ABS ............................. Full sized, adequate power ............$15,990+orc Ducati Scrambler Icon (Ducati Red) ..........................................................Entry-level $12,990+orc Ducati Scrambler Icon (’62 Yellow) As above but yellower ....................$13,140+orc Ducati Scrambler Urban Enduro ... For the burbs and backroads .........$14,990+orc Ducati Scrambler Classic ................ Living in the ’70s .............................$14,990+orc Ducati Scrambler Full Throttle ........ Flat track performer.........................$14,990+orc Monster 821 Dark ............................ The little beast steps up..................$15,990+orc Monster 821 Plus ............................. The Monster with more..................$16,490+orc Streetfighter 848 .............................. Precision fighter, special price .......$18,990ra Panigale 899 ..................................... Smaller, sweeter superbike ...........$19,990+orc Hypermotard .................................... A hooligan on wheels .....................$16,990+orc Hypermotard SP .............................. With tricked-up suspension ...........$20,990+orc Hyperstrada ...................................... Manners & madness ......................$16,990+orc Monster 1200 ................................... The new generation ........................$19,990+orc Monster 1200 S ................................ With better bits ................................$23,990+orc Panigale 1199 ABS............................ Updated 2014 Model.......................$26,990+orc Panigale S ABS................................. Electronic Öhlins! ............................$33,990+orc Panigale Tri Colour ........................... Make you melt .................................$39,990+orc Panigale R ABS................................. Race passion ....................................$42,990+orc Cruiser Diavel Dark........................................ A true power-cruiser .......................$23,990+orc Diavel Carbon................................... Deal with the devil ..........................$29,990+orc

Adv Touring Multistrada 1200 ABS...................... 4 in 1 with ABS ................................$22,990+orc Multistrada 1200 S Touring ............. See the world...................................$28,490+orc Multistrada 1200 S Pikes Pk ........... Flashy paint job ...............................$31,990+orc Multistrada 1200 Granturismo ..................................... Tour perfection ................................$30,490+orc ERIK BUELL RACING

www.urbanmotoimports.com.au

Road 1190RS Carbon ................................. 175hp, 176kg of joy .........................$56,990+orc 1190RX ............................................... Sporting masterpiece .....................$26,490+orc 1190SX ............................................... Superbike basis ...............................$23,490+orc 1190AX............................................... The adventurous one......................$TBA HARLEY-DAVIDSON

www.harley-davidson.com

All H-D prices are ride-away.

Cruiser XL883L SuperLow ........................... For the shorties ................................$14,750ra XL883N Iron 883 ............................. Iron tough.........................................$14,995ra

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 133

XL1200C Custom ............................. Customary show off........................$18,750ra XL1200X Forty-Eight........................ Retro cool .........................................$18,995ra XL1200V Seventy-Two .................... Vintage muscle ................................$18,495ra XL1200T Super Low ........................ Cool little tourer ...............................$19,250ra VRSCDX Night Rod Special............ Drag bike ..........................................$27,250ra VRSCF Muscle .................................. Muscle me........................................$26,995ra FXDB Street Bob .............................. Versatile ............................................$22,495ra FXDBB Street Bob Special.............. Street smarts....................................$23,995ra FXDL Low Rider ............................... Not laying low .................................$23,495ra FXDWG Wide Glide ......................... Let your hair hang down ................$24,995ra FXDF Fat Bob.................................... Lay off the burgers, Bob! ...............$25,495ra FLD Dyna Switchback ...................... Dress up, dress down .....................$26,250ra FLS Softail Slim................................ Slim, yet PH fat!...............................$26,250ra FXST Softail Standard..................... The original ride ..............................$27,250ra FLSTFB Fat Boy Lo........................... Low bruiser ......................................$28,750ra FLSTF Fat Boy .................................. Big bruiser ........................................$28,995ra FLSTN Softail Deluxe ...................... Classy dude......................................$28,995ra FLSTNSE CVO Softail Deluxe ......... 110ci, LEDs plus ...............................$44,995ra FXSB Breakout ................................. Urban street styling ........................$29,495ra FLSTC Heritage S’tail Classic ......... Visually beautiful .............................$29,995ra FLHRC Road King Classic ............... Be the king .......................................$32,495ra FLHXS Street Glide Special ............ The original bagger ........................$34,995ra FLHXSE CVO Street Glide............... 110ci ripper .......................................$46,995ra FLTRXS Road Glide Special............ Dynamic, fixed-fairing tourer ........$34,495ra FLTRXSE CVO Rd Glide Ultra ......... Maybe H-D’s best tourer.................$48,995ra FLHTK Electra Glide Ultra Ltd ........ Works burger ...................................$37,995ra FLHTKSE CVO Ultra Ltd .................. 110ci mega-tourer ............................$50,995ra HONDA

www.honda.com.au

Road CB125E .............................................. Cheap commuter ............................$2099+orc CBR300.............................................. Big H attacks the Ninja 300 ............$5699+orc CBR300 ABS ..................................... The anti-lock brake option..............$5999+orc CBR300R ........................................... Special edition .................................$5799+orc CBR300R ........................................... Special edition ABS.........................$6099+orc CB400 ............................................... Bulletproof .......................................$10,099+orc CB400A ABS ..................................... Foolproof ..........................................$11,199+orc CBR500R ........................................... Sporty little twin ..............................$7499+orc CBR500R ABS................................... ABS option .......................................$7799+orc CB500F ABS...................................... Sweet as ...........................................$7799+orc CB650F ABS...................................... New naked four ...............................$9999+orc CBR600RR......................................... Versatile supersport ........................$14,390+orc CBR650F ABS ................................... Mid-ranger with torque ..................$10,599+orc NC750SA ABS .................................. A little boosted for 2014..................$8799+orc CTX700A ........................................... A fairing for the open road ...........$7399+orc CTX700DA ........................................ Dual Clutch Transmission ...............$10,899+orc VFR800 .............................................. Tried and true package ...................$14,599+orc CBR1000RR....................................... Ride what Casey rides ....................$16,899+orc CBR1000RR ABS .............................. Blade with braking backup.............$17,899+orc VFR1200F ABS ................................. For the tech heads ...........................$16,999+orc GL1800B F6B .................................... Stripped Wing ..................................$25,199+orc GL1800 Goldwing Luxury............... The ultimate luxury tourer .............$35,799+orc Cruiser VT400 ................................................ Classic-styled LAM ..........................$9399+orc CTX700N ABS .................................. A bike for everything ......................$9099+orc VT750C Shadow .............................. Classic appeal ..................................$11,749+orc CTX1300............................................ V4 cruiser with unique style ..........$18,499+orc VT1300CX Fury ................................ Chopped dragster ...........................$15,599+orc GL1800C F6C Valkyrie ..................... Valkyrie returns with muscle .........$20,199+orc Adv Touring CB500X ABS ..................................... Adventure sports.............................$7999+orc VFR1200X Crosstourer ABS ........... Smooth and comfy all-roader .......$17,499+orc Scooter Dio 110 ............................................... New kid in town ..............................$2549+orc PCX150 .............................................. Stylish and practical........................$4199+orc NSS300 Forza ................................... Sporty and flexible ..........................$6999+orc NC700D Integra................................ Motorcycle or scooter? ...................$11,199+orc HYOSUNG

www.hyosung.com.au

Road GT250 ................................................ Great beginner.................................$2990+orc

134 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

Honda has released a special edition of the CBR300R, available as standard for $5799+orc or with ABS for $6099+orc.

GT250R.............................................. Get started ........................................$3790+orc GT650 ................................................ Naked value and style ....................$5190+orc GT650R.............................................. Easy, sporty, affordable ..................$5890+orc GT650RL............................................ Cheap and cool LAMS ....................$5890+orc Cruiser GV250 Aquila.................................... Little cutie .........................................$3990+orc GV650C Aquila Classic .................... LAMS value......................................$6790+orc GV650S ............................................. Road worthy.....................................$6490+orc GV650SL ........................................... Popular learner ................................$6490+orc INDIAN MOTORCYCLE

www.indianmotorcycle.com.au

Cruiser Scout ................................................. Sportster meets V-Rod? ..................$17,995ra Chief .................................................. Leading the tribe back! ...................$28,995ra Chief Vintage .................................... Signature heritage aesthetic..........$31,495ra Chieftain ............................................ First Indian tourer/bagger ..............$35,995ra Roadmaster ...................................... Full-dress tourer ..............................$38,995ra KAWASAKI

www.kawasaki.com.au

Road Ninja 300 ........................................... Even better again! ...........................$6199+orc Ninja 300 ABS .................................. A LAM with ABS..............................$6699+orc Ninja 300 SE ..................................... Tastes like lime ................................$6399+orc KTM has confirmed the production of a 1290 Super Adventure.

Taking the engine used in the 1290 Super Duke R and adding the electronics from the 1190 R, KTM reckons this is the safest bike in the world. More information next issue.

PRICE GUIDE Ninja 300 SE ABS............................. Lime LAM with ABS........................$6899+orc ER-6n/nL ABS ................................... Quirky ...............................................$9999+orc Ninja 650/L ABS ............................... Mid-sized gem .................................$10,499+orc Ninja ZX-6R (599) ............................. Striking .............................................$14,999+orc Ninja ZX-6R ABS (636) SE .............. Bigger, gruntier, prettier .................$16,649+orc Z800 ABS .......................................... Sharper .............................................$12,999+orc W800SE............................................. Nostalgic, relaxed cruising ............$12,499+orc Z1000 ABS ........................................ Let it seduce you .............................$16,499+orc Z1000 ABS SE................................... Special edition .................................$16,799+orc Ninja 1000 ABS ............................... A sword with soul ...........................$16,999+orc Ninja 1000 ABS ................................ 2014 model .......................................$16,999+orc Ninja ZX-10R .................................... Non-ABS 30th Anniv model ..........$18,999+orc Ninja ZX-10R ABS ............................ 30th Anniversary model .................$20,699+orc 1400GTR ABS ................................... Transcontinental ..............................$24,999+orc Ninja ZX-14R ABS SE ...................... Special edition..................................$20,299+orc Ninja ZX-14R ABS SE Öhlins .......... Öhlins, white, gold, scorching ........$21,999+orc Cruiser Vulcan 900 Classic SE ..................... Classically glamorous .....................$12,499+orc Vulcan 1700 Classic ABS................. Great blank canvas ..........................$19,999+orc Vulcan 1700 Nomad ABS................ Add a bit of bling .............................$22,999+orc Vulcan 1700 Vaquero ABS............... Go to the dark side...........................$24,499+orc Vulcan 1700 Voyager ABS............... Plush ride ..........................................$25,999+orc Adv Touring KLR650 .............................................. Bargain with a capital B ..................$8099+orc Versys 650 ABS ................................ Appealing all-rounder .....................$9999+orc Versys 650L ABS .............................. LAMS model.....................................$9999+orc Versys 1000 .........................................Bitumen burner ..................................$15,999+orc KTM

www.kymco.com.au

Road CK 125 ............................................... No nonsense ....................................$2095+orc Cruiser Venox 250 ......................................... Value and looks ................................$5295+orc Scooter Like 125 ............................................. Fall in love .........................................$2995+orc Super 8 125....................................... Cool jigger.........................................$2595+orc Espresso 150 .................................... I’ll take a double shot ......................$2799+orc Like 200 ............................................. Classic performer.............................$3395+orc Downtown 300i ABS ....................... All-rounder with ABS ......................$7495+orc LARO

MV AGUSTA

www.mvagustaimports.com.au

All MV Agusta prices are ride-away.

Road F3 675 ................................................ Sweet.................................................$18,490ra F3 800 ................................................ Track performance ...........................$20,490ra F3 800 Ago ........................................ Giacomo’s replica.............................$32,990ra Brutale 675 EAS ............................... Bit of oomph at a good price..........$15,990ra Brutale 800 EAS ............................... More power ......................................$17,490ra Brutale 800 Dragster ....................... Nanananana Batman! .....................$20,490ra Rivale 800 ......................................... Rivals the best urban motard .........$19,990ra Brutale 1090 ...................................... More charm ......................................$17,990ra Brutale R 1090 .................................. Raw, yet refined ...............................$18,490ra Brutale RR 1090 ................................ Unleash the brute within ................$21,490ra Brutale 1090 Corsa........................... Top jock .............................................$28,990ra F4 1000 .............................................. Beauty and the beast within ...........$22,490ra F4 1000 RR ........................................ Exotic weapon ..................................$31,990ra PGO

www.motorsportimporters.com.au

Scooter Ligero 50 ........................................................................................................$1990+orc Ligero 150 ......................................... Good, small package .......................$3290+orc

www.ktm.com.au

Road 390 Duke ........................................... Ninja beater? ....................................$6995+orc 390 RC ............................................... All new available soon ....................$TBA 690 Duke ........................................... Sharp and bright ..............................$11,495+orc 690 Duke R ........................................ The sportier motard.........................$13,495+orc 1190 RC8 R ........................................ The orange flash ..............................$25,495+orc 1290 Super Duke R .......................... Ballsy streetfighter...........................$23,495+orc Adv Touring 690 Enduro R .................................... Extreme riders only .........................$14,395+orc 1190 Adventure................................. High-tech adventurer.......................$19,995+orc 1190 Adventure................................. With EDS ...........................................$22,995+orc 1190 Adventure R ............................. Add more adventure .......................$22,995+orc 1290 Super Adventure .................... The ultimate Adventure ..................$TBA KYMCO

Griso 1200 8V ................................... Grand slam .......................................$20,990ra Cruiser California 1400 Custom................... Kalifornia attitude.............................$22,990ra California 1400 Touring.................... All a Cali should be ..........................$25,990ra Adv Touring Stelvio 1200 8V NTX ABS ............... Big Brute ...........................................$22,990ra

MOTO GUZZI COSMETIC UPDATES FOR 2015 Moto Guzzi has given two of its models a cosmetic update for 2015. The Griso 1200 8V SE gets some red trimmings, while black is the new chrome on the V7 Stone.

The Griso’s new Rosso Trophy colour scheme includes saddle red lining, matching red thread double-stitching, and the spoked wheels with “custom channels in Moto Guzzi Red”. They have also blacked out the chassis, valve covers and instrument panel covers.

Meanwhile, the blank canvas V7 Stone becomes a little blanker with some of the chrome pieces replaced by plain black. To further incentivise customisers, it also comes with more factory options. The V7 Stone will arrive in three colours: gloss Rosso Corposo (red), satin Verde Agata (green), and Matte Black. It also gets a new wet flywheel, replacing the previous dry alternator, slightly modifying the front of the 90° V-twin.

www.laro.com.au

Road V Retro 250 ....................................... DT250 clone ......................................$2990+orc Cruiser Cruiser 250........................................ Learner’s ride ....................................$3999+orc MEGELLI

www.megelli.com

Road 250S ................................................... Nice looker ........................................$4250+orc 250R ................................................... Italian styling ....................................$4850+orc 250SE................................................. Sportsbike handling ........................$5650+orc MOTO GUZZI

www.motoguzzi.com.au

Moto Guzzi prices are maximum recommended advertised ride-away price.

Road V7 Stone............................................ Minimalist retro................................$13,490ra V7 Special ......................................... Faithful to the original V7 ................$13,990ra V7 Racer SE ...................................... Limited edition marvel ....................$15,990ra 1200 Sport 4V SE ............................. Grunter ..............................................$18,990ra

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 135

MV Agusta has extended its clearance sale on non-ABS four-cylinder models until December 1. The sale prices, which are $2000-$3000 below regular prices, are shown here.

DL1000 V-Strom ............................... Powerfully competent ....................$15,490+orc Scooter AN200A Burgman 200 ABS ........... The smallest city burger .................$5490+orc AN400A Burgman ABS ................... A stylish maxi ..................................$10,090+orc AN650A Burgman ABS ................... Overhauled ......................................$13,590+orc SYM

www.scoota.com.au

Scooter Classic 150 ........................................ Noble ride.........................................$2799+orc VS 150 ............................................... Branch away ....................................$3199+orc Symphony 150 ................................. Sporty big wheeler..........................$2999+orc HD Evo 200 ....................................... Whacko!............................................$4599+orc Firenze 300........................................ Full of features .................................$5999+orc MaxSym 400i ................................... Ride-away price ...............................$7999ra TGB

X-Hot ................................................. It’s a hottie .........................................$3990+orc Gmax ................................................. Go to the max...................................$4700+orc PIAGGIO

www.piaggio.com.au

www.tgbscooters.com.au

Scooter Bellavita 125 ..................................... Very chic ...........................................$3990+orc X-Race 150 ........................................ You’ll need knee sliders..................$2590+orc Bullet 150 .......................................... Small-calibre projectile...................$3390+orc Xmotion 300 ..................................... Smooth mover ................................$4990+orc Bellavita 300i .................................... Very chic, and bigger ......................$5490+orc TORINO

www.torinomotorcycles.com.au

Yourban 300 ..................................... Leaning three-wheeler....................$9990+orc X10 500.............................................. Big features ......................................$11,990+orc

Torino ride-away prices are mostly Sydney-based and may vary elsewhere.

Cruiser Veloce 250 ......................................... American styled ..............................$4695ra Titan 250 ........................................... Chop chop ........................................$TBA Scooter Galetta Retro..................................... Plenty of features ............................$2195ra Aero Sport ........................................ Cut the wind.....................................$2195ra Famosa ............................................. City chic ............................................$2395ra Messina Classic................................ New retro (Vespa) beauty ..............$3495ra

ROYAL ENFIELD

TRIUMPH

Scooter Typhoon 125 ..................................... Blow you away ................................$2990+orc Fly 150ie ............................................ Buzz around the city........................$3090+orc Liberty 150ie ..................................... Big wheel freedom..........................$3690+orc Beverly 350 ....................................... Higher performance........................$7990+orc

www.royalenfieldaustralia.com

Road B5 Bullet 500 .................................... Fire your guns..................................$6995+orc G5 Deluxe ......................................... She’s deluxe .....................................$7445+orc C5 Classic/Military ........................... Individual style ................................$7995+orc C5 Chrome ........................................ Lots of eye candy ............................$8495+orc SUZUKI

www.suzukimotorcycles.com.au

Road Inazuma 250 ..................................... Let your inner zoomer out..............$4990+orc TU250XL3 ......................................... Retro learner ....................................$5990+orc DR-Z400SM ...................................... Everyday motard .............................$8990+orc SFV650/LAMS .................................. Commuting and fun duties ............$10,490+orc GSX650F/LAMS ............................... Silky smooth ....................................$10,490+orc GSX-R600 ......................................... Angry bee .........................................$14,990+orc GSR750 ............................................. Cracker of a motorcycle..................$12,490+orc GSX-R750 ......................................... The legend continues .....................$15,990+orc GSX-R1000 ....................................... Even lighter and faster ...................$18,490+orc GSX-S1000 ....................................... Naked superbike for 2015 ..............$TBA GSX-S1000F ..................................... 2015’s new super-tourer .................$TBA GSF1250S Bandit ABS .................... Long-distance ease .........................$12,990+orc GSX1250FA ...................................... A little bit of everything ..................$14,990+orc GSX1300R Hayabusa ...................... Soar like an eagle ............................$19,290+orc Cruiser VL250 Intruder.................................. Bang that drum ...............................$6690+orc VL800 C50 ......................................... Traditional .......................................$10,990+orc VL800 C50T....................................... All-new class ....................................$12,990+orc VZ800 M50........................................ Neat bobber .....................................$10,990+orc VL1500 C90T..................................... Bad boy.............................................$17,490+orc VLR1800 C109R ................................ Classic looks.....................................$18,690+orc VLR1800T C109RT............................ Now as a tourer ...............................$18,990+orc VZR1800 M109R............................... Beaut and brutal ..............................$18,990+orc VZR1800 M109R............................... Black edition .....................................$19,490+orc VZR1800Z M109RZ ......................... Monster energy ...............................$19,490+orc VZR1800Z14...................................... Special edition .................................$19,490+orc Adv Touring DL650 V-Strom/LAMS ..................... Deservedly a big seller ...................$11,290+orc DL650 V-Strom XT............................ Re-styled and updated for 2015.....$TBA

136 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

www.triumphmotorcycles.com.au

Road Street Triple 660 LAMS .................... Learner-legal thrills..........................$12,490+orc Street Triple 675 ABS ....................... Streets ahead ...................................$12,990+orc Street Triple 675 R ABS.................... Even further ahead..........................$13,990+orc Daytona 675 ABS ............................. Supersport gem ..............................$14,990+orc Daytona 675R ABS........................... Track day heaven .............................$16,990+orc Bonneville ......................................... Tradition reborn...............................$12,490+orc Bonneville ......................................... Two tone ...........................................$12,990+orc Bonneville T100 Black ...................... Livin’ in the ’70s...............................$12,490+orc Bonneville T100 A2........................... Nostalgia rules.................................$14,250+orc Bonneville T100 SE .......................... Special edition .................................$14,990+orc Bonneville Newchurch SE .............. April 2015..........................................$TBA Bonneville T214 Land Speed LE ..... Coming soon ...................................$TBA Bonneville Spirit SE......................... April 2015..........................................$TBA Scrambler ......................................... Dirt track racer..................................$14,390+orc Scramber .......................................... Two tone ..........................................$14,990+orc Thruxton ........................................... To the café!.......................................$14,390+orc Thruxton Ace SE .............................. Ace Café special edition .................$TBA Speed Triple ABS.............................. It’s a gem ..........................................$16,990+orc Speed Triple R ABS .......................... Sex on wheels ................................$19,990+orc Street Triple RX SE ........................... Inspired by the Daytona 675 ..........$TBA Sprint GT........................................... All world capabilities ......................$15,990+orc Trophy SE.......................................... Superb tourer ..................................$27,490+orc Cruiser America ............................................ Easy urban rider ..............................$13,090ra Speed Master ................................... All round goodness ........................$13,090+orc Thunderbird ABS ............................. Aptly named flyer............................$19,490+orc Thunderbird Storm ABS ................. Thunderous......................................$20,990+orc Thunderbird ABS TT ........................ Brand new ........................................$19,990+orc Thunderbird ABS HAZE .................. Shiny and new ................................$21,990+orc Thunderbird Commander .............. 2014’s tough new T-bird...................$22,490+orc Thunderbird LT................................. T-bird goes touring ..........................$23,490+orc Rocket III Roadster ABS...What’s not to love about 2300cc? ..................$21,490+orc Rocket III Touring ABS...................... Reasonably easy to ride .................$23,990+orc Adv Touring Tiger 800 ABS .................................. ABS option .......................................$13,890+orc

PRICE GUIDE THREE SPECIAL BONNIES Three new Triumph Bonnevilles will hit the market in 2015, all in the first half of the year. Triumph has created the Bonneville Newchurch SE to celebrate the annual international Triumph Tridays festival in Austria. The Bonneville Spirit SE features a host of custom touches in its design. The Bonneville T214 Land Speed Limited Edition, of which only 1000 will be made, revels in the memory of Johnny Allen’s 1956 Texas Ceegar. Prices are yet to be determined. We’ll have more on these and other new Triumphs next issue.

Hammer 8 Ball ................................. Hammer that 8-ball .........................$20,995ra Judge................................................. A younger Victory............................$20,995ra Gunner .............................................. Very cool bobber .............................$19,995ra Hammer S......................................... Hammer it! .......................................$22,995ra Hammer LE....................................... New limited edition.........................$23,495ra Jackpot .............................................. Showroom custom .........................$23,995ra Boardwalk Black ............................... Cool classic in black ........................$22,495ra Boardwalk Two Tone ........................ Cool classic in black and red ..........$22,995ra Cross Roads Classic ........................ Chromed-up cool ............................$24,995ra Cross Country .................................. Comfortable touring .......................$26,495ra Cross Country Tour .......................... Ultra-comfortable touring ..............$28,495ra Ness Cross Country ......................... It’s got attitude .................................$29,995ra Magnum ........................................... Cross country bling .........................$29,995ra Vision Tour......................................... Space age looks ..............................$30,495ra VIPER

www.urbanmotoimports.com.au

Cruiser Black Diamond ................................. 2500cc of raw grunt ........................$54,990+orc Diamondback ................................... Cruising superpower ......................$54,990+orc YAMAHA

Tiger 800XC ABS ............................. Bash it hardcore ..............................$15,990+orc Tiger 800XC SE ................................ Special edition .................................$16,990+orc Tiger Sport ABS ............................... More growl for the road .................$15,990+orc Tiger Explorer 1200 ......................... True adventure-tourer.....................$20,490+orc Tiger Explorer Wire Wheels ............ The tougher version .......................$20,990+orc URAL

www.imz-ural.com.au

Road T ......................................................... Cult status outfit ..............................$18,500+orc Adv Touring Tourist................................................ WWII replica.....................................$20,400+orc Bondi Tourist ..................................... Beach to bush tourer ......................$20,400+orc Ranger ............................................... Even tougher ...................................$21,600+orc Bondi Ranger.................................... New 2014 model..............................$21,600+orc VESPA

www.vespa.com.au

Scooter Primavera LX125 3-Valve ................ For the designer in you ..................$5290+orc Primavera LX150 3-Valve ................ With a bit more oomph ..................$5990+orc Sprint 150ie 3V ................................. Sporty looks .....................................$6290+orc GTS150ie 3V ..................................... Practical ............................................$6690+orc GTS250ie FL ..................................... Style in a great package .................$7490+orc GTS300 Super FL ABS .................... Vroom vroom ..................................$8790+orc GTS300 Super Sport FL .................. Sportier style....................................$8690+orc GTV300ie .......................................... Powerful Italian ................................$8990+orc PX150 ................................................ The purist’s ride ...............................$6490+orc VICTORY

www.victorymotorcycles.com.au

All Victory prices are ride-away.

Cruiser Vegas 8 Ball ...................................... Sink the 8-ball ..................................$19,995ra High-Ball ........................................... Ol’ skool cool ...................................$19,495ra

www.yamaha-motor.com.au

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GREAT ESCAPE

HOMAGE TO STEVE McQUEEN’S

GREAT ESCAPE JUMP One of the most talked-about stunts in cinematic history almost didn’t happen, and may have been performed by an Aussie n obsession with the movie, The Great Escape, has led Brit Don Whistance on a five-year search which has revealed several of the 1963 film’s famous locations, including the famous jump scene. His resulting website, thegreatescapelocations.com, has now become a homage for other film and motorcycle fans.

“As a result of the website I know motorbikers have visited the jump field and Chad McQueen (the actor’s son) drove a motorbike over there last year,” Don says. “Last year a German friend from Munich drove down on his bike to search for the locations with me.”

Don’s obsession with the movie began a er reading the autobiography of the actor’s first wife, Neile McQueen, so he decided to go in search of Bavaria Studios and Deining, where the McQueens lived during filming.

“So 800 miles later we arrived in Munich and then drove down to Fussen, where the motorbike chase was filmed.

That was in 2010 when the website was in its infancy,” he says. His research, which involved matching stills from the film with his travels, has revealed the exact jump site. Even though McQueen’s character, USAAF Captain Virgil Hilts (the “Cooler King”), tries to jump the barbed-wire border fence between Germany and Switzerland, it was actually filmed in the hills around Pfronten, about 100km from the Swiss border. The jump took place in the Benken area in a field, alongside a small road between Rossmoos and Benken, with the Alps in the background.

Don also found some interesting background information about the filming of the jump a er interviewing the property owner, Josef “Seppy” Kern.

Seppy says he remembers as a 16-yearold that they filmed for a week in his father’s field and that there were about 20 a empts to jump the fence each day.

A

“Steve McQueen would speed around the field with those children who were happy to take a ride with the Hollywood film star while they waited for the scene to be set up once again,” Seppy says on the website.

Don’s site also confirms the fact that McQueen didn’t do the jump, even though he was a very competent rider who represented the USA in the

“McQueen would speed around the field with those children who were happy to take a ride with the Hollywood film star” gruelling 1964 six-day enduro. The film studio thought it was too risky, so McQueen enlisted his friend Bud Ekins to do the 4m jump and the stunt where he slides the bike into the barbed wire fence. It was actually a wire fence with rubber bands tied to it to look like barbed wire. However, McQueen did most of the other stunt riding, including

wearing a German uniform and riding as one of his character’s pursuers because the stunt riders weren’t good enough to keep up.

One of the most talked-about stunts in cinematic history almost didn’t happen. It wasn’t in the script but McQueen insisted on it to give his character more screen time.

In other interesting tidbits from the site, it’s believed an unnamed Australian rider who was also a friend of McQueen’s may have performed the jump. The rider was competing in the European motocross championship and happened to be in Germany at the time. He was put in uniform and was filmed practising the stunt, so it is still not confirmed who did the jump that is shown in the final cut.

Don’s favourite page is the “Hopfen Am See” page because it is the “trip wire” scene, where McQueen steals the Triumph TR6 motorcycle which was dressed up to look like a WWII BMW. In the background is the white church, which is where he lived during this part of the filming. There are many other interesting pages that show various bike and non-bike-related scenes. Any fans of the film, McQueen and motorbikes will find the site well worth a visit. ARR

■ Farmer Seppy watched filming of the scene in his father’s field

AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER | 145

LAST LOOK r The original movie is a cult classic

ext month’s issue kicks off the New Year and a new year always means one thing: new bikes! We take a look at all of the new models to hit showroom floors in the new year so you can start planning how you’re going to afford them! Next issue you can also expect to see: • Indian’s legendary Scout returns.

With design elements harking back to the Scout of Indian’s heyday, will its performance match its aggressive pricing in such a hotly-contested market segment?

• The Triumph Commander sits in Triumph’s range as a classic cruiser with a massive 1699cc parallel twin engine. Is it too much muscle for a laidback cruiser?

• Yamaha has been kicking goals with every new product launched in 2014, and the twin-cylinder MT-07 naked bike is no different. It’s learner legal, but will it serve as a machine for all levels of rider?

• Fat tyres, more black than chrome and tied together in an aggressively styled package, Harley’s Street Bob is a nod to the burly hogs of the ‘80s. Does it have the appeal to a ract the masses?

• Want to travel the US? We did and we will show you how you can too.

N

146 | AUSTRALIAN ROAD RIDER

r Steve McQueen starred in the original On Any Sunday

ON ANY SUNDAY n the back of the legendary ‘60s surfing classic The Endless Summer, director Bruce Brown released what was to become a cult motorcycle classic, On Any Sunday.

Next year marks 44 years since the original movie; 1971 doesn’t seem so long ago but time flies when you are having fun! To mark the occasion, Bruce’s son Dana has created the legendary film’s sequel, On Any Sunday: The Next Chapter.

We hear what you’re saying — it’ll be nothing like the original. Right? Well, with dad Bruce in the background as an executive producer, there’s hope that some of the original movie’s rawness, simplicity and innovative filming will be brought to life in a modern format, and the initial trailer videos suggest it’ll be just that.

Sounds like the perfect stocking filler!

O

COMING UP ARR #110 GOES ON SALE 17TH DECEMBER

• There’s more to se ing up a bike than suspension adjustment. We show you how to tailor your bike to fit you and your riding style.

• First aid is something we should all know. While you search for a course to do as soon as possible, we’ll show you

some vital skills for motorcycle injuries.

• We’ll wave goodbye to the long-term Victory, bolt beaut bits on the Project Bolt, take you to gold country at Hill End and bring you all the other great stuff we do each month.

See you then and, as always, ride safe!

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