Motorcycle Sport & Leisure December 2018 by Mortons Media Group Ltd

‘

IT FE EELS LIKE UTTER MAGIC!’

Living g with Yamaha’s Niken on UK roads

3 30

PA AGES OF TO OURING & AD DVENTURE

December 2018 Issue 699

Corrner like a cop Britaiin’s ﬁnest tell you how

BAGS OF N NEW BIKES & BEST OLD BUYS BU REVEALED Ducati Scrambler Icon ◆ Royal Enfield Interceptor tor & Continental GT ◆ Yamaha Niken ◆ Triumph Tiger 1200 vs Ducati Multistrada 1260 260 ◆ Honda Gold Wing

What did I miss? Mikko Nieminen

wish it had been the tractor that I missed, but no – I went straight into the side of it. So instead I missed the best biking summer in living memory. Oh well, I guess it could have been a lot worse. I will go into more detail about the crash in a later issue, but in a nutshell it was a rather big bang with a tractor on an old airfield, followed by a helicopter ride to the hospital, a good while on hospital food, then a load of daytime TV and hobbling around my house on crutches. Not the summer I had planned. As I write this it has been seven months since the crash, and it looks like I’ve pretty much regained my pre-prang level of fitness (which isn’t that hard if you’re not very fit in the first place). Things are looking good. If I were a bike I would have been classed as a category S write off (structurally damaged but repairable) right after the crash, then lovingly rebuilt by the NHS mechanics, and now in full working order with some minor cosmetic blemishes. The curious thing about having some time away from work is that you start missing it much sooner than you realise. To try and claw my way back to normality and feel like I was working again I started to keep an eye on what was going on with the mag as soon as the NHS morphine wore off. One of the things that I particularly enjoyed was reading the correspondence. Thanks to everyone who has sent emails and letters with good wishes for a speedy recovery – they have been much appreciated. And apologies if I haven’t replied to you all, there was a lot of mail to catch up with. Luckily, while I have been licking my wounds and slowly getting back into work again Tony has kept MSL going from month to month. He’s done a sterling

I’ve spent a few months on the sidelines, and it looks like I’ve missed a corker of a biking summer. What else did I miss? job, but unfortunately his knees are playing up, so we’re both off bikes for the time being. It’s like two diabetics running a sweet shop – you can look but you can’t touch. One positive result of the accident was that I’m a much higher-value individual now. Don’t believe me? Well, consider this: there’s such a huge amount of metal plates, pins and screws holding my body together that the scrap value alone must be staggering. I just wonder what will happen the first time I go through airport security. Those body scanners are going to sound like a brass band marching past. So, anyway, now that I’m back… What’s been going on for the past few months? Did I miss anything good? I may still have been high on morphine, but I thought I heard they broke the (impossible, just plain impossible) 135mph average lap time at the TT, and apparently there’s a Harley adventure bike about to hit the scene (really, let that sink in for a little while). It also sounds like Suzuki has brought the Katana back, Kawasaki has made the H2 even more insanely powerful and fast, and against all odds Tony hasn’t stolen my office coffee that was stashed in my top drawer... Somebody pinch me now!

Mikko Nieminen, Editor

Motorcycle Sport & Leisure’s contributors... Alan Cathcart

Alan Cathcart has been writing about bikes for more than 30 years, and riding them for even longer. He’s regularly given the keys to factory prototypes and being on ﬁrst name terms with the bosses of bike companies around the world allows him to bag many scoops.

Roland Brown

A bike journalist for more than 30 years, Roland has contributed to countless publications worldwide and authored a dozen books on bikes. He has tested machines ranging from Rossi’s YZR-M1 to a 1923 Douglas but still can’t decide which type of bike he most enjoys riding.

Chris Moss

Mossy has made a living from bikes since 1985 – ﬁrst as a motorcycle courier in London, and then as a journo from 1995. He’s raced, ridden and tinkered with hundreds of different bikes, but he’s the ﬁrst to admit there’s still loads to experience and learn.

Peter Henshaw

Peter is our history man – he’s written more than 60 books and is a former editor of this very publication. Now a freelance journalist, he writes about transport of all kinds, though bikes are really at the heart of it all. He’s an all-yearround rider who does not own a car.

Phil West

A bike journalist for 30 years, Phil’s a former editor of Bike and What Bike, executive editor of MCN, and has written for the Daily Telegraph and Evening Standard. In his garage are a 1924 Sirrah, 1980 RD350LC, 1995 Thunderbird 900 and, currently, a 2017 CB1100.

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 3

Contents

PAY LESS

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NEWS & OPINION

7 News

The new 2019 bikes are starting to pop up – oh yeah!

14 Maynard Hershon

Riding with the prince of peace.

16 Products

It’s not all about new bikes, there’s lots of cool kit too.

18 The High Sider

Our sofa-jockey’s latest racing report.

20 Subscription offer

Save cash and get the mag before the shops even get a look in.

28 Your letters

MSL readers share their thoughts on everything two-wheeled.

TOURING & ADVENTURE

51 Touring news

60 Long ride

52 Day ride

66 Adventure advice

Tough women go for a stormy World Record attempt.

Over a thousand miles in one day. Yeah, that’s right!

55 Richard Millington

Not all motorways are dull to ride.

56 Mid ride

In Latvia and Estonia you see all sorts, including a Joey Dunlop memorial.

4 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

Part one of a journey through China, Tibet and Russia.

What to do when things go wrong.

70 Burt Munro Challenge

This is probably the coolest race on earth.

76 Winging it

Riding to Slovenia for a Gold Wing owners’ get together.

December 2018

92 ROAD TESTS

22 Yamaha Niken

This three-wheeler divides opinion – until you ride it and fall in love.

30 Ducati Multistrada 1260

& Triumph Tiger 1200

It’s the old hare and tortoise setup, but who will win?

38 Triumph Scrambler Icon

Ducati’s retro-cool scrambler has been updated.

44 Royal Enﬁeld Interceptor

& GT

The new 650cc twins are after a piece of that retro pie.

114 Akrapovic Full Moon

Alan Cathcart rides a special that’s very, well, special.

TEST FLEET 100 Kawasaki H2 SX SE

It’s only the ﬁrst month and Bertie’s fallen for it already.

102 Suzuki GSX-S1000F

Is it better than a Z1000SX?

104 Yamaha Tracer 900

Finchy gets some new tyres.

105 Honda X-ADV

London’s calling, but Mossy is not answering.

106 Honda Africa Twin DCT Matt tries to get his head around the DCT transmission.

107 KTM 1090

Jono is more than happy to put the miles in while Roger’s off.

KNOWLEDGE 83 Knowledge

Have police and a council ﬁnally cracked motorcycle crime?

84 Buyer’s guide

Are you better off buying a retro bike or the real thing?

92 Improve your cornering Expert tips from British police motorcycle riders.

97 Events

This is what’s happening next month across the UK.

102 Tried & tested

The very latest riding gear and gizmos as tested by us.

118 Kevin Cameron

Engine cooling is really not as simple as it sounds.

EDITOR: Mikko Nieminen: mnieminen@mortons.co.uk ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Tony Carter: tcarter@mortons.co.uk SENIOR DESIGNER: Justin Blackamore DESIGNERS: Fran Lovely, Charlotte Turnbull PRODUCTION EDITOR: Dan Sharp PICTURE DESK: Paul Fincham and Jonathan Schoﬁeld PUBLISHER: Dan Savage: asavage@mortons.co.uk GROUP KEY ACCOUNTS MANAGER: Steff Woodhouse: swoodhouse@mortons.co.uk 01507 529452 / 07786 334330 DIVISIONAL ADVERTISING MANAGER: Zoe Thurling zthurling@mortons.co.uk 01507 529412 ADVERTISING SALES: Lee Buxton: lbuxton@mortons.co.uk 01507 529453 SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER: Paul Deacon: pdeacon@mortons.co.uk CIRCULATION MANAGER: Steve O’Hara: sohara@mortons.co.uk MARKETING MANAGER: Charlotte Park: cpark@mortons.co.uk COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR: Nigel Hole EDITORIAL ADDRESS: MSL Magazine, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6JR WEBSITE: www.mslmagazine.co.uk GENERAL QUERIES AND BACK ISSUES: 01507 529529 24 hr answerphone help@classicmagazines.co.uk www.classicmagazines.co.uk ARCHIVE ENQUIRIES: Jane Skayman jskayman@mortons.co.uk 01507 529423 SUBSCRIPTION: Full subscription rates (but see page 20 for offer): (12 months 12 issues, inc post and packing) – UK £51.60. Export rates are also available – see page 20 for more details. UK subscriptions are zero-rated for the purposes of Value Added Tax. SUBSCRIPTION AGENTS: Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6JR CUSTOMER SERVICES NUMBER: 01507 529529 TELEPHONE LINES ARE OPEN: MONDAY-FRIDAY 8.30AM-6PM SATURDAY 8.30AM-12.30PM DISTRIBUTION: Marketforce UK Ltd, 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HU. 0203 787 9001. PRINTED: William Gibbons & Sons, Wolverhampton The publisher accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. If you are sending material to us for publication, you are strongly advised to make copies and to include a stamped addressed envelope. Original material must be submitted and will be accepted solely on the basis that the author accepts the assessment of the publisher as to its commercial value. © Mortons Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publisher. ISSN: 1478-8390 MOTORCYCLE SPORT & LEISURE (USPS:001-522) is published monthly by Mortons Media Group Ltd, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6LZ UK. USA subscriptions are $66 per year from Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 Cty Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921. Periodical Postage is paid at Bancroft WI and additional entries. Postmaster: Send address changes to MOTORCYCLE SPORT & LEISURE, c/o Motorsport Publications LLC, 7164 Cty Rd N #441, Bancroft WI 54921. 715-572-4595 chris@ classicbikebooks.com

108 Kawasaki Z900RS

Time to say farewell to the pretty one.

109 Honda CB1000R

With Tony out of action, Ross leaps to the bike’s defence.

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6 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure â&#x20AC;&#x201C; established 1962

NEW Need to know ◆ Your letters ◆ First rides

Suzuki brings back ack the 80s The wait is over. Suzuki has ﬁnally revealed its much-anticipated new Katana for 2019.

he original Katana was launched in 1981 and boasted a memorable design with sharp lines and a rectangular headlight. That look inspired last year’s Katana 3.0 concept, which gave us a big clue that a production bike was on its way. Now, at last, we have the real thing. The bike that was unveiled at the Intermot show in Cologne has been styled by famed motorcycle designer Rodolfo Frascoli with nods to the original machine and the latest concept, with modern touches. The immediately recognisable rectangular headlight is updated with stacked LED lights, while at the back LED tail-lights sit in an angular seat unit,

immediately eye-catching thanks to the repositioning of the number plate hanger. The one-piece seat also pays homage to the original Katana in its design. The fuel tank and top fairing are also recognisable as Katana. Classic red Suzuki lettering adorns the tank and mimics the original but follows aggressive new lines, while the fairing, too, takes the 80s bike’s angles and exaggerates them for a purposeful-looking front end. The bike is finished in the classic silver. A lot of the building blocks that make the new bike come from the GSX-S1000 and GSX-R1000 series: the twin-spar aluminium frame, fully-adjustable 43mm USD front forks, rebound and preload adjustable rear shock, and Brembo monobloc front brake calipers and 310mm floating discs are

from existing stock. ABS is provided by Bosch. Power comes from the 999cc inline fourcylinder engine that began life in the GSX-R1000 K5, and delivers 150bhp/80lb-ft. The modern touches include a three-mode traction control system (that can be turned off), and a new LCD dash. Suzuki accessories will include a tinted screen and coloured seat, plus carbon engine covers and coloured brake calipers. The new Katana is expected to be available through dealers in spring next year. The price has yet to be confirmed by Suzuki.

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 7

Top Stories

Brave new direction for Indian Motorcycle

Indian Motorcycle has unveiled the long-awaited FTR 1200 and FTR 1200 S street bikes based on the FTR750 ﬂat track race bike.

t’s finally here! We’ve been waiting for the road-going version of the Indian FTR750 flat tracker for what seems like ages; first there was the beautiful race bike that has dominated American Flat Track races since it was introduced in 2016, then the FTR1200 concept got us very excited, and after a while we started to hear rumours about a production bike, backed up by spy shots. The long wait was finally over when America’s first motorcycle company made the welcome announcement of not just one but two variants of the FTR1200 at the Intermot motorcycle show in Cologne, Germany. And the bikes look stunning! This could be a very big step into the European motorcycling mainstream for the US manufacturer.

A new 1203cc V-twin engine with around 120bhp (90kW) and 85lb-ft (115Nm) of torque provides what Indian calls an ‘impressively flat torque curve for flexibility and strong acceleration’. The engine features a 12.5:1 compression ratio, high flow cylinder heads, and dual throttle bodies for optimal throttle response and power delivery. Additionally, the engine makes wide use of magnesium to lower weight and utilises a low-inertia crankshaft that allows the engine to rev quickly to its redline for thrilling acceleration. Maybe it’s just us, but the silhouette of the bike with the red trellis frame does not look entirely unlike a more streamlined version of the Ducati Monster.

8 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

The FTR1200 (above) and the FTR1200 S (below) had their world launch in Europe. Guess where the biggest sales might be?

2019 BIKES

The 13-litre fuel tank is under the seat for a lower centre of gravity and more centralised weight distribution. Similar to the FTR750 race bike, the airbox is positioned directly above the engine to optimise airflow and maximise power. Newly developed Dunlop street tyres with flat track-inspired tread, a chain final drive, and ProTaper flat tracker aluminium handlebars complete the race bike look. The FTR 1200 and FTR 1200 S models both feature full LED

lighting, a fast-charge USB port to easily charge mobile devices, and cruise control for a comfortable ride. The difference between the two models is that the S is equipped with fully adjustable suspension, a customisable LCD touch screen, a bigger brain with lean-angle sensitive stability control, and ride modes (Sport, Standard, Rain). The FTR 1200 is available in black, while the FTR 1200 S comes in red/grey, metallic black and race-replica paint

schemes. Both models will begin shipping to dealers during the first half of 2019. Prices start at £11,899 for the standard FTR1200, £12,999 for the S version, and £13,499 if you want to get the S in the race-replica colours. Grant Bester, Indian Motorcycle’s EMEA vice president told us at Intermot that “there’s more to come next month at the EICMA show...” No idea what that could be, but we’ll let you know in the next issue of MSL.

Specification INDIAN FTR1200 (FTR1200 S) Engine: 1203cc V-twin, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder, graded buckets Power: 120bhp @ 8250rpm Torque: 85lb-ft @ 6000rpm Transmission: 6-speed, chain final drive Frame: Tubular trellis steel mainframe, aluminium rear sub-frame Brakes: (F) Dual radially mounted 320mm discs, Brembo Monobloc 4.32 4-piston calipers; (R) Single 260mm semi-floating disc, Brembo P34 2-piston caliper Suspension: (F) 43mm USD cartridge forks, 150mm of travel (fully adjustable on the S); (R) Tubular steel swingarm, side mounted monoshock, 150mm of travel (fully adjustable on the S). Dry weight: 225kg (226kg) Wheelbase: 1524mm Seat height: 805mm laden, 840mm unladen Contact: www.indianmotorcycle.eu

“There’s more to come next month at the EICMA show...”

Grant Bester

Indian Motorcycle’s EMEA vice president

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 9

Top Stories New tourer from Yamaha Yamaha will introduce a new GT version of its popular Tracer 700 for 2019. The new Tracer 700GT comes with an adjustable high touring screen, ergonomic seating and colour-matched 20-litre side cases. Yamaha says that the upgrades from the Tracer 700 model offer greater wind protection with increased touring comfort and improved functionality. There are no changes to the torque-rich 689cc, two-cylinder, crossplane engine that powers Yamaha’s range of 700s; the Tracer, the MT-07 and the XSR700. The GT is available in Phantom Blue, Tech Black and Nimbus Grey colour options. Pricing and availability has not yet been confirmed.

Kawasaki’s upgraded big Ninja Based on the KRT race machine that has so far amassed three consecutive WorldSBK championships, the new Ninja ZX-10R range offers greater power, a more generous power band and a torque increase for 2019. Peak power is now higher at 200bhp; a figure that can be increased further for track users by the addition of a full race exhaust. All Ninja ZX-10R variants (ZX-10R, ZX-10RR, ZX-10R SE) will now come

equipped with the same cylinder head ready for high lift cams first introduced on the Ninja ZX-10RR. To denote this change, all models feature a red-painted cylinder head cover. Apart from ‘headline changes’, another interesting upgrade for 2019 is the adoption of the KQS dual direction quick-shifter across all models. Availability and prices are still to be confirmed.

ZX-10R

ZX-10R SE

ZX-10RR

MODEL VARIATIONS: ZX-10R: The base model with high-grade components like Balance Free Front Fork and BFRC lite suspension and a Brembo brake package. ZX-10RR: Track-focused single-seat model with further engine and chassis modiﬁcations, including titanium con rods, ﬁne-tuned suspension settings, and forged Marchesini wheels. Limited to 500 numbered units worldwide. X-10R SE: High-grade model with Kawasaki’s electronic suspension (KECS), forged Marchesini wheels, and Kawasaki’s new Highly Durable Paint to reduce wear and scuffing.

10 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

Yamaha YZF-R125: Small is beautiful

The all-new small-capacity Yamaha YZF-R125 has been introduced on the 20th anniversary of the company’s range-topping YZF-R1. The Japanese manufacturer says it’s the most advanced 125cc supersport it has ever developed. Its liquid-cooled four-valve engine is equipped with Variable Valve Actuation, a new cylinder head with higher combustion efficiency, and a redesigned fuel injection system with a wider throttle body. There’s also a new Deltabox frame, lightweight aluminium swingarm, a multi-function LCD display, a new 11-litre fuel tank, a wider 140-section rear tyre, and a reﬁned A&S clutch. The YZF-R125 will be available at the beginning of 2019. Price not conﬁrmed yet.

Kawasaki Ninja 125 and Z125: Dressed or naked? Kawasaki’s 2019 Ninja 125 and Z125 are equipped with a single-cylinder, watercooled engine rated at a healthy peak of 14.7bhp and offering a maximum of 8.6lb-ft of torque. Both machines also feature sleek trellis type frames. The Z125 has the naked looks shared with other Z models, while the Ninja 125 is inspired by Jonathan Rea’s three-time WorldSBK winning Ninja ZX-10RR. Prices will start from £4399 for the Ninja, and from £4099 for the Z. Availability not yet conﬁrmed.