Motorcycle Sport & Leisure June 2015

20 PAGES OF GREAT TOURING IDEAS ✚ BENELLI’S BACK: EXCLUSIVE REVIEW OF THE NEW GRAND TOURER

EXCITING, POWERFUL

JUNE 657

...AND SENSIBLE!

Why 10-year-old tech makes sense for 2015

How to book your dream fly-ride holiday Boost power and reliability with a supercharger

HONDA GOLDWING 1800 BUYER’S GUIDE

‘THE MOST INTIMIDATING BIKE I’VE EVER RIDDEN’

CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF THE VMAX PLUS: REVISITED: MOTO GUZZI CALIFORNIA 850 ◆ ACF-50: IS IT REALLY AS GOOD AS THEY SAY? ◆ A LAP OFF THE BEATEN TRACK – EXPLORING THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ISLE OF MAN ◆ KIT TESTED, ROUTES TO RIDE & MORE

Killorglin

Killarney

Dunloe

Gap of Dunloe

Kenmare

IF YOU’RE PASSING

County Kerry, Ireland WORDS: Bruce Wilson

One to ride: Route: Dunloe to Kenmare Distance: 20 miles Time to ride: 45 minutes Heading in from the north, the mountainous views captivate the mind entirely. Arid and raw, the snow-capped summits overwhelm you as you try your best to track along the narrow and winding single-lane route.

This ancient pass is notorious for its beauty, which only intensifies the farther you go. Undulating relentlessly, the first real descent tracks the side of Black Lake, which you cross by means of the stone-built Wishing Bridge. On a winter’s day, the harsh wind ripples the water’s

surface, which is clear and reflecting of the towering rock faces. Derelict cottages are passed on your left, breathtaking waterfalls to your right. The surprisingly smooth surfaced road continues with its squiggly natured theme, made even more challenging by the occasional roaming sheep. More lakes, more bends and more vistas.

The core of the pass is over too soon, as the road begins a steep and winding climb over the next mountain range towards Kenmare. Heather and gorse bushes make for a colourful landscape, with the reintroduction of trees and habitat. Get a coffee at Kenmare before you head back to ride the route again.

First Rides Suzuki GSX-S1000

PROVEN TECH

Suzuki’s assault on the ever-growing naked sector starts here... with the engine from a 2005 sportsbike.

WORDS: Bruce Wilson PHOTOGRAPHY: Suzuki

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t’s lighter than Kawasaki’s Z1000, will outsprint BMW’s S1000R and is cheaper than Honda’s CB1000R. Just in case you haven’t got the message, Suzuki’s back and it’s aiming high in the ultra-competitive naked bike category.

Ever since its reveal late last year it’s caused a lot of attention, and for all the right reasons. Perhaps the most talkedabout element is its donor K5 GSX-R 1000 engine – the same motor that powered to five world championships, 16 national superbike championships and four Isle of Man TT wins.

Pedigrees don’t come much more impressive than that, as Suzuki’s Experiment Motor Engineer Keisuke Namekawa explained on the bike’s Spanish launch. He was drawn to using the engine owing to its “fantastically characterful and torquey nature”.

It’s not exactly as it was back in 2005, having been substantially modified with new, lighter pistons, completely different camshas and the latest kind of throttle bodies. ese changes club together to bolster the motor’s attraction, seeing a reduction in peak power in favour of some much more usable low-to-mid-range drivability.

While the option was there to use the latest GSX-R’s engine, apparently it

The GSX-S is available in three catchily named colours: Metallic Triton Blue; Metallic Matt Fibroin Grey; Candy Daring Red.

lacked the attitude needed, and its gear ratios weren’t as appealing either.

Creating a beast

Aside from the swingarm – borrowed from the latest GSX-R1000 – the rest of the bike is all-new. It’s no parts-bin special, blending a host of components seamlessly; adjustable Kayaba suspension front and rear, and specifically designed six-spoke wheels give this bike some classy-looking shoes. e GSX-S’s designer Shinji Tamura said he wanted to cra a muscular,

beast-like image for the new naked, with very few sharp lines to be found.

Each panel blends onto the next component effortlessly, with a very minimalist feel to the model. Up front are some clear digital clocks, giving all the typical info you’d expect, as well as a gear indicator. e dash also hosts a three-tier traction control monitor; the levels of traction are adjusted using a switch on the le bar, from which you can toggle the modes between Sport, City, Wet or off. Suzuki was really keen to push the mslmagazine.co.uk 19

First Rides Benelli BN600GT

THE NEXT STEP UP

Two years on from the launch of the naked Benelli BN600R, the Italian marque’s Chinese owner Qianjiang has produced a touring version of the four-cylinder middleweight.

WORDS: Alan Cathcart PHOTOGRAPHY: Stephen Piper

C

ommercial success in both its home Chinese market and abroad has encouraged Benelli’s new owners – Qianjiang – to kickstart production of several more models bearing the Italian name. e latest four-cylinder model to join the line-up is the BN600GT sports tourer that’s about to make its European debut; unlike its predecessor, this is already being shipped direct from the Qianjiang factory to export markets such as Australia in exactly the same form as sold in China itself. A need hasn’t been identified to upgrade to European hardware in Benelli’s Pesaro factory. e chance to find out for myself if the Chinese brakes and suspension could cut it came by borrowing the first example of the BN600GT to be registered in Australia by Urban Moto Imports, for a day’s ride around the scenic Victorian Goldfields north-west

of Melbourne. Urban retails the four-cylinder Benelli GT for 8990 Australian Dollars OTR with a two-year unlimited mileage warranty, but without ABS. In Italy it’ll cost 6790 euro when supplies arrive in Europe shortly.

Benelli confirms that ABS will be available across its entire range for 2016, when it will become compulsory for all bikes sold in Europe, and will be an option elsewhere. With its nearest four-cylinder competitor – the Yamaha FZ8 – retailing for AUD 13,990, the Benelli seems a fair bit of motorcycle for the money, although the Japanese manufacturer’s 655cc MT-07 twin is the same price as the Chinese-made Italian bike.

FiT aNd FiNish

e bike’s substantial twin chromed crash guards perhaps represent the Chinese engineers’ attempt at providing a set of kangaroo bars in case you meet one on the road… “All the first batch of bikes we’ve been

The ’roo bars are fitted to every bike bought in to Australia, at least for now

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supplied with came fitted with them as standard,” said Joseph Elasmar, Urban Moto’s co-owner. “At least if you topple over on a dirt or gravel road, there’s some protection.” ey’ll also help you gauge how much room you have for lane-splitting in traffic when carrying any of the several different types of Givi luggage, both hard and so, included on the options list. But it’s worth noting that there’s no electric socket to plug in a GPS system or to charge your phone, and while I’m griping, the warning lights for the indicators are so dim that even on a dull day you may ride for miles with the winkers flashing, plus the lack of a second trip counter on the basic, but functional, dash is a nuisance on a bike with touring pretensions like this.

I’d also like at least one receptacle in the bodywork for freeway tickets etc – there is room for one, but nothing’s provided. And those flip-up footrests are deeply irritating: aer the 20th time I’d departed from a stop light and then found nowhere to park my foot because I’d accidentally flipped up the footrest, I invested in some insulation tape to stop that happening again. Still, the 27-litre tank, and 300-mile range makes looking for a gas station out in the middle of nowhere much less fraught an experience than might otherwise be the case. e Benelli is powered by the same relatively conventional 16-valve fourcylinder wet sump motor with no balance sha that was developed in Italy by Michelotti & Co. for the Naked R-model. Although it’s claimed to be potentially safe to 16,000 rpm in Supersport race guise, the GT’s revlimiter is set at 12,000 rpm; 500 revs more than on the R-model. e short, compact power unit has the six-speed transmission’s oil-bath clutch mounted quite high up on a robust crankcase that was originally intended for use as a frame. at’s because Benelli

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Yamaha VMAX

30 years of excess Celebrating one of the most incredible bikes ever built, MSL has exclusively brought together Yamaha’s latest machine, and the first V-max to be imported to the UK. This is where it all began…

WORDS: John Milbank PhOtOgRAPhY: Joe Dick

30 years of the VMaX

Y

amaha’s latest VMAX remains an icon of motorcycling. It’s sticking 197 fat middle fingers up at everything we consider ‘the norm’.

It’s designed to go fast in a straight line, it’s got none of the usual nods towards practicality or comfort, yet over the years it’s built up one of the most passionate and dedicated followings of any bike. e V-max (it went all caps for the second generation) wasn’t intended to be a mass-market machine; Yamaha hoped it would breathe some life into the recession-hit American market it was created for. Yet, in the mid1980s, Jean-Claude Oliver – then-president of Yamaha Motor France – saw a prototype during a visit to Japan, and convinced the company that the bike would have an appeal in Europe by importing a few for his friends shortly aer the US launch.

Towards the end of 1985, Mitsui (now Yamaha Motor UK) loaned ree Cross Motorcycles, in Dorset, a single V-max imported from Canada, before showing it at the NEC in Birmingham.

David O’Donnel was the self-employed welder and

30 years on, the UK’s very first V-max is still an imposing machine, even beside the brutal 197bhp Generation two

metal fabricator from Bournemouth who first bought the bike you see here – the V-max that started it all in the UK: “I read about it being ridden in the States, where it had just been launched, and I thought ‘what an incredible motorcycle’, says David.

“It had been advertised as the fastest accelerating bike on the planet, and I liked the idea of the thing. ree Cross had it on display, so I asked if I could buy it. ey told me no, as it was going around the country on show, but when the dealer realised how serious I was, he talked to Mitsui and it ended up mine.

“I knew this was a full-power Canadian version, which is probably why they were reluctant to release it.

It was an impressive bike; the V-Boost was quite incredible, but it was a straight-line machine… high-speed handling was a bit suspect.”

It was shown at the NEC in November 1985, and sold to David on January 17, 1986. e first officially imported bikes didn’t hit UK shores until 1991, but these were French-spec bikes restricted to 100bhp, thanks to a manufacturer’s voluntary 125bhp limit of the time.

Full-power machines didn’t reach Britain until 1996.

Yamaha is celebrating 30 years of the VMAX by

TOURING Your rides Expert advice Places to go

Mum and daughter take on Africa for autism Dynamic duo embark on a heart-warming adventure across continents, raising awareness of a condition affecting 700,000 people in the UK…

M

elanie Cowpland and her nineyear-old daughter Sofia, from Liphook, are planning a trip from East London in the UK to East London in South Africa, on a motorbike with a sidecar. ey’ll be raising money for the Adventure Autism Foundation – a charity they’ve set up to provide unique opportunities for children and adults with autism. e duo intends to take nine months to cross both Europe and Africa, kicking off their adventure in December. Asked about her reason for the trip Melanie explained, “I’ve always tried to raise awareness of autism – particularly in girls – and I hope our journey will raise much-needed understanding of the need to grow and develop children with autism on a personal level, so that they can realise their amazing potential.

“Autistic children are incredibly gied, and allowing them to discover their gi and use it is the very best outcome we can hope for.”

Melanie has no previous experience of motorbikes, so she is learning from scratch not only to ride a motorbike, but to find her way around the mechanics and maintenance of their outfit. ey will both have to learn to live on the road and develop survival skills just in case things don’t go to plan. e varying climate is also expected to provide the couple with a good challenge, along with language barriers, borders and poor road conditions. But Sofia’s personal difficulties are likely to outweigh all of the above, according to Melanie. “e main challenge of all this, though, is going to be Sofia’s autism. is will be a long, noisy journey on some very bumpy terrain, so all her sensitivities will be challenged, not to mention her many fears of the big wide world.

United Kingdom

Turkey Egypt

Ethiopia

Namibia South Africa

“She will be receiving as much attention as the plan itself to ensure that she knows exactly what it will be like to travel in the sidecar, and the various scenarios that she will be facing.

It is also for this reason that the journey is likely to take as long as nine months, as the time on the bike will have to be short, with long stops factored in for Sofia to reacclimatise.” e end goal in this epic journey is to help raise awareness, not only of autism, but of what is possible with autism. All funds

will go to the Adventure Autism Foundation which will fund the trip, and which they have set up to give personal growth opportunities to children and adults who have been diagnosed with autism through the provision of grants.

Keep up to date with the journey by following the blog at adventurewithautism.wordpress.com, and clicking ‘like’ on the Africa With Autism Facebook page – bit.ly/africawithautism.

Donations gratefully received at gofundme.com/africawithautism

Great Rides #21

The Music Tour

Ivan Taggart takes us through the Smoky Mountains, Deals Gap and the Tail of the Dragon to visit the iconic music venues of the US

Head north on Capitol Avenue from Atlanta, SW and go 79ft.

Turn right onto MLK Jr Drive NW; go 0.2 miles.

Turn left onto Interstate 75 (North)/Interstate 85 (North) ramp; go 0.2 miles, then merge onto I-75N/I-85N; go 3.1 miles.

Keep right at fork to continue on I-75Nl; follow signs for Marietta Chattanooga for 18 miles.

Keep right at fork to continue on GA-5N/I-575N, follow signs for Canton; go 30.7 miles. Continue onto GA-515E/State Route 515 (signs for Georgia 515N) and go 42.9 miles. Continue straight onto GA-515E/US-76E for 2.2 miles.

Turn left onto GA-60N, go 1.9 miles, then turn right onto Georgia 60 Spur; go 7.6 miles then continue onto NC-60N for 5 miles. Take slight right onto US-64E/US-74E and go 30.4 miles.

Turn left onto US-129N and follow for 51.4 miles.

Turn left onto TN-72W; follow road for 30 miles, then right onto National Campground Road; go 1.5 miles. Turn left onto TN-95N; go 3.5 miles.

Take exit 21 to merge onto US-78E/Lamar Avenue; continue on US-78E for 93.5 miles.

Take the FL-281 exit and go 0.3 miles, then right onto FL-281S and go 11.0 miles.

Take exit 85 for Natchez Trace Parkway, go 0.3 miles then left onto Natchez Trace Parkway for 223.5 miles.

Turn left onto FL-30E/US-98E and follow FL-30E/US-98E for 39 miles.

Turn left onto FL-293N and go 12.6 miles, then take exit towards FL-285N, go 0.3 miles then right onto FL-285N and go 15.5 miles.

Turn right towards MS-18W, go 1.2 miles then left onto US-61S for 1.6 miles. Turn left onto MS-547S/McComb Avenue and follow MS-547 for 24.4 miles.

Turn right onto FL-10E/US-90E and go 2.1 miles, then turn left onto Co Highway 1087/New Harmony Road and follow Co Highway 1087 for 8.7 miles.

Turn left onto MS-28E, go 6.7 miles then right onto Sylvarena Road and go 8.9 miles.

Turn right to merge onto I-55S towards Brookhaven and go 117 miles.

Continue onto FL-2W and go 2.6 miles, then turn right onto Co Highway 2 and go 0.3 miles.

Turn left onto US-331W and go 8.0 miles.

Take the Interstate 10E exit on left towards New Orleans, go 1.1 miles then merge onto I-10E and follow I-10E for 228.4 miles.

Nashville Memphis

Atlanta Jackson

Turn left onto TN-73W/TN95N/US-321S; go 12.8 miles, then left to merge onto I-40W towards Nashville; follow road for 353.4 miles.

Take exit 10A for Interstate 240W towards Jackson, Mississippi, go 1.0 miles, then merge onto I-240W and go 8.7 miles.

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Pensacola Chalmette

Long Termers

2015 Long-TERM TEST BIKES The first of our test fleet machines are here, and they’ve got some serious miles ahead of them…

WORDS: The long-term test team PHOTOS: Joe Dick

BMW R1200R

DUCaTI SCRaMBLER James Robinson has everything from a coast-tocoast tour to a track day planned for what could be one of the most important motorcycles of the year

Bruce Wilson fell madly in love with the Beemer last year, and now he has it, it’s proving everything he hoped it would be. And a lot more besides

KTM RC390

YaMaha XJR1300

It’s taken 15 years for John Milbank to finally get the bike he’s always wanted.

The biggest air-cooled engine still in production powers the last of the ‘real’ muscle bikes

Carli Ann Smith has stuck with the brand she loved so much last year, but this time she’s gone for a sporty twist for the thousands of miles she has lined up

er Adventure; ; Indian Roadmaster; KTM 1290 Sup 000 -S1 GSX uki Suz ; 650 sys Ver ki STILL TO COME: Kawasa ure ; Victory Magnum; WK 400 Advent Triumph Tiger 800; Honda VFR800

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The rider James robinson Editor of The Classic MotorCycle magazine, 36year-old James passed his test in 1996, and has ridden and owned a wide range of bikes, whose ages span more than a century. The stable currently includes a 1992 Ducati 750SS, 1937 Velocette KTS, 1930 Sunbeam Model 9 and 1928 RexAcme TT8, among others…

Time travel Ducati’s new Scrambler harks back to an earlier age for its styling cues... and its physical size could come from a previous era too

The bike DucaTi scrambler icon Cost new: £7030 Performance: 74bhp, 50lb-ft Wet weight: 186kg Tank size: 13.5 litres Seat height: 790mm

This month Miles: 156 In total: 156 Highlights: Getting it.

And loving it Lowlights: Some of the trim isn’t great, and an erratic fuel light

T

o my biased and jaundiced eye, most modern motorcycles have strayed too far from what the primary concept was – basically, the original idea was for a bicycle with an engine, so a bicycle on which it was possible go further, and faster than could be achieved relying only on the power of one’s legs. Most motorcycles now are so far away from that ethos that the point of them has become rather muddied.

Ducati’s Scrambler appealed to me as it does seem ‘back to basics,’ for want of a better phrase. It has an engine that can be seen, it has a frame that can be identified, the handlebars are where they should be, likewise the footrests. I don’t need or want a backrest. Or a stereo. e sense of back-to-basics continues in the saddle for the first time. It’s uncannily slim for a modern machine, while the seat is commendably low too. Why oh why are many modern motorcycles so tall?

Nothing makes a rider feel more insecure than being unable to put his

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(or her) feet on the ground. No such problems on the Scrambler. Just sitting on it is confidence inspiring. at feeling continues when on the move. e Duke is beautifully balanced, meaning low speed mobility is great; again, a bugbear with many modern motorcycles for me is that a U-turn is a nerve-fraying balancing act, with the further worry that if the plot tips over in the middle of nowhere, it’s a potentially hernia inducing (and possibly futile) struggle to pick it up alone.

Within a couple of miles of my first ride, I was absolutely at home and loving the Ducati. To me, it’s just what a ‘modern’ machine should be; it has plenty of (but not too much) power, it looks great, it sounds good, it stops well, it’s comfortable and it’s fun too.

A couple of minor niggles – there’s no fuel gauge (I know, I know, I said I like back-to-basics but it is a modern motorcycle…) and while we’re on the subject of clocks, surely if we’re not going to have a fuel gauge, then we may as well have an ‘old style’ clock with a needle, which would fit in better

with the whole style of the Scrambler, rather than the digital device fitted. e only other little gripe would be the Ducati’s slight (and characteristic for a twin) ‘snatchiness’ in town and at low speed. It’s just a case of getting used to it, and a reminder of the leaned-off nature of engines meeting the latest emissions laws.

So, what have I got planned for it this year? Well, I’m going to be swapping through the various models (Icon, Classic, Urban Enduro and Full rottle), but I’ve a few things in mind I’d like to do on a version of the Scrambler this year, including a trackday at Cadwell, maybe getting across the Irish sea, and I’ve also an idea brewing to ride from the UK’s far east to west coast between sunrise and sunset – a friend has given me a 385mile route, going on no motorways, which looks fun and will suit the Scrambler just great.

Roland Sands

THE KING OF CUSTOM COOL Alan Cathcart finds out what makes one of the world’s most iconic bike designers tick…