RiDE November 2016

YOU WON’T BELIEVE how happy I am with this month’s trouser feature. Much as I’ve enjoyed the riding and interviewing involved in putting together the rest of the issue, it was finally devising a worthwhile trouser test format that proved to be most satisfying. Trousers are among the least exciting (and least photogenic) bits of kit, which may explain why people don’t put that much effort into finding good ones. So many riders just make do with trousers that aren’t quite right, when really there’s no need. I hope that our recommendations and buying advice will help you get the comfort, protection and feeling of being at one with your bike that you can only get from wearing the right gear. Tempting as it was to fill the whole issue with great trousers,…

Matt Hull Technical editor I wasn’t expecting our retro group ride to turn out the way it did. I didn’t much like the bike everyone told me was great, and the oddball got less odd the more I rode it. Shows the value of back-to-back tests. PAGE 20 Simon Weir Deputy editor There’s a small window between the end of the summer holidays and the start of autumn: now. And now is the time to be hitting the areas that are congested in the school holidays. PAGE 40 Kev Raymond Features writer I had no idea what a happy bunch Kawasaki Versys 1000 owners are. Many of them started out with a MkI and now have a MkII, as they were so happy with their first one but wanted the MkII’s upgrades. PAGE 70…

ROYAL ENFIELD HAS opened the third of its new style of hipster-friendly stores. Following the recent openings in Bethnal Green and Mitcham, the new store is in Watford, Hertfordshire. As well as stocking the current range of air-cooled singles, the store gives space to iconic old Enfields and carries the Indian-owned firm’s wide range of casual and riding gear. Two customised Enfields were also displayed. Dealer principal Steve Donovan said: “Our new Royal Enfield store really is a unique concept that is very different to how motorcycle dealerships usually look and feel. We have a very strong identity that we hope resonates well with new and existing customers.” Another is about to open in St Helens, their first outside the London area. Meanwhile, Royal Enfield’s new research and development centre is in operation under…

HARLEY-DAVIDSON HAVE revealed details of the new engine that will power their Touring range in 2017. It involves four valves per cylinder – hence the name Milwaukee-Eight – and a switch to a single chain-driven camshaft as part of a package of changes to make the V-twins smoother, more efficient, more powerful, slightly smaller and lighter. Pushrods are retained, each now activating two vales, and hydraulic valve lifters are claimed to be maintenance-free. Each head uses two spark plugs. The engine is rubber mounted and has a balance shaft intended to iron out 75 per cent of primary vibrations at idle – Harley customers don’t want their bikes to be entirely smooth. The rear exhaust downpipe and the exhaust catalyst have both been moved for better heat dispersal. The primary drive cover and air…

US V-TWIN MAKERS Victory have radically reduced the range of bikes they’re bringing to Britain. The liquid-cooled 1200cc Octane stays, as do the air-cooled 1731cc Judge, Gunner and High-Ball, with some perky new colours available. The touring-orientated Cross Country, Cross Country Tour, Vision, Magnum and Magnum X-1 will no longer be imported into Europe, although dealers still have some in stock. The Vegas and Hammer cruisers are also no more. Victory’s general manager Rodney Krois said: “Octane was the start of a new direction for Victory Motorcycles and we can now get ready for the next chapter. Sure, we’re sad to see some models leave the region, but what follows will be even more exciting.” Could that mean a hotter Octane and the arrival in Europe of their Empulse electric bike? The move will…

Switzerland In May seven blokes on seven very different bikes (Ducati 1098, KTM RC8, Triumph Tiger Explorer, BMW R1200GS, Honda Blackbird, Honda VFR800 and Kawasaki ZX-10R) rode 2200 miles in six days to the MotoGP at Mugello and back. The photo shows my 1098 in the sunshine and 32°C heat on the Simplon Pass in Switzerland. A couple of days later we were in snow and slush at -2°C. We wouldn’t have missed any of it – except perhaps the biblical thunderstorms around Florence on Monday morning. Mugello might be a pain to get in and out of, but what a track for watching the best riders in the world dicing with each other –Giles Scott Norway This is me and my 16-year-old daughter at Lysebotn in Norway. Thirty sharp bends take you down from…