Australian Motorcycle News Vol 68 Issue 02

The verdict from my better half was that it had been extremely exciting! I’M PRESENTLY WITNESSING first hand the effect an exciting MotoGP season is having on fans who have been skirting around the fringes of full grand prix fandom – and I have a front-row seat. Mrs Ed’s MotoGP education has come via my constant pre and post-race rambling as each round of the championship unfolds. Her knowledge has been obtained more subliminally than via any sort of real interest; I’m not sure if it’s her or I who is more surprised when she wades into a MotoGP-related conversation with her impressive knowledge. As I settled in front of my laptop to watch the recent Assen round of the championship, I was surprised to see the wife appear at my office door,…

THIS YEAR MARKS Honda’s 70th anniversary and there’s long been speculation that Big Red will launch a spectacular model to celebrate – and this might just be that bike. Revealed in official patent images, it’s an in-line six-cylinder, neo-retro sportsbike that clearly takes its inspiration from the legendary CBX, which was a huge success in Australia when it made its debut exactly 40 years ago. At a glance, it would be easy to assume this is nothing more than a flight of fancy, a concept bike to draw show crowds and then get mothballed. But closer examination reveals surprising design elements that suggest Honda has serious production intent. First up, this isn’t the usual concept bike approach of glossing over all the niggling details that make a bike road-legal. These CAD models already…

IT’S HERE! And we love it! We’ve caught Moto Guzzi’s V85 dirt tourer on test and it confirms all we predicted in our AMCN Adventure Bike Collector’s Edition. Building on the credibility it created with its early 1980s limited-edition Dakar desert racers, the Italian firm is combining elements of the old with the new. Those ’80s Guzzis were called Baja, and the company is still struggling to find a suitable name for its all-new V85 adventure bike. But this image proves the concept is heading for production and is the first time a running prototype has been caught on camera. Guzzi always said that the concept, first shown last year, is destined for showrooms, and this prototype shows serious development work is underway. While the blacked-out test mule seen here is clearly a prototype for…

AFTER WEEKS OF suspense and a half-hidden flirtation with Yamaha, former 125 and double 250 world champion Dani Pedrosa last week announced his retirement from the end of this season. The 32-year-old Spaniard thus brings an 18-year career to an end – all with Honda, and with at least one GP win every year since his first in the 125 class in 2002. The announcement came at a packed press briefing at the historic Sachsenring ciruit in Germany, where Pedrosa held his emotions in check as he thanked Honda, his team, and his fans for their support; only faltering briefly at the end when answering questions. In trademark matter-of-fact style, he began: “Firstly, I would like to announce that next year I will not compete in the championship. “This decision I have been thinking…

SINCE WE REVEALED that Kawasaki is reworking its ZX-6R for 2019, we learned that it’s not all good news. Rather than more power, next year’s Supersport machine will be heavier and softer-hitting than the one you can buy right now. Blame those pesky emissions rules, and in particular the Euro4 limits Kawasaki needs to meet in order to return to the European market. As we learned last month from Kawasaki’s emissions certification for the 2019 ZX-6R in the US, next year’s bike is tackling its environmental problems with a new closed-loop, three-way catalytic converter. While that makes for a fresher-smelling exhaust, it cuts power and adds weight. The engine’s basics are unchanged, including the class-bucking 636cc capacity. This issue also hit Yamaha when making its YZF-R6 meet Euro4 limits in 2017; its new-look…

KAWASAKI’S Z900RS CAFE did an admirable job of ticking retro boxes and plucking at the heartstrings. But if it had remained in its sole colour option of Kawasaki’s Kermit Green, it would have been relegated to a special-interest model. And that would have undersold its real-world abilities. Fortunately, Kawasaki is on the case and offers a range of paint schemes for 2019 that change the look but not the feel of an instant classic. Although only officially announced in Japan so far, they’re likely to be offered in all the export markets. First up is an antidote to the eye-searing green of the 2018 model, a subdued blue with grey graphics that swaps the ‘look at me’ pose of the original bike for something a bit classier. It also loses the graphics…