Australian Motorcycle News Vol 68 Issue 12

WELCOME TO THE 67th year-ending edition of Australian Motorcycle News. It’s a biggie – packed full of top-quality motorcycle madness to get you through the Christmas break. There’s new bikes galore, a swag of exclusive and insightful interviews with newly-crowned Australian and World champions and, of course, the announcement of our annual and highly coveted Motorcycle of The Year gong. I’m incredibly excited about the future of AMCN It’s a shootout that can pit delightfully basic retro-styled machines against ones boasting unprecedented technological advancements. The fascinating bit is how eight thoroughly different machines all get thrown into the same cross-fire of criteria, all very much step up the challenge and every one of this year’s finalists had the goods to take the gong. The result is both predictable and surprising, and it’s the very…

TOP FIVE FOR 2019 1 BMW S 1000 RR Worth the wait since our first spy shots in 2017, the S1000RR is the first superbike to use fully variable valve timing and lift. It may start a revolution. 2 Ducati Panigale V4 R Desperate to regain the WSBK crown, Ducati has packed near-MotoGP levels of tech into a production bike that sneaks under the homologation price cap, creating a 1000cc V4 that revs to 16,500rpm. 3 Harley-Davidson LiveWire A landmark; the first serious attempt at a large, electric production bike from a mainstream brand. Who’d have thought that Harley-Davidson would be first off the mark? 4 Triumph Scrambler 1200 Retro done right. Strikingly handsome, the new 1200 unashamedly mixes a modern USD fork, radial brakes and electronics with spot-on styling from the glory days of Triumph’s desert racers. 5…

The world’s most expensive Vincent Alan Cathcart rode the Jack Ehret Vincent Back Lightning, which sold soon after for a staggering $A1.2m. AMCN Vol 67 No 13 First around The Bend Hamish Cooper and Superbike racer Daniel Falzon christened Australia’s newest and international-standard 4.95km circuit in a world exclusive ride before it officially opened. AMCN Vol 67 No 19 Naked Guns Australia’s biggest shootout of the bikes that give performance and value for money. AMCN Vol 68 No 08 Stoner v Lorenzo Casey Stoner unintentionally revealed to AMCN’s MotoGP reporter Colin Young what was wrong with the Lorenzo-Ducati failing marriage. “You just have to find a way to work with the bike.” AMCN Vol 68 No 10 Duck’s guts Former editor Chris Dobie was one of a handful of journalists worldwide to sample Ducati’s all-new V4 Superbike. “I…

Style counsel EXPECT HUSQVARNA to follow the same neo-retro theme that’s defined the Svartpilen and Vitpilen models. Their styling signature is a distinctive combination of angles, flat surfaces and oversized, circular headlights. The big difference ONE DISTINCT VARIATION that separates this upcoming Husqvarna adventure bike from the KTM equivalent is the wheel sizes. Rather than the KTM 790 Adventure’s 21in front and 18in rear wire wheel, the Husky prototype has a 19in front and 17in rear. THIS LASHED-TOGETHER test mule is our first glimpse of a new road-oriented Husqvarna adventure bike, which will be powered by KTM’s 799cc LC8c parallel twin engine from the 790 Duke and Adventure models. This early, rough prototype is establishing basic parameters like the riding position and engine set-up. The rider and pillion footpegs are mounted on adapter plates that…

HERE’S THE REPLACEMENt for BMW’s long-running F 800 GT spotted on test for the first time. We reckon it’s going to be called the F 850 XR. It looks closely related to the 9Cento concept bike that BMW showed earlier this year. This means it’s got exactly the same chassis and engine as the new F 850 GS, but with more road-oriented, sportier suspension and brakes, plus distinctive bodywork that clearly draws on the S 1000 XR. As such, the production model is likely to inherit that XR tag instead of keeping the old GT name. Using the F 850 GS’s pressed steel frame, instead of an alloy beam chassis like the old GT, will save manufacturing costs. That also lends itself to the slightly tall XR style, which sits between adventure bike,…

WE KNOW 3D printing is becoming an important element in motorcycle design and manufacture. For example BMW’s prototype S1000RR chassis was printed entirely from metal. But this is the most extreme 3D printed bike yet. Made by large-scale German 3D printer firm BigRep, which makes industrial-sized printers, the one-off electric bike is entirely 3D printed with the exception of its motor and electronics. The chassis, bodywork, suspension, wheels and even the tyres are printed. Of course, it’s very much a demonstration of printing technology rather than a viable bike, but it’s a runner nonetheless, even though there are no details of its powertrain. The world is already seeing a quiet revolution in one-off manufacturing thanks to 3D printers, allowing people to turn their own ideas into solid reality without the need for industrial-scale…