Australian Motorcycle News Vol 68 Issue 23

ANOTHER DEBACLE OF an election, depending on who you ask of course, but there’s an upside to the mosh-pit-style jostling for leadership positions in the defeated ALP – one bloke with a chance of taking up Bill’s empty slot is pro motorcycles. Could a bloke like ‘Albo’ be a good thing for motorcycling? Absolutely Well, he gets the concept of motorcycling helping a country’s efficiency, anyway. The Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development, as well as Tourism, Anthony Albanese (he was as I typed this, anyway – it’s probably changed in the three days it takes to get to newsstands) has previously gone on the record with a seemingly decent grasp of the effect motorcycling has on traffic flow, congestion and making us all feel better about ourselves. Perhaps…

DUCATI'S EFFORTS TO disguise this prototype has been its undoing. The styling is so similar to the Panigale V4 that it might have stood a chance of passing unnoticed if it wasn’t for the swirly distraction patterns on the fairings. What it reveals is a combination of parts from the existing Panigale 959 with elements from the Panigale V4 to create the next generation of Ducati’s intermediate sportsbike. The seat, tank and bellypan all appear to be unchanged from the current Panigale 959. The same applies to the few chassis and engine elements that can be seen, such as the engine cases and covers, main semi-monocoque frame, the fork, brakes and even the pillion footpegs. With so much of the old Panigale 959 retained, the V4-like restyling is impressive. The nose and…

WHILE IT'S ABOUT to pull the wraps off its new 108 cubic-inch water-cooled touring range, Indian is planning a long future for its air-cooled Thunder Stroke 111 engine and has just applied for a patent on a new version with variable valve timing. The Thunder Stroke has been Indian’s mainstay engine since 2013 and now it has three water-cooled engines – the Scout in 1133cc and 999cc forms plus the FTR 1200’s sportier V-twin – with the upcoming 1770cc, 120hp, DOHC V-twin powering the ‘Raptor’ bagger. Adding variable valve timing to the old air-cooled engine will boost performance and improve emissions quality. The idea is to add a simple cam-phaser that advances or retards the timing of the inlet valves. The Thunder Stroke 111 is an unusual three-cam, overhead valve, pushrod engine. Two…

THE INSATIABLE INDONESIAN demand for small, high-performance motorcycles could see Kawasaki launch a four-cylinder 250cc machine. Indonesian sources claim a new Ninja ZX-25R is planned around the old ZXR250 four-cylinder engine. With 6.38 million motorcycles sold in Indonesia last year and tax and licence laws making it hard to own one larger than 250cc, R&D and production cost figures are starting to add up. Indonesia’s pollution laws are equivalent to the old Euro 3 levels, so Kawasaki could add fuel injection to the old engine to create a 33kW, 19,000rpm pocket rocket.…

IT MAY LOOK like a future Honda CB500R but it’s the new Colove 500F, a Chinese bike from a newly-launched brand. Colove is already offering an adventure If it looks like a Honda and sounds like a Honda... it might be true Colove machine – the 500X – based on the same engine. As Honda has yet to launch a CB500R, Colove appears to have gazumped it. And with China’s emissions and type-approval rules now largely in line with existing Euro 4 regulations, there’s little to stop Colove offering it to the world market.…

ROYAL ENFIELD IS WORKING ON A SIGNIFICANT REVAMP FOR ITS CLASSIC SINGLE-CYLINDER RANGE A NEW TRADEMARK application may have betrayed Royal Enfield’s plans to offer its low-cost Indian-market Thunderbird X on the international stage. Presently RE’s worldwide sales focus is on its retro-style bikes, including the latest 650cc twins and the old Classic and Bullet machines, plus the Himalayan adventure model and custom-style Thunderbird (called Rumbler in Australia). But in India it also sells the more modern-looking Thunderbird X in both 350cc and 500cc forms. Launched a year ago, it is notable for a lack of chrome and its cast alloy wheels, although it shares the same single-cylinder engines used in the Bullet, Thunderbird and Classic models. Plans to sell it outside India have emerged thanks to trademark applications in Europe and…