Australian Motorcycle News Vol 69 Issue 04

NEXT TIME YOU are sitting at the lights on your modern bike, try this: just ease the clutch out slowly with the bike in first gear and no throttle. Hear that? It can be subtle on some bikes, but most new machines will pick the revs up, all by themselves. They often do the same thing when you select first gear. Carbies never did that for you unless there was something stuck in the carby slide. Stalling a new bike is harder than ever. If humans want to make something work enough, they make it happen It’s a small but worthy modernisation many new bikes have, but the tech we have on our new bikes is a thin imitation of the car-spec tech most mid-priced four wheelers enjoy today. Radar-cruise control, auto…

THE WAIT IS over. A brief video of the first model of Indian’s upcoming range of large-capacity, water-cooled, DOHC V-twin cruisers has been shown to dealers at its annual conference. It will be called the Challenger and is clearly aimed at Harley-Davidson’s popular Road Glide. The Challenger is powered by a sophisticated engine originally developed for Indian’s sister company Victory before Polaris closed that brand. In earlier planning documents, leaked to us several months ago, the bike went under the name Raptor but the Challenger name, also trademarked, seems to have been adopted more recently. Its style, with a fixed front fairing and low riding position, might be similar to Harley’s Road Glide but the Indian’s technology is very different, starting with the engine. Water-cooled, with double overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder,…

Triumph is still a key player in the streetfighter market TRIUMPH IS DEVELOPING an 1160cc, big-bore version of its legendary Speed Triple to make sure the mainstay of its roadster range won’t be castrated by the imminent Euro 5 emissions limits. Although the 110kW Speed Triple has long since been overtaken by more powerful rivals like BMW’s S1000R, KTM’s 1290 Super Duke R and MV Agusta’s Brutale 1000 – not to mention Ducati’s forthcoming game-changing Streetfighter V4 – it’s still a key player in the naked streetfighter market. With a heritage going back to the earliest days of John Bloor-led Triumph’s 1990s revival, the Speed Triple has been through multiple iterations. The longest-running model in the current line-up, it has grown from 750cc to 1050cc during its years on the market. Although we’ve yet…

MV AGUSTA IS the latest European brand to align itself with a Chinese manufacturer, announcing last week that it and Chinese giant Loncin Motor Co have entered a long-term strategic partnership. The agreement will initially mean the development of an all-new four-tiered range of premium machines in the 350cc-500cc category, which will be designed in Italy and manufactured in China. Depending on which market the machines are being sold into, the bikes will carry either MV Agusta branding, or badged as VOGE, which is Loncin’s premium brand. The Italian firm is hoping the fruits of the partnership will attract new riders to the MV brand who will remain loyal, as well as allowing greater exposure and easier access to the lucrative Asian markets.MV Agusta is also hoping the partnership will benefit…

Motrac revs up Chinese firm Motrac is building its model portfolio to international standard with a mid-sized 650cc cruiser about to join its 500cc parallel-twin naked and sportsbikes and an 800cc V-twin cruiser. While the new model shares the same chassis as the existing MV800 cruiser, the water-cooled SOHC 650cc engine is a new design. Relatively high-spec components include Nissin radial-mounted brakes with ABS. Motrac is a strong player in the Chinese market but is tipped to expand internationally soon. Smart helmet Forcite’s MK1, AI powered smart helmet is here. It incorporates a HD, wide-angle camera, Bluetooth communication, intercom and handlebar-mounted control unit. The camera starts recording the moment you put it on and can last for up to five hours. Visit forcitehelmets.com for details.…

A FORMER WEST Australian Police BMW R 1200 RT motorcycle has been turned into the first fully-hand-painted Aboriginal art motorcycle in Australia. A dot-painted BMW car resides in the company’s German museum but this piece of rolling art is displayed on the roads of WA. It is the result of a collaboration between Noongar artist Ken Farmer and former owner and friend Martin Childs, who gifted the R1200RT to the Noongar Community to help promote Ken’s art. Ken took three months to customise and paint the motorcycle with Dreamtime stories that also depict Noongar people assembled beside the Derbarl Yerrigan (Perth’s Swan River). The motorcycle is called Art In Motion and its numberplate YOKAI is a Noongar call to come together and settle an issue. Ken also completed a one-off wall painting and authorities gave…