Australian Motorcycle News Vol 67 Issue 18

THERE ARE PLENTY of highlights that go with being the editor of the world’s greatest magazine. Engaging with the readers via the Access pages is among them. Emails are great, but I really get a kick out of receiving a hand-written letter to the editor. If someone has taken the time to sit down and pen their thoughts, place it in an envelope and make a trip to the post office, it means they are passionate about what they have to say. There was a time when a posted letter was the only way to share your thoughts with the editor. Then email arrived and changed everything. Despite living in the digital age, I still receive a regular stream of hand-written letters and even postcards from readers. Two of the contributions…

IF YOU SAW this black BMW RT riding past, you probably wouldn’t give it a second glance, though there’s a small datalogger attached that indicates there’s something new. But that small plastic top-box is a giveaway that this is something other than a normal BMW. It’s the on-board datalogger of a prototype, and closer inspection reveals that this might actually be a quite revolutionary machine. The plastic cover over the spark-plug wiring is the first indicator. Instead of running forward, as on the current bike, it goes back and then up. A different exhaust is fitted too, with headers that take a different route to the current bike, requiring a redesign to the lower fairing sections. We also got our hands on an image of an engine that matches the one powering the pictured…

ROYAL ENFIELD HAS been modernising its profile over the past few years. First there was the Himalayan – a ‘modern’ adventure bike – and then the all-new twin-cylinder 650cc machines revealed at EICMA. Now it has taken the wraps off the Thunderbird 500X and Thunderbird 350X in India. Dubbed Rumbler in Oz due to copyright issues with the Thunderbird name, there’s nothing too radical about the new X variants, but some judicious styling changes transform them from wannabe Harleys into something slightly more appealing. The addition of bright tank colours and black paint in place of chrome transforms the looks. Add alloy wheels and a modern-looking sculpted seat and suddenly the Rumbler will turn heads. It’s still old-school in tech terms. The engine is Royal Enfield’s older twin-spark single, in 499cc or 346cc…

NEW PATENTS FILED in China and Germany reveal an electric motardstyle bike with the brand name Kollter and the model name e-cross 3000. In Germany, it has been patented by Tinbot Technology GmbH, which has a Chinese factory that manufactures electrically assisted bicycles and an electric scooter. The bike shown here has an aluminium frame and a hefty-looking battery. The ‘3000’ on the side is likely to refer to a 3000-watt electric motor – that’s 3kW. While there are dozens of similarly powered machines on sale in China, they are rarely exported. The fact that this one has been patented in Germany by a German company shows the bike has international intentions.…

RECENTLY WE REVEALED Yamaha would most likely introduce a mid-size leaning three-wheeler to sit between its Tricity scooter and the new 847cc Niken triple (AMCN Vol 67 No 16). Now the firm has confirmed it. Yamaha chief Yoshihiro Hidaka announced the plans while presenting the 2017 financial results, revealing Yamaha was developing new models specifically for developed markets, including leaning three-wheelers. “Our company is working on various initiatives with the theme of the growing world of personal mobility,” Hidaka-san said. “This is a product line-up of LMW leaning multi-wheel. “Since the launch of the Tricity commuter in 2014, we continued R&D activities, and at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show we presented the large-size sports model Niken, which will be launched in the market this year. Not just limited to these two models, we…

HARLEY-DAVIDSON HAS been specifically named by European lawmakers as a potential target for stiff import tariffs in retaliation against US plans to restrict the import of foreign steel and aluminium. President Trump plans to introduce a 25 per cent tax on imported steel and a 10 per cent duty on imported aluminium as part of a protectionist strategy aimed at boosting home-grown US industries. But the idea has sent shockwaves around the world, not least in Australia, which sends $500 million of steel and aluminium to the US each year. In Europe, mooted retaliatory measures include a hefty import tax on iconic American products, and Jack Daniels whiskey, Levi’s jeans and Harley-Davidson motorcycles have been specifically mentioned as possible targets. If Europe goes ahead with such import duties, it’s likely that they would…