LAUNC

AMAHA
AM 23
MT-07 OF PAGES
TOURING &
etterr than ever. Cheap as chips ADVENTURE

TIGER
12
It’s the BEST big
Triumph Adventure yet
ER ★ BE
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E HOW TO
BE
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BE A BET

IMPROVE
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IN JUST
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ID BE
BETTER R A

THE LONG
May 2018
No.692

17,000 solo miles

in only SIX months
WIN WIN WIN! HELMETS & GLOVES* ◆ DUCATI PANIGALE V4 ◆ HONDA CB125R ◆
CLASSIC GOLD: KAWASAKI KR1 ◆ HOW THE MT-RANGE SAVED YAMAHA ◆ KYMCO AK550
*Terms & conditions apply
 A temporary
chair change
Tony Carter

H
ello. Again. he more observant the extensive cofee collection that he thought he
among you will have probably had hidden away so carefully.
noticed by now that it’s my mug Whatever you do, don’t miss Mikko’s account of
slapped on top of this page instead what happened a few days ago, at the time of writing
of the usual phizog of Mikko smiling – it’ll be a pretty hair-raising account of a very strange
warmly just above these words. Wednesday ater t rnoon!
t.
here’s a reason for that.
I’m sorry to have to tell you this but just before FANCY WINN
NING SOME KIT?
this issue of MSL hit the presses, Mikko waas involved Turn to page 17 and you
Turning to otherr things this month, can I draw your
in a collision that has let him in hospital. O Our can be in with a chance attention to our MSL
M Reader Survey? It’s something
favourite editor is pretty badly banged-up b but making of getting your hands on that is very important for Mikko and the team and
a recovery and while he’s out of the loop forr a bit, some lovely helmets and your input will en
nable the editor to tailor the future
focusing on getting better and getting back to us, it’s gloves. Yep. For nothing. MSL to exactly wh hat you want to see.
my hands that grabbed the tiller to make su u T
Taking part couldn’t be easier,
issue found its way to the printer and then jusst go and have a look at how
to you. For those of you who don’t know yoou do that on Page 17 of this
me, my name is Tony and I used to be isssue. Everything you need to
the editor of MSL a while back. More kn
now is there.
recently I’ve been the associate editor A
And just because it seemed like
with Mikko now the boss. Basically, I a so
olid idea from us, taking part
know where the biscuits are kept at MSL automatically enters you into a
HQ, so while the lad’s laid up it made sense prize draw where helmets and
for me to help out a bit. glooves are all up for grabs.
I’m sure that you can appreciate why SSo if you can take part, not only
I can’t go into detail about the accident will you be helping steer your
or injuries that Mikko sustained at the f
favourite motorcycle magazine
moment – this page is not the place for b
but you’ll also be in with a shot
that sort of stuf – but the good news o
of bagging yourself some nice
is that the lying Finn is getting better new kit.
day-by-day and, as I write this page, Got to be a winner.
things are looking very positive. Good luck.
I’ll leave the full story of what happened
for Mikko himself to tell you when he
returns to the MSL seat which we’ll be Tony,
keeping warm for him, while sipping away Caretaker

Motorcycle Sport & Leisure’s contributors...

Alan Roland Chris Peter Phil
Cathcart Brown Moss Henshaw West
Alan Cathcart Has ridden for Mossy has Peter knows A bike journalist
has been writing about 37 years and been a bike raced the Isle of Man TT, his stuf – he’s a for 30 years, Phil’s a
bikes for more than 30 journalist for more than dispatched in London former editor of this former editor of Bike and
years, and riding them 30. At Bike he ended up and ridden everything very magazine. Now a What Bike, executive
for even longer. He’s as deputy editor before from CX500s to full- freelance journalist, he’s editor of MCN, has written
regularly given the keys going freelance. An blown GP prototypes. A got the same enthusiasm for the Daily Telegraph
to factory prototypes author of 11 books, as former chief motorcycle for anything with wheels and Evening Standard and
and being on first name a racer he was Bemsee tester for Motorcycle that he’s had since a authored four books. In
terms with the bosses of 1300 champion 1984 and News, the veteran journo child. An all-year-round his garage is a 1924 Sirrah,
bike companies around raced UK F1, Superstock admits he’s still loving biker who doesn’t own 1980 RD350LC, 1995
the world allows him to and Superbike, plus two-wheeled life, and a car, he has more than Thunderbird 900 and,
bag many scoops. World F1 races. still learning. 40 books to his name. currently, a 2017 CB1100.

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 3
Contents
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50
NEWS & OPINION
7 News
The biggest stories in biking
92
16 Your letters
MSL readers have their say

20 Products
New kit and accessories

26 Subscription offer
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38 Maynard Hershon
Children’s hospital toy run, pt. 2

58 The High Sider

Popcorn, TV, action!

TOURING & ADVENTURE

40 69 Touring news 80 Long ride
Indian adventures
70 Day ride
Darting round Dartmoor 88 History Boy recommends
Castle Drogo
74 Richard Millington
What to do with potholes 92 Long way home
Kinga rode back home to Poland from
76 Mid ride Australia – and that was just the start
Discovering hidden Spain of the trip

4 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

 May 2018
EDITOR: Mikko Nieminen:
mnieminen@mortons.co.uk
ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Tony Carter:
tcarter@mortons.co.uk
SENIOR DESIGNER: Justin Blackamore
DESIGNERS: Fran Lovely, Charlotte Turnbull
PRODUCTION EDITOR: Dan Sharp
TEST FLEET PICTURE DESK:
Paul Fincham, Jonathan Schofield,
Angie Sisestean
98 Honda Africa Twin DCT PUBLISHER: Dan Savage:
Mikko resamples the big Honda asavage@mortons.co.uk
GROUP KEY ACCOUNTS MANAGER:
Stef Woodhouse:
100 Yamaha X-MAX 400 swoodhouse@mortons.co.uk
01507 529452 / 07786 334330
The scoot gets blinged up DIVISIONAL ADVERTISING TEAM LEADER:
Zoe Thurling
101 Suzuki V-Strom 650 zthurling@mortons.co.uk 01507 529412
ADVERTISING SALES: Lee Buxton:
New rubber for new adventures lbuxton@mortons.co.uk 01507 529453
SUBSCRIPTION MANAGER: Paul Deacon:

32
pdeacon@mortons.co.uk
102 Honda FireBlade ’02-’03 CIRCULATION MANAGER: Steve O’Hara:
An up-and-coming classic sohara@mortons.co.uk
MARKETING MANAGER: Charlotte Park:
cpark@mortons.co.uk
COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR: Nigel Hole
ROAD TESTS EDITORIAL ADDRESS:
MSL Magazine, Media Centre, Morton Way,
Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6JR
10 Kymco AK550 WEBSITE: www.mslmagazine.co.uk
GENERAL QUERIES AND BACK ISSUES:
Do it all super scooter 01507 529529 24 hr answerphone
help@classicmagazines.co.uk
www.classicmagazines.co.uk
22 Honda CB125R ARCHIVE ENQUIRIES: Jane Skayman
Best-looking 125 out there? jskayman@mortons.co.uk 01507 529423
SUBSCRIPTION:
Full subscription rates (but see page 26 for
32 Yamaha MT-07 ofer): (12 months 12 issues, inc post and
Updated and improved packing) – UK £51.60. Export rates are also
available – see page 26 for more details.
UK subscriptions are zero-rated for the
50 Triumph Tiger 1200 purposes of Value Added Tax.
SUBSCRIPTION AGENTS:
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CUSTOMER SERVICES NUMBER: 01507 529529
60 Ducati Panigale V4 TELEPHONE LINES ARE OPEN:
The best Panigale yet? MONDAY-FRIDAY 8.30AM-7PM
SATURDAY 8.30AM-12.30PM
120 Classic test DISTRIBUTION:
1989 Kawasaki KR1 Marketforce UK Ltd, 5 Churchill Place, Canary

60
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PRINTED:
William Gibbons & Sons, Wolverhampton
The publisher accepts no responsibility for
unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. If you
are sending material to us for publication, you
KNOWLEDGE are strongly advised to make copies and to
include a stamped addressed envelope. Original
material must be submitted and will be
40 Yamaha's great comeback accepted solely on the basis that the author
accepts the assessment of the publisher as to
How the MT-range saved the day its commercial value. © Mortons Media Group
Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced or transmitted
48 Kit care in any form or by any means, electronic or
How to look after your riding gear mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
or any information storage retrieval system
without prior permission in writing from the
66 Improve your riding publisher. ISSN: 1478-8390
MOTORCYCLE SPORT & LEISURE (USPS:001-522)
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108 Li-Ion batteries

The what, the why and the how

118 Kevin Cameron Independent publisher since 1885

7KH 3URIHVVLRQDO
What’s next? 3XEOLVKHUV $VVRFLDWLRQ

120
0HPEHU

Having trouble finding a

130 Tony Carter copy of this magazine?
Why not Just Ask your local
newsagent to reserve you
On the subject of Moto Gymkhana a copy each month?
 NEW
Need to know ◆ Your letters ◆ First rides

CAGIVA RETURNS
FOR 2018!
Iconic Italian motorcycle to relaunch Cagiva into the
But this time the Italian
beauties will be electric only

manufacturer Cagiva is set to blossoming electric market

relaunch for 2018 with a new with a whole new range of
range of electric motorcycles. zero-emission motorcycles.
The news comes In an interview
from MV Agusta, this month MV
which owns the Agusta’s Giovanni
Cagiva brand. The Castiglioni said:
formerly iconic “I believe in electric.
Italian marque There is a great
stopped production potential, and we
back in 2012, are making a
following a decision project there –
by the MV group to under another
focus eforts on brand – which is
MV Agusta alone. Cagiva. We are
Now that MV investing in
Agusta is back on a solid footing lightweight fun vehicles, bikes. “If you want to go at 300mph, be there, this is why we invest
(financially speaking) due to Let’s say in-between… it’s a then buy a combustion engine. in it now. We’ll see in the next
recent investments, there's a plan family. It’s a family that goes But I think there can be a lot of five years how the market will
in place to revive Cagiva and – this between a bicycle to a Zero-type potential market for electric change. I think there is a great
time – the big bosses are looking bike, but diferent. motorcycles, and we want to opportunity for that.”

Harley sparks electric bike production

Harley-Davidson has announced that it has
invested in California-based electric
motorcycle manufacturer Alta Motors.
The news comes a month after Harley-
Davidson president and chief executive
oicer Matt Levatich told investors the
company was on track to deliver its first
electric motorcycle “within 18 months”.
Speaking about Alta Motors, Levatich said:
“Alta has demonstrated innovation and
expertise in EV and their objectives align
closely with ours. We each have strengths
and capabilities that will be mutually
beneficial as we work together to develop
cutting-edge electric motorcycles.”
The chief product oicer and co-founder
of Alta, Marc Fenigstein, added: “Riders are
just beginning to understand the combined
benefits of EV today. We believe electric
motorcycles are the future… It’s incredibly
exciting that Harley-Davidson, synonymous
with motorcycle leadership, shares that vision
and we’re thrilled to collaborate with them.”
Harley-Davidson has shown a very
real interest in electric motorcycles for a
number of years. Its LiveWire Project drew
tremendous interest when it was unveiled in
2014, with thousands of riders clamouring for
an opportunity to throw a leg over one of the
prototypes. The project was eventually put
on the back burner, while H-D looked to
address issues of range and cost. And we
assume that this collaboration with Alta will
help the company overcome some of those
challenges; but, don’t expect Harley to
change its stripes completely.
Levatich finished by saying: “We intend to
be the world leader in the electrification of continuing to produce a broad portfolio of
motorcycles. At the same time, (we plan to) motorcycles that appeal to all types of riders
remain true to our gas and oil roots by around the world.”

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 7
Top Stories
REPLICAS TO CELEBRATE
HAILWOOD COMEBACK
Australian company to produce 12 Mike Hailwood
1978 comeback Ducati replicas.
WORDS: Alan Cathcart PHOTOGRAPHY: AC Archives
his year’s Isle of Man TT will
mark 40 years since Mike
Hailwood’s legendary comeback
victory in the 1978 TT,
following an 11-year break from
racing there while he pursued a
car racing career in Formula 1.
And to mark the milestone, Vee
Two Australia, based in Nannup,
Western Australia, the world’s
leading specialist in bevel-drive
Ducati engines, is producing 12
exact replicas of Mike the Bike’s
victorious Ducati 900 TT F1
race bike, the production run
quantity commemorating
Hailwood’s victorious #12 TT
racing number.
Vee Two Australia has
secured the original technical
drawings for the Ducati’s 883cc
90° V-twin bevel-drive desmo
8 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962
engine, as well as the relevant
casting moulds, chassis
drawings and technical details
– all of which will ensure the
bike is an exact replica of the
one that powered Hailwood
to his historic win.
“he engine used in Mike’s
900 F1 race-winning bike was a
prototype motor designed by
the Ducati factory in the mid
to late 1970s, of which only
around eight units were ever
made,” Andrew Cathcart,
general manager of Vee Two
explained. “When Mike won
the TT in ’78 the factory had
plans for the engine to power
the next series of desmo V-twin
sportsbikes, but due to Ducati’s
struggling inancial situation,
the bevel-drive format was
Hailwood at Braddan Bridge
in victorious 1978 TT ride.
scrapped in favour of the
Pantah-type belt-drive V-Twin,
which was less costly to
manufacture. his meant that
this ultimate bevel-drive engine
never reached production, and
therefore never made it into the
hands of the public. Picking up
from where the factory let of,
Vee Two Australia is now in Brook Henry, Vee Two’s chief
a position to ofer the engine executive and Andrew Cathcart,
that powered Hailwood to general manager.
his legendary victory.”
While the engine will be down to the famous Castrol and
produced in-house by Vee Sports Motorcycles stickers on
Two, the chassis is being built in the red and green paintwork.
Italy, again using the original John Keogh, the British designer
drawings for the race-winning behind a number of other Vee
bike’s tubular steel frame. Two creations, is responsible
he bodywork will also be for the accurate clay modelling
an exact replica of Hailwood’s that will form the basis of the
TT-winning machine, right replica’s bodywork.

Mike Hailwood’s TT-winning Ducati 900 TT F1.
Externally, Vee Two’s Ritorno
(meaning ‘comeback’ in Italian)
engine is an exact copy of the
883cc 90° bevel-drive desmo
V-twin that carried Hailwood to
his historic 1978 race victory.
Internally, though, the motor
will feature a full complement
of Vee Two’s evolutionary
upgrades, meaning power
output will be much higher
than the original engine’s
86bhp/64kW peak power,
delivered at 9000rpm. he
engine is already in production,
and in racing guise has twice
inished second in AHRMA’s
Formula 750 class race events in
the USA, as well as forming the
basis of the acclaimed Vee Two
Imola Evo café racer streetbike.
While agreeing on the
appearance and technical
speciications of a Hailwood
Replica may at irst seem
straightforward, the original
bike was altered numerous times
during the two-week period of
The Ritorno engine in the Vee Two Imola Evo café racer streetbike.
the 1978 TT, and any number
of combinations could be
considered ‘the real thing’.
“So many changes to the chassis,
engine and exhaust system were
made during the event that
photographs from the day reveal
numerous variations practically
from one day to another,” says
Brook Henry, Vee Two’s CEO.
“We aim to produce an exact
replica of the bike as it crossed
the inishing line.”
To help achieve this, Henry
also reveals that Vee Two will
draw on the expertise of Steve
Wynne, the man responsible for
sourcing the original 900 F1
from the factory, and preparing
it for the race under the Sports
Motorcycles banner. “Being able
to ask Steve about things we
spot in photographs, and have
him separate myth from fact, is
very exciting,” says Henry. “It’s
very good to have him on board
to ensure that each bike we
build can legitimately be termed
a genuine replica.” Furthermore,
Mike Hailwood’s widow Pauline
and son David have both
granted approval to use his
famous name, and in
recognition of this each of the
12 bikes to be built will bear
Pauline Hailwood’s signature.
he bike will be on show at the
Isle of Man Classic TT in
August, where the Isle of Man
authorities have decided to stage
their celebrations of Mike
Hailwood’s TT victory, rather
than at the TT proper in June,
the 40th anniversary of his feat.
Vee Two Australia plans to have
the irst of its Replicas there, and
to have it complete parade laps
alongside the original TT-
winning machine now owned by
New Yorker Larry Auriana, and
ridden by David Hailwood.
Following a seven-year break
from top-line motorcycle
racing, in 1977 Hailwood was
approached by Steve Wynne
who suggested he should come
out of retirement for the ’78 TT
and race a Ducati. To Wynne’s
surprise, Hailwood agreed. In
practice, the then 38-year-old
Hailwood set a new lap record
of 111 mph, then went on to
claim what is surely one of the
greatest comeback victories in
sporting history. his will be
commemorated forever by the
creation by Vee Two Australia
of the dozen as-yet-unnamed
identical copies of his race-
winning bike. Although Vee
Two has already bestowed the
Ritorno moniker upon the
engine, Andrew Cathcart says
NEW
Hailwood at Parliament Square,
Ramsey in 1978.
The production run quantity
commemorates Hailwood’s
victorious #12 TT racing number.
the Vee Two-built Replica TT
racer hasn’t yet been oicially
named. “Mike Hailwood Replica
is something of an over-used
title,” he admits. “Internally
we’re just calling it ‘he
Hailwood’, though we’ll settle on
a name soon. But it’s important
to stress that Vee Two Australia
is making a replica of Mike
Hailwood’s TT-winning 900 F1
racer, not a copy of the Ducati
Mike Hailwood Replica
streetbike, which was essentially
merely a production 900SS
itted with red-and-green
bodywork. Ducati’s original
plans were to produce just 200
units, but in fact they ended up
manufacturing more than 7000
examples of the so-called
Hailwood replica look-a-likes.
Ours will be identical copies of
the genuine race-winner which
is now owned by Larry Auriana
in the USA, and which Steve
Wynne maintains for him.” he
as-yet undisclosed price of such
exclusivity is understood to be
in the region of £100,000.
www.mslmagazine.co.uk 9
Test Ride
Kymco AK550

SPACE ODDITY
The new Kymco AK550 takes scootering into the space age.
WORDS: Jonathan Schofield PHOTOGRAPHY: Gary Chapman

T
he new Kymco AK550 dual carriageways; as looks go, this is a nice touch is the LED light that
has the curves of a one mighty ine scooter. comes on when the seat is lited.
super touring scooter he underseat storage space (which Additional storage space is provided
and wouldn’t look out of has a weight capacity of 10kg) takes by two small front compartments,
place on the set of a new a standard open face helmet, or a one of which houses a standard 12v
Batman movie. It ills the senses with small-shell full face, plus a few extras power output to charge your phone
more than just a nice side-on, or a (say a set of waterproofs). What is or sat nav.
tantalising tail-end view. From all
angles this Taiwanese machine
pours gorgeousness into your life.
he futuristic front end reminds
me of an alien spacecrat from an
episode of Star Trek, while for some
reason the cockpit takes me back to
the original Battlestar Galactica TV
series. Suddenly I’m back to being a
small child wanting desperately to be
Starbuck, launching in his Colonial
Viper to ight the might of the Cylon
Empire. Without even turning on the
keyless ignition system I was
dreaming of blasting through the
skies, let alone along B-roads and

10 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

 ROAD
Specification
KYMCO AK550
Price: £8879
Engine: 550cc inline 2-cylinder,
liquid-cooled, DOHC, 8 valves
Power: 52.7bhp (39.3kW) @ 7500rpm
Torque: 41lb-ft (55.64Nm) @ 5500rpm
Power modes: Standard (full power).
Rain (reduced power/engine braking)
Frame: Aluminium
Suspension: (F) 41mm upside down
forks; (R) coil monoshock
Brakes: (F) 280mm discs, Brembo
calipers; (R) 260mm disc. 9.1 Bosch ABS
brake system
Seat height: 785mm
Fuel capacity: 15 litres
Dry weight: 226kg
Contact: www.kymco.co.uk

ON THE MOVE
It’s a little bit of a ‘rabbit in the
headlights’ scenario, looking at all the
switches and buttons when irst
placing yourself in the captain’s chair
of the AK. But what’s seemingly a
baling collection of controls soon
makes complete sense. All the basics
are just where they should be, and
they seem reassuringly sturdy.
With the remote key fob in your
jacket pocket, pressing the ignition
switch ires the AK into life. he
dashboard lights perform their
pre-lit-of sequence, and the centre
of the instrument panel comes up
with the name Noodoe – eh? What’s
Noodoe? Turns out, it’s Kymco’s
purpose-built sotware system and
app that links your mobile phone to
your scooter, giving you options to
change the look of your centre screen
with customisable clocks, weather
reports and maps. In the very near
future, it will also be updated to link
to whatever sat nav app you’re using
on your phone – super smart and
super cool.
he three sections of the
instrument panel are clear and
uncluttered; on the right is the
speedo, plus fuel and engine
temperature gauges; on the let is
rpm, odometer and trip. hen with a
lick of the function switch, front/rear
tyre pressures and battery charge can
be seen. With regards to the brake
levers, both have four-point span
adjustment to help get the right
distance from handlebar grip to
lever just perfect.
he feel of the AK at rest
is one of a low centre of
gravity and balance. Yes,
the claimed dry weight is
226kg, but that’s just a
ABOVE: As igure, and the feel of the bike is
happy in town nowhere near that. he AK550 has
as it is on the one of the simplest and easiest
main road. centre-stand operations of any bike
I’ve ridden and the scooter is a
doddle to manoeuvre about. he
added parking brake (situated on the
let handlebar) locks the rear wheel
when engaged, giving extra safety and
conidence should you need to park
on any kind of slope.
In operation, the sound from
the liquid-cooled, inline,
two-cylinder, DOHC,
eight-valve low-slung
engine was orchestral and
full of depth and bass. he
throttle response was
swit yet smooth, pushing
me back slightly as I
wasn’t expecting quite as
much oomph as I received.
hat’s due to the peak
power of 52.7bhp (39.3kW)
at 7500rpm, and the maximum
torque igure of 41lb-t (55.64Nm)
at 5500rpm. It’s also handy to know
LEFT & ABOVE: that the small rider’s backrest (bum
Customisable retainer) can be moved forwards or
Noodoe dash. back (about 3in) to make the seating
You might not position correct for your leg length.
want to choose
he irst few miles was spent
the same image
as Jonathan!
getting used to the scooter’s controls
before I could really ind out what it
was all about. I discovered that the
indicator switch is possibly the nicest
one I’ve used; it just feels right.
Cancelling is a simple press of the

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 11
Test Ride
switch, but it happens with a
wondrous little click that makes it
somehow comforting to do; it also
makes an unobtrusive clicking when
the indicators are on (like the old
solenoids in 1980s cars) to make
sure you don’t leave them on.
Comfort-wise, the AK is not quite
‘Club Class’ – but it’s damn close with
loads of room and the option of a
feet-forward riding position, making
for a journey that’s not taxing or
tiring. here was no backache or
stif legs, even when pushing a 60
mile, cold day sprint to the coast
and back. he scooter’s screen and
aerodynamics give you a small, yet
adequate, still-air pocket to be sat
in – the exception being that your
hands, on the very cold days are open
to the worst of the wind chill – so it’s
just as well that the AK comes with
heated grips as standard with three
heat levels being available (level one
gives 45ºC, level 2 55ºC, and level
three, 65ºC), so even in the cold you
can still ride with warm ingers.
Suspension is catered for with
upside-down front forks and a
coil-over rear monoshock; these
enable you to take the rough and the
smooth with ease, wating you along
without jolts, jarring or vibration.
Braking comes courtesy of Brembo
dual pistons and loating discs on the
front at 270mm and on the rear a
single 260mm disc with an active
12 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962
ABS system that gives brilliant feel
and response. Not once did it feel like
I was trying to pull the Titanic to a
quick stop. Running on 15in rims
shod with Metzeler 120/70-R15 on
the front and 160/60-R15 on the rear
just adds to the balanced sturdy feel
when banking into tight corners.
he attention to detail has proven to
be far above my expectations. It’s a
true touring machine.
I always try to take a night-time
ride to make sure the lights are up to
scratch – can you still sit at 60mph on
the main roads at night and feel safe,
even on dip when cars are coming in
the other direction? I can safely say ABOVE: Massive
yes, the LED headlights are more boom box that
than good; the AK happily sat at sounds as good
60mph on dipped headlights and as it looks.
when on main beam, the distance
the light is thrown gives you great
visibility and conidence.
THE VERDICT LEFT: Belt driven
What the AK550 ofers in abundance and brilliantly
is aggressive styling and cutting edge sprung.
tech, combined with a seriously
usable body that wants to eat up LEFT: Adjustable
miles and convey you to wherever bum barrier.
your heart desires in style and
comfort. he AK550 is a true
contender to the super scooter crown!
I’m sure I’ll run out of bottle well
before it does. It’s a scooter that I’d be
more than happy to add to my garage
collection without hesitation.
Closest rival
SUZUKI BURGMAN 650
£9199
The big Burgman is the seminal
maxi-scooter, and still has the
edge over the AK550 in terms of
power and torque, but only just.
Its 638cc two-cylinder, liquid-
cooled, DOHC engine produces
54.3bhp (40.5kW) @ 7000rpm
and 45.7lb-ft (62Nm) @
5000rpm. But it’s also heavy at
277kg (wet) and pricier than the
Kymco. Given that the Burgman
400 got updated last year and
the big 650 has been unchanged
for a while, there might be an
update coming from Suzuki soon.
Top Stories
London Mayor and TfL snub
motorcyclists
Benefits of motorcycles and
scooters in the capital are
left out of transport strategy.
Following a public consultation
on London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s
Transport Strategy, Transport
for London (TfL) has decided to
ignore the beneits of using
powered two wheelers (PTWs).
In doing so, it has disregarded
calls to properly include
hundreds of thousands of
motorcycle and scooter riders
in London’s Transport Strategy.
TfL has instead lumped
commuter motorcycles and
scooters in with cars, taxis and
construction traic, despite the
fact that PTWs signiicantly
reduce congestion in the capital,
take up less road space and are
far less damaging to air quality
than larger vehicles.
Honda revamps Forza 300
Radically updated, the Forza 300 is now lighter,
smaller, smarter and sportier.
he 2018 Forza 300 has a
sporty new look and sharper
dimensions than the previous
design. Its wheelbase and length
are reduced to 1510mm, while
it’s also narrower, but with a
higher seat height (780mm) for
improved visibility. Even with a
new larger diameter 14in rear
wheel, it’s 12kg lighter thanks to
a revised chassis and redesigned
frame, which Honda says boosts
its acceleration, top speed and
fuel eiciency.
14 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962
he Motorcycle Industry
Association believes congestion,
air quality and rider safety can
only be improved if the needs of
this vulnerable user group are
factored into road planning and
transport strategy, in the same
way that cycling is.
Motorcycle Industry
Association chief executive
Tony Campbell said: “he
Mayor clearly has his own
agenda around motorcycles and
scooters, which was not made
clear to the riders who elected
him following his promise to
champion their contribution to
reducing London’s congestion.
“At a recent meeting with
the Motor Cycle Industry
he new electrically
adjustable screen provides
options for maximum wind
protection or a blast of fresh
air. Honda Selectable Torque
Control (HSTC) has been added
and can be switched on and of
from the let handlebar.
Association (MCIA), the Mayor
said that he agreed PTWs had
an important part to play. In
doing so he also agreed to
review his Transport Strategy,
taking into account the feedback
he had received during the
consultation period. To quote
Mr Khan: ‘I have read through
the industry’s response to my
Revised instruments serve up
extra information digitally, in
support of the analogue dials.
All lighting is LED. he Smart
Key ofers control of the optional
45 litre top box. Colour options
are blue, black, grey and white.
Pricing and availability TBC.
Transport Policy Document
and can say I agree with most
of what you are saying, not
all but most.’
“Given this statement, it is
more than disappointing that
the mayor has decided to yet
again ignore what is clear
common sense for transport
policy.”
KTM ups the
app game
• Using the TFT display
on certain KTM models, KTM
My Ride app can link your
smartphone with the bike
and display your music player,
phone calls and navigation
details on the bike’s dash. You
can use the bike’s switches
to control the functions, so
your hands remain on the
handlebars. To save on
mobile data, maps can be
downloaded and used offline.
The app is available for
both Android and iOS, and
costs £7.99.
Letters
WIN A YEAR’S SUBSCRIPTION TO MSL This month’s star letter wins a subscription to the world’s greatest motorcycling magazine
– Motorcycle Sport & Leisure. We pride ourselves on ofering the most real-world publication,
with the tests, insight, adventures and advice that really matter. It’s the best biking fix around.
The star letter receives a 12 month subscription, and if you’re already a subscriber, we’ll extend
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★ Star Letter
Fizzing around
Reading Tony Carter’s column certainly took
me back to my first bike experience. It was
the summer of 1976; I had a part time job
stacking shelves in a local supermarket.
After closing time we had to collect the
shopping trolleys from the car park, after
which we would ride the bikes of the older
lads around the car park.
This in turn led to a desire to own my own
machine and explore the local countryside.
So for around £220 I became another Fizzy
owner, complete with stadium helmet, dodgy
gloves and jacket. Petrol was around 80p
a gallon! And of we would go, often our
ambition was limited by time and money
but every day was an adventure and
experience including the cold and wet days.
Thankfully equipment has improved to make
life more comfy and the youth of today have
the benefit of proper training prior to taking
to the roads.
My fizzie was delivered by the local dealer
in a van and I was left to work it all out as I
went! I still enjoy the pleasure and freedom
only two wheels can bring. Keep up the
good articles in the best real world mag.
Garry Thomas
Times and bikes have certainly changed
since then, but the joy of riding is here to
stay. Thanks very much for your letter
Garry, and here’s hoping for many more
good biking memories to come.
Mikko Nieminen Fizzy advert from way back when.

WEIGHT ON YOUR
HELMET
Over the last few years I have
owned six helmets, all diferent
makes except one. hey are:
Nolan open face, Aria 7 series
(I think), BMW 3 series, Caberg
Justie lip front 1775g, Nolan lip
front 1709g and recently a Givi
X.08 lip front 1780g. My gripe
is that manufacturers rarely put
the weight of their helmets in
their adverts; this you are also
guilty of when featuring one.
I feel that it is an important fact
that we users take into account
when deciding to purchase one.
We all know the weight is
printed on the rear of the helmet
together with its safety
classiication but it would be
nice to have this information
before going shopping.
My favourite helmet was the
open face one for the freedom of
vision and fresh air, it was ine
when riding my Honda PC800
Paciic Coast and Honda
ST1100 Pan European because
of their large screens. hey
proved unsuitable for small
screen or naked bikes though.
I now ind lip front the best for
most types of riding and I have
never been asked to remove it
when making any type of
purchase, mind you as soon as I
arrive at the garage pumps or
any establishment I am
visiting I always open the
front so that the security
cameras can see my face.
My current helmet has a
ratchet closing mechanism
which I believe is going to
become the industry’s
standard type. I like and
prefer it to the D-ring and the
‘snap closed’ (like a seat belt)
types. I am very impressed with
my new Givi – its quality,
comfort, and quietness, and it
also feels lighter and at £184 is
very good value. I only paid £50
as I was able to take advantage
of a clearance price at the recent
Great N/W Motorcycle Show
in Blackpool’s Winter Gardens
because I only take a small
54cm size (a schoolboy size
which may explain why my wife
sometimes says to me: ‘Grow up’!
Tony Edwards
Good point Tony! I’ll be sure to
include helmet weights in
Carbon
helmets have
been a game changer
in reducing weight.
future reviews. There are
some incredibly light helmets
out now, so the differences
are tangible.
Mikko Nieminen
REBEL
I’m an avid reader of the
motorcycle press and had read
some tests on Honda’s 500
Rebel. Recently I entered the
local Honda dealer here and saw
one. I thought what a stunning
looking bike and promptly
did a deal, part exchanging
my MT-07.
I have three other bikes:
a Guzzi Bobber, Harley 883
and Triumph Bobber and can
honestly say the Honda beats
all of them. It has typical
Honda build quality, is a great
ride and looks amazing. It also
has a lovely light feel to it and
great handling. In conclusion,
to anyone considering a new
bike, I can thoroughly
recommend this machine.
Okay, the name is a bit naf but
the bike itself is brilliant.
Kevin Lang
BARGAIN HUNTING
Just a quick rant: Why do prices
rise astronomically whenever
the word motorcycle is
incorporated into the price?
I am looking for replacement
pannier liners for my old GIVI
36-litre boxes. Nearly £50 for a
gloriied sports bag. Really?
Non-genuine items are about
£40 a pair, which is what I use at
the moment, but these are
wearing out and need to be

16 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962


changed. I was in an outdoor
shop to buy some Nikwax at
a reduced price when I came
across a pair of ‘Wellington
boot bags’. hese are normally
£15 each and they look like
perfect pannier liners to me
– Cordura construction with
large zip opening and shoulder
carrying handle.
A quick measure conirmed
their size was perfect.
Good.
No. Great actually. hey were
£4 each in a sale. So perfect
pannier liners for £8 in total.
I’m happy with my saving but
why should we be paying what
is in my opinion way over the
top to begin with?
It’s the same with any layers
of clothing underneath the
protective outer layer I choose
to wear.
Look around and surprise
yourself with what’s out there.
Dick Underdown
CHEAP RUBBER
Just prior to a trip to France last
summer it was apparent that my
trusty 995i Sprint ST needed
some new shoes. What to
replace the well-used Michelin
Pilot Roads with?
Seeing no sense in itting the
latest and greatest tyres I did my
usual search for a bargain pair,
and soon £145 Pirelli Angel STs
were delivered. hey got rave
YOUR VIEW
JOIN US
Be part of our
biking community
SUBSCRIBE ON PAGE 26
reviews when released so they
had got to be a good tyre still.
hey itted and transformed the
bike. Certainly on the sportier
end of sports touring with
a quicker tip in than the
Michelins, and they've been
great in heat of summer and
the cold wet greasiness of the
autumn and winter so far.
My point? At present these
come in at £100 less than their
replacement tyre from Pirelli
and similarly less than most
other competitors. £100 less
performance on my 17-year-old
bike? Unlikely. You don’t need
the latest and greatest, so much
like my bike I’m happy to have
‘yesterday’s model’ for my
smiles per miles! £100 equals
circa 1000 of those on the
Sprint by the way.
Matt James

Have your say and WIN Held gear!

Complete the MSL reader survey and help us make the
real-world biking mag even better. Oh, and you can win
a Held helmet or gloves too!
Here at MSL towers we like to think that
our magazine ofers the best bike
reviews, travel stories, technical
articles and much more for our Held by Schuberth H-C3
readers, but we realise we’re a bit flip-up helmet £419.99
biased... And that’s why we want to
hear your thoughts on the mag.
Whether you have been a subscriber
for half a century, or just picked up your first
copy now, we want to know what you think
about it. What’s hot and what’s not? What do
you want to see more or less of?
So, we’ve created a simple online survey
at www.mslmagazine.co.uk and we’d really
appreciate if you could take a few minutes to
complete it.
As a thank you for completing the survey,
all respondents will be entered into a FREE
PRIZE DRAW to be in with a chance of winning
a Held helmet or gloves.
One lucky winner can choose from either
a Held by Schuberth H-R2 full-face helmet,
worth £419.99, OR Held by Schuberth H-C3
flip-up helmet worth £419.99. There will also Held by
be three pairs of Held Gore-Tex Air n Dry Schuberth H-R2
gloves up for grabs, worth £175.99 each. full-face helmet
Many thanks and good luck in the prize draw! £419.99

Mikko Nieminen,
Motorcycle Sport & Leisure Editor

Complete the survey: www.mslmagazine.co.uk Held Gore-Tex

Air n Dry gloves
Terms and conditions apply – see website for details. There are no cash alternatives available. £175.99
Closing date is June 30, 2018. The winners will be the first names drawn at random.

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 17
Latest Products
Klim Artemis women’s jacket & trousers
Jacket £749, trousers £58
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Klim’s latest women’s adventure
jacket and trousers have been
designed in-house by Klim’s
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research and crowd-sourced
feedback from female
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Artemis has been custom-
engineered for women.
Klim says the garments are
robust enough and equipped for
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day-trips. he Artemis features
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Richa
Original
jeans
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Richa calls its Original jeans
the ultimate motorcycle jeans
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Made from a mix of Denim
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of the internationally-renowned, new CB500F/R/X models.
professional stunt team Switch Riders.

20 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

Test Ride
Honda CB125R

TEENAGE
KICKS
Honda’s latest
125cc roadster
has the big bike
looks – and all
the fun of a 125! WORDS: Alan Dowds PHOTOGRAPHY: Honda

22 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962


O
ne of the great ironies of
humanity is that when
you’re young, you can’t
wait to get older. But
when you get old, you’d
give anything to be young again.
Teenagers are gagging to get into
pubs and nightclubs as soon as they
look vaguely 18, and the delights of
driving a car, deciding how much
mess is acceptable on your bedroom
loor, and being able to surf as much
internet grot as you fancy, all seems
like a dream existence.
Of course, when you hit 35, and
are besieged by woes about money,
nasty bosses, creaking bones and
keeping your dat ofspring in check,
being 15 again seems like an awesome
prospect. It’s a similar deal with bikes.
Small-bore novice machines try their
hardest to look just like their big
brothers, in order to bask in the
undoubted coolness of a lagship
model. Honda’s new CB125R has
certainly managed that.
Digital dash is clear and
concise. Readably clear.
Perfect for a new rider
to deal with.
LAUNCH
If you have seen it at any of the
recent bike shows, you may even have
confused it with its 300 or even 1000cc
big brothers. Honda’s come out with a
whole new ‘design language’ on these
three bikes – the CB125R, CB300R
and CB1000R. Dubbed Neo Sports
Café (NSC), it’s a look the big H has
been toying with for a good few years
now – with a number of concept bikes
using the theme. A large, round LED
headlight, high-quality brushed alloy
bodywork sections, mature, classy
colour schemes – all wrapped round
a keep-it-simple engine and naked
roadster chassis recipe.
WATERPROOFED
We’re in Lisbon to ride the 125, with
what should be lovely spring weather,
but is turning out to be an Atlantic
gutbuster of a storm. Lisbon is a great
city, but it’s right on the edge of the
ocean, and the wind’s passed over a
few thousand miles of nothing but
sea since it let the US coast.
Test Ride

Indeed, our irst evening ride is ABOVE: The tiny

cancelled due to the lashing rain, but
next morning, we get our waterproofs
on, and just go for it.
he CB125R’s big-bike looks catch
me out in the hotel car park straight
away – as I almost put my gloves
down on one of the outriders’
CB650Fs, erk. I catch myself just in
time, hop onto an ice-white 125, and
get set. he grown-up feel continues,
with a decent seat height, high-
quality handlebars and a neat LCD
dashboard, with a clear layout. I’m
sad not to ind a span-adjustable
front brake lever though – my
stumpy digits always prefer a
shorter reach.
No matter. he little engine coughs
into life instantly, and the irst chinks
in the big-bike appearance start to
show. he exhaust has been specially
designed to encase the rider in an
aural bubble of cool sound, and does
that well. But there’s no mistaking the
low-power note of a 13bhp motor. Or
the low-power, er, power, of a 13bhp
motor only
makes just over
13bhp but looks
like a bigger
power unit in the
bike’s frame.
RIGHT: The
CB125R’s chassis
is terrific with
the weight low
down and precise
handling.
BELOW: The
styling touches
and attention to motor. Of course, for old dufers like
detail are carried me, who are used to riding 150bhp+
throughout the
monsters, it’s a bit of a shock to have
whole bike. It’s
a tenth of that.
a class act.
I’m not that bothered to start
with though. he slick cobbled
streets of Lisbon, soaked in rain, are
no place for 200bhp this morning,
and neither is my sleepy mind.
I’m adapting to the little bike
quick-fast though, and the irst
impressions are good. he motor feels
like a proper mini-roadster lump,
with a decent, natural-feeling torque
curve all the way through. Some 125s
from the past have been a real mess
in terms of power delivery, with
gaping holes in the midrange, or
sudden sharp cut-ofs at the top
end, but this feels like a normal
middleweight motor (albeit 50-odd
bhp lower down the scale.) he
fuelling is ine too, although I’m not
spending much time at part-throttle
while trying to keep up with the
guide rider’s Africa Twin…
FIRMLY IN CONTROL
he chassis is even better. Round
town, the good brakes, smart ABS,
commanding riding position and
direct front end feel combine to put
you right in control. Negotiating a
couple of soaked roundabouts for
pics, my heart was in my mouth once
or twice as the (quite decent) Dunlop
rubber inally let go. Crashing a 125
wouldn’t earn me many cool points in
front of my peers today.
But where a cheaper, less
sophisticated chassis setup of
yesteryear would leave you in the
dark, I felt like I knew what was going
on at the tyres here, and was in a
position to take charge. he balance
is excellent, with weight carried low,
and it’s easy to keep your feet up for
ages when you stop at red lights. he
poise at walking pace is tremendous
too, and combined with the narrow
proile that lets you whizz through
really skinny gaps, it’s a proper urban
champ. Once we make it out of

24 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962


Specification
HONDA CB125R
(2018)
Price: £3949
Engine: 2v single, SOHC,
liquid cooled, 124.7cc
Power: 13.1bhp
@ 10,000rpm
Torque: 7.4lb-ft @ 8,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed,
chain drive
Frame: Steel tube trellis
Front suspension: 41mm
Showa USD forks
Rear suspension:
Monoshock
Brakes: Single 296mm wave
disc, four-piston Nissin
caliper (front), 220mm disc,
single-piston Nissin caliper
(rear), IMU-assisted ABS
Wheels/tyres: Aluminium/
Dunlop GPR-300, 110/70 17
front, 150/60 17 rear
Wheelbase: 1345mm
Seat height: 816mm
Wet weight: 126kg
Fuel capacity: 10.1 litres
Contact: www.honda.co.uk
Lisbon city centre and head towards
the tourist town of Cascais, the
engine is less appealing, but the
chassis takes over. On some faster
sweeping A-roads, the CB feels more
than up to an extra 30bhp, but the
motor is feeling the pressure. he
dichotomy is even sharper when we
get into the hills around Sintra –
uphill, the CB engine wheezes a little,
but on the other side, you can charge
Yuzuru Ishikawa, large project leader
We spoke to the large project
leader, Yuzuru Ishikawa, about
the design of the CB125R.
Ishikawa-san worked on the
CBR1100XX Super Blackbird,
various iterations of the
CBR1000RR Fireblade, and
the original V5 MotoGP bike,
the RC211V.
MSL: Is designing a restricted
engine like the CB125R easier,
or more diicult than
something like the RC211V?
YI: What we have to focus on
with a small engine is how the
power is delivered, especially
at smaller throttle openings,
the importance is on having
a decent torque and power
delivery – even when the
throttle isn’t fully opened.
That is more important in
a way than the standard
[100% throttle] torque
and power curve that you
always see.
MSL: Using the same frame
on the CB125R and CB300R
– does that mean
compromise? If the frame is
strong enough for the 300, is
downhill with gay abandon. he extra
thrust imparted by gravity widens the
grin under my Shark lid, and I have
a real fun dice with a very nice Swiss
journalist, eking out every last rev
from the motor.
it too much for the 125?
And vice-versa?
YI: We’ve managed to do it in
such a way that there’s no
compromise. It’s extremely
light as we said, so for the
300 it’s 2kg lighter than any
other frame we’ve made in
the past for a 300. So what
we’ve had to look at is, if you
had a frame built only for a
300, and then put a 125 in,
it would be overly stif, and
would be a little bit nervous,
since there’s no flexibility in it.
But we’ve put a lot of efort
into making sure that the
point where the frame flexes
is low down, so there’s a lot of
good feedback from the road
surface. There’s been a lot of
efort to make sure it’s a
frame that works perfectly
for the 125 and the 300.
MSL: Can you explain how the
IMU system helps the ABS?
You said it’s not a leaning
system, so what is it doing?
YI: Because we wanted a nice
amount of weight over the
front for feedback, and
because the bike is the
BELOW: It might
be small in
capacity but
there’s a
bigger-bike
feel to the CB
on the move.
LAUNCH
lightest in its class, under
heavy braking, there was
concern that it might have a
tendency for the rear to lift
under heavy braking. So the
IMU, although it is measuring
all five axes that it would on
bigger bike, it’s concentrating
on preventing ‘stoppies’, and
sends more braking efort
into the rear.”
MSL: What are you most
proud of with the CB125R?
YI: Just how much fun it is
to ride!
FRUGAL AND FUN
We shouldn’t be too surprised at the
strong chassis performance right
enough – since the frame and forks
are shared with the CB300R, which
has more than twice the power of the
125. Cunning design means Honda’s
been able to it both the 125 and 300
engines into the same housing,
without too much in the way of
compromise. hat, together with
good tyres (Dunlop GPR-300s) in
good sizes (110/70 17 F and 150/60
17 R) has made the little CB good
fun in the bends.
Ater lunch, we hot-foot it back to
Lisbon and the hotel. We take in
some motorways along the route, and
I discover that you’ll be able to keep
up with traic on dual-carriageways.
What’s even more impressive is the
fuel consumption though. Despite
almost constant thrashing all day,
the little CB is showing over 100mpg
on the dash. Good stuf.
he day’s over, and it’s time for
a beer now. Luckily, I’ve got no
problems getting served at the hotel
bar. Would I like to be 17 again,
struggling to get into pubs and clubs,
and wishing I had my own place?
For sure – especially if I could have
one of these little CB125Rs to ride…
www.mslmagazine.co.uk 25
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Top Stories
EURO MILLIONS With the financial markets trying to make sense of
Brexit, Trump and the rise of China, how are the European
motorcycle manufacturers doing? Alan Cathcart investigates...
N
ow is the time
of year when
motorcycle
manufacturers
crunch numbers
and claim to be winners or admit
to being losers – or something in
between. Here’s a roundup of
how the major European
manufacturers fared in 2017.
BMW: SEVENTH
CONSECUTIVE ALL-
TIME SALES HIGH
BMW Motorrad has reported
that its 2017 worldwide
deliveries of motorcycles and
scooters increased by 13.2%
in the 2017 calendar year to
164,153 vehicles (versus 145,032
units in 2016), thanks to strong
sales growth in Europe and Asia.
With these new record annual
sales, BMW Motorrad takes
another step towards reaching
its stated objective of delivering
200,000 units in the year 2020.
Germany is once again the
28 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962
largest single market for BMW
motorcycles and scooters, with
26,664 units sold there in 2017,
a 7.1% increase over 2016 which
allowed it to remain the market
share leader in its home country.
Indeed, the company’s strongest
sales upsurge in 2017 was
recorded in Europe as a whole,
with record growth which saw
around 15% more vehicles
delivered there than in 2016.
his was driven mainly by
France (16,607 units, up 24.3%),
followed by Italy (14,430
units/17.3%), Spain (11,193
units/17.6%) and the British
Isles (9550 units/8.7%).
For the irst time in BMW
Motorrad’s history, more than
50,000 units of the two R1200GS
and GS Adventure dual-purpose
models alone were sold in 2017,
as sales of all of the traditionally
strong-selling lat-twin boxer
models increased signiicantly
overall. hanks to the three new
R nineT models, the Pure, Racer
and Urban G/S variants, sales in
the boxer segment rose by 9.6%
in 2017, to a total of 86,090
motorcycles. he BMW S Series
sportbike models saw 21,752
examples sold worldwide, while
BMW’s new sub-500cc capacity
segment made a strong debut,
with 11,595 units of the G310R
and G310GS models – which are
built in India by BMW’s partner
TVS and introduced in 2017
– already delivered to customers
by the end of the year, with
demand strong in Europe,
South America and Asia.
Sales of the German
manufacturer’s six-cylinder
models also developed
positively, with the K1600
Bagger aimed at the US market
selling well in its debut year.
Timo Resch, BMW Motorrad
head of sales and marketing,
stated: “With 6719 units sold
and a 50% increase in sales, our
six-cylinder models are among
the big winners of 2017.”
New mid-weight adventure
bikes are expected to be a
big hit for BMW.
KTM: SALES UP 17%,
WITH A RECORD
238,334 UNITS SOLD
Austria’s KTM Industries AG
remained Europe’s No. 1 in
terms of overall units sold in
2017, which saw the company
achieve a seventh consecutive
year of record sales, with an
all-time high in revenues
and proit.
In its igures for the 2017
inancial year, KTM’s yearly
revenues over 2016 were up
14% at €1.533 billion, with
EBIT (operating earnings before
interest and taxes, but ater
depreciation) 8% higher at
€132.5 million in the last 12
months, against €122.3 million
in 2016. he preliminary net
proit before taxes increased to
€117.0 million, against €108.9
million the previous year.
he company says it sold
238,334 KTM and Husqvarna
motorcycles in its 2017 business
year, to “further strengthen
our number one position
as the biggest motorcycle
producer in Europe”. Unit
sales increased by over 17%
compared to the previous year,
driven by increased demand
not only for its core Austrian-
made products, but also the
smaller capacity models built
in India by its business partner
and 48% investor Bajaj Auto.
According to sales data from
Indian industry watchdog
SIAM, some 35,000 KTM
motorcycles were sold there
in 2017 alone, in addition to
CKD kits being exported for
assembly in other countries
from Brazil to Malaysia.
hanks to this ongoing
growth, KTM recruited 818
additional employees in 2017
(652 of them in Austria), taking
its overall directly employed
workforce to 5887 people
worldwide, including 4568 in
Austria. he company says that
for the 2018 business year KTM
Industries Group expects
 NEW

The new Svartpilen and

Vitpilen show a new
direction for Husqvarna.

further organic growth in its 5.7% against the €730 million

KTM 790 Duke is
core model segments. nine-month total the previous
expected to sell well.
With the market launch in year. Piaggio says it has
April of Husqvarna’s irst “maintained its leadership of the
modern-era street motorcycles European two-wheeler market”
(the Vitpilen and Svartpilen) with a total market share of
and the imminent debut of 15.2% of the scooter sector, up
KTM’s irst parallel-twin range 25.4% year-on-year.
of models starting with the Piaggio says it maintained a
790 Duke, management is particularly strong presence on
stated as expecting to remain the North American scooter
on track for continued growth market, with a 20% market
in 2018 and beyond. share, and that it’s also
he company says it aims committed to strengthening its
to sell 360,000 motorcycles position in motorcycles in
annually by the 2021 business North America.
year (against its previous In the Indian two-wheeler
forecast one year ago of 300,000 market, the group more than
units), with 400,000 machines doubled its sales volumes from
envisaged for 2022. the year-earlier period, thanks
to the introduction of the new
PIAGGIO UNIT SALES (earnings before interest and Aprilia SR150 scooter and the
UP 12.4% IN Q3 2017 taxes) for that 2017 period was Vespa brand’s ongoing strong
Italy’s Piaggio Group has not €69.1 million, up 14.3% against performance as scooter sales
yet published its full year results the €60.5 million of the previous grow strongly in India.
for 2017, but its third quarter year. Pre-tax proits were €44.1 he motorcycle sector of the
sales igures as at September 30, million, an increase of 31.2%, group also made “great strides”,
2017, demonstrated an and Piaggio made a net proit of according to Piaggio, albeit
upward trend for the €25.1 million (+31.2%) in without the company producing
Italian scooter specialist. selling a total of 426,700 vehicles any sales igures to back this up,
Overall consolidated net worldwide, against 411,700 units unlike with its scooter products.
revenue of €1.141 billion in the irst nine months of 2016. Supposedly, the Aprilia brand
for the irst nine months Of those, 299,400 units were saw an increase in sales, in
of last year represented a powered two-wheelers, up particular generated by the
2.5% increase over the 12.4% versus 266,400 units in naked Tuono V4, the new
Piaggio’s scooter sales €1.032 billion of the the same period in 2016. his Shiver 900 and Dorsoduro 900
look good, but motorcycle same nine-month period generated net sales of €771.8 (launched in June 2017), and
numbers are in doubt. in 2016. Group EBIT million, an improvement of the new 125 RS and Tuono,

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 29
Top Stories
launched last April. Moto Guzzi
saw “a positive sales trend of the
V7”. But Piaggio’s continued
reluctance to reveal speciic sales
igures for its motorcycle brands
only encourages suspicions that
these in fact continue to be
disappointing.

DUCATI FLAT-LINES,
WITH 55,871
MOTORCYCLES
DELIVERED IN 2017
VW/Audi-owned Italian
sportbike manufacturer Ducati
has revealed that it delivered
55,871 bikes in 2017, a modest
increase of just 420 units
over 2016.
Bologna-based Ducati says
that in 2017 each model in the
range played its part in
achieving that sales result,
with the new Multistrada
950 adventure tourer
proving particularly
popular. he Monster
family also enjoyed
healthy sales, as did addition of the new Desert Sled of 31,123 units. he Italian
the SuperSport and and Café Racer variants manufacturer gained ground
the exclusive 1299 reinforcing the range of such especially in the Spanish market,
Superleggera, all 500 models on ofer. with sales up by a substantial
examples of which were A total of 14,061 Scrambler 28.3% there. By contrast, the
purchased at a price of bikes was delivered in 2017. USA saw deliveries up by just
€80,000 each even before Ducati’s Italian home market 1.3% in a shrinking overall
they went into was particularly buoyant, with market, with sales there totalling
production. 8806 motorcycles delivered in 8898 units, so that it narrowly
he Scrambler 2017 for a 12% growth. his remains Ducati’s biggest market,
range continues its ABOVE: Big 1100 upward trend was evident across ahead of Italy. In Asian markets
success of the previous two Scrambler expands Europe, where Ducati increased Ducati delivered a total of 5805
years, says Ducati, with the the range. overall sales by 4% to a total bikes, also strengthening its
position in China (up 31%)
where the dealership network
The new V4
doubled in size from nine to 18
leads Ducati’s
plans for 2018. sales outlets.
Although its 2017 results
essentially showed it marking
time rather than making any
signiicant gains or losses,
Ducati believes it can look to the
future with conidence, with its
2018 product range promising
to be even more competitive,
and innovative.
he newly launched Panigale
V4 is the irst Ducati volume
production model to be
powered by a four-cylinder
engine; the forthcoming new
Ducati Scrambler 1100 adds
a larger capacity dimension
to the Scrambler range; the
2018 Multistrada 1260 takes
the technological evolution
of the Multistrada to the
next level in the sport
touring market; and the
renewed 821 Monster and
the 959 Panigale Corse

30 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

Test Ride
Yamaha MT-07
MARKED
improvement It might look like it’s only had a minor change here
and there, but the 2018 version of the MT-07
really has been dipped in Yamaha’s ‘improve’ glue.
WORDS: Tony Carter PICTURES: Yamaha
W
hen it irst appeared
four years ago, the
Yamaha MT-07
caught a lot of the
motorcycle market
napping. Here was a bike that really
could tick the ‘all things to all riders’
box and do so with a comparatively
cheap price tag.
In an age of hyper bikes, the
MT-07 reminded a biking world that
you don’t need launch control or
mid-corner ABS to have a good time
on two wheels. A brilliant chassis and
eager engine, combined with a sort-of
prone/sort-of upright riding position
and minimal motorcycling fuss. What
on earth was not to love about that
original 2014 MT-07?
he suspension. hat’s what. It was
okay for the package that it was in,
but it was only okay. Built to a budget,
the MT-07 was too sot on the front
and rear. Which is ine and dandy if
you want to commute and toddle of
to the shops – but when you wanted
to have some fun, the bouncy bits
could get a bit annoying.
Step forward, friendly engineers of
Yamaha for the second iteration of
the MT-07 and take a bow. Subtle but
serious suspension iddling has solved
the problem. he bike still feels very
similar to the old bike in 90% of your
riding life, but in the 10% of smiles
wide things have become a lot better.
With 130mm of travel at either
end the bike is now more settled at
pace and more compliant over things
like speed humps and potholes.
he bike’s front forks are 41mm
KYB (Kayaba) units, boasting a 6%
increase in spring rate and a 16%
increase in rebound damping.
he rear shock is a familiar KYB
(Kayaba) item that has rebound
32 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962
adjustability with a more accessible
spring preload adjuster. Yamaha says
that the back end of the bike now
has 11% increased spring rate with
27% more high speed rebound
damping and 40% more high speed
compression damping. hat’s a lot
of percentage increases on the front
and back springers – and you can
instantly tell the improvement on the
move. he whole bike feels more
secure in what it’s doing. You can lead
the MT-07 easily but the bike will
take care of things all by itself as
you up the pace too.
his is a grown-up Yamaha – don’t
let the smaller capacity fool you.
We’ll get to the cosmetic changes
in a minute, but before that the only
other ‘real’ change to bike over what
went before is with the seat.
While there’s no real change in the
actual 805mm seat height over the
old model, the new bike’s rider and
pillion perches have come in for some
real re-design.
A big part of how diferent sitting
on the bike feels (largely, more
roomy) is down to the rear of the
petrol tank being moved 10mm
further forward. Both rider and
pillion seats have been extended
backwards too and the rider seat is
actually more angular towards its
front which means that it feels
narrower near the back of the petrol
tank, this is so that you can get your
feet on the loor much more easily.
Yamaha calls this ‘stand over height’
– it’s a measurement taken from the
bottom of one foot, up and over the
front part of the rider’s seat and down
to the sole of the other foot. If the
seat front is narrowed then it’s easier
for your leg(s) to get to the loor.
It’s a clever bit of engineering.
LAUNCH

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 33
Test Ride

Specification
YAMAHA MT-07
Price: £6349
And if you’re a taller rider there’s Out on the ride the bike was very
Engine: 689cc, liquid-cooled,
also an atermarket accessory Sports engaging. he old model was always parallel-twin
Seat that gives you 28mm more seat fun with a nimble touch that Power: 74bhp (55kW) @ 9000rpm
height. Handy if you’re over 6t on encouraged you to explore what the
Torque: 50lb-ft (68Nm) @ 6500rpm
the small-ish MT-07. For me and my Yamaha was capable of – but you
Frame: Steel diamond-type
5t 10in, with 28in-long inside leg oten felt like the old suspension was
Front suspension: Non-adjustable
the standard seat height was pretty letting the side down just a tad. he telescopic forks, 130mm travel
COSMETICS
much spot on with an easy reach new bike’s springers match the rest of
There’s a new Rear suspension: Monoshock with
to the footrests which remained headlight (from the bike’s personality and as you no adjustability, 130mm travel
cramp-free during our day riding the MT-09) and develop as a rider you’ll soon have Front brakes: 4-piston calipers,
in Spain. a tail-light (from the big hero blobs of the footrests. 282mm discs
Elsewhere the frame, brakes, Euro the MT-09). A he new MT-07 is very noticeably Rear brakes: 2-piston caliper,
4-compliant 74bhp engine and lot of fresh better on the road, especially in 245mm disc
bodywork with
virtually all the rest of the running quicker corners. It’s no sport bike and Wheelbase: 1400mm
new-look tank
gear stays, but the whole bike has surrounds and it doesn’t claim to be, but fourth gear Seat height: 805mm
been given an MT-family makeover sport front runs licking from corner to corner Wet weight: 182kg
to keep things in a pretty, pretty mudguard plus on the Ronda road just outside of Fuel capacity: 14 litres
department on par with other new radiator Malaga happened in a lovely,
cowling. Contact: www.yamaha-motor.eu
models in the range. balanced, predictable manner.
ENGINE SUSPENSION
There’s no changes to the CP2, 689cc, 41mm front KYB fork
270° crank, 68Nm @ 6500rpm, 74bhp gets more spring rate
@ 9000rpm engine which is now and an increase in
Euro 4 compliant and has a 35kW Rebound damping
variation available for an A2 licence. (130mm travel) and
the rear KYB shock
gets Rebound
adjustability and more
high speed rebound
and compression
damping.

34 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

 LAUNCH

Antoine Clemont, Yamaha

product management
department
After a lot of listening to studies with current
customers of the previous MT-07 we knew that we had
to look at the suspension to make the bike better.
Customers told us that they wanted the suspension
to be more settled and better at reacting on the move
and it’s there where we wanted to spend our energy.
We had to make the changes to the bike without
adding to the overall cost of the MT-07. It would be
easy to put new, higher grade forks on the bike but to
do this would add to the cost by hundreds of pounds
and wouldn’t necessarily be what the MT-07 is about.
So our solution was to look at carefully spring
rates and rebound and compression performance,
especially at high speed. What we found was that the
package can now perform very well and match the
customer’s needs.

One thing to mention was that in
the slower sections of our test route,
especially where the road was dirty,
too much right hand with the bike
leant over could get the back end
moving on the corner exit a bit. I’ll
be honest with you – this was really
good fun and never once caused
concern. Twenty years ago we’d have
all called this ‘personality’ and said
that it relects the overtones of this
fun middleweight bike.
I’m still doing that. he Yamaha
MT-07 has lots of personality.
It’s a fun bike to ride.
Okay, so at pace and if you’re a bit
heavy-handed the suspension might
feel a touch unreined, but for 90% of
riders on 99% of roads it’s ine. he
MT isn’t an R1 and it never claims to
be, it’s a cracking road bike.
hrottle pick-up from a closed ist
isn’t particularly smooth (something
reminiscent of those irst-run MTs)
but it’s nothing to write home about.
Gear selection is lovely and the
clutch spot on. Without the
interference of any sort of anti-slip
The MT-07’s malarkey you need to be sure about
engine remains downchanges otherwise the bike will
unchanged but lock up the back wheel. Don’t let that
the bike’s overall scare you though, it’s nothing to
look is sharper
worry about. It’s something real
thanks to some
cosmetic
motorcycles (some would argue) do
tweaks. and to be honest, you shouldn’t have
to rely on slipper clutches to be able
to downchange without a lock up.
I know… there’ll be letters about
me saying that…
Closest rival:
TRIUMPH STREET
TRIPLE S £8200 OTR
The Street Triple is a fair rival to
the Yamaha but the money you’ll
spend on the triple may put many
of. Then again, you do get a much
higher spec of suspension, brakes
and various bits and bobs (all of
which are adjustable to give you a
virtually bespoke motorcycle that
suits your needs) and a 765cc
engine that is sublime to use with
110bhp @ 11,250rpm and 73Nm
of peak torque @ 9100rpm. The
Street also gets a very pretty TFT
digital screen and ‘muscular’ looks.
It’s not as accomplished an
all-rounder as the Yamaha though.

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 35
Test Ride
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hat motor is a lovely thing. You’ll
spend all of your time between 3000
and 7000rpm and the CP2 engine
just barks torque at you in a linear
way. It’s all very predictable and
usable. Bit vibey though.
Looks-wise, the MT-07 now gets
the same face and bum as the MT-09
with a ‘wing’ under the headlight and
two ‘wings’ itted under the pillion
seat (these can be removed when you
want to it luggage).
S
F A-7
Estepona
It’s a Yamaha MT family member
through and through – and it doesn’t
let you forget that.
his is a cracking small bike that’s
much more of an all-rounder than
the more expensive Triumph Street
Triple and now, with those welcome
revisions to the suspension and seat,
it’s the bike I’d go for in this class.
I really recommend that you get
out there and try one.
If you’re only going to
ride one road abroad...
...make it this one. Our test route for the Yamaha
MT-07 world launch was the famous Ronda road. It’s
a truly belting combination of fast sweepers, diicult
technical bits and some mountainous climbs, the road
has – largely – excellent surface quality and is around
240km long all together.
It’s a helluva series of demands to put on a bike at
all kinds of speeds. That’s why this route is so widely
used among factories during testing new models and
launching production bikes.
We can’t stress to you enough how good this route
is. We’ve ridden it a dozen times over the years and
we’re still keen to get back for more. Ride it.

36 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 37
 The Children’s Hospital
toy run, part 2
Maynard Hershon
O
n a cold Sunday morning in early
December I rode across Denver
to meet a half dozen friends and
participate in a toy run. If you
haven’t had the pleasure, a toy run
involves the purchase of a child’s
toy in its original package and the
donation of that toy to the charity ater which the run
is named. Children’s Hospital, this time. Toy runs are
a Harley-Davidson holiday tradition.
I’d bought an action igure, Rocket Raccoon from
Guardians of the Galaxy. It was easily portable and I
hoped it would make some kid happy.
We met for the ride start at a huge multi-sport park
at the eastern edge of the Denver sprawl. Empty on a
Sunday morning, the place is Texas-size. It needed to be.
We lined up shortly ater 9am, two hours before
the scheduled ride start. By 10, there were 4000
motorcycles on a curving road in that park. From
where we were, we could see tiny bikes and people
way up there at the front but no-way could we see
the back of the line. he line was 10 bikes wide.
here were ive or six of us in our little group.
hree (yes, I counted) wore waterproof fabric
clothing in grey, blue or red. No more than 20
of the 4000 bikes were ridden by individuals in
un-black, un-leather outerwear. Maybe 10% of the
riders wore helmets. More than 10% rode in do-rags.
Our gear kinda set us apart.
None of the leather clothing was armoured. It
wasn’t style clothing in most cases; It was purpose-
made motorcycle clothing, but it was not technical.
It was only intended to protect the wearer from road
rash in the improbable event of a crash. No armour.
No Dainese, no Kushitani.
he bikes were 95% Harleys. he remaining 5%
were Victorys and Indian Scouts, a very few Japanese
cruisers and our ive bikes, one of them two-up. We
rode a Harley, an old BMW airhead, a late-model
BMW GS, a four-cylinder Versys and my ZRX.
In contrast to the warm welcome I’d received when
I registered for the ride at the Harley store, none
of the folks near us in the line greeted me cheerily.
I can’t remember chatting with anyone except those in
our little group. Perhaps my imported bike, my Arai
and my weathered red jacket led them to suspect that
I spoke no English.
Ater an interminable wait, two hours plus, the front
of the line began to move. I should tell you at this
point that the run was ive miles long, from the sports
park to the hospital. hat is not a misprint.
About 100 at a time, escorted by motorcycle cops,
we rode west on a major street. More police stopped
traic at the lights so we could maintain about 30mph
38 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962
Maynard doesn’t quite fit in with the
crowd at the toy run, populated by Harley
riders costumed as scary persons...
for the ive miles, uninterrupted. Even without the
calculator in your phone, you could igure out how
long it took.
As each group of 100 reached the hospital, the
escort cops turned around and rode briskly back to
the Sports Park on the closed-to-traic ride route
to escort the next group. Ater each group let, the
remaining groups would move up. Start motorcycle,
creep 50 yards, shut of. Repeat.
We’d waited in the cold for hours to ride ive miles
in second gear to drop of our toys. I can’t believe I did
that, and I am a little embarrassed telling you I did.
I don’t believe you could convince the membership
of the Ducati Owners Club or the BMW Riders Assn
or the Bearded Bonneville Bunch to do that, to stand
around forever in order to ride ive urban miles.
Be that as it may, nearly 4000 Harley riders,
costumed as scary persons, showed up and waited in
the cold more-or-less patiently to give away a brand
new toy they’d bought with their own money. hey
do it every year here and in hundreds of other places.
It’s a headshaker, huh?
It is a headshaker but – there were thousands of
toys for those kids. In hindsight, I wish I’d dropped of
Rocket Raccoon a day earlier. I could have taken an
actual motorcycle ride somewhere less noisy, where I
might have used all ive gears. Imagine.
Now, about Harley-Davidson’s problems. Let’s say,
on that run, we saw 3800 Harleys. Not many were
Sportsters. So there were well over 3000 Big Twins,
many of which were touring models with all the bells
and most of the whistles. Not cheap bikes. Many
Who is couples, I noted, had two.
Hershon? Maybe Harley’s traditional customer is indeed aging
MSL’s Maynard is our and buying fewer new bikes. Probably that’s so. But
man with a very unique a big slice of the Motor Company’s faithful, trust me,
view on motorcycling will mount up in the dark on a frozen-inger Sunday
from both sides of morning to do the right thing for hospitalised kids
the pond. Yes, he is they’ve never met.
American, yes, he Nothing about my experience at the Harley store
does ride around on a or at the toy run made me worry about the health of
second-hand Kawasaki Harley-Davidson, despite the barrage of gloomy news
that causes him grief...
items. Maybe this is further evidence, as if we needed
and yes, he does
any, that we can’t believe everything we read…
have his finger right
I don’t want a Harley but I’ll cheer for the company’s
on the pulse of life
on two wheels
success... as will thousands of kids and their worried
parents all across America.
 YAMAHA
COMEBACK WORDS: CHRIS MOSS PHOTOGRAPHY: CHRIS MOSS, YAMAHA, MORTONS

40 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962


How the MT-range saved Yamaha and
created a whole new breed of bikes.
B
y the end of the new millennium’s irst
decade, Yamaha’s model range was
looking decidedly jaded. he factory
simply wasn’t producing enough new
and exciting bikes, and many of those
that were in the shops were far too
expensive. In 2010 its R1 and R6
sportsbikes may well have performed superbly, but the
market was changing and their popularity was waning.
Other models like the 1200 Super Tenere adventure bike
and FZ8 roadsters weren’t doing well either. It wasn’t a
good time for the brand, and everyone knew it.
SITUATION CRITICAL
Andy Smith, at that time the irm’s Director of Powered
Vehicles (bikes, scooters and ATVs), based at its
European headquarters in Amsterdam, was well aware
of the dilemma and spoke to us very frankly and
honestly about the situation: “You could describe the
situation as critical. All our proits were coming from the
sales of scooters in Asia. Mature markets in Europe and
the US were struggling and losing money. We knew we
needed to do something, otherwise we would have lost
our market and our dealers.
KNOWLEDGE
“We’d already had some more serious meetings in
Europe and Japan back in 2005/6 to try and improve the
eiciency of the company. We knew we needed to up the
spec and quality of our bikes and reduce their cost. We
had showrooms full of lovely motorcycles that no-one
wanted to buy. hey were the wrong bikes, the wrong
spec and the wrong price. It was acknowledged we’d
been producing too many bikes we thought people
wanted and that we thought suited us, rather than what
the market preferred. We’d stopped asking customers
enough about what they wanted and we’d also assumed
people looked at Yamaha diferently to the other three
Japanese brands. When we started consulting them, we
discovered that wasn’t the reality. hey actually viewed
us in the same way as the others.
“Bar the R1 and TMAX, they thought the rest of our
range was too similar to other Japanese brands.
Customers told us they wanted something diferent, but
didn’t quite know what. Two main factors were
inluencing the need for the change. Riders were getting
older and speed constraints in several European
countries, especially France, Italy and the UK, were
getting dramatically tighter. here was still a demand
for bikes with high performance, great torque and
light weight, but not in a supersport package that
obliged you to ride too quickly.”
www.mslmagazine.co.uk 41
FORWARD THINKING
Andy: “We had to try to anticipate
the next leading fashion of
motorcycles other than supersport
bikes, and what sort of engine
customers would like them powered
by. It was not an easy process. Even
when we found out what they’d like,
it would take ive years to get it to
them. And there was always the
chance that by the time it got to
market they might have other ideas.
We had a limited budget in Japan
and we had to be clear about what
type of motor we should make at
our engine plant, and how many
variations we could produce. We
looked at a parallel twin, V-twin, in
line-four or triple.
“But then the inancial crash
occurred in 2007 and the world
changed. For Yamaha, that meant that
the development of all key projects
was stopped and all we kept thinking
about was the future of the company
beyond the economic crisis. In 2009
that led to us talking about using
bikes with the triple engine, which is
where the story of the irst of several
modern-day company-saving MTs
began (the very irst MTs, the
relatively unsuccessful 1600cc V-Twin
MT-01 and 660cc single cylinder
MT-03 had gone on sale in 2005).
“We realised there was plenty of
risk involved. No one knew how long
the economic recovery would take,
we didn’t know how the market
would look in another three or four
years and how much we’d be able to
charge for the bikes. It was a gamble.
“Once the decision on using the
three-cylinder engine was made,
Yamaha surprised everyone by
showing the engine at the Cologne
Show in late 2012. It was an unusual
tactic, giving rivals a lead into what
we were up to.
“Normally anything connected to
new models is kept a total secret. It
was a battle to convince some of the
elder statesmen at the factory to
show the engine so close to the
reality of production, but doing so
showed everyone we were back and
intending to produce a range of new
bikes, even if the ‘MT’ identity itself
wasn’t revealed.
“It was also designed to boost
Yamaha’s reputation and the morale
of its workforce and dealers,
encouraging them to stay with us. It
had been a very challenging time for
all of them. We wanted to show them
that we were coming back in a very
diferent way, producing more edgy
and pioneering bikes with the right
performance and price. Our
conidence was high again. he
presentation worked well. he
responses from the press and dealers
were very positive. It was very
encouraging and I saw a much
improved atmosphere in both
You can tell
that Yamaha
was proud of
the new triple
engine.

Amsterdam and Japan. Everyone
knew we were on the up again.”
DOING THINGS MUCH
DIFFERENTLY
Yamaha decided the MT-09 would be
the irst of the new range, with the
847cc, 12v three-cylinder engined
roadster launched to the press in
September 2013. It was untypically
late in the year to introduce the bike,
and it went on sale shortly aterwards
at a bargain £6799, which was highly
surprising given Yamaha’s previous
reputation for high prices.
But it wasn’t just the fee for the
bike that was markedly diferent, with
a further departure from the norm
already having come in the shape of
the MT-09’s alternative launch and
marketing strategy. Presented to the
world’s press in Croatia, the bike was
introduced dramatically and very
much outside usual safe and
corporate practice for a Japanese
irm. A the event stunt riders
wheelied and wheelspun the triple
around burning oil drums in a
disused warehouse, in line with some
of the marketing strategy that was
subsequently used to promote the
MTs. Yamaha was clearly sending out
ABOVE: The a diferent message about its new
retro-styled machine. When it was ridden the
XSR700 is based next day, journalists rated the MT-09
on the MT-07. very highly. Its agility and ease of use
impressed, with the keen-revving
LEFT: Yamaha’s engine drawing particular praise.
MT-09 range was hey were well aware the new and
introduced to the exciting machine, along with its
world in an unique and innovative promotional
industrial
policy, were taking its maker down a
setting.
completely new route, claiming it was
Yamaha’s most important bike in a
decade and forecasting it would do
really well. hey were right and
around 400 were sold before the end
of the year. Its popularity continued
to the point of selling out in early
2014, and since then the MT-09 has
become a massive seller for the irm
in the UK and the rest of the world.
Andy is keen to point out the
positive and successful efects of the
highly alternative and arguably risqué
marketing strategy behind the
commercial triumph, and other
subsequent MTs that he and other key
Japanese Yamaha bosses worked hard
on. Along with the strapline ‘he
Dark Side of Japan’, the policy
emphasised the pioneering eforts
used to promote the range. One main
thrust typical of the campaign came
KNOWLEDGE
WHAT THE
DEALERS SAY
Ross Feltham, CMC
Motorcycles,
Chesterfield
“From 2010 all the
way to when the
MT-09 came out in
2013 were testing
times for us. Yamaha
didn’t really have
anything exciting or
tempting in the range. As soon as
the MTs came along though, things
took of. When anyone rode either
the MT-09 or MT-07 they wanted
to buy it, even without trying the
other bike. They were an instant
hit. The pricing was also right and
we can easily sell them new or
used. The MT-10 is really good for
us too. It’s an amazing bike, with
the electronics really helping you
get the best out of it. Without the
MTs we probably would have
started looking at another
franchise. They’ve made a massive
diference to us. We’ve ordered
plenty of the new MT-09 SPs, and
I’m confident we’ll sell every one.”
Martin Marshall,
Ecosse
Motorcycles,
Dundee
“The MT range has
been a huge success
for us. Before they
came along, we used
to sell loads of R1s
and R6s, but for the
future we needed
bikes to suit a broader range of
customers. The MTs have served
us perfectly well in that respect.
They helped change the image of
the brand, taking away the
expensive sportsbike focus. MTs
are great for older riders and those
new to bikes, which are the core
these days. The MT-09 was a
game-changer and everything that
came after was also really, really
popular. Tracers are very good for
us. They’re a great package. We do
very well with the MT-10s too, as
they suit former sportsbike riders
well. MT-125s are also a great
seller. All MTs are good news, new
and used. The range ofers
something for everyone. There’s
been nothing quite like it in
recent years, and it’s probably
saved many Yamaha dealers
going elsewhere.”
www.mslmagazine.co.uk 43
from an Italian ilm crew who shot an
artistic and atmospheric promo video
featuring the MT-09s being ridden
wildly through the streets of Tokyo.
he end product was completely unlike
any others used before to help sell a
Japanese machine and caused plenty of
consternation both within and outside
Yamaha. Its aim was to change
customer perception of the bikes’
creators and help them realise they
were men with real emotion, creativity
and personality. Normally, the Japanese
are considered to be very traditional,
disciplined, hard-working and honest,
but conventional and lacking in
character if you go by stereotypes. he
fashionable and edgy style of the MT’s
promotion aimed to alter that.
44 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962
But Andy says getting the bold
marketing policy accepted by the
Japanese was no easy task. Some
thought the controversial pitch was
completely outrageous and wanted to
reject the idea, perceiving the sales
pitch as reckless and irresponsible,
likely to harm both Yamaha’s, and even
Japan’s reputation. Some of the
criticism was vociferous.
“I knew we’d face challenges, but I’d
not realised just how huge the job of
changing the mindsets of several key
people would be. Credit must go to the
Yamaha president himself Hiroyuki
Yanagi, vice president of Yamaha
Europe Seiya Nakamura, and Shun
Miyazawa, project manager at Yamaha
Europe who, along with myself and
ABOVE: For 2018 many others, eventually managed to
the Tracer 900 steer the idea through. We wanted to
GT adds even refresh Yamaha’s image,” Andy said.
more touring
comfort to the
THE TIDE TURNS
line-up.
here seemed to be no doubt about how
well that target had been met given just
how well the MT-09 sold. Buyers were
happy and dealers especially encouraged
by the huge success of the bike. Ater
being in the sales doldrums for several
years, they sensed the future could be a
lot brighter and being a Yamaha dealer
might be proitable once more. hey
weren’t wrong.
Next along came the MT-07, hitting
the showrooms in early 2014. Again the
very accomplished and afordable 700
parallel twin hit the spot and pleased the

TOP: Kunihiko press and customers alike. hey all
Miwa, Yamaha liked the quick, light and entertaining
SEO and Jorge feel of the Yamaha, with its excellent
Lorenzo, then £5199 price tag guaranteeing mass
still a Yamaha
appeal. It’s gone on to be the
factory rider in
MotoGP,
best-selling MT of all in Europe to
introduce the date. Proving the MT range was
new triple designed to have a broad appeal, the
engine. MT-125 came along in the summer of
that year. Light and economical to run,
ABOVE: the single cylinder roadster suited the
Competitive less experienced perfectly. But it
pricing didn’t bucked the trend of the MT’s low
mean a lack of a pricing with its near £4000 cost.
quality finish.
For the 2016 season, the beneit of
Yamaha’s modular concept was
highlighted with the introduction of
the XSR700 and 900 retro-themed
models. Based heavily on the MT-07
and MT-09 models, the fashionable
cafe racer-styled roadsters both worked
well and rang the tills at £6249 and
£7849 respectively.
Usefully illing another gap in the
market early in 2016, the MT-03
itted nicely between the 125 and
700cc MTs with its 321cc parallel
twin engine making it suitable for A2
licence holders. Its civilised and
appealing manner assisted this role
and costing £4499 made sure it didn’t
break the bank.
Serving the more speed hungry MT
fan, the highly impressive MT-10 super
naked hit the streets a little later in
2016. Not at all short of performance,
the character-laden machine was based
on the R1 superbike. Given how well it
KNOWLEDGE
WHAT THE
DEALERS SAY
Charlie Holford,
Crescent
Motorcycles,
Bournemouth
“The MT range has
revitalised Yamaha
massively. We sell
a lot of MT-07s, as
it’s a great starter
bike. People can
then move up from
there onto a bigger
MT. The range is very popular
used too. Because of where
we’re based we sell a lot of
MT-125s across the whole age
range. MT-10s aren’t quite as
popular for us as the MT-09s,
but they’re really good for older
riders who have given up on
sportsbikes.
Dave Hammond,
Pete Hammond
Motorcycles,
Cirencester
“We’ve done a lot
better since the
MTs came along.
They’ve turned
things around for
us. Before they
came along the
Yamaha’s models
were either too expensive or
not particularly inspiring. The
range wasn’t that attractive
and trying to sell them at
premium prices wasn’t easy.
I’d say that the MT range
pretty much saved their
bacon, kick-starting Yamaha’s
revival. Our fortunes turned
around as soon as they came
along. The MT-09 was
launched late in the year but
everyone who rode the demo
loved it. Then, with the MT-07
coming along shortly
afterwards, it just got better
and better. Customers like
the performance, the easy
way they handle and the price
is good. I think the marketing
worked well, too. MT-10s have
taken things to another level
and we’ve done well with
them. There’s an MT in the
range for any customer who
comes through the door.”
www.mslmagazine.co.uk 45
The hugely popular MT-09
transformed into the sport
heritage XSR900 in 2016.

WHAT THE
DEALERS SAY
Barry Collett,
Phoenix
Motorcycles,
Trowbridge
“We’ve done well
with MTs. Tracer
700s and MT-07s
are very popular
with us. The prices
of all MTs are
excellent and
you’re getting a lot
of machine for your money.
Since the MT range came along
it’s made a big diference to
rides, its price of just under £10,000 The touring-oriented Tracers have business. The MT-10 has sold
made it attractive enough for buyers to been a popular addition to the range. excellently for us. Everyone
sell out soon ater its introduction. who rides it thinks it’s
Since then, variations of many of phenomenal. We’ve got a demo
those bikes have come in the shape of of each model and I’d say about
the very popular Tracer 700 and 900 90% of those customers who
sport tourers, higher spec MT-10SP try them buy them. The MTs
and Touring models, all introduced have revitalised Yamaha and
for the 2017 year. For 2018 there’s the they’re suiting the change in
MT-09SP and Tracer 900GT to the market perfectly.”
choose from. Andy says that’s not the
end of the expansion of the MT range,
with Yamaha set to create even more: James Heslop,
“We’ll be able to broaden the range Frasers of
cost-efectively thanks to having Gloucester
proven bases to build on, particularly
with 700, 900 and 1000cc machines.” ”As a ‘lightweight’
Yamaha dealer we
ON REFLECTION don’t sell any of
“It was a tough time at Yamaha from the new MTs above
the early Noughties. We had to cope 125 new, but we
with introducing a completely new have no problem
range of very diferent bikes, and all trading bigger
during a radical reorganisation of the used models.
company. But the belief, dedication They’re very much
and inventive nature of the workforce sought-after. The MT-07s have
made sure everyone was converted to a been flying out quickly recently
new way of thinking. We had to get and the Tracer 900 is very
people thinking they’d like to own a saleable. The MT range was
Yamaha again, get dealers to stop something Yamaha needed and
wanting to get another franchise and has helped with the rebirth of
stop good people leaving the company. the brand. They’ve come as a
And we did it. Sales of the MTs have breath of fresh air. They offer
been so good and Yamaha customers performance and value. I’m
started returning to our shops. It was happy to have any MTs in
our target to stop any more people stock. They don’t tend to hang
leaving and bring leavers back. We’ve around long.”
very much succeeded.”

46 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

 Kit maintenance

GUIDE TO
MOTORCYCLE GEAR
MAINTENANCE
Good bike kit can serve you well for years, but
ou have tto look after it to make it last
you last. Here are LEATHERS
Much like the boots, I tend to
ome kit care tips from kit valet and repair
so give everything a quick wipe over

pecialist Dean Turner from

sp with Kleers leather cleaner and a clean
cloth to get rid of the worst of the road
Drrop Your Gear. grime and bug splats. With the more
stubborn bits, I soak my trusty scrubbing
brush in leather cleaner and gently scrub
away any bits I need to, followed by
another wipe down with the cloth and
microfibre. I then wait for it to dry
and finish it of with leather
protectant and restorer.

BOOTS
Boots are a bit trickier, and a
bit more patience is required due to
the road grease, oil and grime. I use a
product called Vulcanet on the plastic
areas of my boots. For the stubborn areas on
the boots, I use a hard handle part of a
scrubbing brush and wrap a Vulcanet cloth
around it and scrub. I use a microfibre cloth to
see where I have been and what still needs
cleaning until I’m happy with it all. As for
the leather part of the boot, I use Kleers
leather cleaner with a clean
microfibre cloth and finish it of
with leather protector.

48 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

 KNOWLEDGE

Drop Your Gear Samples of Dean’s work:

Drop your Gear has been valeting and restoring all
motorcycle gear since May 2017 and already has a
significant and growing client base.
Dean Turner, both the brains and muscle behind
the operation, says: “It all started after I was
knocked of my bike in January 2016, and I was
unsure if I’d be able to ride again. My wife knows
how much bikes mean to me and suggested that
I do something involving g bik
bikes jjustt
in case I’m unable to get back
on two wheels. I though ht of
running my own shop,
cleaning and repairing b bike
gear, and put a feeler out to
my friends on Facebook k and the
response was fantastic c.
So from then, Drop Your
Gear came to life.”
For further
information, visit: Before... ...and after
www.dropyourgear.
co.uk or call:
07894433103.

HELMET
I’ve found Vulcanet works well
with a microfibre cloth on the
exterior of my own helmet. As for the
removable padding inside, I take them
all out and hand wash them in either
diluted fabric cleaner or even carpet
cleaner. Instead of using pegs to hang
dry them, I tend to place them on a
radiator or let them dry naturally
as using pegs will change the
shape of the pad slightly.

GLOVES
Gloves can be pretty easy to
look after, but the problems start
Before... ...and after
when you get caught out by rain and
end up with drenched hands. Most people
tend to dry them out on the radiator and
wonder why their gloves are stif for a few
days afterwards.
If you’re going to do that, rub some baby oil
on to your hands once the gloves are dry and
stif, put the gloves on and repeatedly make
a fist, the straighten your hand out, do this
for 10-15 minutes and they should be
as good as new. It’s also healthy for
the leather to absorb
it too.

TEXTILES
Textiles can be tricky, as finding
the right product and tools will take
time and patience. I’ve had to clean
textiles that hadn’t been properly cleaned
in three years, only put in the washing
machine every now and then. After
experimenting on one of my old textile
jackets, I found using either upholstery
cleaner or even carpet cleaner works best.
I also used a clean scrubbing brush and
worked the cleaner in using circular
motions to get in all of the tricky Before... ...and after
areas and pores.

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 49
Test Ride
Triumph Tiger 1200 XRT

The TIGER
that came to
CLYDESIDE The new Tiger 1200 ups the game with performance,
equipment and comfort. We tested one in Scotland
and on the long way down south to see
how it works as a big-miles workhorse.

G
etting older brings a lot
of changes. Physical ones
of course – the greying
at the temples, and the
thickening at the
waistline. Mental ones too; mild
forgetfulness, odd wistful memories
of the past. And as an economic
immigrant to England, those
memories for me are oten about my
homeland. I’m from Greenock in
Scotland, and still call the area
around Glasgow ‘home’. It’s where I
grew up, it’s where I learned to ride a
bike. And ater a hectic year as a
despatch rider in 1993, it’s where I
picked up most of my ‘bad’ habits on
a bike too.
WORDS: Alan Dowds PHOTOGRAPHY: Alan Dowds & Jason Critchell
I’ve been away more than 20 years
though, and in those two decades,
I’ve not actually ridden bikes round
Scotland much. So when I got an
invite to ride the new 2018 Triumph
Tiger 1200 round Loch Lomond, I
was pretty excited. Even better,
Mikko here at MSL suggested I ask
about riding home to London – and
the good folks at Hinckley gave me
the nod. So, a day riding about Loch
Lomond and the Trossachs, a night
out in Glasgow toon, a jaunt back to
Greenock to visit family, then the
long dark teatime of the soul which is
the M8/M74/M6/M42/M40 and M25
home to south London.
A tempting prospect then –
although my constant checking of the
weather forecasts throughout the
Christmas break and into the New
Year was tempering my enthusiasm
a little. Scotland was getting hit
hard, with feet of snow in the
Highlands – had I bitten of more
than I could chew?
I packed my kit bag like a man
preparing for an assault on the Arctic.

50 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

 ROAD

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 51
Test Ride
Of course, riding a bike in terrible
weather is much easier now than it
was in the early 1990s, even without
the hot grips, handguards and heated
seats, which I’d spotted on the Tiger’s
spec sheet. Modern textile gear is in a
diferent dimension to the kit I wore
as a courier in ’93, and I was
conident in my Hein Gericke suit.
Some new TCX boots and my
trustiest winter gloves, backed up
with a new suite of electrically-heated
mid-layers, and I was ready for just
about anything.
he irst leg was easy enough. A
7am BA light from Gatwick, and by
mid-morning, I’ve landed on home
turf. Triumph has based this rideout
at the new Triumph Glasgow
dealership in Hillington, which is a
really impressive site, shared with
Ducati Glasgow. Lovely staf, a
fabulous building with excellent
facilities, and incredible cofee: it’s
well worth a visit.
No time to hang around though
– the skies are clear for the moment,
and it’ll be dark by 4pm, so best get
on if we want any pics doing. I layer
on my, er, layers of kit, slipping the
battery pack for my KEIS electric vest
into a pocket, and grab my bike for
the day. he new Tiger 1200 has had
a slew of changes for 2018 – but to be
fair it remains true to the original’s
character – a big, chunky beastie,
complete with shat drive, chunky
industrial design and rugged looks.
here are echoes of BMW’s R1200 GS
in there I think; but it’s very much a
52 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962
Triumph. From the enormous triple
engine to the new 2018 switchgear
and lash LCD dash, you’re in no
doubt about where you’re sat as
you pull away.
LOCH LOMOND
We’re heading towards Loch Lomond
irst, so it’s of down the M8 to the
Erskine Bridge, over the River Clyde,
and hook a let towards Helensburgh.
Bear right past Alexandria and
Balloch, and up to the MOD road
over the hills (built for the nuclear
warhead convoys that lit between the
arms depot at Coulport and the nuke
factory at Aldermaston). I’ve not
been on a giant traillie like this since
last summer, and I’m just back from
the Ducati Panigale V4 launch at
Valencia, so I’m adapting fast from
214bhp and 174kg on track to 141bhp
and 248kg on the road…
It’s not just the mass and height
of the Tiger that’s a challenge to my
addled brain though – like all new
bikes nowadays, there’s a heap of
electronica to download into your
head. Riding modes, electronic
suspension, traction, ABS, heated
grips and seat, electric screen, cruise
control, diferent display modes
– you name it, the new Tiger has
it. I’m on the top-spec XRT road-
biased version, so it really does
have all of the bells and, indeed,
all of the whistles.
Calm down. At least I know the
roads like the back of my Alpinestars
glove, so can divert some attention
ABOVE: The big from that. Settling down, I start to
triple engine has absorb the new Tiger, and it’s all
echoes of R 1200 pretty good for starters. he riding
GS about it. position is textbook ‘giant traillie’
– upright, comfy, commanding – and
with the adjustable seat in the lowest
BELOW: Even position, my stumpy legs are just
the finest of
about able to reach the deck when we
electronics can’t
completely put
stop. I have a play with the electric
your mind at windscreen to ind the perfect
ease on slippery position, click the heated grips on,
roads in wintry and scroll through the rest of the
Scotland. dashboard options as we trundle up
into Argyll. We soon reach the irst
photography spot, and Mr Jason
Critchell gets some snaps in the bag.
he irst of the day’s rain showers is
just about to kick of and once I’m
done, I retire inside his Nissan
Elgrand to shelter for a moment
from the misting rain. Erk.
Back on the move, and we’re
heading north along the side of Loch
Long, round the top towards
Crianlarich. I put the electronics to
one side for the moment, and take
in some of the basic bike. It’s
encouraging stuf actually – of course,
with a 1215cc triple, there’s plenty of
stomp. he torque curve feels as lat
on the road as it looks on the dyno
chart, and it does that trick which
Hinckley’s triples have always done
– ofering a great balance between
a twin and a four. Again, there’s the
feel of something like the R1200GS,
instant low-down urge, a slightly
raw edge – but with more of the
revs of a four. he fuelling and
throttle response is bang-on for the
conditions too; it’s raining hard now,
and on the twisty single-carriageway
A82 from Tarbet to Ardlui, it’s a
 ROAD
Specification
TRIUMPH TIGER
1200 (2018)
Price: From £12,200 (our
test bike, the XRT from
£16,150)
Engine: 1215cc
liquid-cooled 12v
inline-triple, DOHC
Power (claimed): 141bhp
@ 9350rpm
Torque (claimed): 90lb-ft
@ 7600rpm
Transmission: 6-speed,
shaft drive
Frame: Steel tube trellis
Suspension: (F) 48mm WP
USD forks, electronically
controlled; (R) WP
monoshock,
electronically controlled
Brakes: (F) 305mm discs,
four-piston Brembo
calipers; (R) 282mm disc,
twin-piston Nissin caliper.
Continental cornering
ABS, integrated brake
system
Wheels/tyres:
Aluminium/Metzeler
Tourance Next E, 120/70
19 front, 170/60 17 rear
Rake/trail: 23.2°/99.9mm
Wheelbase: 1520mm
Dry weight: 248kg
Fuel capacity: 20 litres
Contact: www.triumph
motorcycles.co.uk

breeze to get hard on the gas out of

even the slowest of the bends. Add in
a decent-if-steady gearshit and useful
quickshiter and we’ve got a great
power package for the job so far.
he chassis is working even better,
if anything. he Metzeler rubber is
taking everything in its stride, despite
my best eforts, and there’s much
more grip than you’d think. Hard on
the brakes, quick onto the gas again,
slinging the big bus through the
bends, the Tourances keep a
tenacious grip on the rather dodgy
asphalt. he winter’s had a proper go
at the Tarmac round here, and there
are plenty of rough, potholed areas
to catch you out. I’ve clicked the
suspension into ‘sport’ now, and
there’s loads of feedback from both
ends – you really feel like you know
what’s happening at the tyres – while
controlling the weight transfer and
lattening out the bumps really well.
hose Brembo brakes dig me out of
a few holes when I hold the gas just a
second too long, and a lochside bend Stay! Good Tiger!
suddenly tightens up. I know this

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 53
Test Ride
I’d gone 2.1 miles before I saw the blue
The instruments are bright and colourful.
lights in the mirrors. An unmarked cop
car had taken exception to my
‘London’ filtering style.
BRAKES EQUIPMENT SUSPENSION
Mid-spec Brembo Our bike had everything On the top-spec bikes,
four-piston calipers are – cornering lights, driving you get WP’s latest
still a very posh brake for lights, hot grips and electronic suspension
the class. Continental seats, full colour TFT system, also seen on
provides the ABS setup, dash, electric windscreen, KTM’s big trail bikes.
which has an IMU cruise control, plus all Beefy 48mm forks and a
cornering function, plus the rider aids. Lighted chunky monoshock look
a hill-start assist setup switchgear sounds like tough, and there are
on the top spec bikes. a gimmick, but is dead travel position sensors
useful in the dark. which points to a fairly
Keyless ignition is a advanced setup. There’s
faf at first, but you’ll push-button adjustment
probably get used to it… via the dash, as well as
semi-active operation.

ENGINE RIDER AIDS

Triumph’s made a heap of ABS, Traction control, up/
changes to the old 1200 down quickshifter, riding
triple motor, aimed at modes and electronic
cutting mass and suspension adjustment
improving performance. on top spec bikes. Rain,
The crank and flywheel Road, Sport, Of-road and
are lighter, case covers Custom modes cover all
are now magnesium, and the bases, and the
a new Arrow silencer of-road models get an
saves a third of a kilo. extra Of-road Pro mode.
It’s all easy to use and
access via good joystick
on left hand switchgear.

54 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

 ROAD
DYNO
130 130

120 120

The main chart here shows a pretty standard power output 110 110

100 100
from a big, softly-tuned 1200 triple. Peak power at the wheel is
90 90
just over 121bhp, with 78lb-ft of torque. This is a little bit less
80 80
than the claimed figures – that’s because those factory figures

TORQUE (lb-ft)
POWER (hp)
70 70
are measured at the crankshaft, while our wheel figure has to 60 60

go through a gearbox and shaft drive, plus a blocky of-road 50 50

styled tyre. 40 40

What’s more interesting is the other graph, where we chart 30 30

the power against road speed. Notice there are three lines – 20 20

this is the power in fourth, fifth and sixth gear. The purple line 10 10

0 0
is fourth gear, and this is our full power run – and we hit the 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 6.5 7.0 7.5 8.0 8.5 9.0 9.5 10.0

limiter about 120mph. Next along is the higher gears – but see ENGINE SPEED (rpm x 1000)

they don’t go all the way to the 120bhp power level? Instead, 140 140
they fall away as you get towards 130mph. What’s happening? 130 130

Well, the ECU’s got a built-in speed restrictor, which gradually 120 120

cuts power in the higher gears, to stop you from potential 110 110

100 100
instability if you were to hit 150mph on a giant trailbike with
90 90
full luggage and a pillion.

TORQUE (lb-ft)
80 80

POWER (hp)
70 70

■ Thanks to Big CC Racing in Wokingham for the dyno runs 60 60

(www.bigccracing.com) 50 50

40 40

30 30
RIGHT ABOVE: Claimed and dyno run figures never quite 20 20

match because of diferent ways of measurement. 10 10

RIGHT: Top speed is being limited by the ECU. Not that you’d 0 0
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160
want to go that fast on a bike like this. SPEED (mph)

road well, but memory’s not perfect,
and I still get caught out once or
twice. But the stoppers give all the
power and feel I need to get round.
Only once do I feel things go a bit
too far, with the back end getting all
loaty and vague as I barrel towards
the green hillside, before the
electronics haul things back into
line, just in time.
We stop in Aberfoyle for an
excellent lunch, before spending the
rest of the day shooting more pics on
the twisty, hilly backroads of the
Trossachs. he Tiger’s working its
way into my afections more and
more as the hours pass. It’s still
a big beast, sure, but feels more
manageable and nimble as I get
used to it. Feet-up U-turns in
narrow roads are the bane of a
short-legged tester doing pics on
a tall bike – but the Tiger makes
life easier than I expected.
By the time dusk falls, I’m right
at home. But I’m tired (Gatwick at
5.45am feels about a week ago), and
hungry, and keen to get to my hotel.
The goggles took a hit from a stone
spat up by another bike.
From Balloch to the dealership at riding habits, but quickly realise I’ll
Hillington is choked with traic, but be getting nowhere with Strathclyde’s
the Tiger makes short work of it, and inest today, so stand quietly and take
I’m well impressed with its urban my medicine (just a irm talking-to,
skills as I pull into Triumph Glasgow, luckily) – what a start!
for another ace cofee, and a taxi to hings can only get better. I
our hotel. trundle up the M8 to Glasgow, then
down the M74 to Carlisle, with two
HOMEBOUND things on my mind – the unmarked
Next morning, ater a hearty Scottish car, and the fuel consumption of the
breakfast, I’m back at Hillington, to big triple. I’ve been half-watching it
collect my bike for the run home. during my Loch Lomond rideout,
William Given, the excellent service and it hasn’t seemed that fantastic
manager here, has kitted me out with compared with some other modern
a full three-box luggage setup, and bikes I’ve spent time on. Ducatis,
also bolted on my sat-nav and iPhone Suzukis and Hondas all seem to be
holders. My Keis heated kit cable is frugal on the gas these days – but
the inal mod, and once I pack all the Tiger seems a little thirsty. At
my gear into the cases, I’m of again, motorway speeds, the instant mpg
down the road to Greenock to see readout kept creeping below 40mpg,
my folks, and spend a night in my where I’d be hoping for nearer 50 like
old bedroom. on the Monster 1200S I had for a few
It’s the next day, which is hanging months last year, or the Fireblade SP
over me though. It’s only 445 miles, I rode to Wales and back last summer.
and I’ve done far longer jaunts in a No doubt, the big screen, massive
day before, but I’m still a little pensive luggage, hety mass, and even stuf
when I get out of bed. Riding kit on, like the extra electrical load from
say ‘bye’ to my folks, and set of. heated gear, suspension engine and
Having prepped my luggage the night ABS ECUs etc. is all adding to the
before, all I have to do is clip in the load on the motor, with concomitant
sat-nav and phone holder, pop my fuel costs.
earphones in, dial in Radio 4 and go. he tank range readout is
I’ve gone 2.1 miles before I see the confusing too. I get down to ‘20
blue lights in the Tiger’s excellent miles’ let on the range, feeling a little
mirrors. Erk. An unmarked cop car disappointed that I’ve only done
has taken exception to my ‘London’ about 130 miles since illing up.
iltering style, and pulled me over to hen, when I only it 16 litres in, I
give me the lecture about my being, think Triumph has sneaked a tiny
“what we call a STATISTIC, sir”. I tank in here. A quick check of the
start to explain my less-parochial specs reveals a decent 20-litre

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 55
Test Ride
Kitting up
Dressing for the occasion is always important on a big bike ride. And when said ride is 500 miles, in
January, starting of in Scotland, you don’t want to get it wrong. So I needed to get my top-notch
kit ready. My Bundesliga winter gear, if you like. And here it is:

HELMET: Shark Explore-R convertible lid

This is perfect for this gig – a removable peak and goggles for the of-road vibe, then a proper visor
that clips on in seconds, so we have a normal touring-spec lid for the 500 miles of motorway to get
home. It’s comfy, well padded, and quiet.

TEXTILE SUIT: Hein Gericke Master

I’ve been wearing Master suits for nearly two decades, and really love them. It’s proper winter
gear, with efective thermal liners which aren’t too bulky, loads of pockets, and full waterproofing.
Zip the jacket to the trousers and you have a near-impenetrable outer layer of ballistic Cordura,
breathable membranes, and general mega-protectiveness.

BOOTS: TCX Goretex X-Tour Evo boots

These are brand new, and very impressive indeed. Usual black touring boot style, with twin-zip
fastening on both sides, they’re very cosy and were totally waterproof on my trip. There’s plenty of
protection round ankles and shins, and they generally feel like they’ll be keeping your tootsies
sweet for years and years.

GLOVES: Hein Gericke Lobster gloves

I know Lobster gloves are a Marmite thing, but for winter, I’ve never found better. These Hein
Gericke ones are super-warm, totally waterproof and have securing cuf and wrist straps.

ELECTRIC KIT: Keis vest and inner gloves

I never travel far in winter without an electric vest these days – it’s one of those things where you
never go back once you’ve tried them. I took my Keis vest with inner gloves as backup, and while
the weather wasn’t bad enough to need the gloves (the Tiger’s grips and handguards did good
work), the vest was a godsend. Plumbed into the bike battery, with a KEIS heat controller, I was
comfy as a fat sales rep in a company Vauxhall Insignia with the heated seat option ticked…

capacity though – so the range meter

is being seriously pessimistic.
Something you’d get used to if you
owned the bike for a while I guess,
but I’m a bit sad that a bike this size,
with this skill set will only manage
about 170-180 miles, even at the
fairly steady pace I’m sitting at.
I’d be well up for more miles per
stop. he seat is comfy (there’s a
new padding material it seems),
the fairing gives plenty of wind
protection, and that, combined with
all the electric heating, is keeping me
properly toasty. Indeed, I have to turn
everything down once we get into the
Midlands: the dash tells me it’s 11
degrees at one point – positively
balmy. Even a couple of heavy
showers don’t dent my enthusiasm,
and as we get into the home run
down my favourite motorway (the
blessed M40), I’m almost sad that
the journey’s coming to a close.
I’ve made some great memories on
the mighty Tiger though. Blasting
through the rain up the side of Loch
Lomond. Hooning round the roads I
learnt to ride a bike on. Following the
ghostly routes I schlepped as a cold,
wet courier, more than 25 years ago.
And slipping down the UK’s creaky
motorway spine, in a grey, eicient
seven-hour journey, from the home
of my past to the one of today. The XRT is road-biased, but doesn’t mind some loose surfaces.

56 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

 Popcorn, TV, action!
The High Sider
I
n keeping with the modern age of news instantly
delivered direct to our eyeballs by social media,
uniltered by objectivity and unsullied by mere
fact, this episode of he High Sider is brought
to you completely live. Yes, even as you read this
– well, okay, even as I write it – the irst round
of 2018’s MotoGP season is about to get under
way and your host has settled into his Sunday racing
armchair, popcorn tub on one side, liquid refreshment
on the other, and a Do Not Disturb sign on the door.
Mademoiselle High Sider is familiar with the routine
and has let me to it. She’s good like that.
he 2018 season brings the challenge of new faces to
contend with – and that’s just the new commentators,
some of whom struggle with those funny-sounding
foreign names. BT Sport has hired current BSB and
ex-MotoGP rider Michael Laverty, and Dorna has
got ex-500cc Grand Prix winner Simon Crafar
wandering the pitlane.
For most of us, the MotoGP experience is delivered
either by subscribing to BT Sport or with Dorna’s
Videopass at MotoGP.com. BT Sport is £26 per month
for non-BT customers, as part of a Sky package – so
£312 for the year or, with 19 race weekends, £16.40
per round (there are cheaper deals for existing BT
customers). For that you get a professional TV
presentation you can also watch online, or over 4G on
smartphone (I’ve watched races on the loo at home,
on my phone taped to a mic stand playing a gig with
a band at Butlins, and waiting for a plane at Malaga
airport). he Dorna Videopass is £154 for 2018; £8
per round – same race footage but a slightly less slick
presentation and online only (unless you plug your
laptop into the TV), which means you need reliable
high-speed internet.
A third choice is to wait until mid-week and
watch a highlights package on Channel 5 – but, with
Twitter plot spoilers, this isn’t an option. And as the
High Sider household includes a pair of young male
adults, neither of whom care a jot for motorcycle
racing but make use of BT Sport’s football and UFC
(cage ighting, I’m told) coverage, it’s a no-brainer. I’d
hesitate to call it good value, but it’s a price I’m more
than happy to pay to enjoy a golden age of MotoGP.
It’s half past three right now; we’re a few minutes
away from the MotoGP grid forming up at Qatar and
– to be clear – even the warm-up lap is more thrilling
than, say, F1. Moto3 and Moto2 are done and dusted –
metaphorically and literally, at the sand-strewn track.
Moto3 is a hugely entertaining multi-bike freight
train behind a one-two breakaway, won by Spaniard
Jorge Martin with Brit interest John McPhee crashing
ighting for third on the last lap. Moto2 is won by
58 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962
In a world first, the High Sider reports live
from his armchair for the build-up to the
opening round of 2018’s MotoGP season.
Italian Francesco Bagnaia, but as usual the race is
exciting for a couple of laps before settling into a
pattern and then warming up again at the end.
And, as ever, Brit Sam Lowes crashes.
his is Moto2’s last season running Honda CBR600
engines before Triumph’s 765 triple takes over in 2019.
It could be a double-edged PR sword for the Hinckley
factory: the bigger triples should comfortably at least
match, preferably out-pace, the Honda motors but
it’ll be embarrassing if they don’t; a tougher call
will be matching the CBR’s unbelievable reliability.
A Triumph motor turning itself inside out every
race weekend might not be a strong look.
But enough of that – the MotoGP race is about to
start! It’s been a long winter since the last race of 2017
at Valencia – the nail-biter with Marquez fending of
Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso, winning a fourth MotoGP
title and inventing a completely new way of riding a
motorbike (see last month’s column).
But 2018 promises even more – the ‘Aliens’ idea that
MotoGP has a small group of ultra-elite riders with
the rest of the ield simply being amazing, isn’t true;
the irst sign of rain levels the playing ield in terms
of talent. hey’re all riding gods of roughly equivalent
talent, if not temperament. What really usually makes
the diference is the machinery; guys with factory
bikes are the ones who percolate upwards.
But Dorna’s manipulation of the regulations has
brought unprecedented parity to a range of bikes
Who is The on the grid – or at least has introduced factory
High Sider? bikes to some of the same trials and tribulations
The High Sider’s as satellite teams. As a result, the front row under
25-year career riding the loodlights – Qatar is a night race – has two
and writing about satellite teams lanking Marquez’ factory Honda.
motorbikes, both on Frenchman Johann Zarco, riding a satellite Tech3
track and of, has Yamaha, is on pole and shattered Jorge Lorenzo’s
been fuelled from the 10-year-old lap record. So did Italian Danilo
start by a passion Petrucci on a Pramac factory Ducati, in third.
for racing. From the For 2019, Tech3 are switching to KTM, seduced by
technical aspects of the lure of KTM factory support and, presumably,
race bike design and a free supply of sugary energy drink. he irony
performance to the that KTM don’t seem to have signiicantly improved
motivations of the
their performance while a satellite Yamaha is sitting
people who ride them,
on the front of the grid is acute.
if it’s about going
But anyway, shhh now... it’s time to watch some
faster in circles, it
racing. And if you want to ind out what happens
matters.
– well, that’s what Twitter’s for.
www.mslmagazine.co.uk 59
Test Ride

60 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

 LAUNCH
Ducati Panigale V4 S

EFFORTLESS
EXTREMES
The new Ducati Panigale V4 is about as close to a
MotoGP machine as a mass-produced road bike can
get. And here’s the best bit: it’s rider-friendly too.

WORDS: Roland Brown PHOTOGRAPHY: Milagro

T
his bike threatened to be seriously
intimidating, especially round the Circuit
de Valencia. he Panigale V4 kicks out a
phenomenal 211bhp and weighs just
195kg fully fuelled. he Circuit Ricardo
Tormo launch venue mostly comprises tight,
second-gear turns – potentially a handful for such a
ferociously powerful machine.
So on just my second lap of the Spanish track, it’s a
great feeling to crank through the turn six Angel
Nieto let-hander onto the back straight, open the
throttle and hold on tight as the Ducati leaps
forward, lits its front wheel slightly and runs out
towards the kerb… while remaining superbly
precise, controllable and a total blast to ride, just as it
has through the last few bends.
he Panigale V4 is stupendously quick and capable
and there was never much doubt that it would be
both those things. But what impressed me more,
even on those irst few laps of Valencia, was how
efortless and rider-friendly it was.
hat shouldn’t have been a surprise because, when
you’re aboard a super-light bike that puts over
200bhp through its rear tyre’s palm-of-the-hand-size
contact patch, the key to lapping fast isn’t how much
power you have, but how well you can use it. And it
was the V4 layout’s advantage in this respect, rather
than pure horsepower potential, that prompted
Ducati to switch from its traditional V-twins.

MOTOGP INSPIRED
he new 1103cc V4 unit is 17bhp more powerful
than its 1298cc Panigale V-twin predecessor. More
importantly, the 16-valve desmo V4 shares its
81mm bore size, combustion chamber shape and
contra-rotating crankshat design with the works
Desmosedici that won six MotoGP races last year.
Similarly, the chassis was designed using the
knowledge that Ducati has gained in more than a
decade of MotoGP competition. In place of the
V-twin’s monocoque chassis, the V4 uses a cast
aluminium ‘front frame’ that connects headstock to
rear engine mounts and has been ine-tuned to give
the optimum levels of stifness in all directions,
largely so that at high lean angles the chassis can help
the suspension absorb bumps and transmit feedback.

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 61
Test Ride
MotoGP input also led to weight
balance being shited forward to
54.5% over the front wheel from the
1299’s 53% (and the 1098’s 50%). he
90° V4 is rotated backwards so the
front cylinders sit 42° from
horizontal, making almost an upright
V. Rake and trail are increased
slightly to boost stability, while the
single-sided aluminium swingarm is
longer, for enhanced grip on
acceleration. All of which makes the
irm’s move to the V4 seem not so
much radical as inevitable.
DON’T CALL 999
One thing Ducati had no intention of
changing dramatically, following
lessons learned with the 999, is
styling. he Panigale V4 is a sleek,
subtly sharper evolution of the 1299,
its twin-layered fairing designed to
assist airlow as well as minimise the
width of a bike, whose engine is
inevitably wider than the V-twin,
while gaining by being shorter.
Up front, the triangular intake
nostrils house LED lights. he
bodywork extends smoothly back
towards the fuel tank, which curves
down and under the seat. he seat
height remains a reasonably
accessible 830mm but the view is of a
new TFT screen with large, round
analogue-style rev-counter, with large
62 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962
gear indicator digit in its centre. All
the launch bikes are the mid-ranking
Panigale V4 S, which difers from the
standard model by having forged
instead of cast wheels, and the
latest-generation version of Öhlins
Smart EC semi-active suspension,
instead of a Showa BPF forks and
Sachs shock. he V4 S also has a
lithium-ion battery that helps reduce
kerb weight by 3kg to 195kg, which is
4.5kg heavier than the 1299 S but still
very light by superbike standards.
With so little weight combined
with lawless throttle response and
abundant midrange torque, it’s no ABOVE: The
surprise that the V4 S punches out of five-inch TFT
Valencia’s turns at a phenomenal rate. dash allows
On the pit straight the tacho licks riders to choose
between Road
towards the 14,500rpm limit through
and Track
the lower gears as I snick clutchlessly displays.
through the box. he Ducati is
revving hard in ith at over 170mph
before I have to grab a handful of the RIGHT: Brembo’s
super-powerful Brembo Stylema new Stylema
calipers to slow for the following turn calipers are an
one let-hander. evolution of the
firm’s M50
In Panigale tradition the bike’s
monoblocs.
stability under hard braking is
outstanding, as I shit down two
gears with the aid of the excellent BELOW: When
auto-blipper and carve into the bend, you’re 6ft4in,
the front-end feeling superbly sportsbikes
planted. It’s here that Marc Marquez start to look a
performed that outrageous elbow- bit small.

save on the way to winning another
MotoGP title a few months ago.
Such riding can only be admired
from afar, but it’s no exaggeration to
say that Ducati’s MotoGP-inspired
streetbike provides plenty of the same
thrills as a factory racebike of fairly
recent vintage. Ater all, the standard,
Euro4-compliant Panigale V4’s
211bhp output is not far short of the
220bhp of the Honda RC211V on
which Valentino Rossi won the irst
MotoGP championship in 2002.
INVALUABLE ELECTRONICS
he Panigale also beneits from
Ducati’s race experience with its
Desmosedici-style contra-rotating
crankshat, which helps keep the
front wheel down under hard
acceleration. he independently
adjustable anti-wheelie system helps
here, too. he bike’s IMU-linked
electronic systems are invaluable,
although some – including the
lean-angle dependant engine brake
control – are working in the
background without my even being
aware of them, and others would be
even more efective given more time
for ine-tuning.
I don’t get round to experimenting
with the slide control, which governs
how far the rear wheel is allowed to
LAUNCH
ABOVE: Remove
the fairings and
Specification
the term ‘front DUCATI PANIGALE V4 S
frame’ starts to (2018)
make sense. Price: £23,895
LEFT: The LED Engine: 1103cc, liquid-cooled, dohc
headlights and 16-valve V4
daytime running Power: 211bhp (157kW) @ 13,000rpm
lights hide in the Torque: 91.5lb-ft (124Nm) @ 10,000rpm
intake recesses. Transmission: Six-speed, chain with
RIGHT: The two-way quick-shifter
accessory Chassis: Aluminium ‘front frame’
titanium Suspension: (F) 43mm Öhlins NIX30
Akrapovic move, but there’s huge potential for telescopic with Smart EC 2.0
exhaust ups semi-active damping adjustment; (R)
riders with suicient pace and
the power to Öhlins TTX36 monoshock with Smart EC
experience. he Panigale has a 2.0 semi-active damping adjustment
223bhp.
conidence-inspiring feel that makes Brakes: (F) 2 330mm discs, four-piston
squirming that fat, sticky Supercorsa Brembo Stylema calipers; (R) Single
out of turns feel natural, rather than a 245mm disc, twin-piston caliper; with
high-side waiting to happen. cornering ABS
Suspension quality is a major Tyres: Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP (F)
contributor to the Ducati’s cornering 120/70 x 17 (R) 200/60 x 17
pace and control. he Öhlins units Seat height: 830mm
manage to feel wonderfully compliant Fuel capacity: 16l
yet suiciently taut when required – Kerb weight: 195kg
which is what the semi-active system (claimed; 174kg dry)
allows, with its continual automatic Contact: www.ducati.com/gb
BELOW: The S
ine-tuning depending on how the
features Öhlins bike is being used, and how far it’s performance and comfort when the
Smart EC leaning over. bike is braking, cornering or
semi-active he latest Smart EC lets the rider accelerating. Adjustment via the
suspension. select between grip and stability, or handlebar button is intuitive and I
suspect most riders will prefer it to
conventional damping tweaks. On
slightly irmed-up settings the
Panigale handles superbly, although I
run out of time before completely
curing its tendency to shake its head
as I accelerate onto the main straight.
Suspicions that this is down to my
size (6t4in) are reinforced by my
inal session aboard a V4 S, whose
suspension has been irmed-up to
suit its slick tyres, and is much more
stable. My long legs also mean that in
quick direction changes I occasionally
struggle with footrests that are 10mm
www.mslmagazine.co.uk 63
Test Ride
REAR WHEEL FAIRING FUEL TANK FRAME FRONT BRAKE INSTRUMENTS FRONT
All three There’s a clear There’s a clearly The cast Brembo’s new Ducati SUSPENSION
versions of the visual link to the visible division aluminium Stylema pioneered TFT In place of the
Panigale V4 1299 Panigale, between the so-called ‘front calipers are an displays six standard
wear a but the genuine fuel frame’ weighs evolution of the years ago with Panigale V4’s
200-section bodywork is tank and its just 4.2kg and firm’s M50 the 1199 Showa Big
Pirelli all-new and front section, uses the engine monoblocs, Panigale, and Piston Forks,
Supercorsa SP incorporates a which holds as a stressed weighing 70g the V4 goes a the V4 S gets
at the rear. The dual-layer electrical parts member. It was less with no stage further 43mm Öhlins
V4 S and fairing to help including the developed using loss of rigidity. with a new NIX30 units with
Speciale have minimise the V4 battery – a MotoGP The four-piston five-inch panel. Smart EC
three-spoke powerplant’s lithium-ion unit experience to calipers bite The rider can semi-active
forged additional width. in the case of give optimum 330mm discs. choose between damping
aluminium the V4 S. levels of Road and Track control.
Marchesinis in torsional and displays.
place of the lateral rigidity.
standard V4’s
five-spoke cast
wheels.

EXHAUST ENGINE
higher than the 1299’s, the only
Alessandro Valia, Ducati change to the riding position.
The almost
V-twin-like
The 1103cc V4
unit retains
hat inal session is most
chief test rider memorable because that bike is also
exhaust note is
generated by
Ducati’s 90°
cylinder angle
“At Mugello the V4 is about one itted with a titanium Akrapovic the engine’s and its
second per lap quicker than the exhaust that cuts 7kg of weight and “Twin Pulse” desmodromic
firing order, valve operation,
1299. Maybe a little more, because boosts power through the range, to a
which has the and at just
when we tested them together the maximum of 223bhp. two left-hand 64.9kg it is only
gap was about one second, but the he pipe also gives a louder voice cylinders firing 2.2kg heavier
V4 was not yet quite at the same to an of-beat exhaust note that closely than the
point of development. I think if we tested them aga ain sounds almost like a V-twin and it together, then 1285cc
now the gap would be something more. the two Superquadro
right-hand ones. V-twin.
“Partly the V4’s advantage is in its speed, but mo ost
of all in the cornering speed. I think the reason is a
combination between the counter-rotating cranksh haft, will reassure existing Panigale fans
and also the front frame design, which is more flex xible, that the V4 has plenty of Ducati
in side-to-side and also in twisting. character.
“At the beginning of the development we had some hat output is mightily impressive
problems because we had a lot of power. It was not for an otherwise untuned production
easy because our focus was to have a bike that wo orks engine that comes with a two-year
for every rider, whatever their level. The Panigale V-twin warranty and familiar 15,000-mile
was not a friendly bike, especially if you push – major service intervals.
everything was more demanding. But with this modiied machine,
“But the V4 is much better in this respect. When too, it’s not so much the Panigale’s
The engine
you enter the corner and you’re of the throttle, and sheer power as its controllability and
is rotated
especially when you open the throttle, this bike turrns
backwards so
ease of use that make it so quick and
much better than the V-twin. It’s a more friendly bike, the front rewarding to ride – and justify
and mainly for that reason it is also faster.” cylinders sit 42° Ducati’s decision to start a new era of
from horizontal. V4 superbikes.

64 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

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www.mslmagazine.co.uk 65
 Improve your riding

British
SUPERBIKE
SCHOOL
A day of track-based training can give your road
riding a real boost.
WORDS: Mikko Nieminen
PHOTOGRAPHY: Mortons

66 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

 KNOWLEDGE

T
he British Superbike School is based
at Blyton Circuit near Gainsborough
in Lincolnshire. he school is
dedicated to helping motorcyclists
advance their riding skills and bike
control – cornering, braking, throttle
control, lines, steering and balance.
Master these and you’ll be more conident and a safer
rider. Riding your bike more smoothly will make the
whole experience more pleasant – and it will make
you quicker too.

WHAT IS IT?
Training at the school is circuit-based, but the skills
are applicable to both track and road riding.
he coaches are all highly skilled riders, from police
rider instructors to ex-championship winners, TT
riders and qualiied advanced riding instructors.
here are three levels of training: Level 1 is for road
riders to improve basic bike control, Level 2 is for road
and track riders and focuses on advanced riding
techniques, and Level 3 is one-on-one individual
professional on-track coaching.

HOW MUCH?
Levels 1, 2 and 3 consist of ive track sessions, debriefs
and classroom lessons, and there are three riders per
coach. he price is £289. If you want to really get to
the nitty-gritty you get one-to-one coaching for a£489.
You need your own bike and kit (while textiles are
ine, leathers are recommended), although hire bikes
and kit is available at extra cost.

WHO IS IT FOR?
It might be called a ‘superbike’ school, but you can
show up on any bike you like. Prior experience on
track is not required either – in fact, this is the perfect
place to gain that experience if you want to go and do
a track day.

MY EXPERIENCE
I did the training on a Honda Africa Twin, which isn’t
exactly built for the track, but I wasn’t the only one on
an adventure bike. And as it turned out, for a road
rider like me, doing the training on a bike that I ride
on the roads was the best way to ensure I can put my
newly gained skills to use on the road.
he format of ive 20-minute sessions on track,
followed by a debrief, a classroom-based lesson and
a break worked well. While other groups were out,
you could have a moment to relect on your learning
and prepare for the next challenges.
Learning the correct way to accelerate, corner and
brake is not as easy as it sounds but by the end of the
day, my technique had deinitely improved, and I
imagine that my riding looked a bit more lowing too
– it felt like it did anyway.

WANT TO GIVE IT A GO?

My day with the BSB School was not only useful and
educating, it was also loads of fun – I had a big smile
on my face all the way back home.
If you fancy a day of excellent track training
that also helps with your everyday riding, visit:
www.britishsuperbikeschool.com

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 67
 TOURING Your rides ◆ Expert advice ◆ Places to go

Major overlander rallies

coming up
Horizons Unlimited Rally and the
Tesch Rally ofer entertainment
and excitement even if you’re not
planning a mega-trip yourself.

T
wo major events crossings and packing light.
aimed Travel authors, tour operators
speciically at and equipment specialists
motorcycle will all be on hand, and
overlanders are following the success of
coming up, so of-road training sessions
make dates in last year, these will be available
your diaries for the Horizons too, at just £45 per half-day. Meet people like Peter and Kay Forwood, who have visited every
Unlimited Rally (June 14-17) Horizons Unlimited is being country in the world on their Harley.
and the Tesch Rally (April held at the Baskerville Hall Hotel
24-29). If you’ve never been near Hay on Wye in the he Tesch Rally, probably the if that makes any sense. He’s
to an Horizons rally, it’s Brecon Beacons, so it’s longest running motorcycle also one of those travellers
well worth a visit, surrounded by some overlanders’ meet in the world who has made a career out of
even if you’re not very entertaining – the irst was in 1977 – adventuring, with sidelines such
planning on tarmac and legal celebrates its 60th edition as his own line in aluminium
doing a big of-road routes. this May. Held, as always, in luggage. More intriguing are the
overland trip Like most Malmedy, Belgium, it plays ‘survival training weekends’ he
– just an bike rallies, host to travellers from all over runs in Belgium with advice on
interest in travel Horizons Europe. It has speakers and keeping warm, dry, hydrated
is enough. his usually involves a ride out into the local and safe.
year will see the camping, but the countryside plus the obligatory As for the Tesch Rally, having
usual packed less hardy can opt rally ire and a beer or two. been before, I can conirm it’s an
programme of to stay in the hotel his year, speakers will include experience worth having. he
back-to-back speakers, instead. And don’t be Catherin Alternabach, who campsite was a bit basic (at least
events, demonstrations and surprised to see the odd Land took a six-month trip to Iran, when I went) but that was all
training, with travellers giving Rover or expedition bicycle, Mongolia, Russia and back to part of it. And as with Horizons
illustrated talks on their trips, because the rally is now open to Europe by Honda Transalp, and Unlimited, the biggest
including advice on border all two- and four-wheel travellers. our very own Nick Sanders. He’ll overlanders’ rally of all, you
have just returned from leading don’t have to have done a big
a group through Morocco, and trip to be part of the event
will be preparing for the ultimate – everyone is welcome.
adventure tour, with a group of
12 riders trekking from the UK
to Vladivostock – that one is Diary dates
booked up, by the way. hird
speaker on the Saturday is HORIZONS
Bernd Tesch himself, who with UNLIMITED RALLY:
partner Patricia Govers-Tesch June 14-17, 2018
crossed North America in www.horizonsunlimited.com
both directions last year, in
a sidecar outit. TESCH-TRAVEL-
Tesch the man is one of the TREFFEN:
big characters of the overlanding April 24-29, 2018
world, a sort of cross between www.berndtesch.de
Bear Grylls and Boris Johnson,

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 69
 Day Ride

MOOR PLEASE
A 120-mile loop through Devon, taking in
Dartmoor and the English Riviera.
WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY: Simon Murphy

I
don’t know if it was simply down to age, lifestyle ABOVE: Sunning itself take the coast road home, a circuit that would, I
or maybe some defective gene, but early last on the English Riviera. hoped, give the BM’s brakes a bit of a workout. he
year my beautiful BMW RT1150 had to be original system had given reassuring, powerful
rushed in for a servoectomy. I loved everything stopping. Nothing fazed it: late braking into bends,
about that bike: its looks and style, its handling, last second decisions, it was safe. Now the bends,
the engine, and until then, the brakes. But there climbs and dips of the B3212 gave me the irst
it was, complete failure of the rear servo. Lights BELOW: Oicial Dartmoor opportunity to see whether the reworked system
lashed and even with my right foot buried into the brake tester. would measure up.
pedal not a lot of stopping occurred.
So in she went, and then out she came, a couple of
kilos lighter and without her ABS. Painless in the long
run – I no longer have to worry about the inevitable,
as the old servo-assisted anti-lock system was
apparently lawed by poor reliability. Replacing the
original system was out of the question, both
inancially and for peace of mind, so the whole lot
came out. And with the right parts from Motorworks,
which included a diagram for some essential rewiring,
the bike was back on the road.
As the RT has always been a keeper I decided on
some post-op recovery physio, in order to get used to
the feel of the new braking system. With this in mind
I headed for Cafe 53 at Marsh Barton in Exeter, for no
better reason than that I like their cofee and the fact
there’s a Triumph dealership attached. From here I
would head west across Dartmoor and then south and

70 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962


SHEEP LURKING
I joined the road a short distance along the A30. From
the start it twisted and swept, sometimes sharply, and
despite generally climbing it occasionally dropped
suddenly, all the while being shrouded in trees and
hedgerows. Without a good view of the approaching
road, straightening bends was diicult, and my right
foot hovered over the rear brake, my let over the
gearchange. I found myself relying on engine braking
more than I had done in the past. ABOVE: Both German,
I stopped briely in Moretonhampstead. It’s a lovely both lacking ABS.
place, and on this summer Sunday there were many
visitors: walkers heading for the moor, a large group of ABOVE LEFT:
cyclists refuelling in the Co-op. I rode on, keeping to Moretonhampstead,
the B3212, passing the motor museum, and not long with cyclists heading
ater the trees thinned out and stone walls replaced out onto the moor.
the hedges as we climbed up onto the moor. I passed
Clapper Bridge, an ancient stone footbridge, busy with
picnickers, and on to Two Bridges. Once you’re over
the cattle grid and the walls disappear, that to me is
the moor proper. he 40mph speed limit is no issue –
why would you wish to go any faster? I sat back and BELOW: Of the A and B
enjoyed views that extended for miles in every roads, south of Yelverton.
TOURING & ADVENTURE
direction, stopping a couple of times just to take it in.
Even at a relatively low speed there was potential for
some sharp braking. Cattle, sheep and ponies lurked,
but none decided to evaluate our lack of anti-lock.
I didn’t stop in Princetown, although there’s plenty
of reason to. Like all these villages in summer, the
pubs, cafes and shops are all hoping to entice the
holiday traic. hen there’s the prison, sinister looking
but quite a draw in itself. Originally built to house
Napoleonic prisoners of war, its dark walls loom large
as you ride into town. From Princetown it was on to
Yelverton and lunch at Vieira’s cafe beside the irst
roundabout you come to in town. It’s handy, and
there’s a petrol station close by.
I sat back and enjoyed
views that extended for
miles in every direction,
stopping a couple of
times just to take it in.
www.mslmagazine.co.uk 71
 We were nearly home,
just a case of keeping
the Exe on my right... A377
M5

A30 S
I turned south onto the A386 but only briely F
because a let turn soon saw me back on the moor and Exeter
Dunsford
heading towards Cadover Bridge and Wotter on a
country lane. For a moment I thought I was in GS Moretonhampstead
territory. he tarmac became lumpy, the lane narrow A379
and bumpy. A vast panorama to distant valleys B3212
opened, with Plymouth Sound and the Tamar coming Exmouth
into view way below. I crossed the A38 and headed Dartmoor
Dawlish
south to join the A379, the road that would eventually National Park
take me back to Exeter, passing through the seaside Tavistock
Princetown A38 Teignmouth
towns from Slapton to Dawlish.
More to the point, it would be the real test for the
BM’s brakes. Fast in places, twisty and with big climbs A380
Yelverton
and descents, I wondered if, without the servo, there
would be enough power in the system to make it work Torquay
efectively. Ater the long straight at Slapton the road A385 Paignton
climbs up to Strete. I stopped to take in the view along
the coast, looking down from the high vantage point.
In Dartmouth I passed the Naval College and made Ivybridge
Plymouth A38 A379
Dartmouth
A379

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GA .

MSLMA

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Kingsbridge

.UK/M
DOWNLOAD
ROUTE

W.
AP
S WW

LEFT: On top of the world my way down the edge of the river and the lower ferry.
(or Devon) – the view It’s a short hop across to Kingswear then a climb out
from Dartmoor. next to the steam railway and on up towards the next
BELOW: Ferry ’cross the drop into Brixham and Torbay.
Dart, on the way home. I was getting used to the new set-up. he front
brakes remained powerful and I settled into the
apparently weak feel at the rear. hrough busy
Paignton and Torquay the rear brake controlled us at
low speed, and on the steep hill down to Teignmouth
the front did the same. he A379 has a number of
roads leading of it that take you closer to the sea and I
took one of these to pass through Powderham and a
ride beside the mainline railway close to the Exe
estuary. We were nearly home, just a case of keeping
the Exe on my right and following my nose back to
Exeter, ater 120 busy road miles.
As for the RT, that has since been through an MOT
with one advisory – rear wheel bearing play. It’s now
15 years old, has 42,000 miles on the clock, and for
some reason, I still love it.

RIDE MORE
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more with a subscription
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72 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 73
 Potholes
Richard Millington
W
hat is the deinition of a
pothole? A reasonable
Richard has a radical solution to the
question asked by one of the
riders on our South East Asia
problem of potholes...
360 Adventure recently. We
had ridden the road of 1864
bends earlier, and now it felt
we had ridden the road of 1864 potholes! Northern
Vietnam has some of the best and some of the worst
roads ever. A nice dirt road is great, but a degraded
tarmac road that is just pothole ater pothole linked
by ridges of hard tarmac is no fun.
In the UK we moan about the state of the roads a
lot and so we should. For a western nation our roads
are really poorly maintained. Only about a quarter of
the tax raised from motorists in road tax and fuel duty
is ever spent on roads. Surely the amount raised from
motorists should bear some relation to the amount
that needs to be spent on the roads not just used to
fund other services? I digress...
he deinition of a pothole? Well, clearly it’s bigger
than a crack in the tarmac, but presumably not as big
as a road collapsed down a mountain? Although it
is possible this started with a pothole? And thinking
about how things start, why are they called potholes?
here are, of course, several theories but the one I
like best is that when potters were on hard times
and could not aford clay they would dig holes in the
roads and steal the clay that was a few layers down.
Potters Holes? Sounds ify to me but I like it. Anyway,
I digress again… I am feeling like Ronnie Corbett
sitting in the chair telling those never-ending stories…
Sorry, digressing again.
he deinition of a pothole? Let’s take the deinition
above and ascribe a size to a pothole as the size of a
plant pot. Yes, I know they vary but I am not trying
be that exact. At the other end of the scale has to
be a crater; a hole let by a meteorite; an explosion;
something you can park a car or a motorbike in.
here are plenty of these in Vietnam. Watching an
R1200GS with rider and pillion disappear into what
was deinitely a crater was like watching a U-boat dive,
dive, dive. It seemed to descend beneath the waves of
tarmac before with equal switness and in true ‘blow
all tanks’ style rise from the depths with the bow,
front wheel to you, thoroughly airborne!
So, at one end there are potholes and at the
other craters. What is in between? One rider
suggested an exclamation grading. “Oh,” small.
“Argh,” medium. “Holy...” anyway you get the idea.
he issue is that to achieve this grading you need to
ride into them, preferable unexpectedly, at speed and
this is not recommended.
74 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962
Councils have to grade them to prioritise their
repairs. Yes really they do plan to repair potholes.
I like Essex, who grade them orange or purple.
Presumably this a deliberately obtuse colour coding so
you cannot tell how seriously they are treating them. I
mean red, amber, green is a system people understand,
but orange and purple. Why not pink or aubergine?
Councils also use liability to grade them. Are they
going to get bills for repairs to wheels and suspension
on people’s cars if they don’t do them? Is there the
risk of an accident? How in a irst world country
does it get so far that the risk of injury or accident
is the justiication for repairing or leaving a pothole?
So, colours don’t work, exclamations don’t work,
and leaving it until you need to call an ambulance
seems a bit... ater the fact. How can we grade
potholes efectively so that they can be understood?
hen I came up with a radical idea for the UK. Why
don’t we build better roads? I am not being glib or
sarcastic. he UK is not a place with massive ground
instability. We do not live on shiting sand, sliding
tectonic plates or slipping mountains. We do not
have the extremes of temperature that many parts of
the world have. I have ridden in Canada and Alaska
where the roads put up with temperatures far below
zero and then short periods of summer heat. In the
north of Vietnam temperatures range from minus
Who is ive to plus forty. Many places have massively more
Millington? challenging environments for road builders than the
Richard Millington has UK: temperatures, monsoons, landslides and more.
been riding for more Some have roads worse than ours, some better, but
than 30 years, touring why are ours not much, much better than they are?
for more than 25, and It would save all the hassle of having to grade and
has never looked back. deine potholes.
He’s the founder of Maybe it has something to do with the £20 billion
Motorrad Tours, and plus raised from motorists that we do not spend on
has ridden on five the roads? Maybe it is that we tender out works to
continents, guiding the lowest bidder and not the best quality. I shall
motorcycle tours in avoid the tempting digression to rant about Carillion
Europe, Africa, North and their like.
and South America Perhaps if we are not going to spend all the money
and Asia. www. we raise from using the roads on ixing them then we
motorrad-tours.com
should adopt the policy that it seems most South East
ofers a wide range
Asian countries use. Build great roads and then do
of adventures, with
nothing until they are just series of craters linked by
something for
every rider...
tarmac ridges and then build a new one. Hang on,
is this not actually the secret UK policy?
 Mid Ride
HIDDEN SPAIN
You’ve heard of the Costas and the Picos, but how is Spanish
Aragon for a biking holiday?
WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY: Ken Rowell
T
he second week in June inally arrives,
and the annual foreign trip highlight
for the last 11 years of three
motorcycling buddies. Previously
we’d ridden around France (becoming
very expensive), Germany (superb,
but a long trek to the southern states
of Bavaria, Franconia and huringia) and the Czech
Republic (outstanding, but the 800-mile ride in
pouring rain to get there would test the resolve
of any normal motorcyclist).
So as advancing years have sotened the resolve of
at least two of the party, the last three years have seen
Spain as our favoured destination, starting with the
Basque region. One year, the highlight was superb
accommodation in a converted farm building; another
year, the foothills of the Pyrenees and a trip into
76 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962
ABOVE: Albarracin is Barcelona; then eight days in Cantabria, Asturias and
heaven in the sierra. the Picos de Europa, with fabulous roads, great people
and unforgettable food and drink. Following our
theme of the ‘unknown Spain’, this year’s trip was to
the province of Aragon in the central and eastern part
of the country with overnight stops on the way there
and back in Rioja.
All three of us now live to the south of Doncaster
and comprise myself, a 67-year-old retired jack of
all trades on a 2003 Suzuki DL1000 which over the
winter I had treated to a full service, Jon Sykes clutch
basket conversion and K&N air ilter. John is our
navigator, a 64-year-old retired copper on his tried
and tested Yamaha TDM 900, and the still ably
employed Tim (engineer, 56) was riding his 2012
Triumph Tiger 800. Each of us managed to make
do with just a topbox and tankbag for luggage
– every year, having learnt what is essential and
what isn’t, we carry less.

SQUARED OFF
he 235-mile journey to Portsmouth for the 11.30am
ferry to Bilbao started at 5.30am and we arrived in
good spirits, meeting a party of six riders from Leeds
who had arrived rather earlier, having let at midnight!
On our irst visit to Spain we had ridden down
through France, but found it expensive in fuel, tolls
and hotels, even though we have a massive advantage
in that both John and Tim speak excellent French.
Even so, that made the ferry (£300 per head for the
24 hour crossing) cost efective and ten times more
relaxing, if a shade boring.
he crossing itself belied the reputation of the
Bay of Biscay, being as calm as you like, and the
hours passed in the excellent company of fellow
motorcyclists sharing a beer or two before retreating
to our four-berth cabin.
TOURING & ADVENTURE
ABOVE: On the trail of
a walled town, working
up a thirst.
LEFT: A ‘can’t find the
hotel’ moment.
RIGHT: Sierra de
Albarracin.
BELOW: Spectacular
scenery and no traic.
On arrival at Bilbao we stuck to the original plan of
using motorways as little as practical, and our irst
stop for refreshment was an excellent truck stop just
45 minutes from the port. Eat your hearts out UK
truckers, this is a diferent world, and the food would
not disgrace a so-called quality English restaurant.
Journeying on to Vitoria Gasteiz, the N240 was a
delight, twisting and turning up the mountains and
down into the valleys, and the surface, as with the vast
majority of the Spanish highways, was immaculate.
Leaving the Basque country we joined the N232
which took us into the provinces of Navarra and Rioja,
the countryside a plethora of vineyards, orchards
and yet to be planted plots of land. We checked in
at the excellent Hotel Los Palacios in Alfaro, a town
somewhat mundane by Spanish standards but we
were compensated by excellent food and wine at the
hotel, a solid night’s sleep and petrol at the equivalent
of 90p/litre. We had covered 150 miles on our irst day
out of Bilbao, and it had been good.
www.mslmagazine.co.uk 77
 he following day dawned with clear blue skies, the
temperature approaching the thirties, which it would
soon reach. Today’s journey was 180 miles to the main
stay of the tour, the village of Albarracin in Aragon,
widely reputed to be the prettiest village in Spain.
John’s excellent navigation saw us traverse a
non-motorway route of incredible contrasts. Tight
mountain roads, which needed serious concentration,
fast lowing roads through the seemingly endless
desert-like landscape which reminded me of many a
western ilm based around Nevada or New Mexico.
Late aternoon saw us arrive in Albarracin, which
lived up to the hype. he narrow streets were lined
with houses of solid stone, their upper loors over-
hanging to keep the streets shaded and cool under an
unrelenting sun. Our base for the next ive nights was
the excellent Hotel Los Palacios – clean, quiet and well
located, and parking had been reserved for us in the
village residents’ car park less than 50 metres away.
hat was a big plus as no unauthorised traic is
allowed into the village.
he following ive days passed in absolutely no
time at all as we enjoyed superb food and drink
in many bars and restaurants, explored the towns
including Cuenca, famous for its hanging houses
and Teruel, immortalised by the 13th century ‘legend
of the lovers’, not to mention its delicious ham. I
would add at this point that Tim and John are the
wanderers while I am a conirmed leisurely drinker
and people watcher.
78 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962
ABOVE: Ouch! Yamaha he roads of the Sierra De Albarracin were
rider far below had challenging in places with only a small guardrail
just come of – or is preventing a plunge into oblivion, but the Tiger 800
he helping a tortoise proved to be the ideal tool with Tim looking very
across the road?
much at home swinging through the hairpins. It was
at this point I realised that my rear tyre, a Continental
ABOVE RIGHT: Quiet Road Attack 2, had squared of badly and should have
village, superb road, been replaced before leaving home. I compensated by
rocky outcrops – all using the superior low down power of the motor and
very Spanish. putting up with the odd squirm from the rear.
Approaching Teruel we passed through endless
cherry groves, which were being harvested, not with
machinery, just good old fashioned manual labour
aided by creaking tractors and trailers. Further north
we found ourselves in land that looked to be the
remnants of massive quarries, and many of the villages
looked to be deserted. he common thread was the
total lack of other road users, although we did come
across a Swiss rider on an aged Kawasaki GTR1000
BELOW LEFT: Tapas taking a back roads journey to Valencia and also spoke
clearly aids growth. with an English couple in a motorhome who enthused
about a solo rider they encountered whose sleeping
BELOW: Bikes cooling arrangements consisted of slinging his hammock
of after a hot day on between any available trees and nodding of for the
the road. night. Not my style, but each to his own.
 TOURING & ADVENTURE

Santander S
F
Bilbao San Sebastian

N-240

Vitoria-Gasteiz
Pamplona

Logrono
AP-68
Burgos Calahorra
N-111

N-113
AP-68
N-111 N-122
Soria

Aranda Zaragoza
de Duero
E-90
N-234
E-5
Calatayud

E-90
Siguenza N-211
ZINE
GA .
MSLMA

CO

N-211
E-90
.UK/M

100 TAPAS DOWNLOAD

ROUTE
W.

Riding north to start the long journey home we travelled AP

S WW Albarracin
through a mixture of cultivation and at times an almost Teruel
lunar landscape, before arriving in the town of Soria,
parking the bikes and setting of in search of lunch,
ending up in a rather run down square. However the TOP LEFT: Every hotel An uneventful ride to the ferry was followed by a
‘peccadillo’ was excellent. Ater lunch we strolled on room has a balcony... choppy crossing of the Bay of Biscay. We were allowed
100m to ind the real town square, which was a back into our own country by the charmless border
complete contrast to our lunch stop – immaculate, agency at Portsmouth docks, followed by endless
sophisticated and a magnet for the local business folk. iltering through traic on the M27, M3 and the
Moving on, ater a few wrong turns in the busy ABOVE LEFT: Blue socks A34 and inally the irst rain of the trip – ten miles
streets we found the Hotel Isasa in Logrono town and plus fours are quite from home, the heavens opened and we got soaked.
centre and took advantage of their excellent the thing in these parts. Roll on the next trip.
underground car park. Logrono is the capital of Rioja,
and in the evening encapsulated everything that is
Tim in mountaineer
good about Spain – families eating and drinking mode, looking very
together, tapas bars, people just strolling and generally relaxed.
a wonderful atmosphere of contentment among the
residents and visitors alike. Tim and John, wandering
into the night, found the street of 100 tapas bars and
didn’t have time to visit every one, but promises were
made should we ever visit again.
Next morning it was time to head for Bilbao and
the ferry home, and it was now we encountered the
strangest phenomenon of the trip. When we entered
the underground car park, we rode down three levels
on a very steep twisting entrance lane, which
immediately raised concerns about getting out again.
But this turned out to be a very easy lane, nowhere near
as steep, which only seemed to ascend two levels. As
the exit and entry gates were only metres apart in the
same street this has puzzled the three of us to this day.

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 79
 Long Ride
FIRST TIME
Jacqui Furneaux chucked her job, bought
an Enfield in India and went travelling...
WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY: Jacqui Furneaux
T
he whole story began and ended with
emails from Holland. he irst one
drastically curtailed our aimless
travelling lifestyle in southern India
where, for six months, my Dutch
boyfriend and I had been wandering
whimsically on our 500cc Enield
Bullets. But this was cut short the minute Hendrikus’ best
friend heo sent an email from Amsterdam. His wife had
let him. He was devastated. Even before we’d let the
internet cafe, loyal and valiant Hendrikus had decided
that what heo needed more than anything at the height
of his distress was a month in India riding pillion on
bumpy dirt tracks; sleeping in the cheapest of cheap
hotels or camping wild; eating street food containing
heaven knows what; sufering the relentless attentions of
mosquitoes; washing in streams (if at all) and sweltering
in heat from which there is no escape day or night, even
in rivers, lakes or under cold showers. Actually, there was
no cold. Refrigerated beer was merely cool.
80 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962
ABOVE: Jacqui broke her
leg on a road like this one
but it is still her favourite
type of road!
ABOVE RIGHT: Jacqui in
pretend leopard skin.
“He’ll love it!” declared Hendrikus. heo would ride
with Hendrikus and I would carry the extra luggage.
By that time, I’d absorbed so much of the magic and
unlimited lexibility of India that it didn’t matter that
we would be three people travelling on two bikes for a
month. Ater all, everything Hendrikus suggested was
fun. With his guidance, I had adjusted from being a
lifelong health professional to a motorcycle nomad.
“India will make him forget his troubles!”
Hendrikus predicted. “He’ll it right in with our way of
travelling. He’s sporty and it and up for anything.”
hree weeks later we collected heo from Delhi
airport and as we settled into a crowded dormitory at
a shabby guesthouse, we discussed where we’d spend
the following weeks. Hendrikus wanted to show heo
an adventurous time and decided we would go to
Kashmir, which was still a disputed territory. I had
reservations. Even allowing for his disturbed
emotional state, heo didn’t seem the ruty-tuty
explorer Hendrikus made him out to be and, from the
start, Mother India did not show him her best face.
 TOURING & ADVENTURE

ABOVE: Still smiling after

a long, hard, muddy day.

LEFT: Waiting for Theo to

recover in Kashmir.

AT GUNPOINT
Poor heo! he furthest he’d been away from home
was a package holiday in Spain. Now he was with two
people who relished travelling rough. I let the boys to
exchange their news in Dutch while I took my Enield
for a service.
I returned to a sorry tale. heo had been
pick-pocketed while they had been on a city bus.
Arranging money transfers, replacement return air
tickets and a temporary passport took several days. To
make matters worse, heo wasn’t taking to India. He
did not like the food and would eat only at Delhi’s
McDonald’s (lamb instead of sacred cow) and drink
cola. Hendrikus told him that outside the city we RIGHT: Sound advice on
would ind nicer food. the streets of Delhi.
So, rather overloaded, we set of for Amritsar,
favouring the quiet country roads of Haryana State BELOW: This was Theo’s
rather than the frenetic Grand Trunk Road. Hendrikus introduction to India.
and I loved sleeping under the stars and bathing in
streams. Poor, heartbroken and uncomfortable heo
was already homesick.
If the dormitory at the guesthouse had been a
shock, he must have thought we were making him
undergo an endurance test at Amritsar’s Golden
Temple. Budget travellers like us slept on mattresses
on the loor in the foreigners’ section of the pilgrims’
hostel. Motorbikes were also welcome, watched over
by turbanned Sikh guards. I had stayed at the temple
before while backpacking and was used to sleeping
shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers in a long row. he
Golden Temple is one of my favourite buildings – a
place of calm despite its violent history depicted in
pictures of battle scenes on the walls. One showed a
martyr carrying his own severed head, ighting on
valiantly for the Sikh cause.
Hendrikus’ bike showed similar endurance despite
all the extra weight, needing only to have the rear
mudguard lited clear of the tyre, which had been
rubbing. he same could not be said for heo, who
said he hated India. In fact, I was starting to worry

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 81
about his health. He wouldn’t eat anything but packet ABOVE: In India, it’s not
noodles. He’d sip carbonated drinks while Hendrikus diicult to get your Bullet
and I drank local water and heartily tucked into lentil seen to.
dhal, vegetables and rice, omelettes, chapattis, kebabs,
yogurt and all manner of roadside fare. RIGHT: For Theo on the
Naively unconcerned about going into a disputed pillion, the holiday was
area we rode on to Jammu and Kashmir. We should therapy... of a sort.
have expected trouble. Muslims and Hindus are not at
peace in Kashmir, and armed soldiers were stationed
behind sandbags on mountain road bends as we
climbed steeply north. hey let us pass; ater all we and pills to stop sickness. He was put on a stretcher
must have looked comedic rather than threatening. and taken by ambulance to Ward 7, a brown tent
None of us wore helmets so our features were clearly bearing a big red cross. I went with him, holding alot
visible. Hendrikus, a large, ginger-haired man with a his intravenous drip and feeling very much as if I were
beard; heo, pale and tall as his pillion and a small in an episode of M*A*S*H.
woman on another motorbike almost buried amongst Reassured that he was being cared for, Hendrikus
luggage with loosely tied-on bags lying wildly with and I let to explore this stunningly beautiful place.
every bump in the road. With its pastures, mountains and lakes, all the poems
heo was sick that night. While I slept, Hendrikus and words of praise written about Kashmir are true
took him to sit outside our enchanting lakeside hotel and we felt sad that so much blood was being spilt
in the moonlight for some fresh air. As they sat quietly over it. At dusk we were turned back from hiking up
talking, suddenly from all directions, they heard the ABOVE: An ironing man to the shrine for our own safety. Returning pilgrims
click of guns being cocked. Terriied they were going in the back streets of were greeting each other with cries of “Bom Bom
to be shot or taken hostage by rebels, they told me Amritsar. Bolay!” as a sign of encouragement. It was a great
later that they instinctively put their hands up to show atmosphere – we were made very welcome and given
they were unarmed. A patrol of Indian soldiers rose BELOW: The army lends a curry and rice at one of the stalls before sleeping
from the reeds, encircling them. hey were soundly hand with an oil leak. alongside heo on canvas beds in his hospital tent.
reprimanded for breaking the curfew that none of us
knew anything about. his area was, they were
reminded, full of insurgents.
he next day we arrived at Udhampur. heo had
developed a cough in addition to his stomach
problems, but Hendrikus dismissed my concerns. He
was determined to ride on one of the world’s highest
roads, from Kargil to Leh, but by the time we got to
Baltal, 100km away, heo was struggling to stay on
the back of the bike, looking dehydrated and clearly
most unwell.
As luck would have it, we chanced upon a huge
festival attended by devotees to Shiva. Pilgrims from
all over India had come to show their respect at
Amarnath cave where, in the winter, ice forms a
lingam, a highly religious Hindu symbol. At 3880m
the cave is accessible only at this time when the 12km
walk is free of snow.
he festival was supported by the Indian army
whose enthusiastic medics fell upon heo at the camp.
Within the hour, he had a drip in each arm, antibiotics
injected into his bottom, oral sedatives, pills for pain

82 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

 TOURING & ADVENTURE

Srinagar Baltal
Islamabad
Anantnag
44

Banihal
44
Udhampur

Jammu

Guiranwala
Gurdaspur
Faisalabad
F Amritsar
AH1
Lahore
Shimla

Pir Mahal Ludhiana

Moga

Patiala

ZINE
GA .
MSLMA

CO

Jind
.UK/M

DOWNLOAD
ROUTE
W.

Rohtak
AP
MILITARY HELP S WW 9 S
he next day I went to check my Enield to ind some New Delhi
army engineers standing round it. “Madam, your
motorcycle is leaking oil!” he clutch case gasket was Bikaner
Aligarh
the culprit and the engineers cured it by padding out
the rubber gasket with hairy garden string! I was short
of fuel, too. hey found some petrol in a jerry can – it
had rust and blue paint in it and had to be strained
through some mesh, which meant rather jerky riding TOP LEFT: Jacqui’s Bullet kindly by those people. Incarcerated for three days in
for a while, but Enields will run on anything! was a passport to seven our room, miserable heo had just about had enough
Meanwhile, heo was discharged but advised to years of travelling. of India, and he was glad that his return light was
return to Srinagar instead of Leh. We rented a imminent. Hendrikus’ Indian visa was running out
beautifully appointed houseboat on the lake where he ABOVE LEFT: Swamped and he would have to leave for Pakistan. I’d have to
could rest and even found a takeaway pizza that when stopped for a fruit wait in Amritsar for the arrival from Holland of a
evening. It should have been a lovely meal as we ate in juice in southern India. carnet de passage, which was necessary for my bike’s
our palatial dining room, but Hendrikus, who blamed onward travel from India.
heo and his refusal to eat or drink for our failure to Ater the curfew was lited, heo lew home,
reach Leh, was fumingly silent, trying to keep his Hendrikus let for Pakistan and I went to Amritsar to
temper. heo was trying to keep down some pizza, await the carnet. I felt really sorry for heo. He’d had a
and I was trying to keep the uncomfortable peace by traumatic month, hated India and said he would like it
being overly cheery. BELOW: Street scene. to sink into the sea!
heo’s ‘interesting’ holiday was not over yet. To
make up for missing Leh, Hendrikus planned a ‘pretty’
route back to Udhampur on tracks through forested
mountains but although we travelled for two days,
staying overnight as esteemed guests of a very
well-to-do family in their beautiful wooden Kashmiri
house, we were eventually turned back by Indian
soldiers, who would not let us go any further,
explaining that they had intercepted a message
between militants who had seen us.
Grateful but disappointed, we re-crossed all the
rivers we had just forded and stayed that night in
Anantnag. Just as we prepared to leave, the hotel
manager told us there was a strict three-day curfew.
Shortly ater we had let the festival, militants had
indiscriminately opened ire on the pilgrims, killing 27
and injuring another 36. We were shocked and
devastated, for we had made friends and been treated

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 83
BEST BREAKFAST
Doubtful that DHL would deliver to ‘Golden Temple,
Amritsar, India’, I found a local shop where the owners
kindly agreed to accept delivery of my carnet. I
enjoyed living at the Golden Temple, which became
my home. I arose from my mattress on the loor each
morning and walked along a bustling street, where I
developed a ‘good morning’ acquaintance with a man
who ironed clothes with an iron containing hot
embers. Sikh women in shalwar-kameez (tunics and
baggy trousers) chose fresh produce from stalls as
children in uniform hurried to school. Rickshaws
darted about noisily. Businessmen in turbans looked
fresh and smart. Most days I breakfasted on banana
and the best freshly-made yogurt I’ve ever tasted.
I explored Amritsar and learned its history of
unwelcome British involvement and bloodshed based
on religious diferences. As an antidote to intolerance,
I made friends with other temple residents. I gave
Oobie from Israel a lit to the station and showed
Chris, a Bible-wielding Swiss traveller, my favourite
restaurant. My next pillion was Mike from
Manchester. We rode to the nearby border closing
ceremony between India and Pakistan to see the daily
display of posturing. hey might as well have poked ABOVE: Just out of the
their tongues out at each other across the barriers! showroom and brand new.
Ater 10 days my carnet arrived. I could now go
anywhere, but for the moment, the 50km journey RIGHT: Sohail Ahmed,
across the border to Lahore in Pakistan would be wheel builder and
enough. A straightforward and eicient session at balancer, in Rawalpindi.
customs and immigration on each side of the border
and I was on my way to be reunited with Hendrikus.
A few days later, when we were checking our emails,
I heard him gasp. It was heo again. He had arrived
back in Amsterdam which, given his recent
experiences, was a relief. But we could hardly believe
the next bit. He thanked us both enthusiastically for
such a brilliant holiday! He had thoroughly enjoyed
himself and planned to return to India the following BELOW RIGHT: A dodgy
year, bringing a friend to share the experience. but hopeful message.
Looking at each other wide-eyed and shaking our
heads in disbelief, we got on our bikes to see what BELOW: Wide load on the
surprises Pakistan held for us. way to Chennai.

Buy the book

£9.99 | www.shuvvypress.com
Jacqui’s book of her Enfield rides
– subtitled ‘Seven years, 20
countries, no plan’ – has just
been published by Shuvvy Press.
Covering South East Asia,
Australia, South America, the
USA and Canada, all on the same
bike, it’s a good read.

84 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

86 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

Featured Event
'Normous Newark
Autojumble
When: April 8
Where: Newark
Showground NG24 2NY.
Easy access from
Newark, Lincoln and
Nottingham, just of the
A1/A46/A47 junction,
Lincolnshire, Derbyshire,
Yorkshire, Leicestershire
and beyond.
A great day out for any car or motorcycle
enthusiast, the 'Normous Newark
Autojumble ofers a vast array of parts,
restoration services and related
products for a variety of vehicles on 10
separate Sundays throughout the year.
The first 'Normous Newark for Spring
takes place on Sunday, April 8.
Each 'Normous Newark Autojumble
sees Newark Showground filled with
hundreds of inside and outside trade
plots, as well as a classic car and bike
display area. On-site catering units are
available, as well as an inside cafeteria.
Run by the friendly and experienced
team of event staf from Mortons Media,
each 'Normous Newark Autojumble
attracts a large number of visitors from
across the UK in search of the great
finds and bargains on ofer.
If you’re after a certain part, piece or
tool for a motoring project, then the
'Normous Newark Autojumble is where
you’ll find it.
Admission Information:
■ Standard admission (from 10am) – £7
per person (under 12s free)
■ Early bird admission (from 8am) – £10
per person
■ FREE trade newspapers available at
the visitor gate
■ Friendly dogs on leads welcome!
INTERESTED IN TRADING?
Outside plots are available for £20 on
the day of an event, with discounts
applied for outside and inside trade plots
when payment is made in advance.
For more information, visit
www newarkautojumble co uk
www.newarkautojumble.co.uk
EVENTS
APRIL
7-8 Cardiff Motorcycle Show
Llanishen High School, Heol Hir,
Llanishen, Cardif CF14 5YL.
Tel 01443 435125.
www.southwalessunbeammcc.co.uk
7-8 Kickback
Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire CV8
2LG. www.thecustomshow.com
Email lorne@rwrw.co.uk. Tel 07758
068072.
8 'Normous Newark Autojumble
The Showground, Drove Lane,
Winthorpe, Newark, Notts NG24
2NY. www.newarkautojumble.co.uk
Tel 01507 529529.
8 Malvern Festival of Transport
Three Counties Showground, Wye
Halls, Avon Hall and outside,
Malvern, Worcestershire WR13 6NW.
Tel 01484 667776.
www.classicshows.org
8 Salisbury MAG’s 17th Spring
Surprise Motorcycle Show
Salisbury Market Square and Guild
Hall Square, Wiltshire. Tel 07450
992298. salisbury.mag-uk.org
8 British + Classic Bike Day + BSA
Special
Ace Cafe, London NW10 7UD.
london.acecafe.com
8 MotoGP – Round 2
Grand Premio Motul de la Republica
Argentina. www.motogp.com
13-15 British Superbikes – Round 2
Brands Hatch Indy.
www.britishsuperbike.com
13-15 World Superbikes – Round 3
Aragon Round. www.worldsbk.com
14-15 Prescott Bike Festival
Gotherington GL52 9RD.
www.prescottbikefestival.co.uk
Email gordon@bikefestivals.co.uk
Tel 01452 260063.
15 Salisbury Motorcycle & Light Car
Club Five Valleys Charity
Motorcycle Run
Contact Dave Weston
01264 364186.
Email dweston49@btinternet.com
www.salisburymotorcycleandlight
carclub.co.uk
15 Kawasaki Sunday – Let the Good
Times Roll
Ace Cafe, London NW10 7UD.
london.acecafe.com
15 11th Suffolk Classic
Motorcycle Show
Stour Valley Business Park, Brundon
Lane, Sudbury, Sufolk CO10 7GB,
just of the A131. Tel John Walker
01787 881803.
Please email your event details to jclements@mortons.co.uk
TOURING & ADVENTURE
20-22 National Youthbike Blues
and Bikes
Cabourne Parva, of A46 near
Caistor, Lincs. Email elliot.mitchell@
gmail.com. Tel 01522 869407.
20-22 World Superbikes – Round 4
Dutch Round. www.worldsbk.com
21 Rocket 3 Owners’ Club Meet
Ace Cafe, Ace Corner, N Circular Rd,
Stonebridge, London NW10 7UD.
london.acecafe.com
21 Scorton Auto & Bike Jumble
Scorton, North Yorkshire Events
Centre DL10 6EJ.
Tel Bert on 07909 904705.
21-22 The 38th Carole Nash
International Classic
Motorcycle Show
Stafordshire County Showground,
Weston Road, Staford, Stafordshire
ST18 0BD
www.stafordclassicbikeshows.com
Tel 01507 529529.
22 Custom + Cruiser Bike Day +
London MAG
Ace Cafe, London NW10 7UD.
london.acecafe.com
22 Royal Enfield Ride In, Sammy
Miller Museum
www.sammymiller.co.uk
22 Bike4Life Rideout & Festival
RAF Museum, Cosford, near
Wolverhampton TF11 8UP.
Start from Meole Brace, SY3 9NB.
www.bike4lifefest.com
Tel 01902 376252.
22 MotoGP – Round 3
Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas.
www.motogp.com
27-29 VMCC (Essex section)
Bluebell Weekend
Museum of Power, Langford CM9
6QA. Tel Pauline or Paul on 01245
321573. Email pauline.hodkinson@
btopenworld.com
28 VMCC (Somerset section)
Autojumble
Bath and West Showground,
Shepton Mallet, Somerset BA4 6QN.
Tel 01934 813638.
www.vmccsomerset.co.uk
29 Italian Bike Day with IMOC.
Ace Cafe, Ace Corner, N Circular Rd,
Stonebridge, London NW10 7UD.
london.acecafe.com
RIDE MORE
Spend less and ride
more with a subscription
SUBSCRIBE ON PAGE 26
www.mslmagazine.co.uk 87
 Places to visit

History Boy recommends:

CASTLE
DROGO
MSL’s ride location scout, History Boy Alfred Earnest, unravels the
mysteries of one of Britain’s more curious castles, and explains why it’s
worth pointing your front wheel towards.
WORDS: Alfred Earnest PHOTOGRAPHY: National Trust Images/Andrew Butler, Chris Gascoigne, John Millar, Dennis Gilbert

A30

A30
Castle Drogo Dunsford

A379
B3212
Exmou
Dartmoor
Dawlish
National Park
Tavistock
Princetown A38

A380
Yelverton

Torquay

A385 Paignton

Ivybridge
mouth A38
Dartmouth

Kingsbridge

88 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

 TOURING & ADVENTURE

he
story
oy
Boy
ALFRED EARNEST
Age 11¾
MSL has hired
a trainspotting
schoolboy to give
us some destination
ideas for this year’s
roadtrips. Wise
beyond his years,
Fake Drogo set made of wood and canvas, built when Drewe needed encouragement to persist with the project. Alfred won the
History Prize at
St Cuthbert’s-in-

W
eirdly under-visited – that’s
how I would describe Castle
Drogo. In my humble opinion
it is one of the jewels in the
crown of the South West
Peninsula and well worth
setting aside three hours for.
he story and the visit have many prongs. We Brits
love an old castle and from Brave New World to Dr
Faustus via Frankenstein, we all engage with any story
of a vainglorious man who over-reaches and doesn’t
quite make it. he story of Sir Julius Drewe and his
plans for his own prestigious but ‘brand-new’ castle is
just that.
Here’s the skinny: Julius Drew (note the original
spelling) came into this world in Bedfordshire in 1856,
the youngest of eight children. He may have had
‘attention-seeking’ issues as the runt (like me, the
youngest of six) and ater a spell at Bedford School he
sold tea in China and, aged only 21, opened his irst
teashop. He prospered, and by his early 30s he
presided over an Empire-wide retail chain called he
Home and Colonial Stores, better known by its
modern name of ‘British Home Stores’.
Nowadays, with the high street on its knees it’s hard
to remember that an operation as massive as this, back
in the day, was a licence to print money. He sold up
and cashed out in 1889 for a sum equivalent today to
almost £200 million.
Julius, like William Randolph Hearst in California
(the creator of the complex at San Simeon) was quite
happy to make a splash. No ‘I still live in the house I
the-Marsh in both
grew up in’ for them! What’s more, like Ernst Stavro
the fifth year and
Blofeld, in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Julius
the lower fourths,
Drew had a burning interest in genealogy. Although so his expertise is to
he couldn’t get George Lazenby to whizz out and be taken seriously.
authenticate his claim, he posited that by fairly He’s still restricted
tortuous means, he was a descendent of a 12th to his bicycle but
century lord of the manor who had been a benefactor looks forward to
of King Henry II’s largesse and, even more hearing back from
tangentially, he was a possible distant descendant of readers who have
the Royal House of York. taken heed of his
Loads of moolah, pretensions of aristocracy and recommendations of
early retirement meant the stage was set – Julius biking destinations.
WOULD be the lord of the manor and this, O reader You can reach him at
of MSL, was a man who got his way… msleditor@mortons.
Concurrent to these events was the coming of age of co.uk
one of Britain’s greatest architects, Edwin Lutyens. You
may know him as the man behind Whitehall’s
Cenotaph, the hiepval Memorial and, most
stunningly, the Government buildings of New Delhi
(much ilmed in last year’s ‘Viceroy’s House’).
However you cut it, around 1905 Lutyens was at the
top of his game and a man with Drew’s ambitions
made a bee-line straight for him. Like any retiree,
Julius, by now Gallicised to Drewe, wanted a place in
the country, and where more itting than on the edge
of Dartmoor? Rather cannily, the hilltop site, towering
over the meandering groove of the River Teign below,
was a perfectly natural promontory that was
screaming out for a castle. Not only that, it was
‘west-facing’ so that the view from the battlements was
of the wilds of Dartmoor rather than the more sedate
rolling farmland that drited back to Exeter and the

The roofscape and original asphalt of Castle Drogo. The Drawing Room at Castle Drogo.

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 89
east. he chosen site for what would transpire to be ABOVE LEFT: The entrance trinity of sherbert dib-dabs, skateboards and conkers,
England’s ‘last’ castle was chosen so it felt as if one was Hall at Castle Drogo. can see the tragedy of what happened next – Sir Julius
looking out to sea from a rugged clifftop. By being at moved in, and within a year he was dead. Just as
the end of a spur (rather than atop a lone hillock as ABOVE: Billiard table by Brunel never saw the inished grandeur of the Cliton
per Corfe Castle), the rear of the structure (which was Burroughs & Watts, built to Suspension Bridge, so Castle Drogo was enjoyed by
the entrance) would be the efortless culmination of a Edwin Lutyens’ design, in the descendants, rather than the man himself.
magniicent approach drive and parking – all the rage the Billiard Room. By 1974 it was too costly for the family to maintain
in the early days of the motor carriage! and given to the National Trust – the irst 20th
Lutyens set to work and verily I say unto thee, did ABOVE RIGHT: The Century building to come under its remit. Today we
his genius gusheth forth. hese few pages should Entrance Tower of can all visit and enjoy this truly mental artefact. Inside
hopefully give you a reason to visit Castle Drogo and Castle Drogo. and out it leaves one in hushed awe! Actually, I visited
if you know it already, be a pleasant reminder, but it on the troop outing during my scout summer camp
there is no way that the aesthetic of this insane with the 11th Harrow (we were pitched on a farm near
building can be efectively described with the printed Chagford) and all three patrols gleefully illed in a
word. You will have to make the efort and ride there! hearty questionnaire. Now it’s your turn and when I
Castle Drogo is sometimes criticised as a ‘faux’ grow up and get my test, I will be right behind you.
castle but it is not. It is a real castle. Hundreds of
thousands of granite blocks went into its making,
which began in earnest in 1911. All of its walls really
are 7t thick. It is, in engineering terms, a true
Visit Castle Drogo
‘compression structure’, held up by its own mass. here Where is it?
are no hidden steel beams (unlike the arguably Drewsteignton, near Exeter, Devon EX6 6PB.
quasi-faux St Pancras Station) and every block was How close can you get on a motorcycle?
quarried locally. Naturally, Julius Drewe had great Right to the door!
plans for entertaining and the structure had designed Recommended ride nearby?
into it, from the outset, all the latest mod-cons such as Have a look at our Dartmoor Day Ride, on page 70.
they were in 1910! Eco-friendly a millionaire was he, How do I find out more?
and electricity for the new behemoth was to be The castle is run by the National Trust and they have
generated by its very own purpose-built hydro-electric a wealth of information on their website, including
power installation nestled in the valley below and prices, opening hours and what’s on:
driven by luvial run-of from the igneous (and www.nationaltrust.org.uk/castle-drogo
therefore impermeable) bulb of Dartmoor.
Ater four years’ work, much like the mighty
pyramids at Giza, there was barely any evidence of
what was to come. he First World War cut hard into
society and harder still into the vanity projects of the
super-rich. Construction stalled and there was even a
rumour that the project was to be mothballed or even
abandoned. Lutyens, knowing this would be one of the
epic commissions of his career, however long it took,
knew that he couldn’t allow Sir Julius to ‘wobble’ on
the project. To keep the client on message he arranged
for a squad of set designers to build a massive wood
and canvas mock-up of how the castle would look
once inished. Suitably impressed, Drewe resurrected
the build and in 1930 it was inally inished.
I am only 11 and even I, distracted by the holy

90 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

LONG WAY
HOME
Kinga Tanajewska rode solo from Australia
to Poland. She took six months to
complete the 17,000-mile trip, but that
was just the beginning...

T
he phone line is poor and it must be
pretty late in Kyrgyzstan, but Kinga
Tanajewska’s voice comes through
clear enough for me to be surprised
how fresh she sounds. Fresh, given
that she has spent the last three
months riding her BMW F800GS
solo from Australia to Kyrgyzstan.
Kinga got her irst taste of biking as a teenager
back in her native Poland, where in the
Nineties old Russian bikes like Urals were
readily available. She quickly got into sports
bikes and track training, before inding
herself doing more touring.
Ater inishing her engineering degree,
she moved to Australia, where she
continued to ride in Sydney. Her riding
took a diferent turn when she was
ofered a job on the other side of
Australia and a plan to make the journey
there on a motorcycle emerged. What
followed was part one of ‘Tour de Oz’, a
9500km ride around half of Australia
anti-clockwise from Sydney to Western Australia.
Because the ride included more of-road riding than
she had previously done, Kinga got herself a BMW
F800GS and set of. She inished the trip in a month,
camping along the way – through rain and shine.
Ater a year in the job it was time for part two of the
tour, inishing the circumnavigation of the country
through the southern parts of Australia. Another
adventure, and another 9500km on the BMW
followed, with everything from riding to hanging
out with rescued kangaroos along the way.
“During the tour I gained a greater
appreciation for this wondrous continent,
and learnt a lot about myself. I overcame
some fears and pushed my boundaries,
and I gained experience in riding and
camping in extreme temperatures: from
the high 40s°C down to 0 and from 99%
humidity down to bitter, frosty nights.”
he highs of the tour were followed by
the lows of work stress, the break up of a
relationship and two bike crashes. he second
crash was a big one – a head-on collision let

92 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

 TOURING & ADVENTURE

Kinga on crutches and with a fractured wrist – but it

could have been much worse. A full year of physio The bike
later, she was back on a bike as soon as she got the Kinga rides a 2015 BMW F800GS with auxiliary seven-litre Camel Tank (which gives
all-clear from the doctors. And this time the goal was a range of nearly 300 miles). The bike is also fitted with BMW aluminium panniers
much bigger than before. Not content with her tour of and top box, Outback Motortek engine guards and skid plate, and Barkbusters
Australia, Kinga wanted to realize her dream of riding VPS handguards.
her bike to Poland through Asia. She wanted to take
four months of work to do this, but when the leave
was not going be possible, she quit her job instead,
giving her an ininite timescale, if a limited budget.
When time was no longer an issue, the ride to Poland
started to morph into a round-the-world ride, with the
length of Africa and the Americas emerging as an
extension to the original ride.
“My employers were really good about me going on
this trip. hey couldn’t give me the leave but promised
that whenever I get back I'll have a job waiting for me.
hat gave me the opportunity to take all the time I
wanted for the trip and it seemed like going further
would be the obvious thing. Whether my budget will
last until the end will remain to be seen, but I think I
can make it stretch if I’m careful.”
he world tour was something that Kinga had

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 93
always dreamed of, and now was the perfect time to
actually do it. Ater three months of intense planning,
the trip started with shipping the bike to South Korea.
From there Kinga travelled on to Vladivostok in
Russia and Lake Baikal in Siberia, into Mongolia and
the Gobi desert, followed by Kazakhstan and
Kyrgyzstan, where we caught up with her.
“South Korea was incredible. he mountainous
country has the craziest traic that I have seen so far.
he car drivers aren’t just driving badly, they are
actually trying to force bikers of the roads. And the
bikers ride like crazy too. Nobody stops at red lights
and the speeds are incredible!”
Ater South Korea, Russia was a more mellow
experience: “I know basic Russian, which helped a lot.
I was able to talk to people and found them to be
really helpful and hospitable. People would ind out
about my travels and contact their friends in the
places that I was traveling to so I could have a local
contact there. It was lovely to ind out about these
people’s lives and cultures. I found it fascinating.”
he crossing from Russia to Mongolia brought with

Riding of-road in Mongolia
was the reason why I
wanted to do this trip, and
it was truly amazing...
it a diferent culture and a bit of a culture shock for
Kinga: “Riding of-road in Mongolia was the reason
why I wanted to do this trip, and it was truly amazing,
but I found the people less hospitable than in Russia,
and especially travelling as a woman on my own I felt
quite intimidated at times. For male travellers or
groups this might not be a problem at all, but I would
certainly recommend single ladies to keep their senses
about there.”
 TOURING & ADVENTURE

Iran has amazing scenery

and unique architecture,
but the best thing there
is the people – they are
so friendly...
Ater Mongolia, Kinga felt that Kazakhstan was
more like Russia again, with the same hospitality and
friendliness a key characteristic of its people.
When we next chatted to Kinga, she was already
back in her native Poland, having ridden another three
months from Kyrgyzstan.
While in Kyrgyzstan, the rear suspension on Kinga’s
BMW packed in. She rode the next 2000km with oil
leaking from the shock and the bike bouncing up and
down like a pogo stick. But she managed to ride
through Tajikistan and into Uzbekistan, where she was
able to source a replacement rear shock. Apart from
the bouncy ride, it was the scenery in these countries
that let a lasting impression in her mind, with roads
that rise up to 4000m above sea level.
With the new shock itted, Kinga crossed
Turkmenistan and into Iran – one of her favourite
countries on the trip. She said: “Iran has amazing
scenery and unique architecture, but the best thing
there is the people – they are so friendly. You feel like
you’re a celebrity, with so many people wanting to talk
to you, inviting you to spend time with their families
and generally looking ater you. hey are very polite
and cultured and I never felt safer as a solo female
traveller than in Iran. he lip side of all the hospitality
is that it’s near-impossible to have any ‘me time’, so
every now again you have to ind some more remote
places to visit just to be on your own for a while.”

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 95
 From Iran she headed to Azerbaijan, Georgia,
Turkey and into Europe. By this time the long journey
was taking its toll and the nearness of home was a
temptation that drove her forward. “I was exhausted
and the winter was coming, so travelling was getting
less fun. here were moments when I felt like if I had
to ride another 300km to see a mountain and then the
same back just to get back on the road again, I just
didn’t have the energy. I had ridden 17,000 miles in six
months – I just wanted to be home.”
Now that she is back home and rested, Kinga is
already planning the next leg of the journey – Africa.
“he plan is still to travel down the length of Africa,
South America and North America. I’m estimating
around six months for each continent, so inancing the
trip is still a bit of an issue, but I have a few options.
I’m really looking forward to being on the road again,
and the plan is to set of in a few months. I’m not
worried about the roads or places I’m travelling to, the
only thing that worries me is malaria, because you
can’t totally protect yourself from it.”
We’ll catch up with Kinga again once she’s on her
way, but for now – safe journey!
www.mslmagazine.co.uk 97
LONG-TERM REVIEW
Test fleet:
Honda CRF1000L
Africa Twin DCT
Mikko is reacquainted with the Africa Twin after a long break.
I
had an Africa Twin
long-term test bike a couple
of years back, and since
then I’ve had an itch to
get back in the saddle of
Honda’s lagship adventurer.
And now I’ve inally managed
to do some wintry miles on
the good old AT.
98 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962
Now, I know Honda has just
updated the Africa Twin, but my
test bike was the 2017 model,
which many will buy as a
second-hand adventurer. My
irst impressions from our
reunion were pretty much as
I remember them being when I
irst climbed on the tall perch
of the resurrected king of
adventure: despite the height,
size and weight, the bike felt
surprisingly easy to ride.
Manoeuvring the 242kg
machine around the car on my
drive was hard work, but once
you get going, the Africa Twin
feels very manageable indeed.
And I had almost forgotten
that pleasing burble from the
two-into-one exhaust. It sounds
rich and reassuring even with
the standard can.
he real star of the show,
however, is the 998cc parallel
twin engine. It may be lacking in
peak power compared to some
of its rivals (the Honda manages
94bhp compared to the 125bhp
of the BMW R1200GS), but the
low and mid-range torque that
it cheerily pumps out more than
makes up for that – and let’s be
honest, that’s where you want to
ind the bulk of the performance
on a bike like this, unless you’re
mad enough to take it to a track
day. Which, incidentally, I was
mad enough to do when I had
the previous bike. Much to my
surprise, I managed to keep up
with the other non-sports bikes
quite happily, but that’s not what
the bike is designed for, really.
My main bugbear with the
bike last time round was the
screen, and I’m afraid that hasn’t
changed – I still can’t get on
with the standard screen, so the
old Touratech touring screen
was bolted on straight ater the
irst ride. It makes the airlow
better, but doesn’t eliminate all
the bufeting for me. I know this
is a personal issue, and your
height, helmet, and riding
position will make a big
diference, but for me, the
screen just isn’t quite right on
this one – maybe the 2018
models will suit me better…
I seem to remember having a
bit of a mixed opinion of the
 LONG-TERM REVIEW

THIS MONTH
Rider: Mikko Nieminen
Cost new: £12,549 (2018 model)
Spec: 998cc liquid-cooled
parallel twin, 94bhp, 72lb-ft
Kerb weight: 242kg
Tank: 18.8 litres
Seat: 870/850mm
Miles this month: 550
Miles on clock: 4173
Average mpg: 48
Current tyres: Dunlop TrailSmart
Modifications: Touratech
touring screen
General impressions: I still enjoy
the dominant riding position,
characterful twin engine and the
easy handling of the Africa Twin.

DCT (Dual Clutch
Transmission) system in the
past – sometimes loving it,
sometimes cursing it, but now
I ind it suits my riding 95% of
the time. he only time I wish
I could stop the auto-box
throwing unwanted gears in is
when I ride a series of bends
and want to stay in one gear,
altering my corner entry and
exit speed using only the throttle
– more oten than not the DCT
selects a higher gear between the
bends and I have to manually
drop it down a cog.
he Africa Twin now rolls on
Dunlop TrailSmart rubber
(forget the word ‘Trail’ there – I
wouldn’t want to do anything
but the lightest of trailing on
these, but on tarmac they
are great), which is a huge
improvement from the Dunlop
TrailMax tyres that used to be
itted as standard. Where the
old rubber struggled in wet
conditions, the new tyre seems
to cope with a fairly progressive
ride even in wet and grimy
winter conditions. Rather than
the tyre slipping, the selectable
traction control has been taking
care of me on the few occasions
when I have accelerated
particularly hard.
Some riders have complained
about the sotness of the Africa
Twin’s suspension, but even with
the factory settings, I feel it’s
perfectly good for solo riding on
tarmac. Loading the bike high
with a pillion and luggage will
challenge the suspension, as will
aggressive of-roading, but since
I did neither this time round, I
found it perfectly pleasant and
smooth over bumps and
potholes. he Honda panniers
that I have now, and had the last
time round, are easy to use,
swallow up a good amount
of kit and it beautifully to the
brackets built into the subframe
and pillion footpegs. he only
issues with them are that they
are a little limsy, and not
entirely waterproof, so pannier
liners or carrier bags are a must.
Given that the current test
bike has only done just over 4000
miles, it’s unsurprising that there
are no signs of corrosion or
undue wear and tear anywhere.
he spokes on this bike seem to
be stainless steel, which replaced
the original spokes that the irst
model came with and caused
upset among some owners for
starting to look shabby pretty
quickly. he switches are in good
condition too, and look like
they’ve been kept clean.
In most respects, my opinion
of the Africa Twin hasn’t
changed much at all over the
last couple of years. It still
puts a smile on my face as
I take on nadgery B-roads,
keeps me comfortable on
the long boring slogs on
motorways, and oozes a
spirit of adventure, making
me want to ride much further
than just to work and back.
It also makes me want to ride
the 2018 version rather badly...

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 99
LONG-TERM REVIEW
Test Fleet: Yamaha X-MAX 400
Paul took the opportunity to order some accessories for the X-MAX 400.
I
f you read the April issue of
MSL you’ll know that
Jonathan took the X-MAX
out to stretch its legs –
riding from MSL towers to
Matlock. Without the bike and
having time on my hands, I took
the opportunity to order some
accessories for it.
he accessories on Yamaha’s
website are extensive. What
should I go for? I could try to
make it look sporty, comfy or
practical. I started looking. he
slip-on mulers in black (at
£704 – ouch!) with a nice sport
screen (£76.40) and some
replacement aluminium foot
panels (£60.40) initially took my
fancy. I then took a look at what
I was doing with her – the daily
commute with a bit of weekend
fun, when I ind the time. With
this in mind, I reassessed what I
might actually ind useful.
Being 6t 2in I’m usually sat
in the wind a little with the
standard screen. Not a major
discomfort, but if there’s an
opportunity to make riding even
more comfortable I’m going to
take it. I decided to order a high
screen (£144) and in the same
vein, why not the comfort seat
(£244) too? he standard seat is
100 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962
far from uncomfortable but if
you can make that even plusher,
who am I to turn it down? I’ve
been considering taking the wife
on the back, so a 39 litre city top
case (£132) with a passenger
backrest cushion (£52.20) would
make her feel more welcome.
I’m not much of a spanner
man but ater licking through
the instructions I decided to
give it a go. Everything is held
together with Hex bolts, so it
seemed straightforward enough.
Fitting the rear carrier (£141),
which supports the top box,
required the removal of the
lining of the under-seat
compartment. Taking the seat of
allowed for better access and it
was being replaced with the
comfort seat anyway. he old
seat came of with the removal of
four bolts – an easy job. he
lining of the under-seat
compartment came out with the
removal of ive bolts.
One thing to be mindful of is
disconnecting the electrics to the
bulb which lights up the storage
area. It’s easy and the
instructions are very simple to
follow. It was also necessary to
remove the hand rails, as the
carrier integrates the hand rails
Winter salt working
its magic.
into the top box connection. As
an aside, looking into the guts
of the X-MAX with the seat
storage liner and hand rails
removed, you can see just how
much road crud gets through
around the engine.
It’s made me aware that I
should really have given her
more of a jet washing over these
winter months, especially with
all the salt on the roads. Really
though, it’s nothing you
wouldn’t expect. It certainly
highlights how well packaged
the rear of the scooter is – giving
you so much storage space. Why
am I itting a top box again?
Getting the new parts on
proved to be as simple as
taking the old parts of.
THIS MONTH
Rider: Paul Fincham
Cost new: £5999
Spec: 32.8bhp/26.5lb-ft
Kerb weight: 210kg
Tank: 13 litres
Seat: 800mm
Miles this month: 315
Miles on the clock: 2233
Average mpg: 56.2
Current tyres: Michelin City Grip
Modifications: High screen,
comfort seat, 39 litre city top
box, passenger backrest cushion,
Rear carrier
General impression: How
much storage space does a
scooter need?
For now, I decided against
itting the passenger backrest
cushion, as it entails drilling
holes in the top box. It comes
with a paper template but
drilling holes in a perfectly good
top box with no indication as to
where to drill, put me of a bit.
I may do that next month.
he high screen is just a
matter of removing the old
screen and using the longer
bolts and spacers to it the
higher screen. It’s massive: just
what I wanted. Like I said, I’m
6t 2in and the new screen is
almost as tall as the top of my
head. his is going to keep the
wind of. I’m looking forward
to the irst ride out on her with
all the new parts in place.

Test fleet:
Suzuki V-Strom 650XT
For rewarding him so much, Mossy’s given the V-Strom some treats.
I
t’s always good to show
bikes some love and care.
As my V-Strom has been so
good to me, I felt it was only
right to give it a suitable
reward for its eforts.
First of, I treated the Suzuki
to some new rubber. I was
happy enough with the original
itment Bridgestone A40 tyres,
and they had plenty of grip and
tread let ater more than 4500
miles of use. But some slight
reluctance to track over road
markings and the chance to try
some of the A40’s replacements,
the aptly named A41s (typically
£120 a pair + itting), was too
good to turn down. During the
itting, the lovely chaps at JHS
Racing near Bristol (www.
jhsracing.co.uk) discovered a
lat spot in the Suzuki’s rear rim.
Luckily as the pothole
induced damage isn’t too great,
within MOT tolerance, and not
at all discernible during riding,
I’ll live with it. More diicult
to resist is JHS owner James
Holland’s tempting ofer to
boost the overall power of the
650 V-twin’s motor. Sometimes
I’d love a bit more bhp to nip
past traic more keenly, and
James’ claim that his 680cc bore
kit and slightly higher lit cams
from the 2017 versions of the
Suzuki motor ofer just that
warrants some consideration.
Assessing the cosmetic
condition of my Suzuki took
no such deliberation, with
embarrassment over its
dirt-encrusted form prompting
me to act quickly. I’ve given the
Suzuki a thorough clean and
protected it from the worst
ravages of winter. he coat of
grime from 1000s of miles of all
weather riding meant the 650
looked more like a well used
commercial vehicle than a
motorcycle. Getting it to look
a lot more respectable took
plenty of time, efort, and trick
luids. Luckily some SDoc100
Gel Total Cleaner quickly
proved to be a good ind.
Okay it did take a bit more
efort and patience to rid the
bike of some of its more deeply
seated muck, but it all came
away readily once a hose was
pointed its way. With the veneer
of dirt removed, the Suzuki
shone more brightly, though
some slight corrosion was plain
to see on stuf like suspension
linkages and a fair few fasteners.
Bearing in mind my intention
to continue using the bike in the
coming months, undoubtedly
involving a few trips along
heavily salt-treated routes,
protecting metals from further
damage seemed wise.
Conveniently, I happen to
have had an aerosol full of
LONG-TERM REVIEW
THIS MONTH
Rider: Chris Moss
Cost new: £8039
Spec: 71bhp/46lb-ft
Kerb weight: 216kg
Tank: 20 litres
Seat: 830mm
Miles this month: 312
Miles on clock: 4966
Average mpg: 59
Current tyres: Bridgestone A41s
Modifications: Suzuki tank
bag, top box, centre stand,
heated grips
Total value of mods: £1330
General impressions: Giving my
V-Strom a well-deserved and very
overdue clean revealed neglect
had started to tarnish the 650’s
finish. Giving it a coating of
corrosion inhibitor should
hopefully prevent it getting any
worse. New tyres ought to bring
the best out of the chassis too. A
planned run up to the north-east
will no doubt give all the answers.
exactly what is needed lying
around for quite a while. XCP
Professional Rust Blocker
(www.xcp-protection.com)
gives me the impression it’ll
be perfect for keeping the
harmful efects of the road
anti-icing at bay. I’ve gone
over the whole bike with the
corrosion inhibitor and will let
you know how I got on with it
as time and mileage goes by.
An impending 700-mile
round trip up to the north-east
on my freshly tyre-shod and
squeaky clean V-Strom will give
me a chance to assess that and
the A41s. I’ll tell all, and no
doubt a lot more, next month.
www.mslmagazine.co.uk 101
BE SMART

Coming classic:
Honda CBR954RR FireBlade
I
f you’ve read my rambling
nonsense in April 2018’s
MSL, you’ll know I’ve
written a fair few lines
about Honda’s seminal
CBR900RR…
Now, we all know that those
irst models are the ones that
you need to tuck away for the
future. Yes, those are the ones,
the RR-N, RR-P with the twin
headlight stare and I would say
those irst ‘Foxeye’ models, the
RR-R, RR-S. It’s the FireBlade
(capital B before 2004) in its
purest form. But they are also
already heading upwards in
value big-time!
My suggestion for ‘coming
classic’ turned up at the end of
2002… Now, Tadao Baba was
the man behind the irst
FireBlade and every one up to
what became known as the ‘954’ From any angle the 954 ‘looked’ right.
Specification
Blade, which is the bike I want
to talk to you about. he name other moving parts to make the sweetly harmonised. he HONDA CBR900RR
came from the capacity of the bike lighter and rev harder. balance between power, weight Years available: 2002-2003
motor and overall the bike was Overall the motor was up by and handling bewitched anyone Major changes: None, only
considerably improved from three brake horsepower, with who swung a leg over it. colour changes
the (aesthetically challenged) more mid-range and the engine However, its competitors did Price new: £9049
previous ‘929’ version. itself was lighter by two kilos. things diferently: Suzuki’s Values now: £2999-£3999
You only have to look at it: he 954 overall was just 168 GSX-R1000 K1/K2 was more
you can see that the styling is a kilos dry which made it the like a hammer and the R1 was
massive improvement. You have lightest in its class of the time. It the best-looking bike to come
some sexy angles and curves also pumped out a very healthy out of Japan for years, but the
which were set of with some 154bhp at the crank. In today’s 954 Blade just had that sweet
brilliant, solid colour schemes terms, that’s still pretty light mix of all the best attributes and
interrupted only by the Honda today but unlike the mad power made for an (arguably) better
wing motif. outputs we have now, that road and track bike overall. It
he motor was updated, with 130-135 or so rear-wheel bhp looked good, weighed little,
an increased piston bore up by were under your direct control went brilliant and cosseted you
1mm to 75mm which gave a – without any electronics through the corners: be they on
25cc hike to 954cc. Compression getting in the way. road or track.
was also boosted to 11.5:1 while If you’re still not convinced Yes, the FireBlade had to go
lots of reciprocating weight was then let me tell you that this up to a full 1000cc to take on the
shaved from the pistons and version of FireBlade was just so likes of the K3 GSX-R and later
models of R1 (and the 2004
Who’s Bertie Simmonds? ZX-10R Ninja from Kawasaki)
but this snapshot in time shows
Bert is editor of MSL’s
M sister title Classic
a sub-litre sportsbike at its very Baba-san: father of all 900 Blades.
Motorcycle Mech hanics. Since taking over in
best – and right now the used
2013, he’s been k keeping an eye on the movers
prices are showing this.
and shakers of th he coming classic scene, so
we’ve asked him to give us a few gems of
You’ll be hard-pushed to ind Verdict
what’s a dead cert and what we should be
one of these below £3000 to be Baba’s final masterpiece is
tucking away in the garage for the future! honest, but a good one is a joy just that: tuck one away now.
to behold. It’s such a balanced
The world’s best place road bike that many called it ‘the FOR: It’s a beautifully balanced
for superbikes from the best Blade of all worlds.’ If you bike and very well made…
want to scratch, track-day, AGAINST: It’s still holding
1970s, 80s & 90s
commute (sarnies sit under the strong money 16 years on,
www.classicmechanics.com pillion boot/bonnet) there really but what does that tell you?
is only one choice. Try one.

102 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

Tried & Tested
Shoei Neotec II flip-front helmet
From £519.99 | Tested by: Mikko Nieminen | www.shoeiassured.co.uk
I like a good flip-front helmet. mount-plate attached, so the microphone in place and that’s it.
They might not be for weight diference isn’t huge. The visor with its Pinlock lens is
everyone, but I love the What is clear though, new, although very similar to the
ease and flexibility when you examine old one in its size and shape.
that they bring to the two helmets, The main diference is that it
riding. Especially is how much seals better around the visor
ones like the smoother the opening, making the new helmet
Shoei Neotec II, design of the slightly quieter in use. The
which is legal for new one is. The integral sun visor is also of
riding with the ridges between high quality and makes a real
chin piece up or the chin piece and diference on bright days.
down. I used the old the main shell have The new Neotec II is easy to
Neotec quite a bit, so I been reduced, the use with the flip-function,
was excited to see what top vent sun visor slider, visor
the diference is. protrudes much less release mechanism,
The shell (which comes in three out of the new lid, vents and the
sizes) is made from organic and and at the back micro-ratchet
multi-composite fibres in various the aerodynamic strap all
layers for a shock-absorbent shell shaping is working
with optimum rigidity, and diferent. This is flawlessly.
although – luckily – I haven’t crash clearly a brand Overall, the
tested the helmet, it feels nice new helmet, not Neotec II is a
and firm when you try to force just a minor update. great improvement
the sides to move. Whereas I had on an already
The lining is all to install a whole impressive helmet. It’s not
removable and Sena system to my cheap at over £500, but the
washable as you’d old helmet when I features and build quality go a
expect. Venting is wanted to link to long way to justifying the cost.
provided by the my phone and
chin and top sat-nav, to chat
vents, and an to those I ride
extractor at the with, the new
back as with the helmet is all
old helmet, but the prepared to take a
shaping of the vents is Sena unit without
all new, with the chin vent having to add any
in particular much easier to external mounts. All you need to
open and close than before. do is route the speakers and
The weight of the Neotec II is
indicated as 1682g on my kitchen “Overall, the Neotec II is a
scales, while the old Neotec
great improvement on an already
returns a 1709g with the Sena
headphones, microphone and impressive helmet.”

Hevik Rainstop HRS110 waterproof oversuit

£89.90 | Tested by: Mike Baumber | www.hevik.co.uk

The wet winter weather brings
with it the opportunity to arrive
at work from the morning
commute with a wet backside
and damp patches dotted all
over in diicult to explain areas.
That was until I was given the
two-piece Rainstop HRS110
from Hevik to try out.
Lightweight, breathable, stylish
and with a water resistant
PVC-free finish and the ability to
handle a water pressure of
8000mm, it leaves my excuses for
awkward wet patches obsolete
(until later in life, when I won’t
care anyway). The outstanding
waterproof protection ofered by
the Rainstop suit soon outweighs
the minor inconvenience of
donning a third layer.
The fully adjustable waist,
wrist and ankle straps enable
you to put the trousers on while
still wearing your boots and
gloves. Of the bike it has a hood
which folds into the collar and
its own bag for storage. Two
months dry and counting;
that’s a new record for me.

104 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962


RST Pro Series Paragon 5 jacket & jeans
Jacket £199.99, jeans £159.99 | Tested by: Roger Jones | www.rst-moto.com
It seems an eternity ago when
motorcycle riders had waxed
jackets and trousers for serious
weather riding – how things have
moved forward. My RST Paragon 5
textile jacket and jeans have been
used in all seasons for around
4000 miles. A Teflon-coated outer
and waterproof, breathable lining
together with removable thermal
liner for the jacket and a
thermal liner for the
jeans, keep the worst
of any cold and wet
weather at bay –
even the zips are
waterproof. I have
to say I prefer this
to a separate
waterproof inner liner.
A removable throat coat
can be used as and when
you need it.
The usual CE-armour and
back protector are found in
this quality product, along
with reflective detailing.
The jeans can be connected to
the jacket by a rear zip but I found
just using the detachable braces
alongside the adjustable
waistband easier to use.
Double and triple stitched
seams using heavy-duty bonded
nylon thread will ensure many
Oxford Dryphone Pro phone mount
From £29.99 | Tested by: Mikko Nieminen | www.oxfordproducts.com
More and more people use their
phones for music, calls and
navigation while on their bikes,
and with items like this new
Dryphone Pro waterproof and
shock-resistant mobile phone
case from Oxford, you can see
how phones on bikes will soon be
a regular occurrence.
Now, I have to be honest, I
haven’t tested the phone holder
in rain. My phone costs too much
for me to be willing to run that
risk, but I have had quite a few
rides in the dry with it, and it has
performed well. The base for the
phone holder is easy to mount
onto the handlebars with a couple
of screws (no tools required), and
the holder itself simply clicks and
slides in place using its quick-
release mechanism. The
mechanism looks a little on the
years of hard use. Overall comfort
comes by way of stretch comfort
panels, adjustable waistbands,
adjustable sleeve thickness and
side zip gussets on the jacket.
Pockets are in abundance on the
suit: you get four outer pockets,
one outer map pocket, a single
internal pocket on the fixed liner
and two inner pockets on
removal liner for the
jacket, and the
jeans have two
external zipped
pockets.
When the
weather is at
its best, air
intake and
flimsy side and moves a bit
when forced, but it has kept my
phone firmly in place during the
rides, so I can’t fault it. There is
no locking system, so when you
leave the bike, pick up the phone
holder too.
Using your phone while on
your bike is pretty similar to
using a sat-nav as the touch-
sensitive cover allows you to
thumb your way though the
phone’s functions.
The main limitation is your
phone’s battery, which on my
phone tends to run out pretty
quickly when I use the phone for
navigation. Because the case is
waterproof, you can’t run a USB
lead into your phone from a power
socket, so for longer journeys
navigation may become a
problem. But if you don’t need
KIT
exhaust vents can be opened
on the jacket, two air intake
vents can also be opened on
the thighs of the jeans.
This suits shouts quality and
I reckon looks good, however
what a pity the ‘short’ leg length
option chosen comes in at 33in,
which I found far too long for
my 29in legs. An even longer
standard leg length option
is also available.
Looking forward to many more
miles using this suit and I can’t
wait for the summer months, as I
am fed up with cleaning the road
crud of the bottom of the jeans
– maybe I should have chosen
the all black suit!
your phone for navigation, the
mount makes it easy to access
your music and calls while riding.
There are cases for various
Apple and Samsung phones. The
one I tested was for iPhone 6.
www.mslmagazine.co.uk 105
Tried & Tested
Alpinestars Force Backpack 25
£139.99 | Tested by: Ross Mowbray | www.oxfordproducts.com
First of all, let’s outline what I
typically look for in a rucksack.
I want storage and comfort, and I
expect them to be able to take a
bit of a beating too. And after
using the Alpinestars Force
Backpack 25 every day for the
last nine months – I’ve got to give
it some serious credit; it ofers
the lot.
I’ve used it for trips to the
shops, touring, green-laning, and
as my everyday bag for work. I’ve
crammed it to breaking point with
clothes, computers and cameras,
and it’s swallowed the lot with
ease. Sure, it’s only 25 litres – but
its compact size actually helps
to ofer a more comfortable and
well-balanced fit. Of course, if
you’ve got a few kilos of gear on
your back, you’re going to feel it
at the end of the day – but its
padded back panel, and multi-
strap tailored adjustment system
which spans across your chest,
does a decent job of helping to
distribute weight evenly and
improve comfort.
If you need to add something
bulky to your load, the backpack
also comes equipped with a set of
adjustable straps hidden
away in a pocket in the
bottom of the bag
– and there are also
four compression straps
on the sides of the bag,
allowing you to attach quite a bit
of extra kit, providing your back
can take the weight, of course.
There’s also a mesh helmet-
carrying system, which packs
away in another pocket at the
bottom of the bag; though I have
to confess, I’ve never used it,
much like the built-in hydration
pack (Camelback et al) storage
system. Additional storage comes
in the forms of two side pockets
and two accessory pockets on
the back – allowing you to stow
your gear away, but allowing
easy access.
My only real criticism of the wrapping the rucksack in a plastic
backpack is its limited water- bag (or alternatively using one as
resistance – which means you an internal liner).
need to use the separate rain Of course, we can’t ignore its
cover, which is tucked in the price tag. I mean, £140 for a
cargo pocket on the bag’s base. backpack seems undeniably
It’s not a bad compromise, but I steep – but considering the
did find it to let a little water in backpack is still in tip-top
around the edges in the very condition, despite taking a
worst of downpours – so if you’re thorough beating over the last
riding all-day through a monsoon, nine months, I reckon it’s probably
then you’d probably be better worth every penny.

Furygan Blazer Sympatex winter gloves

£119 | Tested by: Mikko Nieminen | www.nevis.uk.com

Winter gloves are a tough item of biking kit
to get right. To achieve warmth and
waterproofing while still keeping the gloves
thin enough to maintain good levels of feel is
tricky – which is why heated grips, mufs and
grip guards are popular aftermarket items.
Furygan’s answer to the winter glove
question is the Blazer Sympatex leather
glove. It’s based on the old Ace Sympatex
glove, which I rated very highly, and wore
religiously on every ride until I finally wore
them out. The new Blazer glove is a great
piece of kit too – it’s diicult to argue with
substantial knuckle armour, secure Velcro
straps at the cufs, and suede inserts in the
palms for added grip – but it feels slightly
bulkier than the old Ace. The glove is plenty
warm enough and keeps rain at bay, but I
found that compared to the old model, the
new one has slightly less feel. Because of
this, especially when riding a bike with lots
of switches to operate, the Blazer can
sometimes feel a little on the clumsy side.
But, as I said, they are very warm and keep
your hands dry, so I guess it just depends
on the balance you want. I wore mine while
the Beast from the East was ravaging the
country, and they kept my hands nice and
warm even on the coldest days.
Inside, the lining is soft, and the overall
fit and shape are very good. The cufs are
nice and long, and the glove can be secured
tightly over your riding jacket. Overall, a
very warm and pleasant glove.

106 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962


Ladies kit special
Spada Hartbury Rouge ladies wax jacke
£179.99 | Tested by: Karen Mowbray
I love this retro-styled Hartbury jacket from
Spada. With its bright red exterior, antique
brass poppers, and tartan lining, it certainly
looks the part. And, it’s equipped with all the
modern technology you’d expect from a
brand-new motorcycle jacket.
It’s fashioned from quality dry wax cotton
and double stitched with a fixed waterproof
and breathable membrane with fully tapered
seams. And, it comes equipped with a
Spada Freeride
2017 gloves
£34.99 |
Tested by: Karen Mowbray
Made from 100% premium
aniline leather for a softer, more
comfortable fit, the Freeride
gloves feature a double layered
padded palm with panels on
each side to ofer improved grip
and durability. And honestly,
they are a very comfortable pair
of gloves – plus, the wrap-over
double pop stud fastening belt
at the wrists, and strip of elastic
on the wrists themselves helps
to ofer an improved fit.
Admittedly, there isn’t an
abundance of protection on
ofer – but for the more casual
rider, they should be more than
up to the job of keeping you safe
out on the road.
KIT
removable thermal lining and a faux-fur feel
collar. Admittedly, I’ve spent most of 2017
without the lining and collar, because of
the jacket’s impressive thermal qualities.
Thankfully I have not had to thoroughly
test the quality of the protection as yet, but
with CE approved five-piece armour, in the
back, shoulders and elbows, I feel confident
that it would take good care of me, should
I take a tumble.
Spada Rigger Reinforced
Selvedge jeans
£139.99 | Tested
d by: Karen Mowbray
Mowbra
I’ll keep this brief. I chose
e these
jeans because of their styling.
I reckon they look fantas stic.
But, best of all, they ofe er
ample protection in the form of
reinforced 100% aramid fibres at
potential points of impact, plus
they feature CE approve ed knee
protectors too.
They also come equipped with
a polyester micro-mesh fixed
lining, with Coolmax construction,,
which helps to ofer year-round
comfort. Plus, with the water
w
repellent treatment to the
exterior, they won’t let youy down
when the weather takes s
a turn for the worse.
Spada Pallas boots
£109.99 | Tested by: Karen Mowbray
These new urban-styled boots from Spada are stylish
and comfortable to wear, both on and of the bike.
Made from oil-distressed leather, they were
comfortable from the outset and didn’t need
bedding in at all.
The soles feature welt construction, helping to
ofer plenty of grip. And for protection the boots
ofer reinforcements on the toes and heels, in
addition to density inserts on the shin and ankle.
Plus, for adverse weather conditions,
the boots are equipped with a MORE INFO
waterproof Hipora lining, which is For more information on
more than up to the job of keeping all of these items, visit:
your feet dry in a downpour. www.spadaclothing.co.uk
www.mslmagazine.co.uk 107
 TECH TALK:
LITHIUM
BATTERIES
When MSL reader Graham Brookbanks sent us an email
asking about lithium batteries, we realised we didn’t
know that much about them... So we asked the experts.
Here’s what the good folk at OptiMate had to say…

108 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962


OptiMate
The OptiMate battery charging
method – intended to save AGM, GEL
and STD lead-acid batteries that
have stopped working simply due to
neglect – was introduced in 1995.
OptiMate now also charges, tests
and maintains lithium (LiFePo4)
batteries. The product range includes
unique electronic precision tools
for the power sport industry as
well as various cable and powered
accessories. For further details,
visit: www.optimate.co.uk
MSL: Are there diferent types of lithium
batteries and how do they work?
OptiMate: Although Lithium Ion is the
general group name used for all lithium
batteries, there are many diferent types.
he only type used as engine starter
batteries is Lithium Iron Phosphate –
otherwise known as Lithium Ferrous
Phosphate or LFP (chemical formula
LiFePO4). Lithium engine starter
batteries are normally either 12.8V or
13.2V, and will generally be marked
as ‘Li-ion’, ‘LFP’ or ‘LiFePO4’.
Other common types include Lithium
Cobalt Oxide (Li-cobalt), which is a
popular choice for mobile phones, laptops
and digital cameras, and Lithium Nickel
Manganese Cobalt Oxide (NMC), widely
used for electric vehicle powertrains.
MSL: What are the advantages/
disadvantages of lithium compared with
conventional lead-acid batteries?
OM: Advantages of Li-Ion include low
weight, compact dimensions and long
shelf life (practically no self-discharge).
However, on the lip side, they sufer
from discharge when connected to a
Shido Lithium-Ion batteries | From £42 to £224 | www.performanceparts-ltd.com
Advantages of Li-Ion
include low weight, compact
dimensions and long shelf life
(practically no self-discharge).
system, and they discharge faster inside
a system with a small draw on that
battery (e.g. GPS, drive by wire, memory
settings, etc.) and they don’t like the cold
– there’s a considerable loss of power
(functionality) when temperatures
drop below 0ºC.
MSL: Why do Li-Ion batteries have a
built-in BMS?
OM: hey need a Battery Management
System to protect them from discharge
and also from charging systems not
suited to lithium batteries; these oten
start with a voltage pulse ‘boost’ to bring
a discharged lead-acid battery to back
to life.
MSL: Why are Li-Ion motorcycle batteries
damaged if fully discharged? People
regularly discharge the Li-ion batteries
in power tools without damaging them.
OM: Vehicle starter batteries need a huge
amount of cranking power to start an
engine from cold, so once they’ve
dropped a couple of volts, they’re
efectively ‘empty’. Unlike a lead-acid
battery, which can be jolted back to life
KNOWLEDGE
with a jump-starter, the shock would ‘kill’
a lithium battery.
MSL: Why do Li-ion batteries need a
diferent charger from lead-acid batteries?
OM: he safe charging rate for a lithium
battery is 14.4V, and the charge rate must
not exceed 14.6V. A lead-acid charger
is designed to deliver high current at
low volts, exactly the opposite to what a
lithium battery needs when completely
discharged. A lithium battery below 8V
is in an unbalanced and sensitive state.
Its cells will all be at diferent resistances;
applying high current will develop
diferent voltages across the cells, killing
the weakest and causing a short circuit.
hen there are three cells let, each
with increased over voltage... very soon
there will be none!
MSL: If Li-Ion batteries are better than
lead-acid batteries, why don’t
manufacturers fit them to their premium
products as original equipment?
OM: hey do. Honda Fireblade SP2,
Yamaha, KTM, Husqvarna... hey all do
it on the 2018 high performance range.
www.mslmagazine.co.uk 109
Used test:

WORDS: Chris Moss PHOTOGRAPHY: Mike Weston

110 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

 BUYER’S GUIDE

I
t could be argued that the 1098/1198
V-twin superbikes saved Ducati. Strong
performers or not, the controversial style of
the preceding 999 range of sportsbikes had
very much divided opinion and tested the
loyalty of the famous Italian marque’s fans.
Luckily for them, Ducati was on the
case and when the irst 1098 superbike made an
appearance at the 2006 bike shows, the Ducatisti
collectively breathed a sigh of relief: Ducati’s
biggest superbike could boast drop-dead
gorgeous looks once more.
Both press and buyers agreed, with the £11,200,
160bhp, 1098 achieving plenty of sales success.
Following the well-established trend, the new bike
was joined simultaneously by the pricier, higher
spec S model. Later, in 2008, the very expensive
and bigger capacity 1198cc homologation-special,
the £24,000, 180bhp 1098R was added to the
line-up. his bike formed the basis of the WSB
racer on which Australian Troy Bayliss won the
2008 title. A £30,000 limited-edition 1089R Troy
Bayliss was then introduced to celebrate the victory
early the following year.
At the end of 2008, the irst £11,950 1198 base
model went into production. Essentially an
upgrade of the 1098, the new bigger-engined bike
boasted another 10bhp spread pretty much right
across the rev range, with details like new wheels
and headlights also helping to set it apart. he
£14,950 S model (the one we’ve tested here) which
came along at the same time, was both lighter and
of higher spec. Öhlins suspension and forged
Marchesini wheels improved handling with the
excellent standard itment traction control boosting
safety appreciably. Anoraks were pleased to learn
that the bike’s Ducati Data Acquisition system
could record up to three hours of riding
information. Its bronze inished frame and carbon
body parts are another detailed distinction. he
ultra exclusive £31,000, 180bhp, 1198R became
available early in 2010, homologating the race
machine Spanish racer Carlos Checa won Ducati’s
last WSB championship on in 2011. hat title was
celebrated with another limited edition model,
but based on the new Panigale sportsbike.

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 111
 Specification
2009 DUCATI 1198S
Engine: 1198cc, liquid-cooled,
DOHC, 8v, desmodromic 90° V-twin
Power: 170bhp (125kW)
@ 9750rpm
Torque: 97lb-ft (132Nm)
@ 8000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed, chain drive
Frame: Tubular steel trellis
Suspension: (F) 43mm inverted
telescopic forks, fully adjustable
damping; (R) rising rate
monoshock, fully adjustable
Brakes: (F) Twin 330mm discs,
four-piston radial calipers; (R)
245mm disc, twin-piston caliper
Tyres: (F) 120/70-17;
(R) 190/55-17
Seat height: 820mm
Wheelbase: 1430mm
Dry weight: 169kg
Fuel capacity: 15.5 litres

ABOVE: Air intake and

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO RIDE lights create a sharp and
suited to experienced riders. It’s not unfriendly or
he Ducati brand name conjures up many positive sleek look at the front.
savage, just very, very speed-capable.
emotions. But riding the famous Italian irm’s 1198S he Ducati’s handling is especially remarkable and
superbike moves you in a way that very few other has a totally solid, sharp, almost laser-guided feel to it.
production motorcycles can match. It’s a truly BELOW: Single-sided You simply pick a line, and the Duke will follow your
fabulous and evocative machine that’s guaranteed to swinging arm and high commands with ease, total security, and complete
heighten your mood whenever you’re with it. Its style, pipes create a light look accuracy. Okay, it’s a fairly irm ride at the back end,
speed, technology, and sexiness just can’t be ignored. at the rear. and it will kick the wheel from the loor a little over
Appreciation of the superbike begins even before
you ire it up. It really is an example of art in metal.
Every bit as stunning as the original and seminal 916,
the 1198S could justiiably be purchased just to park in
your front room as a piece of beautiful furniture. But
as I was to discover, doing that would by a criminal
waste and only allow you to sample a small fraction
of its engineering inery and massive emotive power.
You only have to consider a few basic facts to give
yourself an idea of what the V-twin is capable of. One
of them is something I’ve just given away already, the
engine’s coniguration. But when you learn the
typically torquey and lexible V-twin is making a
heady 170bhp, challenged only by a claimed anorexic
dry weight of just 169kilos, the picture becomes
clearer still. Even so, to actually feel the full strength
of its massive drive is way beyond your imagination.
he Duke has what seems at irst like limitless
amounts of power and torque everywhere in its rev
range. he huge surge is generally delivered in a linear
and well-mannered fashion. But yank the throttle too
hard or too soon or let the revs climb too high, and
you’ll be going way over the speed limit or pulling
involuntary wheelies. As I was to discover, the 1198S
is a bike that needs respect and is deinitely one more

112 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

 BUYER’S GUIDE

I LOOK AFTER THEM

Iain Rhodes of RPM bikes (www.rpmbikes.co.uk,
01604 583350), an independent with lots of history
and experience with 1198s, gave us his views.
“The 1198 doesn’t really have any known
problems, and as long as it’s serviced and looked
after properly, it’s unlikely to give trouble. All my
customers are typically over 50 and really care for
their Ducatis. They’re usually not their only bikes,
and never get ridden in poor weather or for day to
day stuf like commuting. Quite a few I see are
used for trackdays. They’re strong enough to take
the thrashing, though I would change the engine oil
every other trackday. I advise doing it every 3000
miles of road use, and if you don’t get to clock
that up, then every year without fail. I use fully
synthetic 10/60w ENI oil.
“Many 1198s spend much of the year unused and
it’s very important to do this properly. Ideally you’d
ABOVE: It’s not built park your bike in a dry, well-ventilated garage
for comfort, but look connected to a trickle charger. The battery is quite
how pretty! small and doesn’t need to lose much power to create
starting issues. Speaking of which, don’t fire the bike
LEFT: The standard brake up and only run it for a short time when it’s parked
pads are fine for the road, up. All you’re doing is generating moisture, which
but for track you need a corrodes the internals and contaminates the oil. The
diferent compound. engine only gets up to full temperature if you take it
for a ride for at least half and hour. The Öhlins fork
seals are prone to failing if left to dry out or if the
bike is strapped down too firmly.
VALUES “Home maintenance isn’t too diicult if you’re
competent. But the bodywork is fiddly to get of,
£7500- and once you’re inside the engine you need special

£10,000 tools to do the work properly. Service history is

important though sticking to the schedule isn’t
* Prices are for S models quite as crucial as it was for the 916-based range.
only, ranging from early Valves clearance don’t always need adjusting,
bikes sold privately in
rougher roads. But that’s a price worth paying. And though if several of the 16 shims do need to be
average condition to
thanks to the quality of the Öhlins suspension you can newer, well cared for changed, it can start getting expensive. You can
sense every ripple and rut, allowing you to read the examples available at risk leaving the belts in place for longer than the
road perfectly and feel completely at one with the bike. dealers. Standard spec recommended two years, but it’s a risk that can
he communication the Ducati gives is extraordinary, models are around prove costly. The 1198 is the last of the line before
helping it to provide exquisite levels of control. You £1500-£2000 cheaper, the Panigales came along, and could well become
and R versions up to
feel painted to the road. a collector’s bike.”
£5000 more.
Slowing the bike is just as composed with the front
Brembo ‘monobloc’ calipers providing not only huge
power, but exceptional levels of feel and feedback to
boost braking conidence massively. No doubt the
high level of control ofered by the fairly plush Öhlins
forks plays a part in this too, as does the exceptional
grip of the front tyre. he chassis is utterly fantastic
and allows you to ind levels of satisfaction you
normally only dream of. It’s the sort of bike you want
to tell the world all about. his is a truly intoxicating
machine that causes much excitement in its rider.
In time, I did calm down occasionally, though
further mileage gave me the opportunity to consider
another special feature of the Ducati: its traction
control system. It’s a very clever arrangement and yet
another aid to make you feel even more safe and
secure. With eight settings to choose from you can
decide just how sensitive you want it to be. Ater
sampling the anti-wheelspin system using the irst
three ‘predictive’ settings, I ended up selecting number
ive and let it there. I have to admit the combination
of only riding the Ducati on dry roads, and not having
the courage to yank the throttle open hard and fast
enough to trigger it, meant it largely went untried. I’d
really need a track to examine it, but it’s reassuring to
know it’s there to stop a high-side situation.

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 113
 REMAPPING
If you fit a full
aftermarket exhaust
system, it’s important to
remap the ECU to get
the best from it.
Remapping also allows
you to customise the
power delivery.
COMFORT
The long distance
comfort of the Ducati
can be improved by
making the riding
position more roomy.
Fitting higher bars, and
adjustable footrests
gives the 1198 more
versatility.
TRACKDAY USE AVAILABILITY SUSPENSION
1198s are well-suited to There aren’t many 1198s The performance of
trackday use, and lead a on the market, with even the Öhlins forks and
much harder life on fewer of the S and R shock is very
circuit. Check servicing models to choose from. impressive. But make
has been done more You’ll need to be patient sure you periodically
frequently, and inspect and possibly travel far service both ends to
the bike very carefully to get a good one. It’s ensure they give
for crash damage. a seller’s market. their best.
USEFUL WEBSITE
Consult other owners for tips and advice on the Ducati
owner’s forum, www.ducatiforum.co.uk

SERVICING ENGINE HOME MAINTENANCE BRAKES

A good service history is preferable and
improves value, especially if the work’s
been done by an approved Ducati dealer
or respected independent. Consider
changing oil more often than officially
advised though, especially if the bike’s
not used too often.
The big V-twin produces speed
easily. It can also be lazy and
flexible, but it’s essential to be
disciplined with the throttle,
otherwise things can begin to
move at excessive, trouble-
inducing pace.
Oil and filter changes are easy
for the home mechanic. Air filter
inspection is also straightforward.
Top end work such as plug and
valve checks are more involving.
Valve clearance checks require a
special tool to allow shim changes.
Standard brake pads are fine
for all road riding. However
if you want to do track
days, then fitting a more
appropriate compound
is essential to cope with
the greater demands.

OTHER BIKES TO CONSIDER

HONDA VTR1000 SP-2 KTM RC8R BMW HP-2 SPORT

2002-2008, 999cc, 90° V-Twin,
135bhp, 194kg
Second generation of the V-twin, the WSB
title-winning superbike is almost as racy
as the Duke. Fast, firm and focused, the
Honda isn’t too comfortable but makes
great sense at speed.
2009-2014, 1195cc, 75° V-twin,
175bhp, 184kg
Strong, usable power ensures plenty of
speed, hi-spec chassis keeps it all in check
nicely too. Unique style, roomy riding
position and rarity may well make it a
collector’s item in future.
2008-2012, 1170cc, flat twin,
133kg, 178kg
High-spec, limited run Beemer is quirky
but quick, the HP-2 boasts agile handling
and a strong, torquey motor. Certain to
be costly, the SE model is even more rare
and expensive.

114 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

 BUYER’S GUIDE

LEFT: The front Brembo

‘monobloc’ calipers
provide power, feel
and feedback.
TOP LEFT: The twin pipes
let out a pleasant roar.

To be fair and tell the whole story of the Ducati, I ABOVE MIDDLE: The S
do need to add the bits about it that aren’t quite so model is both lighter and
magical. It seems unfair to knock this wonderful of higher spec than the
machine in any way, but as usual with Italian bikes, standard 1198.
there are some parts that could be improved. Firstly
the mirrors – despite having some of the oicial RIGHT: What’s happening
atermarket extensions itted to them, they are behind was not really
woefully inadequate. At times they make the ride a main concern for the
risky and you need to either raise your hand from design team.
the bars completely to get a decent view behind, or
bend your arms to see under them. he steering lock
could be better, and the fact your hands get trapped
between the bars and tank on full lock can be
annoying. And attractive though the design of the
tank is, its size means less than three-igure mileages
before reills if you start using the engine performance DEALER
more seriously. And that can be very irritating. SERVICING
MINOR @ 6000 MILES/
While I’m complaining, I regrettably have to add 12 MONTHS =
that the riding position isn’t always as comfortable as
it could be, and though the protection from the screen £250-£350
is surprisingly good, the low bars tend to cause some MAJOR @
aches and pains when you spend too much time at 12,000 MILES/
24 MONTHS =
lower speeds.
However, the Ducati is an utterly fantastic bike that £550-
will have you loving life to the hilt any time you’re in
its company. he 1198S is a bike that’s clearly been
£1200
* Costs will vary
built for speed and is a little compromised outside that depending on labour rates
zone, but not many other bikes can touch it for sheer and condition of your bike
unadulterated satisfaction. Spending up to £10,000 and parts required
might be an almighty amount of money to pay for a
used motorcycle. But believe me, when you’re riding
it at least, the 1198S seems worth every penny and
more. It’s that special, and every mile ridden on it
is a memorable one.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Although it was built in an era when Ducati had quite
rightly earned a reputation for much better reliability,
you still need to realise the 1198S requires more TLC
than a Japanese alternative. If you don’t look ater it,
keep the mileage down, and ensure it’s cleaned and
cherished like a baby, its value will drop. It’s a
thoroughbred and can’t be treated like a donkey.
Pampering the Duke will cost however, with most
(though not all) Ducati dealers or independent
experts having higher labour rates.
Check over the bike in question thoroughly. Buying
from an oicial approved dealer is a safer bet. If you’re
buying used, consider taking an expert along to assess
things more carefully. Righting wrongs can be
expensive, so don’t miss them.

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 115
he 1198’s service history isn’t quite as crucial to stick INSET ABOVE: The Öhlins Belt replacement is crucial for engine reliability.
to as it is some earlier Ducatis. In saying that, not only suspension is firm, and It’s more likely the time limit will arrive before the
will a full service history performed at a reputable you can sense every mileage is reached, and though extending that interval
dealer be good for you, it’ll look a lot better when ripple and rut. is okay by some experts, a broken belt instantly results
you sell it on. in a massive repair bill. Any bike you’re interested in
Plenty of those in the know claim the irst valve will ideally have had this £300 job done. If not, factor
clearance check need not be done until 18,000 miles, it in and pay to have it done ASAP yourself.
and even then the shims are unlikely to need he inish of the Ducati is pretty robust and it takes
changing. Be aware that if many do have to be quite a bit of negligence for it to become tarnished.
swapped, the work is time-consuming and costly. Fortunately typical owners don’t tend to ride in poor
conditions. hey’re also older, more aluent and
conscientious. 1198s in poor condition or not
I OWN ONE maintained well are rare. It’s more of a purist’s bike.
Ron Stapleton, a 51-year-old was the very proud owner of an 1198S Average annual mileage is only around 1500-2000
engineering company boss from with just 1400 miles on the clock. miles, so the majority of bikes spend a lot of the year
Glossop, bought his very low mileage “It’s been really good to me, and parked up. Even when it’s stored the Ducati needs
1198S during the summer of 2010. never really let me down. But I do tend to be cared for well. Oil must still be changed every
He’s clocked up 11,000 miles on to pamper it as much as I can. It’s way 12 months and the battery maintained with a
it since then. too nice to be ridden in bad weather, trickle charger to retain full power. Any signiicant
“To be honest when I first sat on a and I’ve spent as much money as I’ve deterioration in its performance, and the bike won’t
used standard 1198 at a local dealers I ever needed to at my local dealer. I’ve start. Öhlins fork seals tend to dry out and fail if the
thought it was a bit extreme because only needed to change the tyres a suspension hasn’t moved, and if it can’t breathe well
of the more cramped riding position. couple of times, and I think it’s had a the fuel pump relay under the let-hand side of the
But just a few miles into the test ride set of brake pads too. The left hand fairing can corrode, Check any bikes itted with a
I forgot all about that. What an fork oil seal started to weep a little so full atermarket exhaust system have been remapped.
incredible bike! I had that changed, and I had a set of If not, they can run poorly. he two eccentric chain
“Everything about how it performed HeliBars fitted which has made a big adjusting hub clamping bolts must be torqued to
just said buy me, buy me. I’d been more diference to the comfort, even though the correct setting to avoid damage or hub slip.
a Japanese bike fan up until then, but I rarely do really long runs on the bike. Inspect the Ducati carefully for signs of track day
the appeal of the Ducati made any of “I think I’ll probably hang on to it for use. his is less worrying if the bike has been
those bikes seem dull. And the sound quite a bit longer. I know there might maintained more oten to suit this role. But if it hasn’t
of the exhaust was fantastic. When be better, faster sportsbikes on the been cared for even more frequently then it could well
the dealer told me he might have an S market these days. But the bond I’ve be best to end your interest. Discs aren’t especially
model coming in soon, I quickly put got with my Duke is strong now so I durable and wear prematurely if abrasive atermarket
my name down. Just six weeks later I don’t want to be unfaithful!” pads are itted. Crash damage isn’t cheap to repair,
even if all parts are still available at Ducati dealers.

116 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

 What’s next?
Kevin Cameron
F
uturists are now crowing about the
special days when English or German
renewable power sources – wind and
solar – have produced enough power to
pretty much run their electrical grids.
While this is progress toward the hoped-
for carbon-free energy economy of the
future, there is a two-fold problem: 1) the sun doesn’t
shine at night and 2) as sailing enthusiasts know so
well, sometimes the wind doesn’t blow.
he solution to this isn’t as simple as it seems – to
run on renewables when available, switching to
conventional power from thermal power stations
(heated by combustion or nuclear) when necessary. he
old-style Charles Parsons steam turbine-driven power
stations can’t just be switched-on – because their boilers
and machinery take time to awaken from slumber, ind
their tea or cofee, and inally shule out in dressing-
gown and slippers to pick up the morning paper.
herefore the irst partial solution was to rely on the
fastest-starting of power sources – the simple cycle gas
turbine alternators ired by natural gas, originally bought
to supply ‘topping’ power – the extra power needed at
peak hours for special loads such as air conditioning.
Anyone who’s ridden on commercial airliners knows
how fast gas turbines can be started and brought to
take-of power, and industrial turbo-alternators are
little diferent: just hit ‘RUN’ and an automated cycle
is triggered that has the unit online in minutes.
Yet even here there’s a problem. Simple-cycle
turbines aren’t very eicient – generally operating
at 20-25% eiciency, which is even lower than the
35% net eiciency of the usual thermal plants. he
more modern application of gas turbines in power
generation is as part of a combined-cycle plant. In
such a plant, a large simple-cycle turbine drives an
alternator, but instead of the waste heat in its exhaust
just going up the usual cylindrical steel stack, it is
carefully led to a heat exchanger in which that heat
raises steam to drive a steam turbine. Using this
scheme, overall eiciency approaching 60% is now
being achieved. Yet the presence of the steam cycle
slows its response time.
Everything has its drawbacks, of course, one of
them being that big red natural gas valve in Mr Putin’s
oice, which he inds useful in realising his not-
always-knowable political goals.
he much-discussed appropriate solution to
the irregular availability of renewable power is of
course energy storage – to store solar and wind-
generated power in some way for later use. Batteries
are mentioned wistfully, but neither business nor
government seems in any hurry to fund either
their development or large-scale application.
118 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962
What’s the future – solar, wind, gas or
nuclear? Kevin Cameron splits the atoms
and harvests the elements for us…
Artist’s conceptions show vast windowless buildings
connected to power lines.
Pumped storage uses electricity to pump water up
to mountain lakes, whence in time of need it descends
to drive generators. Some is in use but it’s an expensive
and geography-dependent solution.
Big in the news 30 years ago was ‘the hydrogen
economy’, which was to deliver around-the-clock
energy by using solar- and wind-generated electricity
to separate hydrogen and oxygen from water. he
hydrogen could then be stored under pressure for
later piping to points of use or to be run through fuel
cells at roughly 50% energy recovery eiciency to
again generate power. Alas, battery charge-discharge
eiciencies are considerably higher than this.
Automakers continue to show hydrogen fuel-cell-
driven auto prototypes, but keeping hydrogen safely
sealed up may require more than the old turn-and-
a-quarter of Telon tape and a irm hand on the
wrench. Hydrogen, in the form of H2, is the smallest
of molecules, even penetrating solids (ever hear of
hydrogen embrittlement of metals?).
Politicians are glad they are required to believe in
‘market solutions’ because this relieves them of any
responsibility for doing anything risky about future
power. herefore as soon as it becomes proitable to
replace outright large parts of national infrastructure,
that will happen all by itself – no political capital
required. When I think of electric vehicles smoothly
and eiciently replacing those driven by internal
Who is combustion of carbon-rich fuels, I think of the
Cameron? dream of print media – that as magazines, books,
Kevin is one of the and newspapers declined in public favour, digital
most widely-respected equivalents would magically replace lost proits with a
technical gurus on wonderful new way of doing business. In the process,
the planet. Author no one would miss a mortgage payment. he reality
of some of the most has been considerably diferent, making us suspect
iconic and landmark that the combustion-to-electric transition may be just
books in motorcycle as lacking in socio-economic predictability.
publishing, the Another group puts its hands up – ‘Coach! Put me
American brings the in – I know I can score!’ hat would be the nuclear
innermost workings power lobby, who are happy to assure us that there
of what goes on in an are sound technical solutions to the accumulated
engine to the fore in an societal anxiety arising from Chernobyl, the Japanese
easy-to-access way.
experience, and other such. Nuclear power is
Simply put, Cameron
unafected by dark nights or windless days but comes
is a genius of all things
with a public relations burden. Just call it something
metal that are fixed
to two wheels.
harmless – like renaming disastrous Windscale as
benign Sellaield? Wait and wonder.
Classic test:
1989 KAWASAKI
KR1
The KR1
K wasn’t a big commercial success
for Kawasaki, but it gained a cult following,
and it’s a fitting reminder of a time
when 250cc two-stroke race-replicas
ruled the streets.
WORDS: Roland Brown
PHOTOGRAPHY: Phil Masters

120 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

 REFLECTIONS

T
he testers of the day didn’t hold back
the superlatives when the KR1 was
launched in 1989. One enthused
about a bike “with such reserves of
handling, braking and useful power
that its limitations are only found in
the deepest reaches of rider ability”.
he KR1, he concluded, was “a production bike par
excellence – one of the best instant racebikes a
budding Wayne Gardner could buy”.
Kawasaki’s achievement with the 250cc two-stroke
twin was to bring a slice of grand prix style, sound and
glamour to the street. On the world’s racetracks in
1989, Honda’s former champ Gardner was taking on
Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz on
500cc V4 two-strokes. But it was in the 250cc class
that the streetbike battle was raging, as the KR1
arrived to compete with Yamaha’s TZR250 and
Suzuki’s RGV250 in a frenzy of screaming engines and
smoking exhausts.
hose few years in the late 1980s and early Nineties
were the heyday of race-replica quarter-litre strokers.
heir rev-happy twin-cylinder engines made 50bhp
and gave top speeds of over 125mph. heir aluminium
frames helped keep their dry weight below 130kg and
their narrow power bands and sweet-steering chassis
made every ride down a twisty road an opportunity to
imitate the way that 250cc champions Sito Pons or
Luca Cadalora would have attacked Jerez or Mugello.
Kawasaki’s glory days in 250cc grands prix went
back another decade, to when Kork Ballington and
Anton Mang had ridden the KR250 tandem twin
(cylinders in line with the bike) to four consecutive
world championships between 1978 and 1981. hat
success led to an awkwardly styled KR250 roadster,
which had a similar engine layout and was sold in
Japan but in very few export markets.

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 121
ABOVE: The little
Kawasaki didn’t have the
performance of bigger
bikes, but it ofered
plenty of high-revving fun.
BELOW: This bike’s
exhausts with aluminium
silencers are from a later
KR1-S.
122 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962
he KR1 had a very diferent engine: an across-the-
frame parallel twin with crankcase reed-valve
induction. he roadster’s angled-forward cylinders
were fed by a pair of 28mm Keihin carbs. On the
exhaust side, the expansion chamber system
incorporated KIPS, standing for Kawasaki Integrated
Power-valve System, designed to add torque at low
revs. he motor incorporated a balancer shat plus the
racy feature of a side-loading, six-speed gearbox. he
claimed peak output was 55bhp at 10,500rpm.
A glance at the KR1 conirms how far bike
technology had come in the eight years since the
steel-framed KR250 had ruled the racetrack. he
KR1’s frame was constructed around two massive
aluminium spars, and held respectably thick 41mm
forks that were adjustable for preload. Its rear shock
was a rising-rate Uni-Trak with adjustable preload and
rebound damping. Apart from its headlight and
mirrors, the curved full fairing could have come
straight from a racebike.
Understandably, for all its racy style and aggression,
the little Kawa didn’t really have the performance of a
superbike – which in some ways was more of an asset
than a disadvantage, as it encouraged hard riding. In
the irst three gears there was high-revving fun to be
had at legal-ish speeds. By 8000rpm and into the
power band in fourth gear it was doing about 80mph,
tearing forward with two gears still to go… but still at
speeds unlikely to land its rider in jail.
he leant-forward riding position encouraged
throttle-to-the-stop behaviour, especially as the fairing
and screen gave a useful amount of wind protection.
he Kawasaki screamed along at 90mph-plus with
minimal strain on the rider. Ater long trips some
testers complained of numb hands from the solidly
mounted engine’s vibration, and there was a bit of a
buzz at around 7000rpm, but that wasn’t a problem on
most rides.
If the KR1’s straight-line speed was impressive, its
handling was better still. hat stout twin-spar frame
felt rigid enough to have coped with twice the
Kawasaki’s power output. And the bike’s light weight,
racy geometry and 17in diameter front wheel meant it
could be licked into bends with the lightest of nudges
on the clip-ons.
 REFLECTIONS

Specification
KAWASAKI KR1
(1989)
Engine type:
Liquid-cooled two-stroke
parallel twin
Displacement: 249cc
Bore x stroke:
56 x 50.6mm
Compression ratio: 7.4:1
Carburation: 2 x 28mm
Keihin
Claimed power: 55bhp @
10,500rpm
Transmission: Six-speed
Electrics: 12v battery
Frame: Aluminium
twin spar
Front suspension: 41mm
telescopic, adjustable
preload
Rear suspension: Uni-Trak
monoshock, adjustable
preload and rebound
damping
Front brake: Twin discs,
four-piston calipers
Rear brake: Single disc,
twin-piston caliper
Front tyre: 110/70 x 17in
(Bridgestone BT92)
Rear tyre: 140/60 x 18in
(BT92)
Wheelbase: 1365mm
Fuel capacity: 16l
Weight: 123kg dry
(claimed)

Suspension was very good, too – irm without being
harsh, and damped well enough to keep things under
excellent control. Sure, the KR1 could sometimes get a
bit twitchy when ridden quickly on a bumpy road, but
you had to be trying pretty hard to get it seriously out
of shape. he Kawasaki lived up to expectations on the
track, too, with numerous production race victories.
Inevitably with such a focused bike, there were
drawbacks. he KR1 might have been roomy for a
small-bore machine but its thin seat got painful pretty
quickly. he fuel range from the 16l tank could drop
below 90 miles, though well over 100 miles was
possible with more restrained use (though why would
anyone ride it like that?). he motor drank two-stroke
oil almost as fast as petrol, requiring frequent top-ups
of the under-seat tank.
More seriously the KR1 wasn’t the best-inished or
most reliable bike Kawasaki has ever produced. he
fact that many were raced, and almost all were
thrashed, doesn’t excuse the fact that the engine
sufered with a variety of problems including piston
breakage (some riders itted Yamaha TZ250 racer
parts) and blown gaskets. Alloy parts and the exhaust
were prone to corrosion if not well looked ater, too.
One thing Kawasaki can’t be accused of is failing to
update the KR1. Just a year ater its launch it was
replaced by the KR-1S, which featured a new E-box
aluminium frame with diferent construction. New
porting, ignition, the exhaust and other mods added
5bhp, and the already excellent suspension and front
brake were also uprated. It all made the two-stroke an
even faster and more track-ready machine.
Unfortunately for Kawasaki, what it didn’t do was
ABOVE: There was plenty
of grip, with this bike’s
Bridgestones probably
working better than the
rubber that the bike
would have worn when it
was new.
RIGHT: Powerful brakes
benefitted from this
bike’s braided hose.
How much?
Despite having been produced in so they run properly,” says boss Ciaran
relatively small numbers, the KR1 Perrin. Scrufy bikes can be found for
remains reasonably priced compared £2-3000, but restored or very clean
to many Japanese classics. KR1s can be worth £5000-plus, and
Norwich-based specialist Extreme the KR-1S slightly more.
Trading sells many small-capacity “You’d expect to pay £5-6000 for
strokers and it recently advertised one of those,” says Ciaran. “The most
two low-mileage Japanese imports desirable is the rare KR-1R, which has
on its eBay showroom for around bigger carbs and a close-ratio gearbox,
£4000 apiece. and was sold only in Japan. People ask
“For that price we prepare them, £10-12,000 for those, but whether
clean the carbs and fit a new battery they get that much is another matter.”

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 123
make the KR a big commercial success. Despite its Even this well-used bike felt remarkably good, steering ABOVE LEFT: Clip-ons and
performance and many production racing victories, with impeccable precision and slicing through a spartan cockpit gave a
the Kawa sold in relatively small numbers. It perhaps roundabouts at knee-dragging angles. racy feel.
sufered from falling between Yamaha’s slightly slower For a small-capacity machine there was plenty of
but more practical TZR250 and Suzuki’s even more grip, with this bike’s Bridgestones – in respectably ABOVE: The aluminium
radical and stylish RGV250, both of which also wide 110 front and 140-section rear sizes – probably twin-spar frame was
beneitted from more recent grand prix racing links. working better than the rubber that the bike would rigid and helped with
At the end of 1992, ater just four years (and a total have worn when new. he same was possibly true of great handling.
production of no more than about 10,000), the twin the ferociously powerful brakes, because the Kawa’s
was dropped from Kawasaki’s range. It hadn’t lasted inherent advantages of twin front discs and small but
long but had certainly given the irm’s image a boost, eicient calipers were boosted by this machine’s
and become a cult machine for a small group of addition of braided hoses.
enthusiasts. he era of 250cc two-stroke race-replicas It all added up to a deliciously quick, agile,
is gone for good, but while bikes like the KR1 survive, responsive and enjoyable bike that felt ready for a track
they won’t be forgotten. day, and had the potential to make every road ride feel
he KR1 looked good whether in this bike’s red, like a grand prix. One short blast on an example as
white and black or the more typical Kawasaki good as this was enough to make it clear why the KR1
combination of white, light green and blue. his bike’s earned its small but enthusiastic following.
exhaust was from the later KR-1S, with light colour
and aluminium cans, rather than the original KR1’s
black system with steel cans. But the bike was
otherwise standard and in good condition for its age,
its speedo showing just under 20,000 miles.
he handlebars were clip-ons mounted below the
polished top yoke, while the pillion seat was a thin
piece of foam coloured red to match the plastic seat
hump. hat pillion perch didn’t look remotely inviting
but the KR1 was surprisingly roomy once I’d climbed
aboard. Its seat was low but the footrests weren’t so
high that the bike felt cramped, especially as there was
quite a stretch to those low-slung clip-ons.
At a standstill the Kawasaki seemed almost
ridiculously light, slim and manoeuvrable, thanks to
its claimed dry weight of just 123kg. Starting was
efortless, with the lightest of pressure required on the
kickstarter to bring the two-stroke crackling into life,
with a puf of smoke and that two-stroke smell.
Pulling away was easy enough, too, though the little
liquid-cooled engine was slightly rough until it had
warmed up, and even ater that its low-rev response
was feeble. he Kawasaki choked and wheezed below
5000rpm and pulled more strongly from that point,
though still without any real enthusiasm… until its
tacho needle hit about 7500rpm, when the bike came
to life in classical two-stroke fashion.
Suddenly it had the sound, fury and aggression of a
grand prix bike, screaming forward with the needle
licking towards the 11,500rpm redline while my let
boot jabbed at the gearlever to keep up. And the
chassis performance was well matched to the engine.

124 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962

 REFLECTIONS

XHAUST EAT ANDLEBARS FAIRING

A
his KR1 is standard apart espite its autheentic lip-ons mounted under he streamlined full fairing
om its exhaust system, ce-replica style e, the KR1 he top yoke gave the ould almost have come
hich is from the later anaged to inco orporate a R1 a racy riding traight from a racebike,
R-1S and has silencers lim pillion pad in
nto the osition, in conjunction nd contributed to the
ade from aluminium ail section of its
s ith a slim seat and Kawasaki’s impressive
stead of steel. treamlined seatt unit. - trests. traight-line speed.

NGINE FRAME FRONT BRAKE

he 259cc
2 c, liquid-cooled That substantial Twin discs and four-pot
arallel tw
win engine aluminium twin-spar calipers generated
corporated a rame was very rigid fierce stopping power
ide-loadin
ng six-speed or a 250cc production rom a bike weighing
earbbox, and produced a bike, contributing to ust 123kg dry,
aximum o of 55bhp at he KR1’s excellent especially with this
0,50
00rpm m. handling. bike’s braided hose.

If you’re buying one…

Small-capacity two-strokes tend to
have a pretty hard life, so unless a
KR1 has been restored, or at least
has had a recent engine rebuild,
anyone buying one would do well to
give it some attention before adding
too many miles.
“In Japan they don’t get used as
hard as they would over here, but I’d
still advise an engine strip-down,
because it’s easy enough to do and
not very expensive,” says Ciaran
Perrin from Norwich-based specialist
Extreme Trading.
Kawasaki’s parallel twin didn’t have
a great reputation for reliability, but
it’s worth remembering that most of
them were ridden hard, if not actually
raced, and that early problems such
as the piston failure will almost
certainly have been sorted long ago.
“One weakness is the oil pump gear,
which snaps its teeth,” says Eric
Sawford of St Neots Motorcycles in
Cambridge, who has owned and sold
numerous KR1s.
Spares haven’t been produced for
years and are becoming hard to find,
but after-market firms can supply
many engine parts.
“You can get crankshafts rebuilt
and cylinders recoated,” says Eric.
“The generator is a weakness but
we’ve had them rebuilt by Electrex
from Oxfordshire.
“The KR-1S was high-maintenance
even when it was new, so you really
have to look after them now, but that
wouldn’t put me of. I’d buy one
tomorrow if the price was right.”

www.mslmagazine.co.uk 125
126 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962
www.mslmagazine.co.uk 127
Classified
BMW F800R SPORT Sept 2015,
new model, full sport spec, full
BMW s/h, 5,800 miles, £5600 Tel.
07933 399663.
HARLEY-DAVIDSON 1981,
Sturgis Shovelhead 1340cc, reg
1991, Q-plate, age related plate,
owned 25 yrs, MoT 2010, £5000.
Tel. 01403 261263. Sussex.
HONDA XL600V-T Transalp,
1996, 58k, MoT Nov 18, new
susp, brakes, bearings, tyres,
battery etc, receipts total over
£800, h/grips, two keys, £1595
ono. Tel. 07503 038787. Worcs.
KAWASAKI GPX900R A1 1984,
vgc, MoT till May, I have owned it
since 2009 and have used it
regularly, Tel. 07462 465074.
Email: paulsherman654@gmail.
com Powys.
KAWASAKI ZZR600 E1 1993,
lots of history, 22k, lots of money
spent, 25 yrs old in March of this
year, first year of manufacture,
(05195 of 20k), £1850. Tel. 01784
461961 p/x, why? Surrey.
Classic Bike
insurance
0800 781 9318
Carole Nash Insurance Consultants Ltd
is authorised and regulated by the
Financial Conduct Authority.
128 mslmagazine.co.uk
BMW R80RT Combination,
1984, Hedingham single seater, ,
75k, running nicely, V5C, £4550
Can deliver if required. Tel. 07798
866071. Email: peter paulmoore@
hotmail.co.uk Middx.
HONDA 650 DEAUVILLE 1999,
only 5000 miles, high screen,
excellent condition, MoT until
Autumn 2018, £2500. Tel. 07749
800597. Lincs.
JAWA CLASSIC 350cc, 2009
(59), 12k, MoT Dec 2018, auto
lube, e/ign, e/start, large top box,
screen, legshields and h/ guards,
vgc, £1595 ono. Tel. 01253
712783. Lancs.
KAWASAKI KLE 500 54 plate,
good condition, 10 months MoT,
new tyres, 29,500 miles, good
solid bike. Tel. 07950 705477. N
Wales.
MOTO GUZZI NEVADA 750cc,
2016, 16’ reg, one owner, rack,
top box, panniers, screen, c/bars,
alloy rims, towbar/elecs, immac,
£5295; Camping trailer £495.
£5295. Tel. 079130 32864. Yorks.
SUZUKI RGV250 VJ22, 1991,
vgc, engine rebuild 200 miles ago
plus uprated power valves and
cables, new wheel bearings, rear
tyre, 23,000 miles, £4250. Tel.
01384 831042. W Mids.
DUCATI ST2 2000, 944cc,
15,000 miles, just serviced with
new belts, brake pads, oil, filter,
high-CCI battery, Wolf cans, sold
with year’s MoT, £1800. Tel.
07788 442155. Somerset.
HONDA CD175 A5, 1976, blue,
MoT Oct 18, frame p/coated
engine, rebuilt new rims and tyres
plus various other new parts,
£1595 ovno. Tel. 07504 176095.
Suffolk.
KAWASAKI 600cc, 1996, 5,000
miles, shaft drive, exc cond, inline
four, MoT and service at point of
sale, suit mature rider, genuine
reason for sale, £1750. Tel. Bill
07572 931129. W Sussex.
KAWASAKI KLR600 Trials/Dirt
bike, needs engine rebuild, loads
of work done & new parts fitted,
offers around £650, no swaps or
p/xs, collection only from Suffolk.
Tel. Ian 07951 231173.
ROYAL ENFIELD Bullet Classic
EFI, 500cc, 2015, maroon, only
300 miles, £2900 ono. Tel. 07813
164109.
SUZUKI SV650S yellow, 2000,
stunning, only covered 9,600
miles from new, lots of nice
extras, rides like new, dry stored,
dry ridden, £1500, no offers. Tel.
07816 457774. Cambs.
DUCATI ST2 1997, ‘P’ reg, exc
cond, 23k, standard exhausts
and colour matching panniers
included, reluctant sale (owned
for 5 yrs), MoT, £1995. Tel. 07810
162057. Northumberland.
HONDA MSX125 GROM, 2017,
black 1,760 miles, bought last
Feb, moved on to bigger machine
so needs a new home, £2200.
Tel. 07956 910505. Lancs.
KAWASAKI EL250 1993, 15,560
miles, Givi screen, new front tyre,
very smart bike, MoT, £1150. Tel.
01642 827041. Middlesbrough.
KAWASAKI ZRX1200R 2005,
vgc, 37k, Eddie Lawson colour
scheme, Akropovic exhaust
system, numerous other AM
parts fitted, offers around £2999.
Tel. 079060 42771. Notts.
SUZUKI GSX1100G 1994, shaft
drive, genuine 3,800 documented
miles, all old MoTs, service book,
handbook, £4100 may p/x for
mint VX800. Tel. 01686 626925;
07929 671979. Powys.
TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE Street
Twin, 900cc, 1680 miles, tinted
screen, one owner. Tel. 07712
282014. Avon.
HARLEY-DAVIDSON lovely
Street Glide Special, pristine
condition, meticoulosly main-
tained, c/w all orig accessories.
Email: gauin101@aol.com USA.
HONDA NC750XAE 2015/65,
white, manual gearbox, Honda h/
grips, bark busters, aftermarket
can, cheap to insure and
economical, 4,500 miles, £4500
Tel. 07791 972895. Cambs.
KAWASAKI ER5 A2 bike new
chain, mirrors, gel battery, tyres,
MoT, 13,600 miles, MoT, blue
handbook, V5 in my name, sell
£750 or swap smaller bike. Tel.
075971 74839. Cheshire.
KAWASAKI ZZR 1100cc, D,
(1993), owned 23 yrs, Devil full
race exhaust system and BND
can, dynojet and K&N progres-
sive fork springs, gc, £1850 ono.
Tel. Chris 07951 189218. Herts.
SUZUKI RF900 Super Sport,
long MoT, recently serviced, inc
f&r sprocket and chain, plenty of
tread on tyres, 51k miles, vgc.
Tel. 01454 324033. Bristol.
TRIUMPH SPEED TRIPLE 2009
Speed Triple, gc, 19k, GPR high
level end cans, plus orig parts,
MoT, tyres, good chain and
sprocket good, £4500 ovno Tel.
07979 281730 for more info.

TRIUMPH T595 Daytona, 1998,
30,399 miles, exc cond, fsh,
recent new tyres, battery and
front fork seals, rear hugger, grab
rail, tank protector, bar risers,
MoT. Tel. 07594 549355. Wilts.
TRIUMPH THUNDERBIRD 900
2002, 22k, fantastic cond, lots of
Triumph accessories, inc engine
bars, rear rack and back rest,
centre stand, £3300. Tel. 07903
971021. Mid Glam.
TRIUMPH TIGER 800XC 2011,
12,093 miles, just had 12k
service, very clean standard, one-
ish owner Tiger, non ABS, £5250
ono for more details. Tel. 01969
667416. N Yorks.
YAMAHA FZ6-S FAZER 600cc,
blue, 20,633 miles, fully serviced,
lovely runner, one owner since
new, new battery, three keys,
touring screen, £1895. Tel. 07760
558213. Cheshire.
For sale
CHINESE/JAPANESE 250-600
4-stroke single or B175 Bantam,
roadworthy cond, non-std/
scruffy ok, up to £1100. Tel.
01892 836154. Tonbridge.
YAMAHA FJR1300 parts for
sale, stainless radiator guard,
£10; orig shock absorber, £10;
r/brake caliper with mounting
plate, £55; TDM900 orig screen,
£5; Suzuki GSXR K3 clip on
bars, £35. Tel. 07939 192627.
W Mids.

Parts for sale

YAMAHA T-MAX 500cc Maxi
scooter, exc cond, full s/h,
heated grips, h/grips, MoT, new
stainless exhaust, tyres, backrest,
£2100. Tel. 07437 834917.
jcar41@aol.com
MOTOGUZZI NUOVO parts,
frame, forks, wheels (new tyres),
reasonable offers for the lot, was
to be Bobber style. Tel. 01978
842668. Wrexham.
YAMAHA TDM900 2005, Latvia YAMAHA TRACER 900 red, YAMAHA VIRAGO 535XV, 1995, VN1500 1994 (M) 52k, v reliable,
registered, 50k km, great April 2016, one owner, immac, 27,999 miles, if you want a Virago owned 20 yrs, 90% spare engine
condition, FUEL exhausts and full s/h, 6,500 miles, extras, this could be the one for you lots of extras incl, new unused
unused originals, £2800 Tel. comfort seat, rack, fenders, etc, loads of chrome, in top condition, rear tyre, only £2000. Tel. 07958
07976 564312 for a call back. £6250. Tel. 07516 527870. Glos. MoT July 2018, MoT’s from new, 548396. Surrey.
Essex. £1250 Tel. 01322 294027. Kent. SUZUKI T250 NOS cyl barrel, left
hand, £100 Cash on collection
only. Tel. 07504 176095. Suffolk.

Wanted
ANY MAKE OR SIZE CLASSIC
M/C WANTED any condition
from a basketcase to one, nice
condition, cash waiting. Tel.
07811 189755.
YAMAHA VIRAGO XV750 S reg, YAMAHA XT600E 2003, £1650. YAMAHA XV VIRAGO 535 for YAMAHA YDS7 1971, good
in lovely condition, 8k, current Tel. 01784 461961 part ex, why? sale, 60k + miles, no MoT but still compression, pipes are saveable, Parts wanted
MoT, never seen rain, always Surrey. runs well, £550 ono. Tel. 07757 twin leading shoe f/brake, match MATCHLESS/AJS TRIALS
garaged, ready to cruise, £2250. 141030. Notts. engine and frame nos, £750. Tel. petrol tank wanted, any cond,
Tel. 01303 875349; 07717 07867 904777. Email: cb. also BTH mag for Rudge 250.
820388. Kent. shipley@hotmail.co.uk Derbys. Tel. 01978 842668.

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mslmagazine.co.uk 129
 On the subject of
Moto Gymkhana
Tony Carter

H
ave you ever seen some sort of
sporting event on two wheels and
thought: You know what, that looks
like a bit of a laugh – I quite fancy
doing that?
I’m not talking about MotoGP
or British Superbikes (they look
amazing but unless you’ve been riding since two-
years-of-age and have a million quid to spend, that
route is out of reach of most people) but something
a touch slower, easily accessible and fun to do.
I’m talking about Moto Gymkhana. he high
energy, high skill motorcycle sport that is a time trial
around a course of cones (pylons, as they’re called
in Japan) and is sublimely beautiful to watch and
incredibly hard to do well.
And so it was that a plan was hatched whereby
Mikko, myself and young Ross would jointly pool cash
and buy a bike, learn this Japanese art of bike handling
of the highest order and – no doubt – be bathed in the
glory that such things deliver.
he bike bought is a P-plate Bandit 600. Lovely and
simple to ride, there’s no electronic gizmos to get in
the way – or help us out (delete as appropriate). he
bike will wheelspin if leant over too far and there’s too
much right wrist, the carbs cough and belch if you
close or open the throttle too harshly and the bike’s
overall dimensions and riding position are spot on for
Moto Gymkhana.
With the irst championship round happening on
April 21 at Donington, we igured that there should
be some training undertaken before we took on the
rather complex course against the clock. It might look
PHOTOGRAPHY: Gary D Chapman
Tony’s been out playing with Mikko
and Ross. And then sulking for a bit,
afterwards.
simple to do but, well, isn’t. Andrew from the Moto
Gymkhana championship arranged a couple of days of
training for the three of us. We duly turned out with
Who is the bike and our warmest kit on a very cold period in
Carter? March and set about learning as much as we could.
We started with the basics around a couple of cones.
A former MSL editor,
Tony has been a
A big igure of eight, ive times around each cone and
motorcycle journalist then stopping in a inish area. Easy eh? Well, it’s not.
since 1994. Since You may be reading this thinking: “Come on Tony,
then he’s worked it’s a few times around a cone… how hard can it be?”
for or Edited a load I’m telling you, it’s hard. When was the last time you
of motorcycle titles did 10 times around cones as fast as you can? For me,
including on-road, about 25 years. And time hasn’t been kind.
racing and of-road We progressed to big slaloms, small slaloms, ofset
publications. slaloms, 270º turns, 360º turns and multiple rotations
Tony has tested around a cone with the bike banged onto its lock
hundreds of stops. Don’t touch the clutch. Use the back brake to
motorcycles around pull the bike onto the turn.
the world and has left “What you’ll ind is that you’ll be able to apply the
copious amounts of back brake, constant throttle and no clutch and the
skin on various foreign bike will articulate like a truck – the front wheel will
roads. go into the turn against the stops and the back wheel
He is a Taurus and
will remain still. he front wheel will rotate 360º and
loves long walks in
the back wheel remains stationary,” said Andrew. hen
the rain. He’s also
he showed us this piece of skill. I can’t tell you when I
obsessed with two-
last saw something as sexy on a motorcycle.
strokes and Star Wars.
Putting a clock on each rider only made us stupidly
competitive through the cones too. As you’d expect.

“he fastest guys can do a full rotation around

It wasn’t going well for Tony.
Bandit vs cones with Ross in the hot seat.
a cone in about two seconds,” added Andrew.
hink about that. In the time it takes to count two
mississippis you’ve stopped the bike, got it turned in
on the lock stops, drawn the back brake in enough to
help the turn, balanced the throttle and put the bike
through a 360º rotation. hat’s fast.
At the end of our time with Andrew a few things
were clear: Mikko is superb at this, Ross is very good
and I’m rubbish in such a huge way that every time
I do this in the future many people will laugh in my
general direction. Moto Gymkhana really should be
part of every motorcyclist’s life because it gets you
thinking about what your bike can and wants to do
in a very diferent way and if a photographer keeps
taking photos of you getting frustrated, don’t be afraid
to vent at the lensman.
If you’re at the irst round of the championship we’ll
see you there. Do come and say hello. I’ll be the one
melting with embarrassment at his own rubbish skills.

130 Motorcycle Sport & Leisure – established 1962