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Motorcycle
World Supersport Championship underway with another Ten Kate Honda win
By Mike Hanlon
February 26, 2006 Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR rider Sebastien Charpentier started his championship defence in the best fashion possible by winning the first race of the World Supersport Championship at the Losail circuit in Qatar yesterday, scoring pole position, leading every one of the race's 18-laps and setting a new lap record on the way. The Frenchman ran out a five second winner over Kevin Curtain who debuted Yamaha’s ride-by-wire 2006 Yamaha YZF-R6. Perhaps the most promising aspect of the race was that despite the speed of the well-sorted Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR, the new Yamaha was very fast and competitive though it is sill very early in its development. The third generation YZF-R6 looks like it has the goodies to take the race to the dominant Ten Kate team and the talents of Charpentier. Read More
Round 1 of World Superbikes promises spectacular year
By Mike Hanlon
February 26, 2006 The World Superbike and Supersport Championships got underway on Saturday at the Losail circuit in Qatar, and already the indications are that both championships will see a much closer result than last season. Troy Bayliss returned to the Ducati Xerox superbike team after three years in MotoGP, and after the first two races of the year he leads the title with 40 points (two second places) from 2005 Champ Troy Corser’s Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra and James Toseland’s Winston Ten Kate Honda which both scored a win and a fourth place for 38 points. Had it not been for a first race crash by Yamaha Motor Italia rider Noriyuki Haga, who took out Corser’s Suzuki teammateYukio Kagayama with both riders battling for the win, the vastly improved Yamaha might have taken the win. With at least four makes capable of winning, the 13-round, 26-race series looks set for yet another year of spectacular racing. In the Supersports class Yamaha’s ride-by-wire 2006 Yamaha YZF-R6 debuted with a second place and promises a realistic threat to dominant Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR rider Sebastien Charpentier as the season unfolds. Read More
Ducati's Monster 695 entry level bike capable of thrilling experts
By Mike Hanlon
February 23, 2006 Ducati’s ability to make performance motorcycles that are easy to ride is uncanny. It’s original mid-range L-twin, the Pantah 500, was both an ideal learners machine yet the basis for many a sweet-handling racebike. Now the newly announced Ducati 695 represents a unique offering in the world of motorcycles and in the Ducati Monster family in much the same way; it is a motorcycle that is welcoming to novice riders but, at the same time, is capable of delivering a level of performance that can thrill far more advanced riders. While becoming the new entry point to the Monster family, Ducati claims the Monster 695 will transform a motorcyclist into a Ducatista, a member of the Ducatisti tribe of fans whose motorcycle looks, feels and sounds like no other. The Monster 695, a preview of the Model Year 2007, replaces the 620, and is a quantum leap forward in terms of handling, riding pleasure and performance. The potent new 695 cc L-Twin delivers much greater horsepower and torque – the highest output per cc of any Ducati air-cooled engine – while producing smoother and more fluid power, making every twist of the throttle exciting and satisfying. Read More
Motorcycle land speed record attempt aims for 530 km/h plus
By Mike Hanlon
February 22, 2006 A Suzuki Hayabusa-engined motorcycle – the “Ack Attack” – will attempt to break the 16-year-old FIM land speed record at South Australia’s Lake Gairdner in early March. With conditions at the spiritual home of land speed racing (Bonneville USA) not up to scratch in 2005, Californian-based Mike Akatiff has decided to shoot for the record in Australia, with the initial run planned at first light on March 6. The record attempt will be the highlight of the 2006 Lake Gairdner Speed Trials, which runs from March 6-10. The streamliner, designed by Akatiff and constructed at the Akatiff-owned ACK Technologies (an avionics emporium) in San Jose, is powered by two turbo-charged 1300cc Hayabusa engines producing around 900 horsepower, which are ensconced in chrome moly tubing and a predominantly carbon-fibre skin. Read More
BMW Motorrad's enhanced Rallye 2 Pro suit
By Mike Hanlon
February 21, 2006 Any motorcyclist embarking on worldwide travel or riding in difficult conditions has a tough decision to make when it comes to their choice of protective rider clothing. It's easy for a clothing manufacturer to claim that their products are good enough to wear for riding around the world or even competing in events such as the infamous Dakar rally. However it is far better to let those who actually wear them in these situations to comment on their effectiveness. Perhaps it is no coincidence that last year saw many adventure and competition motorcyclists choose to wear BMW Motorrad's Rallye 2 suit. It is an uncompromising item of equipment for serious riding and is designed to resist and beat climatic adversity, physical abuse and extreme terrain. Now, BMW Motorrad has launched the brand new 2006 Rallye 2 Pro suit – a direct replacement for the popular Rallye 2, and the first BMW textile suit to offer enhanced body armour across the shoulder, elbow, back, knee and hip areas. Read More
Ducati Hypermotard voted the Best Design trophy winner of 2005 by the Motorcycle Design Association
By Mike Hanlon
February 18, 2006 The Motorcycle Design Association, a group of designers and professionals from within the two-wheel industry worldwide, has voted the Ducati Hypermotard, designed by Pierre Terblanche, as the best overall motorcycle design trophy winner for 2005. In winning the best overall design award, the Hypermotard scored 50% more votes than the runner-up, the Yamaha MT-0S concept bike. The MT-OS won the concept bike category with Honda’s DN-01 and the Victory Vision tieing for second place. The Hypermotard’s award follows on from the ‘Best of Show’ award it won at the EICMA Show in Milan last November, one of the most important shows worldwide for the motorcycle industry. The Hypermotard also won the Open bike category, from Bimota's Delirio and BMW's HP2. Yamaha's R6 won the supersport category from the Motocycsz C1. Read More
Honda rumoured to have turbo 1800 VTX ready
By Mike Hanlon
February 15, 2006 Reports emanating from informed sources suggest Honda is about to release its first turbocharged motorcycle in a quarter of a century with a turbocharged version of the VTX Concept 2 (pictured) which debuted at the Chicago Show in 2004. Designed by HRA (Honda R&D Americas) in Torrance, California, the bike is reported to have use a turbocharged version of the existing Honda VTX motor, which would give it a power output of 110 to 120 kW and brutal acceleration. We loved the existing VTX 1800 when we rode it, describing it as “capable of thunderous acceleration”, and that was with the standard 75 kW motor – imagine how the bike will accelerate with 110+ kW! No doubt the new bike is a reaction to the extraordinary success of the Triumph Rocket III, and quite clearly, the new VTX would offer similar mid-range grunt to the big British triple, with an all-important bigger top end. Read More
BMW working on electronic traction-control for motorcycles
By Mike Hanlon
February 11, 2006 BMW Motorrad released a very interesting statement this week. The statement came with an accompanying image of a high powered motorcycle which BMW has developed to test a number of areas at the outer limits of motorcycle performance, encompassing research into lightweight construction, high performance aerodynamics and the “highly dynamic processes in engine and driving dynamics management under extreme conditions.” Examples of the latter include traction control systems which “will be introduced for powerful motorcycles in serial production in the years to come” according to BMW. BMW says the traction control and BMW’s Anti Lock Braking (ABS) system “will form part of an integrated concept to increase active safety.” BMW says that, “by conducting in-house development such as this, engineers benefit from the expertise derived from Formula 1 and BMW’s technology leadership in the field of electronics.” Read More
Kawasaki unveils 2006 Ninja ZX-RR
By Mike Hanlon
January 31, 2006 The official colours of the various MotoGP teams are beginning to emerge with Kawasaki unveiling its new 2006 Ninja ZX-RR machinery in official colours at Phillip Island today during the opening day of the three-day official MotoGP test at the Australian circuit. Almost a year in development, the new Ninja ZX-RR MotoGP machine has been designed from the ground up by Kawasaki's engineers, based on the lessons learnt since the Japanese factory returned to top flight competition at the end of 2002. The new bike features a 990cc, inline four-cylinder engine that is significantly more compact than previous versions, housed in a chassis that Shinya Nakano declared a major step forward in terms of handling when he tested it at Sepang. Read More
KTM rolls out the go-anywhere motorcycle – the 990 Adventure
By Mike Hanlon
January 30, 2006 In the recent Dakar Rally, which is surely the toughest and most dangerous motorsport event regularly held in the world, KTM motorcycles won for the sixth consecutive time, filling the first eight placings. Less than a month later, KTM has unveiled its new 990 Adventure – a motorcycle derived directly from the Africa-conquering experiences of the marque over the last six years, but with all the roadgoing niceties you’d like to have if you were travelling say, from Paris to Peking overland. Indeed, if wherever you’re going is a long way and very rough, the KTM Adventure and its Dakar-dimensioned Adventure S (35mm more ground clearance and 35mm taller seat) are now the most likely candidates for the job. The Adventure was unveiled to the world press yesterday. Our favourite quote from the release goes to the winner of the 2006 Dakar event, Cyril Despres: "At 190 km/h through knee-deep sand you have to feel confident on your bike. After more than 10,000 kilometers the 990 Adventure is practically a part of you." Read More
Buell introduces XBRR Production Racing Motorcycle
By Mike Hanlon
January 27, 2006 Erik Buell and company have come full circle with the introduction of the 2007 Buell XBRR, a limited-edition production racing motorcycle designed exclusively for closed course competition. A spiritual successor to Buell’s first motorcycle, the 1983 RW750, the new XBRR is poised to change the face of privateer racing with a professional-level, race-ready, production-based platform featuring top-shelf racing technology and typical Buell innovation. The full-fairing Buell XBRR features a modified XB Thunderstorm 1340cc (103.6mm bore x 79mm stroke) air/oil-cooled V-Twin motor rated at 150-hp (measured at the crankshaft). The engine is fed by a dual-downdraft 62mm throttle-body electronic fuel injection system and a ram-air intake system integrated with a new wind-tunnel developed carbon fibre fairing. Read More
Victory Vision 800 Concept promises a new era for American motorcycles
By Mike Hanlon
January 24, 2006 Victory Motorcycles have traditionally crafted motorcycles of the big V-twin cruiser, Harleyesque genre, but the signs are beginning to point to a more diverse product range in the not-too-distant future. The boutique American motorcycle manufacturer is beginning to flex some of its parent company’s muscle and has released a concept motorcycle that is VERY different – a long-wheelbase, 800cc, 4-stroke, liquid-cooled, parallel twin with a cast aluminium alloy frame, constantly variable transmission and radical yet arguably very practical styling. Given that parent company Polaris recently purchased a 24% share in Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM, don’t be surprised to see a serious new player in international motorcycle markets before the turn of the decade. Read More
Ducati 2006 MotoGP bike unveiled - 235bhp, 148 kg
By Mike Hanlon
January 20, 2006 – At the beginning of each racing season, just before the engines fire in anger for the first time after the Christmas lull, Ducati’s MotoGP team and Ferrari’s Formula One team share an annual appointment on the mountains of Madonna di Campiglio in Trento with a media and ski get-together - the formula of the event revolves around skiing in the mountains together with a round of press meetings and conferences. This year Ducati took the opportunity to pull the wraps off the Desmosedici GP06, the new MotoGP machine that Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau will be campaigning this season. A rare insight into a new MotoGP machine - 235 bhp at 16,500 rpm and a dry weight of just 148 kilograms Read More
Paul Smart Replica - the investment you can enjoy while it appreciates
By Mike Hanlon
January 18, 2006 Ducati’s announcement a few weeks ago that the 2006 Paul Smart 1000LE’s entire production run of 2000 units had been made and there would be no more produced, made it clear that the value of each and every one of those machines would continue to appreciate forever more. The Ducati V-twin race heritage is without peer, with 241 World Superbike Championship wins - more than all the other manufacturers combined. But two wins stand above them all – Mike Hailwood’s comeback win at the Isle of Man on June 2, 1978 and the very first V-twin race start, on April 23, 1972 when Paul Smart led a Ducati 1-2 in the Imola 200. The race bike spawned the Ducati 750SS and now three decades later, the VERY limited edition Paul Smart Replica. At US$18,000, it offers a gilt-edged investment that’s faster than the original race bike. Read More
Ready to race HUSQVARNA SM 450RR Limited Edition
By Mike Hanlon
January 11, 2006 Supermotard is a form of motorcycle racing and a genre of motorcycle which has only evolved in recent years, finding popularity in France in the mid-eighties and spawning factory-produced models from serious off-road motorcycle manufacturers in the nineties. Essentially off-road motorcycles with modified suspension and slick tyres, Supermotards are perhaps the most controllable of all motorcycles at medium and low speeds on tarmac and hence they have grown in popularity with roadgoing motorcyclists the world over, simply because they are very relevant to real world speeds and conditions. Recognising this, the FIM has now sanctioned a world championship and, predictably, the first “works replicas” are now emerging – bikes that are identical to those ridden in world championship events. The winningest marque on the World Supermotard scene is the Italian Husqvarna, and the company has produced 50 limited edition replicas of the motorcycle Eddy Seel used in the World Supermoto Championship in 2005. The SM450RR will be competitive at any supermotard race meeting, straight out of the crate. Read More
Dakar Rally Day 5: KTM versus KTM
By Mike Hanlon
January 5, 2006 KTM’s dominance in the motorcycle section of the Dakar Rally continued yesterday with the fierce competition in the class now focussed between the Gauloises (second, third, fifth) and Repsol (first, fourth, sixth) sponsored KTM teams and a monumental battle between the teams’ lead riders, Cyril Despres (Gauloises KTM) and Marc Coma (Repsol KTM). Yesterday Despres carved 3 minutes and 41 seconds from Coma’s lead during an 800 km stage down the Adraa Valley in Southern Morocco, but Coma still leads the rally by one minute 25 seconds. KTMs fill 13 of the first 14 places on the leaderboard with one third of the rally distance covered, with only the two-wheel-drive Yamaha of David Fretigne (seventh) preventing a complete whitewash of the results. Read More
Suzuki B-King 600 Streetfighter unveiled
By Mike Hanlon
December 13, 2005 It may not be the 250 bhp turbocharged 1500cc B-King we’d been hoping for, but it’s at least using the B-King styling. It’s the latest “street fighter” and Suzuki took the global wraps off it this week - the much-anticipated all-new GSR600. Like all the new aggressively-styled naked bikes, the GSX-R600 hopes it can bring its unique qualities to the new breed of motorcycle. The culmination of an exciting engine and chassis design program that aimed to create a sporty motorcycle in which ‘modern art meets race technology’… the result is edgy styling and comfort seamlessly blended with performance, technology and handling that is first-class.” Based on the race-proven powerplant of the GSX-R600, the high-performance, liquid-cooled GSR600 engine is tuned for a broader powerband and more low-and mid-range torque. Read More
MV Agusta new Brutale 910R wins best of show award in Milan
By Mike Hanlon
November 29, 2005 The recent 63rd International Motorcycle Show in Milan coincided with the sixtieth anniversary of MV Agusta, one of the most successful and exclusive motorcycles in history. Though MV Agusta ceased competing in MotoGP 30 years ago, its total of 37 world titles is still second only to Honda and far greater than that of familiar winning marques such as Yamaha (32), Suzuki (15) and Aprilia (7). To celebrate the anniversary of the launch of the first MV Agusta, the company showed two new models at Milan: The F41000 SENNA and the BRUTALE 910R. The former was created as part of the current agreement between MV Agusta and the Senna Foundation and only 300 limited edition models will be manufactured with a proportion of the proceeds from sales going to the Foundation for underprivileged young Brazilians. The naked Brutale 910 R has its roots in racing machines and with a liberal sprinkling of carbon fiber and elite equipment such a the new Marzocchi 50mm forks, it just reeks of exclusivity. The bike was voted the “Most Beautiful Motorcycle” of the show, garnering 19.6% of show attendee vote ahead of the new ride-by-wire Yamaha YZF-R6 (13.4%), Ducati’s Monster S4RS (5.5%), Bimota’s Delirio (4.7%) and BMW’s HP2 enduro bike (4.4%). It’s not surprising – the BRUTALE 910R has improved performance, better braking and the dynamic handling characteristics of a full race machine – in a roadbike package. Read More
New BMW 1200 has 25% more power, 10% less weight
By Mike Hanlon
November 16, 2005 BMW has rolled out an all-new replacement for the R1100 S at the Milan EICMA Show – the new R1200 S is the most powerful production Boxer (horizontally-opposed twin) the world has ever seen, with 25% more power than its predecessor and 10% less weight. With this new sports bike, BMW fully expects to tempt riders away from Japanese and Italian ‘supersport’ machines that it believes are too closely modelled on factory race bikes, to actually work in everyday riding conditions. Despite the R1200 S’s undoubted track capabilities an overwhelming number of owners will only ever ride the S on the road. With its sporty but relaxed riding position, the new bike’s strength is its practicality and versatility over other machines of the sports genre. All the usual fea-tures so typical of the brand complete the wish list of many BMW fans, such as a fully controlled catalytic converter, the single-wire system for the on-board network, an electronic immobiliser, maintenance-free shaft drive with a single-sided swinging arm, and Telelever front wheel suspension. Read More
Bimota’s DB6 Delirio – 170 kilogram work of art
By Mike Hanlon
November 16, 2005 Italian motorcycle manufacturer Bimota unveiled a new model at Esposizione Internazionale del Motociclo (EICMA), which opened in Milan, yesterday. The 1000cc DB6 Delirio is based on the DB5 Ducati-engined superbike, with a similar trellis frame and trellis swinging arm. Although the bike is similar to its faired sibling, and indeed was designed by the same Sergio Robbian, there are many differences, the most notable being a dry weight of just 170 kilograms. With 90 horsepower at 8500 rpm, the DB6 is likely to offer solace for those who cannot wait for the Ducati Hypermotard, having some very similar characteristics. Read More
Ducati Hypermotard Concept Bike and 130bhp Monster
By Mike Hanlon
November 16, 2005 Ducati used the opening of the EICMA Motorcycle Show in Milan yesterday to show two new motorcycles – one you can buy and a concept that Ducati is considering for production. The bike you can buy (as a 2007 model in 2006) is the new king of the naked bike class, the MONSTER S4RS TESTASTRETTA, a minimalist machine powered by the legendary Testastretta engine which has won several World Superbike championships and puts 130 brake horsepower on the tarmac (150 bhp with an optional exhaust). Equally as delectable and appealing as the S4RS was the Hypermotard concept machine – an extension of the supermotard class of machines using an air-cooled 1000 Dual Spark engine and weighing in at just 175 kilograms. EXTENSIVE IMAGE LIBRARY OF THE NEW MACHINES Read More
BMW K 1200 S sets 175.57 mph World Land Speed Record
By Mike Hanlon
November 14, 2005 A 2006 production model BMW K 1200 S has set a world land speed record in the 1000 - 1350 cc stock, partially streamlined, naturally aspirated motorcycle class at Utah's famed Bonneville Salt Flats. The motorcycle, piloted by 56-year-old Andy Sills, of San Francisco, CA, reached an average speed of 173.57 mph and top speed of 176.789 mph after two runs on the vast, white plains, where hundreds of land speed records have been set and broken since the early 1900s in a variety of automobile and motorcycle classes. The BMW is not the fastest production motorcycle in the world though – the soon-to-be-released 1400cc Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14 will be the most powerful and the fastest production motorcycle in history when it hits showrooms in the next few months. Just for the records, the most powerful roadgoing motorycle in the world is without a shadow of doubt this 700bhp Hayabusa, and the fast motorcycle speeding ticket ever registered is 205mph by a Honda RC51. Read More
Young Guns Set To Load MotoGP Bullets
By Mike Hanlon
November 10, 2005 Elite motorcycle racing has many similarities to Formula 1 but it also has many differences, and perhaps the starkest contrast became evident on the Valencia racetrack in Spain yesterday just three days after the last race of the 2005 season. Formula 1 driver changes are major announcements in exotic locations. In MotoGP, all of the rider changes that had been rumoured and spoken of in hushed terms for the previous three months were suddenly on display as the first official test session for 2006 got underway. Honda’s big hope for 2005, Spaniard Sete Gibernau, was riding a Ducati. More significant though was the absence of many of the senior names which have monopolised the key factory rides for the last five years and in their place a half dozen or more new riders who have surfaced though 125, 250 and superbike – Pedrosa, Vermeulen, Stoner, Divizioso, Luthi, De Punier, Kiyonari and Neukirchner were among those who got their first chance on the ultimate racing machines yesterday as the Japanese factories (primarily Honda) made it clear they were seeking the next Valentino Rossi. Extensive image library Read More
Landing gear for the MotherShip
By Mike Hanlon
November 4, 2005 Throw a leg over the BMW K1200LT and the magnitude of the motorcycle suddenly hits you. It’s the reason why the bike has a reverse gear and why our test crew dubbed it “the Mothership” when we tested the bike. Even the largest of males needs to find firm footing to wrestle the LT’s near 400 kilograms around at standstill. Misjudge yourself on gravel and the LT will topple over and you’ll need a bar full of able-bodied men to get it upright again – unless you have Doken’s Touch-Down system fitted. The 4500 Euro system was shown for the first time at the Tokyo Motor Show last month. Read More
Yamaha introduces ride-by-wire motorcycle
By Mike Hanlon
October 31, 2005 Yamaha recently released the details on its 2006 R6 Supersport motorcycle. It has a fuel-injected 599cc four cylinder engine with four titanium valves per cylinder and revs cleanly to its 17,500 rpm redline, making maximum power of 133bhp at 14,500 rpm – that’s 221 bhp per litre – roughly the equivalent of a front-running MotoGP bike. It’s engine also has a slipper clutch as standard and it is the first production motorcycle with a ride-by-wire throttle. That’s right – there are still throttle cables but they run to a computer, not the carburettor slides. Read More
Sam Munro
- November 26, 2009 @ 08:08 UTC
