Australian Motorcycle News

THERE ARE SO many reasons to be blown away by Joan Mir’s epic 2020 title win, an incredible achievement for both him and Suzuki. The pair of them tamed the Michelin tyres better than anyone, and no one was more consistently fast – yet the poor bloke

Editor: Sam Maclachlan Deputy Editor: Kel Buckley Sub Editor: Phil Branagan News Editor: Hamish Cooper Staff Journalist: Pete Vorst Founding Editor: George Lynn Art Director: Paul Andrews Designer: Joe Ferrara Production Manager: Ian Scott Advertisin

IT’S THE FIRST production bike to boast a dual-radar setup, following the launch of BMW’s 2021 R 1250 RT with its front-only radar – but it’s not standard issue. The radars give the Multistrada V4 S adaptive cruise control that can keep pace with veh

CFMOTO HAS JUMPED into the electric-powered market with the launch of a motorcycle aimed at the Chinese police force. The 300GT-E police bike is the spearhead of a technical development program that will include a range of renewable-energy vehicles.

AMCN has teamed up with the industry’s leading brands to take the guesswork out of finding that perfect gift this Christmas. Set your sleighbell alarms for Monday 23 November, which is when our comprehensive online Chrissy gift-getter goes live. Flip

Between now and 14 December, buyers of Super Soco’s CUx scooter (including the Ducati Special Edition) get six months of free registration. ■

This was a popular one. But Dave Lynch from Wentworth Falls in New South Wales takes the spoils! Answers for AMCN Vol 70 No 10 ■

Norton is planning to phase out the current Commando model with an end-of-series production run of the 961 next year. ■

The UK’s BSB will widen its Supersport 600 class for 2021 to include twins and triples. Hey... let’s try that in the ASBK. Arai helmet importer Cassons is one of several companies adapting to the Covid reality with a revamped website that makes sizi

› MODEL 2020 Harley-Davidson LiveWire Model (built from March 2019) › IMPORTER H-D Australia Pty Ltd › NUMBER OF AFFECTED MOTORCYCLES 41 › ISSUE The software in the On-Board Charging (OBC) System on affected motorcycles may initiate a shutdown of the

VALENTINO ROSSI’S BESTEST pal and personal assistant Alessio ‘Uccio’ Salucci was asked to front up to court to testify in a case involving a German based cocaine ring. The plod bailed Uccio up when they learned the Doctor’s brother from another mothe

“THE REAR PART OF MY FENDER WAS NOT MOUNTED, AND WHEN THE RAIN GOT HARDER, A LOT OF WATER HIT THE ENGINE COOLER AND THE EXHAUST, THE RISING STEAM MISTED MY VISOR” Anthony West explains the reason for his disappointing 11th place at the Spanish Moto2

Include your full name, address and glove size in your letter, via post or email. Long letters will be cut to fit, so don’t ramble. Oh, and the views expressed by readers here are not necessarily those of the editor. ■

Again we return to the 1970s and the Castrol 6 Hour race at the much-missed Amaroo Park (now a housing estate). There are six differences between the pics below, if you can identify them you are in the running for the goodies! EMAIL YOUR NUMBERED AN

Ducati’s part-adventure bike, part-200hp superbike V4 Multistrada certainly put the AMCN bush telegraph into overdirve Don’t Forget #amcn_mag Brett Hodgman’s feelings were a little mixed towards the latest MT-09, with him and many others questioni

Capacity 674cc Type Horizontally-opposed, four-cylinder, two-stroke Bore & stroke 63 x 54mm Compression ratio Not given Cooling Liquid Fueling 1 x Solex carburetor with twin 38mm chokes Transmission Five-speed Clutch Dry, multi-plate

“THIS ONE I’VE built is more accurate than anything else I’ve seen – not that it’s such a big deal. Kim’s bikes have gone, same as him, so let’s just rejoice in what he achieved with them.” Rod Tingate began work on replicating Kim’s racer in the 199

Capacity 998cc Type Inline four, DOHC, four valves per cylinder Bore & stroke 79mm x 50.9mm Compression ratio 13.65 : 1 Cooling Liquid Fueling EFI, Mikuni throttle bodies Transmission Six-speed Clutch Wet, multiplate, slipper Final dr

ACCORDING TO AMCN sources, the top-selling non-LAMS road bike in Australia is to be discontinued in the majority of global markets. Harley’s Breakout has been an immensely popular model in Australia but has simultaneously failed to capture the biking

Capacity 1868cc Type V-twin, DOHC, 8 valves Bore & stroke 102 x 114mm Compression ratio 10.5:1 Cooling Air Fueling Delphi EFI Transmission Six-speed Clutch Wet, multi-plate Final drive Belt Power Not given Torque 155Nm @ 3000rpm

With a production run of just 300 machines, this Italian masterpiece is a blend of mind-blowing performance, Sci-Fi fantasy styling, and the kind of exclusivity only a semi-trailer load of cash can buy In the most unpredictable MotoGP season ever,

BORN 2nd February 1987 LIVES Dunadry, Northern Ireland 2005 British Superbike (Honda) 7th 2006 British Superbike (Honda) 4th 2007 British Superbike (Honda) 2nd 2008 World Supersport (Honda) 2nd 2009 World Superbike (Honda) 5th 2010 World Superbike (H

I CARRIED A Pentax K1000 camera, which was great, basic and robust and used 35mm rolls of film. I only had 36 exposures on each roll so every frame was very precious. I would get the film developed where I could along the way and send the photos home

IF YAMAHA WAS to write a navel-gazing book about their 2020 season, that would be the title. And the sub-head: And without gaining anything either. The first race in Valencia brought the latest blows in a year of perfect storm for the MotoGP stalwart

“I was maybe too careful with the front in the beginning and that allowed a lot of the guys to come through. I just didn’t want to push in the first laps and crash because I struggled to get any temperature into the left side of the tyre early on. I

Circuit length 4.005km Race distance MotoGP 108.135km Moto2 100.125km Moto3 84.105km There’s an old saying in Grand Prix racing; “13,924 days is a long time between drinks”. That is how far back you have to count back to find the last 1-2 result fo

It wasn’t all doom and gloom at Yamaha, however. Valentino Rossi was back at Valencia despite testing positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday. However subsequent tests on Wednesday and Friday came back negative, meaning the 41-year old could return to the t

ANY FEELING 2020 was inching decisively in favour of Albert Arenas (Aspar KTM) took just two laps to come apart. Raul Fernández (Ajo KTM) was trading the lead with Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing VR46 KTM) on the second lap when the Italian high-sided o

4.005km MotoGP 108.135km Moto2 100.125km Moto3 84.105km When Stefano Manzi edged Hector Garzo off the Moto2 pole by 0.013 seconds it sent GP racing’s record books a-fluttering. Manzi’s Forward Racing MV Agusta was the first of the brand to take a pol

“I enjoyed every minute of that race. Franco ran an unreal pace. Mid-race I felt really good and started coming back to him. I was rubbing my hands together. I was unfortunate to come out second best in this one but one day we’ll get it right. We’ve

As predicted by AMCN, Honda confirmed outgoing world champion Marc Marquez would not be present at next week’s finale in Portugal. In fact, fears are now being expressed over Marquez’s fitness for the beginning of 2021 season. Reports are the 27-year

“IF I WOULD have been a film editor and thinking a script for a movie, I wouldn’t think so well,” said team boss Davide Brivio. “The people involved because we started this project a few years ago from zero. We were joined by people, all mechanics, e

FURTHER DETAILS OF Andrea Iannone’s case against the FIM International Disciplinary Court and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have emerged in which the Italian’s defence appeared frightfully underprepared. The Italian saw his ban on the sport ext

Andrea Dovizioso explained the reasoning behind his decision to turn down a number of offers for 2021 and remain free. First and foremost was the fact any offer he received didn’t include a return to a full-time MotoGP seat in 2022. “At the end, to b

BILLY VAN EERDE HAD an up-and-down weekend at Valencia to mark the end of three years in the Red Bull Rookies Cup. The 18-year-old Australian finished race one on the podium with a third-place finish, the best result of the season, but a crash in FP2

AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP meetings for track and dirt track all fell victim to Covid-19 and its restrictions, but New South Wales is likely to stage all of its state championships during November. Kempsey hosted the senior and junior dirt track with lo