Australian Motorcycle News

NORTON’S LAST HURRAH before financial ruin struck in 2020 was the unveiling of its supercharged Superlight SS. Now new details have emerged that show the SS could play a major role for Norton’s new owners, Indian giant TVS. First revealed with very l

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 Sir Alan Cathcart, Michael Scott, Ben Pu

WHILE THE OLD Monster 797 and 821 have dropped from the range, Ducati is listing the Monster 1200 and 1200 S as 2021 models although they’re only approved to Euro-4 emissions standards and as such will only be able to be sold next year under end-of-s

CFMoto's Zeeho electric sub-brand is planned to go on sale in China this year and reach Australia in 2022. The concept debuts Zeeho’s 10kW water-cooled motor delivering 0-50km/ h acceleration in 2.9 seconds and a top speed of 110km/h. ■

Congratulations to Deborah Rankin from the ACT suburb of MacGregor, who picks up the loot for (almost) correctly indentifiying the bikes in each picture. She named the R 1250’s front wheel as the F 850’s, but she was the closest, so we’ll pay it! Ans

Honda, still glowing with pride after its 2020 Dakar, Moto3, MXGP and TrialGP victories, has revealed its goal for 2021 is to win “all the world’s major titles” ■

Kawasaki-owned Bimota is nearing production of its cut-price KB4 model. Powered by the 1000cc four-cylinder engine from Kawasaki’s Z1000, the KB4 is undergoing ABS brake testing (above) and another image shows the KB4’s dash is borrowed wholesale fro

Sydney rider Mark Anderson has become an internet sensation after posting a photo on the Australia Spider Identification Facebook page of a huntsman that hitched a ride in his helmet. Lucky it wasn’t a funnel-web! ■

Beauty doesn’t come cheap but that hasn’t stopped MV Agusta’s Superveloce Alpine selling out just hours after its internet launch. There may have been 110 up for grabs but the $58,400 price tag didn’t put many buyers off. As its name suggests, the Su

150 Is how many years of motorcycling are represented at the five-month-long exhibition called The Motorcycle: Design, Art, Desire at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA). ■

THE LATEST EPISODE in Suzuki’s long-running saga to replace its current middleweight V-twin engine reveals it will power a range of models, including the V-Strom Adventure bike. For over seven years Suzuki has been developing a circa-700cc parallel t

MODEL 2018-10 Kawasaki Ninja H2 IMPORTER Kawasaki Motors Pty Ltd NUMBER OF AFFECTED MOTORCYCLES 103 ISSUE The Engine Control Unit (ECU) programming may not control the gear shifting process properly when the transmission gears are not properly eng

ASBK’s 2020 Superbike winner Wayne Maxwell’s V4 R Ducati was sponsored by Boost Mobile, a brand not normally associated with motorcycling. Aussie Lachlan Epis gets a full-time gig in the BSB Superbike class for 2021 riding for the NP Motorcycles Lext

THE EXCELSIOR-HENDERSON brand is almost inexplicably famous despite a chequered past and now it appears set for a comeback with Indian giant Bajaj. Trademark rights have been applied for in Europe and India, with intentions to use the Excelsior-Hende

1. Some cock in a visor and Rossi t-shirt celebrating the Doctor’s seventh premier class title at the penultimate round of the championship in Sepang. 2. The Continental test track, affectionately known as the Contidron where testers reach speeds o

Anonymous reader venting about the racket that Harley riders appeared to be able to get away with making. ■

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. ■

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If you are a fan of racing – particularly of Twins racing (no, not Sam and Alex Lowes) – this should be a snack. There are five differences between these two pics of some luscious hardware. Pick all five and Fred could be sending you an AMCN neck soc

Name Pete Vorst Height 186cm Weight 104kg “Right, I’ll see you under the balls at 10.45 on Friday Morning.” That’s not quite as strange as it sounds. ‘The balls’ belong to the Big Merino located in the New South Wales town of Goulburn and ‘you’ r

WELCOME TO THE love affair. If you’ve got the courage, fitness and fresh rubber, superbikes are guaranteed to coerce you into a riskier version of yourself. The V2 is uncannily stable in rolling corners with an engine that will make you believe you’r

Capacity 1103cc Type V-four, DOHC, 16 valves Bore & stroke 81 x 53.5mm Compression ratio 14.0:1 Cooling Liquid Fueling EFI Transmission Six-speed Clutch Wet, multi-plate Final drive Chain Power 157.5kW @ 13,000rpm Torque 124Nm @

A bit better looking than its big brother and handles almost as well. All-round smaller and less intimidating than the V4 Uncomfortable after a short amount of time, the sidestand is in a ridiculous position and, if you own testicles, how would you

Capacity 955cc Type V-twin, DOHC, 8 valves Bore & stroke 100 x 60.8mm Compression ratio 12.5:1 Cooling Liquid Fueling EFI Transmission Six-speed Clutch Wet, multi-plate Final drive Chain Power 114kW @ 10,750rpm (claimed) Torque 1

BMW’s in-house engineers were developing their own ‘off-road’ bikes and created a prototype, without any official direction from the top. This prototype bike gained attention, management gave it the go-ahead and the GS was born. Crazy to think this i

1980 The original R 80 G/S was launched to selected press in the south of France. It created a new segment – off and on-road appeal and abilities. The single-sided swingarm was a big highlight. 1987 BMW increases capacity and the completely new GS,

Capacity 1254cc Type Flat twin, DOHC, 8 valves Bore & stroke 102.5 x 76mm Compression ratio 12.5:1 Cooling Liquid Fueling EFI Transmission Six-speed Clutch Wet, multi-plate, with anti-hop Final drive Shaft Power 100kW @ 7750rpm (cl

“LIFE TOOK A positive turn for the good with an opportunity to race in Japan for the Moriwaki Company. I arrived mid-summer for the inaugural 1978 Suzuka 8-hour race, and was shown my mount, a Z1B superbike with straight bars, not clipons. During pra

Capacity 1135cc Type Inline four, DOHC, 8 valves Bore & stroke 74 x 66mm Compression ratio 11.5:1 Cooling Air Fueling 4 x 32mm Keihin CR smooth bore carburettors, with 80mm bellmouths Transmission Five-speed Clutch Wet, 8 friction plat

THE MESSAGE DIDN’T quite come draped in tinsel or with flashing multi-coloured LEDs, but was about as plausible as a flying reindeer. It read: “Marc Marquez’s post-operative clinical situation has been deemed satisfactory by his medical team in Madri

WE’RE SUPER HAPPY. I’m a bit overwhelmed, it’s a massive dedication not just from me but also my family. It’s been a massive, massive challenge for everyone… especially when we turned up at Wakefield and I saw that smiling assassin on the Honda. It a

It’s been a weird year, I didn’t ride much at all in Australia and I was in hotel quarantine when we heard the final round would be at Wakefield Park. So I called Glen Richards and we put a little team together. After the win on Saturday I didn’t hav

Wayne Maxwell had intonations of retiring before the COVID-19 pandemic, but now with the success of 2020, one further year may be too hard to resist. Maxwell said it will come down to available budget and help from Ducati. “We don’t have enough finan

I HAD NO expectations for this weekend, but I didn’t want to play it too safe. My main goal was to secure the championship. It’s strange racing the younger guys… Carter Thompson is a great rider who has had barely any track time, and he is already up

WITH THE R3 Cup not running at the Phillip Island round, the series was held with results from the Wakefield Park rounds only. Carter Thompson (GTR MotoStars Team) was the star, taking pole position and three race wins. “The OJC was great preparation

MARIANOS NIKOLIS TOOK a clean sweep on Saturday, taking maximum points to lead the bLU cRU Oceania Junior Cup. He held a 20-point advantage over Tom Drane going into the final day with Cameron Dunker just one point behind. Nikolis, a 13 year-old dirt