Australian Motorcycle News

IT MAY LOOK a bit traditional but the V100 Mandello sports-tourer takes Moto Guzzi into a new dimension. It features the Italian heritage brand’s first water-cooled engine along with adaptive aero bodywork. The 1042cc V-twin engine is more compact th

BENELLI HAS FINALLY unveiled the TRK 800 that we’ve been reporting on for over a year but it won’t be available until the second half of 2022. With the smaller TRK 502 a bestseller in Italy, the TRK 800 is an important model that sits neatly in the h

WHILE THE 2022 CBR1000RR-R and CBR1000RR-R SP don’t get an upgraded engine or revised chassis, suspension or brakes, there are a host of changes under the fairing. A new airbox has been reshaped to improve flow and redesigned intake funnels are now s

COVERING ALL OPTIONS, MV Agusta has entered the adventure market with two models using the Lucky Explorer name. The name harks back to the Dakar rally days of the 80s and the marketing strategy builds on this with high-end and entry-level models. The

NEW KAWASAKI-BASED retro models mark a new phase for Bimota, as it takes on the role of the Japanese giant’s boutique, high-end arm. While the Tesi H2 was the first Kawasaki-engined Bimota since the KB3 of the early 1980s, the KB4 is intended as a mo

APRILIA HAS ADDED a Factory version of the Tuono 660 parallel twin. While power is only boosted from 70kW to 73.5kW, using the RS660-spec version of its twin-cylinder engine, lower gearing will improve acceleration, achieved by adopting, a smaller fr

HONDA IS REVIVING the Hornet name in a modern naked streetfighter that borrows the engine and compact design elements from the Africa Twin. It has only released a vague teaser image but Japanese sources say it will be the CB750S Hornet, with the Afri

KAWASAKI HAS ACHIEVED what BMW, KTM and Ducati hasn’t. It’s hidden the radar tech on its updated 2022 Ninja H2 SX. The full suite of Bosch radar equipment is concealed behind thin, radar-invisible bodywork sections mounted over the sensors. The front

I RECKON FOR many of us 2021 will be a year to forget, with so many disruptions affecting many of the things we take for granted, but there were still plenty of moments that will no doubt be etched into our memories. On the world stage, Valentino Ros

IT HAD TO happen and prototype Royal Enfield cruisers using the existing 650cc parallel twin from the Continental GT and Interceptor have already been spotted being tested in India. Now this SG650 Concept show its intention to challenge Triumph’s Bob

While many of us source a crashed roadbike to turn into a track bike, Valentino Rossi has had all the hard work done for him. His yellow army descended on a rain-swept EICMA carpark to watch Yamaha present the nine-time world champ with what it calls

Access, AMCN, PO Box 6, Bittern, Vic, 3918 access@amcn.com.au Win 5L of Motomuck Motorcycle Cleaner to keep your ride shiny valued at $59.95! Include your full name and address in your letter, via post or email. Long letters will be cut to fit, so do

In 2017, 14 years after the first ‘all-roads’ Ducati bearing the Multistrada moniker hit the market, the firm introduced the Multistrada 950 as a leg up into the Multistradat world Ducati wanted to make that move even easier for 2022 with the Multist

Since 1987 the KLR650 formula has remained mostly unchanged. Robust and reliable, it can do just about anything. The KLR looked like it reached the end of the road in 2018 when it was shelved due to tightening emissions, but Kawasaki deemed it too im

This is a hugely significant bike for Husqvarna as it enters the highly competitive adventure market for the first time with the all-new Norden 901. Under joint ownership with KTM, it will come as no surprise the Norden shares many similarities with

Monsters have never been anything but fun. Coming up for three decades in, nothing’s changed even though everything has changed. Everything except the V-twin engine format, that is. Set out on the Monster and it immediately impresses you with its del

The Hayabusa stands out as the alpha dog in most group rides. This group is no exception as it is the only proper fully faired sportsbike. The Generation 3 Hayabusa was dragged kicking and screaming through the Euro 5 regulations. To do this Suzuki s

Danilo Petrucci is about to do something that’s never been done before – eight weeks after ending his MotoGP career at November’s Valencia GP, riding a 360km/h KTM RC16 on slicks, he will commence his Dakar Rally career on 2 January, riding a 170km/h

When AMCN was granted a blast on a then-unreleased Ducati prototype. Our man Adam Child was given one mechanic and even less details about a 17-inch-wheel shod Multistrada before he was let loose on a small racetrack in Italy. It turned out to be the

You Aussies can be downright bloody exasperating. While you know only too well how to be a pain in the neck if and when you ever beat us Poms at cricket, you’re way too reluctant to take credit for any of your copious achievements as a nation outside

In 1916 two sisters, Augusta (32) and Adeline van Buren (26), became the first women to ride solo motorcycles across America on board Indian’s then-new 1000cc side-valve Powerplus machines. ‘Gussie’ and ‘Addie’, as they preferred to be called, were a

It’s not an easy trick, reading back on it and looking at the pics of myself doing it made me realise how much was actually involved with it. As I said in the opening it’s a process and requires precision. All these things almost need to be done simu

BACK IN 2013, AMCN partnered up with legendary Aussie stunt rider Lukey Luke to bring you a series of how-to articles around some of the genre’s coolest tricks. So when we spotted Aussie MotoGP star Jack Miller bunnyhopping his squillion-dollar MotoG

WHEN IT COMES to ideal conditions for testing a new textile jacket it doesn’t get much better than our 2021 MOTY ride. The first day was mild and raining, the second day was hot and damp and on the third day, the temperature was in the single digits.

THIS IS THE first Arai I’ve ever had on my head. A weird thing to say after more than 15 years in the game, but it’s true. Needless to say my expectations were pretty high when the firm’s Profile-V lid lobbed on my doorstep, complete with a tinted vi

I SOMETIMES struggle to find a comfortable pair of motorcycle specific riding jeans. Getting the right fit always seems to be a drama, and because they are generally heavier than casual jeans, any ‘fit’ issues are exacerbated. When I flicked through

New stuff Cassons Australia From $129.95 (02) 8882 1900 cassonsmedia.com Arai’s Pro Shade system avoids the diminished impact-absorption performance associated with internal sun visors by using an external drop-down sunshade. Pro Shade System shield

TEN YEARS AGO I made my Grand Prix debut at the Malaysian round of the 125cc world championship and AMCN has asked me to tell what actually happened. I was aged 16 and had just finished second overall in the Red Bull Rookies Cup. On the Monday after

AFTER RUNNING WORLDSBK as their main point of focus in 2020, as well as WorldSSP interests, a ‘demotion’ to WorldSSP only saw the Ten Kate Yamaha team win its 10th World Championship as Dominique Aegerter claimed his first. It looked like Steven Oden

IT’S FAIR TO say the 2021 season delivered on all fronts. A year that began amid uncertainty and had multiple rounds struck off – Australia included for the second year running – an 18-race series passed against the odds. And the action on track prom

THE AUSTRIAN GRAND Prix. This was shaping up to be a classic even before rain arrived with six laps to go and unleashed all kinds of madness. Bagnaia, Marquez and Quartararo were locked together in a race-long duel that would have gone all the way. B

THE PAST 18 months have shown the eight-time champ Marc Marquez has lost his midas touch. He was exceptional in parts this year, winning three races with essentially one working arm. But there was a series of mistakes, as he crashed out of podiums (o

THIS YEAR’S MOTO2 World Championship will be remembered for an intense inter-team battle for the ages. Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez won 13 of the year’s 18 contests, sealed seven 1-2 finishes and wrapped up the Teams’ Championship with four races

IT IS POSSIBLE that in years to come 2021 will be remembered for the arrival of grand prix racing’s new sensation Pedro Acosta. The 17-year-old rookie took the Moto3 class by storm, racking up six victories over the course of the year to become the s

ROUNDS ONE AND two of the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) were contested at Victoria’s Golden Beach in April, a venue which just happened to be Daniel Milner’s home patch. It could not have been better for the reigning champion who, ev