Issue 166

Australian Road Rider

The real ride

Australian Road Rider1 min read
Online At Roadrider.com.au
Have your say by letting the editor and the ARR readership know what you think about any article or motorcycle-related topic. There are numerous letters already there, mostly relating to articles in recent issues. Being a bi-monthly, the lead times a
Australian Road Rider1 min read
Australian Road Rider
EDITOR Nigel Patersonnpaterson@umco.com.au ART DIRECTOR Martha Rubazewicz REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS Geoff Seddon, Brian Rix, Phillip James, Ian Neubauer, Dominic Graham, Chris Daly EDITORIAL roadrider@umco.com.au SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES mailorder@umco.com.
Australian Road Rider2 min read
Yamaha Launches Electric Scooters
Yamaha is about to start selling electric scooters, but despite the eye-watering cost of fuel, you can’t have one. The E01 with its fixed on-board battery is going onto the market in Europe, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand as a proof-
Australian Road Rider2 min read
The Track-spec Panigale V4
Finished in ‘Winter Test’ livery (black with red trim, very similar to the colours used by the race teams during the off-season winter tests) and equipped with all sorts of advanced technology and special parts, the new Ducati Panigale V4 SP2 machine
Australian Road Rider3 min read
The Strange Year Ahead
A combination of natural disasters and a truly human one have combined to make 2022 a very, very strange year. First it was COVID-19, but that’s still with us – our graphic artist Martha is off work as I write this, crook with a dose of Omicron. At l
Australian Road Rider1 min read
Competition
One less cylinder, a little less power and $1500 cheaper, the MT-09 is worth a look. The MT-10 is more than $5000 pricier… If you wanted one in green, this is it: spec for spec there’s not a hell of a lot to separate the two machines, although on bal
Australian Road Rider5 min read
More Than Dressed Up
If there was one sporty bike which I thought would never be available with a fairing, it was the Speed Triple, the bike Triumph initially promoted with a Rottweiler. When it was first launched it was a naked beast of a machine – all no-nonsense attit
Australian Road Rider8 min read
Blue Terrier
Rip out a few wheelies. Drop a rolling burnout or two. Set some lap times. Commute to work. It won’t do everything, but the new Suzuki GSX-S1000 will get your heart pumping, will function as exceptionally fun transportation and will do it all for a m
Australian Road Rider3 min read
Fuel Misers
As I write this the war in Ukraine is in full swing – two European countries in a ground war. I never thought that would happen in my lifetime, but Vladimir Putin is a nutcase dictator who doesn’t know what’s good for him or his people. But enough of
Australian Road Rider10 min read
Gold Class
The music is pumping, the cruise control set, six cylinders running at low revs creating no perceptible vibration and a giant fairing is in front of me, punching the breeze out of the way. Gold Wings are built for this. Adding a friend on the back wo
Australian Road Rider1 min read
A Reader’s Bike
When Australian Road Rider reader Andy Price emailed me to see if I’d like to ride his Speed Triple RR and 1994 Daytona Super III, I couldn’t book a flight to Melbourne fast enough. Ride the latest Speed Triple – which I wouldn’t be able to get a rid
Australian Road Rider1 min read
Competition
With its rubber-mounted big twin powerplant, slammed rear end and Batwing fairing, Harley’s idea of a Bagger is really similar while being very different. An inline six powers BMW’s Bagger – it’s smooth, torquey and powerful. Lots of high tech featur
Australian Road Rider2 min read
Carplay
Music, maps, calls, podcasts and more are taken care of on the Gold Wing via Apple Carplay or Android Auto – if you don’t have those you’re stuck with radio and paper maps. In some countries, the Gold Wing comes with a GPS navigation system, standard
Australian Road Rider2 min read
Lc8 Engine
As it approaches 20 years of production, the LC8 has become an iconic engine (the first 950cc variants came to market in 2003). Over time it has morphed into the current 1301cc, Euro 5-compliant bruiser, and the Super Duke receives the most powerful
Australian Road Rider9 min read
A Special Beast
180 horsepower, 180 kilograms: that’s a formula for extreme performance, which the KTM Super Duke 1290 RR delivers, in spades. Usually only found in race-replica superbikes, those sorts of power-to-weight ratios are at the cutting-edge of production
Australian Road Rider5 min read
Passing Phase
Located as I am somewhere along the East Coast of Australia, it wasn’t much of a summer for riding. It rained and it rained, but I did get in at least one memorable run along the Putty Road with some like-minded friends. The occasion was a Ducati Own
Australian Road Rider1 min read
Competition
More power, less torque, same weight (both 180kg dry), a four-cylinder option based on the Panigale racer. Prospective owners can’t ignore this incredibly powerful Ducati. If you’ve got 12K, there’s an SP version… A rocketship machine that is a littl
Australian Road Rider1 min read
Competition
Offered in both high output and LAMS versions, the R7 is cheaper but heavier, less powerful and has no electronic rider aids beyond ABS. Unfaired but featuring a 765cc 3-cylinder motor, the Street Triple RS has an Öhlins rear shock, more power and si
Australian Road Rider10 min read
A New Italian Twin
With incredible punch to launch you out of corners, an SWC-derived chassis built for stiffness and a compact nature which makes it one of the smallest in its class, the Aprilia RSV4 is an amazing machine – but it’s also too powerful, too expensive, t
Australian Road Rider1 min read
The Lams Version
If you don’t have a full licence, there is a LAMS version of the RS 660 available, and it’s $500 cheaper than the full power version – but you lose half the power! Because the RS is so light, keeping the power to weight ratio below the required 150kW
Australian Road Rider3 min read
Teo’s Italian Love Affair
Anyone who knows Moto Guzzis in Australia has heard of Teo Lamers. In fact, in the 1980s, anyone in Europe who loved Moto Guzzis knew of Teo and his dealership in the Netherlands. His passion for the marque is legendary. Many have experienced Teo’s E
Australian Road Rider4 min read
The Moment Collectors
SAM MANICOM AND FRIENDS Tribes. Like it or not we all belong to them. You can love, hate or tolerate being a member of a tribe, sometimes all at the same time. You might love your family tribe but have a love/hate relationship with a brother or siste
Australian Road Rider9 min read
South Of Adelaide
There is a fantastic triangle of roads in the Adelaide hills you can ride in either direction many times and not get bored. A mixture of roads that twist and turn along the floor of a narrow winding valley before climbing steep hills to roll up and d
Australian Road Rider7 min read
Instant Classic
Despite various modern conveniences like fuel injection, electronic ignition and anti-lock brakes, Royal Enfield’s new 350 Classic doesn’t feel very modern. Some will find it slow, ponderous and uninspiring, but that’s OK – it’s not for them. This bi
Australian Road Rider4 min read
Fly Ride Wa
Western Australia is big … incomprehensibly large, really. At 33 per cent of the Australian land mass it’s bigger than most countries around the world, and you’re not going to see it all by motorcycle. For a start, most of it isn’t accessible by bike
Australian Road Rider1 min read
Competition
Styled like a scooter from the 1960s, the SuperCub is gorgeous. It’s only a 125, but it won’t lose out too much in performance to the Classic because it’s much lighter – and it’s even easier to ride. Bigger, heavier and stronger than the Classic 350,
Australian Road Rider2 min read
West Coast Motorcycle Hire
Perth is further from Melbourne than London is from Moscow. As someone who has ridden across the great divide, I can say it’s a fabulous place to visit, but I also know it’s a long, long way. If you live on the East Coast, you’d need to allow three w
Australian Road Rider7 min read
Staying Dry
Keeping the rain out is a priority in winter, because being wet and cold is a really easy way to ruin your whole day. Although the choices available seem never-ending if you start looking at what gear is available, staying dry on a bike really comes
Australian Road Rider2 min read
Breathable, Waterproof
Thirty years ago, when touring Malaysia, I noticed the locals turned their jackets back-to-front when it started raining. It was something I didn’t at first understand … until I realised they were trying to keep the water out without letting the day’
Australian Road Rider4 min read
Whatz New
AGV has supplied Australian Road Rider with one of its top-of-the-range Pista GP RR helmets for review, but there’s so much to talk about with this very special hemet we thought we’d go through some of the tech and features before Phil James even put
Australian Road Rider7 min read
Your First Track Bike
You can take the bike you own to a racetrack for an advanced riding school or ride day, and Australian Road Rider encourages you to do so – you’ll learn lots about riding fast and smooth, braking and lots more, even if you’re not getting trained (alt
Australian Road Rider4 min read
A Pair Of Triples
For someone who worked in aviation for most of his career, riding fast bikes must feel pretty close to flying – and Andy Price likes powerful bikes and has a few in his garage. Andy contacted Australian Road Rider recently, offering to let us compare
Australian Road Rider1 min read
That Bike Of Yours
Every issue we’re giving away this beaut pack of Motul cleaning gear worth $49.95. All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is send us a pick of your shining steed and we’ll pick what we think is the best shot and comment and the top blok
Australian Road Rider2 min read
Last Look
Look back in time and you’ll find vehicles, fuel or both were expensive … in many ways they have been getting cheaper, in real terms, pretty well since the invention of the internal combustion engine. A hundred years ago, for example, were the halcyo

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