Australian Motorcycle News

REGARDLESS OF the weather wreaking havoc on this year’s Australian GP schedule, no one can deny that there was still some fabulous racing action across the weekend, in both wet and dry conditions. It was fascinating to watch Jorge Martin streak away

Editor Dean Mellor Deputy Editor Kel Buckley Sub Editor Hamish Cooper Road Test Editor Pete Vorst Founding Editor George Lynn Art Director Brendon Wise Sir Alan Cathcart, Michael Scott, Ben Purvis, Mat Oxley, Neil Morrison, Adam Child, Gold&Goose, Go

THE TMW is a running machine created by volunteers from Yamaha’s motorcycle testing division. It’s a tilting three wheeler, a bit like the Niken or Tricity, but with the engine and rear-end from a TW125 and huge, off-road wheels and tyres. Its two fr

IT ALSO previews an electric, two-wheel-drive scooter, dubbed ELOVE, that uses the Advanced Motorcycle Stability Assist System (AMSAS) that Yamaha unveiled earlier this year. The original prototype for that was an R3, featuring an electric motor moun

THEN THERE’S the E-FV, another volunteer side-project, this time creating an electric mini racebike using the powertrain from Yamaha’s TY-E electric trials bike. It’s a pretty basic electric track machine, but has a builtin sound system using Yamaha’

WORD FROM Japan is that Honda has two high-powered litre models coming to its 2024 line-up in the form of a revamped version of the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade and an all-new CB1000 Hornet that features the last-gen Blade engine. Starting with Honda’s rang

HONDA HAS released the first details of its new E-Clutch system – an automated clutch that will allow you to ride without ever touching the lever – and it looks set to reach production soon on the next generation of its CB650R. Although Honda hasn’t

HONDA’S RC-E concept bike was a star of the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show and harks back to an era when electric bikes were still an oddity rather than something becoming increasingly the norm. A new patent application shows that lessons from the RC-E are st

DUCATI HAS unveiled yet another special-edition Multistrada, this time called the Multistrada V4 RS. As well as some carbon-fibre parts and a titanium seat support, the RS boasts what Ducati calls “unique and exciting livery… with references to MotoG

In a rumoured seven-figure deal that would make him the highest paid Superbike rider at that time, Aussie bad-boy Anthony Gobert announced that he had re-signed with Muzzy Kawasaki for the 1996 WorldSBK season. Gobert courted interest from Ducati, Su

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In senior high school, Phil Aynsley was a slightly nerdy science whiz and model aircraft maker with the ambition to be an air-traffic controller. Then he spent $850 to buy a silver Ducati Desmo 250. School mates gathered around it five deep. Instant

YAMAHA HAD two of the base-model Ténéré 700s on hand to jump on and compare to the World Raid version. After spending a majority of the day riding the World Raid I took off on the Ténéré for a rough hilly section. Straight away I noticed how soft the

READING THE specification sheet or jumping off one of Yamaha’s adventure-ready rivals, you immediately notice the minimal electronic features on this model. These days features like traction control, different throttle opening modes, heated grips, he

THE ZX-4’S BEATING heart is based around the bottom end of the four-cylinder ZX-25R, which isn’t coming Down Under. The 399cc in-line four has a squat bore and stroke measurement (57 x 39.16mm) so it’s designed to rev. To help it reach its mental 16,

THE ZX-4R DOESN’T have any rivals if you’re comparing spec for spec. Honda has its CBR650R, which runs an inline four and has a similar price to the ZX-4R and, of course, there’s Kawasaki’s own ZX-6R, which is a couple of grand dearer. Yamaha only of

499.6cc 35kW/45Nm 170kg (dry) $9890 ride away 313cc single 25kW/28Nm 164kg (kerb) $7990 +ORC 449cc parallel twin 37kW/39Nm 165kg (kerb) $7790 ride away 471cc parallel twin 34kw/43Nm 192kg (kerb) $8999 + ORC 451cc parallel twin 33kW/43Nm 176kg (kerb)

We ride motorcycles knowing they’re not as safe as other forms of transport but have benefits that tip the risk/reward balance in favour of the latter. Whether it’s for the heightened experience or the practicality of their compact size, motorcycles

Cameras and radars, used together, bring us to the next logical step – steering-assist systems. Once again, the cue comes from cars. We’ve already reached a tipping point when, in some markets, the first truly self-driving cars are hitting the road.

Fox Sports, Kayo and Videopass 27-29 OCTOBER Check website and local guides MotoGP heads to Thailand as part of a frenetic few weeks racing around Asia. The MotoGP Sprint kicks off at 6.30pm Saturday (AEST), then Sunday’s racing starts with Moto3 at

Phillip Island Ride Days / 0490 281 840 Phillip Island, Vic Sydney Motorsport Park Ride Days/0490 281 840 SMSP, NSW Murray Valley Training Co 0459 415 787 Barnawartha North, Vic Champion’s Ride Days (07) 3287 4144 Broadford, Vic Collie Motorplex, WA

THE NEW seat cover arrived, the replacement for the ripped one on the old R75/5. So did the aluminium trim straps that go around the bottom edge. They’re all shiny and new! They don’t look like they belong anywhere near the worn and weathered bike an

IF QUALIFYING showed signs of nerves, Martin banished them come the Sprint. He jumped a place on the run to the first turn to sit fifth behind Viñales, Marini, Quartararo and Binder. With the fastest Ducati men either injured or qualifying well behin

ANY CHAMPION must overcome adversity. And Pedro Acosta (Ajo Kalex) showed once again he is well on course to collect this year’s crown at a canter by securing his third victory in the past four outings. This was another weekend when the gifted Spania

WHEN YOU FIND yourself in a dark place, given competence and willpower, you can generally find a way out. As long as you can find the torch. Nobody can doubt that Honda Racing Corporation, currently in a very dark place, lacks competence and willpowe

DENIZ ONCU (Ajo KTM) won a tense Moto3 race held in horrible conditions after nicking first place from perennial runner-up Ayumu Sasaki (IntactGP Husqvarna) on the last lap. The two men eventually broke clear of two others after long-time leader Adri

NOT FOR THE first time, the weather on Phillip Island impacted the running of the Australian Grand Prix. With high winds forecasted for Sunday, the feature race was switched to Saturday, with the Sprint to be held on the following day, and the Moto2

OF ALL THE riders spoken of as possible title contenders in Moto3 this year, Diogo Moreira (MSI KTM) has perhaps been the most disappointing. Without a podium since race two, his season was in danger of fizzling out. But the 19-year-old produced the

WHAT WOULD ultimately be the end of Sunday’s action was held in the worst conditions of the year. And for the first time in weeks, the Moto2 title fight took a twist as Tony Arbolino (Marc VDS Kalex) scored a timely first victory since May, while ove

DIRECTLY AFTER the British Superbike finale at Brands Hatch, Jason O’Halloran was off to Donington for a test on the Kawasaki ZX-10RR. O’Halloran, still in his McAMS Yamaha leathers, said it was purely a shake-out to get an idea on ergonomics and the

THE FINAL TWO rounds of the Australian Off-Road Championship at Dungog belonged to Jonte Reynders who, with clear air in the hot, dusty conditions, set the fastest time of the day on his Sherco 300SEF; taking the Outright and E2 Division wins on both

THE FINAL ROUND of the 2023 FIM World Rally Raid Championship – the Rallye Du Maroc – was won by KTM-mounted Toby Price, however his victory fell short of bridging the points deficit to Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna), who had inherited the title lead