Cycle Torque March 2010

FEBRUARY 2010 - 1

MARCH 2010 Contents

features53 A bit of iron butt

42 QuAD torQuE36 book SAlES

reGuLars3-15 nEwS

26 bikE Stuff28 uSED & rEviEwED

24 guntrip32 rAcE torQuE 29 Dirty torQuE34 mAjor EvEntS

22 EDitoriAl33 E-torQuE 39 lEttErS

4016

30 48

5144

CyCLe torque: 02 4956 9820 fuLL detaiLs paGe 34

Cover image: Triumph.

TEST TRIUMPH ROCKET ROADSTER

TEST KAWASAKI KLX110L

TEST SUZUKI

RMX450

FEATURE HUSKY TE450 LONG TERM

FEATURE PROJECT

DAYTONA

FEATURE DUNLOP Q2

LAUNCH

NeWstorque

YAMAHA Australia has announced it will switch its efforts from the Australian Superbike Championship to Formula Extreme series on more production based machines.

There’s also been a change in the line-up of riders, with multiple Aussie champ and World Supersport runner-up Kevin Curtain returning to Yamaha, while Bryan Staring has left the team to join Full Throttle Sports in order to remain in

the Australian Superbike championship, riding a Honda CBR1000RR.

Current 1000 superstock champ Pat Medcalf and current 600 superstock champ Rick Olson are the other members of the team. Yamaha would have started 2010 with No. 1 plates but this may not be the case in the FX series. Curtain will contest the FX1000 and FX600 class, while Medcalf will concentrate on FX1000 and Olson

FX600.

“I can’t thank Yamaha enough for what they did for me last year. I have enjoyed working with them and I’d like to thank everyone on the team for their support. I just feel that the Formula Extreme series is not the direction I need to take to further my career,” said Staring after his recent test on the Honda. n

Yamaha GOES XTREmE

NOT long after Garry McCoy was unceremoniously dumped from the Team ParkinGO Triumph outfit, he’s been given a lifeline in MotoGP.

McCoy will race for the FB Corse team which has built a BMW-designed three cylinder machine, with the frame built by Italian company Oral Engineering.

The trick is that the bike is yet to be accepted by DORNA on a number of fronts, including lap times to see if the bike will be competitive or at least meet the qualifying time cut off.

The 800cc triple is reputed to pump out over 150kW at 18,000rpm, has pneumatic valve operation and a six-speed semi-auto ’box.

McCoy is reported to have done a two year deal with the team and is busy testing the bike. n

Gazza back in MotoGP

NeWstorque

HARLEY MODAVE Mizrahri of Rose Bay, NSW recently took possession of his brand new 2010 Harley-Davidson XR1200X. With 44,633 people raising over $100 each nationally and therefore qualifying for entry into the draw for the XR1200X, Dave was the randomly selected lucky Movember winner. A worthy winner, Dave raised hundreds of dollars for a great cause.

Harley-Davidson Australia partnered with Movember in 2009 to support men’s health and helped raise over $18 million nationally. n

BMW HAS upgraded its venerable Boxer 1200 motor by retooling the cylinder head to incorporate a twin cam design, and the bikes with this new feature go on sale as Cycle Torque goes to press.

The new models with the twin cam heads are the R 1200 RT, R 1200 GS and R 1200 GS Adventure.

The revised engine produces more power and torque from the 1170cc air/oil cooled fuel injected horizontally-opposed twin.

The BMW R 1200 RT range commences at $30,000* for the BMW R 1200 RT LS and is equipped as standard with factory Low Suspension, Radio, Chrome Exhaust, Automatic Stability Control (ASC), Tyre Pressure Control, Heated Grips, On Board Computer, Power Socket and Cruise Control.

The BMW R 1200 GS commences at $21,925. The BMW 1200 GS Adventure is priced from $26,950. n

AFTER showing us a teaser pic recently, Yamaha has gone the full monty, releasing a full pic of the new FZ8.

The talk is the 800cc engine will be very similar to the 1000cc donk used in the FZ1, only with a smaller bore.

It looks as though the FZ8 will use essentially the same platform as the FZ1, with minor changes in areas such as the brakes and other details to help reduce the cost compared to the FZ1.

In fact you would think the FZ8 would have a not insubstantial price benefit over its bigger brother. Because the bike sits between the FZ6 and FZ1 it will be interesting to see whether it will be a big seller or not.

We expect there will be naked and faired versions but we won’t know exactly until full details are released from Yamaha, not long after we go to press. n

FZ8 breaks cover

TWIN CAM BOXERS ARRIvE

FZ8 breaks cover

NeWstorque

GERMAN motorcycle customising firm LSL Motorbike Technology has joined forces with Triumph to produce a Bonneville café racer and a Street Triple titled the ‘War Bird’.

Both bikes are based on production machines, with the Bonneville-based ‘Tridays Edition’ boasting trick Remus pipes, race-style seat, YSS suspension and a plethora of smaller touches. Only 20 of the bikes will be built.

The Street Triple also has a host of modifications to set it apart from run of the mill Street Triples, although anyone who’s ridden a Street Triple would hardly call them anything but run of the mill.

It’s painted to mimic a P51 Mustang fighter plane from WWII. There’s extra bodywork, aftermarket exhaust system, Öhlins shock and so on.

At this stage the Tridays Bonneville is available through Triumph dealers in Germany, the Street Triple by special order. If you want one bad enough, and why wouldn’t you, check out www.lsl.eu, or www.tridays.com.

Just sell one of the kid’s kidneys, you know you want to. n

Tasty Trumpies

MULTIPLE Australian Motocross, Supercross and Thumper Nationals Champion Craig Anderson has formed Craig Anderson Racing and from 2010 ‘Ando’ and his teammates will run Husqvarna’s TC motocross machinery.

After disappointing results over the last two seasons Anderson saw it was time to take control of his destiny, on and off the track. “This has been coming together for a while, it has just been low key really, I haven’t said too much about it. I have had the Husqvarna bikes since mid December and have been going about my business.”

“My wife Katrina and I will own and run the team, Al Gillian from CMNG services is my personal sponsor from last year and is helping get the truck set up while my dad has been helping out a bit, everyone is chipping in,” Ando says of the team structure so far.

When asked about his choice of machinery Ando had this to say: “I was at KTM when they first started out, and man we got bagged out bad, people saying ‘why are you riding them, they are crap’, and look at where KTM are now. We will work on getting the Husqvarna up to speed and getting the bikes up the front. I am really looking forward to it, Paul Feeney is a good guy and a racer himself and he knows what is going on.”

Matt Ryan will race for CAR in the Australian MX Nationals and the SuperX Series on Husky’s all new 2010 TC250. “Matt is a young guy who has a good attitude and wants to do well, he is a hard trainer and a smart kid. We thought of him, he had a couple of good results last year in motocross with a couple of top ten’s,” said Anderson of his young charge.

– Darren Smart

Ando and Husky Team Up

JAMES ‘Bubba’ Stewart is out of the 2010 AMA Supercross Championship after injuring his wrist at the Phoenix round of the series, after which he had surgery on Friday, January 29.

Stewart suffered the broken wrist after ‘scrubbing’ a triple while mid pack during his heat race at Phoenix, leaving privateer Kawasaki rider Kyle Partridge nowhere to go but to land on the back of Stewart’s factory Yamaha YZ450F. Both riders crashed hard and it took the best part of the race to get Bubba off the track before the superstar wobbled back his pit area to be attended by the medical crew.

Stewart did return to the track to win the LCQ at Phoenix before being involved in an incident with Chad Reed during the final that left Reed with a season-ending broken hand and a $5000 fine (which was later appealed and revoked). Despite Stewart’s dangerous riding antics throughout the Phoenix event that resulted in injuring two other riders, he has yet to be fined or penalised in any way by the AMA.

Stewart then rode Anaheim 2 a week later to a solid third but according to his team he was still in pain. “James is a true champion, the fact that he rode as competitively as he

did making the podium at Anaheim 2 with a broken wrist (unknowingly) is testimony to that. He’s anxious to heal and get back on the race track as soon as possible,” said Larry Brooks, Team Manager.

Also with a hand injury is Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Chad Reed, who will sit out the majority of the 2010 AMA Supercross Championship after he underwent surgery to repair his broken left hand suffered in a crash with Stewart at round two of the series at Phoenix.

“This will be the first time Chad has ever missed a supercross,” said Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Manager Mike Fisher. “I know Chad wants to be racing. His surgery went really well and will start his rehabilitation as soon as he can. We want him to be 100 per cent when he returns so he can put his Monster Energy Kawasaki on the podium.”

Riding Reed’s Kawasaki while he’s out injured will be privateer Kawasaki racer Nick Wey.

“Nick is a really good fit for the team,” said Monster Energy’s Fisher. “He has been riding with Ryan during the week and he is already familiar with the bike. Nick is a good rider. I’m glad we were able to work with his current team to get him on our Monster Energy Kawasaki team. Wey, who is originally

from Michigan, has scored four supercross class podiums and previously rode for the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team from 1998-2000.

“This is a great opportunity for me,” said Wey. “I want to thank everyone at my team for letting me ride for the Monster Energy Kawasaki team while Chad gets better. I’m going to get some testing in this week and I’ll be ready for San Francisco.”

Wey will join the team beginning at AT&T Park in San Francisco for the fourth round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM Championship.

– Darren Smart

Bubba scrubbedReed scratched

NeWstorque

RIDING the Stefan Everts-developed KTM 350SX-F for the first time in competition, Antonio Cairoli has won the first international motocross event on the 2010 calendar held at Mantova, Italy on February the 7th.

This was the 27th running of the Mantova Starcross which is seen as an important opportunity for riders and teams to ‘blow out the cobwebs’ after a long off-season and with all of the top MX1 and MX2 riders on the track at the same time it is an action packed three race program.

Suzuki’s Steve Ramon, Honda’s Jimmy

Albertson and Cairoli led the star studded field during the early stages of the opening moto but it wasn’t long before the diminutive Cairoli worked his way to the lead and eventually winning the race ahead of David Philippaerts (Yam), Marc De Reuver (Suz), Shaun Simpson (KTM), Jonathan Barragan and Ramon. Simpson was the first of the MX2 riders.

Cairoli easily won the second moto from Clement Desalle (Suz), Tanel Leok (Hon), Ramon, De Reuver, Albertson and Simpson who once again brushed aside many of the top MX1 stars on his KTM 250SX-F.

The third moto was without doubt the most exciting race of the day with the hard charging Tanel Leok leading the opening laps from Ramon, Desalle, Cairoli

and Albertson. Leok was riding with a lot of confidence on the new 2010 CRF450R and managed to hold on for a well-earned win despite a huge effort from Desalle and Cairoli who finished the final race in that order.

– Darren Smart

Cairoli Wins Mantova

Phot

o Ka

was

aki

RC UNIRICKY Carmichael University (RCU) will hold the first of a series of uniquely styled motocross and supercross training schools at the Daytona International Speedway on Monday, March 8, 2010.

100 riders have been picked to attend and after an early morning check in and breakfast, riders will then go through an individual riding analysis after which each student will be assigned to an instructor. Students will then spend the rest of the day going through the very same drills that helped Carmichael win 15 AMA National Championships.

“I have spent quite a bit of time trying to put together the most important pieces of what I have learned through all my years of racing,” said Carmichael. “This program is really cool, and I can’t wait to personally run and discuss the braking and cornering drills, which I think is one of the easiest places on the track to make up time. I will be suited and riding, and won’t hesitate to run some of them myself.”

Fitness guru Robb Beams will be on hand to help out with the students with their fitness and nutritional needs while multi AMA Champion Jeff Emig will assist RC on the day. “I am super-pumped to have Jeff join our faculty and look forward to working with him on a fun, insightful lesson plan that our students are going to love,” said Carmichael. “I’ve known ‘Fro’ ever since I was riding 80s and he’s always been champion and a great guy, and I am proud to have him joining our staff for our program.”

The event is being held in conjunction with Daytona International Speedway and on the same course that the pros will ride during the legendary Daytona Supercross.

Book that flight right now.

– Darren Smart

NeWstorqueGAS GAS TO HELL

SCORPA importer, The Hell Team, has added Spanish brand Gas Gas trials bikes to its books. GAs GAs enduro machines continue to be imported by Solo Motorcycle Imports.

Hell Team boss Paul Arnott says the 2010 Gas Gas trials machines have a host of improvements.

“The Pro range performs incredibly well, being the outstanding performance trials bike in the field, and is extremely reliable.

“The new 2010s look stunning with a bright red frame, black plastics, and anodised rims.

“The PRO 250cc, 280cc, and 300cc will also feature the new S3 ‘two-piece’ cylinder heads. These allow the customer to change from low, medium or high compression inserts to alter the performance of the engine easily for varying conditions or personal set-up.

The Hell Team has moved to Artarmon in Sydney. Check them out 11/78 Reserve Rd, Artarmon, call them on 02 9966 5562 or visit the website at www.thehellteam.com. n

MOTORCYLING Australia (MA) has announced British journalist Alan Cathcart will head to Australia to appear at the 2010 Honda Broadford Bike Bonanza (HBBB) over the Easter weekend on 3-4 April.

Speaking from his snow-bound home in England, Cathcart said he was looking forward to the event.

“I’m genuinely honoured to be invited to take part in this meeting,” Cathcart said.

“Especially after hearing and reading about the success of the debut event in 2009, in great part thanks to MA’s vision and drive, and it will be a pleasure to be there.”

Cathcart’s attendance will help to establish the event internationally, as he currently syndicates his work in more than 70 magazines all around the World.

A former top-line competitor in Historic Racing, with a fourth place at the Isle of Man to his credit, Cathcart nowadays limits his racing

to once a year, at the Goodwood Revival, but regularly appears in non-competitive events such as the HBBB.

At the HBBB, Cathcart will demonstrate several examples of the Melbourne-built Irving Vincents that currently dominate local Period 5 Historic events.

Ken Horner, who built the bikes along with his brother Barry, is returning to Daytona in USA prior to Easter, where Sydney’s Craig McMartin will race an Irving Vincent in the prestigious Speed Week, before it is then air freighted home

in time to appear at the HBBB.

The HBBB will also feature demonstrations by US Motocross Champion Gary Jones, Enduro and Motocross star Pelle Granquist, former Australian Road Racing Champion Warren Willing, and Honda’s first Australian Motocross Champion Brian Martin amongst others.

More information about the event is available on the MA website: www.ma.org.au/hbbb. n

Alan Cathcart to ride Irving vincent at the HBBB

NeWstorque

Townley to MX GP

LIKE A Phoenix rising from the ashes of the conflagration the Road Warriors Café lives on.

Motorcycle afficionados around the country will be happy to hear that the name of the Road Warriors Café lives on. The original closed down just before Christmas.

But the popular Pacific Highway café at Mt White lives on in two ways, firstly the Mt White Café is trading on the site of the old Road Warriors Café, while next door the Road Warrior Motorcycle Works has opened its doors.

The Road Warrior Motorcycle Works is actually a bike shop which stocks accessories, clothing and various parts but also specialises in building custom bikes.

They build streetfighter Triumphs and also do a nice sideline in café racers built from early Japanese bikes.

When Cycle Torque visited there recently they had a nice 650 Yamaha chopper and two-stroke Suzuki café racer which looked trick.

The folks at the Road Warrior Motorcycle Works also are the distributor for the Hunter, the 250 LAMS chopper.

Felicity Ludlow is the person behind the Road Warrior Motorcycle Works and the shop manager is Keith Green.

You can ring the shop on 02 4370 1039 for more information, or better still, pop in and check out the new venture.

Their website is www.roadwarriors.com.au. n

Road Warrior lives on

NEW Zealand motocross and supercross champion Ben Townley has signed with Martin Honda to race in the first three rounds of the 2010 World Motocross Championships in the MX1 class.

After a long lay-off from racing due to injury and illness, the former MX2 World Motocross and AMA Supercross Lites Champion recently returned to racing and won the 2010 New Zealand Supercross Championship.

The 25 year old Kiwi will use the opening three GPs to tune his skills before returning to the US to contest the 2010 AMA National Motocross Championships for the Troy Lee Designs Honda team on their factory backed CRF450R.

Townley’s early years were spent in Europe on the World Motocross scene and in his final two years he won the 2004 MX2 World Championship for KTM and in 2005 he won four MX1 Grands Prix ahead of Stefan Everts to eventually finish third in the

championships.

“I’m really looking forward to coming to Europe,” Townley said. “It is perfect fit for me right now to get back to racing and will help me prepare for the outdoor championship in the USA.

Of the tracks he will race on Townley had this to say. “I raced in Sevlievo [Bulgaria] and Valkenswaard [The Netherlands] before so I know those tracks well and have been on the podium in Sevlievo and twice in Valkenswaard. Fermo [Italy] will be new to everyone so I hope to continue the result there too. The Euro fans are so passionate about racing and I have good fan base there, which will be a great way to get back into international racing. I have no doubt that the Honda Racing MX Team will support me in the best possible way and make it an easy transition for going back to America. They will be able to help me test my legs while in Europe. “

Team owner Paulo Martin is excited to have come to an agreement with the

Kiwi. “It will be great for us to have Ben in our team, this is a great opportunity for us to improve and develop our bike - Ben is an experienced rider and his advice and feedback will be precious.”– Darren Smart

SAFE ROUTESVICTORIA’S VACC has announced the date of the 2010 ‘Safe Routes’ Scooter Rally.

The fifth annual event will be held on Sunday October 10. Riders will meet at Luna Park, St Kilda and at 10.30am begin the ride to Argyle Square, Lygon Street, Carlton.

Hundreds of scooter riders took part in the 2009 Rally and VACC is planning a bigger and better event for October.

“We are pleased to confirm this year’s VACC ‘Safe Routes’ Scooter Rally will be on October 10. The event has become a fixture for clubs and riders and we look forward to seeing our ‘regulars’ again. But this year, we are expanding the day to include a number of exciting activities in a festival atmosphere which will appeal to non-riders and families,” VACC Executive Director, David Purchase, said.

“The ‘Safe Routes’ Scooter Rally is certainly a fun occasion, but there is also a serious side. 2010 is a State and Federal election year and VACC, and scooter riders, will continue to voice concerns to Governments. We are calling for scooterists to be recognised by transport and road safety planners and for them to acknowledge the contribution scooters make to reducing traffic congestion, cutting vehicle emissions and easing competition for parking.

“That is why we want safe routes. We do not think scooter riders, who should have equal rights as all other road users, are being treated fairly. They are vulnerable and they need more protection on our roads, through clearly identified ‘safe routes’. This would encourage more people to adopt this environmentally friendly and socially beneficial mode of transport.

“VACC, once again, calls on the Victorian Government for the implementation of designated and signed ‘safe routes’, access by low-powered scooters to use certain designated bicycle lanes, filtering in stationary or slow moving traffic; allowing boxed turns at certain busy intersections; six monthly registrations and dedicated scooter training

courses. VACC also calls for car licence holders to be permitted to ride 50cc scooters, provided training is undertaken.

“But the first thing we want is for scooter riders to put October 10 in their diary and we invite scooter owners of all makes and models to come and join us on our ‘safe routes’ rally. It is going to be a great day out,” Mr Purchase said.

For more information about VACC’s ‘Safe Routes’ Scooter Rally, go to vacc.com.au. n

NeWstorque

MULTIPLE Queensland and Australian Off-Road Champion ‘King Kirk’ Hutton has released the dates for his two-day Yamaha Academy of Off-Road Riding Schools.

Hutton is one of Queensland’s hottest level-two accredited coaches and runs comprehensive courses for junior and senior riders of all skill levels in all aspects of dirt bike riding. “We’re really looking forward to helping more riders this year... I get a real kick out of passing along my knowledge and helping other riders get more enjoyment out of it,” Hutton said.

“The two-day schools are great value for money. We have small group sizes, three coaches and we cover everything from the right technique, to gaining speed and tackling tricky obstacles like rocky creeks, logs and hills. I have set up my property, which is about 30-minutes northwest of Brisbane, as a specialised off-road training facility with enduro loops, MX tracks and enduro obstacles like rocky creek sections, logs, hills and more. “I’ve been racing for more than a decade, so I have a lot of knowledge to pass on... check out my website (www.kirkhuttoncoaching.com.au) or give me a call and let’s go riding!”

Kirk Hutton 2010 Coaching School DatesJunior School #1 - January 23/24 (Under 12s on Saturday, Over 12s on Sunday)Senior School #1 - February 13/14Junior School #2 - May 8/9 (Under 12s on Saturday, Over 12s on Sunday)Senior School #2 - June 5/6Senior School #3 - July 24/25Senior School #4 - August 14/15Senior School #5 - September 11/12

Junior School #3 - September 25/26 (Under 12s on Saturday, Over 12s on Sunday)

Bookings are essential and the two-day schools are filling up fast. To secure your spot call Leigh on 0404 062 763 or email [email protected].

– Darren Smart

King Kirk the coach

Braaap partyBRAAAP’S Frankston store is closing off the street, legally we hope, for a night full of free entertainment, fun and festivities for the whole family. Get down to Playne Street, Frankston on Saturday March 6 for a free live performance by top Aussie hip-hop artist Illy which kicks off at 8pm.

Local Hip-hop crew, Tenfold, will be pumping out tunes from their soon to be released debut EP, ‘Deluxe Edition’ before they start their Victorian Tour in March. The Braaap Street Party will also feature live performances from many other local bands and artists, including Blackwater Riff and an acoustic set from Sheridan Smith.

Australian Crusty Demons freestyle superstar Cam Sinclair will make a special guest appearance on the night, so make sure you come down and get his autograph or get your photo taken with the FMX legend!

Get there early to see the live action from Team braaap Whip Industries, performing the ultimate Mini Moto X Stunt Show on the street throughout the night. See these leading athletes perform the latest and greatest highflying tricks and manoeuvres during a full show of extreme sports and crowd participation. n

Jobs on offerLOOKING for a job in the motorcycle industry? Well Peter Stevens Motorcycles have a few positions going in its spare part division, one at the Melbourne store and one at the Dandenong store. Call Rob at Melbourne on 03 9602 5833 or email [email protected], or Jason on 03 9791 7722, email [email protected] if you’d like to work at Dandenong. n

MARCH 2010 - 25 www.cycletorque.com.au

PHONE: 02 4322 7100

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THE 5 WAYS ROUND-ABOUT. WYOMING. OPPOSITE MCDONALDSwww.imagemotorcycles.com.au [email protected]

On the yAt rst I thought the ‘L’ was much more

powerful than the standard bike, at least it felt it, but after some research I realised the outgoing 110 was some 15 per cent less powerful than the 2010 models. You see, the 110 and the 110L share exactly the same engine. Having only ridden the 2010 ‘L’ model I would still think it likely that the manual gearbox would let the engine feel freer than the shorter semi-auto model.

It may only boast around 7.5 horsepower but it seems livelier than that. I had no drama popping wheelies and the engine was grunty and tractable enough to get the front airborne on the top of hills, much like a bigger four-stroke. Don’t get me wrong, it’s no power end but it does feel bigger than a 110.

I even had a go at some jumps, and although I’m at the larger end of the scale of intended riders, the bike’s suspension coped easily.

I’d had enough fun so my sister and regular 110 rider Brianna took to the saddle. Brianna’s nearly 12 but isn’t all that used to manual clutch bikes. Once I gave her a couple of lessons on clutch and throttle co-ordination off she went. One thing I liked was the tractability of the

engine. On more than one occasion Brianna forgot it had a clutch and let the engine almost die in second or third gear as she was turning around, only to have the engine revs pick up again as she wound on the throttle – great for learners. She quickly got into the swing of things and was blasting around the paddock going up and down the gears.

Did we like it?You bet. The bike can take a rider up to 80

kilos which allows a broad range of people to enjoy a bike like this. Not only are kids stepping up from a smaller bike catered for, so are their parents (slim dads anyway) or older brothers and sisters. It also has a throttle limiter so the littler ones can be kept in check.

At $3,899 it’s not bad value for a bike that can provide loads of fun like this one can, plus you get Kawasaki’s legendary reliability. And if you’ve kept it in reasonable nick, a bike like the KLX110L will always be snapped up on the used market even if it’s 10 years old or more. ■

i O h i B i

Throttle pull can be limited for less experienced riders.

Front brake is still a drum. 110cc four-stroke single does the job easily.

Kick s

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acks

up th

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humb

.

NeWstorque

A Walk On The Hi-SideHI-SIDE Leather Repair and Motorcycle Accessories has increased its product range and moved to new premises on the corner of Toohey and Evans Road, Salisbury.

Hi-Side Leather Repair and Motorcycle Accessories have been helping riders with top quality leather repairs and alterations for many decades and while continuing with everything leather you now have all of those years of experience are at your fingertips with Phil assisting you with helmets, gloves, boots and much, much more.

You will find the new store right beside the indoor cricket centre at Salisbury or call Phil on 1300 447 433 or go to www.hisideleathers.com.

Byrne to JGR YamahaQUEENSLAND’S Michael Byrne has swapped his privateer Kawasaki KX450F to fill in for Josh Grant for the Muscle Milk/Toyota/JGRMX Team on the all new 2010 Yamaha YZ450F.

U.S. Muscle Milk/Toyota/JGRMX’s team manager Jeremy Albrecht worked with Byrne at Kawasaki Factory Racing a few years ago. “I am excited to be working with Byrne again,” said Albrecht. “He is a hard worker and I am anxious to see what he can do on our Yamaha YZ450F.”

Byrne’s opening ride at Phoenix did not go to plan with a dnf in the final but since then ‘The Burner’ has finished in 10th and 13th at the next two rounds.

Cheap as chipsHONDA is doing great deals on its kids off roaders. All of the fun bike range comes with $250 Honda Dollars, which can be taken off the price of the bike or buy accessories or gear at the dealer you buy the bike from.

Offer runs until March 31, check out your local Honda dealer now.

Rider AssistHONDA’S Rider Assist is a service that exists to help riders 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and offers vital services, as well as advice and help from

specialists who are familiar with the technical aspects of Honda’s range of motorcycles.

Honda says its members can ride secure in the knowledge – on roads anywhere across Australia – that issues such as flat tyres, running out of fuel, lost keys, a flat battery or any other inconvenience can be tended to quickly and efficiently. But we think you might have a bit of a wait if it happens on the Simpson Desert or some other out of the way place.

Services are offered through Gold or Platinum programs and, depending on the level of cover, include breakdown assistance, roadside repairs, transport, accommodation/ car rental, accident co-ordination, emergency fuel, key replacement, emergency contact, medical/legal advice and so on.

It costs $69 for Gold cover and $119 for Platinum, which is pretty cheap. Honda Rider Assist is exclusive to Honda owners and is one of the most comprehensive covers available on the market today.

For information visit www.hondamotorcycles.com.au or phone 1800 114 722.

A quarter centuryAUSTRALIAN Trail Bike Tours has been going for 25 years. Klaus Mueller has been the man at the helm for all that time, running tours from the high country to the edge of the desert and beyond.One of ATBT’s most popular tours is the Hotham Plains ride which starts off from Mansfield in Victoria. It goes for three days and is priced at $495. But there’s longer and shorter tours to tickle your fancy as well.

Give Klaus a call on 03 9874 2001 or 0407 424 831 or even email him at [email protected]

RIP DasherCYCLE Torque lost a great friend to Cancer recently. Darryl ‘Dasher’ Hellyer was a well known motorcycle identity in the Hunter Valley of NSW, a great race fan, whether it be dirt track or road racing, Darryl could tell you who was doing what, when and where. He always had his finger on the pulse. If he wasn’t

talking about bike racing, he’d most likely be seen at race tracks working on motorcycles. And if you were unhappy with the proceedings of the day, Darryl would there with a word of advice, a joke or a can of Pepsi to cheer you up. If you needed a hand to get the bike on the track he’d be there.

Darryl came from a motorcycling family, his older brother Gordon was a legend in the area and a former Aussie sidecar champ.

Darryl’s funeral on Thursday February 4 at Maitland was huge, and the who’s who of the local motorcycle scene were there to see the ‘little fella’ off.

Rest in peace old mate, the place won’t be the same without you and we’ll miss you dearly.

Ride Day BusIMAGINE rolling up to a ride day with your own bus filled with bikes. Well, that’s what an enterprising bunch from Northern NSW have done. A team of track day regulars have joined forces to build the ultimate track transporter. In fact the team are all business owners from the Forster area: Marx Tyres, Top Line Aluminium, Herberts Timbers, Town Plumbing Supplies, JKL Real Estate, Clifftons Chickens, MCCarthy Plumbing, Paul McDermit Building and CTE Security.

The bus is in the build stage at the moment but should be ready for action soon. Let’s hope not too many cool drinks are consumed on the way to the track, it looks like it will be a real ‘party’ atmosphere.

vale Greg PrettyFORMER road racing star Greg Pretty was killed in January riding his restored Honda CB750 in the Adelaide Hills.

Pretty was well known for his remarkable efforts riding the Pitmans Yamaha XS1100, and also his rides on the Yamaha TZ750.

After giving away the racing Pretty forged a career as a pilot, the need for speed still in his blood.

n

sMaLL torque

BUBBA’S REALITY CHECKJAMES ‘Bubba’ Stewart’s ten episode reality show will debut on March 28 with Fuel TV USA picking up the opening pilot episode which will feature Stewart and a full cast of his friends, family, employees and fellow racers.

Malcolm Stewart, James Stewart Senior, Nate Adams, Todd Potter, Eric Sorby, Anthony Paggio and Larry Brooks are all part of the show which will look at Stewart’s life on and off the track as well as look back at where the Stewart family lived before money and stardom.

“Set against a backdrop of his ghetto southern town, chaos at home, never-ending obligations, wild parties, pro friends, and plenty of family drama, ‘Bubba’s World’ is a comedic view of how surreal it is to be a ‘star’, yet still live at home and having missed out on childhood fun’, is the blurb from the press release issued by the film’s producer, James Stewart himself.

Stay tuned for when the show will feature here in Australia.– Darren Smart

DELKEVIC Australia has announced that continued growth and public demand have led to a massive expansion of its business which will now be branded under the new name of Planet Moto.

The company already caters to a huge market in on-road, offroad and scooter markets covering everything from knee braces, silencers, starter motors, header pipes, replacement plastics, batteries, radiators, wheels and the list goes on.

Phil Chillemi from Planet Moto said the new entity would continue to supply all Delkevic products throughout Australia but is drastically increasing its product range to

incorporate a huge range of road and offroad parts, clothing and accessories.

Planet Moto also will have a completely new website up and running by the end of February.

“The new site will allow customers to buy directly from the website at unbeatable prices and there will also be the opportunity to become a VIP member to receive even further discounts on riding gear, parts and accessories,” Phil said.

Planet Moto will be offering customers free postage Australia wide. Check out www.planetmoto.com.au for more information. n

Planet Moto born of stellar growth

More curry for KTM?NeWstorque

KTM HAS denied reports one of its Indian partners, Bajaj, is set to increase its stake in the Austrian company to first 51 per cent, then up to 90 per cent in the future.

The reports of the purchase were published in the Indian new site, the Economic Times, but since that report surfaced KTM has issued a press release stating it will retain a controlling interest in the company.

The partnership between the two companies has helped give rise to the new 125cc KTM road bike which is to be

launched this year, with plans to develop a 250cc version on the same platform.

There is even talk a 600cc sportsbike is being developed by the partnership.

Part of KTM’s official press release is thus:

‘Following the positive company development, the KTM Power Sports AG has issued an invitation to shareholders to attend an extraordinary general assembly on February 26, 2010.

The most important item on the agenda of the meeting is a resolution to further increase capital via the main shareholders by an additional €30-40 million (45-60,000,000).

‘This planned measure will not result in any changes to the industrial leadership of CROSS Industries at the KTM

Powersports AG.

The CROSS Industries will continue to hold more than 50 per cent of the shares in KTM Powersports AG. Thus the management of KTM will continue to pursue its successful chosen course, also in the future.

Stay tuned for more updates. n

LAUNCH REPORT BY NigEL PATERsON

How do you spell huge? R-o-c-k-e-t III…

LAUNCH REPORT – TRiUmPH ROCkET iii ROAdsTER

RIDING GEAR: Draggin Jeans Camos, Spyke jacket, Berik Leathers, Motodry boots, Five gloves.

LAUNCH REPORT – TRiUmPH ROCkET iii ROAdsTER (CONT.)

THE photo on the cover wasn’t nearly as intimidating to make as I had imagined. Take one Triumph Rocket III Roadster, apply front brake and twist throttle.

If I wasn’t an atheist I’d have been praying the thing didn’t get away from me.

The Rocket III, though, is a gentle giant. Sure, it’s big and heavy and has heaps and heaps and heaps and heaps of grunt, but it doesn’t require a delicate touch – a long wheelbase, relatively low centre of gravity, wide ’bars and linear power delivery see

to that – although this is a seriously quick motorcycle, it isn’t anywhere near as intimidating as you’d expect of a machine weighing around 350kg and boasting 220Nm.

And it can do 11-second quarter mile times.

For the rider who can never have too much – power, torque, bulk – the Rocket III Roadster delivers.

For 2010 the Roadster is available in Henry Ford colours - any colour you like as long as it’s black, but at least you can

choose between Phantom (gloss) and matt finishes.

On the stripThe Australian launch of the new bike

saw a bunch of bike journos cruising out of Melbourne the back way to Heathcote drag strip. Six journos all put in times from low to mid 12-second passes. Kel Buckley (AMCN) was the fastest of the journos, and any suggestion she won because she weighs less than her leathers is sour grapes: she’s quick!

LAUNCH REPORT – TRiUmPH ROCkET iii ROAdsTER (CONT.)

It was my first time on a dragstrip and it was heaps of fun. The video of the launch includes footage from a couple of practice runs, courtesy of a camera I mounted on the tank: check out www.cycletorque.com.au to see that.

The upgraded clutch and transmission for 2010 copped a hammering on the strip, but without any problems.

Although the Rocket III puts out gobs of power and torque, it was easy to get off the line cleanly. Three factors help here: a rear tyre which isn’t prone to wheelspin (unless you’re ham-fisted), a long wheelbase (which means no wheelies) and lots of bulk.

Although a Rocket III

wouldn’t be my choice of drag bike, it sure was a heap of fun doing the quarter-mile, so don’t be afraid to take yours to a strip if you get a chance.

The changesThe Rocket III has been with us for

some time now, with Triumph describing the model as very successful, having sold over 17,000 of the 2.3-litre monsters. Triumph’s research has also indicated owners are happy with their bikes and bought them for their performance and styling.

But I reckon the old forward-controls cruiser-ish riding position maybe wasn’t so popular – for the Roadster Triumph has moved the seat forward (14mm) and

the pegs back (122mm) and down (23mm) to give the bike a much more conventional riding position. Now you can even stand on the footpegs if there are bumps you can’t avoid…

It’s a vastly improved riding position as far as I’m concerned, but if your desires are more for the raked out riding position, you’re out of luck: Triumph’s discontinued the Rocket III Classic, too, leaving only the Roadster and Tourer available.

Internally there aren’t too many changes. There’s revisions to the clutch and transmission to make gear changes easier and strengthen both the clutch and shaft drive.

Other changes include new instruments which are classically styled but have many modern functions, ABS as standard equipment and softer shocks.

Triumph claim the change to softer springs was driven by requests from owners, but now the springs are too soft.

All the demo bikes were set up with suspension on its hardest setting (only rear preload can be adjusted) and I still found the rear units unforgiving, transmitting too much road imperfections through to the rider. Too much of their meagre travel is consumed by the weight of the rider. Triumph claim the shocks are 20 per cent softer than before, so it’s surprising every journo on the launch was using the hardest setting and most wanted them stiffer.

The front end which runs a set of fat, non-adjustable upside-down forks is pretty good though.

There are also a new set of pipes, the three into two units housing a catalytic converter in each muffler.

On the roadThe Rocket Roadster feels at its biggest

when you’re climbing aboard. The ’bars are very wide, the tank looks huge, the bulk is noticeable when hauling the beast up off the sidestand. Thumb the starter and motorcycling’s biggest mass-produced engine growls into life. Blip the throttle and you can feel the strength of the engine through the sound, vibration and the way it pushes on your leg, a characteristic of most bikes with a crankshaft which runs in line with the chassis rather than across it.

In traffic the Roadster is surprisingly nimble - it’s no Bonneville, but the riding position gives you more confidence to slip through the traffic than you’d expect on such a big bike. Having ABS is another confidence boost, because there’s an awful lot of weight to pull up if you need to do it in a hurry, and Triumph

should be applauded for making it standard and not bumping the price in the process.

With 221Nm of torque (up 10 per cent on the old Rocket) and 146 horsepower (up about seven per cent) there’s grunt everywhere. I accidentally rode away from a set of traffic lights in third once – when it bogged down I just slipped the clutch the tiniest amount and it accelerated cleanly away: it was a real shock to discover I was in third.

The Rocket gets to highway speeds very quickly and easily, but you won’t want to ride this bike at high speeds. There’s a little bit of wind blast protection from the low seat and high instrument cluster, but it’s still a naked with an upright riding position. If you find it tiresome, check out Triumph’s optional screens.

Pillion accommodation looks good, the motor is so understressed it feels like it’ll last forever and the ride is very pleasant indeed.

Who’s it for?The Roadster is for anyone looking for the ultimate in road

presence, power and style.

Priced at $22,990 plus on road costs, you get an awful lot for the money, and let’s not forget the standard ABS is at no extra charge this year.

Add a few items from the extensive accessory catalogue – like heated grips ($319), leather panniers ($1522.50), Classic Touring Seat ($629.99) and the Roadster Screen ($892.51) and you’ve got yourself a touring bike. Or you could dress up the bike and have a very distinctive Roadster.

Either way this is a bike for the long haul – in riding, longevity and ownership. I can see many owners keeping their Rockets for a decade or more, and I can see resale values staying very high.

Distinctive, capable and desirable, the Rocket III is a motorcycle many will lust after and luckily, many can afford. If the concept excites you, I really doubt you’d be disappointed in the execution. n

Triumph’s stuntmaster Lukey Luke in take-off position.

The nameplate says it all.

New gauges provide comprehensive information.

S p e c i f i c at i o n S : 2010 TRIUMPH ROCKET III ROADSTER

Engine Type: Liquid-cooled triple Capacity: 2294cc Transmission: Five speed/shaft drive Fuel Capacity: 24 Litres Frame Type: Tubular steel Seat Height: 750mm Wet Weight: 367kg Front Suspension: Kayaba 43mm USD Rear Suspension: Kayaba twin shocks Brakes: Dual 320mm discs/4-piston

calipers front, single 316mm disc rear Tyres: 150/80-17, 240/50-16 Price (RRP): $22,990 + ORC

www.triumph.co.uk/australia/

Call for a quote1800 24 34 64

We’ll Beat aNY PrICe GuaraNteeD*

f i n a n c ewww.gorapid.com.au 1300 790 411

*Rates and Repayments are subject to change daily – conditions apply

Own this bike from: $108 per week

Rates from 7.99%*

I RECENTLY attended the Island Classic. For those who aren’t aware, it’s the biggest classic road racing event in Australia, closely followed by the Barry Sheene Festival of Speed.

In fact the recent Island Classic was billed as the biggest motorcycling event in Australia’s history, of any kind. Now that’s a big statement and one I wouldn’t hope or care to prove or disprove. I believe it was based on entries.

Besides the plethora of local riders (by that I mean Australian) there was a host of overseas competitors, coming from such faraway places as England, France, America and also across the pond from New Zealand. There could well have been countries I’ve missed and please forgive my ignorance if I have.

I have always wanted to compete in the Island Classic but never got there, mainly due to work issues and of course, the dreaded cost of travelling all that way. Mind you I’ve done it twice now for my son to race at the picturesque circuit, and will head south again in around a month’s time for him to race his new Triumph Daytona at the world supers. But when it’s been for me I’ve always seemed to find excuses not to go.

This time around though, it was a different story. I wouldn’t be riding, I would be helping my mate Billy ‘Biggles’ Newton with his GSX1100 Forgotten Era machine, a bike I’ve become intimate with in the past six months or so.

Also on our road trip was my good mate Ron Young and his two sons, Bob and Thom. Bob was to ride Ron’s delectable Green Frame replica 750SS and genuine TT2,

while Thom was chief tyre warmer technician. Also along for the ride was Niven, Ducati enthusiast, driver and cook. Squeezed in was my son Alex and his Daytona 675 with open practice on Thursday the perfect chance for another test on Project Daytona.

Seven males, a van, a ute and a trailer. A great trip was anticipated.

All went well with all bikes during Thursday practice, with the exception of the big bang GSX1100. It didn’t actually go bang, but with either excessive crankcase compression from ring blow or some other malady causing the timing side crank seal to be pushed out and stop sealing, it could well have. The difficult decision to park the bike for the rest of the meeting was made on the grounds of safety.

Our Daytona 675 blasted around all day and never missed a beat, as you would expect.

Ron’s two Dukes also never missed a beat, and issues with jetting were sorted easily.

One of the other Ducatis in our pit was a very well presented 900SS bevel drive. At one stage a gearbox problem came to light and an entire engine strip and rebuild were performed in only a few hours. It’s good to have a Ducati specialist on hand when you need it.

Come Friday practice and all eyes were on current World Endurance Champion Steve Martin punting around a very fast Suzuki GSX1100. It was obvious Martin was going to be the man to beat. Watching him coming on to the straight with the bike out of shape and wheelstanding at the same time was a sight to behold, not just to me, it was the talk of the paddock. Mind you, the bike apparently had 175 ponies

A classic experience

Steve Martin leads David Johnson and England's fast guy Lea Gourlay.

editoriaL

editoriaL

at the back wheel. You might think that is pure fiction but we could have achieved that ourselves with Billy’s GSX1100, but the bike was deemed unrideable. Martin just kept it tapped and put up with flat spots I guess.

As impressive as that was, more impressive, to me anyway, was British rider Lea Gourlay. As a reader of British magazine Classic Racer, I’m well aware of Gourlay’s exploits in the classic scene over in ‘Ol’ Blighty’ and Europe. His chances of winning Down Under were hotly debated on the trip down. The general consensus was he would be fast on his XR69 Suzuki but circuit knowledge would keep him out of the results. How wrong we were. Gourlay showed his overseas results have come by no accident, he was fast pretty much straight away on his delectable XR69 F1 replica, and his Yamaha TZ350.

Some of those Forgotten Era bikes are so fast. Young Alex found himself circulating on Thursday with David Johnson, a youngish Aussie who’s been racing in British superbikes for a while. At PI he was riding a Harris GSX1100 which was fast enough to pass our Daytona down the straight.

Other riders had so-so results. Mal Campbell’s Suzuki RG500 (owned by Ray Berry) continued to self-destruct on a regular basis, only coming good late on Sunday after much spanner work. Craig McMartin’s Irving Vincent had electrical gremlins the team couldn’t sort at the track, while

team-mate Beau Beaton was quick on the other Vincent, only to crash out in one of the early races, calling an early finish to his weekend.

Martin won every race in the Forgotten Era International Challenge, while Gourlay proved he was the best of the rest, a great result for the likeable Pom.

How did we go? Bob Young rode the 750SS to victory in each of the Post Classic Unlimited races, leading home a gaggle of Honda Fours and others in the process. This is the same bike I raced for years and the Hondas were always hard to beat. Now, a dose of riding talent (Bob is the reigning Aussie champ) and untold hours in the workshop has seen the RYE Ducati the P4 Unlimited bike to beat in Australia. Well done to Bob and his dad Ron.

Three cheers should also go to the organisers of the Island Classic. You couldn’t complain about event organisation, from the welcome dinner where we heard from riders such as Gourlay and Australia’s Isle of Man TT expert Cameron Donald, to the race schedule.

I don’t have the room to mention every winner. You can go to www.computime.com.au for all the results.

I had a great time at the Island Classic. I’ll be back, but next time on a bike. It’s too hard just watching.

– Chris Pickett


PHONE: 02 4322 7100

2010

with BUD Racing Full exhaust system

RANGE

2010 KX250FNORMALLY

$10,699 OUR PRICE

$10,700WITH BUD RACING

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SAVE OVER $14002010 KX65 NORMALLY $5,399



2010 KX85 NORMALLY $6299



2010 KX450F NORMALLY $11,599



THE 5 WAYS ROUND-ABOUT. WYOMING. OPPOSITE MCDONALDSwww.imagemotorcycles.com.au [email protected]

On the yAt rst I thought the ‘L’ was much more

powerful than the standard bike, at least it felt it, but after some research I realised the outgoing 110 was some 15 per cent less powerful than the 2010 models. You see, the 110 and the 110L share exactly the same engine. Having only ridden the 2010 ‘L’ model I would still think it likely that the manual gearbox would let the engine feel freer than the shorter semi-auto model.

It may only boast around 7.5 horsepower but it seems livelier than that. I had no drama popping wheelies and the engine was grunty and tractable enough to get the front airborne on the top of hills, much like a bigger four-stroke. Don’t get me wrong, it’s no power end but it does feel bigger than a 110.


I’d had enough fun so my sister and regular 110 rider Brianna took to the saddle. Brianna’s nearly 12 but isn’t all that used to manual clutch bikes. Once I gave her a couple of lessons on clutch and throttle co-ordination off she went. One thing I liked was the tractability of the

engine. On more than one occasion Brianna forgot it had a clutch and let the engine almost die in second or third gear as she was turning around, only to have the engine revs pick up again as she wound on the throttle – great for learners. She quickly got into the swing of things and was blasting around the paddock going up and down the gears.

Did we like it?You bet. The bike can take a rider up to 80

kilos which allows a broad range of people to enjoy a bike like this. Not only are kids stepping up from a smaller bike catered for, so are their parents (slim dads anyway) or older brothers and sisters. It also has a throttle limiter so the littler ones can be kept in check.

At $3,899 it’s not bad value for a bike that can provide loads of fun like this one can, plus you get Kawasaki’s legendary reliability. And if you’ve kept it in reasonable nick, a bike like the KLX110L will always be snapped up on the used market even if it’s 10 years old or more. ■

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FUNNY thing, I rode in Britain and Europe for many years but remember getting wet only twice: on the way home from the Mallory Park Race of the Year meeting in 1967 (Hailwood, of course) and then in 1978 when riding my then shiny new Honda CB400 four back from London. Both rides were in high summer, the heavens opened and on the latter occasion I took shelter beneath a motorway bridge; my memory has me wearing a lightweight cotton jacket (green) both times but I’m not sure I was quite that daft.

I’ve fared better with getting wet in Melbourne. I recall, for example, riding the first Honda CX500 Turbo down City Road, playing footsie with the tramlines when it poured, and life suddenly became a lot more interesting when I became aware of the bike’s celebrated turbo lag.

I’ve never had a bike fail on me in the wet, never had to dig out the WD-40 or hunt about for a dry rag; but I’ve voluntarily turned it in myself more than once, memorably when heading for Sydney on the first of the Suzuki GSX-R1100s when I was trying to get home in time to see the first overs of a 50-over game between Australia and England. Ah,

the daft things we do when we’re young.But by far the most vile and unpleasant ride I recall was

a return trip from Sydney to Melbourne over a winter weekend on a CBX250 Honda single. The rain pelted, the wind howled, and on top of that the RTA had organised a diversion or two onto dirt that had turned to mud well before I arrived and so was good and rutted.

Nope, I am not a water baby, despite my geographical origins. Rain is pleasant to look out on, okay to drive through (except when you’re sharing roads with halfwits, for example on Sydney’s former freeway network – now its empire of toll roads) and good for fishing in, I believe. But motorcycles? Forget it.

It wasn’t always that way, of course. In the days of my youth, when motocross was called scrambling and road races were invariably run on the perimeter tracks of disused World War II airfields, the family made enthusiastic weekend outings to waterlogged paddocks to see a clutch of unlikely heroes launch themselves into mud-filled bomb holes on completely implausible heavyweight AMC singles. My tribe found observed trials especially engaging. It’s one of those rare forms of motorcycle competition in which a fall of snow is viewed as a positive thing, and a ride along the bed of a stream swollen by flood water a vital ingredient of an afternoon’s amusement. Full Belstaff suits and the heaviest boots imaginable were de rigueur, the towel wrapped around the neck essential to avoid drowning.

I remember wondering where the fun was.But that was in another country. For me, the distinction

between Melbourne rain and its Sydney equivalent is that the Sydney stuff comes down harder and for longer if less frequent periods. In Victoria, you’d know it would rain for a week the moment you picked up one of Yamaha’s richly memorable and hooliganry-inclined two-strokes, and there would be a couple of weeks of uninterrupted sunshine during the Ural/Jupiter/Voshkod sidecar comparison you’d been assiduously trying to avoid.

Others didn’t object to the wet quite so strenuously. Fraser, with whom I shared a house during a couple of periods during the ’80s, went regularly to Melbourne for weekends and always seemed to have a BMW K100RS for the purpose, BMW System helmet and wet-weather suit. He seemed to relish riding in the wet and had a connoisseur’s taste for watching wet-weather road racing. Fraser maintained you got some of the best racing – assuming skilled riders – when the conditions offered 50 to 80 percent of dry-weather traction. He was probably right about that. Certainly I’ve been privileged to witness some of the most inspiring rides in poor conditions. My elders and betters would tell me that

Rain periods, heavy at times

Rain periods, heavy at timesAJS factory rider Bill Doran had the right idea with his “hard tyres and go like buggery” pronouncement. I don’t quite know what the late Barry Sheene might have thought about that but I did see him put in the ride of his life at the 1978 British GP when, after a fine start, the rain came down cats and dogs. With typical shrewdness, Sheene switched to wets early and, after losing a lot of ground to the opposition, slithered towards the podium with epic skill. The field was in such disarray that nobody really knew who’d won, but plenty of us thought Sheene had done enough to be awarded first. The administrators thought otherwise, however, and placed him third.

My other nominee for the Superduck Award is Wayne Gardner for his ride in the 1992 Japanese GP. As I recall he fell twice and ended the day with little more tangible than a broken leg, but between the two falls he rode like the proverbial man possessed. Phenomenal stuff.

But I suppose the only real benefit rain offers the motorcyclist is the time to stare out at it and enjoy memories such as these, preferably with a video to help.

– Bob Guntrip


B JUPITERJUPITER’S Travels is a book I’ve long known about and thought of reading but just never got around to it. Seeing as we now sell the book it was easy to pluck it off the shelf and go to town.I didn’t know what to expect but I have to say the book was much better than I anticipated.It’s a true story of Englishman Ted Simon who at 40 something years-of-age decided to ride around the world on a then-new Triumph 500. What I really liked about the story is not what happens with the bike or even the people Ted meets along the way, but how he personally sees each culture, how he ticks as a person himself and his own head space.A very enjoyable book, and even though it was written over 30 years ago I wonder how close to the mark it is now.That’s why I’m about to read Dreaming of Jupiter, Simon’s retracing journey a few decades later. – Chris PickettP R I C E : $27.99AVA I L A B L E F R O M : Direct from Cycle TorqueM O R E I N F O : 02 4956 9820

A DRY FEETWE’VE been using a set of MotoDry ‘Razor’ sports touring boots for a while now. The reason I’ve called them sports touring is because they’ve done exactly that. While the boots don’t look as exciting or as edgy as the dedicated track/sports boots, we’ve still used them on a number of occasions on the race track at launches etc.On the touring side they’ve covered thousands of kilometres touring around with a couple of different pairs of feet inside them. While we’ve found them very comfy in all situations, one of the main reasons we like them is because they are waterproof. And on one extended kilometre stint in pouring rain the Razors actually kept our feet dry – fancy that!One byproduct of keeping the water out is they tended to make you feet sweat a bit on the track. We didn’t nd this on the road so much, and we guess it’s because you are working your body harder on the track, even your feet.But seeing it’s primarily a ‘road’ boot you can excuse the Razors for that.They are sturdy, look good and are keenly priced. We like them. P R I C E : $249AVA I L A B L E F R O M : Good bike shops everywhereM O R E I N F O : www.motonational.com.au

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e bike or even the people Ted meets ll s s ch c lt h h ticks s s

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informAtion from our ADvErtiSErS1

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1 BLING BY RASCALRascal Grafik wheel stripes are available in four distinct styles:Reflective, Smoke, Theme, Carbon Look and Speed. These tapes are pre-cut to perfectly follow the wheel outline. Kits come ready to install, four pieces per side per wheel and are easy to install. Fits all 17’’ wheels. Made of 5mm thick reflective strips.P R I C E : $34.40AvA I L A B L E F R O M : Australian Motorcycle ComponentsM O R E I N F O : 07 5451 8733

2 NOT YOUR AvERAGE STOOLIT’S simple to look at and unobtrusive, but once you sit on Touratech’s aluminium camp seat, you’ll be sold.Designed and made by Touratech in Germany, the seat is incredibly light weight, weighing in at just 470 grams. But with a load rating of 110kg, it’s more proof that size isn’t everything!P R I C E : $74.95AvA I L A B L E F R O M : Direct from Touratech AustraliaM O R E I N F O : www.touratech.com.au or 03 5729 5529.

3 PIPING HOTYAMAHA’S tuning outfit GYTR has released a full exhaust system for the 2010 YZ450F.Perfect for both Off-Road and MX riders and racers, as they keep the noise level to a nice low 94DB, which also meets the MA noise regulations set in 2009.Power is up across the entire power range.Manufactured from a stainless steel and aluminium combination which offers durability and lightweight.Yamaha says the pipe is only for closed-course competition.P R I C E : $895AvA I L A B L E F R O M : Yamaha dealers nationallyM O R E I N F O : www.yamaha-motor.co.au/yshop

4 STORMAVON Tyres has released a successor to the popular Storm ST family of sports-touring tyres.The new Storm 2 Ultra offers even more mileage and improved grip in all weather and road conditions.The new Storm 2 Ultra is available in a variety of sizes for 17 and 18” rims, from 110/70ZR17-130/70ZR17 fronts. Rears: 150/70ZR17-200/50ZR17.P R I C E : See stockist for pricesAvA I L A B L E F R O M : Avon stockists nationallyM O R E I N F O : www.proaccessories.com.au

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5 STRUT YOUR STUFFACERBIS has a couple of new helmets to brighten up the trails and racetracks. The X-Fiber ‘Disco’ and ‘Shaken’ are hardly dull. Bright colours are certainly the order of the day here. But besides that, the helmets offer Acerbis’ high quality and safety. Both designs are available from XS to XXL sizes.P R I C E : TBAAvA I L A B L E F R O M : Good bike shops everywhereM O R E I N F O : www.offroadimports.com.au

6 vISIBILITYNEW from Dririder is the Lightning jacket. Besides being made from tough polyester it’s equipped with high visibility striping to keep the cages at bayIt’s 100 per cent waterproof, has CE armour, loads of pockets and even looks pretty good.Sizes range from S to 6XL.P R I C E : $399AvA I L A B L E F R O M : Motorcycle shops everywhereM O R E I N F O : www.mcleodaccessories.com.au

7 BRACE YOURSELFKEEPING your knees intact is a hard gig if you like to ride off-road. Ask anyone who’s endured a knee reconstruction and you’ll know that knee braces are the answer. Knee braces just keep getting better and better, and this new Pro Sport knee brace from CTi is one of the best. There’s a heap of reasons why the Pro Sport fits well and last long, it’s all about the build quality and material makeup.You can even used it for watersports.P R I C E : $1100 eachAvA I L A B L E F R O M : Direct from Gall MedicalM O R E I N F O : www.gallbrosmedical.com.au or 07 5593 3340.

8 PROTECT THE BONCETHE world famous AIROH MX and trials helmets are now available in OZ.At first glance the helmets certainly look trick and colourful. But the beauty goes much deeper than its skin. There’s loads of features which make this brand one to look at seriously, and they weigh in at only 1000 grams. P R I C E : TBAAvA I L A B L E F R O M : Selected dealersM O R E I N F O : www.thehellteam.com

JUPITERJUPITER’S Travels is a book I’ve long known about and thought of reading but just never got around to it. Seeing as we now sell the book it was easy to pluck it off the shelf and go to town.I didn’t know what to expect but I have to say the book was much better than I anticipated.It’s a true story of Englishman Ted Simon who at 40 something years-of-age decided to ride around the world on a then-new Triumph 500. What I really liked about the story is not what happens with the bike or even the people Ted meets along the way, but how he personally sees each culture, how he ticks as a person himself and his own head space.A very enjoyable book, and even though it was written over 30 years ago I wonder how close to the mark it is now.That’s why I’m about to read Dreaming of Jupiter, Simon’s retracing journey a few decades later. – Chris PickettP R I C E : $27.99AvA I L A B L E F R O M : Direct from Cycle TorqueM O R E I N F O : 02 4956 9820

DRY FEETWE’VE been using a set of MotoDry ‘Razor’ sports touring boots for a while now. The reason I’ve called them sports touring is because they’ve done exactly that. While the boots don’t look as exciting or as edgy as the dedicated track/sports boots, we’ve still used them on a number of occasions on the race track at launches etc.On the touring side they’ve covered thousands of kilometres touring around with a couple of different pairs of feet inside them. While we’ve found them very comfy in all situations, one of the main reasons we like them is because they are waterproof. And on one extended kilometre stint in pouring rain the Razors actually kept our feet dry – fancy that!One byproduct of keeping the water out is they tended to make you feet sweat a bit on the track. We didn’t find this on the road so much, and we guess it’s because you are working your body harder on the track, even your feet.But seeing it’s primarily a ‘road’ boot you can excuse the Razors for that.They are sturdy, look good and are keenly priced. We like them. P R I C E : $249AvA I L A B L E F R O M : Good bike shops everywhereM O R E I N F O : www.motonational.com.au

dirtytorque

ANY racer worth his salt will know what I am talking about here. To ride so hard that your whole body is shaking with fatigue and you almost fall off the bike at the end of a race. You’re covered in dirt and there may even be an injury or two you were unaware of until someone points it out…you have just gone ‘beyond the pain’.

It’s a hard sensation to describe, but I can tell you that I have been battling my way through a moto when somewhere along the way I find myself totally exhausted. I’m thinking – hoping – that it must be late in the race only to have my pit board read ‘2nd +5sec - 20 min to go’, bugga...

So what does one do? I am riding my heart out, right on the limit, battling every element of a rough and rut infested track, and the guy in third place is just five seconds back… all the while my body and brain are screaming ‘enough’! Do I pull off and call it a day? No way!

I push on, personal safety goes out the window, I bury myself in the task ahead, concentrating on pulling full throttle for as long as possible between turns, trying to find smooth lines and making sure I don’t get crossed up on the jump faces ’cause I just wouldn’t have the energy to pull it back if the thing landed wrong.

I would pay the finish line flaggie $1000 to show me the last lap board but each lap as I pass by he is just looking at me, probably feeling sorry for me. Then finally, he holds it out, one lap to go, I start talking to myself, “just one more lap Smarty”, Leyton Hewitt’s “C’MON!” enters my head. Funnily enough, I think Hewitt’s a wanker but somehow it’s there… “C’MON!”

The guy that was in third out-brakes me and passes me so I pass him back, we are both toast but still flog each other throughout the final lap till we drag race over the line side-by-side and all of a sudden it’s over, I give the guy who I banged ’bars with a wave and wobble off towards my pit area. My mechanic is waiting for me and he knows what I am going through so he grabs the bike as I collapse onto my chair.

It’s about now that I can start to regain full vision and think clearly. I say to my mechanic, “That was awesome, what did I end up coming, when’s my next race?” He looks at me like I am a lunatic and takes a look through the program, “You got third, old mate just got you on the line, and it looks like you’ve got about an hour to your next race unless you want to

go in the all-powers race, umm, that’s in two races time.”

I smile at him through muddy teeth, “Fuel her up brother.” He’s shaking his head like mad as he traipses off to the trailer to get the fuel tin.

Pain is just another part of being a motocross racer and to conquer it, ride beyond it, is something you do in the name of pride, and many times it matters not where you finish in the field.

To this day, when anyone asks me about my best race ever I recount one I had in 1999 at Dalby (two hours west of Brisbane) where I battled for 20 or 30 plus minutes on a tough track and much younger competition to come from the back of the pack to finish just inside the top ten after crashing in the first corner.

By the time I came in to the pits I was barely human and it wasn’t until later that I realised that I had actually cracked a rib and suffered lacerations all up my back thanks to the numbnut who out-braked himself going into Dalby’s infamous tight right hand first turn.

Have a think about this for a minute. Has anyone ever had to peel your fingers from the handgrips after a long, tough moto? Have you ever raced with either a flat tyre, no goggles, pouring rain, broken toes, bent handlebars, broken levers, a blown knee, a broken finger, a hangover, a wrenched ankle, cracked eye socket, covered in your own vomit, knee deep mud, no gear-lever, no seat or just after a vasectomy?

Well, that’s my list of hard luck tales off the top of my head* but I am sure you could recount similar ‘problems’ or add to the list with your own tales of mid-moto dramas. But what is really important is how we handle these potential set-backs. This is what makes us either a prominent part of a race or an also-ran, or to be admired by our peers or to be seen as a sook.

When I think of tough I think of Heiki Mikola being lifted off his bike after a freezing cold GP back in the ’70s. The big Fin had ice hanging off his moustache, his teeth were chattering, he looked like he was about to die and he had been like that for the best part of a 45 minute moto.

What about Gally (Stephen Gall) gutsing out a moto in WA when his front tyre blew and come off the rim. He could have stopped but Gally pulled the tyre up so that it was between the forks and over his handlebar and the exhausted champ rode the big YZ to the finish line on the front rim.

Danny ‘Magoo’ Chandler once finished a race with his handlebars broken off on the clutch side after a huge crash. Magoo was still riding like a man possessed with the left-hand side of the ’bars flapping around in the wind all the way to the finish.

The list of heroic deeds on a motocross track are almost endless, I take my hat off to riders who have finished races that most wouldn’t.

Just recently this story was recounted to me. Mackay has the biggest and best beach race in Australia, my mate Mick Hansen has won the race more times than you can poke a stick at on his beautifully prepared CR500 and each year riders turn up with all sorts of highly modified machines to try and take the title of ‘King Of The Beach’.

The thing is, Mick has a fast bike and he can ride, I mean he can really ride, something many lack and one of those is a numbnut who turned up to this year’s beach race and during the heats he lost control and slammed into the side of Mick and took the multi-champ down.

Mick rode back to the pits and started getting his bike repaired when someone pointed out that his left leg was bleeding. After some inspection it was found that the numbnut who had crashed into the side of Mick had a massive bolt sticking out the side of his bike that was holding his down pipe on and it had ripped through Mick’s boots and torn a huge hole in his lower leg.

The ambulance guy (who later said it was the worst wound he had ever seen) had to actually push the meat hanging out of the wound in Mick’s leg back in so that he could bandage it sufficiently to get a boot back on.

Mick and his mates got his bike repaired and he went on to win the beach race once again. Mick recently showed me a photo of him high fiving the kids in the crowd after the race with a huge blood stain on his nylons and left boot. Pure guts and determination, I love it!

You see, you can’t teach someone to be tough or how to overcome adversity, what you can do is to teach young people that to piss and moan and carry on like you have just been run over by a tank every time you crash is not cool (ie: James Stewart – Phoenix this year). In most cases it’s a matter of just dusting yourself off and keep charging, it will help in all aspects of life.

– Darren Smart*Smarty is, of course, insane.

Beyond the Pain

Step it up

TEsT BY ALEx PiCkETT PHOTOs BY CHRis PiCkETT

CYCLE TORqUE TEsT – kAwAsAki kLx110L

KAWASAKI’S KLX110L is a bike the whole family can enjoy, to a degree. Not only is it a perfect stepping point from a semi-auto machine, it willl also be a great laugh for mum and dad as well, as long as you don’t weigh too much.

As a Kawasaki KLX110 owning family we are well used to our little fun bike. Primarily it’s my sister’s bike, she’s had it for a few years now. But the bike hasn’t changed that much over the last half decade or so, other than colour changes. For 2010 the 110 got an extra gear, there’s now four of them, operated by the semi-automatic clutch system. Basically you snick it into gear and roll the throttle for instant action. No clutch is fitted, you just select the gears on the fly.

While I like to get out on the KLX110 in our backyard – when my sister isn’t looking – at 16 I’m a bit big for it. It’s fun to pop wheelies and such but it is designed for someone of more tender years.

Anyway, I’m not here to talk about the 110, although it will give you some background, my sister and I rode the 110L, the latest, slightly more sophisticated sibling.

The guts of the bikeUsing a lay down 112cc four-stroke

engine, the ‘L’ looks much like the regular 110 but it has one thing the other doesn’t – a clutch. This is why the KLX bridges the gap between kids bike and pit bike. The single cylinder engine is air-cooled, has two valves, an 18mm Keihin carby, digital CDI and electric start. Both bikes have electric and kick starting options. Mind you, why you’d even want to try your leg again is beyond me, just stab the button and away you go.

Both bikes get a four-speed ’box, wet sump lubrication system and chain drive. As I said before, there’s not a lot of difference between the two at first glance. Look harder and you’ll find more.

The ‘L’ is equipped with longer travel suspension, almost 25mm extra in fact, which not only helps soak up the bumps better but more importantly gives a higher seat height, close to 50mm taller than the standard 110.

Rolling stock consists of a 14 inch front wheel and a 12 inch rear, with old school drum brakes all round.On the fly

At first I thought the ‘L’ was much more powerful than the standard bike, at least

it felt it, but after some research I realised the outgoing 110 was some 15 per cent less powerful than the 2010 models. You see, the 110 and the 110L share exactly the same engine. Having only ridden the 2010 ‘L’ model I would still think it likely that the manual gearbox would let the engine feel freer than the shorter semi-auto model.

It may only boast around 7.5 horsepower but it seems livelier than that. I had no drama popping wheelies and the engine was grunty and tractable enough to get the front airborne on the top of hills, much like a bigger four-stroke. Don’t get me wrong, it’s no power fiend but it does feel bigger than a 110.


I’d had enough fun so my sister and regular 110 rider Brianna took to the saddle. Brianna’s nearly 12 but isn’t all that used to manual clutch bikes. Once I gave her a couple of lessons on clutch and throttle co-ordination off she went. One thing I liked was the tractability of the engine. On more than one occasion Brianna forgot it had a clutch and let the

Step it upPlaything or pit bike

– the choice is yours

engine almost die in second or third gear as she was turning around, only to have the engine revs pick up again as she wound on the throttle – great for learners. She quickly got into the swing of things and was blasting around the paddock going up and down the gears.Did we like it?

You bet. The bike can take a rider up to 80 kilos which allows a broad range of people to enjoy a bike like this. Not only are kids stepping up from a smaller bike catered for, so are their parents (slim dads anyway) or older brothers and sisters. It also has a throttle limiter so the littler ones can be kept in check.

At $3,899 it’s not bad value for a bike that can provide loads of fun like this one can, plus you get Kawasaki’s legendary reliability. And if you’ve kept it in reasonable nick, a bike like the KLX110L will always be snapped up on the used market even if it’s 10 years old or more. n



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raCetorque

WHEN a dispirited Marco Melandri came up with fabled epitaph “The Aliens” to describe Messrs Rossi, Stoner, Lorenzo and Pedrosa, little did he know how it would come to define the disparate pecking order in MotoGP.

Now the term ‘Aliens’ is in common use by pundits in the motorcycle media to the bloke talking MotoGP at the local, the top four riders in world have taken on an omnipotent quality that has encased them in an existential force field that trespassers flirt with at their peril. In his debut race weekend with Ducati at Qatar last year, Nicky Hayden tried to enter the realms of the Alien IV only to land so hard on tar-laid terra firma that it brutally reinforced to the Kentucky Kid and his supporters he had some way to go before he could truly engage the exclusive elite.

Andrea Dovizioso has cracked the code when conditions conspired his way, but has yet to gain permanent residency among the Aliens. It’s much the same for Colin Edwards, who in demonstrating new-found levels of determination, has only underscored just how far Rossi, Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo and Pedrosa are ahead of the pack.

While it’s doubtful either Hayden, Dovi or Colin will ever make it to the ‘Alien V’, the American press has been working itself into a lather about the prospects of MotoGP rookie Ben Spies penetrating the Alien IV nexus with podium finishes and even race wins. Amongst all the brouhaha, the loudest voice playing down Ben’s chances is Ben himself, the Texan’s wisdom in lowering expectations of instant success as

impressive as his blinding speed on a motorcycle.

Ben’s one-time nemesis Mat Mladin predicts that the new Yamaha M1 rider will be positioned between the Alien IV and the rest for most of the season, a prediction partly confirmed by Spies’ performance at Valencia in November. Finishing some 32 seconds behind race winner Pedrosa and just behind Hayden, Spies will be aiming to become the number one American rider and narrow the gap to the fab four. Bearing a remarkable likeness to Jake Sully, the lead character in the mega-hit film Avatar played by Aussie Sam Worthington, Ben may not need to morph into a giant blue-skinned coloured creature to get the bad guys, but mixing it with the Alien IV on a regular basis will nevertheless take a superhuman effort that will make his WSBK victory look like a walk in the park. Mladin has also said the Spies’ success in WSBK is all the more creditable given that in his opinion the works Ducati is the best Superbike in the world, and the 2009 R1 wasn’t the best thing out there.

While there is plenty going in Ben’s favour – namely his mental toughness, focus and ability to stay calm, there are a couple of things that he may want to look at. Number one is his radical riding style. The elbows out, ultra hang-off position that is taught at several lesser-known American race schools must require quite an exceptional physical effort. The Alien IV all have fairly conventional riding styles compared to Ben, hanging off just enough with their head position just outside the line of the fairing screen. While it’s

difficult to quantify, let’s assume Ben’s style demands an extra 30 percent effort to hang off over the Aliens. On an average track of 12 corners where he has to get out of the saddle and back in again, that’s 24 major moves on the bike per lap multiplied by say 28 laps per race. For the aliens, that’s a base line of 672 moves per race. If you add the Ben extra effort of 30 per cent, that’s an elbows-out effort factor of 874. Unless Ben is around 30 per cent fitter than the Aliens, and can sustain that level of fitness for around 45 minutes, then he is already behind the eight ball physically. The only other riders to ever hang off in GP history as far as Ben are Randy Mamola, John Hopkins and Toni Elias. As good as these riders were/are, none of them has won a world championship, and all the guys that have won ’em have had relatively conventional, and some would say, more efficient styles.

The other factors Ben must contend with are history and pedigree. While the wheel-spinning 500s of the 1980s and ’90s required riders with Superbike experience who didn’t mind it when things turned greasy, the electronically controlled MotoGP 800s calls upon pilots with a 125/250 GP background, riders who can nail narrow grand prix lines lap in lap out with an incredible level of intensity.

We can look at the careers of Troy Bayliss and Casey Stoner to demonstrate the issue of pedigree.

Rising through the Aussie Supersport and Superbike ranks, Troy went on to become a major player in World Superbike. You would never say that Troy struggled in MotoGP, but his lack of GP pedigree told at this level, particularly on the Honda RC211V he rode in 2005. The Desmosedici MotoGP lineage has always rewarded very aggressive riders like Bayliss, Capirossi and Stoner, but the Honda RC-series has demanded a careful hand that can cut precise lines and execute small control inputs. At one point in 2005, a frustrated Bayliss made a telling statement to Stoner, who was in his final year of 250GP. Referring to the RC211V, he said to Casey: “This is the sort of bike you should be riding, not me.”

Brought up on a staple of 125 and 250 GP weapons against ferocious opposition, Casey had the perfect pedigree to make the step up to MotoGP, and become its fastest and most spectacular exponent. The other Aliens, of course, all come with a rich grand prix pedigree.

Impressive as he is, Ben Spies doesn’t. That will be his greatest challenge.

– Darryl Flack

AvATAR MEETS ALIEN Iv

The alien has taken over the bike…

“I ENJOYED listening to you guys,” a Cycle Torque reader was telling me when he called to order a book, “but sitting in front of my computer for the show isn’t much fun. Why aren’t you on the radio?”

Sigh. We’re not on the radio because mass media doesn’t like motorcycling, or radio shows, much these days. Radio shows still exist, but generally they need to contain local content, so fishing shows, sailing shows and even the occasional local motorcycle show (usually on a community station) can sometimes be heard, but we haven’t tried getting the Cycle Torque podcast on the airwaves.

“You need an mp3 player, such as an iPod, or possibly your mobile phone might let you play them,” I told the caller. “You download the podcast to your computer and transfer it to the mp3 player, and you can listen to it anywhere,” I said.

“And if you download iTunes (www.apple.com/itunes) you can subscribe to the audio, video and Emag podcasts, so the latest episodes will download automatically whenever you launch the program.”

I forgot to tell him that iTunes is free and available for the Mac or PC, and it will also manage your music and digital video libraries.

I don’t think I went into enough detail with my caller, but then again I’m not sure he cared enough about technology to be bothered with learning enough to download software and configure an iPod or other mp3 player.

Although I hope he wasn’t afraid, it really is pretty easy. Ipods don’t even come with iTunes anymore, you have to download the software if it’s not already on your computer. Once that’s installed just search the iTunes store for Cycle Torque and it’s easy to subscribe to all three podcasts.

The audio podcasts can be listened to with any mp3 player, from a $50 cheapie to a $1000 iPhone. The video podcasts - which only run to a maximum of 10 minutes - are best viewed on an iPod Touch, iPhone or your computer. The eMag really is best viewed on a computer screen.

Once you’ve got the podcasts, there’s a variety of ways to listen, watch or read.

There are the earbuds which came with your player – if you don’t like them there is a

plethora of types, sizes and shapes available anywhere headphones are sold.

On a motorcycle you can listen with a Bluetooth helmet, Bluetooth helmet accessory kit, the audio system on your bike if it has one or some Earmold earplugs with speakers (which I reviewed here last month).

Many cars now come with an audio input jack: if yours has one, all you’ll need is the right lead. If your car has a cassette player, you can get a kit which has a cable from your mp3 player to a fake cassette, enabling you to listen to your digital sounds.

And if none of those things are suitable, there are small FM transmitters available which connect to the bottom of your device. You simply tune your radio to the right frequency and you’re listening to your iPod.

Of course I encourage you to listen to the Cycle Torque podcasts, but there’s a plethora of other great media out there, all free, and all easily downloaded. The most popular podcasts seem to be comedy shows from the major Australian radio stations, but I can recommend the BBC’s Friday Night comedy. The ABC is also a big producer of podcasts, turning many of its radio shows into digital downloads.

Cycle Torque’s video podcasts are usually previews of bike tests we have coming up – in the works as I write this are videos of the Rocket III Roadster and Suzuki RMX450Z. Check ’em out at www.cycletorque.com.au or on iTunes, and don’t be afraid to give them a rating and leave a comment.

– Nigel [email protected]

e-torque

How to get more Cycle Torque

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MAJOR EVENTSALL THE MUST SEE EvENTS BROUGHT TO YOU BY

MARCHvictorian Road Race SeriesWHEN: Rd 1, March 19-21, 2010WHERE: BroadfordWHAT: Classes range from Superbikes to the little junior machines. Broadford is not only a delight to ride at, it’s a great viewing circuit too.CONTACT: Francis, 0413 622 079.

The Triumph Nullarbor AdventureWHEN: Departs Thursday, March 4.WHERE: Starts Port Agusta SA. Many riders will continue all the way to Albany for the 2010 Ulysses AGM. All riders and bike brands welcome.CONTACT: www.triumphmotorcycles.com.au/nullarbor.

Two day motorcycle trialWHEN: March 6 & 7, 2010WHERE: The property is along the Geegullalong Road that goes between Murringo and Boorowa.WHAT: The Trials Club of Canberra are co-ordinating this National Open Trial to be held on a local Murringo property.Riders from ACT, NSW, Vic and S.A. are expected to attend this event which will cater for all categories – Clubman to Expert, and ages 7 to 70+ of Trials riders.Current and past State and Australian Trials champions will showcase the calibre, skills and agility of riding Trials.Besides being an Australian Open Trial – (any Trials rider in Australia may enter), the event also features the Howard Wallace Master’s Shield which is a perpetual and memorial trophy

awarded to the best placed Master (+35 years) rider. On site day catering will be provided by a local P & C.Spectators (all ages) receive free entry to this event are warmly welcomed and encouraged by the host club - (no dogs).Riding begins at 10am both days.CONTACT: For more information David Ault – 6259 0000 or email [email protected] or access http://trialsclubofcanberra.ridenet.com.au, Trials Australia: http://www.trials.com.au

Easter Egg RideWHEN: March 7, 2010WHERE: Starting points at Blue Mountains, Hornsby and Sutherland and ride to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, NSW.WHAT: Raise money for therapy programs for the kids stuck in hospital.CONTACT: More info on www.survivetheride.org - email [email protected].

Big Blue RideWHEN: March 6, 2010WHERE: Starting on Saturday 6th March 2010 Cris, Joe and Ray will set out to ride our motorcycles 45,000 kilometres around the world in approximately 180 days or one big road trip essentially starting and finishing in Sydney, Australia, traveling via SE Asia, India, Middle East, Europe, UK and North America.WHAT: It’s all about promoting awareness of Youth Mental Health, Youth Depression and Youth Suicide around the world and promote the Inspire Foundations’ Reach Out program. To get ‘Men’

talking about their issues; in particular depression. Everyone is welcome to join the three amigos on the trip, even if it’s only for the first day of the journey. ‘Major’ events don’t get much bigger than this.CONTACT: www.bigblueride.com.

Silverwater Motor festivalWHEN: March 13, 2010WHERE: Silverwater Park, Clyde St, Silverwater Sydney.WHAT: Besides the classic cars and hot rods there’ll be street and custom bikes on show. First 50 bike entrants receive a sponsors bag free, worth $50. Run by the Brotherhood CMC.CONTACT: www.greghirstenterprises.com.au.

Australian Formula Xtreme ChampionshipsWHEN: R1 – March 26-28, 2010WHERE: Wakefield Park, NSWWHAT: New series without MA sanctioning, essentially run by Formula Xtreme boss Terry O’Neill. Great racing, centred on the eastern seaboard. Formula Xtreme boasts plenty of TV time too.CONTACT: www.formula-xtreme.com.au.

Australian MX NationalsWHEN: March 28, 2010WHERE: Horsham, VictoriaWHAT: Australia’s premier MX series, Under 19s, Pro Lites and Pro Open classes.CONTACT: www.ozmotox.com.au.

Send your event details to: [email protected]

RegulaR contRibutoRs:DaRRyl Flack, bob guntRip, keith MuiR, DaRRen sMaRt, toDD ReeD, FRieDeMann kiRn, WWW.2snap.coM. cycle toRQue is publisheD by MotoRcycle publishing pty ltD. abn 91 085 871 147 pRinteD by RuRal pRess, noRth RichMonD. pRint post appRoveD pp255003/04198 issn 1441-8789 cycle toRQue is available FRoM bike shops acRoss austRalia. iF you can’t FinD ouR latest issue, call 0420 319 335. subscRiptions aRe available. $24.95 peR yeaR, call 02 4956 9820 FoR Details. copyRight 2006. all Rights ReseRveD. no paRt oF this publication May be RepRoDuceD in any FoRM, incluDing electRonic, Without WRitten peRMission oF the publisheR. please contact the eDitoR beFoRe subMitting FReelance contRibutions.

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accounts: Rebecca eastMent [email protected]

JLT DIRT BIKE INSURANCE • 1300 655 931 • At home or away...we’ve got you covered • www.jltmotor.com.au/dirtbikes/

MAJOR EVENTSALL THE MUST SEE EvENTS BROUGHT TO YOU BY

APRIL & BEYONDBankstown Custom Motorcycle ShowWHEN: April 2, 2010WHERE: Bankstown Paceway, 178 Eldridge Road BankstownWHAT: This show has everything, from a speedway solo display from St George MCC, to Freestyle MX, Outlaw sidecar demos, live music, burnout comp, reptile show, trials, trade displays etc etc etc. You name it, it’s probably here. There’s also $40,000 in cash and prizes to be won, including a raffle Harley-Davidson.CONTACT: www.hardnfast.com

Australian Four Day EnduroWHEN: April 8-11, 2010WHERE: Portland NSWWHAT: Dirt Bike Promotions has given away the running of the A4DE, so this year it’s being taken on by the Oyster Bay Motorcycle Club, with support from a number of other clubs. Portland is situated between Lithgow and Bathurst in

NSW’s Central West, so in April the weather should be just right for riding. Throw in some amazing forest riding and it should be a great event.CONTACT: www.ma.org.au.

Barry Sheene MemorialWHEN: April 3-4, 2010WHERE: Eastern Creek, NSWWHAT: Classic racing at its finest, always a huge range of racing machines doing what they do best. You also get the chance to see heroes of yesteryear’s racing.CONTACT: www.postclassicracing.com.au.

Bikes Between the Boards rallyWHEN: April 3, 2010WHERE: Oberon Leagues Club, North St, Oberon NSW.WHAT: $30 camping fee, band, fully catered, good fun.CONTACT: Nick Wills on 0417 252 685 or [email protected].

Broadford Bike BonanzaWHEN: April 3-4, 2010WHERE: Broadford, VictoriaWHAT: After last year’s very successful event, you’ll again have the chance to see some amazing machines from yesteryear, plus sample your own machine on the track. Track time is available for your classics, whether they be road racers, road bikes, trials or vintage MX. And there’ll be a swap meet too.CONTACT: www.ma.org.au.

39th KamfariWHEN: May 2, 2010WHERE: Darwin, NTWHAT: Solos and ATVs contests this very difficult five hour jungle endurance race. Run by the Darwin MCC, the venue is yet to be determined but you can expect heat, bog holes and insects.CONTACT: www.darwinmotorcycleclub.org.

1 Bitchin’ BitumenBitchin’ Bitumen is the sports rider’s guidebook to the East Coast of Australia. Featuring many great rides from Tasmania to Queensland, Bitchin’ Bitumen will help you find many of the best scratching roads in the country.$39.95

2 Essential Guide to Dual Sport MotorcyclingEverything you need to buy, ride and enjoy trail and adventure motorcycling. Sections on riding gear, tools, riding tips and safety and maintenance keep you well informed for the trip ahead.Exploring and navigating are also covered in this comprehensive guide book.$55.00

3 Essential Guide to Motorcycle MaintenanceThis book contains a heap of tips and techniques to keep your bike in top condition.This book also describes in detail how many parts of your motorcycle work and includes hundreds of colour photographs and illustrations.$65.00

4 The Castrol Six Hour Production RaceFor 18 years, the Castrol Six Hour Production Race was the biggest event on the Australian motorcycling calendar. Controversial, important and exciting, the Castrol Six Hour Production Race was one of those rare events which had bikes and tyres developed specifically to win it. $69.95

5 Right to the Edge Charley Boorman returns with a brand-new adventure, travelling from Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan and Japan… by any means! Using quad bikes, hovercrafts, wooden scooters, canoes, paragliders and of course his favourite mode of transport - motorbike - Charley travels through some of the most exotic and exciting countries in the world. Along the way he encounters fascinating people and tests his endurance to the limit.Packed with adventure, and written with Charley’s trademark humour and enthusiasm, By Any Means 2: Right to the Edge will delight fans and new readers alike.$35.00

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6 Long Way Down – HardbackAfter their fantastic trip round the world in 2004, fellow actors and bike fanatics Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman couldn’t shake the travel bug. And after an inspirational UNICEF visit to Africa, they knew they had to go back and experience this extraordinary continent in more depth. And so they set off on their 15,000-mile adventure, experiencing some of the toughest terrain in the world - and meeting some of the friendliest people.$65.00 Hardback

7 Motorcycle Dream GaragesFantastic Spaces. Outrageous Bikes. Motorcycles live in luxurious palaces, lavishly outfitted warehouses, and gritty shops. ‘Motorcycle Dream Garages’ takes you inside these private enclaves for a sneak peak into the homes of some of the world’s coolest motorcycles. You’ll tour a secret 10,000-square-foot warehouse in New York…a private collection housed in southern California that includes more than 25 one-off customs and highly modified sportbikes-not to mention a jet-powered motorcycle.$59.95

8 By Any MeansBikes have always been Charley’s first love, but he also enjoys a challenge. So when the chance comes to travel across three continents ‘by any means’, he jumps right in.Grabbing whatever local transport he can get his hands on, Charley travels from his home town in County Wicklow all the way to Australia- a trip of over 20,000 miles through twenty-five countries.$24.99

9 Pro Motocross Off-Road TechniqueIn addition to pro tips and step-by-step photos on jumping, cornering, braking, starting, training, and more, this popular dirt rider’s bible has been fully updated to include the very latest techniques in full-color photos. All-new information features data on four-stroke bikes, as well as updated information on the latest body positions, bar set-ups, and jumping techniques that reflect the current emphasis on front-wheel landings. Up-to-date advice makes this an essential guide for today’s off-road racers and riders. The author is Jeremy McGrath’s personal trainer.$44.99

10 Dreaming of JupiterTed Simon is the author of the classic travel book JUPITER’S TRAVELS. It documents his four-year journey round the world by motorbike, travelling through Europe, Africa, South and North America, and Asia. A number one bestseller in the late 1970s, it is still regarded as one of the greatest motorcycle books - indeed, one of the greatest travel books - ever written. $27.99

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11 My Motorcycling Life This book is not meant to be a chronological history. In fact it’s not meant to be a work of history at all. It is simply an entertaining (hopefully) look at many of my motorcycling experiences over nearly 30 years of riding. If I could get permission to mention some motorcycling names, then I did. But otherwise I have told a series of stories that I thought were memorable and fun. So don’t expect them to be in order or to make much historical sense, just enjoy the ride. I certainly did!$19.95

12 My Motorcycling Life Part 2Greg’s follow up to his successful first book was launched at the Sydney Motorcycle Show on Saturday November 21 at 3pm on the inside stage with help from former NSW Transport Minister Bruce Baird, current Federal Member for Parramatta Julie Owens and United Motorcycle Council Chairman Ferret from the Finks Motorcycle Club. –Greg Hirst$19.95

13 BMW Motorcycle Buyers GuideBuying a used BMW is one of the safest bets around… that is, if you know what to look for.This book will give you that information.You’ll find out what to look for when inspecting and test riding. There’s info on early singles, /5, /6 7 /7 models as well as the more current oilheads and Ks.Tips on the troubles for each models and how to spot careless previous owners are also featured.$44.99

14 Barry Sheene This is a remarkable story of Barry Sheene, the cheeky cockney boy who grew up to become a sporting legend. He won the British motorcycling 125cc championship aged just twenty and twice became World Champion in the 500cc class, despite two life threatening crashes.$24.99

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To Order Call 02 4956 9825Shop online at www.cycletorque.com.au

Postage & handling just $10 or free on orders over $100.

New bike I am about to take delivery in the next couple of weeks of a new VRSCF Harley V-Rod Muscle. This is a negotiation between myself and the leader of the opposition (she says I gotta finish the house now) I am chasing some dress-up bits, number plate dresses, rego label holders, pipes, tuning bits, sissy bars and racks etc to customise it a bit but not turn it into a New Zealand Christmas tree. Can you advise on my project? Also have any road tests been done by Cycle Torque? If not I will be able, soon, to give you some feedback. Keep up good work. When is the tastefull-organic-safe-with-the-kids centrefold coming in the magazine?

Chris FowlerGood to see you’ve

got the V-Rod. As for advising you on the project, check out

our long term Harley-Davidson Fat Boy Lo project, it will now doubt give you some food for thought. As for the safe-for-kids centrefold, I doubt there will ever be a scantily clad female, or male, gracing our

centre-spread, but you might see the odd bike

or two – Ed.

DFV is a donk!I refer to Bob Guntrip’s article in the September edition where he states: “Yes, I realise the mighty DFV isn’t a bike donk.” I would suggest that it may be but because of the lack of imagination of the people who funded the DFV’s development, it has not yet become a ‘bike donk’! There is no reason even today why it could not be a ‘bike donk’, all we need is a spare DFV motor. The Americans had sufficient imagination and have come up with the Boss Hog, which I have seen tootling around the streets of downtown Melbourne.

Mac Wright, Vic

Poo and peeThere is a beautiful winding road in the hills around my place which thankfully has been sealed for some time. Every Thursday it gets particularly interesting when numerous trucks and trailers travel along it carrying cattle to the market. Often when one of the trucks or trailers goes around a corner or up or down a hill liquid manure flows out onto the road. If you are a tailgater you could get a good taste of it. Not many, if any, seem to have any kind of tray or tank which could collect the shit and save it up to empty it later, there may be heaps of gardeners who would love a delivery of fresh fertiliser. When so much resources are put into deterring speeding and installing kilometres after kilometres of cable fences (cheese cutters), it seems an obvious road hazard is ignored. It is hard to take the safety projects seriously. Not to mention the amount of spilt fuel from overflowing fuel tanks when these poor sods travel back.

Andrew, Vic

Polish timeHow about running a story on cleaning, polishing and waxing products available in Australia? Webbikeworld did a story but it is yank-based and of little or no use to Aussies. See www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-cleaning-polish/.I just bought a new Sprint and want to keep it in new condition but have no idea

what the best products are or how to apply them correctly so I don’t create swirls and other problems.

VaughanSound’s like a good

story. We’ll look into it – Ed

Same sameSome Things Stay The Same. After a six year absence from bike riding, driving a car became almost normal.Redundancies, divorce, looking after two kids, finding work, refinancing a loan on the house, etc etc.You see someone riding down the road and say yes, no… maybe – I’m over it. Spent the last six months digging a spot to put up a new shed to do my guitar building in, finished it, and found my old riding gear moving all my stuff around. That’s when all the memories come flooding back. That’s it. After thirty six odd years of bike riding you know what’s missing, the bike riding.To hell with it.Went out and got me a new bike a little more upright for a fifty two year old. The things that stay the same. Cars still do the things they always did in front of you, it still feels good to think of nothing but the winding road you’re on, and the guys on bikes that stop to talk to you about your bike and theirs. You just don’t get that driving a car, I’m happy as a pig in mud. Thanks for a great mag.

John, Vic

torquiNG BaCK

Write A Letter! WiN A GreAt PriZeThis month Chris Fowler has won a Cargol Turn-n-Go puncture repair kit. With all the tools and equipment you need to get on the road again quickly, this kit is essential for anyone who even thinks they might get a puncture.Available at better bike shops everywhere.Send your letters (and/or great bike pictures) to The Editor, Cycle Torque, PO Box 687 Warners Bay, NSW 2282 or email [email protected].

Letters LAUNCH REPORT sUzUki Rmx450zRIDING GEAR: Troy Lee Designs helmet, AXO nylons, Alpinestars boots

TEsT BY mAT BROwN PHOTOs BY gARRY mORROw

S p e c i f i c at i o n S : 2010 SUZUKI RMX450Z

Engine Type: Liquid-cooled single Capacity: 449cc Transmission: Five speed/chain drive Fuel Capacity: 6.2 Litres Frame Type: Alloy twin spar Seat Height: 955mm Curb Weight: 123kg Front Suspension: Showa 47mm USD Rear Suspension: Showa piggyback

single shock Brakes: Single disc front and rear Tyres: 80/100-21, 110/100-18 Price (RRP): $11,790

www.suzuki.com.au f i n a n c e

www.gorapid.com.au 1300 790 411*Rates and Repayments are subject to change daily – conditions apply

Own this bike from: $55 per week

Rates from 7.99%*

RMX ReboRnPure enduro might be a tag Suzuki has employed in the past but it perfectly describes the new RMX450ZIMAGINE you could take Suzuki’s championship winning RMZ450 and turn it into an enduro weapon capable of decimating any off-road obstacle put in front of it. What do you think you might end up with? You’d have an RMX450Z. That’s right readers, the RMX is back!

Suzuki has previously relied on its top selling DR-Z400 to fill the void of its competition off-roader, but the RMX450Z will now headline Suzuki’s offroad range.

One of my first thoughts was that the RMX may replace the user friendly DR-Z, but due to the DR-Z’s top selling power (highest selling off-roader in 2009), it will be a fixture in its line-up for now.

Around the bikeIf your initial glance of the RMX led you to believe you’re

looking at an RMZ450 with a light on the front, you would be pretty much on the money. There is a deliberate agenda from Suzuki to keep as much of the DNA the same on the two models. Make no mistake, Suzuki want this bike to be a ‘race ready enduro machine’.

Electric start is now usually standard on enduro bikes; there is a centrally located compact battery with a larger magneto generator to charge it. On the ’bars there is a multi function digital speedo with two modes: standard and sport, with sport mode giving timer, trip meter, average speed and tyre diameter correction for accuracy of functions. Standard mode gives speed, time, voltage and two trip lengths. A low fuel warning light is also a handy feature with a 6.2L fuel tank.

Suzuki was one of the first Japanese manufacturers to put fuel injection into a race bred motocrosser, and the proven EFI system is put into the RMX, eliminating the need for re-jetting at altitude. A quick hinge airbox is a handy feature for ease of air filter maintenance.

To meet the demands of long trail riding, the RMX has an extra coolant reservoir tank, relocated filler cap and a bash plate for undercarriage protection.

Power to the GroundSuzuki has made minimal changes to the RMZ450

engine, and rightly so. If you’re breeding a race ready enduro weapon it makes sense to use proven technologies. Improvements to low and mid power are needed in tighter bush sections and Suzuki has altered its RMZ engine via revised inlet tracts and revised cam profiles. For this power to suit a wider range of conditions, Suzuki has also widened

its gear ratios on the five-speed transmission. An 18-inch rear wheel is also standard.

The engine was tested in a broad cross section of pretty much every type of terrain you would come across. From tight trails to hill climbs, open riding areas, slow log and creek crossings and even a motocross track thrown in for good measure. The RMX450Z is a serious weapon! Its ability to slowly idle into unfamiliar sections, power on, or hold it wide open with no signs of bogging is a credit to Suzuki’s R&D department.

Handling…Suzuki has fitted race-proven Showa suspension in the

RMX. Once again race technology is the order of the day here. Changes to spring rates make for easier rides in a wide variety of trails (spring rates of .47 in the forks and 5.5 in the shock are standard)

After initial sag and bike setup, there was little need for any changes to be made to the RMX for the launch. Having also tested a DR-Z400 I can safely say if speed and the ability to push your machine hard into turns is what you are after, then the RMX is the bike you would choose. Suspension setup on the RMX was firmer than expected. Usually if you were to test an enduro bike through different off-road terrain and then hit a motocross track, you would notice the plush suspension significantly on the larger jumps, but the Suzuki blended the different terrain far more seamlessly than expected – a very pleasant surprise.

Final WordWhen I was informed there was no ADR on this model, I

was pretty surprised. For 2010 the RMX450Z – which retails for $11,790 – will not be able to be road registered. For now it is built with competition in mind. The RMX will pass recreational rego in Victoria but for now it’s private property only for riders in most states of Australia.

Suzuki’s done this in the past - the first DR-Z400 was available in a plastic tank, kickstart only no-ADR verison and the road legal electric start model, so don’t be too surprised. Hopefully in 2011 we’ll get one with indicators.

But take comfort in knowing the RMX is built for the serious trail racer who needs a mount requiring little or no modifications to be super competitive, regardless if they are on a competition course, or find themselves battling their mates for pride. n

QUAD NeWs

EVEN though our sports quad roundup in last month’s issue was pretty comprehensive, here’s one to add to the list.Arctic Cat’s 300 DVX is designed with sports in mind. It’s powered by a 270cc four-stroke single with two valves. Liquid-cooling makes sure engine temperature is kept in check, and an automatic CVT transmission gets it happening with two-wheel drive. It even has a reverse gear.Double A-Arm suspension is on the front, with a swingarm rear doing the job also. Disc brakes all round, 12.5 litre tank and it comes in one colour only, black/white.We haven’t had the chance to test one yet but we’ll try and sort one in the near future. n

The cat’s meow

SIDE-BY-SIDE four wheel ATVs have long been dearer than the regular quad. Polaris has put a spanner in the works of this way of thinking by releasing the new Ranger 400, a side-by-side with a roll cage, dual seating, handy load area and tight turning circles.

Polaris says the Ranger 400 is perfect for the the man or lady on the land, whether it be dairy farmers, vineyard owners or even hobby farmers.

While the 455cc engine is a little smaller than other Polaris full size side-by-side models, it’s also shorter and narrower. In ‘Turf-Mode’ the Ranger 400 will turn super-tight without ripping up your lawn.

Safety is obviously big at Polaris. The $14,995 Ranger 400 has an optional Speedkey system, where the owner can limit the top speed to 37km/h, simply by deciding which key to give the driver. This would limit the shenanigans by the hired help you’d think.

On-demand 4X4 is another handy feature to get you where you want. There’s a load of other features, like its towing capabilities, IRS long travel suspension and extra ground clearance, so check the Ranger 400 out at www.polarisindustries.com.au or call 1300 654 142 to get your local dealer. n

Texas RangeR

TWO of Honda’s ATVs now come with an added bonus. Until March 31, the TRX420TM and TRX420FM both include $500 Honda Dollars that can be used in the dealership at the time of the transaction for a wide variety of accessories, servicing or as a credit toward the ATV purchased.

In addition to a fuel-injection system for consistent performance and improved cold-weather starting, both TRXs offer an OHV liquid-cooled 420cc longitudinally mounted engine that allows direct driveshaft alignment to rear wheels for improved drive train efficiency.

While the TRX420FM features Honda’s Traxlok 4WD/2WD selector, the TM version is a 2WD model available with manual shifting.

All of the 420s feature new dual front disc brakes, while improvements in engine cooling, crankcase venting and rider positioning make it worth your while to check them out at your local Honda dealer. n

Twin TRXs

NeWs

FOLLOWING a successful debut to ATV racing in 2009 with Chris Brenton winning the national title on board the KTM 450 SX quad, KTM’s commitment has stepped up a notch in Australia, with Ryan Lancaster joining the team for 2010, alongside existing riders Brenton, and Len Pipiciello.

The team will have a mixed racing calendar for the season, with Brenton heading over to the USA to compete in eleven rounds of the Pro Amateur class on a 450 SX quad, while newcomer Lancaster will also ride the KTM 450SX quad, but focus on the Pro Class in Australia for the WA State Rounds, and the Tri State Series. Pipiciello will continue on as technical adviser, and Vets Class racer riding the KTM 505SX quad in selected East Coast events.

The one event on the Australian ATV racing calendar that will see the trio all compete together will be the national titles at Southern Capes - Jindong near Busselton, WA, in October, where Brenton will return from the USA in hope of retaining his number one plate and ranking in Australia.

Commenting on his ride in the USA, Brenton from West Swan in WA said, “I have to earn 150 points in the Amateur Class before I can qualify to ride the Pro Class in the USA, but even if I do achieve those points mid season, I will stay in the Amateur Class to prove myself, and gain as much experience as possible before stepping up to the Pro Class the following year.

“It’s my long term goal to race professionally in the USA, so this is a great start in achieving that goal, but I still hope to return to race in Australia for the Aussie champs each year, which is my commitment to KTM Australia for all the support the company has given me, and continue to give me for ATV racing.”

On Australian soil, new team member Lancaster from Tom Price in WA is best known for his Australian ATV title win

in 2008, while 2009 was a come back year for him after breaking his wrist in pre-season training, which required six months of rehabilitation.

“I’ve had the KTM 450SX quad since December for testing and I’m loving it,” said Lancaster.

“I have always ridden a Yamaha in the past, and I have achieved some great results on that bike, but I’m looking forward to improving on those results with KTM.

“I have no pressure on me from KTM, they just want me to bring out the best in my racing, and in the performance of the KTM 450 SX quad, which will be my goal for the year, plus as many podiums as I can achieve.

“In between racing I work full time as a tyre fitter with my family business, so I can’t spend day-in, day-out testing like a professional dirt bike racer would, but I will certainly be giving as much as my spare time as possible to getting out on the KTM and ready to race.

“My toughest competition for most of the Australian Pro Class racing will be Can-Am rider Chad McKay, he’s from WA as well, and just as familiar with the sandy terrain, so we will be on an equal playing ground in terms of preparation, and then of course there is Brenton when he returns for the Nationals. n

KTM steps-up ATv Racing plans

WHILE Polaris will continue its relationship with KTM, which suppies four-stroke engines for Polaris’ Outlaw range of sports ATVs, the American company has bought Swiss-based engine manufacturer Swissauto.

Polaris has worked with Swissauto for a number of years, with the company providing four-stroke Weber engines for Polaris’ snowmobiles.

Swissauto also got involved in the motorcycle game, building a 500cc V4 two-stroke racing engine which saw action in GP racing in the 1990s.

“Swissauto has industry leading power-train design and development capabilities and a strong understanding of turbo-charging and high performance engines,” said Polaris CEO Scott Wine.

How good would it be to see a GP-derived V4 two-stroke powering a Polaris ATV?

Perfect for jumping mountains. n

Polaris continues to go euro

JUST before Xmas Cycle Torque’s dirt bike maniac Darren Smart picked up Husqvarna’s 2010 TE450 and over the next six months Smarty will be bashing the big Husky all over Queensland’s tracks and trails in an effort to give definitive feedback and tips on life with Husky’s mighty dirt blaster.

In Smarty’s own wordsTo be honest, I am just a little tired of

the ‘softly, softly’ approach to testing motorcycles that seems to be the norm around the traps theses days. Even I, in the past, have been guilty of backing off a notch from riding a test

bike to the limit and giving the bike a wrap it didn’t deserve – then again, they were usually short blasts on many different bikes in one day.

Thankfully, Cycle Torque doesn’t have that mentality so once I was given the opportunity by Paul Feeney to give the TE450 a ‘proper’ test I thought it was time to take the foot off the pedal and get fair dinkum about giving the big Husky the workout from hell.

Since taking delivery I have flogged Husky’s latest and greatest 450 enduro weapon from pillar to post and to date I am the only one who is looking

second-hand.So far the Husky has been through a

day of testing on the Gold Coast that can be viewed on YouTube (type in Cycle Torque Test Husqvarna TE450), it survived a day among the steepest climbs and intense trails at a mate’s place north of Brisbane then several days of mud trails and tracks out in the Lockyer Valley.

Add a day of bashing bars with some mates at what is arguably the roughest practice track in Australia (www.flickr.com/photos/cycletorque) and at this early stage I can be nothing but impressed with the Husky TE450.

Track TOOLHusky’s enduro 450 is good enough out of the box to just enjoy.

CYCLE TORqUE TORTURE TEsT – 2010 HUsqvARNA TE450

You want to hear what I don’t like? You really want the ‘dirt’ on the new Husky? OK, here it is…drum roll….I need to sort the back shock……that’s it, nothing more, nothing less. The back shock just needs a tickle to give me a bit more feedback when I am slamming through the rough stuff.

I am just getting a little sideways kick under full acceleration through corrugations and washouts so my plan is to call Victor Martin from the Paul Feeney Group (importers and distributors of Husky) and ask him what I need to get the Sachs back shock just a bit sharper than what it is.

CYCLE TORqUE TORTURE TEsT – 2010 HUsqvARNA TE450 (CONT.)

But before you jump on this as a serious negative please take into consideration that I ride everything like it’s on a motocross track so for the trail rider or enduro dude, the shock will more than likely be sweet once you have the ‘sag’ etc sorted.

At the moment the only tip that I can pass on is the same rule that I apply to all new bikes; set the rear shock ‘sag’ (race sag/ride height – whatever you want to call it) at 95mm for riders around 85kg, a little more (100mm) for lighter riders and a little less (90mm) for heavier riders.

Then put all of the suspension adjustment clickers at the top and bottom of the front forks and rear shock at half way (ie: 22 clicks for softest to hardest – turn it to 11).

From that starting point you need to ride the bike for a few tanks of petrol before starting to make adjustments one way or another, like if the front forks are diving too much under brakes, just up the compression a few clicks and so on for all of the adjustment available.

The good thing about starting in the middle, is if you stuff it all up you can go back to the original settings and start again.

At the moment I have put a bit more compression in both the shock and forks but left the damping alone in the forks and upped it a little in the shock.

Other than that, all is good in my world. If you have any questions or comments regarding the Husky please forward them to [email protected], and if you’re in South East Queensland and want to go for a ride contact me on the same e-mail address.

– Darren Smart

Track TOOL

Catch Smarty’s dirt bike updates on the Cycle Torque audio podcasts, every week.

www.cycletorque.com.au or subscribe via iTunes

ROLLING down pit lane at Eastern Creek Raceway, one of Australia’s finest road race racing circuits, is certainly not where you might usually find me. Take away the tar, add some sand, mud or dirt and I’m right at home.

Motocross is my playground. I’ve often thought about the idea of taking a bit of a detour from my motocross roots, and the rest of the crew at Cycle Torque seem to be pretty nuts about all things road. A few of my mates have been in my ear lately too, kicking up a stink telling me all about their track day adventures and how much fun the blacktop is. So I thought it’s about time to jump on the bandwagon and see what all the fuss is about. Only one problem, I don’t have a road bike!

KTM 990 Super DukeKTM has been kind

enough to let Cycle Torque throw a leg over a large range of its fleet in the past and as it happened we were out sampling the latest 450 and 250 motocross machines. I was dropping a few hints that I was keen

to have a go on a road racer and after a bit of sweet talking, KTM’s tech guru David Woodward had lined up the KTM Super Duke 990R for Cycle Torque to take for a spin around Eastern Creek!

The 990R is a purpose-built street fighting machine; it’s tough, mean and it’s got serious attitude. The white, black and orange colour scheme looks fast and certainly grabs your attention. The engine is a 999cc DOHC V-Twin, with go juice supplied by a Keihin Electronic Fuel Injection System.

Although the Super Duke is not a purpose built track bike the big 990 would serve the purpose just perfectly for a new road bike punk like me. The overall ergonomics package was very comfortable and easy to adapt to, the handlebars looked similar to what my motocrosser has, and the footpeg-seat-tank relationship was not too far out of my motocross comfort zone.

The engine produces plenty of power and even though it had a large capacity it was very user-friendly and easy to ride.

The TrackI was slightly on the more

excited end of the scale as I rolled into Eastern Creek on the morning of our test. I arrived a bit earlier than the rest of the crew which gave me a chance to see what I was in for when the boys arrived with the big KTM. I unpacked my spanking new Ixon leathers and Shark helmet, and then proceeded to walk around the pits thinking I was Casey Stoner. I thought it would be a good idea to watch these road racer guys before I went out for a squirt, so I took a seat and watched the first session. Wow those guys are fast!

After plenty of encouragement from the boys I rolled out on the Super Duke and made my way around the Eastern Creek circuit. After a few laps I felt comfortable and started to find my feet and gather some speed. After a few more sessions on the 990 R and a handful of hints and tips off some of the regulars, I was out cutting laps around the Easter Creek circuit with ease. Clicking gears and heading down the main straight was a buzz every lap as I

pushed past the 200 km/h mark. Taking corners at high speed and what seems like endless grip compared to my motocross bike was an eye opener each and every time as I pushed my limit that little bit further.

The Chequered flagWell the day was done

and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face! High speeds and lots of grip aren’t usually my scene but the KTM Super Duke 990R was very confidence inspiring and easy to ride which made my day at the Creek a whole lot easier.

Some of the guys noticed how my riding style had changed slightly during the day as I became more comfortable with my tar sojourn. I think being on the Super Duke R helped here too. It was so easy to ride, and with so much torque on tap it still motored easily out of turns even when I had it in too high a gear or got the bend wrong. Plus if you like wheelies, well let’s just say the ‘R’ will accommodate you.

To all you dirt lovers out there, try a bit of tar, you might just like it.

– Todd Reed

Tar baby

Pommysuperstocker

MANY readers would have kept up with Cycle Torque’s racing projects over the last few years, whether it be dirt or road racing.

For the last three years the Editor’s son Alex Pickett has been honing his skills on Australia’s road racing circuits, firstly on a Honda CBR150, then last year on a Moriwaki 80 and a 250cc four stroke machine built from a Yamaha YZ250F.

We then looked at what path to take in 2010. Alex is too big for a 125GP machine, we could have built another custom style machine for some class or go 600 Superstock racing, a class many call the new ‘Proddie Racing’.

In the olden days (say, 10 years ago) the obvious next step for someone like Alex was 250cc production racing, a class in which many of our well known racers got their start. Think of Troy Bayliss, Troy Corser and Garry McCoy just to name a few.

But seeing as few manufacturers make a bike like this anymore, the class has died. As a result the 600 Superstock class has taken its place. Take a 600 sports bike, slip on an aftermarket muffler and little else and you go racing.

We chose to go down this path because I thought Alex was ready for it and it’s easy to get into. We also thought long and hard about what machine to ride. Deciding on a bike instigated many a conversation with friends on what Alex should ride. We liked the look of the Triumph Daytona 675 for a number of reasons: its point

of difference, the ability to contest Superstock or BEARS, and the fact it was a very good middleweight sports machine, winning loads of awards since it first hit the streets in 2006. Interestingly one or two friends thought we should go with a Japanese brand, while the vast majority thought it was a master stroke on our part to go British.

So the decision was made to go with Triumph, and we eagerly awaited the arrival of our black 2009 Daytona 675. We had to wait a little longer than expected to get our bike because we wanted a black one, although it’s now red – more on that later.

On the trackAlex was booked in for a ride day

at Eastern Creek a few days before Christmas so it was a bit of a rush to get it ready in time. We could have easily gone to the track with it standard but we’d already bought a race fairing off eBay and painted it flat black, so off came the road gear and on went the race glass. We turned up at Eastern Creek with the standard Pirelli Super Corsa road tyres which weren’t totally new: it had 500 kilometres of running in time on the clock. We also had the standard muffler, so it was quieter than most of the bikes on the track. The only modification we had made, other than the race glass, was to make up a shift rod that went outside of the frame. The original set-up runs the shift rod through a hole in the frame but this doesn’t allow you enough room to switch the shift linkage over to get

a race pattern shift (up for down), so some time with a vice, a hacksaw and a thread tap saw us come up with a suitable rod from our box of spare race bits.

Besides Alex giving the bike a run we also had former Aussie 125GP champ Glenn Scott on hand to test the bike. Glenn was fresh back from Spain and was keen to give us some tips on bike set up.

Both riders cracked around the circuit all day, with Alex’s best time a flat 1:47s, and Glenn’s a low 1:41s.

Both rider’s times steadily dropped with Glenn’s input on suspension set-up. We pushed the forks up through the triple clamps 5mm more than standard (12mm through), and compression and rebound settings were stiffened up slightly from Triumph’s own recommended sport settings. Glenn thought he could go quicker with the bike set up exactly how he liked it, with rear sets, a steering damper (both riders complained of a flighty front end) and some more work on the rear shock. And the fork positioning changes didn’t cause any issues with ground clearance.

Both riders also said the gearing felt too short (standard gearing is 16/47), with the bike hitting the rev limiter in top gear at the end of Eastern Creek’s main straight.

You have to be careful making wholesale changes to a bike after your first ride. Adam ‘Krusty’ Fergusson steered a standard Daytona 675 around Eastern Creek in sub 1:40s so we already know the bike is very fast pretty

Engine covers are mandatory. You can make your own or buy ones like these.

much out of the box. There’s an old saying – “you can tune a bike slower”, which is generally used for engine performance but we think you can say the same about suspension tuning, especially if you are not experienced in that area.

More testingOur second test was also at Eastern

Creek, in mid January. The only change to the bike was a set of last year’s Superstock 1000 Dunlop control tyres, which were used but in extremely good condition. And we had managed to obtain a JT 17-tooth front sprocket which would raise the gearing a fair amount.

All we then did was play around with tyre pressures. We started with 37psi(F) and 35psi(R) off the warmer and they worked well, with Alex dropping his lap times into the low 1:46 bracket. We tried softer pressures, and although Alex got down to a quickest lap of 1:44.5s he complained of the rear tyre sliding, including one memorable moment where he held a power slide through turn one until it nearly bit him with a highside. We enlightened him to the fact he wasn’t about to challenge Valentino Rossi anytime soon, and it might be better to steer clear of those shenanigans, at least at this stage of the game.

Only a week after Eastern Creek we headed south to Phillip Island for another test day. After consulting some well known racers we decided to go a couple of psi harder than we first tried on the Dunlop control tyres. This worked well. The tyres gripped well all day, despite seeing action on a 1098 Ducati race bike and a track day on the Daytona. The gearing was better according to Alex, who spent much of his time zig zagging around slower classic bikes. His best time was a flat 1:49s which is a bit off what the fastest guys are doing in the class, but we expect these times to improve substantially as he gets more experience on the bike.

Race set upWith testing done, the bike was on the

bench to be properly race prepared. We were lucky enough to buy a full race fairing, seat and a new tank, all freshly painted, from a friend of ours for $900 (thanks Simon). With these came some spare ’pegs, discs and ancillaries which was an absolute bargain. Alex added his own bit of bling too, with a billet fuel cap bought on eBay, and a sticker kit, part of which quickly adorned the belly pan. We also bought three rear sprockets from British firm T3 Racing – www.t3-racing.co.uk – which were reasonably priced, got here quick and give us gearing options.

Then came the time consuming task of drilling and lock-wiring the relevant fluid plugs, draining and replacing the coolant with water and changing the oil to Shell 10/40 racing synthetic.

Rules in Australia have governed for the last couple of years that you must fit extra protection to any engine cover that could leak oil in the event of a crash. Aussie importer Carrera Group came to the rescue, supplying a set of GB Racing side engine covers, chain guard and front axle crash bobbins. They took all of around 20 minutes to fit and look very ‘Factory’. They are made from a highly

resistant composite material and have a good reputation in the paddock, so we would expect them to stand up to most crashes. A full kit which also includes frame crash bobbins retails for $615 but you can buy each item separately. Check Carrera Group out at www.carreragroup.com.au or go to eBay.

Sprockets were changed and a new gold RK racing chain fitted.

The next step is to fit the Staintune slip-on muffler and BMC air filter to see what gains they actually give us on the dyno. We’ll run before and after runs so we’ll get a good indication of what improvements we get.

In addition to that we are expecting to fit rear sets, clip-ons and some other race gear to not only make life easier at the track but to make a better race bike out of the Daytona.

Then we plan to be off to the Phillip Island Superbike World Championship round where Alex and his Triumph Daytona will compete in the 600 Superstock Australian support class.

Next time we’ll look more in depth at Alex’s riding gear, how the dyno tests stacked up and how he went at PI.

– Chris Pickett

Pommy superstocker

Race bRed

DUNLOP’S Sportmax Qualifier set standards for grip when it was first released around four years ago. The Sportmax Q2 is the next generation sporting Dunlop. It’s quite different to the old Qualifier in design and much closer to the race tyres which have passed on their genes.

There’s no doubting the fact that racing technology eventually gets passed on to road going machines. Dunlop has used its experience in developing the race N-Tec and Sportmax D211GP multi-compound race tyres to give life to the new Q2.

We realise most of our readers probably aren’t all that interested in the technical details of a tyre, more so on its performance, but we’ll look at a few of the newly coined marketing phrases to give you an idea of what’s happening under the skin of the tyre.

– Intuitive Response Profile: used to describe the new profile, especially the rear which gives a larger contact patch at extreme angles.

– Jointless Band Construction: uses an Aramid belt for better high speed handling and shock absorption.

– Multi Tread: uses a combination of race and street compounds for greater grip and wear levels.

– Carcass Tension Control System: different areas of the tyres have different stiffness levels for better overall feel to the rider.

Real worldLeaving the media hype alone you only need to take one look

at the rear tyre to see it’s certainly got a racer profile, much taller in the centre to help give that larger contact patch when leaned over for better grip.

Dunlop says the tyre is aimed at street sports and track day riding, and depending on how and what you are riding should give anywhere between 3-12,000 kilometres of tyre life. Of course how long is a piece of string? It’s a difficult question to answer.

You’ll be pleasantly surprised to hear the tyre will be cheaper than the outgoing Qualifier, and at just under $500 a set (exact price hasn’t yet been decided) they are very reasonably priced – in the world of sports motorcycle tyres that is.

Sizes available are for 17 inch rims only: 120/60 and 120/70 front, with rear tyres ranging from 160-200 sizes.

On trackDunlop had on hand a variety of bikes for us to sample, and

the variety showed the Q2 is a very versatile tyre.First up I sampled the Suzuki GSX-R600, and while no tyre

warmers were fitted to any bike, another rider had used the bike a couple of sessions before me, so the tyres were warm rather than hot. Pressures had been set at 29psi rear and 31psi front

cold. For the road Dunlop recommended 38R and 36F.

Dunlop’s Ken Wieden assured us the Q2 had a quick warm up rate so after a lap of warm up it was off to see how good the tyres were. At a quick pace the tyres felt great, no slides, the bike tipped in nice and were stable under brakes. The pressures felt fine and when I came back into the pits I saw the tyres weren’t chopped but looked as though one ride day might shag them.

Session two and I was on another Suzuki, this time a Bandit 1250. Now I love these bikes but I was unsure how the weight would affect a tyre as sporting as this.

In fact I couldn’t believe how well it handled the weight and torque of the big Bandit. I also noticed the V-shaped profile of the rear tyre when it progressively ‘fell’ onto its large contact patch. The other thing I noticed was how easily the bike tipped in and steered. The Bandit isn’t known for its flickability but I could pretty much change lines mid corner to wherever I wanted – impressive.

Next I was out on Yamaha’s ‘Big Bang’ R1. This bike isn’t shy on horsepower but whatever I dished out to the rear tyre with the throttle the Q2 lapped up. Drive out of corners was sensational, not one

slide, whereas many sports tyres will light up on big bikes when you get on the throttle hard.

Honda CBRR1000RR: I hadn’t ridden a ‘Blade’ for a couple of years and it took me most of the session to come to grips with it, so you could say I was a little ham-fisted with the throttle and also the way I rode the bike. How did the tyres feel? So good in fact I really didn’t notice them. Normally at the speed I was riding and way I was riding I would expect at least some front wheel slides but the Q2s didn’t put a foot wrong, unlike me.

Lastly I sampled the Triumph Street

Triple R. This was the most fun I had all day, the upright riding position and the fun nature of the engine had me grinning like a madman. I was chasing a Daytona 675, tipping the bike on its side as late as possible and getting on the throttle as hard as I needed to out of corners. Not once did the tyre give me the slightest hint that it wasn’t happy with the situation.

verdictI came away impressed with

the Sportmax Q2’s capabilities as a track day tyre. It feels much closer to a race tyre than

a sports tyre, no doubt a by-product of its race engineering.

There were times I gave them a good excuse to misbehave but they just never did. You have to be happy with that.

But don’t think the tyres are just great for the track. If you have a sports tourer you should consider them also.

By the time you read this Dunlop expect to have stocks of most sizes. Check them out at your local Dunlop stockist or visit www.dunloptyres.com.au.

– Chris Pickett

Race bRed

IT STARTED at the annual C.H.U.M.P.S. (motorcycle journos gathering), get together at Genoa, Victoria, in February ’09. After much ribbing about Ducati ‘reliability’, and fuelled by significant amounts of celebration, I decided to have a ‘go’, at getting an ‘Iron Butt’ certificate.

I had no idea how complex the audit process was, nor how ‘clever’ former ‘round Australia record holder, Tex O’Grady, had been in planting the seed, and telling me his mark was greater than what I needed to ride, to ensure I went one better, as it were. For the record, Tex’s, ‘round Oz mark was eight days 23 hours and 57 minutes, from memory, set in 1978. Half of it was dirt then and the distance about 18,000km. Tex and I had done a fair amount of riding together over the years, usually with a dog on his tank! He was off on a charity ride after Chumps, in Melbourne, and suggested I could head home the long way, and to keep my fuel receipts.

I stayed the Sunday, at Genoa Pub, resting and watching the cricket, listening to the weather, and making a few calls. Turning in early I rose on the Monday, and gave the trusty ST, a once over. The publican at Genoa is also the postmistress. She was my ‘start time witness’. Thanks Heather, who incidentally serves the best free range eggs on toast you’ve ever had in your life!

Time out 9.26am. I headed down the coast to Cann River then turned North to Bombala. Best riding of the trip: best roads, highest average speed of the trip during that first hour, and wonderful fun in the endless hills. Reality took hold after that opening stint. Bombala through to Gunning brought population and traffic density, and a sober approach. Not ‘till West Wyalong was I able to ‘get on with it’ again to put some time in the bank. The run from Cooma on had been fraught with ever worsening wind.

I decided there would be an open ended philosophy to the run. I would go ‘tank to tank’ and see how I felt. I would pick the direction, based on weather and time elapsed, reviewing my estimates as I rode. There are 1000k, 1600k and 2000k certificates. I elected to just bump along and see if I could get near Tex’s 24hr mark, as a goal. Condobolin for fuel, wind gone, and easy riding, how far could I get before sundown? The answer was Dubbo. The shadows were jumping out of the way after that. I settled on a 100km/h policy after some furry reminders gave me a few startles. Orange, and the bike feels wrong. Fuel, tyre check, front is way down. Repressure, check for foreign bodies, nothing. Recheck, time is awastin’. Press on, just as the rain starts, and

gets worse, and worse… Lithgow, wet weather gear is disintegrating. Coffee, visor, tyre still down again, re-pump with my own gear, and go.

This was one of the hardest parts of the trip, and possibly the most dangerous. Heavy fog, constant rain, road works, line re-marking, more rain, tail gating prime movers with lights on high beam, I stick to the speed limit and treat it as an upper limit. I can’t afford an error here. I possibly/probably couldn’t pick up the bike now. Too much body pain for that, past injuries now gather their respective forces and the physical battle rages while the concentration has to prevail if survival and goal attainment are to be realised. I’m down to 40km/h in some sections, there is diesel on the wet road, and I slide very gently even at 40. I wonder if ‘I’m lucky’, it’s rained hard and washed the road clean to this point? Maybe it was worse earlier? Finally the road patches to dry in spots, and I look forward to checking the front tyre again at Pennant Hills. It’s summer, but it’s cold now, with everything on, and still wet, the body is protesting, and I’m getting very slow dismounting and re-mounting etc. Tyre is low again, I change the valve and re-pressure, fingers crossed.

The weather improved, only light rain occasionally now, and I was Taree bound, but had forgotten the 100 odd km of speed-limited roadworks north of Newcastle. This would hurt, time wise, but could be used, in part to re-charge, I looked on the bright side and calculated sunrise must be imminent. Then it rained hard again, just to remind me to live in minute tight compartments and recall the number of past 1000km-plus days in the saddle, and that 1600km, the ‘old’ 1000 mile mark was past. There was no point in stopping, better to do the 24 hours as so much of it had already been done. Very slow at Taree, deliberate, careful, get off, limp, pay, piss, limp, get on... remember to pressure the front... get off again, it’s low again... pressure front... go. When is sunrise?... oh great, here come the roadworks again.

Shortly after dawn, now heading South, a familiar ‘race’ van pulls up beside me, “Johnson Refrigeration” emblazoned on the flanks. It’s Mick Johnson, long time Ducati racer, in Bears and Pro Twins, he waves, I gesticulate back but there is no time to yarn so I ride on. Could not believe the coincidence of seeing him on the road, after all those hours/kms etc... Head down I make for the Caltex Servo at Wyong, 2000+kms have elapsed, fuel, sun, warmth, tyre, low again! I over-inflate and head for the overpass to turn North again. In an effort to make up time I vapourise the straight expressway, and find the bike won’t

turn onto the Newcastle Link road, easy, bit by bit, I back off, and wobble to the verge, front gone, dead flat... that only took about 14 minutes!... less than an hour to go... If you go ‘over’, the whole run is excluded. There is a lot of traffic, hey, this is Newcastle’s of peak hour. Blow up the tyre with a proprietary tyre fix product, the can explodes, glad that didn’t happen in the pannier! Tyre still flat, can I ride it flat at walking pace just to get a credit card transaction somewhere so it’s not all wasted? Possibly not, try the second can of magic tyre fix stuff, hold my breath and it works like a charm. I empty the whole lot in and go for it.

I soon learn lane splitting with panniers is not a good idea in peak hour traffic, and there are traffic lights! I take to the footpath to jump the queue heading for the servo. Park, look at the tyre, no foam, no bubbles, still ‘up’, I buy a bag of jelly snakes and tuck the precious receipt in with the others. It’s time ‘wasted’ but if I lose the front tyre before Frasers, it won’t be a total loss. Traffic is impossible, traffic lights everywhere, I’m a few minutes early, hey, I could do another 20 minutes odd, but at 40 to 50 km/h, I might only get another 10km in these conditions. Stop. It’s over. ‘Loopy’ Lewis sells me a toy of Loris Capirossi’s GP bike and tells me I smell “like a wet moose wrapped in a smouldering rubber blanket”. He is my finishing witness and writes this fact in his letter which is part of the submission to the I.B.A. in the States. The front header is covered in melted rubber, and I have been wet then dry then wet many times. 2217km in 24 hours, only to hear Tex laugh heartily, while ‘confessing’ he added a couple of hundred to his mark to keep me honest! Bike now 151,000km old.

The subsequent audit and documentary file presentation to the Yanks gave rise to some amusing comments. “How much sleep did you get?” and “Why did you do two sets of ‘Canyons’?” This is a reference to the Snowy and Blue Mountains etc, and “What did your crew think of that?” etc. They take this stuff really seriously. I reckon 2500km is do-able; even 3000km?... but only using outback roads, and a radio equipped, pathfinder vehicle, to enable the ‘Russian Roulette’ of the night hours to be productive. Remember, plenty of riders have met animals in daylight hours. Average for the 24 hours was about 92km/h. Alone and impromptu, it was the best I could manage. Thanks to Crusty for suggesting a 1000 mile run some years ago. It always ‘pecked’ at me, Crusty.

Ride ‘em, don’t hide ‘em. – ‘Aunty’ Mal Cherlin

Sore cheekS

Cycle Torque March 2010

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Transcript of Cycle Torque March 2010