“It differs significantly from the general perception of the motoring public,” they told us.
Latest ramming incident
In this latest incident a rider struck the Road Policing Command motorbike yesterday afternoon in Geebung.
The senior constable was conducting speed camera duties near a school on the intersection of Newman and Robinson roads at 3.45pm when he saw a motorcycle pull up at the lights.
He identified the motorcycle as having been involved in several traffic offences in the area.
The officer then parked his motorcycle in front of the bike and activated his lights.
It is alleged the other bike reversed before hitting the officer’s bike, knocking both to the ground.
The video shows the man fleeing the scene before the officer catches him.
The senior constable was taken to hospital for treatment to a minor injury to his knee and his bike sustained minor damage.
Police will allege that the man returned a positive roadside drug test and was found in possession of a quantity of ice.
A 35-year-old man was issued with a Notice to Appear in the Sandgate Magistrates Court for driving while disqualified, drug-driving, obstructing police and possessing a dangerous drug.
He was also been issued with an infringement for an unregistered, uninsured vehicle and possessing “something that resembles a numberplate”.
The man’s motorcycle was also seized.
Investigations are continuing with further charges expected.
More info
If you have any more information on this incident, contact Policelink on 131 444 or provide information using the online form 24hrs per day.
Team Honda HRC contender bumped to second in points standings.
Image: Supplied.
Discomfort in the 23-lap main event at Oakland’s fourth round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship is what caused Ken Roczen to fade in the closing stages of the encounter.
The German ace was challenging in second position before a four-way battle unfolded where positions were traded on multiple occasions, however Roczen played it safe while not feeling entirely comfortable, settling into fourth before relinquishing one more spot in the dying moments.
Crossing the line in fifth as two-time main event winner Cooper Webb (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) captured victory, the Team Honda HRC contender was ultimately demoted from the top of the points table, handing the red-plate to Webb in the process.
“Oakland started off pretty good,” Roczen explained. “I felt super good in practice and was super-happy with the bike. I was confident going into the night show and happy to have first gate pick. We had a decent heat race, finishing in second. We had to do some little bike adjustments, just as the track changed.
“I didn’t have a great start at all but fought my way up to second for a bit. I was struggling in the whoops and started feeling uncomfortable and unfortunately, I went back to fifth. That’s not ideal but we’re leaving healthy.
“We lost the points lead but only by a couple points – it’s a long season, so if we can take this as our worst race, that’s pretty good. It’s time to regroup and hopefully get back on the podium in San Diego.”
The number 94 still holds down second in the standings, two markers behind Webb and one point ahead of Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac heading into San Diego’s fifth round this Saturday night.
Overnight the FIM released a statement concerning the results from fuel tests conducted at the 2018 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations staged at Red Bud early last October.
Tests were conducted on a number of riders but only the sample taken from Italy’s Michele Cervellin fell outside the fuel parameters mandated by the FIM specifications.
The FIM ruled that not only Cervellin would be removed from the results, but that the entire Team Italy squad results were nullified. Thus Antonio Cairoli and Alessandro Lupino also have their results removed, and Italy’s second place in the teams overall standing at the MXoN cancelled.
No appeal against the decision of the FIM Race Direction has been lodged before the International Disciplinary Court (CDI) within the set deadline. As a consequence, the decision of the Race Direction is final.
That promotes The Netherlands in to second in the team standings.
Australia had originally placed fourth on the results, finishing on an equal 38 points with Great Britain who were placed fifth. But the cancellation of the Team Italy results unfortunately means that Great Britain are the ones promoted on to the podium by two points. Australia remains fourth, but are now placed on equal points with Team USA who now rank fifth in the official results.
Any vehicle that proclaims to be all things to all people and all roads sounds like a compromise machine, but not the Triumph Tiger 800 XCx that comes pretty close to satisfying on all counts.
Last year the Tiger 800 range received a major upgrade with LED lighting, lighter weight, better ergos, six riding modes, up/down quick shifter, updated cruise control, full-colour instruments, back-lit controls, Brembo front brakes switchable ABS and traction control, and improved off-road ability.
Michael Oliver of Oliver’s Motorcycles in Moorooka says the Tiger 800 represents good value with a host of standard extras.
As I take the keys to the off-road oriented XCx, Michael points out the host of standard hardware such as bash plate, engine guards, USB charging socket, rear rack and handguards, stuff you pay extra for on most adventure tourers.
Techno wonder
However, it was the standard tech that left me gob-smacked.
For a start, there are six rider modes, each of which can be customised to suit your personal riding style.
You can also choose the layout, colours and style of the full-colour TFT instruments while the cruise control has logically been shifted from the right switch block to the left.
Riders can choose to have the normal low-beam lights or the bright LED daytime running lights. I chose the LEDs because they seem to attract more attention.
There is even the option to switch between automatic indicators “Basic” and “Advanced” or off, although why anyone would turn off this most basic of safety features baffles me.
In Basic, it holds the indicator a few seconds after turning a corner, but Advanced switches off straight away.
I’m glad I selected Advanced, because I took the first exit at a roundabout and immediately after a car at a left-turn street was about to drive out in front of me but stopped when the indicator switched off.
Now that’s good primary safety tech.
There is also traction control and ABS for both road and off-road use, or you can switch it off.
I tried emergency stops in all the variations on both tar and ball-bearing gravel and was amazed at the results.
I thought I was good at emergency braking, but I could not beat any of the ABS settings, especially on gravel.
The dual Bembo front discs on the XCx may seem overkill on the gravel, but they work well albeit with a fair bit of fork dive.
Traction control is also a must as the 800cc triple brings on the power with a bit of a snap which can make it fishtail wildly on the dirt with traction switched off.
I found it quite difficult to control, but with the of-road traction switched on, it allowed some slide without losing control.
Riding
When I first headed out into traffic I reached out and pushed the high windscreen of the XCx forward and down to the bottom position.
It features a simple spring-and-rubber washer that just works.
Michael says he was worried it would rattle with age, but says it hasn’t on other models with the same adjustable screen.
Out on the highway, I reach out and pull it up. Simple and effective.
The contoured seat cossets my rear and the controls all fall easily to hand and foot. This is a the sort of bike you could easily use to do a lap of Australia and it wouldn’t matter if the road turned to gravel or you wanted to explore some national parks.
It’s also well suited to traffic with a light clutch, foolproof gears and a commanding position to view over traffic, although you easily adjust the seat down.
I’m 183cm tall and my heels touch the ground with the seat in the low 840mm position. That sounds high, but the narrow seat makes it easy to set foot on the ground.
That narrow waist also makes it very comfortable to ride standing up on gravel roads without feeling like you are riding a horse.
I wouldn’t need bar risers in this position, either. Just roll the bars forward and let the natural bar bend lift them up into your hands.
The foot pegs are also nice and wide and provide a comfortably long reach.
Pillions will enjoy the wide and flat perch, long reach to the pegs and generous grab handles on each side.
What I didn’t enjoy is the heat coming up over my knees from the engine. I found myself riding with my knees out in the breeze in traffic, although I tucked them in on the highway.
The XCx mirrors are stylish and are set high and wide for plenty of rearward vision. However, at highway speeds, the right mirror vibrates and blurs the vision.
I think that’s because the gearing is set too low.
It provide good off-road ability, especially for slow-speed gnarly tracks.
But it makes the grips tingle a little at highway speed where it runs at 45000rpm in sixth. That’s about 500 revs too much, yet it still returns 3.5L/100km at that speed.
After a day’s riding with some high-spirited twisting roads, some gravel tracks and even a bit of trials riding on some rock shelves, the XCx returned a commendable 4.2L/100km.
I found I could quickly snick the gears through to fifth or sixth around town and the bike will still pull well from 3000 revs at 60km/h in fifth.
Despite all the tech and extras, the biggest attraction for me is the ride and handling of the XCx.
Thanks to WP forks and shock, the Tiger 800 XCx seems perfectly balanced in all situations from highway cruising to twisting tar and corrugated dirt roads.
However, if you are riding less than 80% road and more than 20% dirt, you might want more aggressive rubber than the all-round Bridgestone Battlewing tyres.
Triumph Tiger 800 XCx tech specs
ENGINE & TRANSMISSION
Type
Liquid-cooled, 12 valve, DOHC, in-line 3-cylinder
Capacity
800cc
Bore
74.05mm
Stroke
61.9mm
Compression
11.3:1
Max Power EC
70kW (94bhp) @ 9500rpm
Max Torque EC
79Nm @ 8050rpm
System
Multipoint sequential electronic fuel injection
Exhaust
Stainless steel 3 into 1 header system, side mounted stainless steel silencer
Final Drive
O-ring chain
Clutch
Wet, multi-plate
Gearbox
6 speed
CHASSIS
Frame
Tubular steel trellis frame
Swingarm
Twinsided, cast aluminium alloy
Front Wheel
Spoked, 21 x 2.15 in
Rear Wheel
Spoked, 17 x 4.25 in
Front Tyre
90/90-21
Rear Tyre
150/70 R17
Front Suspension
WP 43mm upside down forks, with adjustable rebound and compression damping, 220mm travel
Single 255mm disc, Nissin single piston sliding caliper, Switchable ABS
Instrument Display and Functions
TFT multifunctional instrument pack with digital speedometer, trip computer, digital tachometer, gear position indicator, fuel gauge, service indicator, ambient temperature, clock and five rider modes (Road/Offroad/Off-Road Pro/Sport/Track)
Australian overcomes mid-race incident to finish ninth at the fourth round.
Image: Supplied.
Despite not reaching a desired result, a top 10 finish at Oakland’s fourth round of the 2019 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship has injected confidence into Australia’s Chad Reed.
Finishing fourth in his 450SX heat race, Reed navigated his way through the field in the main before his charge was halted just laps into the outing when he landed on Aaron Plessinger’s (Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing) downed YZ450F at the based of the challenging wall jump, forcing him to regain lost time.
The JGRMX Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing rider fought back to ninth in an inspiring ride, allowing him to confirm his set-up aboard the RM-Z450.
“I really liked the Oakland track layout, there were nice whoops and ruts,” Reed explained. “Unfortunately, I again struggled with one-lap speed, but I felt like I would be okay for the heat race and main event. I had a decent start in the heat race and finished fourth.
“I was really enjoying the main event and began to find a rhythm. I was going to try and make some moves forward, then I landed on Plessinger’s bike when he crashed in a blind spot. I fought back to ninth. I’m entering a new week with confidence.
“I have the pieces, but I need to start out the day better and carry that into the night show. We’re heading to one of my favourite races of the series this weekend. San Diego has always been a solid hunting ground for me.”
The main event was ultimately won by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Cooper Webb, marking his second victory in as many weeks while granting him the points lead in the process.
Kawasaki Racing Team ace beaming with confidence ahead of Phillip Island.
Image: Supplied.
Reigning WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea is beaming with confidence after two days of testing at Portimao in Portugal, where the four-time title holder once again topped the timesheets.
The Kawasaki Racing Team ace believes the two-day official test ticked every box, confirming a number of components that were rolled out for last week’s Jerez test in Spain, along with sampling a new specification tyres from Pirelli.
Rea lodged a quicktime of 1m40.885s at the Portuguese venue, lapping the circuit almost one second clear of the second fasted rider Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team).
“It has been a super-positive test,” Rea stated. “We came from the Jerez test and I was still understanding the bike and the asphalt there. It made it difficult to understand the work we had done over the winter. But coming here we had quite a neutral platform to work with and a lot of data.
“Although the temperatures did not get into a perfect operating window it gave us a consistent effort over two days. We confirmed the chassis items we tested at Jerez, and electronically we worked a bit better. We started to work on our race performance. I was really happy with how I felt with a lot of laps on the tyre compared to last this time last year.
“I got to try a qualifier at the end of the day and that felt quite good and I was really fast with it. This test ticked every box, just a couple of little items we could have re-checked and gone over. But the priorities were done and we got to try some new Pirelli tyres as well.”
The Irishman will be out on track again at Phillip Island on 18-19 February, which takes place one week prior to the season-opener at the iconic Australian venue, where he’ll commence his bid for a fifth-consecutive WorldSBK crown.
Dubbo in central NSW will declare a CBD street as Bike Street for motorcycles during the inaugural Dubbo Motorcycle Rally from May 10-12, 2019.
Dubbo Motor Bike Rally Committee spokesman Wayne Amor says the region is the perfect place for a large motorcycle rally and hopes it will turn into Australia’s version of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Such Dakota, the world’s largest.
“We feel that Dubbo and surrounds have a great deal to offer riders along with the local venues that have already come on board to support our event,” Wayne says.
“It is a great excuse to get the bike out for a couple of days and gather with other like-minded people.
“We have the added initiative of covering off on some road and motorcycle safety aspects, especially considering the recent spate of motorcycle accidents and fatalities in NSW.”
Dubbo Bike Street
The rally will be held in Church Street, between Macquarie and Brisbane streets.
It will one known as “Bike Street” from 8am to 6pm on the Saturday of the rally with the street closed to all but motorcycles. Access will be via Brisbane St.
A detailed list of entertainment will be posted on the rally’s website and Facebook page as the event gets closer.
“The aim of the rally is to promote safe riding and foster all the great things that riding a bike provides – fun, freedom and camaraderie,” Wayne says.
The committee has invited the Motorcycle Council of NSW and are in negotiations with the RMS Motorcycle Safety Unit and the NSW Police Force.
Wayne says they also have many motorcycle related industries and outlet stalls plus major motorcycle companies interested in attending.
The city has many pubs, clubs and restaurants for riders to experience and more than 4500 hotel beds.
Biggest rally
“We aspire to be the largest bike rally in Australia,” Wayne says.
“From Harleys to Hondas, Buells to Beemers and Piaggios to Posties, all bikes and riders are welcome.
“We haven’t set a minimum, but we have pressed 1000 pins and patches for the inaugural event.
“Dubbo Regional Council is also very much behind the event and hope, like us, that it is hugely successful.”
Team Australia retains fourth as standings receive a shake up.
Image: Foremost Media.
A fuel sample taken from Team Italy rider Michele Cervellin (Team SM Action Yamaha) at RedBud’s 2018 FIM Monster Energy Motocross of Nations (MXoN) in the USA has returned with a non-conformity reading, resulting in the nation being stripped of its runner-up honours and disqualified from the classification.
The disqualification has shaken up the results, boosting Team Great Britain from fifth in the standings to third, while The Netherlands has been promoted to second behind Team France
The updated results haven’t played into Team Australia’s favour as it was unable to advance onto the podium after initially finishing fourth, however it still retains the position.
A number of fuel samples were taken from riders, including Team Italy captain Antonio Cairoli (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), the entire Team USA squad, France’s Jordi Tixier (KTM), Belgium’s Jeremy van Horebeek (Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing) and Australia’s Hunter Lawrence (Geico Honda).
An Italian company plans to build a motorcycle with a howling, 150kW, upside-down, two-litre, triple engine and is seeking crowd-funding for the wacky idea.
While many motorcycle manufacturers are trying to build bikes with a lower centre of gravity for more stability, Nembo Motociclette says mass centralisation as featured in MotoGP bikes is more important.
With a rider on top of the bike, an upside-down engine with the heavy crank at the top would centralise mass.
Nembo say the bike will have 150kW of power, 210Nm of torque and weigh just 160kg.
They say it would be great for racing, but the video doesn’t seem to prove its speed or handling prowess. However, it does sound fantastic!
Upside-down history
The upside-down Nembo has been around for a while and was first publicly featured at the 2012 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este” at Lake Como, Italy.
Kinda got a nice ring to it hey? For those that don’t know Kenny, he is not your typical, irascible old bike racer. Far from it. As a lover of all things beautiful on both two, three and four wheels, Kenny can still be seen taking up the rear of the field at most classic races regularly on his trusty ninety year old Douglas together with either a very rare 250cc Manx Norton, G50 Matchless or one of his many other lovely classic racing bikes.
If you were lucky enough to be at last weekend’s Island Classic, he raced one of his two magnificent blood red Norvins. This time it was the all-conquering 1300cc monster that at some time held every unlimited classic racing title in this country ably ridden by Mildura’s Peter Guest. Riding such a beast is a great effort in itself for Kenny considering he weighs not much more than the front wheel of one of these monsters.
Yeah so what you say, another old bloke with a few toys. Well, yes you would be right he’s an oldie but golden oldie. Kenny turns 88 years young next month and has raced all over the world with and against some of the greats of quite a few eras.
Yes, good but here’s the kicker – he’s raced his toys for over 70, yes 70 years! There’s barely a classic race meeting without a Ken Lucas race or the like in its race program to honour a great racer and truly lovely human being.
Those fortunate enough to meet and get to know the bloke will readily tell you of his cheekiness, generosity and love of a medicinal scotch after his race day.
With his loving wife of many years Brenda, their motorhome has played host to countless racers, legends of the sport, officials, sponsors and the odd tired out photographer looking for a seat where there’s always a yarn, a cuppa and a chunk of Brenda’s homemade fruit cake on offer. Kenny and Brenda are pure history and for those interested to learn, a bottomless pit of racing, racer history and practical engineering knowledge.
Walk past his motorhome at your peril when he’s unpacking for a race as if you are within earshot you will often get a cheeky yell and be asked to push one of his beautiful racing collection up to the pit shed for him, or vice versa at the end of the day and join him for a quiet medicinal scotch. Old school, trusting, but sharp as a tack.
As one would expect at 88 years young, he’s more than a tad deaf, can’t find his hearing aids and as a consequence has introduced many fellow racer pit campers nationwide with an early morning Sunday wakeup call to ABC Radio’s Macca’s All Over Australia while he gets his toast on. At home – he’s absolutely no different. Every day out in the shed with his harem of 60 plus beautiful, rare and exotic racing wives – all with a story. All with a yarn or six.
The generosity of this man sees busloads of eager bike club members visit to get an insight into the man, a tour of his magnificent garages, and if he really likes you a ride on one of his steeds. Something largely unheard of in this day and age.
Well, what more can this man achieve? Good question! He got to do a Lap of Honour at this year’s Island Classic with Isle of Man winner Cam Donald in his Katana sidecar. Kenny raced the IOM TT himself way before the majority of our readers were even thought of.
So what else can this modern day octo-superman achieve? Kenny was quite rightly recognised for his immense contribution to our motorcycling industry, our sport and countless participants over many decades with a Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2019 Australia Day honours list. A big win for the common man!
Congratulations Kenny John Lucas OAM – you’re a legend in so many ways to so many people and we look forward to seeing you (and hearing you) for many years to come!