Frustration for Cianciarulo following Glendale exit
Section: Competition
Monster Energy Kawasaki rookie escapes injury in heavy fall.
Image: Octopi Media.
Fastest qualifier Adam Cianciarulo’s night at Glendale came to a crushing end on Saturday night, leaving him frustrated but uninjured following a costly crash in final three of the Triple Crown.
The Monster Energy Kawasaki 450SX rookie was fastest once again in qualifying for the fourth-straight week, however, 3-6-17 scores earned him eighth overall.
Following an error in final two, Cianciarulo’s chances of finishing on the podium ended when he crashed out of the final outing altogether in the whoops while in third position. He’s since confirmed no injuries were sustained.
“That was definitely not how we wanted to finish the night and, although this is part of racing, it’s always a tough pill to swallow,” Cianciarulo commented. “We kicked off the day qualifying fastest again and honestly, I was feeling good all day.
“I made some mistakes out there and that last one cost me. I’m sore and a bit frustrated, but I have a great team behind me who continue to remind me there are a lot more races left to go in this premier class. We’ll take the week to recuperate and look to come out strong in Oakland.”
The lone podium of Cianciarulo’s podium came at Anaheim 1’s opening round with a runner-up result, now currently ranked sixth in the Monster Energy Supercross standings following four of 17 rounds.
In a nutshell, these two special-edition motorcycles appear to be a real value for Triumph fans. Considering the electronic suspension, along with the quickshifter and Arrow titanium slip-on exhaust, plus you get the special paint and graphics to boot, these are a bargain that can easily be overlooked if you’re not paying close attention.
A planned rally in the NSW outback this May hopes to break the world record for the most Indian motorcycle riders at one event, set in the USA with 651 bikes.
Organiser Chris Keeble says they already have more than 280 registrations for the rally on Saturday, 9 May 2020, at Silverton, the site of Australia’s only museum dedicated to Mad Max 2.
“Many independent dealerships are working really well such as in Tamworth and Wollongong, so it can work.
“But I’ll miss the signature dealerships — they were great to visit — and now I need to find someone to service my bike.”
She says Indian has been supportive of the rally and supplied access to their customer data base to alert owners to the event.
“They are also shouting all registered riders to a free barbecue breaky on Saturday morning put on by the Lions club,” she says.
“The company have been great to deal with. The previous management team were all supportive and from what I gather so is the new team. I’m yet to meet the new head guys.”
Breaky will be followed by a parade through the town. There are no other formal festivities organised.
Record attempt
Chris
Chris says the parade and rally will be the first Indian-only event in the Southern Hemisphere.
“The world record would be icing on the cake,” she says.
“We have riders from all over Australia gathering in one iconic Aussie location to meet fellow enthusiasts who share a passion for the Indian Motorcycle brand.
“This is about camaraderie and community, just as much as making and breaking records.”
Chris is welcomed by a local Silverton dog
She says Silverton, which is only 15 minutes west of Broken Hill, was chosen as an “historical Aussie backdrop” with a “good infrastructure of hotels and eateries”.
“If it isn’t on your bucket list to visit, it should be, and this event will tick a few boxes for many folk.
“Plus, it is taking traffic out to the country regions that need support for both morale and the economy. Short of doing a rain dance, country Australia and locals are very appreciative of these events.”
The event now has the sultry catch phrase of “C U N Silvo”.
Spaniard 15th on the timesheets during both days of testing at Portimao.
Image: Supplied.
Spaniard Alvaro Bautista says it was frustrating spending additional time in the garage with an increased testing workload at Portimao, which came as a result of a wet Jerez test last week that hindered development.
Bautista made a high-profile move from Aruba.it Racing – Ducati to the newly-introduced Honda HRC squad for 2020, where teammate Leon Haslam and himself are in the early stages of developing the all-new CBR1000RR-R.
The title contender struggled to match the pace of the leaders in Portugal, finishing 15th on the timesheets during both days of testing.
“These tests have been tough for us because in Jerez we could not test much due to the bad weather,” Bautista admitted. “So we had to concentrate all the work here in Portimao, basically trying to complete four days of work in just two days. That meant we were forced to spend more time inside the garage than on track and this of course is a bit frustrating when you just want to have everything ready, put in a new tyre and go for it.
“Anyway, this is the kind of job that has to be done with a new project. I think we now have a lot of data that can be useful in developing the bike and we’ll see how the next step goes in Australia. Those tests prior to the first round will be very important.”
Bautista has one more opportunity to come to grips with the new Fireblade ahead of the season-opener, with a test due to take place at Phillip Island in the lead-up to round one on February 24-25.
Altherm JCR Yamaha rider second at the New Zealand event.
Image: Supplied.
Kirk Gibbs made a strong return to racing at Woodville’s New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix, finishing up on the podium in his first race since August last year.
Gibbs, who races on a motocross-only contract with CDR Yamaha Monster Energy in Australia, contested the Kiwi event with Altherm JCR Yamaha in the lead up to the 2020 New Zealand MX Nationals.
The South Australian recorded 2-2-1 for runner-up honours, finishing second to Hamish Harwood (KTM) as Ethan Martens (Kawasaki) locked out the podium.
“In the first moto, I didn’t get off the line very well at all and had to come from pretty much dead last,” Gibbs explained. “I actually felt really comfortable on the bike, made some good progress on the leaders and then got into second. Then I got right onto the back of first for the last lap but just ran out of time.
“I got into second [in race two], then just as I got into the lead Hamish Harwood passed me. He could turn off a few things a little bit better than me until the track started to dry out towards the end of the race, and then I got right back on him but couldn’t pass
“I sat there for a little bit but started to inch up. He made a little mistake down the back and I got through and rode it home for a win [in the final moto]. All in all, I felt very good and felt good on the bike. My starts can definitely be better and I’ve got to work on those this week and then I’ll come out swinging for round one.”
The MX2 category saw Maximus Purvis (Altherm JCR Yamaha) secure victory over Josiah Natzske (Kawasaki) and Dylan Walsh (Ben Townley Tours/Altherm JCR Yamaha).
Also, the use of the Fireblade outline in the drawings could simply be artist expediency as several other patent application drawings have included Fireblade outlines.
If you’ve ever lost your motorcycle key and don’t have a back-up, you’ll know how expensive modern keys can be to replace.
Many modern motorcycle keys now have a security code for the ignition immobiliser. It can be etched on the key itself, written down on purchase documentation or owner’s manual, stamped on a card or engraved on a metal tab attached to the key.
Security code
If you lose your keys and have the security code, some bikes have an emergency contingency for starting your bike, usually using a series of controls on the indicators or other controls.
A new key could only cost about $50. However, the security fob can cost several hundred dollars.
Harley remote key fob
But if you lose the keys and your security code, you could face thousands of dollars to get a new ignition security system and sometimes the ECU as well!
If you are buying brand new, you will get two sets of keys and/or fobs plus a pin code.
Immediately put your pin code in your phone along with your VIN (vehicle identification number) and keep a copy with your spare key at home in a safe place.
If you buy a bike second-hand, always ensure you get the back-up set of keys. If they say they lost them, be suspicious as they could be planning to visit your place and reclaim their bike in the middle of the night!
Older bikes without immobilisers will have a key code on the ignition cylinder which you will have to pry out. If you can’t remove the ignition cylinder, try the seat lock, fuel tank or steering lock as they should be the same.
A locksmith should be able to replicate a key based on that code for a reasonably small fee.
If you can’t find the code or it’s rusted off, call an automotive locksmith.
They may still be able to help you based on the model details, so long as you have proof of ownership.
If you have a pre-immobiliser bike and only one key, it’s a good idea to get a spare cut from that key. Again, it’s cheap insurance.
Keep it in a safe place at home and maybe get a third key that you keep in your wallet or jacket.
The best way to avoid any of the above costly problems is to never lose your keys.
Many riders, including myself, forget to take their keys out of the bike when they park.
That’s because there is so much to do when you stop: Kill switch, side stand, glasses, helmet, gloves, etc. It’s easy to forget to take out your key.
Thieves have been known to steal motorcycles with the keys still in them.
It’s not only dumb to leave your keys in your bike, but also illegal in some states with fines up to more than $100. I’ve seen cops fining riders who are more than 3m from their bike with the key still in it!
So get into a routine when you get off your bike: take out the key first.
Also, put your key in exactly the same pocket of your jacket or pants every time you get off the bike. Make sure it’s a secure pocket with a zip.
Keep a spare key with your vehicle ownership records at home in a safe place. Maybe keep a third set in another place or in your wallet or jacket. Never “hide” a spare key on your bike.
Thieves are not that stupid. They will look under the seat and fenders, etc for zip-tied spare keys.
You can also buy a “tile” which goes on your keyring and pairs via Bluetooth to your phone to show you where your keys are.
They cost from about $20 to about $100. Obviously, the more you pay, the more reliable they are.
Most are made of plastic so they won’t scratch your bike. However, you can get keyrings with covers to protect your bike.
There are now more hi-tech options that will even track your bike on an app so you know where you parked it in case you forgot or it’s stolen!
But make sure it’s waterproof like the BlaqWold key tracker which costs $24.99. You can use it for a lot of other uses, as well.
As we said, thieves usually aren’t stupid and will identify these trackers and remove them, but at least you will be notified if your bike has been stolen.
Damaged keys
Sometimes keys can get bent or damaged and won’t turn in the ignition.
A locksmith may be able to fix that or replicate the key.
But first try white graphite powder in the ignition barrel.
Toprak Razgatlioglu has proven the man to beat at the Portimao Test as the Turk topped the timesheets for Pata Yamaha. That man Jonathan Rea though and KRT were not present in Portugal, and were instead at Montmelo near Barcelona for their own test session.
Jonathan Rea
“It has been so nice to get this extra day after Jerez, because we got really decent weather, the track was dry and we managed to put in a lot of laps. We were able to back-to-back some items that we were not sure about with the weight balance of the bike in Jerez. In the end we tried something on the front suspension and did some practice starts. The big positive is that I really enjoyed the track and the bike works really well here. I think it sets us up in a good frame of mind now. I feel fast and consistent and this positive test has prepared us to go to Australia, where we will start the new season. Thanks to the team for pulling out all the stops to get us a proper test day here because I know it was not in the plan. Next is the team launch where we get to be all excited about our new colours and then move on.”
Kawasaki Racing Team had their own separate test at Montmelo
Alex Lowes
“I want to say a big thank to KRT for working really hard to get us this extra test. Obviously I have not had too many chances to have dry laps this winter so I really appreciate this extra day at Montmelo. The track is fantastic. It is always exciting coming to a track for the first time. I am getting old now so there are not many tracks I have not ridden! I have really enjoyed it today and I probably learned more about the bike than in the other tests, so that is really positive for me going into Phillip Island. I really enjoyed working with the team and I cannot wait to start racing now.”
Alex Lowes
With KRT absent from Portimao it was Razgatlioglu topping the timesheets from Scott Redding by just 0.079s as the test came to a close.
Scott Redding
“It was a good day even though, to be honest, I couldn’t find the ideal pace. On a few occasions, I found traffic on the track and when I tried the new tyres, the four almost consecutive red flags didn’t allow me to lap consistently. The result of the test is still very positive, considering that this is a circuit where I only rode once in the past and it can’t be considered the most favourable for Ducati. All things considered, we have worked very well and I am satisfied.”
Scott Redding
Michael Van Der Mark was fourth fastest, focusing on conserving tyre life, in a move likely to pay dividends at Phillip Island.
Chaz Davies completed the top five as the second Ducati, with Yamaha otherwise dominating the top five, with three of the fastest five riders.
Chaz Davies
“It’s been a busy couple of days. We were lucky because the weather helped us to carry on our work. We tried new solutions: some of them gave positive results, while on other aspects we will have to work further. The lap-times? We will return to Portugal in September and the track conditions will be completely different so the crono wasn’t our first target. In view of the first Grand Prix in Australia, I feel much more ahead of what I felt last year.”
Chaz Davies
Leon Haslam was the fastest Honda, ahead of BMW’s Tom Sykes and Eugene Laverty.
Leon Haslam
“We’ve made some good steps today and have got through a lot of the things we had down to test. We didn’t perhaps make the step that others did with the soft qualifying tyre, but all in all the lap times aren’t too bad and I was pretty happy with the race tyres. We have a lot of work ahead of us of course and we’re not yet at the stage where we’re fine-tuning the bike, as we’re still testing fundamental components. I can’t wait to get to Phillip Island now, it’s one of my favourite circuits. The test there will be very important too, and then the aim for the race weekend is to try to be competitive right from the outset.”
Leon Haslam
Both BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team riders had two bikes at their disposal, allowing Sykes and Laverty and their respective crews to evaluate more new components and different set-up configurations, working on the best possible basis set-up in time for the start of the season.
Tom Sykes
“I’m very happy with the two tests. Jerez obviously was very challenging on the weather front but we were able to utilise that and do some little fundamental things. It then was much more consistent here in Portugal and we were just able to do a lot of work with our BMW S 1000 RR. We just had to turn a bit of a blind eye to what was going on on track and focus on what we are doing. We worked really hard on different chassis set-ups, on the brakes, electronic strategies… and the list goes on. A big credit to the entire BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, the boys have worked really hard over these days. Now it’s time to go back home and get everything ready for Phillip Island and where we can focus more on performance.”
Tom Sykes
Eugene Laverty
“I am really delighted and optimistic coming away from the test. The November test was a bit of a tough one as I got a few surprises when I rode the RR for the first time. The work that the guys have done since is incredible. That’s the nice thing of being involved with a factory team again: the progress is so quick and these guys are so intelligent. I give my comments but in the end my comments are only backing up what they already know. These guys understand very well how to make the bike work. The focus in Spain had been power delivery and traction control and when we arrived at Portimão, we started to play around with the chassis setting. The performance in the end was really good. So after these tests, I’m very happy, we’re in a good position.”
Eugene Laverty
Top Kawasaki performer was Xavi Fores, but that was due to the Kawasaki Racing Team testing at Montmelo, instead of at the Portimao Test.
Xavi Fores
Alvaro Bautista worked non-stop across both Sunday and Monday in order to make headway with a intense schedule and provide the engineers with as much information as possible so as to facilitate bike development work, and was 16th fastest.
Alvaro Bautista
“These tests have been tough for us because in Jerez we could not test much due to the bad weather. So we had to concentrate all the work here in Portimao, basically trying to complete four days of work in just two days. That meant we were forced to spend more time inside the garage than on track and this of course is a bit frustrating when you just want to have everything ready, put in a new tyre and go for it. Anyway, this is the kind of job that has to be done with a new project. I think we now have a lot of data that can be useful in developing the bike and we’ll see how the next step goes in Australia. Those tests prior to the first round will be very important.”
Alvaro Bautista
The final pre-season tests will take place at Phillip Island, the venue for the opening round in Australia, just a few days before the start of a whole new racing season.
WorldSBK Portimão Test Day Two Unofficial Times
Pos.
Rider
Man.
Time/Gap
1
Toprak Razgatlioglu
Yamaha
01:40.8
2
Scott Redding
Ducati
+0.079
3
Loris Baz
Yamaha
+0.19
4
Michael Van Der Mark
Yamaha
+0.622
5
Chaz Davies
Ducati
+0.795
6
Leon Haslam
Honda
+0.851
7
Tom Sykes
Bmw
+0.982
8
Eugene Laverty
Bmw
+1.186
9
Federico Caricasulo
Yamaha
+1.226
10
Garrett Gerloff
Yamaha
+1.241
11
Michael Rinaldi
Ducati
+1.505
12
Leandro Mercado
Ducati
+1.658
13
Xavi Fores
Kawasaki
+1.998
14
Sylvain Barrier
Ducati
+2.654
15
Pohssom Christophe
Aprilia
+2.676
16
Alvaro Bautista
Honda
+2.755
17
Sandro Cortese
Ducati
+3
WorldSSP
Jules Cluzel leaves the Portimao test as the man to beat in the World Supersport class, closing out the test ahead of Andrea Locatelli and Steven Odendaal, although it bears mentioning it was Locatelli’s first time at Portimao.
Jules Cluzel
Steven Odendaal also worked on coming to terms with the WSSP Yamaha, while Lucas Mahias was the top non-Yamaha rider in fourth on the Kawasak Puccetti Racing machine.
Corentin Perolari made for another Yamaha in the top five on the GMT94 Yamaha, while Philipp Oettl was sixth.
Philipp Ottl
Top Honda was Hikari Okubo in seventh, having made the move from Kawasaki in 2019 to Dynavolt Honda for 2020.
WorldSSP Portimão Test Day One Unofficial Times
Pos
Rider
Man
Time
1
Jules Cluzel
Yamaha
01:44.4
2
Andrea Locatelli
Yamaha
01:44.7
3
Steven Odendaal
Yamaha
01:44.8
4
Lucas Mahias
Kawasaki
01:44.8
5
Corentin Perolari
Yamaha
01:45.6
6
Phillip Ottl
Kawasaki
01:45.9
7
Hikari Okubo
Honda
01:45.9
8
Can Oncu
Kawasaki
01:46.3
9
Danny Webb
Yamaha
01:47.1
10
Jaimie Van Sikkelerus
Yamaha
01:47.4
11
Patrick Hobelsberger
Honda
01:47.5
had their own separate test at MontmeloJonathan worked on balance and overall set-up on his Ninja ZX-10RR machine while Alex learned not just a new track layout but also more aspects of his Ninja ZX-10RR’s character to take into the first competitive round.
Portimao WorldSBK test timesheets topped by Razgatlioglu
Section: Competition
Redding and Baz a fraction of the Turkish ace in Portugal.
Image: Supplied.
Heading to Phillip Island as the man to beat, Toprak Razgatlioglu piped Scott Redding on the final day of 2020 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) testing from Portimao.
Despite numerous incidents bringing out several red flags, nothing and nobody could stop Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) from hitting the top of the standings in Portugal, with Yamaha’s new recruit the man to beat heading to Australia.
Beavering away frantically in the last testing day before jetting off to Phillip Island in Australia, it was Pata Yamaha who featured prominently on the final day. Toprak Razgatlioglu was on top at lunch as he worked his way towards a better front end set up, whilst also adapting his style towards the 2020 R1 Yamaha. He set quick laps on both of his bikes to finishing top overall, whilst teammate Michael van der Mark was also right up at the sharp end too, placing fourth and looking to conserve tyre life more ahead of Phillip Island.
Having led the way on day one at Portimao, Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) placed at the front again, saving his pace until the final ten minutes to initially deny Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) top spot, before being pipped himself by Turkish star Razgatlioglu. Redding focussed on tyre life and especially grip, with Portimao offering the perfect opportunity to do so ahead of the equally as fast Phillip Island, with the Brit second overall. Teammate Chaz Davies was outside of the top ten in the later afternoon, eventually ending in fifth after a late charge.
At Jerez, he was quick but Baz was a stand-out performer at Portimao, proving that the wet weather in the south of Spain was absolutely no fluke. The 26-year-old was right on the money in Portugal and continued his back-to-back testing with the 2019 and 2020 Yamahas. He was third at the end of testing, with fellow Independent Yamaha riders Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) and his teammate Garrett Gerloff impressing in ninth and 10th respectively.
There were more positives for Team HRC, who continued their work, keeping their cards close to their chest throughout Portuguese testing. Leon Haslam once again led the charge from the Japanese manufacturer, setting a faster lap time than he managed throughout racing action at Portimao to go sixth. Alvaro Bautista was less prominent and was down in 15th place ahead of the trip to Australia in a few weeks’ time.
German manufacturer BMW were inside the top five at Portimao on the second day, with Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Eugene Laverty (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) enjoying plenty of positives at Portimao. Sykes was relentless and was continuing to focus on set-up, whilst Laverty enjoyed an incident-free day on day two. Sykes was seventh, whilst Laverty concluded his action in eighth.
Outside of the top 10, there were plenty of positives carried forward for Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team GOELEVEN) in 11th, whilst Leandro Mercado (Motocorsa Racing) was 12th. Xavi Fores (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was 13th ahead of Sylvain Barrier (Brixx Performance), whilst Sandro Cortese (Barni Racing Team) was 16th, having suffered a crash at Turn 7 this morning.
As tipped last week, Ducati has debuted two new Scrambler 1100 Pros that finally dispense with the ugly looping brake cable.
There are two models, the Sport having fully adjustable Öhlins suspension. (Full tech specs at the end of the article.)
Here they are in action in Miami. (We’re a bit concerned the female’s ride doesn’t have the Öhlins setup!)
New Pros
1100 Sport Pro
The neater cabling on the Pros is a welcome addition as is the Icon-style short rear fender and remote mudguard/plate holder.
Current 1100 Scrambler with looping cable
That looping cable was originally designed to be reminiscent of their original 1970s Scrambler 450 with high and wide off-road bars.
1972 Ducati Scrambler 450
Now, the bars are black, narrower and shorter, with the Sport edition getting low-slung flat bars and Café Racer-style bar-end mirrors.
1100 Pro
The other major change is the twin-stacked right-side mufflers. We can see the Sport edition up close and it looks great with a brushed titanium-look finish.
Sport cans
We don’t get a close-up look at the 1100 Pro cans which seem to have an aluminium finish.
Scrambler 1100 Pro comes in two-tone “Ocean Drive” (silver with an orange pinstripe) and black steel trellis frame and rear aluminium subframe.
Scrambler 1100 Sport Pro features matt black paint with black gloss “1100” on the tank.
LCD instruments and other details, dimensions and tech secs seem to be the same as the current 1100 models.
The bikes will be available at the end of March in most markets and “very late in the year” in Australia with pricing released closer to the date.
Current 1100 Scrambler prices range from $19,790 to $22,990 for the Sport edition with Öhlins suspension.
Ducati Scrambler 1100 Pro and Sport Pro
Engine:
Engine: 1079cc, L-Twin, Desmodromic distribution, 2 valves per cylinder, air cooled
Riding Modes, Power Mode, Ducati Safety Pack (Cornering ABS + DTC), RbW, LED light-guide, LED rear light with diffusion-light, LCD instruments with gear and fuel level indications, Steel tank with interchangeable aluminium side panels, Machine-finished aluminium belt covers, Under-seat storage compartment with USB socket
Chris
Chris is welcomed by a local Silverton dog
Honda’s scooter airbag
Current 1100 Scrambler with looping cable
1972 Ducati Scrambler 450
Sport cans
