Reigning MotoGP Champion Marc Marquez completed the Jerez test on Tuesday second overall on the combined sheets, having topped a rainy Day 2, however a crash at Turn 13 on Monday left the rider in pain, but able to return to track.
Marc Marquez – Jerez MotoGP Test
Having suffered issues with his left shoulder in 2018, the rider decided to travel to Barcelona following the test for an operation on his right shoulder at the Hospital Universitari Dexeus-Quiron. The Repsol Honda Team rider elected to have the operation as a preventative measure after medical consultation, with the off-season providing the ideal opportunity, with a testing ban in place over December and into January.
Marc Marquez underwent surgery at the Hospital Universitari Dexeus-Quiron, with the operation performed by Dr. Xavier Mir, Dr. Victor Marlet and Dr. Teresa Marlet, all part of ICATME (the Catalan Institute of Traumatology and Sports Medicine).
Marc Marquez
The operation is similar to the one performed on his left shoulder at the end of 2018 but less aggressive in nature. Marquez will be discharged within the next 48 hours.
He will then begin his recovery and winter training in preparation for the Sepang Test at home in Cervera.
Riders are invited to nominate to join a special panel to advise the Victorian Government on all matters involving motorcycles.
The Motorcycling Community Engagement Panel replaces the disbanded Motorcycling Expert Advisory Panel MCEP after a review of MEAP called by Road Safety Minister Jaala Pulford.
Some say it is a political move.
However, it also provides riders with a clean-slate opportunity to have their voice heard.
New panel
The MCEP will include five Victorian Government representatives and six community members with “a range of different attitudes, expertise and skills”.
Nominees must be current motorcycle riders with a valid licence and live in Victoria.
It precludes Victorian riders who have moved interstate and visiting riders attracted to the state’s famous riding roads or attend the annual MotoGP, Phillip Island Classic or World Superbikes.
Be quick as expressions of interest close on Sunday (1 December 2019). The new panel is expected to be commissioned in the first quarter next year.
Positive approach
Former MEAP delegate Rob Salvatore is positive about Pulford’s new MCEP.
Rob Salvatore
“The Minister has previous experience with the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee which after a review and refresh on her watch, developed into a genuine working committee helping set policy,” says Rob who is also VicRoads Transport Users Forum delegate and Victorian Motorcycle Council Vice Chair.
“I believe this is her motivation for the MEAP review.
“The review process was fairly open and involved all panel members.
“From a personal point of view, motorcycling is more complex than it first appears and that goes tenfold for the issues around motorcycling.
“While I support the broad search for new perspectives, I hope that those selected for the MCEP genuinely appreciate this truth about motorcycling.”
It will be at least four weeks before the bushfire-devastated Oxley Highway (above) is again open to traffic as seven Transport for NSW teams carry out extensive repair work.
The best survival tip for a bushfire is to avoid it.
Also check the automobile clubs’ websites for the relevant state, as well as transport department traffic sites.
Try searching the Facebook pages of local fire and police pages.
Of course, you can use your eyes to see where the smoke is and use your commonsense to gauge wind direction and potential fire direction.
However, don’t think you can outrun a bushfire. They can spread faster than any motorcycle can go, often jumping roadways, reducing your chance of survival.
Follow directions
It is not only stupid, but also unlawful to disobey a police or emergency services direction.
If you are told not to go down a road or there is a roadblock, you must not got that way.
The same goes for flood situations.
Don’t start a bushfire
Take notice of total fire ban signs and warnings as you don’t want to start a bushfire.
Fines are hefty and police have been severe in punishing offenders. Don’t expect a good-natured warning!
Riders should also be aware they can accidentally start a fire by parking their bike on dry grass or leaves.
Firefighters say about 40% of all bushfires are accidentally started by humans dropping cigarette butts, campfires, discarding bottles, sparks from machinery and motorcycles.
The catalytic convertor, which is often underneath, is the hottest part of your bike and can easily spark a fire.
Adventure riders who travel off road should take special care.
Caught in a bushfire
If you are caught in a bushfire, your phone (or EPIRB, beacon, etc) will be your best friend.
Work out where you are exactly and then contact police and emergency services to give them your location.
Park your bike behind a solid structure to block as much heat as you can.
Turn off your bike’s engine, but leave the lights and/or hazard lights on.
Stay near your bike, but not too close in case it goes up in flames.
Try to get down low, near a water source or below the level of the fire as they move faster uphill.
Also try to get upwind from a fire.
Dangers of bushfires
Riders are more vulnerable than motorists in cars because they have no air conditioning to regulate air and temperature.
The biggest dangers for riders are from smoke inhalation, low visibility and eye irritation from smoke.
Carry water with you to flush out sore eyes and to ensure you stay hydrated.
Tips to avoid dehydration in a heatwave:
Don’t drink too much alcohol the night before a ride. It has a diuretic effect which means it causes you to urinate more water than you take in which means you are losing fluid. And you can’t counteract that by drinking lots of water because most of it will go out in your urine. Obviously, don’t drink alcohol while you are riding!
Start drinking water as soon as you wake and keep sipping water right up until you get on your bike. It takes about half an hour for water to reach your muscles. Guzzling water just before a ride is not good as it can make your stomach to cramp. The Royal Flying Doctor Service which has attended dehydrated riders in the Outback, recommends carrying 10 litres of water per day! Read their Outback riding tips here.
Wear ventilated motorcycle clothing. Leathers may protect you better in a crash, but they create a “microclimate” which impairs your ability to lose heat. As a result you will produce more sweat to decrease your core temp. Instead, wear a flow-through jacket. There are heaps of options on the market. Make sure they have vents in the back so the air flows through. Also, loosen the sleeves so you get plenty of air on your wrists which have a lot of blood vessels close to the skin to effectively cool you down. However, be aware that a flow-through jacket cools you down because it is drying the sweat off your skin which can lead to dehydration. A set of Ventz up your sleeve will also keep you cool as air flows up your arms.However, don’t be fooled by your level of coolness as ventilation can also cause you to loose more water through evaporation. So you still need to keep drinking plenty of water.
Don’t be tempted to remove your jacket in the heat! Exposed skin may feel cooler, but that’s because the sweat is evaporating quicker, but that is just making you more dehydrated. And while your skin feels cool, you’ll be tricked into staying in the sun longer which leads to sunburn. That also leads to dehydration because your body needs water to repair and renew damaged skin.
Get a Camelbak or other brand of water-dispensing unit so you can continue to take small sips of water while you are riding. I’ve seen riders on GoldWings and other big tourers with cup holders so they can take slurps from a water bottle. That’s obviously not as safe as the hands-free Camelback option, but anything is better than nothing. Some people don’t like Camelbaks because the water gets hot, but the temperature of the water doesn’t affect dehydration.
Stop more often than usual and hang out in the shade or in an air-conditioned cafe. Since you are drinking lots of fluids, you will probably need to stop anyway!
While you’re stopped, have a coffee, but take it easy. No need to swear off your favourite caramel latte, but avoid excess coffee. That also goes for caffeinated drinks such as Red Bull. High levels of caffeine have a diuretic effect just like alcohol.
While having a coffee break, avoid having too many sweet cakes, donuts and muffins. Sugar can dehydrate you if it gets to very high levels in your blood. This can happen if you are a diabetic, take certain medications or have an infection or some organ diseases. Sugar causes your kidneys to produce more urine to eliminate the sugar, leading to dehydration. Likewise, don’t drink too many sugary drinks. Best to stick to plain water, real fruit juices with no added sugar or drinks such as Gatorade that replace salts and minerals lost in sweat.
We’ve talked a lot about urine and it’s important that you monitor the colour. It should be a straw colour. If it’s too dark, you are dehydrated.
Sweat also depletes your body of sodium and if it becomes too low, it can cause many of the same symptoms as dehydration. The average diet probably has enough sodium, but it’s good to have a little bit of salt on your meals or drink sports drinks that have a sodium supplement. However, beware of sports drinks with caffeine and sugar.
A 35-year-old Nerang motorcyclist has died after colliding with a car on the Pacific Motorway at Gaven on the Gold Coast yesterday afternoon. (27 November 2019)
Police say the accident happened about 3.15pm when the man was riding southbound in heavy traffic on the Pacific Motorway.
Transport and Main Roads image at 3.25pm shows traffic backed up by the crash
His motorcycle collided with a car just past the Pacific Motorway Smith Street Exit 66 on-ramp about 3.10pm.
The rider was thrown into the path of another car.
Despite desperate attempts by paramedics, the rider could not be saved and died at the scene.
A woman in her 20s escaped with minor injuries and was taken to the Gold Coast University Hospital in a stable condition.
Police Forensic Crash Unit officers are appealing for anyone with information or dash cam footage to contact police.
If you have information for police, contact Policelink on 131 444 or provide information using the online form 24hrs per day.
You can report information about crime anonymously to Crime Stoppers, a registered charity and community volunteer organisation, by calling 1800 333 000 or via crimestoppersqld.com.au 24hrs per day.
Quote this reference number: QP1902357156
Our sincere condolences to the man’s family and friends.
With his most successful premier class season to date finished, eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez elected to undergo surgery at the Hospital Universitari Dexeus-Quiron today, November 27. The operation was performed by Dr. Xavier Mir, Dr. Victor Marlet and Dr. Teresa Marlet, all part of ICATME (the Catalan Institute of Traumatology and Sports Medicine).
The Strom has been a fantastic partner over the years and carried me to some great vantage points. This one at Aurora, Indiana, looking upstream on the Ohio ranks high on the list. Photos by the author.
Despite being a lifelong Hoosier, I hadn’t spent much time riding in the southern part of Indiana. This year would be different — I had a family reunion coming up in Bloomington, only four hours away from home in Valparaiso. I also had some rare extra days off from my mill job, so I thought I’d meander my way there instead of taking the direct route. Using secondary roads exclusively crossed my mind, but I didn’t have that much time.
A map of the route taken. By Bill Tipton/compartmaps.com.
I headed east on U.S. Route 30, then south on U.S. Routes 35 and 31. Thankfully, the rains that plagued us for weeks had finally stopped. Indiana is squarely in the Corn Belt, but the crop in our part of the state was pretty much toast due to the wet conditions. This was painfully obvious mile after mile, as stunted seedlings were barely at the ankle. The old saying is “knee high by the Fourth of July,” but with modern hybrids, most years the stalks are at the shoulder or better by late June.
North of Indy I jumped on State Highway 38. I’d noticed a scenic route designation on the map for State Highway 1, starting at Hagerstown, less than 20 miles from the Ohio border. The town is also just above the imaginary line that separates the state into north and south — as good a place to start as any. There was even a motorcycle-friendly eatery, Dave’s Café/Flatlanders Motorcycles. The Harley parked among the pool tables made my burger taste all the better. As poor luck had it, I’d showed up the day before their weekly bike night. Still, this was shaping up to be a good ride.
As soon as I pulled into Dave’s Café/Flatlanders Motorcycles, I knew they were serious about being bike-friendly.
The Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway offers a snapshot of 19th-century American travel: river, canal and rail. I’d heard at the Greens Fork Family Diner it was also a fine motorcycle road. The report was accurate, with smooth pavement, abundant curves and frequent elevation changes, features that riders seek out but are rare north of the dividing line — especially the smooth part. Plank roads aren’t represented, but there is a heritage railroad running between Connersville and Metamora that features a restored section of the Whitewater Canal that once stretched 76 miles, from Hagerstown to Harrison, Ohio. Construction was a major engineering feat due to the steepness of the route, requiring 56 locks and seven dams, and the costly project drove the state into bankruptcy for a time.
This rustic barn likely once overlooked a dirt road that is now the Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway. Evidence the Indiana DOT has made some progress over the years.
I’m a fan of big rivers. I enjoyed riding the Mississippi and Missouri river valleys a couple of years ago in the Show Me State. Since I was close to the Ohio, I figured I would check it out. I was particularly interested in how it compared to those two flooding-wise, as my Missouri route was often dictated by water-related closures. But the first diversion was due to construction, not flooding. Instead of Lawrenceburg, where the river enters Indiana, the detour put me a few miles downstream in Aurora, where I picked up the Ohio River Scenic Byway. The Hoosier State segment covers 302 miles and follows several Indiana State Highways, 56, 156, 62 and 66, which meld together rather seamlessly. The distance suggested a lot of curves and didn’t disappoint.
Among American waterways, the Ohio is second only to the Mississippi in volume of water discharged. It has been described as a series of strung-together reservoirs, built and operated by the Army Corps of Engineers. As such, it serves many of the same functions as other Corps projects, such as drinking water, recreation, flood control and shipping. Barge traffic was abundant. I stopped a couple of times at riverside parks to watch the towboats do their magic. A century ago, the river towns catered primarily to businesses. Now tourism is a big economic activity as well.
Harleys heading for the abundant curves on the Whitewater Canal Scenic Byway.
Given the combination of good pavement, hills, curves and friendly locals, unsurprisingly there were lots of motorcycles on the byways. On one construction reroute, where it took 50 miles to go 10, two Harley riders gave chase. They weren’t dressed for a crash but pushed me hard on the straights and sweepers anyway, then I’d walk away from them in the tighter curves. We repeated the pattern several times. Fun!
I’d always wanted to visit our first Indiana state Capitol building, in Corydon. Just off the byway and easy to find, the tidy limestone structure is dwarfed by the current rendition in Indianapolis. But it was doubtless a big undertaking for the fledgling state in 1816. Unfortunately, it was closed for the day, a constant aggravation on my rides when visiting historical sites.
This tidy limestone building was Indiana’s first Capitol in Corydon.
The afternoon was fading when I encountered another reroute. I wondered if this one really was due to flooding, as the stretch ran right along the river. Water or roadwork, I never found out, but I’d neglected to top off the Suzuki V-Strom’s tank in Jeffersonville and the blinking fuel gauge was making me nervous. I’d passed through several small settlements, but none with gas available. Luckily, the Derby General Store was still open. One of the pumps offered ethanol-free 90-octane mid-grade, rare in my corner of the state, and the Strom loved the unadulterated fuel. The attendant clued me into a shortcut that didn’t show as connecting on the map. It allowed me to see the dam at Cannelton, which the sanctioned route bypassed. I don’t use a construction avoidance feature on my GPS; folks that live in an area can generally advise the best route anyway.
Derby also carried a grim reminder of the potentially destructive power of big rivers: flood lines spanning eight decades posted on a utility pole. Like the Mississippi and Missouri, the Ohio sometimes jumps its banks despite man’s best efforts to tame it. But even with the proximity of big water and recent heavy rains, the corn crop in the area was comparatively healthy. One lush field shared space with another common Midwestern fixture, the oil pumpjack.
There’s lots of places to launch small craft on the Ohio River. Driftwood littering this public access site was deposited only a week or so before I arrived.
I stopped for the night in Evansville, an easy enough town to navigate considering its relatively large population. I often wish I’d been born in the southwest rather than the northwest corner of the state. The milder winters, better roads and laid-back lifestyle are big plusses. The next morning, I rode the remaining 25 miles of the Ohio River Scenic Byway to where it crosses the Wabash River into Illinois, then doubled back to Mount Vernon to begin the trek back north on State Highway 69.
I had the whole day to make it to Bloomington, so I stuck to state highways. They passed through endless farmland and the occasional small town. I prefer mom-and-pop diners, and one of the best indicators of quality food is pickup trucks in the parking lot; if the fare is substandard, the locals won’t patronize. JJ’s in Cynthiana looked promising. A man I guessed correctly to be JJ stood behind the register, hands on hips, looking me over, and asked, “What’d ya need, captain?” “How about a menu,” seemed the obvious reply. He shot back, “You sure you can read?” as he handed me one with a smirk. Then he put on a fresh pot of coffee, not so much for me, but for the lunch crowd about to arrive. Like clockwork, trucks of every description soon moved in. I hung out for a while, talking bikes, farm equipment, weather and steel mills.
The quaint Metamora Historic District alongside the Whitewater Canal is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
ABATE of Indiana is a robust motorcycle rights organization. Twenty years ago, it purchased 400 acres in Lawrence County to host its annual fundraising party, the Boogie, which is dubbed the “Midwest’s Best Biker Fest.” The property has since been developed into a full-service off-road riding area with 60 miles of trails, campgrounds, showers and RV hookups. The Lawrence County Recreational Park is off the beaten path, but worth a visit. One day, I’d like to give those trails a try. The Indiana Motorcycle Safety Memorial is at the park’s entrance, dedicated to fallen Hoosier riders. The memorial grounds are impressive and made my detour worthwhile.
Bloomington is smack in the middle of some of the best motorcycling in Indiana. My youngest daughter once rode with me there. She said it felt like “riding through a tunnel,” as we motored under the canopy of trees that covers many of the highways. I’m not complaining, but at times the hills and curves became almost overwhelming. Once, I dropped my guard and almost overshot a tight turn. But I knew in a few hours I’d be back on straight and boring roads, with a large helping of potholes thrown in, so I enjoyed the squiggly lines while I could. Efficiency dictates that major highways cut the hills down to level the run, but rest assured there are still many miles of unmolested pavement in southern Indiana.
New York Central #6894 was built by the American Locomotive Company in 1912. Currently non-functioning, the Whitewater Valley Railroad hopes to perform at least a cosmetic restoration.
U.S. Route 231 was my chosen route home, avoiding the interstate. The dry and beautiful Saturday night brought out bikes by the score. In Crawfordsville, a chapter of the Iron Order with dozens of rumbling steeds had gathered for a run. I waved and they waved back. We were all on V-twins, albeit built for different styles of riding, but it didn’t matter. At West Lafayette, I once again overruled the Garmin’s choice of I-65 and picked up State Highway 43, then U.S. Route 421 for the last 70 miles. It’s weird, but after all the curves and hills, the arrow-straight run that I’ve made many times was strangely satisfying.
The Ohio River Valley is now on my list of favorite places. The byway hugs the river for many miles and I’m glad I ran the Indiana section almost beginning to end. I only wish I could have spent more than a day taking it in. Two or three would’ve been better, as there’s much to do and see. I’m always searching for the perfect ride. Turns out one of the best has been in my backyard all along.
Think of Club Eaglerider like a swap app, but for motorbikes. You could say it’s your true “friend with benefits…”
Begin press release:
EagleRider is expanding its current Club EagleRider subscription program with two additional premium offerings called Pick 6 ($199 per month) and Ride 12 ($249 per month).
These enhancements include more riding days at an optimal value designed for both current and new motorcycle enthusiasts. EagleRider will support this program by launching in select US motorcycle markets with continued expansion over the coming months.
“EagleRider has always been a leading innovator in the motorcycle industry,” says Chris McIntyre, EagleRider’s co-founder and CEO, “Club EagleRider’s new Premium Memberships continue in that spirit by giving today’s new riders and existing riders an easy, economical, and safe way to experience the great sport of motorcycling. You can ride anytime, anywhere on any bike. This is essentially like having a bike in your suitcase.”
EagleRider maintains a fleet of thousands of motorcycles from a variety of brands including Harley-Davidson, Yamaha, Triumph, Royal Enfield, KTM, Husqvarna, as well as dirt bikes, and side-by-sides offering rentals, tours, & memberships in our nationwide locations. Always looking for ways to get more people to experience the joys of motorcycle riding, EagleRider is committed to getting more people access to motorcycles and riding experiences.
To speak with us about all the amazing new things going on at EagleRider, come see us at any of the 2019/20 International Motorcycle Shows in Long Beach, New York, Dallas, Washington D.C., Denver, Cleveland, Minneapolis, or Chicago where we will be celebrating another successful riding season with current Club EagleRider members and looking forward to meeting others who want to learn more about our Premium Membership program.
The immediate intervention team is composed of two intensive care vehicles where there are two intensive care specialists, anaesthetists and paramedics specialised in the management of severe polytrauma. “They work like any emergency unit of a hospital,” explains Dr. Charte, “as they are equipped with high-level equipment that allows facing any type of pathology (cranial, thoracic, cardiac, abdominal, vascular, traumatic). With this equipment, we are perfectly prepared to give the best attention on the track to all drivers.”
Trev is currently on a five-day intensive test program with Yamaha’s eagerly awaited new Tenere 700. He has over 1000 dusty kilometres under his belt so far on Yamaha’s new middle-weight adventure machine and was lucky enough to have the opportunity, thanks to Yamaha Australia, to chat with Takushiro Shiraishi, Project Leader in charge of overall development of what is a very important new model for Yamaha. Quite a responsibility…
Yamaha’s Tenere 700
45-year-old Shiraishi-san joined Yamaha after completing a Master’s in engineering at the University of Tokyo in 1999. Thus 2019 marks Shiraishi-san’s 20th year with the marque.
During those two decades Shiraishi-san has been involved with the development of the XT660, as well as the WR250R, and was also involved with the development of the popular MT-07, from which the Tenere 700 receives its powerplant.
Here’s a look at what went on behind the scenes with the development of the Tenere 700 and the decision making processes that evolved as the project took shape.
Takushio Shiraishi Interview
Trev: You were the project leader for the Tenere 700, to be blunt, why did Yamaha give you the job?
Shiraishi-san: I’m not sure, but most probably Yamaha appreciated me from the experience of the off-road bike development. Before Tenere I was involved with the development of the XT660, and also WR250R/X, and I was also involved with the MT-07. So I know well about the engine of the MT-07, and this is my background before starting the Tenere. That’s most probably why Yamaha appreciated my experience.
Takushio Shiraishi (left) – Yamaha Tenere 700 Project Leader; with YMA’s Sean Goldhawk (right)
Trev: When the MT-07 was first released here four or five years ago, during the launch, at the very first stop I asked Sean Goldhawk ‘when is the adventure bike was coming..?’ As the engine seemed to lend itself to that application, was the engine originally designed with adventure envisaged in its future?
Shiraishi-san: Honestly speaking, no. At the beginning of MT-07 development we didn’t consider, but at the same time we already noticed that this engine is so good during our development on the MT-07, that we then also thought about off-road usage, so at that time we developed some idea to develop an off-road model using the MT-07 engine, because of the character and the torque.
Trev: It’s EURO5 spec’ in the Tenere 700?
Shiraishi-san: For the future of course.
Trev: Can you tell me anything about the technical challenges of meeting Euro5 without Ride-by-Wire? I would imagine that would be quite difficult?
Shiraishi-san: Honestly speaking no, because the MT-07 engine has very good combustion in the cylinder, so good combustion means good exhaust gas emissions. Of course we have some difficulty, but not so quite difficult.
Yamaha Ténéré 700
Trev: With EURO5 I believe you have to have an O2 sensor before the cat converter, and one after.
Shiraishi-san: Something like this I think.
Trev: So this bike has one cat or two cats?
Shiraishi-san: Now this spec which you rode is EURO4 spec at this moment. So now the O2 sensor is one, and the catalyst is only one.
The Yamaha Tenere 700 is currently Euro4 compliant
Trev: Do other countries have this EURO4 for now, or have some got the EURO5?
Shiraishi-san: At this moment our plan is only EURO4 spec at the moment, for the future of course we have a plan to introduce EURO5, but not now.
Trev: The suspension travel, I guess everything is always a compromise. As we’ve spoken about before, it’s generally only places like the Australian market where people are going to use all the suspension travel, hitting and jumping big erosion banks and the like off-road. Where most people in Europe would probably only ride them on-road, due to the severe restrictions placed on off-road pursuits in many countries. I suppose the 200-210 mm of suspension travel was the compromise between the two, to retain a relatively low seat height, but also give us a fair bit of ground clearance. How long did it take to arrive at that sort of base figure, that you then had to tune the suspension for.
Shiraishi-san: To decide the final specification with this suspension strokes and seat height, we spent a lot of time. Because the balance between the seat height and the shock absorption is very difficult to define, and finding the good balancing point and ability. And the accessibility for many riders, so we took a long time for this.
Takushio Shiraishi – Yamaha Tenere 700 Project Lead Interview
Trev: This bike is somewhat purposefully basic in regards to electronics, no ride-by-wire, no cruise, no traction control, no rider modes, I presume the ABS is not lean angle sensitive.
Shiraishi-san: No.
Trev: So the ABS is either on or off, why not have a middle setting where the ABS is only off on the rear? A medium setting which we see quite often from other brands.
Shiraishi-san: For example, for this ABS setting, or the variation of the switching off, yes we also discussed a lot about this, of course we understood that some requirements could be in the market, about rear cancelation with only front having ABS active. But our main target was off-road riders so especially I discuss a lot with testing riders, who are very expert off-road riders, and they told me real off-road riders prefer very simple structure, and also that to stop efficiently with good skid the ABS is annoying. That’s why we decided because our target customer, main target, is expert off-road rider, that’s why we decided to cancel both front and rear, to give the customer a lot of freedom of control. That’s why also we carefully created the specifications of the brakes to have much more controllability by the rider.
Dual disc brakes are featured with ABS able to be switched off, but no off-road specific mode
Trev: I think you’ve done quite a good job there, a good twin-disc front end, it has a progressive feel. The ABS is not too bad off-road, as in for most of this riding so far this week you didn’t really need to turn ABS off when on rough terrain off-road. One little scenario here and there you might prefer it off, but overall the ABS still cycles fast enough to still be useful to most riders. Not everyone will need to turn the ABS off to go off-roading, and most certainly riders of lesser experience levels would still be wise to leave the system on.
Shiraishi-san: Yes, thanks to our ABS engineer, I cannot say we have the best system and tuning of the system in the market, but we could achieve enough sufficient braking power even with the ABS on, off-road. And I would like to say this, the engineer responsible died one year ago due to a racing accident, but I would like to say thank you to him.
Trev: He did a good job. Condolences on the loss of your team member.
Trev: The instrumentation, it seems to be mounted on some sort of shock absorption system?
Shiraishi-san: Yes.
Trev: Obviously that’s to ensure it lasts for longevity. It works quite well, the screen got very very dusty where we’ve been riding, because the drought conditions are truly horrendous, which made the screen a little hard to see at times. With adventure bike riding you need to keep an eye on your fuel, especially in Australia, as it’s a big place with lots of very remote locations. The fuel gauge seems to go down to one bar when you still have up to 150 km of range to go, then when the tank gets down a little bit further a trip meter starts to count up. Some of the Yamaha Australia guys say they still have a 100-120km range when the fuel trip starts. I would much prefer that when the counter starts it counts down, and lets me know how much range I have remaining. I think a range to empty indicator would have been very useful. Is there a reason why we don’t have one?
Yamaha Tenere 700 dash
Shiraishi-san: Technically we can do it, also we discussed about it, and we just followed the normal way of Yamaha dash indicators. But at the same time we understand that this kind of feature could be very useful and helpful for riders. We can consider for the future, improvement as for this kind of feature.
Trev: Would something like that be implementable as a software update for first generation models? Could that possibly be something a Yamaha dealer could retrofit to someone who buys one of these bikes early on in the piece?
Shiraishi-san: It’s an interesting idea, normally we have not done like this, but maybe it can be considered. It’s an interesting idea.
Trev: And most of the testing and development was done in Europe is that correct?
Shiraishi-san: Yes.
Trev: And it was done between France and Italy, is that correct?
Shiraishi-san: Not exactly, most only in Italy, but we also used the test course in North of Italy where there is one test course owned by Porsche called Nardò Test Course, and here we had many kinds of off-road course, so we tested there for example one test course, called African World. From the outside it’s nice to see, but if you see the riding it’s really amazing, with a massive off-road test course with all conditions, was very useful for us.
Yamaha Ténéré 700
Trev: You were based in Europe throughout the development process?
Shiraishi-san: Yes.
Trev: How big was your team of engineers from Japan that were based with you in Europe? It must present some challenges doing the development in Europe when the main manufacturing arm is located, along with most Yamaha engineers being located back in Japan. How were those challenges overcome?
Shiraishi-san: Of course we needed a lot of communication between Italy and Japan, and sometimes for example the email information exchanged created a lot of confusion and misunderstandings, so finally we decided to have periodical Skype meetings and also periodically visited each other to have direct communication, especially on the ABS and engine development, which were mainly developed in Japan. So we visited each other very frequently, and that’s why we say by meeting directly we could establish something, good communication.
Trev: So job done now for Tenere 700 for you. What next?
Shiraishi-san: Personally I’m not sure, I’d like to have a wider view for the developments of Yamaha, especially for the off-road categories, and as for the new development, maybe based on this bike, we are waiting for the customers and the market feedback to be confident to start anew.
Takushio Shiraishi – Yamaha Tenere 700 Project Lead
Trev: To make a longer travel, more serious Tenere 700, maybe?
Shiraishi-san: Maybe.
Trev: If you’re still going to be involved, intrinsically with Yamaha’s off-road development and range of models, I would imagine you would be visiting us a little more often. Australia is a very small market generally, but a big market for WR and bikes likes the Tenere. Australia is the world’s best customer for the WR450 and WR250F, I think?
Shiraishi-san: Yes, that’s why I’d like to visit again, Australia and maybe New Zealand to understand more the customers and the market, also today I visited some dealers and also farms.
Trev: I did hear you’d been checking out some Ag bikes.
Shiraishi-san: I feel that the Ag is really legendary bike, survive with no maintenance for a long time and be very practical.
Trev: Farmers are generally very bad at maintenance *laughs*.
Shiraishi-san: But it’s very nice while here to see the real users on the AGs, really impressive for me, how they use theirs individually; imagination on its own is not good for understanding the reality for us, so the experience was very enlightening.
Trev: Thanks very much for joining us on the launch, perhaps next time we’ll get you out on the motorcycle with us.
Shiraishi-san: Thank you.
Yamaha Tenere 700
The wait for the eagerly anticipated Yamaha Tenere 700 is almost over, and with more than 350 already spoken for the bike might debut near the top of the adventure-touring sales charts for 2019 despite being only on sale for a single month of the calendar year.
Luke Clout admits falling shy of the MX Nationals crown this year fuelled a fire for his Australian Supercross Championship campaign, which sees him lead the SX1 standings heading into this Saturday’s season finals at the Monster Energy AUS-X Open Melbourne.
The CDR Yamaha Monster Energy rider was positioned two points out of the lead heading into Coolum’s MX Nationals double-header championship decider, although he was defeated by eventual champion Todd Waters (Husqvarna) following a dominant performance.
A supremely consistent supercross season that boasts four podiums, including a maiden victory, has the New South Welshman in the box seat to win his first premier class title inside Marvel Stadium, where he holds a one-point advantage over AMA Supercross regular and three-time defending Australian champion Justin Brayton (Penrite Honda Racing).
“It wasn’t the end of the world that I didn’t win the motocross [championship], but it definitely fuelled the fire because I really put in during the off-season for supercross and did a lot of hard work with the team,” Clout explained to MotoOnline.com.au.
“We’ve put ourselves in this position to go and fight for the championship, so it’s kind of where I expected to be.
“There was obviously a bit of fire after losing the championship in the motocross series, but to be battling for both motocross and supercross championships is a feat in itself and I’m super proud of how the year has gone. We’ll see where we end up on Saturday night!”
This weekend’s championship decider will serve up a triple crown format, while added international talent will make for an incredible showdown in the title fight.
