A few columns ago I featured the Motom 48 (link), here I’ll look at the company’s later two more advanced machines – the Delfino and 98TS.
Motom Delfino
The Delfino (Dolphin) was first shown at the 1950 Milan Show and was designed by ex-Lancia engineer Giuseppe Falchetto. Along with several other manufacturers’ bikes at the time (MV Agusta Pullman, Rumi Formicino), it comprised both motorcycle and scooter elements. The beam frame housed a 147 cc single cylinder four-stroke motor that had its barrel inclined at a 70° angle.
Motom Delfino
Due to the popularity of the 48 it took a while for production facilities to become available, which meant Delfino production didn’t begin until 1952. It now had a capacity of 163 cc and an output of 7.5 hp. The following year a slightly revised second version was released. Power was up to 8 hp and oil leaks from the valve cover were cured by increasing the number of retaining bolts to four.
Motom Delfino
In 1955 a third series was introduced which had flywheel magnet ignition with a seperate coil, boasting a dry weight of 98 kg and 86 km/h top speed.
Motom Delfino
Production came to a halt in 1957 after some 5,350 Delfinos had been made. One limiting factor to sales was the high price of the bike – 265,000 lire compared to the Vespa 125’s 150,000 lire and the Lambretta LD’s 166,000.
Motom Delfino
The company’s follow up to the Delfino was the futuristic 98, introduced at the 1955 Milan Show. The 98 proudly showed off its pressed-steel frame (Falchetto’s Lancia relationship with pressed-steel experts Farina coming in handy), which allowed for very clean lines.
Motom 98TSMotom 98TSMotom 98TS
The bulbous side panels provided knee grip as well as covering the actual tank, battery and tool roll. A push-button inside the right hand cover locked the steering so when the cover was locked, that single key provided security for the bike, fuel and tools.
Motom 98TSMotom 98TS
The engine covers were high quality alloy castings and aided air flow past the horizontal cylinder. The unusual front suspension also added to the clean lines of the bike. Output was 6.75 hp at 8200rpm, with a weight of 65 kg. Top speed was 100 km/h, making for a sizable upgrade over the Delfino.
Video Of The Week highlights one random man on the Internets’ journey of motorcycle mechanical DIY discovery. From expert confidence to irrational despair!
Enjoy.
Feel free to share any of your favourite videos with us here at MCNews.com.au as we start this new Video Of The Week series.
In 2018, Honda produced more than 20 million bikes, globally, in one calendar year—establishing a new record. This doubled its production output from 14 years earlier. For reference, Harley-Davidson built 228,665 motorcycles worldwide during 2018, while Yamaha Motor Company assembled 5,390,000 motorcycles in 2017.
Continuing on from the last column (Doohan 1994 Honda NSR500 – Link), the other NSR from Mick Doohan’s collection I shot was the 1998 bike.
Mick Doohan’s championship winning 1998 NSR500Mick went back to the screamer motor from 1997
For the 1997 season Mick requested that his bikes revert back to the 180 degree “screamer” motor.
By now the NSR500 was producing near on 200hpMick Doohan’s championship winning 1998 NSR500
Advances to the electronics and tyres since 1991 meant the power (now near 200hp), while not totally tamed, was able to be used by those riders with the most ability.
Mick Doohan’s championship winning 1998 NSR500
Mick went on to win 12 of the 15 races, with Alex Crivillé taking two and Tady Okada one for a NSR clean sweep of the top four places.
Mick led the Honda domination of the 1997 season, a feat he would repeat in 1998Power was reduced slightly in the 1998 machine with unleaded fuel now in use
The 1998 bike retained the “screamer” motor but power was reduced by up to five per cent due the new regulations requiring the use of unleaded fuel.
The benefit of the move to unleaded fuel was a boost in torqueA hydraulic clutch was also new on Mick’s 1998 NSR500
However torque was improved resulting in better traction and acceleration.
Doohan went on to win eight of the 14 races for the season in 1998
One other change to the motor specification was the adoption of a hydraulically operated clutch. Mick won 8 of the 14 races and his final championship.
The bike was rebuilt for Doohan prior to the handover
The bike received a full rebuild by Honda technicians before being handed to Mick and is fitted with special presentation tyres from Michelin.
The King of Every Kingdom – Around the world on a very small motorcycle
With J. Peter “The Bear” Thoeming
Last episode we discovered that the beer was warm as The Bear and Charlie explored Nepal before heading on into India – this week we find that the food is hot!
Having arrived in Varanasi last time, we now retreated to the Hotel KMM, which had been recommended to us, and drank several gallons of tea and fresh lemon drink. It all went straight out again, mostly through the pores, and it kept us awake and buzzing.
On an evening stroll through the crowds of holy men and peddlers we acquired a friend, an eight-year-old boy who wanted to sell us some silk. He tagged along down to the river and introduced us to his father, who had just had his evening dip in the holy river. We sat watching the sunset reflecting in the river as the father told us some stories about Varanasi and the Hindu gods.
For once, the signposting is good! That was not at all common in India.
The next day was devoted to looking over such unique Varanasi attractions as the ghats on the riverbank, where corpses are burnt before being consigned to the sacred embrace of the river—a very quick look at that. Fighting off prospective guides took more time than anything else.
We returned to our little friend’s shop, in fact the family living-room and no doubt bedroom, and I bought some silk batik scarves for presents. They were beautiful, with motifs from Hindu mythology in rich colours. One hangs on my office wall to this day.
It seemed to us that the best way to deal with the heat was to get up early, do most of our riding in the cool of the morning and rest in the afternoon, and with that in mind we rose at 4am to discover that there was a blackout.
We loaded the bikes by the light of our torches. The electricity came back on at about the same time as the sun came up. This little scheme did work quite well after that, though.
No, not a hardware shop, just kitchen equipment mostly made of steel.
It was still cool when we stopped in Mirzapur for a cup of tea at the railway station and the road outside showed us the reason for the blackout. There must have been a storm the previous night, because a number of poles had come down and filled the streets with a tangle of wires.
We ordered the ‘Vegetable Preparation’, which is a selection of violently coloured pastes, presumably originally sourced from vegetables, in an aluminium TV dinner tray. It has little flavour beyond ha… ha… HOT!
We had a good road that day, still lined by mangos, which were inhabited by monkeys, and quite spectacular where it climbed the edge of the Deccan. Our host for the night was a retired lawyer-turned-spiritualist who now ran a hotel in Satna. He assured us that, wherever we went in the universe, we would always find people who spoke English. I guess a spiritualist ought to know.
Another look at one of the Khajuraho temple carvings.
A look at the erotic carvings on the temples at Khajuraho, which are incidentally very good and actually quite erotic, was followed by our hottest day to date. We pulled in to the courtyard of an Irrigation Department rest house and tried to find out from the chowkidar—the caretaker—if we could stay the night there and get something to eat. No luck. Our recently acquired few words of Hindi didn’t seem to mean anything to him at all. What was the world coming to.
Lady Luck chose that moment to arrive in the shape of a short chap driving a locally made Fiat with a hang glider on top. He told us later that it was the only one in the country and he had brought it in under the pretext that it was a tent – substantial aircraft import duty would otherwise have been due on it. Tent duty, it seems is more reasonable.
It appeared that we had not been able to communicate with the chowkidar because he only spoke the local dialect. Our newfound friend then reached into his car, where the thermometer (in the shade) read 52 degrees C, and produced two bottles of beer in dry ice and wrapped in a back copy of the Times of India, which he invited us to share with him on the verandah.
The beer, that is. I could have kissed him. The bungalow, he explained, was not set up for meals. We thanked him for the beer and rode on to Jhansi. The heat, all the worse now we knew just how hot it was, was coming up off the road like laser fire.
Jhansi’s Central Hotel was pretty basic, with those dreadful short charpoys – beds made of timber and rope and designed for Indian not Australian bodies – but there was quite a good curry to be had downstairs and we were entertained by a wedding across the road. A lot of the wedding seemed to involve firecrackers.
Rule number One in India: these have right of way wherever you go.
Next morning, road works gave us a bit of trouble on the way to Agra. A row of stones across the road can mean one of two things—either there used to be a broken-down truck there that’s been repaired and moved, or there’s a bridge out around the next corner. It’s not always easy to tell if the road ends dramatically a few yards farther on. We were also getting sore bums in the heat; XL seats are not comfortable at the very best of times and this was not one.
But the Taj Mahal took our minds off our worries. It is the only building I have ever seen that lives up to the tourist hype, and we were fortunate enough to have a full moon to see it by. There were fireflies in the gardens, too, and it was almost unbearably romantic. Charlie and I would gladly have exchanged each other for female company. Sadly, this was not to be.
We found lots of mail waiting for us in Delhi, but the money that should have been sitting at the bank had allegedly not arrived. I checked every day, and one day in the lift at the bank, an aristocratic-looking Indian gent looked me up and down, said hello and ascertained that I was Australian and then asked: ‘What is your purpose in life?’ I was still frantically trying to formulate a reply when we reached my floor and I beat a disorganised retreat.
India (and the rest of southern Asia) would stop without these.
The Tourist Camp in Old Delhi looked rather more comfortable than most of the cheap hotels, so we pitched our flysheet there over a large bit of carpet donated by the manager. Charlie did a bit of maintenance work on the bikes, among other things replacing the rubber seal on one of the fork legs of my bike. It had been weeping oil and proved to be rather badly scored.
Visas were a headache. The Afghanis weren’t issuing any, having just had a revolution. The Iraqis wanted our passports for three months, to send to Baghdad for approval, so we decided to give them a miss. At least the Iranians only took two days.
Outside the Iranian Embassy we met Paul, a fellow biker and a Sikh from Chandigar who also intended to ride over to Europe. He invited us to come and stay with his family when we passed through Chandigar, and we gratefully accepted.
Maintenance on the bikes in the New Delhi campground.
We had a lot of trouble with our money transfers to Delhi and waited for over a week. It was partly the fault of our bank back in Australia, but the Indians certainly weren’t overly organised.
After we had covered Delhi’s tourist attractions we whiled away the time in the US Information Service and British Council libraries which offered air conditioning and newspapers.
We also bought some sheepskins and made them into seat covers for the bikes. Our money came eventually; Charlie found the advice for his while glancing idly through one of the file folders in the bank. Like they say, if you want something done…
Crossing the bridge out of town over the Yamuna River was like riding through a suburb of hell. It was a closed, boxy steel affair and hot, claustrophobic, slippery with dung, and predictably enough it stank. The roads up to the foothills of the Himalayas weren’t much, either. We passed a totally flattened three-wheeler van lying in the ditch.
We were on our way up to Rishikesh, yet another holy town. Hardwar, at the entrance of the valley, looked interesting with its hundreds of little shops in booths lining the road, but Rishikesh itself was more like a Hindu Disneyland, complete with helicopter pads for the affluent gurus.
Down by the river we met one who was still working his way up. “I have only one disciple so far,” he said, “A Swiss man. But there will be more in time, do not fear.”
Hmm. Charlie wonders if that weed is really – weed?
The road over to the old British hill station of Shimla was better. Lined by pine trees, it was chiseled into the sides of the hills. Every now and then the fog lifted and opened out spectacular views of hillsides and forest.
There were some river fords, too, crossed amid much white water, and very little traffic, a great relief after the crush down on the plains. For a while the road ran parallel to the Shimla railway, which looks like a big toy with its narrow gauge.
Next time we manage to score a full-on hot curry at a roadside stand and impress the locals.
Toby Price is all set to defend his Dakar Rally title in 2020, alongside teammates Sam Sunderland, Matthias Walkner, Luciano Benavides and Mario Patrao for the KTM Factory Racing Team, no doubt hoping for a repeat of 2019, where KTM clinched the top three positions.
Toby Price – Image by Sebas Romero
The 42nd running of the event is not far off either, starting January 5 from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, the 12-stage 2020 Dakar Rally will cover a total of 7,856 kilometres, 5,097 of which are timed specials. The race will incorporate two marathon stages, with a rest day for all teams on January 11.
Mario Patrao joins the KTM Factory line-up
New to the Dakar, the road book will be pre-coloured, reducing the preparation work for all competitors prior to the next day’s stage. For at least four of the 12 stages, the road book will be presented to the riders just minutes before the start of the day’s racing.
Seemingly achieving the impossible, Toby Price won the 2019 Dakar while nursing a broken wrist. Ending the event having secured a deserved and hard-fought victory, Price’s success came at a cost with the Australian needing surgery to repair damage sustained during the race.
Returning to rally competition only in August at the Atacama Rally, Price soon settled back into a fast rhythm, placing fourth overall. Showing impressive speed at the Rally du Maroc in October, the reigning Dakar Champion now looks ahead to January and the defence of his title.
Toby Price
“Winning the 2019 Dakar started off as a bit of a dream, but with a lot of hard work put in behind the scenes by myself and the team we were able to make it happen, even with a broken wrist. It took a little time to recover from that event – I had aggravated the injury during the race and needed another surgery and bone graft to fix things. I spent the first part of the year recovering but then was back on the bike for the Atacama in September. My feeling on the bike was good there, which was encouraging and I’ve been getting steadily stronger ever since. Testing has been good, as usual the team have made some important tweaks to the bike, primarily with the suspension, so I’m really pleased about that. 2020 is going to be a whole different Dakar for us. It’s putting everyone back on a level playing field, which I think is good for the sport. It’s going to be a new race, a new look and I’m really excited for the challenge.”
Toby Price set to lead KTM Dakar defence
Enjoying a successful 2019 season, Sam Sunderland went straight from the Dakar into the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship and dominated the first two rounds. A runner-up result in Chile was enough for the likeable Brit to claim his first ever world title with one round to spare.
Sam Sunderland
“I’m confident going into this Dakar. You kind of judge your pace on how you have been riding the previous year and winning the world championship and coming third in the Dakar earlier in the year has been a real boost for me. Both the team and the bike have been fantastic all year and I’m going into the race fit and focused on doing my best. I’m looking forward to the new challenge that awaits us too – it’s going to be a new adventure for everybody and I think that really sums up the spirit of the Dakar. I like the fact that we are going somewhere new and that everyone is going to have to adapt and overcome all the new things that are thrown at us. The route is looking tough, but I’m certainly going to give the race my best shot.”
Sam Sunderland
Runner-up to Price at the 2019 Dakar, despite carrying an injury through the majority of the race, Matthias Walkner also needed surgery and recovery time during the year. Building up his speed over the final two rounds of the world championship, the 2018 Dakar Champion has been putting in many valuable hours of testing ahead of the 2020 event.
Matthias Walkner
“The last Dakar was really tough for me. Finishing second was fantastic but breaking my ankle on only the fourth day made the rest of the race a massive challenge. Thankfully I was able to finish but the recovery process since then has been quite long. The training I’ve been doing has had a massive benefit to my fitness and although I haven’t spent as many hours on the bike as I would have liked, I feel great within myself and certainly ready for this new challenge. Testing has gone well, not just with the feeling on the bike but with navigation too, as I think it’s going to prove extra-important at this Dakar.”
Matthias Walkner
Luciano Benavides successfully completed the 2019 Dakar well inside the top 10, while gaining valuable experience at the gruelling event. After showing increased pace and maturity over the course of the 2019 season the young Argentinian secured the Junior Cross-Country Rallies World Championship title and now hopes to carry his momentum into the forthcoming Dakar in Saudi Arabia.
Luciano Benavides
“2019 has been the best year of my rally career so far. To finish the last Dakar in eighth and then win the junior world title with fifth in the overall is amazing. After such a strong season I’m really looking forward to the 2020 Dakar. I feel I have come on a lot since last year and I’m excited to put my experience to the test. The Dakar for me is like no other rally – you have to take the event day by day and treat each stage as a single race. I try not to worry too much about the overall time, the most important thing is to get to the finish safely and do the very best performance that I can.”
Luciano Benavides
2020 Dakar Rally Stages
Stage 1 – Jeddah > Al Wajh, 752 km – SS : 319 km
Stage 2 – Al Wajh > Neom, 401 km – SS : 367 km
Stage 3 – Neom > Neom, 489 km – SS : 404 km
Stage 4 – Neom > Al Ula, 676 km – SS : 453 km
Stage 5 – Al Ula > Ha’il, 563 km – SS : 353 km
Stage 6 – Ha’il > Riyadh, 830 km – SS : 478 km
Rest Day – Riyadh
Stage 7 – Riyadh > Wadi Al-Dawasir, 741 km – SS : 546 km
Stage 8 – Wadi Al-Dawasir > Wadi Al-Dawasir, 713 km – SS : 474 km
Stage 9 – Wadi Al-Dawasir > Haradh, 891 km – SS : 415 km
Stage 10 – Haradh > Shubaytah, 608 km – SS : 534 km
Stage 11 – Shubaytah > Haradh, 744 km – SS : 379 km
Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
What happened this week
Kayne Lamont dominates 2019 Whakatane Summercross
MA & Kurri Kurri Speedway Club throw support behind fire victims
Ricky Brabec talks Dakar Rally prep
Strong Aussie showing for Anaheim 1 Supercross
AMA Supercross announce Anaheim 1 entry lists
2020 Championship Calendars
2020 AMA Motocross
2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross
2020 MXGP
2020 American Flat Track
2020 Australian Speedway Senior Solo Speedway
2020 FIM Speedway GP Championship
2020 Australian Dirt Track Championship
2020 Australian Track Championship
2020 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC)
2020 FIM SuperEnduro Championship
2020 AMA Extreme Off-Road East/West
2020 FIM Flat Track World Championship
2020 King of MX
2020 Australian Motocross National Championship Calendar
Kayne Lamont dominates 2019 Whakatane Summercross
MX1 rider Kayne Lamont of the Altherm JCR Yamaha team had a strong start to the season, dominating the MX1 class at the 2019 Whakatane Summercross.
Held over the weekend, at the Awakaponga circuit, the 48th annual event always sees New Zealand’s motocross elite turn out in droves, as the hundreds of riders use the five races as a springboard into the 2020 national championship season.
Hamilton’s Lamont dived in headfirst and came up with a near-perfect scoreboard. The new race format meant there were five motos, which consisted of two back-to-back motos, with a five-minute break between them. After qualifying in P2, Lamont showed he’s a force to be reckoned with this season. He repeated that successful formula in the next three races, taking the win each time.
Kayne Lamont
“Race 1 was a 10-minute race and then we headed back to start line and raced again for 10 minutes. I managed to get the holeshot in race 1 and race away comfortably on my YZ450F to win it. Race 5 was a single race of 15 minutes, plus two laps, and I managed to sneak another holeshot in this race but was passed mid-way through the opening lap. I ended up settling for second behind visiting Belgian rider Jens Getteman, as I knew I didn’t need to win to get the overall for the day. The track was hectic for me but I’m happy to have some race time under my belt. I’m excited to improve on what I achieved today – with myself fitness-wise and for my bike setup heading into Woodville at the end of January.”
Kayne Lamont
Altherm JCR Yamaha Team Manager Josh Coppins praised his MX1 rider for bringing it home safe in the fifth moto. The former international motocross GP legend wasn’t just watching from the side-lines at the weekend and instead jumped on board a Yamaha YZ250F to fill in for his recuperating MX2 rider Maximus Purvis.
Josh Coppins stood in for Maximus Purvis
The Mangakino youngster is nearly recovered from an ankle injury and will race with the Altherm JCR Yamaha team at Woodville on January 26.
MX1 Results – 2019 Whakatane Summercross
Pos.
#
Rider
Total
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
1
94
Kayne Lamont
246
50
50
50
50
46
2
251
Jens Getteman
234
46
46
46
46
50
3
338
Brad Groombridge
211
41
43
43
43
41
4
14
Tyler Steiner
209
43
41
41
41
43
5
7
Hadleigh Knight
197
40
39
39
40
39
6
491
Sam Cuthbertson
196
39
38
40
39
40
7
8
Roydon White
188
38
40
37
35
38
8
9
Sam Guise
182
37
35
35
38
37
9
87
Quade Young
181
34
37
38
36
36
10
27
Daniel White
175
35
36
32
37
35
11
75
Joshua Jack
171
36
31
36
34
34
12
45
Alain Pretorius
161
29
33
34
33
32
13
166
Andy Todd
155
31
32
30
29
33
14
11
James Wilson
152
30
29
31
31
31
15
40
Caleb Franklin
142
27
30
28
28
29
16
125
Joel Trappitt
124
32
27
33
32
–
17
586
Jaakan Horne
116
28
28
–
30
30
18
105
William Ogle
96
33
34
29
–
–
MX2 Results – 2019 Whakatane Summercross
Pos.
#
Rider
Total
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
1
23
Josiah Natzke
239
46
50
43
50
50
2
2
Wyatt Chase
238
50
46
50
46
46
3
6
Josh Coppins
209
41
41
41
43
43
4
338
Brad Groombridge
200
40
40
39
41
40
5
203
Luka Freemantle
189
31
39
40
40
39
6
935
Scott Barr-Smith
178
28
37
38
37
38
7
615
Joel Johnson
174
37
30
33
38
36
8
108
James Scott
173
43
43
46
–
41
9
982
Aaron Manning
173
33
29
35
39
37
10
157
Logan Maddren
170
38
35
37
27
33
11
197
Nick Hornby
168
25
38
34
36
35
12
270
Dylan Yearbury
166
32
36
31
35
32
13
232
Tom Armstrong
157
35
32
30
33
27
14
81
Carter Hanes
156
30
33
27
32
34
15
278
Yanni Emerson-Rae
146
27
34
26
29
30
16
47
Troy Wilson
138
34
18
21
34
31
17
24
Liam Hutton
136
22
31
25
30
28
18
818
Jack Rodgers
131
24
28
32
24
23
19
266
James Steele
126
20
20
29
31
26
20
279
Sam Corston
125
29
22
19
26
29
21
441
Adam Molloy
122
23
27
22
25
25
22
274
Harrison Chissell
114
21
26
23
23
21
23
394
Richard Horne
103
39
–
36
28
–
24
901
Mitchell Armstrong
100
17
19
20
22
22
25
515
Lee Ormsby
94
19
23
28
–
24
26
2S
Diquon Snookes
82
18
25
18
21
–
27
115
Bradley Watling
71
26
21
24
–
–
28
50
Jonno Barnes
57
16
24
17
–
–
29
88
Brodie Connolly
36
36
–
–
–
–
Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
MA & Kurri Kurri Speedway Club throw support behind fire victims
Motorcycling Australia and Kurri Kurri Speedway Club have announced a fundraiser for victims of the NSW fires as part of a special February 1 speedway event featuring solo riders and sidecars.
Kurri Kurri Speedway Club President, Peter Campton, said the fires had taken a toll on the local community with some not only losing animals but their family property to the fires, with his club wanting to give them something back. Mr Campton said it was important that the victims received directly the money the club would raise.
Peter Campton – Kurri Kurri Speedway Club President
“We just want to try and get a few bucks for the local people that got burnt out, as the insurance won’t cover everything. Hopefully we can get a few corporate sponsors as we won’t have big prize money on the night as we want to give as much as we can to the victims of the fires. It’s Christmas and we just want to help as many people as we can, and do our best by them, as they must be feeling pretty bad, especially losing animals as they are family also.”
Motorcycling Australia Track Events Manager, Sam Redfern, said Motorcycling Australia members had been impacted by the terrible fires in NSW.
Sam Redfern – Motorcycling Australia Track Events Manager
“Many of our members have been in the path of the fires and without the brave men and woman volunteers fighting these fires many more homes and properties would have been lost, so this is a small way our speedway family can help those in the Kurri Kurri region that have lost everything. What Peter and the Kurri Kurri Speedway Club members want to do for fire victims in the region is a wonderful initiative and shows the true Aussie spirit of helping your mates when they are down. We would certainly encourage everyone in the Kurri Kurri region to attend the special fundraiser event not only for the spectacular racing that will be on display but to also help us raise much needed funds for local fire victims.”
With no brakes, gears or fear, the fire victim fundraiser event will be held on February 1, 2020. Organisers are hoping for a star studded field of solo and sidecar riders, which will be announced in the lead up to the event.
Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Ricky Brabec talks Dakar Rally prep
Ricky Brabec proved himself to be one a favourite in the previous Dakar Rally, with the rider within reach of final glory had it not been for a mechanical setback. From the Californian desert, the Monster Energy Honda rider is once again poised to shine in the most important race of the year. Here’s what he had to say ahead of the 2020 Rally:
Ricky Brabec
How are you feeling physically and how are the preparations for the next Dakar going? What are you expecting from it?
Ricky Brabec: Physically, I feel really good. Mentally, I’m still working on it. I had a tough break in the 2019 Dakar and it was pretty hard getting back in the saddle and pushing for victory after that one. There’s a lot of emotions and mixed feelings. But unfortunately what is done is done. So now we have to push and hopefully gain the confidence and the speed back as we head into the Dakar 2020 with more confidence and hopefully with a bit more speed. We will keep the fight alive and show up in Saudi Arabia Dakar ready for a full-on fight.
Last Dakar you took a huge step and you were leading the rally up until a few days from the finish. In the next Dakar you will be one of the favourites for the victory.
RB: Being one of the favourites is cool, but there’s a lot of people that think that if they are favourite, they’ll have a lot of ‘water-boys’ supporting them, but for me, coming from America, we do things a lot differently. I’m not expecting other riders to ride for me and I’m not going to ride for other riders. We are all in the race together. We are all trying to win. But in the end, when one of our team-mates wins, yeah, that guy won, but the whole team also wins. I’m really big at being a fair player. For me I will do the best I can at the Dakar. Hopefully I can come out on top and make all my friends and family proud.
Ricky Brabec
Is it better to start the race as one of the favourites or one of those in the background?
RB: To start as a favourite I think you might have a lot of weight on your shoulders because everyone is watching you. But I prefer to start as an underdog and then come in and show people ‘Hey! Here I am.’
There’s about fifteen riders who could win the rally, so it’s not easy and we are not going very slow. Every day anything can happen and everything changes. The idea is to put in a really good first stage and start the rally on a good note. Hopefully the organization plays it safe. It’s rally. Everything changes. Every kilometre. What really matters is who crosses the line first.
The rally will change this year as they will give you the roadbook in the morning. You’ve already experienced this in Morocco. How will the race change with this rule?
RB: We will get pre-painted roadbooks. On four or six days we will get the roadbook in the morning. It definitely slows the rally down and makes the riders think a bit more. We won’t just look down and see the colours as usual and know what we are going to do. It’ll be more equal. You don’t want to be really far up front or really far back, you always want to be conservative and consistent and right in the middle: if you start at the front, then you are going to be the first one opening with a roadbook that nobody has seen. That can cause a lot of lost time. You want to finish fifth to tenth everyday, that will make you do really well: you won’t lose a lot of time, but you won’t gain a lot of time. You’ll always be in the fight. So you come in on the last day and attack. I’m training with the new roadbook at my house as best I can. Hopefully I can come into the Dakar with a lot of experience of the new roadbook and be more comfortable when I get there.
Ricky Brabec
Saudi Arabia is a new country, so for this year all the riders arrive under the same conditions.
RB: We’re going to a different country, to Saudi Arabia, so no-one is familiar with the country and no-one has any insight into the route. We’re all going in pretty equal, not knowing what the heck is going on. It’s going be fairer. You know, it’s not going to be like, ‘Hey I know a guy that says that here is like this or whatever.’ We are all going in basically blind. We’re all going to go in not knowing what each day is going to be like. We go to Peru, we go to Argentina, we go to Bolivia, we go to Morocco, we go to Dubai and we can go to Chile and we already know what each day is going to be like by looking where we’re going or by what they’re telling us. This time we are going to Saudi Arabia where we haven’t raced before. The new generation hasn’t raced there. So we are going to start not knowing anything. They are going to tell us what the stage is like and that’s all we are going to know. So it’s going to be fairer. All the riders get the same roadbook, at the same time of the day. I think the rally is going to come down to not just speed, but being smart and being collective.
Could this be good for you?
RB: Hopefully. We’ll see at the end of the Dakar.
You are an American and you live in California. If you go back to when you first went to dirt races or desert races, did you ever imagine that one day you would be leading the Dakar Rally, the toughest race in the world?
RB: I would have done a lot of things differently had I known I would be where I am at today. I probably would have paid attention better in math class at school. I would probably have fewer tattoos… I probably wouldn’t have grown up as a punk kid… I don’t know. I never thought that I’d be leading the Dakar, but in 2019 I was doing that, and I believe that there’s a little fight left in me to do it for 2020.
Ricky Brabec
When you started to ride, did you know about the Dakar?
RB: No. I didn’t know about the Dakar until 2008. One of my friends came to watch the Dakar. I was watching Quinn Cody and Robby Gordon.
Out of a Rally bike… Your normal training is with a bicycle?
RB: I ride a bicycle, I ride a mountain bike, I do some downhill… I go to the gym, some motocross track. Hiking… I do a lot of things because I hate to sit still and I hate to sit inside and I hate to watch TV. So I try to do something whether it’s playing in the truck or riding trails, riding Enduro, mountain biking, going to the downhill mountain bike park to go jumping with the bicycle, hiking with friends, camping…
Ricky Brabec
Is there any race similar to the terrain that you are used to?
RB: The terrain near my house is like Morocco. Really rough and really dry. We have many dunes near my home where I do my training and the Baja 1000 is very close to my house. It’s exactly like Morocco. Hopefully it will be like Saudi Arabia, so I will feel comfortable.
Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
Strong Aussie showing for Anaheim 1 Supercross
With Anaheim 1 landing this weekend, there’s a strong showing of Aussies over in the States battling it out, with Chad Reed and Joel Wightman in the 450SX class. In the 250SX class it’ll be Geran Stapleton, Aaron Tanti, Jay Wilson, Jett Lawrence and Luke Clout representing Australia. You can check out the full rider list below.
Jett Lawrence – Image by AM
AMA Supercross announce Anaheim 1 entry lists
The AMA Supercross has announced the 450SX and 250SX entry lists for the Anaheim 1 event, running this Saturday at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, CA. The current list sees 53 250SX riders line up, while 50 will be racing in the 450SX category.
450SX Entries – Anaheim 1
1
Webb, Cooper
Clermont, FL
3
Tomac, Eli
Cortez, CO
7
Plessinger, Aaron
Hamilton, OH
9
Cianciarulo, Adam
New Smyrna Beach, FL
10
Brayton, Justin
Charlotte, NC
11
Chisholm, Kyle
Valrico, FL
15
Wilson, Dean
Murrieta, CA
16
Osborne, Zach
Abingdon, VA
21
Anderson, Jason
Rio Rancho, NM
22
Reed, Chad
Cornelius, NC
27
Stewart, Malcolm
Haines City, FL
31
Noren, Fredrik
Indian Trail, NC
34
Bowers, Tyler
Lake Elsinore, CA
37
Davalos, Martin
Tallahassee, FL
44
Cunningham, Kyle
WIllow park, TX
46
Hill, Justin
Yoncalla, OR
50
Bloss, Benny
Oak Grove, MO
51
Barcia, Justin
Greenville, FL
53
Decotis, Jimmy
Huntersville, NC
61
Ray, Alex
Milan, TN
64
Friese, Vince
Menifee, CA
65
Weeks, James
Punta Gorda, FL
70
Merriam, Dylan
Corona, CA
82
Autenrieth, Cade
HEMET, CA
86
Cartwright, Josh
Tallahassee, FL
92
Politelli, Austin
Murrieta, CA
94
Roczen, Ken
Clermont, FL
111
Tedder, Dakota
Surfside, CA
114
Schmidt, Nick
Lake Elsinore, CA
135
Fitch, Robert
Watkins, CO
138
Pulley Jr, David
Lake Elsinore, CA
145
Smith, Travis
Lancaster, CA
230
Wightman, Joel
Singleton, NSW
240
Stewart, Bryce
Canyon Lake, CA
256
Milson, James
Granbury, TX
280
Clason, Cade
Tucson, AZ
282
Pauli, Theodore
Edwardsville, IL
330
Catanzaro, Aj
Reston, VA
360
Siminoe, Aaron
Reno, NV
421
Martin, Vann
Cypress, TX
424
Custer, Tyler
Creston, CA
501
Wennerstrom, Scotty
Jefferson, TX
509
Nagy, Alexander
Richmond, IL
526
Aeck, Colton
Simi Valley, CA
651
Hogan, Jake
Acton, CA
722
Enticknap, Adam
Lompoc, CA
817
Clermont, Jason
Plesse, France
848
Cros, Joan
Manlleu, BC
976
Greco, Josh
Lucerne Valley, CA
981
Thurman, Curren
Rosharon, TX
250SX Entries – Anaheim 1
1W
Ferrandis, Dylan
Lake Elsinore, CA
6
Martin, Jeremy
Rochester, MN
12
McElrath, Shane
Murrieta, CA
13
Nichols, Colt
Murrieta, CA
26
Martin, Alex
Clermont, FL
28
Mosiman, Michael
Menifee, CA
29
Mcadoo, Cameron
Sioux City, IA
30
Hartranft, Brandon
Corona, CA
32
Cooper, Justin
Menifee, CA
40
Oldenburg, Mitchell
Godley, TX
54
Smith, Jordon
Ochlocknee, GA
55
Castelo, Martin
Murrieta, CA
57
Drake, Derek
Corona, CA
60
Falk, Mitchell
Costa Mesa, CA
62
Craig, Christian
Orange, CA
72
Wageman, Robbie
Newhall, CA
75
Schock, Coty
Dover, DE
83
Lawrence, Jett
Wesley Chapel, FL
88
Karnow, Logan
Amherst, OH
90
Auberson, Killian
Winchester, CA
95
Brown, Carson
Ravensdale, WA
97
Howell, Chris
Spokane Valley, WA
98
Lionnet, Bradley
Menifee, CA
101
Clout, Luke
Hemet, CA
106
Wilson, Jay
Palm Beach, QLD
108
Tanti, Aaron
Silverdale, NSW
118
Harmon, Cheyenne
Dallas, TX
120
Bannister, Todd
Colorado Springs, CO
154
Felong, Chase
Oceanside, CA
170
Leib, Michael
Temecula, CA
181
Lyonsmith, Wyatt
Boise, ID
227
Kelley, Derek
Riverside, CA
244
Henderson, Mike
Littleton, CO
246
Blackburn, Chance
Newman Lake, WA
259
Hayes, Corbin
Folsom, CA
260
Woodcock, Dylan
Rayleigh, ENG
277
Caro, Kordel
Costa Mesa, CA
284
Camporese, Lorenzo
Campodarsego, PD
311
Gifford, Mitchell
Colorado Springs, CO
316
Newby, Dawson
Eaton, CO
395
Van Eeden, Charl
Menifee, CA
427
VonLossberg, Deegan
Murrieta, CA
474
Hallafors, Niclas
Mission Viejo, CA
522
Zitterkopf, Cole
Hurricane, UT
538
Emory IV, Addison
Queen Creek, AZ
621
Wageman, Rj
Newhall, CA
702
Hempen, Josiah
Argyle, IA
767
Wharton, Mason
Battle Ground, WA
906
Galamba, Adrian
Bucyrus, KS
914
Stapleton, Geran
Cape Schanck, VIC
929
Koga, Taiki
Kurume, Japan
952
Macler, Ludovic
Bliesbruck, FR
974
Marty, Brian
Olympia, WA
Weekly Moto News Wrap proudly brought to you by Dunlop
2020 Championship Calendars
2020 AMA Motocross race schedule
May 17 – Hangtown Motocross Classic – Rancho Cordova, CA
May 24 – Fox Raceway National – Pala, CA
May 31 – Thunder Valley National – Lakewood, CO
June 7 – Florida National – Jacksonville, FL
June 21 – High Point National – Mt. Morris, PA
June 28 – Southwick National – Southwick, MA
July 5 – RedBud National – Buchanan, MI
July 19 – Spring Creek National – Millville, MN
July 26 – Washougal National – Washougal, WA
August 16 – Unadilla National – New Berlin, NY
August 23 – Budds Creek National – Mechanicsville, MD
August 30 – Ironman National – Crawfordsville, IN
2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Calendar
Jan. 4 – Angels Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, Calif.
Jan. 11 – The Dome at America’s Center, St. Louis, Mo.
Jan. 18 – Angels Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, Calif.
Jan. 25 – State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
Feb. 1 – Ringcentral Coliseum, Oakland, Calif.
Feb. 8 – Petco Park, San Diego, Calif.
Feb. 15 – Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.
Feb. 22 – AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Feb. 29 – Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Ga.
March 7 – Daytona International Speedway, Daytona, Fla.
March 14 – Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianpolis, Ind.
March 21 – Ford Field, Detroit, Mich.
March 28 – Centurylink Field, Seattle, Wash.
April 4 – Broncos Stadium at Mile High, Denver, Co.
April 18 – Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
April 25 – Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, Nev.
May 2 – Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah
2020 MXGP Calendar
March 1 – Great Britain, Matterley Basin (EMX125, WMX)
March 8 – The Netherlands, Valkenswaard – (EMX250, WMX)
March 22 – Patagonia, Argentina, Neuquen
April 5 – Trentino I, Pietramurata – (EMX250, EMX 2t)
April 19 – Spain, (TBA) – (EMX125, WMX)
April 26 – Portugal, Agueda – (EMX125, EMX250)
May 10 – France, Saint Jean d’Angely – (EMX125, EMX Open)
May 17 – Italy, Maggiora – (EMX Open, WMX)
May 24 – Germany, Teutschenthal – (EMX250, EMX Open)
Bucketloads of dough are poured into designing cars, trucks, and motorcycles annually. In marrying such lofty elements as “design language,” brand heritage, buyer motives, production practicalities, manufacturing costs, and other factors, the products’ final form is always a balancing act by the time it reaches the showroom floor. After the evolution from cocktail-napkin sketch to on-sale-in-your-dealership, some products succeed—maybe due to their purity of mission and lucky timing—while others, perhaps sad and confused “committee” designs, turn out homely or miss the mark entirely. No varnish here: This article shares our worldview about the best-looking bikes in key market segments. Love them or hate them, but here are our opinions. By all means let us know if you agree…and also if you don’t! We love abuse.
NAKED/STANDARD
2020 Royal Enfield Continental GT 650
Retro is all about honoring a past point in time. And to do that, one should be a student of motorcycle history. With its lithe English Harris-designed frame and British Rockers-era styling cues, Royal Enfield’s Continental GT 650 gets it done. A lovely overall look has much to do with tidy, balanced proportions, and this café racer got them right. The bread-loaf fuel tank, trim bum-stop saddle, and air-cooled parallel-twin engine offer approximately equal “visual mass” (our term) tied nicely together with the lightweight frame, conventional fork and twin shocks, and spoked wheels. Altogether, the look is balanced, retro, sporty, kinetic, and authentic.
One of Royal Enfield’s two new parallel twins, the Continental GT 650 is balanced, retro, sporty, kinetic, and authentic.Royal Enfield
SPORTBIKE
2020 Ducati Panigale V4 S
General Motors’ late design chief Bill Mitchell famously used a mako shark as the design inspiration for the third-generation Corvette. As a bike guy, he’d be thrilled to imagine Ducati’s Panigale V4 S, a shark among motorcycles. Stretched tightly around the alloy perimeter frame, the bodywork is simultaneously muscular and voluptuous, with sharp character lines and gentle curves flowing from the beak of its fairing through the body sides with its gill-like radiator vents. Here the body pauses to allow an unfettered cockpit for the pilot, and then finishes with a sharp flourish in back—like the flick of a shark’s speedy caudal fin.
Stylistically, Ducati’s shark-like Panigale V4 S integrates sharp edges and flowing body sides for a strong, highly integrated look. Even the “gills” are functional.Ducati Motor Holding
ADVENTURE
2020 Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES
Honda’s third-generation Africa Twin has a powerful visual presence. We admit, some of this is due to the blue, white, and red paint scheme, which is reminiscent of the Rothmans-sponsored Paris-Dakar NXR750s of the late 1980s. That said, the Africa Twin excels and its design, to warp Jay Leno’s Leading with my Chin book title, well, the Africa Twin leads with its big 21-inch spoked front wheel instead. When fitted with a DOT-legal knobby tire, it sets the tone for the bike’s real purpose…mastering long stretches of primitive roads at high speed. Big and bulky, but beautifully effective when you don’t know what’s coming next.
Evoking the purposeful style and stance of the Dakar Rally bikes, Honda’s Africa Twin Adventure Sports ES leads visually with its big 21-inch front wheel and tall fairing and windshield.Honda Motor Corp.
DUAL SPORT/OFF-ROAD
2020 KTM 500 EXC-F Six Days
It took KTM to pull the dual sport segment out of the doldrums and into an exciting new space. Instead of offering middling street/trailbikes built down to a price, KTM’s EXC-F bikes are built up to a performance standard approaching that of purebred motocrossers. Herein lies a raw, purposeful beauty that rarely wears both knobbies and a license plate, and the 500 EXC-F has both. Then, the Six Days package layers on works-style graphics and a more comfortable seat that, if they could talk, would beg you—no, demand—that you climb aboard, thumb the start button, and ride. We feel similarly about KTM’s motocross equivalent, the 450 SX-F Factory Edition.
How often do you wish bike companies would listen and respond? KTM did, and the result is the most functionally and visually adroit dual sport yet, the 500 EXC-F Six Days.KTM
ELECTRIC
2020 Zero SR/F
The old 1963 song, “The Bird’s the Word,” should be replaced by a new one called, “The Battery’s the Word.” No, wait, that’s just dumb. Anyway, the fact remains, all eyes in mass transit are on electric vehicles. So far, however, few bikes have managed large production numbers, but among those Zero has perhaps done best. Yeah, there’s no engine, but this “motorcycle” preserves the all-important rider interface via agreeable handlebar, seat, and peg positions, making it a joy to ride instead of forcing the rider to adapt to the bike. Do we think the Zero SR/F is beautiful? Not especially! But per the German term “Bauhaus,” which generally embraces minimalism and “form follows function” modernism, it’s a stunner.
A pretty good example of the minimalist ethos of “form follows function,” the Zero SR/F combines decent aesthetics with a beautiful rider experience.Zero Motorcycles
CRUISER
2020 Indian FTR 1200 S
Like a certain magazine centerfold, we can’t stop looking at the Indian FTR 1200 S. A marriage of V-twin muscle, low-slung power-cruiser stance, and a heaping dose of flat-track racer, this new model from the rebooted Indian brand also partly channels century-old boardtrack racers to stylistically knock other cruisers over the hay bales and off the track. For Harley, whose KR750s and XR750s once dominated on racetracks and also visually, the FTR 1200 S is a punch in the eye, reminiscent of Henry Ford II’s knockout blow to Enzo Ferrari at Le Mans. Agile and taut lines, purposeful and muscular where it needs to be, and lean everywhere else, the FTR 1200 S is that same KO punch.
A century past the original Springfield, Massachusetts-built Indian racers shredding wood on banked boardtracks, the FTR 1200 S offers equally gripping appearance: long, low, and purposeful.Indian Motorcycle
TOURING/SPORT-TOURING
2020 Kawasaki Ninja H2 SX SE+
It is a peculiarly American mindset that touring bikes must be as big, tall, and bulky as Conestoga wagons, which were probably the original American touring vehicle. European countries, and the tiny islands of Japan, certainly don’t see things that way. As a result, we think an evolved version of touring, Kawasaki’s Ninja H2 SX SE+, is an exciting proposition. Its 130,000-rpm supercharger-fed engine, sportbike profile, fuller-coverage windshield, stylized accessory hard bags, and athletic sport-touring riding position make it both visually and physically sensational. Accordingly, its dynamic bandwidth is so much broader than a typical touring sled’s too. Go-go Gadget!
Supercharged, windswept, and finished in Candy Flat Blazed Green, to normal tourers Kawasaki’s Ninja H2 SX SE+ is like the Tesla Cybertruck is to pickups—pure, glorious overkill.Kawasaki USA
MINI
2020 Honda Monkey
Fifty years ago, Honda’s “Mini Trail“ name aptly described the original 50cc Trail 50. It was a pocket-size bike with folding handlebars, a three-speed gearbox, and a headlight and taillight. Although street legal, most Trail 50s probably plied backyards, dirt lots, or campgrounds instead. Fast-forward to the Monkey and the name once again describes perfectly what this little bike’s supposed to do: monkey around. Despite its 2-1/2-times larger 125cc fuel-injected engine and disc brakes, Honda managed to capture the look and soul of the beloved original Mini Trail. As a result, one look and you’re entranced by the ’60s and the promise of adventure when you step aboard. And then, it delivers. Perfect.
It took more than 50 years, but Honda harnessed the silly energy in The Monkees’ eponymous song by naming its little 125cc gadfly, well, Monkey. And delightfully, it fully looks the part.Honda Motor
I started with his first, the 1994 bike. It continued to use the “big bang” firing order motor that had been introduced in 1992.
The 1994 NSR500 retained the big-bang firing orderThe big-bang engine was found to help traction, torque and acceleration
This had all four cylinders firing within about 70 degrees of each other. Torque, traction and acceleration had all been markedly improved with this design, as was the overall ease of use.
A heavier balance shaft (originally introduced when the cylinder angle had been increased from 90 to 112 degrees back in 1987) also helped ridability.
Fuel injected was tested on Shinichi Itoh’s bike but did not offer enough gains to be adoptedA water-injection system to cool the exhausts was also tested
As an aside during 1993 Honda experimented with electronic fuel injection on Shinichi Itoh’s bikes but it was deemed not enough of an advance over the standard carburettors to warrant continuing with.
Benelli’s 650 Tornado is an often overlooked motorcycle. It suffered from being late to market after a three-year development period. As a result it found itself up against the likes of the Honda CB750 and Kawasaki H1 rather than the Triumph/BSA/Norton 650cc twins it was originally aiming at.
The Benelli 650S Tornado can be accused of coming just a little too late
It was first shown, in prototype form, at the 1967 Milan Show but it wasn’t until 1970 that the first production model went on sale in its main intended market, the USA. European deliveries started the following year.
A three-year delay from the Milan reveal meant the bike came up against the CB750 and H1
Originally intended to be a 350cc, it was soon changed to a 650. The motor was designed by Piero Prampolini (who created Benelli’s successful horizontal singles) and Luigi Benelli penned the double-cradle frame.
The Tornado 650S was originally to be a 350 but was aimed at the American market
The first version (just the ‘650’) suffered from the lack of an electric starter and engine vibration above 4000 rpm. Power from the very over square motor (84×58 mm) 360º twin was a claimed 50 hp at 7400 rpm, giving a top speed of 176 km/h.
The first version also lacked an electric start which would be added later
With the transfer of the company to Alejandro De Tomaso in 1972 Prampolini redesigned the bike (now the 650S) to add a Bosch electric starter behind the cylinders (formally the place of the alternator), rebalanced crankshaft, increased compression, revised gear ratios, new exhaust system, new instrumentation and revised graphics. Power was increased to 52 hp and claimed top speed to 190 km/h. The bike seen here is an original, unrestored 650S.
The bike saw heavy updates in 1972
This coincided with the transfer of the company to Alejandro De Tomaso
The final S2 version appeared in 1973 and featured improved low end torque and increased rubber mounting of various components such as the handlebars and foot pegs.
Benelli 650S Tornado
A clear handlebar fairing, long humped seat and revised graphics including black engine side cases completed the makeover. Altogether about 3000 of all versions were built.
