Euro Gossip January 2007

France

At some stage or another, we all dream of owning certain bikes. Some we can afford and some we cannot, or they are very rare and unobtainable to most of us, like the factory MV Agusta 500 Triple we mentioned in last month's gossip that is about to come up for auction. While most of us just carry on dreaming, others take a different approach, like Frenchman Jean-Luc Borgetto, who built himself a replica of Agostini's famous racebike.

Called the JLsp 503 it was built from scratch using just pictures of the bike and a Yamaha R6 motor. As nobody has used a similar engine to the MV since they stopped production, he created one by removing the left end of the Yamaha motor and then built a geared cam drive to replace the original chain. The motor had larger pistons fitted to bring it back up to 495cc. A custom-made ignition system along with 40mm Keihin CR carbs were fitted.

The frame was made from steel tubing, and the tank and fairing are all hand-beaten out of aluminum sheet. Period Ceriani forks and brakes along with period Dunlop tires complete the look. Only a close inspection will ever spoil the illusion!

Its creator is more than happy with his 89-bhp replica and has no plans to sell it after over a year's work. He has previously built a replica of a 1960s 250cc Honda racer, so who knows what will be next.

Mecatwin a French custom specialist, has just launched a flat-tracker based on the Triumph Bonneville. The 'Springfield' will be built in limited numbers and will cost $17,000. What you get for your money is a stylish looking bike that has one of their own 'boost' kits fitted that ups the power from 66 to 79 bhp. The bike loses 26 lbs in weight as well as ending up looking very purposeful and distinctive.

Italy

Reliable sources suggest that Aprilia already has a fully faired version of the new 750 Shiver drawn up and ready to go. The bike will remain basically the same as the naked machine apart from the sports fairing, rear-sets and lower bars. It will be aimed at the Japanese 600 sports bike market as a viable alternative.

In last month's offering we mentioned the ill-fated Norton Nemesis project and its designer Al Melling, and we suggested that we could soon see a V-8, possibly a modern Guzzi. However, it now seems that when we do, it may well have the Benelli logo on the tank.

According to Italian sources, the Chinese-owned company is currently locked into Italian bureaucracy and paperwork to do the deal with Melling's firm. MCD have been recently working with British sports car maker TVR, and if you are a regular reader you may remember we did suggest that they may well have been interested in producing a bike at some stage!

Sources suggest that part of the deal involves getting not only the 340 bhp 1500cc V-8 motor, but also a 130 bhp 750 inline-Four design as well (half the V-8). If this is right, it may well be that Benelli are going to launch a series of bikes aimed at taking the top slot in a number of classes.

Remember too that we have also previously mentioned the potential V-6 from the combination of two of their existing 1130cc Triples to go up against the Triumph Rocket III in the cruiser market.

Melling will need to remain as a consultant due to the complexity of the motor, which has already powered eight of his own bikes that have been sold to exclusive 'Hollywood' clientele. One of these customers has apparently speed tested his bike in excess of 200 mph, so Benelli may well be onto a winner when the deal is finally done!

(The Morbidelli V-8 failed to sell, the Boss Hoss is not a fully-rounded performance bike, and the Guzzi V-8 was only ever produced as a racer.)

On a more immediate front, Benelli have just launched the Sport Evo, a hardcore version of the TnT 1130. Costing $1600 more than the standard bike, it gets carbon fiber panels, radial brakes as well as a few other tweaks throughout.

However, the big news literally is the new Tre-K Amazonas entering the big trailie market, aimed at going head to head with the GS BMW and the KTM 990 Adventure. Using the three cylinder 1130 powerplant, the bike has modern aggressive styling (incorporating a 21-litre tank) that gives it a rugged purposeful look. It is currently undergoing final testing in a 9,000 mile reliability event in Brazil to make sure it has no reliability issues as some have done in the past. It is expected to cost around $18,000 when it goes in sale in April.

Meanwhile, it seems Ducati is quietly working away at the other end of the market while all the attention is currently being focused on the prestigious 1098. Shrouded in secrecy is a new entry-level machine that sources claim is not from the Monster range or any other. It seems that the Bologna factory may be launching a new 'family' of bikes in an effort to attract more customers to the brand to help with their Renaissance.

One of the old guard that is set to get a face-lift is the 748/9 series. It is likely that the bike will disappear at the end of this year and be replaced with a bike around 848cc based on the new 1098. However, unlike the bigger bike it will not be eligible for racing due to the differing rules between WSB and Supersport.

Bimota are already looking to get hold of some 1098 engines from Ducati to put into a new high-priced Superbike. Currently it is not clear if this new machine will be a conventional bike like the DB5/6 or a hub-centre-steered Tesi model.

Gilera is now claiming its new GP800 Super scooter that we mentioned last month will hit a top speed of 116.7 mph. If this is true, then the 75-hp machine, which has an 850cc motor mated to a semi-automatic seven-speed gearbox, is now the fastest as well as the largest production scooter ever made!

Apparently, legendary designer Massimo Tamburini has already drawn up the new MV Agusta 'F5', and it is said that it will follow the theme he started with the Ducati 916. However, before you reach for your check books/credit cards, that is as far as it has got. There is at least two years work before we are likely to see it emerge.

Beta is best known for its trials bikes, which have up to now been solely two-stroke powered. Now, however, it has launched the Rev-3, a four-stroke 250 which is road legal. This is their first foray into the four-stroke market and they claim it is in response to environmental concerns as well ever-restrictive emission laws. Weighing in at just 51 lbs, the motor is claimed to be able to rev freely like a two-stroke but be more reliable and, perhaps more importantly, a lot quieter! The rest of the bike is minimal as you might expect from current trials bikes, with certainly no creature comforts visible!

Small-wheeled scooters are not everyone's cup of tea, as they tend to be a little twitchy despite the Italians loving them. I suppose it is no surprise to find that an Italian Scooter Racing team has built a 350cc V-4 that gives 112 horsepower - the same as an R6 Yamaha!

Team Cristofolini Racing built the bike using four 50cc aluminum barrels with their own flat-side carburetors mounted on a custom-made set of crankcases. The whole motor was then fitted into a modified Malaguti F12 chassis that originally had just 50cc powering it! If this insanity is of interest to you, check out www.teamcristofolini.com.

Austria

While most factories tend to develop their new bikes in secret, risking public exposure only when the bike is close to production, KTM is taking a totally different approach by keeping its customers apprised of each stage of the bike's development.

The firm's PR department is now liaising with the bike press so that potential customers can comment on the looks and appearance as the bike enters the final stages of development. In this way, the Austrian firm hope to keep the interest high and ensure that customers will be ready to buy the bike in volume as they will have had some input to the final looks.

Germany

Official BMW tuner AC Schnitzer, has taken the K1200R and turned it into a Streetfighter and to make sure it is noticed, painted it in German police colors. Called the 'Road Star,' the very distinctive green and silver bike features many of their standard off-the-shelf parts for BMWs. Basically a styling exercise, nothing has been done to the motor, although their own exhaust system is likely to have given a slight boost in power. For more information on their range of bikes and parts check out www.acschnitzer.com

Pakistan

Police launched a crackdown on motorcycle riders performing stunts recently. Over 800 police personnel were used in the operation which resulted in 80 arrests and bike confiscations. However only 42 of those arrested ended up facing dangerous riding charges. The Lahore operation is just part of a major bike crackdown in the country as a whole.

Sweden

Sweden's bike manufacturer Highland has released details of its new model designed to take on Harley-Davidson's XR1200. The 'Dirt-Track' is scheduled for production this year and uses a detuned version of the 950cc 60-degree V-Twin that they use in their large dirt bike range.

The 85-hp motor is fitted into a steel tube frame with flat-track geometry. Suspension is a Penske shock at the rear and a Kabaya fork keeping the front end up. The bike rolls along on 17-inch wire spoked wheels and a single disc front and rear. Work is still progressing and the final specification has yet to be decided, but expect it to cost around $17,000 when it goes on sale around June time.

United Kingdom

Despite the problems being experienced by Triumph like the spoke breaks that we have reported in this column, 2006 was a good year for the British manufacture as far as sales are concerned. Year-on-year figures show that 37,400 motorcycles were sold in 2006 compared to 31,600 in the previous year. This amounts to an 18% increase and an extra 23 million pounds!

Meanwhile, Triumph has been caught testing in Almeria, Spain, over the Xmas break. Nothing surprising about that except that the thinly disguised (as a Speed Triple) machine looks like it is a replacement for the 955i, a machine they claimed they would not replace.

According to factory officials, "the Daytona 675 is all the sports bike that most riders could want." However, that has not satisfied aficionados who have called for a bigger bike, so maybe the factory has listened; especially now they have turned their hypersports machine (see December Euro Gossip) into a sports tourer.

One thing is for sure, whatever the bike is that was seen, security got quite upset with the man who took pictures of it and made him delete them! Then official factory spokesmen refused to comment on any speculation put to them by the British press. Watch this space!

Talking of space, town councils are now looking to charge motorcycles for parking in newly launched plans. Previously, bikes have been free to park in designated bays, but now they could be charged and also included in congestion charging despite their 'green' jam-busting advantages! The reason is apparently to be fair to car drivers, but cynics just see it as another way of raising more cash from vehicle users.

Heir to the throne Prince William is apparently addicted to speed and motorbikes, according to police sources, and so is his brother Harry. Both enjoy the anonymity that the helmet, clothing and the standard bike brings, but Scotland Yard are finding it difficult to give them appropriate protection. However, in the future, this royal interest could see the 'By Royal appointment' crest appearing in the motorcycle world, giving the struggling industry a real boost!

A British firm is offering central heating for rider's suits. The ThermoFlash suit utilizes coolant from the bike to keep the rider warm in an effort not to overload the bikes charging system by using a conventional electric element.

The £ 750-system uses a heat exchanger, which is plumbed into the bike's cooling system, that transfers the heat into the rider's one-piece suit which has small tubes running through it filled with anti-freeze that is pumped around to keep the rider warm. The pumps and heat exchanger are carried in a tank bag, and the suit will quickly detach in the event of a crash for safety. The cost includes professional fitting to the bike.

Exeter University has been developing fibers in conjunction with UK Defence, Clothing and Textile for military and bombproof applications. They have developed 'auxetic' fibers which get thicker when stretched rather than thinner like conventional fibers. This means that they also have applications in the bike world for clothing, as they will be able to withstand impacts, abrasion and penetration. Apparently they also spread impact over larger area as well.

Interestingly, one of the people involved in the research, Patrick Hook, was once a GP technician for Kevin Schwantz, and as a result he is busy looking at all the potential bike applications for the fibers in the future.

Australia

Australian Tyrone Gilks, who is just 12 years old, has just entered the record books when he back-flipped his motocrosser. The 85cc Suzuki was a big-wheeled machine and it covered 45 feet during the jump. Gilks is already in the record books for having made record-length jumps on 65cc and 85cc machines and looks like he will be setting many more if his latest performance is anything to go by!

And Finally

If you think your local police are unduly petty towards motorcyclists, then consider the plight of those bikers in Phnom Penh in Cambodia. Police are currently having a crackdown on missing or small sized mirrors! Those with none get a $1 fine, while those who have them incorrectly positioned will get a 50-cent penalty!