motorcycle review

YANKEE COME HOME
Yankee Z (April 2005)
The bike that started the ‘adventure’ phenomenon was nothing like the bikes fulfilling that role today, says Dirt Bike Trader magazine’s Ken Smith. He ought to know. He owns one. (Pics: Bazz)

The KTM 950 Adventure recently took out another gong, voted Best Adventure Bike during the Motorcyclist Magazine “Motorcycle and Motorcyclist of the Year” awards in the United States. It seems to be the on-road, off-road, big-bore do-it-all king for 2004.

John Taylor, creator of the unique ‘Adventure’ bike you see here, tried to build a bike that would do-it-all and “run fast enough to carry the rider down the highways when he wasn’t riding the trails”. Back in the late ’60s when he started putting serious thought into making his dream bike, the rider of the day had a choice between overweight British twins stripped down for off-road use or rather wimpy single cylinder two-strokes that weren’t bad for the dirt but useless on the road.

So the solution? Well, in theory it combined the best of both worlds. It had two cylinders, but two-stroke not four, and it was sized sort of in between the two extremes, not exactly trail bike size but not a big mother like, say, a Triumph 650.

It seemed to be heading in the right direction but Taylor didn’t want a bike that half filled the bill. He was a passionate bugger and his vision of what he thought the market needed might well have landed the Yankee as many plaudits back then as the KTM is earning now, and 30 years before anyone mentioned the concept of ‘adventure bike’. The fact that it didn’t was due to a raft of reasons, but let’s not cross to the dark side just yet. An exploration of its virtues needs to be laid out on the table first. Suffice to say, if the KTM 950 was handbuilt with the sort of one-off parts and design the Yankee enjoyed it would no doubt be selling for three or four times its current price. Read the rest of this entry »

Words: Guy Allen

Ducati’s Hypermotard has been one of the more eagerly awaited launches in recent years, after the factory started teasing us with the wild-looking prototypes. So was it worth the wait. Guy Allen took one for a fang to find out…

WHAT WE LIKED

• Well developed engine
• Lively handling
• Huge fun

NOT SO MUCH

• Limited fuel range
• Gearshift can bend
• Mirrors too wide for lane-splitting

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Yamaha V-Star 1100

Story: Guy Allen

It must have given the design team at Yamaha cause for long and hard thought when it came to creating a replacement for the Virago 1100.

Originally given birth in the form of the chain-drive XV1000RH in 1981, the series developed into a credible, if somewhat over-decorated, cruiser. It may not have topped the sales charts, but the Virago 1100 cruiser developed a dedicated following of riders who appreciated its user-friendly power, better than average handling for the class, and a fair degree of reliability.

Wander into 1998 and Yamaha has taken the V-Star replacement seriously enough to do a world launch of the model from Southern France. Picturesque as the countryside in that area is, it has little other than tight and very demanding roads that you would have thought was more suited to the launch of a small sports bike, or perhaps a supermotard replica.

A cruiser in this territory? Are you kidding? Next thing they’ll be telling us the Pope’s taken up rollerblades.

Company Y’s reasoning was it had enough confidence in the bike to plonk it in the middle of a nest of curves and cut the scribes loose.

As it turns out, the confidence was well founded. I don’t know what the lap record from Gourdon to Grasse is, but I can report it’s in no real danger from anyone mounted on this bike. Having said that, I can think of a very long list of cruisers that I’d much rather not tackle the same roads on.

The V-Star steers very predictably, defying the heavily-raked looks, stops the way a cruiser should (and like all too many don’t) and even has something resembling decent suspension.

Cornering clearance from the Dragstar-style frame is limited, but okay for this application. What makes it forgiveable is that the whole package is steady enough to dump a footpeg on the tarmac and leave it there right through the corner without fear of being pitched off.

The powerplant claims a very substantial 11.7kg-m of torque at just 2500rpm, which means it launches off idle with a great deal of authority. Short shifting through the five-speed gearbox is the way to go, with attempts at revving the bike out producing more noise than acceleration.

Performance is about what you’d expect of a big cruiser ­ rapid progress to 160kmh, and a more leisurely effort from there.

Design of the powerplant still owes a lot to the Virago, though pistons, sleeves, valve timing and starter clutch have come in for revision. The latter was named by Yamaha as a weak point in the previous engine.

The transmission and shaft work well together, with no intrusive rise-and-fall shaft reaction from the rear end. However there is some slop in the driveline, which was noticeable rather than annoying.

The only glitch in the plot was the seat padding, which a couple of riders complained tended to pack down after an hour-plus in the saddle.

Where the package has it over the Virago is the overall seating position. While the ‘old’ bike was cramped for tall folk, this one is just fine. Shorter folk will also be happy, as the seat height has dropped by a couple of centimetres ­ now you know where the cornering clearance went.

As you’d expect, there’s a vast range of dress-up kit available for the bike from day one, including pillion backrest, extra lights and windscreen.

Words: Steve Kealy
Pics: BMW

The new F650 GS is nothing like the old one, but it still delivers oodles of enjoyment…

Q: When is a 650 not a 650?
A: When it’s an F650GS

Q: When is an F650GS not an F650GS?
A: When it’s an F650GS

Confused? Read on.
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