Daily motorbike news, views & reviews
Honda Australia is promoting its automatic Dual-Clutch Transmission on the new Africa Twin adventure bike by offering the upgrade for free. Apart from scooters, there are few bikes that have a clutchless shift transmission, although many hi-tech sports bikes now have a quick shifter that allows shifts without using the clutch. The standard transmission Africa …
Honda has filed a patent for a V4 sports bike with an under-seat exhaust similar to those popular a couple of decades ago, signalling a possible return of the fashion. Racing bikes began using under-seat exhausts in the 1970s for a number of reasons: to cut drag, improve balance, place the outlet in the bike’s …
The Motorbike Writer 1980 Honda CX500 project bike is up for sale to make way for the next project bike, so make us an offer! We won’t lie. It sometimes jumps out of second or sticks in second. However, that’s about the full extent of its mechanical problems. It starts every time, it doesn’t leak …
Dealers in Harley Davidson, Triumph and KTM are the most satisfied with the brands, according to the latest National Motorcycle Dealers Association survey in the UK. The least-valued franchises are Piaggio Group, Honda and Ducati. The biannual survey examines how dealers view the major issues currently affecting them, while also evaluating how these views are …
Suzuki is moving closer to turbocharging with new patent drawings emerging. The Japanese manufacturer unveiled its Recursion turbo concept (pictured above) in 2013 with a single-overhead-cam parallel twin engine with turbocharging. In 2015, Suzuki unveiled a new turbo “XE7” engine with twin overhead cams and registered the Katana name and trademark Samurai sword. Now there are …
Honda continues to drop its prices in the wake of an 18.1% drop in sales in the first quarter of 2017 with the latest being the 2017 model CB500F. The learner-approved street fighter has arrived in dealerships at $7299, down $600 on last year’s model. It comes in Millennium Red/Graphite Black and Matte Gunpowder Black Metallic. This follows Honda’s …
Honda has embarked on a discount war over the past year in an effort to return to the top of the road bike sales after Harley-Davidson has repeatedly topped the list. We suspect with the motorcycle industry first-quarter results due in the next couple of days that the news isn’t great for Honda. That’s why they are …
Two-stroke engines were phased out by tough pollution laws and fuel economy targets, but they could be making a comeback with KTM, Honda and boutique builders. KTM and Honda have both registered patents for direct-injection two-stroke engines. In 2015, Honda filed a patent for a new two-stroke motor using direct fuel injection for a cleaner burn and …
A Honda Africa Twin in almost standard trim has claimed the world altitude record for a twin-cylinder motorcycle by climbing the world’s highest volcano. The bike with the DCT automatic transmission reached 5965m on Ojos del Salado in the Atacama Region, on the Argentina-Chile border. Honda says they did not change the fuelling. Only a …
Honda’s new CRF1000L adventure bike has been a hit and now it seems an Africa Twin Rally production version is about to hit the market with more power and less weight. It was first shown at the Milan motorcycle show in November as the Enduro Sports model. Now it has appeared in Italy as a production …