Broadlink KTM’s Riaan van Niekerk finished the six day long rally of Maroc in a credible 11th place overall. The result is significant as he was up against all the top Dakar contenders and this was a FIM World championship event. This was also Riaan’s first rally since the 2013 Dakar in January and he is up against factory teams that have raced the entire world series. Riaan will try to improve on his fantastic 13th overall at the 2013 Dakar rally which was his first, he also won the rookie challenge and the Elf trophy challenge. The rally of Maroc has proven to be a great final test due to the rough nature of Marocco, we have been managed to secure factory suspension for Dakar and have ironed out some small issues on the bike, rather now than at Dakar 2014!

The battle for the World rally championship was decided between Factory Red Bull KTM’s Marc Coma (5 time world champion) and Honda’s Paulo Gonzalves, with Gonzalves taking the overall win of the Rally of Maroc as well as the World Rally championship. This win will surely boost Honda’s confidence going to Dakar, they have their guns blazing and will try to topple KTM’s Dakar dominence. Although the World championship was at stake, KTM’s focus has been on the final testing and further development of their new rally bike and the most important thing is that Coma and Caselli both finished without any mechanical issues.

We will continue with our roadbook training in South Africa and Namibia, there are just two months to go. Thanks to our title

Rumours have It as a V4. With an estimated price tag of around R500 000.00 there will be some fancy metals in there too. That sort of money means that the engine will be uber high revving and uber responsive. The real experience for the road user will be the ride by wire throttle Honda will undoubtedly use. No other road bike will feel as responsive or instant as the RCV road bike. Expect some fancy valves but probably not the fully fledged pneumatic valves the RC213V has. It’ll be a loud engine too, if they really intend to make it derived from their GP bike then expect some really smart engineering to keep the volume down and some really, really expensive Akrapovic exhaust pipes to send the volume sky rocketing again.

Honda has easily the smartest electronics package in MotoGP, we could shortly be saying the same thing of their road bikes. Expect near seamless shifting, back ends sliding and adaptive suspension. The mapping packages could mean that you can upload settings to your bike which will be really exciting for track nuts. Little is known as to how many sensors will be on board, gyros, inertia sensors and accelerometers could add up to quite the track day weapon if Honda are including them. Features like anti-wheelie would be very interesting to look out for.

At this price Honda have a little wiggle room to add a dash of carbon fibre here and there and some nice light metals to improve the handling. Don’t expect carbon swing arms but the wheels should certainly be bespoke. Weight will be saved through not having the usual pillion comforts and other such niceties we take for granted on a road bike.

The Honda RCV road bikes competition

Well there isn’t much really is there. The Ducati Desmosedici was around the same price and at the time was lauded as the closest thing to a GP bike. The Desmo is 5 years old now though and really won’t keep up. The BMW s1000RR HP4 will have a go but probably won’t manage. The most interesting thing would be if it is actually a success. Let’s face it Ferrari, Lamborghini and Aston Martin aren’t doing too badly. Could we see a breed of high price hyperbikes from the big manufacturers? The rich and the famous have the choice between a Hellcat and a Desmosedici if they want to splash their cash, in this day and age it can pay to go big.

The Continental GT Cafe Racer is based around Enfield's single cylinder Bullet 500cc engine but no details have been released about any upgrades to its performance. Due to the stripped down appearance of the Continental GT and the specially designed frame I'd expected that this bike will weigh in less than the Bullet so I would assume that performance improvements could be expected.

The styling of the Continental GT is text book Cafe Racer but it's not all about the looks. The new frame features a double down tube and double cradle design that will definitely outperform the more than 50 year old design of the Bullets single tubed frame. The front forks are stiffened up by an alloy brace that sits on top of the front fender and the rear stays true thanks to a pair of gas filled performance shocks from Ohlins. With this sort of handling it's easy to see why they've also put rear sets on the bike and not left any space for a passenger.

Starting with a motorcycle that was designed half a century ago as a base it's obvious why the GT looks so much like a classic. Enfield's designers have stayed true to classic Cafe Racer looks with an elongated, Manx style tank held in place with a leather buckle, a wasp tail single seat, clip on bars, bar end mirrors and low profile lighting (huge thumbs up from me for that one). The GT also features some high quality finishes including a polished triple tree, brushed alloy switch gear, alloy fenders, alloy dash and minimalist instrument cluster. 

As I said at the start of this post this has to be one of the nicest, "straight off the factory floor" Cafe Racers we've seen. It'll a classic before it even gets a chance to get old and I'm sure the waiting list will be disturbingly long.

For more info logon to www.royalenfield.com 

Ducati , the Bologna-based sport bike manufacturer may not be racing the Ducati 1199 Panigale in World Superbike this year, but the Italian brand still has many other teams in other racing series who are keen to use the latest Bologna Bullet. On such outfit is the Ducati Coventry / JHP Racing squad that is campaigning the 1199 in the upcoming 2012 British Superbike Championship, which just today took delivery of their Ducati 1199 Panigale RS.

 Essentially the bike we saw teased on the track before the Panigale’s official launch, the 1199 RS is an even more drool-worthy example of a track-ready Panigale than the Ducati 1199 S Supersport we showed you from the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan. Aluminum tank, carbon fiber bodywork, full Termignoni exhaust, and Öhlins & Brembo pieces abound…yes this is the type of thing that makes grown men weak in the knees.

Built by HRC, the production run will be limited to five bikes

The new CRF450 Rally was designed specifically to compete in the major rally races around the globe—with a focus on the Dakar Rally in January 2014.

Honda plans to race the bike in select rallys leading up to Dakar, starting with the Morocco Rally on October 13, using the same combination of five riders and motorcycles as for the 2014 Dakar Rally.

It is expected that racing the bike in Morocco will provide useful information for further improvements. 

Honda and HRC’s made their first return to the the Dakar Rally in 24 years at last year’s event with a prototype machine based on the Honda CRF450X. What they learned last year in the areas of engine power, aerodynamic performance, durability and maintenance requirements was used as a basis to build the all-new, 2014, fuel-injected CRF450 Rally.

After a seven race, season long, battle, Proudly Bidvest Yamaha’s Kenny Gilbert has been crowned the 2013 South African National Off Road Champion!

The last round of the South African National Off Road Championship took place the past weekend in Ventersdorp, North West Province, and Kenny Gilbert went into the race with a narrow two point advantage over his arch rival and fellow Yamaha pilot Ruan Roberts. With a total of three points difference between a win and second place (first place is awarded 25 points towards the championship, whilst second place is awarded only 22 points), Kenny was under huge pressure in the knowledge that nothing else other than a race victory would ensure him and his team and sponsors the glory of being crowned the National Off Road South African Champion.

Whilst Kenny spent the weeks building up to the race preparing his physical and mental condition for the battle ahead, the Team made sure that all the logistics were in order, as well as prepared his Proudly Bidvest Yamaha WR 450 F race bike to be the ultimate race winning weapon.

Race day came, and Kenny kept his focus on the task at hand, blotting out all the hype and hysteria that was behind what was to prove to be an epic race for the championship.

Roberts took the lead from the start, with Kenny hot on his heels. With 400km’s to race over the next six hours, race tactics would have to play a huge part in the outcome. For the next 250km’s the status quo remained the same, with neither rider giving an inch, and the gap between the two remained constant at around 10 seconds. With around 150km’s to go, Kenny’s superior physical, mental and nutritional conditioning started to give him the edge over his rival, and with Roberts succumbing to dehydration in the 35° degree plus temperatures, Kenny pounced and took the lead. He immediately opened the gap on Roberts to around 50 seconds, and then focused on riding as smoothly and consistently as possible, without making any unforced errors, to the finish line. Showing true professionalism dint of being a part of the premier race team in South Africa, Kenny maintained a consistently fast race pace to eventually cross the finish line some six and a half minutes ahead of Roberts, and be crowned the 2013 South African National Off Road OR1 Class Champion as well as the 2013 South African National Off Road Overall Champion!

With the glory of the laurels around his neck and borne high on the shoulders of his fellow team members, King Kenny and the Team will now proudly adorn the Number 1 plate on their bikes for 2014.

Kenny Gilbert: 2013 South African National Off Road Overall and OR1 class Champion:

“This is an amazing feeling!! I am so thrilled to finally be awarded this championship. All the hard work and sacrifices I have made to ensure that my physical and mental conditioning were correct was SO worth it. But this is without doubt a massive team effort. Without the commitment and support of the entire team this would not have been possible, so I am incredibly proud to be able to share this glory with them as well. This is as much Proudly Bidvest Yamaha’s championship as it is mine. I wish to extend my gratitude to each and every member of the Team, as well as to my wife and family, who have sacrificed a lot in order to assist me to achieve this goal. Most importantly, I wish to extend my deep gratitude to all of our sponsors. I am proud to be able to bring home this championship for all of them. I race the best bikes and wear the best products and am proud to do so, so to:

Belgium won last weekend with Red Bull KTM factory rider Ken De Dycker the 2013 Motocross of Nations in Germany’s Teutschenthal while Britain Jonny Walker dominated the 2013 edition of the Red Bull Sea to Sky in Turkish Kemer by winning every single race!

MXoN

Belgium with KTM’s Ken de Dycker won the 2013 Motocross of Nations in a typical last lap thriller that decided their win in front of USA with Ryan Dungey (both on the KTM 450 SX-F) in second place and Italy in third. KTM factory riders all answered the challenge of this important nations competition in a result that went down to the wire.

KTM's Tony Cairoli (Team Italy) and Ken Roczen (Team Germany) were the stand out riders in their respective MX1 and MX2 classes. Cairoli secured victory in both of his races with his usual tactical precision on the KTM 350 SX-F. Roczen, who rode with the additional pressure of being in the title-holding team finished with 2-1 onboard his KTM 250 SX-F and took an amazing victory after a cliff-hanger race two where he was challenged right to the flag by American Eli Tomac.

Tony Cairoli paid tribute to his team and said it had been just an amazing weekend. “It was our goal to finish on the podium but there are so many good teams. My dream was to finish on the podium and this is the first time in the eight years I have been riding for Italy that we made it. It was like a victory for us. My own goal was to win both my races and the MX1 class and I managed that.”

Red Bull Sea To Sky
Red Bull KTM factory rider Jonny Walker of the UK celebrated a great three-day weekend at Kemer, Turkey to be the outright winner of the Red Bull Sea to Sky Hard Enduro. Jonny Walker had victories in all three separate events – the Beach Race, Forest Race and the very tough Mountain Race where he beat rival Graham Jarvis and Alfredo Gomez into the minor places.

Speaking after the race, Julian Stevens, Walker’s manager  and minder of his KTM 300 EXC reported: “Jonny rode a fault free ride but he bent his rear disc before Check Point 1 and had rear brake problems the entire race. He managed to hold a three-minute lead for most of the race and then just tried to keep safe distance from Graham (Jarvis). He made a few mistakes towards the end and Graham got closer and it was a very close finish.” Walker: “In the end both Graham and I were so desperate to win we both made a lot of mistakes. It was a very close finish.”

As the world's very first motorcycles, the MY 2014 KTM 1190 Adventure and 1190 Adventure R feature a truly revolutionary rider assistance system: the riding dynamics control MSC. This system makes a long held dream come true – an ABS that even works perfectly while cornering.

Technology leader

Only a few years ago, KTM was considered as a newcomer in the street bike segment. However, KTM reached – in typical KTM style – the technological forefront on the double and gains the innovative lead for MY14 as meanwhile Europe´s largest motorcycle manufacturer.

KTM-BOSCH-INNOVATION

This step in development, the new MSC stability control is a milestone in the motorcycle industry and would not have been possible without outstanding partners.

Jointly developed with Bosch, the motorcycle stability control MSC supports the rider of the 1190 Adventure together with the combined antilock braking system C-ABS and the motorcycle traction control MTC in a multitude of ways – of course within the limits of physics, just as any assistance system:

• MSC can prevent the wheels from slipping when braking while leaning over.
• MSC minimises the righting moment when braking while leaning over.
• MSC prevents rolling over in emergency stops.
• MSC prevents rear wheel skids when accelerating while leaning over.
• MSC prevents rising of the front wheel while accelerating

STORY AND PICS BY IAN GROAT: A PRIVILEGE TO TAKE PART IN THE 2013 GOODWOOD REVIVAL SHOW

This year’s 16th running of arguably the most spectacular retro racing event held in the world saw a full complement of around 60 champions, both current SBK hard chargers and a host of top riders from the history books, set to race at the former Goodwood Grand Prix track at Chichester’s World War 2 fighter aerodrome in the south of England earlier this month.

The aerodrome has now morphed into a wonderful racetrack under the watchful eyes of Lord Freddie and Charles March – ostensibly to celebrate motorsport’s past in its most glamorous era. The venue for the revival started up in 1998 and has gone on to become a world-renowned meeting consistently providing the world’s most spectacular racing theatre ever.

Held this year to sellout crowds of 150 000 visitors, all dressed up in period costume, with Spitfire and Mustang air shows thrown in, it was a mind-blowing experience second to none.

Inclement weather dished up some heavy downpours for each day’s 17-event programme, but the dedicated drivers and riders made the best of both dry and wet tarmac. The list of sports cars and single seaters which made up the various races like the Whitsun Trophy and Le Mans showpieces saw personalities such as Emanuele Pirro, Henry Pescarolo, Andy Wallace, Sir Stirling Moss, and F1 engineer Adrian Newey, among the list of celebrities who took part.

Tucked away in the programme, however, is the very challenging Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy Motorcycle Race that featured 60 riders and 30 teams on machines built and raced before 1961. In this year’s scintillating double header, the winner, Mick Grant and TT Ace Gary Johnson, rode the MV Agusta to clinch their win on aggregate time for the two-day racing event of some 36 laps on total. They won by less than a second from Michael Russell and Michael  Rutter who simply rode the wheels off the Manx Norton they were on and showed the current speedsters of SBK how go about their business at riding both fast and with an aggressive style.

The Liquorland Castrol Winterberg National Enduro, the longest standing racing event in the South African National Enduro calendar, took place this past weekend in the Patensie region of the Eastern Cape, some 100km’s west of Port Elizabeth, and Yamaha pilots once again did the marquees proud by scooping three class victories, and in so doing earned Yamaha the Manufacturers Award for the race.

Proudly Bidvest Yamaha’s Denzil Torlage continued his race winning success by taking victory in the National Enduro Masters class, his third of the season so far. Denzil put in a flawless ride on board his Proudly Bidvest Yamaha YZ 250 (2T) to secure a convincing class victory, and keep his hopes of retaining the National Masters Enduro Championship for the fifth consecutive year intact.

Denzil’s Proudly Bidvest Yamaha teammate, Kenny Gilbert, competing in the National E1 (or Open) class on board a Proudly Bidvest Yamaha YZ 290 F, suffered from a small crash in the first special stage of the day resulting in him taking a third position in class, a mere three seconds behind Kargo Yamaha’s Tim Young, who rode a fantastic race to finish second on board his Kargo Yamaha YZ 250 (2T). Gilbert does however leave the Winterberg with the E1 Class Championship points lead with one round to go in the championship.

In the E2 class (for 250cc four strokes and 200cc two stokes), defending champion Marc Torlage (Proudly Bidvest Yamaha YZ 250 F) had a disastrous day in the saddle and was forced to retire after injuring his back, putting paid to his hopes of winning this Championship for the fourth consecutive year. The Yamaha mantle in this class was however picked up by young Bronson Louw (Portable Shade Criterion Yamaha YZ 250 F) who put in his best ride of the 2013 season by taking a very strong second place in the E2 class for a fifth overall.

Liquorland Yamaha’s William (Wild Will) Gillitt rode his Liquorland Yamaha WR 290 F to a solid victory in the National Seniors Class, ahead of strong competition for Bruce May on board his May’s Auto Centre Yamaha YZ 290 F.

In the National Silver Challenge, National Junior Off Road title hopeful Damien Scott (Portable Shade Criterion Yamaha YZ 250 F) showed the opposition a clean pair of heels and took Yamaha’s third class victory for the event.

The efforts of these riders allowed Yamaha to proudly walk away with the Manufacturers Trophy for the event.

The final round of the 2013 Liquorland National Enduro Championship will take place in Matatiele in KZN on the 19^th October.