Table of contents for Issue 44 in Retrobike

GIACOMO Agostini has been a semi-regular visitor to Australia, most recently as a guest at the International Festival of Speed at Sydney Motor Sport Park in 2017 and at Phillip Island for the Island Classic in 2018. Retrobike met Ago at the IFOS, along with other GP legends including Kevin Schwantz and Freddie Spencer. Nicer, more down-to-earth blokes you wouldn’t meet. I’m not sure why I was surprised. I’d met John Surtees at the first SMSP Australian Grand Prix meeting in 1991, and I guess promoters wouldn’t invite these fellas if they weren’t comfortable hanging out with us plebs. But, wow, Giacomo Agostini, motorcycling royalty doesn’t come much purer than that. He first came Down Under in early 1976 as the reigning 500 world champion to race at the one-off…

ENGINE Air-cooled four-stroke boxer twin; DOHC, four valves per cylinder; 103 x 73mm for 1170cc; 12:1 comp; 2 x 38mm SmartCarbs on titanium manifolds; Morris magneto ignition; titanium exhausts; dry clutch to six-speed hand-shift gearbox; shaft final drive CHASSIS Fabricated rigid chassis in tubular chromoly; fabricated girder-style forks with carbon-fibre spring, 22-inch wheel with clincher-style Firestone vintage slick, no front brake; 265mm rear brake with twin-piston caliper on 18-inch rim, M&H Racemaster slick BODYWORK Lowbrow Customs tank and rear mudguard WANT MORE? Go to engineeredtoslide.com BEST An exemplary example of a master craftsman at work NOT SO GREAT Covid-19 spoiled the party…

ENGINE Air- and oil-cooled four-stroke vertical twin with 90/270-degree offset crank; SOHC, four valves per cylinder; 78 x 67.8mm for 648cc; 9.5:1 comp; EFI with Power Commander; custom exhausts by Rogue; wet clutch to six-speed gearbox; chain final drive; 47hp at 7100rpm (stock) CHASSIS Double-cradle main frame in tubular steel; shortened seat sub-frame by Rogue; 41mm non-adjustable forks with single twin-piston/320mm front brake, with stock hub laced to 3.5 x 16-inch rim; twin-shock rear, single-piston/240mm rear brake, stock hub laced to 3.5 x 16-inch rim; Shinko E240/E270 white-walls BODYWORK Stock tank and side-covers, repositioned front mudguard; aluminium seat unit from The Hammer Works; fairing by Autologue Design; paint by Motorcycle Panel and Paint BUILDER Rogue Motorcycles, West Perth BEST Individual style; fit and finish; tuned performance and sound; collaborative build…

ENGINE Liquid-cooled four-stroke 90-degree V4; gear-driven DOHC, eight valves per cylinder; 101.2 x 50.6mm = 75.3mm bore, 42mm stroke, for 747cc; 11.7:1 comp; PGM-FI fuel injection/engine management, four sets of two 30mm throttle-bodies; 8-4-2-1-2 exhaust; gear primary to slipper clutch and six-speed gearbox; chain final drive; 125hp at 14,000rpm CHASSIS Aluminium twin-spar beam frame; 45mm Showa USD forks, 2 x Nissin 310mm rotors with four-piston calipers on 3.5 x 16in cast magnesium wheel; single-sided swingarm with rising-rate Showa mono-shock, twin-piston 220mm disc on 6 x 17in wheel; Michelin Hi-Sport radials DIMENSIONS 1433mm wheelbase; dry weight 225kg; fuel capacity 17 litres BEST Exotic engine; superb chassis and running gear; smooth, linear power; comfy NOT SO GREAT Not cheap…

ENGINE Air-cooled four-stroke inline four; DOHC, two valves per cylinder; 83 x 66mm for 1428cc; 10.5:1 comp; wet sump; 4 x RS40 Mikuni flat-slides; Dyna/MSD ignition; Vance & Hines Sidewinder exhaust; gear primary to multi-plate clutch and five-speed gearbox; 530 Tsubaki chain final drive CHASSIS Twin-cradle tubular-steel frame with raked steering head and fabricated sub-frame; 36mm conventional forks with 2.25 x 18in laced Akront rim, no front brake; fabricated rigid rear end, Yamaha caliper on Suzuki rotor, custom 4 x 15in wheel; Mickey Thompson tyres BODYWORK Z1 tank and side-covers; GSX-R mudguard; custom tail unit; paint by Steve Barnett SPECIAL THANKS Andrew Hallam for engine development; Steve Barnett for heaps of stuff; Iggy for helping in the shed BEST Blistering acceleration; insane top speed; immaculate presentation NOT SO GREAT Going…

ENGINE Liquid-cooled four-stroke single; SOHC, four valves; 57 x 58.7mm for 150cc; 10.4:1 comp; EFI with custom airbox and ECU; wet sump; electric start; custom exhaust with Yoshimura muffler; wet clutch to six-speed gearbox; chain final drive; 16hp at 8500rpm (stock) CHASSIS Twin-spar steel frame with custom sub-frame; conventional forks with single twin-sliding-piston/267mm disc on 17in five-spoke wheel; mono-shock rear with single-piston/220mm disc on 17in wheel BEST Looks cool, weighs nothing, sounds fantastic; no-one else’s got one NOT SO GREAT Nothing at this price…

ENGINE Air-cooled four-stroke 360-degree vertical twin; OHV, two per cylinder; 74 x 72.6mm for 624cc; 9.0:1 comp; dry sump; 2 x 28mm Mikunis; 12V battery/coil ignition; duplex primary chain to wet clutch and four-speed gearbox; chain final drive; 50hp at 7000rpm CHASSIS Tubular-steel duplex cradle frame with single top tube; 35mm fork with twin 245mm rotors and sliding single-piston calipers on 1.85 x 19in laced wheel; twin shock swingarm with 178mm drum brake laced to 2.15 x 18in wheel; Avon RoadRider tyres DIMENSIONS Wheelbase 1420mm; dry weight 208kg; seat height 810mm; fuel capacity 15 litres WANT A RIDE? Go to www.retrotours.com BEST Soulful comfortable tourer; great sound; not a BSA NOT SO GREAT Wet-weather braking…

I PUT the book down. I've had more time for reading lately and love of reading has been a lifelong constant. So I did a little life audit on the subject. No, not books, constants. It's been happening more, as if 'summing up' can help a bloke work out how to best spend the time left. How much gardening do I want to do? Hmm, let's try nil if it's not keeping snakes away from the kids. Hang on, the kids are almost gone. The house is too big. The pool got used once last summer. Karen's over it, maybe it's time to shift to a small unit with a big shed? “To not ride is to open up the dismal door, to drop a huge slab of the meaning…

IT SEEMED nothing could kill the Sportster after an uninterrupted 65-year run. But all that changed with the advent of Euro 5 emission regulations, which has prompted Harley-Davidson to discontinue manufacturing our favourite Harley engine. The name will live on in the form of the new Sportster S, but not much else. Gone forever is the air-cooled 45-degree OHV unit-construction motor, replaced by a liquid-cooled DOHC 60-degree V-twin derived from Harley’s Pan America adventure bike. Both the Sportster and XR750 were derived from the 750cc K-model introduced in 1952, powered by Harley’s first unit-construction engine which was itself an update of the WL 750cc pre-unit side-valves (popularised in Australia as war surplus WLAs). The common denominator was a quartet of gear-driven single-lobe camshafts, one for each valve, which offered a…

ENGINE Liquid-cooled four-stroke inline triple; DOHC, four valves per cylinder; 79 x 54.3mm for 798cc; 13.3:1 comp; wet sump; electronic engine management with riding modes; Arrow exhausts; gear primary to slipper clutch and six-speed quick-shift transmission; chain final drive; 148hp at 13,000rpm CHASSIS Trellis-style frame in tubular ALS steel; fully-adjustable 43mm Marzocchi USD forks, 2 x Brembo radial monobloc four-spot calipers on floating 320mm rotors, 3.5 x 17in alloy wheel; single-sided aluminium-alloy swingarm with fully-adjustable rising-rate Sachs mono-shock, Brembo twin-piston caliper on 220mm rotor, 5.5 x 17in wheel; Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa tyres DIMENSIONS Wheelbase 1380mm; dry weight 173kg; fuel capacity 16.5 litres BEST Superlative Italian style; high-speed performance; impeccable pedigree NOT SO GREAT All gone, none left…

ENGINE Air-cooled four-stroke 90-degree V-twin; belt-driven SOHC, two valves per cylinder; 94 x 71.5mm for 992cc; 10:1 comp; wet sump; Marelli ignition and EFI; 45mm throttle body; Zard exhaust; gear primary drive to wet clutch and six-speed gearbox; 83rwhp at 8000rpm (stock) CHASSIS Tubular-steel trellis frame; 43mm 1098R USD forks with twin Brembo four-piston radial Monobloc calipers and 320mm rotors on 17in forged alloy Marchesini wheel; Sport 1000 swingarm with single Ohlins shock, single Brembo twin-piston/240mm rear brake on 17in Marchesini forged alloy wheel BODYWORK Sport 1000 tank; JC/Pakbikes Imola seat unit; stock GT side-covers; paint by Renata Caia BEST Svelte looks; superlative suspension and brakes; that Zard exhaust NOT SO GREAT Get out of here, we’d own it in a heartbeat…

OWNER BUILDERS THE lifeblood of magazines like this are the people who build the feature bikes, sometimes as part of a professional team or more usually toiling away in a backyard shed. More power to you all.…

THE photographer emerged from the long grass with his camera and its enormous telephoto lens around his neck, and shouted to me “that was good, Jamie, but could you hang off the bike a bit more?”. “Don’t listen to him, he’s a wanker,” said my road-testing partner in crime, who was there for the photo shoot with the other bike from our comparison test. “He wants every shot to look like you’re a Grand Prix star hanging off the side of the bike, but these are touring bikes, for ****’s sake.” He was right, too. I couldn’t hang off a bike if I tried. I’m an old-school rider, and that meant I wasn’t suited to being photographed for magazines. In fact, my mate reckons I look like a cop when…

ENGINE Air-cooled four-stroke inline six; chain-driven DOHC, four valves per cylinder; 64.5 x 53.4mm for 1047cc; 9.3:1 comp; 6 x Keihin CR flat-slides; electronic ignition; custom exhaust; multi-row chain primary to wet clutch and five-speed gearbox; chain final drive; 100rwhp (measured) CHASSIS Steel tube main frame with engine as stressed member; fabricated sub-frame; Hayabusa USD forks and four-piston calipers, Moto-Master 310mm rotors; Aprilia RSV4 swingarm, Ohlins TTX mono-shock with fabricated linkages and mounts, single Brembo twin-piston caliper on Moto-Master 220mm rotor; 17-inch JoNich M9 24-spoke wheels (yum) BODYWORK Modified CBX tank; PBM tail unit and front fender; seat by Timeless Auto Trim WANT MORE? Visit PBM’s comprehensive online store at purposebuiltmoto.com BEST Style, engineering, presentation; on-road engine and chassis performance; that sound NOT SO GREAT Subtle it ain’t…

ENGINE Air-cooled four-stroke 45-degree V-twin; OHV, two per cylinder; 76.2 x 96.8mm for 883cc; dry sump; 9.0:1 comp; EFI with V&H Fuelpak, S&S air cleaner; custom exhausts; chain primary drive to five-speed gearbox; chain final drive CHASSIS Tubular-steel cradle chassis with fabricated sub-frame; Ceriani-style forks, single twin-sliding-piston caliper on 300mm rotor, 19in laced aluminium rim; twin-shock swingarm with 15in YSS shocks, single twin-sliding-piston caliper on 260mm rotor, 19in laced aluminium rim WANT ONE? Go to www.gasoline.com.au BEST Style for miles; fit and finish; practical real-world custom NOT SO GREAT Fuel range…

WHAT are the benefits of the oval-piston design compared to a conventional engine, other than a bit of rule-bending for racing? “When Mr Shoichiro lrimajiri and his staff were given the responsibility of designing a ‘New Engine’, which basically meant not a two-stroke, they realised they must increase valve size as much as possible to improve breathing and achieve more power through higher rpm,” NR750 engine designer Suguru Kanazawa explained. “Using a single-cylinder engine for experiments, we tried five, six and seven valves per cylinder, but the results were not satisfactory. We discovered that you must have either four or eight valves per cylinder. With four valves, we could not achieve the necessary flow, but with eight valves, the problem was how to arrange them on a round cylinder, and…

ENGINE Air-cooled four-stroke vertical twin; chain-driven SOHC, two valves per cylinder; 80 x 74mm for 750cc; 10:1 comp; wet sump with Hugh’s Handbuilt oil cooler; 2 x Mikuni VM34 round-slides with ram tubes; Hugh’s Handbuilt PMA/CDI ignition; owner-built exhausts; gear primary drive to hydraulic clutch and five-speed gearbox; 520 chain final drive; 53hp at 7200rpm stock but plenty more on this hottie CHASSIS Twin downtube chassis in 40-year-old tubular steel with owner-fabricated seat sub-frame; 35mm conventional forks with external Triumph springs, single sliding-piston caliper/300mm rotor on laced 19in alloy rim; owner-built mono-shock rear swingarm with XVS650 spring/damper, drum brake laced to 19in alloy rim; 100/90-19 Avon Roadriders front and rear BODYWORK Peanut tank; owner-modified guards; custom floating leather seat SPECIAL THANKS The engineer who approved it all; Jimi Lucas at…