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While the reborn BSA marque is about to return to Aussie shores, one Melbourne man has been hand-building them for two decades. Meet the BSA V-twins that never were… BSA’s return to the Australian marketplace with a range of 350-650cc singles comes 53 years after the last-ever motorcycle rolled out of its Birmingham Small Heath factory in 1973. This makes it the latest of Britain’s historic trophy brands to be awakened from its slumbers, this time courtesy of Indian conglomerate Mahindra Group. But over the past two decades a dedicated, ultra-skilled BSA enthusiast in suburban Melbourne has created a series of ground-up new models with the historic BSA badge on their tanks. Emu Engineering’s owner Doug Fraser has conceived and built not one, not even two, nor three, but no less than four completely individual V-twin tributes to the BSA marque, in the form of models he’d like to have seen the British firm make at some stage in its 62-year-long history as a motorcycle manufacturer, but never did. Seventy-something Fraser is a toolmaker by trade who today is an electrical engineer focusing on heavy-duty industrial electric motors, and the design and manufacture of related switchgear. Hence his large but crowded suburban factory on the road to Phillip Island is packed with an array of lathes, grinders, milling machines and welders, all of which can also be used to build a bike from the ground up! Two generations of an off-beat BSA V-twin design take to the road So it’s fair to say that Fraser is somewhat smitten by vehicles Made in England. Parked outside the Emu factory are his company wheels, a 1970s Hillman Hunter workhorse that’s clocked up over 2,000,000km and is currently on its third bodyshell, but quite improbably still has its original engine, now sporting a five-speed Toyota gearbox. Then, garaged inside the workshop is his daily driver, a V12 Jaguar E-Type Series 3 coupe of the same vintage, and tucked in behind that is the Norton Rotary racer that Fraser built 25 years ago to compete against Ducatis and Aprilias in BEARS racing, the anything-but-J-bikes category he ended up dominating in Australia and New Zealand on a motorcycle whose engine came from the UK as a 190,000km ex-West Midlands police bike. Doug imported the Norton Rotary Down Under, concocted a five-speed gearbox for it made mainly from Triumph parts, made an ignition system and then designed a race frame for it. He took the resultant self-built special to the starting line in over 40 races, winning most of them against far more thoroughbred opposition like one-litre Ducati and Aprilia V-twin Superstock models, aided by his own considerable racing skills. It might be a parts-bin special when it comes to the ancillaries but this is factory standard Riding the Irving Vincents, built just 10km from the Emu Engineering nest, I’ve diced several times with Doug aboard the Norton Rotary, and he is FAST – especially for a boffin who builds his own bikes, and who takes pride in the fact he started racing in the late 60s, so can claim to have competed in seven different decades before calling a stop to his racing career with the advent of Covid! Yet Doug is also a big fan of the BSA Gold Star single, and has several of them, including the 500cc Goldie on which he and his wife Jenny spent six weeks in 2008 touring Britain and the Isle of Man, two-up with luggage. That’s dedication to the cause. Front brakes could benefit with a more aggressive pad material Doug’s self-built quartet of BSAs is quite unlike anything that ever rolled out of the Birmingham factory. “I’ve always liked BSA V-twins, even though they only built them from 1920 to 1938, and despite the fact they were known to be a little short-fused, while looking so nice,” he says. “But they still had exposed valve-springs right up to the end, and I’ve never understood why BSA didn’t build a more modern version based on their M23 Empire Star single, which was a brilliant bike. After all, a V-twin is only a pair of singles sharing a common crankcase! So, since they didn’t, I decided to do it for them, and the M46 was the result.” Twin rear shocks don’t compromise handling In case you wondered, 2 x M23 = M46, quite apart from this being Doug’s race number for decades, long before Valentino Rossi was born! Measuring a period-style longstroke 87mm x 94mm for a capacity of 1120cc, the side-valve M46 Empire Twin was completed in 2008 after over 1400 hours of work, with its engine carrying a pair of bored-out 500cc Empire Star cylinders. Combined with 30mm Amal Mk1 Concentrics and a four-speed Gold Star close-ratio gearbox, it was fitted into a modified M20 girder-forked rigid frame carrying the dual front brakes needed to stop what is an improbably fast motorcycle. The integration of an engine built from scratch with various components sourced on the spare parts market has resulted in a factory-like finish Having shown what BSA might have built but didn’t for the 1939 model year just as the shutters came down for World War II, next on Fraser’s to-do list was to demonstrate what kind of V-twin the company omitted to develop in the 1950s, when that earlier model would have run its course. Except for the fact that what he created has non-period electric start and a Rob North replica disc-brake front end, it’s a what-might-have been 1960s BSA Gold Star V-twin sports model – which Fraser dubbed the ‘B66’, since the 1140cc OHV engine uses two BSA 500cc B33 cylinders from the forerunner of the legendary Gold Star. V-twin engine is a work of art Doug’s pretty pleased with the outcome of his labours after, again, roughly 1400 hours of dedicated work: “It’s almost too fast!” he enthuses. “At 70mph on the speedo, it’s only pulling 3000revs, which is halfway to the redline. For sure it’s a 130mph bike – but I also got 55mpg on it covering 2500 miles in two weeks going to the National BSA Rally in NSW one year. It’s a really effortless long-distance ride, as well as a great country roads bike.” That 5-speed decal is off a 1970s BSA triple. Clever So satisfying, in fact, you almost wonder why he turned to building the third and fourth bikes in his quartet of Beezas – the ultimate Empire Twin, designated the E120R which made its racetrack debut in 2012, and the E120S street version he completed in 2018. “It was the logical follow-on to the other two models, showing where BSA would be if they’d decided to keep going with the V-twins into the modern era,” Doug says. “Both the first two bikes have a lot of BSA parts in them, and they’re based on the styling that BSA used in that period – but unfortunately we can’t really say what their bikes would have looked like today. I therefore opted for a thoroughly modern design in creating this, and tried to imagine how BSA engineers might have responded to today’s engineering solutions.” Doug Fraser’s happy place is in a workshop full of projects Both these bikes are powered by a meaty-looking air/oil-cooled 1194cc eight-valve DOHC dry sump engine measuring 100mm x 76mm, with narrow crankcases for extra stiffness, thanks to the hefty old-style Moto Guzzi-type bacon-slicer external flywheel on the left side, surmounted by twin cylinders set at 75º to each other, whose extensive finning originally maintained the same size and shape as the legendary BSA DBD34 Gold Star, while also being oil-cooled. The 38mm Amal Mk2 Concentric carbs are fitted to the street legal Emu BSA E120S on which I covered 220km alongside Doug aboard his B66 on a ride through the Mornington Peninsula and South Gippsland on a sultry 36°C day. Doug lives for his lathe “I designed this as a true BSA Superbike sports model, which could be ridden on the road, as well as giving a good account of itself on the racetrack,” says Doug. “Originally I thought that when we were looking for more performance, we could switch to injection, so I allowed enough metal in the head castings to machine them to install single injectors at the bottom of the ports. But after covering thousands of road miles using Amal carbs and my own points ignition with ballast resistors on each of the coils for ease of starting, I’ve decided I don’t need the whole new level of complexity EFI brings in its wake. Simple is best!” Yep, it’s a double overhead camshaft design The E120 Emu BSAs’ narrow crankcases are vertically split, encompassing a one-piece plain-bearing crankshaft which Fraser machined up out of a single EN26 steel billet. That did take a bit of time, though – he started off with a 52kg lump of metal and ended up with a crank weighing just 7.5kg. “There was a lot of swarf!” he admits. The crank’s mainshaft is 40mm in diameter, and the assembly runs on two very large roller main bearings, plus a support bush on the far right-hand side where oil is pumped into the crank. This runs a 50 per cent balance factor, same as on Fraser’s other Emu BSA creations, and carries Pankl titanium conrods bolted up side-by-side on a 53mm diameter big end, with forged Mahle pistons sourced from a flat-six Porsche 996RS delivering 11.5:1 compression, and running in Nikasil-lined Mahle sleeves. Sump and oil filter live under the engine The spec of both E120 Emu BSA engines is almost identical, save that the S-version runs a milder cam and its ignition timing is tuned for torque rather than horsepower, plus it also has a quieter ADR-legal exhaust. But transmission on the road bike is provided by a five-speed Honda Varadero gearbox (the E120R has a six-speed VTR1000 ’box), which Fraser has cassette mounted to be fully extractable for speedy internal ratio changes on the racer – it takes less than 30 minutes to change a gear ratio, he claims. Even Ducati’s ultimate 1198R V-twin Superbike didn’t have this facility, despite having comparable vertically split cases! On the E120S, this beefy-looking engine is installed in a fully triangulated chrome-moly tubular steel spaceframe weighing less than 10kg while using the engine as a fully-stressed, load-bearing component. However, the street version of this is quite different from the racer, resulting in a 75mm longer 1500mm wheelbase that gives extra space for an optimum run for the exhaust headers for street use. A modified Honda CBR600RR extruded alloy swingarm pivots on the back of the engine as well as in the spaceframe. Unlike on the monoshock E120R, to give more room for a passenger and provide a lower 32in/810mm seat height this has twin Öhlins rear shocks that are adjustable for spring preload and rebound damping. “Sorry, I’m old fashioned, but I’m not very fond of bikes that have a foot of space between the rear underside of the seat and the back tyre, and you need a step ladder to get on the pillion seat,” says Doug. “They also generally don’t have a rear mudguard, so in the pissing rain you get covered in shit. Twin shocks rule!” Plywood mock-up helps the styling take shape The Emu BSA’s complete front-end assembly is taken from a V-twin Honda VTR1000, with a 41mm Showa fork set at a 26º rake carrying Öhlins cartridge internals, again adjustable for preload and rebound damping. Twin 296mm VTR discs are gripped by Nissin four-piston calipers, with a 220mm rear and single-pot caliper. “The VTR runs clip-ons, but I was able to find a yoke I could use with conventional handlebars,” says Doug. Patience and a tonne of midnight oil went into this build The wire wheels Fraser was eager to retain on the S-model – the Emu BSA E120R racer carried 17-inch Suzuki cast aluminium wheels at both ends – were obtained by using a 2006 Triumph Bonneville rear hub with the cush drive needed to handle the engine’s meaty torque, laced to a 17-inch Takasago alloy rim. But the front end was more complicated, since finding a 19-inch wheel that Doug had determined he wanted – which had the right spoke angle and would fit between the relatively narrow fork – was difficult. So he made a hub himself and spoked on a Takasago rim, same as the rear, which was cross-drilled with a special lace pattern to increase spoke angle to produce a rigid wheel. Both wheels are shod with Avon RoadRider rubber. Time to statically time the big V-twin The Emu BSA 120S weighs 190kg with oil but no fuel, split 52/48 per cent, with fuel contained in a five-piece 17-litre steel tank that Doug welded up to replace the modified Yamaha TRX one used on the racer. The evocative BSA paint job comes thanks to noted Jaguar E-Type restorer Glen Olsen. I’d already ridden the Emu BSA E120R a couple of times, enjoying the narrowest of escapes on the first occasion while running in the newly built engine at Broadford circuit, when the rear tyre got coated with oil via inadequate crankcase ventilation. That reminded me one more time – fortunately not the hard way! – of the risks of riding prototypes that are still a work in progress. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it… Wonder what he’s dreaming up next… Riding the street version of this bike was quite a different experience, for Fraser has spent the past seven years since completing his E120S in covering 26,700km on it and constantly improving it – one reason he doesn’t want to mess with EFI. With 77kW (103hp) delivered to the rear wheel at 6800rpm at the time I rode it, his Big-Twin Beezer had quite sufficient grunt on paper to be an endearing road ride, and that’s the way it turned out. For the engine is indeed just as lusty and torquey as you’d hope a performance V-twin would be, with no real vibration despite not having a counterbalancer – KTM has to run one in its own 75º V-twin LC8, so what does Doug Fraser know that the Austrians don’t?! Just a hint of the many hours put into the build The five-speed Honda street-pattern gearbox worked as well as ever, and there’s an ultra-rideable power delivery that Doug says comes from the fact there’s more than 100Nm of torque from 3500rpm all the way to 7200rpm, peaking with 110Nm at 6000rpm. The BSA pulled strongly right off the 1500rpm idle speed, and would run okay up to my appointed 7500rpm redline and maybe beyond, but the last thousand revs were hard-won. I could tell that it had stopped breathing hard if I held a gear and tried to run it much higher than seven grand, presumably thanks to the small 38mm carbs fitted. While ideal for touring in terms of throttle response and fuel consumption, these are too restricted in terms of outright performance for 600cc cylinders – Ducati ran a 42mm Dell’Orto on its works 450GP single, and the Honda VTR1000 Firestorm V-twin had 48mm Keihins, as the last big-engined Honda model wearing carbs. Proof that Doug is channelling the genuine BSA vibe So, despite a rather slow-action throttle, the E120S accelerates strongly through the gears until you get to top (fifth), which with such massive reserves of torque you’re best off staying in most of the time. It’s a very relaxed, long-legged motorcycle, as befits the Touring nature Doug created it to have. 160km/h comes up with the engine turning at just 5300rpm, and 4000rpm sees the speedo parked at 120km/h for all-day cruising in Australian road conditions, with excellent top gear roll-on from 3500rpm up. But if you feel like attacking a series of bends you can notch it down a couple of gears and treat the Emu BSA like the sportsbike it is at heart. It’s important to work the gearshifter there, because the Emu Beeza will understeer if you try to take a reasonably tight bend in top gear on part-throttle – it likes to be hustled through turns hard on the gas to tighten up the steering, while the well set-up Öhlins suspension and that long wheelbase will ensure it rides any bumps you encounter while cranked over with total stability. Proof that Doug is channelling the genuine BSA vibe Fraser and Mamoru Moriwaki are obviously brothers in arms in extolling the virtues of twin shocks, especially when they work as well as they do here! For the suspension is very well damped at both ends, which took good care of coping with the variable quality of Victorian road surfaces in South Gippsland. The Emu BSA rode smoothly over the numerous lumps and bumps we encountered, and there was never any front-end chatter when running over a rippled road surface while cranked over. What a nice real-world ride. Looks factory built, doesn’t it? Doug’s a little shorter than me, so the seat he’s tailor-made for himself sees the footrests closer to the plushly padded, smoothly-stepped seat than I’d have preferred, even if it meant I could put both feet flat on the ground at a traffic light. But that apart, the E120S’s riding position is very welcoming – you feel you’re sitting within the bike and very much a part of it as you swing from side to side through a series of turns on a Victorian country road. The one-piece handlebar is quite flat, so you find yourself leaning forward just slightly. It’s a stance that feels good for a long haul, and it felt pretty comfortable during my 220km day, when the vestigial flyscreen mounted atop the round headlamp gave better wind deflection than I was expecting in the heat. Cathcart not crashing the Emu BSA 1200 8V Superbike (Image – Russell Colvin) Like its E120R twin sister, you can trailbrake the Emu BSA into the apex of a turn hard on the stoppers, without excessive front-end dive closing up the steering geometry and making it feel like it wants to tuck the front wheel. It felt nice, but above all predictable. It did pay to use a fair bit of engine braking to help out the Nissin front brakes, though – at 296mm in diameter I did have to squeeze the lever pretty hard to haul the bike down from high speed, although the smaller single rear disc worked really well, with more bite than up front. Pad choice, maybe, Doug? Just choose the right gear for engine braking, though, and be ready for the considerable amount of inertia you feel when you back off the throttle, which presumably is down to the weight Fraser has chosen for the detachable outside flywheel. Still, I didn’t get the rear wheel lifting and street-sweeping the tarmac, and with the smaller front discs I soon learnt to give stopping more margin. Racer is lean and mean With his Emu BSA E120S V-twin road bike, Doug Fraser has yet again demonstrated his resourcefulness and inventiveness in creating his own motorcycle from the ground up, all by himself – and this time a 1200cc V-twin performance bike, which is an even bigger ask (love that rego plate, Doug!). But this latest BSA Empire Twin isn’t the first British mile-eater Doug has built – so he’s had plenty of practice at making Emus fly! The road version is a long-legged cruiser that is a bit of a street sleeper as well PROS – Massive, effortless torque, clever engineering touches, rock-solid real-world handling, unique hand-built detail, surprisingly usable for a 1200cc twin. CONS – Limited top-end from small carbs, front brake needs a firm squeeze, understeers if ridden lazily, mixed parts must surely complicate maintenance! SPECIFICATIONS ENGINE Type Air-cooled DOHC 75° V-twin eight-valve four-stroke, with toothed belt camshaft drive Dimensions 100mm x 76mm Capacity 1194cc Compression ratio 11.5:1 Carburation: 2 x 38mm Amal Mark 2 Concentric Ignition: Emu 12v auto-advance points ignition Gearbox: 5-speed extractable cassette Honda Varadero gearbox Clutch: Multiplate Honda Fireblade oil bath clutch PERFORMANCE Power 77kW (103hp) @ 6800rpm (at rear wheel) Torque 110Nm at 6000rpm CHASSIS Type Tubular steel spaceframe Head angle/trail: 24°/100mm Swingarm Braced extruded aluminium box-section SUSPENSION Front 41mm Showa telescopic fork with Őhlins cartridge internals adjustable for spring preload and rebound damping Rear Twin Őhlins shocks adjustable for spring preload and rebound damping WHEELS & BRAKES Wheels/tyres Front: 110/90-19 Avon RoadRider on 3.50in wire-laced Takasago aluminium rim Rear: 130/80-17 Avon RoadRider on 5.50in wire-laced Takasago rim Brakes Front: Twin 296mm Nissin discs with four-piston Nissin calipers Rear: Single 220mm Nissin disc with single-piston Nissin caliper DIMENSIONS Weight 190kg with oil, no fuel Weight distribution Split 52/48% Wheelbase 1500m Fuel capacity 17L Seat height 810mm Year of construction 2018 Owner Doug Fraser, Emu Engineering Carrum Down, Victoria The post ROAD TEST | Emu BSA Empire Twin E120S appeared first on Australian Motorcycle News.

While the reborn BSA marque is about to return to Aussie shores, one Melbourne man has been hand-building them for two decades. Meet the BSA V-twins that never were… BSA’s return to the Australian marketplace with a range of 350-650cc singles comes 53 years after the last-ever motorcycle rolled out of its Birmingham Small Heath factory in 1973. This makes it the latest of Britain’s historic trophy brands to be awakened from its slumbers, this time courtesy of Indian conglomerate Mahindra Group. But over the past two decades a dedicated, ultra-skilled BSA enthusiast in suburban Melbourne has created a series of ground-up new models with the historic BSA badge on their tanks. Emu Engineering’s owner Doug Fraser has conceived and built not one, not even two, nor three, but no less than four completely individual V-twin tributes to the BSA marque, in the form of models he’d like to have seen the British firm make at some stage in its 62-year-long history as a motorcycle manufacturer, but never did. Seventy-something Fraser is a toolmaker by trade who today is an electrical engineer focusing on heavy-duty industrial electric motors, and the design and manufacture of related switchgear. Hence his large but crowded suburban factory on the road to Phillip Island is packed with an array of lathes, grinders, milling machines and welders, all of which can also be used to build a bike from the ground up! Two generations of an off-beat BSA V-twin design take to the road So it’s fair to say that Fraser is somewhat smitten by vehicles Made in England. Parked outside the Emu factory are his company wheels, a 1970s Hillman Hunter workhorse that’s clocked up over 2,000,000km and is currently on its third bodyshell, but quite improbably still has its original engine, now sporting a five-speed Toyota gearbox. Then, garaged inside the workshop is his daily driver, a V12 Jaguar E-Type Series 3 coupe of the same vintage, and tucked in behind that is the Norton Rotary racer that Fraser built 25 years ago to compete against Ducatis and Aprilias in BEARS racing, the anything-but-J-bikes category he ended up dominating in Australia and New Zealand on a motorcycle whose engine came from the UK as a 190,000km ex-West Midlands police bike. Doug imported the Norton Rotary Down Under, concocted a five-speed gearbox for it made mainly from Triumph parts, made an ignition system and then designed a race frame for it. He took the resultant self-built special to the starting line in over 40 races, winning most of them against far more thoroughbred opposition like one-litre Ducati and Aprilia V-twin Superstock models, aided by his own considerable racing skills. It might be a parts-bin special when it comes to the ancillaries but this is factory standard Riding the Irving Vincents, built just 10km from the Emu Engineering nest, I’ve diced several times with Doug aboard the Norton Rotary, and he is FAST – especially for a boffin who builds his own bikes, and who takes pride in the fact he started racing in the late 60s, so can claim to have competed in seven different decades before calling a stop to his racing career with the advent of Covid! Yet Doug is also a big fan of the BSA Gold Star single, and has several of them, including the 500cc Goldie on which he and his wife Jenny spent six weeks in 2008 touring Britain and the Isle of Man, two-up with luggage. That’s dedication to the cause. Front brakes could benefit with a more aggressive pad material Doug’s self-built quartet of BSAs is quite unlike anything that ever rolled out of the Birmingham factory. “I’ve always liked BSA V-twins, even though they only built them from 1920 to 1938, and despite the fact they were known to be a little short-fused, while looking so nice,” he says. “But they still had exposed valve-springs right up to the end, and I’ve never understood why BSA didn’t build a more modern version based on their M23 Empire Star single, which was a brilliant bike. After all, a V-twin is only a pair of singles sharing a common crankcase! So, since they didn’t, I decided to do it for them, and the M46 was the result.” Twin rear shocks don’t compromise handling In case you wondered, 2 x M23 = M46, quite apart from this being Doug’s race number for decades, long before Valentino Rossi was born! Measuring a period-style longstroke 87mm x 94mm for a capacity of 1120cc, the side-valve M46 Empire Twin was completed in 2008 after over 1400 hours of work, with its engine carrying a pair of bored-out 500cc Empire Star cylinders. Combined with 30mm Amal Mk1 Concentrics and a four-speed Gold Star close-ratio gearbox, it was fitted into a modified M20 girder-forked rigid frame carrying the dual front brakes needed to stop what is an improbably fast motorcycle. The integration of an engine built from scratch with various components sourced on the spare parts market has resulted in a factory-like finish Having shown what BSA might have built but didn’t for the 1939 model year just as the shutters came down for World War II, next on Fraser’s to-do list was to demonstrate what kind of V-twin the company omitted to develop in the 1950s, when that earlier model would have run its course. Except for the fact that what he created has non-period electric start and a Rob North replica disc-brake front end, it’s a what-might-have been 1960s BSA Gold Star V-twin sports model – which Fraser dubbed the ‘B66’, since the 1140cc OHV engine uses two BSA 500cc B33 cylinders from the forerunner of the legendary Gold Star. V-twin engine is a work of art Doug’s pretty pleased with the outcome of his labours after, again, roughly 1400 hours of dedicated work: “It’s almost too fast!” he enthuses. “At 70mph on the speedo, it’s only pulling 3000revs, which is halfway to the redline. For sure it’s a 130mph bike – but I also got 55mpg on it covering 2500 miles in two weeks going to the National BSA Rally in NSW one year. It’s a really effortless long-distance ride, as well as a great country roads bike.” That 5-speed decal is off a 1970s BSA triple. Clever So satisfying, in fact, you almost wonder why he turned to building the third and fourth bikes in his quartet of Beezas – the ultimate Empire Twin, designated the E120R which made its racetrack debut in 2012, and the E120S street version he completed in 2018. “It was the logical follow-on to the other two models, showing where BSA would be if they’d decided to keep going with the V-twins into the modern era,” Doug says. “Both the first two bikes have a lot of BSA parts in them, and they’re based on the styling that BSA used in that period – but unfortunately we can’t really say what their bikes would have looked like today. I therefore opted for a thoroughly modern design in creating this, and tried to imagine how BSA engineers might have responded to today’s engineering solutions.” Doug Fraser’s happy place is in a workshop full of projects Both these bikes are powered by a meaty-looking air/oil-cooled 1194cc eight-valve DOHC dry sump engine measuring 100mm x 76mm, with narrow crankcases for extra stiffness, thanks to the hefty old-style Moto Guzzi-type bacon-slicer external flywheel on the left side, surmounted by twin cylinders set at 75º to each other, whose extensive finning originally maintained the same size and shape as the legendary BSA DBD34 Gold Star, while also being oil-cooled. The 38mm Amal Mk2 Concentric carbs are fitted to the street legal Emu BSA E120S on which I covered 220km alongside Doug aboard his B66 on a ride through the Mornington Peninsula and South Gippsland on a sultry 36°C day. Doug lives for his lathe “I designed this as a true BSA Superbike sports model, which could be ridden on the road, as well as giving a good account of itself on the racetrack,” says Doug. “Originally I thought that when we were looking for more performance, we could switch to injection, so I allowed enough metal in the head castings to machine them to install single injectors at the bottom of the ports. But after covering thousands of road miles using Amal carbs and my own points ignition with ballast resistors on each of the coils for ease of starting, I’ve decided I don’t need the whole new level of complexity EFI brings in its wake. Simple is best!” Yep, it’s a double overhead camshaft design The E120 Emu BSAs’ narrow crankcases are vertically split, encompassing a one-piece plain-bearing crankshaft which Fraser machined up out of a single EN26 steel billet. That did take a bit of time, though – he started off with a 52kg lump of metal and ended up with a crank weighing just 7.5kg. “There was a lot of swarf!” he admits. The crank’s mainshaft is 40mm in diameter, and the assembly runs on two very large roller main bearings, plus a support bush on the far right-hand side where oil is pumped into the crank. This runs a 50 per cent balance factor, same as on Fraser’s other Emu BSA creations, and carries Pankl titanium conrods bolted up side-by-side on a 53mm diameter big end, with forged Mahle pistons sourced from a flat-six Porsche 996RS delivering 11.5:1 compression, and running in Nikasil-lined Mahle sleeves. Sump and oil filter live under the engine The spec of both E120 Emu BSA engines is almost identical, save that the S-version runs a milder cam and its ignition timing is tuned for torque rather than horsepower, plus it also has a quieter ADR-legal exhaust. But transmission on the road bike is provided by a five-speed Honda Varadero gearbox (the E120R has a six-speed VTR1000 ’box), which Fraser has cassette mounted to be fully extractable for speedy internal ratio changes on the racer – it takes less than 30 minutes to change a gear ratio, he claims. Even Ducati’s ultimate 1198R V-twin Superbike didn’t have this facility, despite having comparable vertically split cases! On the E120S, this beefy-looking engine is installed in a fully triangulated chrome-moly tubular steel spaceframe weighing less than 10kg while using the engine as a fully-stressed, load-bearing component. However, the street version of this is quite different from the racer, resulting in a 75mm longer 1500mm wheelbase that gives extra space for an optimum run for the exhaust headers for street use. A modified Honda CBR600RR extruded alloy swingarm pivots on the back of the engine as well as in the spaceframe. Unlike on the monoshock E120R, to give more room for a passenger and provide a lower 32in/810mm seat height this has twin Öhlins rear shocks that are adjustable for spring preload and rebound damping. “Sorry, I’m old fashioned, but I’m not very fond of bikes that have a foot of space between the rear underside of the seat and the back tyre, and you need a step ladder to get on the pillion seat,” says Doug. “They also generally don’t have a rear mudguard, so in the pissing rain you get covered in shit. Twin shocks rule!” Plywood mock-up helps the styling take shape The Emu BSA’s complete front-end assembly is taken from a V-twin Honda VTR1000, with a 41mm Showa fork set at a 26º rake carrying Öhlins cartridge internals, again adjustable for preload and rebound damping. Twin 296mm VTR discs are gripped by Nissin four-piston calipers, with a 220mm rear and single-pot caliper. “The VTR runs clip-ons, but I was able to find a yoke I could use with conventional handlebars,” says Doug. Patience and a tonne of midnight oil went into this build The wire wheels Fraser was eager to retain on the S-model – the Emu BSA E120R racer carried 17-inch Suzuki cast aluminium wheels at both ends – were obtained by using a 2006 Triumph Bonneville rear hub with the cush drive needed to handle the engine’s meaty torque, laced to a 17-inch Takasago alloy rim. But the front end was more complicated, since finding a 19-inch wheel that Doug had determined he wanted – which had the right spoke angle and would fit between the relatively narrow fork – was difficult. So he made a hub himself and spoked on a Takasago rim, same as the rear, which was cross-drilled with a special lace pattern to increase spoke angle to produce a rigid wheel. Both wheels are shod with Avon RoadRider rubber. Time to statically time the big V-twin The Emu BSA 120S weighs 190kg with oil but no fuel, split 52/48 per cent, with fuel contained in a five-piece 17-litre steel tank that Doug welded up to replace the modified Yamaha TRX one used on the racer. The evocative BSA paint job comes thanks to noted Jaguar E-Type restorer Glen Olsen. I’d already ridden the Emu BSA E120R a couple of times, enjoying the narrowest of escapes on the first occasion while running in the newly built engine at Broadford circuit, when the rear tyre got coated with oil via inadequate crankcase ventilation. That reminded me one more time – fortunately not the hard way! – of the risks of riding prototypes that are still a work in progress. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it… Wonder what he’s dreaming up next… Riding the street version of this bike was quite a different experience, for Fraser has spent the past seven years since completing his E120S in covering 26,700km on it and constantly improving it – one reason he doesn’t want to mess with EFI. With 77kW (103hp) delivered to the rear wheel at 6800rpm at the time I rode it, his Big-Twin Beezer had quite sufficient grunt on paper to be an endearing road ride, and that’s the way it turned out. For the engine is indeed just as lusty and torquey as you’d hope a performance V-twin would be, with no real vibration despite not having a counterbalancer – KTM has to run one in its own 75º V-twin LC8, so what does Doug Fraser know that the Austrians don’t?! Just a hint of the many hours put into the build The five-speed Honda street-pattern gearbox worked as well as ever, and there’s an ultra-rideable power delivery that Doug says comes from the fact there’s more than 100Nm of torque from 3500rpm all the way to 7200rpm, peaking with 110Nm at 6000rpm. The BSA pulled strongly right off the 1500rpm idle speed, and would run okay up to my appointed 7500rpm redline and maybe beyond, but the last thousand revs were hard-won. I could tell that it had stopped breathing hard if I held a gear and tried to run it much higher than seven grand, presumably thanks to the small 38mm carbs fitted. While ideal for touring in terms of throttle response and fuel consumption, these are too restricted in terms of outright performance for 600cc cylinders – Ducati ran a 42mm Dell’Orto on its works 450GP single, and the Honda VTR1000 Firestorm V-twin had 48mm Keihins, as the last big-engined Honda model wearing carbs. Proof that Doug is channelling the genuine BSA vibe So, despite a rather slow-action throttle, the E120S accelerates strongly through the gears until you get to top (fifth), which with such massive reserves of torque you’re best off staying in most of the time. It’s a very relaxed, long-legged motorcycle, as befits the Touring nature Doug created it to have. 160km/h comes up with the engine turning at just 5300rpm, and 4000rpm sees the speedo parked at 120km/h for all-day cruising in Australian road conditions, with excellent top gear roll-on from 3500rpm up. But if you feel like attacking a series of bends you can notch it down a couple of gears and treat the Emu BSA like the sportsbike it is at heart. It’s important to work the gearshifter there, because the Emu Beeza will understeer if you try to take a reasonably tight bend in top gear on part-throttle – it likes to be hustled through turns hard on the gas to tighten up the steering, while the well set-up Öhlins suspension and that long wheelbase will ensure it rides any bumps you encounter while cranked over with total stability. Proof that Doug is channelling the genuine BSA vibe Fraser and Mamoru Moriwaki are obviously brothers in arms in extolling the virtues of twin shocks, especially when they work as well as they do here! For the suspension is very well damped at both ends, which took good care of coping with the variable quality of Victorian road surfaces in South Gippsland. The Emu BSA rode smoothly over the numerous lumps and bumps we encountered, and there was never any front-end chatter when running over a rippled road surface while cranked over. What a nice real-world ride. Looks factory built, doesn’t it? Doug’s a little shorter than me, so the seat he’s tailor-made for himself sees the footrests closer to the plushly padded, smoothly-stepped seat than I’d have preferred, even if it meant I could put both feet flat on the ground at a traffic light. But that apart, the E120S’s riding position is very welcoming – you feel you’re sitting within the bike and very much a part of it as you swing from side to side through a series of turns on a Victorian country road. The one-piece handlebar is quite flat, so you find yourself leaning forward just slightly. It’s a stance that feels good for a long haul, and it felt pretty comfortable during my 220km day, when the vestigial flyscreen mounted atop the round headlamp gave better wind deflection than I was expecting in the heat. Cathcart not crashing the Emu BSA 1200 8V Superbike (Image – Russell Colvin) Like its E120R twin sister, you can trailbrake the Emu BSA into the apex of a turn hard on the stoppers, without excessive front-end dive closing up the steering geometry and making it feel like it wants to tuck the front wheel. It felt nice, but above all predictable. It did pay to use a fair bit of engine braking to help out the Nissin front brakes, though – at 296mm in diameter I did have to squeeze the lever pretty hard to haul the bike down from high speed, although the smaller single rear disc worked really well, with more bite than up front. Pad choice, maybe, Doug? Just choose the right gear for engine braking, though, and be ready for the considerable amount of inertia you feel when you back off the throttle, which presumably is down to the weight Fraser has chosen for the detachable outside flywheel. Still, I didn’t get the rear wheel lifting and street-sweeping the tarmac, and with the smaller front discs I soon learnt to give stopping more margin. Racer is lean and mean With his Emu BSA E120S V-twin road bike, Doug Fraser has yet again demonstrated his resourcefulness and inventiveness in creating his own motorcycle from the ground up, all by himself – and this time a 1200cc V-twin performance bike, which is an even bigger ask (love that rego plate, Doug!). But this latest BSA Empire Twin isn’t the first British mile-eater Doug has built – so he’s had plenty of practice at making Emus fly! The road version is a long-legged cruiser that is a bit of a street sleeper as well PROS – Massive, effortless torque, clever engineering touches, rock-solid real-world handling, unique hand-built detail, surprisingly usable for a 1200cc twin. CONS – Limited top-end from small carbs, front brake needs a firm squeeze, understeers if ridden lazily, mixed parts must surely complicate maintenance! SPECIFICATIONS ENGINE Type Air-cooled DOHC 75° V-twin eight-valve four-stroke, with toothed belt camshaft drive Dimensions 100mm x 76mm Capacity 1194cc Compression ratio 11.5:1 Carburation: 2 x 38mm Amal Mark 2 Concentric Ignition: Emu 12v auto-advance points ignition Gearbox: 5-speed extractable cassette Honda Varadero gearbox Clutch: Multiplate Honda Fireblade oil bath clutch PERFORMANCE Power 77kW (103hp) @ 6800rpm (at rear wheel) Torque 110Nm at 6000rpm CHASSIS Type Tubular steel spaceframe Head angle/trail: 24°/100mm Swingarm Braced extruded aluminium box-section SUSPENSION Front 41mm Showa telescopic fork with Őhlins cartridge internals adjustable for spring preload and rebound damping Rear Twin Őhlins shocks adjustable for spring preload and rebound damping WHEELS & BRAKES Wheels/tyres Front: 110/90-19 Avon RoadRider on 3.50in wire-laced Takasago aluminium rim Rear: 130/80-17 Avon RoadRider on 5.50in wire-laced Takasago rim Brakes Front: Twin 296mm Nissin discs with four-piston Nissin calipers Rear: Single 220mm Nissin disc with single-piston Nissin caliper DIMENSIONS Weight 190kg with oil, no fuel Weight distribution Split 52/48% Wheelbase 1500m Fuel capacity 17L Seat height 810mm Year of construction 2018 Owner Doug Fraser, Emu Engineering Carrum Down, Victoria The post ROAD TEST | Emu BSA Empire Twin E120S appeared first on Australian Motorcycle News.

From the Breganze factory to Bathurst, the RGS TT1 proved that the final chapter can often be the most thrilling Laverda’s family of triples really caught on in the 1970s, especially in performance-focused markets in the northern European countries, Australasia and the US, up to and especially including the high-performance 90bhp Jota model conceived by the Italian firm’s UK importers Slater Bros in 1975, and adopted by the Italian factory. But Massimo Laverda, whose dad Francesco had appointed him to take over running the motorcycle division of his family’s agri-machinery company in 1964, was already planning their replacements, and began to pursue future technology through bold experimentation. The most dramatic was the 996cc V6 endurance racer, which made a single appearance at the 1978 Bol d’Or. Though its race ended prematurely due to drivetrain failure, the V6 delivered invaluable publicity and underlined Laverda’s technical ambition. Corrado Tuzii on the 1983 works version at Vallelunga Alongside this, two development paths emerged: a planned family of four-cylinder models and a comprehensive redesign of the existing three-cylinder range. The latter gained urgency when chief engineer Luciano Zen retired, prompting Massimo to recruit Giuseppe Bocchi in 1978. Bocchi brought formidable credentials from Lamborghini, Ferrari, Ducati and MV Agusta, but with declining sales and limited funds, the proposed four-cylinder engine was shelved. Instead, Bocchi re-engineered the triple to broaden its appeal without sacrificing performance. DEGREES OF MAGIC The original 180-degree crankshaft triple was charismatic but vibratory. Bocchi’s solution was a 120-degree crank with perfect primary balance, paired with a revised engine mounting to tame secondary vibration. Laverda had experimented unsuccessfully with this layout before, but careful attention to balance factors and rubber mounting transformed the engine’s character. Power initially matched the outgoing unit, before rising to over 62kW (83hp) with a broader torque spread and smoother delivery. Sir Al falls in love again with an old Eighties soulmate, before reality strikes This second-generation triple first appeared in the Jota 120 in late 1980, but it was the RGS 1000, unveiled at the 1981 Milan Show, that marked a true turning point. With a new frame and rubber-mounted engine, the RGS traded some of the raw aggression of earlier Laverdas for a more refined, grand-touring personality. Styling by Rome-based RG Studio delivered a cohesive half-faired design in innovative Bayerflex plastic, complete with integrated dashboard and distinctive nose flap for the remote fuel filler. The RGS name, initially a nod to the design studio, was hastily reinterpreted as ‘Real Gran Sport’ once its touring credentials became clear. GT IN RACING ARMOUR Underneath the bodywork sat an all-new twin-loop tubular steel chassis with more relaxed steering geometry, adjustable rider ergonomics and Silentbloc engine mounts. Steering was heavier at low speeds but impressively stable at pace. Braking came via triple Brembo discs, while the dry weight climbed to a substantial 244kg. Between 1981 and 1988, 2451 RGS-based triples were built before Laverda ceased production, ending a lineage that had totalled 12,550 triples built since 1972. Mariano Roman gets technical with Sir Al after his 1983 test Inevitably, given Laverda’s proud history of going racing with the models it sold to its customers, both to publicise their performance and as a development exercise, it was intended from the start to head for the track with the RGS. The man charged with leading this move was Bocchi’s youthful No.2 in Laverda’s Reparto Tecnico, Mariano Roman. Today the head of Fantic, after 20+ years as Aprilia’s Product Manager in which role he oversaw the development of all the company’s best-selling products from the Scarabeo scooter to the 1000cc V-twins, the RS250 repli-racer to the RSV4 Superbike, he’d joined Laverda in 1979 on graduating from university with a Mech.E degree. He became the company’s last Direttore Tecnico before leaving to join Aprilia in 1985, when Massimo Laverda stepped down from running Moto Laverda owing to a disagreement with other family members about the future direction the company should be taking. The 1982 Laverda factory RGS TT1 racer being prepared for its Misano debut FROM STREET TO TRACK “In 1982 the RGS 1000 came on stream after four years of intense development, so we wanted to demonstrate its performance qualities by going racing with it,” says Roman. “In those days before Superbike racing, the main Production-led race series in Italy was TT Formula 1, which catered for tuned production engines in racing chassis. But we wanted to demonstrate that our RGS frame design was already at the highest level, if rather heavy. So my colleague Mariano Fioravanzo conceived a visual replica of it, which Verlicchi manufactured for us in lighter chrome-moly thinwall tubing with tighter steering geometry – if I remember correctly, it had a 26° fork rake and for sure less trail than the stock frame, in order to make it turn properly on a racetrack. And the wheelbase was reduced slightly, too, to make it more agile.” A red-letter day in 1981 as the core teams looks proudly at the first RGS produced A Verlicchi-made cast aluminium swingarm weighing 2.3kg vs the standard steel item’s 5.8kg was commissioned for future races, but even without this the RGS TT1 racer was much lighter than the 244kg street version, at 178kg with oil/no fuel. The 38mm Marzocchi M1R fork with magnesium sliders was now fully adjustable, with the same firm’s gas shocks at the rear. Twin 280mm fully floating Brembo discs were fitted to the cast magnesium 18-inch Campagnolo front wheel’s 2.50in rim, gripped by the company’s new four-piston Serie Oro calipers, with a fixed 260mm disc on the rear 4.00in wheel. A slightly modified replica RGS 1000 fairing and seat made in fiberglass gave the bike a very box-stock look, and ditto the engine. A red-letter day in 1981 as the core teams looks proudly at the first RGS produced Under the skin, though, the DOHC 981cc triple engine weighed 88kg – which at 660mm wide was much slimmer than its Japanese opposition – and incorporated significant go-faster engine mods. Speed trapped at 260km/h in testing at Mugello, it was instantly competitive with the Japanese fours in engine performance. But despite the crash diet it had undertaken, its excess weight versus them told against it exiting turns on a relatively twisty track like Misano, where it made its race debut in July 1982 in the final round of that year’s Italian TT F1 series. It had been run for the first time just six days earlier! Despite the lack of time for fine tuning, the RGS TT1 was ridden by big-bike debutant Romolo Balbi to an exceptional fifth place first time out against a full grid of Japanese fours and two-stroke twins. This is what he calls a ‘meaty motor’. It would eat most of us mere mortals for lunch! After this the RGS TT1 project took a back seat, as Roman explains: “The trend in the marketplace was towards smaller, lighter engines, so this is why we started to think of something different. We began with Bocchi working on a 750cc four-cylinder Laverda, but then the money stopped and we closed that project. Also, we worked with Mariano Fioravanzo to modify the six-cylinder engine for the street, by rotating the cylinders 90-degrees so they were across the frame, not lengthways as before. This allowed you to use a new gearbox with chain final drive, and a much shorter chassis. It could have been a wonderful bike, better than all the Japanese, with almost 150bhp – the most powerful engine in the market in the 1980s. It would surely have been the right engine to relaunch Laverda, and we made a wooden mock-up which was fantastic – but Massimo could not get the support for this inside the family, so it’s the main reason he left the company. Instead, they asked me to develop a three-cylinder 350cc two-stroke engine, even if that was not in the DNA of Laverda – it was a four-stroke company! But this is why we stopped the RGS TT1 project.” Massimo Laverda with an RGS engine in 1981 Still, the factory TT1 racer had one more race in its logbook in November 1983 in the 1000km of Vallelunga, 40km north of Rome. After a year spent mostly sitting in a storeroom, it was confided to 500GP racer Corrado Tuzii for the final race of his career. Part-time racer Paolo Valdo, Laverda’s production line head of quality control, was his teammate. After testing it at Magione, Tuzii completely altered the chassis set-up with a more forward weight bias, modified the sump for extra ground clearance, and fitted the Dunlop tyres he’d been using in 500GP. The result was spectacular, with Corrado duelling for the lead with Walter Cussigh on the works Ducati for the first hour of the race, both repeatedly breaking the lap record as they left the factory-supported Honda and Kawasaki fours far behind. REVIVAL DOWN UNDER After that, the last ever Laverda factory racer got lost in the confusion of the company’s shutdown, and appears to have been dismantled. Its fairing appeared at a Padua autojumble some years later, and the bike the Laverda family has today is a modern replica. But in response to the evident potential of the singleton works racer, in 1983 the factory prepared a further four such bikes and six engines for sale to selected customers – including Australian importer Frank Hodder of Eurotred. Two of the spare engines were fitted into Bakker Endurance racing frames by a Dutch team, and one more went to Hodder in Australia, later followed by a spare RGS TT1 frame to create a fifth original complete bike. Romolo Balbi gets set to make his big-bike debut at Misano in 1982 on the RGS TT1 works racer Three of those machines are now owned by Australian enthusiast Scott Greenaway, who won both the Best Racebike and Peoples’ Choice awards for all three of them at the 2024 Laverda 75th Anniversary celebrations in Breganze – the first time that three such bikes had ever been seen together in public. And a year later, in August 2025, at Britain’s hugely popular CRMC Classic Donington race meeting, I was honoured by Scott with the chance to renew my hands-on acquaintance with the last of the illustrious Laverda racing line. For in May 1983, I’d gone to Breganze to collect spare parts for the Ogier Laverda 600TT2 I was racing then, and had the keys of the factory RGS TT1 thrust in my hands by Massimo Laverda for 20 laps of the factory test track! The production version makes its show debut in 1981 It had felt very similar in performance to the P&M Kawasaki Z1R I’d raced in the Isle of Man and British TT F1 events, with a comparable power-to-weight ratio, and the same kind of super stable handling, albeit with rather heavy steering. So the chance to ride the most illustrious of Scott’s trio of triples was for me yesterday once more. For this bike was the complete RGS TT1 sent to Frank Hodder late in 1983, to replace the modified RGS 1000 road bike which Martin Hone had been racing for him in that year’s Victorian Thunderbike series. Hone rode the new full race bike in the final round at Calder, finishing second in that race and runner-up in the championship to the much lighter Bob Brown Ducati F1 ridden by future 500GP star Kevin Magee. This was a good shakedown run for the following Easter’s major Bathurst Australian TT meeting, in which Martin rode the Laverda alone to 10th place overall out of 62 starters in the three-and-a-half hour Arai 500, and fourth in the Superbike class against all the Japanese fours – a very creditable performance which also speaks well to Eurotred mechanic Ennio Bardella’s preparation. If not for the bike’s fuel consumption – a horrendous 5.35km/l, which meant stopping every 45 minutes on the 6.21km Mount Panorama circuit to refill the 20-litre tank – Hone and the Laverda would surely have finished on the Superbike rostrum. Balbi racing the RGS TT1 After that, RGS chassis no TTF1 2535 was retired to Hodder’s private collection and not raced again, until sold to another collector who simply stored it away and didn’t use it, before Greenaway acquired it in 2020 and recommissioned it. “It had been dry stored quite well, and was absolutely complete, just a bit shabby,” he says. “My son Charles and I have cosmetically restored it, but the motor hasn’t been pulled apart, so it’s still original just as the bike left the factory in 1983. The heavy standard Surflex clutch has been replaced by a carbon/kevlar one which is more durable and kinder to the rider, and while the suspension is original, we’ve put Maxton cartridges in the fork to make it fully adjustable. Otherwise, it’s as Martin Hone raced it in 1984, and hasn’t been ridden since!” Laverda owners came out in force at the 1982 Monza Italian F1 GP to form an RGS parade BACK ON TRACK The luxurious suede seat pad on the stock RGS seat is a non-standard item that Hone presumably fitted for the rigours of the Arai 500, but otherwise the Aussie RGS is bone stock externally. It’s a B-I-G bike, substantial in stature, with a rather upright riding stance thanks to the fairly wide-set clip-ons with foam grips mounted above the upper triple clamps. But despite that you’re well protected from windblast by the same tall screen Hone used at Bathurst, as contemporary photos show. The footrests are however set some way back, well behind the swingarm pivot, so working the left-side, one-down, five-speed gearshift, which has quite a droop to the pedal, dictates some agility with your ankle. Shifting up is not a natural-feeling action. Martin Hone racing the Australian version in late 1983 But thumb the starter button and that glorious-sounding big triple engine booms eagerly into life with what sounds like minimal silencing from the 3-1 open mega exhaust. Make no mistake – this is a muscular motor with hair on its chest. It won’t idle, so you must keep blipping the throttle at rest, which, judging by the faces of the Laverdisti who flocked to see it in the collecting area at Donington, was just what they wanted. The clutch lever is much lighter than I’d expected, so it was both much less tiring to use than on other Laverdas I’ve sampled – twins and triples alike – but also let me feed it out both cleanly and progressively in getting off the mark. After a couple of laps to get everything warmed up, I tried shifting up without the clutch, but while I only missed a gear once – right in front of Greenaway and everyone else down Pit Straight, dammit! – it all seemed rather imprecise, so given the light clutch lever action I ended up using it all the time. You had to have lived in the early 1980s to appreciate just how ground-breaking the RGS was for the world performance market First gear is very long, but you must rev it out to the 8000rpm mark on the white-faced Veglia tacho which I’d agreed with Greenaway would be my shifter point – eight-five normally, and the engine is reputedly safe to 10,500 revs – in order to be back in the fat part of the powerband above six grand. There’s quite a big gap to second gear, but then this ratio, third and fourth are all close together, then there’s another big gap to top gear on this supposedly close-ratio gearbox, which is a true 1:1 Monza top gear – except, it never raced at the Autodromo. Call it ideal for the Conrod Straight at Bathurst, then! The Silentbloc rubber engine mountings worked well – what little vibration reached me via the footrests was minimal, the foam grips and thick seat pad eliminating any tingles through those two usual suspects. Fernando Cappellotto pulls a wheelie on the Laverda RGS TT1 works bike in front of the factory workforce in 1983 It’s not hard to see why these ratios were chosen: the long first gear gets what at 178kg half-dry minus fuel is quite a heavy piece of kit (even by the standards of 40 years ago) off the mark, albeit with lots of clutch slip which the modern carbon clutch will take in its stride. The close next three ratios keep the show on the road, especially in a relatively tight series of bends like Schwantz, McLeans and Coppice at Donington, such as abounded at Misano. Then the tall top gear lets the Laverda play to its strengths, with ultra-stable handling on big circuits like Bathurst. I didn’t get a true fifth gear at Donington, but I found the slightly tall-seeming RGS totally planted powering down Craner Curves, almost too much so. It needed a good tug on the ‘bars to flick it from side to side at speed during the descent, and again under braking for the turn-in to the Old Hairpin immediately after. This is not a particularly agile motorcycle; big tracks with fast turns are its home turf, so it would have been an ideal bike for Bathurst with a brave, experienced rider like Hone. Renewing my acquaintance with the RGS TT1 Laverda was like meeting a onetime girlfriend 40 years on. She’s still shapely, has a lovely singing voice, but tempus passit – she can’t help not moving about the way that younger rivals do today. No matter: let’s just remember the Way It Was, once upon a time long ago. But the Laverda RGS 1000 was just one of the several Euro-bikes impacted by the FIM’s disgraceful decision (primarily at the behest of Honda) to drop the capacity for the World Championship TT Formula 1 class to a 750cc limit for 1984. Great period shot of the RGS and its kit of bodywork “We at Laverda have always been keen on racing,” Massimo Laverda told me when I rode his TT1 racer first time around back in 1982. “So when the RGS came out, our dealers knew they only had to put a little pressure on us to go racing with it, and here we are! But I must say that I feel the FIM has acted most unfairly in dropping the capacity limit for TT F1 and much more important for us, World Endurance racing, which is now run under TT F1 regulations. Scott Greenaway lives and breathes Laverdas “It may suit the Japanese companies who control the FIM, and especially Honda, but for smaller companies like ourselves, Ducati, BMW Motorrad, Moto Guzzi and all the other European factories, it’s a disaster. What’s worse, there’s no longer any provision for a prototype class that we could run in. This means that, just supposing we were to decide now to resurrect the Laverda V6 – or maybe to build a V8! – we couldn’t race it anywhere. Even if we dropped the capacity to 750cc we wouldn’t be allowed to run it, because it’s not a production-based bike. That’s ridiculous – and you’re not going to tell me that’s what the racing public wants!” No indeed, and that short-sighted provision still pertains today. But the way the European companies now dominate World Superbike and MotoGP over the Japanese may be considered due payback for past slights! SPECIFICATIONS ENGINE Air-cooled DOHC inline three, 120° crank, 2 valves per cylinder (41mm in/34mm ex) Bore & stroke 75mm x 74mm Capacity 981cc Compression 11:1 Gearbox 5-speed close-ratio Clutch/drive 14-plate hydraulic wet clutch, twin-row chain primary Carburetion 3 x 36mm Dell’Orto PHF Ignition Ingnitech CDI, Hall sensor, Dyna coils, 12V battery/alternator PERFORMANCE Power 80kW (108bhp) @ 8250rpm (measured at rear wheel) Top speed 260km/h (Mugello, 1982) CHASSIS Type Chrome-moly duplex spaceframe, with rubber engine mounts Rake/trail 26°/105mm Wheelbase 1495mm Weight: 180kg (oil/no fuel), 52/48% SUSPENSION Front: 38mm Marzocchi GP fork, fully adjustable (Maxton cartridges) Rear: Verlicchi aluminium swingarm, twin Marzocchi piggyback gas shocks WHEELS & BRAKES Front 110/80-18 Bridgestone CR11R, 2.50in Campagnolo magnesium Rear 150/65-18 Bridgestone CR11R, 4.00in Campagnolo magnesium Front Twin 280mm Brembo discs, four-piston calipers Rear 260mm disc, single-piston caliper Built 1983 (chassis TTF1 2535) OWNER Scott Greenaway, Sydney The post HISTORIC TEST | 1983 Laverda RGS 1000 TT1 Racer appeared first on Australian Motorcycle News.

Indian has revived its post-WWII icon, mixing old-school style with massive V-twin torque America’s oldest motorcycle manufacturer, Indian Motorcycle, marks its 125th birthday this year. To commemorate this significant anniversary, new owner Carolwood LP has released the striking and charismatic Chief Vintage. From 20 metres it could easily be mistaken for a Chief from the late 1940s. Its classic silhouette, solo floating seat and valanced fenders evoke the post-war era and grainy photographs of World War II veterans, newly home from Europe and the Pacific, reunited with their big V-twins. Sceptics may claim the Vintage project is more about style than performance, that such a big and heavy bike (317kg dry; 327kg wet) should have twin disc brakes up front, not one, or that a modern water-cooled engine would have delivered better performance than an air-cooled Thunderstroke 116 (for cubic inches). But I am not so sure. It looks superb, and pushrods work just fine in this 1890cc behemoth. Air-cooled, 1890cc V-twin engine is all about torque, baby Unlike almost every other motorcycle manufacturer, Indian is good at keeping things simple. There’s no IMU here, and no lean-sensitive rider aids or even standard traction control – just basic ABS, added to comply with the Euro5+ emissions regulations. There are, however, three riding modes (Tour, Standard and Sport), which change the engine’s power characteristics, and a circular touchscreen dash that blends a little bit of 2026 into this styling throwback. The result is a stunning motorcycle worthy of the original icon. uncorking a Vintage Some bikes you just jump on, press the starter button and ride away. But not this one. You walk slowly towards the Vintage while absorbing its classic lines and undeniable presence. I found myself circling the bike a few times, like a cat getting comfortable on the sofa. I wouldn’t say I’m a cruiser fan – I come from a racing background – but it’s hard to ignore the beauty and bold execution of this ‘new’ Indian. That’s one hell of a big V-twin lurking under a classic petrol tank The inspiration for the Chief Vintage is obvious; it’s a 2026 version of the famous post-war V-twin Chief, itself inspired by contemporary American design – think Art Deco – and swooping lines. Up close, those huge fenders immediately draw your eye. Move even closer and you discover they are made of metal, not plastic. Indian could have done it cheaper and cut many corners but have thankfully resisted. Indian have dived deep into the detail, too. The unique single floating seat and the V-twin’s pushrod architecture are strong heritage statements. Simple and effective. And there is, of course, the iconic deep-red paintwork and LED illuminated headdress on the front fender. The super critical might have hoped for a headdress logo on the fuel tank and springs beneath the seat, but there’s little to fault here. Big wide handlebar takes us back to the 1940s and America’s newly-developed interstate roads On board, the old bike’s DNA continues to shine through, with huge footboards instead of footpegs and vintage swept-back ’bars. Modern switchgear, with cruise control as standard, and that four-inch touchscreen display, complete with connectivity, pin the Vintage to 2026, yet somehow work with and not against the retro design. Despite an injection of digital convenience, the visceral experience of sitting on something truly mechanical survives. A clever piece of engineering to get the disc brake tucked away like this under the big front fender It’s quite refreshing to jump on a new 2026 motorcycle and ride away without having to spend an hour beforehand reading the owner’s manual or chatting to a technician to work through the plethora of rider aids. The Indian Chief Vintage is about as straightforward as it gets: three riding modes – all selectable on the move – to change the engine power characteristics and that’s it. ABS is a Euro5+ requirement, otherwise I’m sure Indian would have gone without. It sure looks like a tractor seat but the Indian’s saddle is all-day-long comfortable Keyless ignition and rear cylinder deactivation at a standstill add a touch more modernity. The keyless ignition can be operated by using the switchgear on the right ’bar, but it takes rather too long for the dash to come alive. You switch the bike on, then wait a few seconds and nothing happens, then eventually the dash comes to light, like a laptop with a low battery. Rear cylinder is deactived at standstill to cut heat and reduce fuel consumption In neutral, the rear cylinder is deactivated and a small icon appears on the dash. The idea is to reduce engine heat and stop the rear cylinder cooking the rider at a standstill, and, in theory, improve the fuel economy – marginally. The big old pushrod 116 sounds okay with a blip of the throttle, but I was expecting a little more snarl. Indian don’t quote horsepower figures but, after chatting to the factory technicians and using my experience of riding other models in the range, peak power should be around 81 to 83hp (62kW). If you are a performance-orientated rider you may wonder how they have managed to make so little power out of such a huge engine. But if you are looking solely at power figures, you are missing the point. The 1890cc V-twin is as much about its aesthetic appearance and simplicity as conventional performance parameters, and its trump card is the huge amount of torque it puts to the road. A peak of 156Nm at just 3300rpm is a colossal amount of grunt, and it’s all done before most bikes have cleared their throats off tick over. In fact, there is little point revving the Vintage beyond 4000rpm. You’ll have to get the Dremel if you want to hear the beefy bellow of a true American V-twin On the road, this translates to an effortless ride. One where you just sit back and enjoy. The huge engine will pull heftily from just above idle. In fact, you can change up a gear at 2000rpm all the way through the gearbox to top gear and still accelerate with pleasing urgency. A few times on test, when leaving small villages at just 20km/h, I deliberately kept the revs low, just to see how smooth the engine is. If you’re looking for high-tech you’ve come to the wrong place, old mate Don’t be fooled by all this laidback charm, though. Should you want, the Vintage can deliver some punishment to its rear Metzeler Cruisetec. For a bike that weighs 317kg dry, it can pick up and run, which makes overtaking easy and safe. From the lights, with no traction control, of course, it will happily light up the rear hoop with some heavy-handed throttle control. Indian badged caliper on the 298mm rear disc Like a retired heavyweight boxer, it can still pack a punch should it need to. And while it may look like it was designed and built just after the war, the handling is impressive considering the bike’s bulk and all-day cruising style. You have to be having a spirited ride to deck the footboards, and ground clearance seems better than some bikes in this class. The famous Chief figurehead rides again to start Indian’s 125th anniversary celebrations To accommodate that large valanced rear fender, Indian has sneakily fitted a narrower rear tyre compared to other Chiefs in the Indian family. The Vintage runs a 150-section rear as opposed to the normal 180-section, which gives a lighter feeling to the handling and allows the bike to change direction more easily. Ride the torque, allow the Vintage to flow and it delivers an enjoyable, spirited ride. Bike and rider may weigh some 400kg, but this ride feels lighter than its spec sheet suggests. Our tester found the footboards didn’t affect ground clearance as much as expected. Nice one Do not, however, expect much in the way of cutting-edge braking performance, as there is only one 298mm disc up front (plus a similar 298mm disc on the rear) doing all the work and only conventional ABS. You need more than one finger on the lever to make an emergency stop, but this set-up matches the easy handling and laidback nature of the bike, while twin discs up front would have spoiled the looks of the front fender, which looks better from the right side without the cut-away for the disc. laidback life of a cruiser Much of a typical Chief Vintage’s life will be spent cruising, and this is something it does well. The solo seat may look painful, old and possibly liberated from a tractor, but is actually very comfortable. Indian took inspiration from their old seats fitted to hardtail bikes from the 1920s but added a few modern ingredients and knowhow to produce a saddle that not only looks cool but also cossets and supports for at least the two or three hours it takes to drain the fuel tank. There is a pillion option, but that would spoil the looks so don’t even think about it. How to make modern look retro Cruise control comes as standard, and the dash has Bluetooth connectivity with GPS navigation, which is basic but does the job. There is even an old-school 12V charging point, which is handy. I averaged just under 17km/l (40mpg) after a spirited ride but would expect better returns on a normal trip. The fuel tank is officially 15.1 litres in capacity so, realistically, 240km seems reasonable before panic sets in. Rider ergonomics are excellent as it’s not as much of a stretch to the pegs and ’bars as it is with some of the competition, while the ride is soft and forgiving. However, high-speed touring isn’t the best given the wide-ish handlebar, legs set quite wide apart and no wind protection. An accessory screen would improve matters but would spoil the Chief Vintage’s overall design. Verdict Some riders are going to look at the bike’s 1940s style and say not for me. Others will look at its specs, weight and power figures, and draw the same conclusion. What? No rider aids, either! I’m out. But there are others, and I think there will be many, who will ignore the spec sheet and just fall in love with the Vintage because of its looks and style. To me it’s one of the most attractive cruisers on the market – if not the most, full stop! Basic black always works Furthermore, once ridden, it will continue to impress, as it also works well as a motorcycle. It feels solid and robust like a throwback should. Yes, the seat looks like something from the 1920s, but it works and comfort is excellent. The engine doesn’t have bar-bragging power, but it looks great and delivers barrels of smooth, full-fat torque (shame it doesn’t sound as charismatic as you might expect). Handling is positive for this type of bike, and the stopping power is just enough. Meanwhile, the touchscreen dash is informative and neat, and although some may want more rider aids, I don’t think they are needed – not on our test ride, anyway. A styling blast from the past updated for modern-day riders The Indian Chief Vintage might essentially be a styling exercise, but it’s also a celebration – and I for one have fallen for it. The big question will be how it compares to some equally attractive competition from Triumph, BMW and age-old rival Harley-Davidson. Some have more technology, some more power or even torque, while some are cheaper or lighter. But I’m not sure any will match the style of the Vintage. Considering you have to budget for around $50k to buy an original 1940s Indian Chief, the Vintage seems an affordable option PROS – Authentic 1940s styling done right, massive low-rpm torque, simple, uncluttered riding experience, surprisingly nimble. CONS – Single front disc limits braking punch, engine note lacks the expected V-twin snarl, dash takes its time to wake up. Hail to the Chiefs You are now spoilt for choice in the Indian Chief line-up, with six models all using the same pushrod 116 V-twin, but with different styles, pricing, spec and handling. Some even have twin disc brakes up front. In the line-up you have (clockwise from top left) the Sport Chief RT, the Dark Horse, Bobber Dark Horse, Super Chief Dark Horse, Super Chief Limited and the new Vintage. In theory, most accessories can be carried over between models, meaning each variant, including the new Vintage, is easy to personalise from luggage to heal-n-tow gear shift. The rivals Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic – $34,995 Ride away BMW R 18 Classic – $27,945 Ride away Triumph Bobber – $24,650 Ride away Triumph Speedmaster – $24,650 Ride away SPECIFICATIONS ENGINE Type Air-cooled, four-valve, four-stroke, pushrod, V-twin Bore & stroke 103.2mmx113mm Capacity 1890cc Compression ratio 11.0:1 Fueling Electronic injection with 54mm throttle bodies Transmission Six-speed belt drive Clutch Wet, multi-plate slip Power N/A (62kW/83hp unofficially) Torque 156Nm @ 3300 rpm (claimed) Top speed 193km/h (est) Fuel consumption 6l/100km (tested in a hard ride) ELECTRONICS Rider aids Riding modes x 3 (Tour, Standard, Sport), ABS (std) CHASSIS Frame type Steel tube Rake 29° Trail 1315mm Wheelbase 1626mm SUSPENSION Type Sachs Front Telescopic fork, 132mm travel Rear Dual shocks, 75mm travel WHEELS & BRAKES Type Wire wheels Front: 3x16in Rear: 3.5x16in Tyres Metzeler Cruisetec Front:130/90/x16 Rear: 150/80/16 Brakes Standard ABS Front: Single 298mm disc, four-piston caliper Rear: 298mm disc, single-piston caliper DIMENSIONS Weight 317kg (dry), 327kg (wet) Seat height 686mm Length 2441mm Ground clearance 125mm Fuel capacity 15.1L BUSINESS END Price From $31,995 ride away Colour options Indian Motorcycle Red, Black Metallic Contact indianmotorcycle.com.au The post FIRST TEST | 2026 Indian Chief Vintage appeared first on Australian Motorcycle News.

Hard to pronounce, easy to fall for, and the right bike at just the right time for Moto Morini… BMW’s upcoming entry-level twin-cylinder F 450 GS, manufactured and largely developed by TVS in India, is sure to grab headlines around the world later this year for its offering of dual-purpose capability at reasonable cost. But historic Italian brand Moto Morini has beaten its German rival to the punch by some margin, with the arrival in dealer showrooms in Italy from last October onwards, and elsewhere earlier this year, of its own contender in this increasingly crucial category: the curiously-monickered Alltrhike 450. Its first smaller-displacement off-road model, like all Moto Morini products this was designed and engineered in Italy but is being manufactured in China. So, according to the Italian firm’s CEO Alberto Monni, while production of the Alltrhike is taking place in the People’s Republic, it was entirely designed and developed in Moto Morini’s factory at Trivolzio, near Pavia, in the risotto rice fields south of Milan. THE 450 CONTENDER Ever since its acquisition by Chinese manufacturer Zhongneng Vehicle Group/ZVG just over six years ago, Morini’s ride down the comeback trail has so far been exclusively based on five models, each using a 650/700cc parallel-twin engine sourced from its near neighbour CFMoto. With over 18,000 examples sold worldwide in the past four years of the distinctive-looking X-Cape 650 ADV model alone, Morini has now commenced production in China of the 96kW (129hp) X-Cape 1200, the first born again version of its trademark 1187cc eight-valve 87º V-twin family of models, suitably updated for Euro 5+ compliance. But now, at a lower end of the capacity and performance scale, comes the 2026 Alltrhike 450, powered by yet another engine sourced from CFMoto. This is the same pretty compact liquid-cooled 449cc parallel-twin engine fitted to its manufacturer’s 450SR sportbike and, more importantly, to its own 450MT ADV model, which is thus in direct competition with the new Moto Morini. Small engine has a lot of soul, thanks to a 270° crankshaft configuration In Alltrhike guise, the twin produces a claimed 36kW (48hp) at 8500rpm, with peak torque of 42Nm at 6500rpm. Measuring 72mm x 55.2mm, this eight-valve engine, with offset chain drive to the twin overhead cams, runs an 11.5:1 compression ratio, and carries lightweight forged pistons and split conrods mounted on the one-piece plain-bearing crank. Unusually for a smaller capacity twin – like the Ninja 400 and Yamaha R3 – CFMoto’s other parallel-twin engines all use evenly spaced 180° crank timing; this six-speed engine has a 270° crank, giving a comparable firing interval to a 90° V-twin. This gives consequent benefits in traction, especially offroad, plus a distinctive exhaust note sounding like a high-pitched Ducati. So for sure it’s a contradiction in terms! Not a bad cockpit to spend time in strafing backroads, eh Biggles! Twin gear-driven counterbalancers are fitted to remove all traces of undue vibration en route to the hard 11,000rpm revlimiter, with a Bosch ECU taking care of engine management and fuelling. CFMoto claims to have subjected this engine to over 4000 hours of high-revving punishment on the engine dyno, so are confident in its reliability. In its high-revving 450SR form it’s redlined at 12,300rpm and acquired a keen reputation as a Kawasaki Ninja 400/Yamaha YZF-R3/KTM RC390 rival, with a three-year warranty to back that claim up. The Moto Morini Alltrhike 450, with the identical engine has the same unlimited mileage warranty. You can integrate navigation in the 5in TFT dashboard HEART OF THE BEAST In its Moto Morini application, the engine sits in a duplex steel frame with aluminium swingarm delivering a wheelbase of 1525mm. Up front there’s a 41mm Kayaba upside-down fork giving a rangy 208mm of wheel travel, that’s adjustable for spring preload and both compression and rebound damping (one in each fork leg). That alloy swingarm operates a monoshock also from Kayaba – though adjustable only for preload and rebound damping – via a progressive rate link providing 190mm of wheel travel. Engine might be sourced from CFMoto but it has a character all its own Speaking of which, both of these are good-looking, tangentially spoked wire wheels with aluminium rims shod with Chinese-made CST dual-purpose tyres, a 140/70-18in rear plus a 90/90-21in front – which denotes this is a bike with genuine offroad potential. Dual-channel Bosch ABS is naturally included for Euro 5+ compliance, and this can be switched off in offroad mode; there’s a single 320mm front disc with four-piston caliper, with a large 255mm rear with twin-piston gripper, combining to stop a bike with a dry weight of 190kg with an empty 18.5-litre fuel tank. Sir Al found the front brake wanting in high-speed applications but reckons upgrading the pads would help The basic Alltrhike model comes pretty well equipped, with LED daytime running lights, good-looking rectangular twin projector headlights, substantial handguards, a windscreen that can be tilted at an angle (though not up and down) to act as a wind deflector rather than protector, a reasonably substantial-looking thick plastic (not metal) sump guard – ground clearance is 215mm – an adjustable passenger seat that can also be tilted to deliver a flat ADV-friendly throne, a single switchable level of TC and dual-channel ABS, and a 5in TFT dash. This Bluetooth-friendly device has an integrated navigation system via an iOS or Android app, and you can access music and your smartphone in the usual way. Alberto Monni gives Sir Al a pre-flight briefing This level of equipment is pretty complete for the price – just €5,890 in Italy ($A9850) including 22 per cent local tax, for a choice of either White, Green or Black colour schemes. For a further €250 you can have the fully specced so-called High Equipped version, including a centrestand, four-stage heated grips and a three-level heated rider’s seat. That’s rather competitive pricing. Even the slightly less well equipped but same-engined CFMoto 450MT is €6190, and the cost of the admittedly more sophisticated but slightly smaller capacity 420cc BMW, when it arrives later this year, will start at €7590 in Italy, rising to €8380 for the top-of-the-line GS Trophy version. Our tester thought the footpeg position was a little too high FIRST IMPRESSIONS Moto Morini has delivered an learner-legal, entry-level model that once again, as with so many of its current products, is a lot of bike for the money on paper – but what’s it like to ride? Well, the chance to spend a bright sunny day in Italy aboard the Alltrhike 450, riding it both on and off-road through the vineyard-clad hills of the Oltrepo Pavese region on the south bank of the River Po, gave me a chance to check out its credentials. But first, I had to ask Moto Morini boss Alberto Monni – where on earth did that unpronounceable name come from?! Steel frame runs an aluminium swingarm “Our company’s idea was to create a non-generic name to denote what the bike’s purpose is,” said Monni just a bit shamefacedly, as if it wasn’t his wheeze. “I’ll give you one example: Audi Allroad. We wanted to use something similar, but it’s not easy to do in the Italian language, because pretty well all the suitable names are already registered. So, we looked at creating a word that doesn’t exist, but gives the gist of what we wanted to convey, and the name chosen was Alltrhike.” The little twin is surprisingly torquey, perfect for its role in an Adventure bike Supposedly Morini’s marketing mob thought this was a good way to evoke the word ‘hike’, highlighting the bike’s adventurous capability to tackle rugged trails and to journey off the beaten path, combined with ‘all-rounder’. US market soundings told them the Yanks would disdain a bike whose name they couldn’t even pronounce, so there it’s called the Vettore, as in ‘vector’, or setting course for a distant destination. That’s better – and it’s on-message, too! Rear shock is fully adjustable Still, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” as William Shakespeare’s Juliet told Romeo, so let’s take The Bard’s hint and focus on what the new Moto Morini’s like to ride. First off, this is all a question of personal taste, but I reckon Morini’s five-person design team in Trivolzio have nailed the Alltrhike’s styling spot-on. Meaty and substantial-looking yet unexpectedly graceful, it gives you the impression of being built for the long haul, and the well-padded 840mm-high stepped seat has lots of space for a passenger. It’s also waisted well where it meets the fuel tank, which means a 180cm rider like yours truly doesn’t need a stepladder to climb aboard, and I had no trouble touching both feet to the ground at rest. But the chunky footrests with detachable rubbers felt a bit too high and too close to the seat, so that my knees were more bent than I’d like them to have been in normal use. Plenty of protection here for a bit of Aussie bushbashing Offroad, though, the Alltrhike was easy to control standing on the pegs – at 190kg dry it’s heavier than its rivals, same as the X-Cape 1200 is, but the weight feels well distributed, and the Alltrhike’s relatively slim build makes it feel very accessible. That’s while still offering an 18.5-litre fuel tank, larger than the class average and with the frugal consumption you can expect from a 450cc engine, should give excellent range for the long haul. Both brake and clutch levers are adjustable, and although the wide, straight handlebar is quite high-set, it delivers a comfy riding stance and gives good leverage. Riding the Morini along tight, twisting hillside roads winding their way via successive hairpins through the vineyards was both easy and pleasurable. But on faster stretches I found the aerodynamic protection was only just adequate, with most of my helmet, shoulders and arms exposed. I reckon Morini should include a broader screen that’s adjustable for height in their High Equipped version, obviously at extra cost. That would make the Alltrhike more comfortable for longer journeys, although the narrow cupolino screen does mean you can see what the front wheel’s doing offroad, and the steering lock is quite good for turning around in a tight space. Full LED lighting system The engine chimes eagerly into life when you thumb the button, settling to a turbine-smooth 1300rpm idle to the sound of that distinctive exhaust note – there’s absolutely no undue vibration at any revs, even when flirting with the revlimiter. The clutch lever is unbelievably light – I didn’t ride much in towns, but this will be a great bike for couriers or commuters, especially given the low price, adequately tall riding stance to plot a course through traffic, and that easy rider clutch action. That’s before you take into account the fact that the Alltrhike has a very broad spread of torque, meaning it’ll pull from 2000rpm upwards with only minimal use of that light clutch, and wide open from 4000rpm upwards all the way to that hard action 11,000rpm limiter. But you don’t need to rev it right out to get adequate performance. Okay, 42Nm at 6500 revs isn’t a massive amount of grunt but it’s quite enough to keep what is a sweet junior middleweight engine on the boil. The seating ergonomics score 10 out of 10 The gearshift was a little stiff on my test bike, but with just 1150km from new it probably needed running in for longer. I had no problem not using the clutch for upshifts, light action as it was. But the fuelling was exceptional. There was a smooth pickup from a closed throttle, and especially in lower gears, making this an ideal bike for newbie riders, without any of the snatchy or jerky throttle response of some bikes from companies who should know better. Nice styling touches make this one classy motorcycle Those twin counterbalancers really do their job well. Vibration was minimal, just sufficient to remind you that you weren’t riding an electric bike, though the pleasant exhaust note did that, too! 100km/h on the TFT dash in top gear with the very visible gear selected counter in the top right corner was delivered at 5800rpm, although Morini claims a top speed of just 150km/h, which seems unduly pessimistic. But that’s irrelevant anyway for a bike like this, which will cruise happily and relaxedly at 120km all day long. It’s a very satisfactory real-world ride. THE VERDICT The only real disappointment I had was the Alltrhike’s brakes. It wasn’t so much that the single front disc wasn’t good enough to stop a 190kg bike on its own from any sort of speed, even using the much more responsive rear as well, it just didn’t have a lot of bite. Adding a second front disc shouldn’t be necessary – I reckon that brake pads might be the problem. While low speed use was just fine, I needed to squeeze super hard on the front lever to persuade the front brake into action from high speeds, and there was minimal feedback when I did. I think I now know why that rear 255mm disc is so large! But apart from that the Alltrhike handled nicely. It steered easily into turns where the 21-inch front wheel’s CST tyre gave surprisingly good grip, and the Kayaba fork worked well in eating up the bumps of the frost-ravaged tarmac in the Oltrepo Pavese hills on the angle. The settings Moto Morini had chosen for me weren’t too soft, so there was good feedback especially from the front end, but the fact that the suspension is essentially fully adjustable on such a well-priced bike will be a strong selling point. Generous 18.5-litre fuel tank should give this model a huge riding range Riding it offroad in street trim held no surprises, making this a true go-anywhere Adventure bike – but a little time in playing with the settings would surely have made it even more effective on the stone tracks and gravel roads I traversed the vines on, had I wished. Plus, the smooth response of the engine, and its willing nature, makes the Alltrhike a rider-friendly mount on even quite demanding loose surfaces for less experienced offroad tyros. Despite its curious name, the Moto Morini Alltrhike 450 is the right bike at the right time for the Chinese-owned Italian marque. It lives up to its looks in offering a level of comfort and substantially more than merely adequate performance that’s way beyond the expectations of its low price. It was hard not to be impressed with it after spending a day on board. Moto Morini is still investigating expanding into the Australian market. The sooner it does the better as its latest model is a well-equipped entry-level Adventure bike capable of taking on this popular segments’s well-established rivals. PROS – Strong, characterful 270° parallel twin, fully adjustable KYB suspension and genuine 21/18in wheel combo deliver real-world ADV capability at an entry-level price. CONS – Underwhelming front brake feel, limited wind protection and a slightly porky dry weight blunt what is otherwise an impressively sorted middleweight adventurer. THE COMPETITION BMW f 450 GS – $TBA (due later this year) CFmoto 450MT – $9990 (ride away) KTM 390 Adventure X – $9995 (ride away) SPECIFICATIONS ENGINE Type Liquid-cooled parallel twin, DOHC, eight valves Bore & stroke 72.0mm x 55.2 mmm Capacity 449cc Compression ratio 11.5:1 Fuel injection Bosch PERFORMANCE Power 36kW (48hp) @ 8500rpm Torque 42 Nm @ 6500rpm Top speed 150km/h CHASSIS Steel frame, aluminium swingarm SUSPENSION Front 41mm USD Kayaba fork, 208mm travel, adjustable preload, rebound and compression Rear Kayaba monoshock with linkage, 190mm travel, adjustable preload and rebound BRAKES Front 320mm disc, four-piston caliper Rear 255mm disc, two-piston caliper ABS dual-channel, switchable WHEELS Front 90/90-21in spoked Rear 140/70-18in or 140/80-18in spoked DIMENSIONS Wheelbase 1525mm Seat height 840mm Ground clearance 215mm Dry weight 190kg Fuel capacity 18.5L BUSINESS END Price: From €5890 ($A9850) Contact: motomorini.com The post ROAD TEST | Moto Morini Alltrhike 450 appeared first on Australian Motorcycle News.