AllMoto News from the Web

* (January 17) Italian maker and budding superbike racer Benelli says it hopes to have a limited edition of its 900 Tre road bike in Euro customer hands by May this year - at a stratospheric price of around $65,000. Cooking models, hopefully priced at more like $30,000, might be reaching customers by September.

* (January 16) While Chad Reed and Michael Byrne do well in the AMA Supercross Cup in the United States, fellow Aussies Brett Metcalfe and Cameron Taylor are also having an impact 10,000 kilometres away, in the ADAC German Supercross Cup. Current standings see Team Millennium member Metcalfe placed 2nd and Sarholz Racing Team member Taylor 4th, after the five weekend rounds.

* (January 16) Yamaha Australia has decided to put its road racing efforts behind the 2002 Formula Xtreme series (for which it's also the naming-rights sponsor). According to General Manager Steve Cotterell, "We have decided to concentrate our efforts in Formula Xtreme because that is the series that best reflects what the riders and supporters are looking for in Australia. This form of racing enables spectators to easily associate/identify their own road bikes to those being raced in various categories of Formula Xtreme. One of the reasons for going racing is to increase the exposure of the brand, so therefore the increased television exposure, including free to air TV, is what has made it such an attractive option.

"From a team point of view the consistency of the technical regulations in Formula Xtreme has also allowed us to continue down a smooth development path. This fact has obviously not been lost on the competitors as the grids continue to grow each year. "In line with our increased commitment to Formula Xtreme this year, Radar's Team Yamaha will also be fielding a YZF R6 in the Supersport class. This is a first for the team in Formula Xtreme and with Kevin Curtain aboard should further enhance the competitiveness of the class."

* (January 15) Reports out of the UK say that a prototype two-wheel-drive Yamaha R1 has been spotted undergoing tests in recent times. This is more than a pipe-dream. When AllMoto's owner interviewed the lead test rider for Yamaha in 1998 (David Bean), he predicted two-wheel drive as one of the next big areas of development. The prototype runs a conventional chain rear drive, and a hydraulic unit for the front. Power take-off for the hydraulics on the prototype is from the front sprocket drive shaft and is fed via lines to a slave drive in a deeper-than-usual front hub. The overall installation is tidy and would be easily missed. UK MCN quotes an un-named Yam test rider as saying the extra weight in the front end is noticable at low speed, but the advantages - particularly at track speeds - outweigh the disadvantages.

Australian engineer Ian Drysdale (see his web site by clicking here) pioneered a version of the idea of hydraulic drive for motorcycles several years ago when building a CX500-powered off-road bike. In that case the machine had hydraulic drive at both ends, plus two-wheel steering. Two-wheel drive is anything but new - at least two makers have produced a production version using mechanical drive, with the most persistent being Rokon in the USA. Its version is a balloon-tyred bike designed for crawling through forests.

* (January 15) Welshman Chaz Davies, who is 14 years of age and will turn 15 by his first world championship race, is entering his first MotoGP at Suzuka this year. He will be doing the entire season with the Italian Matteoni Aprilia team mounted on a 125. What intrigued us about this story was the assorted quotes which revealed that he feels he has at least some knowledge of the circuits in the championship after 'riding' them with his computer game. Chaz also has a little practical racing experience competing in the Spanish championship, and winning a couple of rounds of the Brit equivalent.

* (January 11) International superbike teams conduct the Australian round of their testing at Phillip Island at the end of this month.

* (January 15) From Motorcycling Australia: Australians Chad Reed and Michael Byrne continue to perform well in the (USA) 2002 AMA/EA Sports Supercross Series. Round 2 of the 2002 Series was held at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium on the weekend. Chad Reed finished 5th in the 250cc Event whilst Michael Byrne finished 11th. They go into the next Round placed 3rd and 5th respectively in the 250cc points tally.

* (January 14) From the world sidecar champs: Reigning world champions, Klaus Klaffenbock and Christian Parzer are well under way for their title defence in 2002. The Austrians announced that this includes a move to the smaller capacity, yet newer Yamaha R1 (1000cc) engine for their LCR chassis, away from the powerful, yet older and heavier Suzuki GSXR 1100 (tuned to 1200cc) power plant that saw them to their first world title. The website is at www.superside.com

* (January 11) Same newspaper: Sales and survey results suggest sports and sport-tourer bikes are losing popularity in Britain - though overall sales look okay. Cruisers are said to be in for very modest growth, while supermotards and semi-naked all-rounders of the FZ1000S ilk could be the winners.

* (January 11) Former world MotoGP champ Kenny Roberts apparently started testing the new Suzi V4 four-stroke yesterday. The best quote from the factory propaganda was: "I haven't been speculating about the new bike. I don't care if we're racing four-strokes, two-strokes, or twins. I don't care if we're all on pink bikes - I just want to get back to beating Max Biaggi and Valentino Rossi, as I've done before," said the Californian.

* (January 11) From Phillip Island GP circuit: Dual World Championship winner Barry Sheene, who won last year's 500 Classic race at Phillip Island, is set to defend his winning streak at the Australian Motorcycle News Ninth Annual Island Classic on 25 - 27 January, 2002. Current Australian 500cc Classic Champion, Craig Morris sure to be hot on his heels. Barry will again ride his especially prepared Manx Norton and heads a record field of overseas and local riders who have entered the event. With 195 entries, 280 historic motorcycles and a packed schedule of thirty races on Saturday and Sunday, it promises to be a busy weekend.

* (January 10) Australian teenager Casey Stoner is to ride a 250cc Aprilia motorcycle in his first full season of world championship competition. Stoner's name is on the entry lists issued for the three classes of two-wheel Grand Prix racing by the international motorcycle federation overnight.Stoner, 16, from Kurri Kurri in New South Wales, will ride for a European team, Safilo Oxydo Race LCR. It's a big step up for Stoner, who raced as a wildcard in last season'sAustralian and British 125cc GPs. The rising star scored his first world championship points at Victoria's Phillip Island, finishing 12th against the world's best 125cc riders onsuperior factory bikes. Stoner won seven rounds of last year's British 125cc Championship and two in the super-competitive Spanish 125cc Championship.Triple GP winner Garry McCoy is the only other Australian on the entry lists at this stage. He will again ride a 500cc Yamaha in the premier category, now called MotoGP and in which four-stroke bikes up to 1000cc will compete against the traditional two-stroke 500s.

* (January 10) Now here's a twist for road-racing GP punters: The once all-powerful Repsol sponsorship (which backed Aussie Mick Doohan and then Spaniard Alex Criville to a couple of world titles on Hondas) has moved to a more modest Yamaha effort, with Norick Abe as the lead rider (#6) and still with Criville (#28). Frenchman Regis Laconi is entered under Aprilia's banner, which might be interesting.

* (January 7) From MA: Australians Michael Byrne and Chad Reed did their home country proud at Round 1 of the AMA Supercross Championship, held at Edison International Field, Anaheim, California on the weekend. Byrne and Reed finished 4th and 6th respectively in the 250cc Main Event Moto - an unprecedented performance by Australians in this event. Local Travis Preston (125cc, Honda) and Frenchman David Vuillemin (250cc, Yamaha) took the lead in their respective classes after Round 1, which took place before a sell-out, 45,050-strong crowd.

* (January 7) From MA: Australia's young speedway stars evened the score on the weekend by winning the 2nd Test against Young England, held at Riverview Speedway, in Murray Bridge, South Australia. The Australians won 49 - 41, an exact reversal of the first Test result. (See December 20 on this page)

* (January 4) From regular correspondent Dave Milligan: Have shipping spaces for 4 bikes going to New Zealand. Container will be loaded at the end of January (2002) and bikes will be available in NZ from Wednesday 13 February 2002 until Wednesday 13 March 2002. Cost is $1150 per bike and up to $155 for shipping insurance. Costs cover the return journey. Contact 03 9331 0947 or [email protected]

* (January 3) Congratulations to evergreen Benelli rider Peter Goddard and long-time partner Kim (pictured here) on their wedding last month.

* (January 3) Long-time Oz-based international tour-operator Kurt Weidner has come up with something very special to celebrate his 20th anniversary in business: Bike Tours Allround. The journey starts in Germany in June 2002, crosses the Atlantic by ship to Canada, heads up to Alaska, and from there down the west coast of North America through Central America and South America all the way to Tierra del Fuego at the southernmost tip of South America. Then the bikes are shipped across to New Zealand, followed by Australia and Hong Kong, from where the trip continues to Beijing, Mongolia and along the Trans-Siberian Railway to Moscow. In September 2003 the journey finishes where it started, in Germany.

The tour fleet consists of BMW R1150GSes and Yamaha XT600s. A specially designed 4WD Mercedes truck carries luggage, supplies and other necessities. The 15-month journey is broken up into 14 stages varying from three to five weeks and you can join any number of stages. Have you always wanted to cross the Amazon jungle? Then choose stage 7 (Caracas-Rio). Are you intrigued by what China has to offer? Stage 12 (Hong Kong-Beijing) is tailor-made for you. Prices vary from US$3000 to US$6000 per stage, which includes the bike, food, (tent) accommodation, backup and most other expenses except air fares, fuel and visa costs.

For more information, check the web site at <http://www.biketours.com.au> (click on "World Tour"), or contact Bike Tours Australia at tel 03-5473 4469, fax 03-5473 4520, email [email protected].