Australian Road Rider

The barriers to becoming a road-riding motorcyclist these days are huge: onerous licensing requirements, years of restrictive rules and costs which many youngsters can’t bear, along with about a million other popular activities which didn’t exist whe

KTM is further developing its sub-1000cc parallel twin range with its biggest, toughest model yet, the 890 Duke R, and it’s at a very keen price: $17,195+ORC, so well under 20K on the road. That’s Supersport pricing for a 121hp machine with top-shelf

Late this year you’ll be able to buy the 2021 BMW 40th Anniversary BMW GS models. It was way back in 1981 when BMW kick-started the adventure bike trend with the R80G/S and today the GS models make up more than half of BMW Australia’s motorcycle sale

With sporty styling, a Variable Valve Actuation-equipped motor and a price drop to just $4799 ride away, the new Yamaha R15 deserves to make lots of youngsters into motorcyclists. The compact machine, weighing in at just 138kg, is small, light, easy

Australia’s unprecedented summer of bushfires had a devastating impact on many thousands of people, matched only by the unprecedented financial and other support from the rest of the country. As a nation, we’re good at helping out folk who really nee

BMW has combined heritage with technology to create its new cruiser platform for the future, all based around the biggest horizontally-opposed motorcycle engine ever built. Priced from $26,890, the first batch should be arriving around the time you r

At 250km/h on Gardner Straight, Phillip Island Raceway, all I can usually hear is the wind rushing past my helmet. Not today: there’s a hair-raising scream out of nowhere, then the machine creating it is rushing by, a 300hp Kawasaki H2R making my ZX-

The premium Hypernaked class has several options. The variety of designs from manufacturers to reach the same end point of nuclear performance is impressive. They’re all winners. It comes down to which one the buyer is drawn to. Here’s a quick alphab

Motorcycle supercharging presents many difficulties. Issues include packaging, heat management, durability, fuel economy and emission compliance. Aftermarket specials tick off solutions to some of these, the H2 ticks them all. To understand the size

BMW shocked the world with its first RS model, back in the 1970s, producing a fully-faired machine that was comfortable, fast and handled well. The current RS still ticks those boxes, and it does so really, really well. This model we rode is the Spor

Available only in Black Storm Metallic, the standard R 1250 RS for Australia features BMW Motorrad ABS, ASC (stability control), riding modes, TFT Connectivity Display, adjustable levers, one keylock system, engine spoiler and the Comfort Package: ch

You might think an 800 can’t compete with a 1250, but with 110 horsepower and pushing only 192kg, MV’s Turismo Veloce has plenty of sports-touring performance. Standard panniers, LED lights, semi-active suspension, heated grips and a centre stand are

As one of the most populous and financially successful countries in South-East Asia, Vietnam has gone from flat broke when it threw out the Western forces in the 1970s to now providing one of the highest standards of living of any country in the regi

Tuan Nguyen offers guided tours in North Vietnam for $520 per rider per day using BMW 650, 800 or 1200cc GS adventure bikes. Hanoi to Saigon one way is $590 per day. Overland tours crossing into Laos, Cambodia and Thailand are $660 per day. See motot

There’s no getting away from the fact that some adventure bikes are big enough to come with their own postcodes. What grew out of making a road bike more dirt suitable has become a plethora of machines from 250cc to 1290cc. And how extreme do you wan

Bigger, heavier and more expensive, where the CB500X is a small bike with a mid-capacity motor, the V-Strom is a big bike with a small motor. Very capable, very popular, much-loved and bloody good. With its single cylinder powerplant but less weight,

I’m awoken by the sound of small motorcycles buzzing up and down the road outside our hotel. Out the front gate and over the road is a beach with vendors selling coconuts and other local delicacies under palm trees and five kilometres of beach to wal

All-terrain riders have been waiting for this bike since news of its production became public in 2017… It’s been a long wait. In that time, there have been new (or upgraded) 21in wheel bikes from KTM, BMW and Triumph. You could think Yamaha has misse

Suzuki’s DR650, the Kawasaki KLR650 and the SWM adventure bikes all run simple single-cylinder designs seemingly as old as motorcycling itself, and you can buy one for under 10K – but it’s likely it’ll take a bit more to be ready for the big tour. Th

International tourism is pretty well sunk for ages to most locations, so Get Routed, the decades-old bike shipping company, will be concentrating on New Zealand this coming summer, because that’s the place most likely to open-up soonest. “I’ve heard

I think it’s pretty safe to say that when we go riding in the countryside, the last thing we want to do is chug down a bland strip of bitumen dodging lane wanderers and getting blown sideways by barrelling B-doubles. Many of us with the grey evidenc

Somewhere in the annals of time, a fastidious clean freak realised they could go further than just washing their bike, they could detail it. They would get into the nitty-gritty and make the machine look like it had just rolled out of the showroom. I

Motul’s Road Care Pack offers great value for money, and comes with an impressive range of products that will help keep street bikes and their riders looking their best. A terrific gift idea for the enthusiast and new rider alike. Includes Moto Wash,

Usable both open and closed, Nolan’s N-1005 modular helmet is convenient, practical — and well priced. At under $600 ($519 solid and $569 graphics), the N1005 is at the lower end of modular, or flip-top, helmet pricing — but it has great specificatio

Kriega’s range of tailpacks allows you to carry a decent amount of gear without modifying your bike, adding an ugly rack or carrying it on your back. I’ve been using the US-20 tailpack for years and it’s still in great condition, despite being strapp

The Eagle Screens touring screen I’ve fitted to my Yamaha FJR1300 has made it more comfortable through the winter, so much so I’m thinking about buying a short summer screen as well. At 590mm this is the tallest model Eagle Screens makes for the FJR;

Various studies over the years have shown riding is good for mental health, with motorcyclists reporting they feel better and more able to face the world. At a time when so many Australians have seen their world turned upside down, we thought it was

Puttering into Poreč on a peppy candy-apple-red Vespa scooter, cobbled streets led me onto a tiny piazza shaded by date palms and myrtles. A welcoming line of gelato sellers and outdoor cafes was set out under awnings, brilliant beneath a warm pencil

I’ve had this 2017-model BMW R 1200 GS since the end of 2016 and it’s now clocked 50,000km without a hiccup. As I write this I’ve recently returned from a charity ride to Tassie, (Ed: ARR received Andrew’s submission as the COVID-19 lockdowns were st

Every issue we’re giving away this beaut pack of Motul cleaning gear worth $49.95. All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is send us a pick of your shining steed and we’ll pick what we think is the best shot and comment and the top blok

At Easter we lost one of Australia’s great motorcycling characters, Bertrand Cadart. A larger-than-life Frenchman who came to Australia in the 1970s, he built La Parisienne fairings, was a radio host, council mayor, the importer of Fournales Suspensi