Repsol KTM 690 Rally: What lies beneath…

Repsol KTM 690 Rally, currently the best off-road racing motorcycle in the world

With Marc Coma and other KTM riders doing so well – and consistently so over the years – at the Dakar Rally, you’d sometimes wonder what is it about their machines that keeps them winning. Those riders’ grit, determination and talent is, of course, unquestionable, but the bike must be pretty good too, eh?

Taking a quick look at KTM’s Dakar-winning 690 Rally machine, it’s fitted with the company’s 654cc single-cylinder liquid-cooled LC4 engine. In production trim, this engine makes 65bhp, but here it’s been tuned to produce 70bhp at 7,500rpm and 70Nm of torque at 6,000 revs. The engine, which is mated to a six-speed gearbox, features a Keihin FCR 41 carburetor – no fuel-injection here!

The wet, multi-disc clutch is hydraulically operated, the chassis is made of tubular chromium-molybdenum alloy and WP suspension components are used at both ends. At front, the WP-USD 52 MA fork has 300mm of travel, the rear monoshock has 310mm of travel, and both ends are fully adjustable.

The Repsol KTM 690 Rally has to stop as hard as it goes, so it’s fitted with a 300mm disc brake at front, and a 220mm disc at the back. The front wheel is a 21-incher while the rear hoop measures 18-inches. The bike rides on 90/90-21 (front) and 140/90-18 (rear) off-road rubber. Ground clearance is 320mm – handy when you are travelling across 6,000km of rough terrain in Africa…

The 690 Rally carries about 36 litres of fuel, weighs 162 kilos and in the right hands, wins the toughest off-road rally-raids in the world. Unfortunately enough, you can’t buy one just yet. While KTM have various 690-series bikes in their line-up, they’re yet to do a full-blown 690 Adventure. A Repsol-replica Marc Coma special edition KTM 690 Adventure for the street? Later this year, perhaps!

Also see:
A supercharged KTM RC8 drag-racer...
2009 KTM 1190 RC8 R unleashed...
Face-off: KTM RC8 takes on the BMW HP2 Sport!
NitroDuke: The world's fastest KTM...
KTM 125cc GP racer vs Suzuki GSX-R1000...
Face-off: KTM RC8 vs Ducati 1098...
Tiff Needell tests the KTM X-Bow...

BMW K1300S riding impression

The 2009 BMW K1300S is, according to InfoMotori, much better than its predecessor...

Among current BMWs, our no.1 favourite is the naked, funky-looking K1300R. But we do suppose the fully faired K1300S would be a more sensible choice for long-distance touring. InfoMotori recently had the chance to ride the new-for-2009 K1300S, and here are some excerpts from what they have to say about the bike:

With its bigger engine (about 150cc up on the old K1200S unit), the K1300S has an 8bhp and 10Nm advantage over its predecessor. Other changes on the new bike include a modified shaft drive, lightened Duolever suspension, mildly reworked bodywork, improved gearshift mechanism and revised instrumentation for better visibility.

BMW have also fitted with K1300S with the all-new ESA2 electronic suspension, which is easy to fiddle with, but which doesn’t ‘remember’ your chosen settings when you switch the bike off. What’s really surprising on the new bike is how quiet the engine is – much, much quieter than the old 1200. All the mechanical noise seems to have been removed from that big, four-cylinder engine.

With 175bhp and 140Nm of torque, the K1300S should be quite all right on the street...

Unlike the K1200S, the K1300S offers smooth, seamless power delivery, with the engine and transmission working in perfect harmony at all times. The brakes are more powerful and effective than ever before, with two fingers on the front brake lever being quite sufficient to haul up the bike very quickly. The ABS system, which comes as standard equipment on this bike, also works admirably well, though we’re not as sure about the ASC traction control system, which is supposed to prevent wheelspin. We wish BMW had provided the option to switch the bike’s ASC system off…

As you might expect, the K1300S feels nimbler and handles better than its predecessor, though without losing its trademark high-speed stability. The bike’s quickshifter lets you change gears faster, without using the clutch or having to roll back the throttle, though it does work better at higher revs and is more useful on the highway rather than in urban use, in slow traffic.

Overall, the big BMW is much improved compared to the K1200S, though it still isn’t perfect. Then again, which bike is?

For the full test report, visit the InfoMotori website here

A video of the BMW K1300S in action...

Also see:
AC Schnitzer-tuned BMW F800GS...
Kawasaki ZX-10R: The future is bright orange...
Twisted: Fireblade-engined trike...
MV Agusta Brutale 989R riding impression...
Bandito: Hannigan Motorsports’ Kawasaki ZX-14 sidecar rig...
AC Schnitzer K1200R Sport...
From France: The Enzyme Icare concept...

Elsewhere today:
Metzeler Alpine Motorcycle Tour: The joys of riding in Europe...

Hawk: Honda RC51-powered trike concept

It's only a concept, but the Hawk does look rather cool...

Pics: AutoblogGreen

Based in New Zealand, 22-year-old industrial designer Alex Hodge has come up with this rather interesting three-wheeled concept – the Hawk. Hodge has designed the Hawk around the Honda RC51’s 999cc v-twin and with 120 horsepower at the back wheel, the trike’s theoretical top speed is 230km/h.

The Hawk runs on lightweight, 19-inch alloy wheels, is fitted with large disc brakes all around and features a fibreglass outer shell and alloy chassis. The aim was to achieve the outright performance of a sportsbike, combined with the comfort and weather protection of a car. Hmm… while it’ll never replace an R1, if it had at least two seats and some space for luggage, the Hawk could have possibly been a substitute for that VW Polo, which you shouldn’t be driving anyway…

Also see:
Tiff Needell tests the Campagna T-Rex...
Carver One: The coolest thing ever on three wheels...
The amazing Peraves Monotracer...
Riding the Travertson V-Rex...
170bhp Kawasaki ZRX1100 Turbo...
GG Quadster: Return of the Quadzilla...
Caterham R500 vs Ducati Hypermotard...!

Elsewhere today:
Done with riding for the day? Now get these...

Barry Sheene tribute Suzuki GSX-R750

Motorcycle-USA's project GSX-R750 pays homage to Barry Sheene's 500cc GP racer of the late-1970s. And it looks just amazing...

From left: Chris Vermeulen's GSV-R MotoGP bike, which he used at the 2007 Australian grand prix, Vermeulen riding a 1970s Suzuki RG500, and Barry Sheene himself

What we have here is Motorcycle-USA’s Suzuki GSX-R750 project bike, which we think looks simply fabulous. The UK-based Stamford had done a similar looking bike last year, but it seems this is the first time this paint scheme has been done on a GSX-R in the US.

Back in 2007, Chris Vermeulen ran a Barry Sheene tribute paintjob on his GSV-R racebike at the Australian grand prix, and the M-USA project GSX-R, prepared by Grant Matsushima of MPT Racing, is a replica of that machine. As you’d expect, it’s loaded with aftermarket parts – handmade MPT exhaust system (with an optional KR Tuned end can), Brembo brakes with radial-mount monobloc callipers and radial master cylinder, Kevlar-coated steel-braided brake lines, Ohlins cartridge drop-in fork internals, TTX shock, shorter gearing and Dunlop 209 GP ‘A’ tyres.

The bike packs 150bhp at the rear wheel, the special blue-and-white paintjob has been done by Matt Polosky of Color Zone Designs, and in the next stage, M-USA say they plan to add lightweight wheels, traction control and other high-tech bits to their project GSX-R to make it go even harder and faster. Hmmm... way to go!

More race-replicas:
John Hopkins MotoGP-replica Kawasaki ZX-10R...
Valentino Rossi's bike for the street...?
Yamaha RD500-based YZR500 replica...
The coolest ever racer-rep KTM RC8...
GSV-R replica GSX-R1000...
Team Nescafe Can replica Yamaha YZF750SP...
Kevin Schwantz replica Lucky Strike Suzuki GSX-R...
A bunch of race-rep Honda Fireblades...
Fonsi Nieto replica Suzuki GSX-R1000...

Custom cool: Tamworth Yamaha FZ1

The Tamworth FZ1. That blue-white paintjob looks damn cool!
Pic: MCN

The standard FZ1 isn’t such a bad thing, but UK-based Yamaha dealers, Tamworth have heated things up a bit with their special edition FZ1. There’s that blue-and-white Fiat-Yamaha paintjob to begin with, which looks very cool, and then there’s a load of aftermarket parts – Ohlins forks, Brembo brakes with radial-mount monobloc callipers, Akrapovic exhaust (with a Termignoni sticker!) and some YEC kit parts for the engine.

This particular bike belongs to the man who owns Tamworth Yamaha and is not for sale. However, if you live in the UK and want Tamworth to build a special Yamaha for them, they’d probably be happy to accommodate you. Visit their official website here for more details.

More specials:
The BMW MeGa 1 cafe-racer...
RetroSBK's neo-retro GS tribute GSX-R...
Big muscle: The Kawabusa II...
Over the top: 200bhp, NOS'd Suzuki B-King...
Boosted: The world's first supercharged KTM RC8...
1885 Gottlieb Daimler Reitwagen replica...!
Hannspree Ten Kate replica Honda Fireblade...
One-off Ducati 1098 Senna...