Bike Devil’s Week on Two-Wheels: 1 September 20

It was a bank holiday yesterday, so whether you were getting jobs done around the house and garden or you ventured out on your bike, we hope you had a good one! And, it’s new registration day today – anyone picking up anything shiny and new?!

World Endurance fans will know that it was Le Mans 24h this weekend – behind closed doors – and it was F.C.C. TSR Honda France who won two laps ahead of the Webike SRC Kawasaki France Trickstar team and three laps ahead of Suzuki Endurance Racing Team. As if this kind of racing isn’t nail biting enough, changeable weather conditions added to the mix. The Honda team led for 600 of the 816 laps they did… we hope everyone involved is catching up on some vital sleep!

Sticking on the racing theme, it looks like reigning MotoGP Champ and fan favourite, Marc Marquez, won’t be back for the next two to three months after releasing a statement with the team explaining he won’t be back until he is ‘back at 100%’. There’s plenty of talk now about who’s got the Championship within grasp – there’s certainly plenty of contenders hungry for it.

Talking of MotoGP – Yamaha revealed a €46k Petronas Sepang Racing Team Yamaha M1 replica – and what a beauty! Now, we’re not one for rumours but it’s a bit of a coincidence that 46 of these beautiful machines are due to be sold, they cost €46k and it’s the 46th anniversary of Petronas… and a rather famous rider is rumoured to be joining them next year, but no official statement has been made yet, so watch this space…

You can tell by just looking at it, that this is a true replica. It’s got carbon fibre bodywork with winglets, is painted by the same company as the actual GP bikes, Ohlins suspension, quick change system on the rear wheel, racing slicks and a race-specification ECU – amongst other things. You don’t just get the bike either, you get a matching helmet, polo shirt and a VIP pass to a GP round of your choice… we won’t go so far as to say ‘bargain’ but hey, if you’ve got the money…

In the World Superbikes, it’s been announced that Tom Sykes will be sticking with the BMW Motorrad team for the 2021 season, he will be joined by Michael van der Mark on the squad – who is leaving Yamaha at the end of the 2020 season.

Back to new bikes, we’ve not had a chance to update you since Triumph unveiled the ‘Trident’ – now we got a bit excited about this as with reports saying how competitively priced this machine will be once launched, it could be a competitor for the oh-so-popular MT range from Yamaha? From the images we’ve seen, it’s fair to say that it’s going to look cool, it will be powered by a mid-capacity triple engine and it’s in an all new frame… We. Are. Sold. Full details are expected to be announced over the next few weeks, with the bike arriving early next year.

It’s important to look after your motorcycle chain – but it is a bit of a dirty job and yet another thing to have to try and remember to do. Well, BMW claims to have made a motorbike chain that needs no lubrication and no tension adjustment. It is expected to be made available on the S1000RR and S100XR models as a factory option or as an accessory to existing owners, with more models expected to follow. Called the ‘M Endurance’ chain, BMW have added an industrial diamond coating to the bushes and rollers – it works by reducing the friction and wear and never wears off! Pretty cool hey?

The gang at Mutt Motorcycles has been busy too with the launch of some seriously cool 125cc machines joining the lineup. The Akita Silver 125, Akita Black 125, FSR 125 and Razorback 125 have been added to the range and each has their own ‘je nais se quois’. The Akita looks like a muscle packed machine, despite being powered by a 12hp four-stroke and there’s a real attention to detail such as branded bar ends and handmade brushed TIG welded stainless steel mudguard brackets. Check out their site to find out more…