www.motorcyclenews.com WEDNESDAY MAY 8, 2013. £2.10 ‘MARQUEZ DID NOTHING WRONG’ Jerez MotoGP: Riders back hard-charging rookie NORTONGET THE INSIDE LINE EVERY WEDNESDAY NEW BMW GS 800 now offers TT PLANS REVEALED Adventure too FOUR-PAGE SPECIAL REPORT QThe Bikes QThe Team QThe Riders Tested: Ducati Hyperstrada Most practical mad bike yet! OLD V NEW FJR1300 SCHWANTZ BSB COMEBACK SPECIAL See full details, page 81 Shakey crash opens up title www.motorcyclenews.com 02 08/05/2013 NEWS EVERY DAY AT MOTORCYCLENEWS.COM First look at the machine Norton will race at the Senior and Superbike TT next month Everything you need to know from seven days in biking ISLE OF MAN TT Norton’s TT bike is a quantum leap The return of Norton to our roads has, at times, been a difficult one. The return of Norton to the roads of the Isle of Man has, arguably, been harder still. But the manful groans of lust-laden appreciation that reverberated around the offices of MCN this week as we first clapped eyes on the new Norton TT race bike suggest that they’ve certainly succeeded in making it look the part. If noise alone could get you a trophy on the island, then the aural assault from the unsilenced 200bhp motor would doubtless result in some silverware, too. But the reality is that this bike is unlikely to propel Norton CEO Stuart Garner’s dreams to WORLD a podium result. So what are its chances? FIRST > Read the exclusive on the team and bike – p8 SHOTS MCN READER OFFER and entry to the Friday of the Classic MOVE TO AUSTRIA would be a tenner. £10 off Donington ■ To take advantage of this incredible Husqvarna closes ticket offer go to www.donington- WSB tickets! park.co.uk or phone 0844 8737343. Varese factory Donington Park is offering MCN readers Three months after being sold by BMW a red hot deal on 2013 WSB tickets. it has been reported that Husqvarna’s Order your weekend or Sunday, May factory in Varese, Italy, is to be closed 26 tickets online using the offer code with all production moving to Austria. MCNDP13 where prompted and you’ll The shock move comes weeks after not only receive £10 off each ticket its new owners visited the plant and ordered but you’ll also get a Friday follows assurances that the facility Industries AG, a company owned by had been based in Varese since being ticket for the all-new Donington would remain open. KTM boss Stefan Pierer (above right). bought by Cagiva in 1986. The firm was Classic Motorcycle Festival on August 9 The closure was confirmed by former It’s believed production will resume at sold to BMW in 2007 with the German TOTALLY FREE! Weekend adult tickets press officer Martino Bianchi and one of KTM’s Austrian plants. firm reported to have spent millions are normally £52, Sunday tickets £42, comes after the firm was sold to Pierer Husqvarna, originally from Sweden, revamping the Italian facility. BIKES IN THE NEWS THIS WEEK Grab a Burger-van... The new 2013 Burgman 650 ABS Executive is now in dealers. The £8799 Win your money back maxi-scooter boasts heated rider and KTM will be refunding the cash price of pillion seats, over 50 litres of storage, one bike to a UK rider this month. Book a three drive modes, heated grips, test ride during May and go on to purchase electronically adjustable screen and a KTM and you could be a winner. fold-in mirrors. Two brothers go racing Tai fusion Crew cut Two brothers from a small Spanish A Taiwanese industrial design Belgian builders, First Notion stripped village customised this 1977 Kawasaki student based this concept on the their Yamaha SR250 to create this cafe KZ750 to meet an off-road challenge. trellis structure of old seaplanes racer. The tank was replaced with a They produced the bodywork from cast using a Honda Super Cub 90. In Yamaha RD50 item, a custom exhaust aluminium, designing the fenders, side case you’re wondering, the middle was fitted along with Brembo brakes. covers and tank themselves. bit is the fuel tank. www.motorcyclenews.com 08 FOCUS 3 5 9 2 4 7 10 1 6 8 11 Norton’s IOM TT History Norton vowed to return when it was Norton boasts Isle of Man TT history dating ready with a more reliable bike. It took back to 1907 and including the legendary another two years but last year the British 1992 win in the hands of Steve Hislop but team returned with the Aprilia-engined the newly reborn and British-owned firm SG1 which had a Spondon frame and was returned to the famous 37.73-mile course ridden by Ian Mackman. Niggling issues in 2009 with the 588cc rotary NRV with prevented the bike getting enough test time Irish road racing star Michael Dunlop. The and the bike was put together at the last bike was hardly changed from the old minute. It still managed a 115mph average bikes that were racing years previously speed on its fastest lap. The Senior race and it was dogged by reliability issues with was cancelled because of bad weather. The Dunlop unable to complete a single lap. bike completed a parade lap – but everyone The bike never raced that year. has high hopes for 2013. MARK MANNING www.motorcyclenews.com BUYING & THE WEEK FOCUS COMMENT SELLING EVENTS SPORT 02-06 08-35 36-39 41-76 77-79 80-92 08.05.2013 WEDNESDAY 09 NORTON’S02.05.2013 WORLD EXCLUSIVE 12 14 TT BIKE 13 REVEALED The Norton V4 that will tackle the Senior and Superbike Isle of Man TT races is virtually new from the ground up By Andy Downes real in three weeks’ time. WHAT’S Boss Garner is adamant the TT is orton is putting the fin- vital to Norton – not just to honour ishing touches to the first THE STORY? the marque’s heritage but to secure of two V4 racers that will the future development of the firm. contest the 2013 Isle of ■ Norton was brought back He added: “We took some stick last Man TT in just three into British hands in 2009. year because people weren’t happy that N weeks, with virtually After two previous attempts, we were using an Aprilia engine and a every part of the bikes Norton is back at the TT in just Spondon chassis. But we always said it being new for this year. a few weeks with two almost was a learning year and there was no The team hope the two unsilenced completely new 1000cc V4 way I was going to spend a lot of money 200bhp monsters will be good enough bikes, two riders and a bundle for what we knew was just a chance for to bring credible results for the team, of determination to make this us to see what it was all about. after a difficult 2012 campaign where the start of a new racing era for “That’s one of the things about the bike’s planned race debut was the firm. Norton that people don’t seem to un- scuppered by the cancellation of the derstand. We don’t spend money on Senior race. The V4s will be ridden by things we don’t need. I spend the Ian Mackman, who rode the bike last money like it’s my own for a very good year, and new recruit Dan Hegarty. reason... it bloody well is!” This year will be the second time the iconic British brand has competed with Norton’s not going to a bike powered by a 1000cc V4 that’s win, so why race? essentially an Aprilia RSV4 superbike Norton knows full well it’s not going engine. Last year’s event was a test and to win the race this year but that’s not data gathering process, but Norton are the point of making another go of it. looking to make progress this year. Garner explained: “The foremost reason The new SG2 model has a host of is that we are all bikers and we love it. modifications over the first-generation There wouldn’t be any way of going to SG1, with all changes gleaned from the the TT, with all of the work and time huge learning curve the team experi- INTL. PRESS PACEMAKER that has to go into it, otherwise. The enced during last year’s event. Ian Mackman’s hopes of a 2012 TT second is the chance to try out new The bike has an all-new chassis replica were thwarted by the rain engineering things that will be of use with redesigned swingarm and Öh- to Norton as the brand continues to lins suspension that can run in pas- expand and develop into the future. sive, semi-active or even fully active promised ourselves we would be back. “The TT and racing in general is a modes. Norton has also worked to We also said there was no way we were fantastic proving ground and there improve aerodynamics, increase fuel going to leave it as late as last year to be are advantages in taking part for that capacity and have introduced an F1- ready and to some degree we have done reason. The active/semi-active suspen- derived electronics control system for that right. We are massively ahead of sion we are developing and the new 5. Name: Joe Adams 10. Name: Johnny Cusack the engine. where we were this time last year, the ISR brakes are a good example of this.