On Throttle New Zealand

Supersport bikes are an interesting breed. Managing to strike a balance of performance, comfort, and looks while also being rideable every day is the Holy Grail for sport bike manufacturers. MV Agusta is one manufacturer that has the performance side nailed. With plenty of motorsport success in its history it knows its stuff when it comes to making bikes go fast, and now — thanks to MV’s latest updates in the electronics package — MV’s bikes are more rideable than ever. With a beautiful trellis frame and lightweight building materials the F3 weighs in at a featherweight 173kg. Compared with my daily ride, when I pushed the bike into the safety of the garage at home the F3 felt closer to a push bike than a motorcycle. Where the stereotype of a supersport tends to be a bike with peaky power all in the top of the rev range, the F3’s 798cc inline triple cylinder produces 88 Nm of torque helping to propel the bike forward rapidly, even at low RPMs. Match th...

Sometimes, when a manufacturer tries to go for a certain look, they miss the mark by quite a margin. Luckily for me, I found when jumping aboard the new Yamaha Bolt XVS950 that the nail was well and truly hit on the head when it came to the factory bobber. For those not in the know, a bobber is a motorcycle with a 'bobbed' rear fender, extra-low slung seat and minimalistic styling. The Bolt R-Spec, as tested, nails that description. The minimalistic nature of the Bolt R-Spec means that when you look down between the firm but comfortable saddle and the 12L fuel tank you see the backbone of the bike and the huge DOHC cylinder head of the 942cc engine. Riding the bike I wasn't quite sure where to position my knees. With a seat height of only 690mm and comparatively high bars the result is a menacing, slightly hunched riding position which made me feel like I was riding straight out of "Sons of Anarchy". The footpegs are typical of Japanese ...

Photos by Ted Baghurst A kick starter... when was the last time you HAD to use a kick starter? For me the answer is never. Sure I've ridden kick-started bikes, but the last time I did I was still under 10 and my cousin started it for me before I promptly crashed it into an electric fence. With the 2014 Yamaha SR400 you have no option; there is only a kick starter to get this 399cc thumper going. Don't worry though; it's a piece of cake and incredibly rewarding to kick the SR400 into life . Yamaha NZ have brought back the classic SR400 with modern touches like electronic fuel injection, but you won’t be thumbing an electric starter to get it running, no sir. Yamaha are putting the classic feel back into the segment by giving it a kick starter only. Better start warming up that right leg then. The soulful little thumper has been around since 1978 in one form or another. Displacing 399cc from its 17.1kW air-cooled single cylinder which; apart from...

Photo by Ted Baghurst (http://tedbaghurst.com/) Holden's new compact SUV the Trax is a funny thing. About the size of a mid sized hatchback but much much higher the Trax is easy to get in and out of like most SUVs. Major differences with the Holden Trax to other SUV's however is the lack of a rear axle and all wheel drive. Which I will admit was rather scary to look under the rear of the car to see the rear wheels appear to only be connected to the rear struts, much like the superstrut system on some Toyota models. The power is very urban friendly, and we even managed to get the wheels spinning with the TCS on in the atrocious weather we had in Auckland on the day that we went out to shoot it. Styling wise it looks very much as part of GM's stable even though it was designed by a chap in Australia. The only Australian things I managed to take from the design of the Trax is the rear bumper shares the same silver insert as the VE Commodore and even risking my integri...