10 things motorcycling’s lost since the turn of the century

1. A fear of motorcycles built in Asia
The way we view motorcycle manufacturing in Asia has changed significantly since the turn of the century. Once, riders of mainstream marque motorcycles would turn their noses up at a machine manufactured in China, India, Korea or Taiwan. These days, it’s less likely to spot a motorcycle on Australian roads that hasn’t been produced in Asia, either at a firm’s Asian-based production plant or under a partnership agreement with one of the region’s large and successful manufacturers. Once confined to lesser known brands such as SYM, Loncin, Hyosung and Daelim, these days pretty much everyone’s doing it; Honda, Triumph, KTM, BMW and Harley-Davidson to name just a few.

2. Spirit of Tasmania III
There was a collective cheer from New South Wales riders when it was announced the Spirit of Tasmania would operate a third vessel between Sydney’s Darling Harbour and Devonport on the Apple Isle. Riders and their motorcycles could embark in the evening and wake up the following morning in what is arguably Australia’s best motorcycling state. It was launched in 2004 but, to the disappointment of many two-wheeled fans, was discontinued two short later in 2006.

3. A lag between gear changes
It was only a couple of years ago when bike-mad children were making the same laboured motorbike noises that we made as kids, accelerating through the gearbox; Braaaaaaaaaap-braaaaaaaaaap-braaaaaaaaap. But it won’t be long before the next generation of would-be bike riders are making different noises, noises which reflect the changing technology and in this case, the quickshifter. Gone are the days of the braaaap-braaaaap-braaaap and in are the seamless shifting days of the daaaadaaaadaaaaaa.

4. Two-stroke grand prix racing
The 2001 Rio Grand Prix was the last 500cc two-stroke race in some 53 seasons of Grand Prix racing before the whole shebang changed over to the newly named MotoGP category, the machinery superseded by cleaner, greener 990cc four-strokes for the 2002 season. The intermediate 250cc two-stroke category would survive another eight seasons before it, too, was superseded by 600cc four-strokes in 2010, while the smallest 125cc category would last another two years, with 250cc four-strokes eventually killing of the two-strokers once and for all in 2012. The last 125cc world champ was Spain’s Nicolás Terol, the final 250cc world champ was Japan’s Hiroshi Aoyama, while the last-ever 500cc world champ was Valentino Rossi.

5. Skids, carburetors and throttle cables
Imagine knowing at the turn of the century that skids, carbies and throttle cables would be antiquated technology come the end of 2017. Between the now-mandated anti-lock braking systems and highly sophisticated traction control systems which can both be actuated by elaborate six-axis lean-angle sensitive computerised systems, the days of a skid – either intentional or accidental — are virtually over. Bikes employing an oh-so mechanical carburetor are getting very rare this end of the decade and you’d be hard pressed to find five bikes on a showroom floor in this country with an opening and closing throttle cable.

6. Ducati V-twin superbikes
In 1999, Carl Fogarty had wrapped up his unprecedented fourth world superbike title on the Ducati 916, Colin Edwards had scored his maiden championship on the V-twin engined Honda VTR1000R SP2 in 2000 before our own Troy Bayliss snatched it back for Ducati the following year — V-twin super bikes was where it was at and no-one did it better than Bologna-based Ducati brand. Ducati had built V-twin powered bikes since the very early 1970s and so, in 2017 when word got out that its flagship Panigale superbike would switch to a V4 configuration, more than a few eyebrows were raised. The firm will continue to build V-twin machinery in its various road-going model platforms, but as far as WorldSBK grids go, it’ll be all V4 from 2019 onwards.

7. Buell, EBR, Eric Buell Racing
Eric Buell’s labour of love, the on-again off-again various iterations of his motorcycle marque had a turbulent time during the noughties, ultimately ending its eventual and final demise just this year. In 2006, under Harley-Davidson ownership, the 100,000th American-made Buell rolled off the production line, but almost 37,000 units later in 2009, H-D killed of the innovative brand. Less than a month later, its namesake Eric Buell announced he would relaunch the brand as Eric Buell Racing, or EBR, before it went into receivership in 2015. In 2016, it was acquired by Liquid Asset Partners which set about reviving the brand, before calling it quits in May this year. But don’t bet on it rising one day from the ashes once (or twice) more.

8. Screaming 600cc sportsbikes
Well, it’s not entirely true. Yamaha’s new-for-2017 YZF-R6 is a beautifully executed 600cc inline-four cylinder sportsbike. But it’s the very last of a long and successful line of Supersport machinery, with the recently introduced Euro4 emission regulations more or less making it impossible for manufacturers to get the high-revving engines to meet the strict rules. Yamaha persisted and succeeded, while each and every other brand quietly killed of their contender. And while the tuning fork brand snuck under 2017’s Euro4 bar, it almost certainly won’t be able to meet Euro5’s even stricter regulations which will be introduced from 2020.

9. 30 out of the 31 riders to score points in the 2000 500cc World Championship
Of course when we say ‘lost’, we mean no longer racing professionally. The ever-green Valentino Rossi the only bloke out of the 2000 championship still gunning for a world title. John McGuinness scored three points at the 2000 British Grand Prix and it could be argued he is still racing professionally, but until he signs a contract for the 2018 road racing season, he’s still sidelined. Alex Barros is still riding in his native Brazilian Superbike Championship and Jeremy McWilliams is doing some historic racing, though neither of them professionally. Meanwhile, Luca Cadalora, Sete Gibernau and Loris Capirossi are all still working within the grand prix paddock in various capacities, though none of them as riders.

10. The nicest bloke in the paddock
A lot of them, actually. As well as the tragic loss of kind and hard-working 2006 MotoGP World champ Nicky Hayden earlier this year, the grand prix paddock has lost far too many likeable riders this century already; Daijiro Kato (2003), Shoya Tomizawa (2010), Marco Simoncelli (2011) and Luis Salom (2016) all lost their lives. While the World Superbike Championship has enjoyed a fatality-free 21st Century, elsewhere there have been far too many to mention. Between European, Asian and South American domestic series’ as well as the World Endurance Championship, Irish Road Racing and various other international and national events including the notorious Dakar Rally and Isle of Man TT, motorcycling has mourned the loss of some 180 riders in the last 17 years.