PH2 news round-up

Records on the way and bigger engined 2017 Harleys revealed

If you have been wondering why the news about Guy Martin's land speed record has gone rather quiet it's because the attempt has been delayed. Initially scheduled for late August, the salt at Bonneville hasn't been playing ball and, according to Triumph, the attempt has been delayed until mid-September. When you are looking at going near to 400mph, caution is certainly the way forward! More news on this when it happens, but Guy isn't the only Brit looking at getting into the news this year.

Trials legend Dougie Lampkin is busy training for an attempt at lapping the TT course, all 37.73-miles of it, on one wheel! Riding a specially modified Vertigo 300cc trials bike with a larger tank, the 12-times world trials champion will make his attempt live on sponsor Red Bull's TV channel. Rather than close the roads, Dougie will instead be surrounded by a rolling road block around the Mountain course. The attempt will happen on September 24 and should take around two hours to complete at an average speed of about 20mph. And no, Dougie isn't the first to attempt this feat. Back in the 1970s Dave 'The Wheelie King' Taylor successfully mono-ed his way around the TT course.

And now news of a metal nature. As usual Harley-Davidson is the first manufacturer to show its 2017 models. Using a new engine called the Milwaukee-Eight, the firm has shown three new touring models powered by 1,745cc and 1,870cc Custom Vehicle Operations versions of the motor. The new engine is a ground-up new motor with 11 per cent more torque and a four-valve head for a claimed 50 per cent improvement in gas flow. Economy is also said to be improved. The engine will feature In Road Glide, Road King, Electra Glide and Street Glide models with a water-cooled variation in certain models. Just look for '107' or '114' written on the air intake!

And now over to BMW. The insiders have been hard at work and news has leaked out about two new retro BMWs. Based around the R nineT platform (just like the recent Scrambler) the R nineT Racer is believed to be a cafe racer with a small nose fairing like the original Roland Sands Concept 90 bike. Meanwhile the R nineT Pure is inspired by the original G/S but will be pretty basic in its spec to appeal to those who want to customise their R nineT. Hopefully it will look like the recent stunning Lac Rose concept model.

And, as if that wasn't enough, remember this weekend is the British round of the MotoGP series at Silverstone. Can Cal Crutchlow do it again? The good news for fans is the weather is predicted to be dry. Which is bad news for the British riders' chance of success... Retro fans will be pleased to hear the Pro-Am RD250LC race will run again and contains a whole host of stars, including Niall Mackenzie, Alan 'Mighty Mouse' Carter, Dek 'Cal's dad' Crutchlow, Donnie McLeod and loads more. Tickets for Silverstone can be bought from here.