ROAD NEWS
POLICE BIKES GET LEANER AND MEANER
N ew Zealand Police has announced that it will be replacing the motorcycles in its fleet with a new variant of Yamaha ’ s rather brilliant all-rounder , the MT09 Tracer . Dubbed the MT09TRAP ( with the P standing for Police , not speed ‘ trap ’ as the editor
suggested ...), the new Tracers will start rolling out into the police fleet over the coming months with the first two promised to be on the road before July . The MT09TRAP brings to the table a significantly lighter , more performanceoriented package to the last bikes to join the police fleet in 2015 , the Honda ST1300 . In fact , the Yamaha is a full 106kg lighter than the Honda and features useful tech including three rider modes , traction control and a 115hp triple housed in a nimble chassis . According to Stuff , the New Zealand police fleet utilises just over two dozen motorcycles with the majority based in Auckland with the bikes mainly used for road policing and VIP escort duties . The announcement comes at the same time that the NZ Police announced that it will be moving to Skoda for its four-wheeled patrol car needs with General Motors officially killing off Holden for good this year . No Holden means no more iconic Commodore cop cars .
BIKE SALES BOUNCE BACK IN 2020
I t seems with global travel off the cards , many Kiwi motorcyclists are instead investing in adventure closer to home . According to sales data from the Motor Industry Association , 2020 has been one of the best years for motorcycle sales in the past
decade , with 6487 new motorcycles hitting the road up to November . By comparison , the best year on record in the past 10 years was 2017 with 6538 new bikes hitting the roads . Leading the sales charge in 2020 is the adventure class , with Yamaha ’ s new Tenere 700 and Suzuki ’ s venerable old DR650SE leading the charge with 195 Tenere ’ s and 175 DR650s hitting the road this year . As previously reported , Learner Approved Motorcycles make up the majority of new bikes sold in New Zealand , with firm favourites of Kiwi Riders still being Kawasaki ’ s Ninja 400 ( 147 ), Suzuki ’ s GSX150 ( 131 ), Yamaha ’ s YZF-R3 ( 131 ), Harley ’ s Street 500 ( 117 ) KTM ’ s Duke 200 ( 103 ) and Royal Enfield ’ s Interceptor 650 ( 97 ). In the big bike world the biggest mover was the Harley-Davidson Low Rider S with 86 units sold . With the month of December still to run , it is certainly looking like a bumper year for Kiwi motorcycle retailers .
KIWI RIDER 95