In the beginning came the Honda CB500F naked and CBR500R sports, now here's the adventure-styled 'X' version of Honda's new twin. Was it worth the wait? brightcove.createExperiences();
The Manx government has said there are no plans for a national speed limit after a coroner accused it of “putting innocent lives at unacceptable risk”. Coroner of Inquests John Needham said the government had a duty “to protect all...
Minor traffic offences will be dealt with by new dedicated courts under plans announced by the Government today.Setting up special traffic courts will free up magistrates to deal with more serious cases, according to the Ministry of Justice.About half a...
Take the useful, liquid-cooled, four-stroke single out of the popular, learner friendly CBR250R and create a proper trailie around it (the CRF250L). Then let's go one step further and make a supermoto out of it - the result is this,...
MCN has one of the UK’s largest market places for used bikes. If you are thinking about selling your bike, make sure you sell with us to get the best price without spending a fortune or wasting loads of time....
Bad news for fans of the legendary German MZ marque. Despite positive noises at last year’s Milan Show and meetings, reportedly, with more than 30 possible investers, the historic firm from Zschopau has been declared insolvent. According to the official...
Lap time: 1:46.7Top speed at end of straight: 164.01mphMax braking (g): 1.19Max lean: 50.94 Why it’s so specialDucati built this homologation special for World Superbike racing. It shares the same Marchesini wheels, Ohlins electronically-adjustable suspension and Brembo monoblocs as the...
Norton has cut the waiting time for new orders of the Commando 961 to six months; the shortest time since the British firm was reborn in 2009 thanks to improved parts supply. Norton has not only cut the waiting time...
You’ve done all the necessary checks, handed over your cash, found the best insurance deal through MCN Compare (and claimed your free T-shirt!*) and now you own a brand new (to you) second hand bike. What’s the first thing you...
Another weekend, another trip down to Somerset to catch-up with friends and family. It was also another weekend when the heavens have opened and I’ve had to ride the F800GT down in the pouring rain. And hailstones. Come to think...
Fancy smooth sailing to the 2013 Le Mans 24-hour race and free entry to the Bugatti race track? Brittany Ferries (www.brittanyferries.com/biketouring) and Le Mans tour operator Travel Destinations (www.traveldestinations.co.uk) have teamed up to offer one lucky reader the chance to...
Lap time: 1:47.7Top speed at end of straight: 167.7mphMax braking (g): 1.29Max lean: 46.85 Why it’s so specialIt’s the first sports bike to be produced with semi-active suspension. The damping inside the HP4’s Sachs forks and rear shock adjusts as...
These are the first pictures to emerge of Bimota's upcoming supercharged DB11 VLX, under development, taken by a factory insider. The completed machine is expected to go on sale early next year. The standard DB11 is currently the Italian firm's...
Another sign of the huge growth of motorcycling in India and Asia came this week with Royal Enfield opening an all-new plant and revealing plans to produce up to 250,000 motorcycles a year –more than twice BMW or KTM’s output...
The Vintage Motor Cycle Club’s Festival of 1000 bikes is kicking of its return to Mallory Park on July 12-14 with a spectacular MCN competition. One lucky reader will be in with a chance of meeting GP, WSB and TT...
Isle of Man bus drivers are planning to strike during the TT fortnight. Strike days will be announced seven days in advance and timed to cause maximum disruption, according to Unite the Union. Bobby Morton, Unite’s national officer for passenger...
There may be no end in sight to the economic gloom but at least we can escape for a few hours on a track. As long as it’s not with the firm Easytrack. Gift vouchers for track days with the...
Watching professional racers glide around a track with incredible grace and finesse can leave even the quickest of us in awe. Riding on track is a beautiful thing, but when it comes to our turn, it can be frustrating when...
Lap time: 1:49.8Top speed at end of straight: 164.4mphMax braking (g): 1.38Max lean: 48.2 Why it’s so specialThe 1199R and HP4 may be the latest and greatest superbikes to arrive, but neither can boast two World Superbike championships like the...
Irish custom bike builders Medaza Cycles took top honours last weekend at the AMD World Custom Bike Building Championships in Germany with this stunning Guzzi powered creation called Rondine. Based around a single cylinder 500cc Nuovo Falcone engine, the bike...
MCN is looking for Ducati ST owners for an upcoming feature! We need Ducati ST2, ST3 and ST4/ST4S owners Just fill out the questionnaire below and email it with a head and shoulder photograph of yourself to: mcn.news@motorcyclenews.com We'll be...
In this week's MCN, out May 15, we have the ultimate used guide to the best bikes available for under £5000. We also test the new adventure-styled Honda CB500X. Also this week: New high-powered Triumph Bonneville spied and Suzuki's new...
In this week’s paper I report how the Burgman’s heated grips could be warmer. Just about every journalist on the launch in Scotland seemed to agree on the point. Some said they seemed to work intermittently. Others questioned whether they...
"I'd like a bit more acceleration from my Honda CB1000R – and I'm not really bothered about top speed (so long as it'll still cruise at 90mph). What's the best way to change the gearing – bigger rear sprocket, or...
Lap time: 1:53.86Top speed at end of straight: 163.6mphMax braking (g): 1.19Max lean: 41.62 Why it’s so specialMV Agusta F4s are the ultimate poster bikes. The iconic Massimo Tamburini-designed lines haven’t really changed over the years, just tweaked, refined and...
This is the first look at the all-new, eagerly awaited Indian Chief, as developed by Victory owners Polaris and set, MCN can reveal, to be publicly unveiled at Sturgis this August. The silhouette picture and teaser video were released on...
122 of the world’s finest custom bikes were on display last weekend as the 10th annual AMD World Custom Bike Championships kicked off in Essen, Germany. 23 countries were represented in the five competition classes with motorcycles, scooters and sidecars...
My week of riding has begun, destination Northern Italy. Sitting in the sunshine at Folkstone waiting for my slot on the Chunnel makes me realise what biking is all about. This years seemly endless winter made me forget the appeal...
Police have arrested a man over pictures of a mock Ku Klux Klan lynching in front of a motorcycle club's crest. The photographs were taken at a neo-Nazi music gig after a so-called ‘white pride’ march by members of the...
As well as its promised ‘crossplane’ three-cylinder engine Yamaha is preparing a -parallel-twin and further variations on the R1’s four-cylinder crossplane motor to create an entire family of characterful new motors. With its three-cylinder concept engine, revealed at last autumn’s...
These are ‘Top Trump’ superbikes – the kind of machines you’ll probably only ever see in pictures and rarely in the flesh. The new Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC, BMW HP4 Carbon, Ducati 1199R Panigale and MV Agusta F4RR are all...
I’d forgotten how dirty a minimalistic bike like the Street Triple R can get. I was caught out in a rain storm yesterday and within half an hour the Triumph looked like it had been taken down a farm track,...
Not sure what it is with the local councils, they must have come into money, three of the roads I used have been re-surfaced and are covered in chippings. A bugger to ride over and getting peppered by oncoming traffic...
After BT Sport announced that they have secured the TV rights to MotoGP from 2014, we wanted to work out just how easy it will be to watch first class motorcycle racing here in the UK. As you can see,...
It’s a café racer, the acceptable face of Harley Sportster ownership, a two-wheeled AC Cobra and an exclusive limited edition. It’s also a celebration of 75 years of Britain’s most famous transport café and expensive. This café racer is a...
Plans to increase fines for using a phone while driving need to be backed up by tougher enforcement, according to the Institute of Advanced Motorists. Fixed penalty fines for a variety of motoring offences will rise from £60 to £90,...
BMW’s soon-to-be-launched R1200-based café racer – designed to celebrate 90 years since the firm launched its first bike – will be called the NineT. It’s been months since BMW revealed its plans to launch the new bike, which is set...
In just a few days I am heading to Italy on the Multistrada 1200 S Touring and I am getting the final bits sorted. I've done loads of European riding in the past and I much prefer to get all...
KTM has confirmed that its cheeky electric E-SPEED concept scooter, which was shown at the Tokyo show, will be joining the range line-up as a 2015 model. Harald Plöckinger, KTM Executive Board Member for Production and Business Development, said: “We believe...
A motorcyclist has been jailed for eight months after boasting on a forum about lying to police over a speeding offence. Andrew Kelly, 37, was filmed speeding at 122mph by a speed camera van but told police a prospective buyer...
"This is not a question about whether the punishment fits the crime, my personal view is 'no way', it’s what the thought of jail has done to my behaviour. "I’ve enjoyed powerful bikes for a good many years now and...
My only fear with Honda's CBR500R was whether it would be a little too tame and that I'd get bored with it all-too quickly. Just over a month and 1000 miles in I can categorically state that I'm still loving...
BT Sport’s successful bid for the live MotoGP TV rights in the UK in 2014 will be confirmed this week, with MCN learning the multi-million pound deal will be formally announced in London tomorrow (Thursday). But with a lot of...
Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service are offering free 'Biker Down' courses to local riders. The courses, which last approx 3 hours, include first aid, collision scene management and a discussion on why other road users sometimes don't see us and...
Eight years ago Valentino Rossi won the Jerez MotoGP race from Sete Gibernau with a hard final corner overtake that put the Spainiard in the gravel. Sunday's Jerez race saw a near-repeat of the incident, with Marquez forcing Lorenzo wide...
You might think your licence would be safe on a scooter but I’ve already been in trouble with the rozzers a week after picking mine up. The Suzuki Burgman 650 ABS Executive has two automatic modes: Drive and Power....
We'd like to hear from owners of the '09 '10 Triumph Bonneville SE and '06/'07/'08 Triumph Speed Triple for a forthcoming feature in MCN. We want to know why you bought the bike, what you like about it and what,...
MCN have an exclusive this week on the new Norton TT racer, which they're running two of at this year's event. However, the bike is a prototype only machine, and won't be on the roads any time soon. So, we...
MCN is looking for Aprilia RSV owners for an upcoming feature! We need: Original model (RSV-R and RSV) 1998 - 2003 Twin pipe model (RSV-R and RSV-R Factory) 2004 - 2010 V4 RSV4-R and Factory 2009 - current Just fill...
Vote for May’s Bike Shop Star of the month and be in with a chance of winning a pair of BSB tickets. MCN are on the look-out for men and women in the motorcycle trade who have gone that extra...
The roads are a dangerous place for a biker these days, with more traffic than ever. So, would you ever let your kids ride a bike? Would you worry about their safety too much? Or do you jsut let them...
In this week's MCN, out May 8th, we reveal Norton's 2013 TT plans. We look at BMW's new 800 GS, and we test Ducati's Hyperstrada. Also this week: Yamaha FJR 1300 old vs new test, all the latest news, and...
If someone told me a few years ago, I’d want a bike with panniers and a centre stand, I’d have thought they were mad. But here I am, about to spend the summer with the 2013 Ducati Hyperstrada – a...
Two weeks in to ownership of the Street Triple R and I'm cementing the bond with the bike. I'm remembering the little joys of owning a Triumph, like the braided steel brake hoses and tyre valves mounted at 90 degrees to the...
My son Andrew is travelling around the world on his 1991 Yamaha Tenera motorcycle. His gearbox broke so for the last six weeks he has been stranded in Temuco whilst he could source out the parts he required to fix...
I arrived back from my trip to Normandy with the bike a little over the first service mileage of 600 so instead of being out in the lovely sunshine, getting more miles under my belt and practising my skills, the...
There's still snow on the fields as I head out onto the back lanes of Cambridgeshire. It's four days since the near-washout of the track launch and this new CBR600RR -- just 90 miles on the clock -- is passing...
Six years ago, this British design was going to be the future of superbikes. So where is it? The trouble with bold claims is they can come back to haunt you. If you say you’re making the fastest, lightest and...
Norton is putting the finishing touches to the latest V4 race it will contest the 2013 Isle of Man TT in just three weeks with virtually every part of the bike new for this year. The team hope the unsilenced,...
Times are changing. A once bland and boring middle-weight class has morphed into one of the most exciting and competitive bike genres today, breeding a new wave of superior machinery. Enter the Kawasaki Z800. Aggressive in all its naked glory,...
This year is going to epic, one I’m going to look back on for years to come and it’s mainly going to be down to my lovely ZX-6R. Just last week I took delivery of my new Kawasaki and unusually...
Do not swear. I know I can’t, but I’m bursting to. The Triumph Street Triple R I’m running for the year is absolutely [insert your swear word of choice here] brilliant. I was in love with it within a quarter-mile...
For acceleration it’s two wheels, but what about braking? Down the pub, we all like to imagine ours is the best. But in a no-holds-barred shoot-out, who gets there? Let’s start at the start. Bikes launch phenomenally well, putting all...
Phil West, Executive Editor, is currently testing Honda’s new CB500X, the adventure styled version of it’s new 500 twin A2 licence friendly three bike range, near Barcelona in Spain. These are his first impressions. ‘Honda expect the new X version...
BMW has given the middleweight F800GS the full Adventure-spec going over for the first time so the manufacturer for the first time has a bike to tackle the Triumph Tiger 800 XC. The new F800GS Adventure marks the first time...
After a bit of a false start, racing season is properly upon us! With MotoGP, WSB and BSB in full swing and the road races just around the corner, we want to know - what are you going to see...
There's been a huge surge recently in the number of people recording their daily rides, using bike and helmet cameras to allow them to record what other road users (and themselves) are up to. But it's a double edged sword...
Michael recently took his KTM 300EXC long termer out for some off road practice at Enduroland. here what he has to say about the bike's performance now he's had a chance to fettle and re-jet it. Blog13 | ADVENTURE13
"I’ve owned dozens of bikes and I’ve enjoyed most of them, but I’m yet to find 'the one'. My brother has gone back to the original R1 4XV saying it’s the only bike he’s ever had a 'special connection' with....
Whether or not a bike should be run in is one of the perennial questions of biking, with advice from different people telling you different things. Everything from following the guidelines to the letter, to riding it normally, to ragging...
According to the Asphalt Industry Alliance (no, me neither) there are 2.2million potholes on the UKs roads, it’s going to cost £113million to fix them all and there has been £32million of damage to vehicles in the past year.That sounds...
The Tiger is the unsung hero of the Hinckley triumph range. Where the iconic Speed Triple is the bike that captures the headlines, believe it or not the Tiger has been merrily going about its business in the background for...
The Motorcycle Industry Association and leading manufacturers are again joining forces to offer a ‘try-out’ day for off-road novices next month. The Motorcycle Off-Road Experience takes place near Northampton from June 13-16 and sees Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, Suzuki and Yamaha...
MCN is looking for Triumph Bonneville owners for an upcoming feature! We need 2008-2009 Triumph Bonneville T100 or SE models. Just fill out the questionnaire below and email it with a head and shoulder photograph of yourself to: mcn.news@motorcyclenews.com We'll...
12-time world trials champion Dougie Lampkin recently visited Red Bull Racing headquarters in Milton Keynes, because when someone gives you the opportunity to use a multi-million pound F1 winning car as a trials obstacle, you take it!
In this week's MCN, out May 1st, we have the ultimate superbike test, heading to Italy to pit The Ducati Panigale R against its rivals. We have a free 48-page Adventure Bike Yearbook, with all you need to know on...
They may be about as relevant in the UK as a 50ft Winnebago or eight-litre SUV but, if you hadn’t cottoned on already, ‘baggers’ - or be-bagged or panniered cruisers designed for comfort and custom style and, usually, also with Plexiglass...
Our online article posted 25th April, titled: Insurance Tips, Making Modifications to your Bike, gave incorrect details relating to Bennetts' modifications policy. Bennetts have issued the following statement in clarification. In order to meet the needs of even more UK bikers,...
What better way to run in the new Yamaha Fazer 8 than to pop over to Normandy for a three day rider training work shop with Nigel, nicknamed Red Leader, from Advanced Motorcycle Training! I took collection of the bike...
Motorcyclists will get smaller pay-outs for injury claims because of new legislation introduced last week, according to a solicitor. Personal injury solicitor Ed Fletcher says compensation will be slashed following a ban on so-called referral fees, paid by law firms...
Aspiring Dakar competitors rubbed shoulders with race veterans and event organisers at the Heritage Motor Centre in Warwickshire on Friday at the UK tour of 2014 Dakar. ASO, the organisation that runs the Dakar have been working their way around...
MCN is looking for Honda CBR600RR owners for an upcoming feature! We need 2008 and 2009 RR models. Just fill out the questionnaire below and email it with a head and shoulder photograph of yourself to: mcn.news@motorcyclenews.com We'll be using...
There's still time to claim your free retro MCN t-shirt and entry to win £1000 worth of Oxford goodies when you purchase motorcycle insurance from MCN Compare before April 30. Quickly compare prices from 43 top insurance companies today by...
The last couple of months haven’t been easy. I’ve seen my colleagues at MCN come bouncing into the office having received their long term test bikes for the year. I however have been forced to do my commute up the...
MCN is on the launch of Suzuki's new Burgman 650 ABS Executive at Glen Coe in Scotland. The luxury maxi scooter has undergone the biggest changes since its introduction a decade ago. The engine is the same 638cc parallel twin but...
1. Kawasaki Z800Bystanders gawp at the new Z800 and take photographs in this preposterous video from Kawasaki Australia. It's as though they've found a portal to another universe and not a mass production motorcycle. A trucker radios his mates and weirdly...
There are now more than 2000 miles on the clock of the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Touring and until last week it felt like every single one of them had been done with teeth gritted against the harsh winter.The bike...
“The ride to work is going to be a blast on the nimble triple – and the ride home again is going to be even better. Dear A1, you’ll not be seeing much of me.” The grey and red Triumph...
Trackday specialists Focused Events have unveiled a very special trackday instruction BMW F800, complete with outriggers! The new 'Cornering Techniques System' bike will be used as part of their teaching program to help instill confidence while teaching bike position. Speaking...
The trusty 250cc trailie obediently sat at motorcycling's side for years. Ready, resilient, hard-wearing and undemanding, willing to shepherd new riders into the fold or accompany the experienced on adventures they wouldn't risk their pride and joy on. Its reward?...
Overlanders website Horizons Unlimited are once again hosting the UK’s premier travel event, the HUBB UK. In its 13th year the popular gathering will take place from May 30 to June 2 at the Donington Park Farmhouse Hotel. Whether you’re...
Donington Park is offering MCN readers a red hot deal on 2013 WSB tickets. Order your weekend or Sunday, May 26 tickets online using the offer code MCNDP13 and you’ll get £10 off each ticket ordered and a Friday ticket for...
This is a warning to all motorcycle riders to check their insurance terms carefully. I have been riding and insuring motorcycles for some 35 years now and have always been able to declare the bike as garaged. In the beginning...
Last month MCN travelled to Austin, Texas, for our first ride of Ducati's new 1199R, their ultimate superbike. Check out what road tester Michael Neeves thought of the bike around MotoGP's newest circuit. brightcove.createExperiences();
A couple of years ago I asked an MCN work experience girl what she thought of motorcyclists. I was hoping she’d use words like ‘cool’, ‘exciting’, perhaps even ‘sexy’ but instead she said, “They’re all old blokes... you think they...
