On the eve of the World Superbikes at Silverstone and with the mouthwatering, all-new Ducati 1199 in prospect, we reckoned there was no better time to look back at the benchmark bikes that gave the Bologna factory such huge success over the years on both road and track. And who better to re-appraise the family tree of Duke superbikes than ...
- Motorcycle News
- First rides & tests
- 27 July 2011
Tsubaki Racing Pro Chain (£133.95) and Renthal Ultra light front (£12.88) and rear (£25.32) sprocketsMiles covered/time: 130/one week racing at the North West 200 What’s good: Fitting an aftermarket chain and sprockets can reduce weight and even increase peak performance by a few BHP. Secondly when road racing you need a quality chain and cogs – the last thing you ...
- Motorcycle Products
- Parts & accessories
- 22 July 2011
KTM and MCN will be making road racing history at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough this weekend, as Senior Road Tester Adam Child will be competing in the historic 'Cock of the North' meeting on board KTM's new 1190 RC8R Track. This will be the first time a KTM has been road raced in England, and the first time a KTM has ...
- Motorcycle News
- New bikes
- 21 July 2011
Current 125GP rising star Taylor Mackenzie took delivery of a brand new KTM 125 Duke at Donington Park yesterday (Wednesday), and was immediately out on track. Taylor only passed his CBT the previous day and was so impressed by the Duke he rode it away from Donington for more road miles after completing three sessions on track. Taylor told MCN ...
- Motorcycle News
- New bikes
- 14 July 2011
Race Products race fairing, from £199Miles covered/time: 130 miles of racing at North West 200/one week What’s good: For my North West 200 debut earlier this year, I followed the experts at TAS Suzuki, plus Ryan Farquhar and Connor Cummings – and even Castrol Honda – who all use Race Products bodywork. The bike fairing isn’t too flimsy and doesn’t feel ...
- Motorcycle Products
- Parts & accessories
- 13 July 2011
My road racing season continues but this time at the tight and twisty Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough. Oliver’s Mount is the last true road racing circuit left in the UK, nearly 2.4 miles of park road, narrow in places with a few jumps thrown in for good measure. I was there competing in the modern open class, as part of the ...
- Motorcycle News
- First rides & tests
- 12 July 2011
Shaw Harley-Davidson have been busy again creating this mouth-watering masterpiece! The Sportster Custom XLST3 is based on a 2011 XL1200N, and is littered with parts from Performance Machine Wheels and Roland Sands. It’s gone onto win the London International Custom bike show, in the modified Harley-Davidson class, and 4th in the Irish International custom show. Senior road tester Michael Neeves ...
- Motorcycle News
- Custom & modified bikes
- 03 June 2011
After a busy week racing at the North West, I was invited by Harley-Davidson to be guest rider in the XR1200 Trophy at Thruxton – and I jumped at the chance. Racing in front of a packed BSB audience on the UK’s fastest track? How could I turn it down? Here are a few highlights of my weekend and hopefully ...
- Motorcycle News
- First rides & tests
- 03 June 2011
This is the horrifying moment last night when TT rider Paul Shoesmith entered pit lane at 150mph by mistake. Apparently Shoesmith – on board his Ice Valley BMW S1000RR – was blinded by the sun and was slightly off line. The experienced TT rider went on to record a best lap last night of 118.726 – impressive after such a ...
- Motorcycle News
- General news
- 01 June 2011
Husqvarna's new SMR511 is the now BMW-owned firm's most radical track-ready supermoto to date. At just 118kg it's radically light, hughly impractical, and, for a fairly basic single-cylinder, eye-wateringly pricey, too, at £7299. It's race bike origins are visible everywhere - the only instruments you get are digital speedo, trip meter and hard-to-read lights. There's one light for main beam, ...
- Motorcycle News
- First rides & tests
- 27 May 2011
