About MCN

Richard Newland – Editor

With 35 years of riding experience and eighteen years as a bike journalist, Rich has ridden pretty much every new bike of the last two decades and plenty of others beyond – dating right back to the 1930s. His big passion is for sportsbikes from the 1990s and early 2000s, but he also has a real soft spot for big bikes that handle well and can take you places. He has as a worrying penchant for 1000-mile days, and once stupidly rode from Land’s End to John O’Groats and back again without stopping (that’s 1703 miles in 30 hours).

Find out more about Richard Newland here.

Emma Franklin – Deputy Editor

From her earliest memory of crashing a DT125 through a wooden fence in the mid 1980s, Emma’s fascination with two wheels has seen her work on some of the UK’s best-loved motorcycling titles over the past 17 years, before becoming Deputy Editor on the world’s number one biking weekly.

She’s no stranger to trackdays or racing, either.

Find out more about Emma Franklin here.

Gareth Evans – Head of Digital (Motorcycling)

Gareth’s an engineering enthusiast who loves tinkering with most machines, from the modern bikes to the vintage race cars he occasionally gets to compete in, to smart-tech devices, and of course he’s fairly au fait with how websites work too.

But furthermore, Gareth has a keen interest in current affairs, modern sociology and history. In his fleeting moments of spare time he’s a yacht skipper too, and loves testing himself navigating challenging waters in the UK and further afield.

Find out more about Gareth Evans here.

Andy Calton – Group Editor (Motorcycling)

Andy’s been a journalist for over 30 years and a motorcyclist for longer than that!

Andy’s journalistic career has been varied, with stints on local and national newspapers marking his early career. Andy’s had three stints on MCN in various roles and has also worked in the golf market.

He now looks after the Motorcycling division at Bauer Media, covering Bike, Ride and Classic Bike alongside MCN.

Find out more about Andy Calton here.

Michael ‘Neevesy’ Neeves – Chief Road Tester

Neevesy’s been an MCN Road Tester since 2002 and has been riding motorbikes for 35 years. He’s reviewed it all, from mopeds to Rossi’s M1, and everything in between.

He covers tens of thousands of miles a year on the world’s roads and racetracks in his role with MCN, and when he’s not working he’s still on two wheels, racing both modern and classic superbikes for a variety of teams, all around the world.

He’s also a rhyming slang world champion and Rubix cube enthusiast.

Find out more about Neevesy here.

Saffron Wilson – Reporter

Saffron has worked in different roles including marketing in different sectors of the automotive industry including cars, buses and coaches, but always wanted to write about her passion – motorcycles.

She joined MCN in April 2021 just as the pandemic was beginning to calm down. Since then, she’s had a go at off-road, spent time on a track but still rates touring and travelling as her favourite hobby, and uses her long-term test bikes to realise that passion and better inform the consumer of what they may be potentially buying.

Find out more about Saffron Wilson here.

Justin Hayzelden – Product Specialist

Justin Hayzelden has been a regular contributor to MCN since 2009, working as a road tester, roving reporter and feature writer. He has built up a wealth of experience in putting the latest machinery through its paces, as well as subjecting every aspect of motorcycle kit to the rigours of real-world riding.

Justin has ridden on four continents (so far), both as a solo rider and as a tour guide, tackling terrain from the perilous mountain roads of the Himalayas to rugged South African dirt tracks, sweeping North American highways and the glorious passes of the European Alps. He likes nothing more than an early start for a full day in the saddle and takes great pleasure in sniffing out those roads less travelled – to Justin, every bike is an adventure bike.

Find out more about Justin Hayzelden here.

Chris Newbigging – Content Lead (Motorcycling)

Chris is a former editor of Performance Bikes and Practical Sportsbikes magazines, with two decades of professional writing/riding experience, and now heads up MCN’s road testing department.

He has road tested everything from 50cc Vespas (in fetching pink) to world championship race bikes via diesel bikes, hand-change vintage machines and more…

Find out more about Chris Newbigging here.

Dan Sutherland – News Editor

Dan joined the MCN team straight from his studies at the University of Sheffield, having achieved Class One Honours in Journalism Studies and a Gold Standard Level 3 Diploma in Journalism from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ).

With a hunger for the truth and a passion for all things two-wheeled, Dan has reported on everything from breaking new bike news to charity fund raising, as well as attending countless international new model launches. He also loves iridium in all its forms and ’90s sportsbikes.

Find out more about Dan Sutherland here.

Ben Clarke – Assistant Editor (Motorcycling)

Ben joined the Motorcycling team after retraining as a journalist in 2018, but his love of motorbikes began a long time before that, watching his dad ride his 1976 Honda CB400F. Ben’s own riding history started when he learned to ride on an 80s Yamaha XT250 in a mate’s field and then took a direct access bike test at 21.

Three months later, he embarked on a 13,500-mile tour across the USA and down through Central America on a Yamaha XT660R.

Find out more about Ben Clarke here.

Carl Stevens – Road Tester (Motorcycling)

Carl may have only joined the MCN fold in 2023, but even so he has managed to rack up plenty of experience over the years.

He has worked within the industry as a motorcycling journalist for several titles since 2015, and has covered a host of new bike launches, events, and interviews since then. Although he may still looks fairly young, he’s been around the block for longer than he’d care to admit.

Find out more about Carl Stevens here.