2009

Year: 2009

Month: ALL

Buell: Goodbye or good riddance?

31 December 2009 by Phil West

The passing of 2009 somehow seems to draw the final curtain on the sad demise of Buell Motorcycles, which parent company Harley-Davidson decided to kill off in the autumn and which produced its final...

Triumph Thunderbird's toughest test

30 December 2009 by MCN

MCN’s tests have proved that Triumph’s new 1600cc Thunderbird is one of the best cruisers out there – its mixture of lazy parallel twin power and surprisingly sharp handling more than matches rivals...

Neevesy's predicted 2010 top five motorcycles

29 December 2009 by Michael Neeves

The global financial crisis seems to have hit the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers the hardest. There’s very little to get excited about from them next year except for Kawasaki’s funky Z1000. One...

New MCN December 30: MV Agusta 600 triple

29 December 2009 by Liam Marsden

In this week’s issue of MCN, on sale December 30, we have spy pictures of the new MV Agusta 600cc triple, set to appear in late 2010. Also in this issue we test the new Triumph Thunderbird on the UK’s...

Suzuki SV560: Great do it all bike

28 December 2009 by Anonymous

I first got my Yellow Canadian 1999 Suzuki SV650S and it was a great bike. I got it super cheap as a multi-owner used bike. Great bike. It has all the power you need but not too much as to get you...

My Winter Yamaha FZR400RR

27 December 2009 by Anonymous

Here’s my winter ride – a Yamaha FZR400RR EXUP 3TJ. Look at the rake on the front forks and you’ll see why it was the best handling 400 of the 80s to early 90s. People rate the VFR400, but I had one...

No need for hanging off

26 December 2009 by weasel221

I got my naked Suzuki SV650 K5 new in June of 2005 and I absolutley love it. Coming from a mostly dirt background, I don’t really ‘hang off’ the SV, but you don’t have to! The thing will rail any...

Chad's favourite video tests of all time

25 December 2009 by Adam Child

MCN senior road tester Adam Child gives us his three favourite MCN videos from 2009. On board 2008 Suzuki GSXR1300R Hayabusa One of my all time favourite clips. Flat out on Hayabusa at...

Weise Nomad jacket gets extreme test

25 December 2009 by Marc Abbott

Weise’s all-weather Nomad jacket has been put through its paces in the MIRA automotive test facility’s climatic wind tunnel for BBC Breakfast’s Mike Bushell to discover just how effective modern...

Happy new year MCN!

25 December 2009 by barry yeatman

Our little group of bikers would like to thank all the staff at MCN for 2009, and wish you all a happy new year and all the best for 2010. From Barry and friends

New Aprilia RSV4 R on the road!

25 December 2009 by Michael Neeves

MCN raved about Aprilia’s new ‘budget’ RSV4R (if you can call £12,743 budget) when we rode it at Mugello in November. It was all going well until five of the launch bikes suffered terminal con rod...

American custom builders headline Yokohama Show

25 December 2009 by Gary Pinchin

The 18th annual Mooneyes Hot Road and Custom Show at Yokohama is the biggest event of the year for the custom bike enthusiasts in Japan. 650 motorcycles. 250 cars. 220 trade stands. 15,000 fans. The...

Kent dangerous driver

24 December 2009 by Anonymous

I read with interest the article about the biker involved with a road-rage Volvo driver. I had a similar experience when on an observed ride in South Kent as part the preparation for my IAM test. My observer overtook a car which was travelling below the speed limit in a national speed (60mph) area and when safe to do so I overtook, quickly and safely. The car driver, who I since refer to as...

Reflections of a love struck biker

24 December 2009 by Ritwik Bhatt

It was a different day; not the usual and most definitely a special one. It was the day when I would be united with my love. I arrived at the place where we were supposed to meet, my heartbeat almost...

Some New Years reading

24 December 2009 by John Russell

Here are some stories to make you smile over the New Year. Story 1 My mate came from a very strict family who were “Plymouth Brethren” and consequently were not in favour of either me or my 1955 AJS 350. His mother caught me swigging from a bottle of Corona in their kitchen and this was the end for me! We decided to visit Clacton for the day and I duly arrived at Arthur’s home on Saturday morning...

My son Samuel Killed

24 December 2009 by red123

Working offshore Denmark killed by a freak accident. Sam was a huge Ducati fan and we regularly meet at the Harside cafe and Devil’s Bridge. He will be missed by me and his three brothers.

Retro café: Lossa Hondas

24 December 2009 by Gary Pinchin

California-based Lossa Engineering specializes in café racers, vintage restorations and street-legal race bikes. We’re talking bikes like this latest hot-rod Honda CB75O – styled in the image of a...

World’s most expensive chopper – but it comes with a free yacht

24 December 2009 by Ped Baker

Lubek, Germany custom bike builders House of Thunder have taken the term ‘boys toys’ to a new level. They claim to have built the world’s most expensive chopper – at a whopping £14.2 million! The...

Brassy Knuckle job from Jene Choppers

24 December 2009 by gary Pinchin

Cop this latest old skool style Harley Knucklehead chop from Jene Choppers that’s on custom-bike master-builder Chico’s blog. All the parts you can see on the bike made from brass were fashioned from...

Get Metzeler tyre info on your mobile

24 December 2009 by Marc Abbott

Metzeler’s new mobile website offers quick access to the firm’s tyre catalogue, dealer locator, fitment charts and videos – so now you can find out if they make a tyre to suit your bike when you’re...

Speedway legend backs ThermaHelm

24 December 2009 by Marc Abbott

Former speedway champion Martin Dugard has endorsed a revolutionary new chemical brain-cooling motorcycle helmet, saying it will save lives both on road and track. The ThermaHelm helmet combines a...

First bike in 14 years

23 December 2009 by Kevin Day

Here is a picture of me on my new MV Augusta 312R – the first bike I have ridden in 14 years. I bought the bike in June and was on track by September.

Cycle group: Don’t encourage motorcycling

23 December 2009 by Steve Farrell

A cycle group has criticised a trial of motorcycles in bus lanes on the grounds it could lead to an increase in motorcycle traffic. The London Cycling Campaign (LCC) says it ‘is concerned that the...

Hayabusa creator says it was meant to be ugly!

23 December 2009 by John Westlake

Ten years after the launch of the extraordinarily successful Suzuki Hayabusa, the man responsible has finally spoken about its controversial appearance. Koji Yoshiura spoke exclusively to MCN about...

Andy Downes' top five bikes of the decade

23 December 2009 by Andy Downes

Five best bikes of the decade – Andy Downes, MCN Chief Reporter 1. BMW K1300R The bike I have just done 9000 miles on as my long term test bike this year and one that was a brilliant combination...

Trevor Franklin's top three bikes of 2009

23 December 2009 by Trevor Franklin

1) KTM RC8R When KTM introduced the 1190 RC8 in 2008, its specification promised so much. The 1148cc motor was credited with a 152.6bhp and 88.56ftlb of torque – big figures for a 75° V-twin. With...

BMW K1300S wins ABS test, beats car

23 December 2009 by John Westlake

MCN recently conducted a rigorous test of ABS to see how the latest and most sophisticated versions fared against more basic systems. We also tested a standard family car with ABS. The bikes tested...

Trevor Franklin's top three videos of 2009

23 December 2009 by Trevor Franklin

£1500 adventure bike challenge MCN’s £1500 Challenge made a return in 2009. This time the ‘Challenge’ was for three MCN staff to buy a large capacity trailie for £1500 or less. They then had to...