April

Ducati boss admits plans for giant trailie

Ducati boss admits plans for giant trailie

THREE years after MCN first predicted it, Ducati is admitting a V-twin giant trailie is very much part of its plans. It will be very much in the mould of Cagiva’s Navigator. The firm’s boss, Federico...

Getting my 996 is a dream fulfilled

Getting my 996 is a dream fulfilled

THE sight of the bike in front of me stopped me in my tracks and caused a sharp intake of breath inside my helmet. I had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Almost trembling with...

New Road safety campaign gets Foggy’s backing

New Road safety campaign gets Foggy’s backing

MOST of us look on road safety campaigns with some suspicion. We want the roads to be safe – it’s probably more in our interests than anyone else’s – but the true dangers, such as careless driving,...

700 miles by scooter

700 miles by scooter

HONDA’s new Silver Wing is as happy touring two-up as it is dealing with the brake, swerve, squirt of urban riding in Europe’s busiest cities. The engine is new. It’s a four-stroke parallel twin with...

Honda V5 GP bike breaks cover

Honda V5 GP bike breaks cover

THESE are the world’s first action pictures of the all-new four-stroke Honda Grand Prix bike destined to start racing in 2002. The shots of the V5-engined bike were taken at Sugo in Japan today, where...

Scottish Indian gears up for larger scale production

Scottish Indian gears up for larger scale production

The Scottish firm responsible for building just a few Indian Dakota-4s says it has been selling all of the £23,000 bikes it can make, so now is the time to go into bigger production. They plan to turn...

BMW’s updated bikes ridden 1800 miles on first test

BMW’s updated bikes ridden 1800 miles on first test

BMW’S latest bikes prove you can ride 600 miles a day without the aid of a chiropractor. Our 1800-mile round trip to the south of France included the chance to ride three updated models. And the flat...

New Bonnie spotted in Oz

New Bonnie spotted in Oz

THE cruiser-style version of Triumph’s Bonneville has been spied on test in Australia. The bike, which was first reported in MCN last year, will use the same air-cooled, 790cc, four-stroke parallel...

Hold on tight…

Hold on tight…

This is my second cigarette in ten minutes. It’s also only my second cigarette in five years. The reason for my nervousness is just a few feet away. It’s Steve Webster’s sidecar outfit. And he wants...

The most powerful BMW ever

The most powerful BMW ever

BMW is preparing to build a range-topping genuine superbike. It should be the bike that finally shrugs off any remnants of the pipe and slippers image the brand has accrued. The firm is thought to be...

Video action from Donington

Video action from Donington

For a unique perspective of Donington, join us a foot from the ground as we bring you on-board video from a World Championship sidecar.190bhp, three wheels and plenty of rain.

Triumph is celebrating 10 years… without making profit

Triumph is celebrating 10 years… without making profit

IT’S exactly 10 years since the Triumph production line rolled out its first bike after its revival – the Trophy 1200, which was hailed as the first of a new breed of British superbikes. The firm was...

How the Cagiva Xtra Raptor could be

How the Cagiva Xtra Raptor could be

THIS bike might be one of the only machines in the country that looks like a Cagiva Xtra-Raptor, but it’s the sound which makes it one in a million. Anything ridden through a tunnel as long as...

MV Agusta F5 spied on test

MV Agusta F5 spied on test

IT’S the datalogging kit strapped to the pillion seat that gives the game away. This is no F4 1+1. It is, you can be assured, a well disguised F5, complete with that tempting 998cc engine. It’s a...

Now you see them

THE council in Doncaster have started playing the game. They’ve joined Plymouth in starting to paint GATSO cameras eye-catching colours rather than melt-into-the-background grey. There’s been a 43 per cent reduction in accidents since one of Plymouth’s GATSOs was given dayglow yellow stripes – now all 26 cameras in the Devon city are to be given bright colourschemes. Doncaster Metropolitan Borough...

The return of the Hesketh

The return of the Hesketh

IT’S 22 years since Hesketh tried to bring us an all-British superbike with the benefit of breeding. Now it’s back, as a well-to-do classic. Now you can own a brand new version for £11,750. According...

MBK adds Thunder to its scooter range

MBK adds Thunder to its scooter range

Yamaha-owned scooter firm MBK has added a ninth scooter to its UK range. The Thunder 125 features front and rear disc brakes and a 12bhp, four-stroke engine which MBK claims will take it to 70mph. It...

First test of the Yamaha Maxster

First test of the Yamaha Maxster

Taking a 125cc scooter on a race track doesn’t sound like a good idea given the lack of power, poor handling and shoddy brakes associated with the breed. But things look different if that track is...

When is a CBR not a CBR...?

When is a CBR not a CBR...?

” DON’T harm my baby. ” If I wasn’t already nervous about riding Russell Savory’s Evo CBR600, I was now. This was the culmination of months of painstaking work by RS Performance to build the...

Doohan: Four-strokes are the future of 500 GPs

Doohan: Four-strokes are the future of 500 GPs

IMAGINE the sound this engine would make. Not the muted waspy buzz of a modern 500cc grand prix race engine, but the incredible shriek of a V10 Formula One engine. It’s one of car racing’s biggest...

Fighting crime with grime

Fighting crime with grime

THERE’S a different kind of detective work going on in York… ” We’ll follow these tracks into the field and see if we can spot anyone, ” says Pc John Wedgewood. He points at the fresh tyre marks in...

They say that getting there is half the fun

They say that getting there is half the fun

THE idea sounded so simple when it cropped up in the pub one night. To ride as far as we could around Europe taking in as many countries as possible. And to do it all in 48 hours. The first question...

Fancy a change from the Cat & Fiddle?

Fancy a change from the Cat & Fiddle?

LOOK at this picture. Now imagine it’s you on the bike riding mile after mile through scenery you’ve only known before in road movies. Having trouble? Well, read on and hopefully you’ll get a clearer...

162bhp ZRX? That’s a real man’s bike

162bhp ZRX? That’s a real man’s bike

CAST your mind back to 1981. Ronnie Reagan was running the world and Eddie Lawson was on his way to sealing the U.S. superbike title on a Kawasaki Z1000… but there’s one more name to remember and...