Bike news

Year: ALL

Taking the Mickey: Vespa launch Disney inspired limited edition

26 June 2023 by Dan Sutherland

Vespa have teamed up with Disney to produce a limited-edition version of their 50cc, 125cc, and 150cc Primavera. The Disney Mickey Mouse Edition marks 100 years of the film and TV company. The...

Rain stops play for the Velocifero 200hp scooter speed record attempt

26 June 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

Due the adverse weather conditions, Velocifero has postponed the “Word Record Challenge” of their 200hp prototype electric scooter, scheduled at Monza tomorrow, Friday, 30 June. “We are really...

Get your bite back: How to replace your clutch

26 June 2023 by Bruce Dunn

It always amazes me how robust a motorcycle clutch can be, particularly on a sportsbike. The power of the engine is transmitted entirely through the shared surface area of the friction and steel...

Vertu signalling: Meet Honda’s World Superbike riders at special event

23 June 2023 by MCN

Vertu Motorcycles will be hosting WSB riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge at their Nottingham site on Thursday, June 29, 2023 ahead of the UK round at Donington Park. There will also be a chance to...

WoMCN: ‘My journey taught me that anything’s possible’

23 June 2023 by Emma Franklin and Lisa di Blas

Thanks to the pioneering spirit and bravery of one young rider, thousands of women in Pakistan now ride motorcycles. Zenith Irfan was just 20 when she defied social conventions and set out on her...

'The future is wide open': BMW bosses on the challenge of electric and why it's not all over for combustion

23 June 2023 by Dan Sutherland

As the world strives towards green transport, predicting the future propulsion of motorcycles is becoming an increasingly difficult challenge – and that’s true for huge brands like BMW, too. Whilst...

Honda and Suzuki have come up trumps with two affordable adventurers, but which shines brightest on the MCN250?

23 June 2023 by Michael Neeves

Honda’s XL750 Transalp and the Suzuki V-Strom 800 DE are two of the new adventure stars of 2023. They impressed at their respective launches earlier this year and both are propelled by minty-fresh...

Spectacular Speedway: ‘Come and you’ll fall in love’

23 June 2023 by Saffron Wilson

Speedway has been a staple of motorcycle sport since its beginnings in Australia in 1923. But it didn’t boom in the UK until 1928 with the inaugural race at Epping Forest proving vastly more...

Verge are in the giving mood

22 June 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

Verge Motorcycles have donated two specially designed electric motorbikes to the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation which champions children’s charities. Verge recently opened its first store...

Breaking point: After five brutal crashes in 48hrs, is it the end of MM93’s time with Honda?

22 June 2023 by Colin Young

The humiliation of Marc Marquez and Honda at the Sachsenring was total. In a weekend that saw him crash five times, lose his cool on camera, and sustain yet another hand injury, it proved a difficult...

SOS: Save our Speedway! The sport isn’t dead yet but change is needed, says Oxford Team Manager Peter Schroeck

22 June 2023 by Saffron Wilson

Research by the Speedway Star has shown the glum reality of speedway in the modern age, with teams and tracks disappearing. In 2000, 28 tracks were spread across the UK and 33 teams took to the shale;...

MotoGP to Multistradas: Ducati have been leading the way in the tech arms race for years

21 June 2023 by Carl Stevens

Biking technology has come a long way in the 15 years that have elapsed since Ducati released their 1098R superbike and introduced riders to the first genuinely effective traction control system for...

TT teamwork pays off: Medical teams drafted in from England and Wales to keep TT goers safe

21 June 2023 by Dan Sutherland

Ambulance crews from England and Wales were drafted in to support medical teams on the Isle of Man during the TT racing fortnight, allowing them to care for the thousands of additional visitors to the...

Defiant against thieves: New Squire lock ramps up protection against angle grinders

21 June 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

Squire have launched what they say is their toughest ever motorcycle brake disc lock, promising angle grinder resistance that should deter even the most tooled-up thief. Named the Defiant, the...

Stretched Honda MSX125 Grom gets a turbo and nitrous for Wheels and Waves comp

21 June 2023 by Dan Sutherland

Renowned motorcycle builder and television personality Guy Willison has teamed up with custom trainer artist Matt B Customs to produce a radical one-off Honda MSX125 Grom for a competition at Wheels...

Emma Bristow recognised for services to motorsport with MBE

20 June 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

Eight-time World Trials Champion, Emma Bristow, has been recognised in the King’s debut birthday honours list with an MBE for services to motorsport and women in sport. A delighted Bristow told...

Signing the Senior: Genius commentary service brings TT to life for deaf fans

20 June 2023 by Dan Sutherland

The Manx Deaf Society have been making the Isle of Man TT road races more accessible with live signed commentary from The Grandstand, in Douglas. Known as the ‘Deaf TT’, the service was provided on...

Alpinestars Supertech R10 revealed: The first full face road helmet from the firm in their 60-year history

19 June 2023 by Michael Neeves

To compete head-on with the road helmet establishment is the tallest of tall orders, but Alpinestars are on the right track with their new Supertech R10 – the first full face road crash helmet the...

The rarest of the rare enter the Banbury Run

19 June 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

Hundreds of pre-1931 motorcycles, sidecars and three-wheelers gathered at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon on Sunday, June 18 for the annual running of the Vintage Motor Cycle Club’s (VMCC) Banbury...

Spoiler alert: Taylor Mackenzie helps Ruroc develop trackday helmet

19 June 2023 by Dan Sutherland

Gloucestershire helmet manufacturer Ruroc have set their sights on the race circuit, developing a track-focused helmet based on their Atlas 4.0 that’s both lighter and more aerodynamic than...

Hundreds of owners lose their bikes following a breakdown, statistics reveal

16 June 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

Following a Freedom of Information request to Highways England, MCN have discovered that hundreds of motorcycles that have broken down have been either sold or destroyed after being picked up by the...

59 Club founder Rev John Oates dies

15 June 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

Founder of the 59 Club, Reverend John Oates has died at the age of 93. The club began as a youth group at the Eton Mission in Hackney Wick, London in 1959, led by Rev Oates. Later as the club...

Kawasaki ZX-4RR to arrive in September costing less than £9000

15 June 2023 by Dan Sutherland

Kawasaki have teased more details on their hotly anticipated ZX-4R sportsbike, confirming that only the RR version will be coming to the UK at a competitive £8699. Available from September 2023 in...

Indian Summer: Custom Sport Chief built for bassist of the Stereophonics

15 June 2023 by Dan Sutherland

Indian Motorcycle and Krazy Horse custom house have teamed up to produce a one-off Sport Chief cruiser for the bassist of the Stereophonics, Richard Jones. Called Rage, the bike has been produced...

Police forces plug into the future by trialling Energica Experia electric motorcycle

14 June 2023 by Dan Sutherland

Police forces in the UK have been trialling an Energica Experia electric motorcycle, with plans to introduce more battery powered vehicles into their fleets and rely less on fossil fuels. First...

UK winners announced in BMW Custom Championship

13 June 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

The UK winners of this year’s BMW Custom Championships have been revealed with the two radical BMW R18 bikes now heading to the European final for a chance to go to the Berlin grand finals later this...

Doing it for Doddie - the Rugby club motorcycle charity ride

12 June 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

Two bikers in their seventies with a passion for rugby are planning to tour every senior rugby club in Great Britain to raise money for the ‘My name’s Doddie Foundation’, which supports research into...

TT stories come to life: Isle of Man TT Gallery officially opens at the Manx Museum

09 June 2023 by Dan Sutherland

Thousands of Isle of Man TT visitors have been learning about the history of the road racing festival at a new interactive exhibit at the Manx Museum. Located in Douglas on the island, the TT...

Record breakers! Triumph and Iván Cervantes achieve greatest distance on a motorcycle in 24 hours

09 June 2023 by Dan Sutherland

What’s the furthest distance you’ve ever ridden in a day? 100 miles? 500 miles? Maybe even 1000 miles? Well, five-time Enduro World Champion Iván Cervantes travelled 2493.27 miles in 24 hours on a...

Keep your cool: Why Ducati’s latest V4s are able to morph into parallel twins

09 June 2023 by Ben Purvis

Imagine for a moment that you’ve splashed the cash on a cutting-edge 1158cc V4 only to find it’s actually a 579cc parallel twin. That’s precisely what the £23,590 Ducati Multistrada V4 Rally and new...

Frank Stephenson Design reveals a design to shake up the motorcycle world

08 June 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

Design house Frank Stephenson have released a teasing artists impression of a futuristic bike they are currently developing. Unveiled at the Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum in Alabama, the bike’s...

A Bridget too far: US rider Bridget McCutchen is on track to become the youngest to lap the world

08 June 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

Back in January 22-year-old Bridget McCutchen set off from Wisconsin on her 2020 Kawasaki Versys-X 300, named Mab, aiming to become the youngest rider to circumnavigate the globe. MCN caught up with...

Triple threat: Yamaha Yard Built XSR900 breaks cover

07 June 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

Yamaha’s XSR900 three-cylinder retro motorbike was the base bike for a bevy of bespoke builds at the recent Bike Shed Moto Show, with the Japanese firm’s European and US arms revealing their own Yard...

BMW’s XR gets M-ore: Prototype M1000XR confirmed by Motorrad

06 June 2023 by Emma Franklin

Full specs and pricing have been revealed – check our 2024 BMW M1000XR page for the latest. We’ve ridden it: BMW M1000XR review BMW have confirmed that the third bike in their M series, the...

Guess who's back! Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R makes triumphant return for 2024

06 June 2023 by Ben Clarke

Whoever said the traditional supersport class is dead must’ve forgotten to tell Kawasaki because they’ve just reintroduced the ZX-6R to their sportsbike range after it was dropped from the UK market...

Biking legends: Meet Malcolm Newell - the man who put feet-forward motorcycles on the map

06 June 2023 by Phil West

Of all the innovators who tried to make a success of ‘feet-forward’ motorcycles, none was more significant than Malcolm Newell. Not only was he the chief designer behind the most famous ‘FF’ of...