Bike news

Year: ALL

Blessed, and I know you hate me…

02 December 2001

Call me filthy lucky if you like, but somehow I’ve managed to blag rides on all kinds of Honda 500 GP bikes since the company first started racing two-strokes in the early 1980s. I’ve bought my own...

This is going to hurt…

02 December 2001

ACTUALLY it isn’t. This is stuntman Lutz Schleiser and he does this sort of thing for a living. He’s just hit a barrier at speed, but while his bike is knackered, he’s about to plop safely into a...

Cross-country, supersport-style

02 December 2001

Supersport meets grasstrack

Audio: Blade designer Tadao Baba speaks

02 December 2001

Click the links in the download videos box, right, titled RM (if you use Real Player) or MOV (for Quicktime users) to hear FireBlade project Chief Engineer Tadao Baba answering questions about future...

Road tax reform – have your say before they say it for you

02 December 2001

ROAD tax for smaller bikes could be cut, but tax on larger superbikes could be increased to make up the shortfall, according to government proposals revealed earlier this week. It’s part of a planned...

Oi mate, this way!

02 December 2001

And it came to pass, that supermoto was invented

Main changes to the 2002 FireBlade

02 December 2001

HONDA has opted to update the Blade rather than reinvent it. Its move into 2002 is evolutionary rather than revolutionary. On paper, at least. It isn’t until you ride it that you realise the changes are actually very significant ones, each with a dramatic effect on the bike’s overall character and capabilities. This is the sixth generation of FireBlade and the changes are as follows: * 1mm...

Following a star

02 December 2001

Follow the star, they said…

Asking for directions

02 December 2001

Excuse me. Do you know the way the Bethlehem?

And now it’s flashing helmets, too

02 December 2001

WE’VE had ABS brakes, traction control and variable valve timing, now a British inventor reckons we should follow the lead of four wheels one more time by having car-style high-level brake lights… on the back of our helmets. Grant Belben from Poole, Dorset, has patented a new wireless brake light system. It works like this: A battery/LED unit attaches to the back of the rider’s helmet with tape,...

Tip-toe round the crashed bike

01 December 2001

And then everything was a blur…

Supersport for two weeks

25 November 2001

Welcome to the first of a fortnight of supersport video clips.

Counting the cost

25 November 2001

On paper, the Fazer’s £7799 rrp doesn’t compare well with the £5995 Honda. Even with £500 lopped off, the Yamaha will still cost £1300 more. But the reality is rather different. A quick flick through...

Hodgson joins Radio Four for a week of Biker Tales

25 November 2001

RADIO 4 the station better known for The Archers and the shipping forecast are lining up a week of famous, infamous and just plain extraordinary riders. ” Biker Tales ” begins on Monday 3rd December...

Longterm test: Aprilia RSV-R

25 November 2001

We’ve all had moments when we wish the ground would just open up. Like when you’ve spent the last five minutes saying what a tosser your boss is, only to find him standing behind you. Or when you’ve...

Oi, you at the back

25 November 2001

Bikes in this class are bound to spend at least some of the time with a pillion on board, so we did a lap of the lakes to check out the pillion seats with our tester Kev Smith bringing up the rear: HONDA VFR: " THERE’S two grab handles which give your hand plenty of room, but you get much more support from the Triumph’s single handle. The pegs are really low (10mm lower than the previous bike)...

Bostrom and Bayliss 998 replicas ready for Europe

25 November 2001

Ducati have already unveiled the Ben Bostrom replica 998 in the US, but now it’s coming to Europe, and so is World Champion Troy Bayliss’s replica. But while we’ll be getting the 136bhp 998S engine,...

Yamaha Fazer and Honda Hornet: head-to-head

25 November 2001

Not many boxing matches are as one-sided as the punch-fest a few days ago when Brit hero Lennox Lewis made Hasim Rahman eat canvas in fine style. This fight certainly seems a lot more evenly-balanced...

More than a motorcycle

25 November 2001

It’s a state of mind

Ladies: Vote for your hunkiest rider of the year

25 November 2001

LAST month, male motorcyclenews.com users had their chance to vote for the Brolly Babe of the Year. The response was huge but it seems our female visitors felt a bit left out so we’ve decided to give...

Close racing

25 November 2001

Supersport provides some of the closest racing there is

Councils improve bike bay security

25 November 2001

LOCAL authorities are finally beginning to actively tackle bike theft by installing more ground anchors in bike parking bays. We reported last month that a new report had highlighted the worst areas...

Join the champions at the biggest off-road event of the year

25 November 2001

The second annual Dirt Rider Expo kicks off at the National Agricultural Centre, Stoneleigh Park, near Coventry on Thursday, November 29 to Sunday, December 2. The show, already established as the...

Fazer 1000 prices tumble

25 November 2001

WHEN we tested Yamaha’s Fazer 1000 alongside the new Honda Hornet 900, the big question was whether the Yam was worth £1800 more than its new rival. Thanks to motorcyclenews.com you don’t have to ask...

Everyone’s been so helpful…

25 November 2001

Pick it up and start again

Oh, the glamour

25 November 2001

Supersport stars can get wet just like the rest of us

Let us spray

25 November 2001

Supersport in the wet… feel those sphincter muscles tighten

European champion James Ellison tests a Superstock Blade, R1 and GSX-R

25 November 2001

We all know people who excel at things that the rest of us find difficult or impossible. They’re the ones who are born with the co-ordination to play a blinding round of golf, the drive to become a...

Forget the GSX-R and R6, this CBR is the ultimate 600

25 November 2001

A HONDA CBR600 that costs £17,000 might sound a bit pricey – but its maker reckons this one’s a bargain. And as that maker is the Castrol Honda World Supersport team, and the cost of the parts and...

Four stroke Yamaha gives Max power in tests

25 November 2001

MAX BIAGGI and Malboro Yamaha team mate Carlos Checa have spoken to MCN after wrapping up their behind-closed-doors test of their new four stroke GP bike. Checa and Biaggi were joined by test rider...

First shots from Yamaha’s four stroke GP test

25 November 2001

This stunning shot is one of the first pictures to emerge from Yamaha’s secret test of their new four stroke GP bike, the M1. It was snapped by our photographer while Max Biaggi, Carlos Checa and test...

Le Mans, Spa and Bol will go ahead in 2002

18 November 2001

Thousands of British race fans will be delighted to hear that endurance racing’s big three 24-hour races are set to go ahead – even though they have been axed from the official world championship. Le...

Babe of the Year revealed

18 November 2001

ITV2 might be running its Miss World vote at the moment, but we reckon they’ll be hard-pushed to come up with a line-up as hot as our Babes of the Year. We asked you to browse through the honeys who...

Wow! Look what Yoshimura has done to the GSX-R1000

18 November 2001

Yoshimura’s new Tornado S-1 is based around the MCN Award-winning Suzuki GSX-R1000 but little of the original remains untouched. The engine’s compression has been raised from 12.0:1 to 13.2:1 by...

First test and video: Honda’s new VFR versus Futura and Sprint ST

18 November 2001

We’ve come to the Lake District, home of wet weather and stunning roads to put the newest Honda VFR through its paces against two of its stiffest competitors. Aprilia’s V-twin RSV Mille-powered Futura...

Cowboys and indians

18 November 2001

How does it feel when you’re riding an H-D?