First rides & tests

Year: ALL

Triumph Tiger 1050 Sport first ride

12 February 2013 by Michael Neeves

We’re riding the mountain roads near Barcelona on the new £9599 Tiger 1050 Sport, Triumph’s adventure-styled sports tourer. It’s an updated version of the Tiger 1050 that’s been with us since 2007...

Does The CB1100 Tick The Boxes?

06 February 2013 by Phil West

It’s been a long time coming – in every sense of the expression – but the CB1100 might, just MIGHT, have made that wait worthwhile. Six years after the prototype was first unveiled at the 2007 Tokyo...

Youth experiment: Kymco K-Pipe

31 January 2013 by Phil West

This bike is the freshest breath of air in small capacity motorcycling in years. There, I’ve said it. It could also be exactly what’s needed if today’s youth are ever going to get back into...

Sports bikes to Africa

29 January 2013 by Michael Neeves

We all know that sportsbikes are so focused that you need a track to get the best out of them. But, as has always been the case, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy them every day. The Ducati Panigale...

MCN rides the Britten V1000

24 January 2013 by Adam Child

‘Outstanding’, ‘amazing’, and ‘work of art’ are all labels liberally applied to the exotic race bikes built by John Britten, but in reality the Britten deserves a unique accolade to celebrate its...

Video: Honda CB1100 first ride

23 January 2013 by Phil West

MCN Executive Editor Phil West traveled to Valencia in Spain last week to ride Honda’s completely new CB1100 retro roadster. Check out his opinions on Honda’s brand new link to the past!

Video: African adventure - part two

22 January 2013 by MCN

After riding through Spain and putting the Ducati Panigale S and BMW S1000RR through their paces on a track day at Almeria, our intrepid explorers head for the ferry to Africa before heading back to...

New BMW R1200GS ridden!

22 January 2013 by Adam Child

BMW’s all-new and eagerly-awaited R1200GS is currently being put through its paces in South Africa by MCN Senior Tester Adam Child. Here are his first impressions: “We’re in 40 degree heat heading...

Video: African adventure

17 January 2013 by Michael Neeves

Remember the old days when we used our sports bikes for everything? They brightened up our weekends, took us to work, and off on holiday, but now there’s a bike built for every occasion. Still, who...

Honda CB1100 Launch – First Impressions

16 January 2013 by Phil West

Honda’s new CB1100 Retro Roadster is currently being put through its paces in the countryside around Valencia, Spain, by MCN’s Executive Editor, Phil West. These are his first impressions, ahead of a...

New BMW R1200GS Test - What Do you Want To Know?

15 January 2013 by MCN

This week our intrepid road tester Chad jets off to South Africa for the launch of BMW’s all-new R1200GS super-traillie. With stiff competition from KTM this year, BMW have strove to out-do themselves...

The ultimate BMW HP2 Sport

15 January 2013 by Tim Thompson

You either love the idea of trying to make a twin-cylinder air-cooled engine that’s based on an old 1923 knocker go like the clappers, or you don’t. If you don’t, life is simple: you buy a Fireblade...

Video: Britten V1000 ridden

09 January 2013 by MCN

The ultimate nonconformist race bike, the Britten V1000 was hand-built by a dedicated team led by maverick engineer John Britten in New Zealand in the early ’90s. Only 10 bikes remain, and after a...

Video: Triumph Daytona 675R first ride

20 December 2012 by MCN

Triumph took the biking world by storm in 2006 with the Daytona 675, which stuck two fingers up to the Japanese. It was a winner on the road, and the track with one of the best-loved motorcycle...

Triumph Daytona 675R first ride!

14 December 2012 by MCN News Team

Triumph’s all-new Daytona 675R supersports is being put through its paces in a world first test by MCN Senior Road Tester Michael Neeves. These are his first impressions: “We’re at the Cartagena...

MV Agusta Brutale 800 first ride: "Instant grunt in any gear"

29 November 2012 by MCN

MV Agusta’s new Brutale 800 is currently being put through its paces by MCN’s Andy Downes in the south of France. These are his first riding impressions: “I’ve been riding it for about an hour and...

MV Agusta Brutale 800 launch

29 November 2012 by MCN

MCN is at the press launch of the new MV Agusta Brutale 800 in Cannes this morning. MCN’s Andy Downes is just about to set off on a three hour test ride on the roads of the South of France and will...

Needed: Yamaha XJR1300 and Kawasaki ZRX1200 owners!

12 November 2012 by MCN

We’re putting a feature together on used naked big bikes, and need some reader help! We’d love to hear from you if you’ve owned a Yamaha XJR1300 or a Kawasaki ZRX1200. We’d like to know what you like...

Video: 2013 Triumph Street Triple R first ride

08 November 2012 by MCN

The current Triumph Street Triple, the British firm’s best selling machine in the past five years (they’ve sold 50,000), weighs just 189kg, full of fuel and ready-to-go, which is bugger-all. This new...

Picture gallery: Kawasaki W800 Spirit

08 November 2012 by MCN

Specialist bike builders Spirit of the Seventies were commissioned by Kawasaki UK to build a one-off W800, with styling and key spec details chosen by Facebook fans. Spirit then created designs and...

MV Brutale 800 announced

02 November 2012 by Phil West, Executive Editor

This is the brand new MV Agusta Brutale 800 – a new three-cylinder roadster based on the Brutale 675, fitting between it and the bigger, four-cylinder 1090 Brutales and set to challenge the likes of...

New Triumph Street Triple R ridden

01 November 2012 by MCN News Team

Triumph’s new 2013 Street Triple R is currently being put through its paces in southern Spain by MCN Senior Road Tester Michael Neeves. Here are his first impressions.: “The big news is Triumph have...

2013 Aprilia RSV4 ridden

25 October 2012 by Michael Neeves

This is what motorcycling dreams are made of: a sunny day, a dry track and one of the world’s best superbikes to play on. I’m talking about the lightly-revised new 2013 Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC. It’s...

Video: BMW F700GS vs Rivals

23 October 2012 by MCN

The new BMW F700GS replaces the old F650GS for 2013, although capacity remains at 800cc. We tested it against the Kawasaki Versys, Suzuki V-Strom 650 and Triumph Tiger 800 to see which is the best mid...

Aprilia Tuono and Mille owners: Tell us your experiences

22 October 2012 by Michael Neeves

We’re putting a feature together on these used Aprilias: • RSV Mille ’98-‘03 • RSV 1000R ’04-‘09 • Tuono ’02-‘05 • Tuono R ’06-‘09 We’d love to hear from you if you’ve owned any of these bikes. We’d...

2013 Kawasaki ZX-6R on the road: "Softer and much more compliant"

17 October 2012 by MCN

MCN Senior Road tester Adam Child is currently putting Kawasaki’s new ZX-6R 636 through its paces in California. Yesterday he was on track, today he’s in the mountains of northern California. Here are...

2013 Kawasaki ZX-6R first ride: "More torque, but still plenty of top end"

16 October 2012 by MCN

MCN Senior Road Tester Adam Child is currently in Chico, California, at Thunderhill Race Park putting Kawasaki’s new 636cc ZX-6R through its paces around the demanding track. For 2013 Kawasaki has...

Video: 2013 Ducati Multistrada first ride

04 October 2012 by MCN

It might look barely changed but the 2013 Multistrada gets revised fuel injection, improved torque, cosmetic tweaks, new lights, advanced ABS and DTC and the new ‘Skyhook’ semi-active suspension...

Triumph unveil limited edition Super III Daytona 675

01 October 2012 by Liam Marsden

Triumph has revealed a limited edition Daytona 675 based on the yellow and black paintscheme of the iconic Daytona Super III which was launched in 1994. Only 75 of the limited edition bikes will be...

2013 Ducati Multistrada ridden

27 September 2012 by Adam Child

Ducati’s Multistrada 1200 revolutionised the adventure bike class when it was introduced in 2010. Its sporty mix of 150bhp (derived from its 1199-derived V-twin), combined with high tech gizmos and...

2013 Ducati Multistrada first ride: "The suspension reacts instantly"

21 September 2012 by MCN

Ducati’s new 2013 Multistrada with its semi-active suspension, ‘Skyhook’, created in partnership with Sachs, is currently being tested by MCN senior road tester Adam Child on the North Western coast...

Across Vietnam on a Motorbike

14 September 2012 by Ben Loombe-Temple

Like many people in the UK I’m a massive fan of Top Gear. One of my favourite episodes of the show has got to be the Vietnam special, where the three chaps all bought a motorbike in Saigon and rode...

Video: Ducati Streetfighter 848 longterm trip report

13 September 2012 by MCN

Senior Road Tester Michael Neeves recently took some time off to ride his longterm Ducati Streetfighter 848 on the beautiful roads of France and Italy. Here he shares his trip.

2013 KTM Adventure 1190 ridden

06 September 2012 by MCN

KTM’s all-new 1190 Adventure is one of the most eagerly-awaited bikes of 2013 – and one of the most guarded secrets. Until now. Over the last two years MCN has gleaned details of the class-leading...

Video: Ducati Diavel Cromo first ride

06 September 2012 by MCN

Ducati have thrown the parts catalogue at their new Diavel Cromo. At £15000 new for a standard Ducati Diavel, the Cromo has had over £7000 of Ducati Performance Parts and £3000 worth of Ohlins...

Video: 100 years of supersports

04 September 2012 by MCN

Middleweight sports bikes – usually of 600cc – have a history that goes back well beyond the first of the modern era, the Kawasaki GPz600R of 1985. In fact, the first sporty middleweight was built 100...