First rides & tests

Year: ALL

Staff bikes: Ducati Monster 1100 Evo - The modern cafe racer

25 August 2011 by Marc Abbott

Over the months that I’ve owned the Monster, many have asked me “What’s it like?” My default answer is “A real, good, honest motorcycle”. Which sounds like damning it with faint praise; that’s far...

Staff bikes: Suzuki GSR750 - Tail tidy improves GSR's rear

25 August 2011 by Liam Marsden

After riding the GSR for the first few miles there was only one modification that I could see needed to be made, to fit a tail tidy and get rid of the huge piece of plastic hanging off the rear end of...

Which used superbike for under £5000?

25 August 2011 by Adam Child

With the advent of electronics and near-200bhp power outputs, it’s easy to forget just how good the sports bikes of 2005 were. They had huge power – up to around 160bhp – yet were tractable in the...

Kawasaki VN1700 Voyager takes on the baggers

25 August 2011 by Adam Child

The imposing bulk of Kawasaki’s new VN1700 Voyager Custom has just landed on UK soil, sending a shudder through the large touring cruiser market. But how scared should the American competition be of...

Staff bikes: MV Agusta Brutale 920 - the highest mileage 2011 model

19 August 2011 by Andy Downes

MCN’s 2011 Brutale is now the highest mileage specimen in the UK, and possibly the world, after clicking through 4000 miles and its first major service. The scheduled service was carried out at MV...

Staff bikes: KTM Duke 125 - Duke to the Alps

19 August 2011 by Dan Aspel

This July I rode from Oundle (Cambridgeshire), to Interlaken (Switzerland) and back on my 125 Duke. The 2,000 mile, six-day route took me across country lanes, motorways, city streets, alpine passes...

Blown away: TTS supercharged Suzuki Hayabusa

11 August 2011 by Trevor Franklin

Suzuki’s 195bhp Hayabusa has never been a wallflower. But compared to this latest supercharged example, which has been built by tuning experts TTS of Silverstone and puts out a massive 283bhp with no...

Staff bikes: Suzuki GSR750 - GSR shines at wet Brands Hatch

11 August 2011 by Liam Marsden

I’ve now been on two track days and on both there’s been rain. Despite the fact like most motorcyclists I don’t like rain (I don’t mind getting wet, it’s more the inconsistent grip levels) I decided...

Video: KTM RC8R Track at Donington Park

10 August 2011 by Adam Child

Track days today are more like race paddocks from a few years ago. Find a KTM RC8R for sale. With club racing turning increasingly professional, brand new race bikes are becoming common. Enter the KTM...

First verdicts on 161bhp Motus V4 sports-tourer

10 August 2011 by Guy Procter

New American V4 sports-tourer the Motus MST-01 has completed the first leg of a multi-thousand-mile public development ride. The joyously coarse-sounding pushrod-actuated, direct-injected engine is...

Staff bikes: BMW G650GS - Corrosion sets in

09 August 2011 by Steve Farrell

I really like my G650GS. So I’m massively disappointed to report that the paintwork doesn’t seem to be up to much. Corrosion is already beginning to appear in places and it’s not yet had to endure a...

Harley Davidson XR1200 Challenge Brands GP 7th August

08 August 2011 by Michael Neeves

Well, that was a surprise. I didn’t think I’d enjoy racing a Harley so much, or do that well – I finished 7th in Sunday’s XR1200 Challenge feature race, less than two tenths behind 6th place after our...

Video: Triumph Daytona 675 buying guide

08 August 2011 by MCN

In our latest video buying guide we look at the Triumph Daytona 675. The 675 put the Hinckley firm back on the shortlist of many UK sports motorcycle riders, who hadn’t seen the previous middleweight...

MRO Powerbike blog: Brands Hatch Indy 30/31 July

05 August 2011 by Michael Neeves

Well, that was another fantastic weekend racing with Bemsee in the MRO Powerbike championship. Riding my BMW Park Lane S1000RR, we bagged three third positions, had some close racing with leaders Rob...

Kawasaki's VN1700 'bagger' rolls into UK

05 August 2011 by Trevor Franklin

The new, chopped-down, touring VN1700 Voyager Custom is the third bike in Kawasaki’s Voyager line-up to hit the UK and neatly fills a gap between the fully-dressed touring Voyager and laid-back,...

Benelli struggle on with style

04 August 2011 by Adam Child

Although Benelli hasn’t gone the way of compatriots Moto Morini (which went into administration last year), there’s no doubt it has been struggling, with model updates limited to minor revisions on a...

F4 RR is the best MV Agusta yet!

03 August 2011 by Michael Neeves

Our world-first test of the stunning new 201bhp F4 RR Corsacorta has revealed it to be not only the fastest MV Agusta we’ve ever ridden – but also the most refined. MCN rode the new £18k superbike at...

Vyrus 986 M2: The future of Moto2?

03 August 2011 by MCN

This is the 986 M2, a Honda CBR600RR-powered Moto2 racer, built by tiny Italian manufacturer Vyrus – or, in other words, one man called Ascanio Rodrigo. Ascanio helped develop the original Bimota Tesi...

Sheep in Wolf's clothing

29 July 2011 by Dan Aspel

Sym’s latest offering, the Wolf 125, looks familiar and that’s entirely deliberate. The ‘mini Honda CB1000R’ (if you don’t believe me compare the headlamp cowl, wheel design and seat) is the Taiwanese...

Staff bikes: Yamaha Super Tenere: Saddling up the beast

29 July 2011 by Michael Guy

With a few big trips planned in the next couple of months it was time to get the Super Tenere ready for action. I’m heading to the Nurburgring at the start of September for the World Superbike round...

Staff bikes: Ducati Diavel - A do-anything bike with mega attitude

29 July 2011 by Ian Jubb

The weather gods have been smiling upon us, which has meant that the Diavel has hardly stopped running over the last two months, whether it be commuting or a full-on 200-mile round trip to find some...

Video: Triumph Speed Triple buying guide

27 July 2011 by MCN

In our latest buying guide we look at the 2005-2010 Triumph Speed Triple. The Triumph Speed Triple 1050 is one factory streetfighter that delivers the goods. Find a Triumph Speed Triple for sale. It’s...

Foggy and Whit ride again!

27 July 2011 by Adam Child

On the eve of the World Superbikes at Silverstone and with the mouthwatering, all-new Ducati 1199 in prospect, we reckoned there was no better time to look back at the benchmark bikes that gave the...

Video: Kawasaki ZX-6R buying guide

19 July 2011 by MCN

With more Kawasaki ZX-Rs for sale than any other site, we take a look at the 2007 Kawasaki ZX-6R in our latest buying guide. What MCN said at the time: “In the Kawasaki ZX-6R, Kawasaki has built a...

Moto Guzzi V7 chases down the café racer king

15 July 2011 by MCN

Moto Guzzi is on a roll. Under the guidance of Aprilia (itself under the umbrella of Piaggio) one of the oldest names in Italian motorcycling is once again producing modern, practical and desirable...

MRO Powerbike blog: Snetterton 300

12 July 2011 by Michael Neeves

Another good weekend racing in the bag, with two second places and a third. It’s the second time we’ve visited the Snetterton 300 circuit this year and we’re back again in September racing on the...

Staff bikes: MV Agusta Brutale 920 - British GP puts Brutale under strain

12 July 2011 by Andy Downes

Working at the British MotoGP round at Silverstone meant my MV Agusta Brutale test bike got a hard workout…and ended up looking like it had been buried at sea! The bike did more than 350 miles in...

Oliver's Mount racing blog: Barry Sheene Festival

12 July 2011 by Adam Child

My road racing season continues but this time at the tight and twisty Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough. Oliver’s Mount is the last true road racing circuit left in the UK, nearly 2.4 miles of park road,...

Video: Is a Yamaha R6 worth £3000 more than a Benelli Tornado 900?

11 July 2011 by MCN

Not all superbikes costs silly money. The latest offers from Benelli sees its once £11,700 Tornado Tre 900 now priced at just £5999, making the exotic Italian a surprising, alternative, bargain. Let’s...

New Moto Guzzi V7 Racer takes on Triumph Thruxton

08 July 2011 by Phil West

Moto Guzzi’s latest variant of its delectable V7 Classic – the V7 Racer – looks set to be its best yet thanks to a host of cosmetic enhancements and quality detail touches. But is it good enough to...

First ride: New V-Strom wins over the sceptics

07 July 2011 by Phil West

While the timing of Suzuki’s 2012 V-Strom 650 launch remains a mystery, our first ride of the revamped middle-weight adventure bike this week blows away any doubt that it’s been changed for the...

BMW S1000RR racers ridden

07 July 2011 by Michael Neeves

What happens when you take one of the most powerful, best-handling sportsbikes, loaded with the latest electronic rider aids and turn it into a racer? To find out, BMW let us ride four S1000RRs,...

‘Super Ten better than sex’ according to TV’s Adrian Chiles

05 July 2011 by Phil West

Daybreak TV presenter Adrian Chiles has been singing the praises of Yamaha’s XT1200Z Super Tenere after trying one out recently. Find a Yamaha Super Tenere for sale The sometime sports presenter,...

MCN in 3D: Neil Hodgson riding the Ducati 1198

04 July 2011 by MCN

With the latest Aprilia RSV4 R APRC and Ducati 1198, electronic rider aids are becoming more affordable. Both machines are equipped with eight-stage traction control and a quickshifter, which saves...

Electronics for the people: Aprilia RSV4 R v Ducati 1198

01 July 2011 by MCN

With the price of Japanese superbikes edging ever closer to European ‘exotica’, the products of Italian factories such as Aprilia and Ducati are starting to appear better value than ever – especially...

Video: Honda CBR250R tackles the class of 33bhp

22 June 2011 by MCN

You’re under 21 and have passed your test – what are you going to ride? The law says you must spend two whole years on a 33bhp-limited bike before you rip out the washers, throw them in the river and...