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2001

First test of the best sports twins

22 April 2001

First test of the best sports twins

It’s twice the price of an SP-1. It’s six grand dearer than the RSV-R… It can’t be that much better, can it? I mean, how can you need more than the Honda or Aprilia? On the road, or anywhere? The fact...

Mugello test reveals Tornado almost ready

22 April 2001

Mugello test reveals Tornado almost ready

TESTS earlier this week in Mugello reveal Benelli’s WSB hopeful, the Tornado, is almost ready for action. The Italian firm first presented their three cylindered hopeful to a receptive audience at...

Four new bike sections now open

22 April 2001

Four new bike sections now open

Follow the ‘BIKES’ link at the top of the page and you’ll immerse yourself in a world of facts and figures, tests and tips on the motorcycles you own, admire and lust after. The latest additions to...

Take one Monster and add £6000 of Gallic flair

15 April 2001

Take one Monster and add £6000 of Gallic flair

DUCATI specialist Desmo Shop has employed all its engineering skill and used thousands of pounds-worth of carbon-fibre to create this year 2000 Monster 900-based special. The anodised blue frame,...

Buell to build full-on 1000cc sports bikes

15 April 2001

Buell to build full-on 1000cc sports bikes

BUELL is finally going to make the bikes its founder has always wanted to – full-on, sports bikes. So far the Buell badge has been standing for grunt-laden bikes which are bags of fun but not quite on...

Moriwaki offers 150bhp SP-1

15 April 2001

Moriwaki offers 150bhp SP-1

Japanese tuner Moriwaki is launching a 150bhp version of the Honda SP-1. Called the MP101, they are hand built to order, with a range of specifications for use either on the road or track. The firm...

£50,000-worth of retro Harley

15 April 2001

£50,000-worth of retro Harley

THE Trakker might be a Harley under the skin, but its looks might make fans of more sporting bikes drool. Designed to resemble a Harley board-track racer of the 1920s, it harks back to a time when the...

SV650 gets a winning makeover

15 April 2001

SV650 gets a winning makeover

Suzuki’s V-twin SV650 is winning races in America against Ducati 750s, 250GP bikes and 400cc in-line fours. And all the parts that make it a winner are available to SV owners in the UK. Most of the...

KTM reveals plans for muscle bike

15 April 2001

KTM reveals plans for muscle bike

KTM’S plans to place more focus on road bikes have taken a major step forward with proposals for a 1000cc naked musclebike. The Austrian firm’s chief executive Stefan Pierer says it will be a bike in...

The ultimate Katana specials

15 April 2001

The ultimate Katana specials

Yoshimura has got hold of five of the last Suzuki Katanas to be built and is turning them into jaw-droppers. After 20 years of continuous production, Suzuki has finally pulled the plug on the Katana,...

Foggy tribute Monster only available online

15 April 2001

Foggy tribute Monster only available online

Following internet sales success of the MH900e and 996R, Ducati will sell 300 limited edition MS4 Fogarty Monsters through online only. The order books will open in June, with deliveries starting...

The ‘sportiest’ sports tourer yet

08 April 2001

The ‘sportiest’ sports tourer yet

DUCATI’S new ST4S has uprated suspension, new brakes and the 996 V-twin engine and our first ride reveals that all adds up to the most sporting sports-tourer yet. On Wednesday (April 12), Kevin Ash...

Yes, it really is made in China

08 April 2001

Yes, it really is made in China

The machine pictured here is the first sign that China has what it takes to build bikes we in the west might actually desire. China is the biggest bike producer in the world, but it’s generally known...

V8 is back… for £70,500

08 April 2001

V8 is back… for £70,500

REMEMBER the 850cc Morbidelli V8? Only four were ever sold when they went into production in 1997. But now the firm has announced the model’s comeback… if UK dealer George Beale can drum up enough...

Aprilia Futura recalled

08 April 2001

Aprilia Futura recalled

APRILIA has recalled all of the first batch of Futuras in the UK because of a possible loose nut. A fault with a machine on the production line in Italy has meant that a retaining nut in the generator...

The shape of forks to come

08 April 2001

The shape of forks to come

Dutch designer Roel van der Heide reckons some day all bikes will be this way. Called the Chiqane 2, the bike that uses his system is the result of years of development. Van der Heide first developed...

Ducati boss admits plans for giant trailie

08 April 2001

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...

700 miles by scooter

08 April 2001

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

08 April 2001

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

08 April 2001

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

08 April 2001

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

01 April 2001

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...

The most powerful BMW ever

01 April 2001

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...

MV Agusta F5 spied on test

01 April 2001

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...

The return of the Hesketh

01 April 2001

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

01 April 2001

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...

Raptor special is a big noise in the city

25 March 2001

Raptor special is a big noise in the city

FROM their bike emporium in North London Moto-Casoli are used to adding extra special touches to their customers’ already special bikes. Their’s is an Aladdin’s cave of Italian exotica; MV Agustas...

Falling like nine pins

25 March 2001

Falling like nine pins

It was tempting fate to invite a load of bike journalists to a go-kart track in Kent to ride a scooter that Yamaha said was designed to handle. Rain, on top of a track laced with oil and rubber,...

The shape of the R1 to come

25 March 2001

The shape of the R1 to come

YOU’LL have to wait the best part of a year before this will be in our showrooms, but if the ultimate in sports performance is what you’re after, you might find it’s worth the wait. The current R1 is...

Enfield Clubman takes you back

25 March 2001

Enfield Clubman takes you back

” What year is it mate? ” ” Err, 2000 actually. ” This innocent question, asked by a passer-by just seconds after I parked the Clubman, demonstrates exactly what this bike is about. A 1950’s bike,...

New 996 will be lighter, faster… and redder

18 March 2001

New 996 will be lighter, faster… and redder

Pierre Terblanche, the man who is working on a replacement for the Ducati 996, gave a few hints about how it will look when he joined in a live chat session on motorcyclenews.com on...

Hailwood memorial run this Sunday

18 March 2001

Hailwood memorial run this Sunday

JOIN a ride-out to mark the 20th anniversary of Mike Hailwood’s death on Sunday, March 25. The run goes from Fort Dunlop, Birmingham to Portway Motor Centre, to the spot where Mike and his daughter...

Pierre Terblanche in his own words

18 March 2001

Pierre Terblanche is Ducati’s top designer. He is in charge of the project to create a bike to replace the 996. He joined us in the VIP Lounge in the TALK BIKES area of the site on Friday, March 23 and answered your questions for an hour-and-a-half. In a frank interview he talked about the pressures he’s under, how the " new 996 " is shaping up and how he hasn’t taken a break from work in a...

MV Agusta ready to unveil 1000cc superbike

11 March 2001

MV Agusta ready to unveil 1000cc superbike

THE new MV Agusta F5 promises to be the most desirable bike in the world. With a 150bhp 1000cc four-cylinder engine and the design genius of Massimo Tamburini (the man responsible for the F4 and, of...

2001 CBR600 recalled

11 March 2001

2001 CBR600 recalled

Following on the heels of a worldwide recall of FireBlades to correct faulty clutches, Honda’s reputation as the world’s most reliable motorcycle manufacturer has taken another knock. The firm has...

First pictures of new Mondial WSB racer

11 March 2001

First pictures of new Mondial WSB racer

THESE are the first pictures of the long-awaited superbike which will carry the legendary Mondial name back on to the race track later this year. The 999cc V-twin Piega, which has only been seen in...