2005

Year: 2005

Month: ALL

Heretic at Goodwood

17 June 2005

If you go to the Goodwood festival of speed this weekend you’ll get the chance to see the mad Ecosse Heretic for the first time in Europe. The bike has been available for a few years in the US but...

Suzuki’s GSX-R1000 has knocked the Honda Fireblade of the top of the sales charts by selling a massive 234 more than the Blade and helping to halt the downturn in Sports bike sales. The sports bike...

Gilera updates DNA

10 June 2005

Gilera has launched an updated version of its DNA 50 with a new styling and improved handling. Gilera has seen the massive rise in popularity of naked bikes and that reflects in the changes to the...

Bikes boom abroad

03 June 2005

Motorcycle use is booming in India, as Bajaj Autos, the second-largest bike firm, announces 76 per cent growth for May, 2005 alone. A total of 153973 two-wheelers were sold in May alone, up from...

Infinity expands range

03 June 2005

Infinity Motorcycles has now introduced Aprilia and Kawasaki franchises to their York branch, celebrating with an official launch attended by World Superbike star Chris Walker. “We are confident...

Free GPS for BMW tourer

01 June 2005

Anyone buying a BMW K1200LT tourer will receive a Motorrad Navigator II GPS system worth £1350 for free, including fitting, until the end of September, 2005. The K1200LT has won the MCN Best Tourer...

Sachs drops prices

27 May 2005

Sachs has announced that it is cutting huge amounts off it’s stylish 125cc bikes the XTC125 and the X-Road 125. The £800 price cut makes the XTC 125 only £400 more than the market leading Honda...

BMW Adventure special

20 May 2005

BMW has launched a special edition version of its R1150GS Adventure, offering even more focus on enduro and long distance riding. The bike takes the already off-road focused Adventure and adds the...

Interest free Suzukis

20 May 2005

Suzuki has launched a new finance deal on all its 650cc bikes letting you pick one up for next to nothing. For just a £1 deposit you can walk away with either a faired or unfaired Bandit 650, SV650...

Yamaha's maxed out 250

20 May 2005

Yamaha has plugged the hole in its scooter range with the launch of the new Xmax 250 scooter. The new 4-stroke scooter is designed to take the style of the successful Tmax 500cc auto and make it...

Test ride for MCN

20 May 2005

MCN needs you to take part in the testing of a new 163bhp machine. Do you live for fast bikes, fast roads and the odd trackday? Do you and three friends own 1000cc superbikes? If yes, you are...

Video: KTM 950SM

13 May 2005

MCN road tester Adam Child has just got back from the world launch of the new KTM 950SM and we grabbed him to get his first impressions. “The 950SM is like no other supermoto,” said Chad. “They just...

Breva 11 on sale soon

13 May 2005

Moto Guzzi has announced that its new Breva V1100 will be available from dealers by the end of the month. The new bike, which is much more than just a bigger capacity version of the Breva 750, will...

You track test K1200S

06 May 2005

Sports bike riders from across the country came together at Rockingham on Thursday to ride and rate BMW’s K1200S on the track. See video riders’ verdicts and clips of action from the day below. ...

MZ 125 specials

06 May 2005

MZ has released a whole bunch of special editions of its SM125 learner legal supermoto. There will be four special edition bikes available from August plus a new range of colour schemes. The bike...

Bike sales shoot up

06 May 2005

The motorcycle market looks like it is bouncing back with overall sales in April showing a massive seven percent increase on last year. The figures, provided by the Motorcycle Industry Association...

Test ride a SuperDuke

01 May 2005

KTM’s mad 990 SuperDuke has arrived in the UK and you’ll be able to test ride one at a KTM dealer this weekend. Every KTM dealer across the country is offering free test rides on the entire KTM range...

See K1200R at the Ace

01 May 2005

If you liked the look of the BMW K1200R in our world exclusive road test in this week’s MCN, then get down to the Ace Café on Sunday May 15 and you can see it in the flesh. BMW Motorrad will be...

Viper signs factory deal

15 April 2005

American cruiser maker Viper has announced a deal for Performance Assembly Solutions to make its bikes and engines at Livonia, Michigan. The big V-twin engines, including a 2500cc version, have been...

BMW confirms HP2 detail

15 April 2005

BMW has officially released details about its HP2 off-roader – the most powerful production off-road bike ever. MCN carried a world exclusive on the bike in our April 13 issue. Now details are being...

250,000 less Yamahas

15 April 2005

Yamaha has admitted it made ‘mistakes in counting’ the number of bikes it made and exported in the last year – to the tune of a quarter of a million motorcycles. According to reports*, the firm has...

Touring MZ revealed

15 April 2005

MZ has launched a new touring version of the 1000S offering a more comfortable and practical package for long distance riding. The 1000ST SuperTraveller is basically the same as the 1000S but gets...

Italian sales take a dive

08 April 2005

New bike sales in Italy are struggling with a 43% fall in scooters and small bikes in the first three months of 2005. In the period January-March 2005 total sales are down around 20% year on year...

Harley cuts production

08 April 2005

Harley-Davidson – the bike firm that makes more money than the world’s biggest car maker – is showing signs of a slow-down in its stratospheric growth. It has announced it is reining-in production –...

ZX-6R alternative found

08 April 2005

MCN has unearthed some early clay model workings and design sketches for the current Kawasaki ZX-6R – and we want to know what owners think. The early models show how much work went into the 2005...

Try free track sessions

08 April 2005

Free track sessions on BMW’s wildly-powerful K1200S are being offered to anyone considering buying a sports bike this year. You get to ride two 15-minute sessions on your own bike and one on the...

90,000 at Tokyo Show

01 April 2005

The 32nd Tokyo Motorcycle Show attracted more than 90,000 people at the weekend. The event at Tokyo Big Sight ran from Friday to Sunday (April 1-3) The 90,955 total visitor number was up more than...

New MV specials

01 April 2005

MV Agusta has just realeased photos of its two new limited edition specials, the Brutale Gladio and F4 1000 Corse. The bikes have been released to celebrate the opening of MV’s racing development...

C-charge bonus for bikes

01 April 2005

London’s Congestion Charge is to rise from £5 to £8 this summer – offering even greater incentive for car drivers to switch to two wheels. The current £5 levy for cars has already seen a boom in bike...

Exclusive: Ducati RR pics

25 March 2005

Want to see the most exciting production Ducati ever built? The road-going Ducati V4 Desmosedici GP replica, with 200bhp? Exclusive pictures of the actual bike undergoing testing, with full details,...

England's footy scooter

25 March 2005

Italian scooter maker Piaggio has landed the deal to make the official England football team scooter. The limited edition England NRG Power 50cc is inspired by the design of the new team strip, as...

Bargain price for Bullets

25 March 2005

A price rethink from Royal Enfield means that you can now buy a brand new Bullet 350 for less than two grand. The classic bike, which is practically unchanged from the 1950s machine has had its price...

BMW booms across EC

18 March 2005

BMW is celebrating sales success across Europe – shifting up a gear to a record new market share at home in Germany, too. BMWs account for one in five bikes sold in Germany. And the firm has seen...

Are you 'rufty, tufty?'

18 March 2005

Riders across the UK have reacted with a mixture of amusement and anger after being labelled “rufty, tufty, racers” by a spokesman for the British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF). Jeff Stone’s words...

3000kms in 24 hours

18 March 2005

Friday night – March 18 (For reference: 100kmh = 62.15mph) 00.00 hrs: Take off in Leiden (Leiden lies 30 km’s south of Amsterdam) on the new BMW K1200S for a trip through Germany, Switzerland, France,...

Rod is Wright choice

18 March 2005

Ex Arsenal and England legend Ian Wright has picked up a new Harley Street Rod. Wright was joined by his step son – and current England international – Shaun Wright-Phillips when he visited Thames...