2011

Year: 2011

Month: ALL

BMW unveils new 'anti-crash' technology

17 May 2011 by Andy Downes

BMW has today taken the wraps off a new motorcycle and car communication system that aims to prevent cars pulling across the path of oncoming bikes. The system is called ‘Turn Left Assistant’ and uses...

Moto Guzzi launch special ‘Corsa’ edition of 1200 Sport

16 May 2011 by Phil West

Moto Guzzi has launched this special red, white and gold version of its 1200 Sport. Dubbed the ‘Corsa’ the special edition also features gold detailing and a two-tone saddle. Price is unchanged over...

All new Suzuki GSX-R600 gets 0% finance deal

12 May 2011 by Andy Downes

Just months after the launch of the all-new and class-leading 600cc supersports Suzuki GSX-R600 the firm is offering the bike on 0% finance over three years with £1 deposit. All you need to do is put...

Aprilia RSV4 R gets tech goodies

12 May 2011 by Michael Neeves

This is undoubtedly the year of the RSV4. Aprilia’s cutting-edge V4-engined superbike had its ups and downs when it was launched in 2009 but now the rough edges are smoothed off and it’s a...

250 bobber 'Tha Heist' makes UK debut at BMF show

12 May 2011 by Guy Procter

The 250 class continues to stretch in all directions, with the UK launch of ‘Tha Heist’, a lightweight bobber packing full-size attitude. Designed by Cleveland CycleWerks in the states, the Heist will...

Husqvarna SMS630: A very civilised supermoto

12 May 2011 by MCN

The new Husqvarna SMS630 is claimed to be the most user-friendly supermoto yet but thanks to its all new twin-cam engine it’s no softy either. Build quality and styling are improved – a result of the...

Rieju RS3 125LC show debut at the BMF this weekend

12 May 2011 by MCN

Rieju’s RS3 125LC learner sports bike will make its show debut at the BMF show in Peterborough this weekend (14 – 15 May). Powered by the water-cooled Yamaha YZF-R125 engine, but using carburettors...

Benelli celebrates 100 years with £2000 savings

11 May 2011 by John Westlake

Benelli is 100-years-old this year and one part of its celebrations is a dramatic reduction of its On The Road (OTR) prices on selected road bikes in the present Benelli range. Machines that are not...

New MV Agusta F4 RR - quicker yet slower

11 May 2011 by Guy Procter

MV Agusta has seized on a critical lull in new sportsbike activity to launch the most powerful production superbike ever, the F4 RR ‘Corsacorta’. MV hopes the £17,999, 201bhp, 998cc halo version of...

Husqvarna 900 Street One

10 May 2011 by Oberdan Bezzi

Here’s my idea for the new BMW-powered Husqvarna street bike. What do you think?

Honda launches Casey Stoner replica Fireblade

10 May 2011 by Andy Downes

Honda Australia has announced a special edition of the CBR1000RR 2011 Repsol Honda Fireblade in Casey Stoner colours and trim – sadly it’s only for the Aussie market but they have made a great video...

Husqvarna reveals new 900cc parallel twin road bike engine

06 May 2011 by Andy Downes

Italian firm Husqvarna has unveiled a new 900cc engine based around the BMW F800 engine that will power the first of five new road bikes being launched in the next five years. Husqvarna revealed the...

WK SM50: Racy supermoto 16-er arrives in UK

05 May 2011 by Phil West

If you thought affordable, saucy 50cc bikes were a thing of the past, checkout this new offering from new-to-the-UK Chinese manufacturer WK. Dubbed the SM50, it’s a supermoto-styled, liquid-cooled,...

Free panniers on BMW R1200GS and Adventure models

05 May 2011 by Andy Downes

BMW is offering free panniers on the R1200GS and R1200GS Adventure models for a limited time. Customers will be given a set of BMW panniers which suit their chosen bike, with R1200GS buyers offered a...

MV Agusta celebrates 150 years of Italian unification

04 May 2011 by Andy Downes

Italian firm MV Agusta is commemorating 150 years since the unification of its home country with a special series of bikes based on the Brutale 990R. There are just 150 of the bikes being built which...

BMW-backed Husqvarna to launch five new road bikes

04 May 2011 by Andy Downes

Italian motorcycle firm Husqvarna is just months away from unveiling the first of five new road bikes which will have BMW-derived twin and single cylinder engines. Find a Husqvarna for sale. There’s...

Brammo launches four 'game changing' new bikes: ones real riders will like

04 May 2011 by Guy Procter

American electric bike manufacturer Brammo is launching four new models featuring ‘a game-changing mechatronic propulsion unit that emulates the feeling and performance of a traditional internal...

Why Rossi has Ducati worried sick about their new superbike

04 May 2011 by Guy Procter

It’s November 2011. MotoGP’s just finished with [insert Stoner/Lorenzo/Pedrosa/Spies here] and Rossi, um, fifth. Press releases are hurriedly despatched – ‘It was his shoulder!’; ‘It was mainly his...

Video: S1000RR faster than an M3 even in the wet

03 May 2011 by Guy Procter

BMW’s M3 saloon is lame, according to a shock video admission by the firm itself. It’s released this video of its ‘fastest’ four-wheeler racing its fastest bike in what we can only interpret as a...

Horex VR6 - how it all fits together

03 May 2011 by Guy Procter

Six cylinders no wider than four, big vee-engine character from an inline-sized lump? Reborn German manufacturer Horex promises this and up to 200bhp from its 1218cc VR motor (V for vee, R for in a...

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes

28 April 2011 by Guy Procter

What else is there to say when faced with this combination of all good things that is the £5500 QTvan mobility scooter caravan? We don’t know how this has passed us by until the very evening before...

The lazy way to look at tons of Tuono V4R pictures

28 April 2011 by Guy Procter

Want to wallow in some Tuono V4R-porn? We can understand that. Here’s a way to bathe your eyes in all its loveliness – but BE WARNED, the effect on your ears will be the opposite.

Supersport star tests GSR750 for MCN

28 April 2011 by Adam Child

48 hours after tacking a hard fought win in the British Supersport Championship on board his Relentless GSX-R600 Suzuki by TAS, Alistair Seeley was back at Brands Hatch joining the MCN team putting...

Comment: Why the G650GS is the first of a new breed of hooligan bike

28 April 2011 by Steve Farrell

Yes, I know it sounds unlikely. But stop shaking your head and listen. Here’s why, despite its mild-mannered exterior, BMW’s G650GS is a hooligan bike: The original hooligan bikes of the seventies and...

You bought their kitchens. Will you buy their bikes?

28 April 2011 by Guy Procter

The Ikea incursion has seen the Swedish way of life occupy our homes and give us undreamt-of storage options. Now they’re after your garage, as long defunct brand Swedish brand Ockelbo ponders a...

Ducati Monster 1100 Evo lands in UK

28 April 2011 by Trevor Franklin

Ducati’s latest big-bore, air-cooled Monster, the 1100 Evo, has arrived in UK Ducati dealers – and at MCN’s office door. MCN is currently testing the new £10,119 Monster 1100 Evo on UK roads and it...

Tuono V4R too ugly? French to the rescue!

27 April 2011 by Guy Procter

Fabulous new Aprilia Tuono V4R too ugly for you? Here come the French, with what they hope is the answer – a modified RSV4, dubbed the V4 Street. Arriving just after the launch of the Tuono V4R the V4...

New KTM Duke 690 spied

27 April 2011 by MCN

This prototype is the new 70bhp KTM Duke 690. It was spotted being filled up with fuel yards from the KTM factory in Mattighofen, Austria, by an eagle-eyed Austrian KTM owner who took pictures and...

'Handling of a race bike, comfort of a street bike' - Motus MST-01 on track

26 April 2011 by Guy Procter

Of course you¹d expect to hear that in a promotional video, but it¹s an Ohlins technician talking, even if he couches his comments in the bubblewrap of ‘This is the beginning… I can’t imagine what the...

Zero electric bikes – electric riding experience

21 April 2011 by MCN

Earlier Zeros used to have a lash-up feel, but the Californian firm’s 2011 models are very much proper bikes. There are two new road bikes – the S (for Street) is purely for Tarmac and the DS (Dual...

Suzuki/VW tie-up yields first fruit?

21 April 2011 by Guy Procter

VW has surprised the Shanghai car show by revealing an electric scooter. And if this is the first fruit of the VW-Suzuki partnership (the German firm own a fifth of the GSX-R maker) we can’t wait for...

ABS compulsory on US BMWs but 86% of UK BMW buyers opt for it anyway

21 April 2011 by Guy Procter

ABS will be standard on all BMWs sold in America from 2012, the firm’s US bosses have announced. But it’s a move unlikely to spread to British beemers while 86% of us are happy to pay between £645 and...

Why new bikes aren’t as heavy as you think

21 April 2011 by Steve Farrell

The specifications of some small-to-middle-weight new bikes have caused disquiet on the forums of MCN this year. One user wrote of the new Honda CBR250R, which weighs 162kg and makes a claimed 26bhp:...

New Yamaha YZF-R15: no compromise on the hugger

21 April 2011 by Guy Procter

New Yamaha? In this economic climate? And a ‘super sport urban bike’ at that? Yep, you read it right (Looking for a 125? Find a Yamaha YZF-R125 for sale). Unfortunately, the svelte new R6-alike 150cc...

McDeeb Six Days 500 EVO

21 April 2011 by Oberdan Bezzi

Here’s my vision for a new McDeeb motorcycle, based on a Royal Enfield 500 EFI engine. The bike will look very good, and although it won’t be a high performance bike, it will be good for relaxed...

MV Agusta F3 set to reinvent supersport class

15 April 2011 by Andy Downes

Two of the men behind the all-new MV Agusta F3 are months away from finishing work on the bike and reckon it can radically shake-up the supersport class thanks to a powerful three-cylinder engine,...