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Motorbike Advice

Your one-stop shop for all motorbike advice, including how-tos, getting a motorcycle licence, servicing, maintenance and more.

Find out which bikes you should be choosing in our expertly curated Best section, or find the perfect kit and accessories at MCN Product Picks.

For those looking to learn how to ride a motorbike, head to our Learning to Ride hub, where we cover all you need to know about getting into this wonderful lifestyle.

If you've already got going, check out our Riding Tips section for the best guides and top techniques.

Looking for somewhere to go? Don't miss our Places to Visit area for some ideas for your next rideout.

And when you get home, learn how to look after your bike in our Bike Maintenance hub.

Year: ALL

Viva Vespa! Celebrating 75 years of the scooter that changed two wheels forever

11 June 2021 by Phil West

Viva Vespa! Celebrating 75 years of the scooter that changed two wheels forever

Seventy-five years ago this spring, motorcycling – or, to be precise, powered two-wheelers – changed forever when the very first scooter was launched. Spawned from the rubble of post-WW2 Italy,...

Explore Northumberland: New 250-mile route launched to rival the NC500

10 June 2021 by Jordan Gibbons

Explore Northumberland: New 250-mile route launched to rival the NC500

A pair of Northumberland residents have created the Northumberland 250 – a route set to rival the North Coast 500. Related articles on MCN The best UK roads to explore by motorbike this...

Plug in, ride out: Best electric motorbikes of 2023

26 May 2021 by Ben Clarke

Plug in, ride out: Best electric motorbikes of 2023

It’s getting hard to ignore the number of electric vehicles you see on the roads these days. What used to be a novel rarity is now commonplace with models from most major manufacturers and electric...

Avoid buying a nicked track bike: How to make sure a new toy doesn’t belong to someone else

20 May 2021 by Ben Clarke

Avoid buying a nicked track bike: How to make sure a new toy doesn’t belong to someone else

With the world getting back to some kind of normal and summer fast approaching, a lot of riders will be spending their hard-earned cash on a dedicated bike to enjoy at a circuit in the UK. Related:...

Strip lightning! The best naked motorbikes of 2023

17 May 2021 by Phil West

Strip lightning! The best naked motorbikes of 2023

Before sportsbikes gained race-replica bodywork, touring machines required weather-beating full fairings and adventure bikes donned screens, beaks and all manner of plastic add-ons, all bikes were...

Michael Laverty’s all-new riding academy is all about developing the British stars of tomorrow

14 May 2021 by Michael Guy

Michael Laverty’s all-new riding academy is all about developing the British stars of tomorrow

For the first time since 2010 there are no British riders in MotoGP. Three-time race winner Cal Crutchlow’s departure at the end of 2020 has left a void, with no obvious candidates waiting in the...

Marvellous Motobirds: The story of the UK’s first all-female biking stunt team

16 April 2021 by Emma Franklin

Marvellous Motobirds: The story of the UK’s first all-female biking stunt team

In 1972, 17-year-old lab technician Mary Connors was idly flicking through a local newspaper when she spotted a small ad: Girls required to ride motorcycles, full training given. “I honestly thought...

Now's the time to try off-road riding

16 April 2021 by Emma Franklin

Now's the time to try off-road riding

I always thought that handling a bike at high speed on a circuit represented the very pinnacle of skill, not slithering around a field getting mud sprayed up my back. Oh how wrong can a person be? “I...

Make 2021 the year when you take control of your own touring destiny

15 April 2021 by Alison Silcox

Make 2021 the year when you take control of your own touring destiny

With destination set to ‘Home’ the satnav tells me there’s a little over 1000 miles ahead, and just before midnight I’ll be back in moonlit Peterborough. It’s at this point, a lightbulb flickers and a...

Ride your own adventure: It’s time to take your first steps off-road

12 April 2021 by Michael Guy

Ride your own adventure: It’s time to take your first steps off-road

Leaving the tarmac behind on a £20k fully loaded BMW R1250GSA is the elephant in the adventure bike showroom. Every manufacturer spends millions developing bikes capable of handling the rough stuff,...

Share your biking obsession: Get someone back on two wheels

09 April 2021 by Jon Urry

Share your biking obsession: Get someone back on two wheels

I’m sure we all know someone who, for one reason or another, holds a motorcycle licence but has given up riding. A dormant biker, just waiting to be gently awoken back to the world of two-wheels. In...

Creating a Monster: Has the 2021 Ducati Monster turned its back on tradition?

03 April 2021 by Phil West

Creating a Monster: Has the 2021 Ducati Monster turned its back on tradition?

We recently got the chance to ride the all-new 2021 Ducati Monster, almost three decades after the firm took the wraps off the original prototype at the 1992 Cologne Motor Show. Entering production...

Back to your biking best: How to shake off the lockdown riding rust

30 March 2021 by Emma Franklin

Back to your biking best: How to shake off the lockdown riding rust

We made it! Spring’s here, the days are getting longer, and Monday, March 29 saw England’s stay-at-home order lifted, meaning just a little more freedom to start enjoying biking for pleasure. Although...

MCN legends: Kawasaki Z1

19 March 2021 by Phil West

MCN legends: Kawasaki Z1

If the CB750 was Japan’s first large capacity four, the Z1 was the world’s first superbike; raising the performance bar to unforeseen heights; leading a new era of big Japanese multis and setting the...

Supersport screamers: It's the best 600cc sports bikes for 2021

17 March 2021 by Dan Sutherland

Supersport screamers: It's the best 600cc sports bikes for 2021

The 600cc sportsbike market has taken a hiding in recent years, with almost all major manufacturers slowing development of their middleweight three and four-cylinder screamers in favour of flagship...

What’s the deal with E10 fuel? We enlist an expert to answer your 'green petrol' questions

15 March 2021 by Ben Purvis

What’s the deal with E10 fuel? We enlist an expert to answer your 'green petrol' questions

From September 2021 ‘E10’ will become the new standard unleaded petrol in UK filling stations and the changeover has sparked concerns that it could cause poor running or even damage on some...

Why you need to own a two-stroke... or two

12 March 2021 by Emma Franklin

Why you need to own a two-stroke... or two

The world is changing. Fossil fuel powered vehicles now have just nine years left before manufacturers stop producing new petrol and diesel four-wheelers. Bikes will follow suit, and in time the...

How to get your motorbike back on the road after a long time

12 March 2021 by Bruce Dunn

How to get your motorbike back on the road after a long time

If you’ve had to lay your bike up for a long period of time, be it due to the seasons, an illness, a trip away with work or any other reason, your bike may need some attention before it’s ready to hit...

From Wimbledon to F1 and the Olympics... Suzi Perry has done it all

08 March 2021 by Michael Guy

From Wimbledon to F1 and the Olympics... Suzi Perry has done it all

In a career that has spanned more than 20 years, Suzi Perry has weaved her way into the fabric of motorcycle racing. Having interviewed riders from Carl Fogarty and Mick Doohan to Valentino Rossi,...

Used motorbike buying guide: don't buy a lemon

04 March 2021 by Neil Murray

Used motorbike buying guide: don't buy a lemon

It’s winter, and that means one thing: bikers buying and selling used motorcycles. With that in mind, how do you know what to look out for when you’re hunting for your next steed?  Buying a pre-loved...

The Great Malle Rally offers two-wheeled escapism without a passport

04 March 2021 by Jordan Gibbons

The Great Malle Rally offers two-wheeled escapism without a passport

Raindrops on hairpins and cold sandy beaches, bright chrome air cleaners and damp tyre screeches, hiding your smartphone so it never rings, these are a few of my favourite things. Cream-coloured...

Best supermoto motorbikes: skids and wheelies for all!

22 February 2021 by Ben Clarke

Best supermoto motorbikes: skids and wheelies for all!

What is a supermoto? Well, there was a time in the late nineties and early noughties where the pinnacle of two wheeled excitement was a supermoto. It’s a simple formula; choose a dirtbike, fit uprated...

Twin peaks: a history of Ducati's iconic V-twin engine

05 February 2021 by Phil West

Twin peaks: a history of Ducati's iconic V-twin engine

This year is a milestone for Ducati’s iconic, Desmodromic V-twin – or ‘L-twin’ as the Italian firm call their 90-degree engine layout. Related articles from MCN 75 years of MV Agusta Two tribes go to...

Captain Sir Tom Moore, 1920 – 2021

02 February 2021 by Jordan Gibbons

Captain Sir Tom Moore, 1920 – 2021

Former British Army despatch rider, motorcycle racer and charity fundraiser Captain Sir Tom Moore has died after contracting coronavirus. Capt. Moore burst into the public conscious in April 2020,...

The rise, fall and rise of Aprilia: 50 years of motorbikes from Noale

29 January 2021 by Phil West

The rise, fall and rise of Aprilia: 50 years of motorbikes from Noale

Just weeks after its world launch, the most eagerly anticipated bike of 2020, Aprilia’s RS660, is proving to be well worth the wait. The 100bhp twin, complete with mould-breaking, ultralight 169kg...

Best naked 125s of 2021

22 January 2021 by MCN

Best naked 125s of 2021

Looking at buying a new naked 125? Well, MCN has got you covered with this handy pick of the bunch. The sporty naked 125 market is currently saturated with both new and used examples from almost all...

Learner-friendly fun: it's the best 125cc motorbikes in 2023

22 January 2021 by Michael Neeves

Learner-friendly fun: it's the best 125cc motorbikes in 2023

If you’re looking for the best 125cc motorbikes money can buy, you need to come to the title that tests the most bikes – MCN. Our expert team of road testers are among the best in the world, and can...

Things to do during Covid isolation: give your motorbike a proper clean

05 January 2021 by Bruce Dunn

Things to do during Covid isolation: give your motorbike a proper clean

As many of us find ourselves isolated once again and at a loose end in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, what better time is there to give your motorbike a proper clean? While scrubbing your bike...

Bucketlist: Ride a classic banked circuit

03 January 2021 by Phil West

Bucketlist: Ride a classic banked circuit

Most bikers have experience of race circuits, either through racing, trackdays or simply spectating. It’s an experience that  rings a far greater appreciation of the adrenaline-fuelled thrills and...

Get your stoppers gleaming: how to clean your motorbike's brakes

02 January 2021 by Bruce Dunn

Get your stoppers gleaming: how to clean your motorbike's brakes

Cleaning your brakes is an important step in motorcycle maintenance and a fairly easy one to do. The tools required are basic (allen keys, a socket set and a torque wrench) and the payoff is instant.

Buy your dream bike – now!

01 January 2021 by Richard Newland

Buy your dream bike – now!

I’ve been dreaming of this moment for 18 years. To be honest, I never thought it would happen – but several things conspired to form a perfect storm, and the dream has finally become a reality. Oddly,...

Watch: Nick Sanders on the Snowdonia 360

16 December 2020 by Gareth Evans

Watch: Nick Sanders on the Snowdonia 360

In this week’s special 5-in-1 MCN we have a supplement about inspirational things you could plan to do in 2021. Among them is Nick Sanders MBE’s trip around the Snowdonia 360 – Wales’s answer to the...

Best adventure motorbikes of 2023

07 December 2020 by Ben Clarke

Best adventure motorbikes of 2023

Let’s clear the air before we start; any motorbike can be used to go on an adventure. This page, however, will concentrate on the adventure bike market sector that covers mostly middle and heavyweight...

Ohvale UK Cup: How Peter Hickman is nurturing the next generation of UK racing stars

04 December 2020 by Dan Sutherland

Ohvale UK Cup: How Peter Hickman is nurturing the next generation of UK racing stars

Peter Hickman is one of the most versatile British motorcycle racers of the modern age. Having won the National Superstock 1000 Cup championship 16 years ago, he’s since become a multiple British...

Evel Knievel Laverda leaps back into the limelight

25 November 2020 by Phil West

Evel Knievel Laverda leaps back into the limelight

A bike used by Evel Knievel has been discovered, restored and put on public display. Knievel, who died in 2007, is best remembered for using Harley-Davidson XR750s in the 1970s, most notably for his...

How to prepare your motorbike for winter

20 November 2020 by Bruce Dunn

How to prepare your motorbike for winter

Preparing your motorbike for the colder weather, salt on the roads and slippery conditions is an important task if you don’t want to watch it rot away in front of your eyes.  Related: Essential...