Ben Clarke

Assistant Editor (Motorcycling)

Ben joined the MCN team after retraining as a journalist in 2018, but his love of motorbikes began a long time before that, watching his dad ride his 1976 Honda CB400F. Ben’s own riding history started when he learned to ride on an 80s Yamaha XT250 in a mate’s field and then took a direct access bike test at 21.

Three months later, he embarked on a 13,500-mile tour across the USA and down through Central America on a Yamaha XT660R. This crash-course (quite literally a few times) started in Miami and finished in Panama City and took in just about every type of terrain you can imagine; from the racetrack-smooth bends of California’s Pacific Coast Highway to the depths of Nicaragua’s forests.

Whether track riding, long distance touring, off-roading or a simple Sunday blast, Ben loves all kinds of riding and will give anything a go for the sake of a good story. Since joining MCN Ben has been to knee-down school, gone off-roading with James Bond stuntmen and ridden tens of thousands of miles on test bikes.

For 2022, he has been riding an Indian FTR S and has covered thousands of miles including a trip to Czechia for a very boozey Indian Riders Festival. His previous long-term test bikes have included a Honda CBR650R, Yamaha Ténéré 700 and Kawasaki ZX-10R and he owns a 2001 ‘curvy’ Suzuki SV650.

Contact Ben by email here.

Follow Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/benclarkejourno

Follow Ben on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bennycclarke