MCN Fleet

Between weekend blasts, long trips and rides to and from the office, I find myself using my long-term Suzuki GSX250R almost every day. In the four months we have spent together, I have come to know...

So, we’ve been saying that winter is coming for a while but I was definitely a little surprised to peel back the curtains to the first frost of the year this morning! I know it’s November, but the...

I had one of those rides last night. You know, the kind where everything is just right. Yes, it's November, and it was dark, but that didn't matter. I've made no secret of the fact that I've struggled...

Working as MCN’s British Superbike reporter takes me here, there and everywhere. Not only do I get to head out to 12 rural destinations in far-flung corners of the UK (and the Netherlands), I’m often...

Five months have passed pretty rapidly with the Rallye, all to the sonorous soundtrack of a hard-working boxer twin exercising with the sort of aerobic exertion that any triathlete would be happy...

Just recently I’ve taken the plunge and gone for an aftermarket exhaust on the Street Triple RS. The £615 price tag makes it a hard move but the design is perfect as you'd expect from Arrow. Not only...

The craftsmanship in the Akrapovic headers is stunning. They’re feather-light and beautifully made. I fitted the slip-on Akrapovic end can (£323) a few months back. Now it's time to add the ‘optional...

Buying bike accessories that you can’t see somewhat smacks of the emperor’s new clothes – but I can assure you there a) are actually products in these photos, and that b) they work really rather...

I’ve spent the majority of my time with Suzuki’s GSX250R exploring its surprising ability to cover big miles. However, although the A1 is mighty fun, when an opportunity came to take the 250 on...

My GSX-R1000R is an unashamed track bike, but despite its appetite for tarmac-demolishing speed and full-lean lunacy, most superbikes like this are ridden on the road, with the odd of...

Winter is coming! There’s no doubt about it, the nights are drawing in, the clocks go back next week, the temperature is plunging, the grey murky days arriving and this morning we had our first fog of...

Today is the first day I’ve felt fully justified for having the fog lights fitted to the Honda X-ADV. With the trees rapidly going from summery green to autumnal brown the change of the season is...

With the clocks nudging 3500 miles on my Suzuki GSX250R, it was time for some new rubber. After months of commuting, leisure rides and even an afternoon on track, the rear OE IRC RX-01 Road Winner had...

MCN's Senior Editor, Matt Wildee has been living with BMW's new-for-2017 R nineT Racer this year. With all the style of a Savile Row suit, Matt describes what it's like to live with the boxer twin...

When first fitted, I wasn’t too sure if Pirelli’s Rosso III tyres would quite live up to the Metzeler Roadtec 01s I’d used previously.  As a sportier tyre, I didn’t expect them to perform as well...

I’ve been interested to find that there’s a thriving community of Honda X-Adv riders out in the wider world. The bike seems to be very well received on the continent and one particularly active group,...

It seems to have been a hectic time for myself and the Triumph Bobber recently, with plenty of longer trips putting more miles on the bike and seeing it blast through the #ride5000miles goal with...

Welcome to the Ring  There’s nothing quite like the soul-shaking rush of the Nurburing’s play-an-play Nordschleife, to kick off a summer of trackday fun.  I’ve been addicted to the...

I’ve enjoyed my time with the beautiful, characterful R nineT Racer. When I took possession of the bike I wanted to accentuate the ‘Racer’ part of its character. My idea of heaven on a motorcycle is...

I’ve been asking myself - is Kawasaki's 650 really worthy of the Ninja name? On looks alone, maybe. The ZX-10R-inspired styling and KRT paint scheme make it look like a proper pocket-rocket. The 63bhp...

Ever since I first rode the long term Street Glide in the rain, I’ve been pretty keen to get rid of the stock tyres. In the dry, they’re fine, but in the wet they’re pretty poor – quickly spinning up,...

My R6 is the only 600cc Supersport machine on the market with traction control and ABS as standard. In theory it should be able to cut it in the wet, but can it? I’d recently fitted brand new Metzeler...

Almost 6000 miles covered and I’m still loving the RS, but it’s time to start giving her some bling. I’ve gone with all Triumph genuine accessories which include frame and swing arm crash protection,...

It was time for another Sunday blast with dad, him on a 2007 Fireblade and me on Doris the updated-for-2017 Duke. My dad must have been so bored. I was there with my hair dryer working hard to get up...

Last month I took the opportunity to ship my bike out to Switzerland with Bike Shuttle and tour the Alps. I'd never ridden abroad alone so this was a new venture for me. Once I collected my bike in...

I’m five months and almost 6000 miles in to my year with the Suzuki V-Strom 650XT and ever since I took delivery of it, perhaps even before, I’ve had this one little niggle about the bike that won’t...

You don't really know a bike until you've spent some time with it. A lot of time. My first four or five months with Ducati's 'sportsbike for the road' had certainly been a blast. Work commutes and a...

The road trip to Aragon MotoGP has begun. From home we’ve ridden to Portsmouth and I’m now sat on the Brittany Ferries crossing making our way across the Bay of Biscay on route to Santander in...

I feel that I should be wearing a white lab coat and not a leather jacket with all the testing I’ve been doing! I’m trying to work out which of the Honda X-Adv’s gear modes is right for me. Unlike...

When it comes to cold weather, I don’t really mind admitting that I’m a bit of a softy. As soon as the mercury sinks, I’m straight into the box of winter gloves and thermal baselayers, so it was a bit...

While I’ve had a couple of excursions off-road on the KTM Super Adventure S they’ve been short and fairly inconclusive. But I’m glad to say that changed this week with a day in the dirt – make that...

My R6’s rear tyre has just deflated in record time. We had a few 90mph wobbles but nothing that was too alarming, so I made my way to the littered grass verge on the A1 northbound and began the wait...

Although I’ve only had my Suzuki GSX250R for little over a month, I have already clocked up just shy of half of my #ride5000miles total. In this time together, one of the things I have come to like...

On a slow moving journey from London to MCN’s Peterborough HQ recently, my GSX-R did the unthinkable for a superbike and returned an astonishing 61mpg.  I’m more interested in chasing lap times...

I’ve had an interesting time with Kawasaki's Ninja 650 so far. It’s a really useful and fun bike that makes me grin regardless of what I do or where I take it. So far it’s been used for commuting,...

Talk about a slow burner. As the miles slip by, this Blade SP inexorably grows bigger in my life – to the point where my attitude towards it has progressed from one of indifference and Guy Martin...