September

All that glitters... is almost gold

All that glitters... is almost gold

FEW people in the world will ever get to look at, let alone hear, ride or even own an MV Agusta Series Oro. Only 50 of the magnesium-laced ” gold ” series bikes have ever been built. All of them are...

Britain’s answer to the R1

Britain’s answer to the R1

THERE have been some great British motorcycles over the years. Triumph’s Bonneville, Norton’s Commando, BSA’s Dandy (well, maybe not). But, even in light of the very latest machines like Triumph’s...

A little bit of what you fancy

A little bit of what you fancy

IT was all a bit ironic. Here I was in the middle of Germany, howling along on an exotic FireBlade-engined bike I had travelled halfway across Europe to ride. But along with its Japanese-made engine,...

Beyond reason

Beyond reason

I’M sitting in a jammed-up one-way system, snicking the gearbox into neutral. The idling engine’s heat is starting to make its way through my jeans. Traffic jams are an annoyance on most bikes,...

Tale of the unexpected

Tale of the unexpected

TRACKDAY bikes – R1s, Blades, GSX-Rs, 916s, BMWs. Er, excuse me? Let’s try that one again. Track day bikes – R1s, Blades, GSX-Rs, 916s… BMWs? Surely Munich’s big Boxers are designed to clock up the...

The sum is greater than its parts

The sum is greater than its parts

IT was just like gazing at the stars. The more I looked, the more I saw. Except this wasn’t the sky. This was a very special Honda SP-1. And instead of seeing planets, I was gawping at a machine which...

Casting light on the secrets of the black box

YOU know what the problem with that is… that’s your cerebral oscillator confounding your collectivisor, that is… Modern bikes can be such conundrums of electronic complexity that you won’t be alone if your eyes start glazing over when your mechanic begins explaining why yours won’t start. It’s easy to give up, hand over the key and wander off in the hope that there’s a taxi rank nearby, without...