2001
Strange but true…
16 December 2001
Here’s our latest line-up for bike-related oddities from around the planet. If you know of something worthy of inclusion in our next collection, e-mail jon.urry@emap.com AUSTRALIA: Not content with...
Suomy reveals new high-spec lids
16 December 2001
Suomy has revealed its greatest line-up yet, including an all-new range-topper, plus lids for Ducati and Aprilia. The Spec 1R takes over from the popular Gunwind as the No1 Suomy in 2002. It heralds a...
Win head-to-toe-kit, Ally Pally tickets and a track day
16 December 2001
Tell us a bit about your motorcycling life and you could win one of a host of great prizes. Simply follow the link (right) and tick a few boxes and not only will you be helping us improve the service...
Ducati’s new 998 versus Aprilia’s RSV-R
16 December 2001
With the 998 not due to visit our fog-bound shores until January, we had to go to Italy and get one, factory-fresh. We took our own RSV-R with us to meet its rival under clear blue skies. At Ducati...
Carl Fogarty: In his own words
16 December 2001
Jonny: Carl how long do you think it will take to get a race win with the new bike? CarlFogarty: Oh, it’s impossible to say really. It would be great to have one in the first year, although that’s unrealistic. But certainly in 2003 Dave: How difficult will it be to stop yourself jumping on the bike during testing to get the fastest lap times? CarlFogarty: Oh that won’t be difficult at all.
Your bike snaps could win you a top show prize
16 December 2001
If you’ve captured a great motorcycling moment on camera this year, enter your best efforts for the Photograph of the Year competition at the Scottish Motorcycle Show. There’s a trophy up for grabs in...
It’s good to talk
16 December 2001
Our Talk Bikes section is breaking new records as more and more of you register and head for the sections that most interest you. On Wednesday, the live chat with Foggy saw a record high in the number...
Can you name all the FIM winners?
16 December 2001
The FIM called together all its 2001 bikesport champions for a gala dinner on Saturday night. Dougie Lampkin, Jamie Dobb, Troy Bayliss and Valentino Rossi were among those officially picking up their...
Missing hippy’s headshave
16 December 2001
When one of our staff failed to turn in on the day after the Christmas party, we asked users of our TALK BIKES chatboards what punishment would be fitting. The majority were either too painful or...
The return of Bimota (again)
16 December 2001
Bimota is on course to make yet another comeback under new management. The firm’s assets have been auctioned off by the Italian court dealing with its bankruptcy, and one of the former bosses bought...
Biker-backed charity makes breakthrough in Africa
16 December 2001
Riders for Health has signed the first ever agreement for a non-governmental organisation to manage medical transportation in an African country. The UK Charity of the Year has signed the agreement...
Meet Aaron, Britain’s youngest stunt rider
16 December 2001
Aaron Stannage may still be at infant school but he has already performed in front of crowds of over 40,000, appeared on TV and been a fashion model. Oh, and he also currently the UK’s youngest stunt...
Schwarzenegger in bike accident
09 December 2001
Arnold Schwarzenegger might be famous for his bike chases in the films Terminator II and True Lies, but this time the action happened off-screen. The 54-year-old Harley rider has been injured in a...
Kawasaki boss suggests full merger with Suzuki
09 December 2001
Kawasaki and Suzuki are preparing to come together to launch a new bike within three years under a new and separate brand. Bloomberg reports Kawasaki Heavy Industries president Masamoto Tazaki as...
Project X900: hub-centre steering cracked?
09 December 2001
Hans Helms has been developing this bike for over two decades. Now, with plans to put the bike into production unrealised, its bright ideas are up for sale. The majority of the patents are associated...
Two-wheel drive R1 spotted… and it rocks
09 December 2001
These pictures provide the first proof that Yamaha is seriously working on two-wheel-drive technology for its most powerful bikes. And one man who has ridden the 2WD R1 claims the system improves the...
Don’t sell your bike from home
09 December 2001
Police are warning owners not to meet potential used bike buyers at our own homes. Kate Wright of the Northants force said thieves are using ads to pick out the bikes they want, ringing to find out...
It’s wrong to assume the GSX-R is a hooligans machine
09 December 2001
Although this video probably won’t help that argument, it is entertaining. Part two of MCN’s new video magazine is out on December 14. Don’t miss it
Would you give the Dog a home?
09 December 2001
Yamaha’s BT1100 Bulldog doesn’t fit comfortably into any of the pigeonholes we are used to. It’s a cross between a Ducati Monster and a Buell. Yamaha believes there’s big demand for such a hybrid. But...
Three men to put him in his leathers
09 December 2001
When it takes three people to force him into his leathers, you’ve got to wonder what he’s going to be doing
The best 600s you can buy for close to £4000
09 December 2001
1999 600s from the four Japanese manufacturers can now be bought in dealers advertising in MCN for £4500, give or take a few hundred. Shop privately and you can get a mint R6, CBR600, ZX-6R or...
New firm launches scooters into UK
09 December 2001
Taiwanese firm TGB is to launch both two and four stroke scooters of between 50 and 125cc into the UK in January. Prices have yet to be announced but are intended to be competitive with Italian and...
MCN’s new GSX-R video mag on sale from December 14
09 December 2001
Watch some of the hot highlights of the latest MCN video magazine on line right now. It’s a celebration of the cult of the GSX-R. Get a taste of it by following the links, right, and downloading some...
He just couldn’t quite brush the MCN logo with his knee
09 December 2001
He got close though. Part two of MCN’s new video magazine is out on December 14. Don’t miss it.
Crash victim told he wouldn’t walk again… by TV
09 December 2001
A motorcyclist laying in his hospital bed was stunned when he was told he would never walk again… particularly because he was being told by a television show. The rider had heard nothing of the sort...
BMW patents bike air bags
09 December 2001
BMW has patented a new airbag system and is planning to fit it to its bikes. It uses ultrasound (the guidance system dolphins excel at) to build up a picture of where and how the rider is sat on the...
Road-going Castrol rep CBR and Blade to go on sale
09 December 2001
The Castrol Honda race squad is adding a 2002 British superbike-spec road-going FireBlade to its previously announced CBR600 supersport racer rep, and is planning to put it on sale in road legal...
How Yamaha’s 2WD works
09 December 2001
Ohlins/Yamaha’s system is light and so simple it can be fitted to virtually any bike with minimal modifications to the standard suspension and transmission. It uses hydraulic pressure to transmit the power to the front. A small hydraulic pump is attached to the engine, and driven by an extra chain running from the front sprocket of the stock gearbox. It uses six or more tiny pistons to pump...
If you thought it’s all praise for the GSX-R this week
09 December 2001
Then Steve Parrish might be about to prove you wrong. Part two of MCN’s new video magazine is out on December 14. Don’t miss it
Win a signed Hodgson book for your best biking moments
09 December 2001
Your most magical motorcycling moments of the year have already started coming in. This one from Richard Halford is a great example. ” First track day, first time knee down, wore out a set of sliders...
Full report from the first test of the new FireBlade
09 December 2001
IT’S impossible to be certain one bike can live with another without testing them back-to-back. But it’s been three hours since I stepped off Honda’s new FireBlade, which has just been launched at...
GPS links up with your mobile to nab bike thieves
09 December 2001
The new Scitrack will dial your mobile phone if someone tampers with your pride and joy, you can then inform the old bill and the crooks can be caught red-handed (provided they react swiftly...
The super tourer rider
09 December 2001
Super Blackbird rider Smith likens the Bulldog to ” a great commuter bike, but with style, ” and thinks Yamaha has copied elements from a Buell and Monster. He says: ” I’m impressed with how it...
Forget fireworks… let’s ban bikes!
09 December 2001
A local newspaper which is campaigning to ban fireworks has been asked to switch its focus to fighting for a ban on bikes. The Nottingham Evening Post printed the following letter from a reader on Tuesday night. " With regard to your campaign to ban fireworks, while I can understand the distress they must cause people for about six weeks of the year, I think a greater scourge are motorbikes. They...