February

Year: 2001

Month: February

Piaggio reveals 250… and promises a 500 to follow

25 February 2001

PIAGGIO is launching a 250cc scooter next month called the Jupiter. Powered by a Yamaha YP250 Majesty engine it will be in UK showrooms by April. A 180cc version and a 500cc one will follow later this...

All these first tests coming soon

25 February 2001

MCN’S Marc Potter will ride Ducati’s new 996R on Wednesday March 7, becoming one of the first people outside the factory to do so. And we’ll be bringing you his first reactions on that very day. In the next fortnight you can also look forward to the world’s first tests of the Aprilia CapoNord, Kawasaki RZX1200S and ZR7S and Piaggio’s new 500cc super-scooter, the X9. Keep checking back with...

Ducati plans Foggy rep Monster

25 February 2001

DUCATI bosses in Italy have confirmed they are working on a Monster tribute to four-times WSB champion Carl Fogarty based on the latest S4 version of the bike. It uses a 916cc water-cooled motor...

Honed to perfection

25 February 2001

HAVING honed and refined the FireBlade over the eight years since its introduction in 1992, Honda entered the new millennium with perhaps its most radical incarnation of the model yet. Although always...

Forget Bodie and Doyle, the real professionals are here

25 February 2001

EVERY discipline has its crack troops, who are called into action for the key projects. You want to send specialists behind enemy lines to disable their radar systems? You need the SAS. You need to...

Benelli boss speaks exclusively to MCN

25 February 2001

NOBODY outside the factory has ridden the Benelli Tornado yet but it’s already one of the most desirable bikes on the planet – and that is just for starters, according to Benelli president Andrea...

25 February 2001

INSURANCE The bike falls into the group 16 category in the UK, which means that certain types of cover in certain parts of the country for some riders isn’t available at all from a handful of firms, making shopping around for quotes essential rather than merely advisable. MODEL VARIATIONS When buying a ZX-9R, potential purchasers essentially have a choice of two main model types – the pre-1998 “B”...

The choice is no longer so clear-cut

25 February 2001

HERE in Britain, we have a history of favouring one type of bike over any other. More than any other riders in Europe, we choose to spend our money on sports bikes and superbikes. But now the first of a new breed of motorcycle has arrived, which could change all that. Say hello to Yamaha’s Fazer 1000 (see road test on page 24). It’s cheaper than a full-on superbike, but it still offers awesome...

The meanest green machine

25 February 2001

KAWASAKI’S Ninja nine has enjoyed a cult following amongst the big cube cognoscenti, not just for its sheer performance but also for its styling and brute-force engine. Determined not to let their...

A Triumph to make Italy tremble – but not Japan

18 February 2001

TRIUMPH publicly unveiled to the world this morning the long-awaited successor to its 955i triple – and immediately told riders looking for something to humble a GSX-R1000 to look elsewhere. The...

Can we take the politicians seriously this time?

18 February 2001

REMEMBER the promises the Labour Party made before it was elected? All that stuff along the ” Bike to Basics ” line. Well, unfortunately, the party itself doesn’t. After a landslide victory,...

ZX-9R to power new musclebike

18 February 2001

KAWASAKI is planning to launch a naked musclebike using a retuned version of the ZX-9R’s 144bhp engine. The 899cc four-cylinder engine could be tweaked to make more torque than the ZX-9R’s formidable...

Triumph’s Daytona gets 147bhp

18 February 2001 by MCN News

A BRITISH-built superbike with the potential to take on the best Japanese and Italian machines is enough to get any rider’s mouth watering. And Triumph reckons its new 955i Daytona is exactly...

More Gatso cameras looming

18 February 2001

EVERY police force in the country could soon be allowed to use money from speeding fines to pay for thousands more speed cameras. Following similar pilot schemes involving eight police forces around the country, the Association of Chief Police Officers has announced plans to spread the scheme nation-wide. Richard Brunstrom, chief constable of North Wales and ACPO co-ordinator of the scheme, said: ...