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August

1999 Yamaha R6

05 August 2002

1999 Yamaha R6

Radical…racy…gorgeous. All are great adjectives for one of the finest 600cc sportsbikes ever produced. The Yamaha R6 still is incredible even though the competition has finally caught up. Relatively...

2001 Triumph Speed Triple 955i

05 August 2002

2001 Triumph Speed Triple 955i

On leaving the Army several years ago I decided that, living in Greater London area, cars were no longer a practical solution to get around for a single man like myself. I lost count of the times I...

2002 Ducati Monster M620

05 August 2002

It started a couple of years ago as an idea, I think I will get a bike again, house OK, job OK and the car is bullet proof. The main problem is choice, what to buy, going back to motorcycling I didn’t want a fire breather, I just couldn’t justify it, so I decided on a 600cc machine and thought an unfaired retro type would do the trick. Honda, Yamaha Suzuki and Kawasaki all make something along...

1999 Yamaha Fazer

05 August 2002

Parts bin special, ugly, too common – just some of the accolades that have been heaped upon the Fazer! So, who is going to buy it? Me for one (and a few thousand others). So what do you get for your money? a detuned Thundercat engine producing 85-95 hp giving plenty of go. Brakes from the R1 giving plenty of stop. All held together by a capable chassis with a comfortable riding position and...

1998-2001 Suzuki TL1000S

05 August 2002

1998-2001 Suzuki TL1000S

‘Shock, Suzuki TL1000s motorcycle ate my baby.’ Apart from perhaps raising a smile, if this sort of headline appeared in some of the more enthusiastic journalistic tripe inhabiting your local...

McWilliams’ GP 500 for sale

05 August 2002

McWilliams’ GP 500 for sale

You could be just one click of a mouse away from owning the ultimate trackday weapon. Aprilia is auctioning off Jeremy McWilliams’ 500cc GP bike – the very one he took to an unforgettable podium at...

Get your kit and tyres covered

05 August 2002

Get your kit and tyres covered

It’s often not just damage to your bike you have to cover in the event of an accident. The cost of replacing your lid, boots leathers and gloves can easily run to hundreds of pounds. But for £99 a...

1990 Honda CBR400RR

05 August 2002

1990 Honda CBR400RR

I am a girlie who just loves riding bikes. Started life on a C.G. 125 and thought I was God’s gift to biking. Then my husband made the mistake of introducing me to sportsbikes. I had died and gone...

1978 BMW R45

05 August 2002

1978 BMW R45

A few moons ago I decided to take my dad’s offer of borrowing his somewhat tatty BMW R45. I did this not out of some perverse desire to be ridiculed by pizza delivery boys, or anybody else who has a...

Mini-moto

05 August 2002

The holiday so far had simply consisted of lazing by the pool recovering from a thorough skin full the night before. The other lads and myself fancied doing something different on this particular day, so we left the birds lying at the hotel and jumped in a taxi to the mini moto centre. The drinking activities from the night before having not completely worn off, chewing gum was purchased on the...

1995-1999 Honda CBR250RR

05 August 2002

1995-1999 Honda CBR250RR

Oh my God! When that rev limiter hits 20,000, you know you have really hit the limit! Not only on the rev limiter but also on the enjoyment factor! I have never had as much adrenaline pumping...

1996 AND 2002 Honda VFR

05 August 2002

Having owned a 96 vfr750 for six years, I recently tested the new VTEC-equipped VFR800 and frankly it was a revelation: the VTEC is both more sporty AND more stable at cruising speeds. The vfr750 is no slouch in the engine department, but the handling is certainly on the soft side. The new VTEC engine is much more enthusiastic at the top end, and the handling of the Honda’s flagship Sports-Tourer...

1999 Yamaha R1

05 August 2002

1999 Yamaha R1

When Madonna said “I touch myself”, for many people that was the end of it. Of-course, what she actually meant was “I’d love to ride pillion on an R1 and, while that would be much better than sex, I’d...

Bikes needed for MCN suspension feature

05 August 2002

Bikes needed for MCN suspension feature

MCN is still looking for a handful of bikes for our forthcoming suspension set-up feature. We still need: A 2000-2002 Yamaha YZF-R6, a 2002 Kawasaki ZX-636, a Ducati 748, Suzuki TL1000R, Ducati 996...

Road Test Idol entry form

05 August 2002

So have you got what it takes? How to enter: Just fill in the form below (do NOT send it by e-mail) and send it with a photograph that demonstrates your enthusiasm for bikes to Road Test Idol, MCN, Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough, PE2 6EA. Name…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…… Age…….…….……. Daytime phone number (or mobile)...

Motorists get bike warning at tax time

05 August 2002

Motorists get bike warning at tax time

The BMF has persuaded the Department of Transport to include its own bike awareness leaflet with every road tax renewal notice over the next 12 months. The leaflet entitles ” Watch Out for...

2000-2001 Kawasaki ZX6R J1

05 August 2002

My ZX6R J1. I tend to give each bike I buy a name, and as Toy Story 2 was my favourite movie when I purchased the J1, an obvious name was Bullseye; the little horsie hero, who carried everyone to safety having been able to keep pace with a jumbo jet. Great start! The colour choice was obvious, I’d never look at a Kawasaki and think " Hmm, what colour shall I buy? " Mainly because the green bikes...

1998 Suzuki TL1000S

05 August 2002

1998 Suzuki TL1000S

I like many other people had had money problems and had not been able to afford another motorcycle and it seemed I had waited an eternity. However circumstances changed and at last a newer bike was...

2000 Kawasaki ZX6R-J1

05 August 2002

A few months into the new millennium and the time had come to replace my tired ‘Bandit 600′ with a more exciting and involving machine. After much research and several test rides on the 600cc regulars as well as several other larger bikes I short-listed the wonderfully capable Triumph Daytona and the striking new fox-eyed ZX6R-J1. Not the most obvious of duels but at 6’ 5” tall, my height was the...

2001 Honda CBR600F

05 August 2002

Another 60 limits. In 3rd, on a wide, opening right hander. Roll it on slowly, all the way to the stop; the noise grows quickly from a growl to a full blow wail as the lean angle increases – shortshift easily into 4th at 12000rpm then back onto the stop, the bars flap slightly as you crest a small rise on the exit – just enough to remind you’re using full throttle. Your head is in the tank looking...

1997 Kawasaki ER-5

05 August 2002

Well I wonder how many of you are going to read this, a review on a bike in a much maligned class, you will either say what is an ER-5 or oh no not that bike (the one you learnt to ride on). To the sounds of a well known Queen track I’M IN LOVE WITH MY “ER”, it started one Saturday in October 1997 (my old GN250 had just expired) and I was looking for something larger to survive my 18000 miles a...

1997-2001 Honda VFR800fi

05 August 2002

1997-2001 Honda VFR800fi

When is a sports tourer, not a sports tourer? When it’s a VFR800! Honda’s ubiquitous V4 can be a bike for anyone. Yeah, it’s a big heavy bike (206Kg) but it certainly can hustle when ridden hard. ...

More of your bike reviews added

05 August 2002

More of your bike reviews added

The chance to win a day with our road testers has prompted a load more of your bike reviews and we’ll be adding these throughout the day. Simply click on the link on the right for details on how you...

Win a dream job with MCN

05 August 2002

Win a dream job with MCN

Fancy landing the job of a lifetime with MCN, the chance to ride the best bikes in the world – and get paid for it? Read on… At the end of a massive talent search, the result of a huge public phone...

1998 Kawasaki GPZ500S

05 August 2002

Lets face it the letters GPZ do one of two things to you, you either go all misty eyed and remember the 80’s when Kawasaki produced some of the baddest bikes around. Or you burst out laughing and think are bikes like that still made? Either way lets get a handle on the situation and set the record straight. When it was first launched the GPZ500s was like the Fazer of today it represented a...

1987 Kawasaki EX-500

05 August 2002

Three weeks ago I decided my car had two wheels too many and threw caution, and the red line of my credit card to the wind and bought a used 1987 Kawasaki EX-500A with only 10,215 Km. A custom paint job, stainless silencers, and one helluva self-image change were included. Being that this is my first motorcycle I have no basis of comparison, but I will share what I do know. I have put 2500 Km on...

2000 Suzuki GSX750F

05 August 2002

Suzuki GSX750F – styled like a teapot, they say? Righty-oh then. Have you ever – I mean EVER – seen a teapot that looks like a GSX-F? You have? Can I have half a gram of whatever you’re on? The bike is marketed as a sports tourer, but it’s certainly more tourer than sports. It really is exceptionally comfortable, although the well-padded seat may be a bit too tall for " vertically challenged " ...

1984 Honda VF1000F

05 August 2002

I could have bought a sports bike, or a cruiser, or a muscle bike but I didn’t. You see I like older bikes, I like to be able to see an engine and recognise all the bits and I like to ride a bike that doesn’t have to be serviced by Nasa! I suppose the simple fact is that I like riding bikes not studying metallurgy or electronics. That’s why I bought a 1980’s superbike, a Honda VF1000F to be...

The all new R6 revealed

05 August 2002

The all new R6 revealed

Fuel injection, more power and a fresh look is what Yamaha has lined up for a crisper and even more aggressive R6 in 2003. And thanks to our factory sources, you can read all about it in the new MCN,...

Fancy a classic ride at the Manx?

05 August 2002

There’s a ride going begging at this year’s Manx GP. George Ridgeon is the Past President of the Manx Grand Prix Riders Association and his rider has had to pull out through illness. So, if you’re available to ride a Greeves 350 in the Classic Junior race put in a call quick. Practice for the Manx starts on starts on August 17. George can be contacted on: 01452-857160.

1997 Honda FireBlade

05 August 2002

Honda’s Fireblade. It seems everyone’s either got one, had one or knows someone who did have a ‘blade’ was dead quick on it. Hardly surprising really, given their dominance during the early to mid nineties. They were the bike to have and come 1997, Honda more or less had the jap 900 sports bike class sewn up, despite valiant efforts from the other 3 manufacturers in the form of 9Rs, the YZF 750...

1996-2001 Kawasaki ZX-7R

05 August 2002

1996-2001 Kawasaki ZX-7R

The Kawasaki ZX-7R according to some bike journalists is yesterday’s news; they say its heavy, underpowered and hasn’t got the sharp looks of some of the latest offerings from Japan and Italy. I...

Aprilia RST1000 Futura

05 August 2002

Aprilia RST1000 Futura

I must be the most stupid person in the world! I bought my latest bike from a picture in a magazine. Damn! that’s a nice looking bike I thought when I saw an Aprilia RST1000 Futura in a bike magazine.

Get your traffic stories on TV

05 August 2002

Get your traffic stories on TV

Everyone has a horror story about commuting – well, Carlton TV wants yours. Its motoring programme ‘Pulling Power’ is planning to cover the problems faced by bikers in the capital. Aggressive...

Bike bargains around the corner

05 August 2002

Bike bargains around the corner

With manufacturers about to reveal their 2003 machines in a few weeks time, and industry sources predicting a slowdown in sales, the next few months should see some amazing bargains in UK showrooms...

2001 Triumph TT600

05 August 2002

2001 Triumph TT600

My 1990 FZR600 really was on its last legs. With oil pouring from the fork seals after only half an hour on the road and bodywork showing signs of a couple of spills I decided to place an ad in the...