2011

Year: 2011

Month: ALL

MCN in Kenya

10 March 2011 by tazgoldwing

I’ve just returned from Mombasa, Kenya. Here’s a couple of pictures of me reading MCN on the Indian Ocean coast.

New £27million Silverstone pit ‘Wing’ nearly finished

10 March 2011 by Andy Downes

MotoGP racer Cal Crutchlow was given a guided tour of the new £27million pit complex at Silverstone which is due for completion in just two months. Crutchlow, Britain’s only rider in the top racing...

Michael Neeves MRO Powerbike blog – Brands

10 March 2011 by Michael Neeves

Wednesday 2nd March I can’t believe the racing weekend starts as soon as Wednesday, but I have to clean the van and get it loaded up, so I can drive straight to Brands from work on Thursday...

Video: Aprilia Dorsoduro 1200 vs Ducati Hypermotard 1100 Evo vs KTM 990 SMR

10 March 2011 by MCN

Until now the big supermoto roost has been ruled by the KTM 990 SMR and Ducati Hypermotard 1100 Evo, but now Aprilia have joined the party with the Dorsoduro 1200. A glance at the spec sheet shows the...

Video: BMW G650GS is a lot of bike for £5000

10 March 2011 by Steve Farrell

MCN’s world-first ride on the new BMW G650GS has shown it’s competent on and off road and novice-friendly too. The BMW has 47bhp, which from 2013 will be the new power limit for novice riders, up from...

Suzuki's fuel cell scooter gets mass-production approval - but should you want one?

09 March 2011 by Guy Procter

Suzuki’s hydrogen-powered Burgman scooter has become the first fuel-cell vehicle to get European Whole Vehicle Type Approval - a license to start mass production. Hydrogen power might be a...

Bikes on TV: March 9-15

09 March 2011 by Alison Silcox

KEY TO CHANNELS: DRT – Discovery Real Time SHED – Discovery Shed DSC – Discovery Channel DHD – Discovery Channel HD EXS – Extreme Sports Channel EUR1 (2, HD) – Eurosport 1 (2, HD) MOT – Motors...

Motus MST-01: first studio shots fire enthusiasm for 'hot rod' V4

09 March 2011 by Guy Procter

American start-up Motus’ new sport tourer has met with enthusiasm among riders and designers in spite of initial luke-warm commentary over its looks. Former Ducati and Piaggio star Pierre Terblanche...

Six-month suspended sentence for 149mph speeder

09 March 2011 by Steve Farrell

A motorcyclist has been given a six-month suspended jail sentence for pulling a wheelie and speeding at 149mph on the M2 in Kent. Danny Bleach, 37, was filmed from an unmarked police motorcycle as he wheelied and reached over double the limit on the M2 bridge between Strood and Chatham. Bleach, from Belvedere, was ordered to do 200 hours’ unpaid work, banned for 18 months and told he must take an...

Accessories bonus for Yamaha FZ8 buyers

08 March 2011 by MCN Newsdesk

If you’ve been thinking about buying a new Yamaha FZ8, then now could be a good time to take the plunge. In addition to interest free credit over 2 years, Yamaha is also including genuine accessories...

Free Kawasaki test rides at Silverstone

08 March 2011 by MCN Newsdesk

Fancy sampling the manic new ZX-10R or exquisite W800? Kawasaki’s latest ‘On the Road’ tour starts at Silverstone on Saturday April 9, where you can test ride all the key new Kawasakis on...

New Pikes Peak Multistrada 1200 special edition

08 March 2011 by Andy Downes

Ducati has launched a special edition Multistrada 1200 special edition to celebrate winning the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb in Colorado, America last year. The Multistrada 1200 S Pikes Peak...

Honda CBR600F ABS first ride: 'In a different league to the Yamaha Diversion'

08 March 2011 by MCN

Chief Road Tester, Trevor Franklin, is at last riding Honda’s eagerly awaited new middleweight, the CBR600F ABS, out in Spain. Here’s what he has to say so far: “We’ve just ridden 50km along the...

New MCN March 9: BSB test special

08 March 2011 by Liam Marsden

In this week’s issue of MCN, on sale March 9, we have all the news and gossip from the BSB tests in Calafat and Cartagena. Also in this week’s MCN, we test the Ducati Diavel against the Yamaha V-Max,...

Want to swap bikes?

07 March 2011 by bunnylawson

Want to swap bikes Mummy? Liam Lawson – Wigan

Lets de-restrict it!

07 March 2011 by bunnylawson

Lets de-restrict it dad! Liam Lawson – Wigan

Trying it out for size

07 March 2011 by bunnylawson

Just trying it out for size! Liam Lawson – Wigan

Met mount up on a Moto Guzzi

07 March 2011 by Dan Aspel

London’s Metropolitan Police are running an upgraded Moto Guzzi Norge GT 1200 as part of their fleet, a spokesman has announced. The police-spec 92bhp v-twin will be used to publicise the Met’s...

Video: Royal Enfield Chennai tribute

07 March 2011 by Dan Aspel

Royal Enfield has released the following video as a tribute to the city of Chennai, its current base of operations. The video is also dedicated “to the wonderful people who build, sell, ride and maintain these beloved machines”. The once-British marque is currently building a second factory to cope with an annual Indian-market demand of 50,000 units per year.

Che’s motorcycling companion dies

07 March 2011 by Dan Aspel

Alberto Granado – Che Guevara’s motorcycling companion and childhood friend – has died in Havana, aged 88. In 1951, the pair spent eight months riding the length of South America on a Norton 500, a...

Honda CBR600F first ride preview

07 March 2011 by MCN

MCN’s Chief Road Tester Trevor Franklin has just arrived in Seville, Spain for the launch of Honda’s eagerly-anticipated new CBR600F. The new Honda middleweight not only revives the legendary CBR600F...

Return of the 'real bike'? Motus MST-01 revealed

04 March 2011 by Guy Procter

New US bike firm Motus has at last revealed its brutal new sports tourer, the MST-01. Its Corvette-aping pushrod-operated 1650cc transverse V4 puts out 160bhp but despite that impressive peak Motus...

Yamaha SR500 given dirt-track style

04 March 2011 by MCN

This Yamaha-based SR500 flat-tracker is the latest creation from the German customiser behind the Ducati Monster Scrambler, Jens vom Brauck. Dubbed the D-Track, at the machine’s heart is an SR500...

Best of British customs

04 March 2011 by John Westlake

The London International Custom Bike Show at the Alexandra Palace might have been lacking in terms of vendors – the main hall looking very sparse for what should be a prestigious show – but the...

Best of bikemart: Modern classics up for grabs this week

04 March 2011 by MCN

We’ve been browsing MCN bikes for sale every day to bring you some of our top picks from over 10,000 motorcycles for sale. Read more modern classics news and features Here’s just a few...

Destination dealer: Drayton Croft

04 March 2011 by MCN

ADVERTISING PROMOTION Established in 1979, Drayton Croft has seen some major changes in the market and is still going strong 32 years later as a multi-franchise dealer with a worldwide customer...

Ice stunter responds to 'harsh' web comments

04 March 2011 by John Westlake

Stung by web comments saying he couldn’t wheelie, a Hungarian stuntman has hit back with this: a new ice video featuring – you guessed it – lots of wheelies. Pásztor Tamás – who helped make the video...

Weekend quick racing question for anoraks

04 March 2011 by Andy Downes

In next week’s MCN we have ex-500GP winner Kevin Magee talking about the start of the World Superbike season, the forthcoming MotoGP season and what he really thinks of the British riders. Australian...

Nicky Hayden arrives in Italy to launch his own Monster MotoGP replica

04 March 2011 by Andy Downes

American MotoGP racer Nicky Hayden has arrived in Bologna, Italy as he prepared to launch the new addition to the Monster Art series – two race tribute paint schemes for the Monster range. This...

Now even Jordan’s on two wheels…sort of

04 March 2011 by Phil West

She might be currently banned from driving but that hasn’t stopped controversial glamour model Jordan, AKA Katie Price, taking delivery of this, um, distinctive 125cc scooter. The pink machine has...

Video: Kawasaki W800 first ride

04 March 2011 by MCN

Our first test of the new Kawasaki W800 suggests that Britain’s own Triumph, after five years having things all its own way in the ‘retro roadster’ class, has a serious new rival on its hands. Not...

Are you young? Would you buy a Kawasaki W800?

03 March 2011 by John Westlake

Kawasaki has revealed they expect their new W800 retro to attract younger buyers. Kawasaki’s Martin Lambert told MCN that, surprisingly, their research showed the Triumph Bonneville-rival would be...

Pierobon F042 Street tested

03 March 2011 by Andy Downes

This stunning Pierobon F042 Street is the new road-legal version of a machine previously only available as a track bike and MCN was lucky enough to grab a first ride near the Bologna factory. The bike...

Warrs Harley-Davidson offer exceptional XR1200 race deal

03 March 2011 by Trevor Franklin

Warrs Harley-Davidson has announced what could be the race package deal of 2011. The London-based H-D dealer is offering two identical fully race-prepared Harley-Davidson XR1200 bikes to compete in...

Ducati lines up first Rossi-branded bike

03 March 2011 by Andy Downes

Ducati has launched the first of what surely must be lots of Valentino Rossi branded bikes; starting the process with a pair of MotoGP-inspired Monsters. Ducati has said from the moment it signed...

Guy Martin... Legend

03 March 2011 by Peter Smith

I’m sure I’m not alone in my thoughts on ‘The boat that Guy built’ shown on BBC1. We all know what a great, and individual, racer Guy Martin is, but what a fantastic TV persona he has. I watched, from start to finish, a programme about canal boats, pottery, smelting iron and making tea? And I loved it! Guy came across very well, and his ‘mates’ were perfect foils for him. I will never look at...