2012

You ask/you answer: Should I force pillion to wear proper gear?

You ask/you answer: Should I force pillion to wear proper gear?

I recently passed my test and took a pillion for the first time last weekend. It went well, she liked it, but I was in a dilemma about her gear. She had ordinary jeans, a fashion leather jacket,...

Poll: Who do you want to cull?

Poll: Who do you want to cull?

Legislation has been agreed today that will lead to badgers being culled. Who should be next?   pollcomment

Poll: Should every motorcyclist own a Ducati at some point?

Poll: Should every motorcyclist own a Ducati at some point?

Next week’s MCN (out September 26) features the world first test of Ducati’s semi-active suspension Multistrada 1200. This wildly advanced motorcycle provoked an office discussion about Ducatis in...

2013 ‘Skyhook’ Ducati Multistradas unveiled

2013 ‘Skyhook’ Ducati Multistradas unveiled

Ducati’s updated 2013 Multistrada line-up has just broken cover – with the top-of-the-range models now featuring the firm’s innovative new semi-active suspension system, ‘Skyhook’, as predicted by MCN...

New MCN September 19: Rossi dedicates podium to Simoncelli

New MCN September 19: Rossi dedicates podium to Simoncelli

In this week’s MCN, out September 19, we reveal the all-new Honda CBR500 and CB500. Honda hopes to attract new, young riders with the basic, parallel-twin machines. Also in this week’s issue we ride...

MCN in demand

MCN in demand

Waiting to board the boat to Norway with my copy of MCN. It was the only copy on the ship and was in great demand!

New sporty 125 for £2399

New sporty 125 for £2399

Learners looking for sports bike styling on a budget can now get the 125RR from WK Bikes for £2399. Chinese-made it has adjustable shocks and USD forks with twin front discs. It’s available in red or...

Across Vietnam on a Motorbike

Across Vietnam on a Motorbike

Like many people in the UK I’m a massive fan of Top Gear. One of my favourite episodes of the show has got to be the Vietnam special, where the three chaps all bought a motorbike in Saigon and rode...

Government boost for bike scheme

Government boost for bike scheme

A scheme helping young people get to work or college by providing them with scooters has won a £50,000 government grant. The scheme subsidises hire of scooters to young people in rural areas where...

Husqvarna Strada and Terra on sale next month

Husqvarna Strada and Terra on sale next month

Husqvarna’s latest road bike is due to arrive in UK dealers early in October. The supermoto-style TR650 Strada uses the single-cylinder engine from BMW’s G650GS but tuned for 57bhp, up from 47. It...

New Yamaha Race Blu paintjob

New Yamaha Race Blu paintjob

This new Race Blu paintjob seen here on the Yamaha YZF-R1 is the highlight of a series of colour changes for many of the 2013 Yamahas with no mechanical changes at all. Race Blu, which comprises blue...

Destination dealer: Stratstone Harley-Davidson

Destination dealer: Stratstone Harley-Davidson

ADVERTISING PROMOTION Stratstone Harley-Davidson Stoke first opened its doors on 4 November 2011, marked by a glittering firework-fuelled celebration. The opening of the dealership in Stoke has...

New Kawasaki ZX-6R officially unveiled

New Kawasaki ZX-6R officially unveiled

As revealed by MCN last month, the 2013 Kawasaki ZX-6R will return to a displacement of 636cc, with strong low to mid range power for a more tractable engine. Kawasaki has officially unveiled the...

Video: Ducati Streetfighter 848 longterm trip report

Video: Ducati Streetfighter 848 longterm trip report

Senior Road Tester Michael Neeves recently took some time off to ride his longterm Ducati Streetfighter 848 on the beautiful roads of France and Italy. Here he shares his trip.

You ask/you answer: Why don't we nod anymore?

You ask/you answer: Why don't we nod anymore?

Last Sunday I rode from my home near Exeter to my in-laws’ house in Birmingham. I must have passed over 100 bikes but, despite my cheery waves, only received half a dozen or so nods in return. What’s...

Poll: Will the new motorcycling licence laws be good for motorcycling?

Poll: Will the new motorcycling licence laws be good for motorcycling?

Motorcycling licence laws are due to be changed yet again in January 2013 and motorcyclists starting at the age of 17 could potentially have to take three separate motorcycle tests before they’re...

New MCN September 12: Triumph Trophy world first ride

New MCN September 12: Triumph Trophy world first ride

In this week’s MCN, out September 12, we put the all-new Triumph Trophy 1200 through its paces, riding it from Sctoland to the Triumph factory in Hickley, Leicester. The original Trophy 1200 was the...

Exmoor Classic Car Museum contents sold

Exmoor Classic Car Museum contents sold

This 1898 Phébus 2¾ bhp motor tricycle sold at the Bonhams Beaulieu sale last weekend for £28,750. The extremely rare machine belonged to the Exmoor Classic Car Museum, the entire contents of which...

Uni students go for TT

Uni students go for TT

Four engineering students plan to design, build and race a Moto2 specification GP bike in the Senior class at the 2013 Isle of Man TT. Nick Castledine, Niall Shimmin, Aden Shawfrost and Jonny Elliott...

Failed Ducati robbery

Failed Ducati robbery

In Moto, Croydon was targeted by hammer wielding thieves on Tuesday September 4 at 5:30pm. A gang of six youths equipped with three scooters attempted to steal two Ducati 1199’s by trying to walk the...

Goodwood Revival sells out

Goodwood Revival sells out

The 2012 Goodwood Revival gets underway on Friday September 14 and tickets for Saturday and Sunday have both sold out. A few tickets are still available for Friday, however, but are selling fast and...

100-year-old Premier with the same owner for 60 years

100-year-old Premier with the same owner for 60 years

When it comes to relationships with bikes they don’t come much stronger – or longer – than Desmond Brown and his vintage 1912 Premier. For the West Country octogenarian – 83 to you and me – is not...

Theft gang jailed

Theft gang jailed

A gang who stole high-value motorcycles in a string of burglaries has been jailed for a total of over 20 years. Seven men who targeted bike owners in affluent residential areas of Berkshire,...

Optional extras

Perusing the pages of one of Britain’s more respectable newspapers (if there is such a thing nowadays), I came across an interesting article on the subject of added extras on modern cars. Apparently the average car driver is fed up with the countless and often useless options available on their car, with nearly 90% saying they wished manufacturers would just go back to basics. Drivers’ biggest...

MCN stands for My Contractions News

MCN stands for My Contractions News

What else is a girl to read between contractions? MCN Of course! Thank you MCN, Nong

2013 KTM Adventure 1190 ridden

2013 KTM Adventure 1190 ridden

KTM’s all-new 1190 Adventure is one of the most eagerly-awaited bikes of 2013 – and one of the most guarded secrets. Until now. Over the last two years MCN has gleaned details of the class-leading...

Video: Ducati Diavel Cromo first ride

Video: Ducati Diavel Cromo first ride

Ducati have thrown the parts catalogue at their new Diavel Cromo. At £15000 new for a standard Ducati Diavel, the Cromo has had over £7000 of Ducati Performance Parts and £3000 worth of Ohlins...

Bike test doubts after reshuffle

Bike test doubts after reshuffle

Plans to improve the motorcycle test could stall following the government reshuffle, the British Motorcyclists Federation has warned. Former Roads Minister Mike Penning was the architect of plans to...

Destination dealer: Grantham Honda Bikes

Destination dealer: Grantham Honda Bikes

ADVERTISING PROMOTION Lincolnshire’s leading Honda dealer is gearing up for its last special open day of the year on Saturday, September 15.  Grantham Honda Bikes has pulled out all the stops to make...

Win an R1 in Riders for Health online auction

Win an R1 in Riders for Health online auction

A 2010 Yamaha R1 ridden by Cal Crutchlow, Scott Redding and James Toseland is one of the items up for grabs in Riders for Health’s biggest online auction. The bike has covered 3,500 miles, has a...

Built in Britain - time to pick your favourite

Built in Britain - time to pick your favourite

Britain’s biggest and most prestigious bike building competition has now reached the public voting stage as the cream of the UK’s professional and amateur builders fight for the top prizes. Built in...

You ask/you answer: Am I safe going to bike meets?

You ask/you answer: Am I safe going to bike meets?

I’ve just passed my test and have been reading lots of motorcycle websites, mostly interested in the bikes I might buy next. I’ve noticed that a lot of people commenting seem to be very rude, sexist...

Poll: Do you care who's Transport Secretary?

Poll: Do you care who's Transport Secretary?

The cabinet reshuffle has resulted in Justine Greening being replaced as Secretary of State for Transport by former chief whip Patrick McLoughlin. This means he’s now in charge of the Department of...

Poll: What's the greatest bike movie of all time?

Poll: What's the greatest bike movie of all time?

Next week’s MCN (out September 12) gives the inside story on some of the best bike-related films. But which one would you rate as the finest ever made? Here’s our highly subjective Top 10 (note: we...

Sep 5 Bikes on the Box

Sep 5 Bikes on the Box

KEY TO CHANNELS.   DRT – Discovery Real Time  DSC – Discovery Channel   DHD – Discovery Channel HD   EXS – Extreme Sports Channel  EUR1 (2, HD) – Eurosport 1 (2, HD) MOT – Motors TV   CH4 – Channel...

Video: 100 years of supersports

Video: 100 years of supersports

Middleweight sports bikes – usually of 600cc – have a history that goes back well beyond the first of the modern era, the Kawasaki GPz600R of 1985. In fact, the first sporty middleweight was built 100...