2013

Year: 2013

Month: ALL

All-new Indian Chief comes out of the shadows

13 May 2013 by Phil West

This is the first look at the all-new, eagerly awaited Indian Chief, as developed by Victory owners Polaris and set, MCN can reveal, to be publicly unveiled at Sturgis this August. The silhouette...

Irish Guzzi takes top honours at AMD World Custom Bike Championships

13 May 2013 by Ped Baker

122 of the world’s finest custom bikes were on display last weekend as the 10th annual AMD World Custom Bike Championships kicked off in Essen, Germany. 23 countries were represented in the five...

Staff Blog: Let the journey begin!

13 May 2013 by Ian Jubb

My week of riding has begun, destination Northern Italy. Sitting in the sunshine at Folkstone waiting for my slot on the Chunnel makes me realise what biking is all about. This years seemly endless...

Mock KKK lynching in front of motorcycle club’s crest

13 May 2013 by MCN staff

Police have arrested a man over pictures of a mock Ku Klux Klan lynching in front of a motorcycle club’s crest. The photographs were taken at a neo-Nazi music gig after a so-called ‘white pride’...

Yamaha planning 'crossplane' dynasty

13 May 2013 by MCN

As well as its promised ‘crossplane’ three-cylinder engine Yamaha is preparing a -parallel-twin and further variations on the R1’s four-cylinder crossplane motor to create an entire family of...

The ultimate superbike test

13 May 2013 by Michael Neeves

These are ‘Top Trump’ superbikes – the kind of machines you’ll probably only ever see in pictures and rarely in the flesh. The new Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC, BMW HP4 Carbon, Ducati 1199R Panigale and...

Staff Blog: Filthy Street

13 May 2013 by Tony Hoare

I’d forgotten how dirty a minimalistic bike like the Street Triple R can get. I was caught out in a rain storm yesterday and within half an hour the Triumph looked like it had been taken down a farm...

Staff Blog: What is it with this blinking weather?

13 May 2013 by Alison Silcox

Not sure what it is with the local councils, they must have come into money, three of the roads I used have been re-surfaced and are covered in chippings. A bugger to ride over and getting peppered by...

MotoGP on UK TV... Will you be able to watch it?

10 May 2013 by Steve Hunt

After BT Sport announced that they have secured the TV rights to MotoGP from 2014, we wanted to work out just how easy it will be to watch first class motorcycle racing here in the UK. As you can see,...

Ace 1200CR Street Special ridden

10 May 2013 by MCN

It’s a café racer, the acceptable face of Harley Sportster ownership, a two-wheeled AC Cobra and an exclusive limited edition. It’s also a celebration of 75 years of Britain’s most famous transport...

Calls for tougher enforcement as minister warns of £90 fine for driving on the phone

10 May 2013 by Steve Farrell

Plans to increase fines for using a phone while driving need to be backed up by tougher enforcement, according to the Institute of Advanced Motorists. Fixed penalty fines for a variety of motoring...

BMW's anniversary special: The NineT

10 May 2013 by MCN

BMW’s soon-to-be-launched R1200-based café racer – designed to celebrate 90 years since the firm launched its first bike – will be called the NineT. It’s been months since BMW revealed its plans to...

Staff Blog: Prepping for Italian adventure

09 May 2013 by Andy Downes

In just a few days I am heading to Italy on the Multistrada 1200 S Touring and I am getting the final bits sorted. I’ve done loads of European riding in the past and I much prefer to get all of my...

Great service

09 May 2013 by Paul Dolby

I just wanted to say what fantastic service I received when I bought my BMW K1300S from Williams BMW in Manchester. Their salesman (Dave Barrowcliffe) was extremely helpful getting panniers and decals fitted on the Friday morning so I could make the ferry that same night for Assen WSB. Very friendly and with a ‘can’t do enough for you’ attitude, this dealership is one of the best I’ve ever bought...

KTM confirms electric scooter for 2015 release

09 May 2013 by MCN

KTM has confirmed that its cheeky electric E-SPEED concept scooter, which was shown at the Tokyo show, will be joining the range line-up as a 2015 model. Harald Plöckinger, KTM Executive Board Member...

122mph speeder jailed after forum boasts

09 May 2013 by Steve Farrell

A motorcyclist has been jailed for eight months after boasting on a forum about lying to police over a speeding offence. Andrew Kelly, 37, was filmed speeding at 122mph by a speed camera van but told...

You Ask/You Answer: Have the prison sentences handed out for speeding slowed you down?

08 May 2013 by MCN

“This is not a question about whether the punishment fits the crime, my personal view is ‘no way’, it’s what the thought of jail has done to my behaviour. “I’ve enjoyed powerful bikes for a good many years now and over that time I, like many riders, have had points for speeding. “I’ve deserved those points and will hold my hands up to admit my guilt, but the recent prison sentences have really...

Staff Blog: Daily smiles from CBR500R

08 May 2013 by Andy Calton

My only fear with Honda’s CBR500R was whether it would be a little too tame and that I’d get bored with it all-too quickly. Just over a month and 1000 miles in I can categorically state that I’m still...

Is MotoGP's move to BT a good idea?

08 May 2013 by MCN

BT Sport’s successful bid for the live MotoGP TV rights in the UK in 2014 will be confirmed this week, with MCN learning the multi-million pound deal will be formally announced in London tomorrow...

Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service offer free Biker Down courses

08 May 2013 by Keith Wheeler

Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service are offering free ‘Biker Down’ courses to local riders. The courses, which last approx 3 hours, include first aid, collision scene management and a discussion on...

Should Marquez be applauded for his tough riding antics?

08 May 2013 by MCN

Eight years ago Valentino Rossi won the Jerez MotoGP race from Sete Gibernau with a hard final corner overtake that put the Spainiard in the gravel. Sunday’s Jerez race saw a near-repeat of the...

Staff blog: A lecture from the rozzers

08 May 2013 by Steve Farrell

You might think your licence would be safe on a scooter but I’ve already been in trouble with the rozzers a week after picking mine up. The Suzuki Burgman 650 ABS Executive has two automatic modes:...

Calling Triumph owners

08 May 2013 by Phil West

We’d like to hear from owners of the ’09 ’10 Triumph Bonneville SE and ’06/’07/’08 Triumph Speed Triple for a forthcoming feature in MCN. We want to know why you bought the bike, what you like about...

What do you think of Norton?

07 May 2013 by MCN

MCN have an exclusive this week on the new Norton TT racer, which they’re running two of at this year’s event. However, the bike is a prototype only machine, and won’t be on the roads any time soon.

Video: FJR old vs. new

07 May 2013 by MCN

Is the new Yamaha FJR1300 worth selling your old one for? MCN took the sport tourer out for a comparison test…

Aprilia RSV owners needed

07 May 2013 by MCN

MCN is looking for Aprilia RSV owners for an upcoming feature! We need: Original model (RSV-R and RSV) 1998 – 2003 Twin pipe model (RSV-R and RSV-R Factory) 2004 – 2010 V4 RSV4-R and Factory 2009 –...

Bike Shop Star of the month

07 May 2013 by MCN

Vote for May’s Bike Shop Star of the month and be in with a chance of winning a pair of BSB tickets. MCN are on the look-out for men and women in the motorcycle trade who have gone that extra mile,...

Would you encourage your kids to become motorcyclists?

07 May 2013 by MCN

The roads are a dangerous place for a biker these days, with more traffic than ever. So, would you ever let your kids ride a bike? Would you worry about their safety too much? Or do you jsut let them...

New MCN May 8th: Norton TT plans revealed

07 May 2013 by MCN

In this week’s MCN, out May 8th, we reveal Norton’s 2013 TT plans. We look at BMW’s new 800 GS, and we test Ducati’s Hyperstrada. Also this week: Yamaha FJR 1300 old vs new test, all the latest news,...

Staff Blog: Roll on summer

07 May 2013 by Michael Neeves

If someone told me a few years ago, I’d want a bike with panniers and a centre stand, I’d have thought they were mad. But here I am, about to spend the summer with the 2013 Ducati Hyperstrada – a bike...

Staff Blog: A bundle of fizzing fun

06 May 2013 by Tony Hoare

Two weeks in to ownership of the Street Triple R and I’m cementing the bond with the bike. I’m remembering the little joys of owning a Triumph, like the braided steel brake hoses and tyre valves...

Into the Ride

06 May 2013 by Edna Palmer

My son Andrew is travelling around the world on his 1991 Yamaha Tenera motorcycle. His gearbox broke so for the last six weeks he has been stranded in Temuco whilst he could source out the parts he...

Staff Blog: Running In or Running Out!!

06 May 2013 by Alison Silcox

I arrived back from my trip to Normandy with the bike a little over the first service mileage of 600 so instead of being out in the lovely sunshine, getting more miles under my belt and practising my...

50 quick road miles on the new Honda CBR600

05 May 2013 by Tim Thompson

There’s still snow on the fields as I head out onto the back lanes of Cambridgeshire. It’s four days since the near-washout of the track launch and this new CBR600RR — just 90 miles on the clock — is...

What happened to the ES1?

04 May 2013 by Steve Farrell

Six years ago, this British design was going to be the future of superbikes. So where is it? The trouble with bold claims is they can come back to haunt you. If you say you’re making the fastest,...

Video: How to fit a Pinlock visor insert

03 May 2013 by Tony Hoare

MCN’s consumer editor Tony Hoare shows you how to easily fit a Pinlock anti-fog insert to your visor.