October

Year: 2015

Month: October

Yamaha dealer specials honoured

22 October 2015 by James Archibald

Yamaha have announced the winners of its first ever ‘Dealer Built’ competition, which follows on from the success of their ‘Yard Built’ competition, conceived to promote the firm’s Sports Heritage...

Electric STORM Pulse goes further

22 October 2015 by MCN News

A team at Eindhoven University of Technology have unveiled the world’s first touring electric bike, the STORM Pulse. Started by a team of 30 students in 2014, the team unveiled their designs in March...

Brackley Festival of Motorcycling donates £31k to charity

21 October 2015 by MCN

Record crowds at this years Brackley Festival of Motorcycling have resulted in a record pay out to local charities of £31,000 A superb list of attractions and fine weather resulted in a record...

Classic or Crusher: Gilera CX125

21 October 2015 by MCN

The incredibly futuristic CX125 was never a huge seller. The enveloping bodywork hid largely conventional technology (the single front fork was essentially telescopic so had no performance advantage...

Brain-cooling helmet takes a step forward

21 October 2015 by MCN News

A team of investors – including former-Managing Director of Silverstone, Richard Phillips – have today launched Halo Active Technologies, a company dedicated to innovative safety products which will...

MCN Awards 2015: Best all-rounder

21 October 2015 by MCN Staff

The Yamaha MT-09 Tracer was a standout motorcycle from the off. It would have been a strong contender for our overall bike of the year, were it not for Kawasaki’s outrageously impressive Ninja H2.

Buying on PCP? Read this first!

21 October 2015 by MCN

Neil Murray makes a living buying & selling pre-loved metal – and he’s on your side ‘Buying on PCP? Read this first’ ersonal Contract Purchase sales are attractive because they bring your monthly...

MCNLive! gets it sideways in 2016

21 October 2015 by MCN News

Short track racing is one of the fastest growing and most thrilling forms of motorcycle sport in the UK today. It’s an exciting, fast paced and grassroots sport that’s similar to speedway in format...

Rotorheads

21 October 2015 by Classic Bike magazine

Spectators on the Isle of Man for this year’s Classic TT were treated to a feast of Norton rotary race bikes ridden by legendary racers – and it was all thanks to a superhuman effort by the National...

Video: Motorcyclist saves kitten

21 October 2015 by Liam Marsden

A motorcyclist in the United States has won the hearts of Reddit users, after stopping to save a kitten that was stranded in the middle of a busy intersection when other road users failed to stop. The...

Honda’s secret V4 Superbike

21 October 2015 by Ben Purvis

Honda appear to be gearing-up to introduce an all-new V4 1000cc superbike to slot in above the Fireblade and take the battle to its more exotic rivals. Evidence pointing to Honda’s plans includes...

Moto Guzzi 1400 bagger spied

21 October 2015 by Andy Downes

This is the world’s first sighting of the new production ready Moto Guzzi 1400 California-based bagger which was spotted undergoing final testing before an anticipated launch at the Milan motorcycle...

New Triumph Tiger Explorer 1200s caught

21 October 2015 by Ben Purvis

The next-generation of Triumph Tiger Explorer will feature a hugely expanded range and a host of technical and styling changes as revealed in these spy pictures of the two top-of-the-range models...

New Norton V4 takes shape

21 October 2015 by Andy Downes

Norton’s all-new 200bhp 1200cc V4 announced earlier this year is already taking shape – as these computer illustrations reveal. The new V4 – codenamed P94 after the number of wins the company have...

MCN Awards 2015: Best Retro/Retro Style

21 October 2015 by MCN Staff

Biking is becoming cool again and the retro scene is playing a massive part in this. With older styled bikes becoming a popular commodity, the Ducati Scrambler had a lot to live up to and prove that...

Project Bol d’Or Part 1: To Boldly Go

21 October 2015 by MCN

The world’s craziest biking party returned to Paul Ricard this year – and we set out to ride there on these! The Mission o ride 1100 miles to the legendary Bol d’Or 24-hour endurance race –...

Picture story: The most notorious bike in Japanese history

20 October 2015 by MCN

The bike under the sheet is a 1967 Yamaha YR1 350cc parallel twin two stroke. Not a hugely interesting model in itself, exactly (save for the fact it was Yamaha’s first 350, and its engine formed the...

7 six-cyclinder heroes

20 October 2015 by MCN

Six sells – or at least it did. Here’s our pick of six-cylinder heroes. Honda CBX1000 (1978-1982) The one everybody thinks about. Honda’s 1978 tour-de-force had six carbs as well, and produced...

MCN Awards 2015: Best Adventure

20 October 2015 by MCN Staff

The Adventure bike segment of the market is a vitally important one and as such there are plenty of manufacturers all fighting for the position to have the best adventure bike of the year. This year...

MCN Awards 2015: Best 125

19 October 2015 by MCN Staff

The out-going CBF125 was the best-selling motorcycle in the UK, so Honda had to make sure they got the new CB125F (they’ve moved the ‘F’ around) right. And, since it’s our 125cc award winner, you can...

MCN Awards 2015: Best Tourer (open class)

19 October 2015 by MCN Staff

For the second year running, the BMW R1200RT has won the MCN award for Best Tourer, and it’s not hard to understand why. Able to effortlessly cruise along or hold its own in the twisties, if you’re...

My life in bikes: Neil Hodgson

19 October 2015 by MCN

Ex-WSB champ and BT Sport frontman bares his biking soul to MCN ‘I don’t care if I look stupid I love my Confederate Wraith’ What’s your first memory of bikes? My brother is a couple of years older...

MCN Awards 2015: Best Sub-500

18 October 2015 by MCN Staff

The winner of the sub 500 category was the sporty little Yamaha R3, proving that you don’t need an all-out sportsbike to be able to have fun on the road. It provides enough to leave you happy without...

Everything you wanted to know about suspension set-up

17 October 2015 by John Robinson

Written in 1985 by Performance Bikes technical editor John Robinson, this feature on suspension set-up is the definitive article on the subject. As relevant now as it was 30 years ago. volution is a...

MCN Awards 2015: Best Naked (middleweight)

17 October 2015 by MCN Staff

Yamaha’s MT-07 came like a bolt from the blue in 2014. We didn’t have big expectations before it arrived – surely it was just a budget, lower-spec version of the MT-09? But it ended up blowing our...

Seven past MCN Machines of the year

16 October 2015 by MCN

All seven of these have won MCN’s overall Bike of the Year award in the past. BMW R1200GS (2013) Many secretly suspected BMW would be hard-pushed to continue the GS’s dominance when the German marque...

MCN Awards 2015: Best Naked (unlimited)

16 October 2015 by MCN Staff

MCN’s best big naked accolade has been awarded to big, brash, performance-laden machines, such as the Triumph Speed Triple and Aprilia Tuono in recent years. But for 2015 BMW’s new R1200R roadster is...

MCN Awards 2015: Best Adventure Sport

15 October 2015 by MCN Staff

Adventure sports bikes are for riders who crave that potent concoction of speed, adventure styling and practicality. But most of these bikes are all about giving you sportsbike kicks in comfort – and...

Ultimate Zed Head

15 October 2015 by Practical Sportsbikes

“I just love Zeds, always have. My idea of a cracking afternoon is to sit down with Dave Marsden of Z Power and look at all the old parts microfiches” o says Dave Orrit, Kawasaki Zed collector,...

MV Agusta teams up with Lewis Hamilton

15 October 2015 by Andy Downes

Iconic Italian firm MV Agusta has teamed up with reigning World Formula One championLewis Hamilton to release a new version of the Dragster 800 RR. Hamilton is said to have worked with the MV Agusta...

MCN Awards 2015: Best Middleweight Sportsbike

15 October 2015 by MCN Staff

This has been one of the busiest years for the MCN road test team in recent memory, and it’s been a long time since we’ve seen the thick and fast introduction of so many exciting new bikes. 2015 has...

Is the 2016 Kawasaki ZX-10R enough?

15 October 2015 by MCN News

Kawasaki revealed the completely revamped 2016 ZX-10R last week, as they aim to capitalise on their domination of World Superbikes with Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes in 2015. Changes include; more low to...

Eight ways to get your brain in its best biking state

15 October 2015 by MCN

Speed’s all in the head, isn’t it? Coach to the racing stars Lee Spelzini shares secrets that’ll make you faster and safer 1. Anchor yourself An old trick used by many athletes: prepare a pre-ride...

How to buy a £2000 sportsbike

14 October 2015 by Ride

The £2000 sportsbike. It’s not a rare beast but it’s a complex sector nowadays because you’re nipped in a pincer movement by older bikes such as the Kawasaki ZXR750 rising in price as they become...

Aprilia RSV1000 Mille: Yours for under £2k

14 October 2015 by Practical Sportsbikes

Gunning for both the Ducati 916 and WSB glory, the RSV Mille fell short on both counts. But it’s still a fantastic chunk of Italian exotica that can be yours for under £2000. ith three WSB titles in...

Top five waterproof gloves under £40

14 October 2015 by MCN News

As quickly as it arrived, the great British summer has already passed, days are noticeably longer and, sadly, wetter. But that doesn’t mean you have to stop riding. Here are our picks of the...