Bike News (February 2019)

Arguably less desirable than the Suzuki TL1000S and other late 90s booming V-Twins, the humble Honda VTR1000 has become a superb used bet for those wanting a 100bhp thumper for getting their weekend...

What Chris Dabbs said in 1989 What Michael Neeves said in 2011 Watch Michael Neeves ride the bike This week thirty years ago, MCN’s then Road Test Editor, Chris Dabbs took a brand-new Yamaha OW-01...

Once upon a time tuning a motorcycle engine was an art performed by an exalted few. You could have a go yourself but staring through a hole in a piston would be the most likely outcome. This was even...

Rugby rivalry has spilled off the pitch and onto the mud, as Six Nations star George North of Wales took on English pundit David Flatman atop a pair of Triumph motorcycles, before the real test begins...

British bike builder Tony Scott has done it again, unveiling two new Triumph-based custom bikes: the Gemini Naked and Indianapolis. Both are based on the Triumph Speed Triple 1050, which already...

John Haynes OBE, founder of the Haynes Publishing Group PLC and the Haynes International Motor Museum, died on Friday, February 8, following a short illness. He was 80-years-old. More from...

MCN have learnt of the theft of a London motorcycle paramedic’s helmet while they treated a patient at the scene of an emergency call. This is the second instance of this kind reported to police by...

Bullit Motorcycles have unveiled limited edition Gulf Oil livery versions of two of their small-capacity retro bikes. Just 250 Bullit Hero models and 150 Bullit Spirit café racers will be made in the...

So that’s it – the doors are shut and we’ve reached the end of a fantastic 2019 Carole Nash MCN London Motorcycle Show. It’s been an action-packed event, with some top-quality racing and riding, the...

Bikes for saleKawasaki are one of the best known motorcycle manufacturers on the planet, producing some of the most iconic machines to ever grace both the road and competitive racing. Ranging from cutting-edge...

One of the great things about the #ride5000miles community is everybody has a different story to tell about their riding exploits. Tim Cooper is no exception. Early last year he took redundancy and...

bikes for saleThe Kawasaki ER-6n is a brilliant middleweight naked, perfect for commuting or earning some riding experience (it will need to have a restrictor fitted for A2 licence holders). MORE FROM...

With temperatures soaring into double figures this week, it’s hard not to cast our minds forward to the warmer conditions of the spring and summer months. With that in mind, here’s MCN’s pick of the...

Ducati will make an electric motorcycle, in fact there’s one already in the pipeline, but it’s a bike "for tomorrow" according to Pierluigi Zampieri, Ducati’s Head of Innovation. MORE FROM MCN 5 ways...

bikes for saleEven in its detuned state, the Ducati 1198 engine is reason enough to buy a Ducati Multistrada 1200S. As an adventure bike with genuine superbike power, it essentially invented a new...

bikes for saleThe Aprilia Tuono may look like a practical alternative to a full-blooded sportsbike but don’t be fooled, this is no winter hack. Naked bikes will typically use a detuned version of the...

The final two rounds of the 2019 Arenacross tour will take place this coming weekend at the Fly DSA Arena, Sheffield, following four previously successful nights in Birmingham and Belfast. Rounds...

A collection of rare and exotic MV Agustas have been auctioned off at Retromobile, Paris, including some of the finest works of one of motorcycling’s greatest designer: Massimo...

Gloucestershire Police have become the first force in the country to equip their motorcycle road traffic officers with BKS airbag suits. These made-to-measure race-spec black kangaroo hide suits use...

Germany’s Court of Appeal has upheld a patent ruling against Alpinestars over the long-running battle regarding their Tech-Air system and Dainese’s D-Air. The ruling only concerns one aspect, relating...

Over the last three years lifelong biker Gareth Maxwell Roberts has travelled the planet with a camera crew in tow, interviewing nearly 300 people to get to the roots of current motorcycle culture in...

bikes for saleThe Kawasaki Vulcan S is a cheap way into the cruiser market and it’s a solid little bike, too. MCN MODEL GUIDES Triumph Bonneville: a brief model history Our ultimate introduction to the BMW...

Police Federation Chairman John Apter has blasted the government over its road safety policies, which have seen serious drops in police activity to combat dangerous driving, while also failing to...

The Malle Mile Festival will return for 2019 this summer and rider registration is open now. Held in the grounds of Kevington Hall in London, between July 26-28, the event blends ‘run what you brung’...

bikes for saleThis is the naked version of the half-faired Yamaha XJ6 Diversion and aside from the lack of fairing, it is exactly the same spec. Somehow though it has transformed the Yamaha from sensible budget...

bikes for saleOnce upon a time, gaining a motorbike licence was a case of bimbling around and not hitting the examiner when he jumped out in front of you. In more recent years, a 21-year-old could pass a direct...

We’ve been overwhelmed with requests for #ride5000miles stickers and it’s fantastic that so many of you want to show you’re part of this fun, friendly and ever-growing community. A beaming Trish Waugh...

bikes for saleThe Yamaha R3 fills a gap in the firm’s sportsbike range between the learner-friendly Yamaha R125 and the track-focused Yamaha R6. A2 licence restrictions won’t be troubled by the R3’s 41.4bhp but the...

Supercar Club Auto Vivendi have launched a special membership offer with a rather attractive twist. Sign up before the end of February, and you’ll get an MV Agusta worth over £16,000 as a joining...

BIKES FOR SALEToday's bike of the day is the Honda CBR600RR. The RR first arrived in 2003 and is a track-based missile, designed solely for demolishing circuits with pin-point accuracy. The bike received some...

Rumours emanating from Japan suggest that Honda are planning a raft of incremental changes for the popular Honda Africa Twin, with a new Euro5 version set to arrive for 2020 boasting a bigger engine,...

With the 2019 Honda CBR650R release fresh in our minds, we thought we’d take a look back at one of its predecessors, the Honda CBR600F. MORE FROM MCN Huge collection of MV Agustas to be sold Get...

British snowboarder and Olympian Aimee Fuller teamed up with Triumph after passing her bike test. In November last year, Aimee showed off her new wheels on Instagram, revealing that going for a...

bikes for saleThe BMW R nineT is one of the best modern retro motorbikes out there, with truly up-to-date performance and handling coupled with an authentically old-school, air-cooled boxer twin engine. The 1170cc...

Back in 2017 German firm Hessler built a special edition of Suzuki’s great (if slightly vanilla) V-Strom 1000, and dubbed it 'Desert Express' – the tagline attributed to the original DR750S 'DR-BIG'...

Ever fancied riding a £100,000 1949 Vincent Black Shadow series C, or perhaps a £200,000-plus 1930 Brough Superior SS100? Well, now you can with the National Motorcycle Museum. Available through the...