Bike news

Year: ALL

'I just need to be patient' - MCN catches up with Rory Skinner to discuss his maiden Moto2 year so far

06 July 2023 by Josh Close

It’s been a tough start to life in Moto2 for Rory Skinner. After two years in BSB, the Scot returned to the GP paddock, one he feels he should never have left following his Red Bull Rookies and Talent...

Little on large: testing two big bikes for shorter riders

06 July 2023 by Carl Stevens

It’s clear to see that bikes are getting bigger, in more ways than one. To some, 700cc machines are considered novice machinery, and the term ‘middleweight’ is applied to bikes not far short of...

Living his dream at DK Motorcycles

06 July 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

A motorcycle enthusiast with a learning disability has secured his dream job, working voluntarily for DK Motorcycles in Newcastle Under-Lyme, Staffordshire after help from his supported living...

Overland Event chooses Air Ambulance as 2023 charity

06 July 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

This year’s Overland Event at Hill End activity centre near Oxford is hoping to raise thousands of pounds for Air Ambulances UK, having raised more than £3000 for African motorcycle charity Pikilily...

Harley-Davidson's showstopper: European 120th party brings Budapest to a standstill

05 July 2023 by Saffron Wilson

The European celebration of Harley-Davidson took place in the centre of Budapest last month (June 22-25) and attracted over 100,000 people from more than 50 countries to mark the American cruiser...

Muc-Off help to clean-up crime: Tracker holder gives bikers an affordable security solution

04 July 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

Muc-Off have released a special motorbike security device to keep Apple’s new AirTag tracking devices hidden and tamper-proof in a bid to keep bike thieves at bay. The handy Apple AirTag holder can...

Small and mighty: KTM’s latest 450 SMR squeezes a feisty 62bhp from just 450cc

04 July 2023 by Dan Sutherland

There’s a new KTM 450 SMR Supermoto racer on the market for 2024 and it produces a claimed 62.1bhp from a 449.9cc single-cylinder SOHC four-stroke engine and costs £11,249. Supermoto racing is all...

‘I can be competitive in any class’: Sam Lowes opens up to MCN about his potential switch to World Superbike in 2024

04 July 2023 by Neil Morrison

Sam Lowes may find himself in the World Superbike Championship in 2024. The Brit is seeking a fresh challenge after spending 10 years inside the MotoGP paddock, nine of them in Moto2. Lowes is...

The French Connection: e-bike maker DAB join forces with Peugeot

03 July 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

French motorcycle manufacturers DAB Motors and Peugeot Motocycles have announced a partnership that will bring together their respective companies’ industry knowledge to target the electric motorcycle...

Limited edition luxury: Brough Superior celebrate 10 years since French rebirth with Ultimate specials

03 July 2023 by Dan Sutherland

Ultimate exotica brand Brough Superior are celebrating a decade in business with two Ultimate special editions, following the brand’s rebirth in France back in 2013. Originally founded in...

Tokyo Connection: Indian Motorcycle custom is now on display

03 July 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

A custom Indian Motorcycle unveiled at the Bike Shed Show in May will be on display for the rest of the month at Indian Motorcycle London in Kensington. The Indian FTR, ‘Tokyo Connection’ is the...

Full steam ahead: Speed freak grandfather breaks speed record on powered by superheated water

03 July 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

A Yorkshire grandfather has smashed the world land speed record for a steam powered motorcycle, using a bike he built in his shed. Graham Sykes, 60, has nine grandchildren and accomplished the feat...

Ready to kick Rs! Some of the very best used Yamaha YZF-R1s are available from just £3000!

03 July 2023 by Jon Urry

This year marks 25 years since Yamaha released the first R1. Featuring technology that at the time was radical but is now commonplace, the R1 created the blueprint for the modern sportsbike through...

Excess baggage: MCN rides Indian’s Challenger RR – the wildest customer race bike ever made

02 July 2023 by Emma Franklin

‘You’re joking, right?” That’s the standard answer from pretty much everyone who hears about the concept of Bagger Racing. Now in its third season, however, the MotoAmerica King of the Baggers series...

Apex predators: Yamaha’s new MT-10SP is Japan’s apex super-naked predator, but can it compete with the best of the best?

01 July 2023 by Michael Neeves

Yamaha’s MT-10SP is Japan’s only true, top-spec super- naked. Bedecked with semi-active Öhlins and powered by a retuned crossplane crank R1 superbike engine, it’s never had a problem taking it to the...

Star treatment: Watsonian's Grand Prix sidecar now available for BSA

30 June 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

Traditional sidecar manufacturer Watsonian have listened to riders and have adapted the Grand Prix sidecar to fit the BSA Gold Star retro motorbike. “We’ve received a lot of enquiries about...

Ace Café Friday night closures to remain until September

30 June 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

London’s Ace Café will close at 6pm on Friday evenings until September as a pre-emptive move to prevent a licence review, which could have shut down the historic venue for months. Mark Wilsmore,...

‘Where Ducatista fear to tread’: We step inside the dangerous world of unbridled Ducati personalisation and temptation. Welcome to Unica...

30 June 2023 by Richard Newland

Addiction is a cruel mistress – or master, depending on your preference – and whatever form it takes, you can be pretty certain that you’ll be financially poorer eventually, even if your happiness...

Buy a piece of MotoGP history: Ducati add GP16 memorabilia to online shop

29 June 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

Ducati Memorabilia, the project launched in 2019 by Ducati to offer Ducatisti the chance to become owners of authentic and certified parts of recent MotoGP and World Superbike bikes, have added...

Dixon's delight! Jake Dixon claims stunning maiden Moto2 victory in Assen... and the timing is perfect!

29 June 2023 by Neil Morrison

For weeks, Jake Dixon has been promising the best is yet to come, and on Sunday he delivered on that and more at Assen, taking his maiden Moto2 victory in some style before declaring: “I’m only going...

Naked ready for summer: CFMoto 800NK to hit dealers in July

28 June 2023 by Ben Clarke

The covers have been whipped off the new CFMoto 800NK, the production version of their middleweight naked roadster concept. We’ve ridden it: CFMoto 800NK review The Chinese brand unveiled the...

All-new Triumph Speed 400 and Scrambler 400 X singles revealed

27 June 2023 by Dan Sutherland

Meet the Triumph Speed 400 and Scrambler 400 X – the latest additions to the firm’s modern retro range, powered by a new liquid-cooled 398cc single and built in collaboration with Indian manufacturing...

Is it a bird? No, it's a Ural inspired by one

27 June 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

Ural have released their latest project bike inspired by our feathered friends, this time the Green Tanager (a brightly-coloured bird from the forests of Ecuador and Columbia), with the special...

Biking legends: Danilo Petrucci

27 June 2023 by Stuart Barker

A little over a year ago, Danilo Petrucci might not have been considered a legend, but what the Italian racer has done over the last 13 months has certainly made him one. In that space of time, the...

Taking the Mickey: Vespa launch Disney inspired limited edition

26 June 2023 by Dan Sutherland

Vespa have teamed up with Disney to produce a limited-edition version of their 50cc, 125cc, and 150cc Primavera. The Disney Mickey Mouse Edition marks 100 years of the film and TV company. The...

Rain stops play for the Velocifero 200hp scooter speed record attempt

26 June 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

Due the adverse weather conditions, Velocifero has postponed the “Word Record Challenge” of their 200hp prototype electric scooter, scheduled at Monza tomorrow, Friday, 30 June. “We are really...

Get your bite back: How to replace your clutch

26 June 2023 by Bruce Dunn

It always amazes me how robust a motorcycle clutch can be, particularly on a sportsbike. The power of the engine is transmitted entirely through the shared surface area of the friction and steel...

Vertu signalling: Meet Honda’s World Superbike riders at special event

23 June 2023 by MCN

Vertu Motorcycles will be hosting WSB riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge at their Nottingham site on Thursday, June 29, 2023 ahead of the UK round at Donington Park. There will also be a chance to...

WoMCN: ‘My journey taught me that anything’s possible’

23 June 2023 by Emma Franklin and Lisa di Blas

Thanks to the pioneering spirit and bravery of one young rider, thousands of women in Pakistan now ride motorcycles. Zenith Irfan was just 20 when she defied social conventions and set out on her...

'The future is wide open': BMW bosses on the challenge of electric and why it's not all over for combustion

23 June 2023 by Dan Sutherland

As the world strives towards green transport, predicting the future propulsion of motorcycles is becoming an increasingly difficult challenge – and that’s true for huge brands like BMW, too. Whilst...

Honda and Suzuki have come up trumps with two affordable adventurers, but which shines brightest on the MCN250?

23 June 2023 by Michael Neeves

Honda’s XL750 Transalp and the Suzuki V-Strom 800 DE are two of the new adventure stars of 2023. They impressed at their respective launches earlier this year and both are propelled by minty-fresh...

Spectacular Speedway: ‘Come and you’ll fall in love’

23 June 2023 by Saffron Wilson

Speedway has been a staple of motorcycle sport since its beginnings in Australia in 1923. But it didn’t boom in the UK until 1928 with the inaugural race at Epping Forest proving vastly more...

Verge are in the giving mood

22 June 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

Verge Motorcycles have donated two specially designed electric motorbikes to the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation which champions children’s charities. Verge recently opened its first store...

Breaking point: After five brutal crashes in 48hrs, is it the end of MM93’s time with Honda?

22 June 2023 by Colin Young

The humiliation of Marc Marquez and Honda at the Sachsenring was total. In a weekend that saw him crash five times, lose his cool on camera, and sustain yet another hand injury, it proved a difficult...

SOS: Save our Speedway! The sport isn’t dead yet but change is needed, says Oxford Team Manager Peter Schroeck

22 June 2023 by Saffron Wilson

Research by the Speedway Star has shown the glum reality of speedway in the modern age, with teams and tracks disappearing. In 2000, 28 tracks were spread across the UK and 33 teams took to the shale;...

MotoGP to Multistradas: Ducati have been leading the way in the tech arms race for years

21 June 2023 by Carl Stevens

Biking technology has come a long way in the 15 years that have elapsed since Ducati released their 1098R superbike and introduced riders to the first genuinely effective traction control system for...