Bike news
Varadero and FireStorm to get fuel injection
17 June 2001
Honda’s Varadero will get fuel injection later this year. The new model’s styling is set to remain unchanged, but the revamped motor should perform a little more efficiently. The move has been...
Phoenix rises with Laverda’s name
17 June 2001
LAVERDA’S first new machine since the Aprilia take over is a 150cc scooter designed and built in China by SYM. Aprilia has arranged the deal to sell the re-badged SYM Joyride under the Laverda banner...
New Ducati to be based on Smart’s Imola winner
17 June 2001
Ducati has dedicated a production line to building limited edition bikes and the next one will be an MH900E-based bike inspired by Paul Smart’s 1972 Imola 200-winning machine. Ducati originally...
1700cc super Harley
17 June 2001
This started life as a stock 1450cc FXDX Dyna Super Glide Sport. But it’s been bored out to 1700cc, making it the largest-capacity Harley-Davidson ever officially sold in the UK. It’s a stock 1450cc...
Insurance underwriter goes into liquidation
17 June 2001
Check the small print on your insurance policy, you could be one of as many as 2000 UK riders hit by the financial troubles at Independent Insurance Company Limited. The underwriter is now in the hands of liquidator Pricewaterhouse Cooper. Carole Nash is one of the firm to have used Independent Insurance Company Limited to underwrite motorcycle policies. Check your certificate and it will say who...
New Guzzi Le Mans ridden and rated
17 June 2001
The new Le Mans is no longer a superbike like the one which first bore the name back in 1976. The cynics will see it as a marketing exercise by Aprilia, the new owners of Moto Guzzi’s 80-year-old...
Think this looks easy? You must be dreaming
17 June 2001
It’s not a ghost… it’s action from inside the Sheffield Arena.
Junior Superstock Clarion Suzuki GSX-R600
10 June 2001
RIDER: James Hutchins POWER: Over 105bhp@13,800rpm DRY WEIGHT: 170kg TOP SPEED: 165mph RESULTS: Donington Park: 2nd Silverstone: Injured Snetterton: Injured Oulton Park: Injured
Supersport Clarion Suzuki GSX-R600
10 June 2001
RIDER: Karl Harris POWER: Over 120bhp@14,200rpm DRY WEIGHT: 167kg TOP SPEED: 175mph RESULTS: Donington Park: DNF Silverstone: 3rd Snetterton: 6th Oulton Park: 3rd
Superstock Clarion Suzuki GSX-R1000
10 June 2001
RIDER: John Crockford POWER: Over 155bhp@12,400rpm DRY WEIGHT: 175kg TOP SPEED: 190mph RESULTS: Donington Park: 5th Silverstone: DNF Snetterton: DNF Oulton Park: 7th
First pictures of Road Star Warrior
10 June 2001
Yamaha’s new XV1700 Road Star Warrior is unveiled today, boasting sports bike technology and cruiser styling. The Warrior’s engine is pure cruiser. Based on the XV1600 Wild Star’s 48 degree air-cooled...
Four Clarion Suzukis ridden and rated
10 June 2001
This year Suzuki has done the triple with its 600, 750 and 1000. All three are the best bikes in their class. Best meaning the most-focussed, lightest and most powerful bikes in their respective...
German and British firms consider link to buy TL engines
10 June 2001
GERMAN firm Sachs and British company CCM are in talks aimed at teaming up to buy Suzuki TL V-twin engines. CCM refuses to confirm it, but an insider at Sachs said: ” It helps if we work together.
More for the TT fans
10 June 2001
They might call the 250 race the Lightweight, but it’s a race for the real heavyweights of The Island.
Long term test on the Yamaha Tmax
10 June 2001
Sometimes, the strangest combinations actually go together remarkably well. When I was a kid, my favourite teatime snack was peanut butter and jam sandwiches. Other children would curl their lips...
Riding Britain’s greatest road
10 June 2001
The days of the Roman Empire weren’t just about eating grapes, grappling with virgins and having lots of hot baths. Some of it was about standing guard on the rainswept borders of northern England...
Is time running out for MAG and the BMF?
10 June 2001
PRESSURE groups are there to fight for our rights. They understand the things we care about and the issues that wind us up. That’s the idea, anyway. But a recent demonstration against toll charges at...
Clarion Suzuki GSX-R750 XR09 Superbike
10 June 2001
RIDER: John Crawford POWER: Over 165bhp@14,000rpm DRY WEIGHT: 162kg TOP SPEED: 190mph RESULTS: Donington Park: 3rd and 3rd Silverstone: 3rd and 5th Snetterton: 7th and 7th Oulton Park: DNF and 4th
Trials? Boring? Take another look
10 June 2001
Action from the Sheffield Arena trial last year is likely to change your mind
Labour’s roads minister interviewed on bike policy
03 June 2001
EVERY four years, something strange happens to politicians. Suddenly, their horizons broaden. They develop keen interests in anything from farmers to bone marrow transplants, so quickly it makes...
Yamaha Bulldog revealed
03 June 2001
Yamaha’s new Bulldog BT1100 is revealed today for the first time. The Japanese firm claims the Bulldog is specifically designed to meet the needs of the European market. Yamaha reckons its new machine...
Our first long term test on a Buell
03 June 2001
I was shaking. Part cold, part anticipation, part excitement. But mainly fear. I was just about to to pick up my Buell X1 Lightning. Problem was, I had not ridden a motorcycle in 15 years and I don’t...
Joining our cameraman at his proper job
03 June 2001
David Jefferies shows the skills needed to wield the MCN onboard camera
Rival parties pass their verdict
03 June 2001
Conservatives " Labour have been all mouth and no delivery in their integrated transport strategy. The Government doesn’t even measure journey times in congested cities. If they did, they’d find motorcycles to be the shortest. Labour should be promoting two-wheelers instead of clobbering motorists. We will do our utmost to empower bikes. In congested areas in particular, motorcycles play a great...
The advantages of lightweight wheels
03 June 2001
WHERE do you start when you want to modify your bike? A bit of engine tuning first, maybe upgrade the brakes to suit the improved performance and as it goes along add rear sets and finish off with a spangly new paint job. But would you add lightweight wheels? For most of us, light wheels are something of a luxury item. They cost a fortune, admittedly look good but surely they can’t make that much...
The view from the mudguard…
03 June 2001
The TT might not be on for the racers, but we can still marvel at what they do.
Enter the 200mph ZX-12R
03 June 2001
The last time I rode a ZX-12R, it topped out with a less than hyperbolic 183mph, or 12mph slower than a politically castrated 2000 Hayabusa, leaving in its wake more questions than answers. But let...
Rare Ducatis become available
03 June 2001
Just when you thought Ducati’s super-exclusive MH900E was impossible to get hold of… a British dealer has managed to bag a couple. But if you want one you really shouldn’t hang about. DK has just two...
Long term test: Life with an FJR
03 June 2001
I had said farewell to my ZX-12R in mid-December. It was mid-May before I finally got my hands on the FJR. I hadn’t even ridden a push bike in the intervening time. You will therefore understand my...
Out and about: Hunstanton
03 June 2001
Hunstanton hands over a prime parking spot to motorcycles, close to the bandstand and nestled between amusement arcades and cafes. There are some good routes to it to be found if you scour your map of...
Suzuki plans 650cc scooter
03 June 2001
September will see the launch of Suzuki’s new Skywave 650 – a big bore scooter aimed at bikes like Yamaha’s T-max and Honda’s Silverwing. Like its competitors, the bike will use a two-cylinder engine...