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The return of Bimota (again)

16 December 2001

The return of Bimota (again)

Bimota is on course to make yet another comeback under new management. The firm’s assets have been auctioned off by the Italian court dealing with its bankruptcy, and one of the former bosses bought...

Biker-backed charity makes breakthrough in Africa

16 December 2001

Biker-backed charity makes breakthrough in Africa

Riders for Health has signed the first ever agreement for a non-governmental organisation to manage medical transportation in an African country. The UK Charity of the Year has signed the agreement...

Meet Aaron, Britain’s youngest stunt rider

16 December 2001

Meet Aaron, Britain’s youngest stunt rider

Aaron Stannage may still be at infant school but he has already performed in front of crowds of over 40,000, appeared on TV and been a fashion model. Oh, and he also currently the UK’s youngest stunt...

Malaguti shows shape of things to come

16 December 2001

Malaguti shows shape of things to come

Developed as a prototype, Malaguti’s Super Climber has been debuted in Bologna to gauge public reaction. ” We want it to show people that Malaguti is thinking about motorcycles. We will see how people...

Schwarzenegger in bike accident

09 December 2001

Schwarzenegger in bike accident

Arnold Schwarzenegger might be famous for his bike chases in the films Terminator II and True Lies, but this time the action happened off-screen. The 54-year-old Harley rider has been injured in a...

Kawasaki boss suggests full merger with Suzuki

09 December 2001

Kawasaki boss suggests full merger with Suzuki

Kawasaki and Suzuki are preparing to come together to launch a new bike within three years under a new and separate brand. Bloomberg reports Kawasaki Heavy Industries president Masamoto Tazaki as...

Project X900: hub-centre steering cracked?

09 December 2001

Project X900: hub-centre steering cracked?

Hans Helms has been developing this bike for over two decades. Now, with plans to put the bike into production unrealised, its bright ideas are up for sale. The majority of the patents are associated...

Two-wheel drive R1 spotted… and it rocks

09 December 2001

Two-wheel drive R1 spotted… and it rocks

These pictures provide the first proof that Yamaha is seriously working on two-wheel-drive technology for its most powerful bikes. And one man who has ridden the 2WD R1 claims the system improves the...

Elbow-to-elbow racing

09 December 2001

Elbow-to-elbow racing

Get close to the supersport action… they do

Don’t sell your bike from home

09 December 2001

Don’t sell your bike from home

Police are warning owners not to meet potential used bike buyers at our own homes. Kate Wright of the Northants force said thieves are using ads to pick out the bikes they want, ringing to find out...

It’s wrong to assume the GSX-R is a hooligans machine

09 December 2001

It’s wrong to assume the GSX-R is a hooligans machine

Although this video probably won’t help that argument, it is entertaining. Part two of MCN’s new video magazine is out on December 14. Don’t miss it

Would you give the Dog a home?

09 December 2001

Would you give the Dog a home?

Yamaha’s BT1100 Bulldog doesn’t fit comfortably into any of the pigeonholes we are used to. It’s a cross between a Ducati Monster and a Buell. Yamaha believes there’s big demand for such a hybrid. But...

Three men to put him in his leathers

09 December 2001

Three men to put him in his leathers

When it takes three people to force him into his leathers, you’ve got to wonder what he’s going to be doing

The best 600s you can buy for close to £4000

09 December 2001

The best 600s you can buy for close to £4000

1999 600s from the four Japanese manufacturers can now be bought in dealers advertising in MCN for £4500, give or take a few hundred. Shop privately and you can get a mint R6, CBR600, ZX-6R or...

New firm launches scooters into UK

09 December 2001

New firm launches scooters into UK

Taiwanese firm TGB is to launch both two and four stroke scooters of between 50 and 125cc into the UK in January. Prices have yet to be announced but are intended to be competitive with Italian and...

MCN’s new GSX-R video mag on sale from December 14

09 December 2001

MCN’s new GSX-R video mag on sale from December 14

Watch some of the hot highlights of the latest MCN video magazine on line right now. It’s a celebration of the cult of the GSX-R. Get a taste of it by following the links, right, and downloading some...

He just couldn’t quite brush the MCN logo with his knee

09 December 2001

He just couldn’t quite brush the MCN logo with his knee

He got close though. Part two of MCN’s new video magazine is out on December 14. Don’t miss it.

Road-going Castrol rep CBR and Blade to go on sale

09 December 2001

Road-going Castrol rep CBR and Blade to go on sale

The Castrol Honda race squad is adding a 2002 British superbike-spec road-going FireBlade to its previously announced CBR600 supersport racer rep, and is planning to put it on sale in road legal...

Win a signed Hodgson book for your best biking moments

09 December 2001

Win a signed Hodgson book for your best biking moments

Your most magical motorcycling moments of the year have already started coming in. This one from Richard Halford is a great example. ” First track day, first time knee down, wore out a set of sliders...

Full report from the first test of the new FireBlade

09 December 2001

Full report from the first test of the new FireBlade

IT’S impossible to be certain one bike can live with another without testing them back-to-back. But it’s been three hours since I stepped off Honda’s new FireBlade, which has just been launched at...

GPS links up with your mobile to nab bike thieves

09 December 2001

GPS links up with your mobile to nab bike thieves

The new Scitrack will dial your mobile phone if someone tampers with your pride and joy, you can then inform the old bill and the crooks can be caught red-handed (provided they react swiftly...

Forget fireworks… let’s ban bikes!

09 December 2001

A local newspaper which is campaigning to ban fireworks has been asked to switch its focus to fighting for a ban on bikes. The Nottingham Evening Post printed the following letter from a reader on Tuesday night. " With regard to your campaign to ban fireworks, while I can understand the distress they must cause people for about six weeks of the year, I think a greater scourge are motorbikes. They...

Original owners take back some of Bikes-uk stores

09 December 2001

Original owners take back some of Bikes-uk stores

Four of the stricken Bikes-uk dealerships are being brought back under the control of their original owners… and that means those who paid for service plans at those stores will now get what they paid...

BMW launches slower bike for cops

09 December 2001

BMW launches slower bike for cops

BMW has launched yet another new bike. It’s a smaller capacity, lighter but slower version of its R1150RT and it’s only available to the police. The R850RT has the addition of a sixth ” cruising ” ...

The Harley rider

09 December 2001

The Harley rider

YAMAHA is pitching the Bulldog at people exactly like Smith. She steers away from sports bikes and likes a more relaxed ride. But can this pooch tempt her away from her beloved Hog? She says the...

The year’s maddest trackday?

09 December 2001

The year’s maddest trackday?

Is this the maddest trackday of the year? On December 28, just three days after stuffing yourself silly on Christmas pudding and turkey sandwiches, Donington Park is holding a trackday. Donington has...

BMW patents bike air bags

09 December 2001

BMW patents bike air bags

BMW has patented a new airbag system and is planning to fit it to its bikes. It uses ultrasound (the guidance system dolphins excel at) to build up a picture of where and how the rider is sat on the...

Crash victim told he wouldn’t walk again… by TV

09 December 2001

Crash victim told he wouldn’t walk again… by TV

A motorcyclist laying in his hospital bed was stunned when he was told he would never walk again… particularly because he was being told by a television show. The rider had heard nothing of the sort...

More diesel spills loom

09 December 2001

More diesel spills loom

Do drivers of diesel-engined vehicles pay more insurance to cover themselves against randomly wrecking our machines? We don’t think so. As if the problem of diesel spills wasn’t bad enough for us, the...

If you thought it’s all praise for the GSX-R this week

09 December 2001

If you thought it’s all praise for the GSX-R this week

Then Steve Parrish might be about to prove you wrong. Part two of MCN’s new video magazine is out on December 14. Don’t miss it

The Superbike rider

09 December 2001

The Superbike rider

” LOOK at those nasty alloy fork seal protectors, they’re horrible! ” Brown’s initial impression of the Bulldog isn’t favourable as he wanders over, doing up his race rep lid. Fortunately, things...

The super tourer rider

09 December 2001

The super tourer rider

Super Blackbird rider Smith likens the Bulldog to ” a great commuter bike, but with style, ” and thinks Yamaha has copied elements from a Buell and Monster. He says: ” I’m impressed with how it...

How Yamaha’s 2WD works

09 December 2001

Ohlins/Yamaha’s system is light and so simple it can be fitted to virtually any bike with minimal modifications to the standard suspension and transmission. It uses hydraulic pressure to transmit the power to the front. A small hydraulic pump is attached to the engine, and driven by an extra chain running from the front sprocket of the stock gearbox. It uses six or more tiny pistons to pump...

Video taster of US stunt stars coming to Scottish Show

02 December 2001

Video taster of US stunt stars coming to Scottish Show

THE world famous Starboyz stunt riders are coming to the MCN-backed Scottish Motorcycle Show early next year – but you can get a taste of their extraordinary skills right now by clicking the video...

Riding Foret’s WSS CBR600

02 December 2001

Riding Foret’s WSS CBR600

HONDA’S CBR600 may be as common as muck, but this is no common CBR600. This is Fabian Foret’s CBR racer which nudged a staggering 180mph at the Monza World Supersport round. The CBR is the fastest...

Video: Track action at Estoril

02 December 2001

Video: Track action at Estoril

Click the links in the download videos box, right, titled RM (if you use Real Player) or MOV (for Quicktime users) to see a clip of MCN’s Keith Farr lapping Estoril at the FireBlade launch.