Bike news

Mission Impossible Triumph for sale

Mission Impossible Triumph for sale

HOW much would you pay for a Triumph Speed Triple with bullet holes in the tail, a broken mirror and a smashed tail unit? Well, the best bid so far is £5612, although the bike in question is also a...

High speed second-hand bargains

High speed second-hand bargains

EVEN the rich like to get more for their money. Let’s talk cars, just for a moment. Your average millionaire feels he’s bagged a bargain if he forks out for a £45,000 TVR rather than a £100,000...

Don’t be afraid

Don’t be afraid

Try as they might, they couldn’t get the Kawasaki to bow in the presence of the Angel Gabriel.

Try a new Hornet 900, VFR or Fazer 1000 this weekend

Try a new Hornet 900, VFR or Fazer 1000 this weekend

Get yourself down to Carnell/Motorcycle City in Box Hill, Surrey this Sunday and you can enjoy free rides on the latest Honda models including the exciting Hornet 900 and VFR V-TEC. You can also grab...

We ride Rossi’s NSR500, Edwards’ SP-2 and Foret’s CBR600

We ride Rossi’s NSR500, Edwards’ SP-2 and Foret’s CBR600

IF nervousness is just a state of mind, why hasn’t my brain told my legs and hands? Every inch of every limb is shaking in anticipation as the countdown to my ride begins. I’ve ridden hundreds of the...

Guzzi enters new world

Guzzi enters new world

MOTO GUZZI will be releasing an all-new sports bike at the end of 2002 – using water cooling for the first time in the firm’s history. In one of the most radical steps forward for a manufacturer since...

2002 FireBlade first test – now with video and audio

2002 FireBlade first test – now with video and audio

MCN had the first test of the heavily-revised 2002 Honda FireBlade in Estoril, Portugal earlier this week. Read Keith Farr’s first impression of the bike below or click the video and audio links in...

Answer the MCN survey and win a prize

Answer the MCN survey and win a prize

Something is changing in the hearts and minds of British riders. Our obsession with sports bikes is giving way to interest in other machines. So we want to know what you’re buying instead and why. If...

Three fast men

Three fast men

Coming from the East?

Is this numberplate big enough for you then?

Is this numberplate big enough for you then?

ANGRY biker Martin Hillier has fitted a numberplate that’s four times the legal size to his 1200 Bandit in protest at being fined for using a too-small illegal plate. And the 33-year-old from...

Two new Aprilias unveiled

Two new Aprilias unveiled

APRILIA has revealed a brand new contender in the naked bike market for 2002 – the Tuono – as well as a close-to-production prototype for a hybrid multipurpose machine, called the Mana. The Tuono,...

If you like GSX-Rs and men in blue jackets

If you like GSX-Rs and men in blue jackets

Then you’ll love this video. Part two of MCN’s new video magazine is out on December 14 and features everything GSX-R. Don’t miss it

Split lid could save lives

Split lid could save lives

A NEW design of helmet has been developed that can be safely removed from a rider who’s been in an accident with less danger of aggravating possible neck injuries – and allowing more rapid fitting of...

"Hunk of the Year" Ben Bostrom comments on his victory

"Hunk of the Year" Ben Bostrom comments on his victory

THE racing season might have ended a month ago, but the competition has been fast and furious for the title ” Hunk of the Year ” with over 200 votes from (mostly) female visitors to the MCN...

Strange… but true

Strange… but true

AMERICA: DIET Dr. Pepper is rolling out new spoof ads featuring ” CHimPs, ” a parody of the hit ‘70s TV show about the California Highway Patrol. In the ad, two ” police monkeys ” pull over a...

Blessed, and I know you hate me…

Blessed, and I know you hate me…

Call me filthy lucky if you like, but somehow I’ve managed to blag rides on all kinds of Honda 500 GP bikes since the company first started racing two-strokes in the early 1980s. I’ve bought my own...

This is going to hurt…

This is going to hurt…

ACTUALLY it isn’t. This is stuntman Lutz Schleiser and he does this sort of thing for a living. He’s just hit a barrier at speed, but while his bike is knackered, he’s about to plop safely into a...

Cross-country, supersport-style

Cross-country, supersport-style

Supersport meets grasstrack

Audio: Blade designer Tadao Baba speaks

Audio: Blade designer Tadao Baba speaks

Click the links in the download videos box, right, titled RM (if you use Real Player) or MOV (for Quicktime users) to hear FireBlade project Chief Engineer Tadao Baba answering questions about future...

Road tax reform – have your say before they say it for you

Road tax reform – have your say before they say it for you

ROAD tax for smaller bikes could be cut, but tax on larger superbikes could be increased to make up the shortfall, according to government proposals revealed earlier this week. It’s part of a planned...

Oi mate, this way!

Oi mate, this way!

And it came to pass, that supermoto was invented

Main changes to the 2002 FireBlade

HONDA has opted to update the Blade rather than reinvent it. Its move into 2002 is evolutionary rather than revolutionary. On paper, at least. It isn’t until you ride it that you realise the changes are actually very significant ones, each with a dramatic effect on the bike’s overall character and capabilities. This is the sixth generation of FireBlade and the changes are as follows: * 1mm...

Following a star

Following a star

Follow the star, they said…

Asking for directions

Asking for directions

Excuse me. Do you know the way the Bethlehem?

And now it’s flashing helmets, too

WE’VE had ABS brakes, traction control and variable valve timing, now a British inventor reckons we should follow the lead of four wheels one more time by having car-style high-level brake lights… on the back of our helmets. Grant Belben from Poole, Dorset, has patented a new wireless brake light system. It works like this: A battery/LED unit attaches to the back of the rider’s helmet with tape,...

Tip-toe round the crashed bike

Tip-toe round the crashed bike

And then everything was a blur…

Supersport for two weeks

Supersport for two weeks

Welcome to the first of a fortnight of supersport video clips.

Counting the cost

Counting the cost

On paper, the Fazer’s £7799 rrp doesn’t compare well with the £5995 Honda. Even with £500 lopped off, the Yamaha will still cost £1300 more. But the reality is rather different. A quick flick through...

Hodgson joins Radio Four for a week of Biker Tales

Hodgson joins Radio Four for a week of Biker Tales

RADIO 4 the station better known for The Archers and the shipping forecast are lining up a week of famous, infamous and just plain extraordinary riders. ” Biker Tales ” begins on Monday 3rd December...

Longterm test: Aprilia RSV-R

Longterm test: Aprilia RSV-R

We’ve all had moments when we wish the ground would just open up. Like when you’ve spent the last five minutes saying what a tosser your boss is, only to find him standing behind you. Or when you’ve...

Oi, you at the back

Bikes in this class are bound to spend at least some of the time with a pillion on board, so we did a lap of the lakes to check out the pillion seats with our tester Kev Smith bringing up the rear: HONDA VFR: " THERE’S two grab handles which give your hand plenty of room, but you get much more support from the Triumph’s single handle. The pegs are really low (10mm lower than the previous bike)...

Bostrom and Bayliss 998 replicas ready for Europe

Bostrom and Bayliss 998 replicas ready for Europe

Ducati have already unveiled the Ben Bostrom replica 998 in the US, but now it’s coming to Europe, and so is World Champion Troy Bayliss’s replica. But while we’ll be getting the 136bhp 998S engine,...

Yamaha Fazer and Honda Hornet: head-to-head

Yamaha Fazer and Honda Hornet: head-to-head

Not many boxing matches are as one-sided as the punch-fest a few days ago when Brit hero Lennox Lewis made Hasim Rahman eat canvas in fine style. This fight certainly seems a lot more evenly-balanced...

More than a motorcycle

More than a motorcycle

It’s a state of mind

Ladies: Vote for your hunkiest rider of the year

Ladies: Vote for your hunkiest rider of the year

LAST month, male motorcyclenews.com users had their chance to vote for the Brolly Babe of the Year. The response was huge but it seems our female visitors felt a bit left out so we’ve decided to give...

Close racing

Close racing

Supersport provides some of the closest racing there is