Bike news

Year: ALL

Fancy a change from the Cat & Fiddle?

07 April 2000

LOOK at this picture. Now imagine it’s you on the bike riding mile after mile through scenery you’ve only known before in road movies. Having trouble? Well, read on and hopefully you’ll get a clearer...

162bhp ZRX? That’s a real man’s bike

01 April 2000

CAST your mind back to 1981. Ronnie Reagan was running the world and Eddie Lawson was on his way to sealing the U.S. superbike title on a Kawasaki Z1000… but there’s one more name to remember and...

Oil formulas unleash hidden powers

24 March 2000

IT might look like the same old brown, slippery liquid motorcyclists have poured into their engines for decades, but there’s as much high-tech computer-aided design going into some modern oils as there is into the bikes themselves. A visit to Castrol’s Technology Centre at Pangbourne, Berks – one of the most advanced of its kind in the world – reveals testing is an amazingly precise art and that...

Meet the power behind Triumph’s engines

24 March 2000

HE’S modest, unassuming and on the face of things a thoroughly unremarkable person. He and his wife run a small Midlands business employing up to four other people. Yet John Wilcox is one of the most...

The land where dreams come true

17 March 2000

SUNSHINE all year round. Smooth, grippy and challenging back roads through beautiful scenery. A virtually zero police presence. And a biker-friendly public which treats motorcyclists like every other...

Speed limiters: Not if or when... just how

17 March 2000

LIKE it or not, top speed restrictions are on their way. For the first time ever, next year’s fastest bikes will be slower than this year’s. As you’ll be aware if you’ve been following the saga in...

Not missing anything

10 March 2000

THERE are some things in life which just don’t make sense. A bee shouldn’t be able to fly because its wings are too small. Peter Stringfellow should not be able to pull nubile young women. And a...

Come on Chris, it’s only a laugh

10 March 2000

IF we’re all absolutely honest with ourselves, we’ve all watched a British superbike race and thought: ” I could do that with the right bike and a bit of practice. ” Chances are you’ve probably...

Fuel injection: Why a little squirt is now a big deal

10 March 2000

NOT so long ago, fuel injection was the sole preserve of tiny firms which couldn’t get the big carburettor manufacturers to make parts tailored to their small production runs. Companies such as Moto...

Just make the whole thing out of carbon...

03 March 2000

IF there’s one material everyone wants it’s carbon-fibre. Thousands of us deck out our machines with carbon fairings, huggers and even stick-on bits to stop the key scratching the dash. Some people go...

Why everyone is mad for Screamers

01 March 2000

HONDA’S new GP 500 rider Loris Capirossi said in last week’s MCN he opted for a Screamer engine because it was easier on tyres. Traditionally, it’s the Big Bang engine Mick Doohan started using in...

Just like you, it has grown up

25 February 2000

THE brutal lines of the GS12000SS hark back to the days when bikes were all about wobbling around corners and laying down horsepower on the straights. We’ve already had 1970s retros such as the Zephyr...

Just another R1? Er, no actually

18 February 2000

WHAT’S in a name? Plenty, actually. And in certain cases lots of cred, respect and prestige. Do a bit of serious name-dropping and your rank can be instantly elevated. Certain names are real status...

More than just a length of plumbing with a can on the end

18 February 2000

LOOK at any four-cylinder sports bike and you’ve got four lengths of pipe and a big can at the end to keep things quiet. There you go, one exhaust, job done… well, not quite. Bung any old set of tubes...

Tyres: Moulded around the way you ride

11 February 2000

FOR things which started life dripping out of a tree in some distant, tropical rainforest, tyres have achieved a pretty significant role in all our lives. We all moan when they burst, we all moan...

Why it’s worth shelling out on a shock

04 February 2000

IF you’re going to make any improvements to your bike, chances are the first things on your list are an aftermarket exhaust, Dynojet kit and K&N filter. These will sharpen the throttle response, fill...

So it’s back to the drawing board, then?

01 February 2000

FOR every brilliant new invention to reach bike showrooms, there are hundreds which never go into production and are destined instead to remain unfathomable drawings filed away at the patent office...

Come on Cavalier man, make my day!

01 February 2000

I’M sat at the side of the road with a radar gun in my hand, pointing it directly at anyone who dares to break the limit. At my side is Pc Chris Pulfrey, a police rider for the past 20 years and a...

Stop and think about your brakes

21 January 2000

THE biking moments most likely to stick in your mind more vividly than any other probably don’t involve hundreds of horsepower, or blue lights in the mirror. The ones that really stay with you are...

The father of modern sports bikes

21 January 2000

THERE is one man among Honda’s team at the all-important launch of the FireBlade for whom the bowing goes on longer and deeper than any other. When any Japanese technician goes near him they speak in...