October

Year: 2011

Month: October

Staff bikes: Suzuki GSR750 - GSR takes on the Nurburgring

27 October 2011 by Liam Marsden

Rising at 5:30am on a day off isn’t exactly what I’d call relaxing, but with the GSR already loaded up and sat waiting patiently in the garage and the Nurburgring as the finishing point for the day I...

Video: 2012 BMW S1000RR onboard

25 October 2011 by MCN

BMW has updated its class-leading S1000RR superbike for 2012, with new traction control, a modified chassis and more low-midrange power. MCN’s Adam Child rode the bike at the launch in Valencia, and...

Traction control raises new Yamaha R1's game

20 October 2011 by Michael Neeves

The addition of traction control – which Yamaha says is the same system as used on the YZR-M1 MotoGP racer – makes the 2012 R1 a better road and track bike. But MCN’s world first track test also...

Video: Aprilia RSV4 v Nissan GT-R: Battle of the computers

20 October 2011 by MCN

Electronic rider aids are where it’s at right now, love ’em or loathe ’em, and the Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC (Aprilia Performance Ride Control) has the smoothest, most sophisticated system of any...

Staff bikes: Suzuki GSX-R750 - Viva el Gixer!

20 October 2011 by Michael Neeves

Now that’s what I call a summer trip. 3397.6 miles in two weeks, on a bike designed for the track, but absolutely perfect for everything else too. From the monotonous motorways of France to the...

Michael Neeves blog – Off Road Skills

18 October 2011 by Michael Neeves

I’ve just returned from two days in Wales with Paris Dakar legend Simon Pavey, at his off-road school, or the ‘Odd Road Skills, powered by World of BMW and Husqvarna’, to give it its full name. It was...

Maximum muscle, minimum cost: GSX1400 v XJR1300 v CB1300

17 October 2011 by MCN

How times change. In the late 1970s and early ’80s, bikes with silhouettes the same as these machines would have been called superbikes. Capacity was king and the bigger the cubes the better.

Staff bikes: BMW G650GS - Bye-bye Beemer

13 October 2011 by Steve Farrell

Like many motorcyclists I’m sure, every day I’m watched through my window by my little lad as I get on my bike and ride off to work. So I’m not the only one who will be a little sad that BMW has asked...

Staff bikes: Ducati Diavel - No pain, no gain

13 October 2011 by Ian Jubb

As with all my motorcycle adventures, it started with poor timing and a torrential downpour. The panic to make the 8.15pm Brittany Ferries sailing from Portsmouth to St Malo meant I had to average...

Staff bikes: MV Agusta Brutale - Brutale turns storm chaser

13 October 2011 by Andy Downes

The plan was simple enough. The reality turned out to be a tiny bit different thanks to the howling gales that affected the North of England courtesy of Hurricane Katia. It was supposed to be a...

Gilsons Type 1: New Brit café racer

13 October 2011 by Michael Neeves

Owned by a trio of die-hard biking enthusiasts, this is Gilson’s first creation: the Type 1 Café Racer, yours for £12,500. Jules and Mike Gilson and Mark Robbins have based the retro custom on an...

2012 Kawasaki ER-6n - first impressions

13 October 2011 by MCN

MCN’s Senior Road Tester, Adam Child, is putting the new Kawasaki ER-6n through its paces at its European launch in Faro, Portugal. The latest variant of Kawasaki’s popular middleweight has been...

2012 Yamaha R1 - first impressions

12 October 2011 by Michael Neeves

We’re in Spain riding the 2012 Yamaha R1 at the Valencia MotoGP circuit. Aside from a few very minor tweaks the main change to the Yamaha is its new six-stage traction control. We’ve just done our...

Suzuki Hayabusa ride

10 October 2011 by Reismotor

After years of waiting I at last rode a Suzuki Hayabusa. I thought it was very impressive. No way to take it to top speed in Holland, though.

Aprilia SR Max 300: Taken to the Max

07 October 2011 by Trevor Franklin

Aprilia’s new SR Max 300 fits neatly into the overcrowded maxi-scooter class, but with a less than subtle difference from its rivals – the Aprilia actually looks exciting to ride. With styling...

Staff bikes: Ducati Monster 1100 Evo - Monster's hot in the city

05 October 2011 by Marc Abbott

The first Thursday of each month is Italian night at London’s Ace Cafe, so before the 160-mile round trip becomes a teeth-grittingly sub-zero affair, I made the effort to head down after work a few...

Staff bikes: Honda VFR800X Crossrunner - It's time to retyre

05 October 2011 by Phil West

Time for a change. The turning of three-thousand-odd miles has seen both the fading of Crossrunner’s OE Pirelli Scorpions’ ability and my faith in them. Don’t get me wrong: the Scorps aren’t a bad...

Staff bikes: KTM 990 SMT ABS - Retuned to perfection

05 October 2011 by Trevor Franklin

Although the KTM 990 SM-T looks the same black and white bike I’d left at BSD Performance for a dyno run and fuelling check, the bike I got back now runs like a completely different machine. The KTM’s...

First Triumph Tiger 800 Supermoto

03 October 2011 by MCN

Straight bars, 17in wheels, upside down forks, fox-eye headlights and an 800cc inline triple – could this be a secret, pre-production Triumph Street Triple 800? We wish. In fact this isn’t a big-bore...