First rides & tests

Year: ALL

Staff Blog: Running In or Running Out!!

06 May 2013 by Alison Silcox

I arrived back from my trip to Normandy with the bike a little over the first service mileage of 600 so instead of being out in the lovely sunshine, getting more miles under my belt and practising my...

50 quick road miles on the new Honda CBR600

05 May 2013 by Tim Thompson

There’s still snow on the fields as I head out onto the back lanes of Cambridgeshire. It’s four days since the near-washout of the track launch and this new CBR600RR — just 90 miles on the clock — is...

Staff Blog: Seriously versatile

03 May 2013 by Andy Davidson

Times are changing. A once bland and boring middle-weight class has morphed into one of the most exciting and competitive bike genres today, breeding a new wave of superior machinery. Enter the...

Staff blog: The toughest test ever!

03 May 2013 by Adam Child

This year is going to epic, one I’m going to look back on for years to come and it’s mainly going to be down to my lovely ZX-6R. Just last week I took delivery of my new Kawasaki and unusually for me,...

Staff blog: I'm back

03 May 2013 by Tony Hoare

Do not swear. I know I can’t, but I’m bursting to. The Triumph Street Triple R I’m running for the year is absolutely [insert your swear word of choice here] brilliant. I was in love with it within a...

Video: KTM 300EXC at Enduroland

01 May 2013 by Michael Guy

Michael recently took his KTM 300EXC long termer out for some off road practice at Enduroland. here what he has to say about the bike’s performance now he’s had a chance to fettle and re-jet...

Staff Blog: The magic carpet

01 May 2013 by Andy Downes

According to the Asphalt Industry Alliance (no, me neither) there are 2.2million potholes on the UKs roads, it’s going to cost £113million to fix them all and there has been £32million of damage to...

Triumph Bonneville owners needed!

30 April 2013 by Phil West

MCN is looking for Triumph Bonneville owners for an upcoming feature! We need 2008-2009 Triumph Bonneville T100 or SE models. Just fill out the questionnaire below and email it with a head and...

Suzuki C1500T first ride

30 April 2013 by Adam Child

They may be about as relevant in the UK as a 50ft Winnebago or eight-litre SUV but, if you hadn’t cottoned on already, ‘baggers’ – or be-bagged or panniered cruisers designed for comfort and custom...

Staff Blog: Running-in, in France

29 April 2013 by Alison Silcox

What better way to run in the new Yamaha Fazer 8 than to pop over to Normandy for a three day rider training work shop with Nigel, nicknamed Red Leader, from Advanced Motorcycle Training! I took...

Staff Blog: Today is a good day…

26 April 2013 by Michael Guy

The last couple of months haven’t been easy. I’ve seen my colleagues at MCN come bouncing into the office having received their long term test bikes for the year. I however have been forced to do my...

Staff Blog: A glimpse of Spring…at last

25 April 2013 by Andy Downes

There are now more than 2000 miles on the clock of the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Touring and until last week it felt like every single one of them had been done with teeth gritted against the harsh...

Staff Blog: The long way home

25 April 2013 by Tony Hoare

“The ride to work is going to be a blast on the nimble triple – and the ride home again is going to be even better. Dear A1, you’ll not be seeing much of me.” The grey and red Triumph Street Triple R...

Video: Ducati Panigale 1199R First Ride

24 April 2013 by MCN

Last month MCN travelled to Austin, Texas, for our first ride of Ducati’s new 1199R, their ultimate superbike. Check out what road tester Michael Neeves thought of the bike around MotoGP’s newest...

Staff Blog: Are Harley's cool?

24 April 2013 by Ped Baker

A couple of years ago I asked an MCN work experience girl what she thought of motorcyclists. I was hoping she’d use words like ‘cool’, ‘exciting’, perhaps even ‘sexy’ but instead she said, “They’re...

Staff Blog: Bird Strikes

24 April 2013 by Tim Thompson

I’m developing a theory, or at least something more substantial than a random thought, that birds have it in for my Suzuki GSX-R750. Pigeons definitely don’t like it. Each morning they wait in...

Honda VFR owners needed

23 April 2013 by MCN

MCN is looking for Honda VFR owners for an upcoming feature! We need VFR750, VFR800Fi and VFR800 V-TEC owners. Just fill out the questionnaire below and email it with a head and shoulder photograph of...

Staff Blog: Taking charge of my Yamaha Fazer 8

23 April 2013 by Alison Silcox

Today’s the day my riding year really gets under-way; I’m taking charge of my new Yamaha Fazer 8 long termer this afternoon. After a weekend of bikes and beer at MCN Live at Butlins SkegVegas and the...

Triumph TT600 and Daytona owners needed!

23 April 2013 by MCN

MCN is looking for Triumph Daytona and TT owners for an upcoming feature! We need Triumph TT600, Daytona 600 or 650, and Daytona 675 owners. Just fill out the questionnaire below and email it with a...

Staff blog: Is the Judge worthy of a nod?

22 April 2013 by Liam Marsden

Riding back from MCN Live at Butlins Skegness at the weekend was the first weekend with good weather and plenty of bikes on the fantastic roads of the Lincolnshire Wolds. On previous long term bikes...

Staff Blog: Nailing The Basics

22 April 2013 by Steve Hunt

With the sun threatening to finally breakthrough and bring back some semblance of normality to the spring climate, now is the time that most riders come out of their enforced hibernation and return to...

Longterm Harley-Davidson Street Bob arrives

17 April 2013 by Ped Baker

My longterm Harley-Davidson Street Bob Dark Custom has turned up this morning. No camp metal flake, trinkets or radio here! Old Skool chopper styling looks ace but it could do with some louder pipes...

Living with the BMW F800GT

17 April 2013 by Steve Hunt

After a month of ownership and a few emails and messages coming in from people who’ve read my longterm reports in the MCN paper I thought it would be a good start to this blog if I responded to these...

Video: Adventure Bikes 2013 - Off Road

12 April 2013

MCN took the top dog of adventure bikes, the BMW R1200GS to South Wales to test it against Yamaha’s stalwart Super Tenere, last year’s winner the Triumph Explorer, and KTM’s new pretender the 1190...

Video: Adventure Bikes 2013 group test

10 April 2013 by MCN

Video: BMW R1200GS - Old vs New

03 April 2013 by MCN

Last week MCN took BMW’s old R1200GS head to head against it’s replacement, the 2013 model. Does the new bike – the UK’s top-selling bike last year – measure up to what it’s replacing?

Two new Harleys launched

25 March 2013 by Steve Farrell

MCN is at the launch of two new Harley-Davidsons in Marseille, France. The Breakout is an ‘evolution’ of the Softail range, and sits in between the existing Slim and Fatboy models in price, at £15,695. First impression are its ‘evolved’ in a similar sense to sharks: it’s been around for millions of years but has changed little. It has the same chassis and 1690cc V-twin engine as the existing...