2004

Year: 2004

Month: ALL

Delays for K1200S?

15 December 2004

Deliveries of the new BMW K1200S have been delayed until March 2005 due to camshaft problems. If you’ve got one of the German superbikes on order, we’d like to hear from you. Please email...

Royal Enfield has launched a full dress version of the Bullet Sixty-5 model to showcase accessories available for their most popular model. The bolt-ons can also be bought separately and consist of...

GP for Moto-Roma

15 December 2004

Moto-Roma has topped off its scooter range with the launch of the new 125cc Grand Prix. The four-stroke scooter is aimed at the budget commuter market with a price tag of just under £1400. And UK import, Barrus, asked the Italian firm to supply all of the GP 125s coming to the UK with heated grips making it ideal for the winter ride to work. The scooter will also come with a free 12-month...

New boss for Harley

08 December 2004

Harley chief Jeffrey L Bleustein has decided to retire next year, on April 30, 2005. The 65-year-old will remain as Chairman of the Board of Directors, and his successor as Chief Executive Officer...

2005 Bandit: First test

01 December 2004

MCN road tester Adam Child has just got back from the first test of the new 650cc Suzuki Bandit and reckons it will make a great first bike. Despite the 50cc rise in capacity the new Bandit gets no...

MGS-01 going fast

01 December 2004

If you want to be one of the five people in the UK to own one of Moto Guzzi’s exclusiv MGS-01 Corsa track bikes then you’d better move fast. Five of the bikes will be delivered to the UK next week...

First test: 05 ZX-6R

01 December 2004

MCN Road tester Trevor Franklin has just stepped off the 2005 Kawasaki ZX-6R with a big grin on his face and he got straight on the phone from the world launch in Almeria, Spain, to tell us all about...

05 Hornet 600 unveiled

01 December 2004

Honda unveiled a new-for-2005 Hornet in Italy on Wednesday night (December 1). It now has upside-down forks – the only machine in the naked 600cc class to have them. They’re adjustable for preload. ...

New Italian V-twins

01 December 2004

MotoMorini has used the Bologna Motorshow to officially launch its long awaited new bikes. The 9 ½ and the Corsaro 1200 have been on the cards since the company relaunched a year ago but this is the...

Dirt rider kicks off

24 November 2004

The Dirt Rider Expo kicked off yesterday with even more manufacturers and even more stars attracting riders to the Stoneleigh Park show, near Coventry. There is enough to keep anyone happy for hours...

New BMWs break cover

24 November 2004

These are the first official pictures of the new BMW R1200RT and R1200ST, which the German firm plans to launch early next year. Both bikes are based on the Boxer engine from the R1200GS and are...

Vespa as work of art

17 November 2004

Fancy getting your hands on a one off Vespa with a paint scheme by one the of the UK’s top artists? Then get down to the Art Vespa Auction next Tuesday for a choice of five. The paint schemes might...

Flying bike could take off

17 November 2004

What do you do when you’re stuck in the queue to leave Brands world superbikes? Easy! Flick a switch and turn your bike into a helicopter… That’s the radical “personal transport” solution from Dutch...

Readers in blind R6 test

17 November 2004

What better way to try out the new 2005 Yamaha R6 than come along and test it for MCN. Well that’s exactly what four of our readers did today. With no radical redesign of the R6 for 2005 we wanted to...

KTM Super Duke tested

17 November 2004

KTM’s Super Duke goes straight to the top of the ‘super nakeds’ tree. That’s our verdict after the world first test ride on the first 100% road-focused bike from the Austrian firm. Our full report,...

October bike sales rise

10 November 2004

New bike sales of “Adventure” category bikes are up by 53% and custom bike sales are up by 27% compared with the same time last year. The strong growth in interest in bikes such as BMW’s R1200GS in...

NEC Show countdown

01 November 2004

The International Motorcycle and Scooter Show (that’s the NEC to most of us) is your first chance to see all the new bikes and products for 2005 in the UK, and the opening day is just two days away. ...

New Victory dealer

27 October 2004

Birmingham based Thunder Road is the latest dealer to start stocking Victory’s range of v-twin cruisers – and just in time for the launch of the 2005 range. The firm made its name building custom...

Sights to see at the NEC

27 October 2004

There’s a free guide to getting the best from the NEC Show free with the next issue of MCN, out November 3, but here are some of the highlights: Triumph: The British firm will be showing its 2005...

Special edition GSX-Rs

27 October 2004

Suzuki is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the GSX-R with two special edition versions of the seminal sports bike. The firm is releasing a limited-edition run of the GSX-R750 and GSX-R600 with a...

Spied: BMW R1200RT

20 October 2004

Pictures claimed to show the 2005 BMW R1200RT have broken cover. Shown here, insiders say the bike is an update on the R1150RT tourer using the new boxer engine from the R1200GS. BMW is refusing to...

Harley for beginners

20 October 2004

Harley is bringing a new version of the Sportster 883 to the UK. The 883L is aimed at smaller and “novice” riders. The ‘L’ stands for Low – not Learner. The seat height is just 66cm – the lowest...

First test: 2005 R6

20 October 2004

The new R6 gets upside-down forks for the first time and radial front brake calipers. There’s a revised engine (aimed at improved response rather than raising peak power) The R6 also gets:...

How good is K1200S?

13 October 2004

We set out to answer your 24 most important questions about the new BMW K1200S in the latest issue of MCN – from how powerful it really is (as measured on the dyno at the back wheel) to why no-one can...

More sights at NEC Show

13 October 2004

Exhibitors are starting to reveal their plans for the NEC Show in November, and the Bennetts Insurance stand will certainly be revealing with twelve 2005 Bennetts Babes making their first appearance. ...

New Victory cruisers

13 October 2004

Victory will add two new cruisers to its lineup for 2005, dropping one in at either end of its range. The Hammer has been brought in to answer calls from Victory customers for more power and gets and...

Vote for new bike of 05

13 October 2004

It’s neck and neck between Triumph’s Speed Triple and the British firm’s new Sprint ST in your vote for the star of the shows among the new metal for 2005. Latest count (as of Monday, October 4)...

Bike sales up again

13 October 2004

While sports bikes remain popular in the UK the growth in the big trailie market highlights a growing trend towards less sports-oriented bikes. Bradshaw added: “We’re seeing a lot more people trading...

First test: Daytona 650

13 October 2004

Triumph’s bored-out Daytona 650 handles as well as it ever did, costs £1000 less than an R6 (and we’re getting a first ride on the new version of the Yamaha this Friday, October 22) and it has the...

R1200GS hit by fault

13 October 2004

A new BMW production problem has been revealed. This time it’s the R1200GS that’s concerned – hot on the heels of the decision to delay the K1200S due to another fault. BMW says “There has been a...

Factory bike under £1K

06 October 2004

Barcelona firm Factory is launching a new 110cc mini bike – due in the UK by the end of October. Established in 1998, the firm’s new FS110 fun bike has a 70cm seat height, weighs just 60kg and costs...

BMW grounds K1200S

06 October 2004

BMW has suspended all test rides of its K1200S and is delaying delivery of bikes to customers until beyond the end of the year. It says the reason is a “defective camshaft component” supplied by a...

We ride Aprilia Sport City

06 October 2004

motorcyclenews.com’s Used Bikes Editor Angus Farquhar has just finished riding the new Aprilia Sport City 125 scooter at its launch in Tuscany and has logged in from the hotel to send his report...

KTM video back on web

06 October 2004

KTM’s controversial street-thrash video promoting its new SuperDuke may have been officially taken offline – but that hasn’t stopped it spreading across the internet. The firm was hosting the...

K1200S tested in UK

01 October 2004

motorcyclenews.com user Andy Bacon got an extended test ride on the new BMW K1200S. MCN is about to conduct its first full test of the bike on UK roads (we’ve previously tested it in Germany and...

Teen thriller from Derbi

29 September 2004

Looks like there’s never been a better time to be 17. Derbi has launched the gorgeous GPR125 race replica -complete with radial front brake caliper, upside-down forks, underseat exhaust, alloy frame...