June

Year: 2011

Month: June

Suzuki V-Strom 650 first ride

30 June 2011 by MCN

The new Suzuki V Strom 650 is currently being tested in Croatia, by MCN’s Phil West, these are his first impressions: “We’ve just ridden about 150 miles, along the spectacular Dalmatian coast, and...

BMW Motorrad UK has announced (30-6-2011) only 20 of its HP2 boxer-twin sports bikes exist in UK BMW dealers and that any prospective buyers should be quick to snap one up because production of the...

New Triumph Trophy 1200 tourer spied again

30 June 2011 by Andy Downes

Triumph’s all-new 1200cc three-cylinder tourer has been spotted undergoing final endurance testing on the road in Spain just months ahead of its launch. This spy picture – which is shown in full in...

Suzuki V-Strom launch

29 June 2011 by John Westlake

MCN’s Executive Editor Phil West has flown to Croatia for the launch of Suzuki’s much anticipated, updated V-Strom. He’s just phoned through this brief report: “My first thoughts are that in the flesh...

Warrs 'Bullet' Café Racer debuts at Ace

29 June 2011 by Trevor Franklin

This Harley-Davidson is the latest ‘themed’ bike to roll out of the workshop of Warrs Harley-Davidson, Europe’s oldest H-D dealer. The ‘Bullet’ café racer is based around the rolling chassis of a new...

Brammo starts European production

29 June 2011 by Dan Aspel

Electric motorcycle manufacturer Brammo has started production in Hungary, expanding its business into Europe for the first time. Production is taking place at the Flextronics facility in Sarvar and...

New Suzuki V-Strom price announced

28 June 2011 by Phil West

The revised V-Strom 650 ABS will go on sale at a price of £6899 on the road when it becomes available in dealers in late July, Suzuki has revealed. The facelifted machine features new bodywork,...

Bimota TB-S Concept

28 June 2011 by Oberdan bezzi

Here’s my idea for a retro Bimota. What do you think?

Face of Ducati 1199 superbike revealed

27 June 2011 by Andy Downes

Italian magazine Motociclismo has scooped images of the new Ducati 1199 superbike according to a story on the website. The full story will be out later this week in Italy. It appears studio images of...

Hodgson tests Aprilia and Ducati rider aids for MCN

24 June 2011 by MCN news team

Even the base spec versions of Aprilia and Ducati’s latest superbikes, the RSV4 and 1198, are now bristling with electronic rider aids such as traction control and anti-wheelie – but how good are...

Video: Neil Hodgson tests superstock BMW S1000RR

24 June 2011 by Michael Neeves

New MCN Road Tester and ex-WSB/BSB champ Neil Hodsgon got to throw his leg over two superstock spec Park Lane BMW BMW S1000RRs at Brands GP recently. One of the BMW S1000RR’s, which is raced by Senior...

Video: Keith Flint's FTR Moto2

24 June 2011 by Michael Neeves

If you’ve got deep enough pockets you can now buy your very own Grand Prix bike. This £75,000 FTR Moto2, belonging to Prodigy front man Keith Flint, is the first customer machine to be built by the...

How to TT-proof your GSX-R1000 by Guy Martin team boss Philip Neill

24 June 2011 by Michael Neeves

Suzuki’s GSX-R1000 will get you round the TT at 125mph+ no problem. But that fancy feather-light race bodywork you’ve been hankering after? It could cost infinitely more time than it saves, says...

VIDEO: Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC SE v some Datsun – are bike firms growing their balls back?

23 June 2011 by Guy Procter

Look at bike ads from decades passed and you come away thinking some manufacturers today aren’t fighting hard enough for the customers they have. Most of all, why did they ever decide to let cars get...

New Aprilia SR Max 125 and 300 scooters

23 June 2011 by Andy Downes

Aprilia has unveiled two new scooters called the SR Max 125 and 300 with styling Aprilia optimistically suggests is inspired by the RSV4 Superbike. The SR Max will go head to head with bigger scooters...

Video: New Husqvarna 900 spied on the road

23 June 2011 by Andy Downes

This spy video reveals the new Husqvarna 900 undergoing testing on the road near a BMW testing facility in Munich, Germany and shows the parallel-twin undergoing endurance testing on the road. We’re...

New Ducati 1199 stuns Bayliss in test at Mugello

23 June 2011 by Guy Procter

Ducati’s rivals are reeling after retired Ducati legend Troy bayliss matched his fastest ever time around Mugello, in a sensational three-day test of the new 1199. The 52-time WSB race winner left the...

300mph, jet-assisted Hayabusa: meet the Bullet 1236

23 June 2011 by Guy Procter

So this is the theory: a bike could go a lot faster on the straights if it didn’t have wheels dragging on the ground. The solution? A small jet engine and a few subtle wings contributing enough thrust...

£1240-worth of goodies with new Harley-Davidson XR1200s

22 June 2011 by Phil West

Harley-Davidson are offering – for a limited period – performance and cosmetic goodies worth at total of £1240 with purchases of its XR1200X. The offer, introduced to coincide with the current XR1200...

Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Pikes Peak Special Edition first impressions

22 June 2011 by MCN News team

Ducati’s new special edition Pikes Peak version of its 1200S Multistrada is about to arrive in dealers and MCN Senior Road Tester Michael Neeves is currently getting a first ride, exclusively for MCN.

Suzuki leaks new 650 V-Strom by mistake

22 June 2011 by Andy Downes

Suzuki has accidentally leaked full details of the new DL650 V-Strom revealing at last what the finished bike will look like with full technical details. The details show a bike that has been given a...

2012 Husqvarna enduro models revealed

17 June 2011 by Guy Procter

Revitalised BMW-owned Husqvarna has released details of its updated 2012 range of enduro bikes. Each gets new graphics, new black chassis and new silver wheels while the TE250 and TE310 four-stroke...

Husqvarna designer explains new 900

16 June 2011 by Andy Downes

Spy shots of the new Husqvarna 900 were revealed earlier this week in MCN but now the Italian firm has released a video where a designer explains what the new bike is all about. The video explains how...

Most powerful Benelli TNT ever with TNT160R

15 June 2011 by Andy Downes

The Benelli TNT range also gets this TNT160R model which has a 160bhp version of the 1130cc inline triple engine along with a series of changes to the frame, mapping and brakes seen on the Century...

Video: BMW K1600GTL speed testing

15 June 2011 by MCN

We investigate 8 things that you never knew about the BMW K1600GTL in this week’s MCN. One of those things is that the big Bavarian tourer is bloody fast. The K1600GTL does 137.62mph. We know – we...

Bimota TB-3 Fun Triple 675

15 June 2011 by Oberdan Bezzi

This is the third model from the marriage between Triumph and Bimota. The TB-3 Fun Triple 675.

Will Suzuki's new middleweight live up to its own hype?

15 June 2011 by Guy Procter

Suzuki has released yet more (blurred) teaser pics of its new ‘middleweight motorcycle’ – almost certainly a new V-Strom 650. Something about the way Suzuki is drip-feeding these images suggests a...

New EBR 1190RS on sale in UK in 2011

15 June 2011 by Guy Procter

Magnesium wheels, 175bhp, 97ft-lb, 176kg, all-carbon bodywork, £27k, plans for three more new models…. THIS is how you bounce back from a breakup you even managed to lose your name in. And it’ll be on...

MV Agusta F3 first ride: "Unusual but intuitive" says designer Adrian Morton

14 June 2011 by Guy Procter

The designer of MV’s new F3 Adrian Morton has told MCN what the bike is like to ride. Naturally he thinks it’s good, but given it’s his first ever ride on the machine he styled, and he’s a regular...

New MV Agusta F3-based ‘Hypermotard’ in the works

14 June 2011 by Guy Procter

MV Agusta F3 designer Morton says a third F3-based bike – in addition to the expected naked Brutale variant, styled by an Italian colleague – is in the works. He tells MCN: “Since concluding the F3, I...

MV Agusta F3: How it could have looked, how it does sound

14 June 2011 by Guy Procter

MV Agusta’s radically small, sexy and advanced new triple – which is heard for the first time in this video from an MV owners group event in Italy – started life in even more extreme form, its British...

Husqvarna 900 spy shots in today’s MCN

14 June 2011 by Andy Downes

Spy photographs of the new Husqvarna 900 grabbed outside a BMW testing facility in Munich, Germany show the new Husqvarna 900cc parallel-twin undergoing endurance testing on the road. Italian firm...

Ducati Diavel sold out until September

10 June 2011 by Andy Downes

Almost 5000 of Ducati’s ground-changing Diavel performance cruiser have been built to date with the bike sold out in most major markets until September with Ducati taking almost £69 million in revenue...

Norton confirm 2012 Senior TT race bid

10 June 2011 by Gary Pinchin

Norton boss Stuart Garner has just confirmed on Radio TT that Norton will be back at the TT next year with an all-new 1000cc V4 prototype to race in the Senior. “We need to race at the TT,” said...

Ducati launches £1000 discount voucher on 1198 and 1198SP

09 June 2011 by Andy Downes

Ducati has launched a new £1000 discount voucher for anyone buying a new 1198 or 1198SP model bought before August 31 to spend in dealers on Ducati Performance accessories or apparel. The 1198 now...

Why the new Husqvarna 900 should worry rivals?

09 June 2011 by Andy Downes

Italian manufacturer Husqvarna is months away from unveiling a 100bhp 900cc parallel-twin naked bike which uses proven BMW technology but designed around a new look. Husqvarna is wholly owned by BMW...