Bike news

Year: ALL

More for the TT fans

10 June 2001

They might call the 250 race the Lightweight, but it’s a race for the real heavyweights of The Island.

Kicking up dust

10 June 2001

You don’t need to ride THAT close to the kerbs, John!

Long term test on the Yamaha Tmax

10 June 2001

Sometimes, the strangest combinations actually go together remarkably well. When I was a kid, my favourite teatime snack was peanut butter and jam sandwiches. Other children would curl their lips...

Get out of that!

10 June 2001

OK, all you need to do is ride over this lot…

Riding Britain’s greatest road

10 June 2001

The days of the Roman Empire weren’t just about eating grapes, grappling with virgins and having lots of hot baths. Some of it was about standing guard on the rainswept borders of northern England...

Is time running out for MAG and the BMF?

10 June 2001

PRESSURE groups are there to fight for our rights. They understand the things we care about and the issues that wind us up. That’s the idea, anyway. But a recent demonstration against toll charges at...

Clarion Suzuki GSX-R750 XR09 Superbike

10 June 2001

RIDER: John Crawford POWER: Over 165bhp@14,000rpm DRY WEIGHT: 162kg TOP SPEED: 190mph RESULTS: Donington Park: 3rd and 3rd Silverstone: 3rd and 5th Snetterton: 7th and 7th Oulton Park: DNF and 4th

Trials? Boring? Take another look

10 June 2001

Action from the Sheffield Arena trial last year is likely to change your mind

Labour’s roads minister interviewed on bike policy

03 June 2001

EVERY four years, something strange happens to politicians. Suddenly, their horizons broaden. They develop keen interests in anything from farmers to bone marrow transplants, so quickly it makes...

Yamaha Bulldog revealed

03 June 2001

Yamaha’s new Bulldog BT1100 is revealed today for the first time. The Japanese firm claims the Bulldog is specifically designed to meet the needs of the European market. Yamaha reckons its new machine...

Our first long term test on a Buell

03 June 2001

I was shaking. Part cold, part anticipation, part excitement. But mainly fear. I was just about to to pick up my Buell X1 Lightning. Problem was, I had not ridden a motorcycle in 15 years and I don’t...

Joining our cameraman at his proper job

03 June 2001

David Jefferies shows the skills needed to wield the MCN onboard camera

Rival parties pass their verdict

03 June 2001

Conservatives " Labour have been all mouth and no delivery in their integrated transport strategy. The Government doesn’t even measure journey times in congested cities. If they did, they’d find motorcycles to be the shortest. Labour should be promoting two-wheelers instead of clobbering motorists. We will do our utmost to empower bikes. In congested areas in particular, motorcycles play a great...

The advantages of lightweight wheels

03 June 2001

WHERE do you start when you want to modify your bike? A bit of engine tuning first, maybe upgrade the brakes to suit the improved performance and as it goes along add rear sets and finish off with a spangly new paint job. But would you add lightweight wheels? For most of us, light wheels are something of a luxury item. They cost a fortune, admittedly look good but surely they can’t make that much...

The view from the mudguard…

03 June 2001

The TT might not be on for the racers, but we can still marvel at what they do.

Enter the 200mph ZX-12R

03 June 2001

The last time I rode a ZX-12R, it topped out with a less than hyperbolic 183mph, or 12mph slower than a politically castrated 2000 Hayabusa, leaving in its wake more questions than answers. But let...

Rare Ducatis become available

03 June 2001

Just when you thought Ducati’s super-exclusive MH900E was impossible to get hold of… a British dealer has managed to bag a couple. But if you want one you really shouldn’t hang about. DK has just two...

Long term test: Life with an FJR

03 June 2001

I had said farewell to my ZX-12R in mid-December. It was mid-May before I finally got my hands on the FJR. I hadn’t even ridden a push bike in the intervening time. You will therefore understand my...

Out and about: Hunstanton

03 June 2001

Hunstanton hands over a prime parking spot to motorcycles, close to the bandstand and nestled between amusement arcades and cafes. There are some good routes to it to be found if you scour your map of...

Missing the TT?

03 June 2001

Let Steve Hislop bring it a little closer…

Suzuki plans 650cc scooter

03 June 2001

September will see the launch of Suzuki’s new Skywave 650 – a big bore scooter aimed at bikes like Yamaha’s T-max and Honda’s Silverwing. Like its competitors, the bike will use a two-cylinder engine...

Kawasaki comes up with a Sportster rival

01 June 2001

Kawasaki is launching a budget cruiser aimed at the Harley Sportster market. The bike will join the firm’s VN1500 family next year, say sources close to the factory. The Japanese firm’s VN range...

Strange tales from when the racers are at play

01 June 2001

There’s a clapped-out cliché that’s been pinned to the noticeboard of many a place of employment over the years which reads as follows: " You Don’t Have To Be Mad To Work Here – But It Helps! " While many workplaces aren’t exactly the lunatic asylums they’d like to think they are, the bike racing industry can rest easy in the knowledge that, for them, this shop-soiled sentiment rings remarkably...