Bike news

Year: ALL

The ultimate Katana specials

15 April 2001

Yoshimura has got hold of five of the last Suzuki Katanas to be built and is turning them into jaw-droppers. After 20 years of continuous production, Suzuki has finally pulled the plug on the Katana,...

Foggy tribute Monster only available online

15 April 2001

Following internet sales success of the MH900e and 996R, Ducati will sell 300 limited edition MS4 Fogarty Monsters through online only. The order books will open in June, with deliveries starting...

The ‘sportiest’ sports tourer yet

08 April 2001

DUCATI’S new ST4S has uprated suspension, new brakes and the 996 V-twin engine and our first ride reveals that all adds up to the most sporting sports-tourer yet. On Wednesday (April 12), Kevin Ash...

Yes, it really is made in China

08 April 2001

The machine pictured here is the first sign that China has what it takes to build bikes we in the west might actually desire. China is the biggest bike producer in the world, but it’s generally known...

Women on track days

08 April 2001

Girls on bikes used to mean pretty pillion passengers. And you blokes seemed more than happy with a stunner of a girlfriend who would sit limpet-like on your back for the ride to the races, then step...

V8 is back… for £70,500

08 April 2001

REMEMBER the 850cc Morbidelli V8? Only four were ever sold when they went into production in 1997. But now the firm has announced the model’s comeback… if UK dealer George Beale can drum up enough...

Aprilia Futura recalled

08 April 2001

APRILIA has recalled all of the first batch of Futuras in the UK because of a possible loose nut. A fault with a machine on the production line in Italy has meant that a retaining nut in the generator...

The shape of forks to come

08 April 2001

Dutch designer Roel van der Heide reckons some day all bikes will be this way. Called the Chiqane 2, the bike that uses his system is the result of years of development. Van der Heide first developed...

Ducati boss admits plans for giant trailie

08 April 2001

THREE years after MCN first predicted it, Ducati is admitting a V-twin giant trailie is very much part of its plans. It will be very much in the mould of Cagiva’s Navigator. The firm’s boss, Federico...

Getting my 996 is a dream fulfilled

08 April 2001

THE sight of the bike in front of me stopped me in my tracks and caused a sharp intake of breath inside my helmet. I had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Almost trembling with...

New Road safety campaign gets Foggy’s backing

08 April 2001

MOST of us look on road safety campaigns with some suspicion. We want the roads to be safe – it’s probably more in our interests than anyone else’s – but the true dangers, such as careless driving,...

700 miles by scooter

08 April 2001

HONDA’s new Silver Wing is as happy touring two-up as it is dealing with the brake, swerve, squirt of urban riding in Europe’s busiest cities. The engine is new. It’s a four-stroke parallel twin with...

Honda V5 GP bike breaks cover

08 April 2001

THESE are the world’s first action pictures of the all-new four-stroke Honda Grand Prix bike destined to start racing in 2002. The shots of the V5-engined bike were taken at Sugo in Japan today, where...

Scottish Indian gears up for larger scale production

08 April 2001

The Scottish firm responsible for building just a few Indian Dakota-4s says it has been selling all of the £23,000 bikes it can make, so now is the time to go into bigger production. They plan to turn...

BMW’s updated bikes ridden 1800 miles on first test

08 April 2001

BMW’S latest bikes prove you can ride 600 miles a day without the aid of a chiropractor. Our 1800-mile round trip to the south of France included the chance to ride three updated models. And the flat...

New Bonnie spotted in Oz

01 April 2001

THE cruiser-style version of Triumph’s Bonneville has been spied on test in Australia. The bike, which was first reported in MCN last year, will use the same air-cooled, 790cc, four-stroke parallel...

Hold on tight…

01 April 2001

This is my second cigarette in ten minutes. It’s also only my second cigarette in five years. The reason for my nervousness is just a few feet away. It’s Steve Webster’s sidecar outfit. And he wants...

The most powerful BMW ever

01 April 2001

BMW is preparing to build a range-topping genuine superbike. It should be the bike that finally shrugs off any remnants of the pipe and slippers image the brand has accrued. The firm is thought to be...

Video action from Donington

01 April 2001

For a unique perspective of Donington, join us a foot from the ground as we bring you on-board video from a World Championship sidecar.190bhp, three wheels and plenty of rain.

Triumph is celebrating 10 years… without making profit

01 April 2001

IT’S exactly 10 years since the Triumph production line rolled out its first bike after its revival – the Trophy 1200, which was hailed as the first of a new breed of British superbikes. The firm was...

How the Cagiva Xtra Raptor could be

01 April 2001

THIS bike might be one of the only machines in the country that looks like a Cagiva Xtra-Raptor, but it’s the sound which makes it one in a million. Anything ridden through a tunnel as long as...

MV Agusta F5 spied on test

01 April 2001

IT’S the datalogging kit strapped to the pillion seat that gives the game away. This is no F4 1+1. It is, you can be assured, a well disguised F5, complete with that tempting 998cc engine. It’s a...

Now you see them

01 April 2001

THE council in Doncaster have started playing the game. They’ve joined Plymouth in starting to paint GATSO cameras eye-catching colours rather than melt-into-the-background grey. There’s been a 43 per cent reduction in accidents since one of Plymouth’s GATSOs was given dayglow yellow stripes – now all 26 cameras in the Devon city are to be given bright colourschemes. Doncaster Metropolitan Borough...

The return of the Hesketh

01 April 2001

IT’S 22 years since Hesketh tried to bring us an all-British superbike with the benefit of breeding. Now it’s back, as a well-to-do classic. Now you can own a brand new version for £11,750. According...

MBK adds Thunder to its scooter range

01 April 2001

Yamaha-owned scooter firm MBK has added a ninth scooter to its UK range. The Thunder 125 features front and rear disc brakes and a 12bhp, four-stroke engine which MBK claims will take it to 70mph. It...

First test of the Yamaha Maxster

01 April 2001

Taking a 125cc scooter on a race track doesn’t sound like a good idea given the lack of power, poor handling and shoddy brakes associated with the breed. But things look different if that track is...

So what's so good about your Suzuki, Karl?

25 March 2001

Supersport star Muggeridge tells you why he’s in with a shout of a title this year

Reshaping exhaust design

25 March 2001

Exhaust downpipes may not be as sexy as the cans themselves, but their design is vital if you want the most power from your engine. Until now, they’ve largely been produced in the same way – using...

Raptor special is a big noise in the city

25 March 2001

FROM their bike emporium in North London Moto-Casoli are used to adding extra special touches to their customers’ already special bikes. Their’s is an Aladdin’s cave of Italian exotica; MV Agustas...

The BMW’s in its elements

25 March 2001

Some friends of mine are Americans born and bred. They can’t believe the way us Brits are obsessed by the weather. But it’s easy for them, riding their sports bikes in the sunshine on dry roads.

Falling like nine pins

25 March 2001

It was tempting fate to invite a load of bike journalists to a go-kart track in Kent to ride a scooter that Yamaha said was designed to handle. Rain, on top of a track laced with oil and rubber,...

The shape of the R1 to come

25 March 2001

YOU’LL have to wait the best part of a year before this will be in our showrooms, but if the ultimate in sports performance is what you’re after, you might find it’s worth the wait. The current R1 is...

Best roads in the world are right on your doorstep

25 March 2001

EVERY year thousands of us flock to Spain, Switzerland and France for our riding kicks. We take our bikes across the channel, trap them on ferries and go seeking the ultimate roads because we’ve all...

Enfield Clubman takes you back

25 March 2001

” What year is it mate? ” ” Err, 2000 actually. ” This innocent question, asked by a passer-by just seconds after I parked the Clubman, demonstrates exactly what this bike is about. A 1950’s bike,...

People stare. They point. They laugh. But you don’t care

25 March 2001

MOTORCYCLES attract attention. Few people can resist turning their head when a bike goes past, even if they’ve never been on two wheels in their life. So it’s not surprising that the sound of four...

Get your ears around this competition…

25 March 2001

RECKON your ears are sharper than Spock’s? Have a crack at our first “Name That Bike!” competition then. If you reckon you know the bike being “warmed up” in these sound clips, you can win a Motorcyclenews.com T-shirt, and feel suitably smug. Post your suggestions as to which bike it is in the Talk Bikes section. Head for the message board entitled “Name That Bike Competition, Number One”. Next...