MCN
Reviews For sale News Insurance

Motorbike Advice

Your one-stop shop for all motorbike advice, including how-tos, getting a motorcycle licence, servicing, maintenance and more.

Find out which bikes you should be choosing in our expertly curated Best section, or find the perfect kit and accessories at MCN Product Picks.

For those looking to learn how to ride a motorbike, head to our Learning to Ride hub, where we cover all you need to know about getting into this wonderful lifestyle.

If you've already got going, check out our Riding Tips section for the best guides and top techniques.

Looking for somewhere to go? Don't miss our Places to Visit area for some ideas for your next rideout.

And when you get home, learn how to look after your bike in our Bike Maintenance hub.

Year: ALL

Ready to Ride: How to fit heated grips

09 August 2023 by Bruce Dunn

Ready to Ride: How to fit heated grips

READY TO RIDE WITH AMAZON When it comes to choosing a set of heated grips, having the ability to vary the amount of heat with a controller is top of my agenda, but more importantly than that, is some sort of battery-saving...

Ready to Ride: Service your brakes and change pads

02 August 2023 by Bruce Dunn

Ready to Ride: Service your brakes and change pads

READY TO RIDE WITH AMAZON When it comes to changing the brake pads on your bike it’s worth checking out what type of brake pad is available, as there will be a dizzying array on offer, each one claiming different benefits.

Fixing Up: How to refresh your oil

25 July 2023 by Bruce Dunn

Fixing Up: How to refresh your oil

Ready to Ride with Amazon In part two of our Amazon Fixing Up: Ready to Ride series we get the 2019 Kawasaki Z1000SX back in the workshop. This week’s job is to replace the engine oil and fit a new filter. An oil and...

Suzuki Hayabusa in detail: One of the best hyper bikes of all time

14 July 2023 by MCN

Suzuki Hayabusa in detail: One of the best hyper bikes of all time

The hyper bike motorcycle category was born out of an arms race between manufacturers to claim the accolade of highest top speed through the nineties. Bikes like the Suzuki Hayabusa, Honda Super...

Fixing up: Your 10-point checklist for looking after your bike

11 July 2023 by Bruce Dunn

Fixing up: Your 10-point checklist for looking after your bike

Ready to Ride with Amazon One of the joys of motorcycle ownership for me is being in the workshop and getting the tools out. It’s a way of unwinding and learning the detail of maintaining and looking after your bike. This...

How to protect your bike from damage in a crash

01 June 2023 by Bruce Dunn

How to protect your bike from damage in a crash

The thought of ever damaging your bike can be enough to turn your stomach, which is why plenty of us choose to lavish them with crash protection. Made from tough nylon, crash protection is designed to...

Stay connected: Wire in a motorcycle USB port and phone cradle for navigation and more

09 May 2023 by Bruce Dunn

Stay connected: Wire in a motorcycle USB port and phone cradle for navigation and more

Plenty of bikers enjoy time on two wheels precisely because it’s time that we can’t be reached, distracted or hassled by our phones. The time spent ‘off-grid’ in the saddle can be a sacred break from...

The true cost of biking: MCN investigates whether motorbikes really are getting more expensive

21 April 2023 by Ben Clarke

The true cost of biking: MCN investigates whether motorbikes really are getting more expensive

It’s a common complaint in the motorcycle industry that motorbikes have got too expensive. And it’s easy to see why, with prices for flagship models regularly topping £20,000 and limited editions or...

Adventure-ready: Dunlop Trailmax Raid 50/50 tyre review

10 April 2023 by Michael Guy

Adventure-ready: Dunlop Trailmax Raid 50/50 tyre review

In-line with the exponential growth of the adventure bike class, tyre manufacturers are working overtime to develop their products to meet the ever increasing demands of riders. It’s a competitive...

Staying out of trouble on your bike: The perils of the video camera

21 March 2023 by Michael Neeves

Staying out of trouble on your bike: The perils of the video camera

In this video, Michael Neeves explores the increased number of cameras in the UK and how it can affect bikers. Aside from traditional speed cameras, there are now evidence-gathering devices on car...

Race back to the 70s: Italian tour takes in MotoGP round on modern classics

10 March 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

Race back to the 70s: Italian tour takes in MotoGP round on modern classics

As the world championship race season gets underway, many of us dream of blasting across to the continent to soak up the action at historic European circuits. But why not do it in style? An Italian...

'We do not want to silence bikes' - FIM President Jorge Viegas

03 March 2023 by Michael Guy

'We do not want to silence bikes' - FIM President Jorge Viegas

In December 2022, Jorge Viegas was re-elected as the president of the FIM (Federation of International Motorcycling). Having made sweeping changes during his first four-year term to improve...

If you want smiles for endless miles, you need to check out 2024's best sports tourer motorbikes!

21 February 2023 by Adam Oldfield

If you want smiles for endless miles, you need to check out 2024's best sports tourer motorbikes!

The sports tourer category has seen a lot of change as of late, battling to stay relevant as sportsbike sales are slowly declining and multiple adventure bike options are out there – some of which...

James 'Bubba' Stewart: The motocross megastar who pushed boundaries

03 February 2023 by Emma Franklin

James 'Bubba' Stewart: The motocross megastar who pushed boundaries

A motocross force of nature, James ‘Bubba’ Stewart has left a lasting imprint on the sport, not only for his sheer dominance, being one of only two riders in history to win perfect championships, but...

Bridgestone Battlax AT41 review: Are these new tyres too off-roady for Neevesy?

02 February 2023 by Michael Neeves

Bridgestone Battlax AT41 review: Are these new tyres too off-roady for Neevesy?

With their deep, chunky tread blocks Bridgestone’s new AT41s have been designed to give your adventure bike a rugged look and a modicum of off-road performance. They suggest around an 80/20,...

A Tiger's best friend: Mezteler Tourance Next suit Triumph’s new adventurer down to the ground

31 January 2023 by Michael Neeves

A Tiger's best friend: Mezteler Tourance Next suit Triumph’s new adventurer down to the ground

One of the things that really blew me away when I first rode my Triumph Tiger 1200 GT Explorer long termer was its handling. For such a tall, heavy beast it can be stuffed into a corner like a...

BSA Gold Star vs Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 video review | Which is the best retro?

27 January 2023 by Michael Neeves

BSA Gold Star vs Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 video review | Which is the best retro?

On paper, BSA’s new Gold Star is a worthy adversary for the class-leading Royal Enfield Interceptor 650. They have similar stats for weight, power, price, capacity and both borrow heavily from a claim...

Cross the Alps by motorcycle with the Great Malle Mountain Rally

27 January 2023 by Saffron Wilson

Cross the Alps by motorcycle with the Great Malle Mountain Rally

Imagine riding across the rooftop of Europe, ticking off all of the highest passes in the Alps as you do so. Cruising along the serene tarmac of a carefully planned pre-set route, triumphing over...

WWII despatch rider Lewis Banham has died

20 December 2022 by Dan Sutherland

WWII despatch rider Lewis Banham has died

MCN is saddened to learn of the loss of Lewis Banham, an incredibly brave Second World War despatch rider that inspired a Veterans Living History Museum (VLHM) project to ride a 1944 BSA M20 from...

Building perfection: Michael Guy sets about buying and modifying his ideal adventure bike

10 November 2022 by Michael Guy

Building perfection: Michael Guy sets about buying and modifying his ideal adventure bike

MCN Sport Editor Michael Guy has a new video series exploring the middleweight adventure bike market. But unlike most bike reviews, once he decides on the best one he buys it with his own money and...

Going extreme for charity: Pol Tarrés helps boost the work of Riders for Health

14 October 2022 by Richard Newland

Going extreme for charity: Pol Tarrés helps boost the work of Riders for Health

This page is a free example of the amazing content MCN Members get every single week. Becoming an MCN Member gives you full access to all of the bikes, the behind-the-scenes stories, news exclusives,...

Ducati’s master plan: CEO talks electric, alternative fuels and the brand’s future direction

14 October 2022 by Richard Newland

Ducati’s master plan: CEO talks electric, alternative fuels and the brand’s future direction

This page is a free example of the amazing content MCN Members get every single week. Becoming an MCN Member gives you full access to all of the bikes, the behind-the-scenes stories, news exclusives,...

Eddie Kidd’s next challenge: Ahead of his festival of stunts, MCN joins the legendary high-flying superstar for a jump down memory lane

23 September 2022 by Saffron Wilson

Eddie Kidd’s next challenge: Ahead of his festival of stunts, MCN joins the legendary high-flying superstar for a jump down memory lane

This page is a free example of the amazing content MCN Members get every single week. Becoming an MCN Member gives you full access to all of the bikes, the behind-the-scenes stories, news exclusives,...

Tyre test: Metzeler M9 RR sports tyre review

16 September 2022 by Michael Neeves

Tyre test: Metzeler M9 RR sports tyre review

Seven years after their launch, Metzeler’s Sportec M7 RR sports tyres can still mix it with the best. Related: Metzeler Roadtec 01 SE review But under attack from new rivals in the rubbery shape of...

The new breed: The traditional 600 class may be dead and buried, but the middleweight sportsbike is far from gone

10 August 2022 by Dan Sutherland

The new breed: The traditional 600 class may be dead and buried, but the middleweight sportsbike is far from gone

It’s all too easy to have too much of a good thing. Too much booze on a night out, too much food at the all-you-can-eat buffet, or too great an obsession with racetrack performance – eventually...

How to get your bike track ready: Some easy prep will make your trackday a total success

24 June 2022 by Bruce Dunn

How to get your bike track ready: Some easy prep will make your trackday a total success

If you’ve booked a place on a trackday it can be easy to focus on preparing yourself as a rider and forget to get your bike ready. In the best case scenario, this may mean having to borrow a pressure...

2022 MCN Sicilian Superbike Shootout

23 June 2022 by Michael Neeves

2022 MCN Sicilian Superbike Shootout

We all know that superbikes have evolved massively over the past few years. It wasn’t that long ago they could be improved with time on a dyno, tweaked suspension, bigger brakes and stickier...

Don't miss National Motorcycle Museum Live 2022

23 May 2022 by Phil West

Don't miss National Motorcycle Museum Live 2022

Henry Cole of TV’s Shed & Buried will star alongside engineering master Allen Millyard, plus racers Steve Parrish and Peter Hickman at this year’s National Motorcycle Museum Live in late...

RoadSmart IV tyre review: Dunlop's ever-improving all-rounder

25 April 2022 by Michael Neeves

RoadSmart IV tyre review: Dunlop's ever-improving all-rounder

More than ever sports touring tyres have become all the rubber you’ll ever need for your road bike – from small nakeds to tall-roaders, adventure bikes, big tourers, sportsbikes and everything in...

Where it all began: Prototype Triumph from 1901 unearthed

20 April 2022 by Ben Clarke

Where it all began: Prototype Triumph from 1901 unearthed

A veteran collector has restored the first-ever Triumph to running order – and it’s a prototype which predates the company’s official first production bike by a year. It’s generally accepted that...

Pirelli's 2022 Diablo Rosso IV Corsa is a real world easy to manage trackday tyre

08 April 2022 by Michael Neeves

Pirelli's 2022 Diablo Rosso IV Corsa is a real world easy to manage trackday tyre

If you put adventure and dual-purpose rubber to one side there are three basic tyre types for your road bike. Sports touring, sports and trackday. That all sounds simple enough, but there’s actually a...

Verdict: Metzeler’s Karoo 4 raises the bar for on and off-road riders

06 April 2022 by Michael Guy

Verdict: Metzeler’s Karoo 4 raises the bar for on and off-road riders

It’s a question that gets asked constantly. What’s the best tyre for my adventure bike? It obviously all comes down to the type of riding you intend to do, but if your answer is a healthy mix of...

MCN joined in the soggy fun at the 60th Dragon Rally

04 April 2022 by Justin Hayzelden

MCN joined in the soggy fun at the 60th Dragon Rally

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Dragon Rally, one of the UK’s most enduring meets. Traditionally taking place on the second weekend in February, this extreme event sees up to 2000 hardcore...

Rising from the ashes: Top Mountain Motorcycle Museum re-opens

30 March 2022 by Phil West

Rising from the ashes: Top Mountain Motorcycle Museum re-opens

A motorcycle museum that was completely destroyed by fire in January 2021 – along with 330 rare bikes – is preparing for its busiest summer season ever. Astonishingly, the Top Mountain museum in...

Small bikes, big plans: Birmingham-based Mutt shed more light on their first middleweight models

29 March 2022 by Dan Sutherland

Small bikes, big plans: Birmingham-based Mutt shed more light on their first middleweight models

Small capacity retro specialists Mutt are working on their first middleweight, revealing to MCN that both twin- and single-cylinder designs are on the table, ranging from 400 to 650cc. We spoke to...

Going the distance: 120 years of Royal Enfield adventures

01 March 2022 by Simon Weir

Going the distance: 120 years of Royal Enfield adventures

In the world of YouTube and Instagram and massive machines with satnavs, spotlights and metal panniers, it’s easy to imagine that adventure-biking is a modern phenomenon – but that’s not true. Royal...