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Motorbike Inspiration

Welcome to MCN's Inspiration section, where you'll be able to read about everything that makes us tick as bikers. Catch our guides to top classic motorcycles, long weekend reads and much more.

Year: ALL

Allen Millyard's Norton Nemesis V8 engine fires up plus a busy month for the Flying Millyard

10 October 2024 by Allen Millyard

Allen Millyard's Norton Nemesis V8 engine fires up plus a busy month for the Flying Millyard

I’ve been doing a lot of riding this month, over 500 miles on my 5000cc Flying Millyard alone. First I rode it to Shrewsbury for the Bike4Life fest in aid of Midlands Air Ambulance, where I was one of...

Allen Millyard | 'I’ve always gone for the factory look with my bikes, even if it means extra work'

11 September 2024 by Allen Millyard

Allen Millyard | 'I’ve always gone for the factory look with my bikes, even if it means extra work'

What an amazing privilege it is to write for the most read and longest-running motorcycle publication in the world. I’ve been reading Motor Cycle News for as long as I can remember… As a youngster,...

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...

'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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

MCN's Jordan Gibbons finds battery bikes are the perfect pal for city life

25 February 2022 by Jordan Gibbons

MCN's Jordan Gibbons finds battery bikes are the perfect pal for city life

No matter how much some people might yearn for carbs, induction roar and the sweet smell of Castrol R, motorcycles are only going to get greener. The world is getting hotter, our air is becoming...

Riding a trio of special Honda RC30s and meeting the men who still use them as Honda intended

25 February 2022 by Michael Neeves

Riding a trio of special Honda RC30s and meeting the men who still use them as Honda intended

For many of us, Honda’s RC30 has been an object of desire since it was released back in 1988. With around 3500 made, they’re not as rare as you might imagine, but they were expensive – twice the price...

Royal Enfield’s Dean Coxson talks exclusively about their record-breaking expedition to the South Pole

04 February 2022 by Saffron Wilson

Royal Enfield’s Dean Coxson talks exclusively about their record-breaking expedition to the South Pole

On December 16th 2021, Royal Enfield rode into the history books when employees Dean Coxson and Santhosh Vijay Kumar reached the South Pole on a near-stock Himalayan, becoming the first people to...

Go off-road in a sidecar: We get a taste of outfit life by riding Ural’s latest three-wheeler in Portugal

14 January 2022 by Jordan Gibbons

Go off-road in a sidecar: We get a taste of outfit life by riding Ural’s latest three-wheeler in Portugal

How many riding situations are there in motorcycling where you effectively need to forget everything you know? Trials maybe? Ice racing perhaps? For me it’s riding a sidecar. It’s the single hardest...

Try trials with the family for a one-of-a-kind shared experience

07 January 2022 by Saffron Wilson

Try trials with the family for a one-of-a-kind shared experience

What’s a better idea than trying trials for the first time in the depths of winter? That’s easy – taking my 59-year-old dad along for the ride. Off we both ventured, fuelled by nerves through pouring...

The youngest person to ride around the world... during a pandemic

05 January 2022 by Saffron Wilson

The youngest person to ride around the world... during a pandemic

Although still being verified by Guinness World Records, Jack Groves is the youngest person to ride around the world on a motorcycle. At just 22, Jack finished his studies and set out to break the...

Charge of the light brigade: Army Parachute Regiment trial electric bikes

24 December 2021 by Laura Thomson

Charge of the light brigade: Army Parachute Regiment trial electric bikes

It’s a frigid November evening and I’m standing in a muddy field in the middle of rural France, as diesel generators shake the air around me. The area is abuzz with activity as military vehicles move...

100 years of Moto Guzzi: we trace the up-and-down history of one of biking’s most important brands

17 December 2021 by Phil West

100 years of Moto Guzzi: we trace the up-and-down history of one of biking’s most important brands

2021 will inevitably be remembered most for the worst of reasons – Covid-19, the retirement of MotoGP GOAT Valentino Rossi… but 2021 also marks one of the biggest anniversaries of all – the 100th...

Fat Boy wonder: How a bold take on the cruiser put Harley-Davidson back on the map

16 December 2021 by Phil West

Fat Boy wonder: How a bold take on the cruiser put Harley-Davidson back on the map

‘I need your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle…’ It’s been 30 years since we first heard Arnold Schwarzenegger utter those immortal words in the film Terminator 2. Little did anyone know then...

Continuing the racing legacy: At home with Tarran Mackenzie

10 December 2021 by Josh Close

Continuing the racing legacy: At home with Tarran Mackenzie

Tarran Mackenzie followed in his dad’s footsteps this year by taking the BSB title for the first time. 25 years after Niall became the first champion of the modern era, Tarran came of age and topped a...

Chasing perfection: Honda’s oval-piston NR750 at 30

10 November 2021 by Alan Cathcart

Chasing perfection: Honda’s oval-piston NR750 at 30

In October 1991, the most exotic and most expensive production bike ever been produced by any Japanese brand was launched, embracing a level of tech which – even today – seems extreme. The Honda...

Try an electric trials bike at Inch Perfect Trials

22 October 2021 by Justin Hayzelden

Try an electric trials bike at Inch Perfect Trials

Sweat is pouring down my face as I focus every ounce of concentration onto negotiating the rocky river bed, desperate to keep my feet up and avoid a ‘dab’ whilst my fingers tickle the throttle just...

Test your riding endurance in an Iron Butt Rally

12 October 2021 by Justin Hayzelden

Test your riding endurance in an Iron Butt Rally

The Iron Butt Association is dedicated to the pursuit of safe, long-distance motorcycling. Sure, most of us have done extended days on the bike, but to class yourself as a genuine ‘Iron Butter’ you...

Experience riding as fast as you want on a German autobahn

13 September 2021 by Bruce Dunn

Experience riding as fast as you want on a German autobahn

With sixth gear engaged and the throttle open to the stop, the three-lane-wide autobahn funnels ever narrower into a tiny apex in the distance. Accented orange by the rising sun on the horizon, every...

Learn the art of bike control: California Superbike School will teach you the secrets to speed

25 August 2021 by Ben Clarke

Learn the art of bike control: California Superbike School will teach you the secrets to speed

Riding in the company I keep at work can be a sobering experience. The wider MCN team have hundreds of years of experience of riding every type of bike on the roads, runways, trails and racetracks –...

Now is the time to design your own helmet

16 August 2021 by Richard Newland

Now is the time to design your own helmet

Hello. My name is Richard, and I’m a shameless hypocrite. OK, so this isn’t group therapy, but I felt it would be wrong not to share with the group that this rampant self-indulgence is spectacularly...

24hr party people: MCN join in the action at the first 24hr Freetech Endurance race

10 August 2021 by Dan Sutherland

24hr party people: MCN join in the action at the first 24hr Freetech Endurance race

It’s 4.30am. We’ve already been racing for 16.5 hours, and I’ve just woken from an exhausted hour’s slumber at the back of our race awning, a face mask over my eyes and earplugs rammed firmly home to...

You meet the nicest people on a Honda: 60 years of the HOC

23 July 2021 by Saffron Wilson

You meet the nicest people on a Honda: 60 years of the HOC

The carpark is abuzz with broad smiles, excited chatter, and gorgeous bikes. Despite the threat of rain, members of the Honda Owner’s Club (HOC) haven’t shied away from an opportunity to come together...

Seconds from glory: How close is Honda’s latest Fireblade to a full factory racer?

09 July 2021 by Bruce Dunn

Seconds from glory: How close is Honda’s latest Fireblade to a full factory racer?

In 1992 Tadao Baba created the Honda FireBlade with the sole intention of making the best possible sports motorcycle. Deliberately opting for a 893cc rather than a 750cc motor, as demanded by the...

Yamaha mark 60 years of GP racing as the second most successful manufacturer of all time

21 June 2021 by Mat Oxley

Yamaha mark 60 years of GP racing as the second most successful manufacturer of all time

Yamaha may not have won as many grand prix races as Honda, but the Hamamatsu manufacturer is arguably still the greatest racing brand of them all. The company contested its first grand prix in May...

Viva Vespa! Celebrating 75 years of the scooter that changed two wheels forever

11 June 2021 by Phil West

Viva Vespa! Celebrating 75 years of the scooter that changed two wheels forever

Seventy-five years ago this spring, motorcycling – or, to be precise, powered two-wheelers – changed forever when the very first scooter was launched. Spawned from the rubble of post-WW2 Italy,...

Michael Laverty’s all-new riding academy is all about developing the British stars of tomorrow

14 May 2021 by Michael Guy

Michael Laverty’s all-new riding academy is all about developing the British stars of tomorrow

For the first time since 2010 there are no British riders in MotoGP. Three-time race winner Cal Crutchlow’s departure at the end of 2020 has left a void, with no obvious candidates waiting in the...