2000 | Page 3

Just make the whole thing out of carbon...

03 March 2000

IF there’s one material everyone wants it’s carbon-fibre. Thousands of us deck out our machines with carbon fairings, huggers and even stick-on bits to stop the key scratching the dash. Some people go...

Why everyone is mad for Screamers

01 March 2000

HONDA’S new GP 500 rider Loris Capirossi said in last week’s MCN he opted for a Screamer engine because it was easier on tyres. Traditionally, it’s the Big Bang engine Mick Doohan started using in...

Just like you, it has grown up

25 February 2000

THE brutal lines of the GS12000SS hark back to the days when bikes were all about wobbling around corners and laying down horsepower on the straights. We’ve already had 1970s retros such as the Zephyr...

Just another R1? Er, no actually

18 February 2000

WHAT’S in a name? Plenty, actually. And in certain cases lots of cred, respect and prestige. Do a bit of serious name-dropping and your rank can be instantly elevated. Certain names are real status...

More than just a length of plumbing with a can on the end

18 February 2000

LOOK at any four-cylinder sports bike and you’ve got four lengths of pipe and a big can at the end to keep things quiet. There you go, one exhaust, job done… well, not quite. Bung any old set of tubes...

Tyres: Moulded around the way you ride

11 February 2000

FOR things which started life dripping out of a tree in some distant, tropical rainforest, tyres have achieved a pretty significant role in all our lives. We all moan when they burst, we all moan...

Why it’s worth shelling out on a shock

04 February 2000

IF you’re going to make any improvements to your bike, chances are the first things on your list are an aftermarket exhaust, Dynojet kit and K&N filter. These will sharpen the throttle response, fill...

Come on Cavalier man, make my day!

01 February 2000

I’M sat at the side of the road with a radar gun in my hand, pointing it directly at anyone who dares to break the limit. At my side is Pc Chris Pulfrey, a police rider for the past 20 years and a...

So it’s back to the drawing board, then?

01 February 2000

FOR every brilliant new invention to reach bike showrooms, there are hundreds which never go into production and are destined instead to remain unfathomable drawings filed away at the patent office...

The father of modern sports bikes

21 January 2000

THERE is one man among Honda’s team at the all-important launch of the FireBlade for whom the bowing goes on longer and deeper than any other. When any Japanese technician goes near him they speak in...

Stop and think about your brakes

21 January 2000

THE biking moments most likely to stick in your mind more vividly than any other probably don’t involve hundreds of horsepower, or blue lights in the mirror. The ones that really stay with you are...