April | Page 2

Win bikes on BMF tickets

22 April 2002

Fancy winning a KTM Duke 640? Or how about an Aprilia Atlantic 500cc scooter? Both will be given away at this year’s BMF Show on May 18-19 at Peterborough’s East of England Showground, Cambridgeshire.

Savour Skeggy at the MCN Autumn Spectacular

22 April 2002

More than 10,000 people piled into Butlins for the annual MCN Spring Spectacular last week, and just as many were disappointed because tickets sold out so quickly. That’s why we’re laying on another...

Triumph Blaze: How it happened

22 April 2002

Investigators are " 90 per cent certain " the blaze which tore through the Triumph factory was caused by leaking petrol. But they are still trying to discover where the leak actually came from. They helped us recreate what probably happened on that fateful Friday night. Once bikes reach the end of the assembly line (1), they are fuelled and then tested on the dyno before the petrol is emptied.

Yamaha Tmax: Long term report

22 April 2002

My name is Steve Farrell and I’m a scooter apron wearer. I have visions of myself saying that, standing in front of a room full of people guilty of equally heinous biking fashion crimes, at a support...

You couldn’t make it up…

22 April 2002

Speeder has phone joke: The man fined a record-breaking £72,000 by police in Finland for breaking the speed limit on his Harley has still got a sense of humour. Launching a new range of Nokia phones...

Triumph blaze: dwindling stocks

22 April 2002

You won’t get a discount on a new Triumph for months – but if you’re selling a secondhand bike, you’ll get a great price. That’s the message from Triumph dealers, who are coming to terms with the fact they won’t have some of their most popular models in stock this summer. Supplies of the Bonneville – Triumph’s best-selling bike in 2001 – have dried up already, and the Daytona superbike won’t be...

Bank wants Carnell-Motorcycle City

22 April 2002

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is lining up a take-over of Dixon Motors, the parent company of the Carnell/Motorcycle City franchises. The Sunday Times reports that a formal offer is expected later...

Your reactions to Prince’s bike test pass

22 April 2002

Prince William on an R1? It could happen… he’s passed his bike test on a 125 and is unlikely to want to stop there.. You may have already pulled up alongside him at the lights. The palace has revealed...

New Ducati 900 Sport tested

22 April 2002

Desire a new Ducati sportsbike, but the budget won’t stretch to a 998? We’ve been road testing Ducati’s new 900 Sport –the famous Italian firm’s ” budget ” key to its exclusive club. You can read...

Dangerous safety signs

22 April 2002

Signs like these are springing up on biker routes in Essex – and local riders are understandably outraged. The council say they slow riders down. The bikers say someone will die after hitting one of...

Latest May 4 protest timetable

22 April 2002

The timetable for the May 4 protest rides has just been released, complete with meeting points and times for people travelling from across Britain. Up to 4000 bikers are expected to join the ride,...

On the back with Ron Haslam

22 April 2002

Flying through Schwantz Curve at 140mph on a FireBlade, I close my eyes. Weird. By the time I open them a split second later I’m at the McLeans right-hander and leaning over with about 20 degrees of...

There he goes…

22 April 2002

When Dave Jefferies goes by at the TT, you know you’ve been well and truly passed

Alpinestars redesign boots that ‘scratch’

22 April 2002

Two of Alpinestars top-of-the-range boots have been redesigned amid claims they can scratch a bike’s metal and bodywork. For the full Alpinestars boots story, don’t miss the new MCN, out Wednesday...

Have you bought a bargain?

22 April 2002

Have you managed to find a Ducati for moped money? We want to know if you’ve recently picked up a stunning secondhand bargain bike. It doesn’t matter whether it was a C90 for a fiver or a mint Blade...

Bid for Bayliss bodywork

15 April 2002

You could bid and win a piece of World Superbike history, and help a good cause, but you’ll have to get your skates on. The tail fairing from Troy Bayliss’ Ducati 998, signed by the man himself, is...

Pledge on bad service

15 April 2002

Britain’s biggest bike dealer has appointed new MD Mark Smithson to tackle its poor service record. He arrives after a survey by MCN’s sister magazine RiDE which criticised the firm’s servicing. As a...

Triumph begins rebuilding process

15 April 2002

TRIUMPH started rebuilding its fire-damaged factory today (Tuesday) and reckons it will have completed the work in just 14 weeks. And in the meantime, the firm has confirmed it will be able to...

Hybrid Kawasaki

15 April 2002

An electric bike with the power of a 600 supersport machine? Sounds shocking, but that’s what designers Phil Hallahan and Robert O’Brien have come up with. For the full story on this, don’t miss the...

More dedicated discussion boards

15 April 2002

We’ve added new and dedicated discussion boards for the following bikes: The 2002 Blade, BMW R1150GS Adventure, Harley-Davidson V-Rod, Kawasaki ZZ-R1200, Honda STX1300 Pan European and Suzuki V-Strom. All those bikes are on our long-term test fleet for 2002 and the new boards should prove a great place for MCN’s team of riders to share their experiences with new owners as well as for owners to...

New MCN out on Wednesday

15 April 2002

The BSB Blade you can buy for the road is revealed in full in Wednesday’s MCN. Road-legal and built by Russell Savory’s Motopower MCN BSB team, there’s a basic £13,400 version and a full drama £18,000...

Bad language could cost lives

15 April 2002

The Government has come under attack from the Plain English Campaign after motorway signs telling drivers ” Think. Don’t drive tired ” appeared. The Campaign claims: ” People drive past and think,...

Thanks for making this the place to be

15 April 2002

March has proved to be yet another bumper month for visitors to this site. Latest figures show 817,265 visitors came to the site during March alone, viewing 5,264,787 pages between them. Thanks for making us the UK’s most popular motorcycle website by a mile.

How Triumph is functioning in the meantime

15 April 2002

Here’s how Triumph is planning to carry on while rebuilding. It’s a statement in full from the factory. Internal Arrangements: While they are rebuilding the Jacknell Road factory, Triumph are making internal arrangements to enable motorbike production to come back on stream at the earliest possible date. Machinery which was affected by smoke and soot in the Jacknell Road factory – known as T1 – is...

Yamaha ready to end insurance nightmare

15 April 2002

Yamaha is extending its R1 insurance deal across its entire line-up, opening the way for many to have the bike they actually want, rather than the one they can insure. And the promise is, this won’t...

More pictures added from MCN Butlins party

15 April 2002

Hundreds of like-minded riders made Butlins at Skegness the place to be at the weekend when they joined in the wild times that are the MCN Spring Spectacular. On top of the stunt shows, live bands...

Big bike boom looms

15 April 2002

Motorcycle sales figures have gone up for the first time in more than a year. With new bike prices more competitive than ever, dealers say that not only are they selling more bikes, they are also...

More pics from MCN Butlins party

15 April 2002

More of the crazy antics from the MCN Butlins party

Triumph’s official statement in full

15 April 2002

Construction starts today (April 16) on rebuilding production areas which were affected by the recent fire at Triumph Motorcyles in Hinckley. Managing Director Karl Wharton has announced plans for a rebuilding programme which will enable new Triumph motorcycles to be rolling off the assembly line by the start of September. Triumph will be working round the clock to rebuild the factory in Jacknell...

Sexy Swedish supermoto

15 April 2002

Wickedly sexy, this new supermoto from Swedish manufacturer Highland has more in common with that country’s exciting cinematic output than its flat-pack kitchens and Volvos. For the full story on the...

New motor for new Guzzis

15 April 2002

MOTO GUZZI is working on a new 744cc engine to power two new bikes in 2003. The ageing motor used in the current Nevada needs updating to meet emissions regulations introduced in Europe this year. So...

Do the funky moped

15 April 2002

DRAG racing is all about high speed and danger, right? Not at the ” Funky Moped Grass Track Drag Racing ” event at the Chinnor Bike Day on June 29. And, as luck would have it, you can still enter.

MAG boss unseated

15 April 2002

Motorcycle Action Group Chair Neil Liversidge has been voted from his post at the Group’s annual conference in Weston-Super-Mare Just 288 members voted in the election and Liversidge lost by a narrow...

Yamaha to cut cost of insuring all its bikes

15 April 2002

Yamaha is in the process of removing the biggest barrier to motorcycling in the UK with an across-the-range insurance deal. Its scheme earlier this year, to make premiums on 2001-model R1s affordable,...

Latest update: mass protest planned for May 4

15 April 2002

On Saturday, May 4, over 1000 bikes will descend on London for a go-slow protest ride against the threat of legislation against motocyclists, and as organiser Chris Coleman puts it: ” Show the...

Fancy a Classic?

15 April 2002

If you have ever contemplated joining the ranks of classic bike owners then don’t miss the May 2002 issue of our sister publication Classic Bike, the world’s best selling classic title. The May issue includes a free 24-page Buying and Selling supplement. The supplement comprehensively takes you through buying and selling steps and includes a A-Z valuation guide to post-war classics. The magazine...