March

Year: 2002

Month: March

Big Daddy Rat dies, aged 74

04 March 2002

The man behind some of the most famous custom bike shows of Daytona Bike Week, Karl " Big Daddy Rat " Smith, died at the age of 74 on Monday. He is thought to have suffered a heart attack. He had been in poor health for the past two years but had continued to stage his custom bike shows in Daytona Beach during Bike Week and Biketoberfest. He had also staged shows throughout Europe and at...

1200cc Blackbird for 2003

04 March 2002

Honda insiders have confirmed the Super Blackbird is getting a mid-range boost and a restyle for 2003. Although the changes are expected to raise power by as much as 20bhp to around 155bhp, the real...

Kawasaki joins big-bore cruiser war

04 March 2002

Triumph’s Twenty Two cruiser may not have it all its own way when it comes to the battle of the big-bore cruisers. Kawasaki is ready to roll with a huge V-twin expected to come close to a two-litre...

Strange But True

04 March 2002

Oh no… here’s another line-up of motorcycling oddities from around the world. If you have anything worthy of inclusion in our next one, e-mail jon.urry@emap.com Holland: A Groningen graveyard now...

WSB deal ends Foggy track academy

04 March 2002

If you’re ready to take your place on a Carl Fogarty Academy, prepare to be disappointed. The academy, which offered a Ducati 748 to hammer round the track for a day, has been scrapped. Octagon, which...

Stunt stars’ bikes could be yours

04 March 2002

The internationally famous Starboyz stunt team are performing at the Scottish Show this weekend… in what will double up as one of the oddest bike ads you’ll ever see. The Starboyz, who are using...

Three head injuries as Bike Week starts

04 March 2002

The start of the world’s biggest bike festival, Daytona Bike Week, has been marred by three riders receiving head injuries in accidents. None were wearing helmets. Florida ruled that those over 21...

Fazer 1000: Long term report

04 March 2002

Over the last month, I’ve been covering 300 passenger-laden miles a week. That’s a good test for any bike, but the simple fact is that if I had bought any other bike it wouldn’t be happening. I’m...

Aprilia considers Haga rep

04 March 2002

Aprilia is looking into launching a Haga rep Mille R for the road… but the firm wants your input to help it decide whether or not to go ahead with the plan. ” Haga is a very popular rider with fans,...

2002 R1 winner revealed

04 March 2002

Alan Sapsard from Southampton was the lucky winner of the 2002 YZF-R1 competition drawn during the official dealer launch of the new bike on the evening of February 28. More than 10,000 people entered...

Bike Week: Erik Buell inducted into hall of fame

04 March 2002

Erik Buell, the man behind the Buell range of bikes, has been inducted into the National Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame in America. But who would you nominate for a UK Hall of Fame? Steve345 has...

Frame fix could cut insurance costs

04 March 2002

Carnell-City is claiming a new addition to its Sheffield-based Bike Clinic could reduce the number of bikes which have to be written off. And that could have a big impact on the price we all pay for...

Face-to-face with Meacher

04 March 2002

Minister Michael Meacher may have been able to avoid questions about his leaked anti-bike letter on the BBC’s Any Questions radio show, but he couldn’t avoid MCN. Meacher was in Peterborough on Friday night for the Radio Four show and we had hoped he would be forced to answer questions surrounding his infamous letter. It reads as if he seriously considered banning bikes from National Parks and...

Bike Week: Cops cancel leave

04 March 2002

Police have cancelled leave and called in 20 extra Highway Patrol state troopers to get tough on traffic enforcement in Daytona Beach during Bike Week, the world’s biggest bike gathering. They made...

10 Scottish show winners revealed

04 March 2002

The MCN-backed Scottish Motorcycle Show is on over the weekend of March 9-10 and 10 site users will now be there, with a pal or partner, free of charge.. We’ve given away 10 pairs of day tickets worth...

Bike Week: Stolen Harley spotted 30 years later

04 March 2002

If you thought it was just the Mounties who always got their man, it’s time to tip your lid to the persistence of the Volusia County cops. These are the boys who police Daytona Bike Week, the world’s...

One in four London drivers will swap four wheel for two

04 March 2002

Almost one in four drivers in central London say they’ll swop to bikes to avoid paying a £5 a day congestion charge next year, MCN can exclusively reveal. It’s the best way they can find to beat the...

Scottish Motorcycle Show this weekend

04 March 2002

Everything is in place for the doors opening on the MCN-backed Scottish Motorcycle Show at 9am, on Saturday. Highlights include: Kit and accessories at discount prices; the gorgeous MCN girls; the MCN...

World first test: The 2002 ZX-12R

04 March 2002

Kawasaki has raised the power of the ZX-12R AND given it an even more sporting focus. Our full report is published in MCN, out on Wednesday, March 6, 2002. But here are our first impressions. (i) The...

Meacher on Any Questions Friday night

01 March 2002

Minister Michael Meacher, the man whose leaked letter to police chiefs has caused an angry reaction throughout motorcycling, WILL now appear on BBC Radio Four tonight and you can put your questions...

Thanks for making us No1… by a mile

01 March 2002

Thanks to your increasing visits to motorcyclenews.com, we’ve just had yet another record month. Even though February is the shortest month of the year we clocked up 5,000,000 page impressions (that amounted to 30,000,000 hits, for anyone still counting that way) and 265,000 unique visitors in that month alone. February saw an average of 36,000 daily visits, the highest figure since the site was...

Quiz winner passes on prize

01 March 2002

The top-prize winner of MCN’s massive Christmas quiz picked up his Suzuki DR-Z400– and instantly gave it away again. Honda CBR600 rider Martin Houckham, 62, from Dartford, Kent, decided to hand the...