2003

First service woes

First service woes

There have been an increasing number of people complaining recently that dealers aren’t providing the service that they should when it comes to giving new bikes their first service. The first service...

Been on an off-road school?

Been on an off-road school?

Have you been on an off-road school? If so, how was it? Good, bad, brilliant, or the best thing you’ve ever done on two wheels? Did you feel like you learnt anything new or was it a complete waste of...

‘MCN Events

‘MCN Events

Here you can find all the pictures of the official MCN entertainment, including the bands, the stunt shows, and demo bikes. If you have any pictures you’d like to see added, email them to...

Sunday Timetable

10.00am: MCN Information point opens. Trade stands open All FREE activities start: Mini-moto’s. CCM Supermoto Experience. Wall of Fear. Honda Display Area. Lincolnshire Police exhibition. Funfair and simulator. Dyno testing. Race Tin Challenge in the Pavilion. 11.00am: MCN Stunt show hosted by Steve Parrish featuring Sonny Ferguson, Terry Grant and Jason Finn 11.30pm: Have you got the balls to...

Spring Spectacular Roundup

Spring Spectacular Roundup

11am Sunday: The weather cooled down considerable throughout the day yesterday but it didn’t dampen the spirits of the thousands of bikers that have turned up at Skegness. The ride-out to Cadwell went...

nAfter-hours antics

nAfter-hours antics

All the after-hours action, including impromptu stunt shows, and other tomfoolery, will be added here throughout the week. If you have any pictures, send them to daniel.thornton@emap.com.

Three-wheeled wonder

Three-wheeled wonder

This three-wheeled vehicle is not an April Fool’s Day joke, but the new Italjet Scooop. Not only does it have two front wheels, but you can even turn it into a snowmobile. The front wheels can be...

Capirossi gets first Monster S4R

Capirossi gets first Monster S4R

The first Ducati Monster S4R has been completed and it’s been presented to Ducati MotoGP rider Loris Capirossi. The new S4R is the highest spec bike in the Monster range, with a 113bhp 996 motor, and...

Sheene Norton to lead Phillip Island tribute

Sheene Norton to lead Phillip Island tribute

This weekend’s World Superbike round at Phillip Island will see tributes to the late Barry Sheene from both the organisers of the event and the riders. Sheene was a regular at the circuit racing every...

New dates for BMW off-road course

New dates for BMW off-road course

New dates have been added for the 2003 BMW Introduction to Off-Road Skills course. The dates are July 18-19, July 20-21, August 8-9, August 10-11. August 12-13, and the course costs £325 for World of...

American Norton not happening

American Norton not happening

A firm calling itself the Norton Motor Company has given up its attempts to resurrect the famous Norton brand in the US. Facing legal problems, the firm has been persuaded to change its name by out of...

200 new bikes ridden & rated

200 new bikes ridden & rated

This week’s MCN, out March 26, comes with a free a 32-page supplement brimming with every new bike for 2003, an eight-page British Superbikes preview, and your chance to win a brand new Ducati 749. No...

Sheene memorial poster raises £8000 already

Sheene memorial poster raises £8000 already

The Barry Sheene memorial poster has raised over £8000 for Sheene’s nominated charity. This total could triple as thousands of cheques continue to be counted, with the money going to CLIC (Cancer and...

Get a free riding assessment

Get a free riding assessment

Fancy finding out how safe your riding is by going on a rideout with the police? Warwickshire police are hosting their annual National Bikesafe Weekend on April 5-6, and there’ll be over 30 police...

Goodwood renames race in Sheene’s memory

Goodwood renames race in Sheene’s memory

The organisers of the Goodwood Revival meeting intend to rename the Lennox Cup classic motorcycle race in memory of Barry Sheene. The race will be known as the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy and...

Hidden cameras to return

Hidden cameras to return

Speed cameras won’t all have to be high-visibility, despite government guidelines to that effect issued last month. Anti-speed campaigners Transport 2000 and the Slower Speed Initiative challenged the...

Police donate ground anchors to hotels

Police donate ground anchors to hotels

Touring bikers visiting Whitley Bay and Tynemouth will be able to sleep a little easier this summer, thanks to Northumbrian Police donating bike locks to local hotels. The locks are being given free...

Dingle Dell replacement to be called Sheene Curve

Dingle Dell replacement to be called Sheene Curve

Brands Hatch is replacing Dingle Dell with a new corner, named in honour of Barry Sheene. The new corner will replace the legendary Dingle Dell chicane with a new sweeping right-hander to be called ”...

Chat about your new bike

Chat about your new bike

We’ve added 15 new discussion boards in the Bikes section of Discussion & Chat covering 15 new 2003 added including the Ducati 999 and 749, Honda CBR600RR and CB1300, Suzuki SV1000S, and the Kawasaki...

No 7 to be dropped from British Superbikes

No 7 to be dropped from British Superbikes

As a tribute to the late Barry Sheene, the number 7 will be dropped from British Superbikes, and its support classes, from this season. The decision was made by the promoters and organisers of the...

Mike Hailwood memorial run on Sunday

Mike Hailwood memorial run on Sunday

The annual Mike Hailwood Memorial Run takes place this Sunday, March 23. Hailwood died in 1981, after a career spanning 20 years, which included nine World Championships, 76 GP wins and 14 TT...

New MCN helps you get a better deal

New MCN helps you get a better deal

MCN has a new Insider section from today, March 19. It will help you get the best deals on bikes and gear, and is packed full of riding tips and technical information. It’s just one of the changes...

Tyres prices down, but how much did your tyres cost?

Tyres prices down, but how much did your tyres cost?

Major tyre manufacturers are cutting prices in the UK, responding to cheaper parallel imports from abroad. There are huge savings to be had, so if you’ve fitted new rubber recently, we want to know...

Tell us about your best rides

Tell us about your best rides

We want you to tell us about the best places you’ve ever ridden for a forthcoming supplement in MCN. We want to know your ultimate ride-outs, where you ride to, what roads you use and what you get up...

Club racing round-up every Monday

Club racing round-up every Monday

Every Monday throughout the new season we’ll be publishing a club racing round-up to keep you in touch with the grass roots of bike sport. The round-up will be made up of YOUR reports. So if you’re a...

Meet John Reynolds this weekend

Meet John Reynolds this weekend

John Reynolds will be at Cheltenham Motorcycles annual show this weekend. He’ll bring his 2003 Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 with him when he visits for an autograph signing session on Sunday. The...

Sheene’s funeral takes place

Sheene’s funeral takes place

The funeral of Barry Sheene took place yesterday, Wednesday March 12, in a private ceremony in Queensland, Australia. Only immediate family members and close friends attended. Sheene died on Monday...

Woman driver ploughs into bike cop

Woman driver ploughs into bike cop

A police bike rider has been involved in an accident, despite being stationary, in full uniform, and having his lights on. Officer Duke Hettick, 47, was preparing to slow traffic for a funeral...

Barry Sheene tribute

Barry Sheene tribute

Barry Sheene. 24-page tribute with MCN, Wednesday, March 12.

Paris-Dakar racers at Hein Gericke off-road night

Paris-Dakar racers at Hein Gericke off-road night

British off-road racers Simon Pavey and Nick Plumb will be at an enduro-themed night at the Cardiff branch of Hein Gericke on March 26. The pair competed in the Paris-Dakar rally in 2002 for Team Dome...

WSB stars prepare tribute to Sheene

WSB stars prepare tribute to Sheene

The world is already drawing up plans for memorials and tributes to Barry Sheene – who died on Monday. British WSB riders Neil Hodgson, Chris Walker, James Toseland, and James Haydon have decided to...

Watch out for mums on the school run

Watch out for mums on the school run

It’s worth taking extra care if you notice kids in the back of a car, but for your own safety, according to a study by car glass firm Autoglass Four in five mothers (79%) regularly take their eyes off...

Your memories of Barry Sheene

Your memories of Barry Sheene

Tributes to the late Barry Sheene have been flooding on to our message boards since his death was announced yesterday (March 10). The thing that stands out above all others when reading through them...

Ducati gives Monster 996 engine

Ducati gives Monster 996 engine

Ducati will unleash a new Monster, with more power than any before. The Monster S4R will be the highest spec bike in the Monster range, with its power coming from the 113bhp 996 motor. Major changes...

Ronnie Smith tribute night: Sheene print for auction

Ronnie Smith tribute night: Sheene print for auction

A fundraising evening in honour of Simon ” Ronnie ” Smith will take place at Club Amadeus, Northallerton, on Tuesday March 18. Included in the fundraising auction is a signed Barry Sheene...

First ride on the Aprilia Tuono Racing

First ride on the Aprilia Tuono Racing

Aprilia has launched a tweaked ‘Racing’ version of its RSV1000 Tuono, with a factory race kit included with the bike. In its road legal version, the Tuono Racing makes 130bhp at the crank, utilising...