2007

Blue and shady

Blue and shady

Hiding under the umbrella…

All lined up

All lined up

Girly get together…

Black is fastest for my Daytona

Black is fastest for my Daytona

Triumph are so under-rated! I cannot see why more people would not want a Daytona like mine – they look so slick and naughty. Their only problem is their colour – hence me having mine sprayed to the...

Exciting vision of six new Italian beauties

Exciting vision of six new Italian beauties

I am a freelance bike designer and have come up with some imaginary concepts for the big Italian bike factories. They’re all just my idea of what they should build – not based on any facts or special...

Video: Kawasaki Z1000 launch test

Last week saw the launch of the new Kawasaki Z1000 and MCN’s Trevor Franklin was there to get the first ride on the new machine. Check out the video on the right for all the action and read Trev’s full report in the March 14 edition of MCN.

BMW Motorrad event under new name

Formerly known as the BMW Motorrad meeting at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the German manufactures annual event will go under the name BMW Motorrad Days 2007. The three-day event from July 6-8 will incorporate the BMW Motorrad world of experience: Enduro, Sport, Tour and Urban. Pfeiffer will be there along with various tents full of BMW bikes, kit and racing exhibits.

Tarantino co-directs biker film

Legendary director of films such as Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino, will be co-directing a new biker flick ‘Hell Ride’ alongside Larry Bishop, one of the men behind cult biker flicks ‘The Savage Seven’ and ‘Angel Unchained’. Bishop, 59, will also star as the leader of the Victors, a biker gang he rallies to avenge the death of a gang member. The film is due for release in the...

25 per cent discount on bike insurance

Bikesure, the bike insurance division of Adrian Flux Insurance will now offer a 25% discount on your annual premium if you have taken one of the companies approved Ride Drive advanced riding courses. Craig Darwin of Bikesure said, “Bikers who complete the Ride Drive programme have demonstrated a healthy attitude towards road safety and responsible driving. They’ve raised their skill levels – and...

Close call for biker

A motorcyclist in Peel on the Isle of Man had a lucky escape last week after a passing lorry pulled down two electricity poles overhead. Eyewitnesses said the biker was caught between the two poles as they fell to the ground on Mill Road, but got up and carried on unhurt.

Reader poll

Reader poll

What do you want to see from the next generation of super-fast sports tourers? Both Honda’s Blackbird and Suzuki’s Hayabusa are reaching the end of their lives, but what do you want their replacements...

'Blood bikes' hit the road

'Blood bikes' hit the road

A group of motorcycling volunteers from Gloucestershire have set-up a biking emergency service to make quick life-saving deliveries after hours, at weekends and on public holidays. The Severn...

Scooter sensations

Scooter sensations

Stretched, slammed and radically tuned maxi-scooters are one of the fastest growing trends in Japan with some owners splashing out more than £15,000 to make them unique. In America, similar scenes...

Blue babes

Blue babes

Having fun in the sun…

Video: Aprilia RSVR550 out on track

Video: Aprilia RSVR550 out on track

Cross an Aprilia RS250 with n SXV550 and what do you get? The spiritual successor to the Yamaha TZR250, Suzuki RGV250 and Kawasaki KR-1S. MCN road tester Michael Neeves took out the new RSVR550 from...

Bike registrations up

Bike registrations up

Great news for bike sales in February – new motorcycle registration figures were up 7.8% compared to February 2006. Total motorcycle sales were also up, a full 12% over the same period last...

Riders use petition power

Riders use petition power

Two petitions to give us exemption from road pricing and freedom to use bus lanes have gained over 7000 signatures between them.  MCN’S petition to the Prime Minister demanding exemption from planned...

Honda's Spencer tribute

Honda's Spencer tribute

Honda today revealed a tribute to former world champion Freddie Spencer in the form of a new limited-edition CB750. The bike, which will only be sold in Japan, features paintwork derived from...

New MCN: March 14, 2007

New MCN: March 14, 2007

In this week’s MCN we try out the new Kawasaki Z1000 in the world’s first test. Chief road tester, Trevor Franklin, took the new super naked bike out in Fuerteventura to check out just what it is...

Positive vibes

Positive vibes

Casey Stoner’s wife gives moral support to her man…

Nappy rush

Nappy rush

Jasmine’s first sit on my VFR (I did well hiding behind the bike, especially @ 19 stone)

Hammond's "truly terrible" music debut

Hammond's "truly terrible" music debut

Richard Hammond is joining his fellow Top Gear stars in a band for Comic Relief this Friday in what he describes as a “truly f**king terrible performance”. MCN columnist Hammond, Jeremy Clarkson and...

Campaign for more protection

Campaign for more protection

London riders are being targeted in a new campaign to encourage riders to wear more protective clothing. The campaign is hoping to make riders who don’t wear protective gloves, boots, jackets and...

Street triple launch date leaked

Street triple launch date leaked

Word has leaked from the Triumph factory that the new Street Triple 675 is to be launched at this year’s Tridays event on June 29 – July 1. The three day event in Neukirchen, Germany will be the...

Three-cylinder "MT01 + 1"

Three-cylinder "MT01 + 1"

I love the looks of the MT01, but wondered what it would look like with an extra cylinder grafted onto it, so photoshopped a picture and added another pot. The more I look at it the more I like the...

Biker boy tops the tonne

One of Britain’s oldest bikers celebrated his 100th birthday today (Monday, March 12, 2007). Normally at the wheel of his Robin Reliant three-wheeler Norman Yeo from Bristol is still as active today as was when he last took any sort of driving test – for driving a tractor, and that was in 1953.

Diabetic biker banned for 60mph ride

A diabetic man has been banned from riding for six months after riding through a school zone as children were leaving at 60mph. Vasileios Georgiadis hopped on his bike after discovering there was no food in his home to raise his blood sugar levels, and raced through the streets of Paisley to find food to balance his glucose level. He was banned for six months and must retake his test.

Young bikers on the rise

Young bikers on the rise

AA Insurance’s latest survey of people insuring bikes has revealed that the amount of young people getting on bikes has risen by 40% in the last five years. The survey also showed that one fifth of...

Pothole 'guerilla' retires

Pothole 'guerilla' retires

A man who riled council bosses in Yorkshire by spraying pot-holed roads with yellow paint has retired from his ‘guerrilla’ actions after the sprayed roads were resurfaced. 69 year-old Brian...

Stand by your man

Stand by your man

Er, anyone know this guy?…

Interesting outfits!

Interesting outfits!

Taking up the graffitti look…

Earning some extra cash...

Earning some extra cash...

After finishing second in Qatar the poor lad needs to earn some extra cash. Pictured is the wife trying to earn some extra also.

Meeting an American Chopper

Meeting an American Chopper

Here’s me with the OCC Miller bike at the Miller headquarters in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Wavy...

Wavy...

Let this lovely lady psyche you out. I’m sure you would…

How I beat speed ticket

Who says you need a legal mind to beat the system? I did it with a determined one! OK… order of things April. Speed camera clocks my car doing 37mph April… receive NIP April.. sent letter to Lancashire police, can I see pic please? May… letter from Lancashire police.. NO! May.. letter with unsigned NIP sent to police May.. letter from Lancashire police.. still going to prosecute May.. GRRRR June..

Government leaflet backs bikers

Government leaflet backs bikers

The Government’s Traffic Advisory Leaflet for 2007 not only holds motorcycles as a safe and sustainable transport framework, the attitudes towards motorcycles using bus lanes have also been...

Police recover two Napoli BMW’s

Police recover two Napoli BMW’s

Police have seized two of the four BMW motorcycles taken from the wreckage of the MSC Napoli in January that were not reported to the Receiver of Wreck. The F800’s were found near Axminster in east...