2009

Fancy a go on a 2009 Yamaha R1?

26 March 2009 by Rupert Paul

MCN is looking for four or five experienced sportsbike riders to sample the new Yamaha R1’s rider-friendly power delivery. We want to see if it grunts out of slow corners in the hands of ordinary road...

‘Road rust’ alert as spring heralds return of nation’s bikers

26 March 2009 by Andy Downes

Getting back on a bike for the first time in months accounts for a 40 per cent rise in the accident rate in Sping, AA Insurance has warned. Car drivers unused to sharing the road with motorcycles...

Video: Ducati Streetfighter world first onboard footage

26 March 2009 by MCN

MCN’s Editor, Marc Potter rides the new Ducati Streetfighter around the Ascari circuit in Spain. “This bike is all about attitude and has tons of it,” says Editor Marc Potter, “I still can’t get away...

Yamaha adds to two cruisers to finance offer

26 March 2009 by Andy Downes

Yamaha has added the XVS1300A and XV1900 models to the No Worries 0% finance offer with the scheme itself being extended until May 6. Adding the cruisers adds those bikes to the complete Fazer 600 and...

Scottish Motorcycle Show visitors raise money for Comic Relief

26 March 2009 by Laura Kennerley

MCN would like to thank all the visitors to its stand at last month’s Scottish Motorcycle Show who helped raise £653.93 for charity. The dosh has been donated to Comic Relief.

Oxford Hardcore XL high security chain and padlock

26 March 2009 by Samuel Pinney

This chain and lock is tough, heavy and reassuring. I’ve used it for a couple of weeks to secure bikes in my back garden, which is in a less than desirable area. It’s got a 100% success rate so far.

I complained and the council fixed the road - result!

26 March 2009 by Roy Cope

Not sure whether this will work with all council authorities but it might be worth a try…. I recently complained about the condition of the A2/M2 in the Dartford area. The road joints along the white lane demarcation markings were badly pitted and when overtaking kicked the front wheel of my Triumph markedly. I pointed out the danger of this to TFL and to my amazement the road was resurfaced...

Carole Nash offer free R&Gs with motorcycle insurance

26 March 2009 by James Keen

Carole Nash are giving away R&G crash protectors with every new comprehensive motorcycle insurance policy. The aim is to help bikers minimise the cost of accident claims – or even remove the need to...

Florida to Alaska - Last Part!

25 March 2009 by marcus Kingma

Florida to Alaska- Last Part!!! Arriving at Prudhoe Bay after 16.000 km.

Born again bikers road trip for charity

25 March 2009 by Paul Holroyd

My best friend Mike Palmer and I are going on a trip to raise funds for UNICEF, now where have you heard that before! The difference is that we have not ridden bikes for over 20 years (we are not...

Sportsbike ABS ‘might save hundreds of lives a year’

25 March 2009 by Rupert Paul

Is the UK finally ready to accept ABS on sportsbikes? Traditionally all manufacturers except BMW have shied away from fitting the technology to their supersports models. Early this year even Honda...

Speed detectors

25 March 2009 by jonathan cotton

Regarding the news on the bike detectors, i’m pretty sure if you come to warwickshire (kenilworth) you will find these units already in use and have been for a good while now. Lets get them banned!

Bought a new Yamaha R1?

25 March 2009 by Rupert Paul

The new crossplane Yamaha R1 sportsbike has blitzed MCN track and road tests, but many riders, including our test team, report that it takes time to ‘get’ its unique power delivery. Video: 2009...

Ducati Desmoscrambler 696

25 March 2009 by Oberdan Bezzi

The second basic proposal of Ducati’s new “young range” could be a scrambler all purpose bike. Based on an L twin 696, it could be a entry level machine, but absolutely fun and easy to ride. For...

Bering offers discount to ACU license holders

25 March 2009 by James Keen

Motorcycle clothing brand Bering are offering recession-crushing deals on one piece suits and race gloves for all ACU licence holders. The offer aims to support racing in the UK from grass route...

Aprilia RSV4 road test preview: From the horse's mouth

25 March 2009 by MCN

MCN finally gets to test the new Aprilia RSV4 tomorrow at its world launch. The 999c V4 superbike is one of the most eagerly awaited machines in years, and we’ll be riding it on Thursday 2 April at...

Ducati Streetfighter world first ride - UPDATED

25 March 2009 by Marc Potter

The Ducati Streetfighter is one of the liveliest bikes Ducati currently makes. And since it comes out of the same gates as the Hypermotard and super powerful 1098R, that really is saying something.

KTM puts Venom project on hold

25 March 2009 by Chris Newbigging

KTM’s Venom naked superbike project has been put on hold while it concentrates on making the RC8 a success. The concept shown in 2004 was expected to materialise as a production model for 2009 (one...

Ducati Streetfighter weight revealed

25 March 2009 by Marc Potter

Ducati Streetfighter project leader Giulio Malagoli has just revealed the new 155bhp bike’s weight and the world press launch in Spain. More news, pictures and details of the Ducati...

Eugene Laverty t-shirts available

25 March 2009 by Rob Hull

An official Eugene Laverty t-shirt has gone on sale following the Irishman’s debut World Supersport win two weekend’s ago at Qatar. Featuring the slogan ‘So it is’ and the rider’s leprechaun logo, the...

Poll: Would you swap your sports bike for a KTM 990 SMT?

25 March 2009 by James Keen

MCN wants to find out what British bikers think about the issues facing motorcycling today. That’s why from now on we’ll be running weekly polls to gather your opinions on all aspects of biking. This...

Three more U.S. states considering less restrictive helmet laws

25 March 2009 by MSN1

Author’s note: There are several more states besides these which are at least looking at softening helmet laws. I took great pains not to misrepresent the positions or passions of respective parties in writing this. And I was commended by at least one senator interviewed for my balance and neutrality (not saying I also do not have opinions besides, but I left them out of this). In the U.S. helmet...

emoto - a word of warning

24 March 2009 by ian dunn

I have been waiting for 20 days so far for a screen and a pair of pazzo levers after paying with paypal with http://www.emotouk.com. I was not told the screen was out of stock first of all so i was then told a week till it will arrive then as that week went by i emailed asking what had happened and was told to stop making trouble as we are still waiting for the screen. So i said if they could not...