This week in news...

What every Saturday needs: This week in news looked a bit like this…

Guy Martin buys a ‘proper’ boozer
 

Road racer turned TV presenter, Guy Martin, has opened his own pub in “centre of t’universe” – Kirmington, Lincolnshire. The refurbished Marrowbone & Cleaver will open over Christmas and boasts good honest pub food and proper beer– including Guy’s own Skull & Spanners brew. Beats tea any day.

The end is in sight
 

The last leg of the Ducati Globetrotter 90 tour (to mark the firm’s 90th birthday) is underway. German student Timo Schäfer, started in Kent on December 5 and will visit Spa-Francorchamps, the Ducati exhibition in Ingolstadt, Germany, Monza circuit and then Florence before heading to Borgo Panigale.

Bott’s Peak plan
 

Custom Buell builder Bott Power have secured two XBRRs to race at next year’s Pikes Peak. They have bought one and a customer has lent them another. The goal is to get the engine up to 150bhp and the bike down to 150kg.

Operation Octane
 

Victory have been running a customising competition amongst their dealers and the winner is the Desert Racer built by Iwan Bikes in Germany. Just what you need for the sand – a 250kg Victory Octane!

Get revved up over sound card
 

The National Motor Museum has created a range of greetings cards that play recordings of engines. There are only two motorcycles recorded for now but they are very special bikes indeed – a Brough Special and a screaming Honda RC162. The cards are available from the NMM for £5.99.

Three-pronged carbon attack
 

The Ballistic Trident has been built by Rough Crafts in Taipei from an MV Agusta Brutale 800 RR. Rough Crafts say they were inspired by the dustbin fairings of yesteryear, but this one has been made from carbon fibre and flows neatly into the tank. It’s certainly a controversial look.

Pugs to Vietnam
 

Two friends have ridden a pair of Peugeot Djangos 7500 miles from Paris to Ho-Chi-Minh City to celebrate the arrival of Peugeot scooters inVietnam. The mission reversed the route two French soldiers rode on a pair of Peugeot S57 scooters – from Saigon to Paris – in 1956.

Print-o-types
 

Prototyping bikes used to take years but it only takes Alta Motors a couple of hours, thanks to their adoption of Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP). Alta Motors uses CLIP 3D printing to make incredibly rapid prototypes of their electric bikes, meaning that they can make big changes quicker.

Balance bike
 

Thrustcycle say their prototype self-balancing GyroCycle could be on the streets by 2017. The GryoCycle keeps itself upright through the use of internal flywheels, which have a gyroscopic effect. While no price has been officially released, Thrustcycle has suggested it could retail for around $20,000 (approx £15,797).

Hone your Herald
 

Herald Motorcycles have launched their own customising service. Now buyers of any of the brand’s six-bike range can specify everything from the machine’s colour, to the style of tank, exhaust and even seat. British-based Herald import their 125cc and 250cc retro-styled roadsters from China and all the work is carried out at Herald’s Cambridgeshire workshops.

Hot deals on top winter kit
 

Leicestershire Kawasaki dealer Drayton Croft are offering 50% off selected clothing and kit in their winter half-price sale. The offer runs for the duration of December and includes items from HJC, Shark, Furygan, Richa, Ixon and more. This winter they are also offering discounted servicing with a basic service costing from just £89.

Suzuki’s stealth Phantom returns
 

Suzuki has announced the relaunch of their all-black Phantom paintscheme for 2017. First seen on the GSX-R1000 in 2007, both the new GSX-S750 and GSX-S1000 nakeds will be available in the stealthy black scheme, which also features red highlighting, black forks, footpegs and exhaust. Pricing for the Phantom models will be announced in early 2017.