August

MCN in Zante

MCN in Zante

Colin and Julie Griffin in Zante. She used to buy MCN for me to read!

Rupert's blog of world trip

After taking my bike test just before my 50th birthday I then last year went with a group from England to the Arctic Circle. A bit like big brother on wheels! See Arctic circle by motorbike (part 5) on You tube. Rupert who was on the trip is now riding around the world, he is over half way. His blog is www.621.org.uk Rupert is raising money for Myeloma uk after his mother died of the terrible...

Back after 45 years!

Back after 45 years!

I’ve just come back on to two wheels after a break of 45 years! I’m now 65 years old and am suprised at the power of modern bikes. I was brought up on BSAs, Arials, Triunphs etc (250/350cc). I now...

Paint My Ride competition winner

Paint My Ride competition winner

Here is the winner of the Paint My Ride competition running with MCN over the past two months. Michael Manuel, owner of custom paint firm Paint My Ride, handpicked this entry from masses of designs...

New Peugeot Maxi 500 scooter

New Peugeot Maxi 500 scooter

Here is the latest addition to Peugeot’s big scooter range, the four-stroke 500cc Satelis. Perfect for commuter types, there’s a lockable side compartment with a 12V socket for recharging a mobile...

Free insurance launched for BMW G650X

Free insurance launched for BMW G650X

BMW has launched a free one-year, fully comprehensive insurance policy for all customers buying a brand new BMW G 650 X. The policy is being offered through BMW’s own Motorrad Insurance scheme.

Isle of Man TT Manslaughter Investigation: Police Statement

Isle of Man TT Manslaughter Investigation: Police Statement

The Isle of Man Police Force has released the following statement relating to the incident that happened on June 8, the event’s Senior Race Day: “Following detailed discussions between the...

Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman reveal Long Way Up is on the cards

Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman reveal Long Way Up is on the cards

In an exclusive interview with MCN this week Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman revealed they are planning to do another riding documentary, if we want it to happen. The pair who last weekend finished...

BMW F800R?

BMW F800R?

Thought you might be interested in this photo which I found on the BMW Motorrad Days website. This was taken at this year’s BMW Motorrad Days event, and appears to be a BMW F800R naked. What do you...

Roller skater ‘beats’ 600cc sports bike

French stuntman Jean-Yves Blondeau kitted himself out with roller skates on his feet, knees, chest and hands to race a Honda CBR600 on Japanese television – and was credited with a win. Blondeau was wearing his own home-made ‘super-impact’ suit for the downhill race aired last week. His win may have been helped by the fact the Honda barely got out of third gear.

Speeding biker just being ‘punctual’

Speeding biker just being ‘punctual’

An American motorcyclist caught riding at 137mph through Reese, Michigan, told police he was just trying to get to work on time, a court heard last week. The motorcyclist’s implausible excuse has now...

Kawasaki replaces MCN reader’s cracked ER-6 frame

Kawasaki replaces MCN reader’s cracked ER-6 frame

Kawasaki is to replace the cracked frame of an MCN reader’s ER-6f as a goodwill gesture but has not acknowledged a fault with the model. The firm has attributed failures on the ER-6n naked version to...

Video: MCN sees what happens when you put a Supercharger on a Rocket III

TTS Performance are famous for taking powerful motorcycles and making them even more mental. So guess what happened when they put a supercharger on the side of the 2300cc Triumph Rocket III motorcycle (more). Check out the video as MCN road tester Adam Child puts the motorcycle through its paces.

Top service from Motografix

Top service from Motografix

I purchased a set of Motografix number boards for my Yamaha R6 a few weeks ago. What a great peice of kit, it really makes the bike look racey as well as protecting it from stone chips. Well after a...

Motorcycle trackdays launched for novice bikers

Motorcycle trackdays launched for novice bikers

If you dream of taking your motorcycle onto some of the UK’s most famous tracks, but don’t want to be intimidated by more experienced riders, then MotorSport Visions new Novice Bike Trackdays are the...

Serious bike crashes up

Serious bike crashes up

Serious and fatal motorcycle crashes have risen while slight casualties have fallen, according to Government figures published today. Department for Transport (DFT) provisional estimates for the...

Lonely Planet guide to Italy

Lonely Planet guide to Italy

Europe’s kinky over-the-knee boot has it all: popes, painters, polenta, paramours, poets, political puerility and potentates. Its dreamy light and sumptuous landscapes seem made for romance, and its...

Suspected bike thief traced by severed finger

A suspected motorcycle thief has been traced by police after he left one of his fingers at a crime scene. The severed finger was found at the Persimmon Homes building site in the West Harton area of South Shields when workers called police following the theft of a motorcycle on Tuesday. Police found a man missing a finger in a nearby accident and emergency unit of a nearby hospital – they think...

When I grow up...

When I grow up...

This is a picture of our daughter Caitlin (aged 7). It was taken at WSB at Brands Hatch and the Ducati Supermotard was her favourite bike.

Veteran enthusiast dies at 88

Tributes have been paid to a veteran motorcyclist who died at the weekend. Cyril Purvis, 88, will be remembered for his passion for motorbikes and love of life. The biker, of Hipsburn Drive, Barnes in Sunderland, was forced to pull out of the Beamish Run this year for the first time in three decades after suffering from blood disorder MDS. He had vowed illness would not force him to give up his...

Can you outdo Britain's best biking talent?

Can you outdo Britain's best biking talent?

Do you reckon your motorcycles out-blings these beauties? MCN has hand picked five of the most outstanding entries so far into the “Britain’s got biking talent” competition where the one winner walks...

Video: Black box could revolutionise bike testing

A new electronic device could change the way bike tests and CBTs are carried out in the future and solve problems caused by planned changes to the riding test. Under the European Third Driving Licence Directive (3DLD), riders are set to undergo much more rigorous off-road testing, requiring test centres to have huge asphalted areas to carry out the test. This in turn means that from next year,...

Ban bikes petition

Ban bikes petition

A new petition has been created on the 10 Downing Street website calling to ban the sale and use of motorcycles. The petition, which was set up on October 1 by a Peter A Jordan, says: “Motorbikes are...

Living with....Honda Hornet round-up for July

Living with....Honda Hornet round-up for July

The summer sunshine has prompted me to make the most of my Honda Hornet, with two big rideouts, a dyno run, and taking the scenic (longest and twistiest) route home every day. Oh, and a trip to the...

Could the Husqvarna STR motorcycle go into production?

Could the Husqvarna STR motorcycle go into production?

There’s hope that the most desirable supermoto motorcycle ever made could go into production. The Massimo Tamburini-designed Husqvarna STR motorcycle was created in the hope the firm could buy the BMW...

Exclusive spy shots of Triumph's new 1500cc cruiser

Exclusive spy shots of Triumph's new 1500cc cruiser

Triumph Motorcycles is just weeks away from launching its long-awaited 1500cc parallel twin cruiser – the motorcycle which could give Triumph the success in the USA it so badly wants. Take a look at...

Police driving criticised

When I see a police car, I will follow and observe for a while. This police car makes a number of basic errors. Watch the video and see how many you spot. OK I am being pedantic, but it seems like there’s one rule for them and one for everybody else. This video was shot Tuesday 7th August 2007 at 5.45pm. The police car drives in the left lane predominantly. 5.56-57pm: Speeding at 50mph in a 40...

A leaning trike you say? Surely not?

This is the Hobbs R8, a prototype based around a Monkey bike that has been designed to prove that it is possible to build a trike that leans in to corners like a normal bike. Check out the video below to see the impressive bike in action

Living with: Kawasaki ZX6-R

Living with: Kawasaki ZX6-R

There are many films released every year, but few have anything like the impact that Star Wars first made on the world when the first instalment (at the time, confusingly called Episode IV: A New...

World’s wildest Triumph Rocket III?

World’s wildest Triumph Rocket III?

Whether you like American custom styles or not, it’s impossible to deny the DuSold designs Triumph Rocket III grabs attention. The 2300cc Triumph Rocket III engine is barely recognisable under a coat...

Kawasaki facing pressure over ER-6 frames

Kawasaki facing pressure over ER-6 frames

Pressure is mounting on Kawasaki to take action over cracking ER-6 frame brackets after a crash bung maker and an owner dismiss Kawasaki’s explanation for the issue so far. The apparent problem lies...

New MCN August 8, 2007

New MCN August 8, 2007

In this week’s MCN we have the World’s first test of the incredible Suzuki B-King.   Also in this edition, available from Wednesday, 8 August, 2007, we have the latest spy pictures of the Triumph...

Bike insurance premiums on the rise

Motorcycle premiums have risen by nearly 10% in the last six months and are matching a trend which has pushed car premiums higher than ever before, according to AA Insurance. The AA’s Insurance Premium Index reported that car premiums have risen by 8% in the last 12 months and more than doubled since 1994. AA Insurance spokesman Ian Crowder, said: “Motorcycle premiums had risen by 9% in the same...

Death crash driver keeps licence

From BBC Scotland homepage on 07/08/07… http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/6933735.stm Death crash driver keeps licence. The sheriff said he had to take into account the degree of carelessness A man who admitted causing a fatal crash which killed a motorcyclist has escaped a jail term and a driving ban. Richard Johnson, 22, came off his bike when Robert Buchan pulled out in...

North Cape tour

North Cape tour

On Friday 29th June, me (Peter Jones) and two friends from Sheffield, Frank Norman and Andrew Hizzard, began a 5000-mile motorcycle tour through Europe. We rode to Newcastle and caught a ferry to...

CBR900-RRN: the best ever!

CBR900-RRN: the best ever!

Here’s some pictures of my FireBlade. It’s totaly standard from new, it’s done 25k-ish. I was left it by my best friend’s mum. I found my friend dead in his back garden with his leathers on ready to...