February

Year: ALL

Simoncelli tribute tattoo

20 February 2012 by Donna Malkin

Simoncelli tribute tattoo

I was devastated by the news last year that Simoncelli had sadly lost his life. So I made his memory part of me forever. I also have Rossi on the same leg, proving my passion for racing.

Struggling with insurance companies

19 February 2012 by Wayne

My accident occurred in July 2010. I was out for the day with friends and we were on our way back when a car pulled out of a farm shop on my left. I didn’t have much time to react, but managed to squeeze enough front brake to put the back wheel into the air just as i rode into his front wing. I was catapulted some 50 feet and my beloved R1 turned into a helicopter. The car driver was making a...

MCN: A blast from the past

19 February 2012 by 400fourboy

MCN: A blast from the past

I was recently looking through some old magazines and found these two blasts from the MCN past! 30 years old, a bit of yellowing but still in good nick. Check out the free discs! I no longer have a...

Yamaha SR500 racer

18 February 2012 by Hans Muehlbauer

Yamaha SR500 racer

This is my newly built 2012 racer; a Yamaha SR500. I will be doing the Earlystocks Championship with it. I raced a similar SR500 last year and finished seond in the EMRA Singles and Twins Category.

No fighting girls!

17 February 2012 by philip southwood

No fighting girls!

My daughter and regular ride partner on my YamahaFZ6 S2 for the first time in 10 months after giving birth to my beautiful grand daughter. Not sure the retro fit child seat is legal, but my daughter...

Destination dealer: Ongar Motorcycles

17 February 2012 by MCN

Destination dealer: Ongar Motorcycles

ADVERTISING PROMOTION Triumph has taken its brilliant Speed Triple and made it even better with the launch of the Speed Triple R. The £11,299 bike has already made the front page of MCN and now you...

Harley-Davidson Softail Slim first ride

17 February 2012 by Phil West

Harley-Davidson Softail Slim first ride

Considering the turmoil Harley-Davidson has been through the last couple of years, what with plummeting US sales, the MV and Buell shockers and the little matter of having to restructure fundamentally...

Keeping Meriden twins alive

17 February 2012 by Andy Westlake

Keeping Meriden twins alive

Triumph for most may today mean Hinckley 675s and Speed Triples, but the old Meriden twins still have a huge following – not least because of a British factory still making and supplying virtually...

Your chance to win £500 cash from MCN

17 February 2012 by MCN

Your chance to win £500 cash from MCN

You could win £500 cash just for answering a few questions in an MCN survey about how you sell your bike. We’re improving the options and deals available to people who advertise their bikes through...

Honda Crosstourer first ride: "One of the best mile munchers in class"

16 February 2012 by MCN

Honda Crosstourer first ride: "One of the best mile munchers in class"

The Honda Crosstourer is Honda’s all-new adventure bike – aimed squarely at bikes like the BMW R1200GS and Yamaha Super Tenere. Powered by the same V4 engine from the VFR1200, the Crosstourer is...

Triumph Explorer 1200: What do you want to know?

16 February 2012 by Marc Potter

Triumph Explorer 1200: What do you want to know?

Next week MCN is riding the new Triumph Explorer 1200 at its world launch in Spain, and we want to put your questions to the Triumph team who built the bike. The new 139bhp three-cylinder adventure...

Video: MV Agusta F3 first ride

16 February 2012 by MCN

Video: MV Agusta F3 first ride

Riding the £9999 MV Agusta F3 at its world launch around the surreal blue and red-lined track at Paul Ricard in the south of France has left MCN seriously impressed with MV’s first brand new bike...

Bikes on TV: February 15-21

15 February 2012 by MCN

Bikes on TV: February 15-21

KEY TO CHANNELS. DRT – Discovery Real Time DSC – Discovery Channel DHD – Discovery Channel HD EXS – Extreme Sports Channel EUR1 (2, HD) – Eurosport 1 (2, HD) MOT – Motors TV CH4 – Channel...

Video: Onboard a Ducati 1199 Panigale with Neil Hodgson

15 February 2012 by MCN

Video: Onboard a Ducati 1199 Panigale with Neil Hodgson

2003 World Superbike champion Neil Hodgson was at the Ducati 1199 Panigale launch in Abu Dhabi and was kind enough to let MCN bolt-on some onboard cameras during one of his sessions. The Panigale is...

Bimota TB-CR concept

15 February 2012 by Oberdan Bezzi

Bimota TB-CR concept

Here is my concept for a Bimota cafe racer powered by the Triumph Bonneville engine. A perfect Anglo-Italian wedding.

Red hot read (the mag that is)

14 February 2012 by Tazborn

Red hot read (the mag that is)

The boy’s and me reading MCN in pit lane at Zwartkops Raceway, Pretoria, S.A. on our annual pilgrimage for the South African Classic TT Revival Series. This year’s Masters were Phil Read and Mick...

Nexx helmets

14 February 2012 by MCN

ADVERTISING PROMOTION When it comes to motorcycle helmets, brands like Arai and Shoei are used to receiving all of the plaudits. Now there’s a new name to sit alongside them, Nexx. This is the 10-year...

Picture gallery: Troy Bayliss having fun on the Ducati 1199 Panigale

14 February 2012 by Liam Marsden

Picture gallery: Troy Bayliss having fun on the Ducati 1199 Panigale

Troy Bayliss may be retired but he’s still pretty handy on a bike, as these pictures show. Bayliss is pictured here at the YAS Marina circuit, Abu Dhabi having fun on the all-new Ducati 1199 Panigale,...

New MCN February 15: Three world first tests!

14 February 2012 by Liam Marsden

New MCN February 15: Three world first tests!

In this week’s issue of MCN, on sale Wednesday February 15, we have the world first rides of the Ducati 1199 Panigale, MV Agusta F3 and Suzuki GSX-R1000. MCN rode the all-new Ducati 1199 Panigale at...

Ducati for sale?

13 February 2012 by Andy Downes

Ducati for sale?

Ducati is up for sale for £1billion by owners Investindustrial according to the Financial Times with a large car company thought to be the most likely buyer. Investindustrial is a private-equity firm...

Ducati Panigale first ride: 'Like no Ducati I've ridden'

10 February 2012 by Michael Neeves

Ducati Panigale first ride: 'Like no Ducati I've ridden'

UPDATE, 11 Feb, 15:10 “We’re midway through our day riding the new Panigale and it continues to impress. The 195bhp Superquadro engine is hugely impressive with just the right amount of usable torque...

BMW G650GS Sertao first ride

10 February 2012 by MCN

BMW G650GS Sertao first ride

The Sertão region of Brazil is renowned for its rugged, inhospitable terrain – hence its inspiration as the name for BMW’s new hardcore version of its new G650GS. Effectively it’s a belated successor...

Ernst Degner documentary on Radio 4

10 February 2012 by Andy Downes

Ernst Degner documentary on Radio 4

BBC Radio 4 is broadcasting a documentary about German racer Ernst Degner who defected from communist Germany and took top-secret two-stroke technology from MZ with him to the west and gave it to...

Kevin Schwantz and Randy Mamola to headline Festival of 1000 Bikes

10 February 2012 by Phil West

Kevin Schwantz and Randy Mamola to headline Festival of 1000 Bikes

Kevin Schwantz on his works Suzuki RGV500 and Randy Mamola riding his 1980 XR31 RG500 will be two of the stars at this summer’s Festival of 1000 Bikes at Mallory Park. The two ‘80s and ‘90s GP legends...

2012 KTM 990 Adventure first ride

10 February 2012 by Adam Child

2012 KTM 990 Adventure first ride

If this KTM Adventure 990 looks familiar then that’s entirely deliberate – but this is no limited edition ‘Dakar’ version, as debuted last Spring, nor the full-blown ‘R’ version – it’s the standard...

Is this the UK's only Munch Mammoth

10 February 2012 by Andy Westlake

Is this the UK's only Munch Mammoth

When it comes to classics they don’t get much rarer – or wilder – than the Munch Mammut (or Mammoth in English). Unveiled at the 1966 Cologne show, the Mammoth was the creation of German engineer...

Video: 2012 Kawasaki ZZR1400, Suzuki Hayabusa and BMW K1300S flat out

09 February 2012 by MCN

Video: 2012 Kawasaki ZZR1400, Suzuki Hayabusa and BMW K1300S flat out

It’s official! The new Kawasaki ZZR1400 is the fastest accelerating bike we’ve ever tested and has kicked the legendary Suzuki Hayabusa in to touch. The big Kawasaki goes from standstill to 180mph in...

Destination dealer: Kawasaki Leicester

09 February 2012 by MCN

Destination dealer: Kawasaki Leicester

ADVERTISING FEATURE Kawasaki Leicester is the sister branch to Drayton Croft – a name many riders will know well, after all, they’ve been in the bike business for over 32 years and have carved a name...

Video: New Victory Judge turned into cafe racer

08 February 2012 by MCN

Video: New Victory Judge turned into cafe racer

Victory Motorcycles isn’t a firm you normally associate with cafe racers, but all that could be about to change thanks to Zach Ness, grandson of customising demi-god Arlen Ness. The bike you see below...

MV Agusta F3 first ride: "tiny, loud and angry"

08 February 2012 by MCN

MV Agusta F3 first ride: "tiny, loud and angry"

MCN’s senior road tester Michael Neeves is in the south of France for the official launch of the new 675cc MV Agusta F3. It’s a critical bike for MV – because it’s relatively affordable (at £9999 it’s...

Harley-Davidson Soft Tail Slim first ride

07 February 2012 by MCN

Harley-Davidson Soft Tail Slim first ride

MCN’s executive editor Phil West is testing the new Harley-Davidson Softail Slim and Sportster 72 in southern Spain. He’s just phoned in this brief first impression: “So far I have been riding the new...

New MCN February 8: Rossi returns

07 February 2012 by Liam Marsden

New MCN February 8: Rossi returns

In this week’s issue of MCN, on sale Wednesday February 8, we have all the news from the first MotoGP test of 2012 at Sepang. Rossi was back on the pace on the all-new Ducati GP12, and Stoner...

February 8 Bikes on the Box

07 February 2012 by Alison Silcox

February 8 Bikes on the Box

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 8 6am, EXS, Lucas Oil AMA Motocross 9am, MOT, AMA Supercross Lites (also 2.15pm, 3.15am) 11am, EXS, Nitro Circus (also 3pm, 8pm, 12am) 1.40pm, MOT, Best of Crash 4pm, EXS, X Games...

New Aprilia Caponord 1200 revealed

06 February 2012 by Ben Purvis

New Aprilia Caponord 1200 revealed

This is the long-anticipated Aprilia Caponord, designed to rival machines such as Ducati’s Multistrada 1200 as a road-oriented dual-sport-tourer. The bike was snapped at Piaggio Group’s annual dealer...

Bimota XXX concept

06 February 2012 by Oberdan Bezzi

Bimota XXX concept

Here’s my “XXX” concept, the iconoclast of the “sport spirit” Bimota. Could this be the beginning of a new era?

IAM's 'unfair' claims over bike safety

06 February 2012 by Steve Farrell

IAM's 'unfair' claims over bike safety

The Institute of Advanced Motorists has been accused of unfairly focussing on motorcyclists with claims of rising casualties. An IAM release states that 18 motorcyclists were killed or seriously...