February | Page 49

There can be only one

18 February 2001

AUSTRALIAN firm Hunwick Harrop has released full details of the Phantom 1500 cruiser. The bike, which is to go on sale over the Internet towards the end of the year, is the first in a range due for...

Can we take the politicians seriously this time?

18 February 2001

REMEMBER the promises the Labour Party made before it was elected? All that stuff along the ” Bike to Basics ” line. Well, unfortunately, the party itself doesn’t. After a landslide victory,...

Have your cake. And eat it

11 February 2001

THREE-and-a-half hours ago, this bike was sat in the palm-shaded car park of a Sicilian hotel. Its futuristic, angular lines and silver colourscheme couldn’t have been in starker contrast to the...

Gilera plans September unveiling for 600

11 February 2001

GILERA is expected to unveil a new 600cc sports bike at the Milan Show in September. Italian scooter giant Piaggio, Gilera’s parent company, has confirmed plans to reveal its first big bike since the...

Kawasaki’s big-bore response

04 February 2001

KAWASAKI is working on a tourer which is destined to rival Yamaha’s all-new FJR1300. A new bike, thought to be called the ZZ-R1200, will be 2002’s answer to Yamaha’s 145bhp tourer, which has...

Don’t call me boring

04 February 2001

THE sound of a race bike at full chat is pretty exciting when you’re stood behind one as it flies past in a race. It’s even better if you manage to wangle your way into the paddock and get behind one...

Defy convention

04 February 2001

IT’S not every day you get the chance to ride two new British motorcycles for the first time. And when they’re bikes like this, it’s an even more novel experience. The latest models from...

Just like you, it has grown up

25 February 2000

THE brutal lines of the GS12000SS hark back to the days when bikes were all about wobbling around corners and laying down horsepower on the straights. We’ve already had 1970s retros such as the Zephyr...

Just another R1? Er, no actually

18 February 2000

WHAT’S in a name? Plenty, actually. And in certain cases lots of cred, respect and prestige. Do a bit of serious name-dropping and your rank can be instantly elevated. Certain names are real status...

More than just a length of plumbing with a can on the end

18 February 2000

LOOK at any four-cylinder sports bike and you’ve got four lengths of pipe and a big can at the end to keep things quiet. There you go, one exhaust, job done… well, not quite. Bung any old set of tubes...

Tyres: Moulded around the way you ride

11 February 2000

FOR things which started life dripping out of a tree in some distant, tropical rainforest, tyres have achieved a pretty significant role in all our lives. We all moan when they burst, we all moan...

Why it’s worth shelling out on a shock

04 February 2000

IF you’re going to make any improvements to your bike, chances are the first things on your list are an aftermarket exhaust, Dynojet kit and K&N filter. These will sharpen the throttle response, fill...

Come on Cavalier man, make my day!

01 February 2000

I’M sat at the side of the road with a radar gun in my hand, pointing it directly at anyone who dares to break the limit. At my side is Pc Chris Pulfrey, a police rider for the past 20 years and a...

So it’s back to the drawing board, then?

01 February 2000

FOR every brilliant new invention to reach bike showrooms, there are hundreds which never go into production and are destined instead to remain unfathomable drawings filed away at the patent office...