May

Swop my boat for your bike

27 May 2002

Do you fancy swapping two wheels for sea legs? Well, Paul Kingston from Cork in Eire could be just the man to help. He wants to swap his Orkney 520 Cuddy pleasure boat for a Yamaha TDM900, Honda...

A policeman in Nottingham has just resigned after being caught with false plates on his bike. PC Jonathan Partridge fitted them to his (unspecified) Suzuki after using a confidential police database...

Air crash survivor takes bike to hospital

27 May 2002

Doctors in Nigeria were stunned to find the patient before their eyes was a survivor from an aircrash that had killed 73 passengers. But when the man told them he’d just rented a bike and ridden to the hospital their jaws hit the floor. Lebanese passenger Najib Ibrahim, 25, was one of just four survivors of the crash. He leapt from the blazing wreckage and, rather than relying on the local...

Win £130 worth of Kriega luggage

27 May 2002

Krug, manufactures of some of the world’s best rucksacks, have changed their name to Kriega. To mark this we’ve got £130 worth of their biking luggage to give away to one lucky winner. Answer this...

Winner of the Kriega competition announced

27 May 2002

The winner of the Kriega competition is " Woodie " , so if he could email dave.batchelor@emap.com with his details, we’ll arrange for his Kriega R25 rucksack and R11 waistpack to be delivered. And for those of you that were unlucky this time, including the gentleman who almost killed our email system with a few hundred entries, we’ll have more competitions in the near future.

M4 bus lane will open to bikes

27 May 2002

The controversial bus lane on the M4 will open to motorcycles from the end of July, the Highways Agency has announced. And if the experiment is successful it could mean a change in the law opening all...

Woman injured in helmet-repeal ride

27 May 2002

A helmetless pillion suffered head injuries after she fell from a bike, whilst on an annual run to celebrate the repeal of the compulsory helmet law in the States. She was taking part in the ”...

South Wales protest ride

20 May 2002

Riders in south Wales are organising a protest ride against what they claim is heavy-handed policing. The zero-tolerance policy of Gwent and Dyfed-Powys police forces towards undersized numberplates...

Kawasaki offer extended

20 May 2002

Kawasaki has extended its interest free offer on new bikes. Its Fastlane Finance deal was due to run out at the end of May, but the firm has now decided to keep it running until the end of June. The...

Perfect for pushing your weight around

20 May 2002

One of the most exciting things I recall from my first year at MCN was getting a chance to ride Kawasaki’s ZZ-R1100. In those days (I’m in my eighth year here now) the Kawasaki was the fastest bike in...

Kymco’s Filly worth a flutter

20 May 2002

Kymco have released a new scooter, it’s called the Filly LX50 and it costs a fiver under £1500. For your cash you also get free third party insurance and free roadside recovery. For more information call 01743 761107 or visit www.kymco.co.uk .

Dainese stockist hit by huge fire

20 May 2002

Half-a-million pounds worth of Dainese gear went up in smoke last week, as the UK’s largest stockist of the exclusive Italian brand was hit by fire. Bikestop, in Stevenage, Herts, was struck around 8pm on Thursday. The blaze started on the ground floor and preliminary investigations have pointed the finger at faulty wiring. John Alleman, Bikestop’s manager, said, " Obviously we’re gutted. We’d...

Meet your heroes for just a fiver

20 May 2002

Wangle this Wednesday (May 22) off work and you can meet all your WSB heroes and watch a day’s testing at Silverstone for just a fiver. All the top men like Neil Hodsgon, Troy Bayliss, Colin Edwards...

The ultimate test…

20 May 2002

We brought Yamaha’s new R1, Honda’s spanking FireBlade, Suzuki’s MCN Machine of the Year GSX-R1000 and Kawasaki’s blistering ZX-9R together at Circuit Ledenon in the South of France for a fight to the...

Road-legal R1 sidecar makes perfect sense

20 May 2002

To make your R1 stand out from the crowd you could fit an end-can. Or you could treat it to a flash paintjob, or all sorts of other goodies. What you probably wouldn’t do is stick the motor in a...

The end for sneaky speed traps

20 May 2002

The Government has banned cops from using covert cameras and hidden officers to catch speeding motorists. Transport minister John Spellar has told chief police officers that from next week that Gatsos...

UK Roads need £1.2 billion repair job

20 May 2002

Britain’s roads need more than a billion quid to be repaired to an acceptable state. That’s the claim of the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA), which has surveyed local authorities responsible for...

Fancy a crack at endurance racing?

20 May 2002

Ever watched endurance racing and thought to yourself ” I fancy some of that ” ? Well, if you and a couple of mates can get yourselves to Hungary for the start of July, you can. 1000PS.net is...

City pulls its corrupt bike cops

20 May 2002

In a city of corrupt police officers, Mexico City’s motorcycle cops are considered the most corrupt. So, in a desperate attempt at restoring a little of the lost faith in its boys in blue, city...

The rough guide to biker gangs

20 May 2002

A bloody gun battle in a Nevada casino has put the spotlight back on bike gangs. The fighting between Hell’s Angels and Mongols in Harrah’s Casino, Nevada, left three dead. But that’s just the tip of...

Tell us about your BMF weekend

20 May 2002

A record-breaking 88,500 of you made the trek to the East of England Showground over the weekend, and judging by the smiles it seems to have been another roaring success. So why not tell us about...

Hells Angel sues government

20 May 2002

Hells Angels have a reputation for avoiding the law, but Canadian Angel Donny Petersen is using it to sue the Canadian province of Ontario. Petersen was appointed to a committee to assess...

Aprilia unveils Haga rep RSV-R

20 May 2002

Park up an Aprilia Mille R at any bike meet and you’re bound to attract attention. But these special Nori Haga-replicas would even turn heads in the WSB paddock. For the full story on the Haga replica...

Around the world in ninety days

20 May 2002

In early August, eight teams of three riders each will tackle one of the most gruelling events in motorcycling – the Round the World Challenge. Meet ours. Jane Holmyard, Claire Janssenswillen and Nina...

Build a mint track bike for £3000

20 May 2002

This bike was an £800 write-off. But in the latest issue of MCN, out Wednesday May 22, we’ll show you how it was turned into a mint track missile for just three grand. It’s a DIY project anyone can...

Beckham strikes oil

20 May 2002

David Beckham has just struck a huge sponsorship deal with Castrol. According to the England captain, the oil giant, which also sponsors Honda’s World Superbike squad, embodies: ” Performance,...

Can you help…?

20 May 2002

We’d like to broadcast an appeal from Cambridgeshire police… One of their pandas is missing. The patrol car went missing this morning and the force has issued this plea: " The car was stolen from Fengate in Peterborough during the early hours of Tuesday, May 21. " It was taken around 4.25am. Officers had stopped to help a young woman and were then called to another incident. " While they were...