Bike news

Event: Celebrate Suzuki’s arrival at Powerslide

20 June 2016 by MCN News Team

Event: Celebrate Suzuki’s arrival at Powerslide, London Road, Stoke, ST4 5NQ Date: July 16 There’s now a new name for Suzuki in Stoke, Powerslide Motorcycles have slipped into pole position on London...

MCN Longest Day: Pillion passenger tips for motorway riding

20 June 2016 by Maria Vallahis

Today (June 20) is the Longest Day Of The Year and to make the most of it the MCN team is riding from dawn to dusk, soaking up as much of the 16 hours and 38 minutes of sunlight as possible. Along...

#MCNLongestDay

20 June 2016 by MCN News

MCN Longest Day: Sunrise over Lowestoft

20 June 2016 by Ped Baker

Today (June 20) is the Longest Day Of The Year and to make the most of it the MCN team is riding from dawn to dusk, soaking up as much of the 16 hours and 38 minutes of sunlight as possible. Along...

Suck, squeeze, bang blow - your guide to gas flow, by Performance Bikes legend John Robinson

19 June 2016 by Performance Bikes

Legendary technical editor John Robinson shared his gas flow knowledge with Performance Bikes readers back in June 1987 as flowing is still one of the black arts; for the same amount of time and money...

Kings of the road: battle of the baggers

19 June 2016 by MCN

Baggers define the modern American dream – but can Indian’s new Springfield depose the Road King? merican motorcycles don’t get more definitive than Harley-Davidson. And of all American bikes and all...

Erzberg rodeo: as hard as it gets!

18 June 2016 by MCN

Over 1500 competitors entered the Erzberg enduro and just nine finished. MCN witnesses the toughest event of them all  he world of extreme enduro is booming, and it is now one of the fastest growing...

MotoGP's Best Battles: No2 Sachsenring 2006

18 June 2016 by MCN Sport

Our pick of the 10 greatest premier-class multi-rider dogfights of all time. his was a classic, with nothing to choose between the foursome who were inches apart at a one-line track where overtaking...

Event: Honda stars come out at Vertu

17 June 2016 by MCN News

Vertu Honda Nottingham is holding its open day on Saturday, July 2. Come along and see the Honda BSB racing team, Honda road racer Bruce Anstey and much more. Having established itself as a...

MCN's Longest Day Of The Year: Come ride with us

17 June 2016 by MCN News

So just in case you didn’t know, it’s the Longest Day of The Year on Monday, 20, June (yes, we know it’s usually on the 21st June each year, but 2016 is different).  In honour of the Summer Solstice...

Event: Highland Fling for the BSB boys

17 June 2016 by MCN News Team

Event: BSB Knockhill, Dunfermiline, Fife KY12 9TF Date: June 24-26 Knockhill will once again reverberate to the sound of top-class MCE British Superbike racing this weekend. A full-on programme of...

Barry Sheene's RG500s back in Britain

17 June 2016 by MCN News

The Suzuki RG500s ridden by Barry Sheene to the 1976 and 1977 500cc World Championship titles will return to the UK for the first time in more than 30 years to be at this year’s OCTO British Grand...

Video: What Father’s Day means to John McGuinness

16 June 2016 by Ped Baker

Dunlop tyres caught up with John McGuinness to talk about what Father’s Day means to the 23 time TT champ. McGuinness reveals his early memories of being brought up in a motorcycling family and...

Honda reopen earthquake damaged factory

16 June 2016 by Andy Downes

Honda have started production at the Kumamoto factory in southern Japan now repairs have been carried out following the massive earthquake that struck the region in April. The earthquake on April 14,...

90 years of Ducati Anniversary blast

16 June 2016 by MCN

…And breathe It’s the fastest bike we’ve tested on track in 2016, but is the 1299 Panigale a serious road bike too? We blast it all the way back to the heavenly roads of Tuscany where it was developed...

Audi boss: “Ducati is not for sale”

16 June 2016 by Andy Downes

Audi boss Rupert Stadler has officially stated Ducati will not be sold by the parent German car company despite recent speculation the Italian bike company might be one part sold off. Speculation has...

Video: BMW S1000RR makes a splash

16 June 2016 by MCN News

BMW Motorrad South Africa came up with a slightly different way to advertise the latest generation S1000RR, surprising a few unwitting commuters in Cape Town by rigging a bus stop with speakers and a...

Rocket Centre to host 12th annual open day

16 June 2016 by MCN News

Lancashire’s largest motorcycle dealership, The Rocket Centre will hold its 12th annual open day on Saturday, July 30 from 10am. There will be stunt shows from three-times British Trials Champion...

Dream ticket - MCN rides the Suter MMX500

16 June 2016 by Adam Child

MCN Senior Road Tester Adam Child is in Germany at the demanding Lausitzring today, and is about to ride the stunning two-stroke Suter MMX500 race bike, fresh from the Isle of Man TT. Our very own...

When scooters go mad – the Bel & Bel Zero-Scooter

15 June 2016 by MCN News

This is one of the more amusing Vespa scooter clones we’ve seen recently – not least because they’ve completely disregarded the fundamental principles of having a seat and getting the wheels in...

Sailor Jerry hit the road for The Ride 2016

15 June 2016 by MCN News

US brand Sailor Jerry will be hitting the road once again for round two of The Ride. Kicking-off on Saturday, July 2, three bike-building teams from across the UK will be competing against each other...

15 years of abuse: Triumph Speed Triple restoration

15 June 2016 by Practical Sportsbikes magazine

Many restorations start with finding a wreck under a tarpaulin. With Jonathan Wilkie’s Speed Triple, however, he was the one who left it there in the first place… any restortions in Practical...

Free commuter cover for Ride to Work Week

15 June 2016 by Andy Downes

Three major insurance providers have agreed to offer free commuter cover for customers who use their bikes during Ride to Work week between June 20 and 26. Customers who have policies with Carole...

Video: KTM takes on Ferrari in tug of war

15 June 2016 by Liam Marsden

Introduced to the world as The Beast before its official unveiling, the 1301cc Super Duke pumps out 99ftlb of torque and 160bhp and takes your breath away. It takes just 4.79 seconds to get from...

Road rage issues? Suzuki riders are the 'angriest'

14 June 2016 by Liam Marsden

According to a UK survey, Suzuki riders are the angriest riders on the road, closely followed by Harley and Triumph riders. Running the survey on 1000 motorcyclists, the top three things that irked...

Pre-1999 bikes to be banned from Paris

14 June 2016 by Liam Marsden

Motorcycles manufactured before June 1 1999 are to be banned from Paris between the hours of 8am and 8pm starting July 1, with a €35 fine coming into effect later this year on October 1. Vehicles used...

Time to get dirty at the Adventure Bike Academy

14 June 2016 by James Archibald

Running BMWs F800GS as my long-term test bike, I wanted to make sure I didn’t fall into the category of those who never take these bikes off-road, even though I myself had never ventured away from the...

Gallery: World GP Bike Legends

14 June 2016 by MCN News

Some of Grand Prix’s greatest legends met-up for the second annual World GP Bike Legends  at Sachsenring circuit in Germany. MCN’s senior Michael Neeves also got to be chance to race the legends on an...

Why we love the BMW R90S

14 June 2016 by RiDE magazine

No10 in RiDE’s list of icons is the BMW R90S. Where did it come from? Back in the early 1970s BMW suffered from a staid, sensible, beardy touring image. The R90S was a deliberate move to change that...

Zero Motorcycles celebrate 10 years with special model

14 June 2016 by Liam Marsden

Electric motorcycle manufacturer Zero Motorcycles has unveiled a special edition DSR to celebrate its 10 year anniversary. The special edition version of Zero’s dual sport DSR comes with high gloss...

New MCN June 15: Dunlop wins big

14 June 2016 by MCN News

In this week’s edition of MCN, available in newsagents, on iPad and Android from June 15: • Dunlop wins big at the TT • New Retro BMW GS • Biking’s toughest events • 2500 miles on a Panigale • Hutchy...

Ducati confirms new models will debut at World Ducati Week

14 June 2016 by Andy Downes

Ducati has confirmed two new models will be shown at the massive Ducati party in Italy in just two weeks’ time but only one will be shown in public with the other hidden from plain view behind closed...

Whatever happened to Evel Knievel’s bikes?

14 June 2016 by MCN

He crashed (a lot) but what happened to the machines he used? vel Knievel was one of the biggest stars in the world in the 1970s and arguably the most famous motorcyclist of all time. His...

Fans flood to see 500cc GP stars race again

13 June 2016 by Michael Neeves

Former 500cc GP world champs Wayne Gardner and Freddie Spencer lined-up on the grid for the second annual World GP Bike Legends at the Sachsenring, Germany at the weekend. Racing in front of a...

Event: Lincolnshire Bike Night

13 June 2016 by MCN News

East Kirkby airfield will come alive on Wednesday but not just with the sound of the WW2 aircraft but also the engine noise of hundreds of motorcycles arriving at the annual Lincolnshire Bike...

My Life in bikes: Ola Stenegard

13 June 2016 by MCN

‘My dad taught me to weld when I was about six years old’ BMW designer talks choppers, chainsaws and creating the S1000RR  Did you come from a biking family? Yes. Both my mum and dad rode bikes, all...