Bike news

Bike of the Day: 1980 Honda XL500S

Bike of the Day: 1980 Honda XL500S

Honda’s big thumper was one of if not the definitive four-stroke trail bike of the late ’70s/early ’80s and led directly to the new breed of rally replica monster trail bikes and ultimately the...

Long-term test: Suzuki V-Strom 1000

Long-term test: Suzuki V-Strom 1000

It’s been a busy yet enjoyable time with the V-Strom 1000 since I was handed the keys in March 2014. We’ve herded over 200 cyclists from London to Huddersfield, shown up sportsbikes round Silverstone...

Pope’s Harley sells for £35,000

Pope’s Harley sells for £35,000

A Harley-Davidson FLSTC 103 Heritage Softail Classic signed and blessed by Pope Emeritus Benedict XV1 and later revivced by Pope Francis sold for £34,684 – twice the estimate at the Bonhams Grand...

Rev up for Carole Nash MCN Scottish Motorcycle Show

Rev up for Carole Nash MCN Scottish Motorcycle Show

Scotland’s biggest and best show returns to Edinburgh’s Royal Highland Centre on March 7 and 8, with all the latest moles, major manufacturers and breath-taking live action shows. Major bike...

Indian Chief Dark Horse to debut at MCN show

Indian Chief Dark Horse to debut at MCN show

The new Indian Chief Dark Horse will be shown for the first time in Europe at the Carole Nash MCN London Motorcycle show at Dockland’s Excel on Saturday February 14. The launch of the bike is the...

Long-term test: Triumph Tiger 800XC

Long-term test: Triumph Tiger 800XC

If pottering up and down green lanes isn’t enough to prove the Triumph Tiger’s off-road prowess then how about a gruelling, non-stop 24 hour rally through the Alps? Still not convinced? Well perhaps...

New MCN February 4: Guy Martin in India

New MCN February 4: Guy Martin in India

In this week’s MCN, available in newsagents, on iPad and Android from February 4: – Guy Martin exclusive India interview – KTM Super Adventure and 1050 ridden – New Norton Dominator first ride –...

Obituary: John Durkin 1932-2015

Obituary: John Durkin 1932-2015

Obituary: John Durkin 1932-2015 It is with great sadness we report John Durkin passed away peacefully at his home in Lincolnshire on January 27, aged 82. John loved motorcycle sports and for many he...

Bike of the Day: 1983 Honda CBX550

Bike of the Day: 1983 Honda CBX550

Sophisticated 16-valve four was one of the last of the old school, air-cooled 550s (before the GPZ600R kicked off the liquid-cooled 600cc class) and, along with Kawasaki’s GPz550 and Suzuki’s GSX550 a...

First ride: 2015 KTM 1050 Adventure

First ride: 2015 KTM 1050 Adventure

KTM’s all-new 1050 Adventure, the Austrian firm’s smallest entry-level adventure bike is currently being put through its paces in Gran Canaria by MCN’s Senior Road Tester Adam Child. Here are his...

First ride: 2015 KTM 1290 Super Adventure

First ride: 2015 KTM 1290 Super Adventure

KTM’s all new big 160bhp 1290 Super Adventure is being launched today on the stunning roads of Gran Canaria. MCN Senior Road Tester Adam Child is our lucky man enjoying the sunshine and the delights...

Triumph Tiger 800 in dealers now

Triumph Tiger 800 in dealers now

Triumph’s all-new Tiger 800 range which now consists of four models has arrived in UK dealers. The Tiger 800 range has been given a significant makeover for 2015 and MCN’s launch report declared it...

Ducati Scrambler Specials gallery

Ducati Scrambler Specials gallery

The first three Ducati Scramblers worked on by custom builders were shown at last weekend’s Verona bike show in Italy and you can now see them all up close thanks to this gallery of images. The three...

New series of Easy Riders starting

New series of Easy Riders starting

A new six-part series of The Easy Riders starring Red Dwarf and Death in Paradise star Danny John Jules and freestyle stunt rider and model Chesca Miles as they ride five countries in five days and...

A Giant Leap: 2015 BMW S1000RR vs the 2014 model

A Giant Leap: 2015 BMW S1000RR vs the 2014 model

The Mission It’s the S1000RR’s biggest revampsince it was introduced five years ago. BMW say their new weapon is lighter, more powerful, and more refined than ever. To find out just how much this...

Picture gallery: Indian Scout group test

Picture gallery: Indian Scout group test

You may have seen our group test this week starring Indian’s impressive new Scout 1200 versus Harley’s equivalent 48 and Ducati’s Monster 1200. What you won’t have seen, though, is this extra gallery...

My Life in Bikes Terry Mynott

My Life in Bikes Terry Mynott

The star of Channel 4’s hit comedy The Mimic reveals his love for the Honda MBX50 and biking holidays with no plan What are you riding today? A chopped 2008 Yamaha FZ-1, which I’ve had since November.

AJP PR5 RR Rally first ride

AJP PR5 RR Rally first ride

It’s regarded as the world’s ultimate race, but the cost of taking part in the Dakar runs to well in excess of £50,000 and that’s a lot of money in anyone’s book. A Dakar hopeful needs the best bike...

Our Bikes Velocette Venom Clubman

Our Bikes Velocette Venom Clubman

‘It’s smashing to ride head-down, arse-up’   A love story that’s endured three decades, bent valves and duff magnetos, MCN’s Senior Designer Simon Relph’s still head-over-heels with his Velocette My...

Picture gallery: 2015 Ducati 1299 Panigale test

Picture gallery: 2015 Ducati 1299 Panigale test

We’ve been testing the hugely impressive new Ducati 1299 Panigale this week and our full report is in this week’s MCN on sale now. But we thought you might like to see some of the extra pictures we...

Honda officially dismisses RCV213-S ‘greenlight’

Honda officially dismisses RCV213-S ‘greenlight’

Honda have moved to officially quash rumours emerging from Japan claiming the road replica RCV213-S MotoGP bike had been given the go-ahead and that it will cost the equivalent of £112,000 in the...

Suzuki expands 50/50 finance offer

Suzuki expands 50/50 finance offer

Suzuki has widened the current 50/50 finance campaign to include additional models to the V-Strom 1000 Adventure already covered and it will run until the end of March. New models included in the...

Bike of the Day: 1981 Honda XL185

Bike of the Day: 1981 Honda XL185

Another one of these cute, four-stroke, early ‘80s trail bikes cropped up recently. That one needed little and seemed decent value at over £1500 which makes this ‘project’, albeit one that’s claimed...

Suzuki Recursion rumours denied

Suzuki Recursion rumours denied

Rumours that Suzuki’s turbocharged concept bike, dubbed ‘Recursion’, will imminently go into production have been quashed by the firm. Global chatter suggesting that the turbo had been given the green...

Get your design on an MCN t-shirt!

Get your design on an MCN t-shirt!

We’re on the lookout for some fresh designs for our t-shirt shop, and if you fancy yourself as a bit of a designer you can send us your ideas and they may make it into the shop. If you have a design...

New BMW 300cc roadster spied

New BMW 300cc roadster spied

BMW are surging ahead with plans to enter the small bike market – with what’s believed to be a 300cc roadster spotted testing in Germany last week. Developed in association with Indian automotive...

World Exclusive: Norton Dominator revealed

World Exclusive: Norton Dominator revealed

This is the world’s first sight of the fully road-legal version of the new Norton Dominator SS, which will be officially launched this weekend. There are two versions of the Dominator. Both are...

Bike of the Day: 1973 Kawasaki KH750 H2

Bike of the Day: 1973 Kawasaki KH750 H2

One of the inspirations for Kawasaki’s 2015 H2/H2R is today also one of the most collectable and desirable of all Japanese classics – with the prices to match. Wild, two-stroke triple was one of the...

So you’ve designed a motorcycling icon, what next?

So you’ve designed a motorcycling icon, what next?

The elusive ‘Holographic Hammer’ was the man that MCN emailed for advice when working on our own custom bike build – a straight-line, bullet bike customisation of Yamaha’s XV950, but little did we...

Long-term test: Yamaha XV950 - Building The Bullet

Long-term test: Yamaha XV950 - Building The Bullet

Building The Bullet. The plan was simple. I thought it would be an interesting assignment to see what a relative novice like myself could do to Yamaha’s XV950 with some bolt-on, third-party parts and...

Bike of the Day: 1999 Yamaha R6

Bike of the Day: 1999 Yamaha R6

The first R6 was as much of a ‘game-changer’ as its bigger brother, the original R1, was in 1998. Light, small and fast, this was the first true supersports 600 and, as such, both a sure-fire future...

New MCN January 28: Ducati Panigale 1299 first test

New MCN January 28: Ducati Panigale 1299 first test

In this week’s MCN, available in newsagents, on iPad and Android from January 28: – Ducati Panigale 1299 world first test: Too much power? – BMW 300s spied – New Norton Dominator revealed – Indian...

Long-term test: Supercar performance, bargain price

Long-term test: Supercar performance, bargain price

Suzuki Hayabusa GSX1300R Forget your ultra-exotic, ultra-expensive supercars, Suzuki Hayabusa reaches 200mph from as little as £4000. So Top Gear’s back for yet another series, and as I was caught in...

Bike of the Day: 1971 Suzuki T350

Bike of the Day: 1971 Suzuki T350

Sprightly ‘70s two-stroke twin is less celebrated than Yamaha’s rival RD350/400 but is still a classic in its own right and would make a rideable, straightforward classic proposition today. What’s...

London Custom Building Championships returns to London Show

London Custom Building Championships returns to London Show

Europe’s top custom bike builders will descend on London for the start of the London Custom Bike Championships at the Carole Nash MCN London Motorcycle Show, February 13-15. The championship is now in...

Loads of prizes to be won with the MCN giveaway site

Loads of prizes to be won with the MCN giveaway site

Here’s our pick of prizes up for grabs on our giveaway site. It’s dead easy to register and all giveaways are free to enter.   Unique Signed Rossi VR46 Cap, worth PRICELESS Valentino has partnered...