MCN
Reviews For sale News Insurance

Bike news

Camera overkill on the A505

06 June 2008 by Joe Feely

I live near Stevenage in Herts and work in Bassingbourn near Royston. I travel to work on my 1992 Kawasaki ZZR1100 along the A505. Having just come back from two holidays I was very surprised to find six speed cameras installed along a two mile stretch of the A505 dual carrageway between Baldock and Royston. Five of these are in the central reservation and beside each of those five cameras are...

Video: First look at the 2009 Yamaha V-Max in action

05 June 2008 by Angus Farquhar

Video: First look at the 2009 Yamaha V-Max in action

Yamaha has officially launched one of it’s most hotly anticipated motorcycles, the new 2009 V-Max and you can see the first video of the V-Max in action here. Check out the video on the right to see...

MCN Daily 05-06-08: Your daily video motorcycle news

05 June 2008 by Michael Carroll, Chris Slade

In episode 119 of the MCN Daily motorcycle news show bikers protest against the high cost of petrol, Ducati’s technical director heaps praise on Yamaha’s MotoGP team, and a battered Bradley Smith is aiming for a podium finish at the Catalunya GP this weekend.  Subscribe to this podcast with RSS  Subscribe with iTunes Check out the video below to catch up with all the news in just three minutes...

Incident, not Accident

05 June 2008 by Anonymous

Dear MCN, As a motorcyclist of more than 40years standing, I am writing to you, to tell my tale of woe and warn all other bikers. I recently purchased a Kawasaki Z1100 that, whilst being 15 yrs old was immaculate in its condition. I had it checked from head to toe by a local, long standing , family run ‘Kwaka’ dealer. They declared it to be the ‘best example of its kind they had seen. This check...

Car drivers are the danger!

05 June 2008 by hewittrl

Talk about irony. I have been riding bikes for years and haven’t had an accident in nearly 5 years. However my daily commute takes me through Warwick. The traffic in Warwick has got so bad that filtering on my Aprilia RSVR became impossible. So I took to the push bike and on to the new cyclepaths built by Warwick councillast summer. In the last 9 months I have knocked off my pushbike by car...

Accidental death verdict in Steve Hislop inquiry

05 June 2008 by Michael Carroll

Accidental death verdict in Steve Hislop inquiry

Pilot error was not to blame for the fatal helicopter crash that killed Steve Hislop, according to a determination by Edinburgh Sheriff Court. The Sheriff recorded a verdict of accidental death...

2009 Yamaha V-Max official details and pictures

04 June 2008 by Liam Marsden

2009 Yamaha V-Max official details and pictures

Yamaha has officially unvelied the 2009 V-Max and MCN can now reveal the official specifications and pictures of the motorcycle. Rea the review of the original Yamaha V-Max The V-Max was orgininally...

MCN and Ducati present the Monster 696

04 June 2008 by Sarah Carnell, Adam Child

MCN and Ducati present the Monster 696

Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of a launch of a new bike? Well Ducati has decided to spill the beans. The full story behind the development and world launch of the new Ducati Monster 696...

New MCN June 4: Pictures of Aprilia's RSV4 Road bike

04 June 2008 by Liam Marsden

New MCN June 4: Pictures of Aprilia's RSV4 Road bike

CLICK HERE to have a look at the free 16-page digital sample of this week’s MCN! This week MCN has pictures of Aprilia’s RSV4 superbike in road trim during final testing. Showing how the V4 motorcycle...

One-way becomes two for cyclists

04 June 2008 by Michael Carroll

One-way becomes two for cyclists

Cyclists are being offered the chance to legitimately ride the wrong way along one-way streets, under a trial being conducted by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The trial is being run on...

Video: John McGuinness tries out 2007 & 2008 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblades on TT Mountain course

04 June 2008 by Adam Child

Honda’s new CB1000RR Fireblade won our superbike group test and is great on track but is it better than last year’s motorcycle around the Isle Of Man TT and now you can see them in action in our video test. MCN roadtester Adam Child and TT lap record holder John McGuinness travelled to theIsle Of Man to find out if the 2008 Honda Fireblade is better than the 2007 version. Watch the video below to...

Bad road caused my highside

04 June 2008 by ton57

Bad road caused my highside

please could you advise riders of a very dangerous piece road at craig goch reservoir i`ve uploaded some photos for you to see, i was highsided off the bike at about 25-30 mph the road was wet at the...

Hertz Scooters announce three day rental

04 June 2008 by Liam Marsden

Hertz Scooters announce three day rental

Hertz Scooters now has a range of scooters available to rent in London, Paris and 15 other locations in the South of France. The scooters offer a cheap alternative to travel through London since they...

Better roads are key to increasing safety

04 June 2008 by Michael Carroll

Better roads are key to increasing safety

UK motorists believe that improvements to the quality of our roads would help to reduce accidents, a survey by the AA shows. Two inch potholes left untreated The AA questioned 17,481 motorists and...

Mobile phone drivers face larger insurance premium

04 June 2008 by Michael Carroll

Mobile phone drivers face larger insurance premium

Insurance companies could hold the key to stamping out the scourge of drivers using their mobile phones without a hands free kit. Information from the AA shows that many insurance companies have...

Oxford Products launch back protector range

04 June 2008 by Liam Marsden

Oxford Products launch back protector range

Oxford Products has taken its first foray into the world of motorcycle protection clothing with the launch of its ‘Max Protection’ range of back protectors. In the first independent tests carried out...

Kawasaki announce ‘Ninja Choice’ scheme

03 June 2008 by Michael Carroll

Kawasaki announce ‘Ninja Choice’ scheme

Kawasaki is set to unveil a trio of special offers designed to entice customers towards its Ninja range of motorcycles (the ZX-10R and ZX-6R). ‘Ninja Choice’ is scheduled to launch tomorrow (June 4),...

Video: Kawasaki 250 R Ninja v Hyosung GT250R

03 June 2008 by Michael Neeves

Kawasaki’s new Ninja 250 R and Hyosung GT250R are once again giving new riders something to get excited about and now you can see them in action in our video test. MCN road tester’s Michael Neeves and Adam Child relive their younger days with a nostalgic trip to Chelsea bridge in London. Watch the video below to see if the Ninja 250R made them feel young again and read the full article in MCN,...

MCN on the Beach

02 June 2008 by Elizabeth Blair

MCN on the Beach

My partner Alan Martin reading his MCN on a recent holday to Thudufushi in the Maldives. No place better for reading MCN. Not too great for riding his motorcycle, though!

Road Kill

02 June 2008 by andrew lawrence

Road Kill

On my way to do a trackday at Lydden race track on Sunday 1st June I decided to collect dinner on the way. Got to lydden about five minutes after collecting my dinner but it was still a bit raw –...

Rossi on new Repsol Honda

02 June 2008 by FirebladeRR8

Rossi on new Repsol Honda

I picked up my new 2008 Honda Fireblade on Friday and being my new pride and joy, thought I would give it a little clean before putting it away. Went into the house, then came back out, only to fine...

My Immaculate R1 Trashed by a Holding Company

02 June 2008 by Ian Skelton

I was knocked off my almost immaculate Yamaha YZF-R1 1998 on 2nd January this year. I was filtering as I was coming out of Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey. I was within the white line, then without warning the car I was passing decided he was going to turn into a side road, without looking or indicating. I managed to ride my bike home, despite there being heavy damage to the top fairing, left hand...

First ride: Bimota DB7 in Misano

02 June 2008 by Michael Neeves

First ride: Bimota DB7 in Misano

MCN Senior Road Tester Michael Neeves has just ridden the new Bimota DB7 round Misano for the first time, this is what he has to say: “It’s surprisingly roomy given how small it looks, the brakes are...

Kawasaki announce ‘Urban Heroes’ finance scheme

02 June 2008 by Michael Carroll

Kawasaki announce ‘Urban Heroes’ finance scheme

Kawasaki is preparing to launch a new 0% finance deal to boost sales of its naked motorcycle range. The ‘Urban Heroes’ offer is due to launch tomorrow (June 3, 2008), offering two and-a-half years...

Video: Bimota DB7 launch preview

02 June 2008 by Angus Farquhar

MCN Road tester Michael Neeves is out testing Bimota’s brand new DB7 sports bike and he sent back this quick preview of the test. First impressions of the Bimota DB7 Michael will be testing the bike of the next few days and will send back his full report and video by the end of the week.

First impressions: Bimota DB7 launch from Misano

02 June 2008 by Michael Neeves

First impressions: Bimota DB7 launch from Misano

Michael Neeves, MCN’s Senior Road Tester, is currently in sunny Misano, Italy waiting for the first ride on the Bimota DB7. Here are his first impressions: “The waiting is finally over and I ‘m...

Not really road safety

02 June 2008 by Anonymous

I must give a huge nod of respect to any bikers out in Derbyshire on Saturday. Everyone I passed flashed and gestured about the cameras and Police presence making sure they didn’t get their ‘revenue’ as expected that day. I returned the favour too. We all did our best to let everyone know well in advance of the ‘cash machine’ lying in wait. This to me once again proves we as riders make the...

TT bikers persecuted in police operation

01 June 2008 by Gren

This link shows a report on Heysham police cracking down on bikes going to and from the TT. Their results from last year show that 85% of those speeding on the road were in fact local car drivers – but this operation is targeted at motorcycles. I call that persecution. Here is the link: http://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/lancasternews/TT-crackdown-targets-bypass.4136718.jp

MCN down under

31 May 2008 by juliecrock

MCN down under

On the golf course with the kangaroo’s just south of Perth in February.

Police shortage in Sussex

31 May 2008 by CSG

Just heard about Sussex police being short of policeman. Apparently they are offering to pay policemen who have defected to London, to return to Sussex. Yesterday on the A27 near the Ashcombe roundabout at Lewes at 8am there was a police 4×4 on the central reservation with a speed camera mounted next to it and two policemen. Alongside were two police motorcyclists. Across the roundabout in the...

MCN Daily 30-05-08: Your daily video motorcycle news

30 May 2008 by Michael Carroll, Angus Farquhar

In episode 115 of the MCN Daily motorcycle news show The Honda Cub reachs 70 million sales, Police use unmarked Fireblades and the Brits dominate GP practice.   Subscribe to this podcast with RSS  Subscribe with iTunes Check out the video below to catch up with all the news in just three minutes then email us here to let us know what you think of the new show.

Can Bikers Raise A Million Signatures On No 10 Petitions?

30 May 2008 by Mr B J Mann

There are currently two very topical petitions running on the official government “10 Downing Street” website: one to postpone the date for bringing in the new motorcycle test (due Sept 29 2008) till all 66 sites are operational in the UK: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/delaytheMPTC/ And the other petition to remove the maximum motorbike engine size limit for learners and light motorcycles with (Bio)...

Online demo-locator launched by Suzuki

30 May 2008 by Ben Purvis

Online demo-locator launched by Suzuki

Suzuki is aiming to simplify the task of setting up test rides on its motorcycles, by launching an online demonstrator locator service. To arrange a test ride, users input their postcode and details...

Council compensation

29 May 2008 by skippyfc

Council compensation

I have just read the article about the chap trying to chase his local council for cost of damage caused to his bike by hitting a pot hole. What I would say is don’t give up and don’t be fobbed off by...

MCN Daily 29-05-08: Your daily video motorcycle news

29 May 2008 by Angus Farquhar, Michael Carroll, Sarah Carnell

In episode 114 of the MCN Daily motorcycle news show Valentino Rossi says he will not retire in 2009 and the Yamaha Tenere is available in the UK.  Check out the video above to catch up with all the news in just three minutes.

Unmarked Honda motorcycles now part of North Wales Police Force

29 May 2008 by Michael Carroll

Unmarked Honda motorcycles now part of North Wales Police Force

If you go down to North Wales today, you really better go in disguise, as the local police force has leased four unmarked Honda motorcycles to crack down on speeding motorcyclists. A spokeswoman for...