Latest Motorbike News

No thought for safety

08 April 2007 by beryl j green

I took these photo’s when I was in the car with my son. It was a lovely day on April 8, 2007 at 2.44pm on the A10 near Waterbeach in Cambridge. We could not belive our eyes, this is how people give...

Stunning limited-edition 675

08 April 2007 by Ben Purvis

Jack Lilley Motorcycles are planning to offer an extremely limited-edition run of Triumph Daytona 675s in this JPS-inspired paint scheme. No more than five of the bikes will be offered, at £8999. As...

Hungarian bike firm back after 30 years

08 April 2007 by Ben Purvis

Hungarian bike firm Pannonia is being revived this year with a new V-twin cruiser. It’s just a 234cc motor, making 18.5bhp, but it’s the first bike to carry the Pannonia name since the mid 1970s, when...

Man punched by illegal rider

08 April 2007 by Rob Hull

Police are hunting for an illegal off-road rider who punched a 58 year-old walker who confronted him over his riding. The suspect was riding on a playground in Ellenbrook Lane in Hatfield on March 17 at 4.15pm, and punched the victim who was angered by his reckless riding. The man is described as a blonde-haired man in his 20s, wearing a blue/red helmet and riding an ‘adult sized’ bike. Call 0845...

Road improvements to cause delays

08 April 2007 by Rob Hull

A £2M road improvement scheme put in place to ease traffic problems is set to increase traffic as the works get underway. Work is to begin today to widen the approach to Bardills roundabout on the A52 in Nottinghamshire and also install traffic light. The dual carriageway will be reduced to one lane until the changes are completed in August.

Drink-driver reported by daughter

08 April 2007 by Chris Newbigging

A 70 year-old woman was banned from driving last week after being reported for drink-driving by her own daughter. Kathleen William’s daughter Helen was prompted to report her mother on her mobile after a near-accident while passenger in her car. She was found to be one and a half times over the legal breath alcohol limit. She was banned for one year and fined £140 plus £60 costs.

Kijima Monster S4R

07 April 2007 by Ben Purvis

While most top-end European tuners specialise in making Japanese bikes go faster, in Japan the trend is to take expensive and exotic European machines and make them even more exclusive. Kojima’s...

Saxon Choppers for the UK

07 April 2007 by Ben Purvis

American-made Saxon choppers could become available as complete bikes in the UK in the near future, as the firm’s European distributor is trying to find a British importer. The firm currently offers...

Red sheep entertain drivers

07 April 2007 by Rob Hull

A farmer has decided to “brighten things up” for motorists on the M8 in West Lothian by painting his flock of sheep red. The sheep, which graze in a field next to the road, have caused a stir with...

New gadget stops drink drivers

07 April 2007 by Chris Newbigging

A new device which makes car drivers take a breathalyser test before they can start their car is now available in the UK. Priced at £1,256, the device is linked up to an immobiliser in the glove compartment that only allows the engine to start once the driver has tested under 0.35mg per 100ml of breath. The product is already in use in Sweden and North America where government are drafting...

Burning sensation for Brough owner

06 April 2007 by Rob Hull

£32,000 for a bike is a lot – you’re looking at Desmosidici RR and Honda NR750’s for that sort of money. But a telephone bidder at the end of March decided he wanted to spend his £32K on the charred...

Bike cop dies making overtake

06 April 2007 by Rob Hull

A bike Cop has been deemed to have died by accidental death last week after being thrown from his unmarked police bike when trying to overtake a Land Rover in North Wales. Off-duty police officer Phil Paddock tried to revive 46-year-old DC Richard Gostage at scene of the crash on the A5 at Cerrigydrudion. Gostage had clipped a kerb overtaking the 4×4.

£1.4 million test centre for Scunthorpe

06 April 2007 by Rob Hull

Construction company Bluestones has been awarded a £1.4 million contract to build a new test centre in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire. It will be used for both bikes and cars with test surfaces as well as a testing centre ready for the new motorcycle test that is due to change in 2008.

'Shared Spaces' to save A32 bikers

06 April 2007 by Rob Hull

A ‘Shared Spaces’ programme to reduce motorcycle accidents will start this summer, on a particular favourite route for bikers. The A32 in Hampshire, which runs through the Meon Valley, is set to get totally revamped in the coming months with a lot of road furniture being removed to reduce the number of signals being sent to riders and drivers. Ben Hamilton-Baillie, the man who termed ‘Shared...

Buy a MotoGP minibike replica

06 April 2007 by Rob Hull

Honda’s old Ape 100 might not be the obvious starting point if you’re making a road-legal MotoGP replica – but that’s exactly why Japanese tuner Kijima has opted to do just that. The firm is...

Pay back for cutting up on the A2

05 April 2007

I thought I would put pen to paper with an amusing tale that happened to me recently. I regularly commute to London on my FZ6N travelling up and down the dreaded A2. On this journey there never fails to be some sort of incident and this ride home proved no exception. There had been an accident on the A2 and the outbound route was stationary. Now I am not a fast filterer as I think it’s...

Learn to ride with Suzuki

05 April 2007 by Ben Purvis

Suzuki has linked-up with BSM to provide a new training scheme that will get riders through their test in just six days. As well as putting riders through their CBTs and Direct Access tests, using...

MCN travels to the Colosseum

05 April 2007 by M Campling

This is me reading MCN at the Collesium in Rome last November. I took my wife there for her birthday treat! Keep up the great work. Fantastic weekly news. All the best M Campling

Speeding biker cleared of death

05 April 2007 by Chris Newbigging

A Harley-Davidson owner was cleared of death by dangerous driving last week after hitting a cyclist whilst travelling at twice the speed limit. 42 year-old Mark Pennycook from Battersea hit Jason Wang last year who had pulled out to pass an illegally parked car. He later died of multiple skull fractures.

Sisters launch scheme to cut bike accidents

05 April 2007 by Chris Newbigging

Two sisters who lost their parents in bike accidents launched a campaign to reduce the number of bikers who speed last week. Melanie and Kerry Smith’s parent died in separate bike accidents, and they launched ‘Operation Focus’ last week with the support of Leon Haslam to get bikers to slow down in areas identified as accident black spots.

Active Hayabusa gets supercharger

05 April 2007 by Ben Purvis

Massively-powerful turbo Hayabusas might normally be the realm of American tuners but Japanese tuner Active has created its own take on the theme for the Tokyo Motorcycle Show. The firm has opted...

Teen bike nuisance threated with confiscation

05 April 2007 by Chris Newbigging

Police are threatening a 19 year-old with confiscation of his off-road bike if he is caught damaging a local moor land area again. Police have already arrested the teenager once on April 1 after he was spotted damaging Staines Moor (which is home to several rare animals) and cautioned him for criminal damage and possession of cannabis. If he is caught again he faces losing his Kawasaki off-roader.

Mum photographs injured son to 'scare him off bikes'

05 April 2007 by Chris Newbigging

The mother of a 20 year-old man who suffered serious head injuries in a bike crash has taken his picture whilst unconscious and seriously injured in the hope that it will ‘scare him off bikes’. Michael Holliday from Hartlepool suffered head injuries after crashing into a fence, and although he was described as ‘stable’ last week he had not regained consciousness.

Fatal crash exhibition

05 April 2007 by Chris Newbigging

An exhibition has just opened in Leeds depicting the aftermath of fatal crashes to convince motorists to drive carefully. The images are all staged by actors, and include accidents involving bikes. The exhibition at the Whitehall Waterfront is open until April 28, and will tour other venues across the country.

Biker injured in hit-and-run

05 April 2007 by Chris Newbigging

South Wales police are searching for the driver of a silver Ford Escort who hit a biker and drove away from the scene. The accident happened at 9:27 on the evening of Sunday, April 1 2007, on the junction of Addison Road and Moorland Road in Port Talbot. Anyone with information should call 01792 456999.

Disgraceful Derbyshire road

05 April 2007 by gary brough

I have seen your pothole voting story and had to let others know about the junction of Carr Lane to Northern Common in Dronfield Woodhouse, Derbyshire. It is an absolute disgrace and it is only a matter of time before someone comes a cropper at this junction due to its terrible state of repair.

Yamaha's response to owner's warning on XVS1100

04 April 2007 by Yamaha

Response from Yamaha: Naturally we are always sorry to hear of any Yamaha owner, who has experience a problem with their machine and also understand that they may be disappointed, in cases where they may be liable for any subsequent repair costs. We are aware of this particular customer who contacted us on several occasions last year, on the matter of his XVS1100 and seeking reimbursement /...

Owner's warning on XVS1100

04 April 2007 by Ray

I have had problems with my 2001, 5,000-mile Yamaha XVS1100 that I think others should be warned about. It is my first Yamaha after 34 years with Honda and Kawasaki and I’ve been disappointed with the bike – mainly due to a problem with the starter clutch. I soon found that my bike was becoming hard to start. This turned into a banging noise when starting and eventually there was one almighty bang...

Police hunt speed camera thief

04 April 2007 by Chris Newbigging

Thames Valley Police are hunting a man who stole a £20,000 fixed speed camera last week. The camera was taken between Thursday evening and the early hours of Friday from London road in Sunningdale,...

Manchester bus lane offenders cut

04 April 2007 by Chris Newbigging

CCTV cameras monitoring bus lanes in Manchester have helped cut the number of people illegally using the lanes by a quarter. Drivers using the lane illegally face a £60 fine if caught by the cameras...

Active Kawasaki ZRX1200R

04 April 2007 by Ben Purvis

Certain bikes are legendary in Japan and one surprising favourite is the old Kawasaki GPZ900R. But despite initial appearances, this isn’t a GPZ. Instead of taking the old GPZ900R as the basis of its...

Babe of the day: The sunglasses clan

04 April 2007 by Sarah Carnell

Join us in getting shady…

Have you seen stolen GSX-R1000?

04 April 2007 by simon

I was selling my GSX-R1000 and agreed to meet up with a “buyer” at a petrol station – but when I pulled up he forced me off it with an accomplice and drove off. The reg is LK04KGE and it is a blue/white K4 model. The chap was about 6ft tall, black, and the theft happened in the Elephant and Castle area of London. I have fowarded his phone number and details to police, so will see what happens. If...

My Triumph spoke problems

03 April 2007 by Anonymous

There’s been a lot written about this problem with Triumph Bonneville spokes breaking – here is my experience. I bought a new T100 Bonneville from Ongar MC’s in Jan 2005. Last Spring I noticed that a...

Mystery road spill washes away

03 April 2007 by Chris Newbigging

A mystery chemical which reduced grip and caused several accidents on a 15-mile stretch of the A28 has been washed away by rain fall. Several people reported the mystery spill causing accidents on Friday, March 31, 2007, and officers attending reported a burning sensation in their throats and noses. Roads were closed for five hours overnight, but rain washed the chemical away allowing roads to...

New MCN: April 4

03 April 2007 by Sarah Carnell

MCN brings you the pain and glory of the latest World Superbike round form Donington last weekend as James Toseland wins race one and Troy Bayliss loses a finger. Also in this edition, available to...

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