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2002 R1 winner revealed

04 March 2002

2002 R1 winner revealed

Alan Sapsard from Southampton was the lucky winner of the 2002 YZF-R1 competition drawn during the official dealer launch of the new bike on the evening of February 28. More than 10,000 people entered...

Bike Week: Erik Buell inducted into hall of fame

04 March 2002

Bike Week: Erik Buell inducted into hall of fame

Erik Buell, the man behind the Buell range of bikes, has been inducted into the National Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame in America. But who would you nominate for a UK Hall of Fame? Steve345 has...

Frame fix could cut insurance costs

04 March 2002

Frame fix could cut insurance costs

Carnell-City is claiming a new addition to its Sheffield-based Bike Clinic could reduce the number of bikes which have to be written off. And that could have a big impact on the price we all pay for...

Face-to-face with Meacher

04 March 2002

Minister Michael Meacher may have been able to avoid questions about his leaked anti-bike letter on the BBC’s Any Questions radio show, but he couldn’t avoid MCN. Meacher was in Peterborough on Friday night for the Radio Four show and we had hoped he would be forced to answer questions surrounding his infamous letter. It reads as if he seriously considered banning bikes from National Parks and...

Bike Week: Cops cancel leave

04 March 2002

Bike Week: Cops cancel leave

Police have cancelled leave and called in 20 extra Highway Patrol state troopers to get tough on traffic enforcement in Daytona Beach during Bike Week, the world’s biggest bike gathering. They made...

10 Scottish show winners revealed

04 March 2002

10 Scottish show winners revealed

The MCN-backed Scottish Motorcycle Show is on over the weekend of March 9-10 and 10 site users will now be there, with a pal or partner, free of charge.. We’ve given away 10 pairs of day tickets worth...

Bike Week: Stolen Harley spotted 30 years later

04 March 2002

Bike Week: Stolen Harley spotted 30 years later

If you thought it was just the Mounties who always got their man, it’s time to tip your lid to the persistence of the Volusia County cops. These are the boys who police Daytona Bike Week, the world’s...

One in four London drivers will swap four wheel for two

04 March 2002

One in four London drivers will swap four wheel for two

Almost one in four drivers in central London say they’ll swop to bikes to avoid paying a £5 a day congestion charge next year, MCN can exclusively reveal. It’s the best way they can find to beat the...

Scottish Motorcycle Show this weekend

04 March 2002

Scottish Motorcycle Show this weekend

Everything is in place for the doors opening on the MCN-backed Scottish Motorcycle Show at 9am, on Saturday. Highlights include: Kit and accessories at discount prices; the gorgeous MCN girls; the MCN...

World first test: The 2002 ZX-12R

04 March 2002

World first test: The 2002 ZX-12R

Kawasaki has raised the power of the ZX-12R AND given it an even more sporting focus. Our full report is published in MCN, out on Wednesday, March 6, 2002. But here are our first impressions. (i) The...

Meacher on Any Questions Friday night

01 March 2002

Meacher on Any Questions Friday night

Minister Michael Meacher, the man whose leaked letter to police chiefs has caused an angry reaction throughout motorcycling, WILL now appear on BBC Radio Four tonight and you can put your questions...

Thanks for making us No1… by a mile

01 March 2002

Thanks to your increasing visits to motorcyclenews.com, we’ve just had yet another record month. Even though February is the shortest month of the year we clocked up 5,000,000 page impressions (that amounted to 30,000,000 hits, for anyone still counting that way) and 265,000 unique visitors in that month alone. February saw an average of 36,000 daily visits, the highest figure since the site was...

Quiz winner passes on prize

01 March 2002

Quiz winner passes on prize

The top-prize winner of MCN’s massive Christmas quiz picked up his Suzuki DR-Z400– and instantly gave it away again. Honda CBR600 rider Martin Houckham, 62, from Dartford, Kent, decided to hand the...

Kawasaki proves that bigger is best

25 February 2002

Kawasaki proves that bigger is best

Chances are, the last time you talked big-bore kits you were 16 years old, munching a saveloy and slurping a can of Shandy Bass outside the chip shop while you wondered if it was worth splashing out...

£14,300 Joey Dunlop reps sell out

25 February 2002

£14,300 Joey Dunlop reps sell out

The strictly limited run of 25 Joey Dunlop replica SP-1s has now been sold. The only way you now have of getting hold of one is to bid in the MCN auction for the exclusive no26. It has taken less than...

Your road tax letters to MPs made easy

25 February 2002

Your road tax letters to MPs made easy

You’ve started sending letters to your MPs to follow up your massive response to the public consultation on bike road tax. Our tips, make it easy for anyone to join in. Read on for advice on what to...

Organising the protest

25 February 2002

Motorcyclenews.com user Revetts has set-up a micro-community so that people wishing to organise their protest against Meacher and other anti-bike Government policies can share ideas. Follow this link to be taken there: http://communities.msn.com/BikersProtest

Suggested text for a letter to your MP

25 February 2002

Here’s some suggested text you might want to include in your letter. You could just copy and paste it into a document to send (e-mail or letter). The Treasury issued a public consultation paper on reforming motorcycle VED last year – and I disagree with many of the points I am worried that this is a thinly-veiled excuse to raise more tax from bikes. The Treasury has proposed a new higher road tax...

Long term CBR600

25 February 2002

Long term CBR600

It’s an old cliché that Hondas are more reliable than Swiss watches. But it’s true. Over the last 12 months I’ve covered more than 20,000 miles – around three times the average annual UK mileage – on...

Gilera’s V-twin prototype revealed

25 February 2002

Gilera’s V-twin prototype revealed

These are the first pictures of the V-twin prototype Gilera is building as a first step towards a new range of machines. It hosts the first full-size engine the Italian firm, currently best known for...

2002 bikes added to our reviews section

25 February 2002

2002 bikes added to our reviews section

The 2002 R1, TDM900, VFR800 VTEC and Hornet 900 have all been added to our BIKE REVIEWS section. Each comes complete with pictures, specs, road tests and links to its own dedicated chat board. Each...

First test on 636cc Kawasaki ZX-6R

25 February 2002

First test on 636cc Kawasaki ZX-6R

We’ve been riding Kawasaki’s new bigger-bore ZX-6R for 2002 and the extra ccs add up to a serious boost for torque and mid-range. Our full report is in MCN, out on Wednesday, February 27, but in the...

Ducati admits it is building Smart rep

25 February 2002

Ducati has finally admitted it is building a modern-day replica of Paul Smart’s 1972 Imola 200-winning 750SS –three years after MCN told you it was coming. The bike follows on from the successful MH900e Mike Hailwood replica, which has just finished its production run of 2000 units. The bike is expected to be heavily based on the MH900e – sharing a similar tubular steel trellis chassis. However,...

The best ways to buy secondhand

25 February 2002

From a dealer: Know the market. Make sure you know the value of what you’re buying and are familiar with any mechanical problems it’s prone to. Never be afraid to haggle. Name a starting price confidently, making sure it’s lower than the maximum you’re prepared to pay. Privately: Once you’ve found your bike through MCN BikeMart, take your time inspecting it. Look for any tell-tale signs of crash...

Bikes excluded from congestion charging

25 February 2002

Bikes excluded from congestion charging

Motorcycling has been handed a massive potential boost with the news that bikes are excluded from controversial plans to make motorists pay per mile. With talk of commuter runs along the M6 around...

The 10 best secondhand buys and why

25 February 2002

The 10 best secondhand buys and why

SUZUKI TL1000R ’98 Price when new: £8649. Price now: £3650-£4050 Slow sales ever since it was launched in 1998 – its TL1000S sibling has already been discontinued – means big discounts are available...

Choose from 15,000 used bargains

25 February 2002

Choose from 15,000 used bargains

March is the best time to buy a secondhand bike, as 15,000 of them flood into showrooms and get crammed on to the pages of MCN BikeMart. The surge in the number of secondhand bikes is due to the...

Harley evening classes

25 February 2002

Harley evening classes

Chesterfield dealer Harleyworld is opening its doors every Wednesday evening in March to help owners get to know their Harleys. Mechanics will explain what needs checking on their bikes after the...

Bikes to ride free in London

25 February 2002

London Mayor Ken Livingstone has announced he’s going ahead with plans to charge drivers £5 a day to use central London roads. But motorcyclists and scooter riders will go free. Faced with forking out £25 a week on top of fuel and other car costs, many drivers could find themselves tempted by the many bargain scooter deals currently on offer. Those commuting from further afield may be lining up...

KTM 250 EXC Racing tested

25 February 2002

KTM 250 EXC Racing tested

KTM’s new four-stroke 250EXC Racing costs almost £5000. But you can find out if you’re prepared to fork out for it by trying it out in a weekend of off-road fun for just under £300. That’s the deal...

World first pictures of Triumph cruiser

25 February 2002

World first pictures of Triumph cruiser

These exclusive pictures show Triumph’s long-awaited 2.2litre cruiser. If you want to see more of it, make sure you get MCN, out on Wednesday, February, 28. The bike is due to be launched next year...

Buy yourself a bargain

25 February 2002

Buy yourself a bargain

You can get yourself a very nice new or nearly-new 599cc ZX-6R for a lot less than the 636’s £6990 asking price. The ZX-6R is listed at £6895, but people are buying them new for £4795, which is a real...

Own a Castrol Honda racebike for £17000

18 February 2002

Own a Castrol Honda racebike for £17000

IF you think the chances of getting your arse in the seat of a pukka race bike are about the same as winning the Lottery, think again. This time it really could be you. At £17,037, the CBR600F Sport...

Does it hurt less in black and white?

18 February 2002

Does it hurt less in black and white?

When the world was in monochrome, the accidents were no less spectacular.

Yamaha FJR1300: Long term test report

18 February 2002

Yamaha FJR1300: Long term test report

Boy that was good! It had only taken a couple of hundred yards of ever-so-slightly damp roads, glistening in the brilliance of a blue winter’s day, to make me realise what I’d been missing. It must...

Ready, steady, tumble?

18 February 2002

Ready, steady, tumble?

The start is also the end for some.