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Racers and ex-racers

01 October 2001

Chris Walker: Ex BSB and GP rider: Cast your mind back a quarter of a century when Chris Walker wasn’t so much the wild riding Stalker as the barely out of nappies Toddler. Not that that was enough to stop him wanting to get in the seat – the problem was he just wasn’t big enough. The man himself draws an entertaining picture of the event. There he is, out in front of the house on a bright day,...

Yamaha R6

01 October 2001

Year: 1999 (T). Mileage: 5457. Price £4599. The R6 is aimed at the sportier end of the 600 market, but the previous owner of this example obviously had different ideas – the high-rise pillion grabrail...

Strange but true

01 October 2001

Here’s out latest collection of weird worldwide tales with a motorcycling bent. If you have anything worthy of adding to our next round-up send an e-mail to jon.urry@emap.com Croatia: Despite being a national hero, Wimbledon champ Goran Ivanisevic can’t flog his Piaggio scooter. No-one put in a serious offer for it in a recent charity auction. Giant Ivanisevic, who is 6ft 5in tall, was told to get...

Blue Marlin voted Best-Looking bike of 2002

01 October 2001

Aprilia’s Blue Marlin has come out way ahead in your vote for the best-looking bike of 2002. The firm revealed it’s ” close-to-production ” prototype at the Milan show last month looking for public...

World’s first ride on new Ducati 998

01 October 2001

Marc Potter has stepped off the new Ducati 998 to report his first impressions of the Italian firm’s new flagship sports bike. Potter said on Tuesday he had enjoyed two sessions so far on the bike but...

New road rules could spoil the TT party

01 October 2001

The TT is on for 2002… but not quite as we knew it. Expect mobile GATSOs to litter rural roads and speeding offences committed on the island to appear as endorsements on your mainland licence. And, if...

Sigma Ducati 853s

01 October 2001

Not everyone is a fan of Ducati’s 748. There’s no doubt it’s as beautiful as the 916 or 996 but because of its smaller capacity it just doesn’t have the same credibility. Related: In-depth Ducati 748...

You’ve seen the bikes of 2002… here’s some for 2003

01 October 2001

Honda showed off its new bikes for 2002 at a private launch in Paris last month, now the firm is revealing some of its bikes for 2003. The huge VTX1800 is being joined by two more machines carrying...

2000cc outfit should top 160mph

01 October 2001

This is the Sidebike, a mad bike-and-sidecar-in-one outfit with its own two litre engine. The French manufacturers claim the engine as their own work and say it makes 133bhp. The sidecar part has room...

Coming soon on this site

01 October 2001

On Monday, October 8, 2001, we’ll bring you video action from our world’s first test of Ducati’s flagship 998 superbike. We expect to bring you another first test on another important performance bike early next week, too. Keep checking back to make sure you don’t miss a thing.

Send us your daft snaps

01 October 2001

IT’S supposed to be the highlight of your season – the moment you meet your hero. You’ve queued for the pit lane walkabout, jostled for position in the crowd, blagged a pen and poster and primed your...

Chat live with Shane Byrne on Thursday lunchtime

01 October 2001

Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne will be online on Thursday October 4, from 1pm, to answer questions from anyone registered with motorcyclenews.com. Whether you want to know what he thought of Rockingham, or whether it got boring winning every round he finished, you’ll have your chance on Thursday. He won this season’s privateer championship within the the British Superbike championship. To join the live chat...

MCN staffers

01 October 2001

Andy Downes: Deputy Editor: I had no money, about the same amount of common sense, but I wanted that bike. Even the “killer kettle” label couldn’t put me off. In fact, as a spotty 18-year-old, it...

Kawasaki ZZ-R1100

01 October 2001

Year: 1999(V) Mileage: 5619. Price £4699. Kawasaki’s ZZ-R1100 was the first bike to be designed as a very, very fast sports-tourer, equally at home on sweeping mountain roads in the Alps as it is...

Boxer aims for the mainstream with B2

30 September 2001

French firm Boxer is about to move into the mainstream with a new model unveiled at the Paris bike show – a naked roadster called the B2. Like the firm’s previous VB1, it uses the 60-degree, 995cc...

Hislop injured in race one at Rockingham

30 September 2001

Steve Hislop’s championship could be in serious doubt after a crash in the first race at Rockingham Motor Speedway. It’s left him with a compound fracture of the right ankle, a dislocated ankle, and a...

Some very unusual FireBlades

23 September 2001

Here’s a paradox of human nature: You want the same thing as everyone else, only you’d like it to be slightly different. Marketing types latched on to this years ago – the Re-mix, the Special Edition,...

If you’re going to court soon…

23 September 2001

Are you about to go to court for a bike offence? Will it be your first time? If so, RiDE magazine would like to talk to you. RiDE is putting together an article about how to deal with a court...

NitroBlade

23 September 2001

Joe Pleterski was one of the very first British FireBlade disciples – but that doesn’t mean he just sat back and worshipped the bike he has owned since August 1992. No, he reckoned he could improve on...

Firebird

23 September 2001

Things are starting to make sense now to MCN road tester Kev Smith. He’s just noticed the bright yellow, stripped-to-the-bone special he’s just been riding has a 150bhp Blackbird engine in place of...

Bulldog makeover could go into production

23 September 2001

The Bulldog makeover Yamaha has shown at the Milan and Paris bike shows could go into production as a new model. And if the firm isn’t prepared to go that far, it’s almost certain that the parts are...

Fireblade combination

23 September 2001

I hAVE never ridden (driven?) a sidecar – and a FireBlade-engined one probably isn’t the most sensible way to lose my three-wheeled virginity. So I’m grateful for small mercies when I’m told the...

More pictures of V-Strom from its official launch

23 September 2001

We’ve already revealed spyshots and first detail pictures of Suzuki’s V-Strom, now we’re adding more shots direct from the official launch in Paris. While Suzuki is making no power claim for the bike,...

Always on top

23 September 2001

Bikes always seem to come out on top.

Rossi Blade

23 September 2001

Andy Hacker bought his FireBlade from Carbontek two years ago. The firm had used it as its show bike, but had put everything back to standard except the polished frame and swingarm before selling it...

How much does it cost, and can you build a bike from scratch?

23 September 2001

Building a race bike from scratch Building an MZ race bike is so easy, even I managed it. When a mate told me he was interested in racing, I decided to try building a bike for him out of my spares.

CBR916RR

23 September 2001

Alan Wills’ 1994 FireBlade is loaded with some of the finest aftermarket components and tune-up goodies you’ll find, from the digital SPA rev counter with integrated speedo to the hand-crafted...

Strange but true

23 September 2001

Here’s our latest round-up of motorcycle-related oddities. If you have one worthy of inclusion, e-mail jon.urry@emap.com Germany: Rider Michael Gruber is recovering after a nasty accident on his FireBlade. His penis was ripped clean off by his petrol tank when he hit a tree on his bike but amazingly surgeons have managed to replace it with one made from a muscle in his arm! According to Gruber his...

Kawasaki launches ZZ-R1200

23 September 2001

Kawasaki has given its new ZZ-R1200 an official unveiling in Paris, giving us the chance to bring you more details and pictures of the new super-tourer. The 1164cc engine is expected to make around...

Ghezzi gives us Guzzi in another guise

23 September 2001

Ghezzi & Brian’s latest Guzzi-based creation has been put on show in Italy. The Furia combines the proven Guzzi V11 Sport engine with Ghezzi’s own Supertwin 1100 frame – a steel box-section design...

The trike young mums will like

23 September 2001

A scooter with room for the kids could tap into a new market for motorcycling: young mums. Nick Graveley’s final-year project in his transport design course at Coventry University is the...

Your interview with Jeremy McWilliams

23 September 2001

250GP star Jeremy McWilliams was in our VIP Lounge in Talk Bikes on Thursday September 27 answering your questions. To see a full transcript click on the link on the right ” Jeremy McWilliams: in his...

See our CBR600 screaming on the dyno

23 September 2001

As part of our long term testing of a 2001 CBR600, we’ve had it on the dyno, and filmed the run for you to share. Follow the link, right, to be taken to Jon Urry’s latest long term test report,...

Robots ready to deal with accidents

23 September 2001

There is a 21st century equivalent for little old ladies with tea and sympathy, it’s a new droid from the University of (where else?) California. They will be stationed alongside major roads and despatched the moment a roadside camera spots anything approaching an accident (your bike nestling in a hedge, for example). While it is not known whether the droid will carry a flask of hot, sweet tea, it...

Italian importer restyles Voxan Roadster

23 September 2001

Voxan’s Italian importer has decided to give customers something different with the Ciclope special. The bike combines the stock chassis and 100bhp V-twin engine of the French-made Roadster with...

Paris Show opens on Friday

23 September 2001

You can see and read about most of them on motorcyclenews.com, but unless you were at the Milan Show in Italy, the chances are you have yet to see the 2002 R1, FireBlade, ZX-6R, ZX-12 and the rest in...

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