Bike news

2002 Kawasakis

Here’s what we know about the 2002 Kawasakis so far. Check the links, right.

First official pictures of CB900 Hornet

First official pictures of CB900 Hornet

HONDA’S all-new CB900 Hornet F will make 110bhp and boast 67ftlb of torque when it reaches dealers. We first revealed the 600cc Hornet’s bigger brother in July but now more technical details have come...

More on the 2002 ZX-6R, 9R and 12R and ZZ-R1200

More on the 2002 ZX-6R, 9R and 12R and ZZ-R1200

Last week we brought you first pictures and initial details on Kawasaki’s new bikes. This week we’ve added loads more detail for you to absorb. Follow the link, left, to be taken to our LATEST ON NEW...

Sound file: Listen to John Taylor, instructor at the ‘Ring

Sound file: Listen to John Taylor, instructor at the ‘Ring

John Taylor, instructor at the famous Nurburgring Circuit in Germany talks you through the corners, the legends and the appeal of the most demanding circuit in the world. Click on the link on the...

Strange but true…

America: Daemond Rogan is unrepentant despite being caught doing 160mph in a 40 limit on his CBR600. He’s been jailed for 30 days, lost his licence for a year and been handed a £300 fine. Even so, he told a reporter it remains his dream to do 200mph on a public road. He’ll be lucky on a CBR600! Home: International super spy James Bond is back on a bike in his next movie (according to a leaked...

More details on the ZZ-R1200

With the ZX-12R now acting as Kawasaki’s high-speed standard-bearer, the firm has decided to soften the ZZ-R1200 into a full-on tourer. This scoop picture shows it’s clearly a new bike – but peel away the skin and you find plenty of parts have been carried over. The chassis is virtually identical. It might not be cutting-edge, but the twin-spar alloy beam frame doesn’t exactly lag behind the...

More details on the ZX-9R

AT first glance Kawasaki’s 2002 ZX-9R looks pretty similar to this year’s bike – but looks can be deceptive because it actually boasts more than 130 changes. With Suzuki’s GSX-R1000 the undisputed champion and new challengers from Yamaha and Honda coming soon, the ZX-9R was set to be swamped by its rivals – but Kawasaki hopes its latest revisions will help it keep up. The ZX-9R faces a tough...

New look of TDM900 revealed

New look of TDM900 revealed

Yamaha’s TDM850 IS turning into the TDM900 for 2002 and our artist’s impression reveals exactly how the bike will look. As well as an increase in capacity and an aluminium frame, the new bike will...

A ride into the 1930s

A ride into the 1930s

Trials star Steve Colley tries some blasts from the past.

How to get there

How to get there

We took the Stena ferry from Harwich, Essex, to the Hook of Holland. We chose this crossing to reduce the riding time in the UK, but you can also go from Hull to Zeebrugge or Dover to Calais. At this...

Indian summer on the way

Indian summer on the way

Weather experts are predicting a last hurrah for summer with another dry and warm spell starting after an initially poor start to September. As the new ” 51 ” reg bikes roll out of showrooms, many...

Are you ready for the ride of your life?

Are you ready for the ride of your life?

If it wasn’t for the amount of bikes on the car park so early in the morning, it would be possible to ride straight past the entrance to the notorious Nürburgring without noticing what it was. You’d...

You’ve made this the place to be

You’ve made this the place to be

We’d like to say a huge thanks to all of you for helping to make motorcyclenews.com THE place for motorcyclists to gather on the web. Latest figures show you’ve helped us set another series of...

The cruiser with three cylinders

The cruiser with three cylinders

For anyone into horsepower and speed, Jim Feuling’s workshop in Ventura, north of Los Angeles, is a magical place to be – the petrolhead’s equivalent of Willy Wonka’s factory for a chocoholic. Shelves...

Yamaha Tmax long term test, September

Douglas Adams wrote in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy that a towel is the most useful object in the universe, but I have another suggestion – a party popper. Apart from its primary function of livening up a party, the exploding tube of streamers could, be invaluable for self-defence. Set it off in the face of a wild animal and it’s certain to startle it for long enough to allow you to make...

Video: Six toughest corners

Video: Six toughest corners

Download the video clip by chosing from the options, right, and watch and listen as Nurburgring instructor John Taylor talks you through six of the Nurburgring’s toughest corners. The map, right,...

The Nurburgring: How to ride it – and why you should

The Nurburgring: How to ride it – and why you should

The Nurburgring is one of the most extraordinary places on earth. A place where you can almost feel the history of over 70 years of racing crush you just as surely as the G-forces at the infamous...

Free stickers with new MCN BikeMart magazine, out now

Free stickers with new MCN BikeMart magazine, out now

MCN’s new fortnightly BikeMart magazine goes on sale on Thursday, September 6, aimed at making buying and selling a bike easier and faster than ever before. Just one price will get your advert in MCN,...

Edwards: Listen to his live webchat.

Edwards: Listen to his live webchat.

World Superbike champion Colin Edwards says Neil Hodgson will have to wait until Edwards retires before he has any hope of taking the WSB title. But then, Edwards also reckons he’s faster than...

Analysing the Kawasaki and Suzuki joint venture

Analysing the Kawasaki and Suzuki joint venture

It may sound strange, but you may soon be able to buy a ZX-9R with GSX-R1000 parts, or even a GSX-R600 with a derivative of the 636cc ZX-6R engine after Suzuki and Kawasaki announced its tie-up last...

Video: Nurburgring section two

Video: Nurburgring section two

Widely acknowledged as the hardest road circuit in the world, many people will never find the nerve to tackle the Nurburgring. Just the statistics are frightening enough. 13 miles, 157 corners with a...

First pictures of 2002 Triumph Speed Triple

First pictures of 2002 Triumph Speed Triple

Triumph has given its Speed Triple a new motor and revised styling for 2002 as our series of pictures reveal. Gone is the old 955cc motor, replaced by the 2001 Daytona 955i engine. The motor has been...

Swop my superbike for a Harley? Maybe…

Swop my superbike for a Harley? Maybe…

It’s a weird feeling when preconceptions you’ve had for years are totally destroyed in the space of a few minutes. Weird and very annoying because, like most people, I can’t stand being proved wrong.

First pictures of new big-bore Kawasaki ZX-6R

First pictures of new big-bore Kawasaki ZX-6R

Kawasaki’s ZX-6R is getting a bigger-bore engine for 2002, as this exclusive picture reveals. And this is just the first of a series of Kawasaki scoops you can expect to see on this site very...

Bonneville America stirs up strong feelings

Bonneville America stirs up strong feelings

Triumph’s new 2002 Bonneville America has got the chatboards buzzing. Despite some negative comments from sports-bike-loving Brits, it seems the UK firm has got it right as far as Americans are...

First pictures of the 2002 Kawasaki ZX-12R

First pictures of the 2002 Kawasaki ZX-12R

Kawasaki has made a host of changes to its ZX-12R to boost handling and real-world performance, giving it a more sporting focus. They intend it to be as good on corners as it is on long, ridiculously...

First look at the 2002 ZX-9R

First look at the 2002 ZX-9R

Here is the first picture of the new-look ZX-9R from Kawasaki. The uprated superbike has a new, stiffer frame. Compare it to the current bike (by following the link, right, or searching for the...

Estoril or Hunstanton… you decide

Estoril or Hunstanton… you decide

This Sunday, September 9, the GP action is in Estoril, Portugal but if you can’t make it there, perhaps Hunstanton on The Wash will do. The local Lions Club is setting up a big screen to show the race...

What they thought of it…

What they thought of it…

We got the opinions of the British contingent who were riding the Ring: Andy Blackman, Hampshire, Ducati 916: ” This is my first time and I’ve come with mates. I like it here because you can use the...

Seventy-Eight years of the ring

Seventy-Eight years of the ring

Work started on the Nurburgring in 1925 and was finished in 1927. The idea was to construct Germany’s first purpose-built race track to showcase German engineering and driving prowess and also bring...

What UK dealers are saying…

What UK dealers are saying…

Simon Dixon, managing director of Dixon Motors: ” It’s brilliant news for the customer. The firms can keep the brands separate, but share components, research and logistics. ” I think we’ll see some...

Video: Nurburgring section three

Video: Nurburgring section three

Widely acknowledged as the hardest road circuit in the world, many people will never find the nerve to tackle the Nurburgring. Just the statistics are frightening enough. 13 miles, 157 corners with a...

Video: Nurburgring section one

Video: Nurburgring section one

Widely acknowledged as the hardest road circuit in the world, many people will never find the nerve to tackle the Nurburgring. Just the statistics are frightening enough. 13 miles, 157 corners with a...

More details on the 636cc ZX-6R

Kawasaki has made a radical move with the latest version of the ZX-6R, the bike which was named top 600 in the annual MCN awards last October. It has created a whole new category – a sports 600 with a bit more on top. The new ZX-6R has just outgrown its rivals. Despite the new 636cc capacity, the majority of the 2002 engine is identical to the 2000 model’s.Kawasaki’s engineers have simply...

Winner claims place on race school with Walker and Mackenzie

Winner claims place on race school with Walker and Mackenzie

Ashley Hinge, from Essex is the lucky winner of a place on the European Superbike School to ride with Chris Walker and Niall Mackenzie. He will join them and other pupils at Croft on September 25. We...

What industry analysts are saying…

What industry analysts are saying…

Rob Hobson, editor, Cap Green Book, the industry’s pricing ” bible ” : ” This shows how the bike industry is going. ” The car industry has shrunk to core businesses, this is the way the motorcycle...