Latest Motorbike News

Ray Stringer’s live advice clinic

01 August 2001

MCN:- I own a 2000 CBR600FY, I’m 6′ 1” tall and weigh 13 stone. I find that to prevent the bike from wallowing in bends I have to increase the rebound damping so much it becomes uncomfortable the rest of the time. Would different springs to suit my weight help? RayStringer:- Yes. Yeah, if you went to a proper weighted spring but you’d probably want more compression damping on there more than just...

Strange but true…

01 August 2001

Here’s our latest round-up of motorcycle related oddities from around the planet. If you know of one worthy of inclusion in our next collection, e-mail jon.urry@emap.com GERMANY: SPOTTED in German...

Benefit from Ray’s advice

01 August 2001

Ray Stringer was in our chatrooms at 1pm on Thursday to dish out valuable advice on tyres, suspension and engine tuning. He answered close to 60 questions in the 45-minute session ranging from how to...

What the parts will cost you

01 August 2001

It’s difficult to justify forking out the price of a three-bedroomed semi in Accrington for a road bike, let alone a machine you’d have trouble using outside a track and which is destined to see...

Your pictures of the stars

01 August 2001

All the pictures of the riders and legends that were at the Kent track

The new bikes of 2002 brought together

01 August 2001

From now until the big bike shows of Autumn, you’ll find an ever-growing section on motorcyclenews.com bringing together all the new bikes of 2002. Each time we break news of a 2002 bike, we’ll also add it to this new section. That way you can see all the bikes together. Why not check it out now? There may be some you’ve missed from the Gilera 600 and 2002 FireBlade to a Laverda scooter and...

Your pictures of the ladies

01 August 2001

All the pictures of the lovely ladies that provided such a distraction from the racing.

Your pictures of the fans

01 August 2001

A selection of the best pictures of the crowds and atmosphere at Brands Hatch

Ask Schwantz

01 August 2001

We’re interviewing GP legend Kevin Schwantz on Wednesday, and here’s your chance to take part. If you have a question, e-mail it to us now and we’ll put the best of them to the man himself. E-mail...

Suzuki GSX750F

29 July 2001

THE 1989–1997 model was almost instantly dubbed ” The Teapot ” when its overly-organic styling was revealed to a categorically nonplussed public. When a bike is not only named after a hot beverage,...

BIMOTA MANTRA

29 July 2001

IT seems a little cruel to come down hard on the Bimota Mantra, now that the Rimini firm has closed its factory gates for the last time. But with a motorcycle so astonishingly odd-looking as this...

Brands Hatch Sunday road and weather report

29 July 2001

THE roads near Brands Hatch are busy, but not as bad as last year. That’s the report from the Kent police, who have learned lessons from last year to manage the traffic and hopefully avoid the worst...

MOTO GUZZI CENTAURO

29 July 2001

A duck-billed platypus of a bike. Named after a mythical beast that was half-horse/half-human, the Centauro was more half Quasimodo, half Pat Butcher. The bulky one-piece tank/body device cloaked a...

TT pubs open all hours

29 July 2001

If you want more reasons to go back to the TT after this year’s cancellation, how does 24-hour drinking grab you? After years of experimenting with longer opening hours at weekends, the concept of...

BIMOTA TESI

29 July 2001

Strange that a firm capable of building some of the most highly regarded and downright beautiful machines of the 1970s and ’80s could have wobbled so royally in the ’90s. But it was the trip down the...

Whit drums up support at Brands

29 July 2001

THE usual “Saturday night at Brands” drunken revelry was kicked off last evening with a marathon gig by Jamie Whitham’s band the Po Boys. Playing a two and a half hour set to a crowd of nearly 5000...

NORTON COMMANDER

29 July 2001

THE British motorcycle industry’s broad expanse of flesh has long been pock-marked by the scars of many a cosmetic disaster. Who would want to remember, yet who can possibly forget the Norton Hi-rider...

More Sunday scenes from Brands

29 July 2001

COULDN’T get along to Brands today to sample some of its legendary atmosphere? Here’s a few pictures to let you know what was going on off (and above) the track. Don’t forget you can send us your own...

Ugly bikes – an anthology

29 July 2001

A wise man, quite possibly Jesus, once said: ” One man’s meat is another man’s poison. ” And he wasn’t just talking about lunch. He was talking about differences in taste. Most of us have a rough...

For sale: 8000 cheap air-horns

29 July 2001

THE man who turned up at Brands Hatch World Superbikes with 10,000 boating-spec fog horns for sale seemed to have the world at his feet… With a crowd of over 100,000 predicted and a monopoly on the...

Kawasaki ZRX1200R

29 July 2001

1 All it needs is Eddie Lawson on board to match that classic colour scheme 2 The screen is about as aerodynamic as a house, but it keeps some wind off 3 The suspension is the stiffest of the three –...

How good is your bike’s security?

29 July 2001

Got a good alarm? A dodgy disc lock? A u-lock that fits under the seat of a CBR?Fellow riders need your advice and here’s an easy way can share it:Click on the ” PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ” link in the...

Aprilia MOTO 6.5

29 July 2001

IN the 1990s, when designers became demi-gods, it was no surprise that adventurous Aprilia should commission the pre-eminent doodler of that decade, Philippe Starck, to design a bike. The result...

Honda CBX550

29 July 2001

THIS thing was the unwitting precursor of the acclaimed CBR600. It was the cutting-edge tool of its day, which was probably August 30, 1980, before the Kawasaki GPz550 appeared and wiped the floor...

BMW R1200C

29 July 2001

James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) rode one of these so they must be cool – right? But then James Bond (Roger Moore) also had a mini-sub with a plastic crocodile’s head on it and it didn’t exactly open up the market for reptilian-lamped off-roaders. This bauble of a bike is some sort of tribute to the great American cars of the 1950s and ’60s, which is where its inherent problems lie. The thing looks...