2015

Video: Mugen Shinden ridden

28 December 2015 by MCN News

This summer the Mugen Shinden scored a win in the one-lap TT Zero race in the hands of John McGuinness with an average speed of 119.28mph. The Mugen, which first appeared at the TT back in 2012, is...

Video: MV Agusta F3 RC vs MV Agusta F4 RC onboard

23 December 2015 by MCN News

Go onboard with MCN road testers Michael Neeves and Adam Child as they lap the Tazio Nuvolari circuit in northern Italy onboard the £31,000 homologation special MV Agusta F4 RC and £13,299 MV Agusta...

Video: Energica Ego 45 first ride

21 December 2015 by MCN News

The Energica Ego 45 is an electric superbike made in Modena, Italy, which produces 100Kw of power – similar to a 600cc sportsbike, but also weighs 280kg, thanks to the batteries. If you don’t get too...

Video: Ducati 959 Panigale first ride

11 December 2015 by MCN News

The new £13,250 Ducati 959 Panigale has the unenviable task of following up the utterly brilliant 899 Panigale, and with those exhausts the 959 was instantly on the back foot the moment the bike was...

Triumph Street Twin launch

07 December 2015 by Michael Neeves

Triumph has announced more facts and figures for the Street Twin today: The 900cc ‘high torque’ motor makes a claimed 54bhp@5900rpm. It has 22% more power and 18% more torque than the old air-cooled...

Triumph Street Twin launch incoming

04 December 2015 by Michael Neeves

MCN will be riding Triumph’s new Street Twin at its world launch in Valencia on Monday. The Street Twin was unveiled at the end of October, as part of Triumph’s new five-bike modern classic range,...

Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin launch

04 December 2015 by Michael Guy

Africa Twin: Day two roundup – Off-road Following a day of road riding yesterday (scroll down), today saw us taking the new Africa Twin onto the rough stuff to really put its off-road credentials to...

First Ride: Ducati 959 Panigale

26 November 2015 by Michael Neeves

There are lots of questions to answer about the new £13,250 Ducati 959 Panigale. Does it now go like a superbike with its bigger engine? Why has Ducati replaced the 899, anyway? And the biggest...

Ducati 959 Panigale first ride incoming

23 November 2015 by Michael Neeves

MCN will be riding Ducati’s new 959 Panigale at its world launch at Valencia on Wednesday. The new machine replaces the 899 Panigale, which is MCN’s 2015 and 2014 ’Best Sportsbike (Middleweight)’...

First Ride: Indian Scout Sixty

22 November 2015 by Andy Downes

This is the new entry-level Indian Scout Sixty which is already heading for dealers and will cost £8999. The bike is heavily based on the existing 1133cc Indian Scout model but has a new 999cc engine,...

BMW C650 Sport and C650 GT first ride

28 October 2015 by Liam Marsden

BMW have updated their C650 Sport and C650 GT maxi-scooters for 2016 with styling changes alongside suspension and clutch revisions in an attempt to differentiate the two models. In the flesh the...

Michael Rutter versus the 'too-fast-for-the-road' class of 2015

16 September 2015 by Performance Bikes

oly Christ, I thought I was going to die!” When the man uttering the sentiment is one Michael Rutter Esq., whose CV of road racing achievements is longer than most people’s life story, you take...

9 March 1994 – Honda RVF750 RC45 – the first test

16 September 2015 by Kevin Ash

In the first test of Honda’s ready-to-race RC45, MCN’s Kevin Ash pitted it against the already legendary forerunner it was destined never to eclipse. Did we call it right? Taller, lighter, roomier,...

Ariel Ace: full test + extra pics of the best British bike you can buy

14 September 2015 by MCN

It seems odd to say it, but there’s never been a better time to buy a British bike – and there’s possibly never been a better British bike than the Ariel Ace. hile revived Triumph, Norton and Brough...

BMW superbike shootout in Valencia

09 September 2015 by Adam Child

Valencia is currently reverberating to the sound of BMW S1000RR superbikes, as six different racing incarnations are put through paces in BMW’s annual superbike mega-test. I started the day on the...

Is the R1M worthy of entering Yamaha's hall of homologation heroes?

05 September 2015 by Performance Bikes

The new R1M joins the OW01 and R7 in Yamaha’s exclusive homologation specials club. But just how harmoniously does the tuning fork’s latest fit in? he R1M is the sexiest limited-edition bike to emerge...

MCN Plus - 600s Group Test: Remember us?

02 September 2015 by Adam Child

The stars of the supersport class are here to remind you just how brilliant they really are. Sports 600s have been a little overshadowed recently. Featuring old technology compared to their...

Indian Scout: New v old (very old)

27 August 2015 by Ped Baker

Long term test report Last week I got the chance to meet up with the grandaddy of my 2015 Indian Scout long-term test bike, an original 101 model from 1928. Owned by Tim Berry, a member of the Indian Rider Motorcycle Club,...

Video: Yamaha R1 long-term report

24 July 2015 by MCN News

Our Senior Road Tester Michael Neeves has covered roughly 3000 miles on his long-term 2015 Yamaha R1 since it arrived earlier in the year. What does he think to the bike after a few track days and...

Victory TT race bike ridden

23 July 2015 by Adam Child

I was on the start line for the inaugural TT Zero race back in 2009 and, like many others, I wrongly sniggered at some of the prototype bikes. Rob Barber won the race with an average lap speed of...

Suzuki GSX-S1000F first impressions

02 July 2015 by Emma Franklin

If you fancy all the flat barred comfort of a super-naked but you’re put off by the lack of wind protection, the new Suzuki GSX-S1000F could be just what you’re looking for. It’s identical to Suzuki’s...

First Ride: Suzuki GSXS1000F

01 July 2015 by Emma Franklin

We’re on the golden Isle of Man today, to ride a lap of the TT course on Suzuki’s new sportsbike. As first revealed at the Cologne Motorcycle Show last year, Suzuki are keen to make it clear that this...

LIVE: Goodwood Festival of Speed

22 June 2015 by Steve Hunt

This year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed (June 25-28) will see the world’s biggest stars of two wheels come together for a spectacular celebration of performance. Headlining the autograph hunter’s...

BMW Scrambler makes debut

19 June 2015 by MCN

BMW reveals concept bike, but the real thing is expected soon Ignore the surfboard hanging off the side, the eccentric paint job and concept bike tag, because this is the shape of the forthcoming BMW...

Free six-month subscription for 2010 sportsbike owners

19 June 2015 by Andy Davidson

MCN are offering 2010 superbike owners the chance to get your bike in the paper and nab a free six-month subscription. And all you’ve got to do is spend the day with us! If you own one of the below...

Long-term test: 2015 Yamaha R1

27 May 2015 by Michael Neeves

I’ve just collected my new R1. I’ve had super nakeds for the past few years, so it’s the first race replica I’ve had for a long time. I love super nakeds, but I want to do more trackdays with my mates...

FASTEST TEST EVER: Kawasaki H2 v Suzuki Hayabusa v Yamaha YZF-R1

21 May 2015 by Adam Child

Kawasaki’s H2 is the quickest production bike in history, but can it eclipse the Hayabusa and R1 on the ultimate road trip? The Kawasaki H2 is choking on its leash, the throttle straining in my right...

City Slickers: HONDA CB125F v KTM 125 Duke v KYMCO CK1 125

20 May 2015 by Liam Marsden

The city commute is a daily marathon of torturous endurance, but has Honda’s new CB125F got the measure of its higher – and lower–priced urban rivals? Three abreast on the start line of the London...

Video: Kawasaki H2R 'Flat Out'

20 May 2015 by Adam Child

We’re confident the H2R is going to break 200mph; after that we’re into the unknown. We speed tested the road-going Kawasaki H2 just a few weeks ago and it kicked sand in the face of the Suzuki’s...

Superbike exotica shootout

18 May 2015 by Michael Neeves

We’re in Alcarras in Spain pitching the special version of the bike that won our recent superbike shoot-out, against two of it’s newest rivals. So here we are; the Yamaha R1M versus the Aprilia RSV4...

First Test: Ducati Panigale R

15 May 2015 by Adam Child

I’m stood in pitlane with £28,995 of Ducati Panigale R staring at me with barely contained aggression. Opportunities to ride exotica of this calibre are few and far between; make no mistake, this is a...

Long-Term Report: F800R

14 May 2015 by Steve Hunt

My intention this year is to ride. Having spent last year working on a customising project that saw my bike spend more time on ramps than it did on the road, this time I want something rideable,...

Long term report: Yamaha MT-09 Tracer

13 May 2015 by Andy Downes

Run in and ready for the year ahead The Yamaha MT-09 Tracer is already one of the best-selling bikes of the year in the UK with nearly 1500 sold and Yamaha UK searching for another boat load to fulfil...

Long-term report: KTM RC390

13 May 2015 by Emma Franklin

A Chinese sage once said: “The sparrow may be small but it has all the vital organs” and, as I spend more time with the KTM’s pint-sized supersport, I’m discovering this maxim is pretty much true for...

Long-term test: KTM 1050 Adventure

13 May 2015 by Tony Hoare

Those who buy the printed version of MCN that’s published today will see me extolling the virtues of the KTM 1050 Adventure, a bike that doesn’t need to be cleaned every time it gets dirty. Running...

Video: Aprilia RSV4 RF

12 May 2015 by Michael Neeves

The RSV4 was always one of the best road going superbikes because it had really nice handling, it was very agile and had some of the best electronics on any superbike. What it lacked before was...