2005
Naked bikes on the rise
11 March 2005 by
Big naked bikes have become the new must-have, with the wealth of new machines launched recently making the category one of the only growth areas in new bike sales. Cold weather in February saw total...
New bike every 3 months
11 March 2005
Fancy a new bike delivered to your door every three months? A new leasing scheme offers exactly that for as little as £250 a month for an SV1000S. All you have to do is commit for a minimum of three...
Video: 1000cc group test
04 March 2005
This week’s MCN – out from Wednesday March 9 – features our exclusive group test of the all-new K5 GSX-R1000 versus the ZX-10R, Blade and R1. We travelled to the south of France to pitch the bikes...
Win a K1200S
04 March 2005
If you fancy winning yourself a brand new BMW K1200S then make sure you pop along to a BMW dealer on March 12 for the launch of it’s 2005 bikes. All of BMW’s new bikes will be in dealers on March 12...
Test ride new MT-01
01 March 2005
Fancy trying out Yamaha’s head-turning new MT-01? Demo rides are being made available from Saturday, March 5 – its official dealer launch day. Among the dealers advertising MT-01 test rides this...
Deals on new Guzzis
25 February 2005
Get your hands on a new Moto Guzzi before the end of March and not only will you get it interest free but you could win a trip to Italy. The Italian firm is offering an interest free finance package...
Two new Piaggios
18 February 2005
Piaggio has announced the arrival of two new scooters for 2005, the latest in the Vespa family and a new member of the X family with vast acres of storage space. The new Vespa LX will replace the...
Video: MZ SF first test
18 February 2005
You can see the MZ 1000SF in action during the world first test ride by downloading the video, below. MCN’s Matt Wildee flew out to Malaga in Spain to test the bike, and the full report will be in...
GSX-R1000 group test
18 February 2005
MCN’s crack road testers are off riding Suzuki’s new GSX-R1000 against its hottest rivals and you can read our full verdict in the March 9 issue of MCN. You’ll be glad to know we’ve left our...
Mad Fireblade fighter
18 February 2005
German bike firm Spaehn Racing has launched the latest in it’s range of customised naked bikes, offering styling to rival some of the top production machines. The Deep Bull is based on a Honda...
Video verdict: 05 Hornet
11 February 2005
MCN’s Trevor Franklin has been testing the updated 05 version of Honda’s Hornet 600F. You can read his full, exclusive report in MCN – out on Wednesday February 16, 2005 (alongside our world first...
Video verdict: MZ1000SF
11 February 2005
MCN’s Matt Wildee was in Malaga, Spain earlier this week a world first ride on MZ’s new 1000SF. You can read his full report and see great action pictures in MCN out on February 23. We’ll be adding...
Peugeot cuts prices
04 February 2005
Peugeot has cut the prices of some of Britain’s biggest selling scooters. The 50cc Speedfight is now under £1600 while the 100cc Vivacity is under £1500. Peugeot is also now offering a 2-year...
First test: MZ 1000SF
04 February 2005
The fuel injection is still snatchy (though better than on the S) and can be confused with a big handful at low revs. Vibration can prove intrusive and tiring and the generator cover can cook your...
Win trip to Aprilia launch
04 February 2005
An official club for Aprilia owners has been launched with the offer of an all-expenses-paid trip to the world launch of the new Aprilia Pegaso Strada for one lucky member. The club says it is just...
Video: Malaguti Drakon
04 February 2005
We’ve been testing funky new Malaguti Drakon that takes the naked bike trend to 16-year-olds everywhere. MCN road tester Adam Child reckons this little geared 50 is very cool. The braced swingarm,...
05 Barrus range on test
04 February 2005
Motorcyclenews.com has been testing a new range of bikes imported by Barrus, including the Italian Malaguti Spider Max, Phantom Max and Drakon, Reiju’s RS2 Matrix and SMX 125, and the Moto Roma Urban...
New bikes from Barrus
04 February 2005
Barrus, importer of Malaguti, Reiju, Moto-Hispania and Moto-Roma, has unveiled new bikes and ambitious plans for the next year. The firm outlined its plans on Wednesday, February 9, and gave...
Enfield offers retro trials
01 February 2005
Demand from UK riders has prompted Royal Enfield to go intor production with a trials-styled Bullet Sixty-5 after previewing it at last year’s NEC bike show. The UK special is based on the perennial...
2005 price guide
01 February 2005
MCN has put together a price guide for the key bikes in 2005 and you can download it by clicking the link below. There are a number of price rises this year but there are also plenty of bargains to...
Sportiest moped ever?
01 February 2005
MCN man Matt Wildee has just stepped off the new Derbi GP1 scooter and reckons it could be the coolest 50 yet. Wildee called back from the launch of the scooter in Spain and raved about the handling,...
Indian bike sales boom
01 February 2005
India’s second-biggest bike maker sold almost as many bikes in January 2005 as the entire UK bike industry sold in all of last year. Bajaj sold 132,028 motorcycles in the month. The total number of...
CB13S debuts in London
28 January 2005
Honda’s new half-faired muscle bike – the CB1300S – will make its worldwide debut with the opening of the MCN London Motorcycle Show on Saturday.The faired version of the CB1300 is inspired by 1980’s...
Rocket III recalled
21 January 2005
Triumph has issued a safety recall of around 1000 Rocket IIIs after recognising a fault in the shaft-drive which, it admits, “may result in a seized rear wheel.” Letters to owners explain...
Suzuki prices go down
21 January 2005
Suzuki has cut the price of the GSX-R600, Bandit 1200 and 1200S and revealed the price of the new K5 version of the GSX-R1000. The GSX-R6 is down £250 to £6599 while the Bandit 1200s are down by £550...
Piaggio Fly lands
21 January 2005
Piaggio has launched 50cc and 125cc versions of its new Fly in the UK. The 50cc has a two-stroke engine with a two-way catalytic converter, the 125 is a four-stroke. Both use a rigid steel tube frame...
Harley's new Street Rod
21 January 2005
Harley-Davidson has launched three new models for 2005 including an 120bhp VRSCR Street Rod, a dirt-track Sportster XL 883R and a limited edition 15th Anniversary Fat Boy. The latest member of the...
Global bike sales boom
14 January 2005
You might already know that China is the world’s biggest exporter of motorcycles. But which nation has risen to number two? Is Japan still up there? Italy or Germany perhaps? How about fast-rising...
MT-01 to arrive in Feb
14 January 2005
If you’ve been eagerly following the progress of the Yamaha MT-01 then you’ll be pleased to know that it’ll be here in a matter of weeks. Yamaha UK has just said that the 1600cc ‘torque-sports’ bike...
Sports sales stay strong
14 January 2005
Definitions (as used by the MCIA): Adventure Sport (including Supermoto) These bikes are similar in style to Trail/Enduro motorcycles but are predominantly designed and capable for on-road use only.
GSX-R classes begin
07 January 2005
UK dealers and race teams have been given a head-start in tuning techniques for the 2005 GSX-R1000. Suzuki is staging a series of four specialist Yoshimura GSX-R Seminars this month across Europe.
BMW unveils R1200ST
07 January 2005
BMW has released the full details of its R1200ST sports tourer and said you can expect it to arrive in dealers by March. The bike, which will cost £9060otr, succeeds the R1150RS and takes the engine...
Race-rep Speedfight
01 January 2005
Peugeot has released a new Speedfight with a race-replica paintjob. But instead of aping MotoGP or World Superbikes, it’s to commemorate the introduction of the Peugeot 307 World Rally car. The...