When word got out about the RS 660, we were all pretty gosh darn excited. We rode the RS last year and, despite not being able to firmly place it in a particular motorcycle genre, were pretty impressed with its peachy little engine, the way it handled and its space-age tech. That said, the...
When you’ve sold as many Monsters as Ducati have – more than 350,000 – you know you’re onto a winner. But whilst the Monster 1200 always seemed to be exactly what it said on the tin (a Monster), its smaller sibling, the Monster 900 never seemed quite as monstrous as I’d have liked….
BMW has finally given the S 1000 R a long-overdue update; it’s 5.1kg lighter, it’s got a new chassis and yes, before you ask, it does include the newer spec S 1000 RR based engine… sort of. Ok, it’s not in the same 200bhp+ state of tune and you don’t get shifting cams, but essentially, it’s…
They don’t come much meaner (or redder) than this pairing. Our pick of 2015 – Ducati’s 1299 Panigale and the all-new Yamaha R1 – have been engrossed in a 44T style head-to-head skirmish over the past few weeks and the results stunned us. I never thought I’d say this,... Read more
You should know by now we’re massive fans of the Yard Built project: Yamaha’s efforts at working with Europe’s top custom bike builders/designers without the prerequisite (and over-exuberant) hipster beards and angle grinders. This is the XJR1300 CS-06 Dissident by Portuguese outfit, ‘it roCkS!bikes’ Celebrating 20 years of the... Read more
The glitz and glamour of being a support race at World Superbikes? Yeah, something like that. A rumbling horde of 899s rolled into to Donington Park for a Bank Holiday weekend of Ducati TriOptions Cup action, although the action started long before circuit activity. With organisers keen to clamp... Read more
He’s not quite the proverbial housewives’ pin-up favourite but there isn’t a bad word spoken about John McGuinness. Morecambe’s finest lines-up with Honda for a millionth successive year and is fighting fit ahead of the season – in the run-up to last year’s TT, McGuinness badly damaged his wrist... Read more
That is the question. Without surprise, Kawasaki’s H2R has been launched amidst a whirlwind of fascination across the globe – and rightly so. The 326bhp-supercharged Ninja has blazed new standards for hyperbikes – or whatever they call them nowadays – and is, apparently, capable of over 225mph in the... Read more
This 125cc skirmish was, without doubt, one of the most entertaining motorcycle-based days we’ve both encountered. Hopefully you’ve perused the prose, now it’s time for video format. A trip to Cheddar Gorge and the Mendip TT roads highlighted just how rapid the Aprilia RS125 was – but also how... Read more
Anyone who has attempted motocross will know it’s the toughest, most brutal sport on earth. The blend of physical (and mental) exertion required is unrivalled, and only a bout with Tyson will be more painful the morning after. But it’s also immense fun regardless of experience, with fundamental bike... Read more
Two-stroke versus four-stroke; nostalgia versus contemporary; a noisy, belligerent pain in the cock versus a leisurely lifestyle and a soundtrack that resembles a Flymo. Yes, we’re talking Aprilia’s RS125 versus KTM’s RC125. The RC125 is the pick of the four-stroke learner brigade. While the Japanese variants are smoother and... Read more
Wales. It’s, well, Welsh. For us urban dwellers, more used to blindly ambling the metropolitan streets, buried in a bigger than big iPhone 6, preaching sensationalism to the world about just how good their mochafrappacino was that morning… Wales is not top of their Google Calendar agendas. With the... Read more
Hidden among the feast of factory superbikery at last week’s annual Honda/Dunlop pre-TT test at Castle Combe was this beauty: John McGuinness’ privately-run superstock Fireblade. On closer inspection of his steed, I noticed she wasn’t wearing the almost de rigueur golden suspension, instead dressed in purple kit – Maxton.... Read more
I’m almost certain a dog poo sandwich seasoned with semtex and barbed wire would have been tastier than the weekend I’ve endured. The second round of the Ducati TriOptions Cup rolled into Oulton Park alongside British Superbikes and, while it was generally a good meeting for my P&H Motorcycles/Carl... Read more
