Another week, another launch, and this time it’s the turn of Baron von Tumble to offer musings on KTM’s 1290 Super Adventure S and 1090 Adventure. Hopefully by now you will have clocked the 1290 R in Peru, and its sister model is more of an everyday, techno-laden Tarmac... Read more
This wasn’t just a press launch. KTM’s 1290 Super Adventure R gig in Peru was also a deeply rewarding challenge. Riding 200km in a desert on Dakar terrain, aboard a 160bhp, 240+kg adventure behemoth in 40-degree heat sounds like a job best left for Sam Sunderland, not some balding... Read more
With the exception of Fatima Whitbread, brutal has never been associated with beautiful: a motto perfectly suited to Yamaha’s MT-10. An ingenious concoction of R1-derived sportiness and sheer naked lunacy has given us way more to cogitate than its Johnny Five aesthetics, proving that beauty isn’t purely skin deep.... Read more
Hours after spanking the 2017 Triumph Street Triple RS in Barcelona, some of us were on a Vueling flight from BCN to Seville for the press launch of Ducati’s SuperSport. I wouldn’t recommend Vueling to your worst enemy – always late, filthy planes, making Ryanair seem like a trip... Read more
Head down, gut nestling the tank, needle canoodling the limiter at 145mph before braking for Catalunya’s turn one, I could well have been racing a pukka supersport weapon. But I wasn’t. I was riding the 2017 Triumph Street Triple RS, and it was dishing out some unbelievable tekkers. ... Read more
I suppose I could compare Triumph’s Bonneville Bobber to mushrooms. Not those naughty magic ones, just simple everyday mushrooms that provide unconditional taste sensations to billions of people around the world. Having spent years neglecting ‘shrooms through a bizarre trepidation, I eventually sampled the blighters well into my 20s... Read more
Working weekends is sometimes acceptable, particularly when it involves pulling mahoosive wheelies and shredding rubber in sunnier climes, and post-ride Spanish-spec G&Ts. You know, the goldfish bowls? As the front wheel returned from Earth’s troposphere for the umpteenth time that day, the 2017 Yamaha MT-09 convinced me this notion... Read more
It’s a cold, crisp November afternoon. The autumnal leaves garnish the countryside, or something. I’m bloody freezing and my willy has disappeared. Perhaps the über-vented Alpinestars ankle boots weren’t the sensible option. It’s okay though, because I look cooler than fresh ice cream smeared over the other side of... Read more
Better later than never – and filmed primarily at the glamorous resort of JHS Racing – here’s our comprehensive review of Yamaha’s MT-10 in video formateo. Baron blagged his way onto the world press launch for 44T near Almeria in Spain and came back incoherently jizzing over its crossplane... Read more
44Teeth jetted off to Almeria in southern Spain for the European press launch of the spanking new Yamaha MT-10, and a spot of sausage tapas. It’s not a naked R1 (the MT, not the tapas). Firstly, let’s address the looks. It’s caused great debates amongst the 44t social interwebs... Read more
It’s always nice to walk away from a press launch without speeding fines or jail visits, particularly mischievous motorcycles that entice hooliganism with minimal provocation, very like the Hypermotard. Although niche in many eyes, Ducati’s fun-packed stunter has always been a personal favourite since model’s inception: that original air-cooled... Read more
Love them or loathe them, modern retros are currently booming. Some major manufacturers are even declaring the segment as priority and, while the hipster fashion over function theme isn’t everyone’s cuppa, the scene has opened motorcycling to a broader audience. Ducati unveiled the Scrambler brand-within-a-brand at the end of... Read more
