Table of contents for 27 September 2023 in MCN

THIS WEEK ‘For Ducati road safety is really important’ Ducati are once again pushing the boundaries of high-tech electronics in a bid to improve motorcycle safety with a new system designed to communicate with other vehicles. Ducati were the first motorcycle manufacturer to have their entire range equipped with Cornering ABS and to introduce Blind Spot Detection via a rear-mounted radar, now the Italian giant has unveiled a prototype of what they call their ‘Vehicle Communication’ system. Also referred to as ‘V2V’, it's based on its bikes electronically communicating with other compatible road users, and flashing dash warnings in specific situations if unseen hazards arise. The unveiling took place at Lausitzring, Germany, at an event organised by the ‘Connected Motorcycle Consortium’, an international group of manufacturers Ducati joined in 2016…

Warwickshire Police have been tackling motorcycle theft with the help of a propellor plane flown by the National Police Air Service (NPAS). Rather than opting for the more publicised helicopter support, the aircraft was deployed above Bedworth and Nuneaton on Sunday, September 10 to help search for two suspects connected with the theft of a motorcycle from Bedworth. Extra officers were already on the ground, following a recent run of motorcycle-related thefts and robberies. The team responded to a 999 call reporting the incident was in progress, as well as identifying suspects on two motorcycles. With the riders failing to stop for police, the air support was called in. “Last week I reassured the public that we were putting measures in place to tackle this ongoing problem and asked for…

THIS WEEK The Welsh urban 20mph speed limit introduced on September 17 is under scrutiny, with an online petition in opposition attracting a record number of signatories. Wales became the first UK country to impose a blanket 20mph speed limit in urban areas, down from the usual 30mph. Welsh ministers said a 20mph limit would reduce deaths and encourage people to walk or cycle. It has been welcomed by some including Gareth Parry, whose brother Keith was killed after being hit by a car travelling at 30mph. But it's also provoked opposition. An online petition in opposition had attracted over 276,000 signatures – far in excess of the 10,000 required for the issue to be debated by Welsh ministers. ‘A petition has attracted over 276,000 names’ Some motoring organisations have…

WHAT'S NEW IN TECH? Variable valve timing (VVT) and lift technology have become one of the key weapons in the armouries of engineers tasked with improving emissions and fuel economy of combustion engines. A new patent application shows Piaggio's R&D team are developing a low-cost take on the idea, using a single-cylinder SOHC engine similar to the one already used on the MP3 300 and Vespa GTS 300, with the latter specifically included in the illustrations. VVT is still relatively rare on small-capacity, low-cost options. The main exception is Yamaha's VVA (Variable Valve Actuation) system, as used on the R125, XSR125, and MT-125, and it's that Yamaha design Piaggio builds upon. Like VVA, Piaggio's design is for single overhead cam (SOHC), single-cylinder engines with four valves, adding the ability to…

Send your first bike pics to: yourpics@motorcyclenews.com My first road bike in 1983. I rode it everywhere… it was my first real taste of freedom. I've had 70 bikes since. Phil Girling My fourth bike and my first ‘big’ bike – the 1998 GPZ900R. I am lucky enough to own five bikes now. Phil Girling Rebuilt this from a box of parts as it was all I could afford, even though I dreamed of a DT50MX. Julian Lovell It was terrible and always broke down. Fast forward 20 years and I'm digital manager at Doble Motorcycles. Phil Stewart My brother and sister on his new Honda CB125. This photograph was taken in around 1975. Robin Tarplin Bought new when I was 16. Capable of 50mph as it was pre-restricted mopeds.…

Sept 30 – Oct 1 Kickback Dublin The Irish capital will be awash with custom motorcycles this weekend, as the Kickback show comes to Dublin's RDS. €15 on the door. www.kickbackshow.com  October 1 BSB Donington BSB returns to Donington Park for the penultimate round. Get your tickets online for a discount: £45 for the weekend. www.britishsuperbike.com September 30 Run What Ya Brung Push your bike to the limit at Northamptonshire's Santa Pod this weekend. Prices start at £62 for the day, and kids are just a fiver. santapod.co.uk September 27 Leon Haslam trackday The BSB star will be joining MSV at Donington to share his riding advice. Intermediate is sold out, but there are novice and advanced places. bike.msvtrackdays.com…

‘I designed it while in hospital’ The F4 very nearly never existed and much of its design is actually from a rather unlikely source. In one of his last interviews before his death in 2014, the F4's designer, Massimo Tamburini, told MCN how inspiration for the MV's look came about… “When I joined MV Agusta, Claudio Castiglioni asked me to come up with a new MV Agusta sportsbike. He was very precise about what he wanted and he told me ‘I don't want anything Japanese, I don't want a Ducati and I certainly don't want a 916!’ – which certainly wasn't an easy task,” remembered Tamburini. “Not long after this I was taken ill and had to go into hospital. I hate hospitals and when I found out that I…

FIRST RIDE The future is a funny old thing. Even though the landscape of emissions regulation and environmental policies is ever-changing, it's no secret that governments want to see more EVs on the road. All of the big players in the two-wheeled world have been honing their EV tech for years and Kawasaki, who are also keen advocates of alternative fuels, are the first to show their hand with an electric, production motorcycle. But, is the Z e-1 any good? New tech's not cheap It's impossible to start talking about the Kawasaki's riding experience without first mentioning the price. Considering that the Z e-1 is essentially a 125cc equivalent sharing similar levels of quality and componentry to other entrylevel machines, we did hope to see a reasonable RRP and not…

‘Nah, sorry mate. Your bike failed quarantine – we found some grass on it.” With that one sentence, the shipping depot officer crushes our dreams. Failing quarantine in Australia is like failing an MoT at a remote garage thousands of miles away from home. It means the inspection team found some dirt, you're going to have to pay through the nose for them to re-clean and re-inspect and who knows when they'll do it. 0Head spinning with incredulity, I cast my mind back to when I last saw our bike – it was Christmas Eve in Bali, where we spent hours at a car wash with three people cleaning it four times over with aciddripping toothbrushes. “No chance. Our Yamaha is immaculate…” I say. “Oh! Yours is the Yammy? Yeah,…

Year-round rider, B-road blaster, and performance bike fan I absolutely love taking passengers on a motorcycle. I've carried pillions on bikes of all shapes and sizes and couldn't wait to find out how the Suzuki GSX-8S stacks up. My two-up opportunity came during the late August Bank Holiday weekend, when my mum Nicki asked if we could ride over to the British Superbikes at Cadwell Park together and dodge the notoriously bad race day traffic. Having perched on the back seat of everything from a 2008 Honda Fireblade to Triumph's first generation Daytona 675R, and Suzuki's current SV650X to an early Kawasaki ZZR1400, she has sampled plenty of machinery and was the perfect person to provide pillion feedback on the 8S. “The smoothness of the engine was lovely, and the…

Axel Bassani is expected to be confirmed as Jonathan Rea's replacement at Kawasaki as early as this weekend. Michael Rinaldi also claims to have news coming very shortly. MCN has learned that Bradley Ray is likely to stay with MotoX Yamaha, although Honda could also be an option, while Tom Sykes and BSB's Tommy Bridewell were at Aragon for meetings regarding 2024. Puccetti are set to switch their WSB bike to Ducati. KTM and Kove in 2025 WSS move KTM will enter World Supersport in 2025 with its RC8, MCN has learned, likely with Jeffrey Buis who begins his KTM adventure next season in Supersport 300. China's Kove team is also set to move up the order. At AragonJohn McPhee scored points on his Ducati debut. Niki Tuuli escaped major…

“You should ask BMW how they feel about having Scott Redding as the best paid rider on the grid,” a somewhat sarcastic team member from a rival squad told MCN at the weekend. “It's cost an arm and a leg to move him from SMR to Bonovo.” That was following the confirmation that the former Ducati man transfers from one BMW squad to the other next year, while it also seems the German marque will enter both of its outfits as Reference (factory) Teams (as opposed to Bonovo being an Independent team) in order to have better choice over new parts. Redding's weekend on-track was a difficult one, in great pain with his right hand, arm and the side of his body after apparently falling from a ladder during a…

Not normally one to big up his title chances, Toprak Razgatlioglu recognises all is not lost in his quest for a second title before exchanging Yamaha for BMW at the end of the season. He took ten points out of Alvaro Bautista in Aragon on a track which suits the Ducati and does the opposite for Yamaha, even though questions are being asked about why the latter was the only manufacturer not to test there a few weeks earlier. Some say Toprak should have been allowed past teammate Andrea Locatelli in the early stages of Race 2; perhaps the fact he wasn't demonstrates that Yamaha felt Bautista was unbeatable – but surely the Spaniard would have had more pressure when his pit board said Razgatlioglu was second? It's definitely Bautista's…

With seven of the year's 11 dry races decided by 0.095s or less, Moto3 is supposed to be the class which delivers epic fights week after week. Yet Jaume Masia clearly didn't get the memo, as he claimed an emphatic triumph to draw level on points with title lead Dani Holgado after trailing his compatriot by 52 just three races ago. Now in his sixth full season in Moto3, Masia said: “I'm now at a point in my life when I'm able to adapt to any situation.” Scott Ogden crashed out of a point scoring position on the eleventh lap after qualifying an excellent fourth in wet conditions.…

ROUND 13 INDIA | MOTOGP KTM's Brad Binder and Jack Miller wasted the opportunity of a playing field-levelling new track to deliver the Austrian factory's first Sunday GP win of the season. After just 13 GPs KTM's title hopes melted away in the tropical heat. While Binder nabbed a pair fourths (Sprint and GP) his Sunday advance benefited from errors by Honda factory pair Marc Marquez and Joan Mir. Binder is deep into a two-year GP losing streak on the RC16. Despite being hugely hyped as a Sunday man, he and the 2023 KTM were again dismantled by Marco Bezzecchi on a year-old Ducati GP22. Three GP wins to Bez and zero for Binder so far. Is this benchmark a stark reminder of where Binder, Miller and KTM sit in…

WELCOME Sitting in an MCN morning meeting on the eve of Marc Marquez making his MotoGP race debut in 2013, I can clearly recall the buzz amongst the team. The most ruthless, talented and physics-defying rider from Moto2 was about to step into the lion's den – and we all knew it was going to be spectacular. But while his incredible cabinet-full of race wins and championship titles in the premier class have outshone the competition over the past decade, his popularity hasn't followed the pattern. He certainly has an army of followers, but even as pantomime villain and thorn in Rossi's side, it's never felt like he's really been afforded the adoration or following he deserves as one of the most talented riders ever to swing a leg over…

Kawasaki have published further details of their Honda CMX500 Rebel-rivalling Eliminator 500 range, which was first seen in June 2023 and will join the firm's line-up for 2024. The laid-back A2-friendly models will comprise a standard Eliminator, as well as an SE version, with both machines powered by a 451cc parallel-twin engine derived from the revvy 399cc lump found in the Ninja 400 and Z400 family. With bikes arriving in dealers from January, this engine is housed in a tubular steel chassis that again draws inspiration from the Ninja. The new Eliminator rolls on an 18in front and 16in rear wheel combination with cast rims, plus a low seat height of 735mm (45mm taller than the Rebel). If that's too high for you, a 715mm option is available, plus a…

‘The only thing we booked was the Eurotunnel’ Meet 27-year-old Ross Cheshire who's just returned from a trip to Asia, covering 28 countries in 28 days, having never ridden abroad before and only gaining his full licence last year! Aircraft fitter Ross, from Llangollen, did the 6000-mile marathon aboard his KTM 990 Adventure with mate Rif – Martin Riffel – who'd inspired him with a ride to Morocco last year. “I'd always wanted to do a trip like that,” Ross told MCN. “Martin said: ‘Do you fancy Istanbul?’ And, suddenly, we were going.” He continued: “The idea was to cross to Asia, over the Bosphorus. We called it ‘Bosphorus of Bust’ and even had some T-shirts made.” Although the main aim was Asia, another was to cover 26 countries in…

Scottish riding destination, The Bikers Cove has been praised by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) following a decade of fundraising. The café team were awarded a certificate of thanks, having raised £20,000 in support of RNLI Queensferry Lifeboat Station since 2012. “We want to thank everyone involved with The Bikers Cove and the wider Cove community,” Jacqui Horsburgh, Chair of the Queensferry RNLI Fundraising Branch said. “We are truly grateful to have them as our friends and neighbours and also for keeping our hard working volunteers fed and watered in some of the most challenging moments.” The team began raising money, having seen a crew out for hours on a difficult mission and discovering they were all volunteers. They have also put on a number of charity events since…

Determined biker Richard George has teamed up with BSA and the National Motorcycle Museum (NMM) to complete a restoration of his late father's 1957 BSA A10 – which began decades ago! The twin-cylinder Brit bike was handed down to Richard on condition that he got it back to a road-worthy condition, with the bike being a part of the family since the late 1960s. With the help of his brother Phil, Richard now plans to take part in the 2024 Distinguished Gentleman's Ride charity event on the finished machine, with BSA and the NMM helping the siblings complete the build. “I grew up with this motorcycle,” Richard said. “I remember watching my father and uncle ride it around the garden when I was young. “My dad spent thousands on it,”…

OUT AND ABOUT Ride further in 2023 with a little help from our one-stop event guide JUST BREW IT Ride out to Britain's best biking cafés THE DETAILS ● 7am-7pm bike nights once a month (more to come) ● A40, Eynsham, Witney, Oxfordshire OX29 4EF From the outside, you may be forgiven for mistaking the Kingsley Café in Oxfordshire for a car showroom, because once upon a time, that's what it was. But now, owner Damon Oorloff has transformed it into a café welcoming fans of all transportation devices! “We are not a biker's café, we're not a car café, we're for anybody with wheels,” says Damon. “I don't mind if they turn up in a tractor!” Damon started out restoring Land Rovers which is still in full flow today, but…

This year is the 83rd anniversary of the Pioneer Run, a rideout for pre-1915 motorcycles organised by Sunbeam MCC. Since its beginnings in 1930, only war and a handful of other national crises have prevented the run from taking place. Even though the 45-mile route may have changed slightly over the years, it's still on course to arrive at Brighton City Airport this Sunday in a glorious haze of oil smoke. The essentials If you want to join the run with a pre-1915 bike, download the online form and get entering! Club members pay £40 and UK-based nonmembers £68. Kicking off at 8am at Tattenham Corner and seen off by the Mayor of Epsom and Ewell, it's the largest gathering of pre-1915 motorcycles in the world and is certainly a…

Of course, while BMW's M1000RR and Honda's CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP may be the most successful superbike homologation specials in roads racing, cleaning up at this year's TT, they're not the only ones. Kawasaki ZX-10RR £24,799 Kawasaki's latest homologation special version of the long-WSB dominant ZX-10R Ninja, of which, like the Honda, just 500 are built, remains the machine of choice for the likes of Dean Harrison, boasts 201bhp, titanium conrods, lightweight pistons and forged Marchesini wheels. Yamaha R1-M £24,450 Yamaha's race-spec version of its R1 not only took Toprak to the 2022 World Superbike title but is also an occasional TT contender, as this year campaigned by James Hillier, was most recently updated in 2020, puts out 197bhp, has semi-active Öhlins suspension, carbon fibre bodywork, an alloy tank and uprated…

BIG READ Marc Marquez Eleven years ago a 20-yearold Marc Marquez made his MotoGP debut and it's fair to say that the racing world has never been the same since. From winning the title in his rookie year to becoming six-time MotoGP champ in the space of seven years, the Spanish maestro has also had to endure some horrific injuries. Now mid-way through the 2023 season, and no race win since Misano 2021, he faces the biggest crossroads of his life with a decision imminent as to whether he stays and tries to rebuild the once-dominant HRC squad or buys himself out of his contract and signs to ride a Ducati. MCN sat down with the 30-yearold to talk, past, present and future. MCN: What would happen if you had to…

All the right info Easy-to-read full colour, 4.3in TFT dash covers everything from range and riding mode to gauges for each battery. Smartphone connectivity is accessible via Kawasaki's app. Lightweight batteries One of the biggest challenges was finding the best compromise of battery size versus range. The dual lithium-ion batteries weigh at just 11.5kg each and are easy to access. Power up the boosters By pressing the e-Boost button, the Z e-1 gets up to a 15 second injection of power that allows for a 61mph top speed. In Road Mode with boost, the throttle pick-up is great fun.…

AUSSIE FACT FILE When it comes to riding in Australia, Melbourne is a good place to start. There are plenty of motorcycle rentals in the city, with bike hire starting at around $80 (£40) per day, plus we discovered that some of the best riding is in and around Victoria. Using firms like www.motorcyclerentalmelbourne.com.au you can choose from a range of adventure motorcycles, dirt bikes, cruisers and street bikes to tour the best of Australia including routes such as the Great Ocean Road. Flights to Melbourne currently cost from between £700 and £1700 depending on carrier, stop-overs and flight times. Brits can easily get an online visa which lasts 12 months and allows three months entry on each visit. You'll need your driver's licence and an international driver's permit to…

1282 miles ON TEST Tucano Urbano 2G Hydroscud gloves £139.99 Made for urban or scootercommuters and cyclists, these lightweight gloves are also approved for motorcycle use. For just over £139 you get a pair of heated gloves. That's a fair price, especially if you're only going to be using them in lighter weathers rather than in the depths of the cold months. They are Level 1 CE rated, with an extra protection plate over the scaphoid zone. There isn't any knuckle or finger armour and they are very lightweight for winter gloves which is great for ease of use, but makes you wonder whether they'd be enough in a spill. For short runs around town these gloves will suit well, and the battery life should be more than enough (12v…

BUYING USED EXPERT GUIDE TO BMW's K-series (the K stands for Kraftrad, or wheel power) were Germany's response to the everincreasing performance offered by Japanese touring rivals. The first Ks, the K100 and faired K100RS, were powered by an inline four motor that sat longitudinally in the frame. Narrow and with useful technology such as fuel-injection, twin cams and shaft drive, the K-series proved popular with BMW's touring fraternity. The series has evolved over the years and later even used an inline six. YOUR EXPERT Jon Urry is MCN used bike guru. He was on the launch of the very first K1200S, so was partly responsible for its delay in production… £3000-£5000 K1200R (2004-2008) BMW's power play puts the cat amongst the pigeons Released alongside the more powerful K1200S hyperbike, the…

NEW CREW A big reason behind Kent's desire to join the Mar-Train Yamaha project is that current McAMS Yamaha Technical Director Chris ‘Spanner’ Anderson also joins the team. Anderson has several years of experience with the R1 and was Tarran Mackenzie's crew chief during his championshipwinning campaign. He also has a strong relationship with Yamaha Europe and has appeared in the World Supersport paddock this year with Mackenzie. “He knows what to do with that bike to get the most from it,” said Kent. “I haven't worked with him before, but having come through GPs where you'd have a different crew chief every year, it's quite easy for me to build a relationship. Working with somebody like Spanner, with all his experience and success, fills me with confidence.” Alongside Anderson,…

SPORT ‘I don't know whether to be happy or angry’ You could so easily be reading this page and looking at a big picture of Danilo Petrucci standing atop the podium to celebrate his first-ever World Superbike win. That's how well things were going at MotorLand Aragon for the Italian and the Barni Spark Ducati team. Rapid on Saturday, he topped Free Practice 3. Then came the crunch point early in Superpole: on the entry to the ‘reverse Corkscrew’, Petrux lost the front. He slid, the bike slid. The bike hit the edge of the gravel and barrel rolled. Game over. It could so easily have been another front row qualifying performance and three podiums – and considering Alvaro Bautista crashed out of Race 1, it would have been Petrucci's…

Reporting from the heart of the World Superbike paddock TOP STORY Aragon 2023 was a perfect demonstration of just how impressive the combination of Alvaro Bautista and the Ducati Panigale V4R really is. It was also an example of just how horribly wrong things can go and how quickly a championship can change, not least when the man you happen to be fighting is Toprak Razgatlioglu. Heading to Portimao in Portugal next weekend, Bautista could wrap up his second consecutive title, but he knows better than anybody that it's by no means over yet. It was all going so well. Bautista was leading Saturday's Race 1 at the Aragon round in north-eastern Spain by one and a half seconds. But as the Spaniard picked up the throttle while dropping down…

Suzuki UK are hoping to attract more riders to the small-capacity scooter market with a new ‘click-to-buy’ service for their 125cc scooter range that allows riders to buy bikes online via their website, before picking up the purchase from a local dealership. Click and Collect will be available for the Address 125, Avenis 125, and Burgman Street 125EX, with only a £99 deposit required. To use the system, simply enter your postcode and select your preferred colour. Once you've chosen your nearest dealer, the showroom will complete the order as normal. Head to bikes.suzuki.co.uk for more information, and get clicking.…

Indian have announced 3% APR finance deals on the FTR and Scout range, until October 31, meaning PCP payments as low as £115 per month for a Scout or £119 for an FTR. For those not looking for finance, there is a choice between an extra £1000 trade-in allowance or £1000 towards official Indian parts, accessories or clothing. £1500 off a Norton You'll have to be quick, but Norton Motorcycles are currently offering £1500 off the 961 roadster line-up. The promotion runs until the end of this month and sees the revived British marque offer a £1500 deposit contribution to customers who buy on finance either the Commando 961 SP or the café racer Commando 961 CR. Head to nortonmotorcycles.com/range/offers for full details. Get protected British crash protection and accessories…

Final edition of KTM Super Duke R-based 1300 R ‘Masterpiece’ Remember the Brabus 1300 R? The £36,999 KTM 1290 Super Dukebased, limited edition special built by the usually car-focused German performance house? Well, it's back! Originally unveiled in February 2022, the first 1300 R came in red or black, and was limited to just 154 machines which reportedly sold out in minutes via KTM's online store. In response, a second run of updated bikes, the 1300 R ‘Edition 23’, was announced a year later, in February 2023. This time 290 individually numbered examples were built, in ‘Super Black’ of ‘Stealth Grey’, and again all sold out quickly. Apart from colour differences and a revised seat, both editions were virtually identical, being based on the KTM 1290 Super Duke R Evo's…

‘Alpine adventurers’ DUNCANCOSTIN AND ANNASZCZUKIECKA We both rolled over 5000 miles on our Europe trip in August. Seven countries in eight days… ‘Navigating Northumberland’ ANDREW BASHFORD Northumberland and the Scottish Borders, taken while having a break on the Otterburn Military Road. ‘Pennine way-hey!’ SIMON MCLAUGHLIN Great ride out through Longton, Brampton, Alston and up Hartside then down the other side towards Penrith. ‘Riding rainbows’ DAMIAN MCAFEE Proof that even on a damp day, the Picos de Europa are simply stunning! Very much worth a visit. ‘Birthday bash’ PAUL ROBINSON Helen Snape watching me get a good shot of Beaumaris Castle on our two-day birthday tour of Anglesey. ‘Thunderbird is go!’ MATT GUTTERIDGE On my way to Imst in Austria. It was the fourth day of my 12-day, 3000-mile ride to…

The F4 was the natural successor to the 916. However, as Tamburini had left Ducati, the task of creating the next Bologna superbike fell to Pierre Terblanche. In 2003 the world got the first glimpse of his vision of the future – the 999. And it didn't go down well… A radical departure from the flowing lines of the 916, the 999 was angular and it dropped the single-sided swingarm, and replaced the 916's lights with stacked projectors. Where the two-wheeled world was still swooning over the F4, the 999 received a very public, and bruising, snub. It was replaced by the 1098 after just four years, which looked a lot like a refreshed, modernised 916……

2013 Rookie sensation Marquez became the youngestever MotoGP race winner in his second race before entering a title fight with Lorenzo and Pedrosa. Marquez came out on top by four points after being on the podium in every race he finished to become the first rookie since Kenny Roberts (1978) to win the title. STATS Championship position – 1st Points – 334 Races – 18 Wins – 6 Podiums – 16 Poles – 9 Fastest laps – 10 2014 Total domination Record-breaking year saw him win the opening 10 races, the first to do so since Agostini in 1970, ending up with 13 victories – another new record. He became the youngest ever rider to win two consecutive premier class titles, and the first Honda rider to clinch the crown…

ESSENTIAL KIT 1700 miles ON TEST THE MCN SHOWCASE ESSENTIAL LIGHT GLOVES From three-season and heated gloves to summer, vented and off-road ● Great fit and comfort ● Well designed and constructed ● Waterproofing tested with pressure washer The Richa Armada GTX glove is intended as a waterproof all-rounder for the warmer months of the year. Although the fit was initially a bit tight across the knuckles, it loosened within a couple of hundred miles of use. The precurved design fits nicely around the bars, with a reinforced leather patch between thumb and forefinger and across the top of the palm providing a reassuring non-slip grip. Contact with controls and switchgear is suitably tactile and the touchscreen friendly pads on the ends of the fingers work as they should on…

MCN's website has expert opinion and buying advice on hundreds of used bikes, regularly updated and packed with insight. Here are three of the latest – visit motorcyclenews.com for more bikes and reviews. 2009-2013 BMW K1300GT Owners’ rating While the K1300GT's level of equipment scores a near perfect 4.9/5 from, owners, the overall mark is dragged down by its high initial purchase price tag and slightly iffy build quality. 2017-CURRENT BMW K1600GT Owners’ rating Owners are very happy, although build quality is called into doubt and blocked radiators and wheel bearings wearing out quickly are highlighted as issues riders need to keep an eye on. 2004-2008 BMW K1200S Owners’ rating There have been 39 reviews left online about the K1200S – and it doesn't seem to come out well, scoring…

The second round of this year's Bennetts British Superbike Championship initial Showdown phase, and the penultimate round of the series, take place at Donington Park this weekend. Glenn Irwin and Tommy Bridewell head to the Midlands circuit separated by just 0.5 points after a controversial weekend at Oulton Park, one which took their rivalry to a whole new level. Both men waged a war of words, while they also fought passionately – and hard – against each other on the circuit. The gloves are off now and there's clearly no love lost between the pair. As with all intense title fights, especially those involving two teammates, there is simply no way for the PBM riders to consider being friends at this stage. “It's all-out war,” Bridewell claimed at Oulton Park.…

ROUND 10 ARAGON | WSB Jonathan Rea definitely left Aragon confident that he did the right thing by switching to Yamaha next season – not that he needed further reminding. Despite his very best efforts, the third and final race on Sunday marked the first time since joining Kawasaki in 2015 that the Northern Irishman failed to finish on the Aragon podium, although earlier in the weekend he racked up his 26th Aragon rostrum to surpass his own Assen record for a single rider's most podiums on one circuit. The six-time title winner was confident after Friday although tyre wear across race distance, plus track temperatures of 40 degrees, really caught everybody out. It was a particular problem for Kawasaki; very much like a good Spanish rioja, heat is its…

ROUND 13 INDIA | MOTOGP India offered up little respite in the fortunes of Moto2's British contingent. All three riders were wiped out, with Jake Dixon and Sam Lowes losing out on almost certain podium challenges. Alonso Lopez was immediately a thorn in pole man Dixon's side. After being nerfed wide by the Spaniard at the race's first tune, the Briton then crashed out when coming into contact with the same man on the exit to Turn 4. While the Brit unleashed fury after a similar outcome at Silverstone, Dixon showed a more measured response on this occasion. “I stopped the bike well at Turn 4, but I still ended up on the ground,” said Dixon. “These things happen. I'm still learning to control myself in these moments and I…

SPORT Paddock veteran reports from the inaugural Indian round It was rare return to what MotoGP has been missing: Marc Marquez racing for a podium. This time on his familiar mount – the Repsol Honda RC213V. But anything will do. Even a Gresini Ducati GP22 in 2024. Love him or hate him Marquez brings a rare mix of pugnacious speed, appetite for victory and thrill seeking. And the Marquez/Honda pace for a podium third in the Sprint in India triggered hopes of more of the same in Sunday's race. At the same time it did little to silence talk of Marquez's early departure to Gresini Ducati after 11 seasons with Honda. Sadly the podium was not repeated as Marquez span out of fourth only to remount and recover from 16th…

There was a chilling reminder of Aprilia's disastrous overseas tour last year as Aleix Espargaro ran into mechanical issues, forcing him to retire from seventh. The Catalan's title challenge was undone by a lack of performance in tropical conditions last autumn. And he noted the high temperatures outside Delhi affected performance of the RS-GP all weekend. “What I noticed was the great amount of heat on the bike,” he said. Aprilia confirmed his engine hadn't failed. Espargaro and teammate Maverick Viñales still had the speed to contest the top five. Viñales was punted wide at the race's first turn, but recovered from 19th to eighth. Redressing bike balance was key to returning his confidence. “Today, we made it so I could lift the rear in braking, so I could brake…

With Pecco Bagnaia throwing more vital points into the gravel trap from second, Marco Bezzecchi inflicted maximum punishment on the reigning World Champion with one of the most one-sided victories you'll ever see. The Italian's crushing win by nearly nine seconds thrust him right back into the title race and he sits just 44 points behind blundering Bagnaia going to Japan this weekend. And that lead could would have shrunk further had Bezzecchi not been robbed of the chance to fight for the win in Saturday's Tissot Sprint. Bezzecchi instantly fell in love with Buddh's fast and technical layout and after leading Friday's opening practice he then surged to the first pole on Indian soil. But his Sprint hopes were ended less than 10 seconds after lights-out when Mooney VR46…