Table of contents for 11 January 2023 in MCN

‘You get a lot for your money, it feels like a big bike’ THREE SUPER COOL RETRO 125s GO HEAD-TO-HEAD THE BIG TEST Retros for the go slow There's been a quiet revolution in biking over the last couple of years, as many commuters ditch public transport and grab themselves a small capacity bike instead, often saving themselves money, while also massively boosting their travelling enjoyment and freedom. But whether you're a new rider or a cynical old biker, the latest crop of 125 retros has a lot to offer. We chuck three of the best at MCN's newest rider to get his pick. PAGE 29 TOP STORY Triumph lead the way to E100 British firm's Moto2 engine development fuels the inspiration to keep pushing deeper into replacement petrol development…

mcn.letters@motorcyclenews.com motorcyclenews motorcyclenews MCNnews Penalty needs to fit the crime I was delighted to read in your December 28 issue that the attempted theft of a judge's GS was foiled and the perpetrators brought to court. I was horrified, however, at the leniency of their punishment. One of them threatened a court security guard with a machete yet received only an 18 month supervision order. The police tell us that one of their main problems is knife crime, if someone is engaging in criminal activity whilst carrying a machete then a significant custodial sentence must ensue to disincentivise the carriage of such weapons. To put this in perspective, someone threatening a court guard with a machete in the USA would most likely have been shot! Motorcycle crime and knife crime…

KEY TO THE AREA ■ SOUTH WEST ■ CENTRAL ■ NORTH & SCOTLAND ■ SOUTH EAST Wednesday January 11 BIKE MEETS ■ The Old Stores, Pontblyddyn Mold, Flints. 6pm-9pm 07548224866 or Facebook: The Old Stores Motorbike cafe ■ Squires Cafe, Newthorpe, near Sherburn in Elmet, West Yorks. 01977-684618 or www.squires-cafe.co.uk ■ Loomies Moto Cafe, West Meon, Hants. Open till 9pm www.loomiescafe.co.uk ■ Brit Bike Night, Ace Cafe, Stonebridge, London. 6pm 020-8961-1000 or www.london.acecafe.com RALLY Dakar Rally, Saudi Arabia www.dakar.com Thursday January 12 BIKE MEETS ■ Vic Bikers Pub, Coalville, Leics www.vicbikerspub.co.uk ■ Iron Horse, Iron Horse Ranch House, Market Deeping, Lincs. 5pm-9pm 01778-346952 or www.ironhorseranchhouse.co.uk ■ MAG Bike Night, The Market, Elsecar, South Yorkshire. From 6pm 01226 742240 ■ Whistlestop Cafe, Whitby, North Yorks. 4.30pm-8.30pm Facebook: Whistlestop Cafe ■ Zoom…

THE BIG TEST THE MCN TEST •THE HOTTEST BIKES •EVERY WEEK £4599 Honda CB125R • 124.9cc, 4v, single • 15bhp/8lb.ft • £59 per month PCP £3649 Zontes G1 Scrambler 125 • 125cc, 4v single • 14bhp/10lb.ft • £61.53 per month PCP Joseph Wright, 22 MCN Videographer Height: 5ft8in Previous bike: Yamaha YBR125 Current bike: Kawasaki ZXR400 MCN tests all kind of machines, but you could argue 125s are the most important. They offer an affordable and practical means of transport for the masses, but for many they're also a gateway to a lifetime on bigger bikes. The latter is true for 22-year-old Joseph Wright, MCN's new videographer (and the reason the quality of our You Tube videos has stepped up a gear). He's at the beginning of his biking journey…

BIKING LEGENDS People who have shaped our world Annabel Matthews waved her chequered flag for the final time last October, bringing an end to a 30-plus year voluntary marshalling career. You could say that bikes run in the family; her grandad Harold Coppock sponsored riders in the 70s and 80s, including Steve Parrish and Steve Henshaw, dad Bryan Webb would mechanic, and mum Maureen Webb and Annabel would go along to watch. The family marshalled within the North Gloucestershire Motorcycle Club (NGMC), with Matthews starting in 1984. “Dad used to do track recovery, so I learnt how to drive doing that,” she laughs. The family joined the Heat Supercup Series in 1992 after helping out at Pembrey, with Matthews working in different roles including pit exit. “I was doing the…

‘Fun but also a lot of cash’ Quite simply one of the best fun trackday bikes I've ridden. On paper it's incredibly expensive and underpowered, but in reality it's a wonderful, blend of usable speed, superb handling, and race-ready stability. A wonderful chassis complemented by golden licks of Öhlins finery provide a great lesson in the art of corner speed and allow you to carry as much if not more pace than its 600 and litre-capacity counterparts It would be fantastic fun around tracks like Cadwell or Oulton Park, but no amount of extra cash is going to make up for its standard 72bhp power output and at faster tracks like Silverstone it will still feel like a sitting duck on the straights. What's more, ace as it is, you…

TRIED & TESTED MCN STAFF RATE THEIR RIDING KIT 2000 MILES The trend over the Last 10 years has seen leather jackets start to look less like riding apparel and more like something that's been handed down from your dad. Whilst I enjoy the trendy style of retro jackets, I'm always left feeling like they're somehow a bit less protective than the old-school sports-style jacket or two-piece suits that I used to wear. Which is why my eyes Lit up when discovered the RST S-1 CE jacket. Made from full-grain leather and featuring a sporty cut with Level-1 internal protectors as well as external shoulder armour, the S-1 meets the highest AAA rating for abrasion protection-which you'd expect for a leather biking jacket, wouldn't you? Yet the fact of the…

“I would say that the character of the bike is one of the big draws. I love the engine and it's superbly easy to ride and a lot of fun. In the summer, I went down to Spain on it along with two other Super Duke riders and I'll probably ride down there again this year. “I have to say, the bike has been absolutely fantastic. I had a Super Duke GT as well and I didn't have a problem with it. “At the back of my mind, however, I keep thinking I might get rid of it at the end of its warranty because they can be expensive machines to fix when things go wrong.”…

My father-in-law drove a bright yellow VW Polo for a while. He bought it new and was persuaded by the salesman as it was £500 cheaper, if my memory serves, than less controversial colours. He didn't care, citing it being easier to find in car parks amongst advantages in addition to the cut price… until, that is, he came to sell it on… The same is true of bikes, if not more so. My red VFR750F-P cost £500 more new than a green or purple one but I didn't hesitate for a second and, come sale time, had buyers lined up around the block. It's also true that colour usually matters more with ‘classic’ motorcycles than contemporary ones. VFRs and 916s almost always ‘have’ to be red; performance Kawasakis green,…

The owner of this 1993 Moto Guzzi California 1100 thought he'd got a bargain and wasn't too worried about a bit of a clutch slipping issue. He had considered a California 1400 for an imminent touring holiday, but decided to go for an 1100 in a private sale to save a few bob. A week later when he limped up to Mike's workshop in Somerset, his bike could barely move forwards and he was slightly more concerned. When Mike took the gearbox off to get at the clutch it was ‘just carnage inside’. It looked like the clutch had finally fallen apart on his workshop drive as it had jammed the flywheel and bits fell onto the bench as the housing came off. As well as the clutch, the intermediate…

2023 has barely begun and already there's dramatic news coming out of World Superbikes. In a shock move to anybody outside of motorcycle racing's governing body, the FIM, Scott Smart is no longer the organisation's Technical Director. MCN understands the change was made by the FIM as early as the 2022 Portuguese round last October. Smart's replacement is Frenchman Ludovic Reignier. He has previously worked as a close colleague of Yamaha boss Eric de Seynes, and has plenty of experience in the World Endurance championship and World Supersport, where he played a crucial, part in taking Lucas Mahias to the 2017 title on a GRT Yamaha. ‘His replacement is Frenchman Ludovic Reignier’ Reignier is now in charge of overseeing all things technical such as engine sealing, the newlyintroduced ‘Super Concessions’…

SPORT BRITISH HOPES | DAKAR MCN's man has the Latest from inside the Dakar TOP STORY If there were any questions over the desire and determination of James Hillier to finish Dakar, they have certainly now been answered. The 37-year-old is not only competing in his first Dakar, in the Originals by Motul class where he gets no outside assistance, but he is also riding injured after dislocating his collarbone from his shoulder during a crash on stage five. “It was all going OK until about 100km from the end of the stage,” Hillier told MCN. “After the fuel stop I slowed down and let the riders go who I'd been riding with in the morning, as it was just a little bit too quick to stick at for the whole…

I think when you start looking at Dakar you have to talk about the fact that the 2022 winner and world champion Sam Sunderland crashed out in the first 50km of the race. That gives you an idea of how hard it is. Talk about the curse of the No1 plate – there was so much pressure and expectation and it's over in a breath. And then, the next day, the 2020 winner Ricky Brabec also crashes out of the race! The other story is obviously James Hillier. I don't think anyone really saw the fact that he was racing Dakar coming. I just love the fact that he had a team that was going to get behind him, but when that fell through he took it upon himself to…

FUTURE OF BIKING Royal Enfield's parent company, Eicher Motors, are stepping up their plans for electrification with a €50 million investment in Spanish plug-in off-road firm Stark Future. Accounting for around a 10.35% equity stake in the company, the cash injection will be used to aid research and development in future electric models, as well as technology sharing, technical licensing, and manufacturing, too. “Stark Future has been able to understand and harness the potential of EV technology by dramatically outperforming internal combustion offerings, without compromising on range, weight, packaging and cost,” Eicher Motors Managing Director, Siddhartha Lal said. “They have created an absolutely astounding motocross motorcycle the Stark VARG as their entry into the EV world. We believe that Stark Future has the highest potential for real breakout growth in…

SAVE £251 £13,999 Triumph Speed Triple RR It might appear to be just a Speed Triple 1200 RS roadster in a retro frock, but the RR is much more than that. Think of it more as a big-cube, three-cylinder superbike, created in Triumph's own inimitable style. Build quality and detailing are superb and it has the latest rider aids with a big saving thrown in. www.laguna.co.uk SAVE £2736 £21,999 Kawasaki Ninja H2 SX SE Along with great build quality and reliability, the supercharged engine in this huge performance sports tourer has loads of charm. www.motorcycles.mandp.co.uk • Engine 998cc • Power 197bhp • Weight 260kg • Seat height 835mm SAVE £1756 £15,799 Suzuki Hayabusa It may be a child of the 90s at heart, but even bytoday's standards the third generation…

Sinnis have announced a new colour for their Hoodlum 125 cruiser for 2023 to sit alongside existing grey and ‘flat black’ options. Retailing for an affordable £2799, the new Rogue Black’ edition of the bike is finished in gloss, with a new ‘HDLM’ logo on the side of the peanut-styled petrol tank. ALL bikes in the line-up are powered by an A1 licence-friendly 125cc singlecylinder engine that meets Euro5 emissions standards. For more, head to sinnismotorcycles.com On track with MSV Motorsport Vision Trackdays (MSVT) will begin their 2023 season on Saturday, March 11 with a £119 day at Snetterton's 300 layout. The firm have availability across MSV's impressive range of circuits up until April-with events running at Cadwell Park, Donington Park, Brands Hatch and more. This selection includes a choice…

BMW GS Rallye gloves £99 With a highly abrasion resistant textile back and hard knuckle protection, these lightweight GS Rallye gloves from BMW are certainly not short on toughness and feature a reinforced kangaroo leather palm to ensure that you keep a firm grip on the bars, whatever the situation. www.bmw-motorrad.co.uk Venhill Throttle Cable Repair Kit £37.06 This DIY kit contains everything you need to build your own push/pull throttle cables. It's designed to suit a broad range of on and off-road machines and is available in a choice of eight different colours. A must-have for both workshop or paddock. www.venhill.co.uk Oxford Products Leverlock Alarm £59.99 A useful, first line of defence against thieves. The motion sensitive alarm is primed to emit an ear-splitting 120 dB alert the moment someone…

‘Searching for a future-proof buy’ The next few years aren't going to be much fun financially-speaking. Money will be tight and if like so many riders, getting out on a bike is a leisure activity for a bit of clear head-space more than a form of commuting transport, you need to be extra careful on your two-wheeled choice. So what's the best option? I'm going to rule fuel economy out of the equation. I don't care about mpg, I fill a bike up when it is thirsty. I want a motorcycle that is fun on B-roads, can handle a commute and even a few days away with a tent strapped to the back. I'm not talking Europe, more a budget-friendly (aside from the beer bill…) weekend with my mates. What's…

Q So am I really 70% to blame? I was filtering slowly past a line of slow-moving cars on the right-hand side using the area within the broken chevrons. When I was next to one car it pulled out to the right and knocked me off. I couldn't have avoided it by braking or steering as I was alongside the car's window when he started his turn. Fortunately there was no oncoming traffic and I was only slightly hurt. The car driver's insurer is claiming that I was overtaking and the accident was mainly my fault therefore they have offered me 30% of the compensation. Is this worth pursuing with a solicitor as I am not happy with the 30%? I realise you should only ride in chevrons when necessary…

Where you went and why it was amazing ▶Send your trips to yourpics@motorcyclenews.com Readers Mark Watson and friends The Ride Scotland to Andorra How many miles 3000 How long do you need? Nine days When to do it Summer Tell us about the trip Four of us rode from Arbroath, on the north east coast of Scotland, through England to the Channel. Tunnel and down through France to the Spanish Pyrenees before arriving in Andorra. What was a little different was the variety of bikes we had, proving that you can tour on almost anything. Between us we had a BMW GS, a Honda NC750, a Ducati SuperSport and a Harley-Davidson Sportster with a peanuttank! Needless to say, the Sportster ran out of fuel a couple of times (even after…

‘Touring bike shakedown’ R5K MEMBER JON ASHLEY A shakedown ride on my 2023 touring bike. This photo was taken overlooking Blackburn from Belmont. ‘Big icy puddles’ R5K MEMBER JOHN FRANKLIN A photo in just above freezing conditions, with four Royal Enfield Himalayans on the Ox Drove Way near Salisbury, having been through some big icy puddles on Salisbury Plain. It was lush to be out in the sunshine. ‘Last run of 2022’ R5K MEMBER WALT BARBOUR A lovely day for the last bike run of 2022, in the Sierra Espuña mountain range. One of my New Year's resolutions has to be to get out more on the bike, only managed a disappointing 4000 miles during 2022. What will 2023 bring? ‘Boxing Day bash’ R5K MEMBER CLAIRE MORRIS This is from…

2500 miles If you're like me and chose to wear sporty crash helmets, you'll know the struggle of carrying multiple visors. Thankfully Shoei have come to the rescue – creating a self-tinting option for their sportiest X-SPR Pro helmet. Adding almost £180 to the bill, the Photochromic visor is a huge investment, but it does help to make a track-focused helmet that little bit more versatile. I have used this visor in almost all light conditions across thousands of miles and have found it incredibly useful – changing quickly without you even noticing. That said, it's not perfect and sometimes I do think it applies too much tint for the riding conditions. I have tested it in the fog and in drizzle and both times I would have appreciated a…

Disposable foam earplugs do the job well enough, but they don't always fit right and chucking them away so frequently can feel a bit wasteful The solution is to get a reusable bespoke set made, so I employed Custom Fit Guards ‘home service’ to come to my house and take moulds of my ear canals. The process took less than ten minutes and a few weeks later I was presented with a pair of made-to-measure plugs. Although products with specific filters and integrated speakers are available, I opted for the ‘CF Motoblock’, which offer the maximum sound reduction at a claimed 30dB. Out of the box they feel suitably durable, with a metal bung in place of a filter and red/blue markings for left/right ear. 2200 miles Inserting them requires…

BRUCE DUNN MCN's expert technician New Year revolution Now's a great time to give your wheels a deep clean. Here's how… 1 Remove to improve Wheels get a hard time. Road grime, brake dust and chain lube all combine to give them a dusty, dark hue. And they're really difficult to clean whilst still fitted to the bike. So to bring back that showroom shine, it's best to remove them. Support your bike on stands and whip out one wheel, at a time, making a note of which side spacers are installed where. 2 How's your spindle? During this deep dean, we're not just focusing on the condition of the wheels – it is well worth taking the time to check the spindles and spacers, too, as these often accumulate road dirt…

When Sam Sunderland crashed out on the opening stage it was obvious that it was a big one, but we've now found out just how big it actually was. The 2022 Dakar winner hit a rock that was hidden in the sand and data from his Alpinestars airbag suit recorded a maximum impact of 27.6g in a crash that lasted 2.27s. Although his crash wasn't caught on camera, to put it into perspective Marc Marquez's infamous careerchanging highside at Jerez in 2020 where he broke his left humorous resulted in ‘only’ a 25.98g impact. Sunderland said: “The crash happened in a dry riverbed when I missed a stone in the sand and just felt a massive kick and then I was floating through the air. I broke my shoulder, suffered…

The motorsport world is mourning the loss of rallying legend and keen MX rider Ken Block, who passed away on Tuesday, January 2 following a snowmobile accident. The co-founder of DC Shoes became an online sensation with his spectacular Gymkhana videos, sliding highly tuned cars between obstacles in a range of iconic locations, including centralSan Francisco, Pikes Peak, and the Las Vegas strip. A statement on his company website, Hoonigan Industries, read: “It's with our deepest regrets that we can confirm that Ken Block passed away in a snowmobile accident. “Ken was a visionary, a pioneer, and an icon. And most importantly, a father and husband.” Gaining over one billion views on YouTube and drawing many new motorsport fans, his films included a number of two-wheeled stars, including former motocross…

Chester KTM have released a very limited edition KTM 890 Adventure that harks back to the golden era of the Dakar Rally, with a unique livery designed with Manchester based graphic specialists FMG to create a homage to the original 990 Adventure from 2008. Fraser Barsby, Head of Marketing at the LittLe Stanney showroom, was instrumental in its creation. He said: “This iconic bike has always stirred my more adventurous emotions. At the time I was driving and filming a number of expeditions around the Sahara in my Land Rover Defender and a day wouldn't pass that I didn't dream of how amazing the routes I was driving would be on the back of a bike. “The Long Way Round TV show was still fresh in my mind and the…

THIS WEEK The march to save the combustion engine via the production of less damaging synthetic fuel has taken another step forward as Porsche open a production plant in Chile. Synthetic or eFuels are made from water and carbon from waste plant materials using wind energy and enable the amost CO2-neutral operation of petrol engines. Currently, however, they are between two to three times more expensive to manufacture than fossil-based fuels, but with more investment from large manufacturers such as Porsche, they could soon be cost effective. The German sports car specialists are a member of the Volkswagen Group, which also includes Italian marque Ducati. Barbara Frenkel, member of the Executive Board for Procurement at Porsche, said: “Porsche is committed to a double-e path: e-mobility and eFuels as a complementary…

WEDNESDAY January 11 4.30pm, EUR2 Rally Raid Dakar Saudi Arabia Stage 9. Stage 10 at 1am THURSDAY January 12 1.25pm, ITV4 The Motorbike Show FRIDAY January 13 4.30pm, EUR2 Rally Raid Dakar Saudi Arabia Stage 11. Also Stage 12 at 1am SUNDAY January 15 8am, EUR2 Rally Raid Dakar Saudi ArabiaStage 13 3pm, QUEST Shed and Buried. Also at 3.30pm KEY TO CHANNELS: DRT – DISCOVERY REAL TIME DSC – DISCOVERY CHANNEL DHD – DISCOVERY CHANNEL HD EXS – EXTREME SPORTS CHANNEL EUR1 (2, HD) – EUROSPORT 1 (2, HD) MOT – MOTORSPORT.TV CH4 – CHANNEL 4 CH5 – CHANNEL FIVE BBC BBCI – BBC INTERACTIVE ESPN – ESPN CLASSIC CHANNEL ITV DST – DISCOVERY TURBO SHED – DISCOVERY SHED INST – INSIGHT SS1 (2, 3 OR X) – SKY SPORTS…

Mountaineers, cyclists, hikers and anyone who spends time outdoors will tell you the key to regulating body temperature is layering. Done right, it works for motorcycling too. A layering system should consist of three elements: a Base Layer; a Mid Layer and an Outer Layer – though depending on conditions, it's sometimes worth adding a fourth. The base layer should keep the skin dry: vital for comfort in all conditions. Forget cotton – it absorbs moisture and dries slowly – go for a breathable, fast-drying technical fabric or merino wool. The mid-layer should keep your core warm. It can be wool, fleece, down or synthetic but it shouldn't be bulky or restrictive. A heated vest or jacket is ideal, as they're thin and offer instant, controllable heat to protect your…

‘Slow-burn CB wins out’ Honda's CB125R might have been a slow-burner for Joseph, but it's the 125 he'd buy. He found it light, smooth, easy to ride and loved its looks and road presence. It was the best handling of the bunch thanks to its controlled suspension, strong brakes and road tyres, rather than knobblies. He put the Zontes in second place. It's the cheapest, but with our man coming straight from university, it's still a lot of money, which is why he bought a £900 Yamaha YBR125 as his first bike. Cost aside, he liked its low seat and how it felt more substantial than most 125s thanks to its bigger tank. The Zontes also gave an insight into what a Chinese bike would be like to live with.…

Wearing waterproofs, while necessary, can be quite restrictive, especially on a sportsbike, but Duchinni offer a huge range of sizes starting at XS through to 12XL and at 5ft 8in, I opted for the Short which were a perfect fit. The almost tailored sizing means that all of the CE armour is perfectly positioned to protect your knees and hips. The adjustable waist with wide belt loops provides flexibility and comfort. These waterproofs are just as comfortable crouched on the bike as they are hopping on and off and walking around. I'm a massive fan of the styling, with deep cargo pockets (in addition to the hip pockets), a slim leg and discreet branding – they don't look out of place when you're not on the bike and don't have…

This is a really satisfying job to do because it's really easy to get great results with nothing but a bit of time and elbow grease. But sometimes, especially with wheels from older bikes, you have to admit defeat because no amount of cleaning will fix paint that has chipped or been lifted off by corrosion. If this is the case with your bike's wheels, you have two options: either get them painted or powder coated. All I would say is, whichever method you choose, make sure the company or person doing it is experienced with motorcycle wheels, especially when it comes to powder coating. There are loads of powder coating firms out there, the majority of which serve the manufacturing sector, but refurbing motorcycle wheels is a different job…

“There are three things to focus on: acceleration (powerto-weight ratio), side-to-side movement and braking. Bigger guys have a deficit in both acceleration and braking “To combat the difference of power-to-weight, you could cut the revs for lighter guys to compensate for their weight advantage. Or a bit of both: cut the revs and add a bit of weight. It's always easier for a heavier rider to wrestle a lighter bike than a smaller guy to battle a heavier bike. It's never going to be perfect and it's very difficult to calculate, which is why it's taking ages. It works in Moto3 and Supersport 300 but superbikes have far more horsepower to cancel out the power-to-weight deficit, which shows up far more in smaller classes.” However, Ten Kate Yamaha's Nico Sartori…