Table of contents for 15 December 2021 in MCN

TOP STORY Ducati reveal their dirty desires Ducati have been dabbling in cross-over adventure bikes for years now, with the Multistrada – especially in ‘Enduro’ guise, being far more capable of dealing with the dirt than most riders could emulate. But their new DesertX, revealed this week, really pushes the agenda, and marks the arrival of a seriously attractive contender for the globe-trotting adventure crown with a seemingly perfect blend of power, tech and spec. PAGE 4 FIRST TEST ‘It never stops impressing’ Take one naked middleweight, add taller bars and a half-fairing and call it something different, and ‘hey presto!’ you have a new model. But while it’s easy to be glib about platform engineering, the truth is that if you take a superb middleweight master like the Trident…

Watsonian have expanded their range once more, adding a fitting kit for the new Royal Enfield Meteor. There are plenty of classic or more modern options to suit the new little retro but Watsonian favour the lightweight Prescott, which is ideal for smaller machines. Made to order in the UK, the Prescott starts at £4895 while the fitting kit sells for £475. Watsonian offer fitting service and are also Enfield dealers, so can supply complete outfits ready to roll. Shred into Christmas Suzuki have knocked £600 off their RM-Z off-roader range with the RM-Z450 now costing £6399 while the RM-Z250 is £6299. The 450 was completely redesigned in 2018 with a new chassis and updated, more powerful engine, while the 250 got the same treatment in 2019. Both bikes have…

To celebrate Toprak Razgatlioglu’s 2021 WSB title, Yamaha have unveiled a limited-run of 21 track-only R1s. Each will be built in the Crescent Racing PRO SHOP and feature upgrades including a WSB-spec Akrapovic exhaust and GYTR race ECU, Öhlins suspension and forged Marchesini wheels. Each of the £39,500 bikes comes with VIP hospitality experiences and a signed piece of riding kit worn by Toprak during the season. Bag a free T-shirt The Isle of Man TT Shop has a special offer running to December 18 for a free T-shirt and pin badge when you buy a diamond quilted jacket. The T-shirt and badge carry the artwork for the 2022 running of the event, set to take place in May and June next year following a two-year hiatus during the coronavirus…

Ducati Corse Speed bathrobe £58.99 Biking Christmas all wrapped up The countdown is ticking away fast. Only the most organised (or is that smug?) of us have everything sorted present-wise, so here are a few last-minute ideas for biking family members or maybe things you might like other folks to get you. From rave-style sliders to Guzzi mugs and garage organisers, there is plenty of good stuff to choose from. Let’s kick off with these Ducatibranded dressing gowns to lend Christmas morning that full-factory vibe. Just remember not to lose your cool like famous bathrobe enthusiast Frankie Chili if Foggy beats you to the chocolates. A genuine Ducati accessory, the bathrobe comes in two styles with the full-factory effort black Ducati Corse SS21 Race robe costing £58.99 (reduced from £78.99,…

Did you read about the Honda RC213V-S that sold in an auction for just shy of £180,000? This story caught my eye for several reasons, the most obvious being the price! Don’t get me wrong, £180k for a bike is eye-wateringly expensive but what surprised me was that this was the most expensive Japanese motorcycle ever sold. And even more remarkable was the fact the previous record holder was a CB750 prototype that ‘only’ went for £157,500. I don’t know a great deal about this market because, well, let’s just say that if I spent the equivalent of our house’s value on a bike the only house I’d be welcomed back into would be the dog house, but it doesn’t seem a lot of cash to me. When classic Brits…

YOU’RE NEVER RIDING ALONE I’ve been out on the motorbikes quite a lot recently, which has been nice, but if I’ve not done so for a little while, then I start to struggle. But it’s not my only crutch. I love boats, cycling, paddle boarding – and baking. I really love baking. That physical action of kneading the dough, working it, creating something. It gives a sense of satisfaction and reward that’s so powerful. Like going out for a ride does. People even like watching my baking posts on Instagram, they find it really soothing – it’s like watching a fire, you just get a bit lost in the motion of it. Bikes, boats, boarding, baking – and blathering on. The last one is really key, it’s THE key: Talking.…

Q ‘I’m scared he’ll turn up’ Six months ago I sold a 40-yearold Honda 250 trail bike to a fella in the West Country. I live in Kent. Everything was fine, the bike was in really good order and he got a good deal at £2500. I made a loss on what I paid for it. Fast forward six months and the buyer phoned me up ranting and raving that the starter motor had failed and he wanted his money back. When I refused he said he was going to bring it back, ram it through my front door and knock my head off! I told him I’d phone the police if he turned up at my house. He then said he would “take me to court”. Obviously I’ve been…

1 Newark Autojumble Christmas shopping? Pah! Head to Newark Showground on December 19. Standard entry is from 10am and is £7, but if you want to get early bird admission from 8am then it’s £10. You can also buy advance tickets to avoid the queues. newarkautojumble.co.uk 2 Wild and Woolly After the last two runs were cancelled, the Wild and Woolly is back on Boxing Day. Held at Long Buckby, the motocross event is the longest-running of its kind in the world. Could get muddy. www.facebook.com/events/1086244528789045 3 Midland Riders toy run On Dec 18, Midland Riders are riding out and delivering presents to the Birmingham Children’s Hospital. The only requirement is to bring a present with you, and you’ll get to ride from Shifnal Services at 9am with Dakar star…

GUEST ROAD TESTER £10,399 2022 Kawasaki Versys 1000 • 1043cc liquid-cooled inline four DOHC 16v • 118.3bhp @ 9000rpm • 253kg wet weight We all love a bargain, something that makes us feel we have got more for our cash than expected. Personally I can’t resist a ‘reduced’ yellow sticker in a supermarket – which is why my freezer is full of a selection of weird and wonderful breads that all carried eye-catchingly low reduced price tags and which, secretly, I know I’ll never eat! But what’s the bargain of the bike world? The Versys 1000 is certainly a good call, a brilliant doit-all that offers far more than its temptingly low price tag suggests. Or, at least, it used to... Earlier this year I wrote a review of the…

• Fit and comfort rated •Design, construction and CE scores rated • Waterproofing tested in all weathers RATINGS Exceptional★★★★★ Very good ★★★★ Good ★★★ Average ★★ Poor ★ Richa ARC GTX jacket £699.99, trousers £499.99 ‘A jacket for all seasons’ Tested by Richard Newland for 2.5 years/18,500 miles I’ve worn this in all sorts of weather for more than two years now, and try as I might, it’s almost impossible to fault. The ARC GTX jacket from Richa hasn’t let me down yet, despite significant mileage in often awful weather. Matching trousers are available – and work just as well as the jacket – at £499.99. That makes a suit at £1199.98. That’s not cheap by any stretch, but neither is it cheaply made nor ineffective. The laminated 2L Gore-Tex…

Not so long ago, booster packs used to be heavyweight pieces of kit that were about as portable as a bowling ball. Not so these days – the advent of the lithium battery means it’s not beyond the realms of possibility for you to carry a booster on a big trip. Booster packs aren’t the only way to jump a bike, though. You can also do it using another motorcycle or a car… but there is a key difference in technique between the two. After connecting the jump leads – red lead to the positive on the dead battery first (‘Red to Dead’) then the other end to the positive on the working battery, you next need to connect the black lead to the live battery and the other end…

Izan Guevara (Moto3) As Junior World Champion, much was expected of Izan Guevara. Whilst not quite on Pedro Acosta’s insane level, Guevara won at COTA and clinched four more top six finishes. Xavier Artigas (Moto3) Runner-up to Guevara in the Juniors, Artigas had more bad luck than most in Moto3 but won at Valencia and took seven top 10 finishes overall. Ai Ogura (Moto2) The Japanese star adapted quickly to the Triumph and was soon fighting at the front. Second in Austria was his highlight but he also had a total of nine finishes inside the top seven. Celestino Vietti (Moto2) VR46 Academy star ended strongly with two fourths and a sixth in the last three races, adding to two earlier sixth-places. Axel Bassani (WSB) Ducati’s next Italian World Superbike…

‘I couldn’t take my eyes off it…’ Well it’s been another tough year for everyone, where we’ve all had to deal with more shit than normal… but when it comes to the racing world, literally everything with an engine in it has been totally brilliant. The fact that all the series went ahead is some achievement from MotoGP to WSB, BSB, World Endurance etc. And what a year it was for Yamaha who won all the big championships. The whole season has been captivating – I honestly haven’t been able to take my eyes off it. It’s been so good. In addition to all that, Billy Bolt, who’s a bit of an unsung hero, became Hard Enduro world champion plus Great Britain won Speedway of Nations. We also need to…

NORTON NEMESIS 1500CC V8 Issue: 5-4-2000 Al MeLLing’s 1500cc folly proved to be yet another false start for the famous British brand. TRIUMPH’S 200MPH ‘BUSA-BEATER’ Issue: 8-10-2003 1200cc Hinckley ‘hyper-bike’ was near-ready when the plug was pulled, partly due to a ‘gentleman’s 186mph agreement’ (see p7). HONDA’S ‘V5 FIREBLADE’ Issue: 9-6-2004 Our insiders told us it was nearly ready, Honda’s hierarchy, however, changed their minds... Oops! One for the kids Mr Frosty has lost his carrot on every spread of this supplement. Find every one and you can have yourself a chocolate off the tree!…

There was a time when a ‘biking event’ was stuff like the Kent Custom Show or Bulldog Bash, both organised by the Hells Angels. For those of us that weren’t quite as ‘rufty-tufty’ there was the BMF Rally, opposite MCN Towers at the lovely East of England Showground and... that was about your lot. Not anymore. 21st century media and marketing has helped create some of the biggest (and possibly best) British motorcycling events ever. Some, of course, may not agree. The TT today (when it happens again after Covid anyway) is now more ‘corporate’ than would have been conceivable last century. Posh tickets to the GP cost well over 100 notes and there’s a new wave of ‘Hipster’ eateries that serve more types of coffee and brioche than the…

‘ROSSI MANIA’ STARTS IN THE UK Issue: 11-7-2001 Vale hits the big time in Britain. A NEW ERA DAWNS Issue: 10-4-2003 Four-stroke MotoGP era begins with Rossi dominant. HUTCHY WINS FIVE Issue: 11-6-2010 Yorkshireman Ian Hutchinson makes road racing history by winning all five Isle of Man TT solo races. Boom! CAL STRIKES GOLD Issue: 24-8-2016 Crutchlow becomes first Brit to win a MotoGP race since Sheene. THE JOY OF SIX Issue: 21-10-2020 Jonathan Rea wins sixth successive WSB crown.…

A NEW STAR IS BORN! ‘TRIUMPH TRIDENT IS CLOSE TO PERFECTION’ The antidote to ever-more complex, expensive machines, Triumph went back to beautiful basics with the new Trident 660. The cheeky, fun, not to mention well-priced (at £7195) Trident has stormed the 2021 sales charts, with Triumph shifting scores of the triple-cylinder, 80bhp funsters since dealerships reopened in March. It’s a package that took road tester Mike Armitage back to the heady days of 2008 and the launch of the original Street Triple. Here’s what he said when he hopped onboard the new 660 around the MCN250 for our March 17 issue: “Triumph’s Street Triple lineup is now a long way from what the original bike offered. They’re not really the affordable, breezyyet-capable road bikes they once were. But the…

REMY GARDNER | 1st RAUL FERNANDEZ | 2nd Gardner makes GP history 2021 showcased an intense battle between Red Bull KTM Ajo duo Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez. In one corner you had the experienced son of 1987 500cc World Champion Wayne Gardner. In the other you had the rookie sensation who wasted little time in adapting to the 765cc Triumph engine and Kalex chassis. In the end it was experience that came out on top… just! Fernandez ended the season with more wins, more poles, and the same number of podiums as Gardner, but he also had three DNFs to Gardner’s one. That made the difference as Gardner won the title by only four points. In doing so, the Gardners became only the second-ever father and son world champions,…

TOPRAK RAZGATLIOGLU | 1st The new King of WSB Every now and then, somebody comes along and kicks everybody into action. Kenny Roberts did it with his sideways, elbow-down style. Marc Marquez did it with his ultra-aggressive racecraft. Toprak Razgatlioglu is now considered the hardest-braking motorcycle rider in the world. Any disadvantage on the straights or mid-corner is made up by what he does under deceleration, lunging at rivals from unbelievably far back yet still making the apex. Last year it wasn’t possible because Yamaha didn’t believe him when he asked them to set up the bike so much around the front end; as soon as the team worked around him, combined with the much-improved R1 and a superb working relationship between all in the garage, they had a world-beating…

For the second year running road racing was put on hold with the cancellation of the NW200, TT and Macau GP. But while the lack of between-the-hedges racing was a major blow there are plenty of positives for when action returns in 2022. The biggest news in the rider market is that the greatest living TT rider, John McGuinness, will make a sensational return to Honda in a year that will not only mark his 100th TT start, but also coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Honda Fireblade. ‘McPint’ will be joined by BSB front runner and TT rookie Glenn Irwin in the official Honda squad. Elsewhere Peter Hickman remains with BMW riding for FHO who took control of the highly-regarded Smiths Racing Dean Harrison stays with Silicone Engineering…

Hands up, who was sitting on the sofa this time last year thinking: ‘Ah well, 2021 will be better, Covid will be gone, and we can just crack-on again...’? Sadly, we appear to be going around in circles against our invisible foe, but despite the difficulties that have persisted throughout 2021, the year still delivered some phenomenal biking moments and reasons to be thankful – and we’re celebrating a lot of them in this special Christmas double issue. For me, 2021 has been defined by people. Behind every epic tale, from racing rookies taking series by storm; to the family and legal team of Harry Dunn who continue to fight for justice (see the next issue for a big update on that); to the bike designers who shape our world…

Every week we give a different rider a wodge of fictional cash and ask them to ‘buy’ the bike that sets their soul on fire. This is Dave’s pick... Dave Wood knows a bit about making bikes go fast. He’s been running his own independent workshop, Dave Wood Racing, for 21 years, specialising in dyno work and ECU tuning. He’s also a successful racer who won the British Superbike Privateer Cup in 2003 on a GSX-R1000 K2 as well as the 2008 KTM 990 Super Duke Cup and the 2009 KTM RC8 Cup. So what would be Dave’s used bike pick? “I still own my K2, which I’ll never sell. So if I was buying a used bike it’d be something practical and fun for the road With this criteria…

mcn.letters@motorcyclenews.com motorcyclenews motorcyclenews MCNnews Motorcycle-not-so-Live... We have just returned from Motorcycle Live and what a disappointment it was. Yamaha only had a clothing stall and no bikes, Guzzi didn’t even bother to turn up and apart from a couple of new bikes, the stands were just the same bikes as last year. We went on the Monday and it was like a ghost town. So very sad. Gordon Freestone, email ...but it’s not all bad news! Having just returned from the bike show I would like to thank all those exhibitors for a great show. It was so good to be able to visit the stands, meet the people and do all that in as near-as-safe situation as possible. Rob Creek, email Feeling festive, MCN style Fancy a little bit…

MCN staff and readers share their one-hour routes This route cuts south from the roof of Hampshire to the Solent coast, transporting you from rolling chalklands to the bustle of the New Forest and on to the quayside at Lymington. Start just south of Newbury in the splendour of the Downton Abbey car park – warning: in real life it’s signed as Highclere Castle – then turn left onto the A343, a classically narrow Hampshire A-road that snakes through tunnels of beach trees before depositing you in Andover. Negotiate the ring road and pick up signs for A3057, another tight but picture-postcard wiggle alongside the river Anton, through Leckford and into the Test Valley. In Stockbridge find the wider, flowing B3049 to Winchester, the ancient capital of Wessex and England…

GUEST TESTER When you look at the Versys 1000’s price, only the Tracer 9 really runs its close in terms of value for money. Both have angle-responsive electronics, cruise control and variable power modes but the Yamaha wraps it up in a sportier machine that is more agile where the Versys is an old-school, solid, do-it-all. You can pick up a Versys 1000 on a PCP deal for less than £100 a month and all you need to add to make it the ultimate do-it-all is a set of heated grips. And maybe paniers, which are £833.75, but then you may as well buy the Tourer version for £11,199, which most Versys 1000 owners do! Having spent a day on the base bike I’m struggling to see why you would…

Triumph’s wonderful new Tiger Sport 660 is a machine that never stops impressing. It’s spacious, comfortable, agile and easy to manage but it can be genuinely sporty, too, with a front-end that fills you with confidence, tyres that grip beautifully in all conditions and powerful brakes. That’s all on top of a tuneful three-cylinder engine that’s never short of grunt or excitement but still friendly when you need it to be. It’s such a complete, well-built, affordable creation that cruise control suddenly seems a glaring omission for a bike designed to do miles, but it’s a small blip in a sea of brilliance. THE FACTS £8450 Triumph Tiger Sport 660 Engine 660cc 12v inline triple Frame Tubular steel perimeter Front suspension Showa 41mm non-adjustable USD forks Rear suspension Single shock,…

If there’s one bit of biking where electric propulsion makes the most sense, it’s surely in the decidedly unsexy ‘urban mobility’ segment. Casting aside thoughts of octogenarians in four-wheeled shin-bashers, electric bikes make a lot of sense if you just want to get from A-B in a major conurbation. They’re quiet, cost sod-all to run and are easy to use. Live somewhere like London and the hopeless task of finding a city centre filling station is a thing of the past. But is something this small up to the task? 1 Top dog This Active is the top-of-the-range 1, thanks to its 4bhp motor that will take it to a top speed of 37mph (compared to 28mph for the standard model). That doesn’t sound like much, but it gets there…

John Wilson, 59 Rides a Harley Davidson Ultra Limited “The instructor,staff and students could not have been more friendly and helpful. The instruction from Stu was top-notch and the exercises were explained and demonstrated brilliantly. “But after riding motorcycles for around 50 years, changing the way I ride in a few hours is a tall order. We were told to straighten our legs and lock our knees, but I rode with my legs bent and my backside sticking out… but at least that earned a comment about my ‘duck arse’ (that I haven’t failed to mention to Saff every time I’ve spoken to her since). “Doing tight turns when you’re hanging low over the opposite side of the bike didn’t take long to get the hang of but, being an…

Jumping through hoops When the suspension was swapped, the RS was wearing a set of badly squared, 3000-mile-old Bridgestone Battlax S22s, meaning I couldn’t feel the full effect of the changes. These were swiftly swapped for a set of Metzeler M9RRs, which have totally transformed the riding experience. They heat up quickly, offer excellent front-end stability and impressed in the wet from as little early as 10 miles old. They complement the stability of the suspension and encourage the bike to tip in quickly and hold a line as well as any thoroughbred race rep. I’d recommended them over the Bridgestones and only wish I’d installed them earlier.…

MECHANIC Steve Scully of GT Motorcycles in Plymouth This well-used 2009 Suzuki Marauder 125 had been running poorly for a few weeks until it finally ground to a halt on the morning commute. The owner flattened the battery trying to start it, so GT Motorcycles in Plymouth sent out a van to collect it. Workshop Manager Steve Scully said: “When it came in it was obvious from its general condition that it was kept outside in the elements, so we put a charge back into the battery and ran through the standard checks. “The plug was fouled-up from his attempts to start it, but it sparked okay. The fuel smelled like fuel and there was plenty of compression. But when we lifted the saddle it was obvious why it had…

We all like to pamper ourselves or our bikes with tasty clobber or accessories, whether that’s treating ourselves to a new helmet or summer jacket or fitting a fruity pipe to our pride and joy. Styles, of course, change over time, not just due to fashion or technology but also due to the nuances of commerce, brands coming and going and quirky gimmicks becoming the ‘must haves’ for our motorcycling lives – at least for a while. Anybody still got a blue iridium screen, OGK helmet or go shopping at Hein Gericke? Thought not… But which have been the best, the most loved, most successful or simply the daftest gear and accessory trends of the 21st century so far. Our ghost of Biking Past pops some new batteries in and…

Probably no other aspect of motorcycling in the 21st century has changed so greatly as that of technology. While the ’80s may have introduced aluminium twin spar frames and the race-replica and the ’90s transformed what we thought superbikes were capable of, there was little that was radically new. Engines were still conventional, carb-fed, liquid-cooled 16-valve fours, for example (Yamaha’s 20v excepted, of course). But the early Noughties witnessed a technological revolution. Radial brakes and fuel injection became the norm, ride-by-wire, ECUs and IMUs led to switchable modes and sophisticated traction control; active-suspension debuted then designers married it all together into comprehensive mode packages controlled through slick TFT screens. And that says nothing about the introduction of satnavs, integrated Smartphone systems, Honda’s Dual Clutch Transmission, the list goes on… Our…

JANUARY McPint grabs a ‘gong’ Seems the nation’s favourite road racer is a bit of a hit with the royal family, too, as it was announced John McGuinness was to be awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours for services to motorcycle racing. He said: “What an honour! I never thought I’d ever be considered for one and to see the people that have got them – Hailwood, Read, Foggy etc. People get them for different reasons, but you don’t get them in a Christmas cracker do you? You’ve got to earn it.” Brits do Dakar KTM’s Sam Sunderland finishes third in the Dakar Rally, whilst multiple enduro world champ but rally newcomer David Knight finishes an impressive 24th thanks to a crowdfunding campaign that got him to the…

Ben says: “It’s easy to get fooled by selective memories that try to convince us that yesterday’s bikes were better than they really were, but even under that biased light it’s clear we’re in a golden age of motorcycling – and the future looks better still. “In more than a century of powered two-wheelers, every generation has been better than the last. When draconian laws threaten to castrate bikes, the boundless ingenuity of engineers and designers inevitably comes out on top. The result? Today’s bikes are the most powerful, efficient, cleanest and smoothest that we’ve ever seen, and we can only be excited to see what they’ll come up with next. “Nobody gets misty-eyed over ignition points, fuel taps, kickstarts or manual chokes, and while there’s no harm in lusting…

TARRAN MACKENZIE | 1st Title glory runs in the family You could say that it was written in the stars for Tarran Mackenzie to secure his maiden title in 2021. Afterall, dad Niall won the first of three titles with Yamaha 25 years ago in the inaugural season of BSB in its modern guise. Whilst the scriptwriters were certainly pleased with the outcome, in reality, it was Mackenzie’s improvements and pure intensity on the track which earned him his first title. Now into his fourth year, Taz knew that he had to take things up a notch in 2021. Big things have always been expected, and while he’s improved year-on-year, more was needed. This year he delivered. Mackenzie fixed his free practice and qualifying woes to reduce his workload in…

Tough times Garrett Gerloff The American went into meltdown when Yamaha threatened to kick him out after crashing into Toprak. He’s now in America for a much-needed refresh. Injury strikes Alex Lowes A run of injuries kept Lowes out of races. It’s a real shame. Alex started the year with four podiums and nine top six finishes. Not so easy Tito Rabat Further proof of how different a Superbike is to a MotoGP prototype. Some say Rabat underestimated the challenge… WORLD SUPERSPORT Dominique Aegerter A superb new champion – and he nearly won MotoE as well! Manuel Gonzalez Twice a winner and third overall – discovery of the season. He goes to Moto2 next year. WSS 300 Adrian Huertas The Spanish bulldog dedicated his title to Dean Berta Viñales. Tom…

SAVE £1400 £8999 KTM 890 Duke R The KTM 890 Duke R was unchanged for 2021, so the only difference with this discounted 2020-model is a single digit on the VIN. The lively twin offers super-sharp handling and is a real destroyer of bendy back roads. And a bargain now, too. Go on, treat yourself-it’s Christmas, after all! • www.onthewheel.co.uk SAVE £1251 £10,999 Moto Guzzi V85 TT Travel The Travel comes with a taller screen, larger panniers, LED auxiliary lights and heated grips. • www.via-moto.co.uk • Engine 853cc • Power 79bhp • Weight 229kg • Seat height 830mm SAVE £1000 £22,499 Honda CBR1000RR-SP Honda dealers are offering a £1000 deposit contribution on all Fireblades until January 31 plus there’s a free Datatool tracker sub. • www.honda.co.uk • Engine 1000cc •…

A stolen moped was returned to its rightful owner thanks to the quick thinking of two off-duty police officers in Rochester, Kent, last week. The constables spotted two people pushing the moped along the street and so followed them and called 999. The moped was identified as stolen and officers were dispatched to the area. The pair tried to run from police but were caught and screwdrivers, a spanner, metal wire, a balaclava and gloves were found discarded nearby. The vehicle was returned to its rightful owner and the two teenagers were detained.…

Harley-Davidson have teamed up with seasoned Dakar Rally competitor Mick Extance to set up a new off-road adventure school in Wales. The new H-D Adventure Centre will kick off in 2022, giving riders the chance to push the company’s Pan America adventure bike to its limits off-road and, while they are at it, drink in the gorgeous Welsh landscape on a series of scenic road rides. The school will be based at Mick’s 1500-acre adventure playground in the Berwyn Mountains, near Llangynog, which the rally veteran already uses for his off-road enduro experience events. “This is a very capable off-road bike and I want to share that passion of mine and introduce it to people in a safe manner,” Extance told MCN. “From the minute I rode one, I thought…

A mouth-watering array of classic and modern bikes will go under the hammer at the Carole Nash MCN London Motorcycle Show in February. Silverstone Motorcycle Auctions have joined forces with the MCN show, due to be held at ExCeL in London on February 11-13, 2022, and will present more than 100 classic, vintage, historically interesting and modern motorcycles during the event. The machines will be available to view online and at the show, with the actual auction taking place on Saturday February 12. To enquire about having your bike(s) included in the auction head Silverstone Auctions’ site, at www.silverstoneauctions.com. Tickets for the action-packed show start from as little as £19. Buy now at: www.mcnmotorcycleshow.com. Sammy’s double Sammy Miller became the first biker to win the prestigious President’s Trophy at the…

Ride further in 2021 with a little help from our one-stop event guide JUST BREW IT Ride out to Britain’s best biking cafés The Yard Café is in the Stables courtyard opposite motorcycle apparel retailer Idle Torque. “It’s a family project really,” says proprietor Annie Newton. “Mum and dad have been building up the Stable Yard for about 30 years. I started running the café about four years ago, with the idea that everything is as local as possible. We have good food and produce and there’s even an organic garden on site we use as much as possible.” Annie makes everything she can from scratch, including the puff pastry for her sausage rolls and pasties, but she has always had a soft spot for breakfasts. “I do all-day breakfast,…

The Piaggio 1 Active is a very pleasant electric scooter to ride and the most ‘complete’ of all the little electric things I’ve tested to date. You can tell it’s been built by people who know how to make a proper scooter. While the range isn’t brilliant, it’s the top speed that hampers it most as that restricts it just to city centre use, compared to something like a Sunra Robo-S which, with a top speed of 50mph, is comfortable on ring roads and dual carriageways, too. THE FACTS £2411 (with govt grant) Piaggio 1 Active Engine 4bhp (peak) electric motor with KERS Frame Steel single tube Suspension Single side fork front, twin shock rear Brakes 175mm front and rear with combined braking Seat height 770mm…

With an age requirement of 12 and up, the whole family can take advantage of Trials Day experience days. A full day with bike hire is £150 with lunch and a break, if you’ve got your own bike it’s £100. A short day has just a short break and is £120. There is also an option of a £25 damage waiver. For those a little more experienced, there are advanced days which start from £150 for the day, and if you were looking for 1-2-1 training then it’s £250 for the day with a bike, and £200 without. There’s also an option for corporate days. Kit is also provided, so you can literally turn up and start riding and if you wanted to make a few days out of it,…

Saving you money on essential bike maintenance BRUCE DUNN MCN’s expert technician 1 First find the culprit ‘Tis the season for flat batteries! Cold weather like we have this time of year causes problems, especially if you’re not using your bike, or the one in your machine is old or hasn’t been well cared for, resulting in a bike that won’t start or won’t even turn over. If the engine refuses to fire up, first check the obvious things like fuel, killswitch and alarm/immobiliser status. 2 Low voltage? All’s not lost… A 12v battery that hasn’t got enough power to start a bike should be replaced; a healthy battery should show at least 12.6 volts on a meter. Cold temperatures and parasitical drain from electronic security devices will in time…

JOSH CLOSE REPORTING FROM INSIDE THE HEART OF THE RACING AROUND THE WORLD This year’s crop of rookies were truly special. Everywhere you looked, newcomers were causing upsets and proving to their more experienced rivals that they were going to be a force to be reckoned with from the word go…. It’s very easy to make a case for all of the rookies because they all did well, there were no horror shows. Gone are the days of riders not gelling with a MotoGP machine or Superbike after making the jump from a support class. Gone are the days where the smaller teams in MotoGP, who traditionally employ rookies, don’t stand a chance against the big boys. Everything is far more equal nowadays. Jorge Martin was the standout star in…

Ryan Vickers will be on a BMW next season after joining FHO Racing BMW for 2022. Vickers has been in the British Superbikes championship since 2019, graduating straight from the National Superstock 600 after clinching the title. For the past three seasons he’s raced for Lee Hardy’s RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki team. It’s been an up-and-down journey so far with multiple injuries, including a broken collarbone, disrupting his progress. However, 2021 proved to be Vickers’ most consistent season yet. He finished 12th overall and also achieved a best result of fourth on two occasions at Thruxton when he was also challenging for a podium. He also set the fastest-ever lap of Cadwell this year. Overall, Vickers finished inside the top six on six occasions. He told MCN: “I have…

BIRTHS... March 14 2001 Around since the mid 90s, in ‘01 the internet becomes massive. MCN relaunches motorcyclenews.com. February 19 2003 London’s Congestion Charge begins. March 10 2004 Ewan and Charley’s ‘Long Way Round’ game-changing rideout announced. Mid-2000s MCIA first reports a boom in Chinese-made bikes reaching our shores. Mid-2010s Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) schemes take off on two wheels. DEATHS... Dec 6 2006 That of sports 600s predicted. August 16 2008 Cagiva effectively mothballed. 2010s MCN babes – not literally, of course! But the Lycra-clad ‘dark ages’ were finally over. MARRIAGES... April 25 2000 ApriLia – Moto Guzzi Dec 6 2000 Camell – Motorcycle City (It didn’t last...) September 5 2001 Suzuki – Kawasaki (Guess what...?) CREMATIONS... And not forgetting three of the most devastating motorcycling fires of the…

As everyone working at Motor Cycle News knows, ‘news’ is all about people – their exploits, their success, their popularity and, sadly, also their tragedies – but some, by virtue of their character, personality, looks, quirks, sucess or simple dogged determination, become more newsworthy than others. In the 1970s that might have been Evel Knievel or Barry Sheene, in the 1990s Foggy, maybe, but in the 21st century there have been arguably more – and more varied-personalities than ever. Blame 200-channel TV. Or the internet. Or social media maybe… ‘In the ’70s it was Knievel or Sheene, in the ’90s, Foggy...’ But which have made the biggest stories? Which have come back time and time again onto our front pages? Which, perhaps, stick around like a bad smell and which…

‘Racing will become electric’ Joel Greig, 12, racer at the MLav VisionTrack Academy “I think the biggest thing coming to racing will be the move to electric bikes. I’ve never ridden one. I wouldn’t say I’m worried about it but it will bring new challenges that I’m quite excited about. But I’d rather stay on petrol bikes because that’s what I know and I love the noise and smell around the paddock.” ‘I love my petrol bikes but electric is coming...’ Charley Boorman, travelled from Argentina to LA on an electric LiveWire “I think the motorcycle industry is struggling with the idea of electrification at the moment. I think the big thing that is going to happen is that charging is going to get super-fast. Before you know it, you’ll…

‘Fast start hit by injury’ Danny Kent The ex-Moto3 champ suffered a seasonending hip injury at Donington, just two weeks after his maiden podium at Thruxton. ‘Crash woes’ Ryan Vickers Vickers looked to have taken a step forward, taking two fourths at Thruxton, but he began crashing too often. ‘He’s taking little steps’ Storm Stacey Built on his rookie campaign with a best of sixth. He also led, ran inside the top three and had a front row start. SUPPORT CLASSES Jack Kennedy returned to the Supersport class after a tough time on a Superbike. Kennedy won seven times and secured 17 podiums to clinch title number three. Tom Neave put the disappointment of finishing second in 2020 behind him to become National Superstock champion for Honda. Jack Nixon and…