Table of contents for 25 May 2022 in MCN

ACTING NEWS EDITOR MV Agusta CEO Timur Sardarov has confirmed that the Varese firm are looking to resurrect the iconic F4 name for a new high-performance bike, but it might not share the same track-focused superbike DNA as the original. “The F4 was unique. We want to have that uniqueness looking five years ahead, and that’s not easy, ” Sardarov told MCN. “You need to design something technologically superior – not just to what is available now, but to what will be available in five years.” The first F4 was a late 1990s masterpiece, penned by Massimo Tamburini (the man behind the Ducati 916). It then grew to be a litre bike for 2004 and ran until the advent of Euro5 with varying degrees of power, bling, and rarity. Whether…

MCN CONTRIBUTOR Last month Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced that a new trial of noise cameras aimed at catching drivers and riders with loud exhausts will run across four areas in England and Wales. While that conjures images of fixed penalty notices dropping onto doormats whenever an illegally loud exhaust is detected, the reality is that noise is a far more complex issue than speed in terms of detection, proof that an offence has taken place and identification of the offender. We’re still a long way from the point where fines for loud pipes could be handed out automatically. The trial will be run by the Atkins–Jacobs joint venture, with £300,000 of Government investment into the technology. The same venture operated a limited noise camera trial in late 2019 that…

Reader Dean Birkumshaw The trip Northern Spain via France… the long way round! How many miles? 2018 in total Best time to go Late spring Best bit about it… It’s hard to pick one as there were so many. Maybe riding at over 5700ft into the sleet and snow with -1°C to then half a day later being at sea level in 20+ degrees. Almost all the mountain passes, which would go on for, at times, an hour of just sweepers and twisties – so much so that I completely wore through my rear Bridgestone RS10s and had to get it replaced in France with an S22! In fact, four out of six of us needed to do this and our tyres were all either new or had less than…

FRIDAY May 27 8am, BTS2, Live MotoGP from Mugello, Italy: Free Practice 1 and 2 SATURDAY May 28 8am, BTS2, Live MotoGP from Mugello, Italy: Free Practice 3. Qualifying at 11am 5.30pm, EUR2, Live Speedway Grand Prix from Prague 8.25am, ITV4, World Superbike Highlights from Estoril, Portugal SUNDAY May 29 8am, BTS2, Live MotoGP from Mugello, Italy: Warm Ups. Moto3 at 9.15am, Moto2 at 11am, MotoGP at 12.30pm. Chequered Flag at 2pm MONDAY May 30 8pm, ITV4, MotoGP Highlights 9pm, ITV4, Isle of Man TT – Honda: Team of Champions – The Fireblade Story. Also at 12.15am 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…

Best known for their trials and dirt bike prowess, GasGas are venturing into the road bike market with this – their new SM 700. This ‘new’ supermoto is in fact a copy of KTM’s 690 SMC R and Husqvarna’s 701 Supermoto, which is hardly a surprise given that all three marques are owned by parent company, PIERER Mobility. All three share KTM’s 693cc, single-cylinder LC4 engine, trellis frame and fully adjustable WP suspension – even the asking price is the same. The dramatic-looking GasGas does feature lighter cast wheels, as opposed to spoked rims on the other two, as well as undeniably bold styling, but in all major respects it looks and goes like the 690 SMC R (and 701…). That’s no bad thing if you like the intense riding…

Digitally minded engineering fan; been riding just three years but addicted to trackdays Ever since I got my hands on the keys for the R7, I’ve been planning this day. The wild idea to ride each and every BSB circuit in the UK during my first season doing bike trackdays starts right here at the beautiful Cadwell Park. Arriving at 7am alongside videographer Joseph, tension built as I got my first glimpse of the track. It’s a narrow, foreboding layout viewed from the café where sign-on occurs, made slightly less intimidating by a friendly, authoritative novice group rider briefing by the MSVT team. Attending this got me a blue sticker, which went on the front of the R7 alongside one to denote the bike had passed a static noise test.…

Alvaro Bautista continues to lead World Superbikes with nine podiums from as many races since returning to Ducati. In fact, although it didn’t feel that way as he was beaten by Jonathan Rea in the final race, the Spaniard lost just a single point to the Briton across the course of the weekend. Some in the paddock are convinced more 2019-like crashes are to come for Bautista – but he is as cool as a cucumber. At 37, Bautista knew he didn’t have time to keep developing what was an uncompetitive Honda – and that’s why he went back to Ducati for less money. The Talavera de la Reina man’s fan club flocked to Estoril, hoping to see the kind of performances they’d witnessed when Bautista claimed a 125cc GP…

He’s back! After a slow start to the season, by his own high standards, Jason O’Halloran is right back in the game after taking two wins and a podium at Donington. His performances were a mirror image of 2021, with a sense of inevitability in the air as he chased down series leader Bradley Ray. O’Halloran managed his tyres perfectly, and used his years of experience to perfect his race craft against the young guns who have been leading the way in BSB so far in 2022. “Those two races today are probably the best I’ve won, as in how I felt in the race; I felt really in control,” a delighted O’Halloran told MCN. “I came from behind, I paced myself throughout, stuck to my plan, got to the…

Welcome to MCN’s big TT preview, and if you’re like me I bet you can’t wait for it all to start. Honestly, I’ve been to BSB for Silverstone, Oulton and Donington and people are like kids again. Everybody seems to be peaking about racing in general and especially the TT. Wherever I go I get asked a million questions about the TT, everybody is just desperate to get there. Some people have had their tickets to go for three years with them being rolled over due to the pandemic... and now it’s happening! At the end of the day we’ve all had a bit of a rubbish time and it’s affected every one of us in some way, but now it’s time to draw a line under the last two…

For most road racers, the uncertainty of switching manufacturer so close to the start of the road racing season could be enough to make them give up before things even get going. For 33-year-old Michael Dunlop, it just makes things more interesting. Frustration at the lack of progress with the PBM Ducati had alarm bells ringing for the third best TT racer of all time. This is not Dunlop’s first rodeo, though; what could be viewed by many as a rash decision to walk away from 230bhp and the chance to change road racing history for Ducati was no coin toss gamble for Dunlop. Dunlop has a reputation for appearing short tempered and curt but it’s hard to fault how he goes about his business. He has simple stipulations that…

Glenn Irwin is following in the wheel tracks of three other BSB stars who have made a big impact upon the TT as newcomers over the past 15 years. Steve Plater was the first newcomer to lap at over 125mph during his debut in 2007, the event’s centenary year, on an AIM Yamaha. Plater went on to win two TTs – the 2008 Supersport race and the 2009 Senior TT. It was another six years before Josh Brookes surpassed Plater’s mark when he lapped at 127.726mph on a Tyco Suzuki in 2013. The Australian BSB champion increased his speed to 131.745mph on the Norton in 2018 to currently stand 10th in the fastest TT laps. Peter Hickman went quicker again as a debutant just a year later. His 2014 speed…

The Lightweight TT has a new name and regulations for 2022 to allow more manufacturers and a wider variety of machinery to take part. Now called the Supertwin TT, the class permits twincylinders up to 700cc, while the previous limit was 650cc. That means bikes like Aprilia’s RS660, Yamaha’s MT-07 and R7, and Kawasaki’s Ninja 650 can join the Kawasaki ER-6s, Suzuki SV650s, and the exotic Paton S1R that holds the current lap record. ENGINE PARITY “The bore and stroke must remain the same as standard with all bikes, and those over 651cc must retain the standard throttle bodies. Bikes under 651cc can have different throttle bodies and builders are free to tune the engines as much as they like. Until we run these bikes side-by-side on the mountain course,…

Former Lightweight TT podium finisher Lee Johnston is running his own Aprilia RS660 in Supertwins and despite zero support from Aprilia themselves he believes the new rules are an important step. “It seemed that the Kawasaki ER-6 was at its limit and they can cost a fortune, whereas the RS660 looked like a good package and wasn’t a lot of money. The engine makes reasonable power and one Aprilia’a test riders assured me the chassis was good. We ordered two bikes, stripped one to see what we could make better and went out and rode the other one. We’ve a few more bhp than standard but judging by the NW200 we’re a little bit down on power. But that’s to be expected as they’ve been developing the ER-6 for more…

Sidecar TT regulations had remained largely unchanged for almost three decades, with four-cylinder 600cc engines being the prescribed powerplants. Now, in addition to the 600cc fours and 675cc triples, regulations also allow for 900cc parallel twins, like KTM’s 890 and BMW’s F900R. Dave Molyneux – the most successful TT Sidecar racer of all time with 17 wins – is always keen to try new ideas and has opted to build an outfit based on a KTM 890 motor. He hasn’t won a race since 2014, however, and it’s hard to see anyone stopping brothers Tom and Ben Birchall from adding to their tally of ten TT wins on their Haith Honda outfit. They will also be chasing the first 120mph lap of the TT by a Sidecar (in 2018, they…

BMW are celebrating 50 years of their motorsport division with a special version of their flagship £30,160 M1000RR superbike. Available to order from last Saturday, May 21, until Wednesday, November 30 of this year, the snappily named ‘M1000RR 50 Years M’ builds on the premium base machine with a new ‘Sao Paulo Yellow’ colour scheme, also available on the BMW M4 car. What’s more, it will also feature the optional £4560 Competition Package as standard – meaning a number of goodies including an aluminium swingarm that shaves 220g, plenty of carbon fibre trim, a pillion package and a code to unlock the onboard GPS data module. If you’re not familiar with the M1000RR, it arrived in September 2020 as the first BMW motorcycle to sport the iconic M badge. The…

Nineteen-time Isle of Man TT winner Michael Dunlop and the high risk world of road racing are set to be the subjects of a new stage play. The Safety Catch – No risk, no reward premieres in Ireland on Friday, May 27 before going on to tour the UK. It’s thought to be the first-time road racing has been the subject of a theatre production. It focuses on Michael as he considers whether to continue racing after the family’s most recent tragedy, the death of brother William at The Skerries in 2018. Through an imagined dialogue between Michael (Antrim actor Andrew McCracken) and his father Robert’s crew chief and lifelong friend, Liam Beckett (Belfast actor Fra Gunn), the play examines the glory his obsession brings him, his awareness of its…

Moto Guzzi’s long-awaited centenary celebrations, which were set to go ahead last year but were postponed due to the pandemic, are now finally due to take place this September. A weekend-long schedule of bikes, rides, and events will take place from September 8-11 at the Italian marque’s historic factory and throughout their picturesque hometown of Mandello del Lario on the banks of Lake Como, Italy. In what looks certain to be one of the motorcycling events and pilgrimages of the year, it is effectively a combination of the company’s regular Guzzi World Days meeting and the ‘Città Della Moto Guzzi International Motorcycle Rally’ with added centenary celebrations. It’s likely to attract tens of thousands, with a full itinerary still being worked on. For the latest updates go to motoguzzi.com…

Send your first bike pics to: yourpics@motorcyclenews.com YAMAHA RD200 My first bike was one of the first electric starts. David Bieny YAMAHA THUNDERCAT I saved every penny I could for a year to buy my first bike in 1997. That yellow and silver looked fantastic. Tristan Kemp KAWASAKI Z650 My sister Sandra doing a ‘Valentino Rossi’ impression on my new Z650. Go for it San! Great bike! Philip Wasley YAMAHA DT50 Still have my first bike, a G-reg Yamaha DT 50 bought from new when I left school. I am too sentimental to ever get rid of it! Mark Sunderland MZ 250 This Eastern Bloc machine was the bike I took my test on in 1980 I had been riding sub-250cc bikes since 1971. John White ROYAL ENFIELD INTERCEPTOR I’ve…

1 May 29 InSpire ride in May 29 The International Bomber Command Centre, Lincoln, is calling on bikers to ride-in for charity. For £10 a bike, you can enjoy a BBQ, a Hurricane and Spitfire flyover, vintage vehicles and guided tour. inspireride.org.uk 2 Mini Mach May 26-29 This motorcycle and music festival takes place at Nick Sanders’ experience centre in Machynlleth, Wales. Tickets are £59 for up to four days camping. www.machfestival.co.uk 3 Ladies takeover Infinity Watford May 27 A one-night-only event where all the clothing in the store will be for women. Featuring the likes of MotoGirl, Bull-It, Dainese and more. Infinitywatfordtakeover.eventbrite.co.uk 4 Ride UK Knievels June 1-5 Ride Cymru are heading to the capitals of Scotland, England and Wales dressed as Evel Knievel – all for charity. ridecymru.com/ride-capitals…

BMW C400X The C400X uses same large 6.5in colour TFT as proven throughout BMW range, with scrolling wheel to access menus/functions. Heated seat/grips are a £410 extra. HONDA ADV350 Fairly small, reversed LCD display isn’t as clear as some, especially in bright sun, and the digits are quite small, too, but it includes speedo, revs and all the info you need. KYMCO DTX 360 Snazzy, colourful reversed LCD design matches that of the overall bike and is large and clear but lacks some of BMW’s features and options toggle on right bar is awkward.…

Genius and eccentricity often go hand-in-hand, and that’s true of the man who, in the early 1990s, designed a machine that redefined the sportsbike genre – the father of the Honda FireBlade, Tadao Baba. In an era where a sportsbike was defined by the size of its engine, Baba broke from convention and created a whole new class, by focusing on light weight and agility rather than headline horsepower. Not bad going for a man with no formal engineering training. “I didn’t go to university, only high school, ” says Baba. “I joined Honda in 1962 when I was 18. Honda had only been formed for eight years but I already owned a Super Cub C50, which I bought when I was 14, so I knew the brand. I worked…

‘I’m an addict. I can’t stop getting high on any mountain with a decent road’ The sky is an aching, deep, perfect blue. It’s huge. It crowns a view so vast it’s almost as if I can see to the edge of the world – a landscape of browns and greygreens made miniature because it’s so far below me. Dead ahead, a short and curving snake of tarmac is dropping out of sight off the edge of the mountain like the express elevator to hell… only this is heaven. Pure motorcycling heaven. I knew it was going to be a good day when I got up. That’s because any day on a motorbike in Andalusia is going to be a good day – the riding and the weather in southern…

You need two compulsory bits of safety kit to attend an MSVT trackday – a back protector (integral on my RST suit) and a brake lever guard. Given my theme for the year, I contacted BSB parts provider R&G, who sent me some natty carbon fibre lever guards for both sides of the bike, along with some other protective items. The weekend before my first outing I had some workshop time bolting on frame and fork protectors, and a pair of engine case covers; none of which I have any intention of relying on. But better safe than sorry.…

BMW’s season has been thrown into disarray after Michael van der Mark broke his right leg for the second time this year. On-track at Estoril, lonely teammate Scott Redding flew the flag for Shaun Muir Racing as he battled for success – the high being fourth place on the grid in qualifying. In Race 1, Redding raced BMW’s ‘Sao Paolo yellow’ colour scheme to mark 50 years since the company’s legendary blue, violet and red ‘M’ branding first appeared on four wheels in 1972 (see p4). However, there wasn’t much mood for celebration after van der Mark (still limping after his pre-season crash) again broke his right leg, this time higher up as he snapped the neck of his femur which connects with the hip. The injury was caused by…

‘Toprak rides hard and I must admit that I do, too’ Jonathan Rea put on an incredible display of riding talent yet again as he beat both Toprak Razgatlioglu and Alvaro Bautista to notch up two more World Superbike victories in Portugal last weekend. On Sunday, the Kawasaki rider made a massive step by racing the super soft SCX tyre to victory with a spellbinding last-corner moment to see off Bautista’s Ducati. Earlier in the day, the six-time World Champion had pushed champ Razgatlioglu’s Yamaha into a mistake to seize the Sprint Race. Each of the phenomenal leading trio has their pros and cons but there’s no doubting it’s Rea and Kawasaki who are currently delivering the best overall package. Just as you think Rea had ridden his best ever…

Christian Iddon has moved himself up into the Showdown positions after his best weekend yet as a Buildbase Suzuki rider. The three-time BSB race winner was in the fight for fourth for the majority of all three races, battling hard against familiar rivals in Hickman, Mackenzie, and Glenn Irwin. Iddon did this despite admitting that the start of the weekend had been “horrendous” and not what he’d expected after a breakthrough with the bike at Oulton. He said: “I don’t think we have anything yet for the front boys, I think we’re in a different race at the moment, but we’ll just keep moving.”…

He couldn’t do anything about Jason O’Halloran, but Bradley Ray showed a mature head by taking more podiums at Donington Park. Ray now has eight podiums from the opening nine races, with his one non-podium coming in race two at Silverstone when he crashed out of the lead. Ray now holds a 28-point lead over O’Halloran, with a nine-point advantage on the podium credit chart. The pair were in a league of their own on Sunday, with Ray finishing 6.398s and 3.187s clear of Jackson in both races. It was the first time that fans were treated to an on-track battle between Ray’s Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha R1 and O’Halloran’s McAMS Yamaha. “It was good to follow him to see where he’s strong and where I’m strong,” Ray told…

Three years away have done little to quench Peter Hickman’s thirst for success at the TT, in fact he’s hungrier than ever. Now 35, he enjoyed his best BSB season yet in 2021 and sets out to continue where he left off at the TT onboard the official BMW Gas Monkey M1000R. You’re the lap record holder and the man to beat, how do you deal with the pressure? The only pressure is the pressure I put on myself – there is no pressure from the team or sponsors. And that’s not a discussion any of us have had to have – it just doesn’t happen. It’s a roads thing and also a me thing, because I already know what I want to do and how I want to do…

Ian Hutchinson will be on familiar territory when he returns to the TT after a three-year break, despite lining up with new teams for 2022. The 42-year-old will race BMW M1000RRs in Milwaukee Synetiq livery after rejoining Philip and Hector Neill’s Northern Irelandbased team that he last rode for during 2017. The TT’s most successful Supersport racer has also joined forces with a Northern Irish squad for the 600cc races. He will ride R6 Yamahas prepared by the Boyce Precision Engineering/ Russell Racing team. “The thing that tied everything in for me was that we’ve had three years away from the TT so I wanted to be on a bike and in a team that I know,” explained the 16-time Isle of Man TT winner. “I also know the BMW…

CONOR CUMMINS Age 35 Starts 62 Finishes 42 Wins 0 Podiums 10 Fastest lap 132.610mph ‘It would mean everything to me to win a TT; it’s the ultimate goal’ Conor Cummins has picked up the ‘ever the bridesmaid, never the bride’ mantle where Guy Martin left off at the TT as the Ramsey man continues to claim podium finishes without ever reaching the top step. Since making his TT debut in 2006, Cummins has finished on the podium ten times. Now in his fourth season with the Milenco Padgett’s Honda team, the 35-year-old has finished on the podium of the Superbike and Senior races at the last two TTs. His fastest lap of 132.610mph makes him the sixth quickest rider around the Mountain course behind Peter Hickman, Dean Harrison, Michael…

DAVEY TODD Age 26 Debut 2018 Fastest Lap 131.491mph Best result 6th (2019 Senior) ‘He set his fastest lap of 131.491mph in just his second year at the TT’ It took Davey Todd just two years of racing on the roads to get himself a factory ride with Honda Racing, the most successful manufacturer in the history of the TT, which tells you pretty much everything about the talents of the former Pirelli National Superstock 600cc Championship race winner. Sadly, the cancellation of TT 2020 meant that ride never came to fruition but, without doubt, Todd is the most talented young rider to emerge on the roads since Dean Harrison and Guy Martin. In his two years of racing at the TT, he’s already taken seven top ten finishes. The…

ACTING NEWS EDITOR BMW’s Head of Sales and Brand has revealed that new models will be arriving next year to mark 100 years of the German motorcycle division, as well as fresh electric drivetrains appearing every 18 to 24 months. Dr Alexander Wehr took over the position at the beginning of the year and confirmed that plans are well underway to mark the firm’s first century of motorcycle production, which began with the R32 in 1923. “You can expect a great party along the whole year, ” he said. “And of course, there are going to be new bikes and there may even be some centenary versions that I’m not allowed to disclose at this point.” Despite not being drawn on what would appear, he was quick to rule out…

A motorcycle-based start-up business in North Wales that also acts as an events venue and community and support centre is going from strength to strength. Mavericks Motorcycles was launched five-years-ago as a repair business with a difference. Being part community-owned it also set out to be a facility for local groups and was so successful it moved to a larger 12,000ft2 venue in 2020. The workforce has doubled to 26 and there are plans to take on apprentices who’ve been affected by mental health issues and autism but found ‘their thing’ with Mavericks. Its current venue in Mostyn, known as Mavericks Wales, regularly holds events not just for motorcycle enthusiasts, but also classic car lovers. There’s also a 1000-strong Mavericks Women group and even a Mini Mavericks group for younger…

A survey has been run across Oxfordshire in the hope of encouraging a larger take up of advanced rider training in the county. The Motorcyclist Ride Safe Survey was conducted online by the local Fire and Rescue Service Road Safety team in a bid to improve the range and reach of safety schemes such as Biker Down and BikeSafe. “One of things we’re really keen on at the moment is evaluating what we do and the success of campaigns, advertising and advice we give out, ” said Station Manager Andy Ford. “The survey really is to find out what people know about advanced riding and whether have they thought about it. We want to find out how we’re influencing them to go out and get further training, ” Ford continued.…

This 1955 Speed Twin 500 is pictured with its proud new owner who won the bike as first prize in a raffle by the National Motorcycle Museum. The classic Triumph had been fully restored in the Birmingham museum’s own workshops and was star prize in their Winter Raffle. It was eventually won by Andrew Quicke of Hampshire who picked up the machine last week. Second prize was a 1958 Triton 650 café racer, also restored by the museum, won by Graham Povey of Worcestershire. While third prize was a Sealey Tools retro style combination chest worth over £800. That went to Steve Bastock of Warwickshire. The prize draw took place at the International Classic Motorcycle Show, Stafford, with the winning ticket being drawn by the grandson of the late Mike…

Caberg Freeride Nuke Helmet £177 The new Nuke is a fibreglass retro lid with an urban design. It weighs just 800 grams and comes with a goggles holder (Caberg offer a matching set for an extra £40). It also comes with a long, clear visor that easily clipped into place. It has removable and washable lining and is ECE 22.05 approved. It comes in two shell sizes, giving a range of sizes from XS to XXL. www.caberg.it Tricker Roadster boots £399 This short ankle boot is then made from the highest quality leather, making it strong but incredibly flexible. Each boot is made to be hydrophobic in the tanning process, meaning it remains waterproof without having an added membrane. The ankles are padded for comfort, but this also adds a…

MCN CONTRIBUTOR This street tracker style single is the latest from British/Chinese brand Herald and, at 500cc, is claimed to be not only their biggest and best-performing bike so far but also their most authentically British-built. The Huntingdon company say the Brute 500 is their “first British designed, engineered and manufactured motorcycle” and it’s now gone on sale at £6950 (plus £250 on the road charges). Formed in 2010 and a part of the larger Encocam engineering group, Herald have been known for their range of mostly 125 and 250cc Chinese–built air–cooled budget singles but with British–designed retro and scrambler styling. Determined, they say, “to bring manufacturing back to the UK” the first major step in that direction came with the 2020 Brat 125 which, although still largely comprised of…

After enjoying the close battle in the early laps of the Le Mans GP, I was sad to see Alex Rins throw his (soon to be retired) Suzuki at the scenery, after running over the gravel at 130mph. The slow-mo of the accident clearly showed how hard Alex hit his head on the deck, and even Hodgson highlighted it. So I was surprised to see him receive help from the marshals to remount the bike and get straight back on the circuit after receiving a fairly severe knock to the bonce! No one appreciates the gladiatorial spirit of our racing heroes more than me, but are we in danger of being over-accommodating when it comes to the win-at-all-costs attitude? Andrew Davies, email Be our Star Letter writer and win a…

Ride further in 2022 with a little help from our one-stop event guide JUST BREW IT Ride out to Britain’s best biking cafes Audrey Duxbury opened Route 59 café nine years ago with her son Josh as head chef. Bikers flocked to the venue thanks to Josh’s great grub and shared love of motorcycles. But tragedy struck when, just over five years ago, Josh was in an accident as he rode to work, and lost his life aged just 21. ‘Mad’ Janet Euston has been working at the café for seven years and can recall how he cemented the relationship with bikers. “He was the type of charismatic young man that could make a friend with somebody who’s seven or 70, ” she says. “He was a talented chef. He…

It’s debatable whether any of these three bikes would exist without the inspiration of Honda’s original scooter ‘crossover’, the outlandish X-ADV, launched in 2017. Based on the now defunct Integra 750, it was yet another leftfield Honda punt (think DN-01, NM4 Vultus and CTX1300) that this time worked rather well, essentially by adding popular adventure bike style, stature and ruggedness to a practical (but otherwise dull) scooter platform. Despite its fairly high price (the current version is a hefty £10,999), the X-ADV proved sufficiently popular throughout Europe with over 7500 sold in its first year, particularly in scooter-mad France and Italy. As a result, unlike other Honda experiments such as the DN-01, the X-ADV not only survived in the Japanese giant’s line-up but last year actually gained an update by…

We prattle on how electric bikes have trouble with range and charging time. But away from the world of throwaway battery-powered urban scoots, the greatest hurdle for a ‘proper’ battery bike is surely price. Energica’s Eva EsseEsse9 is great but costs £24,590, and though Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire is eye-opening it ruddy well needs to be at almost thirty grand (although the new LiveWire range are due to come in at a slightly less hefty price). Zero have the same issue. A few weeks back we tested their latest SR/S with 140lb.ft and 110bhp, and I was genuinely impressed with its whooshing performance, confident handling and sense of quality. Best of all, it cost about £3.50 to do 100 miles. But it’s also a salty £22,240 when it comes to buying the…

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Arai RX-7V Evo £699.99 ‘It’s the ultimate road helmet’ Tested by Emma Franklin, time tested two months/1000 miles This is the updated version of Arai’s flagship helmet, now certified to the more stringent ECE 22.06 safety standard. It’s Arai’s second lid to be tested to the new tougher requirements, after the introduction of the mid-range Quantic last year. This would lead you to think that the Quantic perhaps influenced the new RX-7V Evo, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. In fact, the RX-7V Evo has the exact same composite-fibre shell moulded into Arai’s traditional ‘R75’ rounded shape, with its reinforcing belt above the brow, as well as the same multi-density one-piece EPS lining as the previous RX-7V. This is all down to the…

Bewbie to American bikes with a love of V-twins and singles Blatting around north Norfolk’s A-and B-roads and posing at the coast was always going to be in the FTR’s wheelhouse, but I was slightly less confident in how the Indian would perform over longer distances. I was particularly nervous about it after arriving for a day’s work at MCN Towers on a blustery day with a neck like cycling legend Chris Hoy’s thigh. So, it was with a little trepidation that I loaded up and set off for a 480-mile round trip to Anglesey Circuit in Wales. Funnily enough, this is a trip I also made on my Kawasaki ZX-10R test bike in 2021, so I had a direct comparison to draw upon. I was even wearing the same…

The fact the reigning champ still hasn’t won this season – and has had ten winless races since being crowned in Indonesia – looks bad. In reality, it’s not. After all, it took Toprak Razgatlioglu until the ninth race to open his winning account en route to the 2021 title. On the other hand, many expected an Estoril treble. Smiling and relaxed as he posed for pictures with a group of marshals in the paddock on Sunday evening, Toprak was keen to ask MCN how we were – even apologising for a slow answer to a question, such is his level of humility. When reminded he has achieved nine podiums from as many races contested at Estoril, Razgatlioglu said: “Yes, but we really needed to win this weekend.” Shot of…

Fresh from a miserable two years with Leon Haslam and Alvaro Bautista, Honda are getting closer and closer to the front of the field. Assen’s podium for Iker Lecuona may have been somewhat lucky after the infamous Rea/Razgatlioglu clash, but Estoril brought more positivity for the team managed by Leon Camier as Lecuona and Spanish compatriot Xavi Vierge continued to raise eyebrows. Undoubtedly helped by the additional test days available to both them and BMW due to their lowly finishing positions last year, Honda were fifth and sixth in Race 1 as Vierge out-dragged Lecuona on the dash to the line. It was Vierge’s best WSB result to date after he had to learn the Estoril track on a friend’s professional car racing simulator in Catalonia. He is also working…

Kyle Ryde certainly won’t forget about this BSB meeting for a while after an eventful weekend for the Rich Energy OMG Racing Yamaha rider. The 24-year-old stormed to his first victory of the season, and his first since Silverstone 2020, on Saturday after keeping Jason O’Halloran at bay through the final chicane and winning the resulting drag race to the line. Disaster struck in race two when Ryde fell from second at McLeans. He was fine, but the high-speed get off caused a lot of bike damage. A brilliant rebuild by his team during the couple of hours between the races allowed Ryde to challenge again in the finale, but he was pipped by Skinner and had to settle for fifth. All in all, it was another impressive weekend for…

It’s hard to imagine a more down-to-earth motorcycle racer than Dean Harrison. Now 33, the DAO Racing Kawasaki rider won the last TT back in 2019 and as a result has been the Senior TT champion for close to three years. But while the grin of satisfaction is never far from Harrison’s face, when you mention his landmark Senior TT victory he remains as humble as he is fast. The forced cancellation of the event in 2020 and 2021 has seen the world’s top road racers miss out on big earning potential and two prime years of their careers, with Harrison even fearing that the TT might never come back. “I didn’t know the future of the TT,” he told MCN. “Especially with the world how it is now after…

Peter Hickman and BMW have established themselves as the TT benchmark in recent years. Now a five-time race winner, Hickman holds the outright lap record of 135.452mph set during the 2018 Senior. He remains the only man in history to do a 135mph lap and with a new, improved and fully developed M10000RR at his disposal in 2022, he has the opportunity to go even faster. MCN spent a day getting up close to the FHO BMW Superbike, built by Hickman’s long time crew chief and friend Darren Jones. BUILD TIME Given their intimate knowledge of the BMW the team can build a potential TT winner in a surprisingly small amount of time. Jones says: “The Superbike is built from parts rather than starting with a standard road bike. We…

Glenn Irwin has had a wonderful start to his 2022 season. The Northern Irish racer is riding high in the BSB standings after making a dream start in this year’s campaign, winning all three races at Silverstone’s opening round aboard the Honda Racing Fireblade. Two weeks ago Irwin dominated the Superbike field at the North West 200, blitzing the opposition in both races. Coronavirus may have delayed the Ulsterman’s TT debut by two years, but the 32-year-old remains a dream debutant for an event that has struggled to recruit high-profile talent in recent years. Race boss, Paul Phillips, will be hoping Irwin can bring some of the showbiz razzamatazz he has already sprinkled in his wake at the NW200 and Macau Grand Prix where he is already an established star…