RiDE March 2018

IT’S COLD AND dark outside at this time of year, but don’t worry: that just means summer is getting closer and, with it, better weather and better riding. Mind you, even when the weather’s not perfect it’s possible to have a brilliant ride in Britain, as our testers found out when they headed to the Scottish Borders with adventure bikes (p14). The other respite from the winter is the Carole Nash MCN London Motorcycle Show, coming up at the ExCeL centre in the Docklands. If you missed the NEC, it’s your chance to see this year’s most interesting new bikes, with the added danger of bumping into me or Martin as we stroll round the show. In fact, getting to chat with readers at the show is one of the highlights…

Martin Fitz-Gibbons Deputy editor I am a tyre pressure nerd and have a collection of various gauges, but have no idea how accurate any of them are. Which should I add to the collection next? I’ll find out with the RiDE Product Test, as we put a dozen through their paces. PAGE 78 Kev Raymond Features writer I’ve revived a few apparently moribund vehicles in my time, so I’m keen to see how Bruce gets on resurrecting a 1996 BMW F650. That could be a handy little bike if getting it running smoothly can be done without too much stress (or expense). PAGE 98 Caroline Barrett Editorial assistant One of my favourite sections of the magazine is Your Rides – packed full of your pictures. At this time of year, I love seeing where people have been and…

MARKET SHARE’S FAIR What’s hot & what’s not THE POPULARITY OF adventure bikes has continued to rise throughout 2017, while superbike sales remain in sharp decline. The latest new-registration figures (to the end of November) confirm the continued contrasting fortunes of the two styles, with dual-sport machines bikes outselling sportsbikes by two to one over the year. While overall new-bike registrations are down around 15%, adventure bikes have bucked the trend by increasing their sales slightly. It means they now make up almost one in five of all new motorcycles sold — compared with one in ten a decade ago and less than one in 30 back in 2000. The charge is being led, predictably, by the BMW R1200GS and GS Adventure. New registrations of the two models during the first nine months of…

BIKES ON TV Regular visitor to this column, Jonathan Rea, had another good month. Not content with an MBE and a third World Superbikes title, he hoped to crown 2017 by becoming BBC Sports Personality of the Year. In the end, Sir Mo Farrah took the win, 3000-odd votes ahead of Rea, who was more than 6000 votes clear of Paralympian Jonnie Peacock and boxer Anthony Joshua. Rea’s 80,567 votes dwarf the 37,000 attendance at Donington for the WSB race weekend. REASONABLE PRICING Think all this year’s new bikes are eyewateringly expensive? Not necessarily. Suzuki has announced the price of the new SV650X: a restrained £5999 — which is £6139 by the time you’re on the road. Not outrageous for a stylish, practical version of a well-proven and popular bike.…

GALLIC GATSOS It looks like the French will be lowering their national-road, single-carriageway speed limit from 90kph to 80kph. You’d assume it would be taken with a shrug and general disregard, but with a tsunami of speed cameras washing over our largest neighbour, suspicious locals think it’s a gigantic killjoy cash cow designed to milk money from motorists. As speeding tickets will now follow you home, more care may be needed on the summer tour. LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIPS Living TT legend John McGuinness appears to have parted ways with the official Honda road racing team, which announced its “all-new rider line-up” of Ian Hutchinson and Lee Johnston. But given how well he and teammate Guy Martin got on with the Fireblade in 2017, maybe that’s not such a bad thing……

TRAVEL STAR PICTURE Caen, France This is me riding my new Yamaha MT-10, my brother on his Triumph Daytona and my mate on his Suzuki GSX650F. We took off for a few days to see the D-Day landing sites - this is Pegasus Bridge. James Gouldsworthy Pyrenees, France I took my Honda VFR750 to the Pyrenees last year to celebrate 100,000 miles on it. I took it back this year to celebrate 20 years of owning it. Paul Elverstone Cardington, England My Triumph Rocket III at the airship hangers in Cardington, before a trip to North Devon. Paul Kaiser John o’Groats, Scotland I’ve just done the North Coast 500 with my dad and had to share this picture. Anthony Reynolds Picos de Europa, Spain This is my Suzuki M1800 Intruder on the N621 on the way from Riaño to León…