Motorcycle Sport & Leisure March 2022

I love this time of year. And maybe that’s how it should be: after all, I was born in Finland, in winter. But to be honest, I never much liked the cold, and having spent most of my life living in warmer climes, the only time I like to see snow is when I watch Snowman (for the umpteenth time…) with my son. No, the reason why I love this time of year is not because of the cold that numbs your fingers on rides lasting longer than a blink of an eye. And no, it’s certainly not the black ice that lurks in the shady corners of country lanes either. In fact, there’s plenty of things about the winter months that I could do without. The reason why I love this…

Ross Mowbray Ross works across several motorcycling magazines. That means he gets to ride all manner of two-wheelers, from Monkey bikes to trikes. Don’t let his youthful appearance fool you, he’s a seasoned petrol-head, respected test rider and a handy off-roader, too. Dave Manning As a self-confessed motorcycle anorak, Dave’s particular two-wheeled penchant is for customised bikes – in each and every modified form they come. He’s a strong believer that every single bike ever made is worth trying, whether they have been customised or not. Chris Moss Mossy has made a living from bikes since 1985, first as a motorcycle courier in London, and then as a journo from 1995. He’s raced, ridden and tinkered with hundreds of different bikes, but he’s the first to admit there’s still loads to experience and learn. Maja Kenney Maja…

Given what a challenging year we have all just had, it came as a bit of a surprise when Ducati announced that it ended 2021 with record sales, growing globally by + 24% over 2020 (48,042) and + 12% over 2019 (53,183). The Bologna-based company can boast double-digit growth in all of its major markets including the United States, which regained the place of leading market for Ducati with 9,007 units, which corresponds to an increase of 32% on 2020, followed by Italy with 8,707 bikes (+ 23% on 2020) and by Germany with 6,107 units (+ 11% on 2020). The Chinese market also grew with 4,901 motorcycles (+ 21%), as well as the French one with 4,352 (+ 12%) and the UK one with 2,941 units (+ 30%). This growth…

BMW has created a new Performance Academy to help motorcycle riders develop or hone their on-track skills. Four different courses have been devised to cater for all abilities – from Level One for those new to a circuit, through to ‘M Experience’ for those wanting to learn the fundamentals of motorcycle racing. Participants will be trained by a team of British Superbike Championship stars who currently race or have previously raced aboard BMW motorcycles. To ensure that every student receives in-depth guidance from each session, the participant numbers will be kept to a minimum, as BMW Motorrad UK National Marketing and PR Manager Scott Grimsdall explains: “We wanted to keep the school quite intimate and the groups relatively small to deliver a premium, yet relaxed and supportive experience. Every rider will benefit from…

The TTT Great Escape is a limited-edition watch, recycled from the 1962 Triumph TR6 Trophy used in The Great Escape in 1963. Once filming of The Great Escape was complete, the bike was left to gather dust in a barn in Norfolk before being restored by Dick Shepherd, the world’s largest private collector of Triumph motorcycles. Shepherd replaced the clutch plates and connector rods to get the Triumph looking exactly as it does in the movie, passing the originals on to REC Watches for use in the TTT Great Escape dial. REC Watches repurposed the parts and built them into the dial of the TTT Great Escape timepieces. You can pre-oder the watches at www.recwatches.com/collections/the-tttcollection/products/ttt-great-escape and even get 10% off with the code TTT10.…

Michelin’s new Road 6 tyre range is designed to offer riders of roadsters, trail bikes, sportsbikes and GT motorcycles the optimised performance in terms of wet grip, longevity, comfort and handling. Alongside the standard Road 6 tyre range, which now incorporates sizes for big trail bikes, there is also the Road 6 GT tyre designed for grand touring machines. The new Road 6 tyre offers a 15 per cent improvement in wet grip and a 10 per cent increase in tyre life compared with its predecessor, the Road 5 tyre. These improvements in performance have been made possible by a new tread design, advances in raw materials and an optimised tyre architecture.…