Indice dei contenuti per 5 February 2020 in MCN

Sometimes, the only thing that truly differentiates a dream from a nightmare is the way in which the final scene unfolds – defining whether you wake up happy, or sweating with fear. And if Norton being put into administration by Metro Bank last week is the final act of what had already been a roller coaster of filmic proportions – then it’s certainly earned the right to be dubbed a nightmare. Yes, for the business – but most profoundly for those who might never see their deposit again, or the bike they ordered. If this is indeed the beginning of the end, then it’s an ignominious one, with genuine tragedy hiding around every turn. Let’s not forget that, in addition to customers, suppliers and the staff, there is a group…

Police forces throughout the UK have started the new year with some significant wins in the battle against motorcycle crime. In Sunderland, the specialist motorcycle theft task force ‘Operation Benelli’ has gone from strength to strength with the execution of a series of successful dawn raids. One raid resulted in the seizure of four men and a 12-year-old who were all arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to steal motor vehicles. Also seized in the raid were three motorcycles that had all been reported as stolen plus three vans and a car which were believed to be used in criminal activity. In addition, as part of an investigation into a large-scale conspiracy to commit theft, the team also have carried out surveillance relating to more than 30 separate offences. Detective Inspector…

The latest gear from cutting-edge clothing company Saint combines a stretchy and comfortable denim with AA-rated protection, with enough strength to lift a two-tonne skip from just a single layer of fabric. How have they done it? By using some clever tech and a wonder material that’s 15 times stronger than steel. “This idea came from our own experience of riding motorbikes, but being uncomfortable off the bike,” says Saint founder Aidan Clarke. “We weren’t sure that anyone was asking for single-layer safety denim. “We spent 18 months on R&D and product evolution before launching our first tough moto offering in late 2015.” Slippery devils To make their denim Saint use a material called Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) – a type of thermoplastic polyethylene known as Dyneema. It…

‘I’ve got to get this off my chest!’ I have read articles comparing the LC and YPVS over the years and invariably they have suggested the LC was the better bike. Up to now as a professional person I smirked, disagreed and moved on. At 17 I went for the Kawasaki AR125LC instead of the RD125LC because the stand went up when you pulled in the clutch. I passed my test and rode a number of 350LCs and the YPVS. To me there was only one option. The YPVS looked better, went better, stopped better and was way ahead. The only thing I am really grateful for is that without the LC, I know the YPVS would never have been built. I love both but the YPVS was better at…

‘ The claimed economy on the display is miles out ’ It’s Britain’s best road test route. A tough 250-mile mix of A and B- roads, a stretch of motorway, plus plenty of towns, villages, blind corners, ballistic straights, and a huge range of grippy to slippy tarmac. There are two cafés, an off-road section for adventure and trail bikes, track time at Silverstone for sportsbikes, and Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground and the dyno for hard and fast data when needed. You want answers? We’ve got ’em. WEATHER WATCH 1 Power play Playing with gears while passing A605 traffic reveals how the V2’s engine keeps feeling stronger the harder it’s worked. From 50mph, wind the throttle open in fourth and the Panigale pulls forward smoothly, but not with brain-curdling superbike…

Like any superbike, the Panigale V2 needs space to breathe: long stretches of desolate Tarmac, not commuter traffic and delivery trucks; sinuous strings of bends, not point-stop-squirt right-angles; national speed limits, not 50mph zones and double white lines. Unfortunately, this magic combination is in short supply on the MCN250, just as it is across much of Britain. But once in a while, whether by luck, accident or design, it falls into place. Today, it’s these seven miles. Leave Stow behind, pass politely through the quaint village of Lower Swell, wait for the white picket fences – and go. Open the throttle and the Panigale surges forward, devouring most of second gear in a handful of seconds. Short-shift with the superb quickshifter then hold the revs high in third. Speed set,…

Honda enter new territory when the new £23,499 CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP hits dealers in April. No longer is the ’Blade the ‘everyman’ superbike for all occasions, it’s now unashamedly single-minded, aimed at racers and trackday nutters with more than a few quid in their pockets. It’s a completely different animal to any Blade that’s gone before, from the way it makes its eye-watering 214bhp, to its diminutive dimensions and the way Leon Haslam cracked off a two-minute lap here at its world launch in Qatar. That’s half a second off Ryuichi Kiyonari’s race pace at WSB last year… on a bike with lights and a horn! It wasn’t broke… Of course, there wasn’t much wrong with the out-going ’Blade – MCN’s 2017 Superbike of the Year. Sure, it didn’t have…

The Panigale V4 was a brave new world for Ducati: their trademark V-twin engine configuration was cast aside for a totally new Panigale derived from their MotoGP bike. But Ducati have recognised that the average buyer isn’t always up to the challenge, and it can be intimidating. So it’s been tweaked for a little more user friendliness, with the aim of quicker, more consistent laps for all. 1 Raising the game The centre of gravity (and the seat height) is 5mm higher. They’ve pushed the forks 4mm through the yokes, the shock is 2mm longer and the suspension tie bars are shorter. Ducati say it’s to aid weight transfer on the brakes or power: for more feel as you brake into corners and more traction. The change in swingarm angle…

Well that’s it, the Café Racer with its distinctive #54 numberboards (a tribute to legendary racer Bruno Spaggiari) has gone back. Over the spring, summer and autumn we’ve had an absolute blast together – and better still, there wasn’t a single reliability issue. 500 miles There’s still a chill in the air as the Ducati arrives with close to zero miles on the clock. Running in isn’t too much of a hardship and the last few miles are eaten up with a ride down to the Super Sausage for the first of the year’s #Ride500miles gatherings. The weather is vile with high winds and low temperatures, but with some warm gear and a strong cuppa at the destination, the hour-plus ride is enjoyable and easy manners mean crosswinds create few…

The winter months have seen a major shake up of the roads grid. But while Peter Hickman and Dean Harrison know what they are doing, neither Michael Dunlop nor Ian Hutchinson have announced their plans. Dunlop, who has won 19 TTs, runs his own MD Racing machinery in the Supersport and Superstock classes but also rode for the TASrun Tyco BMW during the past two years. TAS have now lost the official BMW backing and although the team have announced their 2020 BSB riders it is unclear whether Dunlop will reappear in the TAS squad or even if the squad will compete on the roads at all. Sixteen-times TT winner Hutchinson rode a BMW in Shaun Muir’s livery at the Macau Grand Prix last November, sparking rumours he will be…

Yamaha’s plan for a fundamental change in the factory team was conceived by race boss Lin Jarvis. The retention of Viñales on a fresh two-year deal for 2021-22 was a priority with Jarvis aware of Ducati’s interest in the Spaniard. A key part of his pitch included an undertaking that Viñales technical feedback would be prioritised, so eliminating his dislike of Rossi’s development direction. The Viñales/Quartararo line-up also means two of the hottest young riders in MotoGP are on Yamahas for the next three years. Jarvis first outlined his plan to secure them in November. Crucially, that plan included the revelation that factory slots would not be held open while Rossi decided his future. In an open but difficult conversation in January, Rossi agreed with Jarvis that he no longer…

The DVSA have shut down over 100 rogue bike trainers who have been delivering sub-standard training to new motorcyclists. In total 18 approved training bodies and 105 instructors have had their licences revoked. In the worst cases, the DVSA found instructors selling CBT certificates to people without any training, while some were found to have issued certificates on days when they were closed. The moves come as part of a bid to improve motorcycle training and attempt to turn more new bikers into full licence holders and is being pushed heavily by DVSA Chief Examiner, Mark Winn, himself a lifelong biker. “The DVSA’s priority is to help everyone through a lifetime of safe riding,” said Winn. “Too many motorcyclists are killed or injured on our roads every year so it’s…

This is BMW’s new F900R, the ‘dynamic roadster’ to replace the F800R. Middleweight nakeds are huge business in Europe and BMW hope the £8660 twin will go wheel-to-wheel with Yamaha’s three-cylinder MT-09 (£8542) and Kawasaki’s inline-four Z900 (£8692) – and MCN have been among the first to test it. Based around the new F900XR (tested in last week’s MCN), it uses the same 895cc, 105bhp parallel-twin engine, steel frame, aluminium swingarm, brakes and wheels. The F900R has a bespoke chassis set-up however, with less fork offset, more trail plus reduced wheel travel front and rear. The riding position is different, too, with greater front-end bias from ’bars that are lower and further away and ’pegs that are higher and further back. It’s a sportier stance than the previous F800R as…

AScottish member of our #ride5000miles group plans to visit a different village, town or city in the country for every letter of the alphabet aboard his trusty Kawasaki ZZR1400. “I’ve been on Wikipedia and found loads of places to visit, but I’m still struggling with X and V,” Gordon Alexander, 51, from Livingston, explained. Gordon has set himself the challenge of riding to the town with the shortest name for each letter, with every stop situated on the Scottish mainland, or accessible by road. If there are multiple towns for the same letter, of the same length, then the one that comes first alphabetically will be chosen. He starts his rides next month. “Z is also a challenge,” Alexander continued, “but I’ve found the Zoar Inn, in Forfar, so I’ll…

For more than a year now it’s been impossible to buy a brand new Suzuki Hayabusa in Europe after the legendary hyperbike failed to meet Euro4 emissions limits – but it’s not gone forever. Suzuki engineers are hard at work on a completely revamped version. In recent months several Suzuki patent applications have hinted at the next-gen Hayabusa’s looks and technology. It’s clear the new bike isn’t a completely clean-sheet design. The engine’s overall layout and many castings appear to survive, helping reduce development costs and providing a link to the original. Normally-reliable sources in Japan say capacity will be hiked to around 1440cc, a route several manufacturers have recently taken in an effort to meet tougher emissions laws without losing performance. Power is likely to remain around 200hp but…

‘MY NEW BOSS IS ON THE PHONE LIKE A DOG WITH TWO DICKS…’ I feel like I’ve been in a bit of a washing machine with the situation I was in at Norton. But hand on heart, I wanted the Norton deal to work and I think everyone else in the country also wanted to see it work – we all did, riders, sponsors, media. It was a complete Hollywood deal, but it just never materialised. I felt I had big shoes to fill and quite a lot of pressure riding for Norton. The bike looked the bollocks, sounded the bollocks – it was chrome and I was in a chrome suit! But the reality is that it never happened, and I was left wondering what to do. I’m a…

Ducati say that the V2 has 5bhp and 1.5ftlb more than the outgoing 959 Panigale, mostly thanks to larger fuel injectors and more efficient inlet tracts. However, our dyno test (which measures a bike’s true rear-wheel power and torque output) reveals no improvement at all over the previous bike. Our V2 produced peaks of 140.2bhp at 10,700rpm and 72.3ftlb at 9000rpm – as near as makes no odds to a 2016 959 Panigale’s output of 141.4bhp at 10,700rpm and 72.4ftlb at 9100rpm. Both sets of curves follow the same shape, too. Retaining the same engine performance as the older bike despite having being cleaned up to meet Euro5 emissions standards is a pretty decent achievement, but we can’t detect any trace of additional performance here. In fact, the biggest difference…

Is there still a place in 2020 for a V-twin superbike? Without a shadow of a doubt. The Ducati Panigale V2 offers a hugely welcome alternative to the wealth of 200bhp four-cylinder hyperbikes. And it’s a nicer, more willing and welcoming road bike than them as a result – less cramped, more accessible power and much more flexible gearing. If you want to hold your hi-tech head, er, high, the V2 now has all the clever gadgets a modern-day superbike should. Brand snobs may wish for more exotic logos on the suspension, but there’s nothing wrong with the V2’s poise or ride quality. Its £15K price tag means the V2 can’t ever be seen as a budget choice – that’s more than a ZX-10R or a GSX-R1000, and within £500…

Early days in motocross “My first bike was an Italjet 50, when I was three. I started MX on a Yamaha YZ80G at 11 and progressed to become a national level rider.” Crescent Suzuki GSX-R750 “I did 12 BSB rounds and three WSB wildcards in 2000 and podiumed at every single event!” Shell Advance Honda NSR500 Chris turns down an offer to go to WSB with Crescent for a GP ride. “It was the worst bike I’ve ridden.” Foggy Petronas FP1 “The FP1 was a turd. I loved riding for Foggy, but it is the only bike that has ever set me on fire. My pubes still haven’t fully grown back…” 2006 PSG-1 Kawasaki ZX-10R “PSG-1 were an under-funded privateer team but they were a great bunch of guys and…

‘No Instagram shot could ever do this view justice’ When you think of the ultimate American ride, chances are that images of Harleys, open face lids and desolate stretches of Route 66 spring to mind. That’s all well and good but an arguably more beautiful ribbon of tarmac can actually be found snaking along the Pacific coast, taking in challenging turns, stunning wildlife and mountainous scenery, all under the nourishing heat of the Californian sun. Known as the Pacific Coast Highway, the route stretches 650 miles along Highway 1, which starts in Leggett, north of San Francisco and ends in San Diego, via some truly stunning vistas. With bikes available to hire locally, as well as numerous self-guided or guided tour packages to book online, tackling this road trip is…

RATINGS POOR ★ AVERAGE ★★ GOOD ★★★ VERY GOOD ★★★★ EXCEPTIONAL ★★★★★ LS2 Pioneer Evo helmet £100 Tested by Ben Clarke for one month, 1000 miles Comfortable, light and well-ventilated with a wide field of vision. I generally prefer a double D-ring chin strap, but when you’re stopping regularly for pictures, map checks or whatever else on a trip, the seatbelt style strap is really convenient. The peak has some adjustability from two thumb screws on the top. They’re a bit awkward to use and it doesn’t offer the best sun protection but there’s a dropdown internal sun visor. I used the helmet for a week of off roading in Lesotho in all weathers and never had to think about it, which is the best thing I can say about…

Following an extensive investigation covering several months, MCN can now exclusively reveal that talks concerning the future of the World Superbike championship are nearing completion and that a decision on a potential merger with the Endurance World Championship (EWC) is expected soon. High level discussions between the two series have been taking place since early 2019. With World Endurance, the series behind the famous Suzuka 8hour, struggling, and WSB no longer attracting the attention it once did, a new concept could see selected endurance races integrated into World Superbike weekends, allowing riders to occasionally compete in both WSB and endurance races. MCN has learned that talks between Dorna (the commercial rights holder of WSB), Discovery (commercial rights holder of World Endurance) and the FIM (international governing body of motorcycle racing)…

‘Norton was failing to build bikes and meet its tax obligations’ Norton Motorcycles was placed in administration last week as attempts to save the business failed to secure the backing needed to stop Metro Bank pulling the plug. This means that potentially hundreds of bike orders may never be built and customers are at risk of losing their deposits. Norton launched a share scheme in November 2019 with a view to raising the cash required to fulfil their order book, but the lure of a single investor saw the offer withdrawn while Norton attempted to finalise a deal to underpin its critical cash-flow problems. With echoes of the near-collapse of the business in 2012 when cash-flow issues very nearly sank the firm just four years after businessman Stuart Garner bought…

STEWART CAMPBELL CASE STUDY #1 ‘It felt like my money had been stolen’ Stewart Campbell from Knockhill in Scotland, put a £4k deposit down for a Norton V4 SS Chrome two-and-a-half years ago and started pressing the company for his bike in November. At that point he was told that if he paid the £40,345 balance up front he could have the bike within 7-10 days. Stewart said: “I just wanted the bike. I love motorcycles and have a small collection, but I’d never owned a British bike and I just loved the look of this thing and the engineering. “I paid the money by BACS and was expecting my bike. After a week I was told there were problems with my bike. I started getting worried and pushed…

Throughout the history of the reborn brand, Norton targeted the Isle of Man TT with their improving series of SG race bikes, using a mix of Norton chassis development with Aprilia V4 power. Starting in 2012, the racing programme delivered the team a best finish of 5th in the 2018 Senior in the hands of Josh Brookes. It’s believed Norton had no plans to race with a factory team in 2020 – but in January Smiths Racing announced they would campaign a Norton Superlight this year. We spoke to Smiths Racing’s Darren Jones to ask if this was still going ahead. “The deal we had in place was basically that we own the bike,” confirmed Jones. “We’ve taken the bike on ourselves and all of the money that will be…

HONDA SUPER DREAM My beloved Honda in 1983. I hung up my helmet two years later and then after 33 years, I bought a Harley 883. Debbie Jamieson HONDA CBR600F The Honda is hard to beat whether you are a new rider or not. Always brilliant fun to ride. Glynn Reynolds BMW R1200RT 44 years ago, work, marriage, kids and the inevitable 4-wheel tin box conspired. Then ‘click’, life made sense again! Kevin Viney APRILIA RS125 I was madly in love with this bike, Aprilia RS125. Oily Hands YAMAHA TZR125 My first-ever bike. It was horrendous to be honest but I had great fun… my Adidas ‘poppers’, they were horrendous, end of. Scott Mitchell BAMBINO SUPERMOTO My son on his first motorcycle. He races in the British mini bikes championship,…

•250-MILE ROAD TEST • THE BEST BIKES • EVERY WEEK There are two ways to look at Ducati’s new Panigale V2. The clinical one is that it’s effectively a tweaked, rebranded 959. Sure, it has a new single-sided swingarm, sharper styling and smaller exhaust, but it’s otherwise not far removed from a bike that’s been around since 2016. But the other is to recognise that this is the last remaining V-twin superbike on the planet, which means it deserves to be treasured, celebrated and even revered. The clue’s in the new name: the swap from ‘959’ to ‘V2’. This is it: the last surviving specimen. Somebody get Attenborough on the phone. It’s hard to believe given how immensely popular V-twin superbikes once were. Once Ducati made them desirable in the…

‘It was like football rivalry, you were on Neil’s side or mine’ If the cheers from fans could determine the winner, Chris Walker would be a multiple world champ. One of the most popular racers in BSB history, Chris ‘Stalker’ Walker’s career has been a rollercoaster that has included success on the world scene, heartbreak at domestic level, bashing fairings with Mick Doohan, fighting back from Bell’s Palsy and even a competitive stint in sidecars! Exploding into the road racing scene in 1994 at the age of 22 after a lifetime of motocross, one year after his tarmac debut Chris was not only racing in British Superbikes, he was also lining up at the British GP as a wildcard in both the 250 and 500 classes. Two years later he…

Head tucked tight inside the large screen, titanium Yoshimura pipe singing, Park Straight disappears in a blur of spiralling revs and super-close-ratio gears. There’s barely any change in pitch as my left foot struggles to keep the screaming, rushing inline-four engine supplied with gears. Sit up, brake hard, and the front Pirelli slick is squidged into the hot track, speed scrubbed away as quickly as it built and with total stability. Shift a cheek, give the ’bar the slightest nudge, and red and white kerbing is immediately flashing past my ear… This is Cadwell Park, and this is Chris Walker’s British Superbikespec Suzuki GSX-R750. And, for me, it’s the realisation of something I never thought would happen. Back in 2000 this bike was the centre of all our attention as…

Appearances can be enough to spark the decision to buy a new bike and if it has the performance to back it up then the prospect becomes even more alluring. MCN reader Billy Hogg was swept up in such a romance when he first saw the new Africa Twin. “I’d always loved the looks of the original RD Africa Twins [RD was Honda’s model code for the ’89 - ’03 V-twin version], but never thought they had the poke to live up to the name,” says Billy. However, all that changed when Honda released the brand new 2016 machine and straight away he knew he had to have one. Billy was looking for a balance between the ability to tour and, when the situation so demands, tackle a dirt track…

Go on, admit it. You’ve always hankered after something sexy, desirable and maybe a bit unusual, haven’t you? Fear not – you’re not alone. There’s a magic to the European manufacturers that brands from other continents can’t match; a blend of feel, noise and style that grabs you deep inside. And the Italians are better at it than anyone. Owning something special doesn’t require a Lottery win, mind. Look at these attractive prices... £5750 APRILIA RSV4 FACTORY 998cc |203kg |180bhp |810mm seat height • Dealer up to £7000 • Private up to £5500 • This one 2009, 12,000 miles Want a bike that feels special? Buy an RSV4 Factory. From polished alloy chassis parts and swanky electronic rider aids to overwhelming midrange torque and race bike-like turning, the Italian…

1 Electrical symptoms A broken electrical connector will cause a variety of problems, sometimes it can go unnoticed for a while if the joint is only responsible for a minor electrical function, such as a running lamp. Other times a failed connector, such as a failed connector/joint in the ignition wiring, could make your machine grind to a halt at the roadside. 2 Choose your weapon To fix a broken wire you can either solder or crimp. Crimping is how most motorcycle wiring looms are put together, and done properly the joint will be both weather-proof and able to withstand the vibration experienced from a high-revving engine. Soldered joints are less common but can still make a good repair if done properly. 3 Send in the strippers…

All eyes were on Aprilia’s GP20 MotoGP contender as the manufacturer teams embarked on three days of testing at Sepang this week. The Italian team is the only manufacturer bringing an all-new bike to the grid this year thanks to the introduction a new, wider-angle 90-degree V4. This new engine has also necessitated an all-new chassis, which also gets a radical new ‘aero’ element. MCN spoke with British test rider Bradley Smith at the end of the second day of testing where he’d been testing the new bike back-to-back with the 2019 model before completing a number of longer runs on the 2020 version. Speaking from Sepang, he outlined the three key areas development was focusing on: “We wanted something that gave us smooth engine power. But we also needed…

Q How will the new Michelin rear tyre change things? Michelin’s new rear tyre debuts in Sepang. It went through extensive testing in 2019, with Brit Bradley Smith involved. “It might get a bit spicy for the first five or six races,” he told MCN. “It will, I believe, bring extra performance in terms of lap-time and definitely performance in the first half of the race.” Q How fit is Marc Marquez? For the second year running Marc Marquez is recovering from shoulder surgery. The reigning champion’s rehabilitation has reportedly been much tougher than expected with the six-time MotoGP champion saying he’ll only be at 60-70% fitness when testing kicks off on Friday. Of course, we know how good Marquez is at hiding any weakness from rivals. He arrived at…

Rossi to be replaced by Quartararo at Yamaha in 2021 GOAT to choose either retirement or Petronas slot Valentino Rossi has been unable to delay the meteoric rise of Fabio Quartararo whose emergence has been the catalyst for the most feared moment in MotoGP: Will bike racing’s biggest ever superstar bring down the curtain on his incredible career at end of this year, or will he ride on into 2021? No matter what decision he makes the Italian legend will be replaced by Quartararo in the Yamaha factory squad in 2021. Rossi’s options then are either retirement or a slot in the satellite Petronas SRT team, albeit on a full factory machine. And Rossi’s home race at Mugello in late May will be a key moment in defining his future.…

The return of prodigal son Jorge Lorenzo, who was confirmed as Yamaha’s new test rider last week, has completed the dream team for Yamaha’s bold plan to arrest Honda’s current domination of MotoGP. Despite dalliances with Ducati (2017-18) and Honda (2019) Lorenzo is a YZR-M1 mastermind. Three world championships (2010, 2012 and 2015) and 44 M1 race wins attest to that. The move comes less than three months after the Spaniard announced his retirement at Valencia. And although being unveiled as a test rider, intriguingly Yamaha have not ruled him out from making wild card race appearances. No-one’s more pleased to see his return than Maverick Viñales who became an instant winner in 2017 when he joined Yamaha riding a Lorenzo-spec M1...…