Tabla de contenidos para December 2024 en RiDE

‘£7k can get you so much bike’ Welcome to an action-packed, bargain-loving edition of RiDE. The two main stories in this issue revolve around great-value bikes. Recent research shows our readers spend about £7000 on buying a bike. Of course, many pay much more and many much less, but the number of brilliant bikes you can pick up for that around figure is truly impressive – and the choice is endless. So, we’ve pulled together our best bikes for this money-from sports tourers to adventure bikes to superbikes – and included our best new-bike buy for the cash, too. I want all of them, but a mint 2015 Honda Fireblade is top of today’s list. We’ve also spent the month testing some of the best Chinese bikes on the market.…

LETTER OF THE MONTH Carpe diem In your September issue, you included a picture riding past a church in your feature on riding the French TET. We owned the house opposite that church for a number of years – and seeing the image gave me, my dad Colin and my uncle Dean the push to ride down and see it. This was my first time riding in France and it certainly won’t be the last; we had a blast through the French countryside, taking in all the brilliant views and roads. Thanks for the push to get us out there. Jack Boland R It’s a lovely part of the world. Matt and Damo really enjoyed their ride in this area. The adventure riding (the TET goes past that church) was top-notch,…

LONGER LEGS Lingering connections to the Z1000 supernaked are banished with fifth and sixth gears both lengthened for calm cruising, not street-fighting stab. Less vibes, noise and fuel consumption are the result. MORE CUBES Longer stroke is the harder way to greater capacity (new crank/rods are more involved than oversized pistons), but the best way for a midrange-centric delivery. KAWASAKI’S VERSYS 1000 is a solid bike, but not without faults and definitely not without competition: the BMW S1000XR, Yamaha Tracer 9 and Suzuki GSX-S1000GX all vying for your hard-earned, too. 2025’s Euro5+ emissions regs have forced Kawasaki to update the bike, so they’ve taken the chance to do more than just stifle noise and fumes. Most obvious is the extra ‘1’ on the fairing decals, signifying the 56cc rise to…

BEST FOR VIEWS Devil’s Bridge Three bridges stacked on each other over the waterfall; the first was a footbridge, the second for carriages, the last for motor vehicles. Great views and walks along the decking. www.devilsbridgefalls.co.uk BEST FOR CORNERS Llyn Brianne Stunning views all along the man-made reservoir, from the dramatic 300ft spillway at the dam head (sometimes used by adventurous kayakers) back to sweeping hillside arcs across the lake’s shoreline. BEST FOR ROADS B4574 The route is stuffed with great corners, but the best for bucolic scratching is a complex Armco-lined series of bends on a half-mile section of B4574 as it runs through flower meadows, fringed by pine-covered hills.…

AS WE’RE SETTING off for our 24-hour extravaganza, a few things are crossing my mind – and none of them are bad. The CFMoto 800NK Advanced not only looks like a decent naked machine parked up, but having such a big dash with Apple CarPlay is a blessing for a long journey, too. It’s not just some cheap set-up either – it’s easy to connect to, and at no point did I encounter an issue with the Bluetooth connection. Maps? Check. Spotify? Check. The only thing missing is a USB charger as standard, but even without it those two little niceties go a long way – and the experience only gets better as I join the A1 to head north. That’s because the 800NK Advanced isn’t just a ‘cheap’ middleweight…

THE LEG Route Peterborough, Kettering, Lutterworth, Leicester, Nottingham, Doncaster, Grantham, Stamford, Deenethorpe Airfield. Miles covered 183 Average mpg 61.28 (from first fill-up, to M6 refuel) Average speed 29.12mph Standout learning It’s mega in town and the sheer level of spec you get for the price blows me away The LED lights, fantastic TFT and backlit switches were invaluable in the cold fog of the early hours. EAVING RiDE’S HEADQUARTERS on the outskirts of Peterborough for Uppingham and the undulating twists of the B664 is nothing new for me. It’s a road we use for photo shoots all the time thanks to its beautiful backdrop of luscious green fields, gentle agriculture and endless array of challenging turns. But unlike a normal day at the office, where we’d wait for the sun…

THE CFMOTO WAS the outstanding performer of our 24-hour test. Everyone who rode it was impressed with the handling, performance, tech, and its generally well-developed feel. It’s not a surprise - the basis of this bike is a well-proven product (KTM’s 790 Duke) and seeing as CFMoto is a technical partner of KTM, it would have dropped the ball had it made a terrible bike with such a strong head start. However, it is still to CFMoto’s credit how good the 800NK Advanced is – there’s nothing that’s really much worse than its Austrian sibling and some things, such as that superb tablet/dashboard, are better. Combined with a bargain price and the support of KTM UK when it comes to dealers and parts, you can buy with more confidence than…

Slow, boring, ill-handling, impractical. Four adjectives never used to describe the best-selling big-capacity bike of the past decade. Every superlative had the life flogged out of it, for good reason. The GS took the honours against all comers in just about every group test for its five-year run, winning pages of purple prose and stealing the showroom scene, year in, year out, populating every corner of the adventure travel world beyond cliché into parody and back again. Not bad for a model that had its fair share of issues. The first bikes were delayed while BMW tweaked steering geometry; it grew a steering damper. Then a number of recalls and service bulletins for multiple modifications kept dealers busy. The final big scare was a 2017 recall for a fork bushing…

Triumph’s 2011 Speed Triple descended from the bike that arguably started the big naked resurgence. Topping out at a decent but 130bhp, it maintained the previous Speed Trip’s iconic sawn-offunderseat styling (still looks great) but updated round headlights for slanted units. The result was a gorgeous, satisfying splurge from the triple motor without the am-dram of its more splenetic rivals. The Speed Triple was a lovely, benign bike to just enjoy riding. It came in S and R versions, the latter with Öhlins. It looks visually similar to the following 2018 model; you can tell them apart by the older bike’s straight spokes. You can get a Speed Triple for £7000, and the latter 2018 bike as well, so it’s worth knowing what you’re looking at before parting with your…

YSS Z-Series Monoshock £411.77 www.wemoto.com THE CLAIM “YSS Top Line Z shocks are developed to cope with the growing demand for high-performance gas shocks. There’s thread spring preload adjustment, rebound adjustment to control how fast the shock springs back after being compressed, length adjustment, and a two-year warranty.” THE REALITY YSS offer a range of OE-replacement shocks that are usually cheaper (and better quality) than original equipment and undercut the likes of Nitron in the mid-market of replacement suspension. And while they are road-based, many riders have used them on the track as well – they offer more set-up options than OE thanks to their adjustable length to alter ride height and instantly feel better than a knackered standard shock. So, a Z-series shock was the perfect replacement for my…

PARALLEL-TWIN TRIUMPHS MAKE up a number of motorcycling’s all-time greats. From the 1937 Speed Twin 500 and 1953 Tiger T110, through to the legendary Bonneville T120 and modern Hinckley twins, the layout and Triumph brand evoke images of speed, character and engineering greatness no matter the age or model. The Speed Twin 1200 is developed from the firm’s Thruxton café racer, delivering all the sportier Thruxton’s punch in a more forgiving roadster package. A stylistic hit from the off, the Speed Twin 1200 is a favourite in the range, while the Thruxton is being dropped after 2024. The Speed Twin is lower, with its pegs set further forward, a more generously padded seat plus higher conventional bars – giving it the comfort that was sorely missing (pun not intended) on…

If the bike you’re testing is a standard pre-2021 model, expect the suspension to feel underdamped at both ends; the forks will dive heavily under braking and the rear end may wallow under acceleration. It’s nothing a fork refresh and new shocks can’t sort. If it needs doing, haggle accordingly. Again, if standard, throttle response can feel slightly sharp and jerky low down (sortable with spacers from as little as £15), but once past that the engine should feel strong, willing and smooth. There’s little need to work a Speed Twin through its rev range. With more than 80 lb.ft on tap, this is an engine that responds best to short shifts and driving forward on its considerable midrange grunt. It’s a retro roadster, after all. Gen-two STs (2021-on) offer…

Bassenthwaite Lake, Cumbria Me and a couple of mates recently toured the Lakes and North Yorkshire while staying in Settle. We were riding a Honda Africa Twin, Honda Forza and a Triumph Tiger Rally Pro. Fabulous week. Roland Johns North Pennines, Durham One of our favourite roads is from Westgate, in Weardale, to Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, in Teesdale. Jo and I have never seen another motorbike on this road; we like to think it belongs to us! John McPherson Teruel, Spain This year’s tour of Spain saw us stop at Teruel Airport, the end of the line for many majestic and beautiful machines. It is such a shame to see them just waiting for the cutters. But the ride is well worth it - great roads and thankfully, good weather. Craig Elsey…

TRIUMPH ARE DELVING deeper into the road-focused sports touring market with the launch of the Tiger Sport 800 triple featuring lean-sensitive electronics. Set to hit showrooms in March 2025, this new model will plug the gap left by the Tiger 850 Sport and will be powered by a 798cc three-cylinder engine that pumps out a healthy 113bhp and 62lb·ft of torque. Triumph have managed to shoehorn the motor into the same tried and tested chassis as the Tiger Sport 660, with overall engine dimensions being almost the same. This means the familiar 835mm seat height and the nimble, easy-to-manage nature of the smaller machine have been retained, keeping the 800 accessible for a wide range of riders. Ninja tourer updates Kawasaki are giving their top-selling tourer a beefier engine to…

THE FACTS The route An 80-mile run starting in the town of Rhayader in the heart of mid-Wales and ending in Llandovery, taking in the Elan Valley and Llyn Brianne. Why it’s great It’s the perfect alternative to Cumbria’s Lake District – the Elan Valley Reservoirs are prettier, cheaper and have fewer tourists. It’s a must-ride romp. When to go It’s gorgeous any time of year, but May to September is best, July and August are warmest. Where to visit The route is pretty isolated and a tourist attraction in itself, but you’d be mad not to stop at Devil’s Bridge Waterfalls. THE MORNING’S FULL Welsh and a mug of coffee have barely had time to settle as the B4518 unspools from Rhayader’s time-capsule streets and spills gently towards a…

DOWNLOAD THE ROUTE www.ride.co.uk Best for Melting eyeballs at six stunning reservoirs in Wales within a three-hour ride. Length 80 miles Route Rhayader, Elan Village, Claerwen Dam, Cwmystwyth, Pontarfynach, Pontrhydfendigaid, Tregaron, Llyn Brianne, Llandovery. Roads Almost all unclassified or National Cycle Routes, with a bit of B5474 and B4343 thrown in. Love it because It’s a superb ride across constantly shifting landscapes. Take a picture at The Arch on the B4574, or overlooking Llyn Brianne. Stop for a cuppa at Ty Morgans in Rhayader is a good starting place, and Penygawse in Llandovery a good place to end it. ALSO TRY… Best for A short romp around another famous Welsh reservoir – Lake Vyrnwy. Length 36 miles Route Railway Inn in Pen-y-Bont-Fawr, B4396 to Lake Vyrnwy, B4393 south shore, take…

THE ROCKS ARE smacking off the bottom of the Kove’s sturdy bash plate as it slips and slithers up the hill. Ahead of me are the smashed-up cobbles and landslide-hit remains of a ‘road’ that was last maintained when a gentleman wore breeches and feared syphilis. The Kove drives forward, its 240mm of suspension travel working hard, but its rider working harder. My eyes are focused on picking a path between the holes and the stone steps, my brain focused on keeping the momentum up – if a 200kg-odd bike stops now, it’s going to be hard to start again. The 800X dances below me as it finds its place, revs occasionally rising as it loses traction, bars writhing as it pings between the boulders. We’re climbing out of Buxton,…

ALISON AND CHRIS roll in from their nocturnal proclivities and decamp to RiDE’s office warmth. Shivering in the car park, I scour the Kove for its battery to hook up heated kit. Under the seat? Nope, mostly fuel tank. Behind side panels? Nah. A downloaded manual says it’s under the left-hand fairing panel – too many bolts to access in the dark. Have to go old-school, with multiple layers. I settle for a slightly grumpy five. Besides, it’s 4:20am and the clock is ticking with motorway miles to cram in between now and 10am. The Kove is still slathered in Peak District mud. With matt green paint and gold tubeless rims, it looks tough as nuts under street lights. I strap a bag to the pillion seat and give it…

1 KEEP ON RIDING! Simon Hargreaves makes the case not just for staying on a bike all year, but actively embracing winter riding Words Simon Hargreaves MOST OF US have zero enthusiasm for winter riding – our desire to get on a bike rises and falls in direct correlation with the thermometer. And if we do ride all season, it’s usually from necessity. But I’ve ridden through every winter since 1984 and of all the rides I remember most, the ones burned deepest into my senses as the most essential, significant and life-affirming have almost all been winter rides – because they’ve been in winter. So, instead of shunning the bike for six months a year, or begrudging a cold ride, instead we can embrace winter as an opportunity to…

£7K BUYS YOU… A mid-miles, clean 2017-2019 Z1000SX with, if you need them, panniers and Akras Seven grand for a high-tech, 140bhp sports tourer that racks up 160 miles on a tank, has a broad, comfy riding position, fits a week’s kit in its panniers, and could – should you find a spare runway – top 150mph on its way to the south of France where it’ll cut the mustard avec tous les meilleures motos et motards? That’ll be a third-gen, 2019 Kawasaki Z1000SX. Like this one. Wasn’t always so obvious. In 2011 the sports tourer goose was cooked. High-performance adventure bikes usurped their traditional all-rounder appeal, adding comfy long-travel suspension to the sports tourer’s strengths of touring capability spiced with a dash of sporty intent. The GS and assorted…

Name Gareth Chillingworth Bike 1999 Honda CBR900RRX Total miles 142,727 Miles per year 5700 GARETH’S FIRST FIREBLADE was stolen after 68,000 miles in a year, his third one was written off at 56,000 miles and his fourth has done just over 25,000. But this one – his second – is the special one. “It was the last Blade Lloyd Coopers had left in 1999 – their demonstrator, bought with 800 miles on the clock,” he says. “Now it’s in my garage having been ridden virtually non-stop for decades, every working day, in and out of London in every conceivable weather. I didn’t own a car between 1995 and 2018 so I was doing about 24,000 miles a year. Looking back, it was ridiculous.” It wasn’t just commuting, either. “The year…

INSURANCE. LIKE DEATH and taxes it’s one of those unavoidable, unpleasant facts of life – no one relishes paying their premiums and there’s none of the dopamine buzz you’d get from splashing out the same amount on a shopping spree. If all goes well you see nothing in return for your money except a reminder to pay again next year. But insurance is a legal requirement, and when things don’t go right having the right insurance is a godsend. So, how can you get the cover you need while minimising the price? We spoke to Rob Balls, general manager at Bikesure; and Anthony Forchione, insurance expert at MoneySavingExpert (MSE), to find out what you can do to cut your premium. Save 5%-15% Improved security “Discounts for security usually range from…

Q HAVING PASSED MY test five years ago, I’ve been trying to practise the Information – Position – Speed – Gear – Acceleration system [often shortened to IPSGA – Ed] that’s described in the police riding manual Roadcraft. I’m not really enjoying it though as it seems so complicated to apply in the real world. What am I doing wrong? Oliver Burke, email A I’D GUESS YOU’RE not doing anything wrong, Oliver. The IPSGA system gives you a framework to apply to every hazard you come across – so first you gain information, then decide where you should be on the road, then what speed you should do past the hazard, then the appropriate gear and finally how much acceleration you need to leave the hazard. It’s a logical approach,…

WHAT’S THE WORLD coming to when a Ducati all-rounder is a more sensible, manageable and practical choice than its BMW counterpart? Strange, but true in the case of the Multistrada V4 RS, most notable for being the only one in the range with a Desmodromic version of the V4 motor (others use a conventional sprung-valve design). Sure, 177bhp in a bike like this makes it rapid and memorable, but unlike the 200bhp M1000XR, it’s not intimidating – and perhaps more crucially, it can still mount up a set of hard panniers and go touring, two-up, if you like… It’s more powerful, although slightly less grunty than the similar Pikes Peak model, but spreading the power out more evenly over a longer rev range makes it easier to lay down without…

THE LIST OF Ducati race replicas is long but distinguished. From the original 1974 750 Super Sport, through countless 916/996/998 special editions in the 1990s to 2008’s Desmosedici RR, the Italian firm has never been shy in bringing its hard-earned competition glory to the public road. But now we can add another bike to this elite collection: the DesertX Rally. A taller, more capable, more exclusive (and, ahem, more expensive) variant of Ducati’s popular DesertX adventure bike, this new Rally is effectively a road-legal replica of the bike Antoine Méo raced at the ludicrous Erzbergrodeo last year. In fact, he did better than just turn up and give one of the world’s toughest hard enduro races a go – he won the twin-cylinder category of the Iron Road Prologue, a…

OVER THE YEARS, the manufacturing giant that is China has slowly but surely been playing an ever-growing part in every facet of our lives. Almost every piece of tech sold today is either made in China or has Chinese components, and in the car industry Chinese-built cars and Chinese parts have become vital to every firm’s success. It’s been a bit different in the bike world, though. Sure, bike manufacturers have been using an ever-growing number of Chinese-made parts, and companies like BMW and KTM have assembly partnerships with Chinese firms. However, Chinese-made bikes from Chinese firms have lagged behind Western bikes. But the big story for 2024 and 2025 is the proliferation of highly advanced, great-value Chinese-made bikes from hitherto unknown firms. Led by the likes of KTM partner…

ALI AND I are riding overnight to Whitby (partial inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, hence a tenuous night-time connection) and the forecast is good – dry, 10°C. I’ve broken out riding jeans and a jet helmet to enjoy the night air. The Kove’s Bluetooth connectivity only enables navigation via a clunky, subscription-based app (which I’m too tight to pay for, for one journey) and the CFMoto Ali is riding has Apple CarPlay so she can use Maps for free – but she’s an Android user. So, I connect my phone to her bike and hope it has the range to function. At the first fuel stop (ten minutes up the A1 as Matt left the Kove on fumes – cheers, ‘mate’) the inter-bike nav solution is already failing. The connection…

WITH 22 HOURS of continuous running and vastly different routes (bar the mucking about for video and pictures), both bikes arrive at Deenethorpe Airfield within a few minutes of each other. Simon arrives first on the Kove and frankly, both of them look like they’ve done the mileage. The Kove’s filthy – still smeared with mud and dirty water from its escapade to the Peak District, while normally youthful Simon is looking every one of his 56 years… plus VAT. He’s been chilled into near-submission by the fog, but through his babbling it obvious he’s enjoyed the ride and has found a soft spot for the Kove. “What are we doing here, mate?” he asks. “It’s simple, Si,” I say in response. “Just ride it flat out as much as…

WE’RE IN THE middle of a golden age for second-hand machinery costing around seven grand – never before have buyers been faced with so much choice, of so many styles of bike, from so many manufacturers. It’s a used bike bonanza out there. But that means it’s also a minefield. Prices are strong, and even climbing, especially for older machines – so tatty, well-used munters get mixed up with clean, low-mileage minters. It means you have to know what you’re looking at, and buying online can be hit or miss. So, all things being equal, here are seven of the best used bike bargains right now……

Some bikes are such good value you may as well buy new. Honda’s CB750 Hornet falls into this category – for seven grand, you can get a brand spanker. The motor, a feisty 270° parallel twin, borrows Unicam single overhead cam tech from the Africa Twin. Add a fairly oversquare bore and stroke, and the Hornet’s power delivery is spread over a wide rev range. That makes it both flexible and exciting. And over 90bhp is a decent peak power figure – more than the old inline-four 600 Hornet made, and more torque. The steel frame is matched with basic Showa suspension; with rear preload as the only adjustment it’s the bike’s weakest point – but it’s fabulously light and endlessly flickable. REAR SHOCK Pound for pound, it’s the best…

‘Monimoto is best at notifying you if your bike is stolen’ None of these trackers are perfect, but some are better than others. Apple’s AirTag was the least reliable in our testing which, admittedly, was conducted in a sparsely populated part of the country. In the middle of a city, it may perform better. The TruTrak interface has great features – but we couldn’t get the ‘keyless start’ alert working properly and it struggled to get a decent GSM signal at all. The Tracker Nano comes with great backup, meaning you stand a good chance of getting your bike back, with the best accuracy of all tested here. The iTrack FS100 – the cheapest here – provided the best outright tracking. It gave an accurate location in all our test…

BMW R nineT, 2014-23 >110bhp >88lb·ft >222kg BMW’s air-cooled retro has a thumping motor, great looks and huge customisation aftermarket. Good build quality and decent handling. Ducati Scrambler 1100, 2018-2019 >86bhp >65lb.ft >206kg Great handling and distinctive styling, but lacks Triumph’s grunt, punch and poise. Couple of rides in autumn/winter rain can leave it looking tatty. Kawasaki Z900RS, 2017-present >110bhp >73lb·ft >215kg Z1-inspired retro styling gives it a ’70s chic few other machines can match. Values start around £6500, so affordable against the opposition, too.…

‘SPORTSBIKES ARE DEAD’ is a familiar cry, but in 2023 BMW only sold more big GSs and GSAs than S1000RRs. It’s easy to see why – while superbike development has slowed and some manufacturers given up, BMW has kept developing the RR like the arms race is still going on. It’s the best choice in the class and the result is a hugely powerful, ultra-sophisticated bike with mind-boggling performance. For me, late summer and early autumn 2024 have been all about finding a break in the clouds and taming one of the fastest motorcycles in the world. It’s been ‘tough’, but this is what I’ve learned… THE FACTS £21,500 >207bhp >194kg MILES THIS MONTH 474 MPG THIS MONTH 44.8 1 The riding position is brutal… but doable After almost a decade…