Table of contents for 3 August 2016 in MCN

Overseas adventures, brilliant weekend rideouts, UK touring, sport and more… they are all featuring in early entries to the 2016 MotoFoto competition. With the contest now in full swing there are some stunning examples. There are still two weeks to enter your photographs and be in with a chance of wining of the stunning prizes on offer. Carole Nash Insurance, in association with MCN, are keen to make sure that you share your magical motorcycle memories. With great prizes, not to mention a coveted opportunity to be part of the Carole Nash stand at Motorcycle Live at the NEC, this is your chance for fame and a bit of fortune. First place wins a TomTom Rider 410 Premium plus Bandit worth £800, second place gets a TomTom Rider 410 EU…

YAMAHA SUZUKI BMW KAWASAKI…

After a day of both two-up and solo riding on a variety of roads, Kawasaki’s Versys 650 remains MCN’s pick in this category. The Versys is the most complete, affordable, mid-capacity adventure-sport machine. But perhaps the biggest surprise is how the evergreen Suzuki V-Strom snatched runner-up spot. It feels a lot more modern and spritely than its looks suggest, and is a superb two-up option. Yamaha’s new Tracer 700 lacks the sparkle of the naked donor bike and feels a little small and cheap in this company, although it’s still hugely capable and best of all, affordable at just £6299. It deserves to be a great success. Bringing up the rear is the Beemer. Although the engine lacks thrills, it has a great chassis, the best build quality and mpg,…

Gareth started in BSB, then worked through WSB and into MotoGP. He’s been with top bike racing pic agency Gold and Goose for nine years. “I started out by taking ‘Futures in Photography’ at university. I then sent my portfolio to a bunch of companies and a magazine offered to let me go on shoots. I was offered a placement and eventually got into the bike snapping industry! Here are some top tips for taking the perfect picture… “When photographing your mates riding, use the different settings and shutter speeds available. “Opt for some side-on pans and remember you don’t want to be too close as the shot won’t work. Try starting at 320/sec and gradually slow the shutter speed down to make the bike look faster by the background…

“I train five times a week if I’m racing BSB at the weekend. The gym work is non-stop, using lighter weights on a small circuit, repeating four exercises, four times over, and increasing the weights if needed. We’re not trying to build huge muscles as that would increase our weight, and big muscles get tired sooner. Racers need endurance. Your core strength is really important too. On some sections of the TT I’m really light on the controls, just using my core to move around. I won’t train at the TT or North West as your body takes such a battering. I’ll do some swimming if I get the chance as it’s a good way to get the muscles to relax, or I’ll get out on the push bike and…

“There are actually rules to circumnavigating the world. I travelled 19,300 miles, but to achieve the record and say you have circumnavigated the globe you need to go to antipodal points, which are points directly opposite one another if you draw a line through the centre of the world, then you have to cross the equator and visit a series of continents and travel a minimum of 18,000 miles in the same direction. When you aren’t physically moving on the bike the days aren’t counted, so you can cross oceans by plane or boat, but it’s still a massive task. “You need to average just over 1000 miles a day, which is a tough feat of endurance. When I set the record I did it on a Yamaha YZF-R1 and…

“Hope for the best? The first time I did it was on a 125 at Mugello, but then in Moto2 it became common, because of the riding style and the greater lean angle. It just comes naturally though, it’s just there and it happens. “In some places it happens easily, like at Barcelona because of the high kerbs – I just can’t help doing it. And last year on the Honda, because it was so small, lots of times I had my elbow on the floor but my knee was off the deck, tucked inside my elbow! “You just lean it over, hang off it, have some heat in the tyres and go for it! Getting my head down was a different story – that took balls! It took two…

“I start to pick up the effect of slipstreaming when I’m around 20 yards behind another bike. As I get closer if feels like my bike has been given a sudden boost. The bike in front has done all of the work of pushing the air out of its way meaning I am inside his low-pressure wake. He’s now punching through the air for the both of us, whereas my bike’s engine is set free to just create more speed and slingshot past him. “All this is going on amongst a mass of other riders all trying to do the same thing at over 150mph, so you have to be able to gauge your closing speed on the bike ahead and anticipate where other riders are likely to be. You…

“The first thing you need for a backflip is an eight-metre radius take-off ramp, covered with raised expanded mesh for grip. The rest is down to technique – and balls! The hardest thing to get your head around is your body position. When you jump a motocross bike your natural reaction is to get your weight over the front, but for a backflip you need to lean back and look at the sky. “I approach the ramp in second gear, hit the incline and give it a big handful of throttle. The most crucial part is when the front wheel leaves the ramp, when this happens I give the bars a tug back and keep the throttle open. Normally at this point you would chop the throttle and get over…

Dull? Yes. An attractive used buy? Believe it It’s almost fashionable to mock the Honda NT700, the Deauville, aka the Dullsville, but I’ve been noticing them of late. You know how it goes: you see one, and think: “Been a while since I saw one of those...” and then another, and another, and actually you realise they’re fairly plentiful. What’s interesting is that they’re not that cheap used, and I think I know why. Sure, they’re unexciting and they’re mainly bought by old people. But they do the job, their engines seem as tough as old boots, they’re well-equipped, with a fairing and three-piece luggage set, and old people tend to look after their machines better than young people. You’re pretty much guaranteed to get a stamped-up service book. I…

‘It’s a bit too easy to steal the earlier models, from 2007 to 2012’ “The one thing people need to know before buying a Street Triple is that they are the most stolen bike, possibly ever. Of the used parts available for these bikes, I’d say 90% of them come from a stolen bike. “It’s a bit too easy to steal the earlier models, from 2007 to 2012 and the telltale sign is of damage to the top or bottom of the ignition barrel as thieves tend to smash these. Also look for the lock-stop lugs on the frame as these get damaged when thieves try to break the steering lock. “Never, ever buy a Street Triple without running it through an HPI check to make sure it doesn’t have…

Ducati GT1000 It’s only dropped £1250 from the list price as new (£7000). The private seller says the price takes into account its lack of Ducati service history! Suzuki GSX-R1100 Described as a ‘cheap project bike’. Mileage is 26,882 and the bike has a Micron can but no mention of the original. We’d be haggling on this one. Ducati 916 This appears to be a cared-for example with 21,000 miles, Ducati service history (most recent 700 miles ago), new tyres, Termignoni cans as well as the originals and an admission of some light scuffs on the right fairing. Yamaha XV535 Virago This 1995 model has covered just 14,000 miles, looks in great condition after a lifetime in a garage and with a stainless steel exhaust to keep corrosion at bay.…

YAMAHA MT-10 £9999 FUEL 17 litres @ 35mpg = 131 miles WEIGHT 210kg SEAT 825mm POWER 158bhp TORQUE81ftlb TIM THOMPSON Loves the KTM Super Duke 1290, wants a BMW S1000R HEIGHT 5ft 7in WEIGHT 72kg tim.thompson@motorcyclenews.com This may seem an odd thing to say about a bike that snaps your arms straight on an inch of throttle and at times feels more like a random wheelie generator than a motorcycle, but the MT-10 is a fairly relaxed machine. Fast, yes, but easy to ride too. As much FZ-1 pleasant as R1 rude. And while its crossplane motor growls a bit there’s no real malice behind those angry-look headlights. It’s malleable, too. Its true character is of a bike that will eventually become what you make it. You could bend…

‘The insurer is trying to stop you fully exploring your rights’ Q Why can’t I have a courtesy bike? I have just had an accident after another vehicle smashed into me while I was stationary. Their insurer called straight away as they were keen to reduce their liabilities. My bike has been damaged and will take time to be repaired but they are saying I can’t have a courtesy bike for commuting as I own a car. Gary Swandells, email This practice, known as third party capture, has become common among insurers. The idea is that they offer what they say is a hassle-free repair, or early compensation if you have suffered an injury, although there are usually conditions. The reason they can seek to limit their liability in these…

‘Brands GP is the most important circuit as it’s where the title is decided’ MICHAEL LAVERTY Tyco BMW’s Michael Laverty heads into the second half of the 2016 MCE British Superbike championship on a high after a victory and second place last time out at Thruxton. Despite being on the pace all year, Laverty had struggled to make an impact on the series since winning the opening race of the season at Silverstone. The Northern Irishman then went eight races before he returned to the podium at Snetterton early last month, but since then things are definitely back on track. “It’s been a strange season,” he told MCN. “Last year I was struggling for pace, every weekend we were going to each track, scratching our heads and turning the bike…

‘After the year I’ve had, I’m pumped to be back on the podium again’ JOSH BROOKES ‘Hopefully I can regain my reputation as a top-level rider’ JOSH BROOKES Yoshimura Suzuki rider Josh Brookes went a long way to impressing any future employers during this year’s Suzuka 8 Hours race by securing a podium finish. Struggling in 2016 on the Milwaukee BMW S1000RR, the reigning British Superbike champion admits that Suzuka was possibly one of his most important races of the year. Presenting an opportunity to throw himself back onto the world stage after a poor season, he wasn’t going to let the chance slide by. “Hopefully someone else sees me as a threat now, even if it’s with Suzuki. I’d like to stay in World Superbikes next year, but obviously…

The 2017 World Superbike grid looks set for a much needed shake-up with a host of moves set to inject a fresh round of interest into the series. As reported in last week’s MCN, Aruba Ducati have now officially confirmed that Marco Melandri will join Chaz Davies aboard the Panigale R next season, with the Italian returning to action after an 18-month hiatus following his short and ill-fated Grand Prix return with Aprilia in 2015. It has also been confirmed that 2011 Moto2 world champion Stefan Bradl will join Nicky Hayden in the Honda Racing squad next year, with young Dutchman Michael van der Mark expected to leave Honda to join Britain’s Alex Lowes at PATA Yamaha. Van der Mark’s move looks likely to leave Sylvain Guintoli out in the…

‘Riding in the dark, you start hearing noises on the bike and everything!’ALEX LOWES Alex Lowes and his Yamaha teammates Pol Espargaró and Katsuyuki Nakasuga secured a stunning victory at the Suzuka 8 Hours at the weekend. Leading the prestigious endurance race for the majority of the eight hours, the pre-race favourites and reigning champions looked almost unbeatable all weekend long, and were able to ride a completely faultless and controlling race on Sunday. The victory couldn’t have come at a better time for Lowes, with the Pata Crescent Yamaha rider having a tough season to date in World Superbikes. “It’s a fantastic feeling. We did a great job early in the race to get a gap, and then the second half of the race it was just really important…

‘We kept putting them on used tyres, and they learned something’ BROC PARKES Broc Parkes and the Yamaha Austria team were able to pull off one of the most momentous results in recent Suzuka history by taking an incredible fourth place on Pirelli tyres and with a largely untested squad. Up against the might of Bridgestone and their MotoGP-spec tyres at the Japanese firm’s home race, even Parkes admitted afterwards that he and teammates Kouata Nozane and Takuya Fujita didn’t expect this level of result. “We didn’t expect to be anywhere near where we were on Pirellis and after the times my team-mates were doing all weekend! We kept putting them on used tyres, and maybe they learned something, because they really stepped up in the race. “Yamaha are really…

‘Sure it’s a bit taller than your average bike but compared to the R1200GS there’s nothing intimidating’’ Like almost all adventure bikes, the BMW F800GS Adventure is slightly hampered by the fact it’s not an R1200GS – the bike that defines the class and remains a massive global seller. It’s the same for tomato sauce when it’s not Heinz, a Porsche when it’s not a 911 and aircraft that aren’t Concorde; they are all the definitive iterations of their classes. In the case of the F800GS, that really is a shame, because this bike is perhaps more suitable for more people, more of the time – and is genuinely capable off-road. For 2017 (although the bike will be available almost immediately in dealers) BMW have been forced to make some…

MotoGP revolution I was watching a day of Grand Prix recently on TV and was, as usual, on the edge of my seat, jumping up and down and chewing my fingernails to the bone at the antics of the Moto3 riders. With the greatest riders on the planet, MotoGP itself can sometimes be awesome, exciting and surprising. It can also be a tad boring and predictable. The big problem for me lies with Moto2 which has almost become a one make (Kalex) series and is regularly boring, processional and predictable. I feel that it seriously needs a revamp, and the answer is staring us in the face! It would be a simple logical progression in the lightweight, junior and senior tradition. Moto2 would become eligible to prototype 500cc four-stroke twin-cylinder…

The bike looms large in my mirror. The slanted twin lights and cheeky little screen are a giveaway. “Triumph Speed Triple,” I announce to the completely disinterested passengers in the car. On a two-hour journey, I’d expect my hit rate to be about 90 per cent. It used to better but the dizzying array of machines means the odd one escapes me. Try doing it with cars, ignoring the logo on the bonnet, and it’s nigh-in impossible as so many look the same or horribly similar. This has not been helped by massive car companies eating up slightly less massive ones and then sharing production platforms. This hasn’t really happened in bikes and it makes for an interesting and exciting market. Maybe that wasn’t always the case but European manufacturers…

The rider’s view by Bruce Dunn Of all the bikes here, the Suzuki V-Strom 650 is the best for carrying a passenger. It’s physically quite big, so is comfortable and roomy with someone on the back. The engine is smooth, strong and easily pulls the extra weight, but it’s not necessary the fastest. It’s very well balanced and there’s little pitching back and forth from the suspension on and off the throttle. The BMW runs it a close second, though, and these two are a long way clear of the Kawasaki and Yamaha for two-up riding. The Tracer 700 is fine when riding solo. The engine is sporty and the steering light, but the suspension feels crude, cheap, unrefined and under-damped with a passenger and there’s little easy adjustment in…

‘The Monster reminded us bikes are more than just machines to win championships’ “The Monster range represented a new level of versatility and accessibility from Ducati, which attracted a lot of younger and newer riders. Obviously this introduced Ducati to a new set of enthusiasts and rejuvenated the brand. It reminded us that motorcycles are more than just machines to win championships on – they are vehicles of passion and self-expression, and can even form the cornerstone of a lifestyle, like they do for many Monsteristi. “The Monster has also had a big financial benefit to Ducati, helping us to remain strong even in past conditions of fluctuating demand, increased competition, and evolving consumer tastes. Thanks to the foundation that the Monster helped create, Ducati is now healthier than ever.”…

‘It’s really important to keep sharp and on top of your game by riding all the time, even after a 14-hour day’ ‘Usually to work in the movies as a stunt performer you have to become a member of the British Stunt Register, an elite organisation for professionals with demanding entry requirements including reaching an extremely high level of competence in at least six different sporting disciplines. “I had a background in motorcycle racing and martial arts and it took me around four years to train my other disciplines up to the required standards. Starting out in the industry is pretty tough. It’s hard to get jobs when people don’t know who you are. It’s imperative to keep as sharp as possible so when the opportunities come, you are fully…

“The world of racing and motorbikes doesn’t feel like a man’s world to me. It’s my world… and theirs, it’s everyone’s world. It’s about following a passion, and mine is motorbikes. I got into bikes simply because I love them; there was no masterplan to be ‘a girl in a man’s world’ or anything like that. It’s the reason why my whole life is dedicated to bikes, both racing them and fixing them in my day job running The Two Wheel Workshop, where we do everything from race-prep to MoTs. “I probably did it the hard way: I didn’t come from a racing background and didn’t have any money, but I just loved it – and if you have that love then anything that you really, really want to do,…

“It’s not easy to go faster after a big crash, unless you’ve got confidence in the bike or know why you crashed. It’s very hard to go back out and go faster if you don’t know why you went down – a lot of it is understanding why I crashed in the first place. If I know I was too hard on the throttle, or if I went too deep on the brakes, I tell myself that it was my warning and not to do the same thing again. “A lot of practice also helps and I’ve had my fair share of crashing, so it becomes the norm. You still have to go out and go faster– that’s just part of the job. That’s when you mentally block it by…

“Something inside me wanted to ride a bike across the sea. I figured that if I put two wakeboards under a bike I could probably ride on water. So I came up with a plan… “At first it was nothing more than a drawing of how to mount two skis to the underside of a bike, which I took to an engineering firm. Initially we went with skis from a snowmobile rather than wakeboards, but as soon as I hit the water I was out of control, it was actually bad enough to make me think ‘this isn’t going to work’. But that night we screwed some sheet metal to the skis to make them wider and that did the trick. “The next day I rode into the water and…

‘You roll off the throttle then nail it to get the wheelspin that then makes the bike turn’ ‘You start by leaning off the bike to tip it sideways, and turning the bars to the left. You’ve got y our left foot down on the steel shoe and because there’s some weight off the bike it’s freer underneath you. Then you roll off the throttle and nail it again to get the wheelspin that makes the bike turn. “When you nail it, because you’ve already got your bars turned left, the back end will drift around. When the bike turns I sit at the front of the seat and put all the pressure through my right leg. That’s when I turn the handlebars the other way to steer into the…

‘You compress the suspension and when it’s rebounding, let the clutch out, pull on the bars and leap!’ ‘On a trials bike you can climb a sheer cliff face of about two metres from a standing start. Add a small kicker and you can get up even further. “I hold the front brake on to steady the bike and then with the bike in third gear, pull the clutch in and give it full revs while compressing the suspension. You need to treat a trials bike in exactly the same way you would when you physically jump – you compress your legs and leap. You compress the suspension and when it’s rebounding, let the clutch out, pull on the bars and leap! “You need to hit the slope with the…

HARLEY-DAVIDSON STREET 750 £5795 FUEL 13.1 litres @ 66mpg = 190 miles WEIGHT 223kg Seat 710mm POWER 57bhp Torque 43ftlb alison.silcox@motorcyclenews.com ALISON SILCOX alison.silcox@motorcyclenews.com Been riding for 12 years and over 20 as pillion. HEIGHT 5ft 10in WEIGHT 72kg ‘My Harley might not have won Bike of the Night, but did raise a few admiring glances’ When I think of the perfect conditions for riding the Harley-Davidson Street 750, images of cloudless blue skies and golden sunshine pop into my mind. However, I live in Cambridgeshire, not California, and those blue skies were just a dream. Instead I had biblical rain pouring from the sky and felt as though I’d be better placed loading Noah’s Ark with animals than fitting panniers to the Street 750 for a trip to…

HUSQVARNA 701 SUPERMOTO £7999 FUEL 13 litres @ 51mpg = 146 miles WEIGHT 145kg SEAT 890mm POWER 65bhp TORQUE 50ftlb LIAM MARSDEN All-weather commuter happy on any type of bike HEIGHT 6ft 1in WEIGHT 75kg liam.marsden@motorcyclenews.com ‘Legs waving like football scarves out of car windows at every turn as I try to ride like a supermoto expert’ Supermotos are funny old things. Are they off-road bikes with road pretensions, or the other way round? Should you stick your knee out or your inside foot forward, motocross-style? As a road rider I ride the 701 like any other road bike; inside foot firmly on the peg, wheels strictly in-line. To find out how a proper supermoto rider rides, I spoke to 10 times British champion Chris Hodgson. He said: “It’s a…

Shane Byrne Wins: 4 Podiums: 7 Championship: 1st (181 points) Exceeded expectations from the start and continued to improve with each race. A cut above the rest last time out at Thruxton, but it’s still way too early to get carried away. James Ellison Wins: 0 Podiums: 3 Championship: 6th (109 points) A tough start to the year, but it’s not through lack of effort. Capable of fighting for top honours and motivated enough to run at the very front. Jason O’Halloran Wins: 1 Podiums: 2 Championship: 3rd (146 points) Slow start to the year but remarkable step forward to take first win at Snetterton. His consistency has been the key to his impressive championship position. Christian Iddon Wins: 0 Podiums: 4 Championship: 7th (107 points) A stunning start to…

‘I need to practice, practice, practice, so hopefully it helps me at Brands’ RYUICHI KIYONARI Ryuichi Kiyonari has come away from this year’s Suzuka 8 Hours disappointed with his Team Kagayama’s finishing position of sixth – but confident that there’s lessons to be learned from the one-off race that he can apply to his British Superbike season. Leading the race for most of the first hour after a lightning fast start, the most successful rider in Suzuka history was able to run with the leading group for his time on the bike. But a combination of a disastrous pit stop and a fall for team-mate Naomichi Uramoto left the team languishing outside the top 20 – a result that Kiyonari’s rapid pace (running at the same speed as the race…

Brit Gino Rea was one of the surprise performances of this year’s Suzuka race, as only a crash denied him and the Toho Honda squad a chance at finishing fourth on his debut at the high-profile race. Quick all weekend both in practice and superpole, a crash from Rea in the second hour left the team with a lot of work to do – and the World Supersport racer heartbroken. “I’m devastated. The slip off in the second hour cost us a lot of minutes, put us several laps back, and out of the top 50. After that, things went smoothly and the pace from all three of us was good enough to take us back to 11th at the end. “But I’m gutted, because we could have been fourth.…

Alex Lowes’ Suzuka team-mate Pol Espargaró has admitted that the Suzuka victory, his second on the trot, was perhaps even more poignant as it marks his swansong after three years with the Japanese manufacturer. Set to make a move to KTM in MotoGP in 2017 – and to most likely end his association with Suzuka for the foreseeable future – the Spaniard admitted that it was the perfect way to mark his departure. “It was such an emotional win. There are still races to go with Yamaha in MotoGP, but it felt like the last best moment with them. It’s been three beautiful years with them, and the win felt like the big ‘bye bye’ for me and for them. I’m so happy for them, because they put everything they…

Kawasaki Ninja 300 KRT With its bling Kawasaki Racing Team livery, the Ninja 300 is a sharp and engaging and practical race rep. £64.82 per month after a £1200 deposit. Honda CBR300R The CBR family starts with a 125, and moves right up to the Fireblade. And at A2 level this little peach can be yours for a mere £65 per month after a remarkably low £399 up front! Yamaha YZF-R3 The faired cousin of the MT-03, this pretty little R6-alike is a great step up from the R125. £1100 up front, then £60.94 p/m. KTM RC390 One of the best looking in the class, while it’s actually pretty conservative to ride. £77.08 per month after a £1249.75 deposit. Fancy something used instead? MCN Garage p49…

Yamaha can do no wrong at the moment - from superbikes and supernakeds to super-value retros, their range of ‘crossplane philosophy’ vehicles are as popular as they are diverse. Which brings us neatly to the tuning fork brand’s latest CP release – the YXZ1000R, Yamaha’s first sports ‘side-by-side’. ‘Hold on,’ I hear you say, ‘two too many wheels.’ Well, yes, but there’s no denying this 998cc triple-powered buggy would look amazing parked up in your dream garage next to an R1-M. Designed purely for having as much off-road fun as is humanly possible, the YXZ1000R is 110bhp of hardcore giggles. With a top speed of around 80mph, a heady 10,500rpm rev limit, switchable two and four-wheel drive, and the ability to take flight over lumps, bumps and jumps thanks to…

Each manufacturer offers a full range of official touring, sports and cosmetic accessories. Here are our top picks from each marque: • Kawasaki £550 worth of free touring accessories when you buy a Versys 650 before September 5, 2016, comprising of panniers, interior bags and a tank pad. • Yamaha Quick-release 11-litre tankbag: £115.99 Padded comfort seat with logo: £128.99 Wider/taller screen: £111.99 • Suzuki Centrestand: £185 Heated grips: £225 Lower seat: £149 • BMW Tyre pressure control: £210 On-board computer: £160 Traction control: £310…

Valentino Rossi At Donington in 2005 Rossi destroyed everyone, clearing off at the rate of two seconds a lap. Last year at Silverstone he raced to the top step of the podium, resisting huge pressure from Marquez, who crashed out, and Petrucci. Michael Rutter At the 1997 Brands Hatch WSB round little-known BSB rider Rutter shared the podium with Carl Fogarty and John Kocinski, thanks to a British summer downpour. He said: “I enjoy the rain because I know everyone else doesn’t!” Christian Sarron Sarron’s defeat of Spencer in the 1985 German GP was a big deal because Fast Freddie was at the top of his game. Many think Sarron was rapid in the rain because he was nuts, but pure skill sealed that victory. Giancarlo Falappa Falappa had a…

Ducati Monster M1100S 2009-2013 The M1100 range are the last of the air-cooled Monster models and represent what many regard as the pinnacle of the engine’s development. The motor is an absolute peach with a stonking midrange, while the chassis has inverted forks and radial brakes. Watch for The finish on the air-cooled engine can be poor and start to flake. Also ensure the bike has a good service history. Price range £4500 to £7000 Ducati Monster S4RS 2007-2008 If you love Galluzzi’s classic Monster look but want a bit of fire, the stunning S4RS is the Monster to buy. Raw, aggressive and more than a bit wild, the RS not only looks amazing, it delivers in terms of performance, too, thanks to its Öhlins suspension and Testastretta motor. Watch…

“It’s all about word of mouth! I was a decent motocross racer, and became an apprentice mechanic for a bus company to support my habit. I became friends with great riders and worked on their bikes, which led to people asking about me when they were successful. “One day, I was at home with a broken tailbone from a motocross crash and the phone rang. It was the manager of the Australian Yamaha Motocross Team, asking if I would like to work for them. I took a huge pay cut and went for it. I then got offered a job in the ’93 motocross season, which led to a call from Jeremy Burgess with a job offer in road racing. “Nearly every mechanic in MotoGP has a similar story. Almost…

‘When I was 17 I went over on my TZR125 and rode the course again, and again, and again’ ‘I’m not one of those riders that goes through the course in their head, thinking about every gear change and every bump. To be honest, if I start thinking about it too much it starts to scare me. A lot of people memorise everything, but I don’t. When I was 17 I came over on my TZR125, filled it up with petrol and rode around until it ran out, and then did it again and again. “I watched V for Victorya million times and then just put the laps in until I knew it. Now it’s engraved in my mind and I don’t even have to think about the course layout.…

‘The harsh reality of being on my own in a desert wasn’t very appealing – I’m not Bear Grylls’ ‘Getting to the finish line of the Dakar is one battle, but even making it to the start is incredibly tough and easily half the war. Just entering costs £60,000-£80,000 per person. That’s including bike, flights, support, tyres, fuel, everything. It’s a massive logistical exercise to find this money and it took me two years to put my entry together, so it’s almost a relief when you actually start the race. “A lot of the Dakar terrain isn’t difficult, it’s actually pretty easy. A few bits are hard, but a UK national enduro is technically far harder. Where the Dakar bites is the length of time you are on the bike…

“Getting your knee down is a by-product of having the correct body position in the middle of a corner. Hunch over the front of the bike (to maximise grip), hang off to the side (to keep it more upright and away from the edge of the tyre) and as your speed and lean angle increases, you’ll feel the scrape of kneeslider kissing tarmac. Always get into position way before the corner. At most tracks you’re either hanging off left or right and don’t ever need to sit in the middle of the bike, unless there’s an exceptionally long straight to tuck in for. Your mid-corner body position should be: toe on inside peg, flat-footed on the outside. Inside bum cheek off the seat. “Keep your inside arm soft and point…

“Most people think that backing a bike into a bend involves the rear brake, but it doesn’t. If you just jump on the rear brake you will end up spitting yourself over the highside. You don’t even need a back brake to drift – you just need the front. “If you pull the front brake hard enough the rear wheel will start to lift, add a bit of angle at this point and the bike will want to drift. The more you unweight the rear, the bigger the drift and rather than any back brake, I use engine braking to create the slide. “When the bike is drifting, I actually use the front brake to control the slide – the more I apply the front the more sideways the bike…

“How do you jump 392 feet? You need to soup-up your engine, stiffen the suspension and get the right ramp. Then you need to let go of the will to live and focus on the dream of flying! “I probably don’t do the kind of research that many would consider to be enough when it comes to my jumps. I grew up on bikes and I have a sense for if I’m going at the right speed and what the ramp’s angle should be. Reaching 392ft is the result of a lot of trial, error and commitment. “I hit the ramp at 115mph and that’s when you really need to start concentrating. There is an art to flying a bike and it rests around the clutch, throttle and rear brake.…

2007-8 Triumph Street Triple Colours White, black, green Dealer £3700 Private good £3300 Private average£3000 This one 2008 model with Arrow exhaust and bellypan. 9800 miles, £3500 2009 Triumph Street Triple Colours White, black, green Dealer £4000 Private good £3600 Private average £3300 This one 2009 model with comfort seat and FSH. 21,400 miles, £3999 (dealer) 2011 Triumph Street Triple Colours White, red, black, purple Dealer £4700 Private good £3900 Private average £3600 This one 2011 model with flyscreen and bellypan. 6300 miles, £4995 (dealer) 2012 Triumph Street Triple Colours White, red, black, purple Dealer £5000 Private good £3950 Private average £3650 This one 2012 model with heated grips, flyscreen and bellypan. 4438 miles, £4999 Insurance Sample MCNCompare.com quotes for £3750 sporty middleweights, from cheapest to costliest…

KAWASAKI ZX-10R £13,799 FUEL 17 ltr @ 45mpg = 168 miles WEIGHT 197kg SEAT 813mm POWER 197bhp TORQUE 84ftlb MICHAEL NEEVES Long-time sportsbike lover who also races in the white-hot Thundersport GP1 championship michael.neeves@motorcyclenews.com I’ve racked up lots of track miles this year and my ZX-10R comfortably holds its own. It’s rapid, utterly stable and the electronics are superb. I’m on my second set of Metzeler RR K3s and they’re unquestionably the best fast road/trackday tyres around. The Kawasaki is slow changing direction and I think a little extra preload would help lighten the steering. But even on standard suspension settings the 10R handles pretty well, so when I turn up at a trackday it’s just a question of dropping the tyre pressures, topping it up with fuel and off…

• Former BSB race winner Josh Waters had a successful weekend at Suzuka, finishing fifth overall on the Moto Map Supply Suzuki machine. Making his first return to competitive racing since the end of the 2015 BSB season, Waters took the result on a bike fitted with stock electronics. However, despite the strong results he admitted that he has no intentions of a BSB return. • Road racer Gary Johnson also had a successful weekend at Suzuka, taking an impressive 16th and only just missing out on championship points on his debut at the track. Riding for the TeamTras135HP BMW squad, the former Honda TT Legends endurance rider finished the race for the squad. • It was a disastrous weekend for the main Endurance World Championship teams, as SERT Suzuki,…

When a world championship level rider hits 35 they’re regarded as being in the twilight of their career, but try telling that to 45-year-old Akira Yanagawa and 41-year-old World Superbike legend Noriyuki Haga. And while you might think that the heavy going of racing for eight hours in stifling heat and humidity might make their age a negative factor, former WSB race winner Yanagawa says his experience is a big advantage. “I first raced at Suzuka 25 years ago in 1991, and my teammate Kazumi hadn’t even been born! I don’t think it’s harder than it was before, but the team expect much more from me now. They expect me to know everything, because I’m an expert now! “It’s my role to give them information and help them out a…

‘No other race attracts so many factory teams or superstar riders’ The most important production race in the world is not the Senior TT at the Isle of Man, it’s not the final round of the World Superbike championship in Qatar or the MCE British Superbike Showdown finale – it’s by far and above the Suzuka 8 Hours. So what makes this race, once a clash of racing’s global elite but almost forgotten by Europeans in recent years, just so important? Simple – the huge level of backing pumped into the class by the Japanese manufacturers. No other race attracts so many factory teams or superstar riders – and the entry list is on the up. Kawasaki drafted in British Superbike title contender and double winner Leon Haslam this year…

Yamaha’s European boss Eric de Seynes has made a stunning announcement at this year’s Suzuka 8 Hours race, admitting that it’s a priority of the Japanese factory to get Valentino Rossi back racing at Suzuka. Rossi last raced at Suzuka in 2001, taking victory with Colin Edwards for Honda – and swearing at the time never to return to the physically draining event at the height of the Japanese summer. However, with the race set to celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2017 – and with a new Honda Fireblade on the way to try and wrestle the title back from Yamaha at Honda’s home race, the Yamaha boss let slip that they want to see Rossi on the machine. “This race is key in the racing calendar, and we would…