RiDE

‘The go-to choice for anyone who wants to go far and fast’ The world of sports tourers has done an about-face in the last decade or so. Once the retirement home for out-moded sportsbike platforms, it has been rejuvenated. Thanks to the likes of Kawasaki's 1000SX and Yamaha's Tracer family, which both share the heritage of brilliant naked bikes, they're more useful, fun, practical and exciting than ever. They're the go-to choice for anyone who wants to go far and fast. This issue is dedicated to the best in sports touring. We ride the latest and the best models, find out which tyre will let you have fun no matter what the weather and reveal the best used bargains – you can get a lot of bike for your money. A summer…

Brill Hill, Oxfordshire This is the second ride on my new ‘21 BMW R nineT Pure. I fractured a vertebra in August 2022 and have spent seven months focused on rehab and getting fit again. Reading RiDE and dreaming of getting back on a motorbike got me through the slow process. Here's to a summer of biking and thanks for a great mag! Stuart Staples Brecon Beacons, Wales Me and the wife took a blast through the Brecon Beacons in Wales. There's nothing quite like the morning dew's damp smell mixed with fresh, clean air. It was a clear morning and there's no feeling like the freedom of beautiful scenery. This ride was on my 2016 blue Kawasaki Z1000 which I believe is one of the best sports tourers out there and severely…

OUR ROUTE STARTS west of Taunton but we meet up at Gordano Services on the M5, near to Phil's home. We ride down together – he's on his Tracer 900GT (68 plate but already has 35,000 miles on) and I'm on RiDE's BMW R1250RS. Phil's long-distance mindset is evident as he gets up to cruising speed and stays locked on. I set the cruise control and relax until we come off the M5 40 miles later… It's a beautiful, sunny spring Sunday morning as we head west on the A358 towards Bishop's Lydeard. The ride Passing the headquarters of 40 Commando of the Royal Marines, there's a queue of Sunday drivers sitting at 45 in a 60 but, once we turn off onto the B224 towards Lydeard St Lawrence, we have the road…

Fancy riding this route? Listen to Phil Best time of day to ride “Early morning is best of all, ideally spring and autumn. But avoid the A39 from Bridgewater to Minehead on Saturdays due to traffic.” Best section “Exmoor is lovely – light traffic, easy overtaking, no big towns and good views. And unlike Dartmoor there are no blanket speed limits.” Be careful at… “Crossing the A396 in Wheddon Cross can be dodgy – very poor vision to the right. There's often mud and gravel on the road down into Simonsbath. Watch out for sheep up on the moor although they're usually used to traffic.” Best place for a cuppa “I don't stop much! Plenty of choice in Lynmouth and the chip shop always seems to be open. There's a good tea shop at Simonsbath and good food…

THE UNITED KINGDOM'S road network is in crisis: the cost to make good the backlog of repairs on England and Wales’ local-authority roads has now stretched past the £14billion point. Reported by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) for its 2023 Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey, the total cost to fix our crumbling carriageways now stands at £14.02 billion. This is said to be the equivalent of £68,000 per mile of local road in both England and Wales. Representing an 11% increase on the record figures of 2022, the AIA believes it would take an average of 11 years to complete the catch-up. The same report also showed that the gap between what local authorities received and what they said they would have needed to keep roads to their own target…

Wigan-based two-stroke master Langen Motorcycles is ramping up development of a new four-stroke machine but is keeping precise details under wraps. “Most of the design team are now on the new project, which is what you might describe as a large-capacity four-stroke,” said Langen's Christofer Ratcliffe. “Since January, that has been accelerated and has now become almost the primary focus for the design team. We are pushing to launch a prototype at the NEC (Motorcycle Live). It'll be a challenge, but we've done harder things in less time!” Ratcliffe said performance and low weight would be a priority. “It's going to focus on being able to go round corners a lot better than perhaps the competitors.”…