Table of contents for 20 December 2017 in MCN

Research done at the University of Waterloo, Canada, could lead to the development of new batteries that triple the range of electric vehicles. The research has found that altering the material the negative electrodes are made from can give huge battery-capacity increases. This will triple the energy density, which could give, say, a Zero S a realistic 372-mile range. Even with such a huge increase, the tech change seems rather simple. The new batteries use lithium electrodes, but they are very volatile – which can result in fires and explosions. The volatility means they’re also susceptible to corrosion and can’t handle repeated charge cycles. However, the researchers discovered that by adding sulphur and phosphorus to the batteries’ electrolyte liquid, a protective barrier forms that prevents both issues. It’s hoped this…

BUILT MAGAZINE £4.99 The finest publication for those who love custom bikes and the interesting stories that surrounds them. www.builtmag.co.uk TUCANO URBANO STEVE GLOVES £77.99 These new waterproof Steve microfibre leather gloves are perfect for dashing around town att this time of year ar.. www.tucanourbano.com BELSTAFF GRAHAM NECK WARMER £55 This finely-woven neck warmer is available in three colour. It looks stylish and goes well with the Steve gloves. We just need some boots called Dave now! www.belstaff.co.uk…

Reading (another) Guy Martin book, watching (another) season highlights DVD or giving your bike (another) polish can only do so much to scratch the biking itch during ‘the lull’. For some ‘ the lull’ is merely the gap between Christmas and New Year when The Interferers (otherwise known as family, work parties, jobs around the house and so on...) strike, limiting the amount of time for proper activities – such as riding one’s motorcycle. For others ‘the lull’ starts the moment the MotoGP season finishes or the bike is tucked cosily away for the winter. It seems to me, though that ‘the lull’ has not really kicked in yet – with Jonathan Rea keeping bike racing in the public consciousness and with so much to look forward to – and…

MEET THE FAMILY Multistrada 1260 £14,295 • 158bhp • 232kg Base-model Multistrada 1260: new, longer-stroke engine, chassis and electronics take it into a new era of power and control. Multistrada 1260 S £17,195 (S D-AIR £17,895) • 158bhp • 235kg Semi-active suspension, bigger brakes, LED lights, colour dash and more electronics. D-AIR version, too. Multistrada 1260 Pikes Peak £20,795 • 158bhp • 229kg Öhlins, Marchesini rims, Termignoni exhaust, carbon guard, screen, panels and keyless ignition cover. ADVENTURE-SPORT RIVALS BMW S1000XR £12,650 (Sport £14,000, Sport SE £15,010) • 163bhp • 228kg MCN’s Sports Adventure Bike 2017 updated with more power and Euro4 tweaks. Sits between wild KTM and more relaxed Ducati. KTM 1290 Super Adventure S £14,699 • 158bhp • 215kg (dry) Boasts Super Duke-derived V-twin. Super-naked genes means it’s just…

1999 Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa The original Hayabusa arrives in 1999 with a claimed 172bhp and a speedo that proudly displays 220mph. Weird looking but staggeringly fast, it soon builds up a cult following. Specs •1298cc •172bhp • • 104ftlb 215kg (dry) Price now From £3000 2003 Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa A new ECU provides better economy and throttle response, while the calipers change from black to gold. Power is increased by a claimed 3bhp, yet weight and torque remain unaltered. Specs •1298cc •175bhp • • 104ftlb 215kg (dry) Price now From £3500 2017 Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa Totally overhauled, with 1340cc, new fuel injection, titanium valves and added power models. Revised chassis, four-piston radial brakes and upgraded KYB forks, too. ABS and Brembos in 2013. Specs •1340cc •194bhp • • 115ftlb 220kg…

Triumph Daytona 675 Why we’ll miss it Best supersports for road and track ability. A fabulous bike; only one or two left in dealers. Will it be replaced? Moto2 link-up may bring 765 sportsbike or a rep. Price £9600 (R model £10,950) Kawasaki 1400GTR Why we’ll miss it 153bhp ZZR1400-based GTR hyper-tourer devours the miles one or two-up. Will it be replaced? Could possibly live on with a supercharger. Price £13,699 Suzuki Van Van 200 Why we’ll miss it Funky off-road/beach/city bike has a strong niche following and is hugely enjoyable. Will it be replaced? Will Suzuki get it Euro4 legal for such limited sales? Price £3999 Honda VFR800F Why we’ll miss it Was once the go-to sports tourer, but VFR name’s died a death as adventure bikes took over.…

DXR Pattern leather jacket What is it? DXR is relatively new to the UK, and its products are imported by the team at Sportsbike Shop in Boston, Lincs. The DXR range is great because it offers great quality and a decent level of protection at a very reasonable price. This vintage-style design comes with CE-certified protection in the shoulders and elbows. A CE level 2 back protector is included, too. There are also three external and two internal pockets, along with a removable thermal quilted liner – handy if the wearer wants to test their gift on Christmas Day! DXR also offer a range of women’s designs. www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk Dainese Freccia72 leather jacket What is it? Part of Dainese’s all-new retro-inspired Settantadue collection, the Freccia72 takes its inspiration from the brand’s…

Arai Tour-X4 Vision £499.99 TESTED SIX MONTHS Tester Richard Newland Time tested 6500 miles/ six months What’s good? This is the third Tour-X variant I’ve had over the last decade or so, and despite trying several other peaked adventure helmets, I always gravitate back to the Tour-X for its build quality, comfort, and plushness. It has all the same quality of the firm’s pure road helmets, and feels instantly familiar with the same materials used for the EPS and lining. The paintwork is just as flawless, and there are no areas of cheapness. This latest version, this Tour-X4, is a decent improvement over previous versions, too. The shell shape works better and does appear to be less flexible, while the reshaped interior offers an improved fit – reducing both turbulence…

Offers include £500 contributions and competitive finance rates There are a maximum of 11 days left this year to take advantage of the promotions available on new Triumphs. Offers include £500 contributions, competitive finance rates and complimentary panniers – all of which end on December 31, 2017. The £500 contribution extends to the café-styled, A2-compliant Street Cup and retro Street Twin range, and can be spent on Triumph clothing, accessories, insurance, reduced monthly payments and much more. The ever-popular Tiger Explorer range receives a £1200 finance contribution and free panniers, while the smaller Tiger 800 also comes with free panniers and a great finance offer. Customers purchasing the beautifully finished Thruxton 1200 R will receive a complementary Track Racer Kit worth £1950, including such additions as a front fairing and…

 Last week it was confirmed that Ian Hutchinson and Lee Johnston would front Honda’s 2018 road racing effort. ‘I plan to be back before the roads season starts’ One of the worst kept secrets in the paddock, the story was first reported in MCN back in November and since then there has been a lot of talk surrounding a number of questions raised by Honda’s new line-up. Honda’s 2017 season didn’t exactly go to plan. Star rider John McGuinness sustained a badly broken leg in a horrific crash at the North West 200, and it was later revealed that the 23-time TT winner’s accident had been caused by his machine accelerating on its own as he tipped into the notoriously fast Primrose Hill turn. McGuinness’ crash meant Guy Martin, who…

The 2018 Octo British Grand Prix could be the last time we ever see Valentino Rossi race a motorcycle on British soil – and there’s no way you want to miss that. Rossi recently told MCN: “I think after the first part of next year, after some races, I’ll make a decision, because my contract finishes at the end of the year. We have to see what my speed is like, if I’m still competitive, and if we can make good work with the bike. After some races, I’ll speak with Yamaha and we’ll decide if I’ll continue.” So we should know before Silverstone if it’s his last stand, but you don’t want to wait until then to grab your tickets for the Rossi fanstand – because it’ll be too…

ROSSI SAYS “I’m always very happy to go in England, at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone. It is a race with so much history and the atmosphere is always very nice during this weekend. I really like the circuit, it’s very fast and technical. I hope I can have a strong race at Silverstone for all the fans!” LORENZO SAYS “Silverstone is, without a doubt, one of my favourite tracks. It is a beautiful circuit – flat, with a series of curves linked by very fast sections where it is crucial to have a good set-up and a well-balanced chassis. It is very important to focus because it’s a track where you must ride very accurately.” CRUTCHLOW SAYS “I was delighted when it was announced that MotoGP was going…

January 6 – Stage 1 Lima to Pisco: 272km, including 31km special stage. A short, but demanding sand stage January 7 – Stage 2 Pisco to Pisco: 278km, including 267km special stage. Difficult navigation and big dunes January 8 – Stage 3 Pisco to San Juan De Marcona: 501km, including 295km special stage. Bikes and quads have their own route through the canyons January 9 – Stage 4 San Juan De Marcona to San Juan De Marcona: 444km, including 330km special stage. A mass start of 15 bikes at a time and over 100km of dunes in one go January 10 – Stage 5 San Juan De Marcona to Arequipa: 770km, including 264km special stage. A long day for the bikes through mountainous sand dunes January 11 – Stage 6…

‘Everything was new, everything was exciting’ Welcome to MCN’s special ‘first bike’ celebration – 16 pages of rose-tinted reminiscing, awful haircuts and brilliant motorcycles. If you remember flapping flares, comedy crashes and bunking off sixth-form to smoke Bensons and pull 10mph, foot-dragging wheelies, this is a chance to re-live your youth. Over the coming pages you’ll find scores of stories from normal bikers as well as some rather well-known biking celebs. Each one shares a love of bikes and an excitement for motorcycling that is ingrained within all our souls. Those memories of our first bike are something that we all hold dear. Everything was new, everything was exciting and if it was combined with youthful enthusiasm there was plenty of opportunity for fun and disaster. This is me looking…

Andy Calton, Editor, Age 16, (1985) “At 16, with a Suzuki AP50 beneath me and bomber jacket wrapped around my shoulders, I was ready to rule the world… well Crowborough in East Sussex, anyway. My mate Mark Lawler (left, on the ER50) still has those loafers by the way…” Richard Newland, Deputy Editor, Age 11 (1985) “This tatty-but-fast Suzuki RM80 ‘big wheel’ was my combined Christmas and birthday present in 1985. It was a pig to start, was more often bumped than kicked, and I was rubbish on it – but I loved the blue and yellow peril.” Tim Thompson, Head of content, Age 18 (1982) “This pic of my RD350LC was taken at five in the morning. My mate Simon and I had been riding all night and we’d…

Alex Page It was on my first Ducati 750SS in Birmingham, 1997 ish. Adrian Ward Me and my little SRX Yamaha about 20 years ago at Cadwell Park, but my first time was on a Bimota DB2 on the way home from Misano and I did it again on a Bimota Tesi around the Nurburgring. Aiden Bradley “I remember it! It was at the beginning of May. Did it a couple days before I went on holiday to Cyprus and spent the holiday buzzing about it! What a feeling! Killed the slider in no time but still kept it and wrote on it, ‘First Kneedown’ And the date!” John Waugh Mine was at Knockhill circuit on a trackday on my Suzuki GSX-R750 SRAD, back in 2010. Stephen M Murray The…

‘I ended up with three, but still couldn’t make a working one’ “My first bike was the legendarily-rubbish MZ TS125. To try and pimp it up, while I was at university I painted it in a pop art kind of 1960s pattern. The paint took me six months to do by hand and I reckon it looks kind of cool, until you see it is an MZ… “It was 1985 and I was 19. The MZ was terrible, totally unreliable, and while I had it I didn’t realise bike ownership was anything other than constant breakdowns. I think my record was one week without it conking out and as I had no idea what to do with spanners, I just hoped it would work again. By a weird chance a…

SnowQuake is DirtQuake on ice. Its north Italian venue isn’t as local to us as King’s Lynn’s Adrian Flux Arena but for those who love a spiked tyre, a slide and a beer, this is your January must-see. 17 THE INFO SnowQuake When January 17 Whe re Ice Rosa Ring, Riva Valdobbia near Milan, Italy Price €65 includes race entry and After-Party in Milan Contact www.dirtquake.com/#introducing-dirt-quake…

THE INFO Le Touquet 2018 When January 26-28, 2018 Whe re Le Touquet Beach, Pas de Calais Contact www.enduropaledutouquet.fr/ TRY THIS 1 HANGOVER CURE AT THE ACE Yes, all this can be yours at the Ace on New Year’s Day. See you there THE INFO Ace Café Hangover Meet When New Year’s Day Whe re Ace Café, North Circular, Stonebridge, London, NW10 7UD Price Priceless! Contact www.london.acecafe.com…

 Topless women poured wine down their bare chests as a naked German bloke rode his sidecar outfit at full speed around them, his thumb hard on the horn. We few Brits took a few steps back, unsure what we had just stumbled into. A Honda C90 blocked our retreat as he rode behind us – and straight into a skip (which had been set on fire). Sirens sounded and we came under attack from fireworks and flares. Chaos ensued. It felt like Armageddon – aka known as The Elephant Rally. We few Brits took a few steps back, unsure what we just stumbled into The Elefantentreffen in Germany is a Euopean mecca for masochists. It’s the opposite of glamping and the perfect way to embrace February. Since its inception in…

1 POOLE QUAY Best for bikes Where Poole, Dorset Bike night Tuesday Runs Spring-September from 6pm Typical tea Fish and chips by the sea Accommodation Poole’s full of B&Bs from £40 MCN says With up to 1500 bikes on a sunny evening and profits to charity, gawking never felt so good. There’s a brilliant competition too 2 SQUIRES CAFÉ BAR Best for roads Where Sherburn-in-Elmet, North Yorkshire Main bike night Wednesday Runs Year round, afternoon onwards Typical tea Pasties and pies, £2.75-£5.25 Accommodation Camping £3 for a bike and tent MCN says This long-established meet draws huge numbers but retains a welcoming local warm feel 3 THE VIC PUB Best for atmosphere Where Coalville, Leicestershire Main bike night Thursday, aka ‘The Big One’ Runs Year round from 6pm Typical tea…

Fun for kids If you have a little biker in the family (or a big one who’s still in denial), then Lego may have the perfect gift for you. Coming through its Ideas website, the brand has given the green light to a Tron Lightcycle. It’s the next set to go into production, and is expected early next year. Spring into action Suspension manufacturer WP, OE supplier to KTM, is setting up shop in the UK. It will open nine technical centres early next year, which will be able to set up and service WP suspension units. It’ll also sell WP products for people who wish to upgrade or replace. Join the Pro Tour Yamaha has announced the first dates of the Enduro Pro Tour, which is your chance to…

TOURING WITH DAD! “Elephant Rally on a 125 – my dad’s 40-year ambition. Cold but brilliant, taking in Arnhem, Düsseldorf, Cologne and Nuremberg on the way.” Mark Edmondson BLOOD BIKING! “I was already IAM qualified, but I was chuffed to pass the SERV assessment so that I could also start Blood Biking. My first run was a true high spot, but they’ve all been good.” Phil Sivelle DISCOVERING NEW PLACES! “Mine was finally making it to the Outer Hebrides and the Isle of Harris. The weather and cloudless skies made it even better!” Peter Johnson ALPINE PASSES! “It was the Austrian Alps for me. So that was ten days and we covered 14 passes. This is the Jaufen Pass.” JanWillem Helmers What is #ride5000miles? MCN’s campaign to encourage readers to…

‘Dirt-tracker Roberts changed racing forever’ Barry Sheene was the main man in the 1970s. Sheene dominated the 1976 and 1977 500cc world championships, enjoyed the highlife with his glamour-model girlfriend and got rich filming aftershave commercials with boxing legend Henry Cooper. Then the Martians landed. The arrival of dirt-tracker Kenny Roberts changed motorcycle racing forever. The American initiated a tectonic shift that destroyed the status quo and moved the global centre of racing talent from Europe to the USA and Australia. For this reason alone, the late 1970s was a golden age. Roberts won the title in his rookie season, confounding the predictions of Sheene and everyone else. During 1978 and 1979 the pair turned a lot of people onto bike racing, most memorably with their victory at the 1979…

Becci Ellis “I got my world record as the world’s fastest woman on my 1999 home-converted turbo bike, kicking out 650bhp+ at a speed of 264.1mph. We’re now building a second Busa, which will also be converted to a turbo over winter and run alongside the record bike. The best bike ever built!” Mick Fennell “I’ve owned my 2003 Gen1 for ten years. It does everything I need it to and it still puts a big smile on my face when I ride it. I’ve tried newer bikes and not found anything that suits me better. Some people hate them, but for me it’s perfect – so I have no intention of selling it.” Sarah Squibb “This is my 2003 Stealth edition. I love it. Fully loaded with camping equipment…

Shark D-Skwal Sam Lowes KOS What is it? Available in sizes XS to XL, this Sam Lowes-inspired Shark helmet comes in at a very attractive price, just shy of £190. There is a Pinlock-ready visor, complete with the appropriate insert, while aerodynamic features such as a spoiler means it remains stable at speed. This lid also uses what’s known as an ‘Autoseal’ system, meaning the visor is pushed flat to the helmet. This helps to better protect the rider from water and cold temperatures and reduces noise. www.nevis.uk.com How much is it? £189.99 AGV Corsa-R Rossi Goodwood What is it? The Corsa-R Rossi Goodwood edition from AGV is another vibrant race replica, and it’s perfect for Christmas. Taking inspiration from the iconic ‘speed block’ Yamaha paint scheme, this helmet has…

Guy Martin: Road Racer STEPHEN DAVISON What is it? Follow the story of Guy Martin with this new book from renowned photographer and resident MCN road racing expert Stephen Davison. Stephen’s collected some great shots from across Guy’s road-racing career, including his first event at Scarborough in 2003, to bring you this picture book archiving his greatest achievements. How much is it? £18.99 (hardcover) w w w.amazon.co.uk Jupiter’s Travels TED SIMON What is it? A must for any bike enthusiast, this book follows Ted Simon’s four-year journey across 54 countries and 63,000 miles aboard a motorcycle in the late 1970s. During that time, Ted faced breakdowns, prison, war and disasters, and was treated as both a spy and a god by the people he met along the way. Well worth…

‘I take it you agree you performed the wheelies? If so, an early guilty plea could reduce the penalty’ QCan I get two offences treated as one? I have just received court papers telling me I must appear in court for not being in proper control, and driving without due care and attention. I was seen by a police officer performing two wheelies on the same stretch of road. I was not stopped and reported at the time, and I didn’t know he was there. The summons refers to two counts of each offence, presumably for each wheelie. Is there anything I can do to get off this – or, if not, as I suspect, to lessen the penalty? Jonnie, email You are very lucky to be A charged only…

NEIL MURRAY: USED BIKE WHEELER DEALER. HE’S ON YOUR SIDE There’s a bit of a stigma about entry-level bikes. Frequently downspecced and built to a price, they’re what you buy if you can’t afford the 1000cc machine you really wanted, or that your licence category limited. Sometimes manufacturers strike gold, though – Suzuki did it with the original Bandit and the SV650, and Harley-Davidson have managed it for decades with the 883. I damn nearly bought a new one 30 years ago, but an unexpected bill from the taxman knocked it on the head and somehow I’ve never got around to owning a Harley since. H-D still offers an 883 in its range, and this is an entry-level bike with residuals as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar. One reason…

2011 Commando 961 Sport Colours Black/gold or silver/black Dealer £11,250 Private good £11,000 Private average £10,750 This one Dealer sale with black rims and side panels with just 1045 miles, £11,980 2011 Commando 961 Café Racer Colours Black/gold or silver/black Dealer £12,000 Private good £11,750 Private average £11,250 This one 2011 model, showing 8500 miles, £11,595 2013 Commando 961 Sport Colours Black/gold or silver/black Dealer £12,000 Private good £11,750 Private average £11,250 This one Our test bike, with sport pipes and showing 2222 miles, £9995 2015 Commando 961 Sport Colours Black/gold or silver/black Dealer £12,200 Private good £12,000 Private average £11,750 This one Dealer sale with USD forks, carbon screen, dual seat, 1013 miles, £12,150…

O’Halloran in title contention While the BSB team struggled with the new bike earlier in the season, it didn’t take Jason O’Halloran long to put it on the podium. His consistency saw him make the Showdown. Linfoot bags BSB win Dan Linfoot took the Blade’s first European win at a soggy Silverstone in September, before going on to back his wet weather pace up with a dry victory against Leon Haslam at Oulton Park. Slovakia ring success The Endurance World Championship squad, run out of the same workshop as the roads team, also enjoyed podium success with the Fireblade quite early on with a rostrum in the eight hours of Slovakia Ring. Bol d’Or Triumph The EWC team would again finish on the rostrum at the first round of the…

Voting for the 2017 MCN Man of the Year is now open! MCN’s panel of experts have whittled down ten contenders to a final shortlist of six riders which will now be put to a public vote to decide who our readers vote their Man of the Year 2017. Former winners of the prestigious crown include the late, great John Surtees, Barry Sheene, Joey Dunlop, Valentino Rossi, James Toseland, Ian Hutchinson and last year’s Man of the Year, Cal Crutchlow. THE NOMINEES Marc Marquez Marc Marquez won his fourth premier class Grand Prix crown in five years this year after beating Andrea Dovizioso to the MotoGP crown in a dramatic final round in Valencia. Marquez won six races on his way to the 2017 World Championship, his sixth Grand Prix…

‘Finishing second for my sport, for myself and for my country is incredible’ JONATHAN REA ‘This means so much because it was a public vote. I’m really grateful’ JONATHAN REA  The sporting world was stunned on Sunday evening as three-time World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea finished runner-up in the 2017 BBC Sports Personality of the Year. ‘The last bike racer to be nominated was James Toseland in 2007’ The Ulsterman bagged 80,567 votes from the British public, just 2957 short of overall winner, multiple Olympic athletics gold medallist Mo Farah. Rea made an impressive entrance into the ceremony, held at Liverpool’s Echo Arena, riding on to stage on a number one plated Kawasaki ZX-10R to greet BBC presenter Gabby Logan. The 30-year-old made history in 2017 by becoming the…

‘I crashed massively, and they had to help get the bike off me’ “My first bike was a Honda MTX50, which I bought half-and-half with my parents for my 16th birthday. It was fairly beaten about, but it looked bigger than a 50cc bike, it had no sidestand on it so I had to lean it against stuff all the time, too. But I loved that bike so much. It represented everything I had been waiting for in getting onto a motorcycle for the first time. “I had a series of other small bikes after that including a Honda XL100, which I just crashed all the time, and then a Kawasaki GP100 – which was written off when I got smashed into by a Mini Metro. Beyond a helmet, my…

‘How we survived I’ll never know. We had a lot of crashes’ “I had an Italjet 50 when I was six. There was a green out the front of the house where I lived in Eltham and I rode it up and down it until people complained, then went to some waste ground up the road. Dad used to get me to go sideways on the bike round the oval. After that I had a Suzuki RM80, which I hated with a vengeance. It was noisy, I was too young to ride it and it scared the life out of me. My Dad used to push me to ride it and it made me go off bikes for a couple of years. We then got a YZ125 and I started…

‘I used to get up in the night to look at it in the garage’ ‘I arrived into motorcycling quite late and was into my early 30s when I bought my first bike as my parents were dead against it when I was growing up. I was working on Car magazine in London and after encouragement from a bike-mad colleague, managed to borrow a Honda CB500 and BMW F650 while I was doing my test and for the first few months afterwards – before I took the plunge and bought a 1972 Honda CB750 K2. With hindsight this was quite a stupid decision… “As a first machine to get into biking the CB750 K2 wasn’t ideal as the brakes were terrible and while it was in very good condition, at…

Joel Campbell My first bike was a Honda NS125F. I got it in 1987 secondhand for £895. My Mum cried, but eventually signed the loan guarantor forms and the shop in Scarborough delivered it. I didn’t know how to use gears or anything! Paul Newcombe I loved my TZR which had the power valve pinned fully open. Bought new for £1600. It was always run on petrol station two-stroke oil and never went bang! I finally px’d it three years later with 33k on the clock to buy an RGV250M. Duncan Knight My full-berries Yamaha TZR, plus Nana! The only bike I never binned, which is saying something as I’ve had a lot of bikes! Rob Sprately My 1990 MBX125, bought in 1998, was an absolute rocket. Somebody had already…

Dagan Hyde A 1976 Yamaha FS1-E, back in 1981. I felt like the king of the road. Just look at the collar on that shirt, that would have cost me 5-6mph off my top speed… Jonathan Rudd Mine was a candy gold SS. I got on the road November ’79 having bought it in 1978 for £110 and practised riding it in the garden. I sold it for £90! Alan Marsh It’s 1979 and this is FS1-E DX. I always carried a few spare spark plugs in my pocket… Charlie Higgins After hearing my dad’s tales of riding an FS1-E at 16 in 1975, I saved up a load of money and bought a wreck of a 1989 model aged 15. I then spent the next 10 months resto-modding it,…

RIDE THE PLANET’S BEST ROADS IN TASMANIA 1 It doesn’t get better than this. Like some decadent, super-collaboration between God and Carlsberg, shaping the scenery, Tasmanian roads are biking paradise. You can spend entire days burning through h tanks of fuel and frazzling the edges off your tyres without seeing a straight bit of road. And when you’re sore from scratching your speed itch, you can just cruise and drink in the scenery. I’ve been lucky enough ough to have ridden here twice and each time have been mesmerised by corners fired at me in rapid, relentless succession for hours on end. Tasmania is is a dream where the the almost deserted roads road are like having the P Py yrenee renees on your doorstep and extended TT in your…

Wooden banking will make the live action show even wilder than ever INSIDER A paddock pass from just £40 (including show entry) secures an unrivalled view of the all-new Michelin Thunderdrome from a priority seat plus access to VIP area where you can meet the stars. Places are limited so book early. INSIDER The best way to get to the show is by bike or public transport. Bike parking is free and there’s a helmet park with all proceeds going to the charity Cash for Kids. Arrive early as car parking at the venue is limited and the bike park fills up fast. Car parking can be booked in advance via: www.excel.london/parking-mcn-motorcycleshow nternational bike shows I such as Milan and Cologne are all about tyre-kicking and press launches, with a few…

Will WSB be the Jonathan Rea show again? Already a three-time World Champion, Rea’s odds on favourite to make it four. He is happier than ever with his Kawasaki ZX-10R. So, will it be boring? Not necessarily. New regs have come in to create more of a level playing field. Nine times out of ten, the best rider on the best bike is going to win – that’s a core premise in racing – but if the rules are successful, the racing should be a lot closer. What are the new rules? The The big big one is a rev limit for each each manufacturer, roughlyy the the level the machine would w have as a road bike plus 300rpm. The key thing here is that WSB bosses can alter…

Round 1: MotoGP Qatar 16 -18 WSB started in February but this month it’s time, finally, to tuck into the main course with the MotoGP grid lining up at the Losail International circuit for the first of a 19-race season. And while it might not be the best attended weekend of the year, it’s visually spectacular under the Qatari floodlights and our first chance to see who’s going to do what for the year. Does the grid look much different from 2017? No changes to the factory teams – they’re all up for contract renewal come the end of the 2018 season, so the rumours will be flying around early this year – but Aussie Jack Miller’s already looking impressive on the Pramac Ducati, and the return of Sam Lowes…

As standard, most bikes have filament rubber brake lines. While these are perfectly good for normal use, over time they can wear and weaken due to exposure to UV light. This causes the rubber to expand and swell, which reduces performance as they’re unable to withstand the pressures of braking. Braided steel brake lines don’t have this issue. These consist of an outer PVC coating over a steel braid that encases a Teflon or PTFE tubular core. PTFE (or polytetrafluoroethylene) is a strong synthetic fluoropolymer that is flexible, non-reactive and has a very low friction coefficient. The PTFE core’s walls are only 0.85mm thick; this can deal with the braking pressure, but it does need protection from cuts – hence the braided steel outer. A braided steel liner is woven…

Ducati’s new Multistrada 1260 S has it all. Like a superbike on stilts it delivers giddying levels of performance and is crammed full of the latest kit. But like a tourer, it has a spacious, comfortable, upright riding position. Touring, Sunday blasts, commuting, general tarmac assaults and even trackdays are all in a day’s work for an adventure-sports bike such as this. Once you’ve ridden one, it’s hard to go back to a cramped sportsbike or lethargic tourer. This 1260, which will arrive in dealers in February, is available in four versions (see story, right), but the S has always been the most popular. That’s what we’re riding here at its world launch, in the mountains of Gran Canaria. ‘Point the evil beak to the next corner and revel in…

1 The whoosh! Heavy-cranked and super-strong, the powerplant metes out power with silent, effortless efficiency. A gear-driven balancer allows the motor to be solidly mounted in the frame. 2 Sweeping speedos! Original 1999 bikes had 220mph analogue speedos, and the Suzuki has kept its dials throughout its life. Only a ZZR1400’s clock sweeps across its expanse as quickly. 3 Peerless stability! A 1480mm wheelbase meets conservative steering geometry and a low centre of gravity, resulting in slow steering but a dependability that’s inspiring. 4 Being raced by people! No other bike beckons people to race like a Hayabusa, but thanks to the aero, big speeds are easy – 200mph is just a pipe and a little black box away. 5 Eating Honda Blackbirds! When it comes to top speed and…

Jarrod Frost, Holeshot Racing “A first-gen Busa makes 155bhp at the wheel and the current one about 170bhp, but I’ve built turbo Hayabusas with double that with 100% reliability. My own 824bhp, 264mph bike was based around a Busa engine. I’ve also built ones that do over 200mph on one wheel, a road-legal, 500bhp, 249mph turbo that Mike Grainger commuted on... the list goes on. But you needn’t go that extreme. “The engine is easy to get power out of. A bit of head work and cams release big gains, and big-bore kits are common. You can go to 1441cc on the latest Busa or 1400cc on the original, but you can push up to 1600cc and further. It’s a wonderful engine as a starting point for serious power. I’d…

MotoGP 17 What is it? Relive this year’s classic MotoGP season as your favourite rider with the official MotoGP 2017 game. If riding is less your thing, you can take on a managerial role, creating your own team and managing riders from Moto3 to MotoGP. As well as the current crop of bikes and tracks, you can play as over 70 legendary riders from the past on both four and two-stroke bikes, with the two-strokes spanning across the 500cc, 250cc and 125cc classes. How much is it? £44.99 on XBOX One and PlayStation 4. £39.99 on PC www.game.co.uk Ride 2 What is it? Ever played Gran Tourismo? This is similar but with bikes (so better). Build your dream virtual garage by collecting and customising over 200 machines across a range…

‘Some fellow riders will probably end up as good mates’ South Africa gets a bad rap for crime, corrupt politics and a massive gulf between rich and poor. On the other hand, there’s no jet-lag, they drive on the left, the varied countryside is beautiful, the roads are incredible, and the wildlife leaves you gasping in amazement. There were five of us on the Blazing Trails Cape Classic Tour, which ran last March. The flight out is 12 hours, plus another hop to George where we met tour leader Damon I’Anson. He was editor of Performance Bikes magazine before he travelled the world, and now lives in South Africa. He’s built up a vast knowledge of routes, so he can tune the degree of challenge depending on the abilities and…

Suzuki offers longer warranty Suzuki GB has extended its three-year warranty period into 2018. Covering UK-registered bikes until December 31, 2018. This makes Suzuki the only major brand to offer such a deal across its entire road-going range. w w w.bikes.suzuki.co.uk Young guns can nail Ninja deal Kawasaki Motors UK and Team Green will be supporting riders in the 2018 British Junior Supersport class, by offering a race package to anyone wanting to compete on the new Ninja 400. Enquiries should be directed to Nick Morgan and MSS Performance, by calling either 01206 860006 or 07780 000053. w w w.teamgreenracing.co.uk BMW oils wheels of progress Scottoiler have teamed up with BMW Motorrad to produce an official auto chain-lubrication system for the 2018 F750GS and F850GS. Available as an official accessory…

 “We’ve been going for 37 years and have worked on all the old ’70s Nortons, so it was natural for us to become a dealer for the new ones. ‘The earliest bikes did have problems, but these got blown out of all proportion’ “Our customer base is people who had ’70s Commandos but got too old to start them so they’re moving over to the new Norton because of the electric start and so on. “For those who come from modern bikes, yes it’s 961cc but it hasn’t got 200bhp. It isn’t a sportsbike (even though they call it a Sport), and if you’re going up and down the motorway it’s not the bike for you. You need to understand what it is. I describe it as a progression from…

On January 6, 2018, the worlds toughest race kicks off in Peru. It’ll be the 40th edition of the prestigious Dakar Rally, and it’s set to be another gruelling affair where riders and bikes will be pushed to the limit, and beyond, to finish. This year’s race will run across three countries – Peru, Bolivia and Argentina – meaning the challenges will be both intense and diverse. In Peru it will be about sand dunes and lots of them, Bolivia will be characterised by extreme altitude, with some stages being run at over 3500 metres, while Argentina will be fast and rocky. In total, riders who get to the finish will have to navigate 9000km in 13 days of riding, with 5000 of those kilometres being timed special stages that…

 Jonathan Rea’s incredible SPOTY result is a cause for serious celebration for the British motorcycle fraternity. Securing a massive 80,567 votes illustrates the appetite and admiration Rea has garnered throughout his record-breaking year. And the fact that he convincingly beat fellow motorsport competitor Lewis Hamilton as well as comfortably out-performing odds-on SPOTY favourite Anthony Joshua is testament to the size and passion of the close-nit motorcycle community. ‘Rea’s talent and hard work have made him a sports personality’ While us bikers are under no illusion of exactly who Jonathan Rea is and what he has achieved, there were a fair few confused looks on the faces of members of the audience who were no doubt Googling ‘Rea’ to find out why he was so well supported. The result comes at…

‘It helped me become a rider and racer’ ‘This is the good old times! From 1992 I think, something like that,” says Rossi. “It was around the time that I changed teams and went to Polini that year, and it was the first year that I was like a factory rider! I enjoyed riding that bike very much, and I remember the era well because I had a lot of friends racing then too and we all grew up together in those years. But it was very important in helping me to become a rider and a racer as well as to grow up. “I don’t have the bike anymore, because they stole it from me, the bastards. But I still have some minimotos, and we still go sometimes to…

‘I did my first race on the RD350LC and came third. I won the next one’ “My first bike was a grey and white Honda C90, which cost me £40. I could only ride it legally on the fields near where I grew up but even after a year of skidding about the fields the bike kept running. At one point it was only a frame, engine and wheels but it just kept going. “After that I bought a new Honda TL125 trials bike so I could go out riding with mates who already did a lot of trials riding. I did a few schoolboy trials but when I was 16 I bought a secondhand Yamaha FS1-E. It was a shit bike with a molegrip for a gear-lever but it…

‘At 15, I bought an RD400 and hid it from my parents in a rented garage’ “When I was 15 I bought a proddieraced Yamaha RD400, the air-cooled one. It had been crashed when it was raced but it had a blueprinted engine and was all wired up and everything. I rented a garage off this old lady on the estate and kept it there so my parents had no idea I had it. “At the weekends I used to go to Southend-on-Sea on it, I loved that bike, I did it up, re-sprayed it, got a sticker kit and brought it back to life. Then, when I passed my test on my 17th birthday, I was winding my brothers up, telling them I was going to get a Super…

‘It’s got a broken mudguard from fl flipping wheelies’ ‘We rode until we ran out of fuel, it was fab’ ‘I remember my first bike so well,” says Boorman. “I was doing some extra work on a film called The Great Train Robbery, which starred Sean Connery and came out in 1978, and my role was to sit on the top of a lamppost all day. From this work, and a couple of quid from dad, I bought my first motorcycle – it was a DT100 and I was 12 years old. “Thinking back on it, I would have been better to go for a Yamaha YZ80 or something like that, but I opted for the DT. We lived in the countryside outside Dublin and I remember sitting on…

 Regarded as the hardest race of them all, the Dakar is an extreme off-road event where riders race and navigate hundreds of miles each day. Riders contend with extreme altitude and wild temperature variations The 2018 race, which runs from January 6-20, starts in Peru, before entering Bolivia and finishing up in Argentina. The total race distance is a whopping 5500 miles with riders having to contend with extreme altitude and temperature variations from sub zero to close to a roasting 50 degrees. Each day of racing is called a stage and includes a liaison to the start of a timed Special Stage (which dictates the result) before often completing another liaison stage to finish the day. There are two bike classes: the main class, in which riders are part…

Carole Nash MCN Scottish Show The biggest show in Scotland not only showcases all the 2018 machines it also has a huge classic display, too, with 80 clubs and over 800 bikes. Stunt shows, an autojumble, fire-up paddock and two riding experiences complete the line up; Honda’s ‘My First Licence’ is for the kids and for the big kids there’s ‘Try out Trials’. INSIDER Look out for 500cc GP rider Alex George who’ll be in the classics hall. In 1979 Alex beat the great Mike Hailwood at the TT. 3-4 THE INFO Carole Nash MCN Scottish Motorcycle Show When March 3-4 Whe re Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, Edinburgh, EH28 8NB Price Standard adult £13 advance (before March 2); on the gate £17. Under 12s free Contact www.scottishmotorcycleshow.com SAVE MONEY,…