Table of contents for 18th September 2019 in MCN

I’m not going to pretend that you can replace a glorious blue-skied summer’s day with riding in sub-zero temperatures and horizontal rain and derive the same riding pleasure – but there’s a lot of satisfaction in riding through a Brit winter. Friends, family and even some colleagues have often baulked at my stubborn insistence that it’s two wheels or nothing – especially when the ice and snow arrive – but it’s not a matter of macho bravado, it’s about happiness. Stick me in a car and I can feel my stress levels rise. Add poor weather and incompetent drivers, and it gets rapidly worse. And with riding kit making it possible to endure the worst Blighty can throw at us while remaining dry and comfortable – why give up on…

Guy Martin set a new UK speed record of 270.965mph over a measured mile from a standing start last week – and now has his sights set on a world record of 300mph! The record was set aboard a specially-prepared, 830bhp Suzuki Hayabusa in the Straightliners event at Elvington near York last Tuesday. The streamlined, tuned and turbocharged machine was prepared by Jarrod ‘Jack’ Frost, a long-time collaborator of Guy and fellow speed freak. “Guy had a go on my bike a few years ago and said ‘Once I’ve finished with my other stuff, I’d like to have a crack at this,” Frost told MCN. “He brought me a stock Hayabusa and I’ve worked on it to get it up to speed.” Guy’s record-breaking ’Busa now shares very little with…

Two #ride5000miles members from Willington, County Durham, are hoping to break a world record by riding to 50 countries in 20 days in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. Having previously completed two charity tours, the pair are hoping to raise a total of £53k, with the trip across Europe taking 23 days. “We like seeing the different scenery and from a bike you get to see views that you don’t see in a car, or on an aeroplane,” said 60-year-old fundraiser, Trev Atkinson, who will be joined on the ride by 53-year-old builder, Tony Hurworth. “I nursed a terminally ill wife for two years and without Macmillan’s support it would have been a real struggle. Tony’s partner’s mother has just been diagnosed, too,” Atkinson added. “It’s such a worthwhile cause…

Indian have unveiled a host of updates for their ‘heavyweight’ models including the massive new Thunder Stroke 116 engine. The real star of the show is the new Roadmaster Dark Horse. The firm have had huge success giving their Dark Horse treatment to other models, dropping the chrome and tassels for something a bit more toned-down for us Europeans. Continuing this theme is the new Roadmaster that effectively takes the Chieftain and turns it up to 11. This means that it has the new angular look with streamlined style, tapered panniers, 19in front wheel, a ‘gunfighter’ seat (we have no idea either) and a blacked out finish with a subtle hint of chrome. What differentiates the Roadmaster from the Chieftain is the addition of the ‘touring trunk’ (a top box…

Here's Spanish rider Xavi Vierge crashing out of the recent Moto2 race at Sachsenring – but where is his Marc VDS machine lurking? Stick a cross where you think his front wheel spindle should be and we'll print the answer in next week's edition of MCN. Handy clue… Xavi's not pointing to the bike. Remember, there's no prize for this one, it's just for fun. Turn to pages 66-71 for the latest MotoGP news as well as full analysis of the weekend's racing from the San Marino Grand Prix.…

Fly away with me BT Sport’s MotoGP crew consists of 26 people for every single round. “We usually all fly out on the same plane the day before practice starts and stay in the same hotel,” says Keith. Driving to the circuit “I share a hire car with Neil Hodgson and Michael Laverty,” says Keith. “We chat about the racing, paddock gossip, everything on the journey.” Research “Before the action starts there are press conferences and I like to walk the track and chat to the teams to get a feel for what is happening,” In the booth “On practice days I’m at the circuit at 7:30am and in the booth shortly afterwards,” says Keith. “I don’t eat all day as there simply isn’t time and I survive on bottles…

1. SHORT CUT Rather than hanging out wide too long, think about making the shortest route around the track for a faster lap time. 2. LET IT REV Position your weight towards the inside of the corner and brake just enough to let you carry momentum to the apex. 3. OFF THROTTLE Enter a corner with a completely closed throttle. This stops you running wide and lets you turn harder at the apex. 4. HIT THE APEX Turning deeper into the corner will allow you to apex later. With the bike turned, look up and lock on to your exit point. 6. GIVE IT 100% As soon as the bike is upright, give the bike 100% throttle. This way you’ll be able to launch down the straights. 5. STAND UP…

1 Your bike’s running rough… An ignition fault will usually show itself as either an engine misfire or uneven running. Newer bikes will have warning lights that will require a dealer to plug in diagnostic tool to check the faults, so if your bike is within warranty leave it to the pros to sort out. Quite often there is no apparent fault other than a warning light that’s come on. 2 Smoke signals If you have a misfire on a multi-cylinder bike it’s handy to know which cylinder is playing up. A good tip here is to wait until the bike has cooled down then apply a tiny dab of grease on the exhaust downpipes close to the cylinder head. Start the bike up and then observe which…

Misano is no longer John McPhee’s bogey track after an inspired surge took him to second place in the San Marino Grand Prix. The result came after the Scot qualified a lowly 14th and warned his Petronas Sprinta team not expect better than fifth. But with three corners remaining McPhee mugged world championship contender Tony Arbolino to claim his third Moto3 podium of the season. Arbolino later said McPhee’s slick Turn 13 move was “an incredible pass” by the British rider. •‘The three laps I did to close up were the most perfect I made all weekend ’ “This is the worst track for me,” McPhee said afterwards. “I’ve never been super strong here. But the three laps I did in the middle of the race were the most perfect…

Fabio Quartararo will be a MotoGP race winner before the end of 2019 before becoming a serious title contender next year. That’s the expert analysis of Marc Marquez, who denied the phenomenal Frenchman a dream first premier class win in a dramatic final lap in Misano. The pair exchanged three passes for the lead on a nail-biting last circuit, with Quartararo missing out on becoming the first Frenchman to win a GP since since Regis Laconi 1999 by just 0.9s. Aged only 20, Quartararo has transformed himself into MotoGP’s brightest young talent and Marquez is bracing himself for a consistent challenge in the future from the starlet from Nice. In fact, Marquez was gushing and glowing in his praise of Quartararo after clinching his seventh victory of the season which…

Cal Crutchlow said Marc Marquez was the ‘miracle man of Misano’ with his mastery of the Honda RC213V to win the San Marino GP. After crashing out, the Briton admitted he had “no feeling for braking or turning” in the hot, low grip conditions in which he normally excels. “I couldn’t decelerate the bike and I couldn’t go round the corners,” the LCR Honda rider told MCN. “For me to crash out of 12th place was a joke. I’m not riding amazing but I’m not riding bad but I just didn’t have the bike under me to do it. “Marc made a miracle because anybody else on his package cannot do what he did.”…

A motorcycle run in Essex has raised tens of thousands for an air ambulance charity, helping them continue their much-needed work. More than 3500 bikers took part in the 20th annual Motorcycle Run and Family Fun Day organised by Essex & Hertfordshire Air Ambulance Trust on Sunday, September 8. Once all the donations and sponsorship money have been tallied, it’s expected the event will have raised more than £40,000. That is enough to fund 18 missions. Participants went on a 60-mile rideout through Essex, culminating at the coastal town of Harwich where they were met by met by hundreds of supporters. The event itself featured the usual entertainment such as live music and food but also included a visit from the air ambulance’s very own AW169 helicopter. ‘We get some…

BENELLI TNT 125 My partner Pippa Hinds on her first bike, a brand new Benelli TNT 125 collected on September 1. David Wall SUZUKI B120 Me on my first non-moped, a Suzuki B120. Not the coolest bike, but lots of fun and I got plenty of miles done. Mark Watson NORMAN B3 250 Dave Wyatt (Woggy Wyatt) in 1961 at Horsell, Woking. This was well before the law changed to say we all had to wear helmets on our bikes ARIEL ARROW SS Me leaving work in 1967 on my first bike. I loved that thing to bits and the road holding was great (just ignore the fairing). Tony Gallagher NORTON MODEL 19 OUTFIT My father in-law, Norman Snow, sitting on his father’s Norton which he would go on to…

As I prepared to tackle the MCN250 on a pair of single-cylinder scramblers built by non-mainstream brands, I feared the worst. I assumed that the MCN250 would be an MCN100 at best with at least one bike returning in the back of a van. I shouldn’t have these prejudices, but I can’t be alone in thinking the chances of an SWM and Fantic making it all the way around a very tough, 250-mile test route in torrential rain, were pretty slim. And when I was greeted in the MCN office by “the Fantic’s headlight has a fault and when the fuel warning light comes on find fuel… fast” my confidence took another dip. But while both are relatively cheap, in this modern world a low price shouldn’t equate to unreliability.…

Both have what appear to be off-the-shelf digital displays. They both lack information and don’t have gear indicators, rev warning lights or even fuel gauges, although the Fantic has a fuel range trip, which is moderately accurate. The Fantic’s unit has two trips, a voltmeter, fuel trip and clock while the SWM gets a single trip and clock. On the go both are quite easy to read with the speedo nice and large and central, but the rev displays are a little small and can get lost in the overall jumble of numbers. FANTIC FANTIC SWITCHGEAR Fantic has weird ABS warning light on a bizarre knob for dip/main beam. Indicator rocker switch doesn’t self-centre or self-cancel. FUNCTIONALITY SWM SWM SWITCHGEAR About as basic as it gets, SWM switchgear is off-the-shelf,…

‘He was a racer with a reputation as one not to be messed with’ If you’re a MotoGP fan you’ll have spent many hours listening to Keith Huewen as – alongside the rest of the BT Sport team – he has spent the last six years commentating on the action. Born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, Keith first took to the track in 1975 and won the British title in 1979 on a Yamaha TZ750 (beating Ron Haslam, Roger Marshall and Mick Grant to name a few); won the NW200 with a new outright lap record as a rookie; stood on the 350cc British GP podium after taking second as a privateer; raced in 500GPs for four years (he was Barry Sheene’s teammate in 1983) and finally won the British Superstock championship…

Yamaha have given the R1 its first major update since 2015, not just to adhere to the new Euro5 rules, but to give the superbike superstar some extra shove on the track. The big bang machine has become a favourite for spirited road riders, trackday-goers, club racers and top superbike teams over the years and Yamaha hope these latest upgrades, which actually go a lot deeper than they first appear, will take the now £16,799 R1 to the next level when it arrives in dealers next month. But do they work? We went to the world launch at Jerez to find out... 1 Havethey fixed the brakes? New pads and electronics are designed to help the new R1 glide more easily into corners. There are three levels of engine…

‘ Are you a friend with Ewan McGregor? The man fromStar Wars.” “No, why?” I ask. “Because my friend saw him on a motorcycle here and he was also bad.” “Oh. Thank you,” I say, unsure if it was a compliment, or a criticism. “Is OK. Welcome to Morocco.” At that point I had been in Morocco for five minutes. A man whose sole credential seemed to be a large moustache had taken my passport and V5 into a room 20 minutes ago and not returned. I was soaked with sweat, having pushed my KTM through customs because turning it off and on a lot seemed to upset the alarm. Perhaps I was being paranoid but a large bike with a beeping countdown around a collection of armed officials set…

PISTONS AND PROPS, SYWELL AERODROME, SYWELL, NN6 0BN SEPTEMBER 21-22 ‘You’re cleared for take off’ Step back in time for a weekend of thrills and spills on the ground and in the air. Watch dragsters and motorcycles go head-to-head on the sprint or tilt your head skywards to see breath-taking aerial displays. The route Pick up the A43 to Kettering and on the outskirts of Corby take the A6003, signed Rockingham. First exit at the roundabout with the A427 towards Market Harborough. A short blast on the A6, then left to Foxton Locks. Re-join the route and aim for Husbands Bosworth. Go south on the A5119 through Welford and over the A14 to Cold Ashby. Swoosh through West Haddon, East Haddon and on to Althorp. Avoid the centre…

Former champion Leon Camier, currently lost in the World Superbike wilderness, is tipped for a return to the Bennetts British Superbike Championship next season. In fact, the Englishman looks set to play a massive part in a shuffle for rides on the 2020 grid. The man who triggered BSB’s introduction of The Showdown format following his dominant 2009 season, has failed to win a race since switching to WSB a decade ago and is sick of being at the back of the world stage due to a string of injuries and uncompetitive bikes. Still only 33, Camier has been in discussions with PBM Ducati to replace WSBbound Scott Redding and become team-mate to Josh Brookes, who seems likely to remain on the red bike. Another rider linked to PBM is…

A best result in 14 months was the perfect belated birthday present for Sam Lowes in Misano. Moto2’s top Brit turned 29 on qualifying day and finished fifth in the race, his best result since Sachsenring 2018. Lowes told MCN afterwards: “I enjoyed the weekend and finishing fifth. I had some good battles in the race and it’s a solid finish. Now we need to take the momentum into Aragon this weekend.” The result was Lowes’ first top six since the opening round in Qatar and came just days after it was confirmed he’s landed a prized seat next to Alex Marquez at Marc VDS in 2020.…

Pol Espargaro is intent on sticking with his ‘on the limit’ riding style as he targets a top 10 MotoGP world championship finish after a dazzling performance on his KTM in Misano. Espargaro converted a confidence-boosting front row start, a first in the dry for the RC 16, into an impressive seventh place in the race with an inspired performance. Now eleventh in the overall championship standings, Espargaro is also just 11 points adrift of ninth-placed Honda rival Cal Crutchlow who failed to pick up any points at Misano after crashing out. “To be fighting for ninth in the championship is amazing,” the Spaniard told MCN afterwards. “But it’s going to be a long, hard battle because I’m just three points from Morbidelli (in tenth – Ed) and 11 from…

Defiant Jorge Lorenzo has crushed speculation suggesting he’s seriously contemplating quitting Repsol Honda at the end of his hellish 2019. Plagued by a series of injuries and a chronic lack of confidence in the front end of his RC213V, the Spaniard has yet to score a single top 10 finish alongside team-mate Marc Marquez. While adding to his woes, he was also on the receiving end of some stinging criticism from HRC boss Alberto Puig on the eve of Misano. In a hard-hitting interview with the Spanish edition of the official MotoGP podcast, Puig had questioned Lorenzo’s ‘courage and willingness’. •‘I have a hard head – the idea of leaving doesn’t enter my mind’ But Lorenzo is adamant he’s not walking away from his two-year contract early and reiterated, during…

Valentino Rossi inadvertently played a key role in helping Marc Marquez win a last-lap thriller over rookie sensation Fabio Quartararo in Misano Hi clash with Marquez in Q2 aroused memories of their bitter and acrimonious feud in Sepang 2015 and Argentina 2018, and both were afterwards summonsed to a meeting with MotoGP officials. Both escaped a sanction but Rossi incensed Marquez by saying the Spaniard had deliberately impeded him on his final lap. Booed incessantly by Rossi’s army of fans, Marquez said he used the pre-race spat as ‘extra motivation’ to win in the Italian’s backyard. And it seemed Rossi’s criticism was akin to poking a sleeping lion, as a wound-up Marquez put recent last- lap defeats to Dovizioso and Rins behind him to edge out Quartararo in another classic…

Honda UK have unleashed this celebratory limited edition CB1100RS, inspired by their factory endurance racers of the 1980s. There will be 54 of the special machines built in partnership with 5Four Motorcycles of St Neots to mark the 50th anniversary of Honda’s legendary CB750. That ground-breaking bike is regarded by many as the first real superbike and this tribute celebrates that with its mix of old and new. The 5Four special-edition is powered by the same 1140cc air-cooled inline four as the standard CB1100RS, which pumps out 88.5bhp. It also has the same chassis and conventional preloadadjustable 43mm Showa forks and twin shocks. Visually though, it’s had an aggressive makeover. The café racer look is created by a single seat unit and understated fly screen surrounding the rounded headlight and…

Suzuki have announced three new colour schemes for the naked SV650. For 2020 the much-loved V-twin comes in metallic silver with a blue frame, matt black with red frame and wheels, or gloss black for a more understated look. Its perky engine, decent handling and keen pricing has earned it a place in thousands of bikers’ hearts since it was launched 20 years ago, so there are plenty to suit every budget. 2020 SV650 What is it? Even after two decades the SV still manages to deliver an attractive mix of power and handling. New colours for next year. MCN says “The SV is a fun bike that will appeal to new riders and give older ones a thrill too.” Want to buy one? £5999, £1200 deposit, £86.50 per…

The Metropolitan Police’s ‘Operation Venice’, the moped crime task force which caused controversy by using ‘tactical contact’ to end pursuits with suspects on two wheels, looks to be succeeding, according to latest crime figures. Up to the end of July, the number of ’peds and scooters involved in crime dramatically dropped by more than half compared to the year before, from 20,973 to 9723. Some of this success has also been attributed to The Met’s ‘Lock, Chain Cover’ campaign, which promotes the use of better bike security. The number of motorbikes stolen in the same time period has also dropped by 22.4% from 11,395 to 8847. The knock-on effect of this drop in thefts is that there are fewer vehicles in circulation to be used in further crimes. ‘There is…

Ducati’s Monster 1200 S will sport a striking ‘Black on Black’ livery for 2020, combining strips of matt and gloss black paint alongside streaks of red. The new bikes arrive in dealers at the end of this month priced £15,095 and boast the same top-notch specification as the existing S model, including fully-adjustable, beefy 48mm Öhlins forks and monoshock, as well as powerful Brembo M50 monobloc calipers. This is not the first time Ducati have revealed a black Monster, having launched a cheaper, more basic M600 Monster Dark in 1997 and M750 Dark in 1999. The new 1200, however, costs £200 more than the existing 1200 S as it’s even higher specced. Alongside the all-black paint, one of the three Y-spokes on each wheel is red, with the bike also…

Hundreds of cheering fans saw Valentino Rossi fulfil a life-long dream last Tuesday, as he rode his MotoGP bike through the streets of his hometown, Tavullia in Italy. Aboard a full race-spec Yamaha YZR-M1, the Doctor left his VR46 ranch, located just a few kilometres from the town centre, and rode the priceless prototype on treaded tyres along the same winding country roads that he first rode with his friends on their 50cc scooters over 25 years ago. Nearing the town centre, the smattering of fans that lined the route had grown into a yellow sea of people, each one waving a flag, cheering and chanting his name. ‘I always dreamed of passing through Tavullia on a MotoGP bike’ After a brief stop in the town square, the nine-time champ…

Your story about the Elvis Harley up for auction brought back some memories. I was travelling in Canada in the mid-nineties and there was a story going round that a guy who was buying a house nearby found a rusty old Harley-Davidson in the garage, so he purchased the bike from the homeowner who was selling the property. Shortly after moving in he began work on the bike and went to the local Harley dealership to purchase parts. The guys there asked for the serial number, etc, and with that information they offered him three prices for it, raising the stakes each time. In the end he asked what was special about the bike and was told to look at the tank and check if it had 'E P' on…

No trip to Scotland is truly complete without a stop-off at the Bikers Cove. Located just to the west of Edinburgh in South Queensferry, this compact café features an unrivalled view across the Firth of Forth and can be found almost directly beneath the Forth Rail Bridge, whose red oxide cantilevered span is one of the country’s most enduring engineering landmarks. We rode in from the north, crossing the estuary via the new Queensferry Bridge, but the cafe’s close proximity to Edinburgh’s ring road means that there are several great options from the south too – the A701 from Moffat, for example, is a particularly good ride up. The Bikers Cove is already busy when we pitch up on a sunny Sunday morning, but we’re lucky enough to bag a…

There is no reason why we can’t carry on riding even when summer comes to an end. Autumn is a great time to ride. We’re lucky in the UK because we get some beautiful clear days which are great for riding, plus there are still plenty of bike meets and events to go to. The thing is to have the right riding kit – winter kit may not look as cool as leathers but it makes such a difference. ‘MODERN KIT AND TYRES MEAN YOU CAN RIDE ALL YEAR’ I got caught out a few years ago heading to the MCN Butlins event. I rode there on my Africa Twin in vented race leathers and was properly freezing – I ended up hating every minute. I was holding on with…

It’s Britain’s best road test route. A tough 250-mile mix of A and B- roads, a stretch of motorway, plus plenty of towns, villages, blind corners, ballistic straights, and a huge range of grippy to slippy tarmac. There are two cafés, an off-road section for adventure and trail bikes, track time for sportsbike evaluation, and Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground and the dyno for hard and fast data when needed. You want answers? We’ve got ’em. 1 Crowd pleaser Filling up with fuel at the start of the MCN250 in Oundle it doesn’t take long for the SWM and Fantic to attract the attention of a passer-by. “I used to have a Fantic when I was a kid,” he says, “I had no idea the company was still making bikes. It…

This test was a case of surviving horrendous conditions rather than enjoying two small-capacity bikes in the countryside, especially as the SWM was misbehaving. But once we’d completed the route, the next day was sunny and dry and we retraced our steps to do the photographs, which was when the two really came alive. From the Super Sausage through to the M40, they made perfect sense. You don’t need to go fast to enjoy a single and with the B4525 having a 50mph limit, we could ride them enthusiastically without fearing for our licences. Through the slower speed limited sections the sound of a pair of single-cylinder engines as it bounced off the stone walls was simply lovely and it’s hard not to just smile when you’re riding two such…

THE STUDENT Stephen Hammond, 33, Yorkshire Riding for 15 years, Stephen’s enjoying his first trackdays. He rides a GSX-R1000 on the road and a GSX-R750 on track. Stephen’s riding problem ‘I’m fairly new to trackdays so became a bit obsessed with getting my knee down, but I know it’s not the fastest way to lap a circuit.’ THE TUTOR Gareth Roberts, Chief Instructor Multiple club champion and roads racer, for the last 13 years he’s been helping others get faster as a performance riding coach. Gareth’s action plan ‘Stephen needs to spend less time in the corners and more time with the bike upright to maximise his speed. I’ll show him how…’ THE LESSON 1 Hanging about Following from behind, Gareth discovered that Stephen – like many trackday riders…

‘The package is good and the price is right’ THE OWNER IanOwens , Staffordshire Started riding at 16 on an AP50, Ian’s had everything from CB900s to ZZR14s. He now has a V-Strom 1000 & 650, GSXR1000R, Z900, R1250R and MV Brutale 800. Ian Owens admits he has a thing for Suzukis. “You could say I’m a fan,” he says as we look over his impressive stable of seven bikes, four of which are made by the Japanese giant. “There’s just something about them that appeals to me – I’ve owned GSX-R1000s and 750s and currently have both V-Stroms - I think they’re usually good value. But I’ve owned all kinds of bikes in my time, everything from Yamaha Diversion 600s to Kawasaki ZZR1400s.” It was this combination of an…

Popular bikes tend to be good bikes... that’s why they’re popular. But go beyond the obvious and there are some brilliant bargains to be had. These sometimes forgotten heroes may have missed the mark for all sorts of reasons when they first appeared, but often that means they are now going cheap and most issues will have been sorted by previous owners. Daring to be different can pay off. MCN’S BEST BUY £3250 DUCATI ST4S 996cc |237kg |117bhp |820mm seat height • Dealer up to £6500 • Private up to £4500 • This one 2003, 32,000 miles Ducati always have to create the sportiest offering in any market sector. If they made a toaster it’d have an Öhlins spring on the bread-lowering system. Their ST range of sports-tourers from…

‘It looks like we improved but it’s not enough’ A Ducati disaster and a lacklustre Valentino Rossi conspired to deliver a double dose of disappointment for home fans at Misano. Despite an upgraded YZR-M1 dripping with carbon fibre Rossi extended a losing streak that dates back to the 2017 Dutch TT. In his own backyard before a mass of yellow-clad fans Rossi came fourth, 12 seconds behind Honda rival Marc Marquez. Worse, Rossi was hammered by rookie Fabio Quartararo on a standard Petronas SRT M1 running 500rpm less than the full factory spec bikes. And after claiming a glorious home victory last year, Ducati also had a shocker with 2018 winner Andrea Dovizioso slumping to sixth place. Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi said the main issue was a ‘track cleaning’…

Three early front-end scares dropped Maverick Viñales out of contention at Misano. Starting from pole for the first time since March, the Spaniard led the first two laps but said: “I had three big moments and this disturbed me a lot. I slowed down to understand more where the limit was and came back strong but it was too late.” The Yamaha man shunned the new twin exhaust and carbon fibre swingarm debuted by teammate Rossi saying: “We need to improve the electronics because I can’t create grip. But no excuses, I wasn’t close enough to Fabio.”…