Table of contents for 23 July 2025 in MCN

‘If I can attack, I will attack’ MARC’S NOT PLAYING SAFE, P62 SPORT Marc Czechs out Barring the crash in Saturday qualifying, the script for the Czechia GP at Brno could’ve been written last week, as it saw Marquez seal his fifth consecutive double-win weekend, further etching his name into the history books by becoming the first rider to take five back-to-back wins on a Ducati. Yes, outranking Stoner and Bagnaia for on-the-bounce glories. Where will it end for the Spanish superstar? As the paddock enjoys the summer break, Marquez already has one hand on this year’s title trophy, but how long will his winning streak continue and will he ultimately overhaul Rossi as MotoGP’s GOAT? PAGE 62 BIG TEST Bag to basics Harley-Davidson arguably did it first with the…

SAVE £7150 £18,499 Kawasaki H2 SX SE Kawasaki’s supercharged hyper-tourer combines sweet handling, all-day comfort and unflappable stability to create an incredible mile-munching sports tourer – and it just so happens to be ballistically fast, offering up boatloads of grunt in any situation. With more than seven grand off, this one’s a bargain and won’t disappoint. www.thepotteries.co.uk SAVE £2000 £14,299 Kawasaki ZX-10R Kawasaki’s ZX-10R is race-inspired, built with track-ready performance in mind. That said, it still offers plenty of road civilities if trackdays aren’t your thing. marriottmotorcycles.com ● Engine 998cc ● Power 200bhp ● Weight 207kg ● Seat height 835mm SAVE £1300 £11,499 Honda NT1100 Honda’s NT1100 is about as practical as motorcycles come, offering plentiful weather protection and ample pillion or luggage capacity. suttonmotorcycles.com ● Engine 1084cc ● Power…

‘Ignorance is dangerous’ Dealing with online vendors can be maddening. Some may not set out to deceive but trying to pin down what they’re selling – and whether it meets legal standards – can still feel like tumbling into a rabbit hole. If it’s exhausting for someone familiar with the legislation, what hope does the average consumer have when bombarded with misleading claims backed by what look like legitimate documents? Since May, I’ve had sporadic contact with a manufacturer who initially applied to join a Facebook group I moderate. I asked whether they held certificates for their products. To my surprise, they claimed certificates were pending and would arrive within a month. Our exchanges continued, and each time I kept pressing for updates. Eventually, their story changed: the certificates were…

Q ‘Road repair caused crash’ A few weeks ago I was returning from work along a wet/damp road. As I went around a bend my bike lost traction and I came off. Luckily, I was not seriously injured. I inspected the surface for clues and it looked fairly recently repaired. The seal at the edge of the repair looked a lot wider than normal, being about 10cm wide. I was off work for two weeks and didn’t get paid. Can I claim for my injuries, lost income and for the damage to my bike and riding gear? Josh G, Havant A Depending on the type of road, the local council or the Highway Authority are responsible for maintaining the surface and all repairs. Authorities often contract this work out but…

I’m excited to have MCN’s Saffron down to learn the art of the wheelie. We’ve got a full day to get her up to speed… or height, depending on which way you look at it. I’m customising my trials bike to make life easy, and to fast-track her straight to the balance point – yes really! It might sound weird, but I’ve stuck the rear brake as a scooter brake on the right hand side with the throttle, in order to focus on the clutch control and have it easy to reach. I wasn’t sure how it would feel, but I’ve done a little tester on it and it’s ace! One of the fears for a big stonking wheelie is flipping it, so I just want to give her the…

Legends Café Housed in GT Motorcycles, you can grab a great coffee and wander round your next potential purchase on the edge of Plymouth. ● 10 Elburton Road, Plymouth PL9 8JQ ● www.gtmotorcycles.com/legends-cafe Refuel Coffee Shop Upstairs in Motorcycle World, you can look down over a glittering array of new bikes while you munch on your breakfast. ● 3 Quorn Way, Northampton NN1 2PN ● motorcycle-world.co.uk/refuel-coffee-shop Café 53 Bridge Motorcycles have upped their game with the rustic café on site with great coffee and superb eats. Alphin Brook Rd, Marsh Barton, ● Exeter E X2 8RG ● www.bridgemotorcycles.com/cafe-53…

‘Knock a grand off’ Nostalgia sells, but we fear Suzuki might have been a bit over confident when pricing their new retro pair: it’s hard to work out why it costs so much more than not only its rivals, but also the bike it shares 80% of its mechanical parts with. If that’s the only thing that holds you back from the bike, that’d be a real shame, because it’s a pleasure to ride. Very little stands out as lacking, other than connectivity still not coming as standard, or even an option, for those who desire it. I also feel the final execution lacks a little confidence – if you’re harking back to a frisky two-stroke and a superbike legend, why not indulge in either the classic, vibrant metallic hues,…

You’d be forgiven for thinking that, with the demise of Moto Guzzi’s California 1400 (in 2020) and Triumph’s Thunderbird 1700 LT (in 2018), Harley and Indian were ‘last men standing’ in the ‘bagger’ category. But that’d be overlooking BMW’s R18 family. Introduced with the ‘First Edition’ cruiser in 2020, joined by the Classic, B ‘bagger’ and Transcontinental ‘full-dresser’ in 2021, and high-barred ‘Roctane’ in 2023, all were based around a new, air-cooled, 1802cc, 90bhp boxer twin and blended BMW heritage style with cruiser curves. All perform competitively, handle and have lovely details and build quality served with added cheese (the two riding modes, for example, are called not Sport and Road but Rock and Roll). Of them, the B and Transcontinental are the most relevant, here. The B ticks all…

At the 2015 Isle of Man TT races, James Hillier was granted permission to ride a Ninja H2R for a ‘parade’ lap of the TT course under closed roads. The result? He clocked 206.9mph when he passed the speed trap on the Sulby straight, which was the fastest speed ever recorded for a production motorcycle. “To be honest it frightened me a little bit as it was so fast,” said Hillier, who hadn’t even sat on the bike before he set off down Bray Hill. “It’s insane, the whole lap was such a special experience. I just wish I could have sat on a bank and listened as it went past because it must have sounded amazing!”…

Looking ahead to the Balaton Park WSBK round 1 Harmony rules OK Toprak Razgatlioglu up against Nicolo Bulega is fast becoming one of the great head-to-head rivalries in the history of the championship. However, this is a competitiveness whose foundations are well-mannered respect as opposed to the bitter gall witnessed at points in the past such as with Carl Fogarty v Frankie Chili or Jonathan Rea v Tom Sykes. So, isn’t it incredible that both Toprak and Bulega share a birthday, even though being born in 1996 makes 28-year-old Razgatlioglu three years older than Bulega, a 1999 baby. For those into their horoscopes, our championship top two are both Libra. It suits the pair quite well, doesn’t it? They’re each rounded and balanced individuals, after all. Who should have the…

I was invited to go to Brno MotoGP by Monster and I have to say the way they look after me is really cool. They said they wanted to treat me for the good job I’ve been doing, which blew me away because it’s not normally like that is it? So it was pretty special and just nice to feel the love! I have to pinch myself sometimes with how it’s all going right now; I just don’t want that bubble to burst. While I was there I got a good look around the Aprilia garage and I was in the Ducati garage next to Marquez during practice, which was pretty special. I had a bit of a craic with Tardozzi. I saw the reality of how it works in…

ROUND 12 BRNO MOTOGP CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS 1 MARQUEZ M 381 Pts 2 MARQUEZ A 261 Pts 3 BAGNAIA 213 Pts Ogura 51pts Bastianini 49pts Rins 42pts Mir 32pts Nakagami 10pts Martin 9pts Savadori 8pts Espargaro 8pts Fernandez A 6pts Oliveira 6pts Chantra 1pts FINAL POSITIONS MOTOGP 11 Aldeguer +19.781 12 Marini +20.778 13 Zarco +20.961 14 +Ogura 21.904 15 Rins +22.563 16 Di Giannantonio +24.729 17 Oliveira +27.64 18 Fernandez A +28.310 DNF Bastianini 6 laps, Mir 1 lap, Marquez A 1 lap FINAL POSITIONS SP RACE FINAL POSITIONS MOTO2 11 Dixon +16.482 12 Ortola+ 17.409 13 Oncu +17.451 14 Huertas +18.872 15 Agius +19.652 16 Veijer +21.754 17 Binder +22.285 18 Lopez +23.112 19 Arbolino +23.592 20 Vd Goorbergh +25.786 21 Escrig +25.854 22 Navarro+ 29.101 23 Kunii +29.662…

Bosses were quick to state there is no intention to enter the expanding smaller capacity markets – a move recently deployed by the likes of Honda, BMW, and Triumph with a wide range of sub-450cc bikes. “Of course we are looking to grow in different areas,” CEO Luca Martin said. “For sure we will not focus on entry level bikes, or low displacement bikes. This is a very aggressive battleground and not really where our brand is recognised. Therefore, we are going to stay on our backbone, which is the Brutale family, and the naked family – where we believe we have a strong presence and a strong heritage.”…

Norton have partnered with Bikesure, part of Adrian Flux, to offer tailored insurance cover. The agreement provides riders with comprehensive protection, including up to £100,000 legal expenses cover, new bike replacement within six months, uninsured driver accident cover, and unlimited accessories cover. Bikesure also offers European cover, plus exclusive discounts. Red Bull drift-off British Speedway champion Robert Lambert has taken on drift ace ‘Mad’ Mike Whiddett in Red Bull’s Ultimate Drift challenge at Goodwood. In a world-first, Lambert drifted his Speedway bike on tarmac, going head-to-head with Whiddett’s 1200kg Mazda RX-7. The pair then teamed up for a tandem drift around the double-apex Woodcote, with Lambert commenting: “That went a lot smoother than I expected!” Head to Instagram to see the video. Dirty protection British impact protection specialists D3O have…

‘Time to bag a bonkers Bimota?’ With Kawasaki the latest company to act as a defibrillator for Bimota, I’m left wondering if one of their historic models might be a sensible investment. Which is a bit of an oxymoron because I not sure that owning a Bimota (the company or a bike…) can ever be described as a sensible investment. I have a degree of affection for Bimota, the ‘ta’ in the company name is due to its being started by Massimo Tamburini (the other founders are Valerio Bianchi and Giuseppe Morri) and I love most of his design work. And the older Bimota models do still hold a degree of appeal. In the 1980s and 1990s, Bimota had a purpose – they took brilliant Japanese engines and stuck them…

Dainese Karakum Ergo-Tek £79.99 Wave goodbye to hot hands If you’ve ever been caught out by an unseasonably warm day in heavy gloves, you’ll know just how unpleasant the experience can be. Discomfort may seem trivial, but it’s a major part of safety when we ride – if you’re thinking about how soggy and sticky your gloves are getting, are you really concentrating on the road? It can even be tempting to ditch your protective gear altogether – which could have disastrous consequences! With very hot weather seemingly becoming the norm in the UK, maybe it’s time to invest in a pair of more specialist gloves such as these Karakums from Dainese. Made with breathable and elasticated fabric for summer comfort, the Karakum features a goatskin leather palm for optimal…

Send your first bike pics to: yourpics@motorcyclenews.com ZEROFIT – KING OF BASELAYERS® www.zerofit.co.uk Me on my first four in 1977. Fitted out with a Rickman fairing, plus a Harris Brothers Devil exhaust. Mike Hayward Archie Relph with his first pit bike, a Stomp Z3 140, he can’t wait to get out in the dirt! Simon Relph Only picture I’ve got of me with my Bantam 175 taken in the back yard, cost the princely sum of £45. Dave Fullelove Me on my dad’s Honda. Little did I know then that at the age of 53 I would pass my motorbike test. Jennifer Gorringe Back in 1970 I had one similar to this except mine broke its crankshaft and had to be towed behind a Bonnie. Colin Bell Me and my…

THE DETAILS ● Tues-Sun 9.30am-5.30pm ● frankscorner.co.uk ● Turkey Cock Lane, Colchester CO3 8ND It’s quite possible you wouldn’t find Franks unless you knew where it was, but if you’re in the Colchester area, it’s definitely worth seeking out. “The place took a while to find, and it was by accident as well,” says owner John Stevens. “I wanted to locate something off the beaten track that wasn’t about the big glass, fancy showrooms and being too corporate. “My father, Frank, passed away 26 years ago, and I wanted to create something in memory of him,” he continues. “So, I retired from the corporate world and looked for a little bike shop, two days a week where I could offer people tea. It grew from there!” With the whole family…

1 July 24-25 Beezumph 31 The Trident and Rocket 3 Owners Club are hosting their Beezumph 31 event at Cadwell this weekend. Along with the trackday, there are guest speakers, rideouts, displays, live bands and a parade of bikes including Slippery Sam, a works Norton Rotary and Percy Tait’s Rob North T150. ● www.beezumph.com 2 July 27 Ardingly Classic Rain is no excuse to not get down to the Ardingly Classic. Completely undercover, there is an autojumble to get you bargain hunting, a fire-up paddock to be up and close to the action as well as prizes on offer. Tickets are £7 for 10am entry or £10 for earlybirds. ● www.elkpromotions.co.uk/ardingly-july 3 July 26 Calne bike meet This charming Wiltshire town will be saturated by bikes this Sunday as the…

What’s happening? The Armoy races return to the tight country lanes of Antrim this week. Aside from the racing on the weekend, which is free to watch if you can secure a good spot along the roadside, there is a whole hub of activity in the town including a rideout and BBQ, along with displays of classic bikes and cars. The essentials The racing itself is spread over two days on July 25 and 26. But with stuff happening all week, it’s worth getting accommodation for longer. There is parking off road and it’s clearly signposted; viewing is available all along the route except for private property which will be clearly marked. Roads close at 10am on Friday 25, and open at 9pm. On Sunday, roads close at 9am and…

THE MCN TEST ● THE HOTTEST BIKES ● EVERY WEEK £27,895 Indian Chieftain PowerPlus Dark Horse ● 1834cc liquid-cooled 60° V-twin, SOHC ● 122bhp @ 5000rpm ● 382kg (wet) £28,495 (£29,595 as tested) Harley-Davidson Street Glide Ultra ● 1923cc liquid/air-cooled 45° V-twin, pushrod, 4v ● 107bhp @ 5020rpm Baggers may not be traditional British biking fare but they’re big news. The oddball ‘King of the Baggers’ race series has already supported MotoGP while leading exponents, HarleyDavidson and resurgent rival Indian, both have new takes on the ‘ultimate bagger’ for 2025. But what are they? What have they got - and which is the best? We took both on an American themed, day-long ‘run-to-the-Skegness-sun’ (with chips and ice cream our intended goal) to find out. It’s time to revisit what you…

‘Is the Hog a bagger?’ We set out to find the ‘best’ of the new breed of ultimate baggers. Instead, we’ve revealed which has the ‘most’, in two very different ways. The Harley is the ‘bagger with more’ – the big-selling Street Glide with extra luggage, comfort, kit and chrome. It delivers all that excellently, as well, so much so that in reality it’s more of a cut-price full-dress tourer. Or, to put it another way, a ‘bagger with more’ may be more of a touring motorcycle but it’s also more awkward, more expensive, less pure stylistically and, actually, less of a bagger. There’s an irony to the fact that Harley created the bagger by taking things off an ElectraGlide and now, by adding things on, it’s not really a…

RATINGS Exceptional Very good Good Average Poor 6 months ON TEST Leatt Helmet Kit ADV 8.5 £479 ‘Innovative and excellent’ Tested by Steve Herbert-Mattick for 2000 miles The ADV 8.5 is a brand-new, composite fibre adventure touring helmet from off-road protection specialists, Leatt. With a removable peak and goggles, it offers four different configurations and uses. And it’s brilliant. I started using it at the beginning of the year, when I was frequently riding a Honda Africa Twin. On a big adventure bike, you’ll enjoy a near uninterrupted view from the huge visor aperture which, even in freezing temperatures, never mists thanks to the Pinlock (included). This is also the first time I’ve used a Photochromatic visor. Working like reactive lenses in glasses, it darkens automatically in bright light and…

BRUCE DUNN MCN’s expert technician Time for a tracker Ten steps to getting the best from a self-powered GPS locator 1 Simple solution If you’re considering fitting a crime-busting tracker to your machine, the easiest option is a self-powered model. The Tracker Nano Plus, for example, has a three-year battery life. Its compact size and durable design enable it to be installed neatly out of sight, and both setup and monitoring can be done wirelessly through a mobile phone app. 2 This way up… The location of the tracker is crucial. It contains an internal GPS antenna that requires a clear view of the sky to acquire signals from multiple GPS satellites. This capability ensures higher levels of accuracy. The arrow on the side of the tracker should face upward toward the…

Bringing you the inside line on Brands Hatch BSB We’re halfway through the ‘Main Season’ phase of the 2025 Bennetts British Superbike Championship and as a result things are getting a little more serious as the paddock heads to Brands Hatch. Bradley Ray has been almost unbeatable so far this season after celebrating nine victories from the opening 11 races. Only Leon Haslam and Rory Skinner have beaten the 2022 champion so far on their respective Ducati V4 Rs. Can anybody step up to stop Ray this weekend? Or will he continue to shine in the blue of Raceways Yamaha as BSB heads to Kent? Rewind to the 2024 finale… R1 – Kent, Vickers, Bridewell R2 – Bridewell, Ryde, Vickers R3 – Ryde, Bridewell, Vickers The two meetings at Brands…

At the heart of the MotoGP paddock for over 35 years TOP STORY Marc Marquez collected maximum points for an eighth time this season at Brno on Sunday, leaving the fast and the furious trailing in his wake, and outranking Stoner and Bagnaia as the first Ducati rider to take five in a row. His 96th victory was another flawless, humbling display of superiority and skill – exactly five years and one day after the crash that broke his arm, changed his life, and threatened to end his career. Marc’s ninth championship already seems a formality. He is living the dream. But what about our dreams? When does this spectacle lose its power? It’s happened before. In the 1960s Giacomo Agostini and MV Agusta won almost every race. For Ago…

Fans gathered at AFC Wimbledon on July 5 to celebrate Wimbledon Speedway and see the unveiling of the UK’s first speedway statue dedicated to Ronnie Moore MBE. Crafted entirely from vintage bike parts and materials from the old greyhound stadium, the statue captures Moore in his racing stance. Four-time world champion Barry Briggs MBE officially unveiled the statue. Ducati history on the ’Gram Ducati have launched a new Instagram profile for the Ducati Museum (@museoducati), designed to showcase the brand’s engineering and racing heritage. Timed with their 99th anniversary on July 4, the account will chart the firm’s journey from 1926 radio tech start-up to global megabrand. The launch kicks off Ducati’s countdown to their centenary celebrations. Save some zeros on electric Zeros Zero have extended their Go Electric promo…

● WSBK reps on the road ● Hizzy shows his class ● Doohan wins… again! In 1997, pretty much all the attention of the two-wheeled world was on World Superbikes, the riders involved and of course, the bikes that were being raced. That’s why this week in 1997 MCN had such an awesome treat of a road test, with two heavily modified racing weapons built by readers at the time. The Ducati 916SP (that was actually bumped up to 955cc by John Hackett Performance) cost £36,000 to build, and had everything from a heavily worked engine to factory race fairings, and an Öhlins steering damper. In fact, at the time MCN road tester Chris Moss even said about the Ducati that: “If Foggy rode this machine in a WSB race,…

Ruroc DC designs From £499 Gloucester-based helmet firm, Ruroc, have extended DC Comic designs to adorn their latest-generation helmets. Striking Batman, Joker and Catwoman versions of the Eox 4.0 have been unveiled and include a free Shockwave intercom. There’s also a Superman version of the AT4.0 Track. All are available to buy now. www.ruroc.com Eleveit X Peak £179.99 Last week’s new urban boots from Eleveit have been joined in the line-up by these new off-road ones called the X Peak. Offering a balance of protection, comfort, and durability, the X Peak is made with lightweight microfibre reinforced in key areas. It also features adjustable buckles, and a dual-compound replaceable sole. www.eleveit.it MT Targo S Garcia £89.99 Spanish lid specialists, MT Helmets, have a new design for their Targo S. The…

mcn.letters@motorcyclenews.com motorcyclenews motorcyclenews MCNnews ‘We’re twins (almost)’ We share a birthday! I was born on November 30, 1952, so I was three when your first issue appeared. I can’t claim to have been a reader from the beginning, and my first bike came along a few years later but I have been an MCN reader for some time now. I’m still riding and enjoying it just as much as ever and the advances made during my 59 years of riding are incredible. I do hope this fantastic hobby of ours can continue to flourish – so many obstacles are now being put in our way. Keep up the good work and here’s to the next 70 years. Maurice Parker, email The Zerofit IceSkin Baselayer was first unveiled on stage at…

It’s been a cracking month for me! We’re talking as I’m just between an MoT and replacing some fork seals – it’s hectic in the workshop, but I’ve been able to do a load of cool things on two wheels, too. Starting somewhere exotic I was one of the lead riders on the Honda A2 Adventure, where we took three different sets of guests through Italy, Slovenia and Croatia on a road tour over 12 days. It was a real experience, and the biggest surprise was just how amazing Slovenia is. The scenery is so stunning, it’s already made me want to go back for more – especially as one of the other guides was Slovenian who took me around on our day off, and we experienced some incredible roads,…

Send your trips to yourpics@motorcyclenews.com Readers Ed Marston & Jon Vipond The ride 3000 miles in 12 days to Morocco and back When to do it We went in April Don’t miss this Merzouga – where the road stops and the Sahara begins. Gorge du Ziz. Gara Medouar crater. And the Tizi n’Tichka pass in the High Atlas Tell us about the trip I’ve been dreaming of biking to Morocco for over 20 years – I made it a reality and took my mate Jon along with me. We took the ferry from Plymouth to Santander in Spain – superb calm crossing and there must have been 80+ bikes on our deck. We beasted it through Spain in a day and half, staying in Salamanca and Jerez. First day in…

KEY TO THE AREA ■ SOUTH WEST ■ CENTRAL ■ NORTH & SCOTLAND ■ SOUTH EAST Wednesday July 23 BIKE MEETS ■ Chequered Flag Cafe, Darley Moor race circuit, Ashbourne, Derbyshire 5pm-9pm darleymoorcentre.co.uk/chequered-flag-cafe/ ■ Sycamore Cafe, The Causeway, Great Billing, Northamptonshire 4pm-9pm www.facebook.com/SycamoreForestCatering ■ Wheels Cafe, The Old George Inn, Sykehouse, South Yorkshire. 5.30pm-8.30pm 01405-5785635 or enquiries@oldgeorgeinnsykehouse.co.uk ■ Seaways – Bike Night, Fridaythorpe, East Yorks 4pm-8pm mike@seawayscafe.co.uk ■ The Old Stores, Pontblyddyn Mold, Flints. 6pm-9pm 07548-224866 or Facebook: The Old Stores Motorbike cafe ■ Squires Cafe, Newthorpe, near Sherburn in Elmet, West Yorks. 01977-684618 or www.squires-cafe.co.uk ■ English Riviera Bike Night - Paignton Seafront, Eastern Esplanade, Paignton, Devon £2 cash only 6pm Facebook: English Riviera Bike Night ■ Loomies Moto Cafe, West Meon, Hants. Open till 9pm www.loomiescafe.co.uk ■ The…

JOIN THE MCN PIT STOP BREW CREW www.motorcyclenews.com/pit-stop ‘Bacon butty time’ LUCY BISWELL First visit to Revved Up, Walton on the Naze. Loved the ‘extensive menu’ – which is the owner’s words. Hot dogs, bacon butty and that’s it, but it suited me just fine. ‘Warm day staples’ SHAUN BARTLEY Went for a great rideout and had breakfast at Monyash in the Peak District, then ice cream at Matlock. ‘Best place for a brekky’ ROBERT WILLIAMS A bit warm and sticky yesterday so I went to the Copper Kettle near Abergavenny (NP7 8AP), and had a great breakfast – it would be rude not to! Always a great welcome. ‘Ferry good’ DAVID SIDOR I took this while we were Isle of Man bound! I can’t believe it’s been a year…

THE FACTS ‘There was input from all of Kawasaki’ The economic crash of 2008 hit the motorcycle world hard and manufacturers were left with some soul-searching to do. Faced with stiff competition from Europe, Kawasaki’s top brass realised they needed to distinguish themselves from their rivals and give riders a reason to pick their products. But what was Kawasaki’s unique selling point? In the 1970s and 1980s they set the standard for performance with bikes such as the Z1, H2 or GPz; what they needed was a new headline-grabber. The answer was the 2015 Ninja H2R. Bikes only represent a small part of Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) and the firm includes aerospace, train, gas turbine, precision engineering and shipping businesses. So, to produce this ‘ultimate’ machine, the motorcycle department enlisted…

I can say this now as Suzuki seem to have turned a corner, but I look back at the GSX-R1000R and see it as indicative of the struggles the company was going through in the late 2010s. As a dealer you need new models to entice buyers into the showroom. They might not leave with a GSX-R1000R, they are more likely to buy an SV, V-Strom or GSX-S, but the halo product has got them interested enough to come to a Suzuki franchise. That’s why we expected so much from the GSX-R1000R – especially as we’d waited so long for it. Suzuki showed the bike off in late 2015 as a prototype but it wasn’t in showrooms until 2017 after the design team realised they had under-specified the bike. But…

You don’t need to be a seasoned spanner-wielder to know your bike’s brakes shouldn’t emit a banshee-like screech in use, and that if that were to happen, you really ought to stop riding it asap. When one Edinburgh-based courier’s moped turned into an impromptu out-of-tune instrument, the rider sought the help of Mark Stanford, of Mark1 Motorcycles. “The customer came in complaining of a terrible squealing from the back end,” said Stanford. “Luckily, it was that bad that he came in relatively quickly, probably within a week, because he’d been using it for work.” What Stanford found was a Direct Bikes 50cc scooter with only half a functioning rear brake. “I saw it and thought, no wonder it’s squealing – you’re missing half your brake pads,” he continued. “The guy…

Delving into the tech secrets behind MotoGP TOP STORY A look through the Brno results shows a very different top ten from what we’re used to. You’d normally expect all six Ducatis on the grid to be safely in the top spots, but last weekend’s top ten was almost the complete opposite with just two Ducatis (and only one on the podium), but with three Aprilias three KTMs, and two Yamahas. So what went on, and is it the shape of things to come? Data matters The main cause for Ducati’s relative decline was the lack of data and knowledge of the revamped 3.36-mile Czechia circuit. The base setup and starting settings of each bike also played a critical role. Throw in tyres with Michelin having very little experience at…

Jake Dixon has signed to ride for Honda’s World Superbike team in 2026, but could still have a foot in the GP paddock. Honda have long expressed an interest in bringing the six-time Moto2 race winner to WSBK, where he’ll replace Xavi Vierge or Iker Lecuona. And the deal includes the chance to be Honda’s substitute MotoGP rider in case any of their four riders get injured next year. The performance of Honda’s WorldSBK team has been disappointing for the past two years with Vierge seventh in the table and Lecuona eighth. Major changes are taking place behind the scenes too, with Havier Beltran, Honda UK’s Team Manager, now playing a role. ‘He could also be Honda’s GP stand-in’ Even though HRC employs Aleix Espargaro, Takaaki Nakagami and Stefan Bradl…

Why can’t Michelin build a proper MotoGP front tyre, which would make the hated tyre-pressure rule no more than a bad memory? Spec tyre racing works like this: everyone uses the same tyres, so the manufacturers have to adapt their motorcycles to the tyres, not the other way around. Michelin answer our question like this: we make the tyres and the manufacturers must engineer their motorcycles to get the best from our tyres, which means the recent tech innovations of downforce aerodynamics, ride-height devices shouldn’t have happened, because they overstress our tyres. On the other hand, perhaps Michelin should’ve reacted to these innovations and created a better front tyre, because wings and devices have been around for half a decade or more. In fact that’s what Michelin’s engineers have been…