Table of contents for 1 April 2020 in MCN

One of Britain’s best-sellers since its launch in 2010, for 2020 the Z1000SX has become the Ninja 1000SX. The latest evolution of Kawasaki’s sports-tourer gets a neater single end-can, two-way quickshifter, LED lights, cruise control and a new colour dash. Now into its fourth generation, SXs and predecessor Z1000s hold their money well, but have got a way to go to match their spiritual source, an original 1975 Z1 900. 2020 NINJA 1000SX What is it? The ever-popular sports-tourer gets sharper low-speed steering, a more comfortable seat and a bit more tech –including a two-way quickshifter, cruise control and colour TFT dash as standard. MCN says “Not just a new name, the Ninja 1000SX steers more crisply, is comfier and feels classier.” Want to buy one? £10,999, www.kawasaki.co.uk 2017…

Grant Shapps MP, the Secretary of State for Transport, has granted an MoT exemption of six months but only if your MoT expired after March 30. All cars, vans and motorcycles that usually would require an MoT test have been exempted from needing a test from March 30, 2020. Vehicles must be kept in a roadworthy condition, and garages will remain open for essential repair work. Drivers can still be prosecuted if driving unsafe vehicles. He said: “We must ensure those on the frontline of helping the nation combat Covid-19 are able to do so. “Allowing this temporary exemption from vehicle testing will enable vital services such as deliveries to continue, frontline workers to get to work, and people to get essential food and medicine. “Safety is key, which is…

APRIL1 1pm, INSIGHT (online or smart TV), Franco:Franco Morbidelli’s GP rise APRIL3 6.50am, Travel Ch, World’s Greatest Motorcycles Rides: Aussie Badlands APRIL6 6pm, DHD, Fast and Loud: Motorcycle Mayhem KEY TO CHANNELS: DRT - DISCOVERY REAL TIME DSC - DISCOVERY CHANNEL DHD - DISCOVERY CHANNEL HD EXS - EXTREME SPORTS CHANNEL EUR1 (2, HD) - EUROSPORT 1 (2, HD) MOT - MOTORSPORT.TV CH4 - CHANNEL 4 CH5 - CHANNEL FIVE BBC BBCI – BBC INTERACTIVE ESPN – ESPN CLASSIC CHANNEL ITV DST – DISCOVERY TURBO SHED – DISCOVERY SHED INST – INSIGHT SS1 (2, 3 OR X) - SKY SPORTS 1 (2, 3 OR EXTRA) QUEST BTS1 – BT SPORT 1 BTS2 – BT SPORT 2 TVL – TRAVEL UK…

It’s Britain’s toughest road test route. A fun but punishing mix of A- and B-roads, busy motorway, towns and villages. It’s all Britain’s road types compressed into one route. There are three sections and we combine the two that best test the bike’s character. On average we ride 450 miles per bike, per test. ‘Over bumpy, rutted roads there’s not much between them’ 1 Dribbling along Low-speed trundling through villages and roadworks show how the modern, fuel-injected, carefully fuelled V-Strom can drop down to almost tickover and still pull its gear, while the twin-carbed DR ends up bogging down if it’s asked to go too low. 2 Suspend the disbelief Over bumpy, rutted roads there’s not much to choose between the Strom and DR in ride quality, but…

Martin and I agree if we could only have one of these in our garage, it would be the new V-Strom. It can handle every riding scenario (apart from off-road or a walking pace competition). The DR is fun, punches above its weight in charm and is surprisingly versatile for a big single, including a spot of touring thanks to its superior range. It’s even better-looking than the new Strom. And as a second bike for a bit of fettling, running around and the odd moment of trail riding, the classic would be ideal. But in 1991 the DR wasn’t the quickest in its class and in 2020 it’s woefully slow compared to the 1050. And in important dynamic areas like steering, grip and braking, the new bike takes advantage…

The 390 has enough on offer to serve up a decent road ride and its easy-going nature will make commuters or the less experienced grin. And if you want to cover decent distance, it’ll oblige, although wind blast and vibrations will take their toll. 44bhp and light weight makes it fun on trails too and at just £5499, it could prove a surprise hit for 2020. BMW’s G310GS is a tad cheaper (£5320), but not as accomplished as the KTM. Honda’s CB500X offers bigger cc for just £700 more, but it only has 3bhp more and won’t tackle the trails as well.…

‘I was noticing signs saying ‘Motorrad Route 64’. It was worth a look!’ Fast motorbikes and stuffy museums aren’t obvious bedfellows – you can’t get much more un-museumy than hustling a chunk of metal and plastic down a twisty road. But of course anyone who’s visited the National Motorcycle Museum just off the M42 at Solihull, or been lucky enough browse the remarkable collection at Barber Motorsports in the other Birmingham, will know just how many hours can be lost browsing rare, exotic and historic road, off-road and track bikes. But those are the big-ticket venues – when it’s often the small, collections, driven by their owners’ charismatic visions, that deserve seeking out and linger longest in the memory. There are plenty in the UK – the David Silver Honda…

‘Good braking is all about the right balance...’ Most of us know that the front brake does the lion’s share when stopping a bike; in fact I know lots of riders who never go near their back brake. But, as with most things in life, a healthy balance is best. Look at your bike and, assuming it has disc brakes front and rear, see what the surface area of the front discs is in relation to the rear. I’ll then use the brakes in accordance with the surface area, typically 80% front, 20% rear. Riders who suffer ‘front brake phobia’ try to find other ways to slow down. Some won’t go very fast in the first place so that they will have less speed to shed. Others will rely solely…

1. Rukka Arma S textile jacket Discontinued This is full Gore-Tex, so it keeps me warm and rainwater just rolls off it. It comes with a six-year guarantee which I’ve just used to get the zip replaced free of charge. 2. Rukka Arma S textile trousers Discontinued These zip together with the jacket and as a suit it keeps me absolutely bone dry. As with the jacket it’s got a Kevlar armoured core and I believe it’s the closest you can get to leather in terms of abrasion resistance. 3. Alpinestars GP Pro gloves £169.99 They’re fully lined and well stitched together, with great feel through the fingertips. 4. X-lite X-802RR Ultra Carbon helmet £399.99 It’s really lightweight and for the price I don’t think there’s…

Hexagon T-bars If you need to remove any bits of trim or ancillary parts in order to gain access to the shock, these are the best tool for the job. They offer speed and control so you won’t risk damage. Spanners 12mm – 17mm Use these in tandem to hold the end of the shock mounting bolt in place while removing the nut. Torque wrench Like all critical fasteners, ensuring your shock mounting bolts are torqued up to the correct setting is essential. Find the values in a workshop manual or the info you got with your new shock. Red grease Lubricate your mounting bolts to help prevent them becoming seized with rust in the future. Cycle shops sell very handy tubes of red grease in a precision dispenser for…

‘Just the best’ NEIL TUXWORTH I don’t think he ever got the recognition he deserved. I can remember a time where whatever track you went to if it was a 250 or 350 he’d win everything. He was incredibly talented. Smooth and precise, and one of the all-time greats. ‘A total genius’ EDDIE ROBERTS He was winning everything. His race craft was second to none – the man was a genius. And off track he was a nice guy, even when I was closer to his level he was still helpful. I had the utmost respect for him as a rider and a person.…

You know who I feel sorry for? Alex Marquez. Along with a slew of younger brothers whose careers have been overshadowed by a super-talented sibling. This sympathy might be misplaced. After all, Alex has got himself a highly coveted Repsol Honda, ahead of Crutchlow and Zarco, because of the influence of big bro. And he’s a talent in his own right, with two world titles – however narrowly won. But I don’t think he’s had an easy time, ever since Marc vouchsafed that “he’s faster than I was at his age” way back when Alex was just beginning a GP career that has so far rather proved the opposite. Time may show me wrong. If so, that’s a strong suggestion that nature is more important than nurture to a racer.…

Ireland’s oldest and most prestigious road race, the Ulster Grand Prix, will not run in 2020. Scheduled to run in August, the Ulster’s plight is not down to the pandemic but a lack of finances. “Despite numerous meetings in recent months with councillors, MLAs, MPs and Ministers and other parties, we have been unable to find the financial support,” a statement from the organising Dundrod and District motorcycle club revealed. The future of the event was doubtful after bad weather at the 2019 meet was blamed for keeping fans away and creating a huge loss of income for the Dundrod club. Added to existing debts, it is thought the total shortfall is close to £300,000. ‘It is one of the best circuits in the world’PETER HICKMAN, ULSTER WINNER The Ulster…

As fellow bikers there’s nothing we love more than the arrival of good weather and a shot at some clear roads. So we’re just as disappointed about the current situation as you are, but we have to be sensible and follow the official advice: it’s fine to ride a bike to buy food, or medical supplies, or if you’re a key worker and need it for work. But you shouldn’t be going out for a blast or stopping off at your local biking haunt on the way to the supermarket. We don’t want to preach, but if we want biking to stay great, then we need to band together and be sensible right now. However, there are plenty of things you can be doing to keep biking hunger sated. As…

With riding a motorcycle for pleasure currently placed on hold for the foreseeable future, #ride5000miles members have come together online to support each other through this unprecedented time. One of the ways they’ve been overcoming their bike-less blues is by planning the amazing two-wheeled activities they will be getting up to once the ban on free movement has been lifted. This includes Graham Bell, 59, who intends to use his stable of KTM 1290 Super Dukes for longer weekend rides and a potential European jaunt, should the virus be cleared in time for decent weather. “When we see a glimmer at the end of the tunnel, we’ll leap onto re-planning everything that we would’ve done, but in a shorter time frame,” Graham explained. “Maybe we’ll start with a weekend break…

Reader Paul and Katie James The Ride Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan in India Time required Three weeks Miles 1200 When to go We went in January Don't miss this “Don't miss any of it really but especially the lovely people, the scenery, the food and the amazing town of Pushkar in Rajasthan. We loaded an India map onto the tomtom before we left which was great… until the screen melted off, that is!” THE PEOPLE We met wonderful people everywhere we went along our route through the country. THE PLAN We rode from Delhi to Agra, down to Bundi; across to Udaipur, up to Pushkar and back to via Jaipur. THE ROADS We stayed off the main roads where possible and booked our hotels one day at a time. THE…

Q ‘I lost it on gravel, can I make the council pay?’ I lost the front-end on a mass of road gravel, causing a fair bit of damage. Once out of A&E, I called the council to complain and inform them of the danger. They said they would send someone out and the hazard was cleared up. The council’s loss adjuster wrote to me saying they were sorry, but could not be held to blame. They referred to a road survey conducted about two months before my accident, which had not noted any defects. The gravel at the junction seemed to me to have built-up over time and in places was as much as 2cm deep. What can I do? Gareth Hind, Wolverhampton A Section 41 of the Highways Act…

RobBennett(55), KTM1290SuperDukeGT “It’s one of our regular stops – we ride past it to and from the place we stay at in the Harz mountains, the Bikerhotel Harmonie. And on a Sunday it’s a nice ride out to the café for a cake or a sausage bun. The food is great and the wife loves the cakes – I’m more of a sausage person! “If you go on a quiet day the gentleman who owns the place might show you round – his English isn’t very good but his enthusiasm is tremendous. It’s not just NSUs though, Günter must have contacts with other collectors; I was there one time and he had 30 or so Ducatis. “I found it literally by just riding past it. It’s not very well advertised…

THE TUTOR Mark Edwards, Rapid Training A police motorcyclist for 18 years, Mark has been training people to be faster, safer, better riders on the road for 20 years. “It’s very common for riders to lack confidence using the front brake, fearing that they’ll lock the wheel and crash if they pull too hard. This often means that they’ll opt to use the back brake instead, which is nowhere near powerful enough to stop the bike safely in an emergency. If you fall into this category, here’s how to completely rethink your braking technique, so you can approach hazards faster, but more in control.” Rapid Training is the leading provider of advanced high performance training in the UK. THE LESSON 1 Who’s afraid of big bad brakes? Plenty of…

A handy enduro rider bought this Yamaha WR400 in to Abbey Motorcycles in Leicester after it seized on him. The owner was a competent mechanic and had changed the bike’s camshaft. It ran for a while then stopped. ‘He’d got the camshaft caps all mixed-up’ “When I lifted the cam caps there was loads of scoring and scratches on the camshaft and the journals on the cylinder head side where it had seized up,” explained workshop manager Kerron ‘Kez’ Curtis. “The buckets should be simple to lift out, but I couldn’t move them because the bottom half of the journal had splayed out slightly. “When I talked to the customer I worked out that the stockpile of parts he’d collected for the bike over time had caught him out.” There…

Premier have updated their top of the range Hyper helmet to make it, well, better. There’s a new EPS liner, which Premier say absorbs more impact energy, there’s a new comfort liner that is customisable and there’s a new visor shape that gives an 11% wider view angle. Each model is supplied with a Pinlock insert and a dark visor plus they only weigh 1370g – not bad for £269.95. There’s also a full carbon fibre model that’s 150g lighter than the standard model and costs £389.95.…

There’s a lot of uncertainty at the moment but one thing you can be sure of is that we’ll keep working as hard as we can to bring you all the latest news, reviews and sport from the world of motorcycling. As the situation changes, it might be difficult to find the paper in shops, so more than ever we recommend picking up a subscription so that your biking fix is delivered to your door every week. Right now there’s even a great offer for a free alarmed disc lock from the folks at Oxford (see page 22). In the unlikely event that we can’t deliver the paper to your door, we’ll swap your subscription to a digital edition instead completely free of charge until we can get the paper…

Used bike values have suddenly started to weaken. I haven’t any concrete evidence for this but bikes seem to have been selling for a lot less than I’d expect. I’m pretty sure this is down to Covid-19. It’s affecting everything, and if you’re suddenly put on short hours, or told to take two months’ unpaid leave, or have lost your job entirely, you’re not alone and a bike may be a liability rather than an asset. So it has to go. I’m still looking for a tourer to replace my K1600GTL. A Gold Wing is a possibility, but I’ve been gravitating towards BMWs and the old K1100LT. I ran one for a few years, having chopped in a late-model Trophy 1200. The Triumph was a better motorcycle: the BMW was…

COLIN BROWN Age 68 Height 5ft 9in Current bike 2017 Suzuki V-Strom 1000 Been riding 52 years First bike Suzuki K11 Sports 80 Dream bike For me and the wife, the Suzuki V-Strom 1050 we’ve just ordered “I generally use my current V-Strom 1000 for three to four-day tours, round and about, all year. I can’t see why more people don’t buy them because they do so much for so little money, and they do it so well. What I like about my V-Strom is it does everything my wife and I want comfortably, and with minimum fuel stops – she has a replacement knee, so getting on and off is tricky for her; my previous bike was a Suzuki Bandit 1250 GT which was lovely but she was too…

HELPING WATSON Havier’s first opportunity in motorsport came when he began helping Honda motocross rider Dave Watson in the late 1980s. “It was a surreal feeling to be involved with Dave. It was a great opportunity and ones like that don’t come around all the time.” WSB GLORY YEARS The final year of the Castrol Honda project saw Colin Edwards overturn a 58-point deficit to pip Troy Bayliss to the World Superbike title. The comeback began at Laguna Seca and ended in ‘The Showdown’ at Imola. KIYO TRIPLE Three of Honda’s four BSB titles have been won by Japanese star Ryuichi Kiyonari. “Kiyo lived with me for three years. That was quite an experience. He was really nice, he was clean, tidy and organised – liked to sleep a lot!”…

Easy adjustment 43mm WP APEX forks work well on and off road. The left regulates compression damping and the right looks after rebound. Adjustment is simple, using easy-to-access levers. Bash-tastic The standard 390 comes with a black plastic bashguard, which looks nice but won’t stand up to much abuse. A more rugged aluminium version is £165. LED-ing the way LED lights look good and work well. There’s still that split face as seen on its brothers, but the design has been refined and now looks striking rather than weird.…

Just two years after we got a new V-Strom – we’ve got another. Under the classy retro makeover it’s a revised version of the same bike. But is that enough to keep up? Let’s spend the next 12 months finding out. So let’s start with the engine. It can trace its way back to the 90s and the TL1000S and it’s been gradually fiddled with since. The latest motor is the same 1037cc as the last one (despite the name change) – in fact the only real changes are altered cam timing/lift for Euro 5. It feels broadly the same although the ample torque curve means you can pretty much charge around from low down in any gear, which is helpful as the gearbox isn’t Suzuki’s finest hour. There’s a…

I LIKE • It looks sensational, as if it’s doing 150mph at standstill. • The sound is classic Ducati, especially with the Akrapovic system. • Knowing it’s a Ducati -the heritage makes it feel incredibly special. I DON'T • The lack of fuel gauge and limited reserve – I’ve actually run dry. • It runs hot, making low speeds unpleasant on a summer’s day. • Servicing costs are quite high, but it is an exotic machine. QUICK SPECS •955cc •148bhp •175.5 kg •830 mm seat height PRICE NEW £15,895 VALUE NOW £12,700…

These days most of us flit from one bike to another, swapping brands like we change our underwear and not giving it another thought. The only real hardcore brand-loyal riders are the ones on a Harley-Davidson (though BMW GS owners aren’t that far behind). This isn’t how it used to be, of course. It’s not that long since people classed themselves as ‘a Yamaha bloke’ or ‘a CBR rider’. We’d identify with the certain characteristics or reputation of a manufacturer, or even a specific model of bike, and get fully swallowed. Hands up who had a Suzuki GSX-R750 with the T-shirt, paddock jacket, posters and leathers to match... Such dedicated followers do still exit, though. They’re not as common as they used to be, but we get them in the…

Fitting a rear shock can be a relatively easy task and the end result will often yield significant increases in performance and comfort, particularly on bikes that are ‘built to a price’ or perhaps showing their age. But remember the rear shock is only responsible for the back end, and you may well discover that an upgraded rear shock will expose inadequacies in the front suspension. If this is the case, there is a world of fork tweaks that will complete the package – such as upgraded internals, springs and valve emulators – and often these can be easily done at home. Even something simple like uprating the springs and changing the fork air gap can yield results. The best thing to do is seek advice from one of the…

There have been more schedule upheavals this past week due to the ongoing pandemic. The Spanish MotoGP at Jerez, scheduled for May 1-3, has been postponed with no new date given at the time of MCN going to press. Meanwhile, the Dutch World Superbike round has been moved from April 17-19 to August 21-23. The start of the British Superbike season has also been pushed further back. Oulton Park, originally scheduled for May 1-3, and Donington Park, originally scheduled for May 22-24, have both been delayed with no new dates given.…

Scott Doohan, brother of Mick, scored points in the 1994 Australian GP at Phillip Island. Agostini’s younger brother Felice scored points at the 1975 250cc Italian GP, held at Imola. Kensuke Haga, brother of Noriyuki, finished seventh at the 1996 250cc Japanese GP. Aaron and Alex Gobert, brothers of Anthony, competed in AMA. Moto2 rider Luca Marini is the half-brother of Valentino Rossi. Shuhei Aoyama, brother of 2009 250cc world champion Hiroshi, finished on the podium at the 2006 250cc French GP.…