Table of contents for 20 April 2016 in MCN

Husqvarna parent company KTM have officially confirmed two versions of the Vitpilen road bike. Based on concepts first seen at the Milan show in 2014, the production models will be in dealers for 2017. The confirmation came not from a glitzy press conference, but from a statement in the company’s annual report. KTM group’s annual report states: “For 2017 the next step will be realised with the arrival of the first two Vitpilen production models. The upcoming segment-redefining Vitpilen and Svartpilen production models will set Husqvarna Motorcycles on a blazing trajectory to become Europe’s third-largest motorcycle producer – with the aim of doing so by 2020.” While the annual investor’s report doesn’t stipulate which capacity versions are expected to arrive first, MCN’s sources have suggested that they will be the…

£100/month Honda VFR800F The latest in a 30-year line of VFR750/800 legends, the new bike gets traction control, ABS and superb versatility as part of the package for £100 per month after a £2000 deposit. £155/month Honda VFR800X Underpinned by the VFR800F, the new Crossrunner is a big leap forward over the fugly original version. The best do-it-all V4 in the range, for £155pm, after a £1768.89 deposit. £169/month Honda VFR1200FA Not everybody loves the big VFR but take a test ride and make up your own mind. One can be yours for £3441.66 up front, and £169pm. £165/month Honda Crossrunner The Crossrunner makes a lot more sense than the F on our rough roads. Get on board with £2772.80 up front, and £165pm. Love Honda V4s? See…

Rossi will retain the services of his incredibly loyal team for the last two years of his career, with the crew helping him to make the decision to stay a little easier when he sat down with them before signing. “They were so happy when I told them I was staying! I spoke with them before, and asked them what they wanted to do. They asked me back, ‘what do you want to do?’ I told them I want to continue, and they say ‘OK, perfect, we are with you!’” However, Rossi was also quick to point out that he’s not beyond changing the people around him to help get the best out of his remaining years in racing. Unlikely to be a sweeping change like his shock decision to…

Both bikes are excellent and almost practical. Their simplicity, and the outstanding 690 single-cylinder engine are their ace cards: you don’t have to be doubling the national speed limit to have fun. The Husky is slightly more road oriented, and in my opinion the KTM is the more desirable. The only down side is their asking price. £8000 is on the expensive side. MCN testers naturally gravitate towards gravel traps... KTM 690SMC R £8099 Engine 690cc (102 x 84.5mm) single cylinder liquid-cooled. Power 67bhp Weight 144kg (dry) Suspension WP 48mm inverted forks fully adjustable. WP rear monoshock fully adjustable Brakes Single 320mm discs with Brembo four-piston caliper. 240mm rear disc with Brembo single piston caliper Seat height 890mm Fuel capacity 12 litres Tyres 120/70 17 front 160/60 17 rear HUSQVARNA…

“The quickest way to turn a bike is on a closed throttle, so shut the gas, turn, use the momentum to get you to the middle of a corner, then smoothly pick up the throttle. That way you won’t run wide on the exit,” Ron says. “Get your corner exit sorted first – look at where you want to be leaving the corner as you’re going into it – this will help you see where you should turn and also your line through a bend.” Now learn from Ron himself… On Track courses (CBR125s/300s for riders aged 12-14), or CBR500s for older riders. Guided track session and dedicated machine control exercises in the paddock. £199 Premier course uses Honda’s CBR600RR with ABS and is the perfect introduction to track riding,…

The Ninja H2 is £8000 more than the ZZR – which is already unaffordable for many – has a tiny tank range, will eat a rear tyre in half a day on track, has a very aggressive throttle response and is almost too much for the road – but it’s the one we want even if it was just to park in the front room to look at. We love it. But if you’re buying with your brain, and only ride on the road in the UK, it’s impossible to deny that the ZZR makes more sense – and is barely any slower sub-100mph. It is insanely fast on the road and is a far more rounded proposition than the H2. It’s brains or brawn – take your choice, and…

For 1998 and the VFR800Fi, every element of the VFR750 was overhauled. If the early VFR750 ‘donated’ its engine to the RC30, in 1998 the RC45 donated its motor to the VFR – so it moved to fuel injection, and the 750’s cam gear drive moved from the centre of the crank to the right-hand end so the engine became more compact. The other big change was to add 2mm to the RC45’s stroke to bring capacity to 782cc. The result was more power, revs and shove: 110bhp @ 10,500rpm, and 60ftlb of torque. The chassis was new. Honda had a thing for bolting swingarms directly to the backs of the crankcases, using the engine as a stressed member and doing away with frame sideplates – as per the VTR1000…

1994 Honda VFR750F, £1650 Seller says 35,700 miles, magnificent untouched all-round bike, service history, MOT, garaged and very reliable. MCN says A lot of bike for £1650, and very clean. This is well worth a look. 2000 Honda VFR800F Anniversary, £5495 Seller says 5716 miles, 50th anniversary factory paintjob, comfort seat, service history. MCN says The anniversary bike wasn’t to everyone’s tastes, but this low-miler is close to mint. 2003 Honda VFR800F VTEC, £3499 Seller says 23,000, Micron cans, tinted screen, and panniers. MCN says A clean and attractive example with sensible mods that make it the perfect continental express. 2015 Honda VFR800F, £7999 Seller says 3421 miles, full excellent bodywork and tyres. MCN says If you want a brand new VFR800F for less, this is pretty close. A lot…

In a spin over Honda GP tech So Honda are claiming that because their new MotoGP engine runs ‘backwards’ it allows racers to brake harder (MCN, April 6). Sadly neither Neil Spalding nor HRC’s Technical Director attempted to explain the ‘small’ advantage this is alleged to give and I think that’s because it’s all in the mind. Are these experts claiming that, because the engine is trying to rotate backwards, on its crank, that the resultant moment of inertia somehow counteracts the corresponding forces at the front wheel? Seems unlikely to me. Apart from the force transmitted to the rear wheel, the biggest set of forces generated at the crank are surely gyroscopic and, therefore, resisting changes in direction. In think we’re in the realms of psychobabble. Chris Myers, email…

Remember when a Mars Bar was 10p, a gallon of petrol 20p and all new bikes came with a centrestand as standard? The older you get, the better the ‘old days’ seem. That’s why so many of hark back to 350LCs or VFR750s (see page 36) or such like. Truth is, ride one of these bikes now and in comparison to the latest machines they’re not really that good – not in terms of power and handling anyway. Maybe to judge such things in these empirical terms is missing the point. It’s not about how they perform in the modern day, it’s how they feel, sound and smell. Those emotions are stirred and our brain takes us back to when things seemed better. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Racing…

‘It’s fast. My brain had to quickly adjust after riding my Yamaha MT-07’ BMW S1000XR SPORT SE £17,289* THE BIKE Weight 228kg Seat height 840mm Miles 795 MPG 44.20 Servicing 600-mile oil change Mods to date BMW accessory pack of Akrapovic silencer, panniers, topbox and tankbag fitted THE RIDER Andy Downes Senior Reporter andy.downes@motorcyclenews.com His riding Experienced all-year road rider who loves a long continental trip My first ride on the BMW S1000XR was a little nerve-racking because I’d chosen the bike based on the promise of what it would be like, rather than experience. I’d not ridden an XR before, so was a little bit concerned how’d I’d get on with the bike over the coming months, especially as it ended up costing over £17k, with all the extras…

DUCATI XDIAVEL S £18,395 Emma Franklin, Production Editor emma.franklin@motorcyclenews.com Weight 247kg Miles 1177 MPG 49.8 Ducati’s 1262cc space-age belt-drive super-cruiser comes in two guises, the entry-level £15,795 XDiavel and the range-topping XDiavel S at £18,395. I’m running the S as a long-term test bike this year, but at first glance both look remarkably similar, which raises the question: is the XDiavel S worth the extra £2600? Both share the snorting 156bhp Desmodromic Variable Timing twin, generating a tarmac-wrinkling 95ftlb at just 5000rpm. But whereas the base model’s swingarm hides beneath black paint, the S blings out in brushed anodised aluminium. It’s a theme that’s shared with the engine too: the standard XDiavel’s motor is blacked out, while the S gets chrome-detailed belt covers. The other stand-out difference is the XDiavel…

The eventual six-lap wet-weather World Supersport race at Assen saw two British riders in the top two places. CIA Landlord Insurance Honda rider Kyle Smith took his first race win of the year; his first since his debut victory at Qatar last year for Pata Honda, and the first for his British team since 2012. In second, Gino Rea (GRT MV Agusta) was just 0.831 seconds back. Both beat four-time WSS champ Kenan Sofuoglu to third place with last lap pushes. Smith was unsure of his prospects at the re-start, but knew the wet could work for him: “It might sound a bit cocky but in the garage when I knew it was a six-lap race in the wet, I did not know I could do it, but I thought…

Amid reports of financial restructuring and concerns for the MV Agusta brand itself, former BSB champ Leon Camier lifted the spirits of the Italian company and his official MV Agusta team by securing an all-time best finish of fourth. “The race on Saturday was amazing,” said a smiling Camier. “We thought this could be a slightly better track for us as speed is not so important. In the race there was only so much I could do from 13th on the grid. A few riders went down which helped us, but fourth was good. It was a result in the dry and it was massive achievement for everyone. The bike was working well and the lap times were good and at points we had better lap times than the leaders.”…

Brittany Ferries offer a whole host of services that can help make many of the awesome destinations easily reachable and affordable. Portugal Brittany Ferries’ northern Spanish ports of Santander and Bilbao are the perfect gateway to the Iberian Peninsula. With up to seven weekly sailings from Portsmouth and Plymouth, the journey takes around 24 hours and prices start from £184 each way for a bike, and two people sharing an en suite cabin. Austria & Belgium Sail to Caen or Le Havre in France and head for the A13 AutoRoute. Sail overnight in an en suite cabin and you’ll arrive in France refreshed and ready for the ride ahead. Prices start from £69 each way for a bike and two passengers. If you wish to break up the journey, Brittany…

Over 3500 party-goers flocked to Skegness at the weekend for the last ever MCNLive! After 22 years it was an emotional farewell but the event went out with a bang. A huge line-up of bands including Go West, Doctor and the Medics, Hells Bells and Steve Ferringo ensured the party continued into the small hours. Steve Colley’s trials display and the Slide short track demonstrations provided some spectacular daytime action and the National Motorcycle Museum laid on some priceless classic machines to ride. With two sunny rideouts – one to Cadwell Park (led by John McGuinness, Chris Walker and John Reynolds) and the Straightliners East Kirkby Sprint, the packed weekend was a fitting end to a much- loved tradition. The MCN team would like to thank all the Butlin’s staff,…

Uccio Salucci Rossi’s best mate since school and still his right-hand man “For sure it’s good news for us, for two more years and staying with Yamaha. The relationship with Yamaha is getting better and better, Valentino is just as fast as ever, and we’re very happy. When VR46 and Yamaha want the same things, it makes it easy for us. “Next year we’ll do one bike in Moto2 next year with Fenati, and we’re very happy with that too, because it’s a new challenge for us. It’s going to be exciting, and it’s good to see VR46 become a little bigger too. It’s very important for him to have the Academy kids – it’s unbelievable how much staying with the young riders keeps him younger too!” Davide Brivio Boss…

The school’s biggest customer, Graham Williamson, talks about what keeps him coming back “I love sportsbikes and track riding so I naturally discovered trackdays, but I wasn’t enjoying them. It was all a bit of a free-for-all and I found I was just aimlessly riding around. I’d heard good things about the school so in 2004 I decided to give it a go, and started out in the Premier class using the CBR600RRs. I was hooked! I sold my R6 and got a CBR. Then I progressed to a Blade and have owned one ever since. “For me it’s the controlled environment, the school lets you ride around a Grand Prix track in the wet or dry quickly and safely without ever feeling like you’re on the ragged edge. And…

Honda CBR1100XX Blackbird (1996-2007) Honda decided they’d had enough of the Kawasaki ZZR1100’s claim to being The Fastest Bike Out There and so built… um, a ZZR1100 with careful improvements in every aspect. So it had Honda’s build quality and finish, slightly better aerodynamics, slightly more power and as it was a Honda, slightly less character. Make no mistake, though, the ’Bird is a blindingly good bike and like the Pan-European 1100, Honda’s not been able to replace it properly. It’s unbreakable, goes like stink, and can be thrashed round a track or loaded with hard luggage for a transcontinental two-up high-speed tour. Go for the later EFI model. What you’ll pay today £1500-£3000 will find you a truly super Super Blackbird. But should you? Bluntly, yes. It’s one of…

YAMAHA MT-03 £4499 Simon Brown Production Editor simon.brown@motorcyclenews.com Weight 168kg Seat height 780mm Miles 525 MPG 68mpg “What engine is it again?” a friend asks as I park the Yamaha outside a local café after a Sunday morning spin. She has a Suzuki SV650 and can’t believe the MT-03 is only 321cc when it looks “just like a proper bike”. And there’s a reason for that, the parallel-twin Yamaha is 100% a proper bike. That proper bike feel includes the tyres. All too often small-capacity machines aimed at newer riders come with the worst rubber known to man, weird hoops bearing obscure brand names. But that’s not the case with the MT which comes shod with Michelin Pilot Street as standard – they send the message that this is a…

‘I want to progress on last year which can’t be too hard given I didn’t finish a race last year’DEAN HARRISON On a weekend of near Arctic weather and carnage at Oliver’s Mount, Dean Harrison maintained a steady head to take victory in the 600cc and Superbike events at the Spring Cup. A huge pile-up during the feature race, that left last year’s Junior Manx Grand Prix winner Billy Redmayne with serious injuries, forced the abandonment of the meeting with little more than half of the races run. But 26-year-old Harrison had already posted performances that indicated how much he has bonded with the Silicone Engineering Kawasaki ZX-10R and ZX-6R that he will race in 2016. “I am happier now than I’ve been for years,” the Bradford man said. “I’m…

‘Today, to finish third place in such a difficult race was as good as a victory’MICHAEL VAN DER MARK The official Honda World Superbike team was in the doldrums entering their home race weekend. The Netherlands-based Ten Kate squad had enjoyed two good opening rounds, with podiums for young star Michael van der Mark in Australia and Thailand. However, there was a tough reality check in Aragon, with low scores and no score for both van der Mark and superstar former MotoGP champion Nicky Hayden. After the heavy rain affected preparations for Saturday’s first WSB race at Assen, it looked like van der Mark may have been able to challenge for his first race win until a high-speed crash while pushing for the lead ended his winning aspirations. Finally it…

‘I feel like I am just getting to first base with this bike’JONATHAN REA Weather wreaked havoc at Assen but it failed to stop Jonathan Rea as he marched relentlesly towards another WSB title. Rea left the last round in Aragon – where he was beaten by Tom Sykes and Chaz Davies - unhappy with his bike’s base settings, but he bounced back in emphatic fashion with a dominating double win. Assen is a track where Rea has excelled, but before the weekend’s action got under way, Rea’s domination was far from a sure thing with the reigning champion saying he hadn’t had much time to sort out his set-up. And in the ever-changing and treacherous conditions it looked like a whole host of other riders were prepared to risk…

Yamaha MT-03 £4499 The MT-03 uses the same 321cc parallel twin as the YZF-R3, but houses it in a funky-looking naked bike. It is more expensive than the singles, but the extra cylinder and increased capacity gives it more practicality. BMW G310R £4750 BMW is entering the premium end of the small-capacity market with its 313cc single-cylinder G310R. Expected to arrive in mid-summer, the G310R makes a claimed 33bhp and comes with BMW’s reassuring name behind it. WK SP250N £1449 The WK is Chinese built and at the lower end of the price bracket, not that it looks it. You get inverted forks, radial brakes and a 249cc single-cylinder engine that makes a claimed 25bhp for less than half the price of some of its rivals. VERDICT A Chinese bike…

2000 Rossi, the reigning 250GP champion, graduates to 500GP. Honda build him a new team around the departing Mick Doohan’s crew. Second in his first year, he wins the title the following season. 2002 With the new four-stroke machinery comes a new team for Rossi, as Repsol Honda absorbs his satellite team. He rewards them with titles in both years of his two-year deal. 2004 Bored of winning with ease at Honda, Rossi sets himself a new challenge and switches to the underdog Yamaha. Winning his first race on the M1, he delivers two more titles in two years. 2006 Staying with Yamaha for a further two years, Rossi suffers the rare ignominy of being beaten both years, first by American Nicky Hayden and then by Aussie Casey Stoner. 2008…

No mistakes, whatever it costs. Such was Honda’s dedication to restoring their reputation, the VFR750 was said to cost more to make than could be recouped in sales. True or not, Honda certainly cut their profit margin: in 1986 the new VFR750 cost a few hundred quid less than its sporty Yamaha FZ750 and Suzuki GSX-R750 rivals. The VFR’s engine and chassis technology wasn’t showy but had an impeccable pedigree based on World Endurance and TT F1-title-winning factory RVF race bikes. Precision gear-driven cams banished the preceding VF750’s failure-prone chocolate top end. Rods, pistons, rings, valves, springs and crank were strengthened and lightened with techniques from race experience. Internal dimensions were refined, valve angles optimised, firing interval altered and lubrication improved over the previous motor. The result was 86bhp, 16bhp…

The uniting factor for all these bikes is the 90° V4 engine layout. The gentle off-beat tick-over, the oily, balanced smoothness under power, and the hollow bark when gunned spans all generations of VFR. And now there really is a V4 to suit anyone, from sub-£1000 budgets to a £10,699 new bike – and, best of all, a glut of affordable used bikes. The winner of the ‘Best Model Ever’ epithet is justifiably hard to call, and completely budget dependant. The purest is the original 750, while there’s no real argument that the most inherently accomplished is the newest version. But the iteration that achieves the best overall balance of everything on a budget is the 1998-2002 VFR800Fi, delivering outstanding flexibility, reliability and practicality.…

‘Is it worth putting an old RGV250 or RS250 on the road?’ ‘Freeing off 20-year-old fasteners can be a challenge’ Sean Hadley, 43, set up The Tuning Works, specialising in Suzuki RGV250s and Aprilia RS250s, in 2005 “It’ll take a bit of work, but it’ll be worth it in the end. If you’ve just got the bike, or it’s been laid up for a while, the power valve assembly and carburation will need maintenance. I recommend dismantling, cleaning and adjusting the valve assembly every 3000 miles. “Make sure the power valve control cables are adjusted correctly, otherwise they will stress the valve. It takes 30 minutes to adjust the cables and a powervalve strip is an afternoon’s work because the radiator has to come off too. “Inspect carb jets and…

‘The TDM is well built, capable and cheap to buy’ Living the parallel life Some people like parallel twins. There’s something about the sound of a rutting vertical twin, especially if it has a 360° crankshaft rather than a 180°. Not sure about 270° cranks – the bikes sound too much like vees. It’s odd, but until the Africa Twin arrived there hadn’t been many big parallel twins made for some time. Triumph’s Bonnie, of course, and the Kawasaki W650/800. Honda’s NC750 is another. And that’s about it. Pick of the crop is the Triumph Thruxton – for me, until the latest models, the only convincing Triumph twin, because it was the only one that seemed to have any power about it. They’re not cheap, still, and the carbed models…

1 It’s big. Walking up to the XR for the first time left me wondering why it appeared to be so flippin’ massive. After removing the hard panniers, topbox and tankbag it shrank to a more expected size. 2 It’s fast. My brain had to quickly adjust after riding my own Yamaha MT-07 and the difference between the MT’s 74bhp and the 160bhp XR was astonishing. 3 It’s well-suited to UK roads. After deciding to visit my late grandmother’s old house in Bridgnorth in Shropshire, I did a lovely 200 miles round-about route that kept me off the main roads. The bike dealt with faster A-roads with ease, shrugged off some patches of heavy traffic by being manoeuvrable and thanks to a decent adjustable screen, heated grips and handguards it…

1 There are adjustment straps on the arms to make sure the jacket fits properly whether the lining is in place or not – essential, otherwise the armour will sit too loosely. 2 Laminated light-reflective strips mean the rider will illuminate in the headlight beams of car drivers to help them stand out, ideal for year-round commuting. 3 There’s a connection zip to attach the jacket to the trousers, but it’s only a short one rather than a substantial full-circumference zip that’s better in heavy rain.…

Q Do I have to usesolicitors appointed by the ‘other side’? I had a bad accident in January 2015. I had multiple fractures to both legs and was in hospital for six weeks. Early on, the insurer of the car that hit me wrote to me telling me that they have instructed solicitors to act for me. Back then I was grateful as it was one thing less to worry about. However, as time goes on they don’t seem to be getting anywhere and I am now thinking that they are not acting in my interests as they are being paid by the insurer of the driver who hit me. What should I do? Ken Harries, Newport Your concern is reasonable. Irrespective of the fact that solicitors have a duty…

‘We’ve proven we can be fast in the wet and the dry, with both riders’RONALD TEN KATE “It has been a bit of a strange weekend and not much dry track time for everybody. We worked hard to give the guys good bikes for the dry first race. As a Dutch team there was a lot of encouragement for Michael to do well and maybe have his first win. When he was in a position to do it we were expecting he was going to give it a good try. When he came off it was of course a disappointment but to be honest we would have been more disappointed if he had not tried. Nicky’s first podium was a bit of a breakthrough for his confidence and he knows…

‘It is better to have led and lost than to have never led at all’JOSH BROOKES Leaving BSB racing as champions in 2015 to enter WSB in 2016 the Milwaukee team, and their top BSB dog Josh Brookes, took on a lot when swapping Yamaha for BMW power. A notoriously tricky bike to master, if very powerful, the S1000RR has been the playing piece in a game of mid-ranking snakes and ladders for both team and rider. Having another BMW team - Althea - with more WSB and BMW experience in its ranks as direct opponents has not been easy either, but at Assen it was the Milwaukee bikes that showed the way – at least for a while. Given a wet track in race two, at a track he…

HOT PRODUCTS MCN PICKS Pirelli Diablo Rosso III What are they? The replacement for Pirelli’s Rosso II is a sporty road tyre. Who are they for? Sporty riders on anything from a KTM RC390 through to large-capacity nakeds, adventure sportsbikes with 17in wheels and even superbikes with 200-section rears. What’s new? New compounds, profiles and tread patterns designed to improve wet and dry grip, agility, durability and confidence. The rear is dual-compound and features more areas of ‘slick’ for better grip in the dry. Sizes: Front: 110/70, 120/60 and 120/70 – all 17in. Rear: 150/60,160/60, 180/55, 180/60, 190/50,190/55, 200/55 – all 17in. MCN says: “They allow fun on a superbike around a fast track and did extremely well in this year’s sports tyre test, but they excelled in stability,” Michael…