Table of contents for 31 August 2016 in MCN

 Persistent speed junkie, occasional motorcycle racer and full-time lorry mechanic, Guy Martin, is back with another series of his wildly popular Speed programme, on Channel 4. ‘The Nevada Open Road Challenge sees an array of supercars drive flat-out for 90 miles in the desert’ In the new season Guy takes on yet more adrenaline-fuelled challenges, starting this Sunday, September 4, with the first of this brand new three-part series. In this opening episode, Guy heads to the USA to enter the fastest road race on the planet; the Nevada Open Road Challenge. Each year, Highway 318 is closed for one day in May for a time trial which sees an array of race spec supercars drive flat-out for 90 miles through the desert. But rather than compete in a supercar,…

Both the Triumph and Norton are inspired by a British tradition and to a large degree are sold on the strength of their ‘Britishness’. Triumph, for example, recently redesigned their logo which now resembles a section of the Union flag, while on their own website the first two words about the new Bonnevilles are ‘British icons…’ Norton, meanwhile, puts a plaque which reads ‘Handbuilt at Donington Hall’ on the top yoke of all their bikes and their website says: “Norton is delighted to fly the flag as a hand-built, all British marque.” But how British are both in reality? Although some of Norton’s components are bought in from abroad, specifically Brembo brakes, Öhlins suspension and so on, boss Stuart Garner says he’s determined to keep Norton bikes as British as…

‘When he’s not on his bike, he’s got her in his arms – he’s a proper proud dad’MARK CAVENDISH There’s few people as well positioned to know exactly what Cal Crutchlow puts into his sport and what winning does for the mindset than close friend and 30-time Tour de France stage winner Mark Cavendish. Both friend and training partner to Crutchlow, the yellow jersey winner says his heart rate spiked even higher than Crutchlow’s when he was watching the Brno race on his way home from his silver medal success at this year’s Rio Olympics. “I was watching the race on the app on my phone. It was incredible watching him pick his way through the field – but with five laps to go, my signal died! I got home…

• The inline six As found in BMW K1600-series models. BMW’s K1600 motor is the most compact six-cylinder engine ever made and produces 70% of its torque at just 1500rpm. Sublimely smooth. • The boxer As found in BMW R-series bikes, Urals and Dneprs. The powerhouse of BMW since 1923 has been the boxer engine, so called because its pistons’ motion mimics a boxer’s fists punching. • The parallel-twin As found in Yamaha MT-07 models, Kawasaki ER-6 models, Honda CB500 models, Triumph Bonneville and Street Twin and many more. The parallel-twin is rapidly becoming the most popular engine of the 2000s due to its performance and ease of build. It is used in everything from a modern retro to adventure bikes. • The transverse V-twin As found in Moto Guzzi…

Don’t miss the Day of Champions The Day of Champions runs from 9am to 8pm on Thursday September 1, but the big annual charity auction is already live ahead of the British Grand Prix weekend, allowing race fans to bid for a range of MotoGP items in the build up to and during this year’s race weekend. The auction includes the chance to win MotoGP paddock passes, paddock and grid passes for the Moto3 race and signed memorabilia from Valentino Rossi and Britain’s newest GP winner Cal Crutchlow. The site will be live throughout the weekend and bids for the 78 items can also be made on site at the GP in the Tented Village area at Silverstone, close to the entertainment stage. Proceeds will go to motorcycling’s Two Wheels…

2011 Honda CBR600F  Colours Black and grey, white and red, white and black. Dealer £4500 Private good £4000 Private average £3500 This one 2011 model, 7569 miles. Private sale, £3999 2012 Honda CBR600F  Colours Black and grey, white and red, white and black. Dealer £5000 Private good £4500 Private average £4000 This one 2012 model, 5506 miles. Dealer sale, £4999 2013 Honda CBR600F  Colours Black and grey, white and red, white and black. Dealer £5300 Private good £5000 Private average £4500 This one 2013 model, 7128 miles. Private sale, £4550 2014 Honda CBR600F  Colours Black and grey, white and red, white and black. Dealer £5500 Private good £5200 Private average £4900 This one 2014 model, 2903 miles. Dealer sale, £5499 Insurance Sample MCNCompare.com quotes for £5500 sporty middleweights and where…

KTM 1290 SUPER DUKE GT £15,999 FUEL 23 litres @ 44.55mpg = 225 miles range WEIGHT 205kg (dry) SEAT 835mm POWER 173bhp TORQUE 106ftlb RICHARD NEWLAND Sportsbike addict with a love of road riding, in all weathers. HEIGHT5ft 11in WEIGHT 117kg richard.newland@motorcyclenews.com When I first got the GT I’d looked for a 12v power socket, and couldn’t see one. “Odd,” I thought, “they put one on the Super Adventure, and this is supposed to be a sports-tourer.” I then forgot all about it until a GT owner mentioned the one on his bike. A flick through the index and contents in the manual didn’t reveal its location (I’ve since discovered it as ‘Socket for electrical accessories – P36’) – and then I found it when I wasn’t looking, while fitting…

 World Superbike racer Alex Lowes will wild card at the British MotoGP this weekend – replacing the injured Bradley Smith for a two-race stint on-board the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine at both Silverstone and Misano. ‘I’m going to go there, enjoy it for what it is, and hopefully learn something’ALEX LOWES The opportunity has come just days after Lowes tested the Yamaha M1 at Brno and as a result of regular rider Bradley Smith suffering a sickening crash in practice for the Oscherleben 8-hour World Endurance race where he had been drafted in to help Yamaha secure the title. “Obviously it’s not ideal circumstances for Bradley, but it’s a good thing for me,” explained Lowes. “I tried the bike last week, but it was only a handful of laps,…

While Yamaha rolled out an all-new chassis for Valentino Rossi at the Brno test, Marc Marquez and the Repsol Honda squad spent the day continuing to work on their 2016 hardware. “We focused our work on trying to understand why the bike is lifting into a wheelie coming out of the corners, and we gathered some positive data and some less positive, as often happens in these cases,” explained Marquez. “We found out quite a lot of things about the set-up, trying to absorb some of the wheelie and improve our acceleration.” Team-mate Dani Pedrosa adopted an even more basic strategy, working on both bike set-up and even his own riding style. The 30-year-old Spaniard is desperate to end the season better than it has started for him, conceding that…

Michael Laverty admits he is lucky to remain in a showdown position after another disastrous weekend for the Tyco BMW squad at Cadwell Park. The two-time race winner this season has been dramatically off the pace at the last two rounds and left Cadwell Park with just ten more points to his name after finishing tenth and 12th. Fortunately for the Ulsterman, a bout of bad luck for his rivals sees him cling on to fourth in the championship standings by the skin of his teeth. “I thought it was going to be a bit of damage limitation this weekend but I didn’t expect it to be as bad as that!” exclaimed Laverty. “We struggled from day one to catch up to the others and even though we made a…

History was made at Cadwell this weekend as the longest-standing lap record on the MCE British Superbike calendar was finally broken. Leon Haslam’s quickest time in the opening race (1’26.590) was marginally quicker than the lap he’d recorded on the Airwaves Ducati in 2007. While many riders had been under Haslam’s original lap record in practice and qualifying, for an official lap record to be declared the time needs to be recorded in race conditions. Despite organisers scaling back the technical rules to restrict engine and chassis modifications, banning electronics and the introduction of a control tyre supplier, the natural progression of 1000cc superbikes over the last ten years has seen the newest era of BSB break lap records at every circuit – with the exception of Cadwell. “Cadwell is…

In charge of the growing Husqvarna is Reinhold Zens who is also responsible for making sure Husqvarna works with parent company KTM but also has a clear identity and a business plan. Since KTM bought Husqvarna three years ago they have seen some unprecedented sales that should peak at 28,500 by the end of 2016. That splits into 14,000 competition enduro bikes, 10,000 motocross and 4000 supermoto and enduro models. Zens said: “The 401 and 125 are going to be the first bikes into production and the 701 will follow shortly afterwards. We estimate we can sell 8000 of the 401 and 125 in the first year. A full range of street motorcycles for Husqvarna is a clear vision for us. Husqvarna has always been a pioneering brand and this…

Tyred of all the choice Firstly may I congratulate Cal Crutchlow on a well-deserved Moto GP win. For him to beat Rossi on the same tyres shows just how well he was riding. However, first and second in the race came down to the correct tyre choice. I thought that when they fetched in one make of tyre for everyone, it was going to promote closer racing. Once again the riders have too many options, and making the wrong choice can lead to a disastrous race – eg Dovi, Redding and others. Why can’t Dorna introduce a new rule that there will be no intermediates, and only one type of wet front and rear? This would make for a more level playing field. Ray Marsh, email Get Cal on factory…

Motorcycles are being banned from many city centres around the world and that’s a worrying trend. But whether it’s time to wheel out the soap box (it’s a big soap box which is why it’s got wheels), remains to be seen. Over 30 large conurbations in China have either banned motorcycles or issued restrictions. These measures are largely aimed at curbing the use of huge numbers of illegal machines. Fatal accidents involving bikes have also been a factor in forcing the hand of central and local law-makers. There have also been car and bike bans in Mexico City and New Delhi as pollution levels soar. More recently, and much closer to home, Paris has banned cars made before 1997 and pre-1999 bikes. Despite protests, the laws kicked in over six…

To put it another way, it’s horses for courses. The Triumph is a delightful, easy, entertaining ride that no-one will be disappointed by, but as an authentic British café racer for nearly 12 grand I do feel a tiny bit cheated. The Norton, by complete contrast, is as authentic, British and handmade as it gets, a collectors’ piece that will always remain so, but one whose ride is for the more committed. Or, to put it another way: the Norton’s great for a Sunday afternoon blast, the Triumph you can ride to work on every day. As I said at the beginning – what a fantastic state of affairs: two great names and great bikes are back, together delivering the best of both worlds.…

Suck, squeeze, bang, blow – all four-stroke combustion engines work on the same principles. You put fuel and air in one end and, after a series of explosions, fun and fumes are produced at the other. But the configuration and number of cylinders makes a huge difference to its perceived character. Twin, triple, inline-four, crossplane, single or V-twin, each has its own unique traits as well as foibles and there are no right or wrong configurations. At the end of the day it’s horses for courses and in the case of bike engines it’s how those ponies are delivered that gives a motor its unique feeling. Thankfully there is more than enough variety manufactured to cater for any taste, so whatever your preference, there is a motorcycle motor out there…

Yes, I did it. I bought my BMW R100RS, and for a grand less than I’d budgeted. I now own a super-clean 1980 R100RS with a year’s MoT, 51,000 miles (that’s nothing for an old airhead), panniers, Corbin seat plus the hard-to-find original, panniers, aftermarket taller screen, electronic ignition, twin-plug heads (a superb mod, improving both power and economy), and a massive archive including the notification of the front wheel being replaced under recall in 1982. I won the eBay auction for £3001. That was £1 more than the second-highest bidder, who must have been cursing. There are lessons here. The first is to sellers – don’t have your auction end during working hours – in this case, 4.18pm. Not everyone has access to a computer 24/7, and before you…

 “There can be problems with the camchain tensioner. Once the engine is warm, blip the throttle and listen for a rattling sound on the over-run once the throttle is shut. That means a replacement camchain tensioner, which is approximately £100. ‘These are nice machines. Comfy and they rarely go wrong’ “There was the odd issue with the charging system so use a multimeter to check the battery is showing around 14.7V when the engine is running. The other trouble in the electrics was that the ABS light would show as a fault and that was due to a break in the wire at the rear of the bike. That was quite unusual, but it did happen sometimes so check on a test ride that the ABS light goes off once…

£3100 Suzuki Hayabusa An original unrestricted model that’s covered 36,000 miles since 1999. The current owner has had the bike for the last six years. £10,995 Laverda Jota 1000 Despite having at least five owners from new its claimed mileage remains just under 14,000 miles. It’s a 1983 model with 12 months MOT. £3250 Kawasaki GPZ900R This early 90s example comes with just over 21,000 miles on the clock. The bike is full power, however the speedo reads in kilometres. It will be serviced and given 12 months MOT before sale. £2994 Honda FireBlade A tidy year 2000 example in standard trim comes with a full service history and has had three former owners, who appear to have kept it in good, standard condition.…

MCN SAYS By Tony Hoare MCN Consumer Editor ‘The MT-10 is the kind of bike that’s begging for an aftermarket exhaust to free up some of that crossplanecranked war cry. For those who don’t fancy Yam’s official Akra set-up, this will offer a classy alternative route.’ IF YOU LIKE THIS… Scorpion Serket Taper exhaust from £329 At the other end of the price scale is Scorpion’s Serket Taper. Available in stainless steel (£329), titanium or carbon finish (£379) www.scorpion-exhausts.com Yamaha have thrown an eye-catching new contender into the super-naked mix this year with the MT-10 – and now Yoshimura have provided owners with the chance of giving it even more pep. The Alpha-T exhaust is an all-new design that’s been developed in conjunction with Suzuki’s MotoGP team and delivers a…

 The French-based Suzuki Endurance Racing Team – with riders Vincent Philippe, Anthony Delhalle and Etienne Masson – have taken their 15th world championship title, snatching the 2016 title from race winners GMT94 Yamaha at the final round of the season at the Oschersleben 8-Hour – by just a single point. ‘Unfortunately we had a technical issue, which was a major bummer’BROC PARKES And it was heartbreak for the Yamaha Austria Race Team, as they saw the title slip from their grasp only hours from the end of the campaign, as a disastrous weekend culminated in a technical problem dropping them from the race win - and the championship battle. Going into the weekend as one of seven squads capable of battling for victory, their bad luck started in free practice,…

‘The surgeon is looking at all possibilities and then we’ll decide’BRADLEY SMITH Bradley Smith faces an uncertain road to recovery, as he struggles to come back from a knee injury sustained during a crash during qualifying for the Oschersleben 8-Hour last weekend. Riding for the Yamaha Austria Racing Team, Smith collided with a back marker, and was airlifted to hospital with a suspected broken femur. And while that diagnosis was later corrected to no broken bones, damage to his knee means that he could face a long time away from MotoGP. “Recovery time will change depending on whether we go for surgery and what techniques are used. There are a couple out there that halve the time to recover, or I could be back a lot sooner if I don’t…

• 2014 WSB champion Sylvain Guintoli was at Cadwell Park this weekend as he begins to consider his options for the 2017 season. Having lost his seat in the PATA Yamaha WSB team to Dutchman Michael van der Mark, Guintoli admitted to MCN he could be on the verge of a return to the British series if no suitable options appear on the world stage. • With Shaun Muir confirming Eugene Laverty and Lorenzo Savadori for his 2017 Aprilia WSB squad, reigning BSB champion Josh Brookes has been left without a seat next season. While the latest word is he could make a switch to race in the USA, a number of team bosses are unsurprisingly interested in bringing the Aussie back to BSB. • 19-year-old Bradley Ray made an…

‘If Haslam couldn’t beat Byrne here his hopes were slim’OLI RUSHBY The turn of events at Cadwell marked an important stage in the 2016 MCE British Superbike title fight with both Shane Byrne and Leon Haslam making huge statements to their rivals as they both confirmed their spots in the three-round showdown. For Byrne to beat Haslam at Cadwell in race one is massive. The Lincolnshire circuit has been somewhat of a nemesis for the four-time champion in recent years. He might have taken more podiums than any other rider at the 2.3-mile circuit, but his victory in Monday’s opening race marked the first time he’d won at Cadwell Park since 2003 on the Monstermob Ducati. On the other hand, Haslam is a Cadwell Park master. Despite not having raced…

Husqvarna are clearly extremely busy at the moment and all three of the first models that will reach production have been spotted testing in recent weeks. The 125, 401 and 701 Vitpilen models have all been spied testing on the roads near the firm’s R&D facility in Austria. The 125 and 401 have been officially confirmed as being the first two models and these are sporting only a small amount of disguise. The 701 is still a little further behind in development as can be seen by the slightly less finished state of the prototype on test. All of the bikes are running with the wrong front light as the circular LEDs seen on the concept bikes are going to make it to production, while the shell of the LED…

“Forget the distinction between motorcycle and bicycle,” says Bultaco Marketing Manager Alessandro, “just ride it.” The Brinco really does blur the distinction between the two – it’s got pedals, but with a 2Kw motor (about 50cc moped power), decent suspension, brakes and motorcycle attitude. Bultaco relaunched itself two years ago, and the off-road Brinco R went on sale in 2015. This latest addition to the range is road legal, opening up the appeal to commuters, green laners and those who do a bit of both. It’s classed as a moped, but opt for the restricted version (15.5mph) and it qualifies as a pedelec (electric bicycle) – that means no licence, insurance, tax or MOT, and it can be ridden by a 14-year-old. A Bultaco dealer can derestrict it, but of…

2016 BMW S1000XR £12,450 Engine 999cc (80 x 49.7mm) 16v liquid-cooled inline four Claimed power 158bhp @ 11,000rpm Claimed torque 82.6ftlb @ 9250rpm Frame Aluminium twin spar Suspension 46mm inverted fork with adj compression and rebound. Monoshock, rebound adjustable. Brakes 2 x 320mm front discs with four-piston radial calipers, 265mm rear disc with two-piston caliper. ABS 2016 APRILIA V4 1100 TUONO FACTORY £14,736 Engine 1077cc (81 x 52.3mm) 16v liquid-cooled V4 Claimed power 172bhp @ 11,000rpm Claimed torque 89.2ftlb @ 9000rpm Frame Aluminium twin spar Suspension 43mm inverted …hlins forks and …hlins monoshock, fully-adjustable Brakes 2 x 320mm front discs with four-piston Brembo radial calipers, 220mm rear disc with two-piston caliper. ABS Claimed dry weight 184kg 2016 TRIUMPH DAYTONA 675R £10,949 Engine 675cc (76 x 49.6mm) 12v liquid-cooled inline triple…

BMW S1000XR SPORT SE £17,289 FUEL 20 litres @ 44mpg = 193 miles WEIGHT 228kg SEAT 840mm POWER 160bhp TORQUE 82lbft ANDY DOWNES Experienced road rider who loves a long continental trip when time permits HEIGHT 5ft 9in WEIGHT 78kg The BMW S1000XR has recently been treated to a new set of tyres as I wanted to try something different after being forced to remove the Dunlop RoadSmart IIIs only part of the way through their life. The Dunlops had plenty of miles left in them and I was just starting to give them a thorough test, but following some engine work an inspection bolt worked loose and most of the engine oil leaked out and coated the tread. As the tyres couldn’t be cleaned up properly they had to…

LS2 Arrow-R £219.99 ‘Bedded in quickly and has remained comfortable since. The visor aperture is huge and gives a great view. The visor locks when fully shut and comes with an anti-mist insert. It feels much better quality than the price suggests.’ Liam Marsden, October 21, 2015 Caberg Drift helmet £209.99 Tester Tony Hoare Time tested Three months/3000 miles What’s good? Caberg are normally associated with budget helmets with thermoplastic shells, but this is part of the Italian firm’s attempt to move upmarket. The Drift has a composite-fibre shell that makes it suitably light and it also has a classier lining than might be expected of the brand. The strap secures with D-rings, which is also different from the microlocktype ratchet more commonly found on their range. The helmet has…

‘It’ll be nice to get in front of the home fans – it’s always a great atmosphere’JOHN McPHEE It won’t just be Brno race winner Cal Crutchlow gunning for glory this weekend, with Britain’s home grown talent across all classes ready to deliver on home turf. While Crutchlow heads into the race brimming with confidence, he admits that a return to top step success is unlikely for the second race in a row (see page 26). But the top form of the LCR Honda rider means he’s well placed to make an impact. Having a strong race last year at Silverstone in wet conditions until Jack Miller took him out while they were battling for the podium, Crutchlow will be hoping for similar weather again this weekend. Already proving not…

‘I hope we can use it soon, but I have to speak to the team about it’VALENTINO ROSSI Valentino Rossi is aiming to race with an all new 2017 prototype chassis at the British MotoGP round at Silverstone this weekend. Following his strong second place finish at the Brno MotoGP round, Rossi completed a one-day test at the Czech circuit where he got to evaluate the new chassis and swingarm and was clearly delighted with the results. Rossi is desperate to repeat last year’s victory at the British GP in a bid to reel in series leader Marc Marquez who currently enjoys a 53-point advantage. After finishing second fastest in the Brno test, the Italian said: “The new chassis is more stable. The swingarm gives some advantages in acceleration, but…

‘I’m getting everything out of my bike and myself at the moment’JASON O’HALLORAN Honda Racing’s Jason O’Halloran joined title favourites Shane Byrne and Leon Haslam in confirming his place in the 2016 title fighters’ Showdown at Cadwell Park this weekend. There might be three races left until the three-round shootout begins, but O’Halloran’s consistency has paid dividends this season and another strong weekend saw him with a 64-point lead over fourth-placed Michael Laverty in the championship standings. O’Halloran said: “I’m pretty happy with how things went, we had good pace from the off, topping first practice and I’ve felt strong all weekend. I had a better bike in the second race but didn’t really get to use the potential of the tyre at the start as Leon was controlling the…

 Leon Haslam brought an end to Shane Byrne’s domination with a commanding victory in Monday’s second MCE British Superbike race at Cadwell Park. ‘We’ve been up against the Ducati for the last few rounds’LEON HASLAM ‘I need to go to the next round at Oulton and win three races’LEON HASLAM Having taken four wins out of six races in the run up to Cadwell, Byrne was starting to establish himself as a clear favourite in the 2016 title race, but a fightback from Haslam at the Lincolnshire track issued a stark reminder that the fight is far from over. It didn’t all go Haslam’s way, however, with Byrne stealing the first race victory from the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider with a clever move at the fast Chris Curve on the…