Table of contents for 3rd July 2019 in MCN

So, it’s finally happened. A mainstream Goliath has unveiled its vision for an electric future. Yes, Harley-Davidson may have Livewire – the first full test is now imminent – but this week’s response from BMW to the creeping electrification of motorcycles looks like a proper game-changer. Harley’s £30k Livewire might prove itself to be a fantastic ride, but its price point, ease of availability, and the name on the tank are all going to be barriers for riders who aren’t already ‘on brand’. By contrast, BMW’s Vision DC Roadster may only be a concept right now, but the intent is so clear that it’s caused a real ripple of excitement. With BMW able to draw upon the car division’s electric know-how and buying power, the Vision could well arrive in…

BMW have unveiled the Vision DC Roadster – a naked electric concept that moves the electric boxer story on once again after the radical Vision Next 100 shown three years ago. The move comes as BMW press the accelerator on their programme of electrification, promising 25 models across the business by 2023. Where to begin In a standard bike everything pretty much starts with the engine as it’s the biggest thing to accommodate. On an electric bike the biggest parts are the batteries, while the motor itself is compact. For the DC Roadster a huge block of longitudinal batteries replace the typical boxer engine block, with the electric motor slung underneath. The two ‘cylinders’ are actually radiators with cooling fans (that retract when the bike is parked), not only giving…

KTM have mined a rich seam of lunacy and practicality with their Duke family since 1992 from the original 620 Duke, the first factory ‘supermoto’ up to the bonkers 690Rs. Now, KTM’s first parallel-twin, the 790 Duke, offers a fresh blend of flexible usefulness and playful bonkersness. But if the 790 is out of your budget there’s a whole family of stonking singles that can be snapped up secondhand for a snip… 2019 KTM 790 DUKE What is it? This refined parallel twin had an added dash of drama and a decent amount of rider aids. It proved a very capable back-lane scratcher. MCN says “Surprisingly capable in almost every situation, even the odd track day can be tackled.” Want to buy one? £8799, £1750 deposit, £99 per month…

Pirelli have just released their new Angel GT II sports touring tyre which, the Italian company says, is the result of thousands of hours of testing. The original Angel GT was no slouch but the king of all-rounder tyres in recent years has been the Roadtec 01 from Pirelli sister company Metzeler. To address this, Pirelli took the original GT and updated it with new profiles, a new dual compound rear and revised construction as well as using compound technology from its racing rain tyres – the new GT II front tyre’s twin radial groves are lifted from Pirelli’s racing intermediate tyre. We tested the new rubber on a range of bikes including the BMW R1250R and Honda CB1000R. They warm quickly and offer plenty of grip, even if you…

Datalogging on race bikes is nothing new. Pioneered in the late 1980s by 500cc grand prix teams, it can now record just about everything a motorcycle does when it’s on track – wheel speeds, lean angle and hundreds of mind-boggling parameters in between. Rider inputs are measured, too, from throttle opening and brake pressure to gear position, but there’s been one big black hole in that data – how much effort actually goes into steering. Post-grad student Alex Przibylla is researching exactly that for his Motorcycle Engineering masters at the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David. The aim is to make racers, trackdayers and even race school students faster by comparing steering inputs between riders and seeing how changes to riding style, braking technique and suspension/geometry set-up can affect performance.…

I was delighted to read the article about the school engineering and racing project done by Year 11 at The Park School in Somerset (MCN, June 19) and especially to find it on most of page 4, rather than tucked away near the middle/back of the paper. Huge congratulations must go to the boys and especially to the school’s head of physics Andrew Gill who had the inspiration and expertise to take this project forward to success. These kids are the future engineers/designers/motorcyclists and more should be done to encourage this type of enterprise. Perhaps MCN could get behind a campaign to encourage more of this? Jes McNulty, email MCN Star letter Write something that spikes our interest, and you could get selected for the Star Letter slot. Every…

Launched this year with a taller screen and panniers, this is what the Niken should have been all along: a tourer. The £14,699 Niken GT, powered by an MT-09 derived, 113bhp, 847cc three-cylinder motor, is one of the most comfortable and safest machines we’ve tested and without exception everyone who’s ridden it has been impressed. It’s proving to be a hit in countries where riders focus on the benefits of the extra grip and really don’t care what others think (like the US). But here in the more style-savvy UK and much of Europe, where we don’t even like to acknowledge the advantages of ABS and traction control let alone an extra wheel, we’ve got a long way to go before we’re rushing to dealers to buy Yamaha’s brave experiment.…

‘It’s the annual Europe gathering of all things BMW’ It’s not often you get to hear a town before you see it – but before the church spires of Garmisch-Partenkirchen sweep into view, a deep-throated, basso profundo rumbling pulsates through the air between the mountains like a giant wobble-board. I pause while topping up the BMW R1200 RS I’ve ridden 900 miles to Garmisch, and briefly wonder if, given the Tyrolean town’s winter role as a ski centre, I’m hearing the distant sonic tsunami of an avalanche. But it’s mid-summer, complete with stifling continental heat and regular thundery downpours. Maybe a storm is brewing? But no, this is what many thousands of big piston-engines, chiming together in combustion chaos, sound like. Over 40,000 BMW riders are homing in on Garmisch’s…

TOO EARLY! Initiate the turn too early, and you’ll be in the kerb, then out again, then back again – ‘50-pencing’ the corner 4. SEE THE EXIT As soon as you spot the exit, make a firm and positive input onto the inside bar to set the bike into the corner. 3. HEAD UP Turning your head towards the exit while your bike’s still going straight will help you work out when to turn. 2. WAIT FOR IT Resist the temptation to turn in too early. It’ll feel totally alien at first but go with it, and keep practising. 1. DON’T RUSH Slow down before you reach the corner. You will feel that you are going too slowy but don’t worry about that for now.…

This weekend sees the World Superbike Championship back on British turf where it all began back in 1988 at Donington Park. With just 16 points separating early runaway leader Alvaro Bautista and quadruple world champion Jonathan Rea, the first half of the season has been the closest since Sylvain Guintoli versus Tom Sykes in 2014, which went right down to the wire. Back in ’88, Donington sported the original format of the series: two heat races deciding an overall winner. Davide Tardozzi (now Ducati MotoGP team manager) won the first but, when he crashed towards the end of the second encounter, overall victory went to former 500cc world champion Marco Lucchinelli, which revitalised his career. A similar renaissance is being enjoyed this year by MotoGP refugee Alvaro Bautista, although he’ll…

Scott Redding silenced the doubters once again with a sparkling display on his first visit to Knockhill to claim a glorious victory in Race 2 following his second place in the opener. It was enough for the 26-year-old to take the championship lead and the Be Wiser Ducati star is now five podium points ahead of his teammate Josh Brookes. Redding’s results were all the more impressive considering that qualifying proved a nightmare for both Ducati riders, who had won the seven races preceding Knockhill, with wet conditions and a single 40-minute session leaving Brookes and Redding 14th and 15th on the grid. Australian Brookes admitted he was outclassed by his English team-mate, after the former MotoGP man climbed to second in the first race following late passes on Christian…

McAMS Yamaha were pleased with Tarran Mackenzie’s second place following his return from the concussion he received at Brands Hatch – although the Scot had earlier thrown away another podium finish when he crashed out of third in the opening race. For team-mate Jason O’Halloran, meanwhile, Knockhill brought more misfortune through technical problems. •‘It’s the nature of this circuit. We even swapped the enginejust in case’ “The weekend was alright,” jovial team manager Steve Rogers said afterwards. “Tarran should have settled for second in Race 1. It was a bit like at Brands, when he pushed for pole and ended up not racing. Sometimes you need to know when to take second. Having said that, he really got the job done in Race 2.” Following Mackenzie’s return to the podium…

On paper it was a poor result, but, Moto2 rider Sam Lowes came away from Assen delighted with the huge breakthrough he made at the Dutch track. Fast all weekend and battling for the win until an encounter with the Red Bull KTM machine of reigning Moto3 world champion Jorge Martin left him fuming in the gravel, Lowes was quick to put a good spin on his performance. Fighting for the lead for the first time since his return to the Moto2 class from an abortive season in MotoGP with Aprilia in 2017, the Lincolnshire native says he’s thrilled to be able to show he’s still got it. “It was the best weekend I’ve had since Aragon in 2016, and I was riding around with a huge smile. There was…

Suzuki Ecstar team leader Alex Rins left Assen empty-handed and confused after crashing out of the lead on lap three. Looking strong all weekend after building on his performance in Barcelona last time out, the Spaniard looked like a genuine contender for race victory until he lost the front at Turn 9 in what he later described as ‘a strange crash’. ‘I was braking on the same point and I had a strange crash ’ From the start he was able to steal a holeshot from team-mate Joan Mir to set up a Suzuki 1-2 in the opening laps. By lap two Rins looked like he was going to be involved in a scrap for the podium at the very least. Then he lost the front into the left-hander of…

Andrea Dovizioso’s hopes of keeping the 2019 MotoGP crown in reach slipped further out of his grasp after a lacklustre performance at Assen saw him unable to take the fight to reigning champion Marc Marquez. Forced to settle for fourth behind the satellite bike of Fabio Quartararo and only just escaping the clutches of team-mate Danilo Petrucci, the two-time championship runner-up knows his 2019 chances are now bleak. After struggling all weekend in the heatwave temperatures, Dovizioso faced an uphill battle after only qualifying 11th. And while his fourth place was a decent result, the Italian was even more pessimistic about his title hopes post-race. ‘Fourthisn’tbad but we can’tbe happy... the track showed up our bike ’ “We can smile because we took the maximum we could from the race.…

‘I felt like the bike was ready from Friday’ RACE WINNER MAVERICK VIÑALES Maverick Viñales finally ended a Yamaha win drought that stretches back to his last victory at Phillip Island in October last year, by taking a textbook win ahead of reigning champion Marc Marquez at Sunday’s Dutch TT. After showing strong pace throughout the weekend and qualifying on the front row, the Yamaha star finally buried his poor start demons by rocketing into the battle for the lead the very moment the lights went out. And, by being able to dice with Marquez in a way we haven’t seen since Viñales took a series of victories on the bounce to kick-off his Yamaha career back in 2017, the Monster Energy Yamaha rider put himself exactly where he needed…

Motorcycle racer Carlin Dunne has been killed racing at the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb. Four-time winner Dunne was the favourite to win again this year after he set the fastest qualifying time on a prototype Ducati V4 Streetfighter and was on the way to victory, having set record times in the lower three sectors, before his tragic accident close to the finish. Dunne’s record at Pikes Peak was legendary and he was the first person to achieve a sub-10 minute time on the mountain – in 2012 – doing it aboard a modified Multistrada. This achievement, alongside his other three wins, course records in numerous classes and a 100% victory rate for all races he entered, lead him to be known as ‘King of the Mountain’. It was his success…

A group of Harley riders, including #R5K member Martin Fell aboard his hot-rod style Harley Breakout (below), have covered almost 2000 miles in ten days. Leaving Northern Ireland on May 29, the 50-year-old quantity surveyor was one of an eight-strong group aboard five of the American bikes, all members of the Belfast Harley-Davidson Owners’ Group. From Belfast, they snaked across northern England to Newcastle before catching a ferry to Amsterdam. They then headed to Luxembourg, and over to Baden-Baden in Germany for the iconic B500. Next up was Switzerland before they headed back to Amsterdam for the ferry, via France and Belgium. So how was it touring on the Hogs? “The Harleys never missed a beat,” Martin told us. “They were brilliant and handled everything fine. On the mountain passes,…

Anew Channel 5 TV documentary that aired last week focused on motorcycle and scooter crime and featured bike crimefighter Omar Marjan, known online as the ‘Handmuff Warrior’, alongside officers from the Metropolitan Police and the Bristol Bike Recovery Team. ‘Snatch & Grab: Moped Gangs on the Rampage’ examined the activities of vigilante groups, the police and bike criminals, the latter interviewed anonymously and who give a shocking insight into their criminality. “Anyone’s a target, no matter who you are, you’re gunna be a target,” boasted one. Another explained how easy bike crime is. “You can do this whenever you want. Go to school, come back, do it. Weekends, do it. There’s nothing really stopping anyone.” The featured criminals claim that stealing a bike is so easy anyone can do it…

Harley-Davidson have revealed plans for a funky and affordable 338cc cruiser. The all-American brand have done a deal with Chinese motorcycle manufacturer Qianjiang to design and build a smaller, more accessible model for China by the end of next year. Qianjiang are the parent company behind the Chinese revival of Italian brand Benelli. The first fruit of this joint labour will be a ‘premium 338cc’ motorcycle, initially for sale in China, with other Asian markets to follow. It’s possible that Harley will extend it further into other emerging markets, such as India and South America. There’s no mention so far of North American or Europe, which makes us think Harley have no plans to bring these small-capacity machines to the UK, especially since they don’t sell the existing Street 500…

The birthplace of British bike sport burst into life on Sunday as more than 3000 visitors poured through the gates of the Brooklands Museum for the annual motorcycle show. First opened in 1907, Brooklands was the world’s first purpose-built motor racing circuit and the museum is based around several historic buildings as well as the remaining sections of the famous banking. ‘We went up the hill and we’re both nearly 80’ With 15 clubs in attendance, including the British Motorcycle Racing Club, Vintage Motorcycle Club and Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club, plus the latest line-ups from Jack Lilley Triumph and Guilford Harley-Davidson, there were hundreds of classic, vintage and modern machines to admire. However, Brooklands is much more than a static show and crowds flocked to experience the sounds and smells…

Reader Steve Benn, Nene Valley Branch of the Ducati Owners Club GB The Ride The Longest Day, East-West Ride When to do it June Miles 830 Don’t miss this “Whitesands Bay at St David’s via the brilliant A487.” LOWESTOFT Alarms were set for 03:00 to be up, showered and ready on the bikes for 03:45 and the ride to the front. THE BIKES This was the first time our little group of five Ducatisti had embarked on this particular ‘adventure’. INTO WALES We stopped for lunch and after rapping the ST4 on the solenoid to make it behave, we were off again. JOB DONE! Due to set at 21:30 we were treated to a sunset at 21:45 before heading back to our hotel for refreshments. And Saturday wasn't to be…

HONDA BENLY CB92 This blue and silver Benly was my first bike. It’s actually my dad Harry onboard and the year is 1967. I wish I’d kept it. John Collett GARELLI TIGER CROSS My mum on the back of my first bike. I worked a paper round to buy the Garelli but it was so slow! Gerry Lane SUZUKI GP100 Tony with his SS50, Ian with his RD50 and me with my GP100. Paul Eaton HONDA CBR900RR A brilliant little loophole meant that by using classic insurance I could ride a Honda FireBlade as my first bike! Luke Chiles HONDA C50 My first bike… circa 1978 and the first of many. I took delivery of an F750GS this year and am still loving riding as much as ever. Steve Robinson…

‘NOT FOR ME’ SHAUN BEDFORD Age 52 Height 5ft 8in Current bike 1150GS, 1200GS and F650GS. Dream bike I’d just like a garage full of them! “There’s some nice quality bits on it, nice exhaust, Brembo calipers. The trellis frame looks nicely welded. I like the upright bars, the pegs look reasonably low so it wouldn’t be too uncomfortable. It’s a toy you’d probably have a blast on a Sunday. But it’s attractive.” ‘LOVE IT’ MAGS BROZEK Age 33 Height 5ft 8in Current bike Fazer 600, ZX-6R, RC8, CB1000R, F800GS, KTM 530. Dream bike MV Dragster “I like naked bikes with a short tail; that’s why I really like this one. It looks like it’s great fun to ride, and it would be my perfect seventh day of the week…

Launched in 2015 Kawasaki’s Ninja H2 was like something from outer space, with alien looks, a cartoon exhaust, chirping supercharger and the kind of straight-line performance that blew the doors off any superbike it came up against. We loved how it stuck two fingers up at the establishment and awarded it MCN’s 2015 Bike of the Year. It was updated in 2017 with revised mapping and an Öhlins shock while for 2019 Kawasaki are boasting more power, beefier brakes, grippier tyres, an uprated dash and ‘selfhealing’ paint. So has it worked? 1 More power, really? With its new H2 SX-derived air filter, airbox, spark plugs and ECU, claimed power is up 30.6bhp and our test bike measured 206bhp on our dyno… exactly the same as the previous model, with 4ftlb…

BOSTON BIKE NIGHT, BOSTON, LINCOLNSHIRE, JULY 4 ‘Proper festival atmosphere’ For one night a year, the quiet Lincolnshire town of Boston comes alive as thousands of bikes arrive. With bands playing and bikes to peruse, there’s a festival atmosphere and there’s no need to pay to get in. The route Once you’ve had your fill of wheel-kicking, take an hour or so to blast out to bracing Skegness for a fish and chip supper. With big skies and never-ending views, we aim for Partney on the A16. It’s a quick route, with a mixture of meandering bends and sharp turns and the closer you get to Partney, the more the undulating the road becomes. Head east on the A158 towards the metropolis of Skegness and as you hit…

Riding back from the Nürburgring on the E42 motorway a few weeks ago, I was feeling pretty pleased with myself. An early morning blast on the 410 via Gerolstein and Prüm demonstrated the brilliance of my Beemer as a road bike – light, plush, grippy and endowed with the kind of midrange from its clever ShiftCam, that would make a Busa proud. Heated grips took the sting out of an early morning chill and cruise control soothed sore motorway wrists past Spa. The day before I’d been on that magical 12.8-mile Nordscheife circuit, where, staggeringly, the new BMW felt every bit as sharp as my old S1000RR race bike, if not better. But a closed slip road on to the E40 (and the petrol station I desperately needed a couple…

Although never satisifed with fifth and third places, series leader Tommy Bridewell was pleased to leave Knockhill with a solid points haul, as he explained to MCN: “We really, really struggled to get comfortable,” said the Oxford Racing Ducati man. “I didn’t feel like myself and couldn’t get my head around the bumps and the tight nature of the circuit. I almost feel like a weekend like this potentially could be the weekend that helps me fight for the championship. “I didn’t remotely expect a podium. I felt I kept my head down, rode as hard as I could and accepted what was on the table. Snetterton is far more our territory.”…

Silverstone is incredibly excited to be hosting the British round of the MotoGP championship over the Bank Holiday weekend of August 23-25, at a point when the championship will really be coming alive. Home-grown hero Cal Crutchlow will be hoping to build on his three MotoGP race wins with a victory on home soil as he battles the talents of series leader Marc Marquez, the great Valentino Rossi, Ducati star Andrea Dovizioso and the on-form Maverick Viñales. And with Silverstone having been completely resurfaced to exacting standards in preparation for MotoGP, this could see lap records tumble, and incredible high-speed battles when the action starts at the legendary Northants venue. MAKE IT A FAMILY FESTIVAL There’s plenty of entertainment off the track too, making Silverstone the ideal destination for the…

Cal Crutchlow was left rueing the mistakes that cost him the chance to be in the battle for Sunday’s podium. After failing to get his brakes up to temperature on the warm up lap he suffered in the opening laps. Then, finding himself out of position, he was forced to work hard to get into the battle for fourth but the physical nature of the 2019 Honda means he was unable to do any better than bring the LCR RCV home in seventh spot.…

Championship leader Marc Marquez admitted he settled for second at Assen by taking the safest option available in tricky conditions. With the iconic Dutch track slippery in the extremely hot temperatures, the Repsol Honda rider conceded he played it safe from the start. “Second was the best possible result. I didn’t care about winning, I just wanted to be able to fight for the podium and taking 20 points and increasing our advantage was the target for the race.” His second place – and a bad result for main rival Dovizioso – means the Spaniard now has a huge 44-point title lead going into the Sachsenring, a circuit where he’s unbeaten in the entire six years of his MotoGP career.…

Behold the Vins Duecinquanta – an exquisite, all-new, road-legal, 250cc two-stroke sportster from Italy that’s already setting knees trembling and partners running to the divorce courts. Built in Maranello, just down the road from car legends Ferrari, the Vins is the ultimate spiritual successor to not just Aprilia’s RS250, which went out of production in 2005, but a whole generation of stroker sports 250s such as Suzuki’s RGV, Kawasaki’s KR1-S and Yamaha’s TZR. The Duecinquanta, as the name suggests, is a fuel-injected 250cc V-twin two-stroke. Two versions will be available – road and track as, amazingly, Vins say they’re able to get it through the current emissions tests (it even has ABS to make it fully compliant). In road trim the bike produces ‘over 65bhp’ with the 288cc race version…

When it comes to great riding, Yorkshire is more than a little blessed. There are hundreds of miles of tarmac to be enjoyed, from remote back roads across the Moors to sensational twisties in the Dales. And with great routes come great cafés, so this week we drop in at a local favourite, Seaways in Fridaythorpe. We arrive cross country via Givendale Hill and Pocklington to find the ex-filling station forecourt already bustling. Seaways is a friendly place and before we even get to the door we’re warmly welcomed by Derek from Driffield, one of this popular café’s stalwart regulars. “I come here most days,” says Derek,” and in many ways I’m the happy greeter. You’ll meet all sorts of different bikers here.” We duck inside to order our usual…

I would love to do a Long Way Down type trip, but it would have to be with the right people. You’d be away for a long time so you couldn’t do it with a knobhead. The million dollar question is what bike would you do it on? ‘HONEST TO GOD, I HATE BEING ON MY OWN IN THE DARK ALL NIGHT’ I wouldn’t want to do it on a modern sportsbike or a naked so I guess you’d need some sort of adventure bike, but not something too heavy for when you inevitably get stuck. I can remember watching Ewan and Charley when they got stuck in a load of ruts and had an absolute nightmare getting their BMW GSs out again. Thinking about it, what you really want…

‘It’s roomy and man-sized with a touch of attitude’ It’s Britain’s best road test route. A tough 250-mile mix of A and Broads, a stretch of motorway, plus plenty of towns, villages, blind corners, ballistic straights, and a huge range of grippy to slippy tarmac. There are two cafés, an off-road section for adventure and trail bikes, track time for sportsbikes, and Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground and the dyno for hard and fast data when needed. You want answers? We’ve got ’em. 1 Well, hello there… Admittedly this is the top-spec, limited-edition, S Race Replica version of the FTR, but in the metal it looks fantastic: quality suspension, radial Brembos, Akrapovic, TFT screen, Ducatialike tubular trellis frame, dual texture seat and fabulously evocative burgundy/black/white race livery. Even the semi-knobbly tyres…

Some bikes struggle to shine anywhere on the MCN250. Harley’s 1200 Iron springs to mind. Others remain flawed even when operating at their optimum. But with the FTR I’m truly spoilt for choice. It dazzled first on the nadgery, gnarly back lanes to the Super Sausage. The lunatic, B-road point-and-squirt stretch brought its nimble steering and grunty performance to the fore. On the fast, sweeping B4525 the cultured composure of its suspension, lazy comfort and easy midrange made life easy yet entertaining. And on the B4632 into the Cotswolds then A44 up Fish Hill, the feisty FTR, now in Sport mode, proved it had the sporting ability and sheer speed to satisfy all but the most extreme performance junkie. But in truth, it was after all that, among the more…

We’re breaking every rule in the book, speeding through towns and running red lights, but the police just nod approvingly and wave us on by. The roads are eerily empty and on the open stretches between the bustling towns and colourful villages we’re using every inch of the road, carving racing lines from kerb to kerb on corners freshly covered in smooth Tarmac. It could be a dream – but it isn’t. We’ve been given special access to ride ahead of the seventh day of the Giro d’Italia cycle race. It’s a 185.1km (114.7 miles) stage from Vasto on the Adriatic coast, heading west to L’Aquila in the heart of Italy. Carovana We’re riding with the ‘Carovana’, a high-speed carnival sweeping the road about an hour ahead of the cycle…

You’ll often find MCN reader and Suzuki SV650 rider Nigel Hobson exploring the rolling and pretty coastline of North Yorkshire. There are plenty of great routes to choose from and this one combines some of the best roads in the area and links historic villages with seaside towns. It’s a challenging loop which packs more than enough to keep you on your toes, as Nigel explains: “The Yorkshire Wolds are great; the country roads are often quiet but I do find that some of the corners can be quite a challenge. People have a habit of cutting the corners, so beware of oncoming cars.” Other than that, it is fantastic with great views over the coast and places to stop off for chips too.…

THE STUDENT Rebecca Mutlow, 38 New rider Rebecca passed her test last summer but has already crammed in a lot of touring miles on her Honda CBF600. Rebecca’s riding problem “I threepenny-bit around corners. I’m making too many inputs and just can’t figure out a way to glide through in a smooth arc.” THE TUTOR Mark Edwards, Rapid Training Former police motorcyclist Mark’s been teaching people to be safer, better, faster riders on the road for the last 20 years. Mark’s action plan “Turning too early and not turning hard enough is a common problem for many riders and can result in too many steering inputs.” THE LESSON 1 Don’t go into the bend too fast Inexperienced riders can feel anxious on the approach to a turn, worrying about how…

‘It’s a great bike but I’ve lost confidence in it’ When it comes to choosing a new machine, even the most brand-loyal of bikers should try to keep an open mind. “I always thought KTMs were rough off-road bikes, a bit like tractors,” admits MCN reader Ron Rookledge, who also owns-up to being a die-hard Kawasaki fan. “A friend and I had just been on a rideout to a KTM dealership when the wing mirror of an oncoming car clipped the handlebars of my Versys 1000 and sent me wobbling off into a field.” Fortunately, Ron was fine and his Versys escaped with just a few scuffs, but the incident got him thinking it could be time for a change. “The 1290 Super Adventure S that I’d just seen in…

Yes, you can tour on any bike. However, if you’re doing serious miles, want to avoid the luggage faff and arrive having enjoyed the ride rather than just endured it, there’s nothing like a bespoke tourer. Large, understressed engines swallow continents with ease, proper proportions provide day-long comfort for two, and a sumptuous chassis leaves joints unshaken. Here are the finest options for six grand or less. £5989 TRIUMPH TROPHY 1215cc |301kg |132bhp |800mm seat height • Dealer up to £8000 • Private up to £7500 • This one 2012, 28,000 miles Aimed squarely at the R1200RT, Triumph’s tourer has more than a hint of BMW about it. Its vast weight vanishes above walking pace, with remarkable handling and agility. The inline three is whooshing and effortless, there’s shaft…

1 Lay out and offer up Before you start, check your new hoses to make sure they are of the correct type/length for your bike. Lay them out on a clean, flat work surface and inspect the banjos to make sure they’re of the right fitment and angle. Offer them up alongside the in-situ originals to double check everything will fit correctly to your bike before you start removing the old hoses. 2 Flush out the old fluid Using a spanner, undo the banjo bolt which connects the brake line to the caliper, and drain the fluid into a suitable container. Undo the master cylinder reservoir cap then pump the brake lever until the reservoir is dry. Now crack the banjo on the master cylinder and leave for a few…

Xavi Forés’ pole position at Knockhill was one of the big surprises of the weekend, not least because the Spanish rider was racing at the Scottish circuit for the first time. Honda team-mate Andrew Irwin, meanwhile, was delighted with his fifth place. The huge improvement in results has come after the Louth-based team made significant changes to the Fireblade, particularly regarding the chassis. “The bike is working much better than it has been,” Forés explained on Saturday after clinching only the second Spanish pole (following Gregorio Lavilla in 2007), with Knockhill yielding impressive levels of grip in the wet. “We made a big jump with the bike,” Irwin confirmed. “We pretty much made a couple of tenths each session, which is a lot at Knockhill. Fifth in the wet was…

Danny Buchan broke his BSB duck by becoming the fifth winner in the 2019 Bennetts British Superbike season as the popular Essex rider celebrated his and the FS-3 Racing Kawasaki team’s maiden victory at Knockhill on Sunday. Buchan claimed Sunday’s first race by a staggering 6.2 seconds at the 1.2-mile track, overtaking McAMS Yamaha’s Tarran Mackenzie on the 11th of 30 laps. The win sees the 26-year-old join Mackenzie, Josh Elliot and Scott Redding as first-time winners in what is proving to be a breakthrough season for a new generation of BSB talent. The celebrations were a long time coming for the self-confessed ‘Del Boy of office furniture’ from Basildon, who works for his family-run furniture business Monday to Friday. The win followed seven previous podium finishes including a pair…

Sensational MotoGP rookie Fabio Quartararo made it two podiums in two races after backing up his sizzling Barcelona second with third place at Sunday’s Dutch TT. After leading a MotoGP race for the first time and showing he has the ability to battle with the leaders – if only briefly – the French rookie set himself up for a safe finish behind Maverick Viñales and Marc Marquez. After struggling in the middle of the race with a Yamaha that looked almost out of control through Assen’s fast corners, the Petronas rider says he soon learned what he was doing wrong as part of his continuing MotoGP education at the sharp end. “The shaking on the bike was a little bit my fault because I learned some lessons after following Maverick…