Motor Cycle Monthly - May 2016

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YOUR FREE

It’s a grand Adventure: Triumph’s 1200 Explorer

May 2016

MCM is FREE in dealers, clubs and biker cafés

E E R F

Dominator’s BACK!

Iconic bike to return

New Race, Rock 'N' Ride festival

The greatest show

per a p s i take th e for hom

FREE!

Kawasaki’s NEW ZX-10R

Better at being seriously fast

Tarmac-geddon! £11.8bn and 14 YEARS to repair our roads!

Beginner’s guide

See page 4 for more...

Helmet cameras

A damning report on Britain’s road network has accused the Governmant of woefully underfunding repairs to our highways. With roads crumbling almost beyond repair, the funds set aside by top politicians to rebuild them falls nearly £6 BILLION short.


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NEWS 3

ANOTHER

EXCLUSIVE

Honda’s ‘Super Blade’ revealed! OFFICIAL drawings from Honda! Here’s the secret Honda drawing for the V4 ‘SuperBlade’ that we’ve been telling you was on the way for nearly 10 months now. This patent from Honda has just landed on our desk and it tallies with reports we started bringing you back at the start of last July. Here’s the inside rub on what we’ve learnt from it (we are NOT saying that all this is going on the final bike, but this IS what the patent is showing right now, so this IS what Honda has on its design plate as we sit here today). Here’s the details of the listing from Honda which has now gone out into the big world. Now, this is a patent design for the air intakes (pics 2, 3 and 4) into a new airbox that sits snuggly between the V of the V4 motor. Because this patent is for this particular bit of the bike, it has to be height and bodywork-accurate in the drawing so as to be clear that this is EXACTLY where these parts sit in relation to the vehicle they’re for. So the motorcycle in this drawing really IS the bike that this new intake and airbox are designed for. This is not a way of hiding a new motor or airbox for – say – a VFR1200 motor or something similar that we don’t yet know about. These drawings are for the air intakes on this bike. Yep. And there are real differences between this bike and the RC213V-S £180,000 road-legal MotoGP bike, despite this drawing looking virtually identical to that piece of factory exotica at first glance. Let’s go through them starting at the front of the bike. For comparison purposes we’ve printed the sideon image of the new bike above (picture 1) with the current RC213V-S alongside that. Here’s our list of things to look at between both of those images so that you can compare them yourself.

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1

1: The front mudguard: On the RC213V-S the mudguard is a swooping piece of track-crafted windcheating art. On the drawing it’s a different, more road-usual mudguard. 2: The headlight: On the RC213V-S the headlight is a narrow split slit of a set-up that is barely visible from the side view, on the drawing it’s a much larger, more conventional Fireblade set-up that is clearly aimed at being useful at night. 3: The intake itself: Because this is what the whole design patent surrounds, this needs to be exactly accurate in relation to where it sits in the bodywork, the height from the ground and the relation of its position in comparison to the frame and wheelbase. There’s no intakes like this on the RC213V-S, this – like the airbox – is all new. 4: The seat: Look at the difference between the road-going ‘Super Blade’ RVF in the

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drawings and the actual piece of foam on the RC213V-S. We’re not saying that the new bike will be comfy or sumptuous to sit on… but it’s got more of a real-world seat than it’s megaexpensive track-inspired sibling. 5: Exhaust on the wrong side: In the drawing (which has to be bodywork accurate, like we said) the lower exhaust exits on the left-hand side of the bike instead of on the right hand side of the bike as is the case with the RC213V-S. The new position for the exhaust is indicated by the fact that it’s drawn with a dotted line rather than a solid line as would be the case if it was on the right hand side of the bike. It might be a small pipe like on the MotoGP machine but for whatever reason Honda has this pipe on the left rather than the right (actually, a lot of racey Hondas have historically had their exhaust exiting on the left so this might – might – have something to do with it, to be honest with you we’re just guessing at this bit though). The pipe exiting under the seat looks the same as on the RC213V-S though.

6: The fairing in pieces: On the RC213V-S the main bulk of the side fairing is one glorious sweeping bit of lovely bodywork but on this drawing which – it’s worth saying again – has to be bodywork accurate in relation to the air-intake information it’s patenting, the side fairing is now in two pieces and the bellypan sweeps up the side of the motor further to hide the metal away. Okay, so that’s what we can see this early on in studying the drawing compared to the mega-priced RC213V-S and we’re sure that you can probably find more differences (and if you do, please let us know below). There will no doubt be people saying that this is a RC213V-S drawing changed slightly but that’s not how these things work. If Honda was just tweaking a design for the current RC213V-S then the drawing wouldn’t feature changes to exhaust position, intake position, bodywork composition, mudguard or headlight. A drawing that didn’t mean much in terms of a new bike would be

a repeat of the bike that we’ve already seen with changes made as needed for the new bit of design around an air intake. Here we see a raft of differences between this road-going motorcycle and the RC213V-S. So, last July we told you that Honda was building not one but TWO versions of the future Fireblade. One that was staying at the lower-end of the price and spec range and the other which was going much bigger to take on the likes of Yamaha’s R1-M and Kawasaki’s ZX-10R, we said then that the new ‘Super Blade’ was likely to be more WSB-spec on the road and styling wise it could even get the RVF name like iconic race-bike-for-theroad machines that we’ve seen before. And here’s the proof of all of that. It’s likely that this bike will change more before it finally appears in a year’s time to buy, but for now the ‘Super Blade’ has appeared in this interestingly-finished guise. We’ve put the rest of the bits of this design on this page also.

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Meet the HARLEY-DAVIDSON Adventure bike!

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This is the big surprise of the Bangkok Motor Show which took place at the end of March, it’s a 2016 Street 750 Harley-Davidson that’s been converted into an Adventure bike. And although the official word is that this is a one-off designed and put together by a dealer, you’ve got to admit that it looks pretty much finished and ready to rock. The man behind the project is Richy Wilson, Harley-Davidson dealer in Thailand. He’s called the bike the Street 750 Stealth Adventure Concept and while it’s not exactly stealthy, it is a very well done idea. The bodywork is custom-made, the bike gets a matt grey colour scheme, suspension is pukka Ohlins motocross kit and the rear switches from twin to single shock. The front wheel goes up to a

more Adventure-style 21in and the rear is a 18in version, there’s Dunlop knobblies front and back and the handlebars are motocross wide bars.

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4 NEWS

Fixing UK potholes would cost £11.8bn and take 14 YEARS to complete... A damning report into the state of Britain’s roads has turned up what every motorcyclist knows – our network of highways is crumbling almost beyond reasonable repair. The latest annual report into the state of the nation’s highway surfaces, called the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey claims that a perfect storm of underfunding, harsh weather

and increased traffic are the key factors in road surfaces becoming increasingly poor. Despite the Government announcing £6bn of funding for local road maintenance between 2015 and 2021, local authority highways departments report that overall budgets have actually dropped by 16%. Average budget shortfalls are now 44% behind where they need to be, the amount of cash that should be coming in from Government to local authorities, on average per local authority was £3.2m short last year, this year it’s £4.6m under where it needs to be. Alan Mackenzie, chairman of the Asphalt Industry Alliance, which produces the ALARM survey, said: “The network is ageing and the cumulative effect of decades of underfunding is continuing to take its toll. Add in the impacts of flooding and increased traffic and you start to appreciate the scale of the problem our local authorities are facing.

Honda’s hybridpowered scooter plans for 2017 appear

£13.5m

How much money was spent on road user compensation claims last year

“Our roads are deteriorating at a faster rate than they can be repaired and more significant problems for the future are building unseen below the surface. “It is clear that there is still not enough money available to tackle the backlog of repairs needed to get our road network back into anything approaching a reasonable condition.”

This is Honda’s latest design for its upcoming hybrid-engined scooter. The patent drawings have just been published for a super-mpg scooter that’s going to be part of the firm’s line-up for 2017. Details on the bike are pretty scarce but what we can see is a motor that’s part petrol-driven with an electric motor to take care of the driving duties at lower, city-type speeds.

The Dominator is BACK! Here’s the SECRET drawing that shows the new bike for 2017 Here’s the proof that Honda IS firing back into the Adventure/road bike sector for 2017 just as we told you ages ago! This is the firm’s secret plan for a NEW take on the Dominator, a bike that was globally-popular from 1988 until 2001. This new drawing which we’ve uncovered was hidden away in Honda’s design for a new two-part switch which is going to be sited on the bike’s left-hand handlebar. The switch is a multi-function unit and the fact it’s on this bike could be a pointer to this Dominator having switchable riding modes, the multifunction selector capability of the switch being how a rider moves between riding modes and then selects what power setting and delivery they want. The original Domi (below) was a 643cc, single-cylinder four-stroke that made a modest 44bhp but sold well thanks partly to its non-scary power delivery and easy-going riding position. Although the Domi was fabled to be pretty good off-road, in reality it was a bit of a plodder and the low front mudguard, low footpegs and soft suspension pointed more towards its more realistic on-road application than anything in the dirt. The new drawing that we’ve uncovered shows the new bike with a very Dominator-style fairing, large seat that travels a long way up the back of the petrol tank cover, relaxed riding position and a large front

So you take a Yamaha FZ16 and build this…

This bike started out as a Yamaha FZ16 that’s been turned over by Pune-based Indi Custom Garage in India. Overseen by Arghadeep Sarma, a product design student at MITID Pune, he says that the design of his special is ‘inspired by the symbol of infinity’ and that’s why it has been given the single leather seat, clip ons, custom fuel tank (surely that’s more Bonnie than Yamaha?) and the exhaust overhaul which leaves it freeflowing and silly-loud.

mudguard. The new bike even has an extended luggage rack and large pillion seat – just like the original. The only question mark around the picture that we’ve found is the size of the engine. The original may have been a 650 single but that doesn’t mean that the new bike is the same. We’ve told you previously that Honda boss Koji Sugita let slip that the Japanese factory was looking at a 250cc version of the Crossrunner (or that type of bike), so this could actually end up being THAT bike.

Samsung debuts first ‘Smart Windshield’ on Yamaha scooter There’s no mention yet of when you can buy this sort of thing – but Samsung has revealed a live, smartphone-enabled heads-up windshield for motorcycling, and the set-up has been shown on a Yamaha Tricity scooter in Milan. Samsung says that the project was conceived in order to raise awareness among young riders in Italy about the important issue of road safety on two-wheeled vehicles. Recent figures from the Italian National Statistics Institute related to road accidents indicate that some scooter incidents are caused by inappropriate use of smart phones. According to the latest ACI/ISTAT data, 24% of young (18-24) Italians – Italy is the top European country for registered scooters – have admitted to using their smartphones while riding. The youngsters have a desire to stay connected with their community while riding their two-wheeled vehicles which of course is both dangerous for them as well as jeopardizing other people’s safety. The Samsung Smart Windshield project, which is part of the global digital communication platform Samsung Launching People, focuses mainly on two key factors: * The need to reduce the number of potential incidents which are due to the incorrect use of smartphones. * Research made with the co-operation of scooters users – the Samsung digital platform has collected their suggestions in order to have more information and greater insight.

Operating as a second display, the Samsung Smart Windshield concept allows riders to access the information received on their smartphone through a dedicated app: incoming calls, SMS and WhatsApp messages, email and other notifications could be viewed directly on this smart windscreen. The rider can then make a choice as to whether to stop in order to answer or just to send an automatic reply message while leaving their phone safely stored in a pocket or under the scooter seat. To see the video of the Samsung system in action go to: www.morebikes.co.uk



6 NEWS

Spy shots: KTM 390 Duke gets updated for 2017 These are the latest pictured of the nextgeneration KTM 390 Duke which is currently undergoing consumption tests in Spain. Pictures, grabbed by our top spy snapper as the bike was riding a twisty route abroad, show that the small bike is undergoing a host of changes for next year.

The bike will be part of the company’s 2017 line-up. The A2 licence-friendly Duke is getting a cosmetic update of bodywork, seat and tank cover. The current 373cc, single-cylinder, 43bhp engine is also getting work done to meet the 2017 Euro 4 regulations.

Suzuki’s insurance scheme for classics

Suzuki has announced details of a new Vintage Insurance scheme, which offers owners of classic models bespoke policies with a great range of added benefits. Available on machines over 20 years old, Suzuki’s Vintage Insurance sits alongside the firm’s Vintage Parts Programme already providing parts support for a growing range of machines since its launch at the end of 2013. Check out SuzukiGB.com or call: 0800 977 6883 for info.

2017 Yamaha R6 to be ‘virtually identical to R1’ looks – claim

Kawasaki’s Ninja R2 SECRET patent drawings for supercharger with extra fuel injector built in We’ve already told you several times about the Kawasaki Ninja R2 – the next supercharged motorcycle set to come from the Japanese factory, and now we’ve been sent these exclusive patent drawings of a (kind of ) multi-point fuel injection system for the new bike. Acting like a first-stage fuel feed, the newly-added injector (marked as IX in the illustration) sits directly in the top of the air chamber which is fed from a supercharger system (to the left of the word ‘REAR’). That air is injected with fuel from the first,

It’s another claim by the top Japanese magazine YoungMachine and it features a serious bit of information about the next generation middleweight from Yamaha. According to the publication, the Yamaha is going to be a virtual lookalike of its bigger capacity sibling. The new bike’s face in the mock-up image on the cover of the magazine (above) is a near-copy of the R1’s – however, this could be a touch more radically swept back in the final version of the bike if it’s anything to do with the actual patent we’ve already uncovered around a mystery Yamaha bike filed for production in 2017.

top-mounted injector (75a), the mix is drawn into the motor and then a second-wave injector (49) is used for an even bigger, more efficient bang. Kawasaki is believed to be using the system as a way to deliver instant power when needed at different rev ranges on the bike. Open the throttle part way and only the lower injector would spray into the mix well inside the engine – crack the throttle fully open and the supercharger would spin-up, the top injector would mix the dense air with fuel and dump the load into the motor for more power.

Suzuki’s SV650 Rally Concept: Q&A reveals possible future for cafe racer idea Last month, Suzuki showed off this SV650 Rally Concept bike on the factory stand in Osaka, Japan (right). Details of the bike were scarce but the middleweight looked funky enough to get a lot of attention from the attending crowd. Since then, we’ve been sent a Japanese Q&A with the Suzuki importer responsible for the bike to see what the idea was behind it. Here’s what the Suzuki man said about the Rally Concept, and from the questions dodged it seems as though we’re getting an official, fullyfaired, new SV650 in the future: What is the concept of this bike? The product concept is ‘Café Racer x On Road Rally’. This is one of the street sports model. Why go down the ‘Rally Concept’ model route? We aim to build on Suzuki’s unique sporty neo-retro heritage by blending ‘pavement rally car in 1970s’ and ‘café racer style’ which combines both classic and sport style. We emphasize the sporty image which the base model originally has

and we want to keep the image of the bike as something to ride on both the tight winding roads and in towns too. Where can I see the ‘rally’ part of this model? We adopted fog lamps which are rare for an on-road model and this model also uses fog lamp covers like a rally car. What do you pay particular attention to in terms of the styling and design? This is not really a sporty rockettype cowl on the front of the bike but we wanted to provide a totally harmonious feeling between the bikini fairing and side cowl. We aimed for the top of the bodywork to look like a traditional rocket-type cowl. And we adopted a single seat cowl like a café racer. Why did you adopt Japanese ‘Katakana’? Japanese ‘Katakana’ has been growing in popularity in Europe recently and young Japanese motorcyclists have been accepting

Katakana as a style of graphic design so we intend to take advantage of our Japanese brand’s strength. The custom model displayed in EICMA also adapted Katakana and it had a good response there. What does the number 3 on the single seat cowl mean? As with the previously named SV650 models, the number does mean something. 1 means the first generation SV650 which adopted rounded aluminium truss frame. 2 means the second generation SV650 which adopted square aluminium truss frame. 3 means the third generation SV650 which was announced in EICMA 2016. Do you plan to put the SV650 Rally Concept on the market? We have no plans to put this model on the market at present. If this model gets a good response though, we will consider putting these accessories on sale so that a customer can put one of these bikes together like we have.

Why did Suzuki display this model if it has no plans to put it on the market? The styling design of new SV650, which is the base model of this Rally Concept is very simple. This styling has received a good response from the market. But we also would like to show how it is easy to change the image of the model with a small number of parts. This is one of our custom demonstrations for after a customer has purchased the new SV650. How easy is it to modify the bike to be this Rally Concept? All equipped parts are bolt-on parts. What parts are changed? Quarter fairing, centre cover, single seat cover and fog lamp cover are not mass production parts. Attachment stay for fairing is genuine part for SV650. Clip on handlebars, upper bracket, front brake master cylinder, fog lamps, front fender, rear fender eliminator kit, mirror and headlight guard are available parts from the marketplace.

Brake lever and footrests are anodized and machining has been carried out on the clutch cover. The ‘tack roll’ seat is the same as the seat displayed on the EICMA special bike. What’s the price for each aftermarket (or accessory) part? We cannot answer at this time. Is the quarter fairing able to be equipped with standard handlebar? Yes. The quarter fairing is also able to be equipped with standard handlebar. Does Suzuki have plans to release the SV650 with a fairing? We cannot answer at this time.



8 NEWS

UK traffic congestion 14% worse than five years ago Traffic congestion in the UK’s biggest cities is 14% worse than it was just five years ago, according to a major new report. Across the rest of Europe, average congestion is actually 3% down over the same period. The annual Traffic Index from TomTom shows average UK journeys in 2015 took 29% longer than they would in free-flowing conditions – up from a 25% delay in 2010. The analysis of 14 trillion pieces of traffic data showed that the morning rush hour is almost 10% more congested than in 2010, with the evening peak nearly a fifth (19%) worse – suggesting that people return home during a narrower time period in the evenings. The average commuter driving to and from work

in the UK’s top 25 cities wasted 127 hours (more than five whole days) stuck in traffic during 2015. Congestion has got 4% worse in the past year alone. It’s risen in 17 of the 25 UK cities in the report, with a further four remaining about the same. Only Nottingham, Portsmouth, Middlesbrough and Preston have shown slight decreases in the level of traffic. The TomTom Traffic Index analysed traffic patterns in 295 cities globally and found that Belfast was once again the most congested city in the UK – and 14th worst in the world. Journey times in 2015 were 40% slower than free-flow traffic throughout the day – peaking at 86% longer in the evening rush hour.

Audi’s plans for light-up leathers

We’ve been sent this amazing patent application from Audi which has a set of leathers incorporating the same warning lights as on your bike – including flashing indicators on the arms and legs and huge brake lights on the back. Nope, we’re not making this up and it’s not April 1. This is a real patent for a real invention from the real Audi company. The system is wirelessly connected to the bike’s own set-up, enabling the display panels on the leathers (and, we assume, textiles too) to mimic the bike’s lights.

The rankings London is the 20th most congested city worldwide – and second worst in the UK – with journey times 38% slower, rising to 66% in the evening peak. The Northern Powerhouse of Manchester (37% slower) moves up into third place, overtaking Edinburgh (37%) and Brighton (34%). The next five worst cities for congestion are Hull, Bournemouth, Newcastle, Bristol and Sheffield. “Transport authorities are managing congestion with well-engineered policies, but you can’t just build your way out of traffic jams,” said Ralf-Peter Schaefer, vicepresident of TomTom Traffic. “Studies have shown that policies of ‘predict and provide’ are unsustainable. Building new motorways

Win a TT racebike! and ring roads doesn’t eliminate congestion. More must be done to better manage existing road space and to spread demand. “People aren’t doing enough to change their travel habits – such as working flexible hours, avoiding peak commuting times, making use of real–time traffic information and trying alternative travel modes. “If only 5% of us changed our travel plans, we could improve traffic congestion on our main roads by up to 30%.” Globally, Istanbul has been knocked off the top spot by Mexico City. Commuters in the Mexican capital can expect to spend 59% extra travel time stuck in traffic during the day, rising to 94% in the evening peak period – a total of 219 wasted hours a year.

The next most congested are Bangkok (57%), Istanbul (50%), Rio de Janeiro (47%) and Moscow (44%). TomTom has been collecting traffic data since 2008 and over that period, the UK city that has recorded the largest overall growth in congestion is Coventry – up a staggering 67%. Stoke-on-Trent has seen the biggest increase in rush hour congestion, at 44%. But Cardiff’s overall congestion is down 19% since 2008. The TomTom Traffic Index is the only global measurement of congestion comparing travel times between non-congested hours and rush hour periods, for passenger vehicles. It takes into account local roads, main roads and motorways across 295 cities in 38 countries.

Check out this amazing competition! The Team T3 Racing squad are offering race fans the chance to win Gary Johnson’s specially prepared Triumph 675 race bike. The bike will be campaigned in both Supersport races at the iconic event before being signed and personally handed over by the popular double TT winner. The raffle consists of only 675 tickets, currently available to purchase at £50 each on the team’s website www.tt3racing.com


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10 FIRST RIDE

Kawasaki ZX-10R: A lesson in brevity

If you want to go fast then build a bike to go fast, not a bike that’s all about a new face...

Words by Simon Roots Pictures by Kawasaki Having cantered to the WSB championship last year, almost embarrassing the rest of the field by the dominance to the Jonathan Rea/ ZX-10R combination, Kawasaki want more of the same in 2016 and beyond. And so, as a result, we have this new version of the bike that some might well argue didn’t really need fixing – aside from the Euro 4 bit, that is. The factory has responded to racer critique by addressing the bike’s perceived weak points – while also adding a bit of bling, tech and a few top tricks to make the bike more enticing to buy for the likes of us non-world champions or lap record holders. What is blindingly apparent, however, is that the bike looks remarkably similar to the previous incarnation. We doubt the bike’s appearance was top of the elements to address on the list of Messrs Rea and Sykes, but the average man in the street hasn’t found Kawasaki’s kingmaker stirring his soul and tugging at his heart like a good bike should. But this isn’t what the ZX-10R is about, according to its project manager, former MotoGP project chief Yoshimoto Matsuda: “We made an announcement to the company that there would be no cosmetic changes – we would spend no money here. The differences would

be all dynamic. We wanted to give a championship bike to the public, with no compromise.” Consequently, every change made by Matsuda had to offer an improvement. So in the same way that the H2R looks the way it does to make over 300bhp and is celebrated for its boldness, not its beauty, so the ZX-10R is styled to eke every last millisecond from a laptime. The story here is that if you want pretty, look elsewhere. The rest of the bike is down-to-thecrankcases new, with a new motor, chassis and suspension all combining to create, what Matsuda-san reckons is, “The real thing.” The venue chosen for us to find out was MotoGP and WSB’s Malaysian home, Sepang, a fitting establishment to unearth whether Matsuda’s bold claims about the bike (it being two seconds a lap quicker than the 2015 model, timed at Kawasaki’s Autopolis circuit in Japan) were true. These gains, it was said, would come in improvements in braking, handling and electronics. The bike puts out the same power figure as the outgoing model, no mean feat given the strangling restrictions of Euro 4, and none of that time gained would come in making the Sepang straights shorter – bar some internal gear ratio alterations to pep up the hustle when the hammer’s down. But that’s not to say that the motor doesn’t contribute to that claimed quicker lap time, because

changes made to the crankshaft have dramatically improved the Ten’s handling. Ever tightening WSB rules mean that when it comes to tuning, teams are restricted like never before. Top of Tom Sykes’ wishlist for the new bike was a reduction in the crank’s inertia and primary gear weight, making the bike easier to accelerate, slow and change direction. And because this couldn’t be achieved by legal means, it meant that Matsuda-san had to deliver it direct to the production machine for the race bike to benefit. A cut of 20% (that’s not the same as a 20% cut in weight – weight has been cut from the crank but the crank web design has changed), allied to significant changes to the chassis means that while it may not exhibit much in the way of changes, we’re dealing with a very different animal. The alterations made to the riding position are evident from the word go. Again, working with the KRT race team was pointing the way forward for the Ten’s engineers. Where the centre of gravity sits dictates to a large extent how a bike is going to handle, and the team played with this placement on the race bike to try and counter one of the 2015 bike’s more undesirable traits, that of corner entry. Hence the head pipe was brought 7.5mm closer to the rider to allow better front feel, while the swingarm was lengthened by 15.8mm to give a wheelbase of 1440mm, up from the diminutive


FIRST RIDE 11

1425mm of before. Finally, the motor has been raised slightly in the chassis. True, the frame looks the same, but Matsuda-san insisted that no frame die was reused in the new bike (while internally the frame incorporates some clever soundproofing to allow a smaller sized end can). What this means on board is that the bike feels perfectly proportioned, no lever is a stretch away. Having your arms closer into your body ensures that your body feels a compact entity; but not in a cramped way, just controlled. Clever seat design means that your legs have plenty of room, too. No new feature of the ZX-10R can do anything about the Sepang heat, however, and with the temperature smashing through

the 30ºC mark by breakfast time, with humidity at similarly uncomfortable levels, the promise that this bike is easier to ride needs to be delivered before heat stroke ensues. Session one would be on upgraded rubber from standard (using Bridgestone R10s as opposed to the RS10 it will be delivered on), on suspension settings arrived at by the test team. Sepang was all new to me, and a sighting lap behind Tom Sykes did nothing to uncover its secrets. So left to my own devices, I set about exploring the track. I quickly learnt where it went – but not how to ride it… What became immediately apparent is that Euro 4 is going to be a blight on any bike. Some corners that I would have imagined could be taken in second gear had to be reverted to first to get any meaningful drive out of

TECH SPEC Kawasaki ZX-10R

them. Leaving it in second to chug up the little inclines severely tested my patience. However, downhill turns, where the bike can rely on momentum, were giddy affairs, turn three especially. But hit turn four, turn eight and coming on to both big straights in anything but bottom cog and the motor didn’t want to know. First gear is still super tall, 101mph high, but offered a wide array of drive to exploit. Changing down into first was a breeze too; no clunks, no upsets, no matter the lean angle. In fact, the gearbox was stellar.

The cue for the motor to perform in second and above was once it hit the first red block on the tacho at eight grand, and then it span speedily to the 14,000rpm rev limit – made all the easier by the application of the debutante quickshifter. With two nearly 1km long straights to nail, the circuit isn’t short on speed, but the Kawasaki didn’t feel outrageously fast. This could be down to the track and the heat – I’m sure it’ll feel shockingly swift through Hall Bends at Cadwell in April – but it wasn’t take-your-breath-away quick.

Type: 998cc, liquid-cooled, 16v, inline four Bore x stroke: 76.0 x 55.0mm Compression: 13.0:1 Fuelling: Fuel injection, 47mm throttle bodies Claimed power: 197bhp @ 13,000rpm Claimed torque: 113.5Nm @ 11,500rpm RBW/riding modes: Yes/three levels Traction control: Yes/five levels ABS: Yes, with electronic braking control Quickshifter: Yes Wheelie control: Yes Launch control: Yes Frame: Twin spar, cast aluminium Front suspension: 43mm Showa BFF, fully adj. Rear suspension: Showa BFRC lite shock, fully adj. Front brakes: Brembo M50 calipers, 330mm discs, ABS Rear brakes: Single piston caliper, 220mm disc Wheelbase: 1440mm Seat height: 835mm Kerb weight: 206kg Fuel capacity: 17 litres Price: £13,649 From Kawasaki UK 01628 856750 www.kawasaki.co.uk


12 FIRST RIDE Engine

Chassis

Electronics

Suspension

Kawasaki responded to its racers, particularly Tom Sykes, who wanted to reduce the inertia generated by the crank – hence the 20% reduction here. The primary gear was also redesigned to aid inertia. As well as the lighter crank, the bike also features new camshafts with more overlap, larger titanium valves and a cylinder head to match. The polished intake and exhaust ports have been made larger and give a straight path for the air to reach the reshaped combustion chamber. The cam profile is new and allows greater overlap. Platinum tipped spark plugs encourage a better bang. Pistons are new, shorter and 5g lighter, there have been changes made to the balancer shaft and the gearbox and clutch have also had a seeing to. Shorter ratios are used from second to top gear. A two litre larger airbox pumps the air in (now 10 litres), while the 47mm throttle bodies have dual injectors, with the secondary injectors only operating at higher rpm. The exhaust headers are a high quality titanium, while the muffler has been made smaller (it’s also titanium made). Three catalysers are used to get it through the Euro 4 legislation.

The twin spar chassis has been tweaked to better follow a line from the steering head down to the swingarm pivot point. This offers more linear chassis behaviour. To do this the head pipe is now 7.5mm closer to the rider, which is designed to place more weight on the front of the bike to aid corner entry. To ensure that the rear doesn’t run away, the swingarm has been made 15.8mm longer, with tweaks made to it to up its torsional rigidity.

The Kawasaki is one big box of tricks, with the S-KTRC system being the next generation of the TC used on the previous model. There are five modes, up from three, as well as the ability to turn TC off. In addition to this, there is also a new launch control system, the KIBS ABS system is revised, there’s a new engine braking control system, quickshifter, electronic steering damper (from Öhlins) and a power mode toggle.

The Showa Balance Free Front Fork (BFF) has been developed in conjunction with the race programme to offer suspension as close as you can get to the race package. The advantages of the system are that all of the damping forces are concentrated outside of the cylinder, offering better response and no pressure balance fluctuations. The whole piston can act as a pump to push the oil about, generating more control. The nitrogen filled gas chamber sits separate to the fork leg, with all damping control on the bottom of the unit. At the rear, the Balance Free Rear Cushion shock follows similar principles (or rather the fork follows the rear).

I recorded a GPS speed of 158mph down the front straight, and I’ll be honest and say that I expected more. The claim that it’s as powerful as last year’s model is believable – meaning it’ll be a bit behind the likes of the BMW S 1000 RR in the power stakes – if that’s important to you. At the end of each straight, however, the application of the expensively outsourced Brembo M50 monoblock calipers provided stopping power of the highest quality. Forceful, but with plenty of feel, they really did offer new heights in taking the mickey on the brakes. The KIBS ABS system was employed on the first session, and I only felt a tiny intervention once, although on sticky tyres on a baking hot track Malaysia will see snow before a front should lock. This system also offers

cornering stability control, resisting the bike’s tendency to stand up under braking by letting the pressure off. Others would call this Cornering ABS, and even though it has been developed by Bosch engineers in Japan to Kawasaki’s specification, no fancy acronym has been made up for it. Later, and with the ABS off, the Brembo master cylinder’s lever came further back to the bar, meaning I had to switch from two to four finger braking so as not to trap my digits, but this is on a track with two lots of 260kph to 60kph braking, along with everything else on each lap. My abiding memory of that first session, however, was the revelation in the ZX-10R’s handling. The riding position helps hugely here, as does the motor’s reduction in inertia, but the feel from the new Showa

suspension, front and rear, is sublime. Matsuda-san’s mantra of, “Make it easy and you can make a better lap time,” is exactly what’s happening, as the bike initiates a turn confidently, holds a line religiously and then fires out of a turn with only a hint of understeer that would soon be dialled out. For many of Sepang’s turns, particularly the double-apex corners, the deeper you turn, the more your exit opens up to you. Additionally, if you feel the bike needs pulling in, as is the case on many of Sepang’s long turns, it will obey diligently. Trust the front, and it rewards like no other Japanese or German bike – and it easily rivals the best of what Italy can muster, too. The move to Showa’s fancy looking front, again, has its roots in racing. Look at the KRT bikes, and what have you got? Gas charged forks that cost a pretty penny. What have we got on the production bike? Gas charged BBF forks, that represent a substantial investment on Kawasaki’s behalf – and go some way to explain why there isn’t a fancy colour TFT screen as a dash. The forks fit the package so well, and take the geometry changes to the next level. The electronics are the final piece in the ZX-10R’s puzzle – but their complexity is an enigma in itself. The old bike’s electronics were already great, but the inputs into the ECU were all engine and wheel speed based, essentially the bike didn’t know where it was. With the introduction of an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), the ZX-10R now knows its poise with regards to pitch, yaw and roll. The in-house software then uses this information, along with other inputs from the engine,

to determine if it’s appropriate to release more power. If it detects that the rate of change would tap-dance on the tolerances and be likely to cause a significant slide, then it will intervene early. So while rivals will happily dole out more torque until it reaches its prescribed limit, the Kawasaki has the flexibility to intervene earlier or later, but crucially less intrusively to prevent any drama becoming a crisis. Now, all this integrates into the riding modes, traction control, launch control, engine braking control and wheelie control systems, and getting on top of all this functionality takes some doing – the Google algorithm is less complicated than this… The result of all this trickery is a bike that simply refuses to misbehave. Even out of first gear corners with the throttle to the stop, the bike just offered drive. Coming onto the back straight it didn’t want a fight through the first three gears as you’d expect on a bike with this output; you just pointed it in the right direction and pulled the pin. There’s a slide control element that was actually built into the previous bike, but not bragged about, and coming through the fast fourth gear third turn you could play with the throttle, lean angle and the bike’s ability to offer controllable rear slip to turn you into a hero. Start toggling through the traction control levels and you do feel a difference. It doesn’t manifest itself as hesitation, it’s just the power released

to you is more considered. But as a safety net, you may as well leave it in level one, because that night there wasn’t any pub talk of moments, slides or scares. Indeed, all this inherent cleverness did make the bike feel a little uninvolving at times. It’s clinically brilliant, of this there is no doubt, but in creating a bike that Matsuda-san did not say would be impossible to highside on track (even though I think he thinks it would be when I asked the question), I felt that what little skill I’ve accumulated over the last 30 years evaporated by just being able to pin it at the apex. Until this launch, this act would have seemed almost suicidal – even by Aprilia standards. Now it’s the norm. On no other bike in its class would I have been able to stay out flag-to-flag in all sessions, such was the punishing heat. So thanks to the unlikely combination of Tom Sykes, Euro 4 legislation and a near genius designer in Matsuda-san, Kawasaki has delivered a bike that consolidates its power before enhancing its handling, braking and suspension abilities to create a machine that I suspect most riders would set their fastest ever lap on. The control on offer, born from that rejigged chassis and Kawasaki not skimping on the Showa, Brembo and electronics bits means that speed on circuit is guaranteed. It’s a tool with which to hone your craft, and as such it doesn’t have to look pretty, it just needs to do the business – something it does to an ethereal level.

The abiding memory of that first outing was the ZX-10R’s sublime handling



14 HELMET CAMERAS

BIKES, CAMERA, ACTION

Want to get a camera on your bike or helmet to film your rides? Here’s all you need to know to get started.

As camera technology advances, with the kit getting smaller and video quality higher, increasing numbers of riders are equipping themselves with video cameras mounted on their bikes and lids. And why not? As bikers we ride in some of the most amazing places on this planet, so there’s plenty to film. And with video sites such as YouTube making video sharing a doddle, it’s easy to show your mates where you’ve been on your rides. Recording what happens on your commute might be useful as evidence in case of an incident, but many motovloggers (that’s bikers with cameras who share their recordings online to you and me) simply use cameras to record their rides and share them online. Prices range from just under £40 for entry-level cameras to several hundred for the more professional quality gear. Depending on how much you’re planning to use it, and what you’re intending to do with the footage, you’ll have plenty of different options to choose from. Many of the cameras are actually multi-use ‘action’ cameras, rather than being bike-specific, so you could use the same camera for your other high-adrenaline exploits should you wish, and we’re told that they work perfectly well for recording funny cat videos too.

What are the cameras for?

A popular use for cameras, especially the ones attached to helmets, is to film not just your Sunday ride or a weekend tour but also the behaviour

of other road users. A great example of this is the simultaneously funny and frightening ‘Do you know who I am? I’m Ronnie Pickering’ video, where a biker filmed a car driver’s road rage meltdown (it’s a few months old now, but still online if you google it). Good quality footage can be used to check number plates, faces, movements of vehicles and other details in case of an incident – very handy if you need evidence, but just remember that it records your own actions too. Watching a recording of your ride can also help you hone your skills and see what you could do differently in retrospect. Cameras can be a great help if you want to analyse and improve your cornering, positioning or other elements of your riding. You can also partner up with a friend and film each other. That way you can see what your riding looks like to other road users – it might be an eyeopener. Some cameras even come with, or are ready for, microphones, which means you can add commentary to your riding video. It could be a way to test your hazard spotting skills by talking through everything you see as you ride and then checking the footage at home to see if you have missed anything. Or you could just sing along to your favourite tunes – the choice is yours. Helmet and bike mounted cameras have also become popular in stunt riding, where professionals can show off their wheelie, motocross and other skills from a new perspective. But don’t try that at home!


HELMET CAMERAS 15 Helmet or bike mounted camera?

Helmet cameras offer a great way to show people what the world looks like from a rider’s view, while mounting a camera (or several) on your bike provides a smoother result as the camera doesn’t turn and shake as much. It may sound obvious, but with the camera attached to your lid the view changes every time you check your mirrors, blind spots or traffic approaching from the sides. Not much of an issue if you want the camera just to record what is happening around you, but if you want to give the viewers a steady on-board view of your ride you will probably get better results with a bike mounted camera. Helmet cameras usually use either a clamp or an adhesive pad to secure the mount to the side or the top of the lid. Bike mounts are more commonly clamps that can be attached to your bars, forks, fairings or chassis – basically anywhere you can get enough grip. There are also suction cup mounts that can be placed on smooth surfaces such as tanks, fairings or mudguards. Many riders change the position of the camera at every stop when they’re out riding, so they get a selection of different shots that can then be stitched together – it makes the end result look more engaging and dynamic than shooting the whole video from the same angle. All bikes are different so there’s no hard and fast rules of where to mount the cameras, so it’s worth experimenting with different placements to get the perfect results. Whether you should go for a helmet or a bike mounted camera depends on how you want to use the kit, what you want to achieve and what you

Popular cameras

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The 10C is a fully integrated Bluetooth helmet communication system and HD camera rolled into one. It’s capable of full HD video and still image capture as well as burst and time-lapse photo modes. It also has a built-in FM radio to make those long trips seem a bit faster. And it syncs with smart phones so you can take calls and listen to your music.

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are comfortable with. The choice is yours, and there’s nothing to say that you can’t have both. You could just buy one camera with mounts for both your bike and your lid.

What to look for in a camera

If you just want to get started with a cheap camera, you are probably looking at a single-direction camera, possibly with no audio. At the other

end of the spectrum, you have cameras that can flip between front and back filming mode, giving the option to show not just what’s in front of you but also what’s behind. As mentioned above, some record audio, so you can have the sound of your bike and your commentary recorded. Many cameras offer HD image quality so the results will look good even on a big screen. Some also feature an in-

STOGA SFUN SSC001 Prices around £39

Full HD camera with aluminium alloy waterproof design, built-in microphone, ultra-wide angle of 120º and capability to make videos while charging.

built GPS, accelerometer, gyroscope and pressure meter, which will give you details of your riding speed, G-force and acceleration. Not all cameras have display screens, so check if they come with a smart phone app that helps you control and view the footage. It’s also worth checking how they connect to your PC and other devices for viewing your footage.

Inspiration If you want a bit of inspiration for your own video projects, take a look at the bike reviews and features that the morebikes.co.uk team have made with their cameras: www.morebikes.co.uk


16




19


20 ROAD TEST

Honda’s CBR500R & CB500F:

Absolute beginners ENGINE: POWER: TORQUE: PRICE:

471cc liquid-cooled, parallel twin 47bhp at 8500rpm 43Nm at 7000rpm CBR500R £5599 CB500F £5099

The A2 licence category is a minefield for bike manufacturers. Any machine that wants to succeed here must be easy for novices to ride, exciting for veterans, and economical to draw in the commuter crowd. And it won’t hurt if the bike looks good too!

Words by Mikko Nieminen Getting the mix right is no mean feat, and on paper, it would be easy to dismiss any bike that somehow manages to meet all these requirements as a bit of a compromise, or even boring. But Honda has just gone and produced not just one, but two bikes, the CBR500R and the CB500F, that

tick all the boxes and offer a healthy dollop of fun factor too. The two bikes share the same engine and chassis, but have clearly separate identities, looks and – no doubt – fans. The CBR500R has the racing DNA that comes as standard with the moniker. It offers an involved but untaxing ride, with a sporty and

comfortable riding position. The CB500F, on the other hand, is a naked bike that is as much at ease in the city as it is being threaded through fast flowing corners. On the twisty mountain roads outside Seville in Spain they presented an interesting question: which would you rather ride?

Sights and sounds

The first noticeable change in the new bikes is the way they look. The design is more angular and aggressive than before, making them look like ‘big’ bikes. The rear section of the bikes is identical, with the upswept tail, separate seats for rider and pillion, air vents in the seat unit, and a new stubby exhaust muffler. At the front, it’s a different story: the CB500F is now more naked than ever, with the last remaining panels protecting the modesty of its engine gone, and the two-cylinder unit now proudly on display. The ‘F’ also has a more compact casing for the single headlight and air vents at the sides of the tank. For the ‘R’ the dress code is more formal, and the full fairing oozes sporty efficiency. The screen angle is sharper than before, the handle bars are low, and the overall impression is very, well, sporty. The new exhaust is not only lighter than before, it has also altered the engine note, with the new bikes letting out a full and energetic roar as the revs rise. They are not loud bikes as such, but the noise is pleasing and fits their looks well.

Dashing simplicity

The bikes each have the same digital dash, which houses the speedo, tachometer (with the redline at 8500), fuel gauge, odometer and clock. There are also switchable trip

and fuel consumption indicators. The dash is easy to read on the go, with the large speedo dominating the view. Everything is clearly laid out and while it’s not a particularly striking design feature, it’s clear and stylish. The controls for the switchable options are two pleasantly big buttons either side of the dash, easy to poke at even with gloves on. The switchgear is equally simple, and takes only a brief moment to familiarise yourself with, even for a Luddite like me. There are only two additions to the usual start, kill, full beam, horn and indicator switches: hazards and full beam ‘pass’ flasher. Both extremely useful features that surprisingly many bikes still lack.

Moving on

The official test ride started with the CB500F from the outskirts of Seville, on narrow cobbled roads, with children, goats and tourist buses all zig-zagging around us, adding to the excitement. My first impression of the bike was how smooth it felt on the uneven street surfaces. The Honda engineers had promised that the suspension had been made more progressive to soften the ride, but I hadn’t expected the bike to feel so smooth and still stable on such poor roads. While the suspension made light work of the cobbled roads, another instant delight was the throttle: the response was quick, but not jerky. There was no snatch and you could


ROAD TEST 21 SPECIFICATION CBR500R CB500F

Digital dash is clearly laid out. roll on and off the throttle without the bike bucking or bolting. Both bikes share the 471cc liquidcooled, parallel-twin engine, producing a claimed 47bhp at 8500rpm. This is precisely the top level of power allowed in the A2 licence category. Maximum torque is 43Nm at 7000rpm, but the bike pulls keenly from lower revs too. Although the engine is not new, the air flow into it has been improved, which means a more instant throttle response and better pick-up from across the rev range — the engine really feels like it’s punching above its weight. There’s enough power for the bike to shoot out of corners with intent, but still remain composed. The amount of power on offer is impressive for an A2 licence-friendly machine, but it’s delivered smoothly enough that it won’t feel threatening for new riders. There’s also plenty of usable torque lower down the rev range. It’s not just the mechanical performance that makes the CB500F pleasant to ride. For me, a good chunk of the enjoyment came from how easy and pleasant the bike was to ride, and the relaxed and natural riding position. The wide (and fairly high) bars and the upright body position make it easy to control the bike both in the city and faster roads. The relatively low seat (785mm) is very

Engine: 471cc liquid-cooled, parallel twin, four valves per cylinder Bore and stroke: 67mm x 66.8mm Compression ratio: 10.7:1 Max power output: 47bhp @ 8500rpm Max torque: 43Nm @ 7000rpm Fuel tank capacity: 16.7 litres Fuel consumption (WMTC): 83mpg Clutch: Wet multiplate Transmission: 6-speed Final drive: Chain Frame: Steel, diamond Dimensions (L/W/H): 2080mm x 750mm x 1145mm Wheelbase: 1410mm Caster angle: 25.5º Trail: 102 Seat height: 785mm Ground clearance: 140mm Kerb weight: 194kg Front suspension: Conventional telescopic forks, 41mm, pre-load adjustable. Rear suspension: Monoshock with nine stage preload adjuster, steel square pipe swingarm Wheels: Multi-spoke aluminium cast Front tyre: 120/70ZR – 17M/C Rear tyre: 160/60ZR – 17M/C ABS system: 2-channel Front brakes: Single wavy disc, 320mm, 2 pot caliper Rear brakes: Single wavy disc, 240mm, 1 pot caliper Price: £5599

comfortable – even if it doesn’t look it – and the foot pegs are low too.

Getting sporty

After about 75 miles we swapped the street-chic CB500F for its athletic brother, the CBR500R, and headed out in search of some more twisty roads. The CBR500R may have the same engine and chassis as its naked brother, but where the ‘F’ has been stripped back, the ‘R’ looks like a proper sports bike with the full fairing and lower bars. But despite the sporty appearance, it didn’t initially feel that different. The riding position is

471cc liquid-cooled, parallel twin, four valves per cylinder 67mm x 66.8mm 10.7:1 47bhp @ 8500rpm 43Nm @ 7000rpm 16.7 litres 83mpg Wet multiplate 6-speed Chain Steel, diamond 2080mm x 790mm x 1060mm 1410mm 25.5º 102 785mm 160mm 190kg Conventional telescopic forks, 41mm, pre-load adjustable Monoshock with nine-stage preload adjuster, steel square pipe swingarm Multi-spoke aluminium cast 120/70ZR – 17M/C 160/60ZR – 17M/C 2-channel Single wavy disc, 320mm, 2 piston caliper Single wavy disc, 240mm, 1 piston caliper £5099

quite upright for a sports bike, and the handlebars – although narrower and lower than those of the ‘F’ – are still easy enough to reach without flattening yourself on the tank. In town traffic it was evident that the CBR500R benefited from the same silky suspension and the steady throttle action as the CB500F. Although the bars allow a slightly smaller steering angle before the tank gets in the way, the bike is still easy enough to navigate through traffic. As the ride gathered pace, the CBR500R started to live up to its sporting heritage, carving corners

with effortless precision. The riding experience was not too different from that on the naked CB500F, the main difference being different airflow due to the fairing, which helped make faster speeds more streamlined.

Who should buy one – or two?

More versatile than first impressions would suggest, both bikes would work well as sensible commuters as well as weekend tools for serious hooning. The CB500F is more of an urban machine and the lack of fairings, although fun, might be a limiting factor for longer rides in poor weather.

The CBR500R is the obvious choice for anyone who wants to turn the scenery into a blur, but also works surprisingly well in city traffic. No new bikes are cheap, but the bikes are priced competitively at £5099 for the CB500F and £5599 for the CBR500R. They are slightly more expensive than A2 licence bikes from other Japanese manufacturers, but they also offer more power than the popular 300cc machines that dominate the category. If you are after a powerful A2 licence-friendly bike then it’s worth the trip to the dealership to try one for size.




24 ADVENTURE

Define the Adventure, define the Adventurer

If you want to travel on a motorcycle, get out there and do it! Covering miles on two wheels is much more about the state of mind than the state of the bike, as expert traveller Sam Manicom explains...

What is and who is an adventure rider? I’m wondering if I’m out of touch. Why? Well, I’m afraid I don’t understand why it’s important to put adventure motorcyclists into boxes. Where has the need for that come from? Who has the right to call one person an adventurer and say that another is not? And, does it really matter? One of the reasons I decided to travel by motorcycle was because of the freedom motorcycling offers. To me a key point of a person being a motorcyclist is that it’s very easy for a rider to do it their way – the way that suits them the best. Isn’t motorcycling all about a person riding the way that leads them towards their dreams, and doing so the way that gives them a buzz as individuals? Or have I never really understood? I don’t think so because I’m certain that we motorcyclists are lucky; we know about something that’s quite unique. Perhaps it’s also the case that riding a bike gives us all the chance to rebel against everyday life, but I’m concerned. It feels to me that there’s an alarming air of cynicism creeping into the world of motorcycling and I never thought I’d see such negativity; particularly relating to adventure motorcycling. It’s usually such a positive thing.

Personal perspectives

I enjoy internet forums – besides the social side to things, they are an opportunity to learn from other people’s experiences. But I’m troubled by an increasing number

of threads suggesting that adventures are no longer possible, and at the other extreme there are threads saying that if you don’t go a long way in rugged lands then you aren’t having an adventure. Others knock the bikes that people choose to ride. To my mind these threads should be ignored but the tone of them makes the posts gain too much importance, and that bothers me. What does matter is that when they can, a person sets off on a journey that’ll stretch them, open their eyes and give them the sense that they have achieved something. Something that is special to them. It shouldn’t matter a toot whether their ride is classified as being an adventure by anyone else. It really shouldn’t, but I’m beginning to wonder why so many people seem to have lost the point that we are motorcyclists and we ride the way we want to, not the way someone else thinks we have to. There’s always been banter around motorcycling and thank goodness for that. Loyalty towards different types of motorcycling has often been marque based. And why not? Passion and humour are fine things aren’t they? So where am I leading with this? Frankly I think that too many of the conversations I hear about what is or isn’t an adventure are becoming increasingly ill thought-out. They are belittling to those who are trying to live their dreams. As certain characters pontificate with their scathing comments, are they actually stifling the


ADVENTURE 25

“An adventure is doing a little bit more than what you’ve done before. What is an adventure bike? Once there wasn’t such a thing. People had adventures on whatever they liked to ride. It all comes down to what you do with your bike, a branded Johnson, adventure bike or anything else.” Grant Horizons Unlimited freedom of motorcycling? They are certainly attacking a vibrant part of motorcycling that actually is the key joy of our hobby and for many, a way of life. Have wheels, can ride, can travel. Is someone an adventure biker because of what they ride or because their attitude is open-minded? So, what makes an adventure rider? Kevlar nerves? Or no nerves at all? The opportunity to make today’s dreams come true? Does an adventure rider have to have some sort of amazing ability to face the fear of the unknown? Or is it confidence in themselves? Or perhaps it’s full-on fear, but coupled with the determination not to be defeated. Perhaps it’s simply that they love hitting the road on a bike they enjoy riding, and that they have enquiring minds. Does it matter if a person travels to exotic lands on the other side of the world? Or is the key that they ride to places that to them present an enjoyable challenge? Not so long ago, I saw one person had written a post saying that there were no chances left in this world for adventure: “It’s all been done before. There’s nothing new, so stop saying you are heading out on an adventure.” He’s wrong isn’t he? Every journey, long or short, is a new adventure. No one will have ever made exactly the same ride before. Weather, people met, solo riding that day or who you may be travelling with, are just some of the things that make each ride unique. As soon as this guy had posted, a bunch of other people joined the thread and jumped on the bandwagon. Frankly I was gobsmacked! They agreed that no one had the right to call what they were doing an adventure. Some were actually taking the mickey out of specific individuals – they were making it personal. What right had they to do that? One or two of the braver types actually asked that question. The answer? “Freedom of speech mate.”

A true adventure

The Oxford English Dictionary says that an adventure is an “unusual and exciting experience”. Heard of Sjaak Lucassen? A recent adventure was to ride to the Arctic on his R1. That certainly took him out of his comfort zone! It was an unusual thing to do and it sure as hell sounds like it was exciting. And what about Bruce Smart who rode a GSXR through 74 countries recently (check out his just published book – Live Your Life)? He’s not long home and what tales he has to tell. I could rattle on about the guys like Ed March, Sean Dillon and co who live their dreams from the backs of Honda C90s. Then there are people like Geoff Keys. Geoff is currently riding a long trip on an ancient DR350. Long trip? He’s no idea when

it’ll end. What about Paul Holroyd who rode to the Arctic Circle? Is a month enough time to have a proper adventure? The couple from England that we met on a Russian Minsk in Vietnam certainly thought they were having an adventure. They’d bought their bike in Vietnam and had had a ball exploring on it. When my partner Birgit and I linked up with them they were relaxing in a beach resort in Southern Vietnam. They’d just sold their bike to one of the locals, an unusual and exciting experience in its own right, and were enjoying a few days of R&R before heading back to work. Seriously, how does one classify what an adventure is? Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. Perhaps the Oxford English is simplifying things too much? I know what I think; it’s when someone does something that makes them smile, gets them out of their comfort zone and gives them the chance to learn new things – about the places they are riding, and their own abilities. Throw in dollops of the unexpected and the sheer joy of riding, and that to me is an adventure – I can get all of those over a weekend in Wales! A few months back I met a young lad called Rob who was trying to pass his motorcycle test. It was costing him a significant amount of money, in part because of the changes to the law, but he was determined. Why was he so keen? Because he’d read motorcycle travel books and magazines, and had decided that the best way for him to see the world was from a motorcycle. He’d never been outside of Scotland, and still hasn’t, but he’s now passed his test, bought himself a small capacity bike and he’s saving to set off. Small capacity? He doesn’t have the money for a larger bike, so he’s going on what he can afford. He also can’t afford much of the gear you are supposed to have, so he’s cobbled kit together out of army surplus and from eBay. I emailed Rob suggesting he consider having a go at writing articles. He said that he’d only do so if he had a story to tell. “After all”, he said, “I’m not really doing it the right way am I?” What? I nearly fell off my chair when I read that! The damage of the cynics and the close-minded at work. The other side of the coin was a chap, funnily enough also from Scotland, who told me that he’d been reading travel books of all sorts for all of his life. Mike told me that he had a dream, but he’d been unable to live it. “I want to make a long journey on my bike.” He told me. “I want to ride somewhere different. I want to have an adventure.” I’m cutting a deep conversation short here, but over his lifetime he’d ridden through communist Eastern Europe, ferryhopped the Greek Islands, ridden in

Egypt and been down into Morocco. He told me, “I thought that I’d made some special journeys and I was really happy with what I’d been able to do. I had a young family and my priority was bringing them up. They all have families of their own now. I think I did a good job, but going further wasn’t on the cards.” Hadn’t he done something special? Too right he had, but it turned out that people had made him feel that his ‘mini adventures’, as he called them, weren’t good enough to be considered the real thing. I was astounded, saddened and disappointed. Rob and Mike started me thinking about the negative things I was hearing and seeing written about adventures on two wheels. Why do an increasing number of people feel the need to categorise, to take away joy and damage aspiration?

The last word

Maybe this last story will help clarify what I’m getting at. One of the guys I met recently was about to book himself on a motorcycle touring holiday in South Africa. As far as I’m concerned, this guy well and truly had his act together. “I’ve a family, a business and I have itchy feet. It’s not a good combination. “But I like my life. I don’t want to change it, even if I could do so at the moment. “What I do want is to see some parts of the world on a motorcycle and every year I take off for two weeks to somewhere different. They are my little adventures.” He’s ridden in Morocco, Cambodia, India, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Canada. He then told me something that no longer surprises me; “I never usually talk about my trips as being adventures because I’ve seen it said so many times that someone who goes on a tour isn’t having an adventure.” He went on to tell me that he sometimes wonders if he’s now experienced more of the world than those who say he’s not on an adventure. He also told me that he picks companies that allow their

customers a lot of freedom, and to take advantage of that he does his homework. He buys the maps and pores over them. He reads the guide books and learns about the cultures and customs of the country he’s going to. “The thing is, the best part of going with a tour company is that I don’t have all the hassle of hiring a bike or trying to ship my own. And if something goes wrong then the company is there to get it sorted out. With my responsibilities and available time, this works. Don’t get me wrong though, one day I’ll do a longer trip. But for now, the tours are my way to have adventures. Cambodia for one took me right out of my comfort zone. The place is awesome and that history! I couldn’t believe that it was me, there, riding a bike.” I can tell many more stories like this but I hope I don’t need to. Surely it doesn’t matter what bike you ride, what kit you wear or how long you escape for. An adventure is not something that is universal for all. It’s something that is unique, individual and usually involves risk, challenge and smiles. Gosh, that sums up motorcycling doesn’t it? The world is not flat. We know that because back in the mists of time certain

individuals went out and chased after their dreams; they adventured, they learned, they shared, and the world is a more interesting place as a result. I hope that you have great adventures wherever you choose or are able to ride. More than anything, enjoy the fun of the road on two wheels. Don’t we live in a great world! Adventure riding? Yeah! Sam Manicom rode eight years and 200,000 miles around the world, and is the author of four acclaimed motorcycle travel books. Available in paperback, e-book and now his first two books are released as audio books. Find excerpts and reviews at www.sam-manicom.com


26 ADVENTURE Global tour

UK tour

Destination: Alaska and the Canadian Rockies Organiser: World of BMW Duration: 20 days Dates: August 22-September 9, 2016 Mileage: 3450 miles Cost: From £4495 Contact: 0800 013 1282 | www.worldofbmw.com What you need to know: Frontier towns, remote settlements, giant glaciers and incredible wildlife form the backbone of this tour. Combining the wilderness of Alaska with the breathtaking scenery of the Canadian Rockies, this adventure is sure to broaden your horizons and be remembered for a very long time to come. You can choose to ride your own bike or hire one from the organisers; either way, your journey will kick off from Anchorage, before taking to the Top of the World Highway and crossing the border into Canada at Boundary. Be prepared for dirt roads, clapboard sidewalks and gambling houses as the tour reaches the frontier town of Dawson City. It takes two days to ride through the Yukon and reach British Columbia, with breathtaking views all the way. Having rested in a log cabin on the edge of the Alaska highway, the route heads straight through the Cassiar mountain range and into bear country. Fittingly, the following day takes you to Bear Glacier before reaching Stewart, where there’s a two day stop-over. Well rested, it’s on to Prince George, which is the first real town since Anchorage, passing the Kitwanga totem poles en route. The heart of the Rockies is accessed by the Trans Canada Highway, which is used to reach Mount Robson. From

Destination: UK National Parks Organiser: Bike Tours UK Duration: 3 days Dates: April / May 2016 Mileage: 550 miles Cost: £165 Contact: 0115 846 2993 | www.motorbiketours.org

there it’s on to the Jasper National Park before arriving at Jasper itself where you’ll stop for two days. After hiking, fishing and bear watching it’s on to The Bow Glacier, Athabasca waterfalls and beautiful Lake Louise. You pass each of these marvels on the run over to Banff. Skirting around Calgary, the tour then heads back towards the US border, but not before taking in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of HeadSmashed-In Buffalo Jump; an ancient Indian hunting ground. The charming town of Waterson sits on the border of Canada and America, which will be passed through on the way to the Glacier National Park and Big Fork. From the Big Sky State you’re heading through the Flathead Reservation and the Lolo Forest in Idaho. The last two days of the tour cross from Idaho to Washington and on to Portland, where there’ll be a slap up feast to round off the adventure in style.

What you need to know: Ride through three of the UK’s finest national parks in as many days. Kicking off from Nottinghamshire you’ll first get to explore the stunning Peak District by A and B-roads, discovering the true beauty of Britain’s oldest national park. Riding at a relaxed pace and with an indulgent schedule, the day ends in the Yorkshire Dales, where you’ll stay in a homely B&B. Winding stone-walled

roads are the order of the day in Yorkshire, passing through an abundance of quaint and quiet villages, travelling along tantalising narrow back lanes. Chips at Hawes are a must, before cracking on towards the Lake District for night stop number two. The third day is really spectacular, traversing the Wrynose, Honister and Hardknott passes, each unique in their beauty and complemented by fantastic roads to ride. Every inch of the Lake District if fantastic, and you’ll have plenty of time to absorb what you’ve done after the event’s wound up and you’re headed for home. The perfect warm-up for your touring season.


RACE, ROCK 'N' RIDE | MAY 21-22 27

SHOW PREVIEW

GET YOUR TICKETS!

Online | racerockride.com Weekend ticket (including camping): Advance £23 | On the gate £30 One day adult: Advance £13 | On the gate £20 UNDER 16s GET IN FOR FREE! Booking fees apply and some attractions require additional booking and fees. Closing date for advance tickets is 5pm on May 13, 2016. More information is available online when purchasing tickets.

Where: Santa Pod Raceway When: May 21-22, gates open 8am What: A weekend festival filled to the brim with anything and everything from the world of motorcycles at Santa Pod Raceway


28 RACE, ROCK 'N' RIDE | MAY 21-22

onsored ta Pod Raceway, spines. The an S by u yo to t t brough s magaz a brand-new even Fast Bikes and Back Street Heroe tertainment to keep is e id R ’ ’n k oc R en d d by Race, nce and supporte plenty of action an by Principal Insura ival of all things motorcycling hasportunities to have a go yourself… weekend-long fest stop spectacles and plenty of op OCKRIDE.COM R E C A R IT nIS no V E ith L ETAB you busy w IVITIES AND TIM

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Run What Ya Brung Race, Rock ’n’ Ride is your chance to put your machine through its paces on Santa Pod’s famous quarter-mile drag strip. You’ll receive a full performance printout after each run and for just £25 you’ll get unlimited runs throughout the day. Take on your mates, fellow club members, someone with a rival bike or simply whoever’s brave enough to

line up against you. Participants must bring their Driver’s Licence with them on the day to take part. There will be trophies on offer for the quickest bike in each of the following classes: Class A – up to 500cc Class B – 500-750cc Class C – 750-1000cc Class D – over 1000cc Class X – non road-legal bikes

Retro Zone and GP Paddock See an eclectic mix of motorcycles on display from the latest machines and classic race bikes, through to stunning custom creations and seriously cool café racers. A range of 1970s Japanese machines will also be showcased with all of them restored or maintained to museum standard. From classic Yamahas such as the FS1E or RD250, plus Suzuki GTs and even an ultra-rare Stinger, we’ve got it all. And if that wasn’t enough, classic race bikes will be fired up and taken on track on both days.

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RACE, ROCK 'N' RIDE | MAY 21-22 29 Straightliners Drag Racing Championships Straightliners will be hosting a round of its adrenaline-fuelled Drag Racing Championships at the event. Entry fees are just £25, plus a Straightliners

Monster trucks Podzilla monster truck displays, monster truck rides with Red Dragon and mini monster truck rides for the kids… we’ve gone trucking crazy! See racerockride.com for more information on what there is to see and how you could get behind the wheel.

Mr Showtime Steve Colley What it says on the tin! Ace stunt rider Steve will wow the crowds with a series of incredible displays. His skills have to be seen to be believed.

Wheelie competition

Watch as daredevil riders tear up the quarter-mile on the rear wheel, racing for glory!

Two-seater dragster rides

Fancy experiencing 0-170mph in eight eye-watering seconds…? Then get your dragster experience booked today. Dragster rides are only running on Sunday, May 22 and are limited to four runs per day. Rides are only available if bought in advance and cost £390+VAT. Visit racerockride.com for more information.

Into the evening and exclusive to WEEKEND CAMPERS ONLY is this top AC/DC tribute act who’ll bring two hours of nonstop, high-octane rock to Santa Pod’s Fuelers Bar.

membership costing £5 if you haven’t got one already. General admission to the show is not included. Visit racerockride. com for more details.


30 RACE, ROCK 'N' RIDE | MAY 21-22



32 ADVENTURE

IT’S A TRIUMPH

Exploring the new Tiger 12 The biggest Tiger of them all has now risen to class-leading status. WORDS: Bruce Wilson PHOTOGRAPHY: Triumph Triumph first introduced the Tiger in 1937. Built to go anywhere, it sported a rugged and commendable dual-purpose nature, blending performance with comfort. Fast forward over half a century and the single machine has blossomed into a family of six, with two additional low seat models for 2016. What they all have in common is the same tubular steel frame, shaft drive system and 1215cc, liquid-cooled three-cylinder engines; all largely unchanged from the outgoing Explorer. But that’s where the similarities end. New suspension, styling, geometry, technology and wheel sizes have been introduced to each of the bikes, which are roughly broken down into two different categories; XR models with an on-road focus, and XC with a stronger off-road bias. On the Explorer’s launch in Portugal we were riding the top-spec XCA version, which comes as standard with an abundance of tech, including heated seats and grips, an electrically adjusted large touring screen and five different riding mode options. Cruise control, spoked wheels, cornering ABS and traction control were also installed, along with Triumph’s first fitment of its WP-built Semi Active Suspension (TSAS) technology. Using the Skyhook principal, and six different points of data input, the system is not only used to automatically manipulate the bike’s damping setup, but also to alter the rear shock’s preload to maintain the perfect ride height, altering itself according to the weight placed on the bike, the speed it’s travelling at and terrain being ridden. But how does this translate onto the road?

An evolution

I wasn’t blown away by the original Explorer’s primitive tech, nor the positioning of some of its buttons, with the old cruise control system being a particular niggle. A quick look over the new bike’s setup and it seemed to make more sense, with a separate button to alternate between riding modes, an options menu button and a toggle button to switch between the main menu data. Ready to take on the wet roads of the Algarve, I kicked off my electronic adjustments by selecting Rain mode. This automatically altered the suspension, throttle map and ABS to suit,

TECH SPEC Tiger Explorer

Price: From £11,800 Engine: 1215cc, liquid-cooled, inline triple Peak power: 137bhp (102kW) @ 9300rpm Peak torque: 91lb-ft (123Nm) @ 6200rpm Transmission: 6-speed, shaft final drive Frame: Tubular steel Wheels: (F) 120/70/19; (R) 170/60/17 Seat height: 837/857mm (805/785mm with low seat option) Kerb weight: XR 264kg / XRx 266kg / XRx Low 264kg / XRt 274kg / XC 266kg / XCx 273kg / XCx Low 271kg / XCA 278kg Tank size: 20 litres Contact: www.triumph.co.uk

with the power output decreasing to 100bhp – the only mode in which the peak power gets reduced. The first part of the ride led us out through tight and twisty urban streets, where the power seemed plentiful and effortless to access, even in the dumbed-down setting. The motor makes more power and torque than before, owing largely to a combination of the new fuelling and lighter and more compact exhaust system, which sounds epic even from the lowest of revs, and only gets more exciting as you edge your way towards the analogue rev counter’s 10,000rpm red-line.

Tailored tech

Leaving the city behind to enter the surrounding hills, the route wasn’t just wet; it was covered in bracken and debris from the surrounding trees. The Explorer’s wheel rims are larger than previously – Metzeler has produces a specific shape of its acclaimed dual-purpose Tourance rubber for the big Triumph, which proved a fantastically capable tyre on the sketchily-surfaced road. I never once felt uneasy, the bike delivering great levels of grip and stability. It also felt much more agile than the older version, pitching into bends effortlessly and achieving lines like you wouldn’t expect from such a big motorcycle. Triumph acknowledged a big handicap of the model’s predecessor was its lethargic handling, which is why the new wheelbase has been shortened and its geometry made sharper, with a steeper angle and an increased forward weight bias. We were on XCAs so our bikes’ electronics were as comprehensive as can be offered in the new Explorer range. As well as automatically adjusting the rebound and compression damping across predetermined positions, set out by the selected riding mode, the rear shock preload was adjusted according to the conditions it was being subjected to. So, with my weight being accounted for, the shock’s relentless 300-millisecond adjustments meant the bike maintained a perfect ride height at all times; the Explorer always felt planted, even when encountering big bumps in the road. With the roads drying, I began to switch through the other riding options, kicking off in Road, before feeling more at home with the

bike in Sport. Everything stiffened up, which only made the handling even more impressive. The bike’s throttle became more instant, too, with the peak power output of 137bhp being delivered in full. The Triumph is a big, heavy motorcycle, but it doesn’t half shift when you give it the berries. Another great quality of the motor is its ability to deliver linear power to the limiter, through long gear ratios. The slip-assist clutch meant that rapid changes down the box didn’t result in big lock-ups of the rear wheel, but its lightweight clutch springs also translated to a much easier feel from the adjustable clutch lever, hidden away behind a spacious and protective handguard. The latter is one of the many items designed to aid comfort on the Explorer, which has undergone a complete overhaul of its fairing and cowls to reduce wind noise and buffeting. The electronically adjustable screen, which can be altered on the go by means of the up-down toggle on the left switchgear, was perhaps the highlight of the package, even proving too tall at its highest position. Dropped down a little, the weather was kept well away, with the wind just brushing the top of my helmet. The larger and thicker seat also felt comfortable, made even more luxurious by its two-stage heating element (though completely unnecessary in Portugal). A much more necessary alteration for me was adjusting the seat height. At 5ft 9in I could reach both tip-toes to the ground, but didn’t really feel that planted on the bike when pulled up, being blown around by strong winds. You can unlock the pillion seat using the ignition key, and with that out of the way the rider seat slides out backwards. There are two seat height options on all versions of the Explorers, with the lower position making a 20mm difference (837mm instead of 857mm). It was quick and easy to adjust the mounting bars the saddle locates on, with the relocated seat proving far better for me. The taller position gives you a less reclined knee angle, whereas in the lower position the bike feels sportier. I soon adjusted to it, just in time for some offroad riding.

Off the beaten track

Standing up on the grippy CNC-machined pegs, the seat height became irrelevant. What mattered more was having the bike’s electronics selected to Off-Road mode, and my brain engaged. The Explorer instantly gained a much larger feel as I headed down a dirt trail, suddenly making me appreciate the enormity of the machine, which weighed 278kg. Of all the bikes in this class that I’ve ridden off-road, it probably felt the most imposing, but the clever electronics eased my trepidation. In Off-Road mode, you can still slide the back wheel around a little before the traction control kicks in, and the ABS is less inclined to activate. The more I rode it, the better it felt. The ride back to base was much easier, once more indulging in the Triumph’s fantastic road manners. There was so much to like about the machine, from the motor to the powerful Brembo Monobloc calipers. It hit me that the bike was worthy of true premium status, which I didn’t think was the case on the old version. It’s better finished and both easier and more pleasurable to ride. It looks better too, sporting many subtle styling tweaks. But Just because this bike carries the familiar lines of what’s gone before it, don’t go imagining the riding experience is the same – they couldn’t be farther apart. The Explorer’s come of age.



34 ADVENTURE

Five minutes with...

Tell us about your bikes.

The bike I’m riding is a 2014 R1200 GS, bought second-hand in January. An ex-Simon Pavey off-road training school bike, it was a bit knocked about when I got it. I’ve tidied it up a bit but ride it off-road a lot, so don’t mind the extra scuff or two. I also own a 2000 Suzuki Freewind 650, which is great for local stuff, plus I still have the Honda CT110 that I rode from Sydney to London on and then across America and up to Alaska. It’s now done almost 60,000 miles and still runs well on the original engine. It’s obviously a very different bike to the GS, but for solo adventures

Buy the books Don’t be put off by Nathan’s modesty! His books about his two big trips – The Long Ride Home and Running Towards the Light – are both fantastic reads, available from his website.

Nathan Millward

in remote places, where dependability is all you need, there are still very few bikes to match it. A bit more speed would be handy though.

What was your big trip?

Sydney to London back in 2009, nine months on the road, covering 23,000 miles, through 18 countries after only two days of planning. I just packed up and left. I didn’t know what to expect. I had to leave Australia but didn’t want to go home to England, so I figured I’d get lost in the middle for a while. It was an experience that I’m still not sure was real. It was completely

surreal, to think you’re on this old Aussie post bike in Pakistan and China, Indonesia and Thailand. But you just keep riding and moving forward, and you get there in the end.

Highlights?

Setting off. That’s always the hardest part; hitting the road and overcoming all the doubt and indecision to put yourself on the bike and make a start. After that it’s just a case of riding and dealing with problems as they come. Crossing the Australian Outback was a highlight. So sparse and desolate. Indonesia was a challenge I benefited from. Thailand was calm,

He’s one of the greatest adventure riders of the modern age and with good reason. Nathan is courageous and highly experienced but without the airs and graces that you might expect. India was crazy. Pakistan I loved because it burst my perception of the country. The people are kind there and don’t deserve the stigma.

looking for nothing but highlights you’re perhaps better off doing something else.

Any low points?

Who knows. Maybe more riding, though I’ve struggled with back trouble. I’m also finding three weeks is enough for me, so I doubt I have another big trip left in me. I’m also married now so I’ve got to think a little bit more like an adult. A talented documentary maker named Fraser Byrne has just helped me make an amazing video about my first trip, which you can watch now on www. nathanmillward.com.

Lots of them. Sleeping rough, finding places to sleep out of sight. Those days when you don’t want to ride but you have to. Those times when you’re lonely and scared and you have no one to watch your back. When it’s cold and it’s raining and everything’s soaked. When you can’t get visas or you’re stuck at borders. It’s probably easier to list the low points than the highlights, but if you’re

What’s next?


35


36 PRODUCTS Garmin zumo sat navs RRP: zumo 345LM £379.99 / zumo 395LM £459.99 / zumo 595LM £579.99 Garmin has announced the new zumo 345LM, 395LM and zumo 595LM sat navs. The rugged, weatherproof sat navs have features specifically designed for motorcyclists with adventurous routing options, rider alerts, new streaming music options and more. The new devices let riders make and receive calls and spoken directions can also be heard when paired with a compatible headset or helmet.

The zumo 595LM can display smartphone information too. Riders can view texts, app notifications and other data such as live weather alerts and traffic. The devices are compatible with Garmin VIRB action cameras to start and stop recording footage directly from the zumo display screen. Riders can also monitor motorcycle tyre pressure on the display. Visit www.garmin.com/zumo

Spada Pilgrim boots RRP: £99.99 // Sizes: 41-47 // Colours: Black or brown

Spada has announced an interesting addition to its boot range: the Spada Pilgrim boots have been introduced as part of the company’s new ‘everywear’ range. The pilgrim is a classic laced style leather boot with an authentic wooden and leather sole to finish off the look. The boots feature reinforced toe, heel and gear pad, and are available in black and brown. For further info: www.spadaclothing.co.uk

Richa Airforce jacket

Oxford Products introduces a range of MX goggles

RRP: £189.99 // Sizes: S-4XL // Colours: Black, red and black, fluoro yellow

RRP: Fury Junior £18.99 / Fury £19.99 / Assault Pro £24.99 Oxford Products has launched three different ranges of MX goggles: Assault Pro, Fury and Fury Junior The Assault Pro goggles feature a flexible TPU frame, ergonomic triple foam layers and a silicone detailed strap. They boast anti-scratch and anti-fog lenses with UV protection, available in a range of colours. There’s also an option of tear-off lenses. The Fury and Fury Junior models

offer a flexible TPU frame, adjustable strap, excellent ventilation, ergonomic foam and a silicone detailed strap. They also feature anti-fog lenses with UV protection, available in a range of colours. There’s also an option of tear-off lenses. For further info: www.oxfordproducts.com // info@oxprod.com // 01993 862300

The textile Airforce jacket is made from high density polyamide combined with full mesh panels. It has reinforced Oxford fabric on the shoulders and lower arms for increased abrasion resistance as well as a removable breathable membrane, which makes it shower resistant. The thermo-liner has two inside pockets, there are two waterproof side pockets with zip closure on the jacket and D3O CE-certified Level 1 protectors at the elbows and shoulders as well as at the back. A short connecting zip at the back allows any Richa trousers to be attached. Visit: www.richa.eu

Schuberth E1 helmet RRP: From £479.99 // Sizes: XS-2XL // Colours: Nine different colours The Schuberth E1 is a premium modular helmet that’s designed to excel when the ride leaves the road and moves onto the dirt. The biggest new feature is the fully articulating peak visor, which can be adjusted to three different positions independently from the visor and chin bar. The E1 can be worn with both the visor and peak in place, or riders can choose to simply remove either piece, to suit the needs of the ride. The E1 also features a closable air vent in the chin bar to make sure that the rider gets the air they need as the

ride progresses, while a removable and washable filter helps to clean the air in dirty and dusty conditions. The E1 includes a built-in antenna for Schuberth’s SRCSystem PRO. Taking advantage of the latest in Cardo communication technology, the Bluetooth SRC-System serves as an intercom with other riders and can connect to a GPS unit, MP3 player or mobile phone for navigation, music listening or phone calls. For further info: www.tranam. co.uk // Tel. 01425 620580


BIKER FRIENDLY GUIDE 37

Biker Friendly Guide

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38 TRIED & TESTED

Furygan Jean 01

Reviewed by: Mikko Nieminen // RRP: £119.99 // Size: 36-50 // Colour: Blue denim, black // Info: www.furygan.com These straight cut jeans made by Furygan have the real denim look, but under the surface the design includes clever stuff like Kevlar lining and D3O knee protectors.

What I like about these jeans is that just looking at them you could be excused for thinking that they are just a regular pair of fashionable denim jeans: there are no visible pockets for protectors, and the lining is not so thick that it gives the game away. The main external material is cotton to give you the old-school denim jean look and feel. To add strength, there is Kevlar lining on the bum, hips, front of the thighs and knees. Areas likely to be exposed to abrasion in a potential crash situation are reinforced with triple or quadruple stitching to avoid tearing. Ideally, I would have liked to see the Kevlar lining cover the entire garment, but the most vulnerable areas have been covered. The D3O knee protectors can be moved up or down with Velcro adjusters to get them in the right place. Mine went down to the lowest position so when I’m off the bike they are just below my knees and don’t get in the way, but when I sit on a bike with my legs bent they ride up a bit and protect my knees. I’ve worn the jeans even when I haven’t been anywhere near my bike – just to go to town. All I do is take the knee protectors out and hey presto, they are a pair of perfectly normal jeans. Overall, a very comfortable pair of jeans, with good level of protection and looks that work both on and off the bike. Worth considering if you're after some riding jeans.

Shoei Neotec modular helmet

Reviewed by: Mikko Nieminen // RRP: From £469.99 // Sizes: XS-XXL // Colours: Black, matt black, white, silver, red, anthracite, and various graphic options // Info: www.shoei.com As flip-front helmets go, the Shoei Neotec is among the best ones available. The helmet looks and feels substantial, and the quality of components and finish is very high. Shoei has put real effort in making this a quiet helmet. The front cover is equipped with what Shoei calls a ‘vortex generator’. This creates a small amount of turbulence around the front cover to battle wind noise. In use the helmet is noticeably quieter than some that I have tested. Ventilation is via two intake vents, one in the chin and one at the top, and an exit vent round the back. They work well and have kept my head sufficiently cool.

As far as comfort goes, it doesn’t get much better than this. The fit is great, and the removable and washable lining feels soft and plush. Cheek pads are available in different sizes for individual adjustment. The main visor comes with a Pinlock lens, which provides an effective shield against fogging. The integrated sun visor is operated with a lever on the left side of the helmet. A simple slide of the lever easily brings the visor up or down. The helmet has a four star Sharp rating, and the sun visor is approved according the European EN 1836 standard for sunglasses.

Cream Carbon rechargeable heated over-grips Reviewed by: Martin Hare // RRP: £59.99 // Size: 30mm and 55mm diameter // Colour: Black // Info: www.creamcarbon.co.uk I have never used heated grips before but I currently have a 40-mile round trip to work each day so thought that February would be a great time to try the Cream Carbon heated over-grips. I ride a Honda CBR600F, and the over-grips went over the bar grips very easily, while the neoprene battery holder took a little while longer to position. There are three heat settings: low, medium and high. Most of the time I have used the grips on the low setting because it maximises battery life (up to four hours). The higher settings use more power and therefore reduce battery life proportionally.

The heat is almost instantaneous and the low setting was warm enough on most days, with temperatures as low as -1°C on occasion. On the odd days when it was even colder I selected the high setting for extra heat. The whole experience was very positive, although getting a spare battery and having one on charge while the other one is on the bike would have helped on the odd occasion when I forgot to charge up the battery. I like the idea that the over-grips can easily be removed in spring, and the bike returned to its original state.


39



NEW RIDER 41

How to buy your first bike – and get a great deal Just because you’re new to biking doesn’t mean that you can’t buy one like a pro. Follow these three steps:

1. What to consider before buying Your licence It might sound obvious, but the first thing to consider is your licence. If you’re not sure what size bikes you can ride with your licence, have a look at the gov.uk website that explains the licence codes and how they translate into what size bikes you can ride. Budget There are two ways to approach this. You could buy a bike outright and pay the whole cost in one go (usually the way if you buy a second hand bike from a private seller), or you could get a finance or PCP deal from a dealer and pay for it in monthly instalments. Either way, it’s good to establish exactly how much you can spend on the bike. In addition to the cost of the bike, there are other expenses such as insurance, tax, fuel, maintenance and riding kit. These will vary depending on the type of bike you want and the amount of miles you plan to do. Style of bike It would be easy to dismiss the looks of the bike as vanity, but having a beautiful bike is part of the fun. There are also economic and practical considerations, such as how many miles you want per gallon, and whether you are planning on touring

or commuting, going on track days or doing a bit of everything. Each bike has its strengths and weaknesses, so doing your research is key.

2. Where to find your dream bike Local dealers Buying your bike from a dealership often means that you get a warranty and sometimes even a service plan with your bike. While you’re paying your local dealer a visit, check out the finance deals and special promotions to see if you can get a bit of a bargain. Don’t be afraid to haggle – if you don’t ask, you don’t get. Bike magazines Bike magazines are also a great source of info on different bikes. Launch reviews of new bikes and features covering older ones give you loads of useful information even before you test ride a bike for yourself. Some also have classified sections where you can see the bikes that the readers are selling (have a look at pages 58-60 of this publication for example). Online More and more motorcycles are sold and bought online on sites like eBay (www.ebay.co.uk) and Autotrader (www.autotrader.co.uk) these days. Both dealers and private sellers advertise their bikes online, so you

still have a choice of who to buy from. The important thing is to take any descriptions of bikes sold online with a pinch of salt and make sure you can check the goods in person before purchase.

3. Final decision The bike If you’re buying a used bike, inspect it carefully for any damage or wear. Checking consumables, such as brake pads, tyres and seat for wear, as well as liquid levels in reservoirs, will give you an indication of how well the bike has been looked after. Scratches, dints, discolouring and other imperfections in the bodywork and panels also tell a tale. Ideally you should test ride the bike before buying it to make sure the engine, chassis and controls work as you’d expect and that the bike feels nice to ride.

HPI check If you’re considering buying a used bike, it is worthwhile having an HPI check done on it. An HPI check can be carried out online for a fee of usually less than £20, or if you buy your bike from a dealer, they may have already done that for you. The check is money well spent as it tells you if the bike has been stolen or written off, and even if there’s any outstanding finance left. Take it a step further Once you have your licence and the bike sorted you’re good to hit the roads. But there’s always room for improvement and the best riders never stop learning. Advanced rider training might sound a bit tedious, but it can be great fun and very useful. We’ll look at some of the options in future issues, but for now, enjoy the ride!

Mahindra reveals new concepts with Mojo

Indian automotive company Mahindra has followed the launch of its base-model Mojo with a couple of interesting concept bikes. Both bikes use the standard Mojo 295cc, liquidcooled, four-stroke, single cylinder engine and chassis as a base to build on, but look nothing like each other. The first is an urban-cool scrambler that shows more of the Mojo engine by removing its side panels. It gets rid of one of the exhaust pipes, and has its tail chopped off and replaced by a long brown bench seat. It also has a single round headlight.

The second bike is an adventurestyle machine that gets larger spoked wheels, knobbly tyres and a massive off-road front mudguard. The rest of the bike doesn’t change too much (apart from all the luggage that has been piled on), but it looks the part.


42


THE INSIDE LINE TO CLASSIC JAPANESE IRON WITH STEVE COOPER FROM THE VJMC 43

Keeping them working Moving on from last time if there’s any justice in this world you’ll now have a running classic that’s passed its MOT. You may even be pleasantly surprised by your purchase. Words and pictures: Steve Cooper Older Japanese bikes are actually very rewarding to ride if you recalibrate your brain to their age. Each make and generation has its own characteristics and foibles; coming to terms and understanding them is all part of the fun. However, if your particular machine proves to be a bad runner or is undeniably cranky don’t be taken in by the numpty cop outs such as ‘it’s an old bike what did you expect?’ or ‘yeah, well, they all do that don’t they?’ From their earliest days Japanese motorcycles came with one key ingredient as standard – reliability. Whether your classic is 10, 20, 30 or 40 years old it should still be reliable given the smallest amount of TLC.

Japanese bikes sold in huge volumes back in the day to a level whereby the manufacturers simply could not afford to market fundamentally flawed designs. Poor running from an old Japanese bike is likely to be down to a few basic issues and these can affect any bike regardless of its origin. Stale fuel is the number one reason for poor, erratic or non-running. Drain or empty the carburettor at the very least but better still dump the contents of the fuel tank as well. Modern petrol goes off badly in a few months and there’s little that can be done to rectify the issue. Rust in the tank and thereby in the carburettor is probably the next area of concern. Swill out the tank, fit a decent inline filter between it and the carb and try again. Rusty tanks need to be cleaned and it’ll be no surprise to hear that the VJMC has someone who can sort this out for you. Never fit a tank liner over existing rust; it’s a quick fix but doesn’t stop the rust. Japanese electrics were paragons of virtue compared to their peers but age can catch up with them. Green corrosion to connectors, ignition switches, kill switches, junction blocks etc. can all cause high resistances and voltage drops. Often simply cleaning is enough to restore functionality and rubbing with a 3M pad or similar can transform a wiring loom. Electrical

maintenance spray or switch cleaner can be very effective on most switches and it’s certainly worth investing in a can. Old batteries are simply not worth the hassle and if there’s any doubt simply fit a new one. The modern sealed AGM type units are worth the little bit you’ll pay and there’s probably a MotoBatt for every Japanese bike ever made. The biggest killer of bike electrical systems is the earth part of the circuit. Think of your battery and generator as the tap or supply to a garden hose and the earth as the outlet. If any part of the hose/ loom is obstructed then the water/ electricity cannot pass or exist. More bikes expire from poor earths than any other electrical issue. Clean up every single wire that earths out to a frame or frame mounted subassembly and things generally get a lot better. After several decades it’d be unreasonable to expect everything to be as fresh as a daisy and it’s with things such as regulators, rectifiers and generators that the earlier bikes are just beginning to show their age. Insulating materials back in the 70s and 80s were first generation synthetics; prior to this all automotive electrics had relied on shellac for insulating coils windings and the like. Based on a resin exuded by Indian beetles (no honestly) anything is ultimately better! A dying generator cannot be DIY fixed but can

“The Home of the Japanese Classic”

be rewound by a specialist for sensible money; you don’t want to be buying a brand new 40-year-old generator! Modern versions of regulators and rectifiers are either readily available or can be adapted bringing 21st century technology to older motorcycles. Perhaps one of the most irritating issues with a classic bike is a misfire that could be fuel or ignition. A change of spark plug and plug cap is a great place to start. Also worth checking are inlet rubbers which can split, crack or shrink with age. If a carb rubber has gone hard the chances are it will have shrunk as well so a replacement might be the best option. Tightly applied self-amalgamating

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tape wound around an inlet rubber should confirm whether you’ve found the problem. Invest in a manual either from one of the specialist aftermarket players or hunt down an old genuine factory examples. The latter can be amazingly useful and armed with these one of these and a copy of a genuine parts list you’ll soon be working on your old bike like a seasoned professional. The VJMC; run by motorcyclists for motorcyclists membership_vjmc@yahoo.co.uk 01634 361825/07948 563280



USED BIKE GUIDE 45

Triumph’s Speed Triple: Brutish and brilliant The big naked superbike is a much better all-rounder than you might think. The Speed Triple is Triumph’s defining bike. First released in 1994, over the years it has gone from 885cc to 955cc to 1050cc (via a 955cc upgrade). The bike we rode is a 94 R special edition (celebrating 21 years of the ’Trip), with 3137 miles on the clock, up for sale at £8,999.

Words and pictures: Bob Pickett

Give me some spec

A 1050cc, liquid-cooled three-cylinder engine puts out 133bhp at 9200rpm with maximum torque of 82lb-ft at 7750rpm. It is housed in an aluminium beam twin-spar frame with single-sided swingarm. The 94 R special features fully adjustable Ohlins

suspension and Brembro monobloc brakes, binding on twin 320mm discs at the front with a 255mm rear, supported by ABS. This bike also features an Arrow three-into-one exhaust (worth £1100), and a selection of other goodies.

What’s it like to ride?

Seat height is 32in, yet somehow my 29in legs got both feet flat on the floor. You wrap around that big tank, but there is a lot of room to move about, sitting more upright for more relaxed riding but tucking in when pushing on. The power is very controllable. Gentle twisting of the throttle sees the Speed Triple roll at 30mph, beautifully balanced with no weight on the wrists. You could use the ’Trip as a town bike, but the clutch is quite heavy so it would be hard work in heavy traffic. But open roads are where the ’Trip shines. Overtakes are the easiest thing in the world; blip the throttle in any gear and blast past. But there is fun in feeding the revs in gradually, dipping into a seemingly bottomless well of power. Do this and you are rewarded with the change in engine sound from rumble to growl to snarl to roar. Very addictive. There is a direct relationship between bars and tyres and the ’Trip wants to drive into whatever you ask it to do. It is an involving and rewarding ride but you are aware of the need to be on the ball at all times. The 94 R has upgraded brakes and the stopping power on tap is phenomenal, but married to great feel. I felt confident in using them very quickly, but I was riding the bike on a beautiful sunny day. Suspension is stiff. Most of the time this is fine, but it doesn’t like poor surfaces. But this bike is about making use of the wealth of useable power at your disposal, driving from corner to corner.

What nick is it in?

Pristine. With so much power on board, the Diablos take a pounding, but there was still life in them.

What’s it worth?

The dealer wants £8999 for a 2015 model in pristine condition with 3137 miles on the clock and a bundle of desirable add-ons. Keeping to the 1050 engine, a dealer check revealed a range from £7950 for a 2013 bike with 3200 miles logged to £9295 for a 2015 bike with 3100 miles. There were a couple of 94 R specials, both for sale at £8999 but without the aftermarket goodies.

Thanks to With thanks to Jack Lilley, Romford for the loan of the bike. JACK LILLEY LTD ROMFORD 249 London Road, Romford, Essex RM7 9NB. Telephone: 01708 752111. www.jacklilley.com



The MCM legal column is compiled by managing partner Andrew ‘Chef’ Prendergast and his bike-riding barristers and solicitors at White Dalton Motorcycle Solicitors. The firm deals with personal injury claims and its sister company, Motor Defence Solicitors, deals with all the motoring offences. White Dalton lawyers have a vast knowledge of bike law – and they have full bike licences too. They don’t act for insurance companies or the prosecution. White Dalton is Britain’s premier specialist motorcycle law practice, and if its professionals don’t know the answer to your question there probably isn’t one. Don’t rely on the advice from your insurance-appointed solicitor, get proper independent advice. For road traffic offences call the Motor Defence solicitors on 0800 280 0912. For non-offence cases call White Dalton motorcycle solicitors on 0800 783 6191

Need advice If you need advice on a biking-related legal question or query, email mail@whitedalton.co.uk The best Q&A will be published in MCM, in confidence, of course.

Q&A

Q

I was out with some mates riding our scooters at night. We were mucking about racing each other as you do. I was in lane one and my mate was in lane two. I was looking at him flicking him ‘the bird’ when I rear ended a car in front because in all honesty I wasn’t looking where I was going. The police turned up and I’m getting done for careless driving. Can I try and get off by telling the judge the car in front suddenly braked and didn’t have his lights on? My insurance will go well high if I get done again.

A

Oi numpty. Grow up. You are lucky not to be getting done for racing and/or dangerous driving. You were ‘careless’ at the very least as you were mucking about and not looking where you were going. Grow some, man up and take your punishment. On that note, the likely punishment for careless driving would be a penalty points endorsement of between three and nine points and a maximum fine of £5000, in addition to court costs. If you do decide to lie to the court and they find out (which seems likely as you don’t seem to be the ‘brightest button in the tin’) you could be locked up for perverting the course of justice. Prison may suit you if you like small spaces and communal showering but ex-prisoners I’ve met don’t recommend it.

WHITE DALTON 47 Specialist motoring solicitor Andrew Prendergast guides our readers through their legal trials and troubles... the second report to the other side. I reckon if they see it they will make a poo offer to settle the claim. Can I tell the expert to change his report? I’m paying him after all! Or can I just get a different report off a different expert without showing the other side?

A

Firstly, the medical expert’s duty is to the court, not you. So if that’s his opinion, that’s his opinion. I would be extremely worried if he changed his opinion just because you weren’t happy with his report. It would be a ‘bent’ expert. Secondly, you are in a bit of a tricky position in getting a different expert report. Your solicitor can’t disclose the second report without your authority because it is covered by something called ‘privilege’. Without getting too legal, ‘privilege’ can protect the communications between lawyers, clients and third parties made for the purposes of litigation. However, while the second report is covered by ‘privilege’ if you want to get a different expert to report, I suspect the court will order you have to disclose the report you are not happy with first. This is basically to stop potentially dodgy people ‘expert shopping’ until they get the result they want.

For more info, go to:

Q

I am part-way through my claim after some old biddy knocked me off my Bandit 1200 and a trial has been set for August. Liability has been admitted but the problem I have is with the medical evidence my dipstick solicitor has obtained from a supposed ‘medical expert’. The expert has reported for a second time that I should have gone back to work after three months. The problem I have is I haven’t gone back after 18 months and have lost a lot of money because I have a really injured back. I want to get a different expert report and not show

SOLICITORS

www.whitedalton.co.uk

Lewis Hamilton in police quiz after selfie

Lewis Hamilton was investigated by police in New Zealand after he allegedly filmed himself riding a Harley-Davidson on a motorway and posted it online. The two clips were apparently recorded while the Formula One world champion was on a brief trip in Auckland ahead of the opening round of the 2016 F1 world championship. No further action was taken by the police against the Brit.

Rope found strung across 60mph road

Road safety campaigners have warned that a rope strung across an unlit 60mph Dundee road could have killed a biker, according to reports in local paper The Courier. The rope was strung between trees on the Templeton Road in Dundee last month. A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Activity such as this is extremely dangerous and could have serious life-threatening or fatal consequences. Anyone who saw or heard any suspicious activity in the area, or has any information on those responsible should contact Police Scotland on 101. Information can be passed anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”


48 SPORT

AGOSTINI: ‘Audi has made Jorge a

super offer to ride Ducati in MotoGP’

Well, well, well. If anyone out there thinks that Yamaha is the only option for Jorge Lorenzo for next year (or the year after… or the year after that, apparently) then check out what Giacomo Agostini (pictured right) has just said. Ago, the living legend and 15-times world champion, has been talking to Italian website quotidiano.net about what’s going on behind the scenes with Jorge Lorenzo’s prospects in the championship – specifically about what Ducati might have to do with where the reigning world champion ends up. What makes this more interesting is that Lorenzo’s teammate, Valentino Rossi, has already committed to ride for the Yamaha team for both 2017 and 2018. Many in the MotoGP paddock expected Lorenzo to follow suit to Rossi’s

early-season announcement and stay with the tuning fork brigade – indeed, Yamaha has admitted that it has offered Lorenzo a contract, but instead of pouncing on the offer Lorenzo has been deliberately distant and non-committal about where he’s riding next season. So, over to Ago who has just confirmed that Audi (for Audi, read Ducati) HAS slammed a lot of cash on the proverbial table to try and tempt Jorge onto the red bikes. Here’s what Agostini said: “I know for a fact that Audi, the brand that controls Ducati, has made him [Lorenzo] a super offer. “Does the money they offer make up for giving up the best equipment, which is what Yamaha has? If Jorge thinks he can make a difference in red, then he should accept the challenge. But I don’t think he’s fully convinced.”

WSB: 700 races and not out

WorldSBK came to life on the weekend of the April 3, 1988, and exactly 28 years later it managed to hit the milestone of 700 races in Race 2 at MotorLand Aragón. To celebrate three decades of the world’s top production motorcycle racing Championship, here’s a look through the landmarks that laid the way to the milestone.

ROSSI SIGNS ON FOR ANOTHER TWO YEARS

Yamaha will continue its relationship with nine-times World Champion Valentino Rossi. Yamaha Motor Co said it was with great pleasure that it could confirm that Valentino Rossi would remain a part of the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team’s rider line-up for the MotoGP World Championship season of 2017 and 2018. Rossi has had a very special bond with his beloved YZR-M1 starting from his first race with Yamaha at Welkom Circuit, South Africa, in 2004, which ended in an iconic win. The combination of ‘the Doctor’ and the YZR-M1 has gone from strength to strength since and together they secured four titles and 53 Grand Prix wins over 10 seasons. With 15 brilliant podiums and four strong GP victories in the last year, Yamaha is confident in its partnership with Valentino Rossi and looking forward to being a serious title contender for 2016 and the following seasons. Rossi said: “I am very happy to announce that Yamaha and I have extended our contract and will continue working together in MotoGP for the next two years. I am very satisfied with this decision, because it has always been my plan to compete

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in motorsports for as long as I can be competitive and find it enjoyable at the same time. Ever since I returned to Yamaha in 2013 I have felt like I am home again and this showed in the results. I get great enjoyment out of working with my crew and the rest of the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team. “Their support for me has known no limit and I want to thank them sincerely for that. I’m feeling greatly motivated to keep riding my YZR-M1 for the best results possible, this year and the following two seasons. “I also want to say a big ‘thank you’ to my fans, who are always behind me every step of the way, making the races extra special. I will keep pushing at each and every Grand Prix so we can all keep enjoying MotoGP for more years to come!” Lin Jarvis said: “I believe the confirmation of the extension with Valentino will be music to the ears of Yamaha fans and MotoGP fans around the world. I cannot think of a better way to start a new season than for both parties to make this strong commitment. “From Vale’s side a statement of commitment to the sport he loves and towards the Yamaha brand; from Yamaha’s side a confirmation of the recognition to the rider that has brought us four MotoGP world titles and who remains so passionate about his sport and is still highly competitive, as proven by his two 2nd positions in the last two seasons. “When Vale returned home in 2013 it was “a decision for life”. This new agreement confirms that Vale will indeed finish his motorcycle racing career with Yamaha. Before that however all Yamaha fans can enjoy three full seasons of exciting performances from ‘the Doctor’ as he challenges to win his 10th World Title for the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team”.

100

200

The first hundred was reached in Spain: it was June 21, 1992, and the track was Jarama. Race 1 was the milestone, and was won by Rob Phillis on a Kawasaki.

400

300

Four years later in 1996, Laguna Seca hosted the 200th race. The reigning champion hit the headlines: the 200th Race was won by John Kocinski (Ducati).

500

Time for another milestone race on British soil at Silverstone, 2004, the WorldSBK championship hit the 400 mark in Race 2. Chris Vermeulen took his maiden win.

Misano 2000 was the stage of Race number 300. Troy Corser captured the milestone on the Aprilia RSV 1000, and also won the second race that weekend.

600

Four years later at Brno in 2008 was the 500th race. Ducati locked out the podium in Race 2, with Troy Bayliss winning from Michel Fabrizio and Max Biaggi.

The milestone was reached on American soil, at the Miller track on May 27, 2012. Spaniard Carlos Checa won it, ahead of Marco Melandri and Max Biaggi.

The best riders for each ‘century’ in the championship 1 to 100: 101 to 200: 201 to 300: 301 to 400: 401 to 500: 501 to 600: 601 to 698:

Doug Polen Carl Fogarty Carl Fogarty Troy Bayliss Troy Bayliss Carlos Checa Tom Sykes

21 wins 36 wins 22 wins 21 wins 26 wins 22 wins 25 wins

Raymond Roche Scott Russell Pierfrancesco Chili and Colin Edwards Colin Edwards Noriyuki Haga Ben Spies and Max Biaggi Jonathan Rea

19 wins 14 wins 12 wins 19 wins 16 wins 14 wins 22 wins


Classified FREE Selling your bike is

for private readers

AJS Regal Raptor, 250cc, black/ chrome, year 2010, 2,300 miles, good condition, year’s MoT, no advisories, cruiser, fully dressed, haggle on £700. Tel. 07976 480637 eves. Devon.

APRILIA FUTURA 1000cc, RST panniers, 2001, 36km (23,000) miles, Scottoiler, htd grips, Sorned, MoT July 2016, alarm, manuals, garaged, fully maintained, owned eight years, very reliable, genuine bike, £2000. Tel. 07793 107877. West Sussex.

BETTER MOTORCYCLE 125cc, 2006, excellent run around, 11 months MoT, new chain, sprockets, new rear brake linings, good tyres, reliable easy starter, 31,000 miles, £200 ono. Tel. 07594 471560. Warwickshire.

BIMOTA DB2SR 1995, 904cc, 5700 miles, MoT August 2016, original SS cylinder studs replaced with HTS, new belts, fuel pump, filter and hoses, this light weight low mileage example is in superb condition and gives an excellent sporting ride, £8950 offers invited. Tel. 07763 012780. Hampshire.

BMW 1100GS readvertised due to timewaster, 1997, black, 62,0000 miles, MoT November 2016, GPS charger optimate connecter powder coated wheels braided brake lines handlebar wind protectors, average condition for year, £1550. Tel. 07502 357218. Worcestershire.

BMW F650GS 798cc, 2009, low chassis model, expandable Motorrad top box, Fender extender, spotlights, flip up screen, alarm, MoT Sept 2016, just had recent BMW service, 17,000 miles, vgc, £3995 ovno. Tel. 01482 634464. East Riding of Yorkshire.

BMW R100R Mystic outfit, 1994, red, Smart combo with a Hedingham ETHsidecar, unit L/ Link forks, twin plugged heads, £6750 can deliver. Tel. 07798 866071. Middx.

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ONLINE www.motorcyclemonthly.co.uk EMAIL freeads@motorcyclemonthly.co.uk POST MCM Reader Adverts, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR

BMW R1200GS 54 reg, two previous owners, ABS, heated grips, engine bars, owned since 2007, vgc, MoT, fewer than 6000 miles, £4500. Tel. 07799 657719. Northamptonshire.

BMW R1200R 2012, light grey, 7200 miles, all BMW extras fitted including ABS, ESA, ASC, heated grips, OBC, c/stand, screen, led’s, rack & pannier rails, Datatag, £6500 including delivery if required. Tel. 01361 884222. Berwickshire. BMW GS1200 Adventure, 2006, white, 25,200 miles, new tyres, ABS, heated grips, top box, good condition, £5850 ono Tel. 07745 415762; 01269 842351. W Wales.

BSA C15 250cc, 1966, good condition, MoT, good runner, tax free, 3/2017, £1850. Tel. 01572 787566. Lancs.

CONDOR A580 1953, Swiss 580cc sidevalve opposed engine, high and low ratio gearbox, rare quality military bike, £5500. Tel. 01895 624554. Gtr London.

CPI SM250 ENDURO 2013, green, 3500 miles, excellent conditon, no previous owners, first MoT due May 2016, extras, £900 ono. Tel. 07504 443485. Swansea.

DUCATI 750SS 748cc, year 2000, in yellow, 11,000 miles, some minor cosmetic damage, alarm fitted mechanically fine, starts first time, new battery, £1300. Tel. 07976 208855. Middx.

DUCATI MONSTER S4R 996cc, 2004, black, only 10,500 miles, fsh, Sports exhaust/ECU, excellent condition, £3950. Tel. 07956 253608. Greater London. DUCATI 748SP rare model, 1995, Ohlins Termis, full s/h, MoT Sept 2016, service belts July 2015, immaculate condition, £5199. Tel. 01772 780976. Lancs.

DUCATI MONSTER 1200S extra horsepower, Rexxer remap, performance air filter, full Termignoni exhaust (total approx 10% extra hp) red, 2014, Ducati service history, screen, crash bungs, 9050 miles, £9650. Tel. 07956 253608. Greater London.

DUCATI ST2 950, MoT, Sorn, good condition, reliable, £1600. Tel. 07769 848510. .

HARLEY-DAVIDSON 1200 hard tail chop, 2002, 5700 miles, lots of extras, white frame with coloured stars theme, also on engine casings & seat, s/s oil pump, stp engine casing, alloy oil tank, braided brake lines, £5990. Tel. 01438 222857. Hertfordshire.

HARLEY-DAVIDSON 1200 hard tail chop in American theme stars, white and blue, £5900 ono. Tel. 07788 598234. Hertfordshire.

HARLEY-DAVIDSON FLHR Police Road King, 1997, 1340cc, excellent original condition, only 16,400 miles, full history, imported 1998, with siren, pursuit lights, panniers etc, rides lovely, recent MoT, £7995 firm. Tel. 01895 624554. peterpaulmoore@hotmail.co.uk . HARLEY-DAVIDSON Road King 1450cc, 2000, blue/silver touring pack, owned 10 years, new battery, superb tourer, illness forces sale, best offer secures. Tel. 01384 823222; 07950 398750. W Mids. HARLEY-DAVIDSON Sportster 1200, 2002, black/silver, Limited Edition, upgraded exhausts, Stage 1, loads of extras, neons, new MoT with sale, illness forces sale, best offer secures. Tel. 01384 823222; 07950 398750. W Mids.

HERALD CLASSIC 250 brand new, 21hp, 12 litre tank, available in blue/white, green or black, 780mm seat height, £2850 on the road. Tel. 07593 972375. Lancs.

HONDA 400/4 400cc, mint condition, £400. Tel. 01252 616192. Hants.

HONDA 750 SOHC F2 Supersport cafe racer, 1978, recently completed build, fully rebuilt engine, MoT till March 2017, rides superb, sounds awesome, 38 year old classic, £4250 ono. Tel. 07882 754228. Cheshire.

HONDA BENLY 125TC 1983 classic, a beauty, low miles, Sept 2016, MoT, ride away. Tel. 01977 870989. South Yorkshire.

HONDA C90 1986, MoT May 2016, 39,000 miles, very well cared for and ready to use, ideal original for collector or restorer! Recently serviced, good tyres and ready to collect from Deal, Kent. Offers over £550. Tel. 07849 876 510. .

HONDA CB1000 The Big One, original condition, £2800. Tel. 01252 616192. Hants.

HONDA CB400 excellent, 1995, NC31, MoT till July, 30000 miles, cost me £1500 last year and spent £600 on it, £1400. Tel. Dougie 07963 366187. Glasgow.

HONDA CB400N 1979, T reg, 20,243 miles, MoT June 2016, large box of spares with front wheel, it’s had a very sheltered life so is in excellent condition, £1750 ono. Tel. 01373 300924. Somerset.

HONDA CB750 1979, concours condition, just had professional restoration costing over £7000 in parts alone. There is so much work been done that I suggest you phone or email for photos, could deliver, £5450 possible p/x. Tel. 07811 062596. hamerhub@ gmail.com Herefordshire. HONDA 125RR red in colour, very good condition, has to be seen. Tel. 01536 416045. Northamptonshire.

HONDA VT500 500cc, 1988, mildly customised, MoT 28/7/2016, suitable for cafe racer or flat track project, reliable runner, spare bike available, (plus V5), £749 ono. Tel. 01332 842536. Derbys.

HONDA CB900F 900cc, 1979, good original condition, MoT July 2016, spare engine in need of repair, workshop manual, £2350. Tel. 07980 006833. Somerset.

HONDA CBR600RR one lady owner, bike is pristine condition like new, 2180 miles, main dealer service history price, £5350. Email: rbn733@yahoo. co.uk with phone number and I will ring you back. Kent.

HONDA CBX750F 1986, hardtail trike project with V5 registered as a trike in my name needs rear lights, exhaust, oil & filter and few odds and ends to finish, has brand new rear 13” minilite alloys with brand new tyres fitted with new wheel nuts, new headlight, engine is a runner with new top end gaskets and valves all ground etc, very near complete and wouldn’t take much to put on road, has forward controls and comfortable riding position, still have old exhaust as patternquick sale needed! Any questions please call. £1600 oiro. Tel. Ben 07482 394983. East Sussex.

HONDA CG125 2008, genuine 2600 miles, excellent condition, all books & keys. £1495 ono. Tel. John 07906 540371. Hampshire.

HONDA CRF250L 63 plate, 2230 miles, stunning, £2795. Tel. 07857 804068. Essex.

HONDA DEAUVILLE NT700V 2008, two owners, 25K, fsh, dark red, matching top box, wide & narrow panniers, fairing lowers, heated grips, uprated lights, new pads & battery, 100 miles since last service, MoT August, ready to go anywhere, £3000. Tel. 01291 689497; 07803 965649. Monmouthshire. HONDA CB900F 1979, silver, 28k, fresh tyres, new chain, braided hoses, new master cylinder, Vance & Hines pipe, rebuilt carbs, runs sweet, £1800 (deal on early Honda CBR600) Tel. 0777 5671836. Cambs.

HONDA EXPRESS 50cc Classic moped, 1983, MoT Oct 16, 9,060 miles, could do with a paint job, starts well, new tyres, tubes, battery, rear brake pads, £375. Tel. 01253 736245. Lancs.

HONDA NC700S 2823 dry miles, concours, always garaged, one mature owner, fsh, many extras including centrestand and tall screen,. Tel. 01754 830455. Lincs.

HONDA NSC50R Repsol Vision, only 435 miles, 64 reg, as new + top box, daughter lost interest, £1400. Tel. 07886 074359. West Midlands.

HONDA PCX125 super ride over 100mpg plus, 64 reg, under 2000 miles summer only, lots of useful extras its mint, garaged since new,. Tel. 07789 061218. Yorks.

HONDA SA50 Met-in, genuine low mileage, £425. Tel. Paul 02476 312163. Warwickshire.

HONDA S-WING 125 only 11,500 miles, comes with two keys and has a new MoT, in very good condition, saddle is as new condition. Tel. 07400 406393. Caernarfonshire.

HONDA VARADERO XL1000V W reg (2000), approx 30k miles, black/silver, MoT, recently serviced, extras include Bagster tank cover, Givi crash bars, heated grips, centre stand, top box, fuel silencers, excellent condition for year, £2295. Tel. Paul 07854 819197 or 02392 267403. Hants. HONDA CBF600 December 2009, MoT, fsh, Givi box, ABS alarm, only 6000 miles, from new excellent condition, £2950. Tel. 07999 811488. Rutland.

HONDA VTS 750 Tricolour, 2012, 12,500 miles, Givi windscreen and heated grips, lovely condition, £3950 ono. Tel. 0151 6485470. Wirral, Cheshire.

HONDAMATIC CB400A 1980, fully renovated powdercoated frame, new Motad 2 into 1 exhaust,22,300 miles, MoT September 2016, £1500. Tel. 07955 632133. Bristol. HONDA SLR650 1998, black, very good clean bike, 15,000 miles only, all MoTs from new slightly lowered with topbox, fitted, genuine reason for sale, £1195 ovno, cash on collection Tel. 01257 462185. Lancs. HONDA TRANSALP 650cc, 2007, 33k miles, high screen, centre stand, crash bars, top box, running lights, recent chain and sprockets plus service, plugs, stainless steel ‘fuel’ end can, exhaust, 12v socket, good Avon road tyres, 11 months’ MoT, £27,500 ono Tel. 07704 343331. Stockport. HONDA VFR800F red, three owners, top condition, service record, new chain etc head bearings, heated grips, always garaged, alarm, MoT 08/16, 16,000 miles, pics on request. £2195. Tel. 07908 508537. Leics.

INDIAN 741B lovely restored condition with build history, very original, plus brown log book and original reg number. Call me for details, £14,995. Tel. 07798 866071. Middx.

KAWASAKI GTR1000 1994, burgundy, Goodridge hoses to front, recent new rearbushes on mono shock, recent rear brake disc, recent battery, as new Michelins to front and rear, requires MoT, will pass ok, £1375. Tel. 07434 129349. Derbys.

KAWASAKI J300 ABS Special Edition 2014, excellent condition, 2814 miles, touring screen, colour matched top box & GPS mount, £2799. Tel. 07545 296728. Bedfordshire.

KAWASAKI KLR250 1994, L reg, good alround condition, good tyres, went straight through last MoT, phone for more details. Tel. 07979 042822. Durham.

KAWASAKI KX450F sell new 2015, USD Û5850. Tel. +81789 348670. sales@ramlinainggolan. com Japan.

KAWASAKI NINJA ZZR 400cc, MoT 28/03/2017, new braided hoses, new brake caliper seals on front, full service, v good tyres, new battery, import, first reg UK 1996, 32,052km (20,000 approx miles), age related marks but lovely bike, ready to go to loving new home, must sell, £750 ono. Tel. 01404 45243 after 6pm or leave message to view or for more info ask for Geoff please. Devon.

KAWASAKI NINJA 250cc, 2010, black one, previous lady owner, new Hagon monoshock + bushes, rear disc + pads, heated grips, service history,. Tel. 01293 410976. Gatwick.

KAWASAKI W650 excellent condition, new tyres, chain, sprockets, two keys, owners hand book, tool kit, MoT 3 July 2016, only 4118 miles on the clock, £4000 ono may take another bike in p/x. Tel. 01505 321068. Renfrewshire.

KAWASAKI ZL1000 1986, 24,000 miles, rare Japanese, muscle bike cruiser, converted from a Zl750 with a GPZ1000 rebuilt engine two years ago, new front tyre, battery and petrol pump, just fitted also booked for a years MoT, £1925. Tel. 07956 375573. Surrey.

KAWASAKI ZR550 Zephyr, 1993, super condition for year, 99% original, recent full service, cam-chain, shims, carbs, electrics etc, screen/rack Wavex discs, 32,000 miles, candy red, £1550. Tel. 07533 090608. Oxon. KAWASAKI W800 773cc, 2013 model, black, 7000 miles, mint example new rear tyre chrome rack full service, £4250. Tel. 01285 861462. Wilts.


CLASSIFIEDS

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KAWASAKI ZRX1100 1999, excellent condition, year MoT. Tel. 07876 636272. Cornwall. KAWASAKI GT550 G reg, good runner, can get years MoT, well used but good work horse, cheap transport, £495 ono Tel. Gary 07877 017041. Kent.

KYMCO CK1 125cc, 2015 model, oyster gold colour, brand new 1 yrs warranty, 5 miles on clock, never rode, taxed, 100mpg, led day time running light, l plates, dealer price £2000 plus £1700 ono. Tel. 07761 578153. Gtr Man.

MOTO GUZZI T3 1985, 850cc, very good condition, ex Italian police bike, running nicely with correct screen, leg shields, rear rack etc, recent import, MoT, £3500. Tel. 01895 624554. Watford.

ROYAL ENFIELD Bullet Electra X500, 2004, good condition for age, new rear tyre, new battery, great mpg, 14,000 miles, £1700. Tel. 01228 528483; 07796 814489. Cumbria.

ROYAL ENFIELD Bullet, 350cc, classic red chrome, new battery, oil change & filter, price including spare 500 engine c/w pipe, silencer, Sorn, £1550 ono. Tel. 01865 764461. Oxford.

MORINI 350 SPORT 1977, genuine Sport, mint condition, receipts for £1000s spent, new cables, overhauled carbs, Avon Roadriders & Hagons, N. Leicester ignition, stainless exhausts everything overhauled, repainted or replaced, needs nothing, ready for summer, £3850. Tel. 07788 442155. Bristol. MOTOBECANE Z24C 175cc, French classic, single cylinder four speed, historic vehicle certificate, tax, MoT exempt, Amal carb, ride away, 1954, nice condition, beige brown paintwork, used weekly, £1250 ono Tel. 07774 056526. Leicestershire.

MOTO GUZZI California III, MoT Aug 16, low mileage, very good condition No 24of 30 70th Anniversary Model, leather panniers, viewing contact Nigel, £3800 ono. Tel. 07960 067501. Lincs.

ROYAL ENFIELD Bullet 500, 2014, 64 reg, 1000 miles only, Sorn, two keys and handbook and service history, metallic green, very clean condition, balance of warranty to Sept 2016, £2750. Tel. Don 07785 734804. West Yorks.

SUZUKI FR80 two stroke, 1978, full MoT, good condition for year, regularly used, offers. Tel. 07799 036771.

SUZUKI GS250 twin 1980, 180% twin, good clean classic, new battery and mirrors, mileage 10,500, Sorn, tyres almost new, £950. Tel. Ernie 01286 881644. Carmarthenshire.

SUZUKI GS500F customised, single seat, full stainless steel exhaust, good tyres, other one off parts, MoT June 2016, recent service with steering bearings, £600 ono. Tel. 07443 480492. Kent.

SUZUKI GSF500 2005, 23,000 miles, immaculate condition, crash bobbins, some history, 12 months MoT, two keys, nice all rounder, owner retiring, £1350. Tel. 07948 017551. West Yorks. ROYAL ENFIELD Bullet 350, 2001, one owner plus dealer, new tyres, new seat, excellent condition, 100% reliable, amal carb, (choke), £2000. Tel. 0151 4749755. Merseyside. ROYAL ENFIELD EFI Bullet, 500cc, 2009, 1,950 miles, black/ chrome, deluxe, as new, Goldie silencer, rack, screen, age/health problems force sale, on Sorn, £2500. Tel. 0191 2641966. Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

SUZUKI BANDIT 1255cc, grey, 2010 reg, petrol, MoT till 10/04/16, will renew MoT, 3,500 mileage, £3995. Tel. 07719 609163 if no answer leave a message or text. Cheshire. MOTO GUZZI Griso 1200 8V 2008, superb condition throughout, documented full Moto Guzzi s/h, only one previous owner, fully refurbished with many new parts after dry storage, long MoT, £4450. Tel. 07525 373753. Surrey. PEUGEOT VOX 110cc, step throu scooter, 2600km, screen, top box, good condition, £725. Tel. 01205 723809. Lincs.

TRIUMPH Street Triple R, 2012, 6000 miles one previous owner, showroom condition, never wet, always garaged, Arrow can, will accept £4900first viewer will buy. Tel. 07892 908019. Stratford upon Avon.

SUZUKI GS250ET 250cc, MoT Sept 2016, very good condition, new seat, brake pads, oil and filter, 14,000 miles, £1100 ono. Tel. 01543 673286. Staffs.

SUZUKI GSR750AL5 ABS, 2015, fsh, 7200 miles, Black, Mivv exhaust + original, Suzuki street kit, R+G protectors and bobbins, Fender extender, Oxford throwovers, excellent condition, just serviced, under warranty until March 2017, £5150 ono. Tel. 07979 472056. Staffordshire.

SUZUKI GSX650F 650cc, 2008, 58 reg, excellent conditon, 10,900 miles, summer use only, fsh, two sets keys, handbook, service book easily returned, 6065mpg, 12 months MoT, you will not be disappointed, £2850. Tel. 01978 266082. Wrexham. SUZUKI GW250 2013, Inazuma 250 centre stand and rear luggage rack, (Givi), £20 each. Givi 47L blade top box, vgc, £50. Moto Guzzi 1200 Sport, 2009, lower seat, vgc, £25. Tel. 07852 326696. Leics.

SUZUKI GSX-R1100 WS 1996, 23,000 genuine miles, with lots of MoTs, very good original condition with no dents or scratches, two keys, part service history, alarm and immobiliser, you won’t be disappointed, £2500. Tel. 07973 209607. North Yorkshire.

SUZUKI GSX-R600 K1 33k, new rear, oil and filter, 750 ud forks plus originals, Scottoiler, DID gold chain, MoT 2017, ready for the Summer. Tel. 07979 658090. Hants.

SUZUKI HAYABUSA 2006, 21,000 miles, silver/black powerful, fast, £2950. Tel. 07914 072336. Surrey.

SUZUKI SV650 SK8 Sport, 2008, 17,364 miles, one owner before me, MoT 14/05/2016, full service history, bike goes with rain cover, original exhaust, tail end, Haynes manual, Scottoiler V-system, seat cowl, Optimate 111 weatherproof lead TM71, very good condition, £2300 or make me an offer. Tel. 07849 415356. Northampton. SUZUKI GSX750 1999, Motad exhaust, engine bars, rear carrier, new front tyres, classic insurance, currently Sorned, £890 ono Tel. 01286 882776. North Wales. SUZUKI SV650 13,000 miles, 2001, blue, vgc, 12 months MoT, no issues all is well, £1500 ono Tel. 07773 455964. Notts.

TOMOS MOPED 49cc, 2014 automatic twist & go, top box, 665 miles, can be ridden on a car licence, £17 road tax 100+ miles, per gallon, £750 ono. Tel. 01271 343790. North West Devon. TRIUMPH ROCKET 2300cc touring model, 2008, blue/silver, ultimate tourer, recent tyres, brakes, service, low mileage, history, reluctant sale, new MoT, loads of upgrades, £9000, offers Tel. 01384 823222; 07950 398750. W Mids.

TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE 865cc, 2011, 9000 miles, very good condition, new tyres, detachable windshield, centre stand, reason for sale getting too old for bike riding, £4200. Tel. 01751 474688. N Yorks.

TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE green and silver, 2001, one of the first Hinckley Bonnevilles, now becoming collectable, one owner from new, long list of chrome extras, and brought up to T100 spec, generally good condition for age/miles, engine excellent, 39,000 miles, MoT May, £2750. Tel. 01480 891319. Cambridgeshire.

TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE SE December 2011, 2600 miles, 10 months MoT, includes full original exhaust system & seat, £4400 ono. Tel. 07977 404656; 01708 763132. Essex.

TRIUMPH DAYTONA T595 year 1999, miles 17,700, MoT June, £1500 ono. Tel. 07561 306875; 01787 474190. Essex.

TRIUMPH SPEEDMASTER reg 20/06/2013, 6500 miles, one owner, blue/black, excellent condition, fsh, Datatag screen + spotlights short pipes + originals engine bars panniers,. Tel. 01489 575279. Hampshire.

TRIUMPH SPRINT GT SE full Triumph s/h, over £1000 extras, £5000 no offers. Tel. 07852 181360. Lancs.

TRIUMPH THUNDERBIRD 1962 pre-unit, 12 months MoT, usual extras wheels, engine any info just phone, any trial just bring asking price. £6250 ono. Tel. 01793 2853342. Lancashire.

TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE 650cc, 1973, 12V, matching, good condition, £4500. Tel. 01325 357489. Durham. TRIUMPH pre-unit 500cc project 1954/55 rolling chassis, forks, petrol & oil tanks, gear box, chaincases, T100 engine, carb, magneto and dynamo, no docs, oiro £2150. Derbyshire. Email DerekBrock01@Tiscali.co.uk TRIUMPH DAYTONA 92, 998cc, 4/C complete rear end off above, after trike conversion, offers, also Kappa 40 panniers, ring for details. Tel. 01273 580567. East Sussex.

VRSCA V ROD pristine unregistered - unused (PDI miles) indoor display use only the last 100th Anniversary 2003 model - two-tone silver/black, 100th Anniversary Gold Key accessory package includes: 100th Anniversary ignition key, windshield kit, grips, cover, display/ride/investment, £12,795 p/x possible. Tel. 07984 969293. Gtr London.

YAMAHA 600 ABS, only 500 miles, 2012 model, mint cond, always garaged, £3499. Tel. 07468 466671. Glam.

YAMAHA DIVERSION 900cc, 1999, 60,000 miles, with Givi panniers, workshop manual, Datatag, spare screen & brake pads, after 54 years of riding back problem hence £1400. Tel. 01438 358338. Herts.

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YAMAHA FAZER 600cc original, 1998, red/black, centre stand upright rider position, Thundercat engine, R1 brakes, 8000 miles only, has been stored, MoT April 2016, £1600. Tel. 01604 761633. Northants.

YAMAHA XJ650 650cc, trike X reg, black, old school Ape bars, runs well, MoT, King and Queen seat or single seat rigid frame make good first trike carbs, tune up, £1800 ono. Tel. 02089 594004. North London.

YAMAHA FAZER FZ6-S 55 plate, 16,000 miles, MoT until February, 2017, rack with mono lock plate, excellent condition, £2950. Tel. 07954 424548. W Mids.

YAMAHA XT660Z Tenere, 2009, blue, 18,600 miles, very good condition, MoT one owner, road use only, garaged, SW Motech engine bars, centre stand, top box, all keys books service history, fun adventure bike, really good MPG, senuine reason for sale, £3400 ono. Tel. 07979 355736. Merseyside.

YAMAHA FZ6-S 2004, excellent condition, new Bridgestone tyres, MoT due Sept 2016, 13,000 miles, good useable bike, £1850. Tel. 01482 634464. East Yorkshire.

YAMAHA FZS600 Fazer 2001, red, 12,400 miles, good condition, new chain/sprockets, oil & filter, new set front brakepads, around 10 months MoT, very good PR4 tyres, starts & runs as new, always on trickle charger, £1400 ono. Tel. 07584 044502. Wigtownshire.

YAMAHA DT175MX 1979, V reg, 7500 miles, had light restoration last year, been stood for years runs & rides superb, V5 in my name, two original keys owners manual, £2750. Tel. 07979 695354. Stockton on Tees.

YAMAHA MT-03 660cc single 2006 model, 22,000 miles, metallic blue, excellent condition, £1000 just spent on new ECU and lockset, £1850. Tel. 01743 891889. Shropshire.

YAMAHA MT07 2014, 2000 miles, garaged, dry use only, dark armour, comfort seat, touring screen, rear hugger, private plate MT O7AAA, great machine, so quick, great stoppers, £4500. Tel. 07795 567412. Renfrewshire.

YAMAHA XJ600S 598cc, red, 1993L, genuine 28,900 miles, with confirming history, Nexxus exhaust, cherished well maintained, good tyres, battery, chrome rear rack, top box, MoT May, £1000. Tel. 07749 604930. Leicestershire.

YAMAHA XV1100 1995, 29,500 miles, £2550 ono. Tel. Allan 07803 953656. W Yorks.

YAMAHA YZFR125 2011, 10,000 miles, two previous owners, long MoT, serviced, very good condition, £2100 ono. Tel. 07885 492110. Beds/Cambs border. YAMAHA SR 125cc, Sorned, MoT March 2017, ex riding school bike, spent more time on its side than its wheels, too many battle scars to list, perfect for new learner, £475 ono Tel. 0151 3068745. Wirral, Cheshire. YAMAHA XV1100 1999, this machine is in beautiful condition with 10k genuine miles, c/w screen, tote bag, panniers and back rest, MoT 2017, you won’t find better, £2450. Tel. 01743 860367 (ansaphone please leave message). Shrops. YAMAHA YZF 1000R, red & silver, mint condition, datatag, immobiliser alarm, new tyres + battery, new s/s exhaust system, two keys & garaged, 12 MoT, £2200 ono Tel. 07925 340627. Bristol.

Parts For Sale AKRAPOVIC EXHAUST for HONDA CB500-CBR500R 2013/2015, brand new, boxed £350. Also Hepco & Becker street bag pannier kit, complete as new, £100. Tel. 07724 003454. Kent. BIG BORE SCOOTER MOTOR Piaggio Fly 125 motor fitted with genuine Vespa 200cc big bore kit, will fit air cooled leader engine Vespas, Piaggios and Aprilias, never fitted or run, comes with Keihin PE28 carb and filter, phone for full details, £200. Tel. 01670 851392. Northumberland. BMW F800 825mm, fits - R/ ST/S models, £100. F800 - R/


CLASSIFIEDS

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Online: www.motorcyclemonthly.co.uk Email: freeads@motorcyclemonthly.co.uk Post: MCM Reader Adverts, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle LN9 6JR ST/S luggage rack, £30. F800R Motorad belly pan, £50. F800R HVMP bar end weights, no vibration, £35. Tel. 07774 056526. Leics. BMW F800S clear double bubble screen, £25. Tel. 01476 550072. Lincs. BMW R100 1000cc, 50,000 miles, two previous owners many BMW extras excellent original bike, £2850. Tel. 01512 608612. Merseyside. BMW R1100GS genuine top case and mount, £100; r/h pannier, £25; pannier rails, £20; exhaust silencer, like new, £50. Collect only. Tel. 07866 101164. N Yorks. EXCELSIOR MANXMAN fuel tank, nice clean condition, never sealed, £600. Tel. 01512 591596. Lancs. HARLEY DAVIDSON Avon Venom MT90 B16 74H, front Whitewall tyre fits all touring models as new, no damage, £50 can post at cost or collect Tel. 07903 380308. London. HONDA BLACKBIRD 2001 & 06 screens, Airblade & Fabbri black double bubble for 01, official Honda tinted screen for 06, offers. Tel. 07723 030677. Greater London. HONDA CBF1000 07 Belly Pan, £25. Pillion cowl, £25. MSA touring screen, £25, all genuine Honda parts, as new. Tel. Phil 07831 131883. Hants. HONDA VTR1000 Firestorm exhaust link pipes, clamps, straps, all stainless, brand new, £60; also Haynes manual, new, £10; can post both. Tel. 01246 200842; 07935 175649. Derbys. KAWASAKI VERSYS 650cc, gel seat, as new, cost £300, sell £120 ono Tel. 07758 640296. Essex. KAWASAKI ZEPHYR 550cc, 9198, new Motad exhaust, £165 ono. KZ550 engine (no carbs), £65 ono. Zephyr wheels, 550 c/w discs + tyres, £35 pair collection only. Tel. 01235 511490; 07533 090608. Oxfordshire. LEGEND TT SILENCERS with brackets, Triumph part nos 2201580 & 2201590, used but like new condition, no dents or scrapes, £350 + postage or collect Bedford area Tel. 01234 302633. Bedfordshire. LIFAN MIRAGE PARTS engine etc, Kawasaki Z250 Scorpion belt drive, various parts, Yamaha Townmate T80 engines, electrics Tel. 01205 723809. Lincs. LUCAS COMPETITION mag K2 FC as new, £375. Laverda

front forks, £400. Amal 389 carburettor with rare right hand float chamber, £85. Robinson Magnesium front wheel four leading shoe, £1000. Conical twin leading shoe front wheel mint condition as fitted to Triumph or BSA, £500. Tel. 01614 329676. Stockport. NEW HONDA choke cable, fits RS250A, £10; Honda lock, £10; one motorbike helmet, new, Shoei, £30; one Nike helmet, never worn, £30; paddock stand, new, multi-fit, £40; headlamp screens, £10 each leather tool roll, £10; 2 gel seats, £50; 2x man tent, mats, b/up beds etc, £30. Tel. 07790 934835. Staffs. PAIR OF USED Akropovic exhausts for 2014 Kawasaki ZZR 1400, right side end cover minor damage, £600 ono Tel. 0208 2877138 after 6pm. Surrey. PROGRESSIVE FORK SPRINGS any Harley Davidson, big twin, £84. Showa 41mm forks never fitted boxed, £50. Tel. Brian 07903 380308. London. R & G AERO crash protectors, c/w all fittings/teardrop shaped bobbins for Suzuki GSF1250 GT (faired version), £75 ono Tel. 0789 4078815. Notts. RIZOMA DYNAMIC mirrors and adaptors to fit Triumph street triple as new, £80 inc p&p Tel. 07504 174923. Kent. ROOF BOXER HELMET size XL, only used for a couple of weeks, mint condition, brother has emigrated so no longer needed, Tel. 07901 735089. Gtr London. SCORPION Serket carbon exhaust and link pipe with all fittings and boxed for Kawasaki GTR1400, it’s the carbon oval version, part number on the box is RKA94CEO (cost around £360), £200 ono Tel. 0789 4078815. Notts. SCREEN TO FIT Honda CB500X, excellent condition, dealer price £173.64 + VAT £25. + £5 postage Tel. 07764 149190. W Lothian. SUZUKI BANDIT 600cc, various parts for sale too many to mention ring for details and prices, buyer collects Tel. 07913 097118. West Glamorgan. SUZUKI VZR1800 V Stream, dark tint screen, Sport size, complete with all fittings and hardly used, £160 ono Tel. 07894 078815. Nottinghamshire. TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE America, front footrest kit, £25. New Norman Hyde rear shocks, £50. Lockable petrol cap, two keys, £20. Scrambler aftermarket

exhaust system, £45. AMC model 20/99, alternator crank assemble, £80. Tel. 01297 489578. Dorset. TRIUMPH EXPLORER 1200 2012-2015, genuine Triumph touring screen, as new, £40. Tel. 01794 390838. Wiltshire. TRIUMPH STREET TRIPLE 675cc, 08, pair standard silencers, new unused, £50 + carriage Tel. 07775 671836. Cambs. TRIUMPH TIGER 1050 genuine trial tail pack kit as new, £40. Original screen as new, £40. Tel. 01794 390838. Wiltshire. VZR 1800 V STREAM black tint screen (sport size), hardly used, with all fittings, £160 ono Tel. 07894 078815. Notts.

Wanted AMBASSADOR Bantam, BSA, Francis-Barnett, James or any British 2 stroke to teach my grandson to ride & care for, prefer runner, anything considered Tel. 07804 411490. Cheshire. ANY MAKE OR SIZE classic motorcycle wanted, in any condition, from a basket case to one in nice condition. Tel. 07548 801403. Notts. BRIDGESTONE TRAIL 90cc, oil injection model, nos parts wanted, anything considered; also Honda CB250RS luggage rack wanted. Tel. 077170 75814. W Yorks. HONDA CBF600N 599cc, centre stand with fittings to fit 2009, CBF 600N. Tel. 01582 601467. Beds. MAGAZINE TYPE BOOKLETS produced each year in the 1950/60s Showing Motorcycles and Scooters throughout The World. Tel. 01752 790749. Devon. MRA VARIO touring screen wanted for GSF600S Bandit, please. Tel. 07791 228556. Derbyshire. NORTON 16H WD rear wheel wanted for oily rag restoration, also rear wheel for BSA 1939 B26 and engine for BSA WD WB30, not trade. Tel. 01580 819377. Sussex. REAR LUGGAGE RACK for 2000 Honda CB500S, 1994-2002. Tel. 01752 790749. Devon. Email. petecx500atgmail.com WANTED BMW R80 petrol tank, any colour and condition. Tel. Steve 01270 811762, mobile 07534 111818. Nantwich, Cheshire. WANTED CLIP ON AIR deflecter adjustable Smokey tint to fit

CBF1000 touring screen. Tel. Phil 07831 131883. Hants. WANTED FOR Yamaha XJ900 Diversion, main stand, fairing cradle, burgundy fairing, all must be straight and in good condition, Tel. 07775 844131. Berks. WANTED FOR MOTO GUZZI later model Nevada dual seat, good or tatty, rack, panniers, screen, tank cover? Tel. 01977 510546. West Yorkshire. WANTED PRE 1960 trials bike, 2 or 4 stroke, tidy, tatty, prefer running and V5 registered, but anything considered. Tel. Steve 01270 811762, mobile 07534 111818. Nantwich, Cheshire.

Miscellaneous BARBOUR JACKET genuine well used, approx size 42-44, over 40 years old so has wear and tear, lining needs some attention and one pocket has been repaired, slightly frayed on edges of cuffs, needs cleaning but in fairly good condition for its age, £45 plus postage of about £10, also leggings if wanted for extra £10 plus of course extra postage if not collected. Tel. 01959 571088 evenings best. Kent. BMW GSA PANNIERS excellent condition, very little use, £380. for the pair. Tel. 07872 986551. Glam. BONE DRY OXFORD JACKET and trousers, medium to large bright green and black finished hardly used, good condition, £30. Tel. 01946 861404; 07596 168269. Cumbria. BRAND NEW black leather Richa boots size, 44, 9 1/2 UK, boxed, £50. Brand new Jet helmet, blue/grey, size 58/61cm, visor, accessories, £40. Brand new black leather jacket, blouson style, 44/46 f/lined, £60. Tel. 07759 607498. Berkshire. BRANDO STYLE CLASSIC BLJ (black leather jacket), size 42 chest, exc cond, bought from Bikers Gearbox at Matlock and hardly worn, cost over £100, sell for £50. plus p+p if required. Tel. . Northants. zygon95@gmail.com CADILLAC FLEETWOOD SEDAN 1992, auto, white, long MoT, owned 8 years, reluctant sale due to illness, smooth V8 motor, economical, new battery, drives well, £3995. Tel. 01384 823222; 07950 398750. W Mids. CLASSIC 25YO 1991, Ford P100 petrol pickup solid rust free bodywork + starts, first time easy restoration project, £1695 may p/x swap large builders type trailer or big 500cc trail bike of

why?. Tel. 07479 938359. Lancs. CLASSIC BIKE MAGAZINES full set from 1978 to current issue over 420 copies all boxed in good condition, collected J14 M1, £120. Tel. 01908 612680. Buckinghamshire. CRAVEN TOP BOX white fibreglass with two keys and mounting frame from Honda 400/4, 1976 last used 1979, very good condition, £60. Tel. 01782 316943. Staffs. DAVE MOLYNEUX I.O.M. Sidecar TT Legend, £22; Sidecar Champion George O’Dell, £15; Road Racing, Mick Grant, £15; Agostini Champion Of Champions, £22; Racing History Triumph 500 Twin, £30. Tel. 01484 663007. W Yorks. DRAGGIN JEANS black, ladies size 12. Richa black leather jacket & trousers, size 14. Nitro ladies biker helmet, white/blue roses, small, lady owner standard size 14, £100 the lot ono. Tel. 01433 630682. . EURO HIKE HAVERSACK medium size, good strong waterproof material with side pockets, comfortable cruising at 70mph, £20. #NAME?. Tel. 01507 609232. Lincolnshire. FRANK THOMAS Aqua Storm jacket & trousers, will zip together, Kevlar reinforcements, suit 42” chest, 5-10” tall, first class condition, £50. #NAME?. Tel. 01507 609232. Lincs. GAERNE TRIALS/ENDURO boots, red, size 11, good, £25; red size 8, excellent, £35; Dunlop rubber, size 8, good, £25; Frank Thomas paddock, white, size 6, new/unused, £25 all plus post and packing. Tel. 01495 759234. . GARAGE CLEAROUT: various items (new + unused) on/off road Motorcycle clothing Wulfsport jackets + zip-up fleeces, leather jeans, HI-viz jackets + pants, all black trial/trail riding suit, trials + Moto-X tyres/handlebars/grips + lots more. Tel. 07479 938359. Lancs. GARDNER DOUGLAS MK3 Cobra replica, 1991, Chevy 5.7, £21,000. Wanted a good military WW2 bike. Tel. 07798 866071. Greater London. GIVI TOP BOX medium size, black, new condition, complete with fixing plate, £30. Tel. 01285 861462. Wilts. HAGON SHOCK ABSORBERS Goldwing type, chromed, boxed, £180; new torque wrench, 10-80mm, boxed, £30; lots of GL1200 spares, Vetter

windjammer fairing, £100; Bulldog carrier, mint, £50; dispatch gauntlets, mint, £30. Tel. 07434 513161. Lancs. HAYNES MANUALS 68 to 80s only, Fantic, Honda, Maico, Mobylette, Suzuki, Yamaha. Tel. 07804 411490. Cheshire. HONDA The Early Classic Motorcycles, £25; History Of Honda Motorcycles, £12; both Roy Bacon. Honda Enthusiasts Guide M/Cycles 1959-1985, £22; Honda 50 Years Of World Champion Racing at the TT, £23. Tel. 01484 663007. W Yorks. HONDA CBF LUGGAGE in pearl white, genuine Honda set inc all boxes, full mounting frame and fixings. Tel. 07919 392792. Cheshire. HONDA GL1200 lots of spares, CBF1000 leather tank cover, £40. Thunderbird chainguard, £20. Ladies white bike jacket, small, £30. Diversion 900 handbook, £10. Despatch gauntlets, £30. Bulldog 1100, Givi carrier mint, £50. Tel. 07434 513161. Lancs. ITALIAN TRI COLOUR open face helmet, vgc, medium, £25. Furygan leather trousers, 34” waist, worn once, half price, £100. oxford magnetic tank bag, £10. Kevla black jeans, 34” waist, £20. Textile black bike jacket, medium, £20. Tel. 01497 847428. Hereford Borders. JACKET AND OVER TROUSERS medium to large size, reflective finish, good condition, cost over £60, £30 ovno. Tel. 01946 861404; 07596 168269. Cumbria. JTS LEATHER MOTORCYCLE JACKET new unworn, 56 inch chest. Buffalo lined waterproof motorcycle trousers 46 inch waist, £95 the pair or will separate, delivery can be arranged at cost. Tel. 01473 211015. Suffolk. KAPPA TOP BOX (will take two helmets) + two x panniers with mounting brackets and fittings for CBF1000, good condition, £150 ono. Tel. 07583 571895. Staffordshire. KEN SPRAYSON Frame Man, £18; BSA Goldstar & Singles, Roy Bacon, £25; The BSA Goldstar, The AJS 7R, £30 each; both Mick Walker. BMW Twins/Singles by Mick Walker, £20. Tel. 01484 663007. W Yorks. LADIES AKITO leather jacket, size 12 and Rayvern leather trousers, size 12, all very good condition, £40 for both plus postage. Tel. Sarah 07984 379407. Worcestershire.

LADIES BIKE BOOTS 8-eyelet, good condition, size 6, £50; also ladies black steel cap ankle boots, size 7, £40; new biker ladies boots, armoured shins, size 7, £30; Harley Davidson back rest, fits 2006 Street Bob, £90 ono; Harley Davidson clutch cable for Street Bob, 2006, £25. Tel. 07790 954835. Staffs. LADIES BIKE BOOTS size 5, £40. Harley flip up helmet, one small, £30. One medium, £30. Ladies denim jacket, 12/12, £40. Hoodie, 12/14, £25. Mirror skull fit 1200 Sportster, £30, the lot £150 + p&p. Tel. 07749 558405. West Yorkshire. LEATHER JACKET Brando style, dark tan, ‘new’, lapels and belt, size small male, brand new, £50. ono. Tel. 07704 343331. Stockport. LEATHERS blue/white Swift ‘40’, incl armour, £80; boots, 8, Oxford, £20; lined ‘med’ o/suit, used once, £15; FZR flashers, new, £10. Tel. 01543 322827. Mids. LEATHERS one-piece leather suit, size approx 42 UK, nice clean condition, no scuffs, rips or tears, waist 36in, inside leg 25in, no logos, so suits classic bike, £45. Tel. 07880 645970. Berkshire. LEYLAND MARATHON tractor unit, same size as Dinky and Corgi major die casts models, ex detail (150) scale, green white colour, new condition inc box £120. inc p&p. Tel. 01302 534155. Yorks. MAGNETIC TANK BAG from hHeine Gericke, new and unused all black, expanding, with all straps, clear map pocket, £20. #NAME?. Tel. 07704 447084. North Yorkshire. MOORE & WRIGHT micrometer 0-1 as new, £30. 0-25 micrometer as new, £20, Carbide face in box, 04 Stanley smoothing plane in original box like new, £35 plus post. Tel. 02086 414238. Surrey. MOTORCYCLE JEANS black Leather, with lace up sides, size 34 waist and 28 inside leg, good condition, no damage, £20. plus p+p if required. Tel. . Northants. zygon95@gmail.com MOTORCYCLE TRAILER really good quality, includes ramp and spare wheel, purchased new from Trailer Tek, 284kg payload would cost £517 new, very good condition, £300. Tel. 07923 655394. Hampshire. MOTORCYCLE TROUSERS black leather, in good condition but

requires one ankle zip repairing, has body armour, size 42 waist, 30 leg, £25. ono. Tel. 01524 903496. North Lancs. ONE PIECE LEATHERS blue & white size approx 5ft 11”, 39” chest 35” waist 32” I/ leg, worn eight times, £90. £90. Tel. Ken 01494 874746. Buckinghamshire. RIDER LEATHER motorcycle jacket, size 42, in good condition, £45. TT leathers motorcycle jacket, size 40 with matching leather trousers, size 34 only worn three times, £130 the pair. Tel. 07763 826723. Greater London. RST BLADE LADIES gloves worn twice, size small, white and black, £25. Haynes Manual XJ600S Diversion 92-99, £4. GS500 89-08, £5. Tel. 07806 095738. Lincs. SCOTTOILER Touring Universal + oil, £25. ono. Tel. 07478 231203. Pembs. TALBOT EXPRESS CAMPER VAN 1990, Peugeot 1900cc, diesel engine, low miles, awning, very clean throughout, MoT, reluctant sale due to illness, ideal for rallies/holidays, ready to use. Tel. 01384 823222; 07950 398750. W Mids. TRIUMPH CLASSIC JACKET grey dark size, 48/58, never worn. Frank Thomas new ladies 3 in one size large black/red bullet proof. Leather jacket 2 in one size 2XL armoured. Tel. 01953 499402. Norfolk. TRIUMPH TORQUE MAGAZINES issues 26-38, Winter 2002-Winter 2005, lots of bike info and rat badges etc, Offers. Tel. 07944 514260. Staffs. TT RETURN FERRY TICKET available due to cancellation, 2016, Out Liverpool to IOM 27.03.16 19.15pm, Return IOM to Heysham 07.15am, 03.06.16, £216. ono. Tel. 07850 643123. E Sussex. VELO SPORT magnetic tank bag, top (clear) map pocket, side pockets inc detachable shoulder strap, £20. #NAME?. Tel. 01507 609232. Lincs. WATERPROOF SUIT XL good condition, £25. Takeuchi helmet o/face, black, small, as new, £20. Tent two man pop up new, £20. Ignition switch, new and two keys for 94/03 Kawasaki ZX9-C1/ C2 £40. Tel. Errol mobile 07762 119769. Surrey. YAMAHA FJR1300 panniers, blue, £150 as new, FJR Workshop manual, £25. Tel. 01913 852809. Tyne & Wear.



CLASSIFIEDS 53 ACCESSORIES

EXHAUSTS

CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES

MOT

NUT & BOLTS

PAINTWORK

PARTS AND SPARES

CHROMING

MOT AND SERVICING PLASTIC REPAIRS

ACCOMMODATION/TOURING

DYNO SEATING

EVENTS SECURITY

MOTORCYCLE FUNERALS

BRAKE HOSES

SERVICING Springcourt Auto Centre Tel: 01706 631245 Specialists in motorcycles

• MoT STATION • SERVICING & REPAIRS • CARS & LIGHT COMMERCIALS • ALL MAKES AND MODELS WHITWORTH RD, ROCHDALE, LANCASHIRE OL12 0RA

EXHAUSTS

SPEEDOMETERS/COMPUTERS

CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES

TRACK DAYS

T: 0 12 0 2 3 74 0 4 2

M : 0 70 17 5 10 0 0 8


54 CLASSIFIEDS TOURING

TRAILERS

TYRES

WEB WATCH

WEB WATCH TRAINING LESSONS

TRAILERS

TYRES

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Trade advertisers call Jo or Lee on 01507 524004 Deadline for the next issue is Thursday May 5 Available from Friday May 20


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