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First Ride: 2002 Harley-Davidson VRSCA V-Rod review
By Bertie Simmonds on 27/03/2008 21:03:21
Harley-Davidson unleash their most important model for 50 years. With a watercooled, 115bhp, 60¡ V-twin motor straight out of their VR1000 racebike, it marks the start of a new direction for the Milwaukee firm. This is big.
Massive, in fact, as Harley-Davidson hope this motorcycle will open up new markets and new owners to the legendary marque. They say this bike combines the heart of a superbike, the style of a custom and the soul of a drag bike. In the words of Bill Davidson, director of motorcycl...
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The rise of the 2002 Yamaha YZF-R1
By Bertie Simmonds on 22/04/2002 15:24:57
After the original 1998 R1, this version had a tough act to follow. So how did they go about developing and improving the previous model
Back in 1996 Kunihiko Miwa was attending the launch of the Yamaha Thunderace. A worthy bike, if a bit porky and uninspiring. At the time Miwa decided he wanted to build a bike with a philosophy of 'no compromise.' This he did, by coming up with the YZF-R1, a bike which was to do ...
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Living with a 2003 Suzuki GSX-R1000
By Bertie Simmonds on 10/11/2003 13:54:39
It's big, it's old and a bit of a relic. But enough about Bertie, see how he got on with the monster GSX-R1000
for a 150 mile 'bedding in' trip up north to my rendezvous with a damp Donington Park and the TWO track day.145bhp mixed with a damp track and a ham-fisted editor would normally end up in an early gravel bath, but surprisingly this was not the case
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Used Review: Triumph Daytona T595-955i
By Bertie Simmonds on 05/04/2008 17:59:57
A revelation when it first appeared: here was a proper British effort at a big sportsbike. Over the years while the competition has got wilder, the Daytona has stayed milder which makes the mature Daytona a very solid road bike
The impact of the first Triumph T595 should not be under estimated. Here was the first proper big British sports bike for many years and one which - on paper at least - promised to give the legendary FireBlade a run for its money. Cue 'Land of Hope and Glory' and much jingoistic ...
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Living with a 2003 Kawasaki Z1000
By Bertie Simmonds on 12/07/2003 15:18:14
Uncertainty soon turns to attraction as the big Zed wins over Bert
fashion. I still prefer the original gold anodised twin pipes for aesthetic reasons but I have been informed by those jolly nice chaps at PDQ that they lose some 13bhp purely in the name of design. They have kindly offered to rectify this. As is the remit
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Living with a 2002 Aprilia RSV Mille R
By Bertie Simmonds on 12/12/2002 11:48:54
Did Bertie get on with the RSV Mille R, read on for his longterm verdict...
June 2002On your right is the Aprilia RSV Mille R. Bertie Simmonds not pictured. And why wasn't I? Well, I just couldn't do it...Sticking my ugly mug in the picture alongside such a thing of great beauty would have been tantamount to Bernard Manning
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Road Test: Peak Practice
By Bertie Simmonds on 20/04/2008 21:24:25
Once a year, at Shrove-Tide, Ashbourne becomes the Wembley of the Peak District.
For it is then that a game of 'traditional' football is played. Two teams of 'Uppards' and 'Downards' kick, grab and run with a leather ball stuffed full of sawdust. The only rule is that the ball has to be grounded at either of the two goals, which are 3 miles apart along the va...
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Used Review: Yamaha YZF-R6
By Bertie Simmonds on 05/04/2008 16:08:21
Yamaha's feisty little R6 has deservedly gained a cult status amongst its fans, as a rev-happy, sharp-edged alternative to Honda's more easy-going CBR600.
'claimed' 120bhp (more like 105bhp at the rear wheel) and was also the first production bike to boast 200bhp per litre.But these figures only tell half the story. What did make the bike the success it became was its single-minded attitude to sports biking
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Used Review: Honda CBR600F 1999-2002
By Bertie Simmonds on 05/04/2008 14:01:56
Year-on-year since its introduction in 1987, Honda's venerable CBR600F has been the undisputed king in the white-hot battle royal of the middleweight 600cc sports category. Bertie Simmonds checks out the last of the line
with the GPZ600R and FZ600 and, like the big bully they are, bog-washed and wedgied the pair of them into submission with the all-new CBR600F.Compared to the then class-leading Kawasaki, the CBR had around 10bhp more at the top end as well as being
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Used Review: Ducati 916, 996 & 998
By Bertie Simmonds on 05/04/2008 14:08:20
An aesthetic and performance revolution in its day, the 916 series has guaranteed iconic status for Bologna's blood-red bullets for time immemorial. But are those stories of Desmodromic histrionics all true?
since The Creation itself.It wasn't the most powerful (100bhp at the wheel for a 916), it wasn't the lightest (around 200kg) and it could be agony to ride if you were anything but the perfect size for it, but the 916 was the most beautiful motorcycle
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