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First Ride: 2007 Buell 1125R
By Bertie Simmonds on 02/04/2008 17:59:37
25 years in the making and Erik Buell finally makes the bike he always dreamed of: a liquid-cooled V-twin with plenty of poke and handling to die for. So has junking the Harley engines given Buell a new edge?
manufacturer." But truth be told, there were a few problems with the 1125R.Over the two day test, one machine had a clutch problem, on another machine a wire was melted by it's position near an exhaust pipe so it quit, a brake disc 'warped', all bikes had
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First Ride: 2004 BMW R1100S Boxer Cup Replika
By Niall Mackenzie on 30/03/2008 21:37:30
BMW's take on 'race bike for the road' makes a refreshing change from the usual Jap fare.
seemed to have decent weather protection.Considering she weighs in at nearly 230kg the motor delivers reasonable acceleration while sounding quite raspy through the five gears thanks to the 'sound optimised' Laser exhaust. Shifting itself has a positive
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First Ride: 2005 Suzuki RM-Z450
By Niall Mackenzie on 30/03/2008 22:50:26
Niall travels to Holland to injure himself on purpose aboard Suzuki's new, and very grunty, four-stroke motocrosser.
the gears.The engine has a distinctive bark compared to the competition and, if you can hold the throttle open long enough, it will rev beyond 9000rpm. Using hollow camshafts and titanium for the valves and exhaust header pipe has helped keep the motor
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First Ride: 2007 Kawasaki Z1000
By Niall MacKenzie on 02/04/2008 14:23:26
A new set of glad rags, a tweak of the chassis here and a fettled gearbox there, et voila: a really rather splendid new big Zed
.Unlike some recent new models, like the Suzuki 1250 Bandit, you'll find a ton of interesting changes that keep you wandering round pointing and poking, even before thinking about jumping on board.The clever quad exhausts should be first to catch your eye
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First Ride: Ducati Diavel Carbon review
By Ben Cope on 07/02/2011 12:11:18
The Diavel is in the details. So is it any good?
, not once did I feel like I was running wide, or that I could do with more ground clearance. There are no footboards gouging the tarmac here, no concerns about getting home with half of your exhaust chamfered off. It doesn’t just handle well for a cruiser
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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
300,000 bikers can't be wrong. That's how many people who, the world over, have purchased Honda's evergreen favourite - the CBR600F - in the last 18 years.Back in 1987 Honda saw Kawasaki and Yamaha having a laugh in the middleweight sportsbike class with the GPZ600R and FZ600 and...
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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?
Carl Fogarty. The Aprilia RSV Mille. Neil Hodgson. The Honda VTR1000 Firestorm. James Toseland. Suzuki's TL1000. Troy Bayliss and, finally, Ducati themselves.None of the above would either be here today or where they are today without the beautiful, seminal 916.Developed in 1993 ...
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Used Review: Triumph Sprint RS
By Bertie Simmonds on 05/04/2008 21:38:34
Quiet, unassuming and unpopular the Sprint RS may have been as a new buy, it now has a loyal following and makes a bargain sports tourer.
I was at the launch of the Sprint RS in southern Spain in 1999. Some muppet in the office thought it would be a good idea to ride back from there to the Midlands, in late December.But thanks to decent winter kit and the Sprint RS's solid attributes, I got back in one piece and no...
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Used Review: Honda CB600F Hornet
By Bertie Simmonds on 05/04/2008 21:49:32
Born in 1998's naked middleweight boom, the Honda Hornet has evolved into a more capable, practical machine than the tiny-tanked original model.
Honda's Hornet has always been a handsome machine, but despite being up against some tough competition it's attracted a cult following.It began in 1998, when Honda (and Yamaha with the Fazer) decided they'd had enough of Suzuki topping the sales charts with their Bandit 600, and ...
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Used Review: Triumph TT600-Daytona 600-650
By Bertie Simmonds on 05/04/2008 22:01:14
Yep, it's true. Back in 1996, when Triumph first mooted a middleweight sportsbike - codenamed T806 - they looked at making a triple.
Yep, it's true. Back in 1996, when Triumph first mooted a middleweight sportsbike - codenamed T806 - they looked at making a triple.But, after listening to a number of 'focus groups' in the USA and the UK, it was felt that a tried-and-trusted four-cylinder layout should be used. ...
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